With a swift slash, the lurker's head separated from its decaying body before falling to the ground followed by a resounding thud. Another lurker launched itself forward, its talons piercing through the thin air as it heave towards Leon's direction. He barely evaded the phantom's claws, the sharp, bony blades grazed his body armor.
Leon swung his longsword in motion, its sharp blade effortlessly sliced the lurker's limb off. Black liquid sprayed around that stained the nearby wall as the decapitated arm propel and land on its surface along with the few droplets that sprinkled across Leon's cheeks.
The lurker staggered backwards, its lacerated hand dripping with dark substance. It shrieked and its torso began to split open, revealing the murky tentacles beneath its diseased body, before moving forward in a series of uncoordinated movements towards Leon.
Leon gritted and didn't hesitate to cut off the tentacles lashing towards him. His fast movements didn't allow the lurker to catch up as its body gets razed left and right. He kicked the creature away from him as it wobble, before its body sprinkled a rain of black blood like a meaty fountain before it crumbles into blocks of cleanly cut flesh.
Leon posed in a defensive stance, his eyes darting back and forth around the mob of lurkers circling around him. He needs to break this fast if he wants to catch up with Eidessa who took Owen to who-knows-where. He's running out of breath and his throat is raspy from the constant hacking and slashing against these relentless creatures.
In a sudden screech, another lurker lunged forward, its knife-like fingers lashing through the air. Leon whipped his longsword, shaking off the chunks of flesh and viscous blood that stained its shiny blade. He gathered the momentum from his foot before charging forward, meeting the humanoid phantom head-on.
"With the mighty phoenix, you shall meet your demise!"
November 17, 2012…
Baümer's Mansion. Danelburg, Azurea…
The van swayed side by side as it traverse through the bumpy gravel road. Noralie is sat in the compartment with her squadmates, who were preoccupied on preparing their weapons. She noticed that most of them were equipped with the same common gear as her; various models of pistols, batons, combat knives, and sets of magazines strapped to their vests.
Gunther and Juliane, meanwhile, were the exceptions as they wielded rifles accessorized by futuristic accents along with their vests that bulked of magazines. Noralie didn't wonder about this though, as it makes sense for the two to have high-caliber weaponry due to their specialization in the combat field.
"We're almost there," Walter called from the driver's seat, while Carl peered out of the window beside him.
"So," Juliane nudged Noralie. "Do you have any words of enlightenment for us, Schumacher?"
"Uhm, well," Noralie paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "I guess, if you see any distortions in your vision, might as well go guns blazing."
"Cool," Juliane flashed an unexpected smile, breaking her usually brusque demeanor.
Noralie's face brightened, and a sweet, warm smile slowly crept across her lips. Upon seeing this though, Juliane's eyes gradually cooled and her smile slowly faded as she averted her gaze, leaving Noralie in a confused and awkward state.
Eventually, their vehicle reached the closed gates of the manor and from the rearview mirror, Walter nodded at Gunther, who then sauntered towards the compartment doors. His rifle aimed forward and prepared as he pushed the doors open before jumping out.
Noralie, along with her companions, waited anxiously, and her ears perked up upon hearing the series of squeaks emanating from the gate hinges. She swayed as the vehicle slowly proceeded through the driveway before coming to a halt on the lawn. Walter and Carl hopped out next, checking the surroundings before giving the cue.
"Clear!" Walter yelled.
With a firm grip on her pistol, Noralie braced herself. Her comrades followed suit as Juliane reopened the compartment doors, breaking it apart before everyone moved in motion one by one. Their weapons were trained as they gathered at a single spot.
Noralie and Ilse walked backwards, scanning the surroundings left and right. Once they were sure that the area was clear, they rejoined the rest of the team as Walter began to issue orders in a hushed voice.
"We don't know what's waiting for us here." Walter looked at Juliane, "We're going to move as a single group, you and Gunther will guard the sides, I'll take the front. Noralie, Ilse, you take the rear, roger?"
They all whispered in unison, "Roger."
As they prepared to proceed, Carl suddenly blurted out a spew of questions, "What about me? What's my spot?"
Ilse approached and smacked him, "Your mouth, idiot."
"Just stay in our middle, Carl. You're injured, remember?" Walter sighed.
And with that, they assembled in formation and carefully trod the path towards the porch. Noralie squinted under her glasses as she looked around; her eyesight wasn't that bad, but she had difficulty seeing at a distance, and with Eidessa's cloaking abilities, it would likely be even more challenging for her to spot anything.
