Upon nothing

Ch 25

The two men were left speechless by what they had just witnessed. When they were tasked with capturing the creature inside the man-made forest, they were told to be prepared for anything. This had been proven as the creature had done things that they hadn't expected, such as using a rifle and developing a pair of wings. They hadn't expected three of their team members to be incapacitated by this one creature.

However, they also hadn't expected the creature to fly straight into a tree branch followed by the trunk of a tree.

After slamming into the tree, the creature bounced back slightly from the impact and fell straight to the ground. It didn't immediately get up or appear to move at all, making it appear to be unconscious. This, however, couldn't be clearly confirmed from their current position. They had underestimated the creature more than enough times here, and for all they knew, it could be another one of its tricks to lure them closer.

But this possibility seemed less likely as the wings on its back began to fade away. They broke apart and dissipated until they completely disappeared, leaving the creature back to its original wingless state. After the wings faded, the creature still remained there, not moving a single muscle.

Not wanting to waste any more time, the eye-patched guy turned to the man on his left. "I'll check the creature and see if it's truly out or not. Be prepared in case it's just pulling another stunt." He ordered, the other guy grunting in response.

The eye patched guy then turned to the creature and slowly began approaching it. His one eye was locked onto the creature, watching it for any sudden movements. He clenched the rod in his hand tightly, ready to use it at a moment's notice. The last thing he wanted was to end up being the fourth person injured by this thing.

Once he was mere feet from it, he paused for a moment, staring at its motionless body. Then, with swift movement, he stuck the rod out to the creature's side and flipped it over, allowing him to see the creature's face. Its eyes were closed, its mouth was partially open, and it didn't react in any way to his interaction. Taking a risk, he reached for its left arm and gripped it before lifting it off the ground. The creature dangled in the air, its body slightly rocking back and forth. It didn't react or attempt anything from picking it up, which was enough to confirm that the creature was truly out of it.

'Bzzzz...'

The man shifted his attention away from the creature as he heard a faint buzzing sound. He turned towards where the sound was coming from, and while it took him a moment, his eyes laid upon the source of it.

No bigger than a water bottle cap, a small silver bug was hovering in the air. Its skin had a silver sheen to it and its small eyes glowed a faint dark red color. The wings of the creature buzzed at lightning speed, allowing it to maintain its flight in the air. The bug remained stationary as it looked at the two, specifically at the unconscious creature.

The man grunted as he lifted the creature closer for it to see before speaking. "The target has been apprehended. Three of our men are currently out of commission and will likely need medical treatment ASAP. We'll return the creature back to the main entrance shortly."

As if understanding him, the bug appeared to give a small nod before buzzing away.

With the mission finished, the man gave a relieved sigh as he turned back to the other guy. "We'll head back to the entrance first and return the creature since it is a high priority. Unless they already located the other three, we'll then go and search for them and get them treated." He ordered.

The man nodded, understanding the new objective they had. The eye patched guy pulled out a small glowing compass with the arrow pointing towards the main entrance. Once he turned to where it pointed, he began walking towards it with the other man walking behind and with the creature in tow.