Hush in The Bush

New League

Everything seems to move according to its own pace. It looks like conventional for everyone to live in this reformed world somehow. It’s already been days, yet there was still no movement from the Infinite. No backup. No traces. It was as if they were totally forgotten, which made Mildred to think that Trinity is no good now or maybe her mind is just toying with her. The two groups were still estranged and had lost their connection with each other. The people living inside the area with the reinvigorated, unidentified team are currently swamped in gathering their stocks for the winter. It would be a chance for everyone to set their goals and act in persuasion on their plans and intentions.

“Are you enjoying the view?” A woman clothed in a worn-out shirt and cargo pants stood aside Mildred who’s currently taking her usual morning coffee drink at the second floor of the old, relinquished establishment.

“Kind of. It’s fun to have some entertainment over them like emmets that’re boisterous in gathering their food over their shelters for themselves. Your colony is quite getting prosperous in terms of livelihood and stocks.” Mildred took a sip. The woman smirked from what they’d seen. It was true, that is why they are called as the New League.

“We’re really working our asses for this league. I have already gathered some for your new team. They are currently at the training ground, waiting for their new leader to watch over them.” She patted her over the shoulder. “And oh, meet me by noon at my office. We need to talk about something.” She added and left to take her daily routine.

“That woman is totally seeking for advancement.” Mildred thought for herself as she looked over the woman who’s walking to the other side.

She shifted her body and stared down at those who were cleverly ribbing the freshly killed deer. Over the right side of the field was a restricted zone that was attentively guarded by the other members. Mildred took her last sip from her coffee and decided to navigate to the training department to meet the others. As she moved by the people around her, she noticed a man who was gazing straight in her direction, but eventually turned his attention to chopping the woods. Mildred opened the wooden door and was surprisingly welcomed by the loud cheers from the team who were currently, deliberated watching two of their colleagues having their butts kicked off from a combat fight.

“Enough!” She shouted and made all of them locked their eyes on her ground. The current fight was stopped. Immediately, gossip scattered and filled the thin air surrounding them. Mildred walked vigorously, keeping composure, and straight ahead at the middle. Strange looks were given around, some were stupefied, big-headed and even not being responsive at all. Mildred stood in front, where everyone could see her.

“I am well aware that your imperious founder has already disseminated the news that you’ll be training under my foothold. And oh, keep your vulgar, filthy mouths shut. Otherwise, you’ll know hell in an unpleasant time.”

Someone chuckled behind her, locking his arms. “Why would Roxan even want a hasty, esurient person like you to lead us?”

Mildred smirked. “I guessed Roxan wanted to hire someone who’s worthy to lead you and not as incompetent as you, mister four-eyed.”

The man just totally pricked a needle for himself. He hasn’t got a single sense of how cocky can Mildred get. “It’s Tristan. We wouldn’t give you the acknowledgement you wanted from her, not until you gave us the loyalty we needed from you. So better set your feet according to your position. You don’t belong here.” The man walked straight to the door.

“I know where I stand, Mister. And I wouldn’t waste my precious time in letting you realize where you need to put that debilitated body of yours.” She added and let the old man walk outside the department. Everyone was quiet. Mildred clapped her hands together.

“Okay. I guess you’re the current team that I would be taking with me on every mission. Starting from now, I want you to do combat fights and levelled mazes within this area. Tomorrow, I’ll let you deal with what’s a warzone actually looks like. Now, move your assess and sharpen those blades.” Mildred instructed them, yet everyone wasn’t taking the woman’s instructions, instead, they just passed through her and started to gather around to start another fight.

Suddenly, a gunshot was fired from behind and hit the porcelain vase over the corner. They timorously looked at their backs and saw Mildred pulling a gun towards them, wearing a wicked grin. Her eyes were on fire.

Everyone seems to care about the woman’s intentions and leading ways. They started to go over the corners, getting the blades and carefully sharpening each of them.

“Don’t expect me to treat you all equally. Starting from now, I’ll be leading this group, and I demand for your cooperation.” Everyone didn’t say something at all – they understood the woman.

Mildred was exhausted from how their first encounter went through. She decided to go to Roxan who just arrived back in her office to discuss certain matters. The Setter still seem to care about her presence around the location and was well aware of bringing such commoner inside the community like Mildred. Several pliable knocks were heard from the door. Roxan stood from her seat and opened the entrance immediately. Mildred took herself inside and smelled the lavender scent confining the room.

