"I think that makes some since but he's going to be moving deeper so we could go back that way. We just got to wait a bit." I replied, looking at the losers I seemed to be stuck with.
Jackie had planned to flee long before Clarke told them about the bullets. She was sure that he would do something drastic when she voted against him. Even though she expected a torrent of fury he seemed indifferent as his gaze passed over her before he shot one of the twin. The blank firefight left her dazed. She couldn't understand why Clarke who was standing so near to her didn't fall after all those rounds. When she realized the obvious she backed away from the group and began to run as soon as Clarke shot Hayter. She heard someone screaming for her to stop and she turned to see Zain, Thomas and Chad slowing down. "Sorry but the way we came in would mean going through clark's group. He's got more men and more guns. In other words, we need a different exit," said Zain. "I think that makes some since but he's going to be moving deeper so we could go back that way. We just got to wait a bit," replied Chad. "I don't think Clarke is that thoughtless, he would be expecting that," she took a moment to catch her breath, "Zain is right we need to find an alternative exit."
Thomas turned to Jackie. She had been with Clarke the longest, and Thomas had been somewhat suprised at the fact she aimed for him in their make belief firefight. "Jackie is right. Clarke is clever basterd, the blanks proved that." He started pushing 9mm into his shotgun. "Any of you studied the maps?" He looked at Zain. "If not, we're pretty much screwed. I was in charge of transport, I don't have a clue where the **** we have to go." "Oh and Chad?" Thomas armed his Benelli. "You're a son of a bitch. The only reason I didn't shoot you months ago is because Clarke wouldn't let me." Chad didn't seem impressed. "Just so you know, the saying is true. Clarke may enlist deserters, but I shoot them. If you try to run away and leave the rest of us in the ****, I will put you down."
"Ahhh, and here I thought we were best buds." I say sarcasticly, the smile leaving my face for a minute. "All these dead bodies, I'm not running any where alone." I ensured him. Looking around in case what ever caused this to happen jumped out. "Though try not to forget, you aren't the leader tough guy, if anything I'm following her." I motion towards Jackie.
Now that she knew the evacuation alarm was just a precaution, Corinne was able to ignore the still-blaring sirens and the flashing red light. She calmly pulled on her cargo pants and exchanged her holey tshirt for a tank top. She moved quickly, jamming her feet into her nearby boots, not bothering to lace them, and scraping her hair back into a ponytail so it wouldn’t bother her beneath the hazmat suit’s helmet. The hazmat suits themselves were kept in a locker on the ground floor of the dormitory building. As she made her way down the stairs, Corinne found the place was eerily deserted, the empty halls and the alarm blasting around her making her heart thump. Everyone had evacuated; doors had been flung open and flapped on their hinges, revealing messy, abandoned rooms. Seeing a flashlight on one floor Corinne picked it up and stowed it away in the cargo pants’ deep pockets. It was night outside, and if the alarm stopped flashing she would be plunged into sudden darkness. A light would be useful. The locker door was open when she reached it, but the hazmat suits were all there. Corinne grabbed the first one that came to hand, pulling it on over her clothes. She flexed her fingers in the suit gloves, but help the helmet tucked underneath her arm until she got to the lab. The Viral Research Lab. Quite a trek from the dormitories, but Mike needed her there. Corinne pushed open a heavy metal door and stepped outside. In the dark, cool night she felt uneasy, and wished she didn’t feel like the only one left on the compound.
JAckie was somewhat surprised by Chad's decision to follow her, but then realized that he must've been redirecting the attention off himself by using her in his sarcastic remark. She folded her arm across her chest and tried to read Chad's tone before deciding whether to respond or not. She decided it was not worth the effort and emptied the blank clip still in her 9mm. Replacing it with one of three clips she always kept on her person. She cocked the gun and then looked at the three men, "So are we gonna sit here and vote again or are we gonna try find an exit?"
Mac and Anadyr hit the ground hard, the extra weight offsetting the delicately balanced parachute's load. Anadyr was launched across the clearing, bouncing twice off the ground. It hurt. She rolled to her feet, checking herself over for broken bones. Just a couple bruises. She was still operational. She walked back to Mac, watching as the rest of her team descended from the heavens. "Next time, Lieutenant, hold on tighter. Don't be afraid to grab a woman's ass if it's life or death," she told the Scot, with the faintest hint of a smile. One of the twins -- the surviving one, Billy LaMarr -- limped up to the group. His thigh bled in two places. He was very young, about 19, and had short scruffy brown hair and blue eyes. "Hey g-guys, I think I got shot... Is-isn't there a medical place around here? I could really use... help." The boy was in shock. His brother had been killed by his hero, and he'd been shot in the right leg, bleeding rather heavily. His thoughts came slow and weak.