After a few moments of cautious tiptoeing, their steps landed on the concrete surface of the porch, and the undeniable stench of death emanating from inside became evident. Gunther, accompanied by Juliane, sneaked to the side of the door and peeked inside while holding his palm out. After scanning the foyer, he beckoned to everyone with a nod, and they barged in with their weapons at standby.
Noralie's vision adjusted to the surroundings as she entered the dim foyer; her eyes widened in revulsion at the gruesome sight. The walls were splattered with black blood, and body parts were scattered on the floor, cleanly cut. Ensuring that there were no hostiles around, she slowly approached the nearby wall, splashes of the same black fluid painted it like canvas, still oozing. This happened not long ago.
"Eww, it stinks," Carl gagged.
"Leon! Owen!" Walter called out.
From the study room to their right, Leon's familiar figure emerged, sweating, with parts of his face soaked in dark liquid. Noralie looked around for Luna, whose head was peeking out behind Leon, seeing the canine made her sigh in relief.
"Leon!" Walter approached and patted his shoulder, "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay," he replied. "It's Owen we should be worried about."
"What happened to him?" Noralie gently asked.
"We tried to board up the broken windows in the dining and study rooms," Leon pointed. "We were suddenly attacked by a group of lurkers. They pinned me down, and Eidessa took advantage of it to snatch Owen. He seems to be their target."
"What's up with these bodies? You did this?" Gunther asked as he inspected a decapitated hand near the door of the dining room.
"I'd rather not talk about it."
Noralie curiously eyed Leon for a moment before heading towards a nearby corner with tears forming in her eyes. Owen was somewhere out there, possibly suffering at the hands of Eidessa. During the course of the investigation, she felt like he had become part of their squad, and she's still guilty about the insensitive questions she blatantly threw at him. Right now, she would do anything to get him back, but just like what Owen had said, they wouldn't achieve anything by remaining sitting ducks here.
In her contemplation, Ilse approached her, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Noralie sniffed.
"Come on, don't cry. I'm sure we'll find him," Ilse reassured.
Noralie wiped away the forming tears across her eyes, "I'm not crying."
"Sis, you're obvious," Ilse knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Walter has a plan, okay? He always knows what to do. We just have to trust him."
Noralie looked at her with teary eyes and nodded.
From the stair hall in front of them, Walter's authoritative voice blared out, prompting Noralie and Ilse to stand up and join the rest of the team.
Gunther can be seen nearby, already setting up the tracking tablets, while Walter was speaking to Leon and gesturing towards the door at the side of the stairs. They broke off with a nod before Walter shifted his attention to the people in the room.
"My dear squad, we're starting the execution phase now due to the urgency of the situation. Leon told me that he began to experience mild headaches and starting to see silhouettes in his peripheral vision, a sign that the infestation event is imminent in this area..."
"...So, to keep the rest of the population from the nearby neighborhood safe and in the hopes of saving Owen's life, we'll divide the squad into three groups..."
"...Gunther and Juliane, you will be tracking unit A, and Noralie and Ilse, you'll be tracking unit B."
Noralie raised her hand with a quizzical brow on her forehead, "Um, why do we need two tracking groups?"
Gunther, who's preoccupied with the tracking device screen, suddenly chimed, "Because the devices are detecting two separate hotspots in the area and since we don't know which one is our potential target, it makes sense to send two units."
"Gunther is right," Walter pointed out. "Meanwhile, Leon, Carl, and I will set up the cellar to trap and neutralize Eidessa, in which hopefully we'll be able to put her to rest."
"How are we going to bring her there, though?" Ilse asked.
"You will be the lure, tracking units," Walter continued, "When you engaged her, try to hold her off until further cue,and when we give the signal you'll let her chase you while head straight towards us. By 'us' I mean below the cellar over there."
The words made Noralie gulp.
"What are you waiting for? Move it!"
"Yes, sir!"
With that, they all moved into action. Noralie and Ilse went straight to Gunther, who handed them one of the trackers.
"Here you go." Gunther smiled at Noralie, "Don't do anything reckless."
"Nah, she won't. I'll be keeping her safe." Ilse winked at him as she wrap her arm around Noralie's shoulder.
Gunther cheeks flushed and awkwardly looked around while chuckling, "Just go, will you?"
Taking the tracker from Gunther's hand, Noralie, together with Ilse, headed to the foyer doorway. However, before they could leave, Leon approached them and handed two pairs of noise-cancelling headphones, stating that they would need them before proceeding with their tasks.
