𝖘𝖊𝖙𝖚𝖕

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𝕷𝖔𝖘𝖙 𝕮𝖍𝖎𝖑𝖉

𝕻𝖗𝖔𝖑𝖔𝖌𝖚𝖊 𝐈: 𝕱𝖑𝖆𝖗𝖊𝖘 𝖘𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖊 𝖇𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖜𝖍𝖊𝖓 𝖎𝖙'𝖘 𝖉𝖆𝖗k

Defy thy tools, lest they rise against thou—Type XII

| Alpha-squad Captain |

“Alpha squad reporting, ma’am, Sector 5. Anti-psycho targets are still at large.”

| Commander Whitefox |  

“Psycorp has issued a warrant for their execution. Show no mercy to the terrorists.”

| Alpha-squad Captain |

“Ma’am! With all due respect, my unit is woefully unprepared for this. What are we up against? The men are beyond spooked, and we have nothing to go off.”

The captain turned towards her 12-man unit, guarding her.

While the captain spoke, the whole squad formed a perimeter around her, watching her 3 O'clock, 9 O'clock, and 6 O'clock positions.

| Commander Whitefox |

“That information is above your pay grade, Captain, and I cannot help you with that. With that said, I have received authorization to disclose some general details. Stand by while I commence the transfer.”

| Alpha-squad Captain |

“Commencing stand-by orders, ma’am! Over and out.” 

The captain switched off all her comms while signaling her unit to move forward.

| Alpha-squad Scout | A-009 |

“What is commander Whitefox thinking? Has she forgotten her time in the field?”

The squad members were numbered from one to twelve based on their ranks.

| Alpha-squad Vice |

“You’re out of line, soldier. Our comman—”

Just then, an unearthly roar echoes out of the decrepit structures surrounding the unit. The abandoned structures were creaking against their weight.

| Alpha-squad Rear Guard | A-008 |

“Shit, man, did you hear that crazy howl!? What do you think that is!?!?”

The soldiers started trembling and wildly looking all over for the source of the sound, breaking their formation.

Each squad member had a precise role in their squad.

| Alpha-squad Captain |

“Rookies, stay focused and get back in line, or you'll jeopardize us all.” 

The captain barked her orders while readying her stance.

| Alpha-squad Vanguard | A-003 |

“It's just the wind, don't lose focus now!”

 The third-in-command was trying to reassure the others as he had more experience than the rest in such operations.

But his words didn’t do much to calm their nerves. 

Everyone was on high alert as the squad carefully moved through the desolate parts of the abandoned old city.

| Alpha-squad Vice |

“Watch out for unstable footing. Steady as you go. Look for collapses on the road. It's a long drop.”

The vice had seen his fair share of men fall to their deaths below.

These roads stood 300 meters in the air, supported by various structures and buildings. The funds to demolish these had fallen through, and the city had never bothered to demolish them.

| Alpha-squad Heavy Assault | A-005 |

“Damn it, where could there be hiding? We've made it to the 98th floor, and nothing.” 

The soldier all shared his sentiment. Most of them were pushing their limits, and many of them started falling behind the rest.

These elites were the best Psycorps had to offer—a paramilitary force trained to respond to all incidents. But today’s mission was beyond anything they had faced before.

Eliminate the terrorists and recover the stolen prototypes.

| Alpha-squad Captain |

“Keep calm! We learn, and we adapt. Scout team, what's your report? Any signs of life?” 

The captain was half-joking and wanted to break the heavy tension the team was facing. 

She wasn’t expecting anything. Not after not seeing anything throughout their entire trip, and especially not this far up. 

Her question was directed to the two scout units who were far ahead and leading the group. They were equipped with far more specialized gear than the rest and carried heavy equipment meant for mapping and scanning the areas in front of them. 

| Alpha-squad Scout | A-004 |

“Our infra-reds have picked up no signs. However, X-rays have indicated some sort of abnormality on the floor above us, and we cannot yet make out what they are.”

The two scouts at the end of the hall were looking straight up in amazement

*Bizzzztt*

| Alpha-squad Scout | A-009 |

“Something is up on the floor above. Our electronic scanners are being actively jammed. Something's up there, Captain!” 

The scout started panicking while quickly taking off his helmet and listening device. 

His entire suit was malfunctioning. The error codes and lights on his suit were going haywire while buzzing various electronic noises.

Soon the error spread to the entire team, and they had to take off their equipment urgently. 

