Part Sixty-Six

*Click-clack, click-clack, click-clack*

The sound of a single pair of shoes and a cane, echoed through the empty hallway. Said shoes and cane belonged to one Natasha Nadalinko, the current Chief Executive Director of the Allied Committee of International Defense. As one of the most experienced diplomats in the modern era, she was one of the firebrands responsible for the quick establishment of The Committee.

Which may lead one to wonder, just what was she doing in this empty building in the dead of the night? Her presence here wasn’t what was strange, this was the building currently housing the Committee's headquarters, no, what was odd was that no one else was around. Since it served as one of the critical locations for humanity’s defense against the monsters, it was usually bustling, even in the dead of night. So what had happened? Well that was easy to explain.

The Committee had three official duties. One, it was to help in establishing defensive lines and supply routes for each disaster zone. Two, it was to handle the logistics of dealing with the swarms of refugees coming out of the zones. And three, it was to act as the primary response force should a new disaster occur. Which is exactly where everyone had gone. Only Natasha was left.

And the only reason she was here because of her age. There had been quite the adverse reaction to the idea of a seventy year old woman heading to what could possible be the most dangerous place on earth.

So then, why was she here? Very few people had the audacity or authority to call her out at this time of night, so whoever it was must’ve been important.

After walking for nearly ten minutes, mostly due to the fact that she walked with a heavy limp, she finally arrived at a certain door and knocked three times in quick succession. A small eep! could be heard from within the room, before the sole occupant told her to come in.

“Madam Director, I’m so glad you could come.”

“Whatever this is about really couldn’t wait for morning?”

“Not at all Madam. And I think you’ll agree once you’ve seen what I’ve discovered."

The man waiting for her was one of the Committee’s scientists, and someone who had become fascinated with the phenomena currently occurring across the world. He was an eccentric who’d bought monster corpses from soldiers in order to dissect them, not to try and discern any weaknesses, but simply because he enjoyed the process of doing so. It was then that Natasha noticed the projector setup to the side of the room.

“Warren Laurent, if you’ve woken me up at four in the morning just to show me slides of the monsters you’ve dissected again, I won’t rest until every one of your scientific credentials has been revoked.”

“Ah! No, not at all Madam! This is something more than mere pictures of a few organs. It’s something that could change the fate of humanity, no, the world! It may allow us to finally grasp a chance for survival in this rapidly changing world. Or at least, it’ll keep us from being sheep waiting for slaughter.”

While the Frenchman was being a tad overdramatic, he got his point across. Whatever he’d prepared had to be of great importance, and if it wasn’t, well, she wasn’t above following through on her threat. She pulled a chair out while Warren prepared his presentation.

“So then, what did you find? The last time you pulled this stunt, it was to tell us that the zones were slowly growing in size. Is it as bad as that?”

A shocking revelation was just nonchalantly revealed. This was something the Committee had hidden from the general public, for if they knew that the zones were growing in size, then there would be no containing the panic that would ensue.

“No, no, no. It is so much more than that! It is a revelation of immense scale, one that cannot be summed up in a few words. So take a look at this.”

With that, Warren hit a button on the computer he’d set up, and the projector began displaying a map of the Earth. It was a standard world map, with nothing out of place, except for the six red marks. It took her but a moment to realize that each mark was where one of the original zones is at.

“So? I already know where the disasters are.”

“Of course you do! But, what if I do this!?”

He hit a series of buttons on the computer, and one of the marks, the one signifying Crete, disappeared and was replaced with a red blot and the number one.

“Ohoh, still don’t get it? Well then, how about now?”

He pressed another sequence of buttons, and this time the mark above Russia disappeared and was replaced with the blot and the number two. And it was now, that she noticed.

It was difficult to tell since both locations were so small on the map, but it appeared that the second blot was roughly twice as big as the first. And once Warren repeated his button sequence, the mark over Kyushu disappeared and was replaced with a blot and the number three. Now she was certain.

“Warren, are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting? That the zones appeared in a tangible order?”

“Yes Madam, I am. I have spoken with dozens of survivors and watched as much footage of the original appearances as I could, and I have come to a single conclusion. That the zones did not appear all at once as previously thought, but instead in a sequential order. In some cases, there was as much as five minutes in-between appearances.”

“I see, that does clear up a few things, but how is this as important as you made it sound?”

“Ah, I am not done yet Madam. I have two more revelations for you.”

He clicked more buttons, causing the rest of the marks to disappear and be replaced by the blots and numbers. But there was a disconcerting trend that she soon noticed.

“They’re getting bigger?”

