Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from The Hills Have Eyes; those belong to Wes Craven. Rory Sykes belongs to me and Letty Gomez belongs to the mighty and powerful Berry's Ambitions. I am only going to put this disclaimer once.
Well, this HHE AU story has been knocking around in my head for a while now and I really felt the need to write it. I am still writing Watch Me, but the muse for that one is fleeting. This is my way of keeping the HHE juices flowing. This story is a Soldier AU that has the mutants and the human characters as military. All characters will appear, but only some will be focused on. I labeled this as hurt/comfort as opposed to romance because the pairings that exist won't have any actual romantic content. No kissing, sex, cuddles, etc. It is more of a sexual tension and thoughts of "what could be" than any real love. So, on with the show!
Rated T warning: Foul language and slurs
Chapter One
Soldiers We Be
It wasn't the sheer size of the fort as much as its reputation that it held that intimidated them. For many years, this place was known, to only a select few, as the center of military intelligence and reconnaissance. Within the walls, men and women worked tirelessly to attain knowledge of foreign threats, defend United States secrets, and train operatives to become spies and agents.
The fort was called Castle and it was aptly named. The towering walls were befitting of any lord or lady and were protected by the finest of security technology. Cameras, hounds, automated turrets; this fort was the last place anyone wanted to try anything risky. As they drove up the road leading to Castle, all eyes were cast upwards in awe.
"Damn." Was the first word spoken and it snapped everyone out of their reverie. The man responsible, young and dark haired going by the name Stump, whistled lowly and dragged a thumb under his nose as he looked on. "What a crazy place! Wonder if it's the same on the inside."
"Well, we're about to find out." Said the man across from him, an African American named Delmar. The rest of the group nodded in agreement as the truck they rode in ground to a halt at the check in gate.
A portly man with graying temples leaned out of the window and nodded to the driver.
"Whatcha got?" He asked, peering at the men and women in the back. There were five of them, three men and two women, all dressed in similarly colored BDUs. The men were of differing ethnicity; one African American, another of Latin descent, and, the last, a white man of unknown, and likely mixed, background. They all sat on one side of the truck bed, in various stages of reclining, while the two women sat side by side across from them. The elder of the two, all cheekbones and stern expression, sat ramrod straight beside the younger, who favored a more relaxed posture. They were very similar in appearance, both sporting black hair, brown eyes, and soft brown skin. The younger woman's face as a bit rounder and wasn't as thin as her counterpart, but that was where their differences ended. If one didn't know any better, one would say they were mother and daughter. Even the braids they both had were the same. It was eerie.
"Just the last group of soldiers coming in for debrief. Group number…" The driver trailed off, looking at a clipboard in the passenger seat, "505N-875M01." The security guard checked his own records, nodded, and waved them along.
The truck kicked forward and soon they pulled into a small garage that as filled with other vehicles and plenty of people. The soldiers hopped out of back, swung their bags over their travel-weary shoulders and moved from the room down a hallway. Before the cars passed completely from sight, the young man called Stump punched his fellow in the shoulder joyfully.
"Did you see that tank? The size of that beast?! Oh man, I would love to drive it!" Stump laughed. The soldier who was on the receiving end of the hit, the Latin American known as Crank, slammed his fist into the arm of the other man, though with much less comradery.
"Yeah, I fuckin' saw it. Don't hit me, bitch." The sour mood of the man immediately had a sobering effect on Stump, who became sullen as he rubbed his arm. The older woman, Missy, frowned and rolled her eyes at Crank.
"Why do you have to be such a little prick all the time, Crank?" She asked, not exactly wanting an answer. The short, stocky man sneered at her, but said nothing. Missy's doppelganger snickered and bumped into the taller woman.
"Don't you know? It's because he has a little prick." This brought a laugh from the previously pouting Stump and a wide grin from Missy. Delmar remained stoic. The Latino grumbled and gave them the finger but did nothing more.
