36 Yu Yan sends a drone (1/2)

The sky was about to burst into a new light when the women and children finally settled in the tents, given food and water and medicines and their wounds tended to by three doctors who were part of Taey's team.

The doctors were beyond shock at what they saw. It was the worst case of malnutrition they had ever seen. People living in ruins, trapped in an island in the middle of nowhere, with nothing not even clean water to make life a little easier.The effects of the deprivation were clearly seen on the women: dry and scaly skin, decaying teeth, and bones that stick out their ribs in painful detail.

The children were not worse off than their mothers either: bloated stomachs, pronounced hair loss, and a pinched facial expression that made them look older and strangely apathetic. Most were teenagers but were so underweight their growth were stunted.

”How long have these people lived on the island?” one doctor asked An Ning. ”The government shut this island down in the 70s. How did they get here?”

An Ning didn't answer. She and Taey had walked around the small island as soon as it was light. The island was the size of three football fields so it didn't take them long to circle back. They were trudging along among the rubble when they heard a mournful howl. They followed the sound and saw a dog tied to a rock. It was a puppy. Black, hairy and was feeding on a carcass of a bony dog that had been dead for several days.

There was a slight drop beyond. An Ning walked over, her stomach churning at the horrendous sight that greeted her. There were dogs everywhere. Live and dead dogs. Zombie-like creatures that stared at her with dead eyes. Some were tied to rocks, put in cages, strangled, decapitated, eaten raw.

The smell was beyond hellish. It was the smell of death ten times over.

Taey gagged wretchedly beside her. He heaved and retched and emptied his stomach. An Ning walked over to the whining puppy and untied it from the rock. It trembled in her arms. She could feel it shiver and seemed to shrink unto itself in fear. She looked at it and after a while patted its head gently to calm it down.

”Burn it,” she said, without looking at Taey. ”Burn it all down.”

When she went back to the encampment, the troops were starting to stir.

”The boats will be here in thirty minutes,” one of the men told her. ”Better get them ready.”

An Ning nodded and walked over to one of the tents.

Nyra looked up when she opened the flap.

”We'll be leaving soon,” An Ning said. ”Can you help me get everyone ready?”

Nyra nodded and signaled to the other women in the tent and they started waking up the children. One of the women went out and entered another tent. In less than ten minutes, everyone was awake and ready to move out.

An Ning saw Taey speaking to one of the communications guys. He was frowning and looking at An Ning worriedly. Sensing something, An Ning walked over to him.

”The ship detected something strange coming this way,” Taey said. ”It's not a boat or a missile but it's something.”

An Ning looked at the peaceful sky in the horizon. It was still a little dark but the faint glow of the sun was becoming visible by its orange shadow riding on the waves of the gentle tide.

”It's a drone,” An Ning said. ”She's sending a drone. Typical,” she added the last with a twisted smile.

”What drone? What are you talking about?”

”Protect them,” An Ning commanded, her eyes narrowing as they focused on a spot moving towards them with incredible speed. ”It will be here soon.”

The thing blocked her view as soon as she finished the words. It was twice bigger than Gara. The drone this time had an ogre's face, hairless, broad brows, and a snout with two sharp fangs. The drone's muscular body was encased in thick armor. It carried a large mace in its right hand and behind its back, the wings flapped violently, stirring a small whirlwind that whipped An Ning's ponytail across her face.

She could hear screaming, the stampede of feet running towards safety. An Ning didn't move. She and the creature locked eyes. An Ning suddenly jumped the distance between them and hacked at the creature with her sword. The move was so sudden and unexpected, it took the creature several seconds to realize that she had just cut its right arm off. The arm and the mace cluttered to the ground with a loud clang.

Enraged, the creature lunged at An Ning with its fist. Fast as lightning, An Ning ducked and broke her fall by holding tightly to the drone's leg. The creature tried to loosen her grip by swinging its leg back and forth but An Ning tightly held on. She flipped legs and used the momentum to clamber up the creature's back.

The creature howled in fury and batted An Ning with its wing. An Ning held onto the creature's neck and pried open its back with her fist. She pulled at the cables controlling the wings until the flapping stopped and the creature fell to the ground with a thud. An Ning landed on her feet beside it.

The drone was damaged but it was still able to lift itself up and again lunged at An Ning. With a loud yell, An Ning evaded the attack and plunged her sword at the base of the creature's neck. There was a loud crackle, an angry hiss and the creature's body dropped to the ground and lay still. An Ning walked over and pulled her sword out.

The head was still flashing blue lights when she cut it off. She didn't gouge out the eyes this time. She lifted the severed head and looked at it straight in the eye. She had left the chip inside the head undamaged so she knew whoever was controlling the creature could see her but could only watch in impotent rage as she swiftly dismantled the drone from neck to hip.