Doomsday Pillars

"I’ll be right behind you! Now go!"

Those were the last words Daisy had heard from Adam, and since then, her heart had been pounding against her chest.

The moment the tank Rick drove got out of the village, the group realized that the second tank wasn’t following them as planned.

KABOOOOMM!!!!!

A huge explosion coming from the village resounded and Rick quickly decided to stop in the hill facing down the village.

As the group exited the vehicle, it was evident from the fire and the smoke rising inside the village what happened with the rest of the army.

Daisy’s heart skipped as she tried to rush down the road to help Adam and the rest of the misfits, but Rick managed to grab her arm first.

"Let go of me! I need to go save them!" Daisy struggled, trying to break free.

"No! I will not let you go! It’s too late!" Rick maintained his tight grip.

"Please, Rick! We cannot leave them like this... we can’t..." Daisy said as she fell to her knees.

Rick thought for a while and then proposed, "How about this? I’ll follow them from behind and you will go look for reinforcement. I’ll open the radio everyday in the morning to receive signal."

Pondering for a moment, Daisy retorted, "No! With my ability, I am the best person to follow them!"

Tommy, who is normally quiet, stepped in and said, "Rick, Adam told me to take care of her. I will keep her safe."

Rick then gave a sigh, and sternly said to Daisy, "Ok... but keep yourselves in the shadows. Don’t ever reveal yourselves. You’re not on a rescue mission. Do you understand?"

Daisy nodded.

Rick then handed Daisy a long-range radio. Although its range may be limited, Rick believed that it may somehow prove useful. He then said, "Remember, don’t do anything stupid. I’ll definitely bring back reinforcement." Rick entered the tank and quickly left.

Daisy and Tommy looked over the village and noticed the movements of the people. The battle seemed to have ended. Although they could barely see them, the people were clearly moving to one location.

Daisy and Tommy traced back their steps and hid in between the trees. Every now and then, Daisy used her sensing ability to avoid the undead, mutant beasts, and followed the mad people from a safe distance.

They followed the mad people up into the port city and climbed up one of the buildings near the hotel.

Taking out a binocular, they watched Adam and the rest kill each other in the pit. Daisy hoped for a miracle just like in all the movies. She hoped that Rick would suddenly bring thousands of army come to rescue... but miracle didn’t come.. she saw Jason’s execution...

Her heart felt like breaking for she wanted to save them, but she knew she wouldn’t be able too. They’d be surrounded if they showed up now. Hence, she could only cry out her helplessness as they waited for the radio to sound.

Days passed as she could only watch from a distance how the hostiles each day threw dead bodies out in the open. She hoped none of it were Adam’s. Curling up in the corner, Tommy tried to comfort her. When she was about to lose hope, the radio finally picked up a signal. A voice sounded,

"Haloo.. Is anyone there.."

"Haloo.." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

It took a second for Daisy to recognize the voice. It wasn’t Rick, but it was the General himself. General Rico.

Days ago, Rico had reached Bandung city and found Colonel Bernard’s third battalion that was stationed in the city. Since then, he had been searching around for clues where did the other two battalions had went. Until one day, he picked up a message from a woman who claims to be part of the missing troops. They decided to meet up at an abandoned shoe factory near the city of Sukabumi.

Daisy and Tommy had arrived at the abandoned factory first. She paced back and forth outside while waiting but stopped when she felt the ground shaking. The cavalry has come. Her eyes glowed seeing the APV, Badak tanks, and hundreds of trained soldiers. Daisy could tell that most of these soldiers were not regular soldiers, but rather, special forces.

She had agreed to meet with the General, but she felt her heart conflicted, although for a different reason. This guy held the highest position and most importantly, he was Adam’s dad. She then remembered the gruesome events that she had observed, her worries, unsure how to report it. But in the end, she decided to push her personal feeling away.

A figure stepped out from one of the Armored Humvee and quickly walked closer to Daisy. As this was about the safety of his son, the General didn’t care about the safety procedures and reached out to the woman. Seeing her somehow made his face brighten up a little.

