CHAPTER 1:

A CHANCE MEETING

It is the Year 2136. The population of Planet Earth is at 25 million. Populated countries remaining amount to less than 20. At around Year 2130, Planet Earth started going through an apocalypse what humans called "The Fever". Human bodies go through a fever to eliminate viral and bacterial hosts to ensure its survival, and now humans are the viruses to Planet Earth.

Eruption of volcanoes, earthquakes over 12.0 on the magnitude scale, cyclones, tsunamis and other natural disasters striking nearly every single piece of land populated by humans. The Fever was unable to be explained by science and has been believed by religious individuals to be wrath of God. Majority of the countries bordering the Equator had been wiped out and only a fraction of the northern nations remain.

Land and resources are endangered and nations are divided. Treaties have been torn, alliances broken and wars have been waged in an attempt to scavenge for each nation's own survival. Hope for the peace and survival of humanity is shrinking.

Freshly released out on to the hectic and wrecked streets of Leicester was Jayce Calzoni, 26 years old. Tall, slim and handsome with dark brown hair and emerald green irises. Jailed for scam and fraud at the age of 19, he was separated from all friends and family for 7 years. The Fever struck shortly after the start of his sentence and he was left all alone. He paced around the streets aimlessly, scanning the city that seems so different from what he had remembered. His mobile phone connection had ended and his pockets were empty as a beggar's.

He trod hopelessly down the pathway as civilians scurried around and past him, leaving him more confused than ever. He paused at a news stand and watched on the hologram screen as footage of destruction, disasters and war around the world flashed. Feeling both dumbfounded and lost, he saw an open bar and pushed the door open and strode in, hoping for a miracle.

Soldiers made up the majority of those who filled up the bar, along with a few hopeless men by the bar counter. Jayce pulled up a seat and let out a sigh. Beside him was a man dressed up in business wear yet with his buttons out, shirt untucked, with despair no less than Jayce's, it was crystal that they were all in the same boat. His attention was caught by the familiar sigh from Jayce and he turned to examine his fellow boatman.

"Rough day, mate?"

"Rough life." Jayce lamented. At that point they had made a connection where a mutual understanding for each other's plight was formed. If hope had been the currency of the world, the both of them would have been even poorer than they already were.

"Name's Artemus Wyght. But you can call me Arty." Artemus was an average height man of a larger build than average with jet black hair and brown irises.

"Jayce Calzoni."

An awkward silence ensued for moments before they started exchanging personal questions to deepen their bond. Jayce had a love in high school called Nora Herwitz and were eventually separated after he was jailed and The Fever struck. With a gifted intellect and promising grades, he had a bright future but 'mistakes were made', as he explained.

Artemus 'Arty' Wyght was closing in on 30 years old and thus desperate for a breakthrough with his career but had only lost it in his desperation. As a result his wife of 5 years left him and had taken away huge fractions of his assets as a result of the divorce. Jobs were as rare as resources these days with the war and chaos raging on, it left him in the same sorry state as Jayce.

Arty slowly explained to Jayce in detail of how The Fever started and how Planet Earth had been impacted. First signs were picked up when tectonic plates started cracking in the most unscientific ways and consequently earthquakes and volcanoes soon followed. More and more men had been deployed for war while women are forced to work and support the homes, having an almost definite chance of becoming widows.

"The planet's in a sorry state, mate. You and I, we're men. You know what that means."

Starting around the Year 2120, the men of England were made compulsory to undergo military training, should war ever strike. Alliances and treaties had started weakening nearing the Year 2115, prompting countries to take defensive measures. England's measure was to force all men to serve the army in one way or another at the age of 16 for a whole year, where they would also gain a military specialization.

It was either fate, coincidence or luck, but both Jayce and Arty were trained to be Infiltration Infantry on the battlefield. As prisoners and high income adults were immune to being deployed for war, they were no longer safe. As the number of men to choose from falls, their military days draws near.

A military general relaxing on one of the couches by the side had overheard their conversation. He stood up tall, flattened out his crumpled shirt from sitting down, patted off some dirt and dust before pacing towards them with dense footsteps.

END OF CHAPTER 1

2: Viper Peregrine

CHAPTER 2:

VIPER PEREGRINE

The general reached into his pouch and fished out a couple of documents. He placed it gently on the counter in between Jayce and Arty, stuffed his rugged hands back into pockets and awaited their response. The pair stared at the documents silently for a few seconds, noticing only the military crest on the top of the page and long paragraphs of words. The crest was that of a lion, snake and a eagle bearing a shield with the England flag printed on it.

"What's this?" Jayce questioned.

"The two of you. You're jobless, penniless, friendless. Hopeless. I can fix that."

The general picked up the documents and turned it around to face them. He explained the documents - it was to draft them for the war. The military would provide a career, food, shelter and comrades. Things Jayce and Arty needed. But there were the disclaimers. Should any death, injury or any harm occur to the individual, the military will not be held responsible nor will they have the need to compensate their families.

Families were not something Jayce or Arty had much of and they understood the terms. But there was this line that caused much more consideration to be done. At the bottom of the page, it said:

'By signing this document, the signer agrees to serve and fight the war till the end of the war or his/her life.'

Jayce and Arty looked at each other unanimously and stared back at the general.

"You want us to sell our soul to the devil?" said Arty curtly.

"We're not exactly the devil. But let's be honest. You two don't have much of choice. Might as well do something for the nation, right?" The general made a compelling argument. Both of them had nothing and nobody to live for, and thus nothing to lose. Food and shelter was all they needed. Comrades were a bonus. Jayce nodded gently to Arty and turned to the general.

"Let's do it", Jayce said, gesturing for a pen. The pair read the documents carefully once again before signing their life away. The general received the papers back and glanced at them satisfied. He stuffed the papers back into his pouch and held our his hand.

"The name's Ekstrom. Brigadier General Ekstrom." the three of them shook hands and followed him out to the back of the bar. There it parked was a military vehicle with the same crest printed on its doors. Jayce and Arty climbed onto the back while Ekstrom climbed onto the front seat. A driver was already waiting on it and Ekstrom signaled for him to set off.

"Are you sure you don't need to go anywhere to retrieve any belongings or say goodbyes?" Ekstrom said while turning back at them.

"We don't have any." Jayce replied, and looked back down at the floor of the vehicle. Ekstrom nodded and the vehicle was bound for the military base in London.

A ride for what seemed like days and months passed and the military base HQ was now in sight. As the military vehicle pulled up to the base, Ekstrom hopped off and instantly the soldiers in the vicinity dropped whatever they had been doing and saluted him.

"At ease, soldiers!" Ekstrom commanded. Jayce and Arty followed him while many soldiers glanced at them with eyes that seemed almost judgmental. Jayce glanced around the base and observed what he could. The infrastructure and technology were just like he remembered, nothing different. Laser rifles, vibration-absorbent armor, helmets with X-Ray vision, condition analysis and built-in virtual mapping and commands sent from the HQ. Gamma bombs and tachyon missiles and bombs were lined up in warehouses ready for deployment at anytime.

However one thing was different. There were constant lines of troops boarding military planes and battleships to go out for war. Planes and battleships had marks like "ENG - JAP", "ENG - RUS", "ENG - USA", etc. printed on the bodies.

"Something tells me those ain't World Cup scores." Arty chuckled and Jayce followed suit. Humor hadn't been a common phenomenon in prison and Jayce had treasured the first sign of it in what felt like a hundred years.

Ekstrom passed them onto the hands of Captain H. Ornelas and explained that they would join the troop under Ornelas for the upcoming battle. They then watched on as Ekstrom strolled off out of sight.

"Jayce. Artemus. Infiltration is arguably the most dangerous post. You've been trained well but you should know that we travel the lightest on both weapons and men, so we would get massacred in a regular gunfight. But you should know all these well. You have a week to get back into shape before we fly off for Japan. You'll join Bunk 6. Rest well for the night." Ornelas explained sternly while leading them to their bunk.

The door slid open and the eyes of 3 soldiers inside locked onto them almost immediately. Ornelas did brief introductions for them before returning to his own bunk, leaving them to socialize and bond. These 4 soldiers, including Arty, were the comrades Jayce was going to depend on for the upcoming battle. His life depended on them. Trust was not his forte and this proved to be a test he had to endure.

The 3 soldiers comprised of 1 male and 2 females, Kanith, Ling and Rissa.

Kanith was born in India before moving to England to escape the destruction from The Fever. He was an electrical engineer before an earthquake destroyed most of his company assets and he was retrenched. He was exceptionally tall and muscular but had a slightly simpler mind.

Ling was a seamstress from Northeastern China and was sent to England by her family to escape the warfare from Japan and was left jobless. She was tall for female and slightly muscular, but was still less of a dominant woman than one would expect.

Rissa had a job in a prestigious hotel before wars started raging and the need for hotels were lost along with her job. She was a very attractive lady with foxy, seductive brown eyes and a slim, hourglass body with stunning body assets. One could describe her as a beauty with a brain, as she had no lack of either.

It was at this point when Jayce realized that the government was deploying not only men but also women for war. The new world called for new laws, as Rissa explained it. Arty did his introduction and now it was Jayce's turn to introduce himself to the team.

"I'm... I was. I was a con man. Sort of. Jailed for 7 years for scam and fraud." Jayce spoke softly, before looking up to check their reactions.

Kanith and Rissa were indifferent but Ling was slightly irked. Ling went on to question what Jayce did exactly, who he scammed and what he did that was considered fraud. Before Jayce replied anything, Kanith cut her off and said,

"What does it matter? It's in the past. We're comrades now. That means we're family. Family don't judge each other."

