Salvis Terrae

Chapter 1

Mira's POV

September 15, 2278

3:34 pm

It's been three hours since leaving HQ and we have yet to run into a pack of formicas. Sunset is near and things are about to take a turn for the worst. The night is when the myonagis are most active and hunt for prey. This is strange... Our mission is to get rid of the formicas that have recently been seen near the walls of the first city. They are the easiest to deal with out of the five classes and are the most abundant of myonagis. They are easy to deal with, considering their small structure and they aren't very smart, charging ahead without even thinking. What does pose a threat is their ability to breed rapidly, their numbers when left alone even for a week are ten times their original numbers. They prey on anything they can take on no matter the size. Though they are the smallest of the five classes, their agility makes up for their size. They move quickly and attack using their numbers as an advantage. They hunt other formicas that are weaker and stay away from those that are stronger and larger.

Every pack of formicas has its own unique look but all of them are categorized as one because of their similar structure to one another, like being small and possessing razor-sharp teeth and small sharp claws. They resemble wolves that would've looked like a failed experiment.

Myonagi or myonagis is the general term for all these bizarre-looking creatures, and they are categorized into five different classes: formica, skylos, termon, tainossa, and dieus, with formica being the weakest and dieus being the strongest.

After 84 years, 50 000 000 people are the only ones left to fight for humanity, most have never seen the real sky or felt true rain. Only a few are allowed to venture outside of the walls after years of intensive training, and some losing their lives the very first day after being put into a mission.

The suits given to us are not enough to protect us if one gets attacked alone by a small pack but can stand a few hits. The main source of protection during our missions is our vehicle, which resembles a tank but larger, and more efficient, and more spacious. The wall is thick and myonagis class 3 and lower are no problem. Most of the materials are used for vehicles and for the cities, especially, the inner city, where all research and development is found.

Small beeps were heard from our computer, signaling that we have found the pack we have been looking for." Mira, it's close. Finally, we found them." says Penny, followed by a heavy sigh. She is the one in charge of monitoring the screen and all that has to do with technology inside the vehicle. "How long 'til we get there?" asks Jace with nervousness. No matter how many missions we've done together, he's never gotten rid of his habit of overthinking. "Not long, we have 10 minutes. Prepare yourselves," replies Ru, the last member of the group and trusted friend, "They disappeared for four days, they must have increased a lot."

"We'll see how much they can do against us though. You have nothing to worry about if we stick together." I reassure Jace, that does nothing to help soothe his worries though. The only thing that calms him down is when we are back inside the safety of the walls. He's not wrong though, anything can happen outside of the walls, especially when we're quite far away this time.

"Stop overthinking Jace, it's just class one anyways, no biggie," says Penny. "We have Ru anyways, there's no way anything will happen."

"Hey, why only Ru, I'm pretty strong too you know?" I jokingly say to Penny.

"Ha, yeah, right, says the one who always needs help from Ru. He's like your own personal babysitter!" Penny fires back. I can't argue with that though. Ru is the one who looks out for everyone, especially in combat. Despite being the leader, I am the klutz, not Jace. I do well in combat but luck just isn't on my side.

I am grateful to Ru, because of him, our team has been able to get out of any situation, no matter how much of a pinch. This has always been the case, even when we were kids. He is younger by a year than all of us but he is more mature than all three of us combined.

"A-are we t-there yet?" Jace asks. Worry evident in his stuttering, he is definitely different in combat though. Despite being a worrywart, he does good in fighting and never hesitates.

I glance over at the screen, "We have less than two minutes to go. Get everything you need now, we can't afford to leave just two people in battle."

The others nod, and we prepare ourselves. We make sure our suits are in good condition and arm ourselves with our weapons. Guns are no good since they are too loud and will attract more myonagis which is not what we want. We want to do this as fast as possible so that we can get back before dark.

"Ready everyone? I'll unlock the top hatch, get ready and good luck. As soon as things get awry, get back inside, it doesn't matter if the mission fails, we need everyone to get back alive, Got it?" Penny says with all seriousness. Penny is the only one left in the tank and the rest of us fight. She takes gives intel on locations and as well as if we have attracted any unwanted attention from other myonagis.

"We'll be back in no time, watch us destroy those foul things," I say back with a smile. "We'll be back," Ru says curtly, giving a small smile.

"Let's d-do it quickly okay, n-no joking a-around there Mira, please b-be careful." adds Jace. It's gonna be alright Jace, don't worry.

Penny smiles back and bids us good luck and we head out the top hatch to face off these monsters.