Chương 23: Entry

The rhythmic thwump-thwump-thwump of the helicopter blades cut through Montana's December air, and each beat reminded Jonathan of an old life. While it had been hard for him to adjust to civilian life as a teacher, he felt a lot of satisfaction in helping teach and nurture a younger generation. Now, he found himself back in the thick of things. It was mid afternoon and the helicopter ride had been a couple of hours long.

Despite the cold weather outside, the heaters worked over time as they pulled heat from around the engine and pumped it into the small chopper cabin causing sweat to bead on his forehead.

"Five minutes to touch down," Captain Hayes's voice crackled through their comms. She sat across from him. It was odd to see the wooden spear shaft next to her rather than a range of possible firearms.

"Jon, are you still planning to wear the dampener?' Jonathan nodded before clicking the button to activate his own headset.

"Yes, we shouldn't need the {Rage} kind of power in a mission like this unless things go really wrong. I'd feel better knowing it's locked up tight rather than risk something." She nodded.

"Just got word that the other teams are in position and waiting for us. They're just some national guardsmen pulled from a nearby station. None of them are Awakened, but we've got another chopper behind us that will join them and help as needed. Both B and C-Team will set up at the Rift entrance before we're there, and B-Team will enter with us and hold the inner side of the portal." She pulled out her tablet from her pack and handed it to Bill.

"Emma's directions to the exact location of the compound were a bit hazy. She said that the escape from the Rift was hectic, and recalling it backward to form directions was a lot for her. From what she could tell, the Untethered Camp and the Arena were the only two developed areas within the Rift, so it shouldn't be that challenging to find." The helicopter banked slightly, and Jonathan caught a glimpse of the Rift through the window.

Even after seeing so many of them with his eyes at that point, it still seemed surreal.

"Alright, gents. Keep your heads on a swivel and listen for my calls. We locate their base, gather intel on their operation, save the kids, and get out." There were nods from around the helicopter cabin. The mission was clearly not meant to be an attack against the Untethered's foundation as a group. It was to save lives and if that led to the justification needed to lead a larger scale assault later, then that was just icing on the cake.

The chopper began its descent, the pilot finding a natural clearing near the Rift entrance. As they dropped through the low layer of fog, Jonathan felt the familiar pre-mission tension settle into his muscles. He found it interesting to note that despite his experience, those pre-mission jitters never went away. At least not until I slap on a magical rock bracelet. He clasped the bracelet around his wrist and felt all of his feelings become suppressed.

It was one thing to note his general emotions and feelings were muted in a relaxed scenario. Now that he was about to step into real combat, he realized he might be putting himself in more danger by suppressing things like his fear or desire to fight for life. What an odd thought. Especially knowing he should have feelings about… losing his feelings, but those, too, were suppressed.

"Ground team, you're clear for departure," the pilot's voice came through their headsets as the helicopter settled onto the frosted ground. Jimmy was first out, bow already in hand as he established a perimeter. The Rift was forty meters to the east, so he positioned himself to the west, protecting the distant approach. Dr. Turner followed, his staff already gathering mana at its tip. The fog had thinned at ground level, but it still clung to the surrounding mountains like a shroud.

"Rift's about half a click east," Hayes said as she and Jonathan departed the bird.

"B-Team's in position and has established a defensive perimeter around the entrance. Let's go link up and hear if there have been any updates." When they reached the national guard team, Jonathan noted how on edge all of them seemed to be. Likely haven't seen a Rift yet. Captain Hayes met up with their Platoon Sergeant and learned that things had been quiet since they arrived. No one had tried to exit the Rift, and they were waiting for the Hunter Association team to arrive before entering.

As they talked, Yates leaned over to say to Jonathan, "It ain't natural, that's for sure."

"The Rift?" After receiving a nod, Jonathan had to agree. The air seemed to hold a strange otherworldly energy this close to the portal that made the hair on his arms stand on end. Hayes called them forward, and they began closing the last few meters to the Rift.

