NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 40: Operation Breakdown
After getting briefed on the mission by Indie, Crisis had to continue their day as normal, or at least as normal as it could be after the disaster that took place at the training grounds. They got to rest and eat before gathering, like the students, who had a hard time focusing after hearing what had happened. While Zoey remained quiet and refused to say a word about what she witnessed in the forest, Scott budged under the pressure of the persisting questioning from his peers. At lunch, half the class gathered around him at the table as he shared all the details, garnering the attention of some soldiers, including Cookie, who immediately joined the conversation after hearing some rumors from his colleagues.
With everyone talking about it, the secret didn’t last more than an hour, creating both paranoia and excitement in the base. Some soldiers were curious to hear more about the action that took place in the forest, but most of the guests became concerned after hearing the claims of potential enemies lurking around their new home. Hundreds of questions were brought up, although it seemed like the authorities didn’t consider the incident important enough to disclose it. Their measures were closing down the base to anyone and setting guards on their posts earlier, but apart from that, the daily base routine continued as usual, with everyone operating as they should with their jobs.
After being harassed for hours by his classmates, having to tell everyone what they had witnessed without truly wanting to, and not getting any answers in return, Scott finally got a chance to take a break and brood over the incident with Zoey when they went to work. Despite being left alone for the first time today, they didn’t share many words, just trying to focus on other matters, and only bringing up their feelings regarding it for a brief moment. They got to forget about it when they began discussing their win at the attack and defense game, and while they were able to keep their conversation as far away from the subject they didn’t want to touch, it was clear that it kept creeping up in the back of their minds from time to time.
With their job finished, Scott and Zoey parted ways, and while they tried to avoid everyone to be left alone in peace, it was hard to find isolation when the entire base was aware of the incident. Everyone was more active than ever, gathering at the popular places in the base to talk and theorize as to what would happen next. The fact that there was no official statement on the matter only made it worse, as the soldiers instinctively gathered at the front courtyard to hear some news from Indie on the balcony. The guests and students joined shortly after their showers, but as everyone headed to the courtyard at dusk, Scott saw his opportunity to isolate himself for a good while.
A sort of event was formed in the lunch room on the first floor of the main building. There, the soldiers had their dinner while the students got to celebrate the end of the training program. They looked relieved to have survived all the training, though they were more ecstatic to leave the base and get to fight, especially after hearing the news about enemies nearby. But as everyone kept themselves busy, Crisis was able to leave the base through the back gate while only the guards were around. Since everyone was searching for them, they had to sneak out while the soldiers ate; that was the only time the south courtyard was completely empty. But while they managed to leave and gather at the training grounds to start their mission, they were left waiting, as the one who proposed it in the first place had gone missing.
Hearing everyone gathering on the first floor, Scott rushed to his living quarters to get some sleep, having to hide from Cookie and his friends behind a wall as he stumbled into them on his way there. He could still hear them yapping about the uncertain future of their current idle state, getting excited about the possibility of joining Crisis and the other soldiers in a massive attack against the unknown scavengers, calling it a raid and full-on assault. Scott was taken aback by their comments, trying to forget about them immediately as they walked right by him, and even when they left, those ideas kept visibly bothering him.
Luckily, he got some peace and quiet as he found the hallways of the barracks barren. Everyone was already heading out, giving Scott the chance to walk right into his shared bedroom, now having it all for himself, and without the nuisance of his roommates chatting before going to sleep, he got to lie down on his bed and rest as much as he wanted. He struggled to fall asleep as his thoughts kept disturbing him, but as all the voices coming from the lunch room and courtyard provided some muted noise for him to focus on, he was able to close his eyes and clear his mind for once.
Falling asleep earlier than usual, he instinctively opened his eyes around the time his roommates went to sleep. As always, he heard the door open, though it was quieter than usual. And to his pleasant surprise, they didn’t bother him by turning on the lights, allowing him to go back to sleep after turning around to ignore the noise. However, the person who entered the room made next to no noise, and unlike his roommates, they weren’t chatting quietly to not wake Scott up. While it made it easier for Scott to relax and resume his sleep, he found it peculiar that he couldn’t even feel the presence of one of his roommates, making him suspicious enough to check on the door.
–Hello? Manny? Pete-…?– Scott asked with a yawn, growing apprehensive as he slowly turned around to face the door. He could barely see if anyone was in the room due to the height of his bed. But as he tried to look down at the dark, empty floor, barely making out a shadow, he was cut off by two hands firmly grabbing him by the back of the shirt and neck, pressing down on it so he couldn’t utter another word.
Feeling his body getting picked up and dragged out of the back of his bed, Scott tried to resist and scream. Not a single sound came out of his mouth, except for some faint gags as he tried to breathe. As he realized he was being strangled for a second, Scott tried to elbow the perpetrator behind him, only to then try to brace himself as he dropped out of the bunk bed, hitting his head on the wall.
