Ignavus : City of Blood

Act 27 : Meeting the Next

“Graaa...”

~tap-tap-tap~

In front of them, the creature concedes defeat. Gads Gilmore and his cutting-edge technology has beaten such outstanding pace of the unidentified monstrosity before them. Despite overwhelming dexterity and energetic movement that the tiger-like being has shown up, no certain movements were wasted against its attempt on fighting back towards the flow.

“Whoa, I think it’s not Caedes in every direction, but It’s still as big.”

John Straverman dropped his chin onto the knuckles whilst inspecting their victim in closer look. In regards to regular joe that they have been apprehended against, their current menace posed none of them at a glance. Aldo Meridic has applied most Caedes with drawn-out skeleton to shield them against projectiles and head-on assault. It has unique abilities that separated them from one another, such as body-increasing appetite that their previous encounter exhibited.

More or less, the creature has an attuned physique of a massive tiger. Black stripes flaunts the most trait that its regular counterpart commonly maintained. The creature’s front legs amassed non-retractable claws that could swipes one’s life in a flash. Under its jaws, the creature boasted two elongated fangs that measured at thirty centimeters long alongside its other pointed tips behind.

Being a beast tamer in the past, its peculiar characteristics at the front incites the black-haired man’s curiosity the most. John Straverman holds his investigation in fairly extensive stint upon the upper torso than its rear,”is this guy safe to touch, Gads? I wanna experiment a bit on its mane.” He asked towards their gadgeteer, which was already engaged with his other toys inside the bag. Ahead of his query, the bearded man appeared in jumbled up expression. John could tell that Gads Gilmore should be handed down his own permission in an instant. Yet, he tends to glance numerous times across his sister that stood adjacent and giving away thoughts of uncertainty upon the air of his looks.

“No guarantee, but I’ll take that to my sister for..”

Shanice interrupts his answer with bitter smile across the face,“Time to end its suffering. I’m apologize fellas, but I can’t stand to leave it alive like you all do.” She muttered. As the creature writhed in agony, the leader loomed near and shot it directly onto the head. She bombards the beast onto its face numerous times in succession. Being the one that requested of such execution onto the creature, the leader wanted to have no array of bullets missing from its barrel at this point and execute their threat on the spot.

It takes five point-blank shots onto the skull to lay waste of the beast. She managed to land a few successful hits onto the middle of its compact-sized head and killed the creature in immediate fashion. Elisa drives her eyes away from the source of impact, pretending to see none of them by pitting her attention towards the redwood trees outside,” Don’t fret, Elisa. You have assisted me and your husband awhile back, so why would you be afraid to perceive this?” inquired the leader towards her fellow female members of the group, which appeared hesitant to answer about such topic at hand.

“My wife couldn’t see no struggle on the opponent for killing a threat, Shanice. It’s like helpless being when you’ve seen them up close.” John Straverman substituted his wife on answering the query. The black-haired man approached its deceased remains once slain by their leader’s cold-blooded demeanor. He poked the mane around its neck for appeasing his inquisitiveness towards the contour, then smiles in satisfaction after working a few round of caress,”Hm, much alike to the male lion, I suppose it’s another fusion made by WIC company that was abandoned in this cave.” He concluded.

“For sure?”

Shanice fell absorbed towards the conclusion that was brought in by the black-haired man upon the creature. She patted its softened surface and found that it is exactly the similar to the lion’s figure that he was mentioned earlier. Jam-packed with light-yellow colored hair that goes circled across the forefront of its entire stature, the curly-haired woman felt her hands gone squished into its shape,”You’re right, John. This is a close imitation to the regular-sized male lion, unless that it has lesser stout length than this one.” She nodded in agreement afterwards.

“Come take a look at this!”

Gads Gilmore called them towards the rear end of the creature. Across the bottom, the bearded man located a number on top of its pelvis. It replays the past records of the hunt for the two beast-tamer of WIC company when beholding such scenery before them. Seventy-seven is the number that was stamped onto its hide. Watching them up close, John Straverman scrubs his hair in quizzed expression,” If it is seventy-seven, this one should take around two years back. How’s it still alive at this point?” pondered the black-haired man towards the carcass in front of them. Thinking about the similar issue, Shanice squeezed down into the memory lane. Wrinkles emerged from her temples as the curly-haired woman stressed her mind into the past.

Before the leader could administer her response, Natasha Gastano commented,“I’ve never been working with WIC company before, but I think it’s regular critters like bats and whatnot. Probably even a few fresh meats from unfortunate bystanders like us today.” She tapped onto the wet nose of the creature, then goes shrieking in pleasure by the immersive feelings that appeared,” Ho-ha! It’s dead, but I think I’ve skipped a beat there.”

“Yeah, she’s right. It should have a good meal like us at some point. Why’s that beast eager to live here for so long if it’s not sustainable.” John Straverman affirmed,” Come on, let’s set up the tent! I’m hungry.”

