(Thanks, I'll see you when I see you then ^^)
She shook her head. "Just a little cut, I'll be fine. You guys keep moving, we'll follow you so we don't slow you down."
Just then Mike's radio came to life and Trouble's voice came buzzing through. "Ey Mike, this is the Pikes. We got the area cleared out, so tell James he can blast away any old time now."
"Got it, thanks. Meet us back at the lake." Mike glanced at James and nodded. "Sounds like it's time to collapse a certain underground facility."
James grinned widely, “I’ve been waiting for this part.” He turned to a few of his men, giving them a few of the grey remotes for the explosives before he started the count down. Once he reached three, the facility began to collapse.
The building above the surface went first. A wave of blue rippling outwardly from the stone for a certain distance before it disappeared, only to be followed by a low rumble as the building began to collapsed inwards, almost folding in on itself. This was soon followed by the remaining parts of the facility falling downwards. A massive hole had appears beneath from the under ground explosives, bringing the upper layers with it. Soon, all that was left was a quite large hole, filled with rubble.
Rick nodded, looking impressed. "Pretty slick piece of work, I gotta say. You got a business card or somethin', James? I know some people who are always on the lookout for experts in the evisceration of buildings and other structures."
“Hm? Oh, yeah. Once we’re back at camp come and find me.” James replied, walking the small distance between them with the small amount of his men in tow.
"Sounds good!"
Mike watched the last of the rubble settle, then turned away. "Welp, let's keep moving. We shouldn't wait too long to get these people somewhere safe, especially if they're injured."
Polla nodded. "We know a shortcut back to the lake. There's a part of the ridge across this next valley that has a ravine going through it. If we use that, we won't have to risk the steep unsteady ground on the slope."
"That sounds fine," Mike agreed. "Lead the way."
Ruin shuffled over and stooped to speak shyly to Polla. "Ma'am? I could carry you, if you wanted….your leg looks kinda bad."
Polla made as if to wave him off, then paused, sighed, and smiled at him. "I suppose you could carry me for a while. Thank-you, lad."
Ruin beamed and carefully lifted her up, setting her on one shoulder as if she weighed nothing. Polla pointed out the way forward, and soon they were off again.
“Well that is a sight,” Tabeial mumbled as the group began to move, “Hey uh, Rick? Do you think you could carry Ollie for a while? My arms are starting to hurt.”
"Sure thing," Rick said delightedly, gently taking Ollie in his arms. "Aw, look at you. How you doin', little guy? Ain't you just the most unnaturally easy-going baby I've ever met!"
While Rick showered compliments over Ollie, the girl Mariana fell in beside them once more. "So when we get there, what's the plan exactly? Are we all just free to go, or…?"
"There's no plan yet," Mike replied shortly. The long night seemed to be catching up with him by now, and he looked a bit irritable. "Is there something you need?" he asked Mariana abruptly. "Or are you just hanging around to get attention?"
Mariana blinked, seeming surprised and hurt. "No, I just–I mean, I don't really need anything, but–"
"Then why don't you go walk with some other group? I'm sure there's somebody else in this group who'd like to chat with you instead." Mike turned away and surveyed the woods around them, rubbing his injured shoulder.
Mariana stared at him. "Right….okay….." Frowning, she drifted off to rejoin the other ex-prisoners.
“Mariana-“ But she was already gone before Tanrial could finish. She turned to Mike and resisted the earge to punch him.
“What the hell Mike?! She was just being nice so there was no need to be rude to her.”
Mike looked at her as if slightly startled, then shrugged and looked away again. "Didn't think I was being all that rude. Besides, there was something weird about her. She was too nosy and talkative–it was like she was actively trying to think of things to say instead of only talking about important stuff."
"It's called friendly small-talk," Rick said without looking up from Ollie. "And I can't say for certain, but I'm pretty sure she was just hangin' around because she took a likin' to you, son. Wasn't nothing sketchy about it."
Mike furrowed his brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Rick sighed and gave him his full, if long-suffering, attention. "It means she thought you were cute and you told her to scrub off. Are you like this with every girl you meet?"
Mike bridled. "That's what she wanted? No wonder my hackles went up. It's a good thing I shut her down before she got too hopeful." Seeming in an even worse mood than before, he sped up and went to walk on his own between the groups.
