Leave The Monster Alone

The party had been moving for a few days now, their speed not really impressive when compared to their earlier journey. There had been way too many safe points they had stopped at and Mark was thankful they had not yet asked where he kept on getting all the fuel for their vehicle.

There had been no visible city or settlement for miles on end and that was a problematic thing for sure. Who would make a base in the middle of nowhere where normal people could not even reach.

While the place was great from a defensive point of view, it was not somewhere you wanted a public base to be.

"Why did they have to be so far away? I'm tired already and I need to go to the bathroom once again." This was the fourth time in an hour when Rika had complained of the same thing. The female had been agitated for the past two to three days now and her temper was not really good.

It was because of her and her frequent 'bathroom breaks' that Mark had to stop again and again. 

To be honest, Mark already had an idea what those 'bathroom breaks' were really about. He was a fully grown man in a medical professional so it was a given he knew what this was about and her reason for so many breaks.

Since there had not been any human settlement for miles on end, she had likely not gotten her supply of sanitary 'things' she would need. As such, her limited supply had to be running low and she would have to make the original things last as long as she could before changing them.

The heat and sweat were likely not doing the female any favours as well. 

His system store had a section for such things but it was awkward to tell this to the female. Also, Alan was someone who had not yet caught on (if he even knew what it was about) and had added another mouth to complain.

"You have not even drunk that much water to require another bathroom break. What are you even doing in there that requires that many bathroom breaks?" The complaint was valid in any other circumstance but this one.

The female was already agitated.

"It's a female problem alright. Just because you don't have to deal with this does not give you the right to complain when I have to" the female muttered, her voice borderline miserable and recognition flashed in Alan's eyes.

"You should have just said it's your time of the month" the teen muttered with red cheeks. Mark felt awkward himself, sitting beside those two. Did they have to talk about his issue right now?

"Now stop right here and wait for me to come back. God, I miss the base store. Mark, can't you do something about it? My supplies are running low and you are the shopkeeper back at the base" Rika's words gave Mark a brilliant idea.

He was the shopkeeper, wasn't he? It would not really be suspicious if he was able to get things only available in the system and base shop.

Was that why they had not questioned the fuel yet? Because they thought he could get it from the shop link? He could really use this excuse.

"I'll try to get you more. Please hurry back" Rika passed the open door with a nod of acknowledgement before she went to check on her condition. It was still manageable and the pain was almost non existing now but she still wanted those days to be over now.

They had entered the base's territory a few minutes back so the monsters here were not particularly strong. Still, it was better to be safe rather than sorry.

Mark waited for the female to come back, then tension left his frame once he had a valid excuse for most of his things. Alan looked a little cautious which was a good habit he had developed.

"Should I go after Rika? Will she be alright?" The teen sounded worried for the female when he did not have to. Especially in the base territory.

"Let her breathe. She's on her period, not dying" the teen had just regained his normal colour went red once again. His youthful face looked uncomfortable and embarrassed. 

Ah, Mark had forgotten just how young the other had been. Maybe he should tone down his teasing a little but.

"I'm back and done. But also, I think I found what we were looking for" the female came back, her face serious. The blink on his map was still pointing in the direction the female had just arrived from and it was near.

It was likely that she had found the entrance of the base.

"Did you search for it?" Mark asked, just curious. It did not matter how she had found the base, just that she had found it.

For some reason Rika refused to meet his eyes, her face twisted in an uncomfortable embarrassment. Great, now he had two people who could not meet his eyes. There was a story there, Mark was sure Rika had one secret that she was about to keep till her death.

But since it did not matter to him at all, he let her do so anyway.

"Do we need to get there on foot?" Alan's question had a tone of complaint. Honestly, he did not want to move if he did not have to. The sun was hot outside today and the HMMWV provided shade.

"I'm not sure how much they would appreciate us speeding in like that but you could ask?" Rika was not looking at them but at the tree with a thick canopy with an uncomfortable expression.

As soon as she turned toward the tree, something jumped down from it. The female looked like a female version of Fidi, the resemblance was uncanny and Mark mistook her for the male at first.

But her eyes were far too serious and her body far too built for her to be the divine snake. Her agility and upper arm strength spoke of the training and ease of access she had while climbing.

But most importantly, Mark could feel that she was not human and so could Kuro. The feline gave a soft growl in her direction which the female ignored.

She gave no response when they saw her, her moments almost mechanical and dead. Those void eyes looked at them like they were air and not worth her time at all.

"Suzy was informed by the commander that you will be here to set up a communication array with commander Liam. Suzy is here to bring you inside because Suzy is a good girl" Mark had been feeling uncomfortable with this girl's presence all the while.

Suzy, this girl was likely a divine beast but she felt hollow to Mark's senses. Where the aura and power of the divine beast were supposed to be was empty in this girl. She was like a shell, a zombie that followed orders.

"Why don't you travel with us, Suzy? I'm sure the car has enough space for you" Rika asked kindly to the younger female. Mark did realise that Suzy looked a little older than Alan if they went by a regular body built.

But since Alan looked far too mature for his age, Suzy came off as younger and more innocent-looking of the two.

"Suzy was ordered to lead you to the base so Suzy will lead you to the base. Please follow Suzy" the party watches as the female scaled the vertical tree without any visible effort. That confirmed Mark's theory that she was likely not fully human.

Their hands were generally not capable of scaling such smooth vertical columns. Once above them, she swung from one branch to another, looking back once with a look that said to 'follow'.

"Something is clearly wrong with this girl. She feels too artificial" she did but it was something they could discuss later. 

Mark started their vehicle to keep up with Suzy who was almost too far to see now. He did not have time to really take in her skill and flexibility but he could tell she was amazing. Her body twisted and turned, avoiding the small monsters that tried to nab her.

Alan tried to take a few shots at those monsters but the tree canopy proved to be a problem. The trees lined both sides of the road, their canopy forming a cave-like structure above their head and Rika pulled the teen inside before closing the upper gate.

There were small thudding noises, something falling on top of their vehicle and it had significant weight. A small claw made its way to their side window which made Mark question whether he should continue or not.

If the monster remained on top of the vehicle then it would likely enter the base as well.

But then another body jumped on their vehicle, its weight far outclassing the previous one and they saw the monster go past flying. A human hand waved at their side which meant that Suzy had taken care of the danger.

They could safely enter the base now but not before they saw another Suzy jumping ahead of them.

There was something fishy going on in this base.