Rise Of The Scoundrel

26. Rescue

The sleek, jet-black Garrick vehicle wasn't moving fast enough. Kash felt suffocated in his Blight Hound-resistant gear as each jarring bump sent an additional jolt of irritation through him, lessening his patience and pushing him closer to losing his temper. Being stuck with first-years wasn't helping.

He was reminded of his trip down to Haven twenty years ago. He hadn't been a first-year like those currently under his watch, but like them, he had never seen a Blight Hound before. Kash could hear their hushed conversations - full of apprehension and fear. The "what if" questions had begun racing through their minds the instant they were placed on his Strike Team. He didn't blame them.

Kash cleared his throat, catching their attention and eliciting upright postures and alertness. His eyes raked over their pitiful forms, which in his opinion could easily break even under less threatening circumstances, but they had to learn eventually. They won't understand it yet, but his brutal words would be a kindness.

"You are welcome to speculate as much as you like, but whatever answers you scrounge up are pitiful in comparison to the truth. Blight Hounds are far worse than you can imagine in your inexperienced minds."

Uneasy glances were exchanged followed by discomforted shifts in their seats. A fierce glare due to his harshness extended from one brazen member, which Kash easily extinguished with a gaze of his own.

Outside the vehicle, the lights of Haven fought to peek through the forest as they drove along its perimeter. The tops of the apartment buildings barely hovered over the trees while the CK building stood proudly above the entire village. Like a beacon, it threatened to outshine the stars.

Kash cracked the window, allowing the cool night breeze to intrude on the comfortable temperature of the vehicle and send a chill through the occupants. Unfazed by his goosebumps, he strained his ears, hoping to be met with only distant chirping crickets and the crunch of the dirt path beneath large, relentless tires. Kash was not disappointed. Though the attack had been nearby, Haven had been left undisturbed.

However, he was reluctant to trust the silence. Kash left the window open and kept his eyes trained on the tree line in anticipation. Just because the village had not been attacked, did not mean it couldn't be in the coming moments.

The device in his right ear crackled and Kash cursed under his breath. Connections between Garrick devices weren't as stable in the villages as they were in cities or the Capitol. He waited impatiently and fought the urge to toss the useless thing out the window as the device righted itself.

"Ca...Ryker..." a man's voice struggled to come through. "...Arrived at the shoreline. It's bad sir."

"Elaborate."

"It appears the chaos stemmed from a well-hidden unidentified pub. A collection of villagers built a place where they hoped to use Zitrean freely, and there are signs of the substance... Well, everywhere, sir."

"And the hounds?"

"We're searching the surrounding woods now."

"I'll have my team search for survivors then."

"I'm not sure you'll find many, but here's hoping," the man sighed. "The TRT isn't here yet. What should we do if we run across a hound?"

"I don't care. Do what you must to contain it. We're nearly there-"

"What's happening?" A meek, hesitant voice from within the vehicle interrupted him.

Kash scowled at the girl wordlessly, allowing his expression to speak for him. She sunk into her seat in an attempt to escape, eyes dropping before turning to the window. The boy beside her had a very different reaction.