RB Chapter 210 The Reinforcements

The engine emitted a soft whine as the vehicle sped along the dirt road. It was long, the interior arranged to the resemblance of a cargo plane. The two front seats were still the same, but further back, two long seats were arranged on the sides of the chassis mirroring each other.

The soft white light emitted by the LEDs on the top of the of the roof wasn't enough to chase away the gloom inside. His eyes gazed out the small bulletproof window opposite, the sky a hazy blue. The murderous chill in the air also made him uncomfortable, the brown hairs on his arms under his suit rising.

Michael sat on the left side of the car, Mara by his side. Apart from the murderous intent and the gloomy atmosphere, a female body so close, with an intoxicating scent wafting up his nose was causing his body to react. His temperature was rising and he was very sure that he was blushing furiously. A few weeks without sleeping with a woman would do that to a man.

Instead, his gaze faced the one who sat opposite. A thin man wearing glasses and dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a short sleeved shirt emblazoned with a guiter on the front. His expression was light and calm, amusement within his gaze every time he looked at Michael.

He had short black hair, black eyes and a long thin nose. He was humming a tune, the song being one that Michael didn't quite know. He was so relaxed that it seemed as if the upcoming battle was the last thing in his mind. He looked like someone who worked an office job for a living. Except that his eyes appeared to narrow dangerously every now and then.

Introductions had already been made and he knew that the man only went by an alias,'The singer'. It was a weird alias by his standards. An alias had to inspire something of interest, but this one only gave the feeling of a washed up musician the moment you laid eyes on the man. According to Mara, the man had been designated as dangerous, before he had even enriched his brainwaves to become a spectrum warrior. Michael wanted to be as far from the man as possible, he just was'nt normal. Though it was all instinctual and they were doing this mission together, so there was no way in hell it was happening.

The woman with the millitary origins from before was named Melty. Her introduction had been curt, the coldness radiating off of her not allowing for more casual conversation. She was occupying the second seat next to the driver, her eyes forward. She was a sheathed blade, hiding the sharpness in the cold. Also for some reason she hated him, a mystery he hadn't worked out yet.

Apart from Mara, the driver was the second person that he knew. He was a brother from the same clan, brown hair, brown eyes and a burly body. His name was Lucien, a ferocious fighter. The man lived to challenge the strong, something that had given many headaches to him and the family all these years.

"So...anyone confident? I do believe the files about those seven have already been provided to you." He started. The silence had been getting to him, not to mention the intoxicating scent wafting from Mara beside him. He even had a sneaking suspicion that he would have taken her right here if they had been the only two around.

"The white furred monkey is interesting. I would love to tussle with it. I hope no one tries to interfere." Lucien said from the driver's seat, a faint threat within.

Before Michael could say anything else, the vehicle went down an incline, causing his body to abruptly lean into Mara's, the soft chest pillows crushed by his arm. A softness transmitted through the flimsy fabric of his clothes, a hotness surging up his cheeks. He hurriedly, yet reluctantly broke away and settled back into his previous posture. He looked opposite only to see that The Singer was smiling. 'I hope he stops being so nosy!' His expression soured a bit.

"You can have the it. I am more interested in completing this task speedily and leaving this less developed area." The singer said, his expression not changing one bit. A tune came from deep within himself as he resumed his humming, gazing at Michael and Mara as if they were zoo attractions.

"That woman with the lightning made a mistake. I would have gone for the head." Melty said from her sit. Her voice was tinged with coldness and a sliver of frustration.

"We weren't on ground...we have no right to critic her actions." Michael said, a frown forming between his eyebrows. He felt the budding of a complete dislike for the woman.

"Anyway, among us, is there anyone who knows those two intimately?" Mara asked, a deep exhale coming out of Michael's mouth. He had to calm down.

"I met them when I was making my way north." He said, causing glances shifting his way.

"The boy hadn't yet reached our level at the time...he was someone with a perpetual frown. I could tell he had a story but I didn't ask. He's a very interesting lad." A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Ever since he met the boy, he had a feeling of having a younger brother.

