Three minutes, that's all it took for their supply of rifle ammo to dwindle to a critical point.
"That's enough, boys! The beast must be burning in hell by now." Franz said, "Pass me a binocular. I want to see its lead-filled corpse."
"Here, Captain," said one of the veterans, handing a pair of binoculars.
Once zoomed in, he found its open wound gaping wide and torn to shreds. "Verdammte Holle(Bloody hell), there's not a life on that thing. Good job, boys, we slayed the epic tale today."
"Yeahhhhh," the team hollered, raging with emotions.
"That's right. We made history." Franz roared, unable to contain his excitement.
A few fiery moments later, the commotion died down, likely due to the dwindling adrenaline and the exhaustion.
"Party time over, fellas. Let's make the best of the situation," Franz ordered. "Pick four members each and start looking for supplies: food, medicine, ammunition, electric components… whatever useful you can get your hands on. While you're at it, clean the remaining hounds you encounter."
"Yes, Captain." Everyone scattered with the closest members; the situation turned frenzied.
****
Smack in the middle was Aden, dazed by today's event. The search and rescue mission somehow turned into a battle against the rumored 'overlord', and they managed to snatch victory from the devil's jaws.
"Wait a second. It was a search and rescue mission. How the hell did I forget about Uncle Ben?" It felt awkward not to remember the main objective of the mission, but it was understandable considering the chaos of today.
"I hope he's here somewhere." His search for Ben started, the first objective: Franz, since he was familiar with Ben's situation. However, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Aden asked the closest team member, "Have you seen Captain Franz?"
"I don't know, kid. We're responsible for the north block." Replied the man. "They might be in the south."
The entire team fanned out, their initial elation replaced by the focused intensity of scavengers. But Aden moved with a different purpose. He met several members on his search, only to be disappointed. There were no traces of Franz or Ben.
"What the hell? Where are they? It's like they were never here in the first place." He was more shocked than frustrated.
***
Beep! Beep! Beee!
Suddenly, a car horn blared throughout the city. Team members returned one by one, misinterpreting horns as some sort of signal-even Aden.
Once at the location, they met the repair team.
"Ethan, you're finally here," Leo said.
"Yeah, I had to make-god know how many stops for inspection," Ethan replied, "Turns out the problem was in the pipe close to this town. It's fixed now. What about you? Did you find Captain and others?"
"Yeah, we did. We got a better deal than we bargained for. Can you guess what it is?" Leo replied, acting mysterious.
"Just spill it, man. You know how bad I'm at guessing games." Leo's act annoyed him.
"First, make a guess, then I'll reveal it," Leo smirked, "Doesn't that sound fair?"
"Din jaevel(you bastard). Fine, I'll make a guess," he snorted, "You guys found the location of a nearby military base."
"Wrong. How are we supposed to find such intel in a civilian city?" Leo commented, "We managed to slay the 'overlord'." He had a sudden goosebumps while mentioning 'overlord'.
"O…overlord? Y…you're joking, right?" Ethan was dumbstruck, and so was the rest of the repair team.
Hahahah!
"You should see the reaction on your face." Leo couldn't hold any longer and burst out laughing.
"This isn't funny, man. Don't ever joke about such matters again." Ethan was embarrassed.
Hahahaha!
"I'll never forget your reaction. We're not joking, though." His face turned serious.
Uhhh!
Ethan couldn't determine whether to trust him or not and glanced at the rest of the rescue team. He found their faces brimming with confidence, and their posture filled with pride.
"They surely couldn't have, right?" He had doubts, but had a second thought seeing the team member's reaction.
Oh!
"You're here too, Ethan?" A voice pierced through from the rear.
"Captain! You're here. You look fine-at least in one piece." Ethan was relieved to see him, he couldn't imagine the settlement without Franz.
"Leo was bragging about slaying the 'overlord'. Is it true, Captain?" He whispered to Franz.
"Of course, it is. Those three almost ended up in its belly," he replied, pointing at Leo, Dave, and Aden.
"What? Were they fighting it alone or something?" He was taken aback.
Uhhh!
"Well, sort of," Franz replied, "Anyway, they did the heavy lifting and we finished it off."
