Locating agents...done, transmitting radio chatter...processing...done
Setting waypoint to agents Elite, Bishop, Thresher, and Rupture...done
Syncing agents' HUD...counting ammunition...scanning equipment...done
The sound of gunfire coming from downtown was unmistakable. The crackling sound was almost similar to that of fireworks, but there was a distinct sound between automatic fire and tiny bottle rockets shooting into the sky that anyone could tell the difference between. The sun was still in the sky, shining down onto the frozen streets, making the snow glimmer. Small patches of snow were either white, or a dark brown color from the dirt and asphalt of the roads that the white fluffy blanket covered. The sloshing of everyone's wet boots echoed off of the brick buildings in the empty town, it seemed pretty eerie to me, almost like we were anticipating something to happen. That's when the gunfire started to get more rapid, and much louder. "Jesus...I hope they're ok" I said a bit concerned for our leader's well being.
"Don't worry about Bame and Pat, those two together in a firefight are a deadly combo," Bishop said confidently, "They once took on a small battalion of Last Man Battalion units in southern Manhattan by themselves and walked away with minimal injuries, they even managed to make it out of the Dark Zone alone." The Last Man battalion was not a military organization, however, they acted a lot like it, often using military tactics and strategies, along with having ranks and specialized weapons. They did have quite a few vehicles however, helicopters and armored cars with large machine guns weren't uncommon to see if you got too close to their camps.
"The Dark Zone?!" I asked surprised, "I thought they quarantined the DZ months ago!"
"They did" I heard Rupture mutter, "I almost didn't make it out" I looked at Ben a bit gloomily, he seemed a bit upset about remembering something so tragic, that could have almost ended his life. I've heard that the DZ was supposedly the first place the outbreak started in, rumors say it was deeper somewhere in New York, but the DZ was quarantined off first. When it happened, hundreds of people were cut off and left to either die or try to survive on the inside, including just about every faction inside Manhattan. Cleaners, Rikers, LMB soldiers, and just straight up looters. Any civilians that were left inside, better have prayed to God that they get out ok.
Focusing on the trip ahead of us, I let out a small sigh, making my breath appear like smoke in the frosty air. The walk there didn't take too long, but now that they were closer, the team took off in a jog, then to a run, finally into a sprint, as the group was now rushing to assist their leaders. Their reason for now sprinting? The entire mall was on fire.
"Bishop? Where the hell are you?! The entire fucking building is on fire, we're going to get roasted if we don't get help fast!" Bame shouted through their comms, with Bishop soon to reply.
"We just got here sir! I'm going in with Elite to assist you guys"
"What about Rupture and Thresher?" Pat yelled through his comms, seemingly sounding upset as well, and for a good reason too.
"I'm getting them up high so they can give us overwatch, and a secure way out" Bishop told his superiors while directly looking at the two scouts of the team. Once they both took the hint they nodded and ran to a small building complex, finding a way to the top of the structure, and setting up their DMR's on the roof. "Tyler, let's go" Bishop ordered, as he kicked open the doors to the inside of the mall.
Everything was glowing red, whether it be the food courts, or the clothing shops, it all was set ablaze, the smell of burning fabrics, and plastic got to our noses. We instantly started coughing. "Fuckin- *Cough cough* hell man!" instinctively I put on my gas mask, trying to make it easier for me to breathe. It was still difficult, but at least now I wasn't suffocating.
A group of Cleaners were too busy burning a toy store with their flamethrowers to notice that we entered the building. Bishop, without hesitation, raised his SMG and squeezed the trigger, sending a quick wave of bullets in their direction. The Priest downed two of them but he ran out of ammo and needed to reload. "Shit!" he shouted as we took cover from the other two cleaners he missed.
"Hang on! I've got this!" I shouted, raising myself above cover while aiming down my sights. My rifle was naked, but it would do for now, especially since we are in close combat at the moment. I didn't hold down my trigger, rather I burst fired, to try and conserve somewhat of my ammo, even though I held quite a lot in my backpack.
The Last two Cleaners dropped and I pulled up my wrist to use the comms, "Sir? Can you give us your location? The mall is pretty big and we don't have time to search every single st- WHOA" a flaming piece of wood smashed to the floor, coming from the roof above me. The building wouldn't last long, they probably only had about twenty minutes before the whole damn thing came down on top of them.
Bame spoke up through the comms and replied with "Second floor near the petshop! You can't miss it! We are under fire, and caught in crossfire between a group of Rikers and Cleaners! Hang on...I think I see one of you! Are you wearing a rainbow backpack?!"
I shook my head in confusion and surprise, "Sir we haven't even got to the second floor yet, is it another agent?"
"It appears so! He's stuck out here with us, might as well help each other out, you guys need to get here! Double time!" Bame shouted before switching off his comms.
"What's going on?" Bishop asked as we jogged next to each other, now making our way up to our leaders.
"Sounds like another agent is here as well, looks like we gotta get him out as well," I told him trying to think what in the hell is going on. Bishop even gave me a looked surprise before shaking his head and breaking into a sprint with me.
We ran as fast as we could, dodging large patches of fire that encircled certain areas, and falling pieces of lumber that got too close. When we reached the firefight zone we immediately took cover next to the extra agent that showed up. He looked at us through a pair of sunglasses and his gas mask that had a black base with orange stripes that ran along the outline.
"Who are you?" I asked trying to identify the unknown agent.
"I'm Agent Alex from the SHD Division, squadron feline! But you guys can call me gummies." he said with which me and Bishop could both assume was a smile underneath his gas mask. He was a little shorter than I was, but seemed a bit older. His hair was dirty blonde but was turning slightly brownish from the smoke and soot from the fires. In his hands he carried a black colored Styer AUG rifle, that, again, had orange stripes and patterns running along the design of the gun, he had a silencer attached to the end of it, along with a bipod that was folded, a small PSO-1 Russian telescopic sight, and canted ironsights, a typical DMR build. His side arm was an all black FN 5.7 that seemed had yet to be colored. He didn't carry a second primary however, just the two guns, probably to reduce the weight on himself.
"What happened to your squad? Where is everyone else?" I asked, wanting to know why the stray agent was by himself.
"My squad is dead, I was coming here to regroup with another squad that was meeting up at a local church, when I saw the burning mall, I decided to check it out for myself."
My mind clicked together, I came to realization that this man was trying to regroup with US. "We are tha-" more gunshots cut me off from my sentence. Agents Bame and Pat were just on the other side of the room, and more bad guys kept walking into the crossfire. But something was off, they weren't shooting at us, or our squad leaders, they were shooting at something else. It didn't take long for them to get gunned down either, another cleaner walked out of a room, and man was this motherfucker big. Instead of an AK, this giant was carrying a big RPK with a flamethrower attachment.
"What the fuck...they are shooting each other?" I asked looking over to Bishop who was in just as much awe as I was.
"What are you guys doing here?! We gotta get out! Now!" the giant cleaner yelled before kicking down the exit doors to the catwalks outside "Move!" Bame and Pat nodded their heads and hopped over their cover, me, Bishop, and Alex...er, Gummies followed close behind. Just as we all made it through, the ceiling began collapsing. Pat only stopped for a moment to look up before being crushed by a giant pile of burning rubble.
"PAT! NOOOOO!"