Arknights : the broken fate

Chapter 21: Rescue Squad

Close to some abandoned buildings in the slums walked a few people who hoped to scavenge anything useful after the LGD stormed the place. The destruction around was great, mostly due to the heavy use of arts from the LGD and the reunion.

"Father! I've found something." A child who was among the scavengers alerted his father to his find. " Come look fast!"

"What did you find? Anything useful-!" The father moved to where his son was, inside an abandoned and greatly destroyed store. He hoped his son had found some food or anything that could fetch him some quick money.

But that was not the case. He was surprised when he looked at what his son had found. A bloodied mask that had once been white. The mask that only reunion infected wore.

The father looked around the mask, quickly spotting more blood splattered around the store. There was a lot of blood, 'This place was the resting place of someone, or at least someone was heavily wounded here...' The thought that an infected has died here made the father sad as he looked at the black rocks on his hand and his son's neck.

But that wasn't the worst of it. A second careful look at the blood which trailed off to a wall at the end of the store made the father realize something, the blood was fresh, very fresh. Whatever happened here, it happened just a few minutes ago at most.

This was very bad for them, if the LGD was close then they must run away immediately! He held his son's hand and pulled him away quickly. However, before he managed to move away from where the mask was,  a pained voice whispered in his ears, "Run"

The wall where the blood stopped disappeared and was replaced by total darkness. Out of this darkness, a man walked out, veiled in black and gold. The father stood with his son in awe at what they just saw only to quickly book it out of the store running for their lives.

"Huh, what was that screaming, Watcher?" Ashia asked as she walked out of the darkness, where the other person had also followed.

"Just a scared father and his son, most people would be surprised when they see someone getting out of a wall like a ghost. "The Watcher answered before looking at Ashia. " You are the only one without a mask, perhaps this belongs to you." 

She looked at where he pointed, and true enough, it was her mask. Although it was bloodied, she did not have any problems with putting it on once again. Just like the ribbon they had warped around their arm, the masks were part of their identity and the reunion.

"...thanks, Watcher." With the mask covering her face, she was no longer a young lady but a hardened worrier in the middle of a war. The same could be said for all of the others, they were combat-ready once again.

A nod was Watcher's only response. He looked around the store, checking if there were any more people. 

Broken and empty shelves filled the place, and leftover food cans lay on the ground. Sometimes he would find a children's toy around the pile of garbage piles in the place. When he brought the others here to heal them, he didn't think much about the place. But now, he wondered about the stories that took place here.

The infected lived a rough life in the slums. Being banished from society and seen as nothing but a danger to others, they had to rely on their selves in almost everything. Although this store was big, The Watcher was sure that its state did not change much before the attack. 

It's probably been so long since this place was used as an actual store.

"What is your plan, Shar?" Turning his back to a burned plush with blood splattered around it, The Watcher refocused on those who still live, the infected group.