Chapter 17: Old Soldiers, New Dangers

December 2, 2023 7:45 AM

Morning had not come quick enough for Isabella. All she could think about as the night dragged on was that her scouts were out there. Somewhere they were battling to survive in a snow storm while she sat comfortably back at the base. Damn Alice for forcing her to come back.

In truth, however, she was grateful Alice had been there. Without her, Isabella would most certainly have been badly beaten, possibly killed, by Lutice's gang. Not that the way things turned out was any better. Neither side could get a good enough advantage to win the fight so they fought to exhaustion. Unable to keep the fight going, they were forced to call it a draw or risk being snowed in and trapped through the night. Lutice and her bitches had, of course, rushed back to base. Isabella had wanted to stay so badly, but Alice had convinced her that getting caught in the storm and possibly dying in it would not help Sanders, Aviel, or Flonne.

Damn did she hate that Alice had convinced her to leave...

Isabella had not slept at all through the night. She paced back and forth in front of her window, willing the snow to leave and the sun to rise. She couldn't bare to look at the tiny bed that was on her night stand or the picture on her working desk. Dammit, how could she have let this happen? How could she have failed them so badly?! How could she have LEFT THEM?!?!

Finally, after what seemed like an agonizing eternity, the first lights of morning began to shine. Heavy cloud cover ruled the skies allowing only the barest of hints of the sun to be seen. Snow still covered everything in its white clutches, but Isabella did not care. She could not bare to wait any longer. She was going to find her scouts and bring them back home.

Isabella turned from her window, still fully geared from her patrol yesterday, and opened her door. She stepped out and sighed to herself as she noticed two figures standing beside her door.

"Don't even start, Cap. We are coming and that is that. You can either just accept it and enjoy our company, or not like it and deal with our company," Gabriella said as she adjusted her gloves on her winter gear. Alice didn't add anything, but had positioned herself just right in the hallway to block Isabella from heading toward the vehicle depot. She, too, was already geared up in winter weather clothing.

"Fine, but only because I don't have time to argue with you two. Let's go," Isabella said as she moved toward the vehicle depot. Alice's mouth slightly moved up in the faintest hint of a smile as she stepped aside to let Isabella pass. She and Gabriella filed in behind Isabella and the three of them headed toward the vehicle depot.

The snow storm had left the entire depot blanketed in snow, save the roads. Thankfully, the snow was not very deep, only being little more than an inch. No real problem for any of them, but for her tiny scouts... She had to hurry, had to find them alive and well, just...she just had to hurry.

Isabella picked up her pace, nearly running into her assigned jeep. She took the driver's seat as Alice took shotgun and Gabriella piled into the back with a few curses of it being too small back there. Isabella ignored her complaining as she started the jeep and got it rolling. Thankfully, most of the roads were only damp from the snow rather than frozen, at least the roads near the base, anyway. Once they left them and got further out, well Isabella would just have to be careful.

There were only one or two other vehicles on the road along with the occasional member walking about. It was still too early for the morning shift to come in, but was close enough that the night shift were all dreaming of their bunks rather than working. No one would take any notice of their single jeep slipping out, uncleared. Well, save for the guard at the guardhouse. Of course, since she was a Shield and fell under Gabriella's command, she was suddenly very inattentive about who was coming and going. Getting clearance to go on the search mission and to take the jeep would simply have taken too long, doubly so with having to explain the fight between herself, Alice, and the Swords. That report, and the Sword bitches punishment for attacking fellow Society members, would have to wait. Her scouts were far more important.

Isabella gunned the jeep, despite the conditions as she raced down the highway toward where she had lost her scouts. Alice gripped the hand rail above her as she got a worried look, but stayed quiet. Gabriella, however, did the exact opposite of staying quiet.

"Cap, slow down. Cap... FUCK, Isabella, slow the hell down! These roads could be iced! Have you heard of black ice?! Do you want us to be dead before we even get there?!" she yelled from the back as she gripped her own hand rail in a death grip. Isabella sighed as she slowed the jeep down to a more reasonable speed. She wanted to hurry, but she wouldn't do her scouts any good if she wrecked.

"Thank you," Alice said as she released her grip on the handrail.

"Yeah now I can stop seeing my life flash before me," Gabriella said before releasing her grip as well. Her joke fell on uncaring ears, however, bringing a grumble from her.

