《A Pirate's Life, The Virus, and A New World》Chapter 15 Saving People & Tough Choices
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Turning the ship into the cove the settlement looked like a warzone. Tyra was surprised she was unable to see everything from the ship. There had been fighting in the area right off the docks. A few bodies lay there mangled from what appeared to be automatic gun fire. Looking down her scope she scanned the area for anyone who was alive. Aside from that guard she shot in the head before coming into the cove there was no one moving around. Lyric ran around the ship securing the lines and tying up the sails. Once that was finished she moved back to the rudder maunvering the ship into one of the open docks. Of course Tyra's infromation was correct since there was only one other ship in the dock.
Alexandria moved to the back of the ship dropping the anchor into the water. V was also up now sheriking on top of the cabin. It would seem she was going to have some bones today. Hopefully everyone in the settlement wasn't dead already. Lyric tied off the mooring line drawing her cutlass walking onto the dock. Turning back for a moment locking eyes with Alexandria. "If you give me the word I will go and find out what is going on." She giggled with exictment jumping up and down a bit.
"Move quitely through the settlement see what you can find. No killing unless you have too. I want to know what happened here before others have to die." Alexandria said as she tied off the secondary mooring line. Giggling again with a flick of her wrist Lyric dissappered from sight. V flapped her wings gliding over to rest on Alexandria's shoulder. If it wasn't for the uncertainty at the moment she would have shooed her away. However now was not the time to be annoyed by the bird.
"Tyra can you see or hear anything else now that we are closer? Lyric will be able to get us more information once she gets back. Anything you could provide now would be helpful." Alexandria looked around from her area wondering who can be doing something like this. She didn't really want to get involved with other dispurtes. However saying these people could prove useful for obtaining that ship in the dock along with information and supplies.
It was an interesting combo of her heightened senses and Lyrics invisibility. First she wanted to listen for anything or anyone since right now there was nothing to see. Taking into account where Lyric could possibly be by the sounds of footsteps. Some crackling sounds invaded her ears most likely from small fires around the settlement. The wind rustled some tarps and other fabrics there were peppered throughout. She was about to speak when the faint sound of breathing drifted into her ears. Having heard Lyrics breathing before she knew it wasn't her. After a few moments the sound became louder with different pitches.
Her eyes popped open taking her rifle and peering down the scope. There was a tent nestled in the center of the settlement. She was pretty sure that was where the breathing was coming from. It was hard to tell how many people were in there but it was definitely occupied by someone. "The tent in the middle of the settlement someone is in there. All I can hear at the moment is breathing. I will keep my rifle trained on that area." Alexandria nodded good to know that someone was alive. If she shifted that would be helpful to finding others but it would leave her vulnerable to gun fire.
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Lyric moved through the settlement quietly. There was no way she could avoid Tyra hearing her but that was a good thing. She would have backup from a distance if it was needed. Looking around the settlement having a better idea of what happened. Stumbling upon a few more dead bodies that had been ripped to sherds by gunfire. Pieces of people were everywhere and she was doing her best not to throw up. The carnage around assaulted her senses from the fowl smell to the chucks of flesh scattered around like a minefield. It did make it easier to sneak around even if it was disguising.
This was the largest settlement she had ever seen. It was hard to think who could have done something like this. Usually when the walled cities went after the settlements they would capture people not shoot them to pieces. Peering into different tents and makeshift homes trying to see if anyone was alive. There wasn't even any guards around from either side. Making her way towards the center of the settlement she finally caught a glimpse of someone.
Ducking behind a crate nearby looking over the top seeing a few guards walking around with automatic rifles. She only saw those in walled cities since the settlements only had bare minimum in defenses. Titling her head to the side wondering why she was hiding behind the crate. No one could see her at the moment. There was still more she needed to check out. However she needed to get word back to the others on the situation. If Tyra was listening maybe that could be a way to let them know what is going on. First she needed to find a space where the guards wouldn't be able to hear her talking.
Looking around quickly to find something anything she could use to give Tyra a signal. Stopping for moment she thought about the first shot Tyra fired. It took down one of there guards from a far. How come they are not running around trying to find the shooter? Either that guard has not been found yet or someone moved them from view. Which would mean someone in the settlement was fighting back. That would mean she needed to find them as well.
There was only a small part of the settlement that was left to explore. Once that was done she was going to get on one of the makeshift homes and hopefully be able to speak into the wind. She made a mental note of the number of guards in that area moving quietly to the next one. Taking in a deep breath she moved forward her cutlass out at the ready just in case.
