F.3.A.R.: Bound in Blood
Disclaimer: Hello FEAR fans. It's been a while since my last once-believed-to-be-oneshot fic entitled Sympathy for the Devil. Well, much to my surprise, everyone came at me for a sequel. Well, it wouldn't be much of a sequel per se, rather a different take on the 3rd FEAR game itself. Now while I did enjoy the game, there were some parts that I felt could be changed and some that didn't need to be there at all. ... Like Jin's character for instance. There will be a difference from the 3rd game, though still maintaining some 3rd game qualities based on what I feel as a fan could have been there.
I do hope you read and review.
"Wild, dark times are rumbling toward us, and the prophet who wishes to write a new apocalypse will have to invent entirely new beasts, and beasts so terrible that the ancient animal symbols of St. John will seem like cooing doves and cupids in comparison."
-HEINRICH HEINE, "Lutetia; or, Paris," Augsberg Gazette, 1842
"No one becomes depraved all at once."
-JUVENAL, Satires
By: VampireQueenAkasha
"It's the way of men to make monsters, and it's the nature of monsters to destroy their makers."
-Harlan Wade
Interval 02: Decay
In 2002, the U.S. Army formed a secret unit dedicated to combating paranormal threats to national security. The unit was named First Encounter Assault Recon. In the year 2025, most of the team was lost to enemy commander Paxton Fettel and his Replica Forces. F.E.A.R. operative known as "Point Man" believed to have escaped from Auburn District shortly after the destruction of Armacham's Origin Facility. His location as well as the location of F.E.A.R. operatives Jin Sun-Kwon and Douglas Holiday are currently unknown.
O
"There is no such thing as death. In nature nothing dies. From each sad remnant of decay, some forms of life arise
so shall his life be taken away before he knoweth that he hath it."
-Charles Mackay
Fettel's voice filled the air again as they descended into the Paragon Facility.
"There are so many deserving of retribution and so little time ... " he told his brother, "Do not feel pity for them. They've brought it on themselves." He took a deep inhale. "They all deserve to die for what they've done. They will not be missed."
Once the elevator finally stopped, Point Man and Crowe stepped out to observe their surroundings - a laboratory filled with several computers and a single large television screen; the monitors were useless to them and filled with bullet holes. The floor was practically littered with empty shells and shrapnel. Most of the electricity wasn't working in some areas and a few lights were flickering on and off overhead.
Crowe and Point Man checked around the lab for signs of life or anything that might be of use to them. Point Man stepped up some stairs and checked a few counter tops; there were several open cans of beans, vegetables and other foods. It appeared that someone had made their home here in the facility, though he couldn't possibly understand why. While he scanned the counters, Crowe went through some papers and Intel documents. She picked one up and noticed that it was a recorded list of various students and staff of the school overhead. The chilling thing about it was that every name was labeled as PURGED.
"We must hurry," Fettel's voice interrupted, "Let's find that woman and get moving. She is close."
Point Man nodded briefly, though he showed little interest in Fettel's anxiousness. He looked toward Crowe who studied the steel doors. She clicked with dismay and looked back at the two.
"The system's shut down through here," she told them, "We'll have to contact Keira and see how she - "
Crowe was cut off as Point Man unleashed a barrage of shellfire on the door's controls. She recoiled and narrowly missed the bullets as they shredded the wiring and metal panels. After a moment, the door roared open and she glared up at him.
"Are you out of your mind?" she snapped, "You could have killed me!"
Fettel smirked at her. "Oh no, dear," he said, "He would wait until you were unarmed and helpless as I was."
He laughed at Point Man's particularly dark look as Crowe disappeared into the following corridor. It was unbearably quiet and empty, but they remained on high alert and refused to let their guard's down for a single moment. They passed Observation room 400 where Crowe paused and frowned, peering through the plexiglass. Several translucent figures of doctors appeared inside the room, moving about and talking normally.
"Vitals are unusually high today," a male doctor mused.
"Oh yes. She's nervous. She's always nervous." another male doctor added.
The images disappeared into ashes that fluttered into the air and vanished. Crowe's brow knotted at the strange sight and she looked briefly up at Point Man. He didn't acknowledge the sight; perhaps he didn't see what she saw.
Crowe could hear the whispers of a voice in her head again, the same from Alma.
"Do you want to hurt me?"