Jayce smiled softly before a Lieutenant walked by and signaled it was for time for bed. The lights went out and Jayce laid still on his cozy, cold bed. The bed might have been considered hard to normal civilians, but it was soft as a marshmallow compared to the ones he slept on while serving his sentence.

His thoughts wandered back to his past, during his time in high school. He thought of his best friends, teachers, family, and most of all Nora. He missed them so much and these thoughts only reminded him of how alone he was currently.

The complete silence in the bunk only worsened the ache in his heart. He pulled out a photo of Nora and looked at her. He kept this photo throughout his time in his cell and was his only source of hope in prison. She was once again his only source of hope, hoping to meet her again one day.

He turned and looked at Artemus who was already fast asleep and snoring away. In the midst of all this misfortune, he was thankful to have made friends with him. But he begun to wonder if he had made the right choice enlisting. His soul did not belong to him anymore.

The training week started and Jayce and Arty got back into shape fast. Jayce had impressed Ornelas with his exceptional marksmanship, and also his skills in manipulating computer software which he explained was from his time studying computer science back in school, and as well as from books he read while in jail.

Artemus showed great skill in bomb disposal and engineering, along with skills in breaking physical locks. Kanith proved to be an expert in electrical devices and circuits, knowledge from his time as an electrical engineer. Rissa showed her high levels of flexibility and physical capabilities, fitting an ideal physical infiltrator. Ling showed a mere adequate level of skill in every aspect, much to Ornelas' disappointment. However she had fantastic linguistic abilities, giving herself a plus.

The week flew by and the team was combat ready. Their team was given the code name Viper, while the members were given one respectively. Jayce was given "Scorpion", Artemus was given "Shark", Kanith was "Grizzly", Rissa "Fox" and Ling "Badger". They moved out and marched briskly toward their plane "Peregrine". Peregrine was a Missile Plane; a small plane built for speed and stealth, with built-in retro-reflective panels and nuclear turbo boosts for visual invisibility and unparalleled speed, respectively.

"Aptly named," Kanith commented on Peregrine. He went on to explain, "Peregrine Falcons are the fastest animal alive with a speed of over 389 km/h. They've kept the title ever since they were discovered hundreds of years ago-"

"Oh shut it, Grizzly." Ornelas yelled, yet smiling afterwards and the team chuckled. Viper boarded Peregrine which was compact but snug. They each entered their own pod specialized for resting in super speed flight and got comfortable. Permission came from the radio tower for it to take off and minutes later the Viper Peregrine jetted off for Japan.

END OF CHAPTER 2

 

3: Trapped

CHAPTER 3:

TRAPPED

As Peregrine zoomed over lands that once used to be countries, images of the destroyed nations are flashed on to the hologram screen in the plane. The whole of Africa, Middle-East, Southern China, and India were naught but ruins. Melancholy flashed across Kanith's face when he looked at the screen and saw his homeland - now filled with only death and destruction.

"So, Capt said that Japan is one of the countries that managed to successfully create Beasts, right? You think our troops could win?" Artemus attempted to cheer Kanith up by initiating a little chatting. Bio-engineered beasts or simply Beasts for short, were a technological advancement that succeeded in around the Year 2112. Military scientists successfully engineered breeds of monsters and beasts for warfare that were controllable by computer chips embedded in their nervous system. England had failed to make this advancement as compared to countries like Japan and Russia, but were able to engineer much more advanced weaponry for human warfare.

"I don't think it's them you should worry about. You'll encounter them in the base too, y'know." Ling remarked snidely.

"We'll encounter them. We're gonna work together. With or without you." Artemus retorted. Ornelas heard the exchange and came over to break things up before it gets heated. He made sure Viper understood to work together and warned Ling against more unpleasant comments.

Peregrine closed in on the seas of Japan and Jayce was re-checking his equipment. Ling pulled Rissa to a corner and started whispering.

"We're going to war. We need to know who we can trust and rely on. How much do you think we can trust an ex-convict?" Ling mumbled while staring at Jayce cynically. Rissa shook her shoulders before Ornelas signaled for them to start gearing up.

Ornelas gathered Viper, who were all geared up. Infiltration Infantry had a different set of armor as compared to regular infantry. They had much lighter armor, and thus less defense as it contained lesser armor plates to ease movements. Boots had also no armor plates at all, but in return was almost completely silent. Laser rifles were substituted for laser pistols and snipers which were much more lightweight but carried lesser damage. Also instead of helmets, they wore military shades which had same functions as a helmet, but once again had lesser defense.

"Nobody likes repeated briefing, but I'll do it again. Remember. Our objective is to infiltrate and gain information based on what the Japan Military had been working on and what other plans they have. Their Beasts broke free before they could embed the computer chips and tore up the place. Which means hey never had the chance to clear the data there. We need to get in, get it, get out. Understood?" Ornelas briefed in a loud tone.

"Yes sir!" Viper shouted in unison.

Peregrine was now crossing the border into Japan and stealth mode was engaged. Retro-reflective panels turned on and engines turned silent. Viper equipped their mechanical wings and stood by the cargo door readied. It was late into the night at 1am. The skies were dark and perfect for stealth infiltration.

Before leading the jump, Ornelas signaled to the rest of the team. Five Four. Three. Two. One. And he leapt off the plane. Viper followed suit and jumped off the Peregrine one by one and expanded their wings. They started to glide down while Peregrine's autopilot led it to land in the vicinity, for escape purposes.

Viper followed the lead of Ornelas and they managed to glide and land safely just outside the gates of the military base. They abandoned their wings and sneaked towards the side gates.

"Fox, you're up. Do a brief recon of the gates." Ornelas whispered in the radio chat.

Rissa, donned in what Viper called the "black mamba" suit, crept across the field. The Black Mamba suit was basically the regular armor suit, but with all armor parts and equipment detached. Entirely black, skin-tight and weightless. It was perfect for camouflage in the dead of night. After several minutes, Rissa slithered back.

"All clear, Viper." She stated.

"Head for the gates." Ornelas ordered. The team sneaked over to the gates where it was locked with a virtual encryption. Jayce pulled out his decryptor and attached it to the lock. Numbers and symbols popped up on the screen in random orders and patterns while the rest of Viper were confused. After mere seconds of fast finger movement and button typing the screen showed:

- UNLOCKED -

Ling was reluctantly impressed while the rest whispered "Good job" in the radio chat. Ornelas opened the gate carefully and led the team in. Jayce popped the same magic on the base's main door and it slid open loudly. Viper froze and looked at each other, awaiting orders from Ornelas.

They waited silently for a few moments and made sure that none of the Beasts heard it. They successfully entered the military base. However as soon as they entered, the door slammed shut behind them loudly. As soon as that happened, they heard a cry. A screeching, eerie cry that was recognized immediately by Ornelas.

"That. That was a Banshee." he explained. Banshees were a highly feared breed of the Beasts that caused terror just by its signature cry alone. It was known to possess tentacle-like hair all over its head and yet looked very much humanoid except for black spikes all over its overly-slim body. They were capable of crawling at speeds beyond human capability and could take down a human before being noticed. Despite its size, it had known to be strong enough to overpower even the bulkiest human and had razor fangs that injected deadly venom once punctured.

As Ling and Rissa trembled, Ornelas gestured for Jayce to try for reopening the door. However before Jayce could move, the door's lock system self-destructed, turning the door into an immovable, 100-ton metal junk. This time, the self-destruct noise alerted much more Beasts. A mix of cries echoed across the hallway and it struck fear into the hearts of Viper. Intelligence had suggested that this was a top-secret military base and thus had only one door in and out. They were trapped.

Jayce gripped Rissa's arm, steadying her emotions while Ling was left alone.

"Don't despair. There has to be another way out. Focus on the mission first."

Ornelas decided to split up the team for the upcoming fork in the hallway. Artemus, Ling and Kanith went down the left while Jayce, Ornelas and Rissa went down the right.

"Keep in touch with the radio chat," reminded Ornelas. Each group made their way down gradually and discreetly as they entered a different room.

Jayce, Ornelas and Rissa stopped by a corner before the path turns down into the room. Jayce sneaks a small tube on the floor around the corner, which then transfers the vision picked up by the tube to the glasses of the trio. A huge, scaly, muscular monstrosity with long black claws filled with poison was lurking around in the room filled with all sorts of equipment, gadgets and weaponry.

"That's a Bulk. We have a Bulk over in our room over here. Artemus, how is your group doing over there?" Ornelas whispered into the radio chat.

"We've found the data room, Sir." Arty replied. However before Ornelas could show signs of content, he went on to the burst the bubble. "It's crawling with Reapers, Sir. And a couple of Bulks."

Reapers. Huge, wasp-like monsters with venom deadlier than that of any other Beast. Fortunately it moves slow and is easy to kill but was still as treacherous as any other Beast. Artemus had miniature microwave bombs which could take out all the Reapers at once but Bulks would take more than that. Also, a bomb's noise would set off the Bulks in the Weapon Room. Viper stayed still while they tried to devise a plan, but Jayce had already plotted it out.

"Listen to me guys. I've got a plan."

END OF CHAPTER 3

 

4: The Banshee

Chapter 4

THE BANSHEE

As Jayce explained his devised tactic to the team, the Bulks grunted restlessly, as if having detected the unfamiliar human presence in the building. The tension in the air built up by the second and the slightest spark could ignite the entire situation.

