%20pngg.png)
Mike's shoulders seemed to slump with exhaustion for a second, but then he took a deep breath and took out his radio. "This is Mike. We got the kids out and we're all safe. Anybody who's able to report, now's the time to do so. Thranion? James? Dane? Trouble?" He paused, waiting.
It took a few moments before James’ voice came through the radio somewhat statically, “James here. Need any help with the kids? We have a few men to spare.”
A second later another voice came through, sounding incredibly weary. "Dane here. Fight's over. We'll come by and cover your exit."
"Thanks. You too, James. That would be appreciated. Any sign of the villagers? We don't see them."
"I think they got chased off at some point. Their radio cut out so we have no idea if they're okay."
Mike narrowed his eyes. "All right. We'll look for them as soon as the kids are safe. See you soon."
James’ line cut out a few moments later, “At least we know those two survived, that’s a plus.” Tanrial said, running a hand through her hair.
"Yeah. And hopefully the others just lost connection." Mike walked back to the hole and waved. "Come on out, everyone. When our friends get here, we'll take you all to safety."
The group climbed cautiously out into the open forest, blinking at the brightness of the sunlight. Some of the children looked apprehensive, but the former prisoners all seemed overjoyed to be breathing fresh air at last. Several of them glanced at the trees and shifted their feet, casting calculating looks at their rescuers.
Mike eyed them. "These guys are just gonna bolt if our friends don't show up soon," he said quietly.
“Probably. Look, James is coming now anyway.” Tanrial nodded her head in the direction of where a small group of people were headed their way.
James was at the front, a few of his men following close behind him. Once they arrived, James walked up to Mike and the others.
“Everything go okay down there?” He asked.
"Eventually," Mike replied, rubbing his shoulder. "But now everybody's out. Right? Was it hard to get the staff out of there like we asked?"
James scratched at the back of his head, “Well, everyone is out from what we know of. Some were harder to convince then others but uh, there shouldn’t be any causalities from the explosives.”
"Good. In that case, let's start evacuating everyone from the area so we can collapse the facility."
"Way ahead of you," said Dane, who'd just appeared with a group of soldiers. "We chased off the enemy and pulled out thirty minutes ago. The only ones left are us, and some of Trouble's fighters. They're doing a last minute scout for the wounded right now."
Mike looked relieved. "Great. No need to stick around, then." He turned to Wren, who'd walked up to join them. "We're heading west up the ridge. Make sure everyone stays together."
"You got it." Wren lifted up her baby brother and offered him to Tanrial. "I don't suppose you could carry Ollie for a little while? I gotta round up the others and my arms really hurt."
Tanrial gave her a small smile and a nod before taking the small bit in her arms, “I got him. Go do your thing and I’ll keep him quiet.” She rocked Ollie back and forth gently, smiling softly at the small baby.
(Don’t know how much I’ll be on the next few days, gonna be busy)
(np ^^)
He blinked up at her curiously, waving his tiny hand in the air. His skin was sky blue, with faint white stripes on his arms and shoulders. Rick came over and beamed at him. "Aw, what a cute feller. I wonder what his power is…"
Mike walked past them, followed by some of Dane's men. "Maybe we'll find out later. In the meantime, we've got a crowd to herd out of here."
Rick sighed and followed the group. "I guess he's right. Still, if you get tired of carryin' Little Boy Blue, I'd be glad to take him for a bit."
Tanrial nodded and gave him a thankful smile as the little boy grabbed onto one of her fingers, “Thanks, I’m alright for now but I’ll let you know if I get tired.”
They set off into the trees, moving as quickly as possible given the size of their group. Someone had grabbed some stretchers from the medical level on their way through, and the older kids were using them to carry Jackie, Eric and Ryker. The ex-prisoners were the slowest group since they were all weak and hungry, but Ryker's children hung back and offered to help where they could. One of the prisoners, a twenty-something girl with short blonde hair, made her way over to Tanrial and the others, her stride firm and steady.
"Who are you people?" she asked. Her voice carried a Southern accent like Rick's, although not as strongly. "Where are you taking us?"