“How did it go?” Roxan asked and offered her a seat.

“As what I expected, they didn’t welcome me in a good way.”

“They sound and act like you. It would be easier to deal with them after a couple of days, don’t you think?”

“Where did you put my comrades?” Mildred bluntly asked, cutting off their current discussion.

“You meant your old team? They are currently in the basement. Don’t worry we're dealing with them in proper ways.” Roxan smiled sweetly and went back straight to her chair. “Have a seat and make yourself at home.” She added.

“This isn’t even a home. Anyways, what do you want to discuss?”

“I want you to go to the riverside with the first troop. We’ll try to have a breakthrough within Ethernals. Devian will definitely have no ideas that will plant some bombs over their base. I wanted them to have a little gift from the New League.”

“What’s your agenda in attacking the Ethernals?” Mildred looked over Roxan with a contemptuous look and a guilt of running the plan.

“Resources, of course and some weapons. We are at scarce right now and I wouldn’t want my people to feel hungry and devastated.”

“Isn’t your resources good enough for you right now? you’re able to plant crops and feed them all----” She stopped as Roxan cut her off. “I didn’t mean we need to have their food. What I meant were their troops. I need them as our ultimate weapons.” She smirked and got her attention on an old newspaper.

“What do you mean by ultimate weapons?” The woman looked at her intently. “Do you want to know?” Mildred nodded her head.

Roxan stood from her seat and walked towards the door. “Follow me then. I hope you’ll keep your mouth shut. You’re lucky I didn’t put you with them in the basement to rot. Gain my trust and I won’t kill you.” Roxan bluntly said and headed to the other door, which will lead to the back of the building. Mildred was following her silently from behind, examining her features. In her mind, she’s also planning of the ways to escape, yet she thought about Roxan’s offer as a privilege.

They crossed over a wooden bridge and brought themselves in an abandoned cabin house. The smell is getting off as they walk near the house. Roxan held the key and opened the door carefully. It was pitch black. Loud noises, cries, scratches and agony lurked around the house. It was clearly dreadful and genuinely horrific. Roxan and Mildred slowly entered the house with a torch. It was a place for prisoners. There were people inside the cells, acting differently from each other.

“What is this place?” Mildred asked.

“You’ll know when we get to the last cell.” Roxan said and walked ahead.

There were four cells inside the house. The first cell has two persons resting together peacefully. The second cell was three individuals who were hungrily serving themselves with different kinds of meals. The people being held inside the third cell were clothed with white robes and was cleaned on the shower. The screaming voices are getting louder as they head to the last cell. There were four people inside it, two of them are Roxan’s crew, wearing some protective gears just like with the ones being used by Dr. George and Catheryne. The other two were some kind of patients. They were standing still in front of the crew. One of Roxan’s member opened a small bottle with some pollens. He took two seedlings with a teaspoon, together with two glasses of water. He gave it to the patients and without hesitance, they took the seedlings and drink it.

“W-what the hell are they doing?!” Mildred uttered shockingly.

Roxan just smirked and was calmed. “The Bombers happily welcome you to their home, Mildred.”

___

Tapping the pen on the wooden slab, she slumped her face above the thick, scratched papers. It’s been hours when she’s appointed in a position. Is it a blessing in disguise? Mildred was drawn by her thoughts if she had taken the right decision or she would just go with the flow after she had seen what happened a while ago. Witnessing on how they interact with the bush and live together with it had enthralled her curiosity. She rubbed her temple and raised her legs on top, not until she was barged by the man again.

He was smirking as he rested his back beside the door, blocking her scenery.

“Seems like you’re enjoying the view.” He spoke.

“Not right now, since you’re in front. You’re not my view.” She replied.

Tristan glimpsed behind him, only to find out where she is watching. There, the fallen bridge. They couldn’t cross it or swIm on the river since the pollens coming from the facility during the explosion have flown to the water and subsided and those shrubs have been slowly rising from it and crawling to the bridge itself. Sooner or later, the river where they used to fish and enjoy will be vanished from the map and all that will be left will be those overwhelming bushes.

“Get your eyes away from that. There’s no such view really for you to enjoy. It’s just plain.” He shrugged and moved inside, biting his nail. Mildred put her feet on the ground and rose from her rest. She wanted to make the man feel that she’s now a higher rank than him. Tristan could sense her boasting. He couldn’t tell or get any reason why Roxan had given the woman such position to rule the troops, when it could have been him in the first place.

