After being bearhugged by Corinna, Milo felt a feeling of calm wash over him. All this time he had been worrying that he was too late, that the Fellowship had taken away the last family that he had, but that wasn't the case.
Corinna staggered after releasing Milo from the bear hug. Milo noticed then that her leg was wrapped in a cast. She told Milo that when the Fellowship first attacked, she was cooking dinner. The attack started a few blocks from their apartment. She could hear booms coming from outside as bombs went off in some of the surrounding buildings, causing them to collapse. Once she got over her initial panic from what was going on, she rushed down to exit the building, as she was on her way out the door a bomb went off in their building.
The bomb caused pieces of rubble to fall and hit her, this was the reason for her leg and the bandage covering her head. Hearing about what had happened he wondered where Krista and her mom could've been to avoid the blast. Krista was apparently at her part time job when the attack started. She had to run towards where the attack started from in order to get Corinna and get out of there. Her mom was out grocery shopping a few blocks over, she was the one that found them fleeing the attacks and got them to the camp.
Hearing what they went through, Milo was thankful none of them were killed. It sounded like the Fellowship planned to take out the city just like they did in Toronto. Milo hoped that the association and the gatecrashers would be prepared enough to prevent this from happening.
By this point, the sun had gone down and the stars which were usually invisible due to all the light pollution could be seen. Due to the attack, the screens showing advertisements and more in Times Square were turned off. While the nickname of the city that never sleeps usually fit perfect, the area was dark. The screens that normally would be lit up, would only come on to make emergency announcements for the refugees.
Milo and Krista went to get a hot meal for all of them. It wasn't anything fancy but for now it would do. According to rumors, the association had hovercrafts coming from all over to pick up the refugees and take them to safety. The association headquarters were too close to where the attacks originated from, so using the teleporters there would put the refugees too close to danger.
The hovercrafts would be there the next morning, but in the mean time, the people fleeing the terrorist group would have to wait and hope the association and gatecrashers could hold them off in the mean time.
After getting their meals, the two friends returned to the tent where Corinna as well as Krista's mom were waiting. The camp was laid out with the sleeping quarters near the barrier around the outside of the camp. In the center was where all the medical tents could be found, as well as where people could go to get food. Along with this, the association had a tent set up in the middle where people could go to find out if anyone they knew was still missing, or if they had checked in at another camp.
Milo and Krista weaved their way through the numerous tents until they arrived back to where their guardians were waiting for them. They all got their food and began to dig in. The food wasn't anything fancy, just some type of stew and a piece of bread. It was only meant to give enough food to hold them over until they were evacuated.
Milo wondered where they would be evaced to. There were thousands of refugees, so there was a high chance not everyone would be sent to one place. While Milo, Krista, her mother, and Corinna ate their food, more and more people were being brought into the refugee area. Because of this, more and more people who were from the association and gatecrashers were showing up to help keep the peace with the influx of people fleeing to the camp. If they didn't there was a good chance it would've devolved into anarchy.
Milo's holo soon started to ping him, he checked it and noticed he was receiving messages from his friends. They had seen the news and wanted to make sure he was safe. He said he was and that he and Krista had made it to a refugee camp. He then told them that he was actually away closing a gate in Atlantic City when the attacks started. He had received messages from everyone, Chris wondered if he had gotten to take out any of the Fellowship members. Mark was reminded of the day his home was destroyed by the evil cult, because of this, he was especially heated that Milo and Krista were being put through the same thing.
Among his friends, Zach seemed the most worried, about Krista in particular. She assured him she was fine and not to worry, Milo wouldn't allow anything to happen to her anyways. After checking in with all their classmates, Krista wanted to hear about Milo's summer so far, the two hadn't gotten to talk since the class reunion due to Milo having been so busy. He went on to regale them about everything he'd done the past two and a half months. There was one last thing he had forgotten about since finding out about the attack, he said "release" and the beast vessel ring gave off a glow before Alucard had materialized.
He appeared to have been woken up out of a sleep when Milo released him, "Master who are these people?" Alucard asked Milo groggily. Seeing the snake materialize, the other three's eyes widened in surprise.
"You have a tamed beast?!" Krista asked in shock. Milo figured she would be surprised, but finally went into detail about what had happened with the twins and going to the Underground. He kept things vague, as only Krista knew about the system's existence. He then went on to explain about Alucard hatching in his hotel in Atlantic City, as he rubbed the little snake's chin.
Milo then introduced the other three people in the tent with him to Alucard as he hadn't met them before. Alucard seemed to understand that this was Milo's family and vowed to protect them as if they were his own. This made Milo happy, it seemed as though some of Milo's personality was rubbing off on Alucard and his familial protectiveness seemed to be included. Eventually Krista, her mother and Corinna started to play with Alucard, it was good to see them distracted from the terror they would've been dealing with ever since the Fellowship's attack.
After playing with Alucard for a few more minutes, a commotion could be heard coming from outside their tent. Milo was curious about what was going on so he walked out into the center of the camp.
All of the screens in Times square had come on out of nowhere and a figure could be seen on the screen. The figure was dressed in a red robe and had a mask covering his face. The mask was simple looking, but how the figure could see, Milo had no idea. This was due to the mask's design, everything; his eyes, nose, and mouth were all covered completely and the only thing that could be seen was the number 3 written on the mask's forehead.
When the figure spoke, their voice was warped so that their identity could remain a mystery to those who were watching. "Hello citizens of New York City. My name will remain a mystery but you all know me as one of the 7 cardinals. To be exact, I am the 3rd cardinal." Hearing that a cardinal was involved with this caused Milo to get a shiver down his spine. The 7 cardinals of the Fellowship were nothing to scoff at, not only were they evil but they were powerful as well. "As you can tell, our followers are currently taking over the city, this is a necessary step towards a brighter future for the planet. As humans we are parasites that have infected the Earth. The so called beasts that come from the dimensional doors are merely saviors sent from a god above in order to cull the herd. It is for this reason that we must cure the Earth of her sickness, only then will the dimensional doors close for good. I hope for the world's sake you do not resist fate, allow your death to become part of the solution."
As he said his final words of his speech, a series of explosions could be heard from around the camp. Screams ensued as refugees ran for their lives. Milo could now see more hooded figures, these were in white robes which contrasted the red robe that was worn by the cardinal. The association members weren't prepared for the ambush, as it appeared that the Fellowship members were hidden among the refugees in the camp. In a split second, the camp went from safe and calm to utter chaos. Milo ran for the tent that Corinna, Krista and her mom was in with Alucard. He'd protect them no matter what.
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