Crowe stopped and peered down an adjacent corridor. She could see Alma standing there, haggard and bone white. Her body was horribly thin and emaciated, the bones jutting out in a sickening manner. Her long black hair barely covered her breasts.
"No. I don't." Crowe said, softly.
She felt a curious whisper in her voice that was unintelligible at first, and then, a surge of uncertainty and rage. It was a searing, sharp pain that ripped through her brain like a knife. Crowe staggered back from the image and Point Man stood strong. Alma tilted her head slightly to one side, studying them with that eyeless look. It did nothing to disturb Point Man - he had seen the sight one too many times already - but it frightened Crowe a bit. Alma's words came out cryptic and bitter.
"You're lying."
Alma turned around slowly and disappeared - or rather blinked out of existence in a small puff of ash. Point Man gestured for Crowe to continue and she numbly moved forward, uneasy and shaken by the sight. She gestured for Point Man's radio and he handed it over.
"Keira?" she said, into the radio, "Keira, do you read me?"
After a moment of waiting, Stoke's voice filled the radio.
"I read!"
"We're inside the Paragon Facility now. Where the hell are you?" Crowe snapped.
"I'm inside the facility's central security room," Stokes explained, "I can see you right now on the computers."
At that, Crowe and Point Man looked around until he noticed the camera positioned within a corner. There was a red light blinking somewhat, letting them know that the camera still had power and that they were being watched. Crowe tilted her head and brought the radio to her lips again.
"Is the power still running through all of the cameras?" she asked.
"No." Stokes replied, "There are a few still running on some of the floors, but others were damaged in the attacks." She was quiet for a brief moment. "So who's that guy standing beside you anyway?"
"He's simply a fellow comrade right now," Crowe explained, "I think he wants to get to the bottom of this mess the same as you and I do."
"Okay." Stokes replied, "I'll guide you to our location and you can ... "
Crowe tilted her head with a small frown at Stoke's silence. "Keira? Keira, what's the matter?" she asked.
Stoke's voice came out then, haunted. "Oh God ... " she whispered.
"What's wrong?" Crowe was getting concerned now.
"I just ... I just saw something walk passed you."
Crowe's face paled. She and Point Man looked over their shoulders but saw nothing there.
O
The two headed deeper into the facility and Crowe observed every numbered room and detail to see if she could find the security room. They passed through several room and blood - soaked offices without a single glimpse of them. Crowe could still hear voices all around her and she froze when they stopped in front of the Abomination pens. She could see a translucent image of herself standing in front of one of the doors with an image of Terry Halford.
"It's wrong," the image of Crowe said, softly, "It's not right."
"You can't question him and you know it." Terry replied, "You'll be fucked if you do."
The images vanished into ash once more.
Fettel chuckled quietly and appeared behind Crowe. Though he was dead, she could still feel him standing there. "Mother wants you to remember something, doctor," he told the woman, "You must be connected somehow."
Crowe felt a sense of dizziness. "I don't know really how I can be connected to her. I've never met Alma Wade in person. I just knew about her." she replied
"No matter," Fettel said, with a small hint of a smile, "We'll learn soon enough, won't we, brother?"
Point Man actually nodded in agreement and gave Crowe a hard look. Obviously, he wanted to know what connected Crowe to the Wade family if there was any at all. He never met Crowe up until now, so anything that his mother presented would be evidence otherwise.
"Look, let's just try and focus on finding Keira so we can get out of here?" Crowe snapped, "This place makes me feel sick."
They pressed on without argument.
It was good that Keira's voice piped up from the radio, otherwise the silence would have been too much.
"I see you on the monitors now," she said, "Take a right down the next hallway and I'll open the door for you."
Crowe acknowledged with a small nod, even though it was silly to do so. "Okay." She paused and then added with disdain. "Try not to shoot us."
They entered the next hallway and turned right, moving passed several containers and fried skeleton remains. Crowe stepped on a few and the bones fell apart into a pile of ash. She grimaced at the horrible sound before stopping at the door labeled SECURITY. Before she knocked, it roared open and the dirty, frightened face of Keira Stokes stood there, her hand gripping a Combat Shotgun. She peered over the shoulder of the woman before gesturing her inside.
"Quick! Get in!" she whispered.