“What are you doing here? You should be in the ground to train with the others.” She coldly answered.

He twitched with it, making it into a forced smile. “I’m here to check our new leader. There’s nothing wrong with that, right?”

“I don’t need your daily check-ups. I know you’re just here so you could find something against me, so your dear lover will be convinced by you that I’m a threat. You can simply put it that way, because I am really.”

“Okay. We don’t click and that’s how things are between us. I don’t see what Roxan had discovered about you and I don’t give a damn about it. Hail to the new leader. Now, I think you should get up in your seat and take care of the rest. We’re going to Ethernal.” He added and took his steps outside the vicinity, but just before he could turn to the left side to join the other warriors, he gave her a glare. “Get your mind up. This is a game of life, so you should be the one chasing.”

When the man left for good, she was able to take a breath. Mildred felt the sweat on the side of her cheek and realized that she has been holding her air for such an encounter. She eyed to the door where Tristan had evacuated and she could hear those yells from the driven warriors. A cricket had suddenly hopped on her lap, reminding her that she needs to start her mission.

With a stern expression, Mildred scuttled outside and the noise coming from the men had altered, making them into lines and bent their heads to bow before her. “Roxan is not here. She has important things to settle. We’re going to train day and night. There will be no excuses. Those who are taking those skins, continue to shred them. We’re going to make ourselves better. If you’re against my ruling, then you can direct a message to Roxan herself. But now, we’re going to enter the Ethernal tomorrow. Gather everything that you need.” She announced to the team over the stadium and the rest had followed her orders, except for Tristan who’s just silently observing inside the house.

Mildred decided to head to where the bodies are stacked for shredding. The horrid smell is evident for her to know that they got many for this day. She glanced over the sky and it was clear, which she’s grateful. As she progressed to them, the members couldn’t stop but to stare in her direction, bluffing those soft murmurs. She could sense those cold, disparaging sights from them, yet she just simply smiled as if she’s an angel bestowed from the skies, which’s a total opposite of how she acts.

She brushed her fingers on the jagged containers where those corpses were filled. It was rotting and the dried blood had made them like burnt ones. Most of their mouths were opened as the flowers have wilted. Their eyes are staring out of nowhere, but more to that, those small roots have covered most of their flesh. A group of girl probably in their mid-20s have started to transfer some to the beds, where a flabby, shirtless man is blading those knives. He’s fifty-five years old and his grey beard is almost touching his chest as it was braided. He’s nibbling a stick as he enjoyed his work. The others were extracting the blood that was left on the right side. A young girl with her ruffled blouse and linen pants contacted her.

“Good day, Dred.” She greeted her with her bobbly voice. Mildred had decided to have that endearment, so it would definitely describe her life in the current – dread. It is rhymed and she wanted them to be reminded how vile the outcome is for someone’s experiments.

The government was down, those people from the top have nearly been caught as if they have vanished all of the sudden or maybe they have already joined those who have been fertilizers. When people needed them the most, they were gone. That’s how Mildred took her grudges to them.

“What do we have here?” Mildred asked.

“We’re getting into new clothing. Apparently, we only got a few. Few! That rang a bell on her as she presumed that they already got plenty. Perhaps, their usual quota is not quite that much and Mildred had moved to see it clearly on how the man does it. Her heart thumped as if it was bitten a couple of times. She couldn’t handle how the process is going that she barely have to move to the other side where the clothing is now stitched together. Two men tried to fit some of the finished products and they didn’t bother even if it sting on their noses and eyes. One had offered Mildred to try. She focused on each detail and she looked back to the woman who gave it. She gradually took it and the dry texture was felt. She doesn’t have a choice but to adapt to the way they live. It is for her to gain their trust too. Mildred smiled, even if it was strained, she wholly used it. Now, she smelt like one and a strong waft was hit on her shoulder, coming from the man.

“It’s nice to see you fit in that, Dred. I’m Morbin Gale, at your service.” He said, showing off his dark tartar on his mouth as his breath had unclasped Mildred. The woman coughed and laughed with the foulness and tried to remove the odor by fanning in front. “It’s nice to see a man too with such roundness.” She replied, eyeing to his stomach.

He burst into laughter. Morbin had much of his job, that no one had ever made an interest to talk about his corpulence. “This is a pompous woman! I think I’m going to like you, Dred.” He commented.

