Chapter 10: A dream

An old folk tale once said, “A dream is a wish your heart makes.”

But that mouse is dead and now dreams are just lofty goals that one wishes to achieve within their lifetime.

“What do you really want?”

That is a question Gin never thought about before. He was so used to living day to day that he never really thought that far ahead.

“Why do you want money for?”

Zin asked the important question.

“So, I can have a stable life.”

“Is stability all you want?”

“It would certainly be nice, not having to worry about the important needs like food, shelter, and water.”

“Then what else do you want beyond that?”

“…”

Jeral waited for Gin to reply. He looked at the boy with his constantly shifting facial expressions.

“He must be thinking hard,” Jeral thought.

In the half a year he worked with Gin, Jeral had long gotten used to Gin’s thinking face.

“My parents are gone, the company confirmed that. I have no one else to take care of but myself.”

Gin thought to himself. Finally, he came up with a makeshift answer.

“Boss, my dream is to find a dream.”

Jeral stared at the clueless boy in shock. Then a silly grin plastered over his face.

“Kiddo, you’re being a comedian today huh? Good, good!”

But Gin wasn’t joking. He didn’t know what he wanted in life, so he might as well try to find something along the way.

Gin laughed along awkwardly.

The night ended as dawn arrived. The purplish orange haze enveloped the sky as most of the nocturnal creatures crawled home.

There was a mountain of corpses surrounding the defense perimeter around the drone. The turrets had done their job all night. Only one of them overheated and had to be fixed.

Now the 22 people team had a choice to make. Attempt to repair the drone until it could fly them all home, or repair enough that it regains basic transmission functions and leave it here. If all corporate wanted was the data, then they could just repair the communication devices and leave.

Jeral left corporate a message last night asking about their decision.

It took until noon the following day to get a reply.

“Bring it all back.”

Jeral sighed. Hunter did as well.

This mission just got a lot longer.

The extent of the damage in the drone was quite massive for just a team of 16 to fully repair.

Not only that, the 6 men CDT team had to help defend the perimeter the entire time.

The turrets would only last two more days before constant wear and tear turned them into scrap metal.

“What parts have we fixed so far?”

Jeral asked his vice commanders.

“We repaired the weapons systems and have generally fixed the physical damage on the outside hull. The inside had general repairs done although it is not fully repaired.”

“What parts are left?”

“The aerial maneuver system requires repair. The inner hull as well. As the drone lacks a docking bay, if we want a smooth ride, the lift cord also needs to be repaired.”

Gin frowned at the idea of their truck being held in the sky by a few thin cords.

“The navigation systems are intact, so we only need to recalibrate it. We can borrow the truck’s system to pass the backup map data. The storage compartment wasn’t damaged as well.”

“Good, how long will it take to get the three parts fixed?”

“If we work non-stop, three days.”

Jeral frowned.

“You hear that Hunter?”

“Yeah, I heard.”

Hunter crossed his arms as he pondered.

“One day huh? We have nearly exhausted our weaponry defending the place yesterday. We need to resupply.”

Gin suddenly remembered something.

“What about the storage compartment? Does it have spare weaponry?”

Everyone looked at Gin.

“Maybe it does!” Jeral laughed, “Quick! Go check!”

The technicians ran back into the drone. The storage area was at the bottom of the drone. Mechanical arms grab and store stuff into the bottom of the drone. The place only allowed materials grabbed by the arm to enter and thus humans cannot get in that way. Personnel can only enter from the inside.

The technicians returned with three boxes and smiles on their faces.

“We’re in luck boss!”

The kicked open the lid revealing several neatly arranged corn cobs.

Hunter grabbed one of the cobs and took a kernel off. It turned into a magazine of standard-issue bullets.

“Great!”

Their problems were solved for now. They must manually defend the drone for a full day.

“Let’s get repairing boys, we are on a time limit!” Jeral screamed to the team.

Hands full of welding torches, wrenches, hammers, and clamps, the technicians began repairing the drone. Gin was extra busy as every single small area that required a micro technician was left to him.

A copy of the map data was backed up and put onto a black box. They brought it to the drone and linked it up with the navigation system.

“Crap, the power is fried. Go check the connections, one of the wires must be blown.”

They took their hammers and screwdrivers and began to open the wall panels and followed the wires.

“Imbeciles! Just scan the walls, god damn it!”

The technicians stopped dismantling the walls and took out their scanners.

With cables repaired, the backup began transferring data.

“This will take a while, go work on something else while I wait here.”

