C
Cosmic Orion
Guest
Original poster
Right out in front of the blinding headlights of the VBCI staggered a weak looking young boy that couldn't have been a day over thirteen. Brakes were used generously as everyone stared almost in disbelief that they had actually found someone that wasn't a raven. The first potential survivor these soldiers had found in the entire village. Dark messy hair somewhat framed his face, the clothes he wore were raggedy and torn in various places. Much like someone might appear had they been attacked by animals.
The soldiers started to give signals to one another in silence while constantly looking around for anyone else. Inside the VBCI they were no doubt trying to radio in that a survivor had been located alive. No response came. So far they saw no one but the pathetic youth trying in vain to approach them. Hopelessness tried to grip their hearts once more that perhaps this kid was the only one to make it out alive. Visibly he trembled with every step and struggled to reach them. Quite clearly he wanted these soldiers to take him in, away from the unsettlingly empty town.
A perimeter formation was quickly established to protect themselves and the boy as they cautiously moved in closer. One soldier kept trying to use his commlink to contact the group near Eliah but no response ever came. Fear slightly gripped him, hoping that they merely could not afford to break radio silence at this moment. Little did they know the others could not respond at all.
Just as they reached the boy he collapsed on the pavement. Fearing a critical condition they carried him without hesitation into the VBCI. Placing him gently in one of the seats, it was only under the interior light of their vehicle did his appearance truly sink into their psyches. Not to mention the stench wafting into their noses pungent enough for even a Frenchman's senses to detect. Almost like a living corpse the boy breathed trying desperately to hold onto life and fought hard for it. Emaciated and gaunt, his clothes were barely fitting him anymore as though he had been starved for days. In addition he reeked of death or was simply in dire need of a bath. Flies would have loved him for certain if no one else could find the compassion in their hearts.
What kind of sick monsters could have done this to a little boy?
The soldiers started to give signals to one another in silence while constantly looking around for anyone else. Inside the VBCI they were no doubt trying to radio in that a survivor had been located alive. No response came. So far they saw no one but the pathetic youth trying in vain to approach them. Hopelessness tried to grip their hearts once more that perhaps this kid was the only one to make it out alive. Visibly he trembled with every step and struggled to reach them. Quite clearly he wanted these soldiers to take him in, away from the unsettlingly empty town.
A perimeter formation was quickly established to protect themselves and the boy as they cautiously moved in closer. One soldier kept trying to use his commlink to contact the group near Eliah but no response ever came. Fear slightly gripped him, hoping that they merely could not afford to break radio silence at this moment. Little did they know the others could not respond at all.
Just as they reached the boy he collapsed on the pavement. Fearing a critical condition they carried him without hesitation into the VBCI. Placing him gently in one of the seats, it was only under the interior light of their vehicle did his appearance truly sink into their psyches. Not to mention the stench wafting into their noses pungent enough for even a Frenchman's senses to detect. Almost like a living corpse the boy breathed trying desperately to hold onto life and fought hard for it. Emaciated and gaunt, his clothes were barely fitting him anymore as though he had been starved for days. In addition he reeked of death or was simply in dire need of a bath. Flies would have loved him for certain if no one else could find the compassion in their hearts.
What kind of sick monsters could have done this to a little boy?
Lark noticed Whitesnake trying to get in contact with her and quickly opened up a private frequency with him. Listening to his rather simple request she pinpointed his location and used the already opened maps of the town to plot out a route for him. For him it probably felt like weeks passed by as he awaited a response in a town where the only sounds were of the distant VBCI's or the ravens resting on rooftops.
"You're lucky as well Whitesnake. Their search pattern suddenly stopped just a few blocks east of you. They must have found something else of interest in one of the houses or something. Just move north for 0.4 kilometers and then west for 0.3 kilometers before going south for 0.1 kilometers. That'll make sure you avoid them, there's no telling when they'll start moving again."
