Free Web NovelChapter 73: Chapter 72 - Outlier Capture(Part 2)
Point-of-View: Alexis Tucker
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"Stay put, all of you...we’ll let Eden do the dirty work, and then we’ll swoop in and grab the Outlier," Instructed Richard, as he started a group call with the others.
"Are you sure about that? What if they’ve got someone who can escape quickly?" I pointed out objectively.
"It won’t matter. I won’t let them escape," He replied firmly.
"Oh. Well, if you say so, I guess."
The confidence is great and all, but does he actually have a reason he’s basing that confidence on? Well, whatever, I’m only tagging along here, so whether we fail or succeed, I probably won’t get any of the blame. So I won’t voice my concerns. Not like I care either way to begin with.
"Come on, let’s get closer. Stay behind me and match my pace...if you step on my heels, I will punch you in the face, got it?" He warned me, before sneaking towards the camp, as screams of pain began ringing out.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it, fuckface. Huh, sounds like they’re not being covert about this," I remarked with a grimace.
"So it would seem. They’ve probably decided to stroll right in and kill everyone who crosses their path besides the Outlier," He frowned in response.
I’m starting to understand the difference between Eden and Harmony a bit better, at least in this regard...the former have no problem killing normal people even if there’s no reason to, while the latter will try to avoid it if possible, but if it becomes necessary, they’ll do what they have to.
One thing’s for sure though, Harmony isn’t quite as pacifistic as it’s name might suggest. Still, I think it’s safe to say that it’s the lesser of the two evils. I still don’t know all that much about how Eden operates, but if this is any indication, I can certainly wager a guess.
"Hey, it feels like the source of the Aura is on the move...huh, and I think it’s heading...," I remarked with a frown, as I felt the uncontrolled Aura shift.
"...right this way," Richard completed my sentence, before crouching behind a bush.
As I followed suit and peered through the shrubbery, I squinted my eyes as I spotted a silhouette approaching-...no, wait, there’s...
"It’s two people...they look kinda small too, kids, maybe?" I guessed uncertainly, "I can’t tell which one the Aura’s coming from-."
"It’s both of them...now, I see, no wonder we felt their Auras over a shorter range that the rest of you Outliers, they must have somehow split the Meta-Orb’s power," Realized Richard, his eyes widening, before grimacing as more approaching footsteps echoed out, "Damn it, it’s the Eden bastards...we can’t stay hidden anymore. On my signal, jump out and grab the one on the left, I’ll take the one on the right."
"O-oh, uh, sure...I can do that," I replied nervously, as Richard instructed the others to converge on our location and surround the Eden operatives.
I could see the two figures more clearly now...yeah, they’re definitely kids, probably in their early to mid teens, maybe my age at most. I think they’re twins too, a boy and a girl...and they’re really, really fast too.
I only see two of the Eden members chasing them, but there were definitely more of them here...I see, the others must be busy killing off everyone in the campsite, making sure that there are no witnesses left behind.
One of those that were chasing the kids was keeping pace with them, but...it was almost like he was toying with them. Actually, scratch that, he’s definitely toying with them...
"S-stay away from us!" Cried the girl twin, as he began to slowly catch up, while his partner seemed to run out of steam and started to slow down and fall behind.
"If you don’t wanna be caught, then just keep running!" Their pursuer responded cheerfully, before letting out a sadistic chuckle.
What an asshole...
"Change of plan...I’ll jump out and grab the kids, fire a lightning attack at the one chasing them when I do," Whispered Richard, before readying himself to pounce as they began to close in on this spot.
"Huh? Uh, right, sure."
As they got within range, he then blasted out flames at the gap between the kids and their pursuer, before leaping out of the bushes and rushing towards the kids, grabbing the boy’s wrist in the blink of an eye.
Woah, he’s really agile...alright, now it’s my turn.
I charged up a bolt of lightning and began to take aim as the guy chasing the kids came to a halt in response to the flames, but right as I fired at him...he suddenly vanished, reappearing next to the kids and grabbing the back of the girl’s collar.