Rick stared after him, then glanced at Tanrial incredulously. "Criminy. What the heck was that all about?"
Tanrial shrugged before she crossed her arms, “Love starved probably. Honestly that man just has to shut down every attempt people make to be friendly with him, whether it be friends or something more,” She sighed, “In other words he’s just being an idiot.”
Rick squinted at Mike's back as if trying to understand him through sheer force of will. "If I were loved starved, I'd sure try harder to be polite to the ladies. But like you say, maybe he's just a moron when it comes to relationships." He shrugged and tickled Ollie's nose. "Either way, I doubt Miss Sullivan will be tryin' that again any time soon. Poor thing, she seemed kinda shy even before he bit her head off."
Tanrial hummed her agreement and looked back at her for a moment, “Yeah, I like her. She’s nice even if she can be a bit nosey but I think that’s more curiosity then anything. Plus, being kept in a cell for a while with no clue what’s going on might make someone want to know what’s going on.”
"I agree, it's only natural." Rick was thoughtfully silent for a while, then yawned widely. "Man, I'm worn out. That dusty bed of mine back in the tavern is sure soundin' more and more inviting….."
Tanrial chuckled and nodded, “You’ve got that right. Well, we’re nearly back so just hang in there and you can pass out once we’re back.”
To their right, Thranion and his group started to emerge from the tree line, gradually weaving their way through the fauna to join the rest of the groups.
From his spot further ahead, Mike noticed them and waved. "Hey, how'd you guys fare? Not too many losses, I hope?"
Thranion shook his head as he walked beside Mike, “No, having magic helps reduce casualties. We lost a few, maybe a quarter or a little more then that. What about you guys?”
"I can't speak for most of us, but it looks like Polla's men are mostly still alive and Trouble said she had good luck too. Dane?"
Dane, who was walking not far away, shook his head. "Our losses were minimal until that special attack force came out. Then we lost a good hundred men in fifteen minutes, maybe more. I lost track."
Mike frowned. "Did the special force have powers or something?"
"No…just skill and weaponry that was incredibly superior to our own. Their armor was almost impossible to pierce and their guns were a cut above anything I'd seen before. We eventually managed to kill them, with Thranion's help, but….it was bad."
Mike nodded. "I'm sorry we were slow down there. I wish we could have helped. What about James and his guys?"
“From what I heard he lost about half of his men,” Thranion replied, running a hand though his hair, “If the Stalker’s didn’t step in then they would have been more losses on their front.”
Mike expression darkened. "I'm sorry to hear that." He was silent for a few minutes. "All of you have done so much for this cause, for us. I'm just one guy, but if there's anything I can do for you or your troops, just say the word. We're so grateful for your help."
Thranion put a hand on Mike’s shoulder, “You’ve done a lot for this cause, Mike. You’ve done enough yourself but that’s a two way offer you made. Any help you need we’ll be happy to help with.”
(gotta go, seeya later sometime)
He nodded gruffly. "Thanks…..that's real good of you."
Just then Polla called back from the front of the group. "Here's the ravine. Once we're on the other side, it's just a short walk to the shore. Watch out for falling rocks, now."
(Alright, seeya)
“Uh, how often to these, said falling rocks actually fall?” Tanrial called out, a small frown etched into her features.
"Well the ground is loose and unsteady here, so we get landslides and new fissures all the time. That's actually how this ravine was created, during a hurriquake two years ago. So don't touch the walls too much and keep a sharp eye on what's above you."
Wren looked up and tilted her head. "Hurriquake?"
"Hurricanes that cause earthquakes," Polla explained. "Rare, but very dangerous. I guess your underground home must have been strong enough to withstand the tremors we get in these parts. But up here, they're a nasty reality. Even out on the lake they can cause tidal waves that sometimes overturn our boathouses."
“Great. Not that I don’t admire you Polla but even though this is the quicker way, don’t you think it would have been better to uh, not take the path with dangerous falling rocks that could squash us?” Tanrial looked around the ravine worriedly.
"Don't worry," Polla replied with a smile. "The weather's good this morning and there's no wind. I can't see any water trickling down the walls either, so under the circumstances we're pretty safe. Besides, this really is a much quicker way. Look you can already see the other side." She pointed up ahead at a thin strip of blue, only about a hundred yards away.
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