Chapter 73: Thank You

  It wasn’t until the evening, over fourteen hours later that same day, that the convoy returned to base camp. Only a few had remained at base, like communication officers, engineers, and mechanics, plus a few wandering patrols to keep the area as safe as could be. The first car entering the gate parked next to the medical facilities a short distance into the camp. Dunham and Angela got out of the car and went inside with some help.

  The following car did the same: Emma left through the door by her own conscious movements, Jessie having healed her back to good health. She was still bruised, and the entire left side of her face and head was pink and bloated, but the swelling would go away on its own in a matter of days. The Witch had otherwise healed the skull fracture and damaged brain.

  Jessie climbed out of the third car’s passenger seat, like Emma had, but her face was red from crying. She limped, her leg twisted back into place by herself so she could move around easier.

  Erik was carried out of the back of the same car on a stretcher, now unconscious. His black and red body was now the most critical of all of them after Jessie had saved Emma’s life.

  A final car rolled in after a few others, and several soldiers gathered behind that one, the doors at the back opening moments later. General Mathisen jumped down from the edge, and all those around her saluted. She walked through the middle of the crowd, soldiers parting, yet still saluting towards the car.

  A stretcher with a white cloth covering the entire body beneath it was lowered. Angela and Dunham watched from the side, and Jessie only kept the ordeal in her periphery, unwilling to watch in fear of it becoming real. She wasn’t ready to accept her sister’s fate just yet.

  The next morning, helicopters, drones, and small aircraft filled the sky at different altitudes. Angela, Emma, and Dunham watched the busy skies whilst protecting their eyes from debris in the wind.

  Jessie had eventually healed them one by one during the night, ending with Erik. Now, the Witch slept; healing them all took so much energy that she couldn’t stay awake any longer. Erik wasn’t awake to talk to her before she finished and stepped away, and he didn’t want to wake her.

  He lay curled up on his mattress in the medical tent he had woken up in. There was nothing for him to do anymore, and he saw no reason to get up to see the cameras pointed at him and his friends. He just wanted to sleep.

  Hours later, around noon, he finally rose from his bed. A uniform had been prepared for him to wear as most of his clothes were torn and burnt. He got dressed and opened the tent, letting the bright sunlight and powerful gusts through. Angela noticed him and walked up to him. She hugged him tight without saying a word. He hesitated a brief moment before wrapping his arms around her in return.

  “How are you?” he asked. The last time he saw her, her arms and a leg had been crushed.

  “Better. I finally got to sleep an entire night, I guess,” she said with a slight smile. Her wish to cheer Erik up was obvious, and he appreciated it.

  “Everyone?” he asked, looking up at the sky.

  “All healed up. Emma was a close one, but it seemed Jessie…”

  “Yeah…I was there. You can thank both Jessie and the general for that. Without Mathisen, I don’t think Jessie would’ve left Sophie’s…”

  “Yeah. How are you?” Angela asked, seeing him struggle to finish the sentence.

  “Well, I guess. Anything happening?” he asked in hopes she would change the topic.

  “Well, there’s news, but it isn’t public yet. The general only told me, and the communications officers, of course. She’ll speak in a few minutes, but she wanted to talk to you first. She’s been holding it off in hopes you’d wake up.”

  “I’ve been up for hours, but I…I’ll find her,” he said, giving her a slight smile as he turned and walked away.

  General Mathisen was walking back and forth between various officers with headsets on as they monitored every frequency the global military was communicating on. Erik approached her.

  “General,” he greeted.

  “Erik…I’m sorry for your loss,” she started, but Erik stopped her from going on with his hand up, palm facing her.

  “You wanted to see me about something?” he asked.

  General Mathisen gestured to him to step to the side with her, and said, “Yes. I thought you’d appreciate hearing it from me personally. As you can see above, the airspace above us is clear, so whatever was stopping us from entering is gone along with your uncle. We aren’t so lucky regarding the Hellbeasts.”

  Erik thought back to the day earlier and his conversations with his uncle. He had no power in his repertoire to bring down airplanes or helicopters in a vast area like the border. It must have been the mystery man with silver hair John had told him about. ‘L’.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “That makes sense. The beasts are naturally birthed, just not from an entirely natural being. What should be gone are their directives, though.”

  “You are entirely right…I guess you didn’t just fight your uncle?” the general asked, receiving no simple reply, just a shrug. “By what we deem to be near the end of your fight yesterday, all hounds started retreating here. A while later, the hounds were going all over the place, lacking any of their previous structure or, as you say, directives.”

  “So now what are they doing?” Erik asked.

  “Now, they seem to be…doing nothing. They roam around, find a place they like and settle, like any animal would. That, though, is where the problem lies. These things aren’t natural to this world. They are apex predators on a scale no other predator can even get close to. They still pose a threat to our entire global ecosystem, so…we’d like you to continue the fight. Eradicate them. You will have the entire world backing you up, not just me.”

  “Seems official,” Erik contemplated. “What about Jessie?”

  “I find it…unlikely that she would want to join, but I will ask her the same thing.”

  “No, she’ll finish this. She’ll need something to occupy her mind the next three months,” Erik figured.

  The general changed her pose, putting her weight on her other foot. “What happens in three months?”