Once at the end of the hall, they were greeted by a small blonde woman, who had large blue eyes that scanned each of them before she gestured for them to follow. The soldiers fell in behind her and trailed after the young woman as she led them to a large side room. It was relatively empty, save for an oval shaped table and fifteen or so chairs. The woman motioned for them to sit and, before they could do so, power walked away. Stump chose a chair on the far side, leaning it back on two legs. The others all sat regularly, but away from one another, except Missy, who sat next to Letty, the younger Hispanic woman.
For the longest half an hour that any of them could remember, they sat and waited. Stump had taken up singing quietly to himself every song that had a woman's name in it, while Crank and Delmar stared at different places on the wall. The women sat closely, speaking in whispers. Right when Stump was about to begin the chorus for "Hey There, Delilah" when the door swung open. All five soldiers turned to look at the new arrivals.
First to enter was a woman, appearing close to Missy in age, though she had a different look about her. For one, she was thicker than Missy, weighing likely 50-60lbs more than her and with strong looking arms and a defined back. Her wavy hair, dyed a deep wine red, was cropped to just above her ears and held back under a bandanna. Her hazel eyes scanned over the soldiers who were seated and she nodded once, politely, before taking a seat near Delmar. After her came two men, both of which were slender of build and brown of hair. They looked similar, in the same way that Missy and Letty looked alike, but they sat apart from one another. Lastly, came a tall man with broad shoulders and a serious expression. Many medals adorned his left breast and a golden bar of silk with six black woven bands was on his right. He was obviously a much higher rank than the rest of them and he spoke to them as such.
"Welcome. That is as friendly as I am ever going to be, so get used to it." That brought everyone to attention. Stump sat forward, bringing the legs of the chair down with an audible click.
"This is Castle, as you all well know." The man continued, "A fortress that we here at O.E.T., which stands for Office of Espionage and Tactics, if you didn't already know," They did know, "like to call home, sweet home." The man leaned on the table, bracing himself on his knuckles which were crossed with scars.
"We didn't invite you kiddies here for a slumber party. There is work to be done and I expect you all to do your jobs."
"General." Delmar spoke up, causing the man to turn to acknowledge him. "Permission to speak."
"Granted."
"Sir, what will we be doing here at Castle? My squad and I have yet to be debriefed."
"Well, that's what I'm here to do, soldier." The General stated, straightening up. "O.E.T. is an intelligence organization that specializes in dealing with foreign threats. This is what you will be doing. All of you will be trained and put into a task force called CLAN. There will be a multiple teams but you will all report in as a group. Your job will be to infiltrate, obtain the information we need, take control of a building or zone, and even escort VIPs to a destination."
At his words, Delmar's mouth set into a straight line but his eyes were lit with some strong emotion. Stump appeared pleased, as did Crank, but the rest hid their feelings behind expressionless faces. The General continued on to explain their assignment, their living arrangements and, when he finished, dismissed the soldiers.
"Know this." He spoke gravely before they left, "Your job will be difficult. You will be injured, maybe killed, but remember that your job is vital to the protection of the United States, and truly, the entire world. I am proud of you all." The soldiers saluted and filed out of the room.
Once they were all back in the common room, which was really just a larger room with four hallways leading away to God knows where, they set about introducing themselves. The first group faced the second, with Delmar stretching out a hand as a greeting.
"I'm Delmar Reed, been in the service for five years." The one to take his hand was the muscular woman, who smiled sincerely at him.
"Rory Sykes, been in for 3. Behind me is David Napoli, he's the taller one, and Robert Carter, though we call him Bobby." Both men waved and smiled, though they were halfhearted gestures. Delmar introduced his crew, starting with Missy and ending with Stump. Bobby excused himself after with a curt nod and walked off, leaving the rest to stand awkwardly together in the middle of the room. Rory chuckled and turned to go as well.
"See y'all at dinner, then?" She asked.
"Of course." Delmar tipped his head and turned back to the others. "Okay, let's get settled in."
Down one of the overly long hallways, there was a line of barrack styled rooms. The doors were plain and brown and numbered from 20-35. Passing by, each member of the squad drifted to their assigned rooms. Missy and Letty shared 22, Crank took 27, Delmar was in 23, and Stump was sharing with another soldier in 30, which was fine with all except the latter.
