The Alpha's Mate | Pt.6

The silence was haunting. She decided to stop on a large tree overlooking the facility. Tora felt her legs shake and her stomach caving in from hunger. She struggled to regulate her breathing, not wanting to pant too loudly, so she held and released her breath slowly. 

Her map showed a couple of green dots, indicating some participants nearby. Because this was a simulation of the first battle, there were no sensors for enemies yet. Tora knew that she couldn't rely solely on the map.

Her hands gripped tightly on the machete handle. The initial plan was for her to set up camp near the lake towards the facility's west. She would create traps around the location and lure them out while she watched from a distance. Once she learned their patterns, she could recapture the facility, but everything went wrong when she dropped out of that aircraft.

She now had to focus on the facility and rely on the knowledge of the creature's behavior she read about. However, she was starting to question if the written knowledge was an accurate description or not. Asier's note had messed up her line of thought yet again.

When you said that they can imitate, you didn't mean the shapeshifting ability, did you?

'Hmm, what do you think?' 

The ability to imitate anything from a glance is a popular trope...If that's the case, I need to make sure they die before they learn my attack pattern. 

With the machete, she sliced off a bunch of branches, sharpening both edges. After completing it, she jumped onto the large, thick wall, putting all her strength into throwing it. The stakes plunged into the dirt ground, lodging deep in there, leaving only a foot sticking out. She did this on both sides of the wall. 

It would have been smarter to dig a hole and have the stakes in there to trap anything that falls in. But she didn't have the time or equipment to do it quickly enough before something noticed her. This was the only option for creating an emergency trap. 

If I knew this was going to happen, I should have grabbed a bow and arrow for long-distance attacks. 

She leaped back to the tree and made a call. "Colonel. I need assistance." 

[A team led by Colonel Clark has been dispatched. They should arrive shortly before dawn. That's in another 8 hours. I advise that you immediately find your way in.] 

"That's the issue. Our maps don't have an enemy radar. I need you to tell me the locations of where they are in the facility."

[Give me a minute. I'll look through the cameras in the facility.] 

"Circle the locations on the map and send it to me. Update me with a new map every 20 minutes. Thanks," she hung up and studied the rooms and entrances of the facility. 

Tora knew that the main weaponry room was in the basement, which was nearest to entrance 13. Her current location was near entrance 8 and would need to walk another half-mile to reach entrance 13.

As discussed, the map was sent with red dots indicating the locations of the enemy. There were two in the building and four around entrance 22. Tora cross-referenced the map she got with the one in her bracelet. She noticed that there were three green dots in the building near entrance 22 and one green dot near entrance 13. 

There are already people in the building? If they're smart, the three can handle the four. I'll check on the person near my entrance. 

Tora made a few more large stakes and carried them with her. She sprinted as fast as she could along the top of the wall, jumping down when she saw the entrance. She felt her eyebrows twitch once she arrived at the large steel doors. The area was bare, with not a single person near it. 

I'm sure I didn't see it wrong...

She checked her map again and confirmed that there was indeed a green dot near her, but this time, it was quickly approaching. 

"Hey! Open the door! Quickly!" It was the dud she saw on her aircraft. Her lips twitched as she leaned against the doors. "What are you doing—!?"

"Participant number 43, do you think steel doors will keep them out? Go on, give the thing chasing you a death punch."

"You crazy—!" Tora grabbed the small flying ball and chucked it at the creature. The ball struck its face, causing it to tumble backward. "That's the camera! Are you dumb!?"

"I'll just take your camera. How dare you allow it to chase you like this!? It could have called the others, and then what would've happened!?" She pulled out her machete and sprinted forward after knocking him to the side. 

She jumped and quickly decapitated it. Her hands shook from gripping the handle too tightly. The yellow blood splattered on her as she stood up. The gory scene caused the participant to gag. His face paled, and his legs felt weak. 

Tora turned around and walked back to the door. Her suit burned off the blood and dirt stains, this made her look like she was steaming up. The blood on her face and the moonlight shining down made her look sinister. It was an impressive look, seeing her suit burn off the stains as she wiped at her face. The warm sensation tickled her cheeks and lips. For a moment, she felt like it was comforting her. 

Her gaze pierced him as she reached for the door. Her machete was neatly placed back in its spot. She had noticed earlier that the door was jammed. There was no reason for her to waste time trying to find a way to open the door without damaging it. Her hands balled up into a fist and she punched the door open. 

BOOM! 

The loud noise echoed through the night. "This is how you punch with the intention to kill. Remember it, participant number 43. The next time you freeze up like that, I'll kill you myself." Her voice sent shivers down his spine. 