---

They rested inside the tent under the cave for two hours straight. Gads Gilmore takes charge of keeping custody of the dead creature and its net-covered body to hinder its advance if it could awake. The bearded man has latched the edge with special adhesives and sticking those end towards the slippery rocks down under. Yet, nobody knows if it is actually dead in a glance, so there should be constant supervision ahead of any visible movement that appears.

“Hey, can I eat these calves? Looks meaty for me!”

John Straverman chuckled. Beyond all things that occurred so far, the black-haired man is one of the most knowledgeable when it is about WIC company and their operations on the block. Each artificial creatures that the company fabricated was brought into life by the means of chemical reactions. Their veins were running with many liters of liquid that should be poisonous for someone to eat from. Against his derides, Gads Gilmore went careless and clinging onto his own matters before the screen. He monitored the concentrated array of red spots amidst the track for second cave forward. No observable movement introduced in the display to date. They gathered round to obstruct their subsequent destination in ten kilometers walk,”Damn it. Is my device broken? I don’t think I’ve overused it, but I’m starting to think that I have.” hissed the bearded man towards the screen. Gads Gilmore was laying on the lazy chair while slurping a glass of iced tea that he had preserved beforehand. He scrolls around the map of Ganabra Forest but having no pertinent answer for their trouble so far.

Out of her own maintenance towards the assault rifle and personal items inside the backpack, Shanice was listening over the bearded man’s distraught. After that, the curly-haired woman flicks the goggles on for viewing the issue with her perspective in consideration,”What’s the fuss, Gads? I don’t get your complaining.” She rattled.

For some period, the curly-haired woman objected his loud protest, but fell in silence after giving a good watching towards the purview. The bearded man has deployed his flying drones outside to discover on what was flocking in-between. Yet, as the living footage itself suggested, there are no visuals of apparent adversaries at the exact position of hotspots that was appeared on the radar.

“Oh no, They’re not joking on this project, and they tested them on us.”

Her face went pale before the sight of nothingness within the goggles. John Straverman approached the leader to ask for such downhearted emotion, yet Shanice laid on no other answer than yielding her device to the man,”You’ll definitely know what I meant. Take a look and think of our latest project with that God-forsaken company.” She said in follows.

~click~

A few seconds is all the black-haired man needed to muster his own opinion. John Straverman gulped nervously against the empty-looking lane. Muddy waters on the ground was calm and placid. Sometimes, the wind blows to display ripples, but never adequate to resemble living beings that were shown within the radar.

“It’s the invisible kitten.”

John mumbled.

Elisa gasped against her husband’s remarks. Her eyes broadened in utmost terror once hearing off the name that was mentioned. Natasha Gastano becomes confused and questioning every tone that were exchanged during their ramble. Her eyes squinted in suspicion rather than widened in fear,”What’s with the kitten? I know it’s invisible, but why’s everyone looking dead before it? It’s pretty small, right.” She tried to break the ice-cold expression that the group has traded.

“It’s agile and deadly. We can’t see them because it is invisible, and they are running in groups.”

Shanice tried to explain, but her own tremble fashioned most of blurted sentences that she was applied. Gads Gilmore appeared dreadful due to the horrific manifestation that most people surrounding him has put on their current attitude. His eyes indicated tons of distress because of an unknown cause they have to apprehend,”Then, we can’t shoot at it? Maybe do a trick, perhaps?” He attempted to smother intensity that were nestling within the air, but failed miserably because of the leader’s agitation at this period. However, his thoughts wanders around the vacant territory of Ganabra Forest on the screen and created an idea into the mind, “I’m not really sure. If we added Natasha’s logic before today, we can safely assume that it’s gonna be a walk in the park for Shanice to kill them on the spot. We can’t be really done that, right? It’s too risky.”

Shanice realised that Gads Gilmore’s statement sparks a bountiful suggestion. Her eyes returned bright with inspiration once more, scanning towards her fellow teammates in devoted grin,”I’ll volunteer for this objective again. Can you all give me your grenades? I’ll throw it once meeting them face-to-face. It should be enough to devastate them all if it's your customised ones in the mix, Gads.”

“Hey, isn’t that merely a wild theorem, Shanice? Why won’t we use the drones?”

Elisa negated such assessment and laid both palms up front to voice her rejection. The blonde-haired woman shook herself steadily against the baseless conjecture that their leader has pronounced,” Don’t you dare volunteer on this, too, babe. I don’t-“

“Nah, it’s on me fully, Elisa. I’ve been the most murderer in our group. Drones will never be counted on as the killer, but to your own hands in frontal manner. So, obligation’s on my pathetic ass, now, don’t be worried much about it.” Shanice barged in-between direct confrontation of their members, then giving a thumbs-up towards her brother soon after,” You’ll be in charge to lead this friends of ours if I got killed, brother. Bring them to our emergency shelter at the capital city if it’s the only means to do.”