Chapter 1 - A Painful Memory.
Someone said to me once that a beginning has to be spectacular like a colourful pyre. That it has to lead somewhere. It has to spark something.
The surrounding crumbling timber collapsed, as the Medic stalked me through the burning building, the insane sound of laughter coming from her lips. An axe was clutched in her bloodstained hands. My breathing picked up when she neared me.
"Come here!~" She cooed. I ran through the collapsing building attempting to avoid the constantly falling chunks of burnt metal, the smell of burning rust permeated the air. I stumbled out, my rifle barely strapped to my body.
The metal of my gun burnt my fingers but I bit my lip to hide the pain as I aimed it at the only exit that hadn't collapsed in a fiery heap yet. She slowly emerged from the wreckage, an insane grin on her bloodied face. The axe she held was dripping with gore and splattered blood. I pictured the mangled corpses of my teammates when she stood above them chopping away as if they were firewood. I held my finger lightly on the trigger.
"Any last words?" I spat at the monster who stood before me. Her smile grew as she raised the deadly axe in her nimble fingers.
"I have no words. Do you have any last words, dear?" she cheerfully asked, in a voice which was like a sugary syrup.
"Only that I pray that you die!" I shouted before I squeezed the trigger which planted a bullet through her skull. Her body stiffened before flopping onto the ground with a thump. Tears lightly streamed down my face as I looked at the distorted corpse of the person who was once my friend. I wailed as sirens around me blared and firemen doused the fire. The roaring of people around me filled the air as I collapsed into a sorrowful heap on the ground.
Sniper awoke with a start, the nightmare still clawing at his mind. The recollection of that horrifying event still haunted him. The fact that insanity could turn someone in to an unthinkable monster that could slaughter seven sort of innocent people in a matter of minutes was completely insane in the Aussie's eye. The loud ringing sound of the alarm sounded on the bedside table. He slammed his fist down onto the small clock with a groan. Sniper rubbed sleep out of my eyes. He rolling out of my small bed and wandered over to the counter. He turned on the small, silver kettle before grabbing the instant coffee out of the cupboard above. With a yawn he scooped the coffee into his favorite mug and poured the water in once the kettle was done with it. Sniper slipped a shirt over his lanky frame as well as the cleanest pair of pants he could find before slipping out of his portable home.
Sniper had lived in that van for most of his adulthood. It's slightly moldy and animal smell would deter the most determined of of idiots. A thin layer of snow covered the earthy ground before him as another small shower of snowflakes floated around the bushman. He sipped his rapidly cooling coffee as he entered the large base, its red colour scheme quite different from the other across the battlefield. The overwhelming smell of bacon and other breakfast foods came straight from the kitchen. The soft sizzling sound of meat frying in a pan combined with the rambling of other voices sounded as Sniper stepped into the large kitchen. The loud banging of a baseball against the wall created a repeated rhyme. The Scout was hitting his baseball against the wall repeatedly while he waited for breakfast to be completed. Bang bang bang. The drunken Scot lay nearby half awake on the rugged sofa watching the small TV flicker black and white images. Heavy and Medic sat in the corner, the two having a deep conversation with Pyro sitting beneath them drawing childish squiggles with crayons on blank sheets of paper. Shouting came from the tucked away area that was used for creating the vast amount of food for the large group. The shouting belonged to Soldier who seemed to be shouting at the old toaster while Engineer moved around him, a hot frying pan in his gloved hand while a chopping board with a half sliced tomato and a knife lay in his ungloved hand.
"Move Soldier!" Engineer shouted. "Oh heya Stretch."
"Do you need help?" He asked as shoved Soldier out of the area with a forceful push.
"Sure. Soldier said he'd help but as you saw he'd been yellin' at that toaster for ages." Engineer replied. He passed me one of the worn and wooden cutting board. Sniper laughed as a reply before placing the chopping board down and lifting the knife. It gleamed in the morning sun as tomato juice dripped down it. Sniper stared at it with fear before shaking his head and muttering cursed under his breath. "You okay Sniper? You look like yer seen a ghost." Engineer questioned as he saw Sniper's startled face. He didn't reply and ended up looking glumly at the tomato and the wooden chopping board.
A large hand gripped the Australian's shoulder in a peaceful way. Engineer looked at Sniper with deep concern. He shrugged him off before going back to cutting the tomato. "I don't need your sympathy, Truckie." Sniper quipped. He dumped the chopped tomato into the gooey egg mixture that sat in a nearby metal bowl.
"You havin' those nightmares again?" He pressured. He shrugged before spilling the bowl into the pan. Sniper gripped tightly onto a wooden spoon as he mixed it.
"What do you think?" Sniper snapped at him. His anger causing him to mix the egg mixture roughly.
"It wasn't your fault they died." Engineer said as an attempt to console the man.
"It was my fault that I didn't see her coming sooner." Sniper mumbled before tossing the cooked egg mixture onto one of the massive plastic plates that they used for serving. "Where's the Spook?"
Engineer shrugged. The Texan lifted the plate with bacon and sausage on it and heading towards the large table. Sniper followed after him with the plate of eggs. He placed it down next to the one which held the slight burnt toast. Sniper slipped into his place next to that of Engineer's and Spy's place. When Sniper first arrived at Doublecross he ended up refusing to sit next to the Medic. "'Ello Sniper." Spy said. He neatly sat down next to Sniper, his pressed suit and tie was different to that of the outfit which Sniper wore currently. 'Sorta like the bases' Sniper mused to himself while sipping his cold coffee. He scratched his arm before piling some bacon onto his plate.
"You heard about that blue moon?" Engineer asked the group. Demoman just shrugged, he was too drunk to even comprehend what they were saying. Breakfast continued without much more chatter between the group of nine. Sniper got up once he had finished, his plate clutched in his hands, headed towards the sink to clean it and spare one of his teammates the time. As he was attempting to remove a large stain someone tried to sneak up behind Sniper.
"I know your there." The Aussie replied. The sound of arms hitting the person's torso could be heard as well as a loud sigh.
"Aw cmon. You used ta be so easy ta scare." Scout complained. He was leaning against one of the corners, twirling what looked like a wooden spoon.
"Go away Scout. I'm busy." Sniper mumbled, still scrubbing that stubborn stain. Scout leaned in closer. Sniper shoved him away before dropping his plate into the dirty and soapy water and storming off towards his van. He heard Scout shouting behind him, attempting a pitiful apology. Sniper slammed the main door behind him as he walked through, the snow crunching beneath his shoes. Sniper roughly grabbed the hand of the door before storming inside. He lay himself upon the bed before kicking his shoes off and curling up into a ball. He stayed like that for who knows how long but as the sun shone through the tattered curtains Sniper faintly heard a knock at the door.
"Who is it" The man groaned as he rolled onto his side to face the door.
"It's me, Dell." The voice behind the door said impatiently. "Mind letting me in? It's freezing out here." Sniper sighed. He got up and unlocked the door to let him in. Sniper then proceeded to make two mugs of coffee.
"How many sugars do you have again?" He questioned while filling the kettle full of water and turning it on.
"Don't change the subject, Lawrence. You know why I'm here don't you?" Engineer replied sternly before sitting down in on of the fold out chairs Sniper owned. The kettle whistled a high pitched scream before Sniper removed it.
"You came to have coffee didn't you?" Sniper sarcastically said, already pouring the hot water into the mugs.
"Full moon is coming soon." He commented. Sniper growled before passing him his own mug and sipping on his own. He sighed while laying himself down on the bed, all the while looking at Engineer.
"We need to talk" Sniper said.