Chapter 38: Greenland ii
"I thought you said it would be quick." Church's grumble spread around the circle.
"This is quick." Admiral Adams groaned.
"Doesn't feel quick." Church replied.
"It's been ten minutes." Adams fired back.
"That's ten minutes I'll never get back." Church cracked a smile.
"Will you two knock it off?!" Isaac raised his voice.
In the distance, a band of red trucks and jeeps sprawled over the grassland's hills. Approaching fast, the team of off-road vehicles surrounded the remaining survivors and came to an abrupt halt.
Stepping out of the passenger door of one of the trucks, an aged woman with shoulder-length gray hair and leopard print glasses strode towards the group of dirty men and women.
In black high-heels and a blue dress, S.G. Sarah Barber stepped through the soggy grass without paying it any attention.
"It's nice to see you again Sutton —" Barber smiled with pink lips, yet her gaze remained sharp, "I was so sad when our little Sea Lord reported your desertion. I'm glad to see you've decided to come back, although I must ask. . ."
The aura around the old woman suddenly spiked downard. Her casual charm and unexpected beauty miraculously grew cold and caustic.
". . . where the fuck have you been?" Secretary-General Sarah Barber stared into Admiral Adams' soul.
"Mrs. Secretary-General —" Admiral Adams began, but he was instead instantly interrupted.
"Not a word, Sutton!" Barber barked.
"But ma'am."
Barber took one big step towards the Admiral's face.
"Have you lost your mind?" She asked with exaggerated astonishment.
"We are in the middle of rural Greenland and the only reason I knew you were here is because a random woman recorded you for the world to see! Not only that, but there are children and foot soldiers all within ear's distance! So tell me Sutton, please, go ahead. Or should I ask the woman over there to record you again so you can blabber international secrets to the whole world?!!"
Deadly silence hung in the air. Tension gripped at the throats of all within ear-shot.
Admiral Adams bit his tongue, but his eyes stared explosively into Barber's. He clenched his jaw and unhappily resigned himself.
"Good!" Barber chirped up.
Clapping her hands, she set her attention on the rest of the beat up survivors.
"Now for the rest of you. . . ."
The group of survivors followed the Secretary-General's orders. They compliantly entered Greenlands patrol vehicles and drove twenty-five minutes down the coast — towards an underground military facility built on the edge of the metropolis next to the sea.
They drove along the rocky shores of Greenland until eventually arriving at the underground base's entrance: a solid steel hatch on the ground that, when slid back, reveals a downward sloping commercial street into the base further below.
Driving through the wide cavern, some of the survivors observed their surroundings in awe. The walls of the military base were nothing more than the hollowed out stone found near the ocean, but due to being so close to the water, the walls of the base were covered in minuscule holes — likely caused by crabs scurrying through the sediment.
The walls and ceiling looked like honeycombs and the stone's light complexion, nearing cream, further added to the futuristic vibe of the compound.
At the back end of the man-made cavern, a metal structure was etched into the stone. The metal base docked multiple walls of glass and subtle, light blue lighting coated the underground facility in an air of mysticism.
Rushing out of the double doors leading into the facility, a man in a black suit quickly approached the still parking vehicles.
"Secretary-General!" The man shouted.
Restless, he ran to S.G. Barber's passenger window and held out a muted smartphone.
"It's the President!" He exclaimed.
"Tch!" Mrs. Barber stepped out of the patrol vehicle while snatching the phone, "These men are relentless!"
Stepping aside to talk on the phone, the Secretary-General's delegates rounded up the remaining survivors and led them into the underground facility. Upon entering, they were greeted with lush scenery of vibrant greens and soft oranges.
Strewn across the interior of the military facility, green vines grew along most of the walls — covering some entirely and stretching across the facility's ceiling. Alongside the eccentric vines, orange flower buds sprouted every so often from the vines, but with so many of them, a sea of flowers had gathered at the facility's entrance.
Cain, Olive, Isaac and them were led down a flight of stairs. Then, they were divided into two groups: one group needing immediate medical attention while the other requiring minimal. Cain, Olive, the Admiral and a slew of others were then led to an elevator. Descending even further, they arrived on the facility's fifth floor which appeared to be nothing more than an empty storage container.
Exiting the elevator, the group of seven stood alone in an expansive and empty hall. The ceilings stretched high above multiple floors in length and the room was constructed entirely of metal; in contrast to the upper floors that relied on the stone's natural structural integrity.
If one had to guess, this giant room was probably used to contain something that wasn't supposed to get out — biological, bacterial, viral, radioactive, something along those lines.
In the meantime, however, now a mere nine people stood in the room in silence.
Cain, Olive, Church, Admiral Adams, Leon, Lily, and Sherry in addition to the two men in black who follow the Secretary-General's orders.
Cain, Olive, all eyes in fact, looked at the Admiral during this awkward encounter.
He was part of the military. He clearly knew the Secretary-General. Say something!
The Admiral, surprisingly, opted to remain quiet.
Meanwhile, Cain simply admired his surroundings.
It had been two decades by the time he died since seeing society up and running. A working military, running electricity — hell, even operational vehicles became a scarcity after some time.
While inspecting the facility, Cain further compared his old world with this one. For starters, since when did Greenland have such an advanced military program?