"Be careful, Operative Schumacher." He nodded, before heading back towards the stair hall.
Noralie's eyes lingered on Leon's back for a moment as he walked, before Ilse escorted her to the porch.
Noralie found herself walking through the familiar dense forest where the ground was littered by cracking twigs and carpeted by dried, fallen leaves. The breeze rustling the greenish and gingery leaves of the trees, creating a soothing moment of silence accompanied by the constant soft tweeting and chirping of birds. With a weapon in hand, she had Ilse beside her whose eyes fixed on the tracker's screen.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Noralie asked. "It feels like we're going in circles."
"Yeah, we're close," Ilse replied. "There should be a patch here somewhere."
They continued their stroll for a while, the twigs and dried leaves crunching under their every step. Eventually, they reached a grassy clearing as indicated by the tracker and to their puzzlement, there was nothing unusual here.
Ilse sighed, "What's this? We walked for almost a half hour for this pastures?"
Noralie knelt in the grass and felt the ground with her hands, "Let's check the area a bit, maybe we'll be able to find anything."
"Yeah, I guess..."
They spent several minutes searching the area for anything; however, they themselves were unsure about what they were looking for. In their fruitless search, Ilse resorted to kicking a nearby tree sapling in frustration, causing it to snap in two. Before they knew, they were sitting in the shade of a nearby tree, observing the peaceful view before them.
A gunshot suddenly startled the two and their gazes met with their eyebrows curled. After a few moments, their radio crackled and Gunther's voice broke through the static.
"It's okay. We just dispatched a lurker near the creek."
Noralie breathed a sigh of relief, chuckling at herself along with Ilse. Her eyes darted to check the tracker again, thinking it was impossible for this place to have nothing hidden. Dr. Christina couldn't be wrong; she's a scientist after all. Noralie scanned the surroundings once more, and her eyes curled as a one particular spot caught her attention. She stood up and walked towards it.
"What is it, Noralie?" Ilse asked, which Noralie ignored, making her sigh as she forced her legs to follow her friend.
Nearby was a circular patch of dried yellowing grass; Noralie reached out and pushed her hand into it and felt a gelatinous softness that made her mind spark in a sudden thought.
"Below us," Noralie whispered.
"Sorry, what?"
"Under the ground. There's something here."
Noralie forcefully pushed the spot with her bare palm, and it slowly shrank; the next thing she knew, it burst open, causing her to lose balance and fall into it.
"WAH!"
"Noralie!" Ilse tried to grab her, but she was too late.
Luckily though, Noralie's back was cushioned by a soft and rubbery surface that quilted her fall. Once she regained her bearings, her nose was assaulted by foul-smelling air as eyes focused on the hole above from where she fell, the silhouette of Ilse's head was visible under the bright light.
"Noralie! Are you okay?!"
"Y-yes!" Noralie groaned.
"Wait there! I'll find something to pull you out."
Ilse disappeared from view, leaving Noralie lying there, hands covering her mouth and nose to shield herself from the putrid smell. Surveying her surroundings, she noticed the place resembled a chamber with walls made of fused muscle-like tissues and skin, with some bones protruding in various spots. In the center was a small structure, a crude imitation of a flower made from the patched-together carcasses of who-knows-what.
Noralie approached cautiously, her eyes dazzling with a mixture of awe and disgust. The structure had yellow glowing veins akin to a phantom, and its petals resembled flaps of skin. In the midst of these petals was an organ almost resembling a heart, still beating; the whole thing was supported by a stem of bones with barely hanging ligaments around it. Whatever it was, it emitted something that slowly triggered a migraine in her.
In one corner, Noralie's eyes shifted to the transparent pod-like sacs attached to the fleshy walls. Inside them, the bodies of people are contained and physical distortions are noticeable around their bodies as they slowly transform into the deformed figures of lurkers. Among the dozen of pods however, a particular one had caught her attention—a sac containing a man in a familiar formal suit attire, Owen.
She rushed toward it while unholstering her knife. Upon reaching it, she stabbed and carefully sliced open the gelatinous pod, a clear liquid that smelled of ammonia began flowing out in the process. Noralie yanked and pulled Owen out of the pod, gently settling him on the fleshy ground. With her fingers, she checked his pulse, breathing a sigh of relief at the beating she felt underneath. He's alive, at least.
From above, Ilse's voice came as a rope was slowly lowered from the hole. Noralie looked at it for a while until her attention shifted towards Owen, who coughed as his eyes slowly opened amidst his raspy breath.