"Shark, estimate how many M-Wave Grenades you'll need to clear out the Reapers. Toss it on our mark, and run towards us." Jayce explained. Before Ling could interrupt, he continued.

"The explosion will set off the Bulks in both our rooms. Ours will run straight into a trap we'll set and it'll be taken down. Humans can outrun Bulks so we'll grab the weapons and equipment in our room. The Bulks from your room will be charging straight into our gunfire."

"Brilliant, Scorpion. Brilliant. Viper, heard that? That's exactly what we'll do. Get ready." Ornelas ordered. Jayce and Rissa immediately set up a trap comprising of wired ropes to trip the Bulk. Bulks had a weakness at the back of their neck and it would be exposed. Artemus counted the Reapers and prepared 2 grenades. The plan was ready to go and Viper was awaiting the mark.

Ornelas whispered in the radio chat, "Ready? Five, four, three, two, one. Go!"

Arty tossed the grenades and immediately ran off with Ling and Kanith. The explosion had disintegrated the Reapers almost instantly. It burnt the Bulks and they spun around angrily. The explosion set off the Bulk in the Weapons Room and it charged straight into the trap and fell. Jayce drew his mechanical sword and stabbed it through the back of the neck. A clean hit. It killed him but now they had the two from the Data Room to worry about.

The trio from the Data Room arrived and they grabbed the first guns or mechanical crossbows they saw. They sat prepared and as soon as the Bulks arrived, they were met with a mix of gunfire and mechanical arrows and were stumbled immediately. Rissa drew her mechanical double daggers and sprinted. She ran up and leapt off the wall, slashing across the first Bulk's neck and stabbing the second's.

She landed with them and hopped off in style. As she sheathed her daggers, she was faced with the impressed faces of Viper.

"Damn, girl. That was sweet, Fox." Ornelas praised. Apart from Jayce, Ornelas had rarely praised others and the rest of the team could detect his affection for Rissa growing. Jayce was genuinely impressed and gave Rissa an acknowledging smirk before walking by. Viper walked by the carcasses of the Bulks and were irked by the atrocity of the monster. Ornelas then lead the team who brisk walked towards the Data Room.

In the Data Room, the team was faced with three huge hologram screens and wide computer keyboard. Alas the keyboard characters were Japanese and Viper had to rely on the one member they wished they didn't have to. Ling smirked and strolled over the keyboard, studying the Japanese characters. Jayce then guided her into navigating through the files and breaking to their system. Meanwhile, Rissa and Artemus stood guard by the door to watch for more Beasts while Ornelas and Kanith looked around for clues on an alternate exit.

After roughly half an hour, they navigated deep enough into the data and managed to find military plans against England.

"Get the ones for the other countries as well, they're useful leverage." Ornelas reminded. Jayce nodded and extracted it before keeping the memory drive safely. Kanith gathered the team and showed a map of the place he found. There were no alternate exits and the hallway was of a simple structure. The fork from the entrance leads past the Weapon Room and Data Room respectively, before it reconnects and goes down straight, with entrances to bunks and storehouses along it which eventually led into dead ends. The path then leads straight down to a solid wall.

"This is it. We're trapped. We retrieved the information, but for nothing." Ling lamented.

"No. We can transfer the data back to HQ using their computer system. Jayce, get on it." Ornelas instructed. Jayce returned to the computers while the rest studied the map.

"It's just not possible for a military base to have only one way in and out, no matter how secret. It's impractical." Ornelas said while scratching his head, looking across Viper to see if anyone had ideas. A theory hit Artemus and his face lit up.

"If it's not on the map, it's secret. Who would know of secrets? The head. Where would the entrance then most logically lie?" Artemus said excitedly.

"The Major's room." Ornelas smiled while patting Arty's shoulder. Jayce had happened to have finished transferring the data and regrouped. They brought him up to speed with Artemus' theory and they headed down the hallway. The hallway was crawling with Beasts and there was no way they could sneak past them all.

"We could use the smoke bomb as a distraction. We just need to throw it far enough down the hallway to lead them away." Jayce looked back at the team. Ornelas approved and now all they needed was someone strong enough to toss a smoke bomb far down the corridor. Heads turned like clockwork to Kanith as he smiled sheepishly. He took over the smoke bomb from Artemus and hurled it.

It landed far down the hallway before exploding into a ball of smoke. Beasts of all sorts were immediately startled and started crawling towards it. Viper took the chance and sneaked into the Major's room and locked the door.

"Guys. Did you see? I'm pretty sure amongst those Beasts, I clearly saw a Banshee crawling through. It's not that attracted to non-human objects and a nose that can smell humans at least 100 meters away. We don't have long before it comes to hunt us down." Jayce had an extremely sharp senses since birth which was something he had used often to his advantage, and eventually for scam and fraud. Ornelas agreed but that was on the bottom of their list of worries at that moment.

The team searched frantically around for clues before finding a secret button under the bed. Ornelas pushed it and the bookcase sunk into the ground revealing a door. However this door was not what they were familiar with. It was an old door made of granite and controlled by an electrical system that seemed outdated. It had made use of electrical circuits instead of electron porting, which was the technology used for most electrical devices in their time.

"This technology is ancient. It's as if it's from the Year 2010." Kanith said, dumbfounded.

"Probably to make sure not just anyone was able to get in. Kanith, can you get through?" Jayce said. Kanith nodded and immediately started working on the circuit with his toolbag. While Kanith worked on the door, the others looked through the peephole to make sure the Beasts hadn't found them yet. The electrical system sparked after a few minutes and the door moved upwards, screeching loudly its way through.

It startled the entire team, but more importantly, all the Beasts in the hallway. After moments of silence, the beasts stomped their way towards the door and started attempting to knock it down. With the strength and ferocity of Beasts like the Bulk, they didn't have long to distance themselves. However, the door's system suddenly self-destructed and the door came falling down.

Kanith immediately ran to support it and was barely able to hold it. The door was held merely 30cm off the floor and Viper had to crawl through underneath one by one. Before they could help lift it, they were interrupted by Kanith.

"This thing... is... heavy... hurry... get.. out of here!" he yelled with all his strength. As they started crawling, the door was partially knocked down and a flying spike came through and stabbed Kanith in the torso. He fell to his knees and blood oozed out from his abdomen but had still managed to hold the door in place. Beasts were overflowing on the other side of the door and time was running out.

Viper was shocked as soon as they saw Kanith's injury but he reassured them but kept them moving. All of a sudden, a huge, thick strand of tentacle-like hair came through the cracks of the door and tied around Kanith's body, tugging him slightly. Yet another flying spike came through and this time, impaled him through the chest. The blood had not only flowed from his body but now from his mouth as well.

As the last of the team crept through, they tried to help Kanith but he was losing his grip. Yet another tentacle hair whipped through and grabbed him by his legs. This time it pulled hard and hauled him off his feet. Ornelas reached for his shirt and grabbed it while Kanith still held the door in place, but at an even lower height.

"Don't... worry... about... me... get... out... of... here... survive... and... escape!" Kanith forced his last words out before the final tow from the tentacle yanked him away into what seemed like oblivion and the door fell shut. All that was heard after was the scream of a man and cries of beasts. One of which was heard clearly. A Banshee's cry.

And silence followed soon after.

The team was left frozen in place for almost ten seconds. Waves of disbelief had struck and overwhelmed them. Tears started flowing down Rissa's cheek as she covered her mouth and sobbed uncontrollably. Ornelas held her in his arms and consoled her, fighting to hold in his own emotions. Jayce fell on his feet and was more than engulfed in a sea of emotions which was not expressible by facial movements alone. A good man fell to the prey of a beast. A beast with a scream that struck fear into their hearts once again.

Artemus got up and slammed the door, now motionless as the entrance's.

"NO! NO! KANITH! NO!" shouts of sorrow echoed down the hall, which had reflected what was in the hearts of Viper. Ling got up undeterred and started pacing around for the team to muster themselves, and seemed almost annoyed by their emotions.

Silenced ensued in the seemingly empty secret base, filled with nothing but the cries and sorrow of the team, with anguish overflowing over the loss of their team mate. Their comrade. Their brother.

Lost to the Banshee.

END OF CHAPTER 4

 

5: ELF

Chapter 5:

ELF

The team sat in silence for almost 30 minutes as their emotions stabilized. Jayce stood up slowly as his feet's rustling caught the attention of others. Ornelas followed suit and one by one, the rest of the team. They stared at each other blankly, with tear marks still visible on Artemus' and Rissa's faces. The stillness was deafening before being broken by Jayce's soft words.

"Come on. Kanith didn't sacrifice for us to sit around. What we can do for him is to survive and escape so he didn't die in vain." Jayce spoke gingerly. Ornelas agreed and started pumping some spirit into Viper. Their morale was low from pure shock and despair of what had happened. Ling seemed more frustrated than before and let out a burst of insults.

"We haven't got all day for you guys to sulk around and be so wimpy! I wanna escape and live, although that doesn't seem like the case for you weaklings!" she hollered.

"Why don't you sod off?! We don't need your stinkin' attitude or your useless words here!" Artemus roared back at her. The argument was getting more heated by the second and before Ornelas could break them up, something else did.

The familiar yet dreadful cry of a Banshee echoed from deep into the secret base. Viper froze and looked at each other, eyes filled with fright.

"More Beasts in here. Seems like many managed to enter here before they locked down in the entire place. Which means people escaped through here, leaving the door open. That means there's an escape door here." Jayce theorized. Ornelas agreed and added on.

