The arrow flew through the air, striking the target dead center. Its shooter smiling at his work, he then proceeded to fire a second and third, both repeating the results of the first. Feeling satisfied with his work he decided he should probably finish up, he still had some business to take care of. He drew final arrow from his quiver, aimed it at the target to give the impression it was his real mark, then he turned quickly and released it towards the country.
It soared for a moment, and then connected with the hideous cloaked creature’s neck breaking its camouflage. The thing cried out in pain, and then its thin seven meter frame collapsed to the ground, dead on impact.
“Commander, what was that!” Shouted an anxious man rushing towards his superior.
“It’s just a Stalker, its dead now so nothing to be concerned with. Also may I remind you that I don’t use titles my name holds enough weight in itself.” The man responded strolling towards the target to remove his ammo and return it to the quiver.
“Understood, but Com- Colton, how did you know it was-“
“There was a pillar between me and wind of the west and the only thing blocking is wall over a kilometer away. You pick up these things quickly with experience; subtle tells that before, meant absolutely nothing. Don’t worry, though it’s been seven years you’re not the only one still needing to adjust.” Colton replied looking up at the clear sky in reflection.
“What did happen, I mean seven years ago, I went to the couch to take a nap and woke up here.”
“You know what happened Tyson; it’s been spoken of hundreds of time.” The commander responded walking over to the Stalkers corpse to claim back his arrow.
“It’s different though, you were outside. The only one outside as far as we know and I’m just curious.”
Colton looked at the young man under his command, their difference in age so few yet experience and knowledge spread them far apart. He was only a year older than the man was now when it occurred, no one knew what really had happened and his knowledge was only known to the militia’s researchers and scouts. Colton knew that everyone would learn eventually, just not today.
“Not today, now get Julian and his team down here. Have them remove this dead weight and research it. This is probably the best corpse we have, only minor damage.”
The boy nodded and rushed off doing as he was told. No one questioned his authority, he was the leader of his clan. He had formed it, helped assemble it and continued to be head of most of its operations. He was an adventurer, not a pencil pusher or business men, and that’s why people respected him.
He walked through the town with people greeting him as he passed and he responding with a nod or hello, making his way towards the stone and metal wall that had been put together. It was a bit damage from creatures and attempted raids but it still held strong.
“Shouldn’t you be up in the tower Commander?” Asked a Scottish voice.
“I’m not like that Emmett; you should know that by now.”
“Well that’s ironic, perhaps you should consider it though sir, and with all due respect if this facility loses you then we’re going down in flames.”
“On the contrary, it still has you, Kaleb, Julian, and Mateo, along with Tyson. I’m sure you can hold down the fort.”
“Probably, but it still wouldn’t be as powerful as it would be today.”
“I need not a lecture of our union’s power. A Stalker slipped in, think it was just a scout though. It’s dead so we don’t need to worry about it, but still, can you find where it slipped in.”
“We’re upgrading the entire wall right now, probably slipped in through an older section. Nothing to worry about sir, we’re finishing the upgrades tonight.”
“Excellent, keep me posted. I’m off to check in with Mateo now.”
The builder nodded then went back to his repairs as his leader once more began strolling, this time to the tower, a large fortified structure made of stone and steel. It was the first and strongest structure, able to be used as a temporary shelter for the whole town if it was needed. It’s also where most of the planning comes from, whether it be town related or other missions.
Colton entered the facility; men straightened their backs as he passed. He then climbed the stairs up to the top floor, pushing through the door and into the lab.
“Ah, Colton, what a pleasure to see you, what brings you to my humble domain?” The scientist asked.
“How’s our power project going Mateo?”
The man looked down, “I’ve tried every combination available, abandoned the lab three times to save my own life and not one result gave us anything we can use for a power supply, just explosives which you’ve weaponized.”
“I’m sorry to hear, what about your Reset theory.”
Mateo shook his head. “Still nothing, here’s what we know for sure. Seven years ago, our planet for some reason completely reset itself to a point similar to after the dinosaurs held reign over it, thus we’re here, waking in different places, with different clothing and equipment. The alleged cause of this Reset of course being some green explosion thing, which sent a shift in our environment, disintegrating all the structures and killing most of mankind. After that we have nothing.It could be extra-terrestrial, although it seems pretty out there it would explain the equipment and possible mutations in certain species.