"Standard entry protocol. Just like how we've been practicing the last two weeks. Turner and Yates, you're in the rear. Jon, you're up front. I'll float, but watch our flanks and move up to assist as needed." She tapped her earpiece, "B-Team, we're proceeding with entry. Follow us in and hold your position to secure the exit. All comms will go dark once we're inside. Listen to your HA rep, and we'll be out and on our way homes in no time."

Jonathan was a bit tired at hearing the plan summarized so many times, but he knew that Hayes was still relatively new at leading in situations like this and that it might make Bill more comfortable to repeat the instructions in simple ways, since the man had barely ever seen combat before. One by one, they stepped through the swirling magical surface. The familiar sensation of disorientation hit Jonathan as they crossed the threshold.

When his vision cleared and his weight was redistributed to his body, the group found themselves standing ankle-deep in murky water. They were surrounded by twisted cypress trees draped with Spanish moss. Emma had described the Rift biome to be a swamp, but the stuffy air and mushy ground were already enough to make Yates groan in frustration. Jonathan found himself not caring either way, just looking down at his boots and shrugging as he pulled his great axe from his shoulder and looked around.

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"Well, fuck me. This is gonna suck," Jimmy muttered. Blue screens popped into Jonathan's vision, and he immediately dismissed them to clear his vision and scan his surroundings. It wasn't the time for personal gains; they had a mission objective, and that was his only concern.

"Let's move," the group almost immediately began to move front-left. Without the ability to consistently use compasses in the Rifts, directions were often based on the orientation upon entering the Rift. They moved what was designated as northwest through the Rift, aiming for a bit of high ground that Emma had noted was steep but let her look back over the encampment and arena before she followed the tugging at her core toward the Rift exit.

Jonathan and Jimmy moved with an experienced cadence through the muck, finding more stable footing than the doctor, who seemed to need his staff more as a walking stick than a magical weapon that it was. The brown water rarely rose above their ankles, but occasionally, deeper pools forced them to detour around small clusters of trees. The swamp itself teemed with life.

Small creatures skittered through the underbrush and something that looked like a cross between a heron and a snake watched them from a fallen log before spreading feathered wings and taking flight. Jonathan hadn't been in an Uncommon Rift and had asked for an explanation before entering. Captain Hayes had been willing to give him a detailed run down on the differences between Rifts Ranks and Rarities.

The key takeaways had been that the Uncommon Rifts had larger internal spaces, which led to more complex ecosystems and quests provided by the System, and had a time extending effect. After twenty minutes of steady progress, the ground began to rise and pull them above the swampy floor they'd been traveling along. At the top Jimmy pointed to where the the trees thinned and a wooden structure could be seen from their elevated position.

"There's the arena," he said while gesturing to another structure a short distance to the east of the first. They could make out some of the details from the encampment's description. Wooden platforms had been constructed and connected to different parts of more stable trees and there were a fair number of rope bridges that connected platforms.

"Based on what Emma said, there should be some more permanent structures just before the arena that were built on the only easily accessible dry ground." The rest of the encampment had been built off the ground to avoid troubles with water and ground-dwelling monsters. They couldn't see movement, but they all knew that they were operating under time constraints.

"Let's go, no time to waste." Hayes motioned them forward. It was another twenty minutes of pushing through bushes and muddy water before they had their first bit of contact. Where they'd all been wary of finding an ambush of Awakened, they were surprised to be attacked by two large snakes. The monsters both sprung from the thick water at their feet and struck toward Jonathan, who was leading the group's formation. He raised his axe and instinctively used the flat side of the blade to block the monsters fangs.

The second latched onto his shoulder and he gave a grunt as felt the fangs sink into his muscles. Bill let out a startled yelp at the sudden appearance of the sickly yellow and green snakes. He had been holding a fireball at the ready and let it fire as the first snake fell back onto the surface of the water. Jonathan was already bringing his axe down on the reptile, though the fireball flew faster and struck the beast.

