Chapter 283: A sudden storm.
The bullet tore through Scorpion’s heart and the ice blades shattered against his back. They were embedded in his ribs and lungs. Ice froze his veins, stopping the flow of blood in his body. His entire body froze, and Sunshine shattered it to pieces before it could fall on the dead serpent’s back.
A loud scream was torn from Fifi Quinn’s mouth. She turned to run but Father Nicodemus emerged from behind a tree and scooped her up like an eagle before dropping her in the snow, in the middle of the soldiers.
The battle was over, won so easily. Sunshine and her soldiers emerged from the snow, smiles of victory on their faces.
"I told you that this was a windfall." Sunshine said smugly. She tapped Major Elio on the shoulder. "Nice shooting."
His lips curved upwards. "I practiced that shot at least six dozen times. I even wrote his name on the bullet."
Nimo whistled. "Now that is what I call dedication."
Sunshine did not gloat; she wanted to head back home.
"What do we do with the snake?" Philip asked.
"Eat it of course." Sunshine answered. "The health benefits of eating mutated snake meat are many. And it has all that protein. It would a shame to waste it."
"It ate people!" Someone exclaimed.
Sunshine shuddered. Just like that, they had killed her appetite. "It can still feed the mutated sheep." She unfolded a pod that was taken from her bag, and the snake was lifted and placed inside. Then it was folded again and sealed with a hiss.
"I cannot get over those pod things." Nala said.
She was not the only one. Everyone still found them unbelievable, and many wondered where all this technology had been hiding before the apocalypse came. Hades had deliberately spread the rumor that the rich people were hiding all the nice technology deliberately.
As long as they blamed it on greed, nobody would be digging into where his wife acquired the extraordinary things she had.
"What do we do with this one?" Philip shoved Fifi forward.
Sunshine smiled at Fifi, preparing to say something to taunt her.
Then the mountain roared.
"Snowstorm." Major Elio bellowed.
Everyone froze.
Everything changed in a second. Visibility dropped to zero. They could see the surge, thick, white and furious. Sunshine activated her emergency bubble shield, and it expanded around them.
"Inside, everyone," she screamed.
They crammed into the bubble, fifty of them, desperate for survival and jumping around as a mat unfurled beneath them, warming the bubbles shield instantly. The snow hit the bubble, but it remained firm, holding still as the storm howled.
Only when they were sure of their safety did they begin to relax.
"Where is Fifi?" Sunshine asked, eyes roaming around.
"She is gone." Nimo said. "I saw her pulling away when we were rushing into the bubble."
Sunshine muttered a curses under her breath. "She is as slippery as an eel that Fifi."
"Maybe the snow storm will bury her." Elio said, leaning his face against the shit. "We have company, looks mutated foxes or wolves or bears....I can’t make out the shape...definitely foxes but they have four eyes and two tails."
Those closest to the bubble also pressed their faces against it and looked out. The creatures approached the bubble. Major Elio had forgotten to mention their crystal fur! They slammed against the bubble, snarling and clawing. But it held firm, like steel.
"They won’t get in." Sunshine assured them. "Watchers have tried to get into my bubble and failed. These wee little foxes can prance and growl but they won’t make a dent."
Some soldiers started provoking them. Philip Harg inclusive.
Sunshine unfurled a container that was loaded with drinks, food and snacks. "We better get comfortable, this storm is going to last at least four hours if we are lucky."
Nala, Lucy and Nimo came to help her. Father Nicodemus joined them as they distributed hot coffee, tea, milk and sandwiches.
O’Toole shuffled cards and started a game while Philip started telling a story about the time their team infiltrated a terrorist’s lair and found soccer balls that were loaded full of explosives.
Day laughed. "You kicked that ball then kaboom--glitter everywhere."
"I thought it was explosives." Sunshine raised her head, confused.
"I was building up to the finale, he jumped the gun." Philip whined.
An entire hour passed and the wolves gave up, retreating into the blizzard. Some people had already closed their eyes and dozed off. Sunshine also had her eyes closed, but she was not sleeping, simply working through her thoughts.
The storm intensified in the third hour, shaking the shield but it did not move. The mutated foxes returned with company, an entire pack. Once again, they tried to break through the shield for another hour and failed.
The shield gave off sparks and the foxes backed off. When they left this time, it was for good.
"This kind of feels like camping." O’Toole pointed out.
"I kind of want to pee." Someone said.
Sunshine opened her eyes and looked outside. The snow storm had passed. It was time to go home. She crawled to the edge of the bubble and pressed her hand against the inner lining of the bubble.
The bubble retracted. Slowly, with a few groans here and there, soldiers stepped away from the mat and watched in wonder as it folded itself.
"Spread out and see if you can find Fifi nearby." She told them.
They squad scattered, blasting dragonoids to melt the snow. Father Nicodemus flew above them, searching from the sky. But the snow had covered all traces of her on the ground, erasing her trail.
Father Nicodemus returned, bad news written all over his face. "She could have been swept away by the snow storm. The wind was strong enough to carry trees so it could have carried a human."
Others had similar thoughts and the same news. No signs of Fifi Quinn. They had even found traces of the foxes but not her.
Morris was the last to return with just one shoe. "I found this by the lake." He shared. "If she did not lose the shoe in the wind, she might have ended up in the lake. We all know what is in that lake. I think she is dead."
They set out for their vehicles, returning to the base as they had no more reasons to be outside. Philip Harg started a new round of jokes while Major Elio instructed men to release heat from the wall that would melt the snow.
Somewhere in the town of Westbrook, Fifi Quinn opened her eyes. The wind had carried her and dumped her somewhere on the empty street. Her clothes were torn, skin was bruised, her hair ripped in different places and her left eye was bleeding.
She could barely see out of it. Somehow, with one broken ankle, she still had the strength to drag herself to a mostly collapsed building. In her heart, vengeance stirred.
Sunshine would feel her wrath, she promised herself.