NOVEL FROG Chapter 44: Plan The Move
After a surprise attack from the workers, the squad winded down and looked around in case more enemies appeared. After a while, the quarry turned silent again, and with everyone seemingly dead, Crisis relaxed for a moment before regrouping at the gate. However, as Panda and Tricky were already stepping inside the locked room that miners risked their lives to protect, Scott stayed behind, still lying on the ground in shock. He looked both defeated and mortified when Candy returned to help him, but as the rest of the squad began noticing that he could barely stand up in his state of extreme dread, Frost cracked a laugh before turning to him.
–What’s the matter with you, never seen a man die up close, Sissy?– Frost asked tauntingly, sharing a chuckle with Panda and Nitro. But after laughing it off and shifting his attention to the gate, Frost provoked some anger in Scott. Candy helped him stand up, but he quickly refused to walk by himself as he wasn’t pleased by the joke. But instead of turning hostile, Scott gave in to his nervousness and distress, dropping his rifle to draw the line for him.
–I can’t do this… How can you all kill these people without a second thought?– Scott asked in anguish, almost breaking down in tears as his dismay turned into frustration. Not even Candy was able to comfort him in any way, and unlike her, the rest of the team kept their distance and watched from afar as he collapsed to his knees. He began hyperventilating as he looked around and only saw death and blood surrounding him. And while the squad looked concerned, they didn’t dare to do anything as Frost was already approaching him with an amused grin.
–Because our lives depend on it. You would have been killed if it wasn’t for a girl, yet again…– Frost replied in his usual scornful manner, laughing once again to diminish Scott’s nervous breakdown. He was delighted to see him panicking, but as his belittling words only fueled his frustration, Scott didn’t allow himself to be made fun of again.
–What about those unarmed workers you just slaughtered?? They didn’t do any harm, and you still murdered them!– Scott yelled with pent-up fury, not only to Frost but to the whole team, expressing himself with passion, which was a sudden change of attitude that even caught Indie off guard.
Candy tried to get between Frost and Scott as the situation escalated, but as the squad refused to say anything and kept watching, Frost restrained himself from getting physical, only letting Scott scope his surroundings to figure out his issues by himself. But as his irritation kept increasing the more he observed the seemingly unreasonable killings around him, the squad realized that it was time for Scott to learn about the atrocities that took place in their missions. And with Frost quickly identifying the root of his sorrow, almost showing some compassion for a brief second as he thought of a response, he took care of the situation by remaining calm, though not dropping his condescending attitude.
–Don’t be such a baby, we are not saints…– Frost responded in a nonchalant, callous manner, generally indifferent towards Scott’s hardship. But as his smug expression provoked him further, Scott stared back with seething eyes. He was about to yell once again, but with Frost noticing that his concerns wouldn’t go away anytime soon, he reconsidered his words after glancing back at Indie’s disapproving expression. She was urging him to change his approach, and while he scoffed at her first, he begrudgingly complied with a sigh.
–Besides, you never know when they might be a threat. We can’t underestimate our enemies…– Frost added with an unenthusiastic tone, now dropping the aloof attitude to lecture Scott with real advice, however, Scott didn’t seem to be listening to him anymore. He tried calming himself down by staring at the ground, hiding the few tears in misery as he began accepting the fact there was nothing he could do at this point. Luckily, Indie stepped in, taking Frost’s place as she tried to elaborate on his response, scolding him with a harsh look before focusing on Scott to reassure him.
–Yes, I know it sounds cruel, but we can never be sure until it’s too late. We can’t risk putting any of our teammates in danger, not even you. So, as bad as it looks, no matter how weak and harmless they look, we have to take care of our enemies before they take care of us… Better safe than sorry, as we like to say…– Indie added in her usual calm, polite, convincing nature, but also sounding soothing and supportive like Candy in the way she brought her voice to a whisper. Her approach seemed to draw Scott’s attention more than Frost’s mockery, and while Indie saw some doubt lingering in his eyes when he raised his head to look at her, she could tell he was more receptive to her advice.
Still questioning it in his mind and looking at the other members of the team for confirmation, Scott got to ease his worries for a moment after learning the harsh truth. He took his time to process everything as well as he could, going through denial once again but quickly getting a grasp on the arguments behind the massacre he witnessed. Candy helped him understand, as her shy but empathetic smile managed to resonate with him. And while Scott looked nothing but distraught by the hardest lesson he had to learn, he showed some gratitude towards Indie with his anxious stare as he got a hold of himself.
However, Scott didn’t get the chance to thank Indie or the others for their support. He tried to stand up, but right before he could speak, he was startled by the shriek of one of the fallen enemies right behind him. He quickly turned around, with Crisis having their view blocked as he was right in front of the same attacker that he knocked out with his rifle. He was still bleeding, but as he was only out cold for a minute, now he was coming straight after a vulnerable Candy with a sword. She wasn’t able to move from the shock of seeing the man seemingly come back to life, and instead of running away or fighting back, she screeched in horror, cowering next to Scott, who only now realized the mistake he had committed.
Scott’s muscles froze like Candy’s, and despite being right next to her, he tried to hug her and protect her instead of getting in the way of the attacker. But before he got the chance to grab Candy, he was startled by a single gunshot. He didn’t get to see the bullet that connected with the miner’s brain, killing him mid-jump before his blade could reach Candy, but he definitely felt it as a few drops of blood reached his hands. Candy immediately ran back to her team, leaving Scott awestruck as he watched the miner that he left alive now drop dead for good. He saw exactly when his life faded away from his eyes, but with the squad already collecting themselves, Scott took his time to stare at the new corpse lying in front of him.
