Chapter 21: Secure The Target

A pungent cloud of dust hovered in the air over the endless pile of rubble. The smell of deceased bodies roamed the area. Distant groans echoed through the eerie silence. Underneath a pile of debris a translucent screen could be seen, undamaged unlike the rest of the demolished facility. Sheltered underneath the captain's protective barrier, the group of paratroopers remained secure and unscathed.

After a few harrowing moments, the captain skilfully employed his barrier to shove aside the rubble obstructing his group's escape. Gasping for breath, the captain emerged from the wreckage. Upon removing his helmet, blood seeped from his eyes, a chilling sight that sent shudders through his colleagues witnessing the state he was in.

"Shit, those weren't normal explosives." He muttered before coughing up some blood.

"CAPTAIN! Are you ok?" A female paratrooper came rushing to his aid.

"First it was beanshooter guy and now it's captain!" The other female cried bawling her eyes out.

"Guys, the quicker we secure the target, the quicker we can get out of here and recover. The elevator should be in that direction." The captain ordered, pointing north.

A fellow paratrooper swiftly placed the captain in a fireman's lift. Navigating through the debris and billowing dust clouds, the paratroopers pressed on with determination to find the elevator.

Isolated admits the wreckage, they found the elusive elevator, remarkably untouched by the surrounding explosions. Summoning the elevator, a paratrooper pressed the button.

"You guys go down, me and Braden will keep watch out here." The captain said still being carried by Braden.

As the elevator doors swung open, the paratroopers descended the planet's surface, poised for their next encounter, a palpable tension filling the air. Coming to a halt, the elevator intensified the suspense, the slowly opening door revealing an open room, heightening the tension to its peak.

In the room, a man gradually rose, holding his bloodied head, turning to meet the paratroopers crowding the elevator. His eyes sunk with worry as he expressed a nervous smile.

"Hello," he said, waving awkwardly.

"Hiya!" The paratrooper who had just got over crying about her captain replied.

Reacting swiftly, another paratrooper delivered a punch to the man's face, rendering him unconscious in an instant. The paratrooper then pulled out a piece of equipment on her wrist and scanned the man's face.

"I don't know if the system will recognise him now that his face is all messed up." The paratrooper muttered regretting her previous actions.

"Acco Swilen huh, Vice-leader of the Stormdeath Guild." The same paratrooper spoke.

"Oh, that guy! We first found out about him on the day of 'The Great Chaos'. He appeared in front of one of our police stations naked and then disappeared!" Announced a paratrooper.

As the paratroopers searched the room, they were overwhelmed by the sight of a blood-stained wall with bloodied chains connecting to it. The remnants of a tortured soul who was now nowhere to be seen.

A paratrooper quickly moved his wrist to his mouth, "Captain, the target isn't here, the only one down here is Acco Swillen, Vice-leader of Stormdeath Guild!"

The captain immediately radioed back, "Shit, boss isn't going to like this, bring Acco with you, lets get out of here everyone."

"Yes captain!" All paratroopers responded.

Regrouping at the surface, the paratroopers swiftly departed through the lingering fog of dust, disappearing into the unknown, never to be seen again.

(Mission: Failed) (Target not secured.)