Chapter 36: Polluted Zone Five
As the sun came up, Kestrel stood by her room window, holding a hot mug of tea, and watched the city wake up. The dorm was old, with chipped paint on the door and window frames, and a small wooden bed. But, the room was clean and had new stuff. Plus, it had an amazing view of the foggy sea far off.
The hot water in her mug was brought by the alphas in the morning. The tea in it was a present from Birdie, who said she got the wild leaves from cliffs herself.
Back in the Tower, there was always hot water, and the tea made by the housekeepers was really fancy.
But, Kestrel found this mug of wild tea much tastier. Maybe it was because they were picked from cliffs.
Kestrel wiped the foggy window with her sleeve and looked down. The people living near the outpost were packed in tight, their run-down houses all squished together. Far off, a big wall surrounded these homes and a tiny watchtower.
Even though it was early, the nearby streets were already buzzing.
A dirty little boy tightly held a loaf of bread, running from a bakery like a rabbit. The bakery owner chased him with a broom, shouting mean things.
"Hungry, scared, mad..."
A group of alphas walked under her window. Something the lead alpha said upset Birdie. Birdie’s powerful white wings showed up, and she swooped down, knocking him over. Her strong bird-like claws held him by the neck on the ground.
"I yield, I yield!" The male alpha grew a tail like a lizard, smacking it on the ground, begging for mercy.
They looked like they were fighting, but they were really having fun. People can be weird like that sometimes.
"Happy, chill, fun..."
The morning by the sea was loud, and smelled like real life, with all kinds of feelings were in the air.
Kestrel watched the busy street from her window. Happiness, anger, sadness, fear - she got all of these feelings.
But a lot of the time, like now, she felt like she was on the outside looking in, like she was watching from a balcony.
Kestrel put her backpack on, attached the gun she got from the airship to her waist, and checked her ammo. The small Scorpion submachine gun was light, around 3.3 pounds, which was easy for a beta like her to handle.
When she was on the blimp, she figured something out.
Mixing psychic power with physical attacks was the best way to fight. It was effective, big scale, and saved energy.
Kestrel wished things were different, but there was nothing she could do, she couldn’t always count on a strong alpha to fight shoulder alongside her every time she was in danger.
In the end, she knew she could only count on herself for everything.
Kestrel grabbed her gun and went downstairs, making a quick stop to visit the sick guy from yesterday.
It was still pretty early, so the infirmary was dim and filled with a soft noise like leaves blowing in the wind.
Raymond, the guy on the bed, had been cleaned up. His wild blond hair had been combed, and he looked a lot better. The cloth tied around his mouth and the heavy chain around his neck were gone. Only some straps were left to keep him from hurting himself.
Even though he was still weak, he looked more like a person, not like the dying beast chained to the bed yesterday.
Raymond woke up just then, looking kind of lost before his eyes focused on Kestrel outside the window.
Kestrel wasn’t sure what to do with an alpha whose mind had been ruined by mutants, and who she had to hurt to save.
She tried to remember how Serge and Nicole acted, and did her best to smile.
She waved to Raymond, showing him a friendly grin.
As she left the outpost, the early morning was a bit cold, with a salty sea breeze. The streets were muddy, and Kestrel checked the mud on her shoe before moving on.
The people living here were nothing like the ones in Imperial Nexus.
Most of them wore clothes with patches, their skin was tan, and their hair was messy.
As Kestrel, a young and gracious beauty walked along the morning road, she got some unwanted attention.
A few tough-looking guys followed Kestrel, and stopped her in an alley, smirking, "Where you from, cutie? We wanna talk."
Kestrel went into the alley with them calmly. In no time, she came out, fixing her clothes even though they weren’t messy.
Her tendrils were complaining:
"Disgusting, I might puke."
"I need to wash suckers."
"Don’t make me do this next time."
A jeep skidded to a stop in front of Kestrel.
Birdie jumped out of the jeep, quickly checking Kestrel, "Why’d you go out alone? Did anyone mess with you? I heard noises."
A few more alphas went into the dark alley and came out looking weird.
"No one’s there," Tegnell quietly told Birdie, holding his nose, "Just some scared guys crying on the ground. Smells like pee."
Feeling better, they asked Kestrel, "Where were you going?"
"I was going to Polluted Zone Five." Kestrel said like it was no big deal.
"To the Polluted Zone? Wow, you wanted to go to the Polluted Zone by yourself?" The alphas were surprised, "Why didn’t you tell us if you were going to the Polluted Zone?"
The alphas couldn’t wrap their heads around why Kestrel, a beta, would want to go into the dangerous Polluted Zone all by herself. It was totally unheard of.
Kestrel was just as confused. She couldn’t understand why the alphas wanted to go with her to the Polluted Zone. After all, this was just part of her job and had nothing to do with them.
So there they were, both the alphas and Kestrel, each looking at the other like they were crazy.
"A beta going into the Polluted Zone?" was something Kestrel had heard a lot. Ever since she started working at the research department, people had been shocked. Even her only friend was surprised.
"Oh wow, a beta running around all over the place."
"It’s funny, a beta in the Polluted Zone."
People would say all this and that, but Kestrel didn’t care. She knew if she wanted something, she had to get it herself.
She never depended on anyone else, and she never got much help, so other people’s surprise or jokes didn’t matter to her. They didn’t change what she was going to do.
She knew that besides alphas, ordinary people living near the Polluted Zone also went inside. They risked their lives to find stuff they could sell for money, and some even made a living this way.
Kestrel figured, if normal people could do it, then a tough beta like her could definitely try.
But she quickly noticed that these alphas in front of her were different. After they said, "Wow, a beta wants to go to the Polluted Zone", they didn’t keep acting surprised or try to talk her out of it. Instead, they started checking out Kestrel’s gear and giving her tips about getting in and out of Polluted Zone Five.
"That gun you have is good, it’s light and right for you."
"Let’s see, besides guns, you should also have some weapons that don’t need bullets. You could run out, and you might not be able to get more."
"I’ll give you my knife, it’s really sharp, I’ve used it for years."
"Use mine instead, it’s smaller and better for you."
"Here’s the map of Polluted Zone Five, get to know it, we all have one."
"Here are the types of monsters and where they might be, and how to get the keys. Polluted Zone Five is old, we all know it really well."
The alphas all chipped in.
