A/N: Huzzah, I live! Yeah, I know, I'm late with this chapter, I'm really sorry guys. I was out of town this past weekend, and I spent maybe a total of five hours at home this whole weekend. Not to mention I've been preparing for SDCC (San Diego ComiCon.) Feel free to shoot me.
I'm going to try to keep with my Sunday schedule, but if it becomes more of a "I'm going to update whenever I can" type of thing for a while, don't be too surprised. Summer is actually crazily hectic, unlike the organized hectic of the school year .
Enough of my babbble, here's chapter 12. It's slightly longer then the other chapter; I hope you enjoy. (Personally, I kinda hate this chapter. Idk why, but it was a bitch to write.)
Chapter 12: Downpour
"Damn girl, what happened to you?"
Baird looked up from his perch in the front seat of the centaur as the trio approached them, rain obscuring their features. He finished up his work, then hopped down and came around the back as Dom, Marcus and Allena came up on the vehicle. He glanced at Allena, who had a hand pressed to her neck- and although she was being rained on, it was easy to identify the dark red liquid that stained her pale skin.
"Wretches," Marcus grumbled. The man sounded irate; if it had been Baird, he'd probably have left her to the little bastards. How Marcus did it was a mystery to him.
"What's the word," Cole asked, nodding his head towards the explosive charge. Baird barely heard Marcus' answer as he examined Allena with a critical eye- besides her neck, she seemed uninjured. Talk about luck. He dragged his eyes away from her, stepping forward and nodding towards the explosives.
"It's all ready, Marcus," he said, waving his hand. "Just make sure you get your ass outside of the blast radius, and whatever you do, don't drop it."
"Gotcha, we'll let you know how it goes," Marcus said with a nod.
"Oh, we'll know," Baird said with a grin, tossing the detonator to him. It was kind of hard to miss an explosion like the one he had just set up. Marcus rolled his eyes at him as he caught the detonator easily, then nodded to Allena. "Make sure she gets inside. You know where the med kit is."
"If you find anything, grab it please," she said to them, pushing dark strands of wet hair out of her eyes with her free hand.
"You got it, Allena," Dom said with a nod, ever the saint. The two men picked the charge and carefully set off back towards the warehouse, the heavy rain obscuring their forms only seconds later. The three left behind watched them go in silence.
"Come on, baby, let's get you fixed up," Cole said, breaking the silence as he gently patted Allena's good shoulder. She nodded