ZERO (Complete)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Riding up front with Mr. Camo, Allie kept a watchful eye on the monitor. They had hacked the GPS coordinates on the original bus they were on to see where it planned to take them. If it were a slaughterhouse like they had suspected, then surely they had a duty to shut it down and potentially save lives.

Allie's eyes glanced up at the desolate wasteland that surrounded them. Blown out buildings and heaps of rusted scrap metal were the only remnants of a once prosperous city. There was not a living thing in sight. Amid the ruins were likely graveyards of the forgotten — tragic causalities in a war that was indiscriminate and inescapable.

As they approached closer to the end point, a dense fog set in. The convoy of heavily armed military vehicles reduced their speed to deal with the limited visibility. A few spatters of rain began, hitting the windshield and obstructing the view even further. The heavy windshield wipers slowly smeared the water droplets from side to side. Shortly after, the rain began to come down even harder.

Silence consumed the vehicle as they all remained transfixed, staring out the window at nothing but a dense cloud of grey.

"Less than a kilometre to go," Mr. Camo informed.

Everyone was on edge, shifting in their seats, unsure what to expect. Maxim and his friend Arlon were not soldiers so they were nervous, preparing for a likely combat situation. Ronin, Maxim's super soldier, was right by their sides, remaining calm and setting the tone for his squad. For him, it was just another day at the office.

"We're approaching it on our right, look for somewhere to turn," Mr. Camo said. He looked out the window, but couldn't see a thing. "Wait, wait, wait, stop," he said. "It's getting further away from us. I think we passed it."

"I didn't see anything," Arlon said.

"That makes two of us."

"We have a choice to make," Ronin said. "We can turn around, head back where we came from, or we can continue on foot."

Mr. Camo turned to address everyone in the vehicle. "We'll stop here and go the rest of the way on foot. None of us know what to expect so let's watch out for each other out there."

The doors open and Ronin was the first one out. His boots hit the muddy ground, sloshing through the puddles of water that surrounded the vehicle.

The remaining crew made their way from the vehicles and into the unknown territory. Even with their heads-up displays, they could hardly see a thing other than blinking dots on a map — one for the final destination, and the others for their fellow crew members.

Ronin led the way followed by Allie and Maxim. Arlon and Mr. Camo trailed closely behind. Following them were a dozen soldiers spread out in a V formation.

They continued to walk on the uneven ground, being cautious with every step. Heavy rain continued to pour down on them, soaking them through and through.

As they walked closer to the blinking light, the fog and rain eased up. Their visibility returned almost as if the rain and fog were put there artificially to hide something. Piercing through the fog, they emerged to find a structure that took their breaths away.

"Oh. My. God," one of the crew members said. "What the hell is that?"

"You just used God and hell in the same sentence, but... I am... in awe," someone said, barely being able to finish their sentence.

Towering before them was a stone wall unlike anything they had ever seen before. It was at least a hundred feet tall and stretched out in both directions as far as the eye could see.

"It looks like a prison of some sort," Maxim said.

"A prison for dinosaurs?" someone commented back through the headset. "Whatever this thing is, it's either keeping something out, or something in."