Parallel: United Front

Chapter 14: The Return (1)

A/N: Before reading this chapter, I would like to inform you guys of something I'm doing to make reading much easier. Rather than having to write 'conveyed over the radio' all the time, I decided to make speeches transmitted through radio channels in italics. For this chapter, this is all you have to know. To avoid making this A/N too long, check at the bottom of this chapter for more info on this.

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Hasuni

Dust clouds enveloped the dying city, sand particles reluctant to drop back to earth as if scared of another eruption. Hidden from sight, panicked cries from humans and RAD alike reverberated throughout, both hunter and prey rendered helpless before the rage of mother earth.

Pissed off by the puny humans' penchant for destruction, cracks ran through the earth as she opened up her gaping maws to swallow everything above ground. Giant skyscrapers, foundations rocked by seismic strains crumbled to the earth like Jenga towers with the wrong piece removed, crushing both humans and RADs unlucky enough to be in range.

"Go! Go! Go!" Eli's voice roared into FireRaines' helmets as the quartet tore through the crumbling city, dodging falling debris, potholes and large crevices.

"HAHA! This is sick!" Dayle cackled as he flew off an inclined piece of debris. The hover-bike hobbled as it dropped back to the earth, nearly crashing into rhino-like RAD that burst out of a nearby building.

BANG!

A bullet to its side staggered the RAD, giving Dayle just enough time to rush passed unscathed.

"We're in mortal danger Dayle," Arthur scolded, quickly holstering the pistol. "Stop having fun when we're in mortal danger."

"Have you learned nothing Art?" Dayle questioned, mock-disappointment in his voice. "Mortal danger's the Best time to have fun!"

"Shut it, junkie! We've got bigger issues up ahead!" Raines' panicked warning dragged their attention to a gaping chasm ahead which grew wider with every passing second. The chasm, which wrapped around Hasuni, had formed a sort of dividing line between 'chaos' and 'bliss'.

Examining the rate of expansion, Eli quickly calculated they would not be able to get there in time to 'boost' across. "We've got to double back; find another way out!" Eli called. He'd already braced himself for a sharp U-turn when Arthur doused cold water on that idea.

"I am afraid turning back is no longer an option," Arthur calmly reported. He looked over his shoulder at the road which had begun to sink into the rapidly expanding crater. The quartet was only a couple of meters ahead of the drop. Any attempt to slow down or turn around would definitely result in an instant wipe.

"Shit!" Eli cursed. He looked back at the chasm and swallowed hard. "No other choice. We've gotta ri—"

"Got an idea!" Dayle screamed, not bothering to mask the excitement in his voice as he accelerated past Eli and swerved into a multi-storey car park just ahead of the chasm. "Follow Me!"

Eli opened his mouth, about to ask what the hell the plan was, but to his shock, without a single question (though Raines did curse a little), Raines and Arthur zoomed in after Dayle. The young operative shook his head with a wry smile as he too quickly chased behind. For all their bickering, these three definitely shared a bond of trust most teams could only dream of but never attain.

Ahead of the pack, Dayle squinted as he maneuvered through abandoned vehicles in the lot, leading the team five levels up the ramp to the top floor. A grin spread as he finally spotted what he had been searching for on the top floor.