Chapter 676 Trip To...

With a burger and fries with pop at his side, Lee Seng hummed away as Andrea drove him to the lab. He took a bite out of the burger and watched as the buildings went by. The city would soon disappear, and they would head out of the city, onto more dangerous roads. The roads that led in and out of the city were well-maintained and watched, but it didn't mean there would be accidents and ambushes. The monsters brave enough to stop a car, who was going at seventy miles per hour, would either be killed on impact or live long enough to wreak havoc.

Lee Seng didn't really mind the highway leading out of the city. He was used to the dangers and there weren't many dangers on this highway, anyways. Lee Seng stuffed his face while Calis sat in front of him, scrolling his phone. Andrea and Calis were part of his new set of guards. The guards would primarily work in pairs in and out of the collective squad.

He would always have at least five guards on him and that meant two additional cars when he was going anywhere. One car was behind him while another was in front, leading the way. Lee Seng just got comfortable in the new uncomfortableness, only to be met with a loud shout.

"Get down!" Andrea shouted. Lee Seng instinctively ducked, only to feel the car be rammed from the side. The car flipped, tumbling off the highway and into the forest. Andrea's hand managed to hit the button on the dashboard. Cushions exploded from every side, cushioning them from getting any kind of damage. The car rolled, slamming into a huge pine tree and smoking.

Lee Seng groaned as the seat belt tightened. His cola was spilled everywhere, and his food was spilt on the floor.

"Are you okay, sir?" Calis asked, looking behind him. Calis seemed a bit dinged up.

"Yeah." Lee Seng sighed in relief. "What happened?"

"Something rammed into our car." Calis told him. He looked over to Andrea who was unconscious. "Andrea's unconscious. Andrea." He shook her but got no response. Calis groaned as he tried to pull the seat belt off of him. Lee Seng ripped his off and pulled off Calis's.  "Be careful, sir."

"Yeah… Hold on…" Lee Seng kicked the side door open, watching it fly off into the forest. They had tumbled way too far, and it was honestly a miracle Andrea hit the safety button. Lee Seng stumbled out of the car, feeling blood trickle off his head. He ignored it and moved to the driver's door. He ripped the door open and tossed it aside.

"Can you get out, Calis?" Lee Seng asked.

"Y-yeah. I'll crawl o—" The car exploded, lighting up in flames as Lee Seng moved inside and ripped the seat belt off of Andrea. He grabbed her as Calis forced himself out of the car through the backseat.  Lee Seng lifted Andrea away, listening to the car explode once more.

"Argh!" Lee Seng went flying, Andrea tumbling away from him as the car lit in full flames. "Calis!" Lee Seng instinctively lifted himself off and searched for Calis. Calis was surrounded in water, fighting back the flames as he flopped out of the car.

Lee Seng instinctively lifted his hand to pull Calis, but nothing happened.

"Shit, I can't use my powers!" Lee Seng started to stand, only to listen to the car explode, once more. Lee Seng scooted backwards onto his butt, turning his head away from the flames. He looked dirty in his white t-shirt, black jacket and blue jeans combo now.

"Sir, are you okay?" Calis kneeled beside Lee seng.

"Fine. Check on Andrea." Lee Seng told him. Calis stood up and lifted his hand at the car. Darkness swirled around the car, smothering the flames with water. Calis put the fire out and then turned to find Andrea. She was lying unconscious twenty or thirty feet away. He moved over, bringing his hand up to his ear.

"5-2, 5-2 to anyone. Anyone read?" Calis asked. "Is anyone there? Main was hit! Main was hit! Does anyone read me? 5-1 is unconscious and VIP is shaken. Backup needed! Hello?" Lee Seng stood up and wandered over to Calis and Andrea. "No one's responding, sir. We couldn't be cut off that easily, could we?"

"What hit us exactly?" Lee seng asked.

"Dunno. I was responding to messages from the Lab. Andrea seemed to notice it before we just got hit." Calis explained.

'She knew just before… Strange…' Lee Seng looked up. The highway was about fifty or so feet above the hill they were on. It was a miracle they weren't heavily injured or dead.

"The cameras should've noticed a car getting hit. We should have help on the way." Lee Seng told Calis.

