The world around her was dark. She stood alone in the almost-dead meadow. The grass under her feet, which were for some reason bare, was a dull grey colour, and a non-existent wind blew them to angle towards her left. Looking into the sky, she noticed that it was just a dark red collage above her. No clouds, no sun, no moon; just the blood-red sky. The meadow was practically empty, except for a large oak tree, which had during its years twisted into such a bizzare shape it no longer looked like a tree. More like a-
An angry creature, she thought, and shuddered.
At first, she did not move; too afraid to move from her spot. Despite the emptiness of this dead place, there was a feeling of being watched, as though some invisible being sat from afar, dark, sadistic eyes watching her, waiting for her to make a mistake. She felt a shiver go up her arms and back, and realised she no longer wore her Delta Force uniform. Instead, she found herself wearing a sleeveless white dress, and suddenly she was reminded of being at the beach with her fiance Trent. They had enjoyed their last beach trip; Trent had worn his swimming shorts and lotion on his large, tanned, muscular shoulders, and she stood in contrast, her smooth, pale figure making her look like a beautiful ghost. They had laid there on the beach together, eating their ice-creams and looking upon each other with passionate love, smiling like love-struck fools.
But this wasn't the beach. She was not with Trent. And there was no smiling in this place.
She considered calling out, but decided against it. The air was putrid in this place, and she doubted anyone would hear her even if sound existed here. Sighing, she decided she knew what was to happen: she had to approach the decrepit tree before her. She shuffled slowly towards it, her long brown hair no longer tied up and blowing wildly in a wind that did not exist.
As she got closer to the tree, the oak being seemed to twist further in her direction, as though it watched with a mild interest. Her mind urged her to run away from it, to leave the putrid creature be and find a way out of this place, but her feet never listened. They just carried on shuffling onwards.
"Come..." a feminine whisper echoed into her ear. She turned to er right from where the whisper came from, but nothing was there. The words had been so close, she'd almost felt breath hit the side of her face.
She turned towards the tree again, and gasped at what she saw.
Before her, leaning against the tree, was a bloody skeleton. On it, melted flesh clung on the skull and the arms. The grass around and under it was covered in a red, lumpy liquid, and in its bony left hand was a handgun. A dogtag was wrapped around its neck. Fear feasted upon her nerves as she moved towards the skeleton, knowing deep down what the tag would read.
She reached the skeleton, and with deep reluctance bent down to read the dogtag. She let out another gasp as she read what she had feared, but could not let out the scream begging to be unleashed.
The dogtag read: Sgt Trent Bransen.
She fell back from the skeleton, the urge to scream and vomit urging to escape but being held back by an unknown force inside her. That was when she felt the cold, dead hand clamp on her shoulder. She turned to face the owner of the hand, but didn't need to, for its owner leapt into her face, screaming vehemently at her. She did not glimpse the creature for long, but what she did make out was that the being was a nude, young woman. Black hair covered the woman's face and breasts untidily, and the creature's touch was slimy and wet. Whatever it was, it had spent its time under water.
She let out a scream.
___________________________________________________________________________
A hand, dry and warm, gripped her shoulder, and as she opened her eyes, she sighed upon seeing the battle-worn face of the shaved-headed man standing over her seat, and was grateful to find herself dressed in military fatigues and body armor, and her hair still tied up.
"Dreaming, I take it, Sergeant?" the man in front of her asked, concerned.
Beth blushed, and nodded silently.
The man nodded. "Okay. Well, it's over now, so you don't need to worry about anything. You're on the Troop Carrier, now."
As the man moved away, she got sight of three other people staring at her in a mix of shock and awe. All three wore the same uniform she did. The one on the furthest left was a young man, with long, light brown hair down to his shoulders and blemished, pale skin. He was a rather thin man, with very little muscle on him. Around his neck he wore a small gold crucifix. He looked more amused at Beth, and for that she hated him.
"What's wrong?" he asked cockily. "Dream of spiders?"
"Shut up, Adam," the man on the furthest right answered in a deep voice. He was a large, Asian man, with a black crew-cut and a scar running down his right cheek. His large, muscular arms were bared on display.
Adam shrugged. "Just asking the girl, Azure. No need to snap at me for it."
"I'll snap you in a minute," Azure growled back."And it's Corporal to you."
Adam shrugged again, not phased by the threat or of having rank pulled on him, and turned to the third person, who sat in the middle of the two men quietly. She was a small woman, barely over the age of eighteen, and had her hair cut in a bob-fashion and dyed a bright pink. To Beth, she looked more like a children's TV character than a qualified soldier.
"What about you, Haze?" he asked smarmily. "What do you think she dreamt of?"
Haze didn't answer, but looked at Beth in a shy way, and looked down at her own feet. Obviously, she was uncomfortable to be brought into the conversation this way.
"Knock it off!" the worn-faced man barked at Adam, silencing the smart-mouthed soldier temporarily. "We got a mission, damn it!"
"We're all ears, Captain Jarreds," Azure replied emotionlessly.