Crowe and Point Man funneled into the security room and took a moment to notice that it was filled with cans of food, bottles of alcohol and water as well as cases of ammunition and weapons. There was also a man sitting at a chair watching the monitors. He looked Hispanic in origin and he was also quite dirty as well. He gave Crowe a brief wave and a smile before standing up. He was cradling an Assault Rifle over his shoulder.
"Hey. Welcome to the hole! You can call me Manny." he told her, "We got everything you need ... " Then, he added rather awkwardly. "Well, except soap. That's a bit scarce."
Stokes took care in bolting the door before turning. "Were you followed?" she asked.
Crowe shook her head. She thought that it was better not to mention the ghosts and creatures. "No." she said. She paused and studied the two; they were obviously soldiers. "Are you two the only ones here?"
Manny rubbed the back of his neck uneasily. "Eh, not exactly."
Point Man and Crowe looked over and spotted none other than Genevieve Aristide. The face of Armacham's CEO was a small memory in Crowe's eyes; she had seen and associated with Genevieve a few time in her life and never really liked her. They sometimes quarreled about the morality behind the test subjects and experiments on the unfortunate victims of the facilities. Crowe would always attempt to avoid her at any cost.
"Ah, doctor Crowe," Genevieve said, with much hesitation, "You're still alive after all. I thought for sure that these two soldiers were lying."
Crowe furrowed her brow. "I thought you were dead a long time ago."
Manny piped up. "We almost were," he explained, "Replica forces moved in and those bastards tried to gun us own, but we got away. Believe it or not, the bitch here got us out of some real tough spots. We've been hiding here ever since."
Stokes could still relive that memory when she was dragged out of the Amplifier by SAVAGE and his troops. They had tended to the wound that was the result of Genevieve's weapon and had planned on coming back for Beckett later. When Genevieve learned that they were going to die, she had helped them escape. Stokes still couldn't believe it then, but she knew the CEO had no interest in their lives, but the life of herself.
Crowe furrowed her brow suspiciously at Genevieve. "Why'd you help them?" she asked.
"Because I want results, that's why," Genevieve told her, hard, "I want to get this mess under control before we have a global issue on our hands. I don't really have many other options on hand right now."
"Global issue?" Crowe asked, concerned now, "What global issue?"
Genevieve gestured for her to follow and reluctantly, Crowe did. She led the woman to a table where there had been many papers, documents and maps open up. Several spots of the map were circled in red as well as labeled with certain events that had happened. Crowe also noticed that they had marked specific areas where Armacham troops had landed and even disappeared. It seemed that the three were keeping track of recent events.
"Alma's powers have spiraled out of control," Genevieve told them, "You've seen it. From what we've witnessed, it's only going to get worse."
"So what do you suggest?" Crowe asked.
Genevieve smiled and turned to the others. "Armacham has been holding Sergeant Beckett in custody. I know of his location." she told them all, "Alma's still at Still Island and not a single soul can get there. Anything that does ends up dead. We could use Beckett to get us inside."
"As bait?" Stokes exclaimed, "Have you lost your mind? He's already been through enough!"
Genevieve frowned at her angrily, frustrated with Stokes' lack of compliance. "Hasn't it ever occurred to you just yet that there's a little bit more to this than just one person?" she snapped. "This is about the fate of Armacham and my - "
Crowe couldn't believe her ears. "I can't believe you!" she cried, "You're STILL so worried about your precious company after all of this?"
Genevieve rolled her eyes. "Crowe, don't give me another one of your goddamn bullshit speeches," she said, lowly, "We have bigger issues to worry about."
"Like killing that bitch!" Stokes said.
Crowe looked stunned. "Kill her?"
Genevieve glared at Stokes and held up a hand. "That wasn't what we agreed to, soldier!" she snapped at her in a warning voice, "You said you'd take a moment to hear my side if I let you and your little potty - mouth friend over here out!"
"And I did! But I never said anything about going with you on it!" Stokes told her.
Crowe held up two hands. "Why does Alma have to die?" she asked, quietly.
The two women and Manny stared at her like she had just fallen off of the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Stokes exclaimed, "She did all of this! She's a danger to everyone and anything that gets her pissed off!"
Manny rolled his eyes. "Great. We got us the bearded hobo," He gestured to Point Man. "And a sympathizer." And he flirted his head toward Crowe. "Christ, why the fuck didn't you check with them a little more before you dragged them here?"
Stokes sighed at him. "They're all we have, Manny."
