Episode Eleven - Zombies (Part 1)
Chapter Song Suggestion "Night Ride by Entropy"
*note : all dialogues like so {example} are spoken from the predator's perspective
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THE PAST | Lars
He woke up shirtless on a cold, dank floor. A silent groan left his lips as he got up, feeling sore all over. The dim lighting allowed him a glimpse of his empty surroundings. Where was he? Where was Eira? Or anyone else for that matter.
Something heavy sat around his neck. Lifting his fingers, he touched the cold, hard metal and realized it was a collar. Anger surged from within. They dared to collar him!
"I see you've finally awoken," a mechanical voice spoke.
His head whipped around, trying to locate the source of the sound. He found a recording camera with a blinking red light, hinting that he was being watched. "Where am I? Who are you?"
"Welcome to Ataxia, 5377. This is your new home. If you promise to obey orders, then you will be freed from your disciplinary cell."
Muscles weakened from the soldier's beating; he steadied a hand on the wall to help him stand. Seething on the inside, he bit out stubbornly. "You cannot force my will. And my name is Lars Verhelst. Not 5377."
"That's what all the other strong-willed boys before you said." Arrogant amusement filtered the automated voice. "We shall see how long you will last. Boys like you often make fine soldiers if you just admit defeat. I look forward to breaking your spirit, 5377."
And they plunged him into total darkness.
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PRESENT DAY
Florian and Anaelle shared a humpback, while Lars and Koga rode on the other. Above them, Eira and Xue Long soared the skies, on the lookout for possible dangers. They had been riding for hours, deciding against stopping after the sand driller incident. Eira could tell that her team members were unused to Skocian weather, their faces carved with the day's struggle.
Her spirits lifted when she sighted a dark patch of land in the horizon, the outline of silhouetted trees were stark against the setting sun. "Land ahead! It's the Oasis!" Though it wasn't much, at least it could provide them a temporary shelter.
"Fucking finally," Koga muttered, tired of the heat and sand in his eyes. What he wouldn't give for some cold beer and an equally cold shower.
Lars shifted his gaze to the sunset, his expression unreadable. "Proceed with caution, team. The Giant Rochel will be waking up soon and I would prefer that we avoid a confrontation."
"I'll scout ahead." Eira volunteered and urged Xue Long to speed up.
It had been years since her first visit to the Oasis — an untouched lake in a round sand dune, like a bowl of water surrounded by lush greenery. Its guardian was a humungous predator skull skimming the lake's surface — opened jaws depicting a gruesome death. At almost ten feet tall, it did a marvellous job scaring off cowardly visitors and unwanted guests. Eira often wondered what kind of species it belonged to, with two prominent tusks embedded in the bone sockets of its skull. Was it extinct? A relic of the old era?
As she circled the Oasis, she observed not a living soul in sight but, she knew better than to trust its misleading tranquility. After all, still waters ran deep. Circling back, she regrouped with the team who were dismounting at the perimeters. Landing beside Lars, she reported. "It's quiet, but the nocturnes will soon arise. We'll have to move quickly."
Florian approached with a tablet. "It says here that the bodies were dumped into the lake." His expectant gaze landed on Eira. "Did you see anything out of the ordinary?"
"No." Her response lukewarm. "Strangely, the lake was clear. There were no signs of corpses. Technically speaking, it takes about four days for a corpse to show itself in water. Does the report state how long it has been?"
"The report was filed yesterday but who knows when the bodies were dumped?" Florian then suggested. "Could scavengers have taken the bodies away?"
"That could be a possibility." Lars agreed vaguely. "But we won't know until we investigate further. We need answers as to how many bodies are there, and why or who dumped them."
"Come on," Eira beckoned. "I'll lead us to the lake. We'll have to cut through the trees."
