Bloodsworn

Chapter 2.28 Lost Squad

28.

Hours had passed in near silence, the whistling wind overpowering any other slight noise. Erak had managed to nap off and on, catching his sleep wherever he could, the smooth roads lulling him like a lullaby. Sammus had managed to keep his mouth shut for the most part and let Erak sleep, though Erak did catch him and Pomp as they whispered together.

The arrival to the depot was heralded by the sudden deceleration and rapid cursing of the soldiers as the truck suddenly made a hard right turn that caused nearly everyone to slide and grab each other. Erak grabbed the bottom of the bench with one hand and held himself firmly in his spot as the truck finished making its turn and it thundered on down the road.

Five minutes after that they slowed and came to a halt. Erak donned his helm and picked up the hammer before jumping out of the bed of the truck and looked about himself. More woods, the Capital region was filled with forests, birds chirped, and thick white clouds floated overhead as the sun beat down on them pleasantly.

A breeze picked up and floated by and carried with it the smell of roasted meat. Erak gripped his hammer tighter as he looked away from the surroundings and toward the depot they were supposed to be raiding. A torn apart fence was the only sign of the old boundary and a half dozen squat, concrete buildings sat on the ground in a line.

“Sorry about that turn, Erak. The map was a bit off,” Nevia said as she stood by his side. Both of them looked over the depot in silence, nothing looked amiss from the distance. Pomp flew to Erak and landed on his shoulder as Sammus came to stand by his right side.

“We’ll go and scout first. Me, you, and the prince

,” Erak thought toward the dragon. Pomp dutifully relayed his orders while Nevia began to arrange her squads and get the trucks ready to enter. “Of course. I assume we’ll hear if you encounter anything?” Nevia said while Sammus couldn’t refrain a groan.

“Erak, we have soldiers. Let them do their job and scout the place first.”

Sammus was ignored as they began to walk forward. The prince didn’t leave his side, just drew his sword and scowled about him as they tramped into the well maintained facility. The thick grass had started to wither and grow yellow in the heat of the summer, but otherwise the grounds looked fine. No signs of battle or even strenuous activity.

“This place is creeping me out. Nothing should look so…idyllic,” Sammus said. Erak nodded in agreement as they walked to the first of the long bunkers. They were long and ugly, each the size of a small warehouse, and their only purpose was emergency goods in case of natural disaster. There shouldn’t be arms or armor here, just food and medicine.

It was why he was staring at the bright yellow hazardous material sign with skepticism. Sammus caught it a moment later and sighed loudly as he shook his head in dismay.

“It seems we have found another of our more covert facilities. I wonder what horrors lurk below this time?” Sammus speculated before he reached over and yanked the door open without hesitation. Erak leapt in with his hammer cocked back and ready to crush any foe that dared barr their way.

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It was empty of foes. Metal shelving stretched all the way to the back along both walls and was covered in boxes of preserved foods. Tons of food, enough for their growing settlement for weeks, were there for the taking. Fae lights flickeered above head, the same as he had seen in the Halls of Justice, and gave scant light for him as he prowled forward.

There was nothing to be found though, just boxes of food. Sammus was as tense as a drawn bow as he looked about with his blade at the ready. Pomp flew across the building, his sinuous body twisted back and forth as his tail flickered against the air and propelled him further away from Erak.

“There is nothing here, Erak!” Pomp called as he circled the back of the warehouse and flew back to him. The dragon landed on his shoulder as Erak finally let his hammer relax, but his eyes remained wary. Something was off here.

“I don’t like this. It’s too peaceful.”

The pair left the bunker and went to the next one and discovered nothing. One after the other, all of the depots were empty of anything more than a few cobwebs and the strange lights that the arrival of the System had brought with them. Sammus went off to wave for the others to come closer while Erak walked around the perimeter of the camp.

“The smell of meat is coming from the woods, Erak,” Pomp whispered as the two of them reached the edge of the camp. The drying grass ended abruptly and gave way to the forest floor and the shadows of the canopy. Erak had an idea what he was smelling and it made him tighten his grip until his knuckles creaked.

“Lord Bloodsworn. We’ve begun to load up the boxes. The professor is looking for you, though,” one of Nevia’s soldiers said. The man kept a respectable distance from Erak and the man’s eyes never left the woods as he kept his caster ready to deploy in a moment.

Erak returned back toward the camp, the back of his neck prickling as he could have sworn something was watching him. He whirled suddenly and stared back at the woods. He startled the soldier, who spun and lifted his caster to point back at the woods.

Nothing stirred. A breeze whipped through the woods and a single leaf floated by. Erak couldn’t shake the notion that there was something watching though.

“Tell him to place a guard around the perimeter. Something is out there,” Erak ordered Pomp and the dragon relayed it to the soldier. The man nodded and rushed off to tell Nevia while he waited for the protective screen. It was Constance’s fire team that took up position on top of the roofs, helping each other scale the gentle curving buildings and resting on them with their long distance casters pointed toward the forest.

It had to be good enough. Rutledge wanted him and he had a feeling she had found what he and Sammus had missed in their initial survey. Whatever reason they had come out here, it wasn’t for just food.

He found them waiting in the central warehouse, Nevia and Sammus with them. Nevia’s fire team was spread out around the building while the last two teams were busy loading the trucks as fast as they could. It wouldn’t take long, the trucks didn’t have the room to hold nearly as much as a designated hauler.

“Erak, finally. We need your strength,” Rutledge said with a smile. She tapped her cane on an innocuous piece of the floor and metal resounded loudly.

“These one’s here aren’t as strong as you are,” Rutledge pointed to her current trio of guardians who stood off to the side. All three of them looked unconcerned by Rutledge’s acebric glare. Erak walked toward where she had tapped and bent down and traced a finger over the edge of where he assumed was a trap door. He couldn’t find any sign of handle or way to leverage the door.

He stood up and hefted his hammer up to his shoulder before bringing it down with a grunt. Metal groaned as it bent inward as the handle vibrated savagely even through his gauntlets. A second blow sent the hatch spiraling downward and Rutledge beamed at him as she looked at the abyssal shaft.

“Well, my dear. Would you help an old woman and see if it’s safe?”