Point Man stared daggers at Genevieve. The woman met his gaze with a smile. "It's good to see you again, Prototype One." she told him. "You've certainly given us a run for our money. Nice to see you're still alive."
Point Man stared at her coldly for a long time before he tapped Crowe's shoulder once. She looked at him questionably and he gestured toward the table with a flirt of his head. She looked in the direction that he indicated and noticed a few folders open to pages of Harbinger candidates. While Genevieve and Stokes started arguing again, Crowe paged through the papers with a frown. She could see paper clipped photos of Manny, Stokes. Point Man hovered over her as did Fettel.
"Hmm ... Project Harbinger." Fettel mused, "An attempt to recreate what they couldn't succeed with myself and brother. There may be something important here."
Crowe nodded.
When Genevieve and Stokes had ceased their argument, the CEO of Armacham turned and noticed Crowe's search. "What are you doing?" she demanded.
Crowe turned and clutched a folder in her hand. It had her name written on the flap. "What is this?" she asked, hard, "My personal file?"
"SAVAGE had it among many others," Genevieve explained, though she looked doubtful, "Your scores interested him. Thought not so much as Beckett's."
"My scores?"
Genevieve arched a brow. "You know what scores I'm talking about."
Stokes held up a hand. "Look. Either way, we need to get out of here," she told them; her eyes landed on Crowe, "Did you secure a way out of here?"
Crowe nodded and closed the folder. She would look at it later. "Yes. We have an APC ready to go." she said. She paused uneasily. "There's just ... one small problem."
O
Point Man led the group through the school and they ducked from the sights of Armacham soldiers moving passed them down the halls. Stokes frowned at Point Man and shook her head at his silent gestures.
"Don't you say anything?" she snapped.
"Piss of," Crowe barked right back, "He can't talk. He's a goddamn mute. Now can you please focus?"
"Fine. Where's the APC?" Stokes demanded.
Crowe crept silently across the hall and gestured out through a crack in the windows. "See it over there?" she whispered, "We can make it if we run, but there's too many of them around. SAVAGE is still looking for him and they have every exit blocked off," She gestured briefly to Point Man. "We can't chance it. We have to sneak around."
Manny scoffed. "Jesus Christ. They've got us boxed in."
Point Man looked up and gestured with two fingers for them to follow. He didn't wait and moved forward. Crowe sighed.
"There he goes again!" she muttered.
Fettel chuckled dryly. "Brother doesn't know the meaning of restraint."
As they moved, Point Man's radio filtered the conversations of the Armacham soldiers.
"Advancing."
"Affirmative."
There was mostly static on the other end, but then, VECTOR's voice picked up through the connection. "Commander SAVAGE, this is VECTOR, we may have a situation." came the call from the other Commander.
"I copy. What is your situation?" SAVAGE asked.
"I've discovered ALPHA team and their crew leader," VECTOR said, "North North West of your position. They're dead."
SAVAGE sounded surprised. "What? What happened out there?"
"I don't know," VECTOR responded, "But I will - "
Suddenly, the sound of gunfire rang out from the turrets positioned at the helicopters, cutting off VECTOR's conversation with the other commander before he could finish. Everyone ducked down instinctively and they listened to the sounds through the radio, stunned by the sudden tormented screams and shouts. It sounded like chaos out there; the soldiers almost sounded like they were being torn apart.
"It's too fucking fast! I can't see - AAAHHHHH!"
"I CAN'T SEE HIM! WHAT IS THAT?"
"Covering fire!"
"Cover me!"
"Die, motherfucker!"
"No! NO! STAY AWAY! GET AWAY FROM ME!"
"SAVAGE! It's wiped out the whole squad! WE NEED BACKU - ARGGGGG!"
Stokes looked horrified and then there was abrupt silence. She looked at Point Man and Crowe and they stared back, just as surprised as she was. Manny quickly crossed himself before he stood up and lifted his Assault Rifle down the direction of the hall.
"We gotta move, you guys!" he said, "Whatever's out there, it's gonna find us!"
They moved forward out into the school playground and stepped into a scene of gore and massacre. There were many soldiers strewn across the playground, most of their body parts had been thrown about wildly. There were pools of blood dripping from dangling corpses hanging over the edges of the buildings, some over the swing sets and others lying in their own guts. A few were still alive, but delirious from the pain.
"Oh God," Crowe whispered, "What the hell happened?"
