Zelnar's accusations got a few of the other leaders thinking. They had yet to face an attack in their country. So, they had been in neutral stands all along. After all, it was better to be safe than sorry.
But now, they weren't sure anymore.
"See, you don't have any reply," Zelnar taunted. "Since you claim that there was an attack in Orvale and Novastra, shouldn't there be dead bodies lying around? Why aren't there any?"
"Zelnar, watch your words. We have survivors of the attack in Velomore. Should I call them for you to believe me?" Stinton was livid. He clenched his fists tightly. What did their well-being have anything to do with him?
But when he thought of the innocent lives in danger, he suppressed his desire to end the call and disregard them.
"What if you have brainwashed them into thinking that the attack has actually happened? I'm not oblivious to the fact that you have a brilliant scientist with you, and he had once created hallucinogens."
Everyone knew who Zelnar was talking about.
Patrick.
"Zelnar, I think there's no need for you on this call anymore. We..."
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation, and Zelnar turned around.
"Dad, I found this thing outside. Do you..."
Zelnar's daughter entered the room, holding a transparent bottle.
Stinton suddenly started to have an ominous feeling. Even Patrick felt there was something odd about it.
"Don't!" Stinton shouted, startling Zelnar's daughter, and she raised her head suddenly. Her hands shook, but fortunately, she didn't drop the bottle.
"Stinton, have you lost your mind? Why are you scaring my daughter?" Zelnar bellowed, his face contorting grotesquely in anger.
"Zelnar, listen to me. I think that bottle contains CRX-12. Humans will transform into monsters if we inhale it," Stinton warned, feeling apprehensive all of a sudden.
"You've gone crazy. What CRX? What monsters? I'll show everyone today that Stinton is a liar."
"Don't!" Stinton shouted.
Even Patrick and Vance tried to stop him. But the man opened the bottle without listening to their words.
For the first few seconds, nothing happened.
"See, I told you...."
Suddenly, Stinton's daughter started screaming as she held her head. Black veins protruded on her neck while her eyes turned red slowly.
"Vance, initiate the rescue mission. Fuck it!" Stinton was annoyed. If only Zelnar had listened to him....
Vance and Dave ran out of the room to prepare for the rescue while Patrick activated the alarm button on his EchoTag, informing everyone of the attack.
The others on the call were petrified to see all that was happening. Zelnar's daughter didn't look like herself anymore. Her eyes were inhumanly red while her forehead was coated with sweat.
"Ugh!" she shrieked again, and Zelnar was about to check on her when he felt his mind throb. At first, it began as a mild pain. But soon, it became so intense that he felt as if someone was smashing his head with a sledgehammer.
All the people on the call watched in horror as Zelnar and his daughter screamed in misery. For the first few minutes, nothing much happened.
However, soon, they saw Zelnar's daughter's limbs protruding. Her body expanded, and she grew taller. In less than five minutes, she wasn't herself anymore. In her place was a monster who seemed to be ready to wreak havoc.
Stinton sighed in regret and shook his head. They were late again. Zelnar's stupidity led to his death.
Within ten minutes, Zelnar and his daughter had turned into monsters, and they tramped out of the room.
The hologram wasn't clear anymore. But everyone heard their screams slowly turning into monstrous howls, and one could imagine how gruesome the scene was.
Stinton didn't want to see the bloodbath. So, he ended his call with Zelnar while staying connected with the others.
"Stinton, what the hell happened there?" one of the men who had believed Zelnar's words previously asked him, his voice feeble and frightened.
"Didn't I warn you before? Why are you asking me?" Stinton wasn't in the mood to reply to them calmly. His tone turned harsh and furious.
"Stinton, is this why you called us? To inform us of the attack?" the woman asked, her tone carrying hints of disbelief and fright.
"More or less. My people went to Aslan, the city where it all began, and found a few things. I wanted to caution you about it. But..."
"Stinton, please save us. We are very sorry we didn't listen to you previously."
"Ahh!"
Stinton heard a scream from one of the leaders' side, and he raised his head to see what had happened.
One of the leaders disconnected, and immediately after, two others too ended the call suddenly.
Stinton started to have a grave feeling about it. Even the other leaders were worried and they pursed their lips, waiting to see what was happening.
Meanwhile, the alarm had alerted everyone in Velomore, and they had rushed out to prepare for the rescue mission.
"What the fuck! Not again," Ryker cried, feeling despondent. He was already exhausted from their adventure. Now he had to go on a rescue mission.
Lucas's state was no less different, and he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Can we even save the humans? The mutagen this time is strong, and the monsters have become immune to our tranquilizers."
"We'll need to use the rifles you picked up from Wren and Jackson's lab," Ryker suggested, and Lucas smacked his head in dismay. He had forgotten about it completely. In a bid to escape the tense atmosphere in the room, he had forgotten the rifle on the table.
Lucas was just about to return to the room to fetch the rifle when he saw Vance and Dave running out, with Vance carrying two rifles and Dave the other. Their expressions were dark, as if ink would drip out soon.
"We need to leave right now," Vance stressed, pressing his thumb and index finger on his forehead.
"Vance, what's wrong?" Ryker knew Vance was stressed, and it wasn't because of the sudden attack. Something else was bothering him.
"I fucking saw Zelnar turn into a monster in front of my eyes. It was disgusting and horrifying."
Lucas and Ryker looked at each other, their eyes filled with terror. It was one thing to know that humans mutated into monsters and wreaked havoc in the world. It was something else altogether to see the humans turn into monsters. The nightmare would haunt whoever saw it forever.
Just then, their EchoTags started vibrating, and everyone received a message.
Rescue Team Dispatch
Code Red Alert
Cities Under Attack: Thurnak, Sunfield, Drithel, Solvane.
Lucas's eyes rounded when he saw the message. Not one or two, but four cities were under attack at the same time, and all of them belonged to the same country where he initially landed in the world.