Jeral sat by the box and waited. He didn’t want this part to be messed up. Navigation was very important when a slight misstep can land you in an ant hole full of death. Most of his team are physical engineers and not data engineers anyways.

The aerial systems took a full day to repair. The four jet thrusters were turned on and a test was performed.

“Power output stable. Wind generation stable. Gyroscopic systems online. Looks like it’s all green, boss!”

The second night fell just as the test ended.

Gin was inside of a cramped area fixing wires and mending holes. With Zin scanning and displaying the parts that required attention, Gin’s job was just moving his hands and fingers.

“It’s late. Take a break.”

Zin finally said as Gin finished the small area.

Gin sighed with relief and passed out. Not even the sound of roaring and turret fire could wake him up that night.

That night a mutant owl attacked the drone. The turrets couldn’t hold it back and the two vigils quickly warned the rest of the team.

With suppressive fire, they manage to repel the owl. Blood and feathers lined the ground around them.

They didn’t bother with moving the corpses as it would have taken far too long. But deep down they knew this could screw them over in the future. Corpses attract carrion feeders and mutant carrion feeders were some of the deadliest creatures in existence. The smell might also attract more beasts to attack them.

“We have to leave this place fast. This much blood and corpses are just a giant beacon to those bottom feeders.”

Hunter frowned.

“Hunter, we are working as fast as we can.”

Jeral sighed.

“But some things take time. Imagine it like baking a cake. We cannot bake a cake at 2100 degrees centigrade for 1 minute hoping it would cook faster. It doesn’t work that way.

“I know friend, I know. But I fear the worst.”

“I do too. An infestation will kill us all.”

Hunter and Jeral shivered at the thought.

An infestation was the worst possible event that could occur when staying near a pile of corpses. Mutant parasitic creatures would feast upon the corpses and infect the humans. Without them knowing it, the parasites would grow and eat them from the inside out.

“Make sure everyone stays away from the corpses. Avoid the rivers of blood of possible.”

Hunter reminded his team. Jeral did as well.

Everyone’s helmet lit up with the message. Most took a quick glance before going back to sleep.

______

The following day was the last day that the turrets could run. They were slowing down, and a few had already broken into scrap metal. The CDT members had to provide covering fire when tougher creatures attacked.

An enormous anteater attacked at noon. Its thick hide meant that conventional bullets were ineffective. Hunter had to fight it head-on. The CDT members drew the attention of the other creatures who took the chance to launch a sneak attack. Several technician members with combat experience also helped provide cover fire. Most of the repair was done. What remained was the rope tether and the navigation system. The backup had finally been transferred and the program was now reading it.

Four metallic tether ropes were linked to the bottom carriage of the drone. They were linked to the four corners of the truck. When in flight, the drone would look like a giant grey blimp carrying the truck into the skies above.

Night fell again. The turrets have pretty much exhausted itself.

Twenty out of the 22 employees were outside defending the perimeter. The remaining two worked on the finishing touches. Gin was one of them. There were far too many tight spaces that required his attention. He had worked almost non-stop and at best had only repaired 70% of it. He had to give up on repairing some redundant parts.

The other was Jeral. He oversaw the finishing touches on the navigation system.

“Please don’t be corrupt, please don’t be corrupt,” He prayed as the green bar slowly filled up.

Finally, the bar filled up and a new message was displayed.

[Update detected. Please install the new update.]

“God f-,’ Jeral screamed with rage.

Finally, as morning came, the drone was about as ready as it could be.

Gin finished up 95% of the repairs. The remaining 5% was within the acceptable range.

He walked out of the drone and was met with the faces of his tired coworkers. Several of them were injured. A few were in a coma and had to be med packed into a bubble. They would remain in stasis until they could be treated back at the city. It was a hard-won victory.

Hunter’s eyes were bloodshot. His arms were covered in scratches and bite marks.

Jeral walked out with bags under his eyes.

“Bad news. Navigation systems are not fully functional. Autopilot mode is disabled.”

“Any good news?”

Hunter asked.

“We can remote control it from our truck. Because it took the navigation data from the truck, it can be remotely accessed from the truck’s control system. We must leave now. I don’t know how long our jerry-rigging would hold up.

Hunter nodded.

“Everyone on the truck! Now!”

They packed up the best that they could and packed into the truck. The injured were carried on first but they took up more space since they were laid down.

“We don’t have much space left.”

“A few can fit in the drone’s hatch.”

Gin volunteered as he was small.

Hunter remained in the vehicle while Jeral went to the drone with half the team.

“Hunter, you drive. Get us home safely.”

“Will do, friend.”

