Humanity at Stake (Completed)

Chapter 48

"So you can throw me to the wolves
Tomorrow I will come back
Leader of the whole pack
Beat me black and blue
Every wound will shape me,
Every scar will build me" -"Throne" by BMTH

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Nothing is more intimidating than two burly men holding swords in defense in your direction. Nova's eyes darted between the two guards who held grumpy looks on their faces.

"Look, for the last time, we've been sent by Colonel Marie on urgent business, and we need to talk to your superior, now," Christopher spewed in impatience. The two looked between each other, a silent communication going between the two.

"Listen, we've never heard of a Colonel Marie. We don't recognize your uniform. Beat it before we'll have to take more extreme actions to get you to leave." Christopher's hands flexed outwards before clenching in anger as he stared at the two guards.

"Fuck this," he hissed, starting forward as he kicked on guy straight in the chest. He stumbled back, his hand grasping for something to steady him. The guard's hand wrapped around the door handle, the door swinging open as he crashed into the building. The five quickly trotted in after Christopher, stepping over the daze guard and bypassing the other who stared after them in shock.

Word spread quick with the ruckus, the squadron gaining attention as they made their way into the foyer. Christopher looked around, gesturing down a hall before heading that way.

"Hey, you all!" someone shouted, guards pursued after the group as they stormed their way through the building. Their steps echoed loudly like a march as they went through the tiled halls. The walls were a warm, honey brown and were trimmed with a brown stripe. Nothing decorated them. Nova watched as a man approached them from the front. She watched as he went to grab for his sword, only to be stop when a pointed blade rested at his neck.

"I am sick and tired of this country's Resistance treating us like shit. We are all comrades. We are all soldiers of the Resistance, and our superior has asked us to talk to the man that runs the show here for help. Now, move out of our way before you get this shoved into your throat." The man's hands went up at Christopher's threat. At the man's surrender, the blade contracted and they stormed passed him.

After wandering around in a half infuriated haze, the group managed to find a large set of double wooden doors. Without a regard to the two people stationed outside, Christopher tossed the doors open, marching into the room. behind them, the two men scurried into the room, grabbing for Christopher. He was quick to unleash his bowstaff, knives sliding out on either side as he spun the weapon to a longer length. The spinning stopped, causing both the men to freeze with the blades gleaming dangerously in front of them.

"Sir, we are sorry for the intruders. We've been trying to stop them, but they insist on meeting you from some Colonel Marie." A man behind a large, dark desk peered up from the papers he hovered over. His hair was peppered with grays, and a stubbly beard rested on his chin. a dark look crossed the man's dark eyes as the brows settled over them with irritation.

"You two are dismissed, I want the names of everyone in this compound and on my desk by the end of the day," the man told them abruptly. The two looked at each other before saluting the man and leaving. He sighed as he stood from his chair, straightening his back. "Please, forgive my men. Recently there was an attack here in the capitol, and they were all newly trained. Evidently with training came no regard for the other Resistance operations. I'm General Yu. Colonel Marie sent you?" Christopher paused, looking back at the other's as he slowly retracted his weapon.

"Yes, sir. Advancements have been made towards the vampires that make us believe that they will attack soon," Leon stepped up, standing next to Christopher as he spoke. The man raised an eyebrow.

"What advancements do you speak of?" he asked curiously, his arms folding behind his back as he watched Leon.

"We've killed two Aristocrats," Leon responded. The man in front of them widened his eyes as he processed the words.

"Aristocrats?" the General chortled, his hands leaving from behind him. "Are you sure you know that you didn't hear your information from Colonel Marie incorrectly? She didn't say High Overseers or something else?"

"With all due respect sir, we are sure. We were the ones to kill them after all," Tony butted in, her voice holding an edge of annoyance from the man second guessing them. He sat down in his seat, sighing as he intertwined his fingers.

"What are you here for then? Squadrons for the battle?"

"Yes, Colonel Marie sent us asking for 250 squadrons to aid us in battle," Christopher jumped back in, Yu's attention drifting back to him. His eyebrows shot up in surprise at the number, his hands resting down on the desk.

"You're joking, right? 250 squadrons?"

"Our country is about to go into a full scale war against 2000 vampires in attempts to get rid of them. We are not joking when we say we need 250 squadrons," Christopher snapped back at him, his eyes smoldering with anger as he stared at his higher official.

"The best I can give you all is 150 squadrons," he responded back, his voice sounding guilty at the fact. Tony shoved forward, her rage radiating as strongly as Christopher's by this point.

"That's 100 squadrons smaller than what we need. That's 600 people! How the hell do you expect us to survive a war with the vampires when we are short over half a thousand people?" Tony growled out, expressing all of their concerns. General Yu sighed, lowering his head as he rubbed a hand through his hair.

"Look, I would normally be willing to give you half of our squadrons no problem, but with the recent attack, I feel that it would be best to not have that many squadron's leave the main compound. The best I can do is offer you my top 10 best squadrons and then 140 normal squadrons," he continued to explain, hoping for the group to understand his side of things. Nova could, her heart going out to the guy. At the same time, she knew they really needed the people in order to win the battle.

"That isn't enough! 600 people can mean the dif-"

"I promise you these 60 people are worth 600 people," the General interrupted. Tony looked ready to break something as she stared at the General with a heated glare. Ridge decided to step in, putting a hand on Tony's shoulder and on Christopher's.

"We have no option but to accept your conditions," Ridge stated courteously, nodding his head in a small bow.

It was a a flurry of events that followed afterwards as the group was fitted with the squadrons they were offered. The six of them learned quickly that they had taken the wrong boat, and that a port actually connected to the city they were in. With a parting from the General, they started their course back to Estium.