"If that creature found you, then why hasn't it come down here?"
"I don't know," Will shook his head. "Maybe because we're the only two living beings on this planet… or maybe it's watching—studying humanity. I've found traces of an alien civilization before, but they've all been buried under the sand. I don't know how old those structures were, but I think that creature might've destroyed an entire civilization."
"There used to be a civilization here?"
"There was indeed a civilization here—and one slightly more advanced than humanity is now," Solomon answered. He and his team now stood atop a cliff, looking down over wind-eroded stone towers clustered like a petrified forest. One of their scattered squads was trapped within the ruins below, using the maze-like corridors for shelter from the storm. Catherine was currently guiding them via comms, directing their route and providing covering fire by firing explosive rounds to indicate direction.
"The city must have predated the formation of the desert. Otherwise, no alien species would've built their capital in a lowland." Royal Guard Zero pointed at the towers below. "Even if that Inhuman creature devoured all vegetation, this planet wouldn't have become a wasteland this severe. I believe war was the primary cause."
"Civil war," the archmage nodded. In the dim atmosphere, Catherine's blastfire was the only source of light. The Sisterhood refrained from using the bright searchlights mounted on their suits—such lights would only attract predators in this kind of environment. "Remember what I told you about that creature's abilities?" Solomon said. "It devours flesh and memory, then hides inside hosts and controls them. Imagine what that would do to a society. Trust between individuals would disappear—just like water on this world. Social order would collapse. Chaos would spread. It became the perfect hunting ground for that parasite. But civil war alone doesn't wipe out an entire planet's vegetation, so we're likely facing a very hungry creature."
"The death of this civilization was excruciatingly slow. No civilization could withstand such devastation. That might explain the skeletal remains we've found—many had mechanical limbs. Perhaps they tried to overcome the distrust brought on by flesh by replacing it with machinery." Zero offered his thoughts. "It's a fascinating sociological case. I believe at some point, the survivors began cybernetic augmentation en masse. Entire groups might've defined themselves by their mechanical transformations rather than bloodlines… how fascinating."
"My lord, they've arrived." Catherine interrupted Zero's long-winded analysis. Even with her helmet on, Zero could almost feel her glare—as if chastising him for dragging the archmage's focus into academic debates. "Requesting permission to scan them. If the creature can hide and control sentient beings, we need to upgrade our threat level."
"Granted. I'll assist with the screening," Solomon replied. In the worst-case scenario, the air on this planet was likely saturated with Inhuman-engineered nano-parasites. Even though the civilization had perished, no one who set foot here could afford to lower their guard. If those parasites could be detected biologically, the aliens would have eradicated Hive long ago. Perhaps they tried… but too late. Their society had already collapsed. The survivors were hunted to below sustainable population levels—and then they went extinct.
Per the operation plan, all squads were to converge on Solomon's location. Meanwhile, Solomon tracked Leopold Fitz. With the creature's core presence still at some distance, his intent was to return the reckless scientist before complications arose. This was a matter of honor and promise. He had already sent orders to all squad leaders: if Fitz was found, he was to be captured immediately—break a leg if necessary, but bring him back. Solomon had a sense that if Fitz were left to wander freely, he would cause irreparable damage to the operation.
Rather than conducting biological scans, Solomon directly probed the minds of each squad member. After confirming none were infected, Catherine lowered her weapon and disengaged her chainsword.
"For our lord," the second squad leader nodded, calmly integrating her team into the formation Catherine had prepared. Solomon greeted each one enthusiastically, calling their names in turn. He didn't need helmet HUDs or personalized armor to recognize them. Catherine turned to him. "My lord, two more squads are inbound. We need to move."
"My lord!" A voice crackled in his helmet's comms. Display showed it was Team Τ (Theta). "Scouts have found human footprints."
"Report the location," Solomon commanded. "Do not make contact until we confirm it's Leopold Fitz."
"There's someone out there!" Will dropped to the ground, clutching his makeshift spear and handgun.
The sandstorm cloaking their cave had just passed, and Will had eagerly led Simmons out in search of water. Years of surviving in this desert had taught him how to locate hidden aquifers beneath the sands. On Earth, vegetation could point the way—but here, all biomass had vanished under unknown circumstances. He had relied entirely on a broken groundwater detector—and prayers that the storm hadn't dried up the aquifers.
After rescuing Simmons, she had helped him repair the ancient equipment. Today, he intended to lead her away from the cave to find new water sources—and maybe fulfill her simple wish of taking a proper bath.
"Who?" Simmons widened her eyes, still processing the sudden change. "Could it be…?"
"Probably not the creature. It always follows the storms—and there aren't usually that many of them." Will and Simmons cautiously peeked out, binoculars scanning the distant figures. "They've spotted our tracks," Will muttered, annoyed. "I've lived here so long, I forgot to cover them."
"Maybe they're here to rescue us?" Simmons swallowed. Her throat was dry, her stomach hollow. Leaving the cave had meant leaving behind reliable water and food. Out here, supplies were scarce. With so many unknowns—landmarks buried by storms, shifting dunes covering even mountains—getting lost was a real threat. Even Will had wandered off course many times. He'd only survived by sheer luck.
"They've got weapons. We'd better run," Will said without hesitation. Drawing from his military experience, he pulled Simmons up and sprinted. His plan was to lead any pursuers away from their water source and cave using his footprints. It was a solid plan—if not for the fact that years of malnutrition had ravaged his stamina. Soon, Simmons was the one dragging him along.
"We still have guns, Will," she panted. "We could set a trap!"
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 50 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]