The Zetta Sonic
Barrel Bomb

The first thing Alex felt was his own breath. He's still breathing. The first thing he was grateful for. Next, he felt a piercing pain in his left hand that made him moan. He wished wholeheartedly that his hands were still clinging. Alex realized that he was not completely unconscious. The battered stage may be yes, but not to the point of losing consciousness.

Alex blinked, trying to clear his blurred vision. His eyes were watery, making his face that was confined in a wet helmet. Every breath felt shallow. His head felt heavy, his whole body was limp. His energy has been drained. If anyone wanted to kill him back then, Alex was sure he wouldn't be able to defend himself.

One by one, memories began to float to the surface. Had Jayden been, he'd have taken her to safety. Or, in case there was Jason, he could have taken care of himself before there was an attack.

Refusing to be called helpless or useless, Alex tries to move. His feet refused to rise. His left hand only responds with pain. Only his wet fingers could shake. His right hand trembled as it moved. Before his body also tried to wake up, Alex felt a gentle pressure on his chest that prevented him from moving.

“Sst..”

The sound of whispers was clear and so slow. Alex faintly looked at the large figure beside him. Not even need to see it clearly, Alex knows that the figure is Tiger. There are not many men as big as him. Tiger was carrying a long object known to Alex as a rifle. He walked to the middle of the field.

Anything that was in the middle of the field was no longer a monster. Alex saw the silhouette of a woman with high heels among the shapeless barks. He guessed it was Melodiza among the blobs of monsters. Alex blinked again to get a clearer vision. However, his eyes just let out tears and made everything blur. Alex finally closed his eyes.

In silence, the pain becomes more. Anxiety aggravates nausea in his stomach. Her lips felt dry and rough. His nose was tormented by a sickening aroma, a mixture of foul and fishy smells. Alex wants to sleep. Unfortunately, that did not come. A few minutes passed without torture.

The silence was broken by the sound of shoes clashing against the ground. A soft, melodious smile sounded then slowly moved away.

“What's gone?” Another voice asked. Emil's Voice.

“I told you not to make a sound before I give you a cue.” Tiger sighs. “Yes, he's gone. We are safe, for now.”

Alex opened his eyes again. His gaze was still a little blurry but he could recognize his surroundings better. The wall of the gym was on his left while the stairs were on top of his head. They took him hiding under the stairs. “How can you guys be here?” Alex's question came out with a clean and broken.

“We saw it.” Emil gave an answer from the position over Alex's head.

“How can it?” Alex asked again, still not understanding. He realized that the instructions he had heard were indeed Emil's voice through the helmet. His sight returned to perfection. At that time, his protective helmet had been shed, leaving his uniform that still covered part of the body. Alex didn't bother trying to sit down knowing he couldn't.

Tiger moved to the left side of Alex who was lying down. “You look very messy.”

“He's lucky,” says Emil.

“Lucky for being alive?” reply Tiger again.

“No. Lucky because the monster's teeth were just dentures. Not real dinosaur teeth. Otherwise, he will lose his hand.” Emil explained calmly, making Alex groan while taking his eyes off the left side of his body. “Take it easy. Your hand is still stuck.”

Emil's words made Tiger giggle. This big man left his rifle on the floor. Instead, he took out a medicine box. With a slight tinkering of Alex's bracelet, the protective uniform vanished entirely. Tiger rushed to pick up some kind of cloth to stop the bleeding.

“I was curious that your blood would turn green,” Tiger said. His jokes didn't impress Alex at all.

Emil stepped forward, extending a hand. A white drone emerged from nothing. His figure just came down from the ceiling. The drone floated closer and descended on Emil's palm.

Curious about the drone's buzzing sound made Alex turn back to the upper left side. “Jason?” guess it. “You fixed it!”

“Hologram only. For camouflage. Melodiza doesn't see us. We are safe.” Emil flicked his shoulders then returned to Alex's side. “You'll be fine. Dragon Blood helps you heal quickly.”

“Too fast,” add Tiger. He realized Alex's blood was no longer flowing. The fresh red blood attached to the cloth was just a trace.

“Stay it hurts.” Alex pulled out his right hand to cover his eyes. Sometimes water still seeped from his eyes. He didn't want the other two men to think he was crying. Alex wasn't crying. He didn't even know where all the water came from.

Emil and Tiger were busy treating the wound on Alex's left hand and rubbed it with a bandage. Alex is treating both. Finally, after a few minutes had passed, Alex laughed. His small laugh made Emil and Tiger spontaneously exchange views.

“What's funny?” Tiger asked with a frown.

Alex removed his hands from his face. He sure had just thrown the most sincere smile that made the two men beside him exchange looks. “I didn't expect to be so grateful to see you here. Thank you.”

Tiger sneering. “That's free?”

Emil looked down, avoiding Alex's sight.

Tiger continued, “We fought desperately in order to access Zet-Arm, asked permission from Nadira to come here, then defused the time bomb.”

“Because of that, I said thank you,” Alex said.

“I have to admit your shot from inside the dinosaur mouth was cool. Very cool, boy! You smashed his head. Super effective attack. Even if your body smells now. Very disgusting.”

Alex groaning. Tiger's right. When the dinosaur bites his left hand, Alex executes instructions from Emil. He shot from inside the monster's mouth. Of course it was an effective attack. Even after, the monster's fragments hit him.

“But,” said Tiger, “I'm also grateful to see you're alive.”

Alex smiled again.

“Hei.” Emil finally cut off the conversation after finishing arguing over Alex's hand. “Can we talk about Melodiza? He sent a message. To Alex. You won't like.”

The smile on Alex's face disappeared. Aided by Tiger, Alex managed to sit leaning against the wall. Emil handed over his phone that had been placed on the drum. A message from his teacher. Very short and clear. Not good news but a new disaster for Alex. His eyes could not blink when he read it.

[Coming back to class if you still want to see your friends :-)]

As Alex did not respond, Tiger nudged his shoulder. “Where is your confidence? You're Zetta Sonic. There's an ICPA behind you. You have everything you need. We're gonna catch him! Right, Emil?”

Emil was smiling. Jason began to air slowly behind him.

Her smile rubbed off on Alex. “Melodiza clearly wrong choose opponent.”