Chapter 94: Amber alert.
Chapter 94: 94: Amber alert.
The announcement echoed through the checkpoint for several more seconds before fading into silence.
Around Silver and Ravenna, conversations gradually died away. Contractors who had been preparing for tomorrow’s hunts paused where they stood.
A pair of veteran hunters exchanged uneasy glances and one quietly folded away the map he’d been studying.
No one panicked. That, more than anything, told Silver these announcements weren’t uncommon. The checkpoints had procedures for situations like this.
The question was, how serious was it?
"...Let’s not speculate," Ravenna broke the silence first. "We’ll know soon enough."
Silver nodded.
"Worrying without information doesn’t help."
The two returned to the lodging block assigned to travelling contractors. Unlike the military barracks, the civilian lodging resembled a modest hotel.
It had two floors, long reinforced corridors, and simple but clean rooms. Each room contained two beds, a washroom, reinforced shutters, and an emergency alarm connected directly to the checkpoint command center. It was practical and nothing more.
Silver unlocked their room.
"I’ll take the bed near the window."
Ravenna smiled, "I knew you would, so I’ll save myself the argument."
He chuckled softly.
"You know me too well already."
"I’m still learning."
Silver carefully removed his jacket before sitting on the edge of the bed.
His shoulder still protested every movement, though the regeneration pill had already reduced the swelling considerably.
Across the room, Ravenna loosened the brace around her shoulder. She slowly tested its range of motion.
"It doesn’t hurt as much, that medicine really is incredible."
Silver glanced over.
"It’ll keep improving until tomorrow."
She looked toward him.
"Thank you, for the medicine," she touched her shoulder," and for... everything today."
Silver shook his head.
"You’ve thanked me enough."
"I haven’t."
He smiled.
"Then save one for tomorrow."
She laughed quietly.
"...Alright, don’t complain then."
He turned to his suitcase for another change in bandages.
"We should rest early," he said," I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a long day."
Ravenna nodded and walked to the bathroom.
Night quietly settled over the checkpoint. Outside, floodlights illuminated the walls while patrol vehicles came and went with increasing frequency.
Neither of them noticed and fatigue finally won. Silver lay back against the pillow and his eyes closed almost immediately.
Within minutes, he was asleep.
.
.
.
The command center, however, had no such luxury; communication terminals rang continuously and operators moved from console to console as new reports arrived from every direction.
The checkpoint commander stood before the tactical display.
"Status update."
A communications officer immediately answered.
"Yellow Border Headquarters has upgraded the alert. Multiple sightings confirmed."
The commander frowned.
"Explain."
The officer enlarged the regional map. Red warning icons began appearing one after another.
"Green Sector Twelve reports an abandoned scavenger colony."
"Green Sector Nine reports an entire pack of Iron Hounds fleeing north."
"Sector Fifteen has found three kilometers of freshly collapsed ground."
Another officer hurried in carrying printed reports.
"Sir, we’ve received drone reconnaissance."
The commander accepted the photographs. Each image showed the same thing, deep massive fresh tunnels. Some wider than highways.
Entire forests had collapsed into enormous sinkholes where the ground beneath had simply disappeared.
One photograph caused the room to fall silent. An abandoned Tier Three reptilian nest. It was empty with not a single body remained, only enormous drag marks leading underground.
"...It’s feeding."
One of the veterans spoke quietly and another nodded.
"And recovering."
The commander folded his arms.
"Estimated strength?"
The answer came immediately.
"If it continues feeding... It may recover to over ninety percent combat capability."
The room became noticeably heavier. Immediately after, another terminal activated.
"This is Green Checkpoint Eleven. We have visual confirmation."
The commander immediately picked up the receiver.
"Report."
The frightened voice answered, "We found another tunnel."
"Distance?"
"...Six kilometers."
"Direction?"
"...Toward Green Sector Eight."
The command room went completely silent. One of the tactical officers quickly began calculating possible routes.
His fingers flew across the new holographic controls. It projected movement, known feeding locations, underground terrain, and travel speed.
After several tense moments, he stopped.
"...Commander."
"What is it?"
He looked up.
"If its current migration pattern continues... Green Sector Eight lies directly in its path."
No one spoke, not for several seconds. Finally, the commander issued his orders.
"Notify them immediately and upgrade their alert status. Tell civilians to prepare evacuation procedures. And where’s Preventive Squad Four?"
Another officer checked the deployment tracker.
"They’ve crossed the Yellow Zone. ETA... Four hours."
The commander’s expression darkened.
"...Too long."
.
.
.
Hundreds of kilometers away, Green Sector Eight’s command center received the transmission. The duty officer’s face paled as he finished reading.
He immediately ran toward the command office.
"Commander!"
The older contractor looked up.
"What happened?"
The officer handed him the report. The commander read it once then again. His jaw tightened.
"...Wake everyone."
Throughout the checkpoint, emergency lights suddenly shifted from white to flashing amber.
A slow warning siren echoed across the compound. It was just loud enough to wake sleeping contractors without causing panic.
Inside their room, Silver’s eyes opened instantly. Years of soldier instincts pulled him awake before his mind fully caught up. He was already sitting upright.
Across the room, Ravenna did the same.
"...You heard it too?"
Silver nodded once.
"...That’s an emergency mobilization alarm."
She quickly slipped on her boots.
"They wouldn’t sound that in the middle of the night unless..."
A loudspeaker interrupted her.
*Attention all contractors.
Remain calm.
This checkpoint has received a regional threat advisory.
All military personnel report to defensive positions immediately.
Civilian contractors remain inside the compound until further instructions are issued.*
The announcement ended. Neither Silver nor Ravenna moved. Silver quietly walked to the window.
The checkpoint no longer resembled the peaceful place they’d entered that noon.
Military trucks sped across the compound. Heavy weapon platforms rolled toward the walls. Searchlights swept continuously across the darkness beyond the perimeter.
Contractors wearing black tactical armor sprinted toward designated positions with practiced precision. Everything was organised, there was no shouting or confusion, every movement had purpose.
Ravenna joined him at the window.
"...They’re preparing for a siege."
Silver nodded slowly.
"...Which means whatever’s coming is something even this checkpoint doesn’t want to underestimate."
Far beneath the checkpoint, deep underground, something enormous continued moving. Its massive body scraped through tunnels with terrifying speed.
Its wounds had already begun closing but its hunger had not. Several kilometers away, the creature suddenly stopped moving.
Its enormous head slowly turned upward. Above it, hidden beyond layers of reinforced rock and concrete, hundreds of living heartbeats pulsed together.
The checkpoint.
The worm opened its colossal jaws, then, it began digging straight up.