Surveying the ground he saw Mac and Anadyr hit the ground first, and he felt using the word hit was most appropriate it sure as hell wasn't a landing. The rest of the group were still descending at an orderly rate since they were carrying the expected weight the parachute was designed for opposed to double. He landed with a fair amount of grace and set about removing the parachute and his oxygen mask grateful that he hadn't had to witness anyone suffer from Hypoxia this time. For a brief second he visualised a stain on the ground, a grisly past scene caused by hypoxia and one of the commandos falling unconscious before activating his chute, the man hadn't secured his oxygen mask properly on the training exercise... The last thing the team wanted was to sustain losses before even entering the combat zone especially in such a small operating team. He walked over to Anadyr doing a quick body sweep checking his webbing was secure, burgen was still tight and performing an NSP (Normal safety precaution) on his weapon, he was satisfied it was still fully functional and refitted the magazine he had just removed. "Bet that got the adrenaline running ready for the op aye" he said as Anadyr made eye contact with him.
I looked up at the twin, wanting to just suggest leaving him. After a moments thought I decided that I had no ammo, so we should help him. You don't have to out run your enemy, just your friends. "I guess there is one somewere." I remarked and offered him my shoulder. "Not to much trouble to help out a friend, right?" I asked the grump. He wanted to play leader he could. Until it was no longer convenient. Still, I looked up at Jackie "If that's ok with our leader of course."
Soldier - Mac They hit hard, the extra weight causing an odd and very rough landing. Mac hit the ground hard once, and then bounced up and hit it again, loosing his grip on his passenger. He stumbled to the ground and rolled. In an instant, he was up on his feet, reining the deviant parachute back in. His passenger approached him, and he was surprised to see the Colonel. "Next time, Lieutenant, hold on tighter. Don't be afraid to grab a woman's ass if it's life or death," He grinned broadly. "Aye, ma'am! I'll remember that." He said, his accent rolling off the 'r' sound. He gathered the chute into a more manageable bundle, then shed it.
Intruder - Jackie "Not to much trouble to help out a friend, right? If that's ok with our leader of course." Jackie could see herself getting incessantly annoyed at this constant burden of leading these men. She didn't even know why they wanted to choose a leader after they'd worked together before. Jackie sighed and put the cold metal to her forehead, brushing away some stray strands with the nozzle, "Listen guys, I am going to find another exit. Get away from Clarke and whatever is happening in this place. If you want to follow me then go right ahead. If you don't like my plans you can go your own way. Your choice." She checked her equipment briefly while she waited for what she had said to sink into their skulls.
Thomas scoweled at Jackie. She had never been a team player, but she had never been heartless either. "You realise that when you say that, you sound like Clarke?" She gave him a stare that would have killed a lesser man. "Besides, you wont stand a chance alone. And we got wounded." Thomas walked up to the twin to give him some support. "It's alright Billy, it's just a shallow wound. Nothing serious. We'll get you patched up." He looked at the rest of the group. "I'm going to need tweezers, bandages..." He looked at Billy's face. "... and painkillers. Lots of painkillers." "If that is alright with our fearless leader, offcourse." He looked at Chad. "Maybe you should ask her?" He turned his head to Jackie and gave her a little wink, and started walking towards the end of the wall. The wink hadn't been a pleasent one. It hadn't been a "I'm just joking"-wink, more of a "god help me before I shoot this guy"-wink.
"I will follow der Führer any where." I said, wondering if I should start marching with my legs locked strieght like the Nazi's did, but figured it'd be pushing the joke to far so decided to stick with the title for her only. I noticed that grumpy had snatched away the wounded man so I let him have him. It'd at least save me from making excuses when I had to drop him and haul it hoping that he slowed down what Clarke enough if he decided to come after us. "We should move, though, this place gives me the creeps." I added softly, my hand going into my pocket gripping my switch blade. It provided a strange comfort, I still wished I had some ammo.
