All six of them walked through the vast open field. Marco watched as Tyson and Bodhi walked in front of him. His eyes were wide open looking past them, scanning his surroundings looking for any sign of unusual movement. The air in the Parallel is completely devoid of any wind, a perfectly stable cold temperature like being stuck inside of a fridge. The closest thing to wind here is the breathing of a person, the cloud of steam that usually dissipates after a few seconds lingering in the air much longer than on earth. While the others usually don't keep an eye on these kinds of details, Marco and Darren had to be sure to take note of every single thing that transpired.
Split into groups of three, the carriers (Bodhi and Kailey) walked at the front, the adjusters (Cooper and Tyson) walked in the middle, and the Handlers (Marco and Darren) walked in the back. After a while a bit of walking, Tyson looked over his shoulder and asked Marco a question.
"How come we walk in groups of three and not all together?" It took Marco a moment to answer, "If something is to happen to those three, then the three of us remain." Tyson kept glaring over his shoulder as he walked, he didn't probe any further. Marco kept his eyes fixed on the hill ahead, he tapped on his temple twice and asked, "Darren, you seeing that, right?"
"That tree line up ahead?" He tapped his temple as well as he answered, they were able to communicate from far distances by use of an implant they received at the academy. From behind Marco could see Darren standing straight as he walked, adding almost another foot to his already tall stature. "Yeah I got eyes on it, why?" Marco thought back to the surveillance review, the last expedition here did not mention any obstructions anywhere near the landing zone. He furrowed his brow, while it was nothing to be stressed by at the moment, he felt uneasy seeing something that should have been reported. After a bit of thinking, he replied "Nothing, just unusual..." Darren turned around, giving a quick glance to Marco and scanning the direction they came from.
After a while of walking, a loud boom came from the back. Tyson turned around to see while his companions kept their eyes on the path. The pods they had landed in retreated into the black sky with a loud bang, he looked up almost in disbelief at the sheer speed it picked up in such a short time.
As they approached the tree line, Marco clutched his rifle, Bodhi was the first to step through , followed by Tyson then him. "Trees" are just a word for the spikes that arose from the ground, sharp and jagged, there was barely enough room between each one to fit his shoulders. Kailey and Bodhi had to walk sideways, otherwise they would constantly bump their sides against the crooked walls.
It was not more than 30 feet through, but the lack of mobility and lack of comfort, it was enough of a concern that they wanted to move through it quickly. They stepped out of it, the group up front waiting for them at the same distance as before, chatting as they stood there. Tyson looked to his left and right as he came out, despite its short width, it took him a few steps to actually appreciate the sheer length of the tree line. Only a few feet wide, but spanning far beyond what he could see towards the horizon. A bead of sweat dropped from his forehead, knowing that only a high class altered was able to manipulate the environment in such a way, the "hill" they were looking at just being the trees.
Marco looked at him almost surprised at his reaction and asked, "They still teach this at the academy, right?" "Yes" he answered quickly, "A class, right?" Marco turned around, inspecting the wall, "Too thin, try again." he said almost cockily, Tyson almost visibly gulped. He had learned about the classification system for the altered, as low as D and as high as S.
There were no pictures of the altered, try to take a picture of one and it won't even show up on the final result. To add on to that, any information on the altered was also known only to those chosen by the O.S.D. While their existence was common knowledge, what they did and what they actually looked like was a mystery to everyone except those who operated around the Parallel.
The altered were essentially black shadowy figures that roamed the Parallel, they were mostly humanoid creatures. Completely black in color, they usually limped or swayed to walk or run around, their long limbs flinging and swaying through the thin atmosphere like ribbon dancers. Seemingly slow at first, if they take note of anything of "interest," They will immediately start sprinting in that direction at speeds much higher than anything anyone could expect, even the most seasoned of handlers can be caught out by them.
D class altered were hardly stronger than a regular person, they still posed a great threat due to their immortality factor. If not destroyed by an arbiter's weapon, they would stand back up and charge again no matter how strong the force. Anyone who works within the parallel requires an arbiter, having their own small handgun assigned to them.
Tyson looked down at his empty palm and materialized his own gun. Much smaller than Marco's, he was able to comfortably grip it with one hand. He aimed it forward and checked the sights.
C class altered were much much stronger, often larger in size, they varied wildly in shape and stature. Tall and lanky, or short and wide, they could measure up to the dozens of feet. With long extremities and brutal force, they were able to make quick work of anyone but the most avid of fighters. The main saving grace being their size, it was almost impossible to be caught off guard by one, whether that be because of their looks, or the rumbling on the ground when one is charging at you at full speed.
Marco approached Tyson and looked at his gun, Tyson aimed it at the tree line and fired once, almost completely silent, underwhelmingly so. The tree he fired at cracked, a blue crater about the size of his head forming where the bullet had landed. The action of the gun was louder than the firing of the weapon itself. "Not bad, that should be C class rated, right?" Marco asked as Tyson nodded. "Wanna see some real firepower?" Before he could answer, Marco readied his weapon, aiming it at the same crater.