Surprisingly, he was caught by the person grabbing him before hitting the floor, but he didn’t get a chance to stand up or compose himself as he was now being dragged out of the room, all the way down the hallway to the back courtyard. He couldn’t turn his head around to see who had abducted him, but as he got the ability to scream once again, he shouted for help as loud as he could, although he was quite dazed from the hit, so he wasn’t too loud. Regardless, he still screamed, but to his dismay, no one in the whole base heard him.
Now that the sun had disappeared, Crisis was growing impatient as Frost still didn’t show up. They were fully geared up, wearing their combat outfits, carrying their weapons once again, and then some. They appeared to be more than ready for the mission, though they had gone through everything they needed to know, perhaps more than enough as it was the only thing they could do while waiting. But as even Indie got tired of repeating the same thing over and over, they all became anxious when the moon was now rising and there were still no signs of Frost. And since they couldn’t go back to the base in fear of getting caught, they could only wait and keep asking themselves the same questions.
–Where is he? You can’t just leave me with these toys and expect me to wait patiently for hours! This isn’t fair!– Nitro complained in exaggerated annoyance as he held his grenade launcher anxiously, using his large bag of explosives as a pillow for his back as he sat on the grass. He was just as bored as his teammates, who walked around the training grounds, searching for anything to do. They had to stay close, but Panda and Kiwy still ran laps around the circuit to keep themselves busy, leaving Tricky, Candy, and Indie on the lookout for Frost.
–I don’t know. He told me himself that we should meet here at dusk. Why is he taking so long?– Indie replied with slight confusion, looking all around to find reasons for his absence. But just when she began to speculate with Tricky, Candy noticed a figure approaching from the gate, seemingly carrying something heavy behind it.
Due to the dim lighting around the base at these hours, they couldn’t see very far, so they squinted hard to make out who it was. After opening the gate to let the person leave the base, the squad got to see Frost finally make his appearance as one of the guards brought his spotlight to him, revealing his combat outfit and blades sticking out of his back. But while they were pleased to see him, they couldn’t help but notice that he wasn’t dragging something, but someone. Even Panda and Kiwy noticed something off and immediately ran over to their teammates. And as they all gathered right in front of the office, they were left bewildered by the sight of Frost entering the training grounds while dragging a seemingly unconscious student in sleepwear with him.
–Scott??– Candy muttered to herself in shock after recognizing who Frost was dragging. Scott had already given up on resisting at that point, now just holding the back of his head in pain as he was still trying to process what was going on. He looked scared but wasn’t panicking, which only made it stranger for Crisis as they watched Frost casually join them, dragging Scott like a sack of potatoes, which he promptly dropped on the ground without care after reuniting with his team.
–Sorry for the wait, I had to get something from the base first…– Frost apologized nonchalantly before adjusting his combat gloves, completely ignoring the person he just dropped to the ground. He also failed to notice the horrified looks he was receiving from his astonished teammates, though they were more busy watching Scott struggle to stand up on his own, having to confirm that it really was him as he hid his face. But instead of helping him right away, Crisis froze and turned their attention back to Frost, none of them able to comprehend what he was plotting, though one did seem to get an idea fairly quickly.
–What is this?– Indie asked in disbelief, baffled like everyone else, but she was starting to get upset as she stared directly at Frost in a similar manner to when she scolded him back at the lounge. She was indignant to see him do something else without her permission, but it was still hard for her to figure out what exactly he was accomplishing. And just like he did back at the lounge, Frost just casually brushed her off as he stepped away from Scott, who now had gotten up on his feet, but he was terrified since he was brought to an empty field and was now surrounded by Crisis, not knowing what they could do to him for ruining their plan.
–I asked Snake for permission to bring one more person, so I chose to give our friend here a spot on this mission to see how things work in the field…– Frost replied casually, indifferent to Indie’s disapproving look, using his common arrogant demeanor to address his teammates, who were too confused to listen to him and allowed Indie to deal with it instead. Candy helped Scott find his footing before noticing that he had hit his head, and while Panda got some extra clothes for him to wear, the rest only watched as Indie and Frost’s usual argument unfolded.
–Think of it as an advanced, hands-on lesson for him to share with his whole class…– Frost added in a remorseless, lighthearted manner after seeing his teammates’ reactions, especially Indie’s. Although, unlike the rest, who were more concerned about Scott at this point, Indie kept staring at Frost with increasing rage, managing to contain it and not drop her composure, yet still couldn’t stand any of his smug words.
–You can’t just bring a recruit on this mission. It’s too risky to share our objectives with him, let alone take him directly to our enemies– Indie protested with slight aggression, but Frost only provoked her further by approaching Scott and pulling him closer, away from Candy and Panda without breaking eye contact with her. And as Scott was too frightened to make a move, he just allowed him to use him without saying a word about it.