“Exactly Madam. Through careful use of the satellite oh-so graciously given to us, along with some ground research, I was able to establish approximate boundaries for each zone, something the defensive lines have yet to do. And once I did, I discovered that comparing the size of each successive zone revealed that their overall surface area was growing. And with the appearance of the seventh, my theory was confirmed.”

And now a blot appeared over western Australia, equal to more than half of the region. A quick comparison definitively showed that the zones’ sizes were increasing with each new disaster.

“Now, these are only rough estimates since some of the zones are located on islands, and I haven’t fully vetted the newest one. But I can tell you this Madam. Based on the current trends, if, no, when the next zone appears, we will see an area equal to at least twice what we’ve previously seen, if not more.

***

*Chew chew chew*

Hehehehehe, there you are. Slurp, just stay still for a moment, and it’ll all be over soon.

It had taken over three days to do it, but she’d finally tracked down one of the prey she was to hunt. Just standing close to it was enough to send her salivary glands into overdrive, producing more than she could contain in her mouth. Or in other words, she was drooling.

Somehow, she was now able to stomach the constant stench of blood that filled the Dungeon. She was somewhat aware that the metal loop she now wore was responsible, but she didn’t know the particulars. If she were to use Analyze on it, she would discover that the ring was designed to both enhance the senses, and protect its wearer from sense-inhibiting effects, like noxious smells. It was actually a rather good piece of equipment for her to have.

Anyway, it had finally allowed her to find one of the Spotted Veal she was to hunt, and though her instincts urged her to pounce on it immediately, she’d stealthily followed it throughout the Dungeon until it stopped to eat. And now, she slowly stalked closer, ready for the kill. And it was that mistake that was going to cost her.

You see, Spotted Veal are a rare mutation of bovine monsters, one which acts a pupa for its adult form. This adult form is quite strong, but the Veal themselves aren’t, and as such, they possess two special abilities to help them reach maturity.

The first is a rudimentary version of the System Skill: Survival Instinct, which allowed the Veal to detect and avoid any dangers. The second she pounced at it, the Veal bolted for the nearest exit.

“Moooooo! Mooooooooooooo!”

“Mragh? MRAAAAAAAGH!!!”

It’s bleating wasn’t just a sign of panic, but actually the method for executing its other ability. Spotted Veal had the power to compel other bovine monsters to protect them. Even to the point where they’d throw their lives away for them.

Several doors opened in the walls, and dozens of Minotaurs filed through them, fully intent on crushing her body into a bloody paste. And with so many of them, there was no way she could stop the Veal from running away.

What!? No, come back! Damn you all, I wanted to eat it!

Her concerns may have been a little bit oddly skewed. She didn’t even seem concerned that dozens of angry Minotaurs were ready to thrash her. To her, they were just minor obstacles between her and her prey.

***

“Mraaaaa…..”

*Thud*

The last Minotaur collapsed to the ground, blood squirting from dozens of wounds. If the walls hadn’t already be covered in blood, they would’ve been after the battle that had just occurred. Pieces of the Minotaurs were strewn all over the hallway, and some of them had been practically ripped to shreds.

“Sniff, sniff, sniff. Grrrrrrrr…”

Even though it was faint, she could still smell the morsel that slipped away from her. By now, it must’ve put a great deal of distance between them, but she could still follow it. The hunt was still on.

***

The governments of the world had not sat idly by. Under the constant threat of World Decay, many countries had come up with contingency plans should the worst happen. Australia had covertly placed cells of reservists and other armed militias all across the country, ready to spring into action.

The squadron led by Leland Decker was one such group, an they were charged with rescuing as many civilians as they could. In the last twenty-four hours, they, along with the other squads posted in the same city, had rescued tens of thousands from the monster hordes, and led them to the barges being used for evacuation.

But now, the group found themselves surrounded by monsters. Hundreds of them. It was only due to the assault rifles they had, that they’d held out against the onslaught. Well, that and the monster’s infighting.

Still, the tenuous balance they had couldn’t last forever, and it was the arrival of a group of Beast-type monsters that threw it off completely. The creatures completely ripped through everything they came across.

“S-Sergeant! What do we do!? They’re coming!”

“Over there! Move, now!”

Leland had spotted a group of humanoid monsters that he knew were quite flimsy. A single bullet was enough to cause them to burst apart like a water balloon. He planned to have the squadron break though them and escape to the evacuation ships.

His men followed his orders expertly, and everything went near perfectly. Up until the ginormous bee latched onto his back. He felt its stinger pierce through the body armor he wore, and dig deep into his back. He also felt the bee's venom seeping into the wound.

The sudden fatal injury caused him to fall over, though he managed to grab his handgun and shoot the bee before it could do anything else. But he no longer had the strength to stand back up. Whatever venom the bee had had, was draining his strength at a prodigious rate. He barely heard the scream of his subordinates before his vision went black.