The first thing Sunny did was go find Belle, Dorn, and Samara. However, none of them had returned from the Dream Realm yet — all three were peacefully asleep in their pods, not knowing that back in the waking world, Falcon Scott was not on the verge of destruction. For now, all he could do was wait.
Not wishing to waste time, Sunny tried to go through the official channels to make sure that his cohort was not going to be left out of the evacuation plans. At that point, however, things had already started going out of control. Just as Master Jet had predicted.
The government complex was in a state of frenzy. The information regarding the withdrawal of the White Feather clan and the impending doom approaching the city was supposed to be kept strictly secret… but with people responsible for withholding it realizing that they themselves would most likely be left behind, there was no way for the truth to remain hidden.
The news spread through the city like wildfire. With it came panic.
Sunny spent some time fruitlessly trying to get the logistics officers, or anyone at all, to issue an order for his cohort to evacuate, but no one knew what to do, or even if they had authority to do anything. Worse still, as soon as Saint Tyris had been defeated, the influence the Winter Beast was exerting on the region seemed to have doubled in strength.
Now, even the robust communication array of the siege capital was having trouble connecting the local branch of Army Command to central headquarters. Even if there was a leader who could bring order to this complicated situation, they were simply too far away.
In the end, all he could get from the administrative personnel was a vague promise of a "priority placement" while boarding the leaving ships. They did not seem to know quite what it meant themselves, but the underlying message was clear — if he could get a spot on one of the evacuation vessels, no one was going to stop him. In fact, this was true for all the surviving soldiers of the First Army.
If they wanted to leave, they could. Who was going to stop them? After all, the soldiers were armed, while the refugees were not. In the ruthless mathematics of war, their lives were also more valuable.
In short, the situation had deteriorated to the point of turning into complete lawlessness. The government officers were simply unable to control it anymore.
'Every man for himself.'
Sunny was slightly stunned by how quickly the city had descended into chaos. All it took was a few hours.
There were some exceptions, of course. For example, someone high up in the chain of command managed to enforce the evacuation of the wounded from the army hospital. However, no one knew how effective exactly the execution of that order would be, or how quickly the evacuation would happen.
Sunny was reluctant to leave Luster's fate to chance, though.
He returned to the barracks, which had turned hectic and feverish in his absence. Finally, his soldiers woke up, emerging from their sleeping pods with confused expressions on their faces. Not only was the building full of noise, but their leader was also waiting for them with a grim expression on his face.
Sparing the three Awakened a single glance, Sunny said:
"Let's go get Luster and Kimmy. I'll explain what is happening on the way."
They made their way to the hospital. Outside, the cold was slowly turning unbearable, but despite that, crowds of frightened people were flowing through the streets, some aimless and lost, some full of frantic determination.
.
The situation inside the hospital was even worse. Unlike the rest of the people in the city, the medical officers had received direct orders to transfer all the patients to the port fortress, and await immediate evacuation. However, the orders were vague and hastily compiled, lacking a lot of important details and instructions.
Aside from that, moving severely injured soldiers was not as easy as transporting healthy people. Some required special care, some could not be moved at all, unless an Awakened healer got personally involved.
Rattled, Sunny finally understood what the word pandemonium meant.
Cutting through the chaos, he and his soldiers reached Luster's room. After a short conversation with a panicked nurse, they received verbal permission to take him away, and barged inside.
Neither Luster nor Kimmy seemed surprised to see them. In fact, Kim had already prepared the wounded Awakened for departure — he was dressed, freshly bandaged, and holding a pack full of necessary medical supplies and healing agents.
The young man had also received a very generous dose of painkillers.
Seeing Sunny, he smiled stupidly.
"Cap… Major! Huh… uh… where are we going?"
Sunny looked at Kim and gave her a nod.
"Eastern Antarctica. We just need to find you a boat."
The young woman silently took the medicine pack from Luster, hung it across her chest, then forced him to climb on her back. Considering that she was much smaller than the young man, the two of them looked rather comical — but of course, as an Awakened, Kim was more than strong enough to carry a person.
Before they left, Samara suddenly spoke, her usually calm face turning slightly pale:
"Captain! What about Quentin? We can't… just leave him here…"
Sunny looked at her for a moment, then somberly shook his head.
"We have to. It doesn't matter, anyway… he is in the Nightmare by now. If he survives, the Spell will create an Ascended body for him. If not… taking him with us won't make any difference."
The five of them grew solemn, then reluctantly followed him out. Luster was mumbling something under his nose, but the rest were deathly silent.
On the street, Sunny looked around, then approached a random military vehicle and used his bare hand to tear through the armored alloy, destroying the locking mechanism of its door. With how many soldiers had perished during the siege, there was a surplus of machinery in the city — no one was going to miss one PTV. It was just that he had no time to request proper access.
Luckily, army transports did not have a complicated start-up sequence. All he had to do was override the controls with his military ID, then access the internal computer and assign the vehicle to the First Irregular Company. After that, the PTV recognized Sunny as its valid driver.
'Damn… I never even got close to stealing a PTV when I lived in the outskirts, and now I'm swiping one as an Ascended. What kind of logic is that?'
Darkly amused, he sent the vehicle barreling forward and maneuvered it through the crowded streets at high speed.
"Hold on tight… we need to make a stop first before going to the port."
Soon, he reached the dormitory tower where Professor Obel and Beth were living. Sunny stopped the vehicle and dissipated into the shadows without wasting any time.
A few seconds later, he was standing in front of a familiar door. Sunny knocked on it several times, praying that they were both home.
Luckily, they were.
Walking inside, Sunny quickly looked around the apartment, then turned to Professor Obel and Beth. From their expressions, he understood that they already knew what was happening.
Beth's eyes were wide and shaken.
"Sunny! Is… is it true?"
He nodded, then said steadily:
"Get your things. We need to leave as soon as possible."
The young woman seemed startled.
"Leave? Leave to where?"
Sunny spared her a quick glance.
"To the port, of course. You need to get on a ship."
She took a small step back.
"But… but our tickets are not due until…"
Taking a step forward, Sunny took her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes.
"Forget about the tickets. You are leaving today. Now, go! There's no time to waste."
Neither Beth nor Professor Obel had a lot of things to gather, so they were out of the apartment in less than fifteen minutes. The old man remained quiet throughout all that time, only speaking when spoken to. His eyes were calm, but burdened.
Diving from the chilling cold into the warm interior of the PTV, Sunny checked to see if everyone had settled and drove off.
Two beams of light cut through the darkness as the vehicle sped through the snow-covered streets.
Once again, they were heading north… this time, toward the port fortress of the doomed siege capital.
