Dawn of the 13th Era

Red Zone(2)

"Aeric we're done here let's leave already, we'll return with an organized team later." Another one said.

"Nahh, don't worry we're not in danger, I'll just check then we'll leave." Aeric said while smiling.

Alaster and the other three stood with confused faces, there was clearly no one else around and everywhere seemed deserted.

"The four of you should return to the town, report to the station, we'll be back soon." Aeric said then walked towards the village.

"Let's return to the town"Alaster said while checking his remaining ammo.

"What if we meet another wolf on the path??" One of the officers asked clearly traumatized by the incident earlier.

"I don't think we'll meet another one, that was probably a stray wolf. Besides, if there was any they would've cleared them out already." Alaster said while looking at the three on their way to the village.

"Did any of you see what killed that wolf or how it died?" Alaster asked while turning around to look at them.

Watching all of them looking confused while shaking their heads, Alaster nodded and said "Keep it that way, let's go"

------------------------------------------

Sparks of fire were flying about, the houses were in flames and little critters could be seen running about.

Aeric looked at the village and sighed "The rats came from the forest, they looked starved, must have been chased all the way over here, what do you think Damion."

"Starving rats? Rats aren't carnivores I can understand the wolves running wild but the rats don't make sense." Damion replied.

"Well..... After their evolution it seems so, or should I call it devolution, it's more like a twisted version of theirs. Even humans can devolve into cannibals so why not?" Aeric said then walked towards the nearby burning house, the fire originally spread from a single house that was set ablaze then gradually spread to the other houses. Those who didn't die to the rats were killed by the fire, only those who were able to run back to the town in time could escape.

"If even rats could create so much chaos I don't think rushing in without plans would be a good idea, the Silvermist mountains is known to house a lot of animals way more dangerous than wolves. The outskirts are still a bit safe but the inner zone wouldn't be just rats, we might be facing wolf packs or tigers. Or worse, the crocodiles in Kuro river." Damion replied.

"Don't worry, there's nothing to be scared of as long as we have Vincent here we'll be pretty much fine, escaping alive shouldn't be an issue." Aeric said without a concern then walked towards the narrow path leading up to the mountain peak.

-------------------------------------------------

Orion was scrolling through his phone trying to find more news about the spreading plague but he barely found news about the plague and they weren't meaningful, no relevant information about it's source or how it spread could be found no matter how hard he searched and no effort was made.

"It's more like they don't care about the fact so many people are dying but it's obviously impossible for them to be unbothered, it feels more like they're trying to cover it up without causing a commotion." Orion muttered while strolling down the streets.

After a while, he dropped his phone and raised his head looking at the City office located in the middle of Cyberis city.

"I'm definitely going to find some clues here, there's no way the city governor won't know what is going on." Orion muttered then walked towards a dark Alley then raised his right hand and held it with his left then watched the black cells in his left hand pass over to his right and copy Lucien's cells, all he had to do was just think of ignoring the others and focus on that single one, it was a trick he figured out the night before.

"This will come in handy." Orion said while smiling, Lucien was the second son of the city governor and he planned to gain access using it.

After a few minutes, Orion walked out from the Alley with one hand in his pocket and the other holding a briefcase.

He expected the guards to question him or ask questions but the guards only glanced at him and let him pass.

'That was easy' Orion thought with a smile on his face then walked directly to the governor's office.

"Lucien, what's wrong?" Robert, standing at an height of 1.7 metres with a slim stature was sitting behind the desk scribbling away at a few sheets when he saw his favorite son walk in.

"Good afternoon s-father." Orion called out stammering to call someone else father clearly felt strange to him.

"I just have a few things to ask, I hope it won't bother you father." Orion said then sat down.

"What is the government trying to hide and what is the cause of the plague?"

"Oh----" Robert said then adjusted his chair staring closely at Orion.

"Is this really my son Lucien?" Hearing Roberts words almost made Orion dash out for the door.

'Not yet, just be calm, be calm' he thought to himself repeatedly trying to calm himself down.

Robert shifted back and smiled "Good to see you're starting to care about things now, it's about time you grew up."

"The plague isn't a disease and it can't be cured......." Suddenly the telephone on the table started ringing.

Orion listened with his heart beating rapidly 'If it's not a disease then what's going on??'

"Hello, this is Robert city governor of Cyberis speaking."

"An order from the higher-ups has been passed across, the Silvermist mountains should be marked as a red zone and all residents nearby should be evacuated, military personnel will be sent over to monitor the situation there soon."

'A red zone?' Orion thought.