"Frau Schumacher?" Owen groaned.
"Yes, Owen. Come on, we'll get you out of here."
"I'm...where am I? What happened?"
"I'll explain it later. Can you walk?" Noralie held the butler's hand.
Owen nodded as he slowly rose.
Afterwards, the two of them walked towards the rope. Noralie assisted Owen as he went first, despite his insistence that she should go first. After he emerged from the forsaken hole, he and Ilse helped Noralie to climb out.
Noralie took a deep breath of the fresh air around, "I'm glad you're safe, Owen."
"Yeah, thanks to you," Ilse smiled.
Their celebration was cut short by a guttural screech. They all looked in the direction of the noise, and in the distance, saw Eidessa perched on a tree, its eyes burning with an otherworldly yellow glow as it fiercely looked at them.
Noralie pulled out her pistol, "I think we need to leave."
Ilse assisted Owen to stand. "But Walter hasn't given us the cue yet."
"If that's the case, we don't have a choice but to lose her into the woods for now."
Suddenly, Eidessa disappeared out of thin air, the sight sent chills down their spines.
"To the woods, now!" Noralie barked.
With Ilse's assistance, they supported the weakened Owen and hurriedly made their way back to the cover of the forest. As they rushed aimlessly through the woods, they heard a series of rustlings chasing them from behind.
Ilse flicked her finger on her radio, her breath gasping for air, "Good news, we got Owen. Bad news, Eidessa is after us!"
It took for a few moments before the radio crackled, "The disruptors' setup is almost complete. Gunther and Ju are on their way to assist you there."
Ilse cursed under her breath and they continued on their trail. Suddenly, Owen's coat was caught on a tree branch, causing for him to tumble down.
"Umpf!" Owen huffed.
"Urggh!" Ilse's tracks took a halt and fired several rounds into the trees using her pistol, trying to stall the cloaked figure of the phantom.
Noralie hurriedly rushed helped Owen to his feet, "Come on, hurry."
"Frau Schumacher, leave me behind. I'm just slowing you down!"
"We're not leaving you here. No one gets left behind."
Suddenly, Ilse was sent flying and collided with a tree beside her, the assailant remaining unseen.
"Ilse!" Noralie yelled but a sudden growl from behind, caused her to freeze in her position. Her gaze shifted towards Owen, whose eyes widened in horror. They stood there motionless for a moment, until the butler suddenly sprang up on his feet and pushed her out of the way. Noralie landed on the ground at a safe distance, her gaze darted towards Eidessa who slashed Owen's back, causing him to let out a pained yelp.
As Owen's body fell, the phantom turned its attention toward Noralie and slowly approached, a crude smile creeping across its maw as if taunting her about what she would do. Just as it was about to lunge at her, a shot pierced its head, spewing a dark liquid that rained down on Noralie. She and Owen looked to their right and saw Gunther and Juliane, their rifles trained on Eidessa.
While the phantom was flailing and blindly lashing out around the air, Juliane took the initiative and rushed to check on Ilse before helping her on her feet.
"Come on, Come on! To the mansion, now!" Gunther shouted as he picked up the unconscious Owen.
Noralie nodded as she stood up, and they all quickly departed before Eidessa could regain her bearings. With a high-pitched shriek, she cloaked herself once more, disappearing from sight.
"You guys should put on your headsets on if I were you." Juliane ordered as she reloaded her weapon.
Noralie obliged and slipped the headphones on, her companions doing the same. Panting, they reached the opened metal gates of the mansion, with Eidessa invisibly slithering behind. They reached the porch and hurriedly entered the entrance.
With Juliane's help, Noralie and Ilse kept the door shut as Gunther dragged Owen toward the stair hall ahead. The door reverberated with violent impacts and aggressive bashing accompanied by deafening screeches. From the cellar door beside the staircase, Carl's head poked out, signaling to them with a nod and a thumbs-up.
Juliane hung her rifle on her shoulder as she adjusted the noise-canceling headphones cupping her ears, before counting on her fingers.
'Three....... Two...... One'
With a nod, they all ran away from the door which was shattered as proceeded Eidessa to enter. She roared and continued her chase towards them.
The team jumped into the gaping cellar door, and they were welcomed by circular speaker-like devices from the sides of the room as they are aimed at the door. Leon and Carl helped Noralie and Ilse to their feet and pulled them away from the coverage of the speaker-like things.