"Seems like the door locks here are programmed to self-destruct and thus lock itself forever should anyone open it after lock-down was initiated. So whichever door we go through, we go through it only once and we can't turn back." this had made their chances of escaping much more grim.

They paced through the secret base and despite seemingly silent and empty, the sense of beasts were in the air. Viper entered a small room and laid down their equipment. They had to travel even lighter now and thus can only carry what they had really needed. They unloaded some of their supplies and removed redundant weapons.

Artemus carried grenades and bombs, Jayce equipped a mechanical crossbow, Ornelas wielded a mechanical sword, Rissa brought her twin mechanical daggers, and Ling chose her mechanical whip. The mechanical whip was a marvel weapon that not only unleashed great force on impact but also coiled and bonded its target. They split up tools needed to break locks amongst each other and were ready to move on.

They tread under one's breath and the sound of Beasts were getting more audible the deeper they went.

Fortunately, the secret base had signs leading around, and they followed the path led by it. The team made their way around the base and Jayce's eyes spotted something. He pointed to the signboard, "Hey, look at that."

The signboard was filled with Japanese characters, but one of the arrows didn't. It did not contain any words or letters, but just a logo. A logo of a lion, snake and eagle bearing a shield with the Japanese Flag on it. He had almost recognize that as the England Military logo, but remembered it to be much different. He could not shake off how he felt he had seen that logo before.

Jayce tried to persuade the team to follow that sign instead of heading for the exit immediately. Ling refused and claimed she was going for the exit with or without them. Artemus chose to follow Jayce while Ornelas and Rissa were caught in the middle.

"It's okay, Sir. You should follow Ling. We'll catch up. She probably can't survive alone." Jayce assured Ornelas. Artemus chuckled at his insult while Ling was close to losing her temper. Ornelas, Rissa and Ling headed off looking for the exit while Jayce and Artemus followed the crest sign.

"Hey Jayce, I just remembered. Neither of us know Japanese, how are we gonna find the exit later?"

"Memorized it. Process of elimination led me to derive which were the characters that meant 'Exit'. In other words that bitch isn't really needed anymore." Jayce said while smirking to Artemus. They shared a laugh before arriving the room with the crest logo on the door.

They entered the room which was revealed to be a huge data room much like the one near the entrance of the military base. However instead of having Japanese characters above the screen, it had the word "ELF".

"What do you suppose that means?" Artemus questioned. Jayce shook his shoulders and stepped over to the keyboard. Despite the old technology in the secret base, the computer was still very much modern. He navigated around quickly but was soon blocked.

"This computer's security is a notch higher than the one I broke into just now. What could be even more secret than military plans?" Jayce asked rhetorically. However Artemus had an answer.

"Government plans." he suggested. It had made sense but yet made things even more confusing. Most government efforts are now spent on military affairs while country management plans had no reason to be in a military base, furthermore in secret. There was only one theory on Jayce's mind that seemingly was the only explanation and would potentially baffle matters up more.

Foreign Affairs. These words seem to fit the puzzle but yet had no reason to. All diplomacy between countries had been suspended for years. While deep in thought, a ringing siren brought him back.

He had triggered the computer's security alarm while hacking and had been detected. The siren was deafening and had been made worse by the emptiness and silence of the secret base. He quickly turned it off but it was too late. Cries of Beasts started sounding and time started running even shorter. Artemus was made nervous by movements in the hallway and the flapping of wings.

Jayce quickened his fingers and suddenly the computer flashed:

- ACCESS GRANTED -

All sorts of documents, treaties and images popped up all over the screen but they were distracted by the sounds of approaching Beasts once again before they could read them. Jayce promptly downloaded all the files into a portable drive and readied his crossbow. The first they saw was a swarm of Reapers which Artemus swiftly disposed of with his grenade.

However what came next was a four-legged savage that resembled a tiger, only twice the size. Jayce shot it thrice in a row but it kept charging. It was upon them and it pounced. The pair quickly rolled out of the way and sprinted off out of the room. The beast gave chase and it was soon clear that they had no chance of outrunning it.

Jayce spun around and shot it this time in both of its eyes. The Beast yelled in pain but kept charging, but now led by its other senses without its sight. Jayce pulled out a few arrows from its quiver and charged towards the beast.

He ran and as the beast heard him coming towards him, it pounced while Jayce slid underneath it with his own momentum from running. As he slid under the beast, he slashed through the beast's body with his arrows and it cut the its body wide open. The beast, in pain, fell and smashed into the wall and stopped moving shortly after.

Artemus walked slowly towards Jayce, smiling as he said, "Honestly if you don't make it out of here alive, none of us can."

Jayce smirked as a flying dagger zoomed right past him and it stabbed the beast behind him. It had gotten up and was attempting to take Jayce down with it. Jayce looked back at the source of the dagger and there it stood Ornelas, Ling, and Rissa, who the dagger came from.

"Looks like your sharp senses went blunt this time, smirk face." Rissa said sarcastically while grinning. They all hugged each other while Ling stood aside waiting.

"Sabres. Nasty business, they are. Surprised you're able to take it down single-handedly." Ornelas was genuinely impressed.

They started making their way along the path towards the exit as they brought each other up to speed of their own discoveries. The trio had found themselves led up to a door that had a modern virtual lock on it, and so went back for them to prevent locking anybody in or out. While returning to the pair, they had heard the siren sound and knew trouble had begun.

Jayce told them of his discoveries in the secret data room along with "ELF" and the theories they had. Viper could not make sense of what was happening as they reached the locked door.

"This is it. If we go through this door and it's the wrong way, we're trapped." Ornelas reminded.

"We already are, Sir." Jayce said. Ornelas nodded and gestured for him to start unlocking. The door was soon opened and they made their way through it hesitantly. As expected, once they passed, the lock self-destructed and locked them from going back out.

However things started to look ominous as soon as they realized they were in an enclosed room. It had a door out but it had no lock, button or device of any sort to open it. They were surrounded by tables, crates, bags of sand and a dim light.

They had found themselves unexpectedly more trapped than before, unsure of their chances of escape.

END OF CHAPTER 5

6: Riddle Of The Ender

Chapter 6

RIDDLE OF THE ENDER

The door was stone and it had seemed to be powered by technology from the early 21st century, and thus unbreakable by Jayce's virtual lock-picking skills. It also had no visible locks that Artemus could pick. They could have tried to find the circuit in the walls but with Kanith lost, no one had the knowledge to handle it. However there was no way this room is meant to be a death trap, which meant there had to be a way out within the room.

Viper started searching around the entire room and they quickly found a few clues. A torch and an olden radio was placed on the desk for the team to examine. There were other locked cupboards but had no keys available. The radio had a wire but no power supply which prompted the team to search for one.

"There's no way there's a power dependent radio in the room with no power supply. Keep looking, guys." Ornelas commanded.

Jayce shifted the locked cupboards aside and found a small tunnel that turned left. The tunnel was perfectly squared and was cramped in size, comfortable enough for a small female and packed for a male of an average build. Logically the team had Rissa crawl into it, only to find it leading to an end. However it wasn't dead end. There was a circuit board with single circular sockets for wires to be plugged in and lights at the side that were out.

The grief for Kanith had grown further, based on the wish he was here to solve it in seconds.

Rissa continued to examine the circuit board while Ornelas was examining the radio. Jayce searched below eye level and managed to find a power outlet out of the line of sight.

"That. Is that a power outlet? I'm not very good with old technology." he pointed. Artemus held the wire of the radio and plugged it in. It was a perfect fit.

"It seems so." Artemus smiled. Ornelas tried turning on the radio but to no avail. The outlet had neither power nor a switch. Jayce theorized that the circuit board powers up the room and thus needed it to be turned on. The rest agreed while Ling, who was flipping through the beds, found a key hidden under the mattress. She quickly passed it to the team and they were delighted at the first sign of hope in escaping the room.

"Wow, look who actually did something useful for once." Artemus remarked snidely.

"Hey, there's no need for these now. We gotta work together." Ornelas persuaded, while calming down Ling. There were a dozen locks in the room and so they had to try for every one of them until it fit into one.

A click sound caught the attention of all the members in the room. They spun around. One of the cupboard drawers was unlocked.

Jayce pulled the drawer open and inside of it were two wires and another key. He quickly grabbed the wires and crawled into the tunnel, passing it into Rissa who was now covered in sweat and dust. She had speculated that it required 4 wires connected to 8 ports in the correct position to power it up. Meanwhile, Ornelas took the other key and managed to unlock one of the loose chests in the room.

The air was getting thinner by the second with 5 people in the room fighting for oxygen. It wasn't long before they realized that the room was air tight and they were running out of time.

The chest opened to reveal a few papers about codes like Binary, Morse, Caesar Cipher, etc. and a smaller box inside of it. It had a pad lock with 4 turnable wheels with numbers 1 to 9 on it. Jayce had crawled back out of the tunnel to help examine the contents of the chest. Ornelas quickly tossed the papers aside and remarked it was for the military of the past to encode their messages before transmission.

Seeing as the pad lock had no keyholes, it was out of Artemus' depth to pick. Ornelas decided to help Rissa with the circuit board to figure out the 8 correct ports while Jayce took a closer look around the small box and found a piece of paper stuck to it. It had a statement on it:

THE END OF ONE WHO ENDED 0xA7D8C0 THAT ENDED THE ENDER

"Even if this place is secret, weird as hell the riddle is in English. Anyone has any weird conspiracy guesses?" Artemus joked.

In the tunnel, Rissa explained her discoveries to Ornelas.

