Nevada's dusk cloaked Sector B in deep purple, bunkers and sensor towers jagged against the horizon. Chad crouched behind a battered recon skiff, pulse rifle loaded with tranquilizer darts firm in his grip. His gray fatigues, scuffed from relentless drills, stuck to his skin, the Veilwatch claw patch on his shoulder catching faint light. Six weeks ago, he'd bragged about slaying goblins to anyone who'd listen. Now, he was a soldier, rough but honed for his first mission.
Sgt. Korr's orders were clear: find the awakened, bring her back, don't fail. Elena Ruiz, a 28-year-old barista from Reno's fringes, was no academic, just a woman whose strength had exploded across Connect and shaky social media videos. Clips showed her flipping a car with one heave. Veilwatch needed her contained before she became a hazard. Chad's squad—Taz as his second, Lila the medic, and Renn the sniper—had to extract her from a crumbling strip mall.
"Stay alert," Chad signaled, fist raised to halt. His squad froze behind a shattered bus stop, glass crunching beneath their boots. The mall's broken storefronts loomed 200 meters out, a pulsing glow flickering inside. His Veil detector buzzed on his wrist, its rhythm wild, tied to her power. He tapped two fingers: Veil pulse detected. The air crackled, thick with unseen energy.
"Activity, food court," Renn whispered, tranquilizer rifle scoped. A shadow lurched beyond the smashed windows, followed by a thunderous crash. Chad's heart pounded. The chained goblin's piercing eyes and chilling laugh haunted him. Elena's raw power could outmatch that cunning, signaling a threat Veilwatch couldn't yet grasp.
Chad curled his hand into a claw: hostile target. He signalled his fingers: fall back. The squad melted behind a toppled sign, silent as Korr's training demanded. Chad scanned the terrain—split asphalt, a narrow ditch, a collapsed billboard offering height. His survival drills kicked in: use the land, stay invisible. Precision trumped speed.
"Lila, ready sleeping gas," Chad said, voice steady. "Renn, cover her. Taz, with me." Lila nodded, prepping a gas canister, hands quick from medical training. Renn braced on a concrete slab, rifle locked. Chad and Taz slunk toward the ditch, nets and vibro blades poised.
"She's very strong," Taz said, voice low, focused. "We got this?"
Chad nodded sharply. "We move smart." Killing those goblins was an obvious embarrassing lie that continues to haunt him, but he buried it, drawing on Korr's lessons: lead, adapt, succeed. He wasn't chasing Riley's finesse; he was here, leading his squad.
A deafening boom shook the mall, metal screeching, glass exploding outward. Chad signaled a spiral, and the squad surged forward, low and fast, slipping through a breached side entrance. The food court reeked of dust and spilled soda, its floor a mess of shattered tables. The Veil detector pulsed harder. Elena was near. Chad tapped his wrist twice, pointing to the court's center: target ahead.
They advanced, rifles raised, darts gleaming. Chad's weapons training kept his aim true, senses sharp. A woman's voice cut through, frantic, raw. "This is amazing but I can't control it! Get away!"
Chad raised a fist: halt. He peered past a toppled counter. Elena stood amid the wreckage, dark hair wild, gripping a steel vending machine like it was a toy. Her eyes wide showing both exhilaration and fear, her frame coiled with unnatural power. Around her, chaos: a fridge smashed through a wall, chairs mangled, a counter split. She was terrified, her strength a reflex spiraling out of control.
"Elena!" Chad shouted, diving as she hurled the vending machine. It crashed into a pillar, concrete exploding, debris raining. "We're here to help!"
"I don't know what's happening!" she yelled, snatching a massive table and launching it. It spun like a blade, forcing Taz and Lila to scramble. Her strength was monstrous, her panic making her untouchable. Nets wouldn't hold; darts might not penetrate. Chad's training roared: adapt, protect, subdue. He signaled a claw curl: engage.
"Taz, stun grenades!" Chad barked. "Lila, gas on standby! Renn, target her legs!" The squad moved as one, trust forged in grueling drills. Taz lobbed stun grenades, their flashes staggering Elena. She roared, ripping a steel counter from its bolts and swinging it like a bat. Chad rolled under it, the counter grazing his shoulder, slamming into a wall with a deafening crunch.
Renn fired darts into Elena's thigh, but she snarled, her awakened strength shrugging them off. She charged, shoving a fridge toward Lila, who dove behind a pillar. Chad sprinted, leaping onto a table, and fired a dart at her shoulder. It struck, but she barely slowed, grabbing a chair and hurling it at him. He ducked, the chair smashing a neon sign, sparks flying.
"Lila, gas now!" Chad shouted, signaling frantically. Lila triggered the sleeping gas, a dense mist flooding the court. Elena coughed, swinging wildly, her strength carving a path through the haze. She uprooted a bolted bench, launching it at Renn, who scrambled to cover. Chad and Taz flanked her, tossing a reinforced net. She tore at it, fibers snapping, her power relentless.
Chad dove behind a counter, grabbing a stray stun grenade. He lobbed it at her feet, the flash catching her off-guard. She stumbled, gas thickening around her. Taz fired another dart, hitting her arm. Her movements slowed, eyes fluttering, the gas finally taking hold. Chad rushed in, helping Taz secure the net as she slumped, sedated, her eyes drooped.
"Lila, check her injuries," Chad said, catching his breath. Lila applied biofoam to Elena's scraped arms and knuckles, her medic skills swift. Taz tightened the net, rifle ready. Chad knelt beside Elena, her pulse steady but slow. He signaled a spiral: regroup.
"Move!" Chad ordered. The squad hauled Elena's sedated form to the exit, her weight straining their arms. Outside, the Veil detector hummed faintly, no threats emerging. Chad rigged a decoy—scattered debris and a flickering flare—to cover their retreat, his survival instincts sharp. He radioed the skiff, voice calm despite the adrenaline. As its engines thundered overhead, the squad loaded Elena aboard, her breathing even.
At Sector B, floodlights lit the med bay. Lila administered a mild stimulant, and Elena's eyes opened, glowing softly, fear shifting to curiosity. Korr joined them, explaining the Veil's rifts—tears in reality spawning creatures like the goblin Chad had seen. Elena's strength, a rare awakened gift, could help humanity survive the growing threat.
"Why me?" Elena asked, voice trembling but eager. "What's this power doing to me?" Her questions were sharp, her fear easing as she leaned forward, hungry for answers. "If you can explain it, if I can help…"
Korr nodded, dismissing the squad. Outside, she faced Chad. "You brought her back. Solid work."
Chad exhaled, pride mixing with unease. He'd led with precision, wielding darts, gas, nets, and grenades in a chaotic dance, guided by Korr's relentless drills. His signals, decoy, and squad coordination had tamed Elena's storm. Her desperate question—what's this power doing to me—echoed the goblin's knowing laugh. The rifts were widening, and awakened like Elena were both shield and spark in a war Veilwatch barely understood.
Taz matched his stride toward the barracks. "She's a damn wrecking ball, and we pulled it off."
Chad grinned faintly, fingers brushing the Veilwatch patch in his pocket. He'd led his squad, contained Elena, and earned his place. The goblin lie lingered, a quiet scar, but it didn't hold him back. The Veil was stirring, and Elena's power signaled a fight just beginning.