Past Expiration Date
(Original Concept by Crusader'sCrossbow/JamInc333)
Scout stared at the bland ceiling of Medic's lab. It had been nearly five hours since the other eight members of RED team had found him huddled beside the bread monster's…. corpse, cradling a severely injured Miss Pauling. She and Scout hadn't been able to dive into the bread monster's gaping mouth before the payload exploded.
Both he and Miss Pauling were badly burned from the blast. Scout had received many gashes all over his body, but Pauling's condition was more severe. Large pieces of shrapnel had been sticking out of her chest, and she was bleeding badly when Scout had found her.
With help from the rest of the team, Medic managed to get Miss Pauling and Scout into the infirmary and under a medigun quickly. Medic hooked Scout up to an IV drip and lightly wrapped his burns before rushing off to operate on Miss Pauling. Scout had begged for hours to be wheeled into the operating room so he could watch the procedure. His teammates had ignored his pleas, giving him worried looks and shaking their heads every time Scout tried to get up from his bed.
It had been nearly five hours. At this point, Scout's burns and cuts had almost fully healed, thanks to the Medigun beam Medic had put him under. He had given up on asking to see Miss Pauling. Most of RED team had gone off after a while to clean up the mess the bread monster had left behind, but the Sniper had stayed behind to help Medic and keep an eye on Scout.
Scout could hear Medic muttering as he continued to operate on Miss Pauling. "Why's he saying all that?" Scout asked weakly. Sniper got up from his small folding chair to take a peek in the operating room. He sat down again. "Eh…. I don't think she's doing well, Scout," Sniper responded after what felt like an eternity. Scout jolted upright, but immediately lay back down from the pain. "What- what d'you mean?"
The two men were interrupted by Medic's shout of dismay. Sniper flung open the operation room's swinging doors, concern on his face. Scout struggled to prop himself up on the bed to get a better view. "Doc? Is everything alright?" Sniper inquired cautiously. The only response was Medic's frustrated yelling. "Scheiß! She was alive for so long; how did it move?! If I had known it was so close- she would- I could have- ach!" Medic slammed his fists on the operating table.
"Whoa, whoa, what happened?! What…." Scout trailed off as the he realized what was wrong. His jaw dropped in shock and disbelief. "No…. she's so strong, though-!"
Medic shook his head. "I'm so sorry, Scout. I did everything I could…."
Scout fell limply back onto the sheets. Miss Pauling was dead. And it was his fault. Scout had been the one to pull the briefcase alarm, causing Pauling to come rushing over. All Scout had wanted was to have a nice date with her, maybe even a little kiss. But that was ruined, and Miss Pauling was dead, because of the bread monster Soldier had-
Wait. It was Soldier's fault that Miss Pauling was dead! Soldier had done nothing but teleport bread for three days and had accidentally created the giant bread monster.
Scout's head spun and he felt tears slowly welling up in his eyes. He stared emptily at the ceiling. Miss Pauling was dead. "What killed her, Doc?" Scout heard Sniper ask. Medic sighed heavily. "A piece of shrapnel pierced her heart before I could remove it. I can only assume that over time, the shrapnel moved further into the flesh and…. I didn't notice until the monitor went flat. I wish I had gotten it out sooner!"
Sniper reassured Medic that he did his best, then left to go tell the rest of RED the news. Scout shut his eyes. He didn't want to look at anything anymore. He didn't want to hear anyone talk. Eventually, the boy slipped into an uneasy sleep.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this first, although short, chapter of my story! Please leave a review of constructive criticism for me, I'd love to hear what you think and how you believe I can improve. Thank you for reading!