-----

"Oh! Then I would love to meet him." Mara's eyes glowed. She had been staring at Michael's side profile the entire time. It was so blatant that everyone could tell that she held certain feelings for the man, but she didn't care. This was the first time she had seen a genuine smile on his face in a long time.

'Too bad he's so idiotic! Can't he tell?' She was exasperated.

Mara had signed up for this mission for one thing only, protecting Michael. She loved him. They had been childhood friends until that year when she had turned 21. It had all changed, the way she was always conscious of him, the way his smile caused her heart to flutter, the butterflies in her stomach when he smiled at her...he had been too young, still 17 at the time, so she had had to bury those feelings and move away, hoping that time would change everything...it clearly hadn't worked considering she was back at his side, gazing at his side profile with infatuation.

"Do we need to prepare some sort of drill or tactics?"

Mara felt that Michael was uncomfortable in this silence since he was the one mostly talking, so she tried to engage him.

"Nah! It will be everyone for himself." She answered for the others after seeing them having no intention of adding something.

"As long as no one touches my prey." That man in the driver's seat spoke. Mara felt a sliver of fear towards the man. He came from the same clan as Michael, but more prone to violence. If you asked her whom she feared the most among these people, she would unhesitantly point to him.

Actually his bloodlust was what was making the atmosphere gloomy. The others were all on edge, trying to make sure that they didn't lose their minds. Michael must have known, it was probably why he was trying to get the others to liven up.

But clearly, it wasn't working.

"Mr. Lucien, you bloodlust~is making me~uncomfortable~" The singer sang those words out. Mara's head whipped into his direction, scared that he had just disturbed the sleeping lion.

"Ah! Sorry sorry." The heavy crushing feeling vanished from her chest, causing her to gaze at the back of the driver's seat in surprise.

"That's better~" the Singer grinned as if he had just accomplished something minor, or it could be that he had never heard of the man's reputation. Whatever it was, Mara was grateful that Lucien took heed.

-----

'Whoooo...brother isn't someone who usually listens. He's probably being docile because he knows a worthy opponent is in the near future.' Michael tugged at his collar, relief having appeared on his face.

"Its faint, but I smell a revolting stench in the air." The cold iceberg said. That's what Michael had taken to calling Melty. Of course he only did so in his mind. It wouldn't look good if he said that to her face.

"I don't smell anything~." The singer sang.

"She has been channeling her energy ever since we set off." Lucien revealed, earning a glare from the iceberg.

Michael raised an eyebrow as he hadn't noticed such a thing.

"Wow! That's some mental fortitude you have there. It would be boring for me to keep at such a task." Mara complimented.

"This is discipline." The iceberg threw out such a line as the answer.

"It looks like we are approaching the horde." Michael said.

"How are we going to pass through the blockade?" Mara asked, removing a strand of hair that had slipped out of bundle. Her hair had been tied up in the form of a ponytail to prevent any from obscuring her gaze when fighting.

"This car is made of titanium and covered in thick carbon fibre plating. We can't abandon it." The ice berg said.

Michael simply contemplated the options. He could jump on topof the car outside and use his spectrum domain, but then that raised a concern, what if a spectrum beast attacked from afar?

"I will clear the path from the outside ~." The singer offered.

"Those weak ones can't even serve to wet my appetite." Lucien said from the driver's eat, his voice containing a thick disregard for the other beasts.

As the car sped along the road, a blockade formed from beasts appeared at their front. The beasts appeared to have been resting, only startled by the sound of the engine and the vibrations from the ground.

In the past few minutes the sky had brightened considerably causing Michael to at least make out the colors. A whistle abruptly made it out of his mouth upon seeing how packed the beasts were. The stench had even gotten to the point that he dulled the nerve cells inside his nose. Dried blood caked some of the beasts, not theirs, but that of the dead. Beasts missing limbs, body parts, or having holes within their bodies were also visible. These signs alone gave the spectrum warriors a visual on how truly brutal the battle had been.

"Even with their numbers, many are showing signs of injury, I wonder why that is?" Mara asked, her gaze also peering towards the front of the vehicle through the windshield.

"Most should have gained these injuries from the others. I don't think those that managed to get it to the last line of defense managed to escape with their lives intact." Lucien explained.