Race against destiny

Being a target of attack was a problem for the group located in the Gray Strip, since it was the only place with greenery that could be seen in the distance, in addition to the colossal portal on the outskirts of the southwest section that was the entrance and exit for the 17 mining trucks delivered by Crystal Clouds to advance the construction of the underground road. The beasts manufactured to support 500 tons, eased the transport of materials, among them minerals, mana stones, rubble and subterranean beasts. They went back and forth in mining dump trucks between Crystal Clouds and the allied nations.

At 3 pm, all the workers stopped to rest and on the way they would witness a great event that will change their perception of the inhabitants in the clouds. The bearers of the rings delivered by Vhaeraun, prepared to open several portals, from various cardinal points of the Gray Strip, to make way for the exit of pick-up-style trucks. The race against time was beginning.

The pick-ups carried four passengers each, making up assault teams. Akeem, Nox, Virgil, and Leto's son, Orka, were one of many on the west team. Everyone waited for the siren to start. For Virgil, it was the first time he had gone out for a walk in centuries and he found it necessary to join the desert journey. He couldn't stop being amazed, to the point that he yelled excitedly and groped at the trucks he had never seen before. Ray managed to tell Virgil's team that he was just crazy, he had to dismiss his opinions until they finished the mission and they all took that truth for granted.

Virgil and Nox were seated in the uncovered cargo area, carrying thirty translucent glass stakes that they must drive around the Gray Strip. In the driver's cab Akeem drives and Orka controlled the GPS on the control panel to locate the stakes, indicating the positions by an ear transmitter. The siren sounded and each team set out at 90 mph and kept increasing speed to cover the entirety of the journey before the arrival of the Black Sugars.

-This is fun, don't you think so, girl! The wind and ... look at those useless nagas and banshees, they can't reach us- Virgil scoffs at the situation of his rival and Nox omits to play along.

-We heard you from behind ... Damn you!- An angry banshee makes obscene mocking gestures and yells at Virgil as the truck surpasses theirs.

-Hey Grandpa, pass an antenna to Nox, the next stop is by meter and a half. The Azur team left us because of you- Orka did not know why they were with a tremendous idiot

Nox stands annoyed and with her web she forms a solid hammer. With a jump she propels herself up into the air, while Virgil throws an antenna at her, which is held up with another web and then ends up being hammered like a nail into the ground. To avoid falling into the void, she forms a slide with her attribute and slides back to the pickup. The rest of the teams did the same, using air, water, land, ice, shadows among many other skills to nail the antennas.

The delay time was two and a half hours. All teams finished their mission quickly and returned through portals to the starting point. Once inside, everyone looked up at the sky waiting for Ray to act on the antennas, but he gave Cydonia the honor of turning them on. The ignition caused a loud deafening hum, then came to an abrupt stop. Suddenly a bright purple wall began to emerge, covering the entire gray stripe in a protective dome.

The dome became transparent inside and the evening sky could be seen, but outside it, only the desert could be reflected. The antennas acted as a shield against any unwanted attack or intruder and was camouflaged with the outside. For anyone, the Gray Strip went back to what it was at the beginning: a lifeless desert.

Now they could work quietly without interference and fear of being discovered. After the show, everyone went to prepare for the arrival of their companions.

**

Meraki opened four portals of 1km in diameter each. The other Belcher employees began to open the cars to help with the unloading. He gave the order to start Zion, who was transformed as a mechanic and hundreds of golems emerged from the portals that began to take the corpses with the experimentation materials and documents in a portal, in another they loaded all the money and in the third, the golems helped by removing the suppression and tracking collars to carry the sick and abductees who had been paralyzed with fear. Darius and Rashid emerged from the fourth portal, bringing golems carrying crates, to take the place of the rescued people and the convoy money.

Darius was satisfied; part of the plan had been changed twice because of the duplication of guards and change of schedules. He now gave credence to Meraki's complaint about preparing for the unforeseen while Rashid looked more annoyed and disgusted at the bizarre outlook.

-Hurry with the download and get ready for those who continue until the end of the trip. We have 10 minutes left - the voice on the loudspeaker enveloped the entire warehouse urging everyone to finish as soon as possible.

One of the thawed corpses was separated from the rest and Zion opted to create a temporary coffin to transport it. Meraki was not in good spirits; for Ray was nervous about the matter and transferred that concern to his son inadvertently.

-Mera, will you take it now or will you wait for them to finish? I will retire to Argus station with Uncle Rashid when you close the other portals- Zion was also upset and wanted to go home

-I'll wait for them to finish. I don't know how they're going to react when they find out, so tell Darius to be ready. They could kill him at the slightest doubt and I am not going to bear his death-Meraki watches the group advance while caressing the coffin.

-It will be done as you say, brother-

When the last portal was closed, Ringo and Gedeon helped Meraki with the final preparations. They covered themselves with a shield and when the rest of the employees took their positions, Meraki set out to free them from sleep.

The allies pretended to wait for the enemies to get into the convoy, wondering at their behavior and inviting them to speed up the march so as not to be delayed at the next stop. Once the train started, two portals were opened to take the remaining allies who helped with the cause to the wake of their relatives, and in the other; the three escorted the coffin to the realm of mirrors.