On the field, the harsh red glow of the spectra-pad illuminated everyone's periphery outside the 150-meter range. A message popped up on their spectra-pad; [Outside authorized area. Return immediately. -43m]
"Did they reduce the test area because of the red vulturov?" Vlad said.
"Most likely let's head ba-" Adele was cut off by a message being relayed to everyone.
"All cadets cease your actions and return to base at once," A female voice cut through the chaotic battlefield.
As soon as the message stopped everyone's spectra-pad turned red once again showing; [Warning! Multiple near category 4 mutants detected in nearby region.]
"There's more than one!?" Kel said, frantically scouting all directions through his rifle's scope. "Where- there's another red vulturov!"
"What? Where?" Vlad asked, his voice laced with sharp alarm.
"It's coming from the opposite side of the other one," Kel replied, his voice laced with anxiety.
"Did two red V's get attracted by the floaters?" Vlad questioned.
"Floaters? Why would there be floaters here at this time of the day?" Adele asked.
"I don't know but I found a floater nest and young floaters were coming out of it," Vlad replied.
"It's not flying to where the nest is, It's headed for the gate," Kel said, his voice laced with urgency.
The two red vulturovs flying in from opposite directions released a deafening screech capturing everyone's attention. The mutants on the ground previously engaged in battle with the cadets started acting unusually.
The lower-class mutants who had minimal intelligence started to act in coordination.
"What's going on? Now even these guys are acting strange," Vlad said, his tone full of confusion. A cracking sound got into his ears.
Kel and Adele both stopped in their tracks.
"Stay back!" Adele shouted.
A mutant leaped from the ground, its mouth wide open, trying to take a chunk out of Kel but missing by a fraction of a second. Not before another mutant erupted from behind Kel aiming its jaws at him.
Shit terracodiles! Kel thought as he turned his head to see he was falling straight into its mouth.
Vlad slammed into Kel midair pushing him out of the way. The terracodile bit onto Vlad; his durable gauntlets stopped it from biting down on him completely. The terracodile used its weight to slam Vlad's back against the hard ground, a loud thud erupted as the ground around him caved in, forming a small crater.
*guh*
The terracodile tightened its grip, its teeth scraping against the gauntlets. A bright red warning flashed in Vlad's spectra-pad; [Warning! Major damage sustained to left gauntlet. Structural integrity failing. Risk of limb compromise: high.]
"Vlad!" Kel screamed as he grabbed his weapon and fell.
The other terracodile lunged itself towards Adele before she could draw her weapon. Its large sharp claws cut through the air barely missing her midsection. Before it could muster another attack Adele shot it from behind. The mutant dug into the ground dodging her shot.
Vlad was struggling to break free from the terracodile's crushing bite. Its teeth buried into his forearms. Blood starting to drip out from his left arm.
Kel fired a barrage of shots at the terracodile but it did minimal damage due to its back being heavily armoured with thick, bony scales.
Now!
In a moment of desperation, Vlad kicked the terracodile in its underbelly. The pain caused it to momentarily loosen its grip, letting Vlad escape.
*huff*
"Vlad, are you alright?" Kel asked, his voice laced with concern.
"Yeah, just...kill that fucker already," Vlad replied trying to catch his breath. He hid behind a rock trying to escape the terracodiles eyes.
Adele blasted the terracodile, a vile sound escaping its throat. But its armoured back saved it once again.
"I'll take care of it. You go and check on Vlad," Kel said.
Adele rushed over to Vlad. "How careless are you? Adele spoke in a stern voice. "That arm looks really bad."
"Damage analysis," Adele ordered her QC.
[Left gauntlet: total damage: 67%. Structural integrity compromised. Left forearm: multiple deep lacerations, 50% tissue damage. Significant blood loss. Immediate medical attention required. Rad suit: 13% compromised. Major damage in arms section.]
"50% tissue damage," Vlad murmured. "It's not completely unusable."
"That's not something to scoff at. Your Rad suit's pretty damaged as well," Adele said, her voice soft but firm.
"It's alright. I've had worse happen before," Vlad said, ignoring the pain.
Meanwhile, at the gate, agents were swarming out in full gear covering for the cadets to return safely inside.
"Take care of the red vulturov that's alone. Delay it and try not to engage." Kaff said.
Hax noded.
"The cadets are the priority, I'll get them to safety," Kaff said, as he sprinted towards the cadets.
"One minute and fourteen seconds till contact, eleven seconds until in range of fire," an agent informed Hax over the comms.
"Keep it at bay and buy time," Hax ordered, his tone direct and firm. Getting all cadets inside and deploying the shield without having to engage in a fight is the best-case scenario.
Inside the monitoring room alarms blared, red lights flashed across the room. The screens, a crimson tide washing over the digital displays.
"What's going on!?" Airel asked in a loud voice.
"Th-there's a disaster-class mutant approaching from the bentree forest!" An agent shouted, his voice filled with terror and sheer disbelief. "It's approaching from below ground."
"What?!" Airel gasped, her face became pale. Why is something of that calibre here now of all times? Which one of the bunch is it? She thought. "How are cadets' situations going?" Airel asked, her tone tense.
"More than half have returned."
That means there's still a lot of them out there! Airel thought, biting her nails. "Get me in contact with Kaff. How long until it arrives?"
"Less than twenty seconds."
Shit! Airel thought, a cold sweat running down her face.
Outside the gates, Kaff was helping cadets retreat. Covering for them by killing any mutant going after them and clearing a path.
"Move, get straight inside the gate, don't stop for anything!" Kaff ordered the cadets. "Kaff!" A loud voice over the comms took his attention. "Airel?"
"Listen to me, a disaster-class from bentree forest is heading towards you all right as we speak!"
"What?"
"Cadets Lionheart, Romanov and Firouza are in its path. It might even be going after them!," Airel's voice laced with panic. "Quick, there's less than ten seconds!"
Why is a disaster-class showing up here? Kaff thought frantically trying to get to them. Shit! I can't get there in time with all these bastards slowing me down.
At the same time, Kel shot off one of the terracodiles legs. It quickly dug into the ground upon losing one of its limbs.
"It got away too?" Adele asked.
"Yeah-"
All three of their QCs crackled, "You three near the large rocks, move! Get away from there!" Kaff's loud and panicked voice made them stop mid-action.
The air vibrated, a low, guttural rumble rising from beneath their feet.
[High Bio-Rad signatures detected. Estimated category…]
Adele's eyes widened as the realization of the imminent danger dawned on her.
Before any of them could process and react to what was happening, the ground below them gave away.
[...4.6]