8. The Situation Out There

“We will take you to the evacuation site, can you stand?” Sean asked.

“Yes, we can. It’s just that we don’t have the strength,” the middle-aged man replied.

Sean gestured to two of his men to come closer. One of them carried the old woman. The other could still walk. The little boy and the teenage boy hugged the boy tightly, who was then taken by his mother.

“Can we say goodbye first?” the teenage girl asked.

They looked at each other.

“Yes, but not for long,” Sean replied.

The family said goodbye to the woman’s body in the corner of the room.

“Thank you, Auntie. May you rest in peace, and reunite with the others. We will be fine, but please continue to look after us,” the teenage girl said while crying.

They prepared to leave there and said goodbye to the man’s body downstairs because of their uncle.

The little creatures were still crowding the main door, which was made of thick glass. They had to create a diversion. On the other side, the little creatures started to make a hole in the slightly cracked glass to make a gap to get in. The glass was transparent so they could see if there was any prey inside, but the soldiers guarding there covered it with newspapers so it looked calm on the outside but the creatures were guarding there.

"They smell blood," said the teenage girl.

"There are too many of them. How can we get out of here?"

"There is another way through the back, but it doesn't seem easy," said the middle-aged man.

"Where does the back door lead?" asked Sean.

"To the north. In the backyard, there are several similar buildings but we heard no one was there. Everyone is gone, and dead," repeated the man.

Sean discussed the way out with his team and divided the tasks. Victoria remained vigilant.

"Do you have any skills?" asked Victoria to the brave-looking teenage girl.

"I can shoot because I took archery at school. My sister can understand too," replied the girl.

"What's your name?" asked Victoria again.

“Marcelia, and my brother Mathew. We learned self-defence in school,” Marcelia answered again.

“Enough. Can you be alert? Archery focuses on the target, right? You can aim at the target. Since you are practising, bring something that can protect you from the enemy,” Victoria explained.

The two siblings followed what Victoria said. Even though there was a squad of soldiers, alertness was still there for anyone. Victoria was sure that the children already knew what the little monsters were doing out there with their fast movements.

Then they prepared to leave there after making a plan. First, they made a diversion. Sean led the way, Victoria in the middle, and Max, one of their members behind with a few others. They had to protect each other.

“The sun is going to set,” Marcelia said. “They are blind in the dark, unless there is a sound they will move,” the girl continued.

“Should we wait until it is dark?” one of them asked.

Sean considered it.

"We move slowly while waiting for it to get dark. The distance from here to the refugee camp is about fifty minutes on foot. We will join the other team at the place we agreed to earlier," said Sean.

They started moving following the movement of the sun that was starting to set and making the surroundings dark. The electricity was out so all the buildings were dark, and even some streetlights were on.

Moving to the agreed location, twenty minutes later the entire team two gathered but the other team brought sad news even though they managed to save several residents. Marcelia's family looked moved as they hugged each other and they joined the other residents.

Sean instructed them to move to a car parked not far from there. A few moments ago the headquarters informed them that they were sending an army car so they could return soon.

They finally arrived at the car after walking cautiously.

"Something's moving," said Max.

"They're coming," said another.

Sean ordered the truck driver to move while they prepared to shoot.

A loud shot attracted the attention of the others to come and they shot again at the small creatures that came charging. The car continued to drive accompanied by the sound of gunfire.

Residents looked scared in the middle of the car, hugging each other and crying. Victoria was not spared from the shots, several soldiers were on alert until they arrived at the border and passed through the door made of wire. Once the car passed the barbed wire, the creatures did not follow them because they were electrocuted there.

They breathed a sigh of relief as the car moved further away from the border.

"What is that? They are weak to electricity?" asked one of the soldiers.

But no one answered.

"We are safe."

Even so, Victoria was silent, analyzing the situation, and gathering more information about the creatures. However, the strange creatures they encountered today were as small as tennis balls in such large numbers.

Victoria did not know that Sean was watching her silently.

The situation was indeed tense before, but they survived even though some of their colleagues had to die in battle, at least they managed to save the residents.

In the army truck, no one spoke, only the sound of the car engine accompanied them. The residents still seemed afraid. The dark nature, the forest they passed through was like a wilderness. Victoria stared at the night sky that no longer showed stars.

After travelling, they finally arrived at the refugee camp. One by one they got out of the army truck including Victoria and Sean and the other soldiers.

"Let's rest here first," said Sean.

They followed Sean and entered the refugee camp in the Deol area which was also guarded by soldiers. Several people guarding the arrival gate greeted Sean because they already knew each other.

"I'll meet the commander on duty here. You guys take a rest, I'll be back soon," Sean said.

Victoria nodded because that was what the girl had to do so she wouldn't follow Sean. The girl decided to walk around the refugee camp. It was currently summer in Morphile.

There were several large tents in the refugee camp standing in the field with a sports hall behind the tents.

"I didn't expect to meet you here, Victoria," someone spoke to the girl and turned around.

A female soldier with a friendly smile greeted the surprised Victoria.

"Bella? I thought you weren't deployed to the field?" Victoria looked surprised.

But Bella just laughed.

"You still think of me as an elegant woman, huh?" Bella looked at Victoria who chuckled. "Come on, I'm a captain too, I can't just stay at the base doing nothing, right? Besides, I have a warrior spirit like you," Bella added.

Victoria nodded her head, of course understanding what Bella said.

The two girls walked side by side around the refugee camp.

"How are things out there, Vic?" Bella asked.

Victoria glanced at her for a moment, should she answer?