The Fall

52. Emergency

3.23.21

Connor's POV

The man in front of me seemed to be running for his life towards the monitoring room. I don't know why he's behaving so strangely, but I'm sure that something has gone wrong. No one operates with this much urgency for no reason. He slammed the door open, and I got a full sight of everyone in the room working with such speed it hurt my eyes. I could never do that without spiraling into insanity. The first person's face I saw was painted with horror and fear, and I followed their gaze to a large screen in the center of the room's wall.

There were hundreds of dots lining the usually dark screen in every direction, and I knew my face had gone from neutral to horror. The way that our system works, it will report when Gurantiam is heading our direction. The only use for the metal is to make an almost indestructible human shotgun, so we know it's them. There's no other option. "How many is that?" I called out to the techs. I'm not trained in reading the various screens, so I don't know what I'm seeing exactly. I just hope that it isn't as bad as it appears to be.

"Our sources say that there are well over a thousand humans coming our way. They're about 2 miles away and moving at 4 miles per hour. We only have 30 minutes to prepare," a young lady declared while still typing away on her computer. They're all so focused, and I appreciate their dedication. Many of the people in this room are humans, and they're willing to put their past aside. I like their sense of right and wrong and their need to give everyone equal rights. They aren't hypocrites like many others, and I have to respect that.

I quickly pressed my hand down on the alarm to get everyone into the cafeteria. We don't have that much time, and I still need to make a plan to defend. I'm not as good at improvising as Benji is, so I'm going to need one. Either that or I'll ask him. I dashed into the main room while everyone was still flooding in, and I knew that they were surprised to see me take the stage. Everyone had grown used to Benji being the leader; he should be the one here. I'm just his errand boy in their eyes.

However, they're wrong. I'm not Benji's shadow. I'm my own person, and I will get us through this crisis. I have to be able to so that I can get my respect back. I just want to be on the same level as Benji in their eyes, even if I'm not. I could never hope to be as intelligent or powerful as him. I don't think he understands just how well off he is, and it's kind of sad that he'll never truly understand what it's like to have to work. That's one thing that I don't like about his personality. He didn't have to earn his way to the top; he was just placed there. He doesn't appreciate it the same way I do... They give him respect because of his genetics.

I continued to think about the same thing until all of the people were in the room. Everyone wanted to know why they had been called here. After all, the emergency button was reserved for dire situations only. I did notice that the numbers were smaller now than they were yesterday. It makes me sad to know how many we lost, but I have to forge ahead. We can't allow the deaths to stop us from making a solid defense.

"The humans are on their way here!" I shouted. I've never been one for flowery wordings; I get right to the point. It may cause more initial panic, but it means we have more time to calm down and plan. It's not the same as Benji's style, but that doesn't matter. I need to stop comparing myself to him all of the time. As expected, everyone began to have a spell of fear at the words. I mean, what kind of psychopath wouldn't be frightened by this. "Don't be concerned! We still have time to plan a way to avoid sustaining a lot of damage."

"Don't pretend like you're our leader!" the same person who had always questioned me called out. I cringed down into my boots, but I wouldn't allow what he says to intimidate me. I would never be seen the right way by these people if I backed down from every single challenge I faced. It's a kind of test for me when they do this.

"I am your leader. Like it or not, I was chosen for this. I am above you in the hierarchy of this revolution. I will not allow you to dump on my authority like this because I'm not the perfect one for the job. If you do, I will have to punish you the same way as if you said that to Benji. He is sick, and I'm currently filling his shoes. I don't care what you think; I'm not going to be dragging Benji all the way here just to tell you the same thing. Would you please sit down and shut up? We don't have the time for this."

I had managed to silence the person who doubted me so much, and it felt good. I want to take everyone else who ever thought I couldn't do it and say the same thing to them. However, I really don't have that luxury at the moment. I can tell them all later. I need to save these people from certain death at the moment. "Now, I want everyone to take their position at defense D. They're coming from all sides, so no one side should be stronger than the other. I don't know how bad this is going to be, but we need to work together. That's the only way to defeat the humans."

Everyone began to calm down at the sound of a real plan, and I watched them go towards their positions. This defense won't be as strong with fewer numbers, but I couldn't make a better plan. I would ask Benji, but he's probably still sleeping. I shouldn't disturb him with this; I can do it all on my own. His help isn't necessary because I've got this. I took my own place at the front doors with the other demons. To them, I'm just the captain of their section since no one's used to me being the leader of this thing.

When the first footsteps came to my ears, I felt my entire body tighten up. Benji's in there, and he needs protecting since he can't do it for himself. That's why I'm doing it this time. I have to motivate myself somehow, don't I? The first head popped up on the treeline, and I braced myself for battle. I can't fail without consequences... I just hope I can do it. I have to.