The Truth Shall Set You Free

Chapter 5 : Promissa Terra

Chapter 5
PROMISSA TERRA

...

*Area 555, before Snafu Passed out.

“Richard Owens!”
“Present!”
“Vincent Miles!’
“Present!”
“Christof Micha-”

The yells and the commands of the stern and hardened senior officers were heard while performing a roll call in an open area of the base.

It's been some time since the “Light” incident happened. The Executive Secretariat Oswald, was talking to some officers and his own assistants.
“Sir Oswald! we still can't connect to the internet, other forms of communication and contact with other places outside Genesis have been useless, forget about satellites, we can't even contact any of the cities nearby!”
“I'd like you to keep trying, double check everything.”
“Sir!”

Oswald was tired, really tired, even when faced with dire situations in the past, he always kept his professional composure, yet now he looks like he’d been into a rough session of PT, sweating and all that.
He faced to his right, staring in the way of the incoming footsteps.

“Any updates with the portal, Oswald? Are the scientists having some fun?”
The Director, Grant Goodman said, his old wizened face barely showing any emotion.
“Fun?”
Oswald responded.
“I don't know, it's not there after all.”
“Where'd it go then?”
“I don't- I mean, the teams responsible haven't got a clue on what happened to it.”
“So it just vanished into thin air?”
“That seems to be so.”
“Funny this just had to happen the moment I thought of retiring, seems like God’s not done with me yet.”
Grant said with a slight chuckle.
“Seems like God has a sense of Humor, Sir.”
“No rest for the wicked like us huh?”
“Ain't that the truth.”
Oswald replied, before turning his attention away to speak with the incoming officers.

““No rest for the wicked huh?””
Oswald repeated in his head, truly, this might be the punishment of the old man upstairs, the agency had gotten away with far too much and God noticed.

The numerous men lined up in the open area were all in some form of anxious or something similar. Some of them could barely contain their panic inside of them when they couldn't even call their families on their phones, other's getting irritated with the senior officers not answering any questions on what happened or why they seem to be in an entirely different location.

Of course the senior officers were as restless and anxious as them, all of them were. Some just hid it better, in a life where facial expressions could be turned against you, getting used to controlling each muscle and their purpose and movements were absolutely necessary, and the Director was a master of this craft, Oswald knew this well.

“Sir! I think you need to hear this.”
Oswald called Grant.
“This is Alex, the pilot of the helicopter we sent out a while ago.”
A young man, still wearing his pilot helmet approached the group.
“Alex Kanssen, Sir Director.”
He said.

“Alex Kanssen, What did you find?”
“I-I didn't see it Sir!”
“Didn't see what kid?”
The young pilot sighed briefly.
“I followed the road leading out the base, but after passing the walls the road suddenly cut! It was gone, no trace, no nothing!”
“Yes, we know that, what did you see next?”
“W-Well I just kept flying to where the small town was supposed to be and-”
He paused
“Y-You won't believe me when I say this, but it's not there! T-Then the desert Area 555 was in, had started changing to a forest! I swear, I saw a massive horizon of green!”
“Were you recording?”
“Yeah! Flew over it and got it on camera, after that, Base called me to come back immediately!”

There was a slight moment of silence between the men.
“Got any idea where we’re at, Kid?”
“N-No, not a clue.”
“Is that all you have to report?”
Oswald asked.
“M-May I just make an observation, Sir?”
“Go ahead.”
The young pilot shifted his head, staring at the building where the portal was supposed to be stationed at, then at the sky.
“Something, I don’t know how or what but something happened right? Probably the portal, now we ain't in America anymore, d-did I get it right? Sir?”