B class was a step above, if anything, B class were beyond ten steps above any C class. They possessed freakish force, far beyond anything a regular person could conceptualize. Being able to uproot the floor in front of them for miles on end, B class also possessed the power to control their surroundings. A great example of that being the "tree" line the crew was standing in front of. These were a direct result of an altered terraforming the environment, for whatever reason that may be.
Marco readied the action as a mechanical whirring came from his long rifle. He adjust the stock to himself and held his finger on the trigger. The rifle's body contorted as a bright green light sat within, he looked down the scope, steady as a rock as he fired into the crater Tyson had made. A loud bang came through the weapon's barrel as the bullet flew out. A flash or red light came from the muzzle as in an instant the path of the bullet almost erased the trees in front of it. Steam came from the chamber of the gun as it cooled down. Tyson walked up to the hole and peeped through, he could see clean to the other side, he turned around almost in disbelief, he had read about handlers and their power but is only now actually seeing the difference.
Marco grinned and said in a smug voice, "A class rated." Darren's voice came through his head as he turned around, a look of disappointment in all their faces. "Did you have a good reason to do that?" Darren asked. "I needed to show the kid how safe he was with us," Marco replied in a relaxed tone. They all looked unimpressed, Darren spoke again "You know I'm gonna have to make a report on this, right?" He shook his head and turned around before even listening to Marco's answer, the three walked ahead without waiting.
Bodhi stood looking at them with his arms crossed, no words either, Marco shrugged at him and waited for Tyson to get between them. They all walked in a straight line again, the open field looking more like a barren tundra in the middle of the night. No sunlight, but the floor was lit up enough that they could walk no problems. Marco saw as Tyson placed a hand at his temple, he turned around and he spoke, "Cooper says there is a rupture up ahead, about a mile."
Marco nodded, "Do you feel it?" Tyson looked down at his open hand, "Like a tingle, like I should go there." It was a strange sensation, like being pulled by a magnet, it wasn't some unconscious desire but it was enough that he felt compelled to walk in it's direction. Marco nodded again, looking around, "Well, we have to close it down then. Tell Cooper we are heading there." He clutched his rifle a little tighter.
The group Walked over a small bump on the ground, on the other side was a crack in the ground. Like a bulging scar, it contrasted heavily against the floor, totally black like the sky, the foul odor that was present everywhere in the Parallel only became stronger as they approached it. Tyson almost threw up from the smell once again, Cooper started approaching it but Darren placed his long arm in front of him stopping him in his step. "Let him do it." He said, motioning his head at Tyson who was almost on his knees from how bad the smell was. Marco patted his back with his off hand, "Come on kid, you got this."
Tyson wiped his mouth with his suit, he breathed through his mouth now as he clasped his hands together, slide them up to his elbows and pulled back. From his elbows to his hands, large hazel gloves appeared, his hands turning into large mechanical claws with a hollow needle by his right palm, and a sharp blade which extended from the back of his left glove to as far out as his fingertips. He stood at one end of the large bulging ridge, grabbed the right side of the open floor and stabbed it with the hollow needle, a thick thread almost as thick as the needle followed his hand as he lead it to the other side, stabbing it there. He pulled up on the rope with his left claw with all the strength he had creating an arch and closing the gap, grunting, he used his right as it was as tight as possible to connect the ropes as far down as he could, The blade glowed a hot red as it approached the rope, making a cut right under his right hand. All this process took about 20 seconds, only to make one connection.
He did about two or three more. each one taking longer than the last, he stood up to admire his work. It was shoddy, crooked, but it did the job. He looked back at the crew, Cooper and Marco clapped, Darren keeping an eye on the surroundings, the other two were not even looking. Darren signaled to Cooper to head down, which he did. Cooper approached the rupture and said "It gets the job done... however." He took his time to explain to Tyson how to get it done faster a better, stuff like proper posture and where to actually cut the rope. He did the same motion as Tyson, getting a pair of claws himself.
Marco looked at Darren who was keeping his sight fixed in one spot, Marco looked in that direction as well. "See something?" "I just saw a small cloud of dust over there. He pointed his finger at the middle of the valley between two small humps. Marco took his sight to the spot, nothing, "Positive?" "Positive." Marco looked down at the two who were working at the bottom, Tyson was picking up quickly on the job and was hurrying his pace, almost matching Cooper's. Once they got to the middle, they both stood on opposite ends of the rupture, they swiped their face with their claws, a clear mask appeared over their face. Putting their needles to the black mass, they counted down from three out loud. "One, Two, THREE!"
They both jammed the needles into the rupture, it exploded high into the sky, despite the extreme amount of force, neither of them were moved an inch by the explosion. The liquid was as almost as thin as the air as it rained down on them. They both wiped their masks with their suits and gave each other a thumbs up. They got to work on closing up the ground for good by adding some more sutures.
As the explosion happened, Darren quickly pulled his rifle up. Marco did the same, trying to get a good look through the mist that shot up into the air. Complete darkness, the liquid enveloping the air completely so they were unable to see through it. "What is it?" Marco asked sharply in an unusually serious tone. "C class, straight ahead." Darren reached forward on his rifle, pressing a button on his underbarrel which activated a laser sight that shot straight into the black mist. "Right where I'm pointing."
