Rapture

Chapter 4

The gateway of the dispatch bay slid open, welcoming us into the mothership. I parked the motorcycle and helped Sam down from it. Russ emerged from the compartment, ready for action. Sandra parked her worn-out motorcycle, a testament to her resourcefulness.

Noticing my gaze on her ride, Sandra spoke up, "I built this baby from scratch." She patted the seat proudly.

"Enough chitchat. Get your butt to the control room, Sandra Buttlock," Gustav interjected, leading the way with Russ.

"Hey! That wasn't nice, especially to a lady," Sandra complained.

I placed a hand on her shoulder, urging her forward. "No complaints. Sam, you can return your gear to the armory and head back to your room."

Sam nodded, concern etched on her face. "What are you going to do to Sandra?"

"We're not going to hurt her. We'll just be asking her some questions," I reassured Sam, while Sandra squirmed under my grip.

"It kinda hurts, you know," Sandra mockingly groaned.

Russ barked in a robotic voice, clearly impatient.

"Come on now," I commanded, urging Sandra along.

Sam made her way to the armory, and I half-dragged Sandra by her shoulders to the control room.

The door slid open, revealing Gustav who was already glaring at Sandra. "And it seems Miss Buttlock here has a lot of explaining to do."

I released my grip on Sandra, who was visibly irritated by Gustav's name-calling. Her eyes widened as she exclaimed, "Holograms?!"

Excitedly, she sprinted towards the holographic screens behind Gustav. However, Gustav swiftly stepped in her path, blocking her way. "Not gonna happen, young Shelda."

"But they look so cool! Way better than anything my mother ever told me or the books I've read," Sandra gushed.

"Of course, they're cool. I made them from scratch, just like the rover you stole," Gustav sneered, arms crossed defiantly.

"Fine, I'm sorry," Sandra said, her shoulders slumping. "But I did it because I had to try to save my sister!" she added, desperation evident in her voice.

Sandra mentioned her sister again, indicating that her sister had been kidn*pped and she needed the rover to scout the surroundings.

"I understand your motive, but you could have revealed yourself to the rover. It would have given you instructions on how to communicate with us!" Gustav exclaimed, his annoyance growing. "But what did your dumbass do? You stole it and tried to reverse engineer it!"

"Hey, Gustav, she's still a kid," I interjected.

"I'm sorry! I had no other options," Sandra sobbed, tears welling up in her eyes.

Gustav seemed taken aback. "I apologize if I said something cruel, but it's true. Now, go away for a moment so I can think."

Gustav looked at me. "I think she and Sam can share a room. I highly doubt she'll do anything sketchy."

I placed a reassuring hand on Sandra's shoulder. She looked at me with puffy eyes. "I'm really sorry," she said in a shaken voice.

I hugged her gently. "It's alright. Come on."

As I embraced her, I realized it was my instinctual way of comforting people. Sandra didn't protest and hugged me back. "Lead the way," she whispered.

Our walk toward Sam's room was quiet. Occasionally, Sandra would let out a snort, but the warm corridors of the mothership provided a comforting contrast to the scorching heat outside.

Finally, we arrived at Sam's room. Just as we stood in front of the door, Sam opened it, surprising both of us. "Woah, big bro," Sam chuckled

Sam looked at the sulking Sandra behind me, concern evident in her eyes. "What did you do to her?" she asked.

"Nothing. Sandra just got scolded by Gustav, and she'll be staying with you," I explained, turning around to head back to the control room.

Gustav was engrossed in examining a series of maps depicting the area near Marawi. "What's happening in Marawi can't be ignored, it seems," he remarked in a monotonous voice.

As I approached the hologram, I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a large, bright red pentagram in a clearing. It was surrounded by dismembered bodies, giving off an unsettling freshness.

"Take a look at this too," Gustav said, swiping through various pictures.

The hologram paused on an image of a camp—a stronghold of damnation. The camp spanned the size of two city blocks, with walls constructed from flesh. There were four towers in each corner, and in the center, there seemed to be a holding area for captured creatures, with dozens of humans visible.

"The drone captured this just moments before it had to switch to super-sonic mode," Gustav explained, contemplating his next words. "They've developed anti-aircraft SAM sites."

