The next morning, Alex got up earlier than everyone else. She knew it was still dark out, but that didn't really matter. She was too anxious to go back to sleep.
Once she was awake, Alex put on her uniform. She had a short-sleeved shirt in the usual shade of blue, as well as a pair of black pants. She also had some black gloves and tennis shoes. She pulled her hair back into a short ponytail before going to get something for breakfast.
No one else had left their rooms yet, so it seemed very quiet at first. However, the silence didn't last long. The Soldier was the first person that Alex saw that morning. He barely looked at her and said nothing, although she didn't mind. He didn't seem like a very nice guy, and she thought he was a bit too loud.
It wasn't long before everyone else arrived. Alex tried not to talk much at first, not wanting anyone to think she was being to forward. However, she couldn't stay silent for too long. The Engineer eventually sat next to her and started a conversation.
"I don't think any of us expected to see a woman in a war zone," he told her.
"I can tell. I can see why it's kind of surprising, but I don't know why some of those guys are making such a huge deal about it."
"Well, they haven't seen a woman in ages. They're all just surprised that the first one they saw after so long was going to fight by them."
"I guess."
"Anyway, where are you from? I can recognize a bit of a southern accent, if I'm correct."
"You are correct," Alex told him. "I came here from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, but I lived in Arkansas when I was a kid, and my dad's from Texas. I'm guessing that's where you're from, judging by the accent."
"Yeah, that's a bit obvious."
"So you're already up?" asked the Scout, sitting in the chair to the right of Alex.
"Yeah. I woke up a bit early," she said.
"You're probably just nervous. When you're out there fighting later, it'll be way easier. Plus, with the respawn, there's nothing to really worry about. It's almost like a game. Besides, you're sticking by me, so I'll make sure you're okay."
"Good luck with that," the Engineer mumbled.
Before the Scout could start an argument, the announcer interrupted. "Mission begins in thirty minutes!" the voice shouted.
"Half an hour?" Alex stammered, trying to hide the fear in her voice.
"Yep. There's an announcement about this somewhat frequently," the Scout told her. "There's one for twenty minutes, fifteen, ten, five, two and one. Then it goes down to thirty seconds, then to ten, and then a countdown from five."
"Well, I'll be right back. I should probably grab a few thingsā¦" Alex said, getting up.
"Like what?" he asked.
"My gun and knife." She went ahead back to her room to pick up her weapons, and was back within a few minutes.
"Hey, your knife is a lot like the Spy's,' the Scout noticed when she returned.
"Yeah, it is, actually. But mine flips open with a button on the side of it."
The Scout took the knife in his hand and looked at it. However, he did end up cutting himself with it a bit when it popped open. He couldn't figure out why.
"It's customized and, more specifically, it's left-handed. Try it in the other hand, and you'll get better results," she smirked.
"Mission begins in twenty minutes!" the voice said. It startled Alex a bit, causing her to drop her knife.
"Calm down, Alex," he laughed. "There's nothing to be afraid of," he assured her, retrieving the knife and handing it back to the girl.
"You know," she mentioned, "it's a little weird. The other team doesn't have a decoy. They were supposed to, but she took a different job."
"What?"
"She was supposed to be a decoy for the Red team in 2Fort, but decided against it. She's on Blu team in the Dustbowl."
"How do you know all of this?" the Scout asked her.
"Well, I saw her on the train, and she told me about all of it." Alex looked away at first, but a sad expression was still visible on her face. Scout put a hand on her shoulder, as if to ask if she was alright. She looked back at him and a small smile came to her face.
"Don't worry about me," Alex told him.
"Mission begins in fifteen minutes!" the voice shouted, startling Alex yet again.
"Crap! This is going to take some getting used to!" she shouted, earning herself a few stares from the others. She hunched down in her seat a little bit, trying to get everyone's eyes off of her.
"You really don't like it when people stare at you," the Scout commented.
"Well, I don't like it when everyone is staring at me all at once. I hate it." The two of them were silent, and soon enough the announcer said that there were only two minutes left.
Everyone headed to the main starting area and got ready to fight. The other team members seemed pretty excited, but Alex was still nervous.
"Hey," the Scout noticed Alex's nervous expression, "I told you not to worry. Just stay with me and start off as fast as you can."
"Mission begins in ten seconds!" the voice shouted. "Five, four, three, two, one!" The second the sirens went off, Alex shot out the door. The Scout said to go as fast as she could, so she did. He had to run almost as fast as he could to catch up with her.
"What was that?" he asked her jokingly.
"I was on my school's track team for all of middle school and high school," she smiled.
Once they'd gotten out into the sun, there was only one enemy out there, and it was the Red Scout. Once she saw him, Alex took out her pistol. When he got in range, the Red Scout started shooting at them with his scattergun. Alex stopped running and started shooting back. The Blu Scout, however, kept running and eventually started hitting the enemy with his bat. He took no damage because the enemy's attention was focused mainly on Alex.
"I guess having a decoy can be useful," he smiled.