When Cain was summoned, he recognized the names of all the countries the girls were from. He recognized some of the various pop stars they talked about. Even some of the actors, although only the older ones.
Moreover, the dates of the two parallel worlds synced. Cain died about eight months ago and eight months have passed since Olive was summoned to the Land of Trees. Also, the years were the same.
This world simply wasn't cast into nuclear war for whatever reason allotting for a divergence of twenty years.
With that thought then, would Cain's Earth have been like this one if nuclear war hadn't sprouted?
Due to that thought, Cain decided it was in his best interests to stick around during this whole explanation process. Considering the fact that twenty years of technological advancement has occurred oblivious to Cain's knowledge, he needed to stick around for whatever explanations he could get.
And he needed an identity! Like a real one!
'Wait a second. . .' Cain thought to himself.
'If I died as a result of the nuclear fallout, and if the nukes were never dropped here. . .'
'Then could I be alive somewhere else out there?'
Cain shivered at the thought.
He was raised by the fallout itself. Raised by the tenacious nature it required you to possess.
He was a product of it. Everyone is — on some level — a product of their environment after all.
And for some reason, Cain didn't like the thought of himself without the tragedy. His scars shaped him.
His wounds molded him.
He didn't want to see another Cain.
But he had to.
He needed to at least investigate it.
Is it not his duty as parallel dimension traveler to investigate what happened to him?
And if he's alive somewhere out there, maybe his parents are too?
'I actually wouldn't mind seeing them. . .' Cain sighed.
'And I gotta search for Lost Souls. . .'
'I'll probably get side-tracked along the way too. . .'
'Why's a dead man have so much shit going on?'
'Eternal rest my ass. . .'
Cain breathed out a tired sigh and summoned his Status. He had a new package to open up, after all!
[Neophyte Package Unlocked]
[New Item -> Jug of Mist]
Cain scrutinized his screen.
—----------------------||—----------------------
|Jug of Mist's| Description: Endless fog cloaked the streets — veiled in deception — a Spirit's parade.
—------------------------------------------------
Cain instinctively pictured Baku's smug face.
'First a set of ripped rags and now a jar!'
*ding*
The elevator door spread open and the Secretary-General stepped through.
Her hips swaying from side to side, she walked in front of the group of seven and stopped in front of the Admiral.
"Well? Get to it. Talk." She demanded.
"I've come to realize that perhaps, Mrs. Secretary-General, seeing is believing." Admiral Adams nodded towards Leon.
Without a moment's delay, Leon pulled his balled fist from its resting place — snug in his pocket — revealing a brilliantly golden sand that sparkled with natural light.
Leon raised his hand above the Admirals head and sprinkled the sparkly substance over his scalp. Not a moment later, the golden glow faded and a single breath passed.
Then, the Admiral's body shimmered with subtle light. His aura gleaming gold, the Admiral's feet lifted off the ground and rose into the air.
One foot up and then two.
The Admiral hovered above the ground and looked down at the Secretary-General — her face a distorted mix of disbelief and astonishment.
The Admiral relished in that shocked expression!
He surged his own mana and a rusted chain erupted from underneath his sleeve and coiled around his wrist.
Levitating in the air with his chain fluttering behind him, shrouded in golden radiance, the Admiral looked almost godly. The glow diminished and the Admiral returned to the ground, a smug look now spread across his face.
"There's much to discuss, Secretary-General. I'm sure you've come to realize this."
The Secretary-General's open mouth closed as she composed herself. Taking a moment to consider the future ramifications, she closed her eyes and pondered.
"Lock the facility down. Make sure nobody leaves or enters. Consider their pickup point radioactive — vacate the rural town beside them." She immediately began barking orders to her men in black.
"Radioactive?" Church questioned.
In response, however, all he got from the Secretary-General was a momentary flash of disappointment.
"I presume you all have supernatural tendencies, is that right?" Barber remained calm and collected.
The group of seven nodded their heads.
"And none of you considered the possibility of radiation? Isn't that how most superheros are classically made?" Barber analyzed.
"Um. . . . Well, you know —" Church scratched his cheek.
"Or what its possibly done to your biology? Has your lifespan decreased? Do you need more or special nutrients now to support your powers? How is your body even capable of wielding such power? With every application of force there exists its counter-force: for every action there is its reaction. That little stunt Sutton just pulled could have infected myself and my two guards with something we're not even capable of detecting!" The Secretary-General lectured.
"What are you waiting for?" She turned to her men in black behind her.
"Lock it down! NOW!"
"And somebody get me a fucking hazmat suit!"
The Secretary-General strode past the seven Awakened and boarded the elevator behind them. Without a word, her and her delegates left the Awakened alone on the facility's fifth floor.
"That went well." Olive commented.
"I'm not so sure." Leon responded as Olive's words flew right over his head.
"Where'd you find this guy?" Cain whispered into Olive's ear — instantly putting a smile on her face.
"Well let's go see where she went, I guess?" Church approached the elevator and pressed its button.
Ten seconds passed without a response.
Then a minute passed. Five minutes.
"She's locked us in here." The Admiral mulled himself over to the edge of the grand metal box's corner and sat up against the wall.
"You don't say?" Church mocked him, "Way to lock us in here, Sutton!"
The Admiral laid the back of his head against the cold metal wall.
'She just had to use my first name. . .' Sutton lamented.
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