"I guess I should pay them a visit and throw an explosive party, huh?" I grinned at Gustav.

He chuckled. "I would have sent you there in an instant, but I don't want to overwhelm you with too much work."

Gustav turned his head towards me. "Tomorrow morning, we'll head out."

I furrowed my eyebrows. This indicated that the situation was quite dangerous, and he must have thought I couldn't handle it even with Russ by my side.

"No, I've improved significantly since five years ago," I snorted. "Back then, I might have been shitting my pants at Dementours. But not anymore. I can handle it."

"Ah, yes. The time when you were still wet behind the ears," Gustav chuckled. "Maybe I was still treating you like a kid. Bring Samantha with you."

"Why bring Sam?" I questioned.

"She needs to learn things faster, and Russ has improved significantly since the last time," Gustav replied, his expression serious.

"Now, spend time with the three of them. Learn from each other, especially Sandra. She has knowledge about electronics," he instructed, turning his attention back to the holograms.

I nodded, understanding his instructions. "Roger that."

The mothership itself was a well-protected base. It had the ability to fly and was equipped with automated turrets that guarded the perimeter. While it seemed like a fortress, it was still vulnerable to large-scale attacks. Gustav wanted to ensure that Sam didn't become too complacent, as it could lead to a false sense of invulnerability.

Standing in front of Sam's and Sandra's room, I noticed they had already decorated the steel door with colorful crayon drawings, proudly labeling it as the "Room of SS squad."

I knocked on the door, holding a jar of cookies that I had baked the previous week. They were still fresh, and I thought Sam would appreciate them.

The door swung open, and Sam's head popped out. She smiled when she saw me. "Hello, big brother."

I nodded in greeting. "What's up?"

"Come inside," Sam invited, opening the door wider.

The room was even more vibrant and colorful than I remembered. There were two beds, both adorned with my little horsey designs. The room was spacious enough to accommodate ten people, so I expected them to make the most of the space.

Sandra was sitting on her bed, engrossed in cutting paper art. "Look who's back."

Entering the room, I placed the jar of cookies on the table. "Help yourselves."

"Cookies?!" Sandra gasped, leaping from her bed.

"Cookies?" Sam looked at me, her face displaying confusion.

Sandra twisted open the lid, revealing the sweet aroma of freshly baked cookies. With her eyes closed, she took one cookie with her right hand, savoring the scent. "Oh my... How long has it been since I've had one?"

"Cookies are a type of pastry, and they are quite delicious," I explained, pointing at the jar.

Sandra had already devoured three cookies and held out the largest one to Sam. "Here, give it a try."

Sam eagerly took the pastry from Sandra's hands. "It's bigger than my hands," she remarked, taking a bite. Her eyes widened, and she made a satisfied "hmm!" sound. "It's so delicious!"

I hadn't expected them to enjoy it so much, considering the cookies had been baked a few days ago.

Finding a wooden chair to sit on, I noticed some drawings on the table next to the drawers. "So, how's your stay been, Sandra?"

"It's been good. I mean, it's been like... nine years since I've felt safe," Sandra replied, taking another bite of her cookie.

Finishing the cookie, she pointed at the drawings on the table. "They may look like an elementary student drew them, but I was planning to use these to get my sister back."

Sandra stood up and stretched. "I'm still working on it. I really want my sister back."

She walked over to the other side of the room, picking up the drawings and handing them to me.

The drawings were messy, but they depicted a sequence of strategies involving bombs and drones. Sandra had stolen the rover, thinking she could modify it to fly and drop miniature bombs on the damnation base. She had drawn the entire base in a fascinating way.

"What do you think? Could it work?" Sandra asked, looking at the map beside me.

She seemed to have not bathed in a while, but her smell didn't bother me. "It could have worked, but there are a few factors that would make it challenging."

The mapping of the base was more accurate than the drone shots. According to Sandra's drawing, the entire base spanned 200 meters from west to east and 100 meters from north to south. Just as Gustav had mentioned, there were indeed SAM sites, but in Sandra's drawing, there were over a dozen of them.

There were several buildings indicated, including the Armory, Ritual Site, Breeding Grounds, Feeding Room, and a large red circle labeled "Slave Chamber." Next to it, it read, "Big Sister is here."