“That’s pleasing to say. Now, let’s finish these remaining ones and get the others ready. Are the Bombers prepared too?” She inquired.

The lady shook and answered, “No, not yet.” She pointed to a certain spot where a couple are carefully taking those pollens from the flowers. They are protecting their faces with a net and a hat and their bodies were covered with insulated down coats. They’re also using their gloves, just to make sure that those tiny spores won’t touch and get inside them. When the glass container was full of it, they countered back at them and went to the isolation area where they take off their clothes and will remain there for a week to make sure that they were safe.

Their jobs are crucial for survival and Mildred had realized that living in such a separated area is worse than what she got back in Trinity. She left the group with the assurance that they’re going to take over the other organization and soon, it will be Trinity that they’re going to fight. Mr. Collens, Victoria, and the others were forced to work on their respective cells. Mildred, with a little pinch of guilt, requested Roxan to spare their lives and just have them to work instead to benefit her. Now, they’re chopping those woods to make barriers to surround the place completely. They are planning to make a large dome to secure everyone and let the bushes cover them.

Mildred moved to the basement where they were resting and Victoria was the first to know her arrival, dashing to the bars and trying to grab her by the collar. Her eyes were wincing as she saw how good her condition than them. “You have the guts to show yourself here.”

“Of course. I was offered to lead their troop and you should be thankful at least that I asked her not to kill you.”

Victoria scoffed. She isn’t made for this. She should be together with Dr. George in experimentations or should she say with John. “I should save my words rather than to talk to you, Setter, or should I say, traitor.”

“Traitor. Okay, let’s just put it that way. Well, from the start we all know that I am a hell selfish woman here.” She leaned herself to whisper. “You should get used to it.”

“How can you do this? You’re the Setter of Infinite. Why did you have to take the other side just to survive?” She asked with

She growled in anger and is about to grab Mildred’s hair when she instantly took her steps back away from Victoria. “Uh-uh. You don’t know what I am doing right now and I should probably go instead of checking up on you.” Mildred spoke and glimpsed at Mr. Collens who seemed not to mind the girls’ conversation. “Mr. Collens.” She called him.

The old man slowly lifted his head, stopping himself from scraping those woods. “You’re glowing, young lady. How about you help us out to get here. We would be delighted to have some aid.

“I’m sorry old hag, but I can’t give you what you’re asking. There are still a lot to make here, and I’m quite enjoying now than what I experienced back in the base-”

She was halted by the small creak on the door. It was Tristan who made her sough. “Again?” She irritably said. “My butler is here now. Obviously, just monitoring every inch of my actions. See you soon!” She waved her hand and didn’t wait for a response, especially from Victoria and she passed by Tristan who just followed her way.

When they were finally out, Tristan made his way in front of her to block her path. “Roxan wanted to see you.” He immediately pulled her to the office, making her flinched with his sharp grip. Midlred knew that they won’t be on good periods with this man. She tried to get off his grasp, but the more she moved, the more Tristan would grip her shirt harder. Up until they moved to her office, Roxan is now resting on her swivel chair. She got a newly mark on her right cheek and they could still see blood dripping. She slowly wiped it with her thumb and licked it, without pulling her gaze on them.

“What took you so long?” She asked hoarsely.

“Your appointed one here had just visited her comrades.” Tristan replied, slightly pushing Mildred’s back.

“Yes. I’m checking up on them if they’re doing their jobs well.”

“Are you sure about that? You’re might be making a plan for them to escape here.” Tristan countered

“Of course. If I let them go, it would mean that I betray this bond.” She stared at him, letting him realize that she is serious. She wanted Tristan to see that she’s not easily stabbed by his words. Since before, Mildred had been dealing with people who got the same attitude with her and it’s not new anymore if she would encounter one that is worse than how she approaches.

Roxan could sense the tension between the two, and that she needed it to break. “That’s enough. You’re not a dog and absolutely not a cat to quarrel over a useless matter. I want you two to lead the pack to Ethernal. Get all the resources. There will be no exemptions, whether it’s a child or an elder.”

“But what about the nursery? I’m certain they also got that section.” Mildred announced.

“Didn’t you hear me? Take everything and if you’re that concerned about those infants, then there’s still a place for them here…temporarily. We’ll expand our territory and that’s our top priority. We’ll mold them until we could use them.”

“You heard the queen. Get your ass moving.” He pushed Mildred and she had closed her hand in displeasure.