After getting far enough away from the small group of guards she looked around for something to stand on. She needed to get a bit of height so doing a quick scan would be easier then sneaky around. Finding the survivors was important since it was really only her and Tyra that could fight with weapons. Thankfully the new area didn't have all the carnage the others had. Looking around she finally spotted a sizeable place to get a good view from. She quickly and quietly moved over to the building jumping up onto the roof. Hushed voices started streaming out of the window as a girl poked her head out looking around.
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Lyric froze not moving a muscle looking down at the girl. She didn't seem to have noticed where the sound had come from since she had yet to look up. It was good that some of the settlement people were still alive. However making contact with them wasn't what she was told to do. How in the world was she going to be able to signal Tyra now? Once the girl went back into the dwelling Lyric moved quietly to the center of the roof. Looking towards the harbor she saw the ship. The glimmer from Tyra's rifle winked at her which meant all she had to do now was get her attention. She decided to whisper something hopefully Tyra would hear it in time.
The ship rocked a bit from the waves coming into the cove. Neither Tyra nor Alexandria made a sound since the tent with the whispering voices was mentioned. Something needed to happen soon because if those guards did come this way there would be a real fight. Of course Tyra had plenty of ammo for her rifle so that was no issue. However Alexandria didn't have a strong land animal to fight with at the moment.
Tyra's ears twitched as she peered down the scope looking at one of the makeshift windows on the tent. A young woman's head popped out looking around as if she heard something. Letting out a soft chuckle calling down to Alexandria. "I believe Lyric is right on top of the breathing people's tent. Someone just poked their head out looking around. I heard the noise as well. That could be a signal. What do you want to do now?"
Alexandria let out an exasperated sigh. It was just like Lyric to find the place they needed to be purely by chance. Unless there was an animal in this settlement she could shift into the only option would be the vulture to fly over to Lyric. However that would leave Tyra wide open even if she had her rifle. V flapped her wings a bit on Alexandria's shoulder reminding her there was still a question floating in the air. "Take a shot in that direction. I want to know what we are up against. That will be the fastest way to draw attention to us and speak to Lyric all at the same time."
Tyra nodded her finger dancing on the trigger when faint whispers floated into her ears. "I found a group of guards not far from this area. Also that guard you killed is missing but no one is moving towards the harbor. Don't you think that is strange?" Tyra shook her head a bit as Lyrics voice echoed inside her head.
"It would seem Lyric has found out something important." Tyra called down to Alexandria. "She found a small group of guards but they were not moving towards the harbor. Her thinking is that the guard I killed either hasn't been found or was moved. Do you stil want me to shoot or do you have an idea?" The situation was getting a bit more complex. If there was someone in the settlement taking on the invaders they were doing it quietly. There was also no telling who the people were in the makeshift tent that Lyric was not standing on top of.
"Shooting now wouldn't be a good idea if the guards are still unaware we are here. We need to get word to Lyric to make contact with the people in that tent. If we can get some more information we might be able to take out the rest of the guards and avoid anymore people dying." Alexandria was going to assume the people here were a decent bunch for now. These guards reminded her of ones from the facility but they could be anyone. The only other option would be for her to go off on foot to get more information.
Tyra had an idea and hopefully Lyric would pick up on what they were trying to say. "I am going to try something. It won't make any noise and if Lyric is looking this way she should understand my meaning. Are you good with me doing this or do you have another idea?" Alexandria shook her head. If Tyra had a plan that would work she was all for it. She gestured for Tyra to go ahead with whatever it was she planned on doing.
Looking down at Alexandria for confirmation Tyra smiled. She took a small piece of glass out of her bag placing it on the end of her rifle. Looking behind her to get the suns position. Placing her rifle gently on the lip so as not to knock off the glass. Aiming her rifle towards the open window allowing the light from the sun to shine through her scope and through the glass making a beam of light. Tyra smiled as the beam danced on the window where the girl had poked her head out of hoping Lyric would understand the message.
Lyric watched the ship moving slowly to the edge of the roof. She was going to check to see if anyone was at the window again. She glanced down not seeing anything and was about to go back to the center of the roof when a beam of light caught her eye. Looking up she could see Tyra's rifle moving and the beam coming from it. It was shining right into the window. They had received her message and were sending one back.
Tilting her head to the side taking a few minutes to make sure she understood what they were asking her to do. A very soft giggle escaped her lips. She got down on her stomach bringing her cutlass into the beams light in order to reflect it back to Tyra hoping she didn't shine it in her eye. After a few moments she brought her cutlass back up taking a deep breath. This was the first time in a while she had introduced herself to this many people at once.
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