Chapter Fifteen

Two days ago

"Sir, the last Spectre has gone and destroyed their Camp, along with the General," the soldier said, stepping into the tent and bowing his head as he spoke to Alex, who looked surprised. "Where is he?" Alex asked, and the soldier lowered his eyes, apparently looking distraught. "He disappeared in the explosion. We cannot find his body. We believe he is dead." Alex sighed and looked down, a conflicted expression on his face. "Well then. Do we know if anyone actually saw what happened to him?" Alex asked, and the soldier shook his head, but then a woman with short, brown hair stepped into the tent, looking serious. "Sir, someone was with the Spectre just before he destroyed the Camp." Now Alex leaned back in his seat, thinking, "Has he checked in?" The woman shook her head, and the Captain growled with frustration.

Another two people stepped into the tent, both of them with black hair and leering, mean faces. "Did you see how that stupid Spectre disobeyed orders and ran away?" one of them was saying to the other, and then they both abruptly stopped beside the woman. "You requested to see us?" asked the first, and Alex stood, "Yes, I want you both to pack your bags and get the hell out of my Army," Alex said, and the two men looked shocked. "We can go send a search party to find the person who saw him last," the woman interjected, and Alex looked down, thinking again. "Alright, I and these two will go," the Captain said, pointing at the two men who still looked dumbstruck. "No way, I'm not going," the first said, and the second nodded. Alex looked down, furious, and the woman sighed.

"I will go," she said, and Alex nodded, pulling keys from his draws and then hurrying around the desk and following the woman out, leaving the two men and the soldier inside. "Here we are," the Captain said, jumping into the silver jeep nearby and the woman quickly followed, settling in the back as Alex started the engine and began riding over the sand. "What's your name, soldier?" Alex asked as he spun the wheel, turning the jeep towards the deserted battlefield. "Jade," the woman replied, keeping her eyes forward, and then they drove past the several Zodiac bodies, the destroyed tanks, bloodied sand, and smashed concrete walls. There was, however, a single concrete wall remaining, where the woman saw a man laying, clearly knocked out. "Here! This must be him!" She exclaimed, and Alex slammed on the breaks, skidding to a stop beside the wall.

They both leaped out of the vehicle and knelt beside the body, and the first thing the Captain did was gasp and whisper, "Trae." Jade could tell he recognized the man but did not have time to think. A silver bullet, which had been pressed to the point it looked like a coin, lay beside the man, and she checked under his uniform, seeing he was wearing a bulletproof vest. "Is he alright?" Alex asked worriedly, and Jade nodded, checking him all over before finally finding his right leg, which was bent and swollen. "The bullet didn't harm him, but he must have broken his leg when he fell," Jade reported. Alex nodded, looking relieved, and then he motioned to the man. "Put him in the back of the jeep, I'm going to go and see if the Spectre is around." Jade nodded, fed her arms under the heavy body, and lifted him into her arms.

She began walking back to the jeep, set the man into the back, and waited near the driver's door as the Captain began approaching the battlefield. "Oh, and one last thing," Alex said, and Jade turned to look at him again as he stood staring at her. "This is valuable information I'm about to give you, just in case something happens before I can tell someone. You must only tell someone if I die, and it must be at the right moment." Jade nodded, excited, and then Alex smiled, quickly handing Jade a small piece of paper and then saying, "If you hand this to people, show them what is written on the back, they will understanding." Alex stepped backward, took a deep breath, and said, "The Spirit Fountain is –" before he could utter another word, a long, thin blade pierced through his chest, and Alex gasped loudly.

Alex fell to his knees, blood pouring down his uniform, and then he pitched forward, a man in black uniform, a red stripe across his eye and a mask covering his face stepped forwards, bloodied sword in his hand. Jade stepped back in fright, climbed into the jeep, started the engine, and pressed her foot to the accelerator as the man ran forward, the jeep taking off before he could reach her. Jade was afraid, but she kept her foot down and raced the long distance back towards their own camp.

***

"This honestly is not a good sign. If they are already preparing then we have to be on our guard," the deep voice said, and a familiar voice replied, "Yeah, I know. It won't be easy though." Zack sat up quietly, taking note of his surroundings and then silently rolling off the bed and onto the smooth stone floor, where he crawled until he came to a stop right beside a desk, the two enemies talking on the other side. "Well, this Spectre needs to be kept an eye on. He has brought enough trouble as it is," Zack felt anger flash through him, and he kneeled, finding a short pair of scissors on the desk, the two enemies facing the other way and talking quickly. Zack snatched the silver scissors from the desk, crept up along the desk's side, and then stood, grabbing the nearest Zodiac by the back of the neck and holding the blade of the scissors close to his neck.

"Stay right where you are!" Zack snarled, pressing the scissors against the Zodiac's neck, yet the second Zodiac reached underneath his desk in the blink of an eye and drew a shiny pistol, aiming it carefully at Zack and Jez. "Point that somewhere else!" the Zodiac roared, elbowing Zack in the stomach and flipping him over his shoulder. Zack crashed onto the floor, but was on his feet within seconds, looking furious as he held the scissors tightly. "Now it's time for you to stay where you are!" the older Zodiac shouted from behind, but Zack did not look around, he was too busy staring at the younger Zodiac. "You again?" Zack groaned, his fists clenched, and the Zodiac nodded, raising his hands with his palms facing Zack, a sign of peace. "I can see you are on edge," the Zodiac said gently, sitting down in his seat, and Zack dropped the scissors.

"I thought you were with your father leading the Zodiac Army," Zack spat, not caring if it sounded rude, yet the Zodiac laughed loudly. "The General, my father, is dead. You killed him, I believe. I was already fighting against his men, so I then ran and saved you before you could also get blown to hell!" Zack looked shocked, but he recovered quickly, "How am I supposed to believe that?" He shot, and the Zodiac sighed. "Ever heard of The Prodigy?" Zack nodded, "He defeated the Zodiac Empire many years ago, but the General escaped and is now leading it again." The Zodiac nodded, satisfied with the answer, and then pointed at the other. Zack turned and saw the second Zodiac, who was clearly older and had a small beard around his face.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Zack asked, confused, and the man laughed. "I am called Robert, although I am sure you know me as the Prodigy. Or whatever it is they teach you in history class." Zack's mouth dropped open in amazement, and yet again Robert laughed. "Then who the hell are you, who I have been fighting for so long?" Zack asked, turning to the younger Zodiac, who shrugged. "I am called Jez. You have no reason to fight me anymore. I am an ally; at least I am now anyway. I have only just come to terms with the true nature of my father and his Zodiac Empire." Zack felt his shoulders sag slightly, and he looked at the two Zodiacs, flicking his eyes between the two with some sort of urgency. "Where are we?" Zack asked, and Jez gestured to the rocky walls and water pool near the hidden entrance before saying, "Safe."

Zack nodded, taking another, more inspected look around the TVs, suits on the back wall, and even the pouring waterfall. "They can't find us here, can they?" he asked gently, and Jez shook his head, "Not that I believe." Zack reached into his pocket, startling both Robert and Jez, but they immediately calmed when he withdrew a photograph, staring at it hard and then tucking it away. "I was just going out for supplies when you came and...announced yourself. I will be back shortly," said Jez standing quickly, stretching, and then headed over to the waterfall. "Take the bike! I don't want the car to get lost!" Robert called, and Jez nodded, tapping a rock wall beside the opening, and it slid open, a purple motorbike revealing itself. Jez climbed onto the bike, remembering the motorbike lessons his father had given him, and he revved the engine.

"Remember the feature I built into it!" Robert called, and Jez nodded, tapping several switches on the dashboard, revving the engine again, and suddenly shooting out of the waterfall and onto the water. His motorbike sped along the water's surface, almost gliding as Jez sped up, swerving along with the liquid and feeling, for the first time in a while, exhilarated. The land was coming close, and Jez tapped a button on the dash the very second he hit the sand, his motorbike speeding up and then hitting the road. By the time he arrived at the building they received supplies from, it was incredibly dark. Jez climbed off his motorbike, left the keys in the ignition, and strode up to the building. As he expected, the front doors were already unlocked, so he strode inside and headed to the staircase on his left, proceeding up two floors, and then opening a door on his left.

He left the door open, headed into the room, and sat down at the desk, where several weapons rested, as well as three cases of food and medical supplies. Jez knew he could only take one of the cases and two weapons, so he picked up a pistol and began feeding bullets into its barrel. Step, step, step. Jez looked up, seeing the blurry reflection of someone entering the room behind him, raising a gun to the back of his head. Jez kept loading the pistol, sighed, and moved his head aside as a bang resounded around the room. Jez lifted his left hand, punching the intruder in the face, standing, whirling on the spot, and firing thrice. The Zodiac dropped to his knees and fell backward, blood squirting from the fatal wounds, and Jez groaned. The Zodiacs were here too!

He looked at the many guns set onto the table, and shrugged, loading a nearby rifle, picking it up, and hearing more footsteps. He ducked behind the table as two Zodiacs entered the room, pistols in hand, and then Jez made his move. He stood from behind the table and fired, the two dropping dead, and then a bullet whizzed past Jez's head. He turned, seeing a Zodiac aiming at his head, and ducked, a second bullet flying forward. Jez rolled as more bullets struck the ground where he had been moments before, and he raised the rifle quickly, the Zodiac dropping as Jez fired several bullets. Jez threw the rifle aside as he got to his feet, grabbing the pistol he was loading minutes ago and then hurrying from the room, headed down towards the exit unnoticed and slipping away towards his motorbike, heart racing.