Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.

Chapter 726: Horror in Iron Wood City.

Inside was a thick, multi-layered suit and visor made from tough metal. Sunshine began pulling the protective clothing on right over her grease-stained repairman uniform. It was bulky and smelled like a new car.

"Listen up," Vortan said, helping her tighten the straps. "Pyraeth is hot. I don’t mean summer day hot like in your world. I mean ’melt the soles of your boots’ hot and burn you alive kind of hot. If your gear is dislodged even for one second, your lungs will be set on fire, and you will die."

Sunshine looked at the boots Nine was helping her change into, they had a soul made of some kind of material that she had never seen. "Are these..."

"Safe?" Vortan interrupted, "Yes they are, but even with this suit, you’re going to feel the heat. It’s going to be uncomfortable, and you’re going to sweat in places you didn’t know you could."

Sunshine did not like the sound of that.

He turned her around and pointed to the small, reinforced tank on her back. "This oxygen tank? It’s the weakest part of the suit. If you bang it against a rock or damage the pipe, you’re in trouble. And for heaven’s sake, Sunshine, control your breathing. Don’t panic. If you hyperventilate, you’ll burn through your air in thirty minutes. Treat every breath like it costs repair wages. If anything happens, run into your space immediately."

"Got it," Sunshine whispered, her voice muffled by the helmet. "Don’t panic. Breath slow. Don’t hit the tank. Run into the space and wait for a new set of equipment."

Once she was fully geared up, looking more like a deep-sea diver than a repairman, she headed to the Exit Bay. Commander Melvin was already there. He didn’t say much, just nodded toward two small, cramped pods. They looked less like spaceships and more like metal coffins with engines strapped to them.

"In you get," Melvin said.

Sunshine climbed into the pod. It was so tight she could barely move her elbows. She strapped herself in, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She looked through the tiny porthole as the digital timer on the console began to count down.

3... 2... 1...

The pods ignited with a roar that vibrated through Sunshine’s very teeth. She braced herself, expecting the stomach-flipping sensation of being launched into the sky, up toward the stars.

But the world didn’t go up.

To her horror, the pod lurched violently downward. The ground beneath them didn’t just open like a door; it felt like they were being fired directly into the abyss. Like they were paying a trip to the deepest pits of hell. Through the porthole, her view wasn’t the blue sky or the black of space. It was a blur of brown and grey_ freshly dug soil, rocks, and darkness.

As they vanished below, the ground covered up, as if it was burying them inside. Sunshine squeezed her eyes shut so tight she saw spots.

[Host, remember do not panic.]

"I am trying...."

She gripped the armrests until her knuckles hurt inside her gloves, praying to whatever gods she believed in that the pod actually knew where it was going and wouldn’t just end up as a permanent part of the planet’s crust.

*********

Hades had followed Carson’s advice, and he didn’t wait for a single second. They had to take advantage of the moment when the watchers were off to plot again. The Fortress four team led by Hades and Elio arrived in Iron Wood City, and the reality hit them like a physical blow.

The overhead images from the drones hadn’t shown everything_ the cameras hadn’t captured the smell or the way the sunlight from their base glinted off the slick, red surfaces of what used to be a bustling city. The damage the mutated fish and watchers had done was beyond anything in the tactical manuals.

The blood was still fresh, flowing into mud puddles that looked like dark wine. Human flesh was littered everywhere, sticking to walls as if it had been rubbed in. It looked like a nightmare from a horror movie scene, only there was no director to yell "cut."

Hades shuddered, his tactical gear feeling suddenly heavy, and made the sign of the cross. "Lord, have mercy," he whispered.

Father Nicodemus, who usually had a comforting word for every tragedy, stood frozen. He looked at all the heads that were lined up in the streets like balls waiting for buyers. His collar was frayed, and his eyes were wide. "This is the worst I have seen yet, Hades. These things? They’re so angry but over what?"

"Must be the elixir that the watchers gave them, it must have made them more aggressive." Hades said.

Carson sighed loudly, "Let us pray that they do not pass out more of that elixir to other mutated creatures."

A soft, wet whimpering sound drifted from behind the cracked pillars of a former bank building. It was a small sound, but in the deathly silence of the city, it sounded like a scream.

Suddenly, a tiny figure stepped out. A boy, no older than four, stumbling under the weight of a massive service pistol. He held it with both hands, the barrel shaking as he pointed it toward the group.

"Kid’s got a gun!" Carson shouted, his dragonoid raised with the instinct of a soldier. He paused there, his fingers twitching, but he didn’t draw.

"Easy, Carson," Hades said, his voice low and calm.

"Nobody draws. He’s just a baby. Don’t scare him."

"He could be a hypnotized baby." Carson reminded them all of what the watchers did best.

The boy was a haunting sight. He was covered in blood from head to toe, looking as though he had been bathed in it. It was drying in dark crusts on his hair and cheeks.

"We’re the good guys, kiddo," Hades said, dropping to one knee to make himself look smaller. He kept his hands open and visible. "We’re here to help. I promise. We came from across the river, in Babel city or Fortress four."

The boy’s eyes were glassy, staring through them rather than at them. He blinked, a single tear carving a clean path through the blood on his face. "Can you help my mommy?" his voice was a tiny, fragile thread.

Hades felt a knot tighten in his chest. "Maybe. But you have to take us to her first. Can you do that? And maybe put the heavy toy down? It’s hard to walk with that."

The boy let go, and the gun clattered loudly against the pavement. It was a heavy sound that made everyone flinch. "She’s this way," the boy whispered.

Hades stood up and signaled to the units behind him. "Emergency teams, move in! Look for survivors. If anyone still breathes slightly, try hard to save them. Set up the medical camps in different locations. Hunting teams should eradicate every breathing mutated beast while the bubble team seals the town and river off. We have to finish this before nightfall. Move!"