Their orders were simple. Go out in a certain area of the town and search for supplies. If they make contact with the enemy , orders are to turn around and try to lose them. Hide and hope for them to leave. In case supplies are found , they need to mark the location on the map and continue searching. After checking all the possible locations on the map , they must head back to base and report their findings.
The first location on the map was a medium sized store. The store looked in pretty good shape and didn't looked trashed or destroyed. When the Skitters attacked , people ran towards the nearest stores to gather supplies in order to survive. To find a store this size and in such good condition was something very rare. In normal conditions , two scouts sent on a scavenging mission would be a huge risk. But Sam and Rebecca are not the case. Despite both being only 16 years old , this two have become the Redcoats most reliable scouts. They've been friends for a long time , both being in the same school before the invasion. They met when Sam moved in St. Helens from Kent where he lived before. Divorce can be a ugly thing and his father decided that the bigger the distance between them and his mother the better. An affair and a cut on his father left arm with a knife made this move possible. Being new , at first Sam had problems adapting to his new school. His parents spitting up, wasn't something easy for him. He always played alone or sat outside the playground and merely watched as other kids and had no cared in the world. No one seemed to see him. But then a young girl offered him her hand, introducing herself to him and invited him to play with the rest. Her name was Rebecca and he was happy that someone finally bothered to see him. Him and Rebecca immediately bonded and formed a connection that will last for years. Rebecca was his first friend in St. Helens and his best as time went by.
Leaving their bikes just outside the store , Sam and Rebecca slowly headed towards the entrance of the store. The store had his doors pulled out and the bottom hinges were barely holding them. They knew that the Skitters loved the darkness , so they entered guns first in the store , prepared to shot if anything moves. Hiding in areas where visibility was at its minimum , they could ambush their targets. Sam was the first to enter followed behind by Rebecca. Rebecca observed as Sam turned his deep blue eyes towards her and gestured to her to go check the other end of store. Despite not telling her in words , his look said to her to be careful. A quick nod from the auburn hair girl , reassured him that she got the message. Slowly heading towards the back , Sam was on the edge , ready to strike if he or Rebecca were in danger. A small flashlight helped him to make his way towards the back of the store. Walking cautiously , Sam felt his heart beat increase beyond normal as he was getting near to end. A skitter could attack him in any second if he wasn't careful. But to his relief, he reached the end of the store and there was no sign of any Skitters. Lowering his AK , Sam felt how all the anxiety , that rushed through his body just a few moments ago , slowly disappeared. With the store secure , he now needed to find Rebecca and let her know that everything is safe. Making way back to the front end of the store , he just couldn't take his eyes of the shelves. The shelves were full of cans , water and other supplies. It wasn't much but still it was enough for around two weeks. It's one of the largest discovery since he and Rebecca joined the Redcoats. Each day is a struggle to find more food and survive. But the joy of finding food and managing to get it back to base couldn't be described. A capture this size is something rare and he couldn't help himself not smiling. Focused too much on the shelves , he didn't figured that he was reaching the end of aisles and a figure jumping from around the corner , prompted Sam to quickly point the light in that direction , aiming and ready to fire. But the careless voice of his friend , made him to lower his gun and sigh in relief , glad that it wasn't a Skitter or worse… that he didn't shot one of the few people in the world that he still cared.
"Snowballs!" said Rebecca , clearly enthusiast by her discovery.
"Jesus Rebecca!" Sam almost shouted. " I could have shot you."
" You wouldn't have." Rebecca as she pointed her tongue towards him before pulling it back in.
"Yeah. Because if something suddenly jumps from around the corner and was holding a pack of Snowballs , I shouldn't shot it but gladly welcome her or it with my arms wide open." Said Sam , sarcastic in his answer.
"No. But not every post-apocalyptic day , your best friend jumps from around the corner holding not one… buut… two Snowballs , for them to share in this dark times."
Sam took the small package , smiling to Rebecca as he started to unwrap it. The taste of the Snowball reminded him of the days before the invasion , when everything was normal and you weren't fighting to stay alive. He still remembers the day they arrived. It all started without a warning , as they started to bombard the cities. He was in school when it all happened. The first thing he did was grabbing Rebecca's hand and struggling through the falling debris to find shelter. They head towards the basement , where he and Rebecca used to go when they weren't in the mood for boring classes. Covering her head with his arm , he tried to protect her against anything that could fall on them. A large explosion covered the entrance in the basement with large piles of wreckage , trapping them inside and stopping anyone from entering. They were alone. Outside bombs continued to explode , bringing destruction and death. They just stood there alone, hoping that everything will be over soon. But that was just the beginning.
Savoring their last pieces of the chocolate cake , the two youngsters left the store and climbed on their bikes. As Sam took his time to adjust his weapon on his shoulder , pulling his jacket in all direction so that it will cause him any discomfort while driving , Rebecca circled on the map the X that stood for the location of the store. This place had supplies which would help the Redcoats but there are a few other places to check before heading back to camp.