Point Man approached one of the soldiers and noticed that his lower torso was missing. He was sputtering blood, near death. He whispered his final dying words.
"It's ... hell ... " he groaned, before going still.
Manny looked over his shoulder warily and spotted a shape move over the rooftops. He squinted and furrowed his brow, confused by the strange, jagged shape.
"Uh, hey lieutenant?" he said, nudging Stokes warily, "Something's up there."
Just then, Crowe, Fettel and Point Man could make out the eerie sound of unintelligible child - voice whispering accompanied by a horrifying death rattle. It was throaty and sick, as if someone was being choked.
"What was it?" Stokes demanded, looking at Manny.
He made several gestures. "I don't know, but it looked a lot like a fucking - "
A sharp thud from one of the doors of the school caused them all to look back toward a set of double doors that led toward the gym. The thuds continued, denting the doors. Genevieve started to pant warily in fright. She looked up at the others.
"We should go now!" she spat, "NOW!"
They turned and ran toward the APC just a few yards away and the sound of something snapping filled the air, like metal buckling. No one looked back at the sounds of something pursuing them as they sprinted into the vehicle. Genevieve was behind them all, running as fast as her legs could carry her. Crowe looked back in shock and horror. She reached out one hand and ignored Manny as he dove for the driver's seat and started up the vehicle. She waved frantically to the woman.
"Genevieve! Hurry!" she shouted.
Genevieve dove for the APC just as Manny started pulling away. Crowe grabbed her arms and started to pull her inside. Suddenly, there was an ear - splitting death rattling sound and she was suddenly yanked back toward the opening. A fierce scream pulled out from her and Stokes made a mad dash to help Crowe. Genevieve held onto a handlebar and wailed in agony.
"IT'S GOT ME!" she shrieked, "Something's got my leg!"
Manny looked back desperately. "What the fuck is going on back there?" he cried, "We've got a cling on!"
Fettel was sitting calmly in a chair, smiling with his eyes closed as if he knew what was happening. Point Man watched him with a hard glare before he jumped to his feet and moved to help the two women who desperately clung to Genevieve's arms to try and pull her back inside. The snarling, inhuman sounds and their source could not be seen because whatever it was was attached to the side of the APC, trying to take the CEO out with it. Stokes pressed her foot into the edge of the door and the seats to try and keep herself and Crowe from being yanked out as well.
"What the fuck is that?" Stokes screamed.
"Don't let me go!" Genevieve begged, tears stinging her eyes, "Don't let me go, please!"
Crowe nodded fiercely. "I won't! I won't!"
Genevieve wailed in agony and blood spurted from her mouth and her wails died into choked gurgles. There was a sick ripping sound, like cloth and flesh being torn. Point Man reacted with a slight widening of his eyes. Crowe could catch a glimpse of something black with red eyes. It was like a shadow save for shining white teeth that scissored through the flesh of the Armacham CEO as if it were paper. For a moment, those fiery red eyes pierced through her and she couldn't move.
Then, something snapped and Aristide was gone.
O
The APC continued through the city and Stokes was frantic.
"Oh God, she was the only one who knew where Beckett was!" Stokes panted, "Now what do we do?"
Crowe was rubbing her face with one hand. "We have to keep moving." she said, her voice quiet and calm, "We'll figure something out. He couldn't have gone too far from Still Island. Not with the limited resources of the soldiers."
Manny scoffed in disgust. "Yeah, well, they're not the only ones," he told them, "We need to find some place to get supplies and duck because I know for a fact that there'll be more of those fucking things close."
Stokes frowned. "How do you know?" she asked.
"Was there ever just one?" Manny snapped.
"Okay, where are we now?" Crowe asked.
Manny stopped the APC and turned to look back at them. "We're in front of the mall," he told her, "We could hurry inside and see what we can find. I haven't picked up any radio transmissions from Armacham troops, so we should be safe here."
Everyone poured out of the APC and Manny stayed behind. Crowe looked up at the image of the mall. What had once been a proud, shining building was tattered and torn, obliterated by the blast that had taken out most of the city.
"I'll keep it hot, lieutenant," he told Stokes, "Let's make it fast."
Stokes nodded her head. "Okay, let's hurry it up and get inside. Then, we'll meet back here." she told the other two.
Crowe approached a fence and she could barely make out the sound of a siren going off in the distance. Point Man and Stokes glanced briefly back with caution and Stokes chuckled reassuringly to the other two.