"Each wire has two ends, when both ends connect to two correct ports, the corresponding light lights up. When all four lights light up, that's when the power is on." she explained.

"Well, we only have two wires now. We have to make use of these two to try and find the 8 correct ports with trial and error. Then when the others find the other two wires we'll be able to turn it on faster." Ornelas said. Rissa agreed and they started working on it.

Artemus and Ling read the riddle and all three of them went into deep thought.

"First of all. 0xA7D8C0, that's code for sure. What can it mean?" Ling thought to herself out loud.

"That's not code. It's an alternate number system called Hexadecimal. We need to convert it back into our Decimal number system." Jayce analyzed while grabbing papers and a pen they found in one of the unlocked drawers. He started writing out numbers and explaining the Hexadecimal system to them.

"Our number system is called Decimal, it ranges from 0 to 9. After 9 it resets into the next level, turning into 10. Hexadecimal runs all the way to 0 to 9 then from A to F, giving it 16 digits before it resets to the next level. So the digits in front would be equal to how many times it had reset and the last digit would be the remainder." Jayce explained while writing.

Artemus had slowly caught on while Ling was left utterly dumbfounded.

"An example. 45 in the Decimal system. Decimal system has 10 digits so how many times will it reset and what remainder will it have left?" Jayce taught.

"Four times, it'll have a remainder of 5." Artemus answered.

"That's right, which is why we put the digit 4 in front and the digit 5 last. It's the same for Hexadecimal. It has 16 digits, how many times will it reset and what remainder will it have left?" Jayce asked, this time to Ling.

"Um... twice? I guess it'll have a remainder of 13?" Ling muttered doubtfully.

"You bloody idiot. There's no 13, it's D. Since after 9 it turns into A, B, C, then D." Artemus scolded.

Jayce chuckled in secret before praising Artemus.

"That's right, so 45 would be 2D in Hexadecimal. Now, we don't have a calculator, so we have to manually work out what 0xA7D8C0 is in Decimal." Jayce left the calculation to them as he went back to the riddle.

The end of one who ended. That would mean death, he thought to himself. The death of someone who ended a huge amount of lives then? Jayce scratched his head over the riddle while reading the second part of it.

"That ended the Ender. Suggests the person in question isn't just any murderer, but had ended large amounts of live purposefully. Like a genocide?" he mumbled to himself. Names started popping into his mind as time flew by.

Viper started to gasp for air every now and then as the oxygen was running dangerously low. Sweat was dripping from every member profusely as Artemus wrote away on the paper which was now stained with both ink and perspiration. Ornelas and Rissa squeezed together in the tunnel but did not mind the diaphoresis from each other as they depended on one another for their own survival.

"ELEVEN MILLION!" Artemus exclaimed while standing up. Jayce immediately kickstarted his brain.

"Someone who committed a genocide... killed eleven million people..." Jayce started slapping his own head as he knew this was familiar but the name was not forming in his mind. Artemus started thinking but was unable to think of anyone as there weren't any wars, conflicts and genocides from almost two centuries.

"Technology here is old. It could be referring to someone from history. Really way back." once these words came out of Jayce's mouth, he immediately jumped up with the look of Eureka and snatched the small box. He started turning the numbers on the lock excitedly while Artemus and Ling were confused.

"Adolf... bloody... Hitler!" Jayce said while turning the lock, seemingly with all his strength. The lock clicked open with the passcode 1945 and he flipped the cover open.

The hope was reignited as its contents revealed to contain two more wires. Artemus quickly passed the wires to Ornelas and Rissa, who had figured out the eight correct ports. They quickly plugged them in and Jayce flipped through the rest of the content. It had contained a world map before The Fever and a remote control. As they pondered over it, the circuit board lit up and the entire room's power turned back on.

The stone door slid open loudly and the radio clicked.

The circuit board and not only turned on the power supply to the radio but also opened the door. Their delight was short-lived was they saw that the open door led to another locked room. Viper slowly strolled into it and examined around. The stone door was not powered by the same technology as compared to the other doors and thus did not self-destruct upon passing.

The second room had an air vent in the ceiling but was entirely out of reach. It had tables and chairs, much like the first room but one thing was different - it had a massive, heavy safe the corner of the room.

The exit of the room was locked tight and unbreakable.

"Whoever left this room previously locked it shut from outside. We're gonna have to find another way open this door by force." Artemus said while examining the lock on the exit. He had run out of explosives from battling Beasts.

"Oh well. More puzzles to solve." Ornelas remarked.

END OF CHAPTER 6

7: Covert Alliance

Chapter 7

COVERT ALLIANCE

Artemus tried to pick the lock on the safe but it was soundproof and it prevented him from listening for clicks while turning the lock. The lock was a dial combination lock and and thus extremely difficult to pick even with tools, but without tools and soundproof lock rendered it impossible.

The second room had much lesser mysteries; it had only the locked safe and a chest with a passcode keyboard on it. The team searched around for more clues while Jayce brought Artemus back to the radio.

"There must be something in this." he said. Radio connection was completely blocked in the secret base and they had no chance of connecting it to any frequency channel. However something else caught Jayce's eyes. Inside of the radio was a cassette tape. He pointed it out to Artemus.

"Arty, look at that. It's a cassette tape."

"A what tape?" Artemus was confused. Cassette tapes had not been used for about a century and most people of the Year 2136 would be unable to recognize or use it. Jayce explained to him its function to record audio in tapes and ability to be played by certain devices. Of course, such technology was considered to be ancient, considering most had an audio recorder that could be edited and erased on the spot if needed.

However Jayce convinced him that it was a long living piece of technology that had been around since the 20th Century, which meant it would have been used for keeping clues as the secret base's technology were mostly from the 20th to 21st Century.

Jayce gathered the rest of the team around the radio before he played the audio tape.

"Keep your ears ready." Jayce pressed the 'Play' button on the radio. There was a brief silence before it came the first sound.

BEEP

They were caught off guard. They had expected a proper voice note or riddle of some sort, but has unprepared for beeps. However they kept their ears open as they listened to the entire audio tape.

BEEP BEEEP. BEEP. BEEP BEEEP BEEP. BEEP BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP.

Jayce and Artemus stared at each other blankly as their jaws dropped gradually. The team looked around at the rest utterly confused. Before they could try for a replay, the radio player sparked and it powered down. It malfunctioned and was theorized by Ornelas that it was due to prolonged inactivity.

"Great... a useless message. Time wasted." Ling sighed while walking back to the second room.

"Good. The average intelligence of the room just increased." Artemus commented once Ling stepped out of the first room. Even Ornelas could not help chuckling a little.

"Morse code." Jayce said to himself, but at a volume loud enough for the rest to hear.

"I think I've heard of that before. It hasn't been used for quite a while, has it?" Ornelas questioned. Jayce shook his head but went on to state how since most of the secret base uses past technology, this was no surprise. Jayce remembered something and he went searching around on the floor. Moments later he fished out papers he tossed earlier from the first loose chest in the room and flipped through them.

He got to the page with the Morse codes and placed them on the table. It was filled with translations but dots and dashes the team didn't understand:

A (.-) B(-...) C(-.-.)

and the list went on. Jayce had been using Morse codes to transfer messages with accomplices to pull off scams and tricks and thus was experienced in it. However his time in jail had also caused him to partially forget some translations but nevertheless, his ear for Morse code remained sharp.

"Short beep is a dot. Long beep is a dash." Jayce explained as he closed his eyes and focused hard. Rissa started asking about how they were going to translate as they radio had now marred, but Artemus stopped her. The rest of the team watched on as Jayce, in his focus, reached out for a pen on the table and started scribbling.

An extremely sharp memory was one of the skills he made use of for scams and fraud, but now for survival. He slowly wrote out the message based on his memory as an impressed Viper observed.

.- . .-. .-

Jayce placed down his pen and open his eyes, now relaxed. They referred to the papers and managed to translate:

A E R J

Clues connected and Artemus rushed over to the chest with the passcode and typed in the translation. The chest clicked open and inside of it were two rulers and yet another radio, with a different cassette tape. Jayce took the rulers to examine while Ornelas connected the radio to the power outlet and waited for the team to ready themselves for the audio tape.

They now gathered themselves for the second audio tape while clutching the Morse code translation note. However what played was unexpectedly not a Morse code audio recording, but yet another riddle.

WATERLESS RIVERS, SANDLESS DESERTS, TREELESS FORESTS, BUILDINGLESS CITIES, ROCKLESS MOUNTAINS

The team was left baffled - this riddle came all too abrupt and without the company of clues. At the same time, Artemus noticed something that escaped the thoughts of the others.

"English, yet again. This makes no sense. Why would a secret base in Japan use English riddles?" he queried. The brains now split into half to ponder over both puzzles as this unusual phenomenon of English usage might lead to an important discovery or clue. Jayce stared motionless at the rules while sitting in front of the locked safe, with the gears turning in his mind almost audible.

"What has rivers without water? Deserts without sands? This makes no sense..." Ornelas said to Rissa. Military training in the 22nd Century was highly advanced and detailed, but it did not include training of riddle and puzzle solving. Only one in the team was thought to have an analytical mind brilliant enough as heads slowly turned one by one to Jayce, who was now apparently staring into blank space.

Most of Viper tried not to interrupt his chain of thoughts but Ling stomped heavily over and shook his shoulders.

"Well yes, genius crook? Any ideas on the riddle?"

"Sod off, bitch. When you speak you lower the IQ of the entire country." Jayce retorted without turning. His concentration on the rulers grew stronger by the second before it hit Artemus.