"Take the shot!" yelled Marco who was also pointing, they didn't think they would be encountering any altered let alone a C class this soon. "Negative. No visual right now." Darren stood straight in his spot, Marco ran down the hill to try and get a better look, nothing. He looked back at Darren who was still standing on top of the hump, he turned to Tyson and Cooper who were both standing there, now facing him, the cloud of thin mist slowly became thinner.
In an instant a large distorted figure came from the ground at an insane speed, The reason he couldn't see it was because it had been dragging it's torso for all that distance. Marco's eyes widened in an instant as he looked at the unaware Cooper and Tyson, with how fast the creature was moving, there was no chance he would have enough time to aim his rifle and shoot it.
It slammed its ginormous hands back near the floor where it was dragging its head. This slam propelled it high into the air, flipping forward. Tyson and Cooper were both knocked up into the air for an instant, losing their footing and slowly falling, their heads whipped in the creature's direction. It was high into the air, a black rectangle with extremely short legs for its size. It's arms protruded from the middle of it's body like a fucked up caricature, in contrast to its extremely short legs, its arms reached all the way to the top of his head. It spun up even more in the air, heading straight down towards the two men underneath with its hands balled up as if to slam down on them like they were hammers.
Marco pointed his rifle up, too little too late, the three seconds it took to wind his gun up would be a second too late to stop the creature from squishing his crew. A loud bang cut through the air as a singular bullet smashed through the middle of the creature, in a perfectly straight line, despite its rotation, the bullet carved a perfect hole from the top of it's body to the bottom. It flailed in the air as it landed sideways, perfectly in between Tyson and cooper who now sat on the floor facing Marco. His eyes shot up at Darren, who had pulled the trigger the second he heard the slam, only releasing when he was sure that the bullet would kill. He took a deep breath out and pointed his rifle at the floor.
Tyson checked his own body, his eyes wide in seeming disbelief. That there could have been his life, over in an instant, crushed under the altered's hands. He stared into the distance, a million thoughts coming through his mind as Cooper placed his hands on his shoulder, snapping him out of it. "You're alive, kid." He could feel his pulse at his fingertips and in the back of his head. He had come to this expedition knowing he could die on his first encounter, but the fear he just felt is nothing like he had ever felt before. They both stood up quickly, "Get up there, Ill finish up down here." Cooper turned around and finished placing ropes on the ground, closing up the scar.
Kailey and Bodhi both ran up the small hill, "What the hell was that?" Asked Kailey in a deep throaty voice as they all looked down at the long altered who was slowly dissipating at the foot of the bump. They all came down quickly to inspect it, Everyone but Cooper Gathered around the altered. Tyson and Marco exchanged glances, while the little display he had put on earlier had put him at ease, Tyson had a new amount of uncommunicated worry in his eyes. Darren logged something into his tablet without saying a word, Bodhi looked over at Tyson, with a somewhat warm smile and a huff, "Glad you're alive kid." Tyson gave him a small smile, a moment of comforting silence before Bodhi loudly announced "This job woulda been a hell of a lot harder if you were dead kid."
They all glanced at Bodhi, while a true statement, it was cold regardless. Tyson had spent most of his introductory months inside his room or in the small gym the cruiser held. He never really got around to making connections with the 5 other crew members, only really getting to know them surface levels. Darren and Marco came to check on Bodhi, his vitals were fine, no apparent injuries, the monster had crash landed right between his feet so he came out unscathed other than landing hard on his ass.
Cooper came back to the group, the claws fading into a white mist, he wiped his hands clean. "Well, that's that, time to keep moving." the group gathered their thoughts, Darren awaited at a bit of a distance for Cooper and Kaylie to get in formation. Marco took Tyson to the side and grabbed him by both shoulders, he was clearly still very shook up. "Tyson, keep your head on your shoulders, this job isn't gonna get any easier, got it?" his gaze softer and more relaxed. Tyson look up at him and nodded, not really pleased with the answer. "Well, maybe it will get a little easier, that thing was unusual." He gestured vaguely in the now dissipated creature's direction. They both chuckled and regrouped with Bodhi, taking the same distance.
Darren tapped into Marco's head, "What the fuck was that?" "I'm not sure... I've never seen anything like it." They thought back to the much more disfigured being. Usually they were more humanoid in nature, but this altered was far more grotesque than anything they had witnessed before. They had been on the job far longer than any of the other crew members, as their respective handlers, they had to keep a calm demeanor. They were both uneased, recently formed faults, unplanned ruptures, and unusual altered. "Stay cool, and stay sharp." Said Marco, who only had mild superiority to Darren.
The crew walked towards the fissure, nearing the end of the day, they found a place to camp out under a small cliff, Darren took over night guard keeping an eye as the others slept. While sleep was good, handlers were conditioned to function up to 40 hours at full mental capacity with no sleep. They pitched tents on the overhanging mouth, not a cave but more of an indentation on the side of a tall wall. The closer they got to the fissure, the more common these would become. Marco wrote his unusual findings on his tablet, putting it down to try and get a "good night's rest." His mind could not stop racing with the thought that this not may be a simple operation after all.