The next day, Austin found himself in front of the military building. It was a skyscraper of only ten floors. Outside the building were two flags, one belonging to Medianda, which was purple and white, while the second belonged to the military, which was brown and white. Austin walked into the building, and the few soldiers that saw him saluted him as he made his way into the elevator. Just as the doors to the elevator were closing, a woman rushed in.

"Damn! I'm late, " The woman said nothing in particular to anyone. 

Austin ignored the woman's disrespect and tried to place his hand on the eighth floor, but the woman beat him to it. "Oh! It seems we are going to the same floor. " She said Austin ignored her again and looked away. Austin didn't know why a woman whose long braided black hair covered half of her face was on an elevator ride with him. He didn't find the woman attractive; instead, he found her annoying, and when the elevator reached the eighth floor, he rushed out. Austin walked swiftly down the hallway, and when he reached a door on the left side of the hallway, he walked inside. 

"Sir," Austin saluted, sitting behind a glass desk. He also took his time to notice that there were other people in the room.

"Lieutenant Colonel Austin, At ease. " The man said to him

"Yes, sir!" Austin smiled at the man. "It's nice to see you again, uncle Rallye," he said. 

"Same here, nephew," Rallye said as he rose from his chair and approached Austin.He pulled him into a hug. Rallye smiled at him. "I knew you'd come when I called you."

The door burst open and the woman Austin saw inside the elevator entered. "I'm sorry I'm late." She announced her presence. 

"And you are?" Rallye asked. 

The woman gasped when she saw who was asking the question. "First lieutenant Kemisola Landon, sir!" She saluted him. 

"Oh! You are the doctor, "Rallye eyed her suspiciously. 

"Yes, sir!" 

"At ease." 

"Yes, sir!" 

"Everyone, this is lieutenant colonel Austin Davinson." Raylle introduced Austin to the rest of the people in the office. The office was a large one that could contain sixty people between the glass desk, which belonged to Raylle Davinson, and the number of round chairs that were on the left side of the room. 

"Sir!" The people saluted Austin. 

"Captain Tony Jonny, sir!" A black man with an oval-shaped face and obsidian eyes saluted Austin. 

"Second lieutenant Sammie, sir!" Another man who had a round face like Austin but was white and had unique hazel eyes saluted Austin. If Austin was tall, then Sammie was taller at 6'4. Sammie was a little bit lean, but he had muscles in the right places. 

"Sergeant major Ella, sir," A red-haired white woman saluted Austin. She had a thick figure, which made her look petite, but she still stood tall at 5'11 with the physique of a man. 

"Sergeant major Gabriella sir," A black woman in a low cut saluted Austin. She wore a short-sleeved turtleneck, which showed a tattoo on her left arm. The tattoo writing spelled blood. Gabriella also had a unique height of 5'10. Her obsidian eyes were big, which made them nice for her round face. 

"Second lieutenant, Oklahoma, sir," Another white woman saluted Austin. She had long blonde hair that was styled into a ponytail. Okie was a slender woman with green eyes. Okie had a birthmark covering her right eye, making it look like a scar. Okie was of average height as she stood tall at about 5'7. 

"First lieutenant Lenny, sir," A white man saluted Austin. He had an oval-shaped face, a square jaw, and blue eyes, which made him surprisingly handsome. His brunette hair was styled into dreadlocks. Lenny was also of average height, and he had muscles in the right places. 

"Captain Daniel, sir," Another white man saluted Austin. Daniel can be described in three words. "Rough and bad." Daniel had tattoos all over his exposed arms and left ear. He had a bald head that had a gun tattooed on it. He was a sturdy man with a unique height. He stood as tall as Austin, as they seemed to be of the same height. 

The last person to introduce himself didn't say a thing at first until Raylle cleared his throat. Kelly made a point of emphasizing the sir.'s son is Austin's cousin, but they do not get along. He had brown hair and big obsidian eyes. Kelly was muscular and had a height of about 6'1. 

"At ease!" Austin said to all of them.

"Yes, sir!" They all responded. 

"You may all have a seat as I discuss the purpose of why you are all here," Raylle informed them. 

"Yes, sir!" They all took their seats at the round table. 

"The government has decided to choose all ten of you for a special mission." It's a highly classified mission. The reason why we chose you guys is that you are good at what you do. As the general commander of the Mecianda Army force, I choose you all for this mission. That's not all. " Raylle paused and stood up from his seat. He walked to his desk and carried some files, which he shared with the soldiers. "You are all fighting this war with forty more soldiers from four different countries." Everything you need to know is in that file in your hands. Any questions? " He asked. 

"Yes, sir!" Austin stood up. "Sir, what are we fighting against?" Why don't I get to pick my team? " 

"Lieutenant Colonel Austin" was truly summoned.

"Yes, sir!" Austin saluted him. 