All the while she had been multi-tasking to try finding out why so many ravens would possibly be at this town. Let alone why they would actually be awake at night. Everything pointed her toward some type of advanced bird training. Files were scoured through for anything in past military programs or anything which would match up with such a strange gathering. Sure enough, digging through the classifieds section of a certain database turned up a result which made her eyes narrow before quickly opening a frequency to the entire BLOODHOUND unit.
"Well everyone there IS a possible reason for these ravens. . . but I don't think you'll like it. An incredibly classified file here says an ace pilot from Germany was dishonorably discharged four years ago for connections to a series of mysterious murders surrounding the deaths of several other pilots. Apparently they were killed by ravens suspected to have been trained by the pilot. Kind of like that Willard movie, the one with the rats. Ever since then she's been missing along with her prized pet raven Karasuman. Interestingly enough the codename she went by in the airforce was Malphas. . ."
"You're lucky as well Whitesnake. Their search pattern suddenly stopped just a few blocks east of you. They must have found something else of interest in one of the houses or something. Just move north for 0.4 kilometers and then west for 0.3 kilometers before going south for 0.1 kilometers. That'll make sure you avoid them, there's no telling when they'll start moving again."
All the while she had been multi-tasking to try finding out why so many ravens would possibly be at this town. Let alone why they would actually be awake at night. Everything pointed her toward some type of advanced bird training. Files were scoured through for anything in past military programs or anything which would match up with such a strange gathering. Sure enough, digging through the classifieds section of a certain database turned up a result which made her eyes narrow before quickly opening a frequency to the entire BLOODHOUND unit.
"Well everyone there IS a possible reason for these ravens. . . but I don't think you'll like it. An incredibly classified file here says an ace pilot from Germany was dishonorably discharged four years ago for connections to a series of mysterious murders surrounding the deaths of several other pilots. Apparently they were killed by ravens suspected to have been trained by the pilot. Kind of like that Willard movie, the one with the rats. Ever since then she's been missing along with her prized pet raven Karasuman. Interestingly enough the codename she went by in the airforce was Malphas. . ."
Raging for an unknown reason, the ravens suddenly began to attack the French soldiers en masse. No doubt Eliah and Chameleon would be taking cover inside whatever buildings they could. Each with talons outstretched they raked flesh and made it practically impossible for any retalliation. Beaks pecked out eyeballs when given the chance as the French soldiers screamed and cursed aloud in their native tongue. A few tried to radio for help, including the driver, but for some reason a strange static on the radios made their communications impossible. No guns were even fired off due to the swiftness of what happened next. Those who could not be blinded witnessed multiple metallic flashes created by the headlights illuminating something deadly flying out from a shadowy alleyway.
Soon enough they all fell dead onto the ground like so many dominos.
Jutting out of their bodies were a type of expertly crafted custom kunai etched with a pattern that made it resemble a large feather. Panicking, the driver of the VBCI tried to retreat on foot since the caltrops had already punctured the tires. Doors flew open in a last ditch effort to escape, but as he scrambled down the street his steps were tripped up by the countless caltrops causing him to fall and puncture himself in multiple places. Blood seeped out onto the sidewalk as the ravens descended to feast on their kills. Out from the darkened alleyway from which the kunai had flown a figure dark as the ravens themselves sprinted through the chaos of the unkindness with the grace of a bird. Less than thirty seconds went by before each custom kunai was plucked out and the figure vanished into the shadows once more.
Soon enough they all fell dead onto the ground like so many dominos.
Jutting out of their bodies were a type of expertly crafted custom kunai etched with a pattern that made it resemble a large feather. Panicking, the driver of the VBCI tried to retreat on foot since the caltrops had already punctured the tires. Doors flew open in a last ditch effort to escape, but as he scrambled down the street his steps were tripped up by the countless caltrops causing him to fall and puncture himself in multiple places. Blood seeped out onto the sidewalk as the ravens descended to feast on their kills. Out from the darkened alleyway from which the kunai had flown a figure dark as the ravens themselves sprinted through the chaos of the unkindness with the grace of a bird. Less than thirty seconds went by before each custom kunai was plucked out and the figure vanished into the shadows once more.