"What a total bummer! I don't want to share with some dude I've never met!" He grumbled, scuffing his toe in the floor. Letty smiled genuinely and rubbed the tall man's shoulder.
"It will be okay! He might turn out to be your new best friend. Think positive!"
"Yeah. I just hope he ain't queer." Stump huffed a sigh and opened the door to his room, as did Letty and the others.
Missy and Letty's room
"Oh my gosh! I am so bushed!" Letty cried out, dropping her bag and falling backwards onto the twin sized bed beneath her. Her cousin, Missy, was already putting her clothes into the bureau near the bathroom, but spared the young woman a sympathetic glance.
"It wasn't too bad, was it?" She asked.
"No, just the 97 degree New Mexican sun beating down on our necks all the way from Yuma Flats. That is a 3 hour drive! It gets hot!" Was the exasperated reply.
Missy chuckled and took out her cell phone. Switching it on, she peered down at the wallpaper behind the apps and sighed softly. The little smile met her and she touched the screen with the tip of her index finger. God, how she missed him. Letty picked up on the sober attitude her cousin was exuding and she sat up, frowning.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah, it's bueno. I miss him."
"You gonna call him?"
"I'm not sure. I don't want him to hear me tired."
"Smart."
Missy laid the phone on the dresser and glanced at the bathroom. She could feel dried sweat on her scalp and it made her cringe.
"I'm gonna hit the shower."
"Cool beans." Letty smiled and laid back down.
Stump's Room
"Hey, man." Stump mumbled, throwing a half-assed smile. The man sitting on the bed by the far wall bobbed his head in return.
"'Sup?"
"I'm Stump."
"Masters."
"You, uh… you…"
"Ain't gay."
"Cool, man. It's aight if you are, though. But, cool."
"You ain't?"
"Hell naw."
"Good."
Delmar's Room
It was dark, quiet, and nearly empty. A bed, sparingly dressed, was pushed up against the wall and, above it, a small cross hung on a nail. There was a bathroom, a dresser, and a bedside table with a lamp.
It didn't bother him in the slightest. He set his bag down on the bed, ignoring the small squeaks of the springs. He took the cross down, setting it in one of the drawers of the dresser. He clicked the lamp on. He stepped into the bathroom, wetted his face, and looked at himself in the mirror.
Brown skin so dark it was almost black, short buzzed hair, full lips, muscled neck and shoulders. Solid, cold eyes. He stared at himself, into his own eyes for a long while. Soon, he had to look away. He had never enjoyed seeing himself, not this way.
He retired to the bedroom again, but did not relax on the bed as the others might have. Instead, he dropped to the floor and began to do push-ups. No point in getting sloppy, he thought.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5…
Crank's Room
"Fuck this." He kicked the bed frame lightly with one foot, scowling at the scratchy looking blanket and the slightly flat mattress.
"This blows." He drifted to the dresser and found that one of the drawers screamed loudly when it was pulled out.
"Dammit." The man growled as he eyed the toilet, scrunching his nose at the small spider that floated in the bowl.
"This definitely ain't the El Rey Inn." With a sigh, he sat down heavily on the bed, still grimacing like he ate something sour. Deep in his mind, he hoped that everyone else was just as miserable.
Deep in the bowels of Castle, in the parts that even the elevators don't reach, there was movement. A stirring, a long held in exhale, and a slight sigh. It went unnoticed by the singular person on the other side, but not by the others contained within the glass.
"Did you hear?" A rumble, like thunder.
"No, what?" A creamy whisper.
"New meat." This one more like an avalanche.
"How many?" Gentle and laced with curiosity.
"Five. So now that's nine total." Well-spoken and quiet.
"They outnumber us." A sound akin to a dog's snarl.
There was a moment of silence behind the glass, then a door opened across the room. A man, thick as a tree, spoke into the shadows.
"And you will be working with them as a team. I expect good behavior."
"No fun." Came the reply, and the Devil's smile was in the words.
Whoa guys! That just happened! I feel really good about this one. I think it is gonna be fun! What do you think? Leave a review and let me know! I hope you are all looking forward to this!