"This is the government's decision. The government decided to make it unknown to the public because "the masses are easily afraid." Raylle explained. "This is why I chose you to lead this team, son." He touched Austin's shoulder. "Nigeria was first attacked, followed by Pakistan, the U.S and now, small towns are getting attacked." The reason why I purposely called Austin is that he had fought what was suspected of being the creature. " 

"The people already know about this, sir." The news is everywhere! " Kemisola stood up and saluted Raylle. "Sir, war is coming and the people already know about it." 

"Which is why we are being sent before it becomes more complicated," Kelly answered her question in a low but hoarse tone. 

Rallye nodded at him but added to what his son had said. "We are trying to stop the war." In a week, you will all be deployed to a small village shared by Mecianda and Nigeria. Our sources suspect that the attack started from there. Do you understand? " He shouted. 

They all stood up. "Yes, sir!"

"Any questions!" Raylle asked. 

"No, sir!" They all chorused. 

"You all are to report to the base camp in two days." Before you come to camp, get acquainted with yourselves and read the files in your hand. You have two days to visit your family and friends. "You are all hereby dismissed.

"Yes, sir!" 

              ~~~~~~~~~~

"Austin Davinson, inmate 3002 is ready for you." A female warden wearing a black round-neck shirt and green khaki trousers informed Austin that she had come to visit someone in Langos prison.

"All right," Austin stood up from his chair and followed a male warden dressed in a black round neck and green khaki.The warden led him into a room separated by glass.Two chairs were facing each other and separated by the glass. Austin sat in one chair while a man came out of a door on the opposite side. 

"So you came after all." It's been five years. "The man said to Austin."

"I came to see how you are suffering, Father," Austin replied to the man who turned out to be his father. 

Lord Davinson, Austin's father, smiled widely at his son. Austin was a replica of his father, from the unique height of 6'3 and the amazing obsidian eyes to the round face and full lips. The resemblance was uncanny. Lord was an older version of Austin. Lord also has a scar on his left eye. It was a scar, probably gotten from a knife cut. 

"As you can see, I'm enjoying the suffering,"  Lord smiled. 

Austin glared at him. "What do you know about those creatures you told me about five years ago?" 

Lord gave him no reply and stared at the face of his son. "How is Zenobia?" He asked instead. 

Austin slammed his hand on the glass that separated them. "You don't get to ask about her!" He yelled. 

"I hope she is fine." Lord simply replied, which infuriated Austin more. 

You don't deserve to live, Lord! You deserve death for what you did, and I promise I'll give you that death! " Austin pointed a threatened finger at him. 

"You are cutting the wrong tree, son," the Lord told him. "I know you resented me for what happened five years ago, but it's not the truth."

"I don't care! You killed my wife, and I will forever resent you for that. " 

"Good luck with whatever you believe, but I will never hurt you." Your uncle...

Austin interrupted by slamming the glass again. Stop blaming other people for your mistakes. My uncle is more of a father than you will ever be. You left us when I was five years old and came back when I was twenty. "Uncle Raylle was there for me when you were not, so you have no right to talk about him like that." He expressed his feelings and anger towards his father. 

 Lord didn't say anything but looked down because he was ashamed of himself. "What do you want to know about these creatures?" He asked. 

I've been called to be deployed. You've met with those creatures because you told me about that five years ago. " 

"Do you believe me now?"  Lord burst into laughter. "Five years ago, when I told everyone, they refused to believe me. They knew I would reveal their secret to the public, so they did one thing. They turned my son against me! "  Lord said and burst into laughter. 

I don't need to know about your stories. I only came to know about the creatures recently. "What you told me five years ago is happening and I need your help to stop it, father." 

"You can't stop the inevitable, son." If they had listened to me five years ago, then none of this would have happened. I'll give you one piece of advice, and that is to leave this country with your daughter. "  Lord said and looked away. "If you are done with your questions, I should probably get back to my cell." 

"One more thing, father. You said five years ago that you knew who was in charge of who? " Austin questioned

"Somethings are best kept hidden.You wouldn't believe me even if I told you. "  Lord answered back. He then stood up and walked towards the door that was behind the chair. 

"Why are you doing this? If you tell me who it is, I'll reveal it to the world. " Austin said. 

It's not just one person. They are an organization, and I only know one of them. Be careful on this journey, son. You could die because of it. " 

"Well, I'm not as selfish as you are." I would never turn my back on people when they needed me. You know what, dad, I think I made a mistake in coming here while knowing that you would bever change. " Austin stood up and turned to leave.

"To find more about those creatures, go to my home."

"There is nothing more in your home. It was burned down to ashes when you got arrested, "Austin reminded him."

"Hmmmmmm," Lord sighed briefly. "There is a tree at the front of my house where you played as a little boy." There is a tiny hole at the center of the tree. Push it and find your answers there.

"What will I find there?" 

"Something you should never reveal to anyone." If you do, they'll come after Zenobia. It is never too late to take my advice. " 

"You were once a soldier, so I'm sure you know this phrase. 'A soldier never runs from his duty. Goodbye, father. " Austin walked away without turning back to look at his father. 

"I hope he listens," Lord said as he walked away from his son.