Chapter 2: The Retreat
The four soldiers around Foxtrot-5 eyed him quizzically.
"Are you sure about that? Have you encountered this kind of beast before?" The lead soldier asked him, ordering them stop to a halt.
"Hey, why did we stop moving? Whether he's right or not, We should keep moving forward. The faster we leave this place, the better." The seriously wounded soldier said. He was riding the cart with the beast because walking by himself proves to be painful for him.
"Yes, I agree. Let's get out of this place. all of us are injured to some extent. If one more beast like this attack us, it would be a problem." The biggest soldier said, nudging the horse forward.
"You are called Foxtrot-5, correct? Would you tell me what's on your mind right now?" The lead soldier asked again.
"No, I have not seen this kind of beast before, It's my first time too." Foxtrot-5 answered solemnly.
"But you said that this beast might be calling out for help."
"I'm not sure, But beasts and animals have this thing in common. They all act on pure instincts. They fight if they think they could win, and run if they think they could not. This beast can't fight anymore and there is no way for it to run. Some animals will just give up and stay quiet to preserve its energy, but this one is still letting out a sharp screech every time. I believe that it's calling for help." He explained slowly.
"So, you're saying that you are not sure yourself. You just based all of this to the behavior of other known animals." The lead soldier said again.
"Yes, That is correct." Foxtrot-5 nodded.
He had been inside the prison for a long time and there are lots of wild beasts and mutated animals out there. There was no way that he can confirm his claim.
There was a global war about 25 years ago. He was not even born at that time but the effects of the war was still very much present to this day. Many countries were destroyed, Mountains being flattened and entire islands disappeared. The gave birth to new kinds of deceases and triggered genetic mutations to some species. The war also made the technology become much more primitive. Vast amount of knowledge were lost.
Foxtrot-5 know all about this as the City Council keep the people reminded to what happened 25 years ago and the evidence about it can still be seen everywhere.
Their City, called Zongco was once a major trading hub, located in a peninsula with the south and west facing the ocean. The east was once a wide river but the war made it look like a barren desert now. The north are mountainous forest.
Foxtrot-5 and his companions are now around 4 kilometers from the city border on the north, but the tall trees make it look like that they are still very far away. No man made structures can be seen except the ruins of war in the past
They were all moving forward silently. The sound of the cart wheel grinding against the ground and the occasional screech of the beast only serve as lullaby for their already tired bodies.
"There is movement behind us, on the left." Foxtrot-5 said, breaking the monotone.
Everyone become suddenly alert. All signs of exhaustion vanished instantly on the faces of the soldiers as they readied their weapons.
"The devil! This beast really called for help." The youngest soldier scuffed, aiming his rifle to the suspected location of the movement.
"Let's increase the pace, the city border is not far from here.' The lead soldier urged them.
"Can we dump the beast here? I believe that they were able to track us because of its blood." Foxtrot-5 suggested.
"Our mission was to bring the creature back alive. We might leave you behind as bait as a final straw but we can't do it to the beast here." The biggest soldier sneered at him.
Foxtrot-5 froze for a second when he realized that piece of fact.
That was perfectly true. He is just a prisoner, His task was only to track the beast and guide these soldiers to the right location. Now that they have accomplished their mission, his task was also finished. He is nothing more that a dead weight.
"Can- Can I at least have a knife to defend myself when it comes down to it?" He asked, unsure where to look.
"Don't worry. We still have our guns with us. Just a few beast like this will not pose a big problem for us." The lead soldier said, smiling at him.
"Yes. We are only tasked to bring one beast alive. It meant that we are allowed to eliminate anything else that might be a danger to us." The youngest soldier seconded with an assuring voice.
They did not make it too far ahead before they finally saw around ten beasts racing towards them.
The chained beast in their cart let out a loud howl and trashed violently once again.
"Short bursts. Fire at will." The lead soldier instructed, stopping the cart against a big slab of rock.
They position themselves so that their backs are facing the big rock, serving it as a sturdy wall. They will not worry about being attacked from behind and focus all their fire power towards one specific direction.
Foxtrot-5 was secured with his hands chained once again. He has nowhere to go.
He let out a helpless sigh. There was nothing he can do about it. He just prayed to the gods that the soldiers will be able to repel this attack.
Soon enough, burst of rifle fire erupted. Foxtrot-5 was hidden between the large rock and the cart so can't see much of what was going on. The consistent sound of gunfire and the occasional triumphant cheers of the soldiers was all he needed to convince himself that everything was going well.
"Conserve your ammunition. There are more coming from the hill." Foxtrot-5 recognized the lead soldier's voice amidst the chaotic noise.
"This suckers are very hard to kill, they are fast too."
"Don't let them breach our line."
"On you left!"
The sound of rapid gunfire continued for few more minutes until Foxtrot-5 noticed the pause of every reloads becoming more often and the rate of fire declined. Someone has been injured.
"Prepare the exploding boxes, there are too many of them. We will create a big fireball and make a tactical retreat."
Foxtrot-5 has never been to military but he know what an exploding box is. It's basically a bomb that can be either triggered manually of remotely. The explosion created by Exploding boxes varies depending on how it was set up. It can blow a small window without damaging its frame or it can create a big fireball that can engulf an entire village.
"Move aside!" Foxtrot-5 was flung to the side when one of the soldiers rushed towards him and removed a crate from under the cart. The soldier left as fast as he arrived. There was no time to chat.