As they start to rev their bikes , the sound of moving metal components catch their attention. There was no time to try and run away , as the lights of the Mech could be seen right behind the corner. Leaving their bikes , the two teenagers quickly ran in the store and panicked , took shelter behind the cashier desk. Rebecca moved herself into Sam's arms , who took her under his protection. Now all they could do was wait. Wait for the sound of the Mech to disappear and its lights to head in another direction. But the sound was getting closer and closer to store and Sam soon realized that the Mech wasn't alone. Carefully peaking from behind the counter, Sam saw the Mech searching for something and it was accompanied by a few Skitters. Sensing their presence close , Sam took one of his hands of Rebecca and used it t grab a pistol from a inside pocket in his jacket. Despite not as powerful as a AK shot , a bullet from this distance could still kill a Skitter. The Skitters sensed something was different and they cautiously approached the store , while the Mech has already prepared its guns and was aiming for the store.
A mistake came but it wasn't made by the skitters or by Sam and Rebecca. Sam gulped as he soon realized , that someone else made the deadly mistake. Someone chose the wrong moment to try and run. The fast pace of a pair of feet could be heard in the streets. Breathing fast , he or she was trying to get away from the aliens but it was useless. He stumbled and with that , the person sealed its faith. Sam figured it was a woman and heard as she was trying to get up and continue running. The Mechs triangular aim system quickly locked on its target and shot. The bullets went through the helpless victims body with such ease. There were no screams of pain. The victim died the moment the bullet pierced her body , ending any potential suffering if she was still alive. Sam was frustrated by all this but couldn't help be grateful of her mistake. If it wasn't for her attempt to run , the Skitters would have certainly found them. But still it was another death , on the already high body count. That woman was a survivor and maybe would have been a valuable asset to their group. But now her body was being dragged away by the Skitters on the street. He and Rebecca were lucky but survived at the cost of another life.
As the sound of the Mech slowly disappeared in the distance , Sam and Rebecca still didn't come out from their hiding place. They waited for a few minutes just to be sure that they were gone. Finally deciding that is safe to leave , they exited the store , remaining silent as Sam checked the bikes. His eyes followed his auburn hair friend as she headed away from her bike towards the place where it happened. Reaching the spot , she fell on one of her knees and watched the bloodied area.
In her mind she couldn't help but imagine how she looked. Maybe she was had blonde hair and blue eyes. Or maybe she was a brunette and had hazel eyes. Rebecca continued to make up her story. Before the invasion , she was an actor , struggling like everyone else to make her living. She had a son , who was the light of her life. Despite being divorced , she still was in a friendly relationship with her ex-husband. Or maybe she was still happily married to her high-school crush. Endless possibilities and ways to describe the woman that just died. But she couldn't know she looked. How she felt. All that she knew was that she made a mistake and paid with her life.
Her once care-free eyes filled with sadness. She saw a lot of death and suffering since the beginning of the invasion but still it gets to her every time. A drop of tear slowly poured down her soft cheek in the memory of the person who died at the hands of enemy. Sam just sat on his bike and watched her. He got used to this kind of situations. Despite not personally knowing any of them , he knew that Rebecca still cared. That's how she is. Touching her forehead with the tip of her fingers , Rebecca gestured a cross as she mumbled a few words , a prayer for the person who just died. With that she gets up and heads back towards bike , erasing any evidence of the tear that she shed. Sam knew her too well , despite her attempts to put on a fake smile and act like everything is well.
"Where next?" Said Rebecca , trying to forget what just happened.
"Base." Sam simply said before starting his engine and smiling to his friend. They were almost discovered and witnessed the cold execution of somebody.
"But we still need to check a few other places." Rebecca tried to make him change his mind. "I'm fine." She said putting the fakest smile he has ever seen.
"We found some supplies. Plus I don't think Lieutenant Stewart wouldn't want us to risk being discovered again." Sam was confident in his answer and that he knew how Lt. Stewart would react to this situation.
A smile was Rebecca's only response to Sams words. He knew her too well to not figure out when she is lying or not. There was no point in trying to change his mind because he would take the blame on him if Lieutenant Stewart wouldn't happy with his call. But this couldn't go on forever. She couldn't just break down in tears every time someone dies and Sam would come and help her back up. But that's the way she is. That's how she always been. And she knew that despite not showing it , Sam was like her. But he does a great job in fighting back his emotions and holding them back. It's been a while since she saw the real Sam. He used to be so happy. He was always with a smile on his face and made jokes and. Now he sometimes seems so distant. She needs to put in a lot of effort to make him smile. But with each passing day, she still hopes that somewhere , down there , he is still the old Sam and that this new Sam wasn't all that is left of him.
The pair started their engines and turned around to head back to base. Supplies have been found and the Lieutenant must know so that a squad could be sent to retrieve it , despite being in enemy controlled land. Risks must be taken in order to survive.