"You've already solved the riddle, haven't you? You're thinking about something else." he claimed. Jayce slowly spiraled around and held up the rulers.

"The answer. A map. Rulers are for measuring coordinates on the map. But what coordinates?" he announced to the team. Ornelas quickly turned to dig up the world map from the riddle chest. As Jayce thought on, Artemus' inner bulb was lit and he solved his own puzzle.

"Guys. Think about this. The secret data room probably maintained secret foreign relations with other countries, right? What if this secret base wasn't even for the Japanese military itself, but for a covert alliance between countries? Usage of English would then make sense as it's the universal language." Artemus guessed.

It was one conspiracy theory that had sounded ridiculous yet it answered all the questions in their mind. Ornelas, having personal friendships with the higher-ups in the military, had refused to believe this.

"No. Why would they send us here then? To risk us discovering their secret alliance? What's the point of this mission then?"

"To kill us off." Jayce said the words that the team did not want to hear, but knew was the likely truth.

"We served our purpose after acquiring the Japanese military plans, god knows what they were for. They didn't send us here to clear the Beasts, they sent us here to be cleared by the Beasts. And trapped." Jayce sat down full of despair, but it was Rissa's turn to have a moment of Sherlock Holmes.

"A E R J! If our theory is correct, it could be an acronym for the covert alliance! J would then stand for Japan!" Rissa exclaimed. Hope struck the hearts of the members and they all stood up with will. They looked around the world map and had assumed that the nations involved would be a powerhouse in their own continent, even after The Fever. The suspects concluded were then America, England, Russia and Japan.

Ling used the rulers and pinpointed the coordinates in Japanese and translated it for them. With eight sets of digits in order, the next step was easy. The dial combination lock on the safe was the clear question the coordinates were the answer to. The safe clicked open and the team prayed that its contents were the key to escape.

Much to their astonishment, its content revealed to be a bunch of electronic explosives.

"The door!" Artemus yelled.

The team worked together and tied the explosives around the weak spots of the door all that was left was to detonate it. Every loose puzzle piece had now pieced together one by one as Jayce retrieved the remote control from the riddle chest.

Viper steered clear of the door as Ornelas pressed the button on the remote control and detonated it. The explosives destroyed the door with a deafening explosion and the path to freedom was finally unblocked.

The explosion had not only opened up their chances of escape, but also caught the attention of Beasts in this final stretch of the base. The familiar cries sounded down the hallway as each Viper member drew their weapons.

"We're getting out of here. Ain't no Beast gonna stop us. Ready, Viper?" Ornelas regained his confidence and captaincy.

"Yes sir!" the team said in unison.

The road of escape was now free and one last battle stood waiting.

END OF CHAPTER 7

8: Blood Feud

Chapter 8

BLOOD FEUD

The secret base was much less quiet here; noise from Beasts seeped through the thin air, seemingly warning the team of what dangers laid ahead. Nonetheless with whatever they had already went through, this last stretch was not worthy of an obstacle. Or so they thought.

"We're gonna need a computer to read the data on this portable drive. I think the one on Peregrine should do it." Jayce announced.

"We don't even know where we'll end up once we exit. Can we even locate Peregrine?" Artemus questioned.

"I have a tracker that can either lead us to it or command it to fly to our location. Don't worry." Ornelas assured. Even if they manage to escape, Viper was entirely out of civilization. They had also escaped a mission which was supposed to be their demise. They could escape this Beast lair but were doubtfully able to make it out of the Government's grasps.

On Ornelas' command, they all readied their weapons and prepared for confrontation with the Beasts. With his arsenal of explosives run out, Artemus was weaponless and thus defenseless.

Jayce was only armed with his mechanical crossbow with just twenty bolts. Each shot had to count. Ornelas had only one weapon - his mechanical sword. Rissa and Ling still had their mechanical double daggers and mechanical whip, respectively.

"Oh great, now we have to defend a burden as well. As if escaping wasn't difficult enough already." Ling grunted. Jayce's eyes widened with rage and his fists clenched. Before anyone could react, a solid right hook put Ling sprawled on the floor. The rest of Viper was caught completely off guard and stood motionless with their jaws hanging.

"Who do you think you are?! You're the one who's been a completely useless burden throughout the mission, and you have the guts to insult another one of our team?! Jayce's rage was filling the hallway. Ling was left staggered and was struggling to stand on her feet. Jayce, if enraged, was merciless and unprejudiced in his frenzy. None was spared was regardless of age and gender, which was a characteristic many of his past friends suspected to have landed him in the slammer.

The team tried to hold Jayce back from harming Ling further before a familiar, terrorizing, eerie cry echoed and froze them all.

"Heard that? We don't have time for internal conflicts. Ling, I would suggest you keep your mouth shut for now." Ornelas reprimanded. The cry of a Banshee was less than optimistic.

Jayce apologized to Ornelas and looked away from Ling who was close to tears, but also filled with resentment for not just Jayce, but also the rest of Viper. At that moment all she had in her mind was a hope to escape and thus be rid of the team forever. But deep down, she knew the entire Viper was doomed, including her. The British Government would undoubtedly aim to silence them, being potential whistle-blowers.

Viper had to stick together not just to escape, but to uncover the whole truth. To survive. They managed to find a map on the wall and studied it carefully.

The structure of this last stretch was much more straightforward - it was one single path that leads to the exit. It branched out into rooms but it all led into dead ends. That had meant one thing. A direct encounter with the Banshee, and perhaps other malicious Beasts was inevitable. They had to devise strategy to take on the virulent abominations that had laid ahead, waiting for their chance to pounce.

Jayce, together with Artemus and Ornelas, formulated a tactic. Beasts were intelligent, they would always strike an unarmed enemy first. The team would let Artemus serve as bait to draw Beasts into a reckless mode. Jayce and Rissa would take the backline, while Ornelas and Ling would spring a surprise attack on the frontline with their melee weapons.

With their plan in mind, they paced carefully down the hallway.

A roar from a Beast rooted them in place. A Sabre appeared from a turn down the path and grunted restlessly. Following their formation, Ornelas and Ling ducked into the rooms that branched from the pathway on the left and right. Jayce and Rissa retreated while Artemus strode fearlessly toward it. Beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks as the Sabre detected his presence.

Yet another roar came from the Sabre that flinched Artemus briefly, but he pressed on gradually. It let out a final roar before charging at Artemus, which then led Jayce and Rissa to spring into the position. He shot the Sabre in both its eyes with two perfect shots and she threw a dagger that landed directly on its head. It staggered shortly but regained its strength for one final dash.

Ling revealed herself and threw her whip on its legs which tripped the Sabre to slide across the floor, as Ornelas, in front of it, slashed through the Beast. The Sabre fell on its side before its body split into perfect halves as internal organs slid out. Its organs were filled with electrical chips and devices for controlling purposes by humans.

As Viper examined the carcass, a cry from a Banshee sounded, this time within a close vicinity of them. It was up ahead. The team gathered and crouched before treading carefully toward the corner where the turn started.

There it sat. It was the first time any one of the team had a full, clear view of a Banshee live. It spun its head around its fidgety neck and body covered in black venomous thorns. Its head was filled with pitch black tentacles that resembled dreadlocks, except multiple times the usual length. Its skin was wrinkled with blood, perhaps from other Beasts. Jagged claws stretched out from its palm that branched from its seemingly malnourished body.

It was highly humanoid and was also the only Beast that was clothed. It had ragged pieces of a tank top and shorts that was now torn and stained with unidentified substances. It carefully scanned around, revealing its fangs that were dripping with venom. The Banshee's eyes glowed crimson with malice as Viper peeked on. It let out another cry as chills went down the spines of every member of the team.

"What do we do? Shoot it?" Artemus whispered to Ornelas.

"No! We won't be able to take it down before it pounces on us. At least one of us will sacrifice that way. And I don't wish to see any more of us get taken by a Banshee." Ornelas replied.

The Banshee's head jerked towards their direction, ostensibly hearing their conversation.

The team quickly turned back around and stopped peeking, but the Banshee did not look away. One of its tentacles started to slither toward them. Viper was in a stalemate.

"Screw it." Artemus whispered to himself. He nodded at Jayce, who was then thrown off by what he was hinting at. Before Jayce could do anything, Artemus got up and sprinted past the Banshee's sight. It was alerted immediately and got up promptly to give chase, while letting out a cry that was now louder than any one before it.

"That idiot!" Jayce said, while pulling out his crossbow. 3 perfect shots landed on the Banshee but it remained unscathed as it darted after Artemus at an astounding speed. Viper quickly ran after them as the Banshee pounced on Artemus as he fell to the floor. Viper arrived promptly and the Banshee turned around while still pinning down Artemus. Four tentacles grabbed the rest of Viper rapidly and raised them up before tossing them against the wall.

They dropped to the floor in pain, and dropped their weapons in the progress. Artemus managed to dodge a few of the Banshee's bites before a swift tentacle grabbed him by his neck to prevent him from moving his head. Before it could land the killing bite, Jayce ran and tackled the Banshee off Artemus, forcing it to release its grip. Jayce and the Banshee got into a wrestle as Artemus quickly grabbed Jayce's crossbow to assist him. It had fifteen shots left. Ornelas managed to stand while Ling and Rissa were barely staggering up.

Ornelas grabbed Ling's mechanical whip and he flung it on to the Banshee, as the whip coiled around its body. He yanked it as the Banshee fell back from Jayce but it resisted. Its strength was beyond that of a bull. Ling and Rissa joined to help pull it back as Artemus shot at it. One shot managed to hit it on its back while two other shots missed.

