The sun was almost completely set now. There was no moon tonight. It was going to be completely dark out. Lucas sat forward. "Are all of you ready? This isn't training. This could be a life-or-death situation". All three of them nodded. "Okay. We are dropping in five minutes, be ready." Lucas said as he stood up and walked over to the door of the helicopter. Lucas turned back to the co-pilot who gave Lucas a thumbs up. Lucas slid open the side door. In the distance, Damon could see the lights from International Falls. Lucas nodded at the three and they all stood up and got in a single-file line. Lucas pointed at Silas and motioned him out of the helicopter. Without hesitating, Silas dove straight out of the helicopter. Callista seemed nervous as she was next. Damon leaned forward and spoke in her ear. "Trust me, you're going to be fine. I was terrified my first time too." Damon said. He didn't realize that the other recruits hadn't trained for drop ins before. Callista, shaking, ran forward and dove out of the helicopter. Lucas pointed at Damon and motioned him out of the helicopter. Damon nodded and walked forward. Lucas put his fist up and Damon fist bumped him. Lucas nodded, and Damon walked straight forward out of the helicopter.
This was a new feeling. The first time Damon dropped in back in California he was terrified he was going to die. This time was relaxing. He felt the air brushing against his face. He heard the whistling in his ears. It was peaceful, looking at the city lights in the distance. As Damon approached the ground, he wanted to land better than he did in San Francisco. With his arms spread eagle, Damon tucked in his knees and front flipped once. Now, with his feet facing the ground he was ready. The ground was approaching fast.
BANG could be heard as Damon landed on the ground. He had a great landing. Yellow crackles of electricity were around his feet. He stood up and collected himself, looking for the his other two squad mates. BANG Damon heard as he looked to his right and saw Lucas landing. He didn't have any electricity at his feet. "I want to land as cleanly as that." Damon said with praise. Lucas chuckled. "Let's go kid." as he motioned for Damon to follow him. They walked up a hill that was in front of them. At the top Silas and Callista could be seen talking to each other. "Where were you guys?" Callista asked after she noticed Lucas and Damon walking towards them. "Let's solve this problem here and now." Lucas said as he dropped the bag he had on his back with the guns. He pulled out four ear pieces. Each of them grabbed one and put it in their ear. "C'mon, the car is this way." Lucas said as he took the lead. All four of them took off running. It felt liberating to run with other marked onces for Damon. They gracefully jumped over rocks, and swung from trees easily exceeding thirty miles an hour. "Stop." Lucas could be heard in their ear pieces. They all stopped. Lucas pointed over at a huge pile of leaves. Lucas walked up and started clearing them. The other three assisted hiim. After they removed them a car could be revealed, and not a cheap car either. This was a top of the line black sedan. Lucas grabbed the key from his pocket and unlocked it. He put the guns in the trunk, and everyone got inside the car. Lucas pushed a button and the car started. Many lights turned on inside the car.
Damon was shocked as this car was decked out with technology. Screens were everywhere. Damon sat in the back seat with Callista. Lucas and Silas sat up front. Then, a hologram of the asylum appeared in floating in the middle of the car. "Okay now look at these two entrances." Lucas said pointing to the two main entrances on the hologram. "We are going to split into two teams. Damon and Callista, you are taking the North entrance. Silas and I are going to take the South entrance." Lucas said sternly. They all nodded. "Remember, no contact. We are going to be in and out without problem. If anything goes wrong, and I mean anything. Radio me through your earpiece and I'll loop around to you." Lucas said. "Understood." The other three said. Lucas put the car in drive and pulled out onto the highway. "It's about a fifteen minutes from here." Lucas said as he sped up to highway speed. He turned the radio on. They all listened as Lucas drove. Damon forgot the last time he was out in the woods like this. He was happy to be away from the big city. Even if it was only for a night. Lucas killed the lights and pulled off to the shoulder of the road. The road looked like it hadn't been tended to for decades. There were several cracks. It didn't seem like anyone would be going down this road anytime soon.