The hatch closed up as the drone gained altitude. The truck was closed except for a few windows and was dragged along by the drone.

Soon, both were up in the air.

The ground where they were was covered in a mountain of blood and corpses. Wiggling could be seen as carrion feeders devoured the corpses.

“We just barely made it out.”

Hunter sighed.

They hovered along following the trail they left towards the city.

Down below they could see the swarm to ants roaming towards the pile of corpses they left. The ants would bring the meat back to their hives for the larvae to feast.

Suddenly, the ground rumbled, and a thunderous noise shattered the earth. A large worm-like creature emerged from the ground and swallowed everything up in a single bite.

It turned its enormous head and looked up at the drone.

“Crap, it’s an earth wyrm!”

The creature dove back into the ground and began to follow the drone.

“We have to go faster! The outer defenses of the city should repel the beast!”

“At the drone’s top speed, we should arrive in an hour.”

“We don’t have an hour. The god damn wyrm can eject itself from the earth hundreds of meters up into the air! We are not safe!”

Hunter screamed.

“Prepare for evasive maneuvers!”

The ground rumbled again as Hunter veered the steering wheel as far left as possible. The drone swiftly dodged as the giant worm emerged from the ground and flew up into the air. It barely missed as the turbulent winds rocked the drone and truck. The worm dove back down into the ground as it realized it missed.

“Hunter! What’s going on down there?”

Jeral messaged Hunter.

“We got ourselves an Earth Wyrm chasing us!”

“Shit! Get back fast!”

“What does it look like I’m doing!”

The drone and truck were like mosquitos compared to the giant worm. Its towering size was similar to a skyscraper of yesteryear.

With every effort to dodge, the tethers were suffering higher and higher strain.

“We can’t keep this up, captain.”

“Go! Climb the tethers and get in the drone!”

“Captain…”

“Leave! Now!”

The members nodded and began to climb up to the drone. The hatch was opened by Jeral and they began to climb in.

Finally, the only remaining person on the truck was Hunter as he had to drive.

“I’m setting a straight course to the city. Once you are close enough, ask corporate to send a guidance vehicle to help you guys land.”

“Hunter…,”

“Jeral, my friend, there is no other choice.”

Hunter gave the drone its final command and released the tethers. The truck fell from the sky just as the worm leaped into the air. It swallowed the truck whole before landing again.

A muffled explosion roared inside of the worm as blood seeped from its pores. It was clearly damaged as it roared and fell onto the ground. The truck had exploded.

Jeral tried his best to hold in his rampaging emotions. He had to honor his friend’s sacrifice. The drone was no longer in anyone’s control. It headed in one direction until either the fuel ran out or an external force stops them.

The worm was too damaged to follow.

“Boss…,” Gin walked up to his mourning boss.

“Kiddo remember this. A man must carry on the dreams of his brethren. It is both his duty and a privilege.”

“Yes, sir.”

Gin looked out of the hatch down at the injured worm. The explosion didn’t kill the Earth Wyrm, but it did incapacitate it for now. It allowed them to safely escape. Sadly, the truck didn’t have any remote detonated explosives. Those onboard had to be armed and released by hand.

“Hunter…I will be back,” Jeral said firmly.

A corpse might not be recoverable, but his equipment should still exist. The worm cannot digest metal as well. A proper burial was in order.

______

An hour later, the drone arrived within the city limits. Countless smaller drones flew out and slowly guided the reconnaissance drone into the docking bay.

“I will go report to the higher-ups.”

Jeral left the team after a few words. Everyone had a downcast look on their face. The five remaining CDT members left to their barracks to report the loss of their captain.

Gin sighed deeply.

“Zin, do you have a dream?”

“Not yet.”

“I don’t either. Do you think I should have a dream?”

“It is a human trait to hope for more.”

“So, having a dream makes me human…Then what about you?”

“I have a personality, thus having a dream isn’t weird.”

Gin walked around aimlessly. Before he realized, he had walked to Rakia’s shop. He looked up from the ground and realized he was soaked from the rain. Reluctantly, he knocked on the door a few times. No reply.

“She must be out,” Zin said.

Gin sighed as he slumped down onto the wet ground.

“I just want to feel happy again.”

“Same.”

“I just want everyone around me to be happy.”

“…”

“I want everyone to be free of worry.”

“That’s altruistic.”

“Perhaps that’s my dream.”

“Ok, that’s too altruistic now.”

Zin and Gin bantered back and forth in the rain.

Deep out in the wilderness, the giant Earth Wyrm roared. Life was unfair at times.