"Thank you, Corporal," the Captain replied, and hit a switch in front of him.
In front of them all, a small screen appeared, and all eyes fixed upon it. The screen remained dark, but then glowed, showing an image of a large, business tower building.
"This is one of Armacham's many business HQ's," the Captain started. "We lost contact with them two days ago. Nobody has reported in or out of the building until three hours ago we received a distress signal from an employee who remained anonymous, apparently for his safety. We couldn't make out exactly what he was saying, but judging by the rapid way his speech was and the background sounds, we're assuming it's going to be dangerous. So expect trouble. But our main target is this man." The screen before them changed the image from a building to a thin-faced man wearing green scrubs and a surgical mask over his mouth and nose. "His name is Dr Cedric York, and he is the only man who knows whre we can find Aristide and Dark Signal. Apparently, he survived the attack of Colonel Vanek's men and fled to this building. If we find him, we can gain some information upon capturing Aristide once and for all. We might be able to find out what happened to the remaining members of Dark Signal."
"Wasn't Dark Signal claimed KIA?" Azure asked.
Captain nodded. "It was, yes, but we only had confirmation upon the deaths of Redd Jankowski, Cedric Griffin and James Fox. As far as we're still concerned, there's still a chance that Dark Signal members Michael Beckett, Keira Stokes, Manny Morales and Harold Keegan are still alive."
Adam snorted. "I doubt it, sir. From what I've heard, they were deep in Replica territory. Nobody could survive that!"
The Captain looked at Adam. "Did I ask you to speak?"
Adam opened his mouth, but closed it again.
"Glad we're on the same page," Captain stated, and hit the button once again, sending the screen back to where it came from. "We are meeting two other members of Delta at the building. Should you sight Sergeants Bransen and Stewart, I advise you hold your fire." Beth's eyes and interest lit up upon hearing of Trent. "They have some vital information that could help us out. Of course, getting to them might not be so easy, as they scouted ahead over an hour ago. So this is how it is going to go." Captain Jarreds cleared his throat, and continued. "Due to the main entrance being barricaded, we're going to have to enter via alternative means. Azure, you and I are taking the fire exit route. That'll lead us through the offices and straight to the main entrance lobby and the elevators."
Azure nodded silently as Jarreds turned to Haze.
"This is your first mission, Haze, so you're taking what's been mapped as the safest route. You'll be entering via the grating system. That'll lead you inside the basement. Then you'll follow the stairs up to the main lobby. But remember that the safest route doesn't mean no dangers. It just means less of them."
Haze nodded nervously, and fidgeted with her hands.
"Beth," Jarreds sighed. "I want you and Adam to take the cleaner's entrance. Check if anything is alive down there, and meet us in the main lobby."
"Wait," Adam interjected, partially confused. "Why am I stuck with her?"
"Because I don't like smart mouths!" Jarreds snapped hostily at Adam, moving towards him in a threatening gesture. Adam flinched in response, to Beth's delight.
The carrier stopped suddenly, and Jarreds almost fell forward, but clung to the side in time.
"What the Hell, Spencer?" he yelled up to the driver.
Robert Spencer, a short, stout man with freckles and a chubby face, looked over and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, sir. It's just that we've arrived at your drop-off zone. Didn't mean to startle you."
Jarreds shook his head, and pointed at Spencer. "Okay. After myself and Azure, drop off Beth and Adam, then Haze. Then wait somewhere until we call for a rendez-vous outside the main entrance."
Robert nodded. "Affirmative, Captain."
"Good man," he responded, and opened the rear door out of the carrier. Azure stood up slowly, grabbed his G2A2 Assault Rifle, and marched out of the vehicle. Behind him, Jarreds followed, carrying a Vollmer VK-12 Combat Shotgun. As he got out, he turned to those still inside. "Don't screw up, people!" he answered, and closed the door, acting as a signal for Robert to drive to the next destination.
Beth looked at Haze, and was disheartened to see the young soldier fidgeting her hands nervously.
"Are you okay, Haze?"
Haze nodded, smiling grimly. "Sure," she answered meekly. "I'll be fine."
"It'll be okay," Robert added from his position, not turning back. "All of us are nervous on our first mission. The key is to follow your orders, keep your head down, and don't lose your cool, no matter what."
"Besides," Beth smiled reassuringly. "We got your back if you need us. You're not alone, and personally, I doubt you'll have problems with your path. They'll be too busy guarding our area to think of the basement."
"Thanks," Adam added sulkily. "Just what I need to hear. That I'm considered the target."
"And that is just by your allies," Robert replied chirpily, making Haze and Beth laugh. The vehicle jolted to a stop, and Beth stopped laughing and patted Haze on the knee.
"You'll be fine, kiddo. I promise." At that, she grabbed her AT-14 pistol and two N6A3 frag grenades and leapt out of the carrier. Adam followed reluctantly, carrying the RPL Submachinegun.
"Okay," Beth muttered to Adam as the carrier drove off. "Let's roll!"