“How can you be so sure about that?”
“I’m not, but it sure as hell would explain the monsters, existence. Julian ran me a sketch his team took of the inside of the Ravenger. At first I was confused then I realized something. The sketch of the Ravenger’s corpse, reminded me of something similar to a wolfs biometrics, then I thought, perhaps these were test subjects or something.
“Do you have any other possible leads besides aliens?”
“No, the only other information known about that day is that there was a high amount of solar activity, possibly a flare heading our way but nothing else.”
“Alright then, looks like we’re going to be waiting a little longer until this whole mess is figured out. Thank you for you work thus far.
Mateo nodded, “No worries Colton, I’ll keep watching the skies and listening to ground, we’ll figure this out sir!”
Colton nodded, and then exited the lab wishing the doctor good luck. He then traversed down the stairs to the floor below. Their men sat discussing plans, strategize and things involving the future of the base and its people.
An old man stood up from his seat, telling his colleagues he’d be back and approached Colton. “You’re late kid.”
The man then led Colton to a door, taking them into a private meeting hall. “You said noon, it’s noon Kaleb.”
“When I say noon, you come half an hour early.”
“Then say eleven thirty.”
Kaleb shook his head at the commander, “Forget it, now we have something that needs to be spoken of.”
“Well go on and start speaking.”
“Our members are prepared to pull together adventure groups, ones to canvas the area far and wide. Give another week and we’ll be ready to take to the forests and grasslands.”
“Well, that’s not going to work. We don’t have electricity let alone a way to communicate over long distances. I know you’re not just speaking about day trips Kaleb, I know how you spin things. You’re going to tell the Board that they won’t do anything until we have the proper technology to supply something like that.” Colton stated forcefully.
“I think this is a bit out of your area of expertise boy.”
“Don’t, boy, me Kaleb! We all know how tricky you can be; if not for you mentoring me when this all began I would have thrown you out of here for pulling all the stunts you have pulled.”
“You wouldn’t, even if you had such power. I am the highest authority in this room!”
“Who do the men salute, who do they follow? Me or you?”
Kaleb remained silent.
“Exactly, now what’s the status on monster movement in the area, details please?”
Kaleb nodded, “Stalker movement has been minimal, and Ravengers are wolf like at heart, no movement. However… we think we might have a bigger problem, area scouts have consistent reports of a white reptile standing four meters tall with a length of eight meters. Spike tail, horns, bright blue eyes… we may have a Drakin.
Colton rubbed at his face nervously, “That’s very bad… um, okay, triple the guards on the wall and get the bunker ready, no fooling around here, both of us know the situation.”
“Understood… sir.”
Colton continued his day as planned. He left the tower after checking in with Julian, head of medical. He then checked in with the guards in the barracks and the farmers in their fields. A bit of nervousness trailing behind him the rest of the day, Drakin were not prey. He had heard the stories of armies three times their own falling to just a single beast of its kind. They had encountered a dead one prior and knew its looks and armor. It was also assumed to breathe a blue flame breath, but no one was sure of that. Regardless of any of the reports it was certain that they had to be prepared at all times.
By the time Colton had finished, the sun was setting. He walked back to the tower, there he went up a single floor to his medium sized quarters and began to unwind. He took a seat on his comfy sofa, pulled out a book and simply enjoyed this short moment. After this he could prepare dinner and to fall into slumber, there was no need to worry here, everything was perfect.
So he thought until…
“Sir, get out here now, you’re not going to believe this!” Shouted Mateo from outside his door.
“This is serious sir you need to take a look.” Added Tyson.
“The boy’s don’t lie come and see for yourself Colton.” Continued Kaleb
If it had just been Mateo, it could have waited, Tyson and Mateo, perhaps still preferring just to wait, but those two and Kaleb this was something worth seeing.
He jumped from his couch and opened the door following the men up to Mateo’s observatory.
“In the sky, look.”
Colton looked into the air, at first it seemed fine but then…
“What the hell is that?”
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