[WARNING — DISTURBING IMAGERY]
[WARNING — DISTURBING IMAGERY]
2 PM of day 208, The first mission mission left the station. Egon and steffi packed their weapons, rations and other equipment, Egon activated the station's lockdown mode, and the team was ready to go.
Charlotte stayed with monica, teaching her to use a firearm.
By nightfall, they reached the residential district. Houses were grey and lifeless, drained of colors. Some had their doors breached. They hid their car, and took position in an abandoned house, one in good shape.
Egon didn't rest. He searched the perimeter, mounting doors with laser sensors. If anything crossed, his suit would trigger mild electric shocks to alert him.
At the main gate and they bedroom they choose, they set heavier traps. Viper Rails: long, sleek, devices made of steel, attached parallel to walls. When motion is detected, it fires. 16 bullets in 2 seconds. 8 at a time. They were hard to carry and not very efficient. But still, they had four. Two for each entrance.
The next morning, they began their search. They prioritized the ones that looked intact. Higher chance of survivors.
One house caught Egon's eye. Across the ash and dust, faint black marks led to the entrance. Footprints. He knelt and brushed his fingertips on the marks. The suit system analyzed it. It was blood. Dried, long ago. He didn't tell steffi.
They followed the footprints carefully to the back door. It was broken. They switched to thermal vision. No signs of life. Still, They entered slowly, with their rifles ahead.
They turned on their flash lights. Inside, tables were split, chairs were broken, as if a horde of elephants had ran through.
They cleared the rooms, one by one. The kitchen was last. And there, a body waited.
A woman lay crumbled on the floor. Strange symbols were carved into her face. Her stomach was slashed open. Worms moved between her half-dried guts spelling out. Blood soaked the surrounding muscle tissue, with signs of clotting. She was alive when she got the wound.
Steffi turned away. He wanted to throw up, but the suit spared him the smell. Egon crouched to study the body. The cuts were precise, too precise for beasts. This was human work.
And it wasn't quick.
The woman wasn't just killed. It was more than that. This was a group project.
"Movement outside." Steffi said through the suit's earpiece.
Egon rose. "Get back to me."
They regrouped at the back door and waited. A few seconds passed. Nothing happened. Silence.
Then two figures moved outside. Egon pressed steffi's mouth when he tried to whisper. They tracked the figures until they faded away.
Minutes later, they moved out. They couldn't risk another search that day.
By nightfall, They were back to the safehouse. The next day, they searched more houses, but found nothing. By day's end, they returned to the water station, at 7 PM on day 210.