  “Probably nothing…I don’t know what she’ll do after that. I hope something does happen, though.”

  “That’s…vague.”

  “Yeah. She’ll ask you to keep the area encompassing the battlefield under surveillance, and you’ll have my gratitude as well if you do. In three months from now, something might happen here, and that’s all I’ll share for the moment. I hope that’s okay,” he explained.

  “Erik. The entire world owes the two of you a debt of gratitude it can never repay. You have my word that whatever the two of you may wish, we will try our hardest to give it to you. But don’t take my word for it. Here,” she answered, giving Erik a tablet. She pointed him to a video file, which he played.

  A familiar woman with dark skin and greying hair sat in a shadowed room, facing the camera. She wore thin-rimmed glasses, and huge rings hung from the lobes of both ears. Only the top of her dark blue pantsuit was visible on the video. Erik recognised her: the Empress of the Scandinavian Empire.

  “Hello. Usually when I thank someone, I know who to thank. Also, because of my curious nature, I know why I thank them. I hope the coming days will make things clearer to me, but for now, I am assured that not just I, but my entire empire, along with the rest of the world, owe you our thanks.

  “Thank you. Thank you for saving us and for allowing millions of people access to their homes again. Thank you for allowing us the chance to rebuild. My voice isn’t strong enough to carry the voices of all the survivors—all the ones who have sacrificed what they can to help—and the voices of the fallen.”

  The empress’ eyes were moist, and her voice quivering, yet she remained strong. She hadn’t faltered the past months, and she wouldn’t now.

  “I pray I will one day be able to look you in the eye and say these words to you again. Thank you.”

  Erik was fighting back tears as the video message ended. It was over. Somehow, that hadn’t solidified in his mind until that very moment.

  The video continued, much to Erik’s surprise. Another person appeared along with the change of scenery. A middle-aged man with short-cropped hair and a nice tie looked into the camera. The background was brown from all the oak on the walls and the furniture. This was the president of the United Britain.

  All the notable world leaders, some Erik recognised, and some he didn’t, sent their thanks along with promises of help or resources Erik would need—every one of them thanking some unknown figure or figures. If any of them knew anything more than ‘someone did something’, none of them showed it. It gave Erik hope he might walk around again normally, with no press or scientists or politicians harassing him.

  After the first few messages, the involuntary urge to cry lessened, the impact of the first being the hardest on him. Still, a single tear trickled down his face as the video file stopped playing.

  Erik looked back up at the general still standing in front of him. She stood in salute.

  “Thank you, Erik,” she said. “It’s an honour to be here with you.”

  “General…the honour is all mine. This—” Erik said, eyes welling back up again as he gestured around him. “—this is all thanks to you.”

  Erik spent the following time checking up on his companions. Jessie was still sleeping, as a quick check on her lazy aura confirmed, so he laid the tablet from the general at the edge of her bed and let her be.

  During Erik’s walk around, the general gave her update about the changes to the remaining Hellhounds’ behaviour over the radio as she had planned, adding that their new top priority was to find and tag them so they could handle them in due time.

  Angela sat on the back of an SUV with its rear door open. She stared at her own hand that had been shattered only hours earlier. She grimaced as if she could still feel the pain. The two talked for a few minutes, both evading topics the other wouldn’t want to talk about.

  Emma was back to her usual self and complained about the difficulty of getting her stuff so she could change out of the uniform she wore. The girls had found it easier to keep their bags and things in Jessie’s magical storage space, saving room while travelling and reducing their burdens when unpacking or packing again. With Jessie sleeping, they couldn’t get to it.

  Erik could borrow her Ease The Burden power, but whatever was in her magical space wouldn’t transfer over to his iteration of the dimensional space. Much like the accompanying schemas, he would get his own. As such, their stuff was impossible to reach for now.

  “Are you doing okay?” she asked once the empty greeting was over with.

  “No, not really. It’s all…jumbled together. Joy. Pain. Sadness, relief, anger.” Erik answered, not wanting to beat around the bush like with Angela. Emma was a straight shooter, even disregarding her excellent sharpshooter skills.

  While Erik regarded all their companions as friends, Angela had a more professional air around her, while Emma hardly registered on the same scale, except in the mornings.

  “What happened back there?”

  “He held her hostage. We fought. I lost, and she saved my life by shooting him in his back. Next thing I know, he flings his sword straight at her. I wasn’t…I couldn’t—”

  “Hey. This wasn’t your fault. I will not let you blame yourself for this,” she said, tone sharp.

  “The general wants us to carry on, to kill the rest of the Hellbeasts wandering the world,” Erik said, changing the topic as fast as he could.

  “I know, I heard. I’m coming with you.”

  Erik looked at her and replied, “You don’t have to—”

  “I’m part of this, just like you. Just like Angela and Dunham. Just like Sophie was. All of us knew what we were getting into, and the job isn’t done yet. Accept it, Erik.”

  A pelting rain of dust bearing the all-too familiar sensation of Jessie’s aura exploded outward with a surge of the Witch’s emotions. He apologised for the interruption to Emma and ran back into Jessie’s tent, finding her gone; the tablet he had placed by her bed lay on the ground, shattered in a thousand pieces.