Azreal awake

Cedric fiddled with the optical brain in his hand which had no network coverage. His face dimmed

A sigh escaped his lips as he ran his free hand through his hair. Glancing around him Riezekiel was nowhere in sight

He couldn't help but wonder what his captain could have been up to this days

"Water..." Azreal coughed lightly startling Cedric who quickly rushed to Azreal's side "you're awake" Cedric's eyes watered as he fished out a water pouch from his space pocket which he fed to Azreal. Who drank greedily

"Where's are we?" Azreal asked as he tried to sit up but his body felt too weak to move hence Cedric helped him "the Zerg's nest.....speak softly" Cedric warned and Azreal nodded blinking his eyes to adjust them to the darkness

The musty smell in the air made his face scrunch up. "Where's everyone?" He asked staring ahead in nothing

"Only I and chief have been awake, with you awake now...there's just three of us, the others are still unconscious" Cedric explained softly, his words were accompanied by the gruttal snarls of Zerg's as they walked around examining the eggs littered all over

Cedric swiftly covered Azreal's mouth to prevent him from making any sound as they made their rounds. Which lasted for over two hours till they were finally in the clear

"When will everyone wake?" Azreal asked worriedly, with the Zerg's around them he feared for the unconscious soldiers

"Just like you woke up, we've got no idea" Riezekiel's deep voice came through and Azreal's eyes watered

"Chief" he called out, his voice almost a whisper as his tears threatened to fall "there's no point crying now…." Cedric tapped Azreal's shoulders to calm him down and Azreal nodded, wiping his eyes quickly

His stomach growled softly and both men laughed whilst covering their mouths

"There's food in my space pocket" Azreal whispered as he took out food his wife had prepared and begun to munch on it

Riezekiel on the other hand sat leaning on the wall, his mind a maze of mangled thoughts, his whole body was now covered in dust including his face making him unrecognizable

"There's a way…..," his words broke the harmonious atmosphere between Cedric and Azreal "I'm weak at the moment" Azreal muttered out loud

"We can check it out first" Cedric suggested and Riezekiel shook his head

"There are two ways out of here, either we go through a teleportation wasp or we go through a wall as tall as a mountain...… however it leads to a boiling hot lava" Riezekiel commented and both men clenched their fists

Both ways were as good as impossible

"We can try out the teleportation wasp" Cedric muttered and Riezekiel shook his head

"The teleportation wasp is controlled by the queen and only works twice in a day. Which is when the Zerg's go out to hunt and when they are gathered to come back to the nest" Riezekiel explained and both men gulped

"Our only option is the lava and we'll die from it" Cedric grimaced barely stopping himself from punching into the wall

"This nest is very well underground, there's no other exit?" Azreal asked with a hint of hope in his eyes

He really didn't want to spend the rest of his life here with Zerg's and in darkness

"Our disappearance from the surface, there should be an explanation to that" Cedric grinded his jaw unwilling to believe this was how he'd spend the rest of his life

Damn! His family was still out there!

"There's been nothing so far" Riezekiel sighed heavily, he had no explanation to the disappearance of everyone

"Except we weren't alone, when we arrived the cave" Azreal voiced out and Cedric's eyes brightened.

"Illusions" Cedric patted his chest, however thinking about how they would have been watched by those pesky Zerg's made his skin crawl

They had indeed evolved way more than they had anticipated

Else how could they have the thought to make illusions!!!!

The queen!!!

She was the backbone of the nest and the mastermind of everything

"We'll have to find a way" Azreal commented as he turned to the direction Riezekiel's voice came from earlier

Riezekiel sighed as his free hand ran through his messy outgrown hair, a sigh escaped his lips as he thought about his wife

He missed his wife

~

"How's she doing?" Celeste asked as she walked over to Ryker's side, her hands shook by her sides

How she wished she could go find her husband but the kids here all depended on her, They needed her

And she has to be here for her children

It hurts "Husband" she cried in her face towel and both Ryker and Saoirse sighed

"It's okay Celeste" Saoirse hugged Celeste and patted her back, she couldn't imagine losing Ryker for anything hence she understood to an extent how Celeste was feeling at the moment

"It's not okay" Mineah clenched her fist as she stared at Saoirse and Ryker "Mineah" Saoirse sighed helplessly

Mineah stared at the couple with tears in her eyes, she had aged so much in just a few weeks, she had lost so much weight

She has toddlers and a little baby in hand yet her husband was nowhere

"You can't understand how we're feeling cause Ryker was a coward to leave the others and come back to the base on his own! My husband had risked his life to save you so many times" Mineah cried out bitterly and Ryker froze

She was right' he thought

He had been a coward to abandon his team

"Zosia's just a woman yet she went in search of her husband! She's just a young woman" Celeste pulled away from Saoirse

Her misty eyes took in Mineah'a form and without saying another word

She held Mineah's hand and led her away leaving both Saoirse and Ryker alone

"It's not your fault..." Saoirse sighed as she walked to Ryker's side, taking his hand in hers as she tried to reassure him

" I need time alone" Ryker kissed her forehead and walked out of the cave