At the far-eastern side of the continent, sitting calmly in his office while resting his head on his hands was a young man who was in his twenties. He wore a dark blue cap and uniform. His long coat was hung on his chair, its silver epaulettes brushing against the blue fabric of the fine coat. Soft snores could be heard from the young man, his head moved up and down softly while his hands rested on the dark wooden table. He had blonde hair and a light complexion. His hair slightly swayed across his arms, ever so slightly brushing against him.
The atmosphere was calm and quiet. Behind the man were two bookshelves of the same color as the table, in front was another chair just like the one he was sitting on which was an office chair. On his desk was a computer made of black rims and neon blue lights. It felt like the future had come early. There were also many documents and a picture of many individuals surrounding someone who looked like the man.
The man groggily woke up while rubbing his eyes which were a sky-blue color. His hair cast a shadow over his head which didn't seem to dim his brilliance. He had broad forehead and thin face with no facial hair. He stretched and stood up. Grabbing his coat and pushing the chair back into place, he made his way to the door. He turned his head once, then twice and left the room.
The hallway was no different but strange. It had no windows or doors, and it stretched over like an abyss. His steps echoed throughout the hall as he paced through it. He hung the coat on his shoulders while his hands were in his pockets. His suit was majorly blue with secondary black with rims of sliver covering it. On his chest were four golden stars which radiated brilliance like the sun.
Eventually, he met some other fellows who wore black suits. They greeted him in a respectful manner.
"Good evening, General Albert!"
"Good morning – I mean, Evening…" Albert hiccupped.
The others didn't say anything as he walked past them. His eyes were dazed as if he was in another world. He walked with his head down, his eyes hovering above the ground. Eventually, he came to a stop near a heavy metal door with warning labels on it. He took out a card from his pocket and scanned it on the panel next to the door. The panel hummed and the door slid open.
He stepped outside while grabbing an umbrella from the stand beside the door. Thunder struck and flashed across the horizon! Rain poured endlessly outside. Darkness covered the sky as if the sun had been swallowed. The black clouds twisted, making it seem like something was moving above the sky. Albert stepped outside while opening his umbrella. On the balcony, he looked upon the Gatekeepers Sea.
'Why am I in this hell again…Ah, because I wanted to be here…eh, there's nothing I can do.'
He thought as he grabbed the railings. The ocean itself was deeply blue, almost undifferentiable from black. It's waved reached as high as the balcony he was standing on. The wave crashed into the wall below him, soaking his boots. He sighed and focused on the sea below. Thunder howled across the sea striking multiple times as fast winds took over. They almost blew his hat off, but he held it on.
Beneath the surface of the water, shadows roamed across under the surface ocean. He saw a pair of glowing eyes while looking down. The eyes moved and something jumped out of the water and reached the balcony! It was horrible abomination with countless sharp teeth across its body and a lantern on its forehead. It opened its mouth trying to bite down on Albert.
Albert unlocked his Holster and grabbed a grenade. He pulled the pin and threw it at the monster. The monster swallowed the bomb and a few moments later it blew inches away from Albert's face. His umbrella protected him from the falling flesh. He sighed while looking at the monster's head.
'I should've just worked a 9 to 5 instead of being here…gosh, I hate this.'
***
He walked down where a man handed him a letter.
"Sir, you've received a letter from the AEOC." The man said.
"Really? Let me see it." Albert said as he turned around.
The man handed Albert a letter from the AEOC, stamped with red. Albert carefully opened the package and read its contents. After reading the letter, he sighed and handed it back.
'So, the expedition is cancelled…What a pity? I was looking forward to it.'
He thought solemnly as he strode down the hall. Eventually, he reached another room at the end of the hallway. He opened its doors and saw a massive boat being repaired. He walked into the room Many mechanics were working on the cruise; their faces covered with dust and oil. Then, an elderly man with a thick grey beard greeted him. He also had no hair on his head and dark eyes.
"Ahh…Greetings, General Albert. What brings you hear today.?" The elderly man asked with a hoarse voice.
He was rubbing his side with the cloth on his bald head.
"Hello, Isaac." Albert replied.
Albert looked at the boat with gleaming eyes before turning to the Isaac and said in a solemn tone.
"The expedition has been postponed."
Isaac froze and then, asked again.
"What? Really?"
"Yes, 10 enforcers died from the AEOC's first unit so…The expedition has been postponed until Ashland is in a stable condition." Albert confirmed.
"Ah…That's a bummer." Isaac sighed.
"I'm sorry…I know you've been excited about this since this is the biggest expedition we are going on."
"Ha! Ha...No worries. We will make some major improvements within this time." Isaac said with a smile.
"Good luck." Albert said as Isaac turned away to inform his fellow mechanics.
Right then, an alarm sounded off in the entire building.
'An attack?'
Albert thought as he instantly turned around and ran to the door. He closed it and rushed down the hall with his assistant. He pressed his finger on his ear and asked.
"Where?"
A hoarse voice came through the earpiece.
"Sir, the benthos are invading at the 6th tower."
"The sixth? Okay, I'm coming." Albert said as he cut the call
After a few minutes, he made it to another gate. He scanned his card and the gate opened to a massive tower. He climbed the ladder and after two minutes, he made it to the top where 10 soldiers wearing blue combat uniforms were stationed. At the front was a massive machine, it was made of metal and had a very peculiar design. He walked to the front and looked down to see a monster bashing its head against the tower while bullets were being fired at it.
"These damn benthos…" Albert clicked his tongue.
Benthos were a special type of deep-sea monster found only in the Gatekeepers Sea. They were known for being abominations of nature with unnatural bodies and strange blood. Worst of all, they were carnivores and if left unchecked they could attack humans or other animals on the land. Since they could jump to over 10 – 12 feet.
The benthos crashed its body against the tower; the tower shook violently as bullets bounced off its skin. Albert hung onto the railings as the monster's roar took over his ears.
"Idiots! activate the railgun!" Albert shouted
His shout echoed and after a few minutes, the machine behind him was powered up as it glowed with white energy. In the next second, a burst of light came, and the monsters released its last howl before…silence. After the blast, Albert was disoriented. His ears were ringing and his vision was burry. He could barely balance himself. He gripped the railings and looked down to see the Half-corpse of the dead benthos, falling over into the ocean.
"Hell yeah!" Albert smiled as he fell over.