"Wha-...tch, I don’t think so!" Snapped Richard, as he blasted flames out of his mouth at the man...who vanished again.
It wasn’t very bright out, so I didn’t get a clear look at him, but he seemed to have dark orangish blonde hair, and I think a tattoo on the left side of his face, though I couldn’t tell exactly what it was.
"That was a close one, haha! Hey, you’re a Category 0, aren’t you?! Sweet! I just notched up another steal against one of you!" Laughed the man, as he reappeared several meters away, striking the back of the girl’s neck and knocking her out.
"N-no, don’t hurt her-...!" Began to boy in Richard’s grasp, before he got the same treatment.
"What? Care to repeat that?" Frowned Richard with a dark look in his eyes, as he knocked the young boy out.
"Hm? Oh, I stole the Outlier that Harmony briefly captured in Wales! There was also the pop star in Australia, but the Harmony member then was just a Category 2, so I can’t exactly boast about that one. Still, this is quite fascinating...it looks like these two kids somehow split the power of whichever Meta-Orb they came acr-," He grinned in amusement.
"Huh? Would you mind repeating that again? You...you were the one who interfered in Australia?" Inquired Richard in a calm, terrifyingly cold tone, sending chills down my spine.
"Ooh, scary! Yup, that was me. What, did you know the woman I killed? Well, sorry, but in my defense, she was ridiculously incompetent! I mean, I just popped in and decapitated her like it was nothing, she didn’t even notice me-!" He laughed condescendingly.
"That’s enough. I’m going to kill you," Richard stated in an icy rage, as the ground beneath and around his feet melted down to lava.
"Uh-oh, that doesn’t look too good," He backed away wryly in response, as the other Harmony members came into sight as well, "Guess this is my cue to leave!"
He suddenly fired a lightning blast at the ground to kick up a dust cloud, before rapidly teleporting away, covering several meters each time.
"Get back here, you coward!" Yelled Richard furiously, as he formed a massive spear of lava and sent it rapidly shooting towards him...but he was already too far, well out of the range of the projectile, which crashed onto the ground with a loud sizzle, as it burnt the grass it landed on.
"No, thanks, I’m good!" Came the reply, before he was little more than a speck in the distance, in a matter of seconds. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
In just a matter of seconds, he was completely out of sight.
"Damn it!" Snapped Richard, slamming his foot onto the ground in frustration, his veins popping and his eyes trembling with rage.
"Hey, uh...I think those other people from Eden are probably still here. Shouldn’t we go capture them or something?" I spoke up, as I emerged from the bushes.
"She’s right, sir, we might be able to get some information out of them," Agreed one of the others.
"I...yes, I suppose you’ve got a point. Fine, then, move out to the campsite and capture any Eden members you come across. And...if you find any survivors among the circus members, there’s no choice but to eliminate them. Got it?" He instructed, a salty look on his face.
"Understood!" The others responsed in unison.
"Not you," Sighed Richard, pulling me back by my collar as I began to head out too.
"Ow, my neck, my asshole! And I can take care of myself! I’m-," I began indignantly.
"I’m contacting Neo to come take you and this boy back to the Antarctican base. Now that we know Eden members are here, we can’t risk having you out here...I’ll hear no end of it if you end up getting abducted too. And besides, I want to drop this kid off ASAP too, I don’t feel like having to lug him around," He interrupted me, as he dialed away on his phone.
His attitude pissed me off, but...I have to admit, I’m kinda relieved. Killing my so-called parents was one thing, plus that was an accident on my part to begin with, but the thought of killing people that I don’t have a real grudge against makes me feel...kinda nauseous.
I’m pretty sure that I’m going to be the first among Harmony’s Outliers to get back to the base, but...technically speaking, we didn’t fail the mission, so it’s not like I’m going back in shame or anything.
Then again, the other kid got taken by Eden, so...I guess it’s a half-failure and half-success? Well, whatever, I don’t really care anymore.
And you know what, after the stressful last few moments, the thought of flopping down in bed and going to sleep sounds really appealing right now...
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