The entire squad prepared their weapons, except for Ilse, who rushed to cover Luna's ears. The team felt their chest pounding hard as they wait for Eidessa. Moments passed by and they heard rushed footfalls coming towards their direction until it busts in crawling on all fours. With the press of a button, the disruptors emitted sonic waves that reverberated and shook the walls of the place.
Eidessa flailed and tried to cover her ears as they spurt and profusely bleed. Under Walter's motion, the team unleashed a barrage of gunfire in unison. Bullets rained over her, piercing through as they leave holes in her body that made her look like a sponge, until her body fell to the floor.
The disruptors stopped, and everyone removed their headphones. Eidessa lay on the floor with wet gurgles as she twitch, a puddle of dark liquid began to form on the floor around her. With the glow from her sockets, she eyed the people until her gaze fell upon Owen who was slumped at the corner behind Noralie.
The phantom let out an faint growl and outstretched her elongated arm towards him as the yellow luminescence of her sockets slowly flickered until they eventually snuff out like a burnt out light bulb. The pulsating veins around her deformed body also ceased into lifeless black ,and the twitching of her limbs stopped, leaving her body motionless like a lofeless ragdoll.
Slowly, Owen stood up and approached Eidessa's body. He kneeled down and reached out his hand to caress her head. "You may rest now, Lady Baümer."
Shortly afterward, the team found themselves assembled in the driveway near their REISS vehicle. Owen occupied a stretcher, receiving medical attention for the wound on his back from a paramedic. Caravans dispatched by the sanitation department arrived promptly to remove Eidessa's remains and commence the cleanup of her nest located within the clearing of the nearby woodland, retrieving the inborn bodies of the lurker pods and disabling the flower-like structure being built there.
"Finally, the nightmare in this place can finally fade away. Thank you all," Owen smiled. "And thank you, Noralie, Ilse, for saving me in that wretched nest."
Noralie lowered her gaze, her cheeks flushing
Ilse playfully wrapped her arms around Noralie's waist. "You're always welcome, Herr Achenbach."
"You could work on the accent more, Frau Braun." Owen cackled.
"Now, Owen." Walter asked, "What will you do next?"
"I don't know, Herr Zimmermann. This mansion now belongs to one of the siblings of Lady Baümer. It's up to him if they want me to stay for my services."
"What about you, Owen?" A man in formal suit approached, "Do you want to continue working here?"
Upon hearing the voice, Luna perked up and dashed towards the man, playfully running and hopping around whilst wiggling her tail.
"Mister Hans!" Owen tried to stand, but the paramedic held him firmly.
The man, Hans, knelt beside the excited Luna and brushed his fingers against the canine's head. "Owen, You've been loyal to our family for a long time and despite the dangers of being here, you decided to stay for the sake of protecting this place and I salute you for that. The decision lies in you, Owen. Do you want to continue working for our family?"
Owen's mouth fell and his eyes gleamed by the tears that formed in his eyes, "I... I would like to continue serving you, Mr. Hans. I have dedicated myself to the Baümers ever since."
"In that case, thank you and I welcome you back."
The whole squad smiled, including Noralie, feeling a newfound warmth in her heart. She shifted his gaze to Walter and approached him whilst observing the view of the mansion.
"So, what's our next mov—" Noralie's words were cut off as Ilse's hand suddenly covered her mouth.
"Shhh," Ilse whispered.
"Next move?" Walter replied with a smile, "Well, now that you mentioned it, the two of you, including Carl, will document all the information you've gathered before we proceed with the next mission. And when I say documentation, I meant thorough textual recording, even the smallest of details."
"What?!" Noralie's eyes widened as she remove Ilse's hand from her mouth.
Ilse let out a resigned sigh with a pressed a palm across her face while shaking her head.
"Yes, Operative Schumacher," Walter nodded.
Noralie glanced at the faces of her companions, who wore expressions of relief and joy as they chatted with each other. She couldn't help but gaze at the sky above them, feeling the fleeting content after having accomplished her first mission with her squad despite the flaws and errors of their procedures.
In the happiness she felt, her thoughts shifted to her father. Did he feel the same way when he accomplished his first mission?
From her side, Ilse grabbed and pulled her hand, "Come on, Mister Hans is up for a group picture."
"Alright." Noralie nodded.
As they lingered in the presence of Baümer's Mansion, the weight of suffering and anguish lifted, replaced by a sense of solace. Engaged in lighthearted conversation, the scars left by the mansion's tragic history seemed to fade away from their minds, leaving behind a newfound peace where once only pain of the unfortunate victims had reigned.