Jayce ran back for Ornelas' sword as the Banshee was now successfully being hauled back with Artemus' help as well. Jayce charged and leapt a short distance before landing and stabbing through the Banshee as it cried in pain. With them now in range, five tentacles, each grabbing one Viper member, flung them all back.

The Banshee released a cry as it dived on to Rissa this time. She was much less able to fight back without her weapons due to her lack of physical strength and the Banshee managed to force through a jab into her torso with its claws. Rissa yelled in pain as bleed oozed out as it readied for a bite before Artemus towed it back by grabbing a bunch of its tentacles, thus pulling its head back. He was grabbed by other tentacles and was flung forward and landed hard on the floor. He was now too weak and tried to recover but to no avail.

Ornelas uses the whip to pull the Banshee once again with Ling's help, and it was working despite their lack in numbers and strength. The Banshee was apparently weakened from its wounds. They had to make one last vital blow.

Rissa forcefully crawled toward their daggers, leaving a trail of blood. She got up just enough to chuck a dagger that stapled one of its arms to the wall. The Banshee was now in a vulnerable position. Its other arm grabbed the whip to negate their pull as a wild tentacle heaved Ling against a wall, briefly knocking her out.

With a sudden loss in strength, Ornelas was thrown forward by the whip's pull and he landed just in front of the Banshee. It choked Ornelas down with its free arm and sounded a loud cry.

The cry that started a feud between Viper and the species of Banshees. It was about to end. And it was to end in blood.

END OF CHAPTER 8

9: The Escape

Chapter 9

THE ESCAPE

Ornelas was fighting for air as the Banshee continued to choke down and drain his life out. Ling was still left barely unconscious and Artemus was too weak to regain his strength. A wild bolt came flying and it shot through the Banshee's palm. It screamed in pain and released its grip on Ornelas as he gasped quickly to regain his breath. Jayce stood in a distance, reunited with his crossbow.

"And here's my favorite type of shot." Jayce smirked, as he fired a straight arrow into the Banshee's left eye. It cried and before Jayce could take out its right eye, a tentacle managed to sweep him off his feet. The tentacle gripped Jayce by his feet and held him 2 feet above the air, as the Banshee reached out for Ornelas with its free arm.

A second flying dagger darted across the hallway and stapled its free arm. The only weapon the Banshee now had left were its treacherous tentacles stemming from its demonic head. Rissa had barely gathered enough strength to toss out her last weapon.

The Banshee turned angrily at Rissa, who was now lying on the floor in a small puddle of blood, helpless and fragile. Five tentacles shot at Rissa, while releasing Jayce on to the floor, each grabbing one of her limbs and one for a neck. It slowly brought Rissa to its face and it growled bitterly at her.

The grip on each tentacle tightened as she screamed in pain.

"Hey, shitface!" Jayce yelled. The Banshee spun around, only to receive a solid bolt to its face. It screamed, only to realize it was nothing but a distraction.

"Not her, you piece of shit!" Ornelas shouted while charging in from behind, armed with his mechanical sword. He leapt and sliced off all five tentacles holding Rissa, releasing her on to the floor. It turned to Ornelas, only to receive a stab through its body as unknown substances oozed out from its mouth and body.

The Banshee was now devitalized and vulnerable. It let out one final cry as Ornelas pulled out the sword and mustered the last bit of his strength.

"Sayonara, monster." Ornelas said with vigor, as he raised his sword and landed a clean slice through its neck. A line of blood formed around its neck as the Banshee's head fell and rolled off on to the floor.

The feud that first sounded its warning at the entrance and begun with Kanith's sacrifice, had finally concluded by the blades and arrows of Viper. Jayce dropped to the floor, exhausted as Ornelas walked quickly over to Rissa to tend to her. He went back to the Banshee's carcass, now motionless, to tear off a piece of cloth from its clothing to wrap around Rissa's wound to stop the bleeding.

Artemus regained his strength and walked by Ornelas while giggling.

"'Sayonara', Sir?" he laughed.

"Well, we are in Japan... I thought it'd be fitting." Ornelas said while chuckling. He held Rissa's face gently as he assured her safety. Rissa smiled sweetly as she gave him a peck on his cheek. Ornelas then stood up and walked around the scattered Viper.

"I don't mean to be a mood killer, guys, but we're almost out of here. This is no time for resting. Get up!" he commanded.

"Yes sir!" the team echoed, all getting back on their feet. Ling had barely regained her consciousness while Ornelas helped Rissa stand on her feet.

According to the map, they had but one final turn before the exit would be in sight. Each Viper member regained their respective weapons as Jayce checked his quiver. It had ten shots left.

"You owe me two bolts, Arty. I saw your misses." Jayce joked.

"I'll buy you a thousand bolts once we get out." Artemus chuckled. The team pressed on towards the exit, only to meet one final challenge. A small squad of Beasts appeared in sight consisting of Reapers, a Sabre, a Bulk and an unknown Beast. Ornelas explained it as one called the Toad, a Beast with an enormous and long tongue, and was capable of spitting out spikes at the speed of an arrow. It was the species of Beast that had wounded Kanith at the granite door.

The Toad was a green, atrocious creature. It was even scalier than Bulks, it was constantly in a squat position and was capable of leaping great distances. Its enormous tongue was also adhesive beyond any known man-made substance was almost impossible to separate once it had landed a target. Besides its crouching position, tongue, and scales, it had looked very much like a giant bullfrog, thus granting it its name.

"I'll take the Reapers. One shot each for all five Reapers." Jayce volunteered.

"I can take out the Sabre." Rissa said. She reassured Ornelas she was in fighting shape when he showed concern.

"Use your whip to trip the Bulk, Ling. I'll land a clean hit on him." Ornelas commanded. Ling nodded as the squad detected them. The Beasts started charging towards them as their plan rolled into action.

Jayce landed five perfect shots as each one of the Reapers fell to the floor. The plan executed as planned as the Bulk was taken out by Ornelas. However as Rissa charged towards the Sabre, her wound acted up and she lost balance as she fell to the floor. Ornelas noticed and immediately rushed to her aid while the Sabre was closing in on her.

He quickly slashed through the Sabre's mouth as the blade landed deep into its head. However it stuck too deep and as the Sabre fell, he lost grip of his sword. A spike came flying from the Toad and was dodged just barely by Ornelas. Ling whipped the Toad to distract it from Ornelas and Rissa as Jayce shot at it. Three shots landed right on point but had barely pierced its thick hide.

The Toad leapt towards Jayce and Ling as they both managed to roll out of its landing.

"We don't have the equipment to take out the Toad. We have to make a run for the exit." Ornelas ordered, as Jayce, Ling and Artemus regrouped with Ornelas and Rissa, having switched positions with the Beasts. The Sabre regained his strength and got up, with the sword still stuck in him.

"Yeah. Yeah, we gotta make a run for it." Jayce agreed. The team turned around and run down the path towards the exit as the two Beasts gave chase. They were closing in on the exit, which was a trapdoor on the ceiling with a long ladder that led up to it. They were about to climb as the Toad regained sight of them and spat out another flying spike aimed at Ling.

She was cornered against a wall and had no space to dodge. Ling then quickly tripped Ornelas, who was beside her, to fall in front of her as a shield. The spike flew and stabbed Ornelas through his waist. His mouth opened with pain but no sound came out.

"You betraying bitch!"Artemus shouted, whilst on the ladder.

"Shut up and get off! I'm getting out of here, with or without you guys!" Ling retorted, while pulling Artemus off the ladder, causing him to fall off the ladder on to the floor.

The situation was in complete chaos. Rissa managed throw one of her dagger to finish off the weakened Sabre but now the Toad was closing in. Jayce did his usual trick of taking out both its eyes, but was quickly alerted by Ling and Artemus. The trapdoor had a virtual lock. It was up to Jayce to unlock it. Ling reluctantly got off the ladder and let Jayce on. He quickly climbed up the ladder and turned around to try to weaken the Toad more with his shots, but realized he had run out of bolts.

"Don't worry about it! We'll take care of it! Just do your thing!" Ornelas shouted. Jayce turned back to the lock and quickly broke through the defenses before the door unlocked.

"Don't forget! It's a virtual lock! The lock will self-destruct once we pass!" Ornelas reminded. Jayce stepped down from the ladder and quickly prompted for Ornelas and Rissa to escape.

"You're injured, Sir! You go first!" Jayce requested.

"No! I'm going first!" Ling insisted.

"You're currently the only one armed! You can slow it down by tripping its legs! I'll get you out once we've gone through the door safely! I promise! You have to trust me!" Jayce replied.

The Toad was closing in fast and Ling reluctantly turned to it and used her whip to trip it as it fell and crashed against the wall beside them. Ornelas, Rissa and Artemus managed to go through the door as Jayce followed closely behind them. The Toad was regaining its position as Ling, now the last member crawled up the ladder but when nearing the exit, a wild tongue from the Toad grabbed her by her leg. Despite being losing its sight, its Beast senses allowed it to locate her.

Ling slipped but managed to hold on to the ladder. She reached out one of her hands for Jayce as she pleaded.

"Please! You said you'd get me out! Please, I didn't mean to betray you guys like that! I just lost my mind in the moment!" Ling pleaded. Jayce was hesitant in the moment as she made one final plead.

"Please, Jayce! I trusted you!" Ling's eyes called out for mercy and Jayce's filled with oblivion.

