October 2018, five years before the apocalypse.
A lean man whose tattooed neck gleamed with fresh sweat was sitting in the lobby with a gun in his hand. He checked the magazine for bullets before he lodged it back inside and slid the barrel in place. Crimson had nothing to be concerned about today's mission, it was a regular transport he handled every month, but he can't change this habit, being extra cautious never hurts in a mission.
His phone rang with a familiar name on the screen — Lilith.
'Might as well get on with it,' he thought as he hid the gun before anyone noticed and answered the call.
"Where are you?" Lilith asked him on the phone.
"I'm in position."
Crimson answered. His fine suit was about to get bloody.
"So are we."
Good. That means they can get started.
Crimson stood up and towards the reception he started talking with the woman he was familiar with.
"The usual," he said. "Where's the package?"
The receptionist smiled. "Eighth floor," she said as she grabbed the keys to the suite. Crimson recognised the numbers on the keys.
"Tsk. I hate that room. It stinks."
The receptionist felt offended.
"We maintain all our rooms daily, We use rich perfumes to light it."
Crimson scoffs.
"My point exactly. You keep it too perfect — I can tell it was bloodied occasionally with people."
He took the elevator to his destination. Everything proceeded like usual. The package in the vault was secured. He just needed to move it from point A to point B. The next team will handle the rest.
Like always, here curiosity meant death sentence. Never do more than what you're supposed to, never know what's inside — just do it.
Inside the room, there was another man faced towards the wall. He sat there quietly. Maybe a bit too quietly.
Crimson raised his gun. The man was an Asian. Walking closer, he noticed a little red dot on the forehead.
Bullet wound.
'Tch. Another sleeper.' Crimson cursed. 'They usually clean their shit before I come.'
In their organisation, a sleeper is the first person that comes in contact with the package. They dispose of sleepers after delivery to maintain secrecy.
Relaxed, he puts the gun down. The package was on the vault behind the portrait.
But before he opened the vault for the package, his phone rang. Lilith called him again.
"What is it?"
Her voice was hurried and anxious.
"Abort! Abort! Let that place right now!! The mission is compromised!"
At the wake of her scream, gunshots were heard outside the room. Bullets flooded out of the wooden door.
Crimson took cover. And prepared to fire. Someone was already at the door.
"What happened, Lilith?"
Crimson asked in a calm voice. Panicking is the worst thing he can do right now. It wouldn't be the first time he would be in a situation like this.
But Lilith's reply was not what he expected.
"I just got a call from HQ. They're saying someone betrayed us."
"Who?"
"I don't know. They say he's a captain. We don't know where he is but they're calling off every mission in place. They don't know which one is in jeopardy."
Another gunshot to.the door was heard. Crimson sighed.
"I think I know."
"Dammit, stay there. Do nothing until I get there, you hear me? I'm com–."
Crimson cut the call midway. Taking a breath, he cursed again.
'A traitor in captain's rank huh? That brings a bad name to all of us. I have to take care of this.'
With another large bang, a door was broken in. Tossing off his suit, Crimson prepared to fire. But the man who walked out was not who he expected to see.
"You…!?"
It was the black haired young lad he once worked with. A kid too perfect for this kind of job. And it was because of him that crimson developed a hate for perfect things.
"Yeah, me." the man says and opens fire.
His name was Kai. But he knows a different name that made him what he is — Codename: Zephyr.
That was the day Kai turned traitor and Crimson's hatred for him took root.
Crimson does not remember what happened after that — not that they're unimportant, because it simply didn't matter. He failed and Kai was the reason. From then on he did everything in his power to bring him down.
But the higher ups decided to show him mercy and put him in a prison outside California.
So much has changed in those years. The world, the men, and even very core what makes a human, everything has changed. But Crimson's hatred for him remained the same.
He still remembers the word he spoke to him the last time they met.
'you can't run from me forever… kid.'
His broken voice repeated his thoughts. That awful memory came to an end as he opened his eyes into a much darker reality.
"That… came from the direction we came from."
The shockwaves from the explosion sent him against a nearby car. Everyone on his team was down.
'Is it… over?'
A sign of relief washed over his face. Dust and impurities made his lungs hurt, it was harder to breathe for a few seconds. Then he picked himself up.
"Get up, Koul. It's over."
His teammates were still squirming over the ground. The debris has fallen over them several times, however, luckily no one died.
"Hey, get up."
Some were more injured than expected, but they finally made it out. They were no longer in danger.
"Hey!!"
Koul coughed. "Not louder, boss… my ears are still ringing."
Crimson laughed.
One after another, the wanderers got back up. For better or worse, this was their reality — a new and godfallen world. They just have to keep moving forward.
Mera, one of the wanderers — telekinetic in their group, noticed something in the sky. A black dot that turned bigger and bigger as if something was approaching.
***
"I'm sorry for doubting you, lady Lilith."
Kite apologized to the Oracle. There were still many things he did not understand about her. However, he can see why her people have so much faith in her. They follow her – her visions – without question. That huge shockwave just now sent shivers down his spine.
The helicarrier descended into ground without reason. The Oracle just told the pilot to get down and behind a building. The man did it without question.
Kite was anxious to save Crimson so he yelled and urged them get back in the air.
But then the explosion happened — he fell silent.
"Get us back up. He should be closer."
The Oracle foresaw the whole ordeal before they set out. Although it's not an all-powerful ability, she knows how to make the best use of it.
Back in the sky, they noticed people on the ground. They were people she recognised.
'No mistake. It's Crimson alright.'
"It's them. Go down."
It must have been years since they last met each other, well, if she didn't consider how time runs different post-apocalypse. Indeed, she was curious as to what face that person will make at their reunion. They face different circumstances but they all share the same fate.
Back on the ground, Crimson was on guard, stead and his arms locked behind him. his flames were burning free and his men hidden among the surroundings when the helicopter came down.
A familiar face was seen. Crimson sighed and extinguishes his fire, rising his first to signal his men to hold back the attack.
"Hey!"
Kite yelled, smiling.
"You made it kid," Crimson smiled. "And I never thought I'd be happy to see you again."
Lilith was seen standing behind the kid. They exchanged glances before the release of air pressure below the machine blew away all the dust in his surroundings.
"Hello, Lilith. It's good to see you again."
"Crimson, I know I'm surrounded. Tell your people get their arses down and up here if they want to be saved."
He was amused, being reunited with his former partner. Lilith was in a different position now than she was in years ago. She didn't have to come here. He only put half hope in Kite's escape at plaguebeast. He never actually expected him to bring help.
'She must have an intention,' he thought.
Choices limited, He needed to see this one through.
"Okay—"