"I know you," Rico said.

Daisy widened her eyes, surprised that the General remembers her, she then said, "General, I—"

One of Rico’s officers suddenly interrupted. "Please miss, you are standing in front of the president, "

Daisy gasped and corrected her words, "Mr. President, I—"

"Don’t worry about formality. It’s Daisy, right? Adam always talks about you."

If only they were in a different situation, her heart would flutter at the words of the father the person she loves. But now wasn’t the right time. Daisy walked forward and relayed everything she had gathered while staying in the city.

As Daisy continued her report, Rico’s face became darker and darker. He had ordered his best scouts to gather information, and based on what Daisy said and the scouts were reporting, the situation needed careful handling.

The enemy seems to have almost 10,000 men, but their numbers didn’t really bother him. Counting the people he brought with him, 500 special forces and the third battalion from Bandung, his forces totaled around 1,000 men. All of them were trained soldiers, but the type of enemy they’re facing is what worries him...

General Rico was a police officer at heart. This situation was similar to a hostage event but with hundreds of mad fighters who don’t hesitate killing human beings. Whether before or after the Doomsday, he had always wanted to get ideal results, keeping all the hostages alive and capturing the criminals. But this situation was different, his son was inside the city being kept captive and most of the hostile were people that looked like ordinary Indonesian citizens, hence, his hesitation.

As much as he wanted to rush in and kill all those crazy madman, he could only gritted his teeth. He looked at the girl’s hopeful eyes and heavily said, "I... I am sorry. We cannot... we cannot help them... not right now..."

The words struck Daisy as if the heavens fell down. Her shoulders slumped down thinking of the worst things that could happen.

As for the special forces soldiers, they were itching for a battle, but the safety of the hostages was the top priority so they restrained themselves.

The atmosphere became heavy when suddenly...

Tut Tut!!

The long-range radio from the Humvee sounded. There’s someone on the other end.

Rico looked at one of his officers and asked, "Are we expecting someone? Do we still have a unit out there?"

"No sir, all of our units should have returned."

Tut Tut!!

This time, it’s Daisy’s radio that sounded and she suddenly remembered something. She smiled brightly as she opened up the channel.

"Daisy, are you there?"

"Rick! Rick! Where are you?"

"Sorry it took so long. I went to the city of Yogyakarta and found the reinforcement we need. Where are you? We are heading your way."

Hearing about the city of Yogyakarta, Rico’s spirit rose up as he took the radio from Daisy and said, "This is Rico. Who did you bring? Tell me who’s in charge."

A familiar voice replied and made Rico’s worries fade away.

"Yo!! Mr. President! That’s really naughty of you to just leave us in the middle of the night... Now, we have to come and save your ass."

"Hahahaha, Alex!! I am so glad to hear your voice, Yes, you always come at the right time."

Hours later, a much bigger cavalry arrived at the abandoned shoe factory. Rick drove in front with the dozen misfits. Just behind him were Alex and his 500 hand-picked elite fighters. Further behind, about 50 trucks followed them and when they finally stopped, around 2,000 uniquely dressed with light armor and striped shirt that came out of the trucks.

These men were wearing the ceremonial uniforms of the Keraton Guard Regiment. A special unit formed by the last Indonesian royalty of Yogyakarta city specially trained in using rifles and long lances.

Apparently, when Rick chose to go to the city of Yogyakarta, he arrived at the moment Alex was talking with the Sultan.

Rick explained the situation to the Sultan, and when Alex heard the name Adam, Alex convinced the Sultan to help. Surprisingly, the Sultan decided to lead this unit himself.

With the people gathered, a strategy was quickly put in place and Rico was confident that they could save his son.

The moment the sun rose, thousands of troops marched into the hostile base. This looks just like what Daisy has imagined, thousands of troops marching for a rescue. Apparently, miracles do happen sometimes.