When Echo heard they’d be heading back tomorrow, she couldn’t help but smile. She had thought the mission would be tough, but it was quite simple. It was a relief to be going back so easily.
Bill, noticing her obvious smile after giving out orders, laughed and said, “What a coward.”
Echo smiled back and said, “I’m not cowardice; I’m valuing life.”
Bill burst out laughing at that. “The way you’re talking, it’s like we dragged you up a mountain of knives or through a sea of fire. No one’s out to get you.”
Echo shot Bill a disdainful look and replied, “Isn’t that exactly what’s happening?”
Bill shook his head with a grin. “You’ve just been through a few more scrapes lately, and your reflexes aren’t the best, so it feels that way. But we’re not exactly living on the edge here. That kind of life is behind us.”
Echo raised an eyebrow, casting a glance at Ryan, who was still focused on the thorium analysis. If this wasn’t the kind of life on the edge, Echo wondered what kind of life Ryan used to lead.
Before she could think too much more, Ryan, sensing her gaze, turned to look at her coldly.
Echo flashed him a bright smile and said, “Boss, I’m hungry.”
The last couple of days had been stressful, so she hadn’t eaten much. Now that things were winding down, her hunger hit her hard.
“Go feed yourself,” Ryan replied flatly, giving her a brief glance before turning back to the data and analysis in front of him.
Echo shrugged with a smile when Ryan said that, then jumped down from the comms truck. The food was stored in a more secure area, and transported by a specialized tank. Since they had entered a radioactive zone, extra care was taken-no room for mistakes. Food couldn’t just be left out or eaten casually.
As she stepped into the food storage tank, Echo hadn’t even grabbed anything yet when, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a dark shadow darting quickly behind a massive rock. The rock’s gray-white color stood out against the open landscape, making the shadow even more noticeable. Echo froze, then quickly stood up.
The food tank was stationed at the far end of the perimeter, and with the other scout tanks not yet returned, the view was wide open.
Echo paused, seeing no further movement in that direction. The shadow had moved so fast that it almost seemed like her eyes were playing tricks on her, but Echo trusted her trained vision. She didn’t make mistakes like that. She immediately turned and sprinted toward Ryan’s comms truck.
“There’s something out there,” Echo said as soon as she stepped through the door.
Seeing Ryan and Bill already looking serious, their eyes fixed in the direction of the disturbance, Echo knew they had noticed it too.
“Stay alert,” Ryan ordered, his voice cold as he scanned the surroundings.
Echo quickly took her place at the comms station, transmitting Ryan’s orders to the other tanks and notifying Tiger and Panther to be on high alert.
The tanks abandoned their tasks and rushed back to the outer perimeter of the circle. All weapons were locked and loaded, ready for anything.
“What was that? It moved so fast,” Bill said, his eyes scanning the area.
Whatever that figure was, it didn’t look human or like any animal he knew. It reminded him of a bear-big and tall-but no bear moved that fast. It was hard to believe.
“Chieftain Adam mentioned the natives,” Echo chimed in while she continued scanning the environment.
But with signal issues in this area, it was nearly impossible to get a clear read. GPS was useless, and Echo knew there wasn’t much she could do except hope they’d catch something.
For now, everything was quiet. The only sound was the wind scraping across the rocks. As night settled in, the floodlights from the planes lit up the land, turning night into day. Any movement would be caught in the beams.
“Boss, Boss,” Tiger’s voice suddenly came through, uncharacteristically tense, with a hint of urgency.
Ryan’s voice dropped to a serious tone. “What is it?”
“My men are disappearing, and two tanks haven’t come back. Their signals are down. Boss, be careful.”
Tiger had barely finished when Panther’s voice crackled in next, “Boss, we’ve got a situation.”
Ryan’s expression darkened. “Stay calm. Did you see what it is?”
“People. But they’re….” Panther’s voice cut off as the ground surveillance flickered, revealing about a dozen figures-neither human nor animal-moving like lightning toward the perimeter.
Echo saw them just as Ryan slammed his hand on the comms system and barked, “Fire!”
The weapons at the perimeter roared to life, shattering the silence of the night.
Thanks to Chieftain Adam’s prior warning, Ryan had come prepared-not just with heavy, destructive weapons, but also smaller, specialized ones designed specifically for these attackers.
In mere seconds, the charging shadows were obliterated by the intense firepower, reduced to nothing but fragments.
“What’s going on? Boss, you too?” Tiger’s voice came over the comms, his tone rising as he heard the chaos through the connection.
At the same time, Panther’s position erupted with gunfire.
Ryan, his face cold and expressionless, said in a low voice, “Handle it yourselves. Be cautious.”
Both Tiger and Panther acknowledged with a sharp “Yes.” They had plenty of ammo and planes for a quick escape if necessary. Being experienced leaders, they knew that in this situation, waiting for every command wouldn’t work. Acting on their own was the best course.
Echo kept her eyes fixed on the screen. For a moment, everything seemed calm, but then more black shadows zipped across the monitors, fast as lightning, rushing into the perimeter. The guns, which hadn’t stopped firing, all aimed and unleashed a barrage of bullets.
Echo watched the shadows swarm like ants, endlessly charging forward without hesitation. Frowning, she muttered, “Don’t they know when to give up?”
Bill, standing at the door with a heavy machine gun, coldly replied, “Never show mercy to your enemy, or you’ll regret it.”
Before Echo could respond, the screen suddenly shook. What she saw next left her speechless.
A shadow, moving with lightning speed, leaped from the trees and landed on one of the outer tanks. Gunfire ripped into its body from every direction, blood spurting everywhere, but the creature didn’t seem to feel any pain.
Perched on top of the tank, it drove its fist into the roof with terrifying force. Its fingers, sharp as knives-no, sharper-sliced through the steel like it was paper.
With a deafening roar, the blood-soaked figure ripped the tank’s roof open. Its claws reached inside, grabbing one of the soldiers. Blood sprayed as it crushed the person beyond recognition, and then the concentrated gunfire finally tore the creature apart.
Echo’s mouth hung open as she stared at the screen, her hand trembling around the comms device. What… what were these things? So brutal, so powerful.
Ryan, his face dark, noticed her shaking and placed a firm hand on her shoulder. In a steady voice, he commanded, “Wipe them all out.”
With Ryan’s order, the gunfire grew even fiercer. The planes unleashed heavy artillery, enough firepower to level a small city. It didn’t matter how tough these creatures were-they were still flesh and blood.
The sky lit up with flames as small arms fire ceased, and the larger weapons took over. Explosions rocked the area, obliterating the nearby trees and turning the gray-white land into scorched earth. There was nowhere left for anything to hide.
Bill let out a small sigh of relief. That scene had been truly shocking. The figure had a human shape, sure, but the terrifying strength and resilience were beyond anything human.
Was this what radiation from the technetium had done-mutated humans? If this land was theirs, things were going to get tricky. That kind of brute strength was like dealing with wild beasts, far too much for ordinary humans to handle.
Ryan, his face serious as ever, looked at the scene in front of them and said, “Stay on high alert.”
“Boss, over here we…” Panther’s voice cut off mid-sentence, and the comms suddenly went dead.
Echo immediately sensed trouble and started shouting, “Panther! Panther! Respond! Answer!”
Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she tried to reestablish the connection.