Code Ghostbird

7 - Why'd it have to be rats?

Sang didn't know how much time had passed and she really didn't care at this point. After being cooped up in that tower for so long it felt refreshing and freeing to wander about. The mountain sector was expansive but she was pretty confident in her ability to navigate it now. In all the time she wandered she had yet to encounter any monster either.

She headed back to the tower ready to move on to another sector. Maybe the forest sector. She was getting slightly tired of staring at the same beige color all the time. Entering the tower, she jumped off the platform following her gut. She landed back onto another platform before exiting the tower. Green trees spread out in every direction towering over the various paths.

She headed out following a path to her right. It was windy and thing traveling around many of the tall trees. It took a while before she came out at another small clearing but this one didn't have a tower. There were many different paths to choose from branching off of the clearing but that wasn't what stopped her in her tracks.

Slight pulses trailed through the ground under her feet, very faint but all too apparent. She studied them as they trailed off leading her towards one of the various paths. She took a step forward determined to follow it but stopped herself.

The boys would want her to alert them. They got so worried when she got hurt before. Fear gripped her at the reality of what an activated tower meant. VOLTO was up to something and her boys were in trouble. Without a second thought she raced back to the tower.

She made it there as quick as she could. Running into the tower she dropped to her knees in the middle of the platform pulling up the screen immediately. She sent an alert to all of the boys just how Victor had showed her how to do it. Sitting back, she waited for a response. The minutes ticked by and she began to get worried. Why weren't they responding? Victor had told her that they would respond to her alert immediately. What if she was too late? What if VOLTO had already gotten to them?

Her thoughts raced at this. If that was the case then it was up to her. She needed to get to the tower and deactivate it before the boys were hurt. For a moment the thought of the monsters that were sure to be guarding the tower made her freeze but she shook her head pushing the fear to the background.

Looking back to the still unresponsive panel, determination filled her veins. She had to do this. There was no other way.

She exited the tower without a backward glance knowing exactly which way to head. The pulsations grew stronger the farther she went. She passed through the same clearing as before focused on her goal.

Paranoid she glanced around her as she went down the next path. There were bound to be monsters somewhere. It would be a mistake on VOLTO's part to leave an activated tower unguarded.

She rounded a corner just in time for a red flash to move right before her eyes. Instinctively she pitched backward landing on her butt. She looked up immediately to find three Kankrelats heading her way. Behind them, she was dismayed to see three blocks and one huge black ball of some sort surrounding a red tower in the distance.

Immediately, she got to her feet retreating as fast as possible. This was stupid idea. How was she supposed to do anything when she didn't even have a weapon? She raced back along the path she had come from. Unfortunately she could hear the tale tell signs of the Kankrelats following her.

She didn't dare look back, it would only slow her down. In the distance, she saw the tower that meant safety. She was just rounding a corner in the windy path when a sudden pain in her ankle made her fall to the ground. She cried out in pain as she tumbled forward onto the path.