Lucas turned around and looked at everyone. "We do recon for two hours. Then get the hell out of here. Meet back at the car". Damon looked at his watch, 9:27PM. He had to be back at 11:30. They all stepped out of the car. It was a hot and humid night. Completely dark out. Lucas walked around to the back and opened the trunk. He pulled a gun out for each person. Damon was given a shotgun and some ammunition. Callista was given an assault rifle. Silas was given a bolt-action rifle. Lucas grabbed an assault rifle for himself. They were all given silencers as well, along with ammunition. Once everyone was prepared Lucas shut the trunk door. "We are on the West side of the building right now. So you guys go that way." he told Damon and Callista as he pointed into the woods.
"This entire asylum is surrounded by dense woods. It should be easy to move through here. Keep radio contact. See you guys in a couple hours." Lucas said. Callista and Damon both nodded and turned around to leave. They slung their guns over their back with the straps and started walking. "Let's stay up high in the trees. That way nothing can sneak up on us." Callista said. "Sounds like a plan." Damon said as they both dashed forward and lunged at the trees. These were very tall trees. The chirping of the crickets was deafening. Damon could hear wildlife below as he jumped from tree to tree. Callista a few trees over. Damon loved climbing. Callista did as well. They were able to get to the Southern entrance quite quickly. They met up on a thick branch high off the ground. In fact, it was slightly higher than the four-story asylum they were going to watch.
They both crouched down, staring at the entrance. "I've got a weapon with a longer range. I'll keep lookout, you watch the entrance." Callista told Damon. Damon agreed. He heard a CLICK as he heard Callista switch her gun's safety off. She peered off into the distance while Damon focused on the entrance. "In position." Damon heard Lucas say over the earpiece. "In position." Damon replied. "Good, now focus, be astute, get as much information as possible. "Yes Mentor." Damon replied. Fifteen minutes later, Damon and Callista were still in their positions. Damon still hadn't seen anything, neither hand Callista. Thirty more minutes passed without anything happening. An entire hour had passed as they stood there high up in the tree, watching. Damon stood up from his kneel to stretch. "See anything?" Callsita asked. Damon shook his head. "No." he replied. Just as he said that he heard a twig snap. "Get down." Callista whispered as she and Damon both crouched. Damon looked back at the entrance. That's when he saw them. Two Precursors in their human form.
He could tell from their bright blue eyes. They were carrying a chest. Damon could tell it was heavy because it took two of them to carry. To each of the Precursors sides there was another Precursor in their true form. Black tentacles and bones. Damon slowly slid his shotgun off his back and raised it at the Precursors, just in case they found them. Callista, now right next to Damon whispered in his ear. "What do you think they're carrying"? "I don't know." Damon replied.
"I've never seen them organized before. Not besides the day I was attacked when I was younger." Damon said in a dead serious tone. "Hmm, you're right. They usually lash out like wild animals. In fact, we don't even know where they come from." Callista replied in a concerned tone. The four Precursors slowly approached the entrance. The Precursor in front dropped the chest. The others stopped behind it. Immediately, the precursor snapped it's head and glared directly in the direction of Damon and Callista. "Shit!" Damon whispered as he grabbed Callista and pulled her behind the branch so they were slightly obscured.
The Precursor stared directly at them. Damon and Callista were dead quiet. They could never defeat four of them at once. The best-case scenario is Damon holds them off while Callista gets away. Damon was now drenched in sweat and terrified. The precursor stared at them for about an entire minute. It then turned it's head back around and picked up the chest. All four of them resumed walking. Damon took a huge exhale. The Precursors walked into the asylum and out of view. Damon relaxed his shoulders. "That was too close." He whispered. Just as he finished his sentence, an explosion erupted on the other side of the asylum. It shook the ground and the tree that Damon and Callista were in. Birds shrieked as they flew up into the sky. Damon and Callista both glared deer eyed at the ploom of smoke visible in the distance. "Is that where Lucas and Silas were positioned?" Callista asked Damon. "Yes! It was! We need to help them!" Damon yelled. He slung the shotgun over his back and lunged to the next tree and started heading in the direction of Lucas and Silas. "Wait, don't just go charging in!" Callista called after him. Damon didn't listen. Lucas had saved his life. He wasn't just going to let him die
YOU ARE READING
The Monitors
ActionDamon Archer has a traumatizing past that to this day intervenes with his daily life. His entire life he's had therapists, psychologists, even his own mother tell him he was ill and needed medication. His entire world is flipped upside down when he...