"Suppressive fire, I will set up the box." The lead soldier's voice echoed once more.
Foxtrot-5 noticed the rate of gunfire becoming steady and the pauses of reloads became unnoticeable. He tried to stand to get a better view of what was happening.
Most of his view was still blocked by the huge rock but the carnage was visible to him. Countless of beasts lay motionless on the ground. Some of the bodies where shredded and some were torn apart. Blood filled the ground and most of the trees in the vicinity has already caught fire and were now burning.
'That's the city soldiers for you' He mumbled to himself.
The soldiers were still firing their weapons, but this time their targets were farther now.
The beasts, mindless as they were, knew that making a step forward will spell instant death for them. The countless dead on the ground was a clear testament to it.
"The box is ready, let's move out." The lead soldier's voice rang out once more.
One by one, the soldiers move towards the cart while firing their weapons continuously. Foxtrot-5 watched in astonishment as they finally moved away from the big rock. He counted at least 30 dead beasts on the ground, while more can be heard howling at the hill behind them.
"Hah! That was quiet some action for one day." The biggest soldier said with a lively voice.
"Thank the Gods that our ammo was enough. Another hour with those beasts and we will all be dead." The youngest soldier murmured.
Nods of agreements. They knew too well that it would happen if they stayed on that place longer.
"What if the beasts on the hill chase us?" Foxtrot-5 asked in a low voice.
"Then they will trig--
BOOOOOOM!!!
The words of the lead soldier was drowned by a sudden explosion that shook everything in the nearby surroundings. Foxtrot-5 was jolted as he was thrown forward, almost hitting the ground with his face. The horse that was pulling the cart yelped in fright and fell down, dislodging all its cargo on the ground.
They were just about a couple hundred meters from the base of the explosion but the shock wave still knocked the air out of his lungs. Huge pile of dust and debris flew in every direction and quickly followed by a huge pillar of smoke.
"That was what I was going to say." The lead soldier said as he offered a hand to help him stand up.
"That's a good signal too. The sound of the explosion must have reached the city. Someone will surely come to investigate. If we are lucky, we might even get a ride back." The biggest soldier said with a bright smile on his face.
"The horse is done for, Its not getting up on its feet." The youngest soldier said, taking everyone's attention.
"Just abandon it. We will pull the cart ourselves from here on." The lead soldier answered.
Foxtrot-5 walked towards the youngest soldier to help it unrein the horse from the cart. He was the only one who has not contributed anything to the group and all the soldiers are exhausted already. He will volunteer to pull the cart himself.
He was a few steps away from the horse when he noticed a sudden movement from his side. Chains dropped on the ground with a ringing sound and the sound of wood breaking.
"Watch out!" Foxtrot-5 shouted, trying to reach out the youngest soldier in front of him.
It happened so fast that everyone was not able to react. The youngest soldier was lifted off his feet while sharp claws pierced through his chest from behind.
The chained beast somehow managed to break away from its chains and quickly regained its strength.
Foxtrot-5 tried to move to somehow help the young soldier but he felt a sudden force on is shoulder and belly.
He was knocked back with a force comparable to being hit with a solid punch. He tried to back away from the beast, suspecting that it was the one who attacked him. As he looked up, he saw the beast falling on his direction. He was in so much pain that he was not able to get out of the way. The beast fell motionless towards him, pinning him to the ground.
It was the time that Foxtrot-5 became aware to what actually happened. As soon as the the beast attacked the young soldier, One of his comrade fired his weapon instinctively. The beast was riddled with bullets and he also got hit along the way.
It's a good thing that the beast's skin was rather thick. The bullets doesn't puncture through both sides and hitting him with it. Somehow, the beast became his personal body armor as he can still hear gunfire. The motionless beast on top of him vibrates as it was being shot at.
"It's already dead. I'm here." Foxtrot-5 shouted on the top of his lungs.
"Wait. Stop." He heard the lead soldier said.
Finally, the gunfire stopped.
Foxtrot-5 exhaled loudly. The sheer weight of the beast above him is already making his breathing hard. Being shot at while pinned to the ground with a heavy weight on the chest reminded him of the tortures he had gone through in the prison.
Sometime later, he was already sitting by the cart wreckage as his wounds was treated by the lead soldier. The beast's blood that got stuck on his skin was finally washed away with the little water they have.
The seriously wounded soldier and the youngest one were killed. Their bodies lie side by side. Their faces were covered by their outer uniform with their badges glinting in the afternoon sun.
"What happened? We were sure that this beast was wounded that it was barely moving. How did it recover so fast in such a short time?" The biggest soldier asked in anger as he kicked the lifeless beast on the ground.
"Sadly, we may not be able to find that out anymore. You killed it." The lead soldier answered.
" Are you saying that what I did was wrong?"
"Our mission was to bring the beast back alive. We just failed it!" The lead soldier lashed back.
"So you are saying that I should have let the beast do what it wanted. It was inches away from killing this man too." The soldier pointed his finger towards Foxtrot-5 who remained quiet all this time.
"You were inches away from killing him too. You shot the beast with him on your line of fire."
"Pssssh! He's just a prisoner, few wounds like that is nothing to the likes of him.
The back and forth argument of the two soldiers continued for a while until they heard a sharp whistle ahead of them.
Foxtrot-5 was already exhausted and he lost plenty of blood. He just closed his eyes and tried not to listen anymore.
"Finally, The border guards." The lead soldier said as he stood up, waving the flag with the city insignia above his head.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone