Over twenty people sat in the RV’s lounge. Aside from Magnus and his close group, a few squad leaders and so local team mbers from Southriver City were there too.
The place was dead quiet. Magnus sat smoking one cigarette after another, the mood heavy - just like the sky outside. Oppressive. Hard to breathe.
"Damn weather’s boiling! I can’t take it anymore."
Sophia fanned herself hard with a cardboard sheet and gave Magnus a sharp look. "Magnus, get out. We’re stripping down, it’s too damn hot!"
"Yeah, go already," Liana chid in, giving him a glare. "Look at this place, it’s like you’re smoking the whole van on fire."
Magnus exhaled deeply, stood up, adjusted his shirt, and headed into the back. That heat wasn’t normal... sothing about it felt off.
Once he was gone, the remaining won - including Emily - began peeling off soaked layers. Many of them had already stripped down while Magnus had been around, barely anything left to take off now.
At 3:15PM, the Ice Regint convoy stopped by the Southriver City off-ramp. A female teammate pulled Magnus from the bedroom to discuss the plan for moving into the city.
Back in the lounge, the girls - except Emily, Sophia, and Charlotte - hadn’t bothered redressing. Sophia glanced at Magnus. "Eyes to yourself unless you want ’em gouged out."
It was ti to get things moving. Less than four hours till dark. The decision was to split up into groups for a supply sweep.
"How many empty trucks do we have left?" Magnus asked Liana.
She frowned slightly. "Three completely empty. The modified ones still have space on top."
"Good," Magnus said. "Sophia, take five squads to the slaughterhouse that Yelina ntioned. Yelina, you go with her."
"Emily, you lead five squads to find supermarkets. Take all the local girls too. Charlotte, you take two squads, hit the hardware store and repair shop, see if you can dig up anything useful."
"Chloe, take ten drivers. You’ll be using the regular cars - check the bus station, fire departnt, anywhere we can grab vehicles. Isabel, your job’s similar. Take a squad to the auto dealership, hunt for anything in decent condition. Don’t forget to bring fuel tanks."
"And what about you? Just gonna sit here doing nothing?" Sophia asked, her tone sharp, not hiding her disappointnt.
"That’s right. I’ll stay with the convoy. If anything goes south, toss a grenade for a signal. I’ll co running."
The heat was strangling. Magnus felt a strange unease building in his chest, like sothing was coming - sothing big.
One by one, the girls headed out. Soon, only he and Liana were left in the RV.
"Liana," he said, his voice low, "let the others know. Get everyone into combat readiness."
She looked at him, confused. "Combat readiness? You think they’re in danger?"
Magnus frowned and lit a smoke, an uneasy knot twisting in his gut. "Sothing ain’t right today... I can feel it."
By 5:28 in the afternoon, the heat was stifling. Emily and Sophia had already been inside Southriver City for over two hours. Magnus was pacing on the roof of the sleeper RV, restlessly scanning the city through his binoculars like a man with nerves crawling under his skin.
"Magnus! Magnus!"
Emma scrambled up beside him, slapping his arm in a panic. "Look! Just look! What the hell is that?!"
"What? What’s going on?"
Magnus twitched, heart skipping a beat. Even knowing Emma was coming, her sudden shout made him flinch hard enough to drop the binoculars. A cold jolt of fear shot down his spine.
Emma trembled, pointing at the sky. "The clouds! Magnus, look at the damn sky!"
He looked up where she pointed. One glance was all it took - and his blood ran cold.
What had been just overcast minutes ago had twisted into sothing unnatural. The sky had turned blood-red, thick clouds roiling like smoke. The fading sunlight made everything glow crimson.
An Anomaly Zone?
That was his first instinct - but no. No, this wasn’t it.
This... this was a red rain on.
What the hell?! Red rain wasn’t supposed to co for another six months!
His mind exploded with alarm, and without thinking, Magnus roared, "Red rain! Everyone - run!"
This couldn’t be happening. The apocalypse had only just begun - barely two months in. How could red rain already be here?
There was no ti to think. Leaving Emma where she stood, he leapt off the roof, bolting to the sleeper’s door and hamring it with his fist.
"Magnus?! What’s going on?"
Liana had just opened the door when Magnus barreled past her, knocking her off balance.
"Everyone! Full combat alert! Now! Get ready right now! This isn’t a drill! Red rain’s coming!"
"Red rain?! What’re you talking about?!"
"Liana!" Magnus grabbed her by the shoulders, eyes blazing. "We’ve got five minutes at most! Forget it - I’ll warn them myself!"
He spun away, shouldered open the bus door, a grenade already in hand. Pulling the pin, he sprinted down the car line, lobbing grenades to either side.
Explosions bood through the camp - Ice Regint’s ergency battle signal, only used in monts of absolute crisis.
He sprinted around the entire convoy in under a minute. The blasts echoed like war drums.
Two minutes later, chaos turned to motion - over 800 won stord out of the vehicles, scrambling into position. Squad leaders at vehicle doors checked gear as soldiers lined up behind the cars.
"Protect the convoy and the supplies - both sides, now!" Magnus jumped onto the top of a cargo truck parked in midfield, bellowing out, "Back-to-back formation! Get ready for a fight!"
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