Tanrial turned her attention towards the girl as she answered, “We’re from all over the place. Some are from a village west or so, along with a race of people called Evyns, though I don’t know where they are right now. We have people from a small fishing village not too far from here, which is where we’re headed. A group of from the People’s Army and another from the Pikes.”
"The Pikes? I know them. I used to live nearby."
Rick started to take an interest. "'Scuse me, Miss, but are you from the Southern Clans?"
"Yes, I'm–" She was about to answer but then stopped and looked at him warily. "Are you?"
"Well I used to be with the Gator Boys, but now I go my own way. Don't worry, I left their alliances behind a long time ago. Which clan are you from?"
The girl paused, then nodded. "I'm from the Establishment, but….I'm not allied with them anymore either."
"The Establishment?" Rick's eyes widened. "How'd you get away from that crowd? I thought they didn't allow people to just up and leave."
The girl looked away. "I…it's a long story. I'd rather not talk about it." She seemed to decide to change the subject. "What are your names? Mine's Mariana Sullivan."
“I’m Tanrial, I’d shake your hand but uh, that’s not really possible at the moment,” She chuckled lightly, “Then you’ve got Mike, Bernon, James, Dane and Rick,” Tanrial pointed them all out, “There’s Trouble and Thranion but they aren’t here right now and then there’s Wren. I think that’s everyone you need to know about, sorry if that’s a lot.”
(Happy New Year btw! Whenever that is for you, lol XD)
(Thanks, you too! It's not for a few hours yet over here, but it won't be much longer! XD)
Mariana nodded. "Nice to meet you. And thanks for getting us out of there….I'm still not sure how or why you did it, but I think we're all grateful."
"Any time," Rick said easily. "May I ask how you ended up down there, by the way?"
"I was traveling north and got ambushed a few weeks ago," she replied. "They took me underground and I couldn't escape no matter what I tried. They didn't do much though, just tested some medicines on me and did some brain scans once." She shrugged. "What's your connection to this place? How come you want to destroy it?"
“That’s kinda a long story,” Tanrial sighed through her nose, “Mike was employed by Ryker to find this… machine part that holds lots of valuable information. Bernon had it and then found myself and Mike found us by coincidence,” She shrugged, “We decide to see what Ryder wanted to do with it before we handed it over and uh, found out about all the bad things he was doing.”
"I see, so you decided to kill Ryker."
"No," Mike spoke up. "We didn't kill him, he's right over there on that stretcher. He's the only father these kids have. No matter how twisted he might be, it's up to them to decide what happens to him now."
"Oh." Mariana blinked and turned to look at Ryker, then back at Mike curiously. "So….you three are in charge of all these people?"
Mike shrugged. "Basically, for now. We asked them to help and they agreed."
"Wow." Mariana glanced at James and Dane. "You must be quite persuasive…"
Tanrial shrugged, “Persuasive, a little. Some favours may or may not be called in too.” She smiled sheepishly.
Mariana returned the smile and was about to say something, but just then there was a shout from the front of the group. One of Dane's men was waving at them.
"I see Polla's villagers, over the ridge," he called. "They look kinda beat up. And they've got that big guy with them, the Swamp Crawler hybrid."
(Sorry, been out in London all day)
Tanrial frowned a little, “What about Polla? Is she anywhere to be seen? I can’t see her from here…”
(no worries, I've been sick so I haven't been on much either)
"I'm here," came Polla's tired voice as she limped into view. Her leg was messily bandaged and still bleeding, and she was using a makeshift crutch. "Did everyone get out safe?" she asked worriedly. "We tried to hold position but they drove us back and we couldn't beat them until Ruin came to help."
(Aww, I hope you feel better soon, I’m gonna be out again today but I’ll reply later)
Tanrial nodded, “Heah, everyone is out safe. All the ex-prisoners and children are out fine. Ryker, Jackie and Eric we hadn’t a bit of trouble with but uh, they’ll, be fine in the long haul. What happened to your leg?”