"Sir, what should we do? Andrea is… unconscious and the other bodyguards aren't responding." Calis asked, standing. The cars seemed to slow and look down, not seeing the survivors at the bottom. "They probably think we're dead. What do I do now? I just got this job…" Calis turned, biting his fingernails as he thought of a solution.

"Breathe and calm yourself." Lee Seng told him. "What matters is we're at least alive, right?" Lee Seng glanced at Andrea. "Is she alive? Did you check?"

"Y-yes, sir. Sh-she's unconscious."

"You're bleeding a bit, right?" Lee Seng asked. Calis nodded. He had taken a blow to the head, too, yet Andrea wasn't bleeding one bit… "Why isn't she—"

"GRAHHH!" A guttural scream roared. Lee Seng turned to watch as a large beast flew at them. Lee Seng threw his hand up to blast it but realized he couldn't do anything. Calis pushed Lee Seng onto the ground and released a blast of water at the beast. The beast stopped mid-air and flew backwards, slamming into the side of the hill. It howled in pain as it jumped onto all fours and narrowed its eyes at Calis.

"Destruction sequence… Initiated."

"What?" Lee Seng whispered. His eyes scanned for the voice, noticing Andrea was blinking.

"Destruction sequence in… 5… 4… 3…" Andrea counted down, smiling.

"Move!" Lee Seng shouted.

"Wha--"

A large fiery explosion flew outwards, separating Lee Seng and Calis. Lee Seng flew farther away, bouncing closer and closer to the hill as a pillar of smoke and flame rose. Lee Seng screamed in pain as the flames burnt him. He quickly began to heal, hitting the dirt face down.

Lee Seng's ears rang as he lifted himself up. His shirt was burning away and dirtied now. He pushed himself off the ground, stumbling onto his feet as everything spun. Lee Seng wiped the dirt away from his eyes and mouth.

"Lee Seng!" Calis shouted, running towards him. He had barely taken any damage as he grabbed Lee Seng. Lee Seng screamed, pushing Calis away. "Lee Seng, it's okay!"

"Get away from me!" Lee Seng shouted. He swung at Calis, watching the sunkissed blonde dodge with ease.

"It's alright! I'm fine! We need to get out of here!" Calis told him. Lee Seng shook his head and pointed at him.

"You're in on this, aren't you? A-Andrea was… Was a machine! A death machine! You're trying to kill me, aren't you?"

"I'm not!" Calis raised his hands. "I'm on your side! I really am!"

"How?!? Prove it!"

"I'm with the Fox Spirits!" Calis shouted. Lee Seng froze at the mention of that.

"How do you… know?" Lee Seng asked, trying not to believe what was coming out of Calis's mouth. Calis sighed and pulled his charred jacket to the side. A phone was tucked within one of the inner pockets.

"I came here with Keng. I can call someone from Commander Chimera's group and—"

"How do you know that?"

"One phone call will explain it all, but we really need to get out of here. I'm pretty sure someone wants you killed!"

"No shit someone wants me killed! Everyone wants me killed! They don't believe I didn't murder any of those people!" Lee Seng shouted. Calis cursed in a language unknown to Lee Seng and moved forward, reaching out to grab Lee Seng. Lee Seng swatted Calis's hands away, throwing a punch. Calis dodged out of the way, only to be met with a sneaky jab. Calis moved backwards, throwing his hands up.

"Come on, Lee Seng! We need to get out before things get worse! We need to get in touch with Keng, too!" Calis told him.

"Keng isn't even here!" Lee Seng shouted. "You're lying!" Calis bit his lip as he looked above. There were people pulling over to the side of the highway.

"We don't have time for this!"

"Is that the target?" A voice asked.

"Yes."

"Fire!" Guns pointed at the two, releasing a barrage of shots. Calis cursed in Merfolk as he pushed his hands forward. A shadowy wall flew up behind Lee Seng, blocking the attacks as Calis chanted something.

"I don't have time for this!" Calis impatiently spoke. He moved straight for Lee Seng who flinched. Calis grabbed Lee Seng and pulled him away from the shadows. "You'll just have to trust what I'm about to do is for our own good!" Calis began to speak in Merfolk, again, finishing the chant. Lee Seng watched as water circled around their feet and lifted. The water fell back to their feet and Lee Seng looked up. They weren't at the bottom of the hill anymore. They were in a white room!