Wings of Death

Adapt, Improvise, Overcome

The Vipers were ordered to report to the hospital for a full body examination. In the meantime Captain Elijah called for an emergency meeting. Dr. Erica, Dr. Grant, Major Morris and Klaus Varchovsky were requested to come to the war room A.S.A.P.

Within 10 minutes the Dr. Erica, Dr, Grant, Major Morris and Klaus Varchovsky reported to the war room along with Nathan and Margaret.

“I didn’t ask you two to come here”, said Captain Elijah looking at Nathan and Margaret. He was trying hard to hide his displeasure.

“I asked them to come along”, replied Dr. Erica.

“Alright, let us begin the meeting without any further delay”.

“How did your last mission go Captain?” inquired Major Morris in a serious voice.

“It had started well but then we faced an unknown enemy and had to retreat”.

“You mean a new group of bandits?”

“No sir, a single Bloodwing”.

Major Morris could not fully comprehend what he had just heard. He couldn’t believe that a single Bloodwing caused the entire Viper squad to flee in terror.

“Did you guys run out of ammunition or oxygen?”

“No sir, our soldiers had enough ammunition to deal with a whole swarm. As for the oxygen, we came back with 10 unused canisters “.

Klaus felt rather confused after hearing the Captain’s statement and asked him if his guns had malfunctioned. Captain Elijah again replied in the negative.

“Nathan told us in brief what happened outside. Please Captain; tell us everything from start to finish in detail”, requested Dr. Merlin Grant.

Captain Elijah composed himself and narrated the entire series of events which had occurred during their nocturnal raid. Major Morris and Klaus Varchovsky were dumbstruck by what they had heard. Klaus could not convince himself to believe that his specially designed armored cars were corroded so easily. What shocked him even more was the Captain’s account of how all the explosive shells failed to even scratch the creature.

“I can’t believe that even the cannon shells could not take it down. We all know Bloodwings can only resist small arms fire. It is not possible!” exclaimed Klaus.

“I had thought so too. In fact we had no difficulty in taking out multiple swarms of Bloodwings before this encounter”, replied Captain Elijah.

“I think I know what went wrong”, said Dr. Erica.

All the eyes in the room turned towards her. They were all eager to hear what explanation she had in store.

“Captain, could you describe the acid spitting Bloodwing’s physical features for me?”

“It looked just like any other Bloodwing from a distance but when it came nearer I noticed that it was much larger than the ones we had encountered. Everything looked the same except two blue sacs under its throat. It had the same type of face, the same red feathers and same scaly limbs.”

“Thank you. From what I have heard I think it is safe to conclude that it wasn’t an ordinary Bloodwing”.

“Do you think it was their leader?” asked Major Morris.

“I am not sure about their social organisation as yet but I don’t think the pack leader would go out alone at night. I think it is a new subspecies of the Bloodwings.  Ordinary Bloodwings do not spit acid or have sacs hanging under their throats. There is a lot more to them than meets the eye. For now we will refer to the new subspecies as Blood Demons. If my assumptions are correct the Blood Demon you encountered last night might not be the only one of its kind. Though it is a rare subspecies, there might be a few more like it. Maybe not as many as the Bloodwings but you will definitely find more than one.”

“I want answers Dr. Erica. I don’t care about their scientific or common name. I just want to know how my men can deal with them”, Captain Elijah spoke in a grim voice.

“Well, the answer lies just outside the room; rain. Nathan told me that the Blood Demon gave up the chase when it started raining. So, we should only step outside when it rains”.

“That’s not a solution. We can’t just depend on the weather for our safety. What if it manages to track us to our base?” Captain Elijah looked extremely tense. He wasn’t concerned about his own safety but about the well being of the civilians.

“Well, it doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses. We are out of options...”

Nathan had an idea and interrupted her in the middle of her sentence, “What about a new weapon?”

“Nathan, you know even explosive rounds do not work against them. Do you want to nuke them or something?” replied Dr. Erica.

“No, I am talking about a weapon which uses the rain.”

“You want a weapon which sprays rainwater. It can be done. I can build it within 24 hours”, exclaimed Klaus Varchovsky in excitement.

“Are you sure a weapon can spray rainwater at that altitude?” asked Major Morris.

“Haven’t you seen water cannons in action? The police use it all the time during riots. I just have to make a miniature version of it. You know something like a blaster, a Rain Blaster”. Klaus was never afraid of challenges and this one was no different.

“Do you think it will work?” Captain Elijah asked Dr. Erica.’

“Rainwater is lethal to the Bloodwings due to their cellular composition. It will work for sure. You just need to hit your target and have an ample supply of rainwater”, she answered.

“Alright, ask the men to collect the rainwater using whatever is available to them, pots, buckets or glasses”, ordered Major Morris.

“Yes sir. I am on it”. Captain Elijah excused himself and went out of the room.

“I guess that concludes the meeting”, chipped in Dr. Grant.

“Thank you for your time. We have work to do. Dismissed”, Major Morris patted Nathan on his back before leaving. He had been really impressed by Nathan’s quick suggestion.

Margaret and Nathan left the room together. She praised him for his brilliant idea and then they both went to inform Alex and Joshua about the outcome of the meeting.

Meanwhile the soldiers had already started collecting rainwater using buckets and kitchen utensils. Dr. Grant had gone back to his room and started preparing a blueprint for a small rain water harvesting plant. Everything now depended on the mad genius, Klaus Varchovsky.