The Squad (Part 1)

The first thing they encountered as they pressed onward was the stench.

This unexpected, horrifying smell seemed to come from something so thoroughly decayed that it had liquefied, permeating the cold, damp air.

Once they had left the armored vehicle's roaring exhaust behind, the only thing they could smell was that foul stench.

The seven of them advanced at a run, spreading out over the slick rocks.

Some retched, while others complained about the smell.

Following his usual habit, Kundraka named the team Unit 7—007 Squad.

"Stop acting like children! Bear with it!"

Walus shouted at the people behind him, though he sniffed uneasily as well.

"Fuck, it really stinks!"

He muttered to himself, then looked around.

They were in a flat valley, with mountain ranges on either side that were extraordinarily angular, like stone pillars or flat-topped towers.

It was cold here, but the humidity was worse.

It was as though the air itself was wet. Yet it was not raining—not even a drizzle—only a rolling veil of fine mist.

He felt as if his skin were covered in a layer of cold sweat.

Almost everyone was soaked through, their cloaks hanging heavily behind them, droplets condensed on their helmets.

The low sky was packed with churning dark clouds. Beneath their feet lay gray rock, the hard ground made slippery by moisture.

The stones seemed naturally prone to splitting into squares. Their slabs formed something like steps, making it hard not to feel that this was the work of some stonemason rather than nature.

Walus realized that the square shapes of those rocks explained why the mountains looked like buildings. Though he was from Tyre, he had never seen terrain so regular. He had visited the Grand Canyon several times, but never ventured very deep inside. The region as