ᛟᚢᚱ ᚠᛚᛖᛋᚺ ᚠᛟᚱ ᚤᛟᚢᚱ ᛒᛟᚾᛖᛋ ᛈᛋᚤᚲᚺᛟ!

Their visual aids showed indecipherable runes and signals, filling their comms with static and eerie metallic-sounding chatter.

| Alpha-squad Captain |

“Quick, detonate the suits. We've been compromised. Pile them up at the center and lay the charges!”

The whole team took off their exo-suits. Fearing that, even a little delay would allow the suit time to work against them and crush them like tin cans.

| Alpha-squad Vice |

“Throw out everything, all sensors, all comms, all life support systems. Just keep your weapons on you, and we'll go full manual.”

Soon the entire team piled all their equipment at the center of the hall.

The suits were vibrating and convulsing all on their own, standing by themselves, jittering and walking around as if possessed. Their suits started to jumble and tangle up, bending and twisting their steel and titanium frames into one another.

| Alpha-squad Rear Guard | A-011 |

“C-captain, w-w-what the hell is h-happening!?!? It's creating something; what on earth is that monstrosity?”

The whole pile was rearranging itself, creating a mechanized weapon.

The machine guns and rifles on their suits were getting ready to discharge a blast to erase the entire squad.

| Alpha-squad Captain |

“Cancel order! Don't set the charge! We'll only bury ourselves. This entire structure is unstable and will come down. Retreat. Full retreat!”

 The captain issued a new order realizing her mistake.

The whole squad had to flee immediately, or else they were in danger of being wiped out.

 As they retraced their steps to find the stairs, they realized the hopelessness of their entire situation. They were trapped!

It was too dark to see inside the building without assistance from their sensors, and finding the stairs would not be challenging.

| Alpha-squad Captain |

“Thank God I found it! Head for the floor below.”

The captain yelled as she lit up an extra flare she had on her and fired it out in a desperate attempt to find the stairs. 

Her men did the same as the whole squad had scattered in an attempt to locate the stairs in the darkness.

| Alpha-squad Vice |

“Over here, men. Follow me.” 

The vice shouted, leading the squad into the darkness below. 

Their situation was beyond hopeless. They had to cover ninety-seven floors with their limited supply of flares. And whatever it was that they left behind, the unknown enemy was preparing to come after them and hunt them down.

| Alpha-squad Captain |

“EMPs! Where are EMPs!? Our lives depend on it. There's no other way! Do we have any way to contact HQ? To send out an S.O.S signal? We may be long dead by the time they arrive. But at least we can inform them. We have some intel on the enemy.” 

The captain steadied her tone and put on a brave front despite the hopeless situation.

All humans, no matter how brave, cower in the face of death. Yet you, most of all, need to remain calm and composed as captain; that is your duty. 

The words of her commander Whitefox, who was captain before her, started to resound in her mind.

The difference between succumbing to a hopeless situation and surviving was a thin line. 

As a new captain, it was her duty, and she would do anything to bring her men safely back home.

| Alpha-squad Support Carrier | A-012 |

“Captain! We're saved! I found an EMP, and it’s all we have. The rest were in our suits.” 

It was their youngest member, a rookie, that gave them a sliver of hope.

While the squad had no idea where they were, they could still see each other through their passively self-illuminating suits as they faintly glowed a light-green hue. 

Each member had a unique marking, and each member memorized the other's insignia.

In the darkness, the vice-captain stepped forward, clumsily reaching out toward the rookie. He felt for the EMP the rookie held out. Grabbing the rookie's arm, he took it and ran his hands over the device.

| Alpha-squad Vice |

“...this won’t work. It only works in an extremely short range.” 

At his words, that small hope vanished. 

| Alpha-squad Rear Guard | A-011 |

“I didn't sign up for this!”

The rookie was cursing out loud.

| Alpha-squad Medic | A-008 |

“The money was just too good. What use is it if I die!?” 

The medic’s weak voice was barely audible.

| Alpha-squad Advanced Guard | A-006 |

“I have a family. How could this have happened? How could—” 

He said while clenching his teeth and slamming his fist into the ground.

| Alpha-squad Captain |

“That's enough. Just say your final prayers. We all have families here.”

The captain was preparing the team to accept their fate while the noises coming from the stairs were only ramping up.

She closed her eyes, going over and over the events that led them to this moment. Had she done all she could given the circumstance?