"Well. I guess you can't trust an ex-criminal." Jayce smirked, as he closed the trapdoor on her.

The last he saw were eyes of tears and regret and last he heard was a sad scream followed by the trapdoor's self destruct and then a familiar silence. Viper was shocked by Jayce's decision but were not angry. Deep down they recognized that Ling was not one worth risking their lives to save.

"You heard her badmouth you on the plane?" Rissa asked.

"I have sharp senses, remember?" Jayce smirked once again.

Viper now sat on the grass field that the trapdoor led to. It was daylight; they had spent an entire night in the base. They were about 200 meters away from the military base building, which the body of the secret base not in sight. They had gone underground without knowing when they entered the secret base. The field was wet and dirty but as the cold wind blew, they felt relief and freedom. However as the wind blew on, they were reminded of the sadness that Kanith was unable to be here to smell the air of freedom with them.

Rissa's tears uncontrollably streamed down her cheeks, her heart filled with sorrow and sadness from the peril and madness they had just went through. Ornelas held her in his arms while consoling her. Her feelings were mirrored in the hearts of each one of them. What was left of Viper sat in silence as the hearts sorted out their emotions and memories of the horrid building.

Minutes ticked by as they had come to accept their life back out in the large, unpredictable world, but not out of the deep danger they were in, by defying the fate the Government had planned for them.

The team was filled with relief that they had escaped. But not unscathed. They had left parts of them in the military base and also brought along not only physical wounds, but heart wrenching memories and emotional scars that they will carry for life.

Clouds floated by as the team looked to the sky, celebrating their escape in their mind but grieving in their hearts. This escape was hard fought for and will not go to waste.

END OF CHAPTER 9

 

10: A New Hope

Chapter 10

A NEW HOPE

The team helped to apply pressure on Ornelas' wound as they helped him towards Peregrine. Rissa had recovered enough strength and volunteered to assist Ornelas. As she placed his hand over her shoulder, they both let out a sweet smile at each other. Jayce and Artemus, walking ahead of them, chuckled to each other at the sign of Ornelas and Rissa's budding romance.

Peregrine was now in sight, still in its original position. Far to its left were the gates of the military base, the building they were once again relieved to be freed of. As soon as they were in the vicinity of the plane, Peregrine detected Viper members through microchips they were wearing and the cargo door opened automatically.

They stepped on to the plane, and for the first time in almost a day, they felt security and warmth. Rissa helped Ornelas to rest as she rushed to search for medical supplies. Artemus started up the plane's autopilot and started to configure the destination.

"So, Sir, where are we heading?" he asked.

"Frankly, I have no idea. Why don't you just get it up in the air first? Then Jayce, you can try opening up that portable drive." Ornelas said, with Rissa applying medication on his wounds.

Peregrine took off and entered into stealth mode. Jayce then started up the built-in computer as he inserted the flash drive. However before he could open it up, the screen lighted up and what seemed like a live footage started showing. What they saw was General Ekstrom's face.

"Well, well, well. Jayce and Artemus. I knew there was something unique about the two of you." Ekstrom said while grinning menacingly.

"Sir! What's this mission all about? Did you trap us in there on purpose?!" Ornelas shouted from his seat.

"Oh? Ornelas? You're alive! Never expected so many of you to make it. Well let me clarify what I believe you've all already been suspecting. Yes, I sent you all in there to die. I knew the door locks would self-destruct, I knew the base were filled with Beasts that could easily kill the whole lot of you." Ekstrom said slowly and calmly.

"Even if you guys had managed to find the ELF base in it, the only path through are filled with highly difficult puzzles only aimed at hinting the passcodes for those who knew them. I am really impressed by your intelligence and capabilities." he continued.

Viper was appalled at this point from what the General had admitted to. It was their biggest suspicion but the confession from Ekstrom was the one that killed whatever hope they had left.

"I wonder if you guys can be allowed to join us... such excellent material..." Ekstrom mumbled to himself. The team was left dumbfounded before he continued.

"Ah never mind. Pretty sure it's okay," Ekstrom continued his mumbling before speaking to the team now dramatically, "I am so sorry! Your team is such excellent material but there just isn't enough room on this planet for everybody. I'm afraid Viper will have to be terminated. I hope I won't have to receive news you survived... again."

"I'm afraid I'll disappoint you." Jayce replied curtly. The General smirked and the screen went off. At the same time, the whole of Peregrine powered down and it started to fall from the air. Objects on the plane started to fall all over and the team was losing balance and falling together with the plane.

Jayce quickly rushed toward the spare parachutes and tossed one to each member as they all strapped it on. Artemus opened up the cargo door as they all leapt off in sync, despite not having Ornelas' countdown.

They opened up their parachutes in the air as Jayce turned to check on Ornelas and Rissa. They carefully glided down and finally landed after half a minute. They watched on as Peregrine fell uncontrollably and crashed in an explosion within vision. An unexplainable sorrow overcame them as they lost their only place of safety and security.

At the same time, they were struck with utter disbelief of their current predicament. They were betrayed by their own Government and sentenced to death. They had just escaped the fate decided for them twice. The Government would stop at nothing to ensure they were eliminated. Viper stood in silence for minutes before Jayce broke it.

"Where do we go now, Sir?"

"Honestly, I think you can stop calling me Sir. Pretty sure we aren't soldiers anymore," Ornelas forced out a chuckle and continued, "I guess we just make way towards the nearest civilization we can find."

Ornelas had recovered enough to walk on himself as the team paced on slowly towards the north. Jayce had previously briefly memorized the map around the base and had remembered there were housings far to the north of it.

Viper walked on for what seemed like forever before they noticed a figure walking towards them. As the figure closed in, they started to identify more and more features. It was a person. A female. A fair skinned. Japanese. She was an extremely fair skinned young Japanese lady with brown irises and platinum blonde curly hair. She wore a traditional kimono and was armed with a sheathed katana. Her eyes were round and pearly as she stared on curiously at Viper.

"Who are you? I saw the plane crashing. Are you okay?" she spoke with a moderate Japanese accent, but was still understandable. The team stared at each other for moments before she continued.

"Why are you people here? Are you people soldiers?" she asked as she noticed the equipment they carried.

"We were," Jayce spoke solemnly, "Who are you?"

"My name is Kyocho Yagami. I am the daughter of a Lord in the nearby settlement. Can I help you?" she asked politely.

"Yes please, that would be nice." Ornelas smiled.

The team followed Kyocho as she led them to a village to the north called Raion where the housings were still in the style of the olden Japan. Residents wore kimonos and housings were made of wood with a pointed roof. People walking by greeted her as 'Lady Yagami' and bowed respectfully to her before continuing with their daily duties.

As they settled into the royal house, Kyocho ordered for proper bath, clothing, and medical treatment for the team which they accepted with gratitude. Being more seriously wounded, Ornelas and Rissa underwent a longer traditional Japanese medical treatment as Kyocho invited Jayce and Artemus to sit with her for tea after changing into a set of thin sweater and denim jeans.

"My name is Jayce Calzoni. This is Artemus Wyght." Jayce introduced.

"Oh but you can just call me Arty." Artemus added on.

Kyocho looked at the both of them curiously before replying.

"Ah you must be British, yes?" she said to Artemus before turning to Jayce, "Calzoni? Are you Italian?"

"Oh my grandfather was. But my parents moved to England and I'm true blue British." Jayce explained as Artemus nodded.

The three chatted on as Ornelas and Rissa joined them, now with their wounds fully treated. They had missed the cleanliness, welfare and the warmth of a house.

"You speak fluent English for a Japanese, Lady. How's that?" Ornelas asked.

"Oh! My father, Lord Yagami, he's wealthy and powerful. He often has dealings with foreigners and so it's important for our family to be bilingual." Kyocho explained.

"Everything here is pretty peaceful. Aren't you all even a bit affected by The Fever?" Jayce questioned. Kyocho explained that effects from The Fever had not come into the vicinity of this settlement, and was believed to be due to magical protection by their ancestors. Instead, the residents believe that it was safer in this village than out in the city.

Both her and her father knew their peace would not last and have been trying to convince the residents of Raion but to no avail.

After an hour of chatting, Kyocho started to ask about their state despite being part of the prestigious British Military. Viper looked at each other before nodding to agree to trust her. Jayce then started to explain what they had went through and uncovered.

Kyocho was horrified by the deeds of the British Government and was even more appalled by the fact that the Japanese Government was in on the Covert Alliance.

"My father must be warned! I have to tell him!" Kyocho panicked before Jayce held on to her forearm to stop her.

"No, Kyocho. We don't know who we can trust. I don't mean to doubt your father, but he could be in on it too for all we know." Jayce persuaded. Kyocho was reluctant but decided to heed his advice. Viper decided to discuss their plan from now onwards before Kyocho interrupted.

"Do you all have any proof? Something we can use to probably expose them?" she asked.

"We did. We had a portable drive on their plans but it went down with our plane." Ornelas explained solemnly.

"You mean this one?" Jayce smirked, while holding up the drive he managed to salvage before they escaped the plane.

Inside that drive was not just information and files; it was the key to starting a battle against the Covert Alliance. With their fresh ally, their hopes have been reignited but their future remains unknown and treacherous.

After escaping the dangers of the military base, they had not found themselves free; instead they found themselves set on a path they could not turn away from. A path to which either leads to their elimination or a freedom perceived to be impossible.

Their newfound friend and the portable drive was the start of this path they had to take. It was their only weapon. It was their new hope.

TO BE CONTINUED