"Ye—yes, I understand, Boss!" He instinctively saluted her. "But the door...What are we going to do about it, Sir?" Noticing her glare, he quickly said, "Ma'am!" 

  Tora picked the steel door up from the floor. She signaled for him to help her hold it up. "Shove it through there as hard as you can. Make sure it's halfway out." She positioned it up and turned it sideways so that the narrow edge was what would be sticking out of the door frame. 

"That would leave open spaces..."

"Just do it. Knock the other door down and do the same." 

"Yes, Boss..." 

The two doors were shoved between the door frames, creating three openings. She grabbed the stakes and instructed number 43 to help her plung it into the floor, making it so that the stakes were faced towards both the outside and inside of the building. This would make it harder for something to come in and out of the three openings. 

"Break some tables and chairs to make more stakes. Stick them by the windows, this time verticle instead of diagonally. Make sure it is deep in the floor, leave about half a foot above ground." They both quickly finished setting traps. "43, What's your weapon?" 

"I didn't grab any." Tora felt like she was about to faint from anger. Her vision blackened for a moment. "I'm very good at making stuff! So I thought it was best to build my way out of this..." 

I'm losing brain cells just talking to this dud.

"I have a lot of questions that need answers. But before that, we need to get to the weaponry room in the basement. There should be food and water in there." 

"Yes, Sir! Uh! Ma'am! Boss!" 

They were lucky to make it safely without any disturbances. Tora made sure the heavy door was properly locked before relaxing. They both sat down for a quick meal and drink. Tora cracked the MRE bag and shook it to heat the food up. The smell of baked beans almost made her sick to her stomach. 

The space was well-lit and taken care of. The nicely displayed weapons were a feast to her eyes. Her caving stomach felt a lot better after having some food and water. 

"What happened after the drop?" 43 stopped shoving food in his mouth and answered.

"It was VERY quiet. Like, the whole place was dead silent. I was dropped off near the lake towards the East." He popped opened his map and pointed towards the location. "I thought it was weird, so I climbed up the cliff towards the right here as fast as I could." 

Tora nodded, signaling for him to continue. 

"I was right because a minute later, something huge came bursting out of the water. This large hunched creature with a bunch of thick tentacles just hanging off its body crawled out. It looked nothing like the ones I read in the books. So I got the hell outta there." 

I've never heard of something in the water before. It was stated that they don't know how to swim. I should investigate. 

"Did you get the message to head to the facility?" 

"Yes, I got it and ran over."

"You were only five miles away from here. What took you so long?" 

"I saw a group of others headed into the forest so I followed them for a bit. It was very strange, none of them showed up on the radar but all had the suit on. They were carrying these huge modified weapons with them. One of them noticed and actually fired at me! So I got the hell outta there as well!" 

"Modified weapons...?" Indeed, it was strange. I should have noticed when only four others popped up on the radar and the other hundred were nowhere to be seen. "Did you see the other three that are currently near entrance 22?" 

"No, I thought it was best to head to the weaponry and arm myself before meeting others." 

"You're smarter than I thought. Finish your food. You're going to need all the energy you can get because you're guiding me back to the lake." 

She watched as he went on a fit of hiccups. His goofy expressions made her feel a sense of helplessness. His eyes cautiously watched her as he shoved food in his mouth. 

"Sorry..." He looked away awkwardly and continued, "Sorry for treating you that way on the aircraft. I just found it hard to comprehend why an Omega would waste its time here." 

Tora didn't say anything and just stayed silent. This made him nervous. 

"Why did you remove your glands? It's a procedure that's irreversible."

"I'd rather die than live my life dictated by my heat cycles and society. I hate having no control over myself."

"The rumors about you being heartbroken—." 

"It wasn't love. I find Colonel Clark and his household repulsive. Don't ever bring them up in front of me ever again." 

"Yes, Boss..." He continued his meal and then paused again. "By the way, you have a very unique scent. It's very...pleasant. That's why everyone was staring in the aircraft..."

Tora nodded and fiddled with her bracelet. She had already known about her unique scent from her grandfather and his assistant, Jason. The doctor had told her that it was likely due to the removal of the glands, but they won't know for sure. She didn't think that it was bothering those around her to the point of attracting attention. 

"Colonel Mason, can you get me still images of the lake towards the East? I also need still images of my drop-off location."

[I'll get that to you as fast as I can. You're being watched very intently so do things in moderation.] 

"Thanks, I'll try. Tell Grandpa that I'm feeling a bit tired and miss his cooking." 

Tell him to keep the eyes off me is what that meant. This was a code that only ranked officials in Water Wing City knew. 

[I'll let the General know.] 

"We'll go check on the three participants. Do you know how to use a gun, 43?" 

"Uh...nope. I know how to use batons..." 

Should I just kill him?