The night air did nothing to cool Eric down. Minutes felt like hours as the time passed. Once ten minutes had passed, the time for Ricky’s team to meet them, Eric began to check his watch every few seconds. Jessica walked over, her gaze anchored to the North. "Dad, Something is coming."

Eric looked north and felt something moving in the air. His own instincts began to scream at him as he looked around. "More than one thing." He muttered.

"Alright! Get in the trucks. Orient the turrets North. Alpha, cover Bravo since their truck is further. Do not fire yet! Use the tree line as cover when you bound!"

His orders were followed quickly and efficiently. Although this team had never worked together before, each was either a highly trained soldier or an elite hero.

Except for Trephania.

After Eric yelled out his orders, she grabbed her weapon and crouched down near a tree. "What do I do, Eric?" She yelled, panic etched clearly on her face.

Eric kept his weapon pointed north. "Run back to your truck! He yelled over his shoulder."

Suddenly, the grass to his right bristled. He shifted his weapon towards the movement, but noticed blood. And a face he recognized.

"Ricky!"

A sputtering cough answered him. "Contact. five hundred yards north. They’re hot on our tail. Three WIA. Five total."

Eric narrowed his eyes. "Get the wounded to the blue-haired woman. She is a healer. Truck two. I’ll cover."

Ricky coughed again and whistled. Three limping men emerged from the tree line. Two of the other men were struggling to support them. Ricky tried to stand, but couldn’t.

"Trephania! We have wounded!"

Trephania threw her weapon into the trunk of the truck and grabbed Ricky. Mana flared around her as she dragged him up and ran with him towards the second truck. "Get the worst of the wounded soldiers into the truck with me!" She yelled.

A blue light surrounded her as she cut open Ricky’s vest. Eric heard her muttering words, but he couldn’t focus on that. "Grenades! five hundred feet north. Turrets! Shift fire to those trees! Cut ’em down!"

Since the battle against the Ark had claimed most of 6-8’s ammunition, every unit had gotten Jonny’s replacement ammunition. The new rounds burst with purple mana, exploding on contact with the trees in front of them. The forest became a litany of explosions as the grenades hit their mark.

Immediately after, he heard the enemy team shouting orders. "They’re in front of us! Spread out! Mana shields to the front."

Eric grumbled. "Not good! Turrets! Suppressive fire. Watch the flanks! They’re trying to surround us!"

Gunfire rang out from the Cartharic side, and Eric ran behind one of the trucks. He heard metal ping after metal ping hit the opposite side of the truck, and sighed in relief. "If I was even one second later." He mumbled.

"Trephania! Are they stable?"

"No! Can you buy me five minutes?"

Eric looked around. Gunfire was being exchanged on both sides. Mana from his soldiers was smashing against the Cartharic side, flashes of all different colors meeting in the middle of the distance between the two elements. The turrets blazed as they cleared out trees and scoured the ground. Explosions of earth shot into the ground as each shot rang in his ears.

"Jessica, switch with Michael! Focus your power on the left!"

"Copy!"

Michael slung his weapon and quickly jumped into the turret. Jessica ran to a place she was covered by large bushes, and he heard her incantation start. He sighed.

"Heaven help us."

He reloaded his magazine as the temperature began to rise. Sweat began trickling down Eric’s neck profusely as he shot more rounds towards where the enemy was slowly regrouping. They had already taken out a few of the elements that were behind them, but Eric knew there were more.

The temperature continued to rise, and the dark sky grew as bright as day as a massive ball of fire appeared above the treetops. Mia looked at Eric with concern as she reloaded her magazine next to him. "Are you sure?" She murmured.

Eric sighed.

"We have no choice."

The spell landed.

Everything a few hundred feet in front of them flashed so bright the soldiers had to look away. Eric ducked behind the vehicle, grabbed Mia and Justin, and forced them down under the cover of the Humvee.

Heat washed over their element, the overpressure from Jessica’s spell still burning the air and mana in the atmosphere as the soldiers got up. Eric looked in the direction the spell landed and shook his head.

"Well, if they were there before, they aren’t now." He muttered.

A few hundred feet in front of them, a massive crater where forest had once been was all that remained. It was a few feet deep and approximately a few hundred feet wide.

Eric ran over to Jessica, catching her before she fell unconscious.

"Did I do well, Dad?" She whispered, barely able to keep her eyes open.

Eric kissed her head. "You did very well, sweetheart. Now, rest."

Eric looked at the rest of the team while grabbing Jessica’s rifle and hoisting her up, helping her walk. "Alright, get in the trucks where you can fit. We will take our wounded and head back to Dresken. Trephania, are they stable enough for us to move?"

Trephania nodded, wiping sweat from her brow. "I healed most of the internal bleeding, but I will need to do some scans in a more sterile environment. As it is right now, I can do just enough so that they survive the trip."

Eric sighed and looked down at Ricky. Ricky had blood trickling over a bandage on his arm, and more blood flowing freely down his leg. Trephania was actively working on him.

"Alright. Get them in the truck. We move out as soon as they are loaded in."

Mia ran over to Jessica.

"Good job, sweetie," Mia said gently. "Let’s get you in the truck."

Jessica had no energy left to respond; she simply nodded and leaned against Mia.