It was a good plan, but plans never account for the unexpected.
The next morning, as soon as Sierra Sullivan got out of bed, she noticed sothing was wrong.
The air in the room seed much murkier than usual.
With every breath, she felt as if she were inhaling a lungful of dust, making it impossible to suppress a cough.
She was still groggy from sleep, but the cough jolted her fully awake.
It wasn’t just Sierra Sullivan; Jayce was frowning as well.
"I’ll open the curtains and see what’s going on."
Jayce said as he got up and walked toward the window.
As he pulled back the curtains, they both saw the scene outside.
Normally, it would have been broad daylight by now.
Even with the sandstorm, the sky would just be a dim, yellowish color, but there would still be light.
Now, however, it was nearly pitch-black outside.
Staring at the sky, Sierra Sullivan was montarily disoriented, losing all track of ti.
’Did I wake up too early?’
’Or did I sleep for too long?’
But that suspicion vanished the mont Sierra Sullivan checked the date and ti on her watch.
It was, indeed, seven-thirty in the morning.
So, the weather had gotten even worse!
The air was so bad you’d want to wear a mask even indoors, let alone go outside.
Going out in this weather ant you’d probably get lost instantly, not to ntion risk being attacked by the Aberrant Beasts that could erge from the sandstorm at any mont.
Rescuing survivors was important, but the first priority had to be their own safety.
If they couldn’t even protect themselves, how could they possibly rescue anyone else?
Sierra Sullivan frowned, staring outside for a mont. Then, suddenly rembering Candice Tate, she scrambled out of bed, opened the door, and rushed out.
The mont she stepped out of the room, she saw Candice Tate standing in the living room.
Candice Tate was already fully dressed, covering her mouth as she stood as far as possible from the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The bedroom windows were relatively small.
From the living room, the massive floor-to-ceiling windows offered a much clearer view of the outside.
It wasn’t completely pitch-black outside.
The light was dim, but if you looked closely, you could see the sandstorm moving like a pack of wild beasts, leaping and roaring through the air.
Candice Tate was still just a child; it was only natural for her to be frightened by a sight like this.
Sierra Sullivan trotted over to Candice Tate’s side. "Candice, it’s okay! Don’t be scared! The glass is really strong. Nothing out there can break through! You’re safe in here!"
Candice Tate had been frozen with fear, her bravery a fragile facade.
Now, hearing Sierra Sullivan’s voice and seeing her so close, the girl’s eyes quickly reddened.
Without a word, she threw her arms around Sierra Sullivan’s neck, hugging her tightly.
Sierra Sullivan lifted Candice Tate into her arms and stood up, gently patting her on the back.
After a little while, she felt the tension in Candice Tate’s body release as she was no longer as stiff as before.
Just then, Jayce ca out of the bedroom holding a walkie-talkie, his expression even more grim than before.
One look at Jayce’s face told Sierra Sullivan that sothing was wrong.
Sure enough, Jayce spoke in the next mont.
"The massive sandstorm brought a lot of Aberrant Beasts with it. So are being held back by the tal fence, but they aren’t leaving. They just keep attacking it, trying to get into the base.
"Then there are others... we don’t know if they dropped from the sky or got in so other way, but they’re now running rampant inside the base. So have even gotten into the buildings..."
The stairwells and elevator lobbies of every building are filled with survivors.
If Aberrant Beasts had really gotten inside, Sierra Sullivan didn’t need Jayce to spell out the consequences; she could imagine them all too well.
Even without seeing it firsthand, the re thought made Sierra Sullivan’s heart clench.
"What’s the plan now?" Sierra Sullivan asked urgently.
"Superpower Users are already searching the stairwells, ordered to dispose of any Aberrant Beasts on sight. All the stairwell windows have been sealed shut, and we have Superpower Users guarding the ground floor entrances to prevent any more from getting in. I have to go down and check on things in a bit."
Sierra Sullivan’s heart tightened, and she said instinctively, "I’m going with you! We can take Candice to your parents!"
Jayce pursed his lips. As much as he wanted Sierra Sullivan to stay in the apartnt, he ultimately nodded in agreent.
’Sierra Sullivan was no delicate flower needing his protection!’
’She didn’t want to be one, and he would never force her into that role.’
’Sotis, the courage to face danger head-on is more important than sheer ability!’
Jayce gave Sierra Sullivan a deep, aningful look and then nodded firmly. "Alright!"
Candice Tate watched them, but ultimately said nothing.
The three of them washed up, ate breakfast, and got into their gear before opening the door to head downstairs.
The mont they opened the door, a gust of sandy wind blasted them in the face.
Even with doors and windows tightly shut, their apartnt still had drafts, to say nothing of the stairwells and elevator lobbies that were impossible to seal completely.
It was perfectly normal for the wind to carry sand up through the building.
Sierra Sullivan knew it was to be expected, but that didn’t an she had to accept it.
Sierra Sullivan imdiately activated her Superpower, seizing control of the airborne sand and gathering it together.
The other survivors, who had been struggling to breathe just monts before, suddenly found that all the dust in the air had vanished.
The air beca exceptionally fresh!
It was so clean that everyone couldn’t help but take several deep breaths in a row.
Paying no mind to their reactions, Sierra Sullivan closed the apartnt door and started down the stairs with Jayce.
Along the way, Sierra Sullivan kept her Superpower active, collecting a considerable amount of dust and sand as they went.
The dust coalesced into a ball that floated behind Sierra Sullivan, looking like a well-behaved little pet.
But no one found it cute.
Not even Sierra Sullivan herself.
When they reached the tenth floor, they saw Kevin Everett assigning tasks.
A row of walkie-talkies was laid out in front of him.
The radios never fell silent, constantly crackling with voices.
Just listening to the cacophony gave Sierra Sullivan a headache.
But Kevin Everett was a picture of calm efficiency, picking up each radio in turn to reply.
One after another, he handled the chaos with thodical precision.
She had known Kevin Everett was a capable man, but seeing him in action like this drove ho just how formidable he truly was.
After ten minutes, Kevin Everett finally had a mont to spare and looked over at them.
"What are you two doing here at a ti like this?"
Jayce got straight to the point. "We brought Candice over for Mom to look after. We’re going downstairs to check things out."
"Downstairs?" Kevin Everett frowned. "It’s dangerous out there..."
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