novelraw Chapter 205: Survival
Chapter 205: Survival
His rescue had arrived even before he had the chance to do anything, and Kieran couldn’t express the relief he felt in words.
Their arrival also showed that there were also other survivors aside himself and that they hadn’t abandoned the ships and moved on to complete the mission.
The mission whose status quo remained unknown.
The mission could only be considered redeemable if the rescued soldiers of Crescent had managed to survive the storm like him, especially their commander, who no doubt held the highest worth amongst the rescued.
"It’s the recruit!"
One of the soldiers said, recognizing his face that had been lit up by the light of their mounted torch.
’They survived’
Another storm settled within him, hearing how the soldier had phrased his words.
His squad was quite easy to recognize, not just from their uniforms but also due to the fact that they were the only recruit team on the mission.
They stuck out like a sore thumb.
"Can you walk?"
"Not really."
Kieran winced in response, letting the mechanical assist him onto a stretcher.
The soldier noticed his posture and avoided his left arm, lifting him by the right.
"We’ll get some medics to take a look at you."
He urged a smile, trying to reassure the recruit in front of him.
Fighting the horde of beasts together hadn’t been enough, but surviving the storm — Another major tribulation was enough for their slight hostility and guard to drop.
A detail Kieran couldn’t be bothered about in his current state. The pain his hands, though still enough to make him grit his teeth, had reduced, and he could move more of his fingers.
His healing factor, slower than he wanted, still worked at a rate others would have considered mind-boggling.
Those hours spent thinking he could do nothing while his body was hard at work. The irony of it all made him smile.
Humans, when faced with the choice of confronting their decisions and wrong thought processes, often chose avoidance.
Kieran was no different.
Choosing to fill his mind with thoughts he considered "more important" like the current status of the mission and his teammates.
Knowing this, one couldn’t help but raise the question — did he really care?
Or did he force himself to believe that he did, as they were all important to the goal his experiences had defined.
"You should be more concerned about your arm."
The soldier chuckled when Kieran spoke concerning the mission, but his eyes bore a weight he couldn’t see from the stretcher.
The soldiers had torn a path through the ship leading outside, so the journey there wasn’t long or eventful.
The rays of sun hit his eyes unannounced, causing him to squint his eyes and use his right hand as a cover.
The cold wind brushed across his body, weaving through his hair like the grass, causing him to shiver.
It was nothing like the "calm after a storm" he had often heard about. It was more like another storm could likely start in the not so long future, but the soldier assured him even before he could ask.
"It’s safe."
"Nothing is left quite the same after experiencing a level 3 storm."
There was a heavy feeling of sorrow exuding from the soldier’s voice, forcing Kieran to look away from the sky and to the world around him.
Immediately, he saw why.
The ships were at the border end of the <
The once lush fields filled with greenery and flowers of different varieties were nothing more than a barren sight of rock and soil.
There was absolutely nothing but dirt in sight, a terrain completely upheaved with deep parts of the earth forced up and craters several meters deep formed from the collisions within the storm.
"It’s never going to recover. Places affected hit by a level 3 storm are permanently damaged."
’Is that how the terrains are made?’
Kieran wondered, memories of all the different terrains he had come across flashing through his mind.
Each or any of them could have been altered partial or entirely by a level 3 storm.
The storm could have made them or altered their original state entirely.
Alas, it was a thought that Kieran didn’t deem worthy pursuing. He had no attachment to the planet and its disasters, although terrifying and unfortunate were a part of its nature.
The soldier carried him towards the edge of the reformed terrain, walking down a path that had enough heavy footprints to indicate human passage.
He let the silence reign between them, watching as they walked deeper along the path till they got to an open space with a cover of upheaved and deformed earth above it.
Several tents were set up along the space, and its liveliness was good news for Kieran. Alas, there was no smile on his face.
His face became dark, and his heart churned affected by the gloomy atmosphere of the temporary camp.
Most soldiers were perched on the floor, gazing aimlessly, and those who walked moved with dropped shoulders, exuding a heavy feeling of defeat.
The very soldiers who had pointlessly worn their armor in defiance against the inevitable, the inescapable, were now here with the light in their gone; extinguished completely.
The reason for this was as obvious as the newly formed terrain around them.
They were far too few for an expedition that carried six thousand soldiers evenly divided into three companies, plus the rescued soldiers of the Crescent camp who numbered over five hundred.
Looking to his side, the soldier remained silent, a heavy look making itself present on his face, too.
Mentioning the silence and choosing to ask no questions out of respect, Kieran was brought closer to a tent located relatively close to the entrance of the camp.
The cover was pulled open, and his senses were assaulted with the smells of burnt skin and blood, his ears twitching from the loud continously wailing of the people within, as the heat made his skin shrink feeling the moisture leave it.
A huge metal mass like the soldier’s mech would be a huge inconvenience in a tight space like this, with people constantly running around desperate to attend to the needs of those with the most critical wounds.
The soldier waited for someone to notice them and approach to take Kieran from his hands.
"Left arm."
The soldier said before Kieran was pulled away from him entirely, doubting if the lady had heard him, but her hand shifted to the injured arm, saying otherwise.
Being pulled to the side, Kieran watched as she sprayed something cold on his arm, which surprisingly numbed the pain as she inspected by pressing her across its length.
The remnants of his shirt were also torn off to get a better view of the still open gashes on his body.
A quick inspection that left the woman with an expression of shock, looking at Kieran weirdly as she spoke,
"Just the arm then. I’ll be back."
She walked away, returning just a few moments after with a syringe, which she stuck into his arm without any warning, earning a wince from him.
"You can leave after a while."
Her back was turned against him, running to the entrance where a new soldier was being brought in, in terrible condition, but the drooping of her shoulders and shaking of her head to the soldier who took the stretcher back out was enough to know that he was dead.
The burning sensation in the arm she had injected didn’t bother him with the thoughts running through his mind.
Silently, he sat upright and slowly approached the entrance of the tent, cradling the damaged arm.
"You survived"
A voice met him just as he was about to leave with a hint of surprise.
"What? You didn’t expect me to?"
Kieran walked out, alongside Derrick, who had a small smile on his face.
The recruit didn’t seem to have any major injuries, and his appearance was far better than that of Kieran’s, dried blood splattered only over his uniform with a few drops staining his face.
"One ship was obliterated, and less than half the two companies combined survived. I wasn’t so keen on my survival, talk less of yours."
Derrick said, causing Kieran to halt his directionless steps.
"And the Crescent camp members?"
"Not sure now is the right time to be concerned with the missi—"
"Derrick!"
The light’s in Derrick’s eyes flickered before he said, looking around them.
"They survived, I guess"