Chapter 67. Trapped in Ruins

The fifteen-member Deformity squad quickly sought cover, and the earthbenders began to sense something coming from underground. The ground crunched, then gave way like a landslide. A group of ants emerged. 

They made an underground passage, then moved to collect large rocks and reenter the tunnel. There were so many of them that the deformity couldn't possibly bring them down. 

Carol and Bernice both peered at what the ants were doing. They looked at each other.

"They seem to be building another fortress," Carol whispered.

Bernice nodded. "There might be a gap where the orb isn't completely surrounded by fortifications."

"We can't possibly get around Tacoma on foot."

"Most likely, scouting by UAS."

They had to contact Milton's base to request UAS support. But first, they had to get back to the previous staging area. The distance to get there was on foot, taking one to two hours because of the bad terrain due to the ruined buildings