Zain sighed in annoyance. "Ok guys, first off screw the idea of a leader. None of us play nice with authority or else we wouldn't have been part of Clark's group to begin with." Turning his attention to the limping twin, "I think the section to the south of here has a supplies biulding as well as an armoury. We should be able to patch you up there, so that is where we should head next."
Thomas nodded at Zain. "That's our next stop then." "And Zain... not all who joined Clarke are convicted criminals. Onschuldig tot anderzijds bewezen." He started walking. "Innocent till proven guilty." Billy felt like death waith on his shoulder, and it reminded him of basic training back in the Netherlands. He didn't remember any training having to do with a dozen security guards who were found dead and bleeding out of their asses. There were plenty of rumors about this place, but Thomas had never been one to believe in the supernatural or the extraterrestrial.
his heart was racing, Connell had done this a million times but knowing that it’s only a fragment of a second between life and death doesn’t help at all. feeling just a small tap on his shoulder he jumps, the cold air runs up his spine making Connell shiver uncontrollable. Swept up in the moment he looks down, suddenly realising what Connell was doing, he tugs on the cord, with only a quik jult up and he starts to float down to the ground, hoping for a good landing.
Raj Malhotra - Soldier Raj was still moving to the ground at an orderly rate. He was very experienced in these types of jumps. His chin was tucked, and the risers were grasped in an arm-bar protecting his face and throat and the elbows were tucked into the sides. As soon as the balls of his feet contacted the ground he twisted his upper body away from the direction of drift and pressed the outside knee against his inside knee. He continued to bend and twist vigorously exposing the calf and thigh muscles. Ensuring that his head remained tucked tightly to his chest he tensed his neck muscles to prevent the head from striking the ground. He exhaled as the upper body impacted the ground so as to reduce internal pressure and help the body absorb the impact. He rolled in the direction of drift and kept the elbows in and hands up to protect the face. He quickly disabled the parachute so as not to get dragged. He then stood on his feet and watched the scene a bit.
"Bet that got the adrenaline running ready for the op aye" Anadyr nodded vacantly, staring towards the mountains looming over them. A plume of smoke rose over the peak, in the general direction that the helicopter had gone. She didn't like it. If there's one thing she learned on the field, large volumes of smoke was never a good thing. She turned back to her men. "Alright boys, stay focussed. Lieutenant Phillips, secure the LZ. Colonel Malhotra, make sure the Humvees are operational. It'll be a long walk if they've been compromised." She decided not to mention the word 'hotwire'; something about ordering someone to commit a crime didn't set well. Extenuating circumstances aside. She turned to the cabin in the middle of the clearing. "Captain Strider, Lieutenant MacCormick, you're with me. We'll secure the outpost and see if we can make contact with someone in Watertown. Gather a little more intel." Billy blanched with the pain and the blood loss, but mostly it was out of indignant rage. "Are you people ****ing serious? I'm here, bleeding to death, and, and, you're arguing about who's the leader? I-I mean haven't you guys ever even watched a horror film? The leader of the g-group always dies first! It builds, like, tension or some ****." He was shaking. He could feel his body weakening, and felt unable to catch his breath. "J-just take me to the... the medical place. I can see it from here... it's that white building over there... I remember the maps... I've got a thingy... a photographic... memory."
Thomas looked at Billy. The poor sod was probably right. "In that case I vote to make Chad our leader." They walked around the corner and saw another long hall. "You sure this is the right way?" Billy nodded. "If you say so, it's your funeral." After a few more minutes, they found the infirmary. Thomas helped Billy on a bed, then started ransacking the medical supplies. "I need tweezers, bandages, painkillers, anything usefull." He looked at the rest of their group. "I suggest you start searching."
Corinne headed through the compound at a steady jog; it was too far to run flat out but Mike would want her there as quickly as possible. After several years working with him, Corinne had come to learn something about her superior’s temperament: Mike expected certain things from the people who worked for him, and as long as those expectations were met then he was a pleasant enough guy. If he was disappointed though, then the sparks started flying. Corinne had quite a temper herself, but her anger was like a petulant child’s tantrum compared to the rages Mike when into. What made it all the more frustrating was that Mike also assumed his employees would anticipate his expectations and meet them without forewarning. After coming to Watertown, Corinne had quickly learned that mistakes weren’t tolerated. As she headed towards the Viral Research Lab, Corinne doubled checked her pocket to make sure she’d brought her ID card. Apart from her own team’s research, Corinne didn’t know exactly what else went on in Watertown. What she did know was that the security was intense, bordering on paranoid. All workers were provided with ID cards to open the doors to which they had clearance to. Those same doors were also protected with security codes, and some with retinal and fingerprint scanners. Walk through the wrong door and punishment varied from suspension to expulsion from the facility and even time in prison. Corinne had often wondered if she’d been better off staying in her native New Zealand and doing research she knew was above board. But Mike had always assured her it was legal and for the good of humanity … … so Corinne headed for the Viral Research Lab and wondered what had gone so wrong that they needed to take the precaution of issuing an evacuation alarm.