–Yes, I can. Don’t worry, I’m sure he won’t actually say anything to his friends, am I right Sissy?– Frost responded belittlingly, turning to Scott to hold him by the shoulder with one arm, giving him a forced, affable grin that made him visibly uncomfortable, even weirding off his own teammates. But since they were also hesitant to say anything, they just waited for Scott’s response, which he was pressured into giving quickly as he could see the spite in Frost’s eyes.
–Yes, sir- I mean, chief… I promise I will stay quiet– Scott replied nervously, stammering quietly as he tried to find the right words to not set off Frost, being as obedient as he learned to be, which just came off forced and miserably, causing more concern in the rest of the squad. But as Frost seemed pleased with his compliance, he let Scott go to turn his attention to Indie, who was trying to keep it together in front of everyone and chose to stay quiet to think it through before taking action.
–See?– Frost asked playfully to a straight-faced Indie. She just stared at him with resentment for a long moment, and as their teammates watched the tension between her and Frost become stronger as usual, they flinched when she began approaching him. Surprisingly, she just walked over to Scott, and after checking to see that he hadn’t suffered any severe damage, she grabbed him by the arm to start pulling him away from Frost, who could only stare in confusion.
–No, I’m taking him back…– Indie denied firmly, visibly annoyed but remaining collected as she ignored Frost and walked Scott back to the base to not provoke him further, with the latter trying to express his gratitude to her but only whimpering and shuddering from the anxiety he suffered.
Instead of arguing or chasing them, Frost just watched them from afar with a threatening look before he became more relaxed, nodding in acceptance, only to then pull out his gun from his back pocket casually and point it directly at Scott’s back. His teammates gasped in shock, trying to stop him from shooting, but by the time they had reacted, he had already pulled the trigger and opened fire, shooting dangerously close to Indie.
–NO!– Candy shrieked in panic after the single shot that Frost fired startled her and the squad. A loud bang echoed through the training grounds, stunning everyone nearby, even alerting the guards at the back gate. Indie turned around immediately to see Frost pointing his gun in her direction, already holstering it, but she immediately looked down at Scott as she realized her teammates were able to stop Frost. They all froze for a moment as Scott fell to the ground, but with Indie quickly catching his body and checking if he had been killed, she was left confused by the absence of a wound or sign of a bullet anywhere near his body.
–What the-...– Indie exclaimed before turning to Frost with a disturbed stare. He stared back at her with a brief smirk and hid his gun completely before his teammates could take it away from him. They soon too realized that Scott hadn’t been killed, and as he stood right back up and turned around, only showing a bit of discomfort, they could only turn to Frost in search of some answers.
–If he tries to run away, the next one will be loaded. Come on, I already told Snake that he has to come with us…– Frost added nonchalantly, though directing some hostility at Scott for a brief second. He turned to his teammates, who looked at him in confusion before complying with his order, following him as he walked towards the back of the training grounds. Unable to argue, Indie checked back on Scott, and even though he looked petrified, she helped him catch up with the team. But while they took care of him, she rushed over to the front to walk next to Frost.
–I can’t believe you are doing this just to teach him a lesson. Couldn’t you just scold him in private as I do?– Indie asked in irritation as she caught up to Frost, staying quiet to not make a bigger scene. Her condemning stare was ignored by Frost, but he did acknowledge her question, responding with a chuckle before facing her.
–No worries. I will teach him a lesson once we get there. If not, at least we can use him as bait…– Frost replied with a lighthearted smirk before glancing back at Scott, who stayed at the back of the group, right behind Nitro and Kiwy, regretting everything he had done, though not having the courage to escape while he still could. With that response, Indie rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation, and while she remained silent, she kept judging him with her eyes, though it didn’t matter anymore to him as he had stopped walking right before the entrance of the middle section of the forest.
–Now, are we all ready? I’m guessing Indie already briefed you…– Frost asked with more enthusiasm as he turned to his team. Everyone nodded except Scott, who kept his head low, hiding his whimpers, which luckily went unnoticed by Frost. And as he received confirmation, Frost adopted a new, high-spirited demeanor that caught Scott off guard before venturing into the woods once again.
–Alright then, we’re officially starting Operation Breakdown!… Let’s go before it gets darker, we don’t want to get there too late…– Frost added as he resumed walking, leading his team through the forest, past the stream, out of the woods, and next to the spot where they massacred the scavengers. As they walked past the bloody scene, they all looked back at where the corpses were located for a brief second, with Scott being the only one to fixate on them longer, looking genuinely sick by the scene, especially by some traces of blood still left. But as they entered unexplored areas, they only looked forward, and with Frost guiding them, they all quietly followed his every step until they reached the supposed enemy base he had been searching for weeks.