Phoenix (Part 2 of the 2 Part Malevolent Series)

Chapter 13

I'm abruptly waken up by Chloe, I feel leaves blow past my face, it's a windy morning.

"Get up James, it's go time." Chloe shakes me, she looks almost already ready.

I get up and stuff my blanket in my small bag, no one is up except for Chloe's team.

"Why are we the only ones awake?" I whisper

"We are the lead team, remember?" She whispers back

It's still dark outside, I grab my cold rifle and strap my helmet on. Everyone looks ready, so we venture out. Chloe heads the group, her light guides everyone else.

Chloe isn't a typical leader, like President Aleman. If Chloe wants something, she'll do everything in her power to do it. She isn't afraid to get dirty, she says it best, actions speak louder than words, she's a perfect representation of that saying. The dried leaves below us crack every step we take, all around us is dark woods, I can't see two feet that way. But ahead I can see the glowing city. I look down at my watch.

3:00

We're almost blazing a whole new trail for everyone else to follow, there's a small line of dirt showing that there has been people here before, but it's been a long time.

"Squadron One, do you copy?" I hear over the radio.

"Seven does copy." Chloe says

"Have you made your way towards the gates yet madam?" It sounds like Hudson.

"We're less than one mile out, how about you guys." She asks

"We're making our way, we don't have tree cover, so we have to be very careful." He says

"Be careful Hudson." Chloe says

The treeline starts thinning, and eventually we walk on just sod, no trees to protect us. The dried leaves coat the ground however. I can see the skyscrapers in the distance, there are so many, the city is alive at 3:30 in the morning. I can see the huge fence coming up.

"Chloe, that doesn't look like a gate, that looks like a really big fence." I say

"Then we'll have to cut through it." She optimistically says

We walk up to the fence, and to no ones surprise, there is no guard. Lucinda pulls a pen-like device, she begins to cut away at the dense fence, she rips the piece out, it's going to be a tight squeeze.

I let everyone squeeze through, then I make it through.

Lucinda looks up at the gate, "This gate should be electrified, but they must be too lazy to do that. Wonder why no one has tried to leave."

"Money, this is the richest charter. And huge amounts of rhetoric and propaganda." Chloe says

"Hey!" We all turn our heads, and see a group of peacekeepers run towards us, guns in hand.

My instant reaction is to shoot, I pull up my rifle and begin shooting them down, we start backing up towards old houses that seem abandoned. We all pour into the small house as soon as the peacekeepers are all gone.

"Well that's a way to start." Chloe says, she pulls out the GPS and projects it, I see where we are, we have at least another mile or two until the huge field. "This could take a long time."

"Do we have any backups or people that are remotely heading the operation?" Wyatt asks

"Yeah, they're back in Detroit. They're tapping into the hundreds of live cameras to get data. There's a surplus of backup if we really needed it." Chloe says