He watched her eyes carefully he read Anadyrs distant response easily, clearly he wasn't the only one concerned by the inconsistent plume of smoke that had began to rise up from behind the mountains. So much for that extraction plan he thought. He noted the fact she failed to address her concerns and proceeded to order the rest of the group. "Captain Strider, Lieutenant MacCormick, you're with me. We'll secure the outpost and see if we can make contact with someone in Watertown. Gather a little more intel." He allowed a small smile to creep over his face. Excellent, securing the area was always fun. He nodded and unclipped part of the sling that held the rifle tight to his chest. A bit more freedom and now he was combat ready. His finger casually rested on the trigger guard and he welcomed the security of the feel of the butt of the rifle nuzzled against his shoulder. God he'd missed serving on the field, finally free of the training camps and his flock of trainees.
Hank could hear everything. The muffled sound of something impacting with the ground outside. Muffled voices, carried in the air. The muffled sound of his own breathing, sifting through the gas mask. When you've been locked in a pitch-black pantry for two hours, your sense of hearing heightens. But now it was over. They were here. Game over. He cocked the Glock. Hah, the rhyme was humourously inappropriate. His hands were shaking. He'd contemplated this moment for what seemed like days. He placed the barrel in his mouth. Was he doing the right thing? Definitely -- he'd seen how the others had died. This was better. Much more dignified. Still, he hesitated. He felt he should do something significant with his last seconds of life. Something profound...
Jackie began to search any cabinets nearby. Most of them contained either spilled r broken bottles of medicine. Pills had altogether disappeared and bandages were dirty and unusable. She opened a cabinet higher up and managed to fish out a small bandage roll. she took it and continued to search. When her search wielded nothing else she returned to the table and presented Thomas with her findings. She looked at Bill's wound, the at his face, then back at his wound before she said, "You're such a cry baby. You'll be fine."
Clarke raked his long blonde hair back out of his eyes. He needed a haircut. His boots echoed against the linoleum floor of the Viral Research Lab. A man rounded the corner. Short, stout and bespeckled. Two of Clarke's men raised their guns. Clarke motioned them to stand down. "Michael Ashburner, I presume." The man nodded, his expression stony. "Clarke, huh? Thought you'd be taller or something." Clarke smiled. "Few men live up to their legends. You have what I want?" Mike hesitated. "You have what I want?" Clarke took a wad of cash from his beige coat and tucked it into the scientist's shirt pocket. "Enough to retire on, friend." Mike nodded, leading the three men into his lab. "So, what's with the bodies," Clarke asked conversationally. Mike stopped. "Bodies?" "You haven't noticed...?" "What are you-" "Nevermind." "Ehh right. Well, I called my assistant. She should be here soon. She knows the specifics of the procedure -- I just oversee its development..." ((Note: The following text in green is experienced only by Chad)) Chad walked into the infirmary. A woman was laying on a nearby sick bed. Chad moved closer to the bed. The woman's eyes shot open, and she jumped up. Chad recoiled, surprised. "I've been waiting for you, my killer." Her voice was soft and pleasant, and she wore an elegant white dress. It was then that Chad recognised her as the woman he'd shot dead during a bank robbery in New York. "Do you know what the ironic thing is, my killer?" She put a hand to her stomach. "If I hadn't been pregnant," she laughed, "I wouldn't have died." A vibrant red bloodstain blossomed out from beneath her hand. There was a bullet hole straight through her abdomen. Chad was transfixed by horror. She walked towards him, putting her hand on his chest. "It's been so long since I've felt a heart beat, my killer. My baby's heart used to beat, you know..." She took a step back, leaving a bloody handprint on Chad's shirt. "Tonight, my killer, you suffer for your sins." Chad snapped out of it. Tried to shake it off. He glanced down. The red handprint was still on his shirt, like a terrible brand.
