NOVEL NEXT Chapter 229: What were the watchers up to?
Father Nicodemus had already heard all about Private Craydon and the troubles caused by his mother. He wanted to speak on the young man's behalf, and he started clearing his throat.
Before he could say something, the private voiced his thoughts. "Sir, Ma'am, ...I would like to apologize for all the troubles we have caused you." He had already apologized to his unit and leaders, and he wanted to apologize again before Sunshine's hammer came down. "Maybe it doesn't matter but I would like to say a word in my defense."
Sunshine nodded.
Craydon was relieved. If she was willing to hear him out, she would be merciful. "I did not deliberately share the information on the marauder's presence with anyone. My mother brought food to the prison, and she happened to overhear a conversation between me and Corporal Sammy about the prisoner. I never realized that she had eavesdropped until she started sharing what she had heard."
"He speaks the truth; we were shocked when we turned and saw Mrs. Craydon there." Corporal Sammy confirmed, jaw tight. "She probed us for answers on the matter, but we denied everything. None of us expected her to build on what she had heard and spread it all over the base, inciting fear among the residents."
Sunshine already knew all they were saying. Major Elio had explained it all to her. But she wanted Craydon to know that even talking about a confidential matter in a public place was wrong. If the wrong person overheard the wrong conversation, the base would be put at risk.
Her words fell like hammer blows. "Private, you had a conversation in a public place. That was what started the trouble in the first place. This is the laxity in security we have just brought up. I expect men and women like you to be aware of their surroundings all the time.
What happened is a failure in your duty. Also, if you cannot control your mother, then I will step in and control her. And my way will be permanent. Do I make myself clear?"
Craydon's relief poured out in a desperate nod. They were not being expelled. Hurray!! "Ma'am. I promise to keep her in check, and I will not make this mistake ever again."
Sunshine's gaze lingered, doubting one of his promises. Justice Marley was not afraid of her son. She also loved to gossip a little too much. Most of it was harmless but sometimes, it was troublesome.
Next time she used her mouth carelessly, they would just throw her in prison for a few hours. Who said scared straight programs were just for teenagers? Even adults could be scared straight.
Ten more minutes were used up on giving the soldiers new rules and rewarding the ones that had outperformed their colleagues.
Then, they were released, and the core management team remained to discuss other serious matters. Father Nicodemus and sister Anna were excused. This was deliberate as it was not a matter that required humility or concerning the residents peace of mind but survival itself.
Hadrian leaned forward. "What are the updates on Augustus Bellam?"
Carson, summoned specifically for this, recounted everything that he found out. His voice was steady as he narrated leaving out the unnecessary details of the story.
When he finished, voices rose.
"We can estimate their location now, that means that we should send a team to wipe them out." Hadrian suggested.
Carson raised an arm. "I can lead the team."
"What if they see you coming." Warren pointed out. "Just Bomb every building in the East, that is less risky, and it can be done from behind the wall."
"Are you trying to destroy the forest?" Morris bellowed.
The table shook with force of overlapping arguments.
"No bombs." Sunshine's voice sliced through the noise. "We depend on the forest for protection and meat." She raised her hand, hushing the room. "We have even bigger problems."
Quiet spread all around, gazes were exchanged, and frowns were formed before eyes looked at Sunshine with questions on their faces.
Warren broke the silence first. "Greater than a marauder attack lead by a supernatural!"
Sunshine only nodded and motioned Dwayne.
He rose, approached the console table and pressed a sequence of buttons. The screens flickered to life; Lisha dimmed the room.
A video was played on the large screen, grainy but unmistakable. A colony of ants. Hundreds or thousands, moving in relentless waves.
The room fell into an even deeper silence, save for the soft hum of the screen.
"What are we looking at?" Morris who had been quiet all this time, asked.
Dwayne explained how the watcher had snatched the drone on its way back from the stone village, dropped it somewhere in the forest and this was the footage that was captured.
"Holy fuck!" Carson run a hand through his hair. "There are too many of them. I am beginning to rethink the bombing idea."
Warren winced loudly. "This doesn't look like an emergency to me in comparison to a supernatural that can kill all of us with one touch."
"You say that now but what about when they make it into the wall." Hades answered.
"What is even scarier is that they are out in this abnormal cold and that means that they must at least be mutated ants." Hadrian muttered, his brow furrowing. "Warren this is a problem because they are not that far from here, ten miles at most."
Hades nodded. "Remember how much grain we wasted after one ant paid us a visit? We cannot afford to waste anymore food because of them. If all those ants make it inside, then we will lose people and food. We cannot sit by and wait for death."
Everyone nodded. Hades' reminder about the grain pained them. In a time of food scarcity, they could not lose a morsel.
The consensus came quickly. "Then we have to deal with them quickly." Morris suggested.
Warren let out a sigh. "They are only ants; I did not see any buildings in the area. Let us use a drone to drop some grenades in that area."
They all looked at Sunshine waiting for her submission on the matter, she was the apocalypse expert after all.
But her silence stretched long enough that unease began to creep in the room. She tapped her fingers against the table, a hollow knocking sound. The gesture made several people to glance nervously at each other.
Finally, she spoke, her voice quiet but sharp. "It is not that simple, let us go through this step by step. The watcher snatched the drone, without pausing it took it straight to the colony of ants. It made sure to drop it in the perfect area where we could see the ants and then a shadow passed, and the feed was cut."
Warren let out a tiny laugh. "Are you saying that the watcher cut the feed?"
Sunshine's gaze swept across the room, then she slowly nodded.
"That is the most ridiculous..." Warren started.
"Shush Warren." Hades cut him off. "What do you know about the watchers except what my wife knows?"
Sunshine leaned back in the chair, she knew that she sounded ridiculous, her theories and stories were hard to believe but they were the truth. "In this apocalypse, you will encounter mutants that are wise.....wiser than humans. The watchers that seem silly sometimes are the most intelligent mutants in this apocalypse." She told them. "Think about it, this bird took the drone and showed us just enough. Not too much. Just enough to let us see the threat before destroying the drone. Ask yourselves why?"