–Better safe than sorry…– Scott said under his breath, not breaking eye contact with the corpse for a single moment as he reached for one of the swords dropped by the miners, grabbing his broken rifle again just in case. As he faced the squad once again, he noticed they had all left behind now that they were exploring the room past the gate. Candy was still trying to catch her breath, but she wasn’t as scared now that she held Frost’s arm tightly to keep him close. He didn’t even seem to notice her hugging his arm, but a subtle smirk appeared on his face for a brief moment as he holstered his gun slowly.
Crisis walked through the gate and stepped into a medium sized room with two wings. Right at the entrance, the alarm had fallen off its hinges above the gate, drawing Tricky and Panda’s attention as they were the first ones to enter. Right away, they noticed it was a control room from the panels and terminals on each side of the gate, which were now destroyed due to the blast. The only source of light was taken out as well, leaving the room mostly dark.
But as the entire squad looked around, they found an infirmary at the end of the right side, where Frost escorted Candy to let her steal some supplies, adding them to her medical kit. Indie immediately came across the elevator that the sign outside warned about, so Frost left Candy to take as much as she could while he joined her. And with the rest of the room being useless, the entire team focused on the elevator, which appeared to be an industrial cage with a mechanical steel gate that Panda tried to pry open to no avail.
While it was large enough to hold Crisis within its open and flimsy-looking walls, the elevator seemed to move with the use of cables, which didn’t look safe as the team could see inside the elevator shaft as the cage kept wobbling, getting a glimpse of how tall the drop to the bottom was. There were no instructions to use it other than a red button, which Nitro was tempted to press, but he was stopped by Tricky, who took some time to inspect it and check if it actually worked.
By the time Scott walked into the room, the squad began discussing what to do next as Tricky tried to repair some of the panels next to the only window after the button failed to open the metal gate of the elevator. They became irritated with the lack of intelligence they managed to gather from such a seemingly important room, with Tricky already lashing out at Nitro for destroying the only useful things in the room. But as they began arguing, amidst Tricky and Nitro’s shouts, Frost remained intrigued, even turning excited by one thing.
–We have to go deeper…– Frost muttered as he kept staring at the elevator in front of him. Kiwy, Candy, and Indie were close enough to hear him, with Panda stepping between Nitro and Tricky to break their fight, but by this point, they all had given up on continuing the mission. Candy tried to pull Frost away from the elevator, but he remained adamant about taking it to the next sublevel.
–We don’t know what’s down there, it could be a trap…– Indie responded skeptically, but that didn’t stop Frost from speculating more, now captivated by the faint light he spotted at the end of the elevator shaft. While Kiwy and Indie got to see that there was clearly more to the cave, with Tricky not managing to open the gate, they didn’t show much faith in actually exploring what was found down there. They were already heading back, but before they could leave, Frost’s curiosity caught their attention once again.
–But think about it. why do they need to go this deep? They must have a secret military facility, a storage, or something…– Frost argued with a studious expression as he leaned on the gate of the elevator with both blades, drawing Indie and Panda to reconsider the plan.
–I don’t think that’s likely…– Indie responded doubtfully, though she showed just as much interest despite trying to hide it. She gathered around Frost with Panda to discuss the matter in private, leaving the rest of the team to wonder what they would do next, but it became clear when they saw Frost’s realization reflecting on his face as he became determined.
–No, because they would only go this deep for one thing…– Frost suggested with a thought-provoking look, enthralling both Indie and Panda, who appeared to understand what he was thinking from his increasingly fervent expression.
–You think?...– Panda asked with similar intrigue, not even hiding his eagerness, which looked nothing but strange to the rest of the team. They kept watching from the gate to the control room as the three discussed the next step of the mission, and while Scott struggled to figure out their body language, not even their own teammates had a clue what they were talking about.
–What is going on?– Scott asked in confusion, remaining quiet and sheepish, even becoming nervous just from asking a question, to which all three girls next to him shrugged. While he found some comfort in sharing their ignorance, he couldn’t help but worry about how deeper they could go and what chances of surviving he had if he joined them. It looked like he zoned out while imagining all the other potential enemies they could encounter, and with no one saying anything, they could only prepare to follow Indie and Frost.
–I guess we are going even deeper…– Nitro said with a chuckle, though he was barely heard as he put on his mask once again. Both Candy and Scott nodded nervously, and unlike Kiwy, Tricky, and Nitro, they stayed behind with low enthusiasm as they kept hesitating to approach the team. They looked at each other and exchanged an awkward smile, but Candy’s usual natural charm managed to put Scott at ease before they walked closer to the rest of the team,
–But what if we get stuck down there?– Indie continued to argue, growing more dubious about Frost’s plan, contrasting his excitement as he and Panda had already set their minds. And as the rest of the team was already joining the conversation out of curiosity, Indie was forced to stay quiet as Frost took the lead and set forth to get the elevator open.
–We’ll find a way out, I know it…– Frost responded with confidence, and while she wasn’t certain, Indie ultimately decided to trust his determination and instinct. She continued hesitating, even when Frost broke into the elevator by jamming one blade through the malfunctioning red button, ripping out some cables to open the metal gate.
–Alright, but we’ll do it my way. Do you trust me?– Indie asked in a prudent, forthright manner, stopping Frost and the team from entering the elevator to confirm the plan. For a second, Frost just stared silently, becoming slightly embarrassed to have the entire team watching him as Indie confronted him up close. But despite her assertiveness, he didn’t seem threatened or inferior, as proved by his confidence and resolution when he responded with a forced grin.
–Of course, my captain…– Frost replied compliantly, hiding a sly smile that his teammates still picked up on. But while they questioned his intentions, his resolve and elation only seemed to encourage them to follow him, leaving their worries behind as Indie was now taking control. And with them coming to a decision, neither Candy nor Scott were able to object since they were already inside the elevator, squeezed in with a team willing to head down the cave without the guarantee of coming back alive.