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Chapter 18 - Discovery

The Mist. That's what Merlin called it. Apparently it was some kind of ancient entity that was trapped in the Amazon for thousands of years, and now it wants revenge. For whatever reason, that thing was PMSing and needed to stop, pronto.

Merlin didn't know why it was here of all places or when it would come back, but we needed to be on the lookout. I thought that was a fantastic idea since it worked so well the last time with Dead Bolt. I elected to get better security guards but Merlin shut me down.

In other, less evil, news, Trace fit in nicely with the crowd. We brought him back when we were done with the fight, and Merlin thought it was really nice that we brought back a new super as well as an old one. I was just happy to get that fanboy out of my hands as fast as possible.

Amanda stayed in the infirmary for a few days before she was discharged. When we asked about the Mist inside of her, she said that she had no recollection of anything possessing her. One second she was in her house, the next she was in this bed. The last thing she remembered before she blacked out was a few knocks on the door and her opening it. And then she woke up here.

I couldn't help but wonder if the knocking on my window a week prior had anything to do with the Mist. If anything, this ancient entity seemed like the most polite villain we had met so far.

After our regular training session, Merlin gathered us and told us about a new mission he wanted us to work on.

"There's an abandoned bunker that seems to be conspicuous. It was left by the organization that Dead Bolt works for, so it would only be ideal for him to use it for something. There are still active bits of machinery inside, and there's no telling how big it is, so be careful. You leave tomorrow at dawn. It should take you about the whole day to get there, so make haste. Any questions?"

No one said anything and he dismissed us. Before I could leave to prepare, Aer stopped me outside my dorm.

"I do not have a good feeling about this," she muttered. I rolled my eyes and patted her on the back before walking into my dorm.

"It'll be fine, Obi-Wan. If anything happens, I owe you all of my watermelon next Thursday."

——

I soared across the open New York plains on Aer's back and let the wind rush through my hair. It was about mid morning, and our mission had taken us to Ohio. In order for a more comfortable way of travel, Ruby took an off-road motorbike and took the ground with Tristan. This upgraded me to backseat flying on top of Aer, which was much better than being dangled fifty feet above the ground.

We took a pitstop in Pennsylvania for a couple hours to rest up and stretch our legs. I took this opportunity to go over the gameplan before we reached Ohio.

"So, we have Ruby go in first to scope out the place," I said in between bites of granola bar. "Then, if the coast is clear, we all go in and see if Dead Bolt had even used the place at all. If this is really the organization that Dead Bolt works for, we should probably get all the information that is possible while we're there. Maybe even take a couple pieces of machinery back for Miles to look at. Anything else?"

"I still do not have a good feeling about this, Zoe. I think that something might happen that will hinder our mission," Aer voiced her concerns once more. I shook my head and gave her a reassuring smile.

"It'll be okay, I promise. It's almost two, so we should probably get going. We have a few more hours before we reach Ohio," I concluded, getting ready to hitch a ride on Aer's back again.

"I hope I am wrong," I heard Aer mutter, but it wasn't loud enough for everyone else to hear. I climbed onto the Penna's back and we shot into the sky for a few more hours of air-whipping action.

——

I hopped off of Aer's back and stood in front of the entrance to what seemed like a really shady Fallout setting. A little shiver shot through me, but I categorized it as a shot of adrenaline. I turned back to my team to see if they were ready.

"Ready to take back Hoth?" I asked. No one seemed to get the joke and I brushed them off, muttering about how uncultured they were. We stood, prepared for anything, in front of the rusted door.

I pressed a button on the outside, and, after a couple seconds, the door screeched open. We stepped inside the worn out bunker and I prayed that nothing would collapse on us.