It hissed in pain, and the water around it seemed to sputter and sizzle at the heat of the blast.

"Shit," Hayes said. She shifted her hand position on the spear to grip toward the head, like a knife and wrapped her free arm around the snake. Its body started to coil around her arm and shoulder, but before it could dislodge its fangs from Jonathan, she placed her spearhead below its jaw and cut upward, using her enhanced Strength to cleanly cut through the monster's head. The dead reptile went limp, and the head fell away from Jonathan's upper arm.

"Antidote," Yates called as he took a knee in the water and pulled a vial from his bag.

"Here, chug it." Captain Hayes's eyes darted back and forth and Jonathan had to assume that she was looking at her System notifications. He resumed his scanning of the surroundings as Yates tossed him the glass container. He almost missed the catch as a pair of blue windows appeared in his vision. You have slain Mire Viper - Level 4 You have slain Mire Viper - Level 4"They were only level four. The antidote should do plenty to take care of any poison they might have."

Jonathan grunted in acknowledgement and he could hear Dr. Turner letting out a shaky breath. He turned and tossed Yates the empty bottle and saw that the mage had moved a bit closer to the center of the group and was eyeing the two inch deep water with wary eyes. Jonathan looked at the two floating corpses. One was sliced in half and the other smoldering. Each of the Mire Vipers was easily six feet long and their bodies were as thick as his forearm.

Their scales were a mottled pattern of yellow and green that blended in perfectly with the algae-covered water and sickly vegetation of the swamp.

"We should keep moving," Jonathan said. Hayes looked at him skeptically, "You're sure you're alright?'

"Yes. My Constitution is plenty high, and if the antidote works, there shouldn't be anything to worry about." Even as he spoke, Jonathan could feel warm blood seeping from the two puncture wounds in his shoulder. They took another minute to regroup and ensure that no one else was injured before continuing through the swamp. Soon, Hayes motioned them forward and crouched lower as they got to a tree line.

"Empty guard posts," Jonathan noted. He scanned the nearest platforms and could see trash and other bits of discarded equipment. Despite the fact that the camp was a bit sloppy and clearly lived in, there were no signs of life.

"Where are they?" Turner whispered, holding the staff across his chest defensively.

"Coulda fled when they realized we were comin'," Jimmy suggested, but his tone was skeptical. He kept scanning the elevated walkways and held his bow down but knocked with an arrow ready. Captain Hayes studied the layout of the camp, her expression grim.

"Or they left something behind to slow us down." She glanced at Turner.

"Any magical signatures?' The researcher looked sheepish and shrugged, "I can't tell you that. I can manipulate my own mana and sometimes sense other mana if it's interfering with what I'm doing, but there's no way for me to know if they left something behind in the camp."

"Fuck," Hayes huffed.

"Alright, we're getting you or Yates some sort of detection ability when we get back." Jonathan shifted the grip on his axe and eased the tension on his shoulder. The camp's silence felt wrong to him.

"Could be a trap," he said. Hayes nodded slowly.

"It probably is." She was quiet for a moment, weighing their options.

"Those kids might still be here. Even if the Untethered pulled out in a hurry, they might have left some of the less cooperative ones behind." Her knuckles turned white as she tightened her grip on her spear.

"We knew this could be a trap from the beginning. It doesn't change the mission now."

"Your call, Cap," Jimmy said. Hayes looked at each of them in turn, then back at the silent camp.

"We go in. Careful and quiet. Bill, stay between Jon and Jimmy. If there are any kids still here, we get them out. If not, we gather what intel we can and pull back." She paused.

"But nobody plays hero. First sign this goes sideways, we retreat and only engage if it's absolutely necessary to achieve mission objective. Clear?" They nodded and Jonathan felt the weight of the dampening bracelet on his wrist. He regretted needing to depend on a piece of equipment, but knew that it was necessary for the type of mission they were on. He didn't need unrestrained power, he needed cool and calculating.