"It's just gotta be a car going off." she told them, "Let's move."
Crowe and Point Man nodded and the trio pressed their way into the mall. Rats scuttled away and avoided their feet. The inside of the mall was dark, so Stokes cast her flashlight on and both Crowe and Point Man followed suit.
"So, what happened with you two anyway?" Stokes asked, looking at Crowe.
"I was captured by Armacham shortly after the blast," Crowe explained, keeping her attention in front of her, "They interrogated me and wanted to know what I knew about Alma. I told them nothing. I didn't know much up until now."
"Really?" Stokes said, interested.
"I think they may have wiped my memory..." Crowe told her, "Only the recent stuff has come to light, stuff I never knew had happened."
"Armacham's tricky like that," Stokes replied, nudging a box and grimacing as a rat scurried out of it, "But it's weird that they'd warp the brains of their own doctors."
"I know." Crowe murmured, concern in her voice.
Fettel drifted silently behind Point Man and Crowe. "They've used you, Crowe," Fettel told her, looking at her with those solid, dark eyes, "You deserve the right to be upset with them. You know it and brother knows it. It's time that they reap what they've sown."
Crowe looked ahead of her and she could see another translucent image appear. She saw herself being dragged away by Terry, screaming at something.
"A CHILD! SHE WAS JUST A FUCKING CHILD!"
The voice of Harlan Wade filled her head, though he couldn't be seen. His image appeared as they walked closer.
"Do not confuse my daughter for your own flesh and blood, Annette," Harlan warned, "You've lost your own already. You cannot have mine."
The image of Crowe screamed again. "You can't do that to her! What the fuck is wrong with you people?"
Just then, the image took a dark turn. Harlan's head suddenly burst in an explosion of blood and Alma's voice hissed through the air.
"Daddy's dead."
The images disappeared in ash once more.
Crowe split up with the other two and scanned through a drug store, quickly gathering some medicine up into a grocery cart. Fettel drifted beside her, cocking his head. He was quiet for the longest time as he watched her actions.
"What happened to your child, Crowe?" he asked.
Crowe shook her head, her actions hurried and her voice pained. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Mother knows already."
Crowe sighed and her throat choked out her next words. "I don't know how she knows about it, but - "
"What happened?" Fettel asked with a little more force.
Crowe froze and straightened the shotgun around her shoulders. She sighed and gripped the edges of the cart before looking up at Fettel with an angry, bitter smile. Tears threatened to burst forth, but she restrained them as she spoke.
"I had a miscarriage," she told him, "The doctors who worked on me put me through so much stress. I was spoon fed a bunch of bullshit that what they were doing was helping my child." She laughed sorrowfully. "My baby was still kicking inside. They told me that it was phantom fetal movement. For fourteen days I carried my dead baby inside of me. Fourteen days. I lost my child because they were too stupid to take the advice of a mother!"
Fettel smiled. "That is why mother connected with you," he said, "You know the loss of a child as she once had. Taken from the same people who took her own." He gestured beyond him with a flirt of his head. "They don't understand a thing. Don't fall victim to their lies."
Voices whispered through Crowe's head and she looked beyond Fettel, seeing an image of a child Alma Wade watching her through the glass of the drug store. Those orange eyes were dark and pitiless before she disappeared into ash.
"You saw things, Crowe," Fettel continued, moving closer to her, "Things that made them concerned. You weren't as strong as mother. You couldn't do things the way that she could. But you could see them."
Crowe backed up upon reflex. "What are you talking about?" she croaked, suddenly uneasy.
Fettel's eyes slightly widened with a grin that stretched across his face. "At first, they told you that you were insane. They told you that what you saw wasn't really there. But then, they began to question when you claimed that you could speak to your dead grandmother!"
Crowe covered her ears with two hands. "Stop it!" she shouted.
Fettel's grin grew wider. "It's the truth, Crowe. Don't run from it!"
After a moment of recoiling from him, Stokes and Point Man stepped into the drug store and looked around. Stokes noticed Crowe's condition and moved at her side, helping her to stand. Crowe was shaken, frightened.
"Are you okay?" Stokes asked.
Crowe nodded, a sick look crossing her face. "I'm fine. Let's go."
I wanted to forget.
The sound of a baby crying filled her head.
O
Note-Well? What do you think?