It was a twenty-minute hike through the dense forest, the various sounds of twittering and chattering alerted everyone that nightfall was here. Reaching the clearing, they saw the mirroring lake, painted hues of orange, indigo and pink from the sunset. The humpbacks didn't hesitate to dip their heads in for a drink, communicating that it was safe to consume.
"What the fuck is that thing?" Koga nodded at the giant skull sitting in the lake. "What type of monster predator did it belonged to?"
"Those tusks look familiar," Anaelle observed. "It must be a mutated descendent of an old era elephant. Elephants were originally large mammals, but to think that it could grow as big as a building...," she visibly shuddered. "Let's hope we'll never have the bad luck of meeting one."
"Has it ever been recorded in the government database?" Eira asked.
"No, it's never been logged," Anaelle replied. "If we're lucky, perhaps it's already extinct. After all, the old era tortoise was an animal that represented longevity. If this Giant Rochel is a descendent, then we can expect the Oasis to be hundreds of years old."
That was true, Eira silently agreed.
"Captain, do we need to search the lake?" Koga bent at the shore, staring hard into the obscure waters. He wasn't keen on getting in, not certain what lurked beneath.
Lars nodded curtly. "Affirmative. Florian and Koga will be responsible for searching the lake. Eira and Anaelle will check for leftover clues. I'll scout the perimeter. If you find anything strange, report it to me immediately. Everyone, fall out."
Anaelle got down to work, rummaging her bag for her sample kit. While Eira combed the place, she couldn't help noticing Anaelle digging and sprinkling dirt into a test tube on her analyzer.
"What is that?" Eira was genuinely curious.
"It's a chemical analyzer," the other woman explained, reading the results. "I'm trying to identify traces of decomposition that might help us get a read on when the corpses were abandoned, or if there are any inside the lake."
The ground shifted abruptly, cutting off their conversation. A bunch of harmless nocturnes burst through the forest trees, soaring into the twilight.
"What the hell just happened?" Koga's hand wrapped firmly around Shisui's hilt – a moment away from defending himself.
The ground they stood upon shivered and moved. Keeping her balance, Eira noticed the trees tilting and so were they – like a seesaw. "The Giant Rochel's waking up." Beside her, Xue Long flapped its wings desperately to steady itself.
"Are we in danger?" Knees deep in rippling water, Florian couldn't help but worry. He wasn't keen on getting ambushed while drenched. The feeling was cumbersome, and he had left sharpshooter on the shore. All he had was a medium-sized blade to protect himself.
Eira recalled the stories from her ex-seniors and quickly reassured the team. "As long as we stay inside the Oasis, we'll be safe. The Giant Rochel doesn't harm the creatures that live on its back."
"Keep searching!" Lars commanded, ignoring the false alarm. "We only need to be concerned about the in-land predators. After that, we'll set up camp. There's no way off the Oasis until daylight, so don't stop."
They continued searching, though no traces of bodies were found. Waddling to shore, Koga grumbled. "Is the Colonel certain about this? I swear, if this is some bullshit prank, I'm going to be pissed."
"Captain, I found something." Anaelle paced forward with a piece of tattered cloth. "I picked this up while inspecting the area." Awe suffused her voice, a hint of enthusiasm. "It's wet, which means it's recent."
Golden eyes hardened. "Where did you find this?"
"Up ahead. I also found traces of human DNA and high saturation of ammonium ions."
"Human decomposition," Lars translated easily, coming to a foregone conclusion. "The corpses aren't in the lake. Someone or something must have moved them."
"Exactly. And I checked for prints. These are some photos I took." She showed him the snapshots from the forest. "Isn't it strange? The mark reminds me of a long object being dragged on the ground." She swiped to the next photo. "This is the other print, it's smaller but it resembles a distorted footprint."
Lars couldn't deny that there was something strange about the case. Turning to the rest of the team, he declared. "Anaelle has discovered some clues suggesting that the corpses were removed from their original location. We'll have to search the forest. For now, let's set up camp and take a break." To Eira, he invited, "Come with me."