"Unbelievable. No wonder Leo was acting smug." He thought, "Wait. Did you say Aden, Captain?"
"Yeah, he and Dave saved Leo's ass and drove the beast to the bottom of the reservoir." Franz replied, "Fortunately, the beast was stuck in the vehicle, allowing us to finish it off."
Oh!
Ethan was having a hard time processing all the information.
"Okay, that's enough chatter for now. Let's get back to the scavenging." Franz interrupted, "Ethan, return with the wounded in that vehicle. The rest will focus on salvaging a functional vehicle or its parts, we need a replacement for the lost vehicle. We'll regroup in this location in an hour. Spread out."
"Wait a minute. Captain." A voice surfaced from the crowd.
"What is it?" Franz asked.
"It's me, Captain." Aden popped up in front, "Do you know where Uncle Ben is?"
Oh!
"It's you, kid. Yeah, he was with me before. He must've switched the group." H replied, " Wait, let me… Ben, you there? If you can hear me, come to me as soon as possible." His voice echoed.
A few seconds later, a pale middle-aged man with a missing left arm emerged from the team. "I'm here, Captain."
"What happened to you, Uncle Ben?" Aden couldn't believe his eyes. Ben, who happened to be in peak condition yesterday, was now pale like a ghost with clothes bloodied and a missing left arm. He looked like a shell of his former self.
"Aden… It's you." Ben recognized him, "What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be h..."
Cough! Cough!
Ben coughed violently, weakening by the second.
"Scheiße! All the injured individuals, gather around, fast." Franz roared.
Shortly, three individuals appeared: Rex and two other individuals injured during the overlord's initial attack.
"What about you, Captain?" Ethan asked, Franz's situation was worrying. He was pushing the limit despite being riddled with hounds and dry blood.
"What about me? I'm fine. Hurry up and return to the settlement." He dismissed Ethan's worry.
Thud!
Suddenly, Franz collapsed, face first.
Sigh!
"You won't stop pushing yourself," Ethan mumbled. "Aden, help me carry the captain."
"Okay, Brother Ethan." He grabbed the captain by the legs and Ethan by the shoulders into the passenger seat.
"Do you want to stay or return, kid?" Ethan asked.
"I'll go with you. I've had enough adventure for a day, and I have to check on Uncle Ben." Aden hopped on the cargo bed.
"Good. Now, hang on tight." The engines roared back to life with vehicles on the move.
The vehicle left a trail of dust and smoke behind. In the meantime, Leo and others went back to the search.
***
A gentle warm breeze streaked past Aden's face as he sat on the back, periodically checking on Uncle Ben. His body shivered, his complexion paled—likely from blood loss—and a hint of fever could be felt.
"Hold on, Uncle Ben, we'll be there soon." He grabbed the left arm, trying to boost morale. Fortunately, while Rex grimaced with every jolt and the others nursed their pains, none seemed as perilously close to the edge as Ben.
Whoosh!
The car zoomed past a truck wreck. The speed was relatively fast, but it felt slow to Aden.
"If only the roads were better." He thought while the pickup occasionally steered left and right to avoid the obstacles. Slowly, thoughts drifted, and he could picture the look of relief in Maria, Tom, and Lucy's faces to see them alive.
Thud!
A loud impact jolted him back.
"Huh? Where are we?" He looked around to assess the location.
"This is the highway." He remembered the sudden bump on the way to Bullhead City as well: it signified the switch from highway to rocky path back home.
"Uncle Ben, we're almost there. Hang on there for a bit, okay?" Aden exclaimed, filled with excitement.
"O…kay." Ben groaned back softly, his breathing was shallower now, his skin clammy despite the breeze
"His situation looks bad," Rex murmured, their excitement doused by Ben's worsening situation.
As minutes passed slowly, they came across even more familiar scenes.
Everyone had one thought in mind. "Almost there."
Slowly, a familiar man-made structure came into their sight.
"Yeahhhhh. We're back to the settlement." Everyone cheered in ex.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Ethan blared the horn to signal the people back in the settlement.
Creak! Creak!
Slowly, the main gate flung open as the vehicle got close to the settlement.