Chapter One- Nevada
A figure walked slowly through the corridor, her steel-soled boots making metallic clicks every time she stepped. She wore dark blue, torn jeans and had a pistol strapped to her right leg's thigh. She also wore a T-shirt, torn so it would leave the area below her chest bare, with short sleeves, that was in crimson, with a white skull on the chest. She had one real, one prosthetic arm, with an omega symbol tattooed onto the forearm of her real arm. She also wore a necklace with her dog tags and a golden cross on it. The cross was solely for decoration. She had jet black hair that was cut short and left to be messy. She also had soft grey eyes, and a pair of tinted glasses resting on her forehead, with the ability to see both in the dark and use heat sensing vision with them. She had 2 earrings in each ear, and a piercing through her nose, lip, and tongue.
She entered a room, the training hall, where she noticed someone attacking a punching bag. Jogging over to him, she waved to Oregon, one of her oldest and closest friends in Project Freelancer.
"Hey." Oregon waved, leaning against the bag. He was also not in his armor, and wore a black shirt, as well as a pair of jeans. He had ginger hair, and green eyes, as well as a scar running down a large portion of his face.
"Why're you here?" She inquired.
"Honestly? Dunno. Just bored." Oregon told her. "You?"
"Looking for Iowa. She stole my sword." Oregon chuckled, and the woman smacked him round the back of the head.
"Sorry." Oregon said quickly.
"It's alright. Just don't take everything I say to have a double meaning. It'll get you hurt." The woman said.
"And Iowa doesn't get punished for it?" The woman shrugged.
"Sometimes?"
"Rae, go and find Iowa. She's probably in the rec room." Oregon ordered his friend.
"Why?" Rae smirked, knowing she was annoying him.
"Because I want to get back to my training and you're distracting me.
"Fine." Rae nodded, and jogged back out to find Iowa.
The rec room did have Iowa, who was asleep on a couch, with Rae's sword, a 3 foot long weapon with the ability to channel electricity impaled in the floor. Rae sighed, and kicked Iowa to wake her up. Iowa had dark brown hair and blue eyes, was largely scarred by an accident with a flamethrower 2 years prior, and wore a simple T-shirt with a fire print, as well as comfortable trousers.
"What?" Iowa asked, looking over to Rae. Said woman pointed at her sword. "Oh. Sorry about that. CO made a bet saying I couldn't take it, so I endeavored to prove her wrong." Rae ran a hand through her hair.
"Why did she make the bet?"
"I dunno. She went away about 5 minutes ago." Iowa shrugged, sitting up.
"Not chasing her. Not worth it." Rae sighed, sitting on Iowa's legs.
"Can you get off?" Iowa asked.
"Nope." Rae smirked, as Iowa attempted, pitifully, to shove her away. Attempting to stand, Iowa punched Rae in the back of the head. Hard. Rae fell off in slightly painful way, allowing the pyromaniac to stand once again. Iowa chuckled at the woman sprawled out on the floor before her, whom was flipping her off rather enthusiastically, and proceeded to insult her in many ways.
"Can you help me up? My leg's stuck?" Iowa heard Rae request, and she smirked.
"You say sorry for insulting me and sitting on my legs?"
"You apologise for stealing my sword and getting me stuck here?" Rae smiled, as Iowa helped her up.
"Done." Iowa said, and hugged the two. Iowa and Rae frequently had minor fights such as that, but they quickly resolved, and usually had happy endings. Usually. The time Iowa blew up their dorm was a little different.
Rae pulled her sword out of the ground, and slid it into the sheathe on her back. Iowa rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.
"Sorry about that." She genuinely looked sorry.
"Meh. It's not damaged. Everything's alright." Rae shrugged. Iowa looked at Rae, and smiled, seeing her grinning at her friend. Iowa was someone who only really felt guilt after she had actually done something and been told about it, instead of feeling it normally. Iowa was also weird.
"What's the plan?" Iowa asked.
"Dunno. Want me to get you a coffee?" Rae asked.
"You're banned from the kettle, remember?" Iowa laughed.
"I thought Michigan was the one banned…" Rae had clearly forgotten.
"C'mon, I'll get you a can of Coke while we're there." Iowa patted her best friend on the shoulder. Rae shrugged, and followed the Pyromaniac to the kitchen.
The kitchen was a relatively small room that CO, one of the Freelancers, had Michigan help her set up out of sheer boredom, so she could cook. None of the group of Freelancers went to the Cafeteria anymore, and the Director doesn't exactly care. It had red and black tiles, a flat, white counter, a huge fridge-freezer, and a second fridge for drinks, mostly the group's alcohol and Rae's decaffeinated Cola. After an event a year ago, where Rae tried coffee for the first time, in both one of the funniest and most horrific nights of their time with the project, which had a consensus about not being talked about in any conversation, ever, she was banned from any caffeinated beverage. Rae didn't really care.
Iowa threw Rae a can as she entered, and Rae easily caught it.
"One day, you'll fuck that up…" Iowa said mysteriously. Rae paled slightly. Slightly. Sitting on one of the stools there, she opened the can with a loud crack. Iowa busied herself with the kettle, as well as impressively climb to reach the best coffee: Oregon's personal stash. He still hasn't realized where the coffee has been disappearing to. Rae started playing with her cross around her neck, as Iowa fell, and slammed her head off the floor.
"What the hell?!" Rae shouted worriedly.
"I'm alright! Dignity isn't, but I am!" Iowa laughed.
"You're nuts."
"Yep." Iowa grinned.