The trip to their destination took far too long for Isabella's taste, despite having arrived in forty-five minutes when the trip should have taken an hour. Isabella brought the vehicle to a stop near the shoulder of the road. They all climbed out of the jeep and into the biting cold. The sun was still low in the sky and the heavy clouds still blocked most of its light. A dull wind blew through the area, dropping the already low temperature even further. Isabella, however, barely felt it as she started to head for where they had fought the Swords. She had to hurry, she had to get back there, had to find them, had too... She was stopped as Alice gripped her shoulder.

"Slow down," Alice said, but Isabella shook her hand off.

"I don't have time to slow down, my scouts are out there and need my help. Now either help or go back!" Isabella yelled at her before turning back. However, she was stopped again as Gabriella put herself in front of Isabella.

"Isabella, seriously, slow down. You are not going to do your scouts any good like this. I like being rash as much as anyone, but even I know there is a time and a place for it. This isn't it," Gabriella said making sure to keep her toned arms out to stop Isabella from trying to rush past. Isabella didn't want to hear it, but knew she couldn't force her way past Gabriella. She looked over to Alice who was giving her a hard glare.

"Fast, but smart. Think, then act," Alice lectured. Isabella cursed to herself as she realized she was going to have to at least put on a show of slowing down for her two friends to relent. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down as she thought of what they needed to do. She looked back toward the highway and, suddenly, was hit with something.

The highway... it was the perfect landmark for her scouts to head toward. No matter where they went, it would always be east of them and was open ground they could use to get noticed. Not only that, other patrols would be traveling along it as well meaning they could get picked up by another group. How had she not thought of that sooner? It seemed her friends were right, she did need to slow down.

"You are both right, I do need to slow down. I almost didn't realize we are already in the perfect spot to find them," Isabella said, getting a raised eyebrow from Gabriella. 

"The highway is the most obvious place for them to head to. Its open ground, directly to their east, and they don't have to find us to get out, just any passing patrol," Isabella explained getting a smirk from Gabriella.

"See? Now you are thinking rather than being rash. Which is good cause that is my job," Gabriella said as she patted Isabella on the shoulder, "Why don't I stay here and patrol the highway while you two go looking for them. I'm not as good with the whole watching where I step thing as you two." Alice nodded in agreement to that idea and Isabella thought it made sense too. In all honesty, she had been a bit worried taking Gabriella into the woods for that very reason.

"That sounds fine. Just keep an eye out where you are stepping...actually just stay off the shoulder just in case," Isabella said.

"Oh come on, I'm not  that bad," Gabriella said before walking forward. There was a soft crunch as she stepped on something and she cringed at the noise. She lifted her boot to reveal a flattened deer that had run out onto the highway. Isabella and Alice both gave her a "really" look.

"Okay, okay, stay off the shoulder. Jeez, this is why I don't work with tinies constantly having to watch my feet, can't take two steps without being yelled at, be a mass murderer just from tri-" she grumbled to herself as she headed down the highway to look for the scouts, keeping off the shoulder like she said she would. Alice shook her head at Gabriella before motioning toward the tiny forest out beyond the highway. Isabella nodded and the two of them headed into the forest, watching their steps very carefully.

The forest was, for all intents and purposes, just slightly tall grass to Alice and Isabella. Most of the barren trees barely reached their ankles with only the tallest actually reaching the bottoms of their shins. Just like at the base, snow covered everything in a sheet of white and their earthshaking footsteps caused loose snow to tumble down from the trees. While the trees, plants, and wildlife were miniscule compared to them, the rolling hills and rises were still just as tall and slopping as they had always been. Northwest Georgia was a hilly place and this area was no different. The hills, valleys, and ridges cut their field of vision down, preventing them from seeing miles away despite the lack of any vegetation on their scale.

After a few minutes of trudging through the tiny forest, they arrived at where they had fought Lutice and the other Swords. Isabella felt her heart sink as she saw the devastation their fighting had left in their wake. The entire area was completely destroyed with not a single tree left standing in about a yard radius. Impressions of fallen bodies and footsteps could still be seen smashed into the forest and entire clumps of the forest were just gone where they had picked up and tossed dirt at each other. To them, of course, it just looked like a small little area that had been smashed apart, but on her scouts scale... It was...chilling just how much power they had. An entire section of forest, gone in something as simple as a fight between six people...

Alice didn't seem to notice the destruction at all as she simply moved forward, keeping a close eye on where she stepped. She bent down and began to look over the area as if trying to find something.

"What are you doing?" Isabella asked as she too began to very carefully, move into the area.

"Flonne passed by during fight. Badly hurt wings, couldn't fly. Must have left a trail through forest. Find trail, find her, find scouts," Alice said as she continued to look over the area. Isabella's gloom vanished to be replaced with hope as she heard Flonne had escaped. The fairy would never have left without both Aviel and Sanders. She began to study the area closely as well, trying to find a path leading away from the fight that wasn't big enough for a giantess. They keep searching for a few minutes before finding a trail of bent, rather than crushed, trees leading away from the fight and toward a small rise. It had to be Flonne's trail.

The two Rangers followed the trail as best they could. They lost it more than once thanks to the snow and the apparent skill Flonne was using to move through the trees without breaking them, but managed to pick it up again each time. After going over a few hills, they came in sight of a unshrunken, old, wooden shack. The shack had seen better days, but was still holding up well enough. The trail seemed to be heading straight for it and Isabella could see the faintest hints of smoke coming out of its chimney.

Isabella's mood jumped from uncertain gloom to sheer joy. Inside the shack and with a fire going, her scouts would have survived the snow and could be just inside. She rushed forward toward the shack despite Alice trying to grab her and headed straight for the door. She stopped in front of it and slowly pushed it open, in case her scouts were near it, and looked inside. And her mood plummeted again.

Inside, a small unattended fire was slowly burning itself out in the fireplace. A rotted wooden table and chair sat near the wall, broken apart and most likely used as firewood. But it was what was in the middle of the floor that caught Isabella's eye. Dead bodies and blood was scattered over a  large part of the middle of the floor. Most of the bodies looked to have been killed by mundane means, but a few had been utterly crushed by an obviously much larger opponent. Isabella moved toward the sight to get a better look, hoping, praying she did not see Sanders or Aviel amon-

A soft crunch below her foot caused her to stop in her tracks. That soft crunch...the half felt resistance...it all came back to her... Her rampage through the small city. Her inability to not enjoy the sheer ease of which her and her fellow Swords were mopping up the Resistance town. Her moving toward a large number of Resistance soldiers trying to retreat. The soft crunch she noticed as she was moving forward. Her looking down in only half curiosity. And then her noticing the wagon...the all too familiar wagon... The chilling spike of terror that ran through her as she lifted her foot.....

Isabella didn't lift her foot as she stood there. Tears began to run down her cheek as she felt her legs go weak.

"No...please no...not again. Please not again...please..." she repeated as she sank to her knees, her mind beginning to fall into complete despair. Alice suddenly appeared beside her, saw the carnage and looked down to where Isabella's foot had been.

"Not scout. Isabella..." she started to say, but Isabella barely heard her. Alice reached down and got something of the ground and brought it up to Isabella. It was part of the smeared human, crushed utterly by Isabella's foot and fitting easily in Alice's hand. However, right near where the head had been, was a light yellow color... hair...blonde hair.

Isabella felt the despair beginning to recede as she absorbed that. Sanders had black hair and Aviel had red. If this person had blonde hair then...then it couldn't be them. In fact, she could still make out the tattered rags and patchwork stitching of the person's clothes. It was a Resistance member...she had just stepped on a Resistance member.

Isabella took a deep breath as her terror began to wane away. She whipped her eyes clear of her tears as she tried to get herself back under control. Alice put her hand on her shoulder, the one without the smear on it, and gave her the closest thing to a smile Alice ever managed. Isabella returned the smile.

"Thanks, Alice. Sorry about that I...it just brought back bad memories," Isabella said as she got back to her feet. Alice nodded and took a moment to make sure Isabella was alright before moving toward the miniature battle. Isabella sighed in relief before she followed after Alice.

Alice whipped the dead Resistance member off her hand and back onto the floor as she bent down to look at the fight. Isabella moved beside her and both of them scanned the scene with their zoomed in HUD patches. A large number of the dead bodies had large cuts and obvious sword wounds in them. Isabella recognized the style to be typical for Aviel. Oddly, there didn't seem to be any that had the crushed arms and chests that Sanders' brutal mace would have made. That was...worrying to say the least, though maybe he had stayed back to keep Flonne safe or been injured.

Then there were the two that had, obviously, been crushed by something far larger than themselves. If her scouts had been here she could only imagine that was Flonne. It was good to know the fairy was still with them, but she worried about how bad things must have gone for Flonne to kill so...brutally. Her worries stayed just worries, though, as she looked over all the dead bodies and didn't see Aviel or Sanders. Thank goodness for small mercies.

"Scouts not here. Were here, Resistance may have drove them mobile," Alice said as she stood back up. Isabella stood up as well and nodded in agreement.

"It looks like they fought off a recon squad. They probably decided staying and risking a larger force arriving was too big a danger and left. We should go out and see if we can pick up their trail again," Isabella said. Alice nodded and headed outside, but Isabella stayed inside for a moment. She looked around and stopped at the broken apart table and chair. Something about it looked a little odd and she moved over to get a better look. She moved over to stand above it and smiled to herself. If nothing else, at least her scouts had learned to be clever. In front of her the broken table and chair parts had been arranged to spell out a large E. From the ground it would be unrecognizable, but from the perspective of a giantess standing over it.

"I know where they went," Isabella yelled out to Alice as she headed for the door. Alice looked up from her inspection of the ground with a raised eyebrow.
"They headed east, got it spelled out with the parts of the table and chair in there," Isabella said unable to not smile in pride.

"Clever, but no sign of a trail," Alice said as she stood up.

"They might have made sure not to leave one in case the Resistance showed up. Or maybe Flonne healed her wings," Isabella said with a shrug. Alice raised an eyebrow at the first suggestion, but seemed more ready to accept the second. Whatever the reason, they had no trail to follow only the general direction.

They fell in together and headed East back toward the highway.  Isabella checked her HUD was still scanning for her scouts' locator beacons and sighed that it was still showing nothing. She supposed that wasn't too surprising considering what had happened yesterday. They were probably worried Lutice and the others might come back to finish the job, a fear that Isabella had as well. Her anger at Lutice came back white hot and she couldn't help but wish she would encounter her again out here. It wouldn't end in a draw if they did.

They walked on until they crested a hill and found themselves staring down into one of the old, abandoned towns that had lined I-75. Old crumbling buildings of varies types were littered about along old slowly eroding roads. Rusted street lamps stood vigil over the roads as traffic lights swung back and forth in the light wind. Everything had thin white carpet over it, save the roads, and gave the area a white glow. Isabella sighed as she looked at all the places they would have to search, but moved forward anyway. She WOULD find them, even if she had to turn this entire town upside down.

The two of them moved closer to the town and were about to enter it when both of them stopped. An odd feeling was creeping up her spine, a feeling of being watched by something, not someone, no, someTHING. Isabella glanced over at Alice and saw her entire body tense and her eyes wide. She had felt it too. They both backed away as slowly as possible as the feeling slowly dissipated. It wasn't until the feeling was gone completely that Isabella raced backwards away from the town, Alice right beside her. The two got a good few yards from the town before they slowed their run to a fast walk, but didn't stop till the town was out of sight behind the hill.

Isabella looked over to Alice, still breathing rather heavily from the brief contact with the area and saw Alice actually looking shaken by the contact with it as well. She knew there had been one in a town near here, but she hadn't realized it had been that town. At least they had noticed it before they had gotten fully inside otherwise... The two of them took a moment to calm themselves before either spoke.

"They can't be in there. They...they just can't be," Isabella said and Alice nodded in agreement.

"Check perimeter?" Alice suggested though there was the slight hint of fear in her eyes at the suggestion.

"No, Aviel and Sanders both know how dangerous those places are. If they ran into it they would have given it as wide a berth as possible... Which means," Isabella said before her shoulders sagged.

"Lost them," Alice finished for her.

    Classified Intel report 562246:
Investigation on [CLASSIFIED] Area, location [CLASSIFIED]:

We have finished studies on the...area in question. Two scouts were sent in but, did not return. Attempts to contact through radio proved ineffective and were answered only with garbled messages or screams of panic. Sending in a Full-sized Society member resulted in the same results. Whatever this is, it seems to affect shrunken and normal people alike. Much of the research team has been forced to rotate out after only a few days studying the area. Most complain of headaches, bad dreams, and general constant fear. The closer one stays to the...event horizon, the worst these symptoms become. Sadly, finding this horizon cost us the life of a researcher. We were trying to find the exact spot of which there was no turning back and [CLASSIFIED].

Studies have shown the area has [CLASSIFIED] signatures suggesting it is a [CLASSIFIED] event. This still leaves a great deal left unknown, however the [CLASSIFIED] event saw the destruction of the research base. Since then, Command has been less than thrilled with studying localized deathtraps and more concerned with their war. Orders are to avoid these... areas, as they call them, at all costs and simply leave them alone, for now. Perhaps once the war with the Resistance is over Command will allow further study. Personally, I eagerly await that day.