There were three zones in this war. The frontline, the middle ring, and the backline. Between each zone, there were neutral areas meant to bombard any creature that made it through one of the respective zones.
Heading to the frontline would be suicide for soldiers of their caliber. So the neutral area between the frontline and the middle ring was their best hope of making it to the middle ring. But if a single monster made it to one of those neutral areas, the high command would bombard it with heavy artillery, no questions asked.
Unit 68 had to hope that the frontline could hold long enough for them to make it to the middle ring, or else it's game over.
They touched down on the neutral area between the frontline and the middle ring. Lloyd avoided the various tall trees and landed hard on the ground. As he landed, he slipped and spiraled into a rotational fall before he came to a stop.
As for the rest, it was quite easy to land without any issue. They were all soldiers of higher value compared to Lloyd anyway, so it made sense.
They regrouped and set out for the middle ring. It was a race against time. Would they make it to the middle ring, or would they die to either a monster or heavy artillery before they got there?
The squad's fate depended on how long the frontline could hold.
Their heavy metal boots slammed on the snowy forest floor as they marched to their destination. How fast they got there would decide their outcome.
The squad moved.
The sounds of war resonated in their ears.
It suddenly started raining. The sky began to cry.
…
The rain after the drop was heavy. It came down like a torrent of tears from a sorrowful Goddess, carried by winds proclaiming the wrath of Mother Nature.
Visibility was barely a few feet at times, and the noise of trillions of raindrops blocked out the sound of even their metal boots marching against the muddy forest floor.
The military of the United States usually had technology in their helmets that allowed soldiers to see properly in the dark, and other various sensors, including thermal (IR) imaging, Augmented reality displays, and even X-ray vision for some of the more expensive models.
But none of those features were operational at the moment. Lloyd understood the cause almost immediately and concluded that it was the explosion of their aircraft that caused this.
The carriers created by the US military made use of Tanitite, a special crystalline material found in the Umbra lumen and on some parts of earth realm.
When this material experiences a sudden influx of external kinetic energy, it produces energy in the form of light and heat. In addition to that, an unstable gravitational and electromagnetic field is emitted as by product. This can all be harnessed by modern-day science and technology, but it is nonetheless still dangerous.
The carrier that brought them here was also powered by Tanitite. The explosion of the aircraft must have caused the Gravity drive engine that kept them afloat to explode, which resulted in an electromagnetic pulse that fried their equipment.
Could you imagine the absolute terror every member of Unit 68 was experiencing? Not only were they in an unfavorable location in the war, but they were also unable to make use of any of their sensitive equipment.
Even worse, all advanced medical supplies and consumables that they could have taken with them were still on the ship when it exploded.
All things considered, the crew was left with powerful guns and tactical equipment, which were rendered useless by the Electromagnetic pulse discharged earlier from the explosion, and basic medical equipment that could only stop minor bleeding.
Most of the members of the team were scared shitless, but still kept their composure. A scared soldier is a dead soldier. That was one of the many things they were taught back at the base.
The moon was blocked by the clouds, and the rain still fell on them with great fierceness, ensuring that they couldn't hear anything outside their immediate surroundings.
Most superior humans, even at the earliest stages of their evolution, were at the very least three times all the physical attributes of the humans of the past age.
All but Lloyd had some form of enhanced hearing and could usually protect themselves before danger came. The same could be applied to their eyesight, which was also on another level.
But the rain made them deaf, and the lack of light made them slightly blind.
Their experience was akin to walking in the dark, while all sorts of demons and monsters could be lurking around them. Patiently waiting and watching for the right time to go for the kill.
All they can do now is wait for what seemed almost inevitable.
…
After about five minutes of marching without rest, they had covered almost two kilometers worth of distance. Ordinarily, this would be the equivalent of an average run for them. But because their military armor wasn't functional at the moment. They not only had to carry their own weight, but also the one hundred and five kilograms of equipment they had on them, armor included. The backlash from the Electromagnetic pulse made the strength-enhancing properties of their exosuits inoperable.
They panted copiously, and Colt had to acknowledge their exhaustion. As the leader of the group, he was the one who would decide if they would move forward or rest for a while.
"Everybody, stop and take shelter under a tree. We will take a break and continue after catching our breath. Even though we are resting, stay on high alert. You never know what might be lurking in the darkness." His orders were received by the unit, and the march came to a stop.
Major Colt Lockward was an exemplary man born with both a strong complex and sense of leadership. With his platinum hair, silver eyes, and smooth pale skin, all the women at the base wanted to gain his favor. But Colt, on the other hand, always seemed not be interested. No matter how gorgeous the woman, his will never wavered. At some point, a rumor of him being interested in men circulated around the base.
The person who started this rumor was never found, and talk about the topic died, but to most of the women, it was still a viable answer to his lack of libido. His focus was unreal, and his love for training unnatural.
Lloyd's breath was erratic, and his legs were shaky. For most humans of this era, this would not be that hard a task. But for someone like him? It was more than he could handle. Then again, no one forced him into this line of work, so he had no right to complain. Not now, when he had already made up his mind on what he had to do.
"Hang in there. We will get to the middle ring soon enough." A voice erupted as a tall, muscular man gave Lloyd a heavy pat on his back.
Bruce Baltson had always been the motivational speaker of the bunch. Never showing any form of fear in any situation.
If Colt was the young and powerful leader everyone aspired to be or defeat, Bruce was the big brother everyone could always count on in the roughest situations.
As if retaliating to Bruce's words, another member of the group spoke out to affirm her opinion. Even though she was covered with thick, skintight armor from head to toe, you could still clearly make out her luscious figure and intoxicating scent.
She was built like a beautiful rose. A toxic rose with more prickles than petals, but a beautiful rose nonetheless.
"Perhaps being a little less positive all the time would help understand how f*cked we are? You know what? I doubt it. A dumb muscle head will stay a dumb muscle head, true and true."
Bruce was the big brother everyone could always count on, and Luna Aria… Luna was the negative sister who existed to destroy optimism.
Both Bruce and Luna were constantly at each other's necks for as long as Lloyd had known them. At some point, you had to wonder if they actually hated each other's guts to the point of always arguing, or if they just refused to give everyone the peace that would come from them getting together. Either way, they weren't fooling anyone into thinking that nothing was going on between them.
"Well Folks… I guess you could say this situation is really Terminal. Get it? Cause we're about to depart from life like an airport? Ha." All the members of the unit could sense that a bad joke had just been unsealed, even though it should never have been.
And everyone knew there was only one man capable of saying such stupid words with such gusto.
They all turned their heads, and there he was—Briggs Gage, the seven-foot giant, a towering figure taller and more muscular than the likes of even Bruce. A man whose entire identity was centered around making bad dad jokes and poor attempts at comic relief. If his whole character could be summarized into one word, that word would be 'Buffoon'.
His court jester antics aside, Briggs was a soldier like no other. The type of man willing to help anybody, and I mean anybody, in any situation. Buffoon or not, you just couldn't hate the guy.
He was also the first one to accept Lloyd when he was deployed to unit 68, even when the rest felt he didn't belong. Briggs didn't care that Lloyd was probably the only human in the world without a complex. In his philosophy, a useful man doesn't need to be as consistent as him. They just needed to be useful when it counts.
Lloyd had seen some of the members of unit 68 that where in front of him, and then glanced backwards to check on the two final and newest members of their squad. The youngest twins of the Blossberry family, and arguably the strongest in the squad when fighting together, Summer and Winter Blossberry, and just as expected, they weren't getting along.