UNTOUCHABLE - TIAOM

JEOSWA

"This isn't looking good, Cap," said Zee, stopping on her tracks. Ahead of them are Evens walking around lazily.

Kim looked up at the sky and sighed. "Draw out your swords for security. But let's try to avoid contact as much as we can. Our objective is to get the kid and go to the nearest Sanctuary before it rains."

Conan, Zee, and Yam, drew out their Retter swords. The troop continued walking as stealth as they can until they reached the first Sanctuary. Their faces fell.

"I-it's wrecked..." said Yam.

Zee walked towards one of the broken Retter barriers and touched it. "Tsk. This tells us how messy the attack was."

Kim motioned to the radio on her suit. "Control Room, how far is the next Sanctuary?"

There were about 5 seconds of silence until a male voice responded, "About three kilometers, Captain."

"What is the nearest sanctuary near the target?"

"It's the fourth Sanctuary, Cap. Nine kilometers away from there."

"And the kid?"

"About seven hundred meters away from the fourth Sanctuary."

"Is the fourth Sanctuary still functional?"

"Yes, Captain, along with the other two remaining Sanctuaries."

Realizing the situation, the troops looked at each other. "Since this one's wrecked, it means that once we got the kid, we'd have to run from the second Sanctuary to the exit of the village," said Conan.

"That's gonna be dangerous if it rains along the way. That's a long run," said Zee.

"That's why we brought Yam. We'll handle the Evens while she makes sure that the child is safe," said Kim.

"Maybe we can use one of the cars here from second Sanctuary to the exit?" suggested Yam.

"We could, but it might get messy," said Conan. "They'll be able to track our movement and will surely target us."

Kim was about to say something but there was a sudden movement on the ground. It lasted for about ten seconds.

"W-was that an earthquake?" asked Yam.

"Control Room, what was that just now?" asked Kim.

"There's a movement underground, Cap. Probably Evens. It's not an earthquake."

"Thank you. Could you please instruct the mother of the kid to call her daughter and make sure she's staying in the car?"

"Will do, Cap."

"Thanks. Over and out." Kim looked around her team members. "We have better chances of defending ourselves outside than inside a car. After retrieving the kid, we'll stay in the Fourth Sanctuary until the sky is clear. From there we'll run to the gates as fast as we could. Let's move now."

---

"Thank you. Could you please instruct the mother of the kid to call her daughter and make sure she's staying in the car?"

Pie stiffened upon hearing that. Jane looked at her.

"The mother of the kid," said Jane, shaking her head. "I wonder if ever I'll be able to hear her say your name again."

Pie quickly glanced at Jane, then to the AEF personnel who approached her. "Her batteries are out. But I think she's still sleeping. I asked her to sleep on our last call." She pointed at the big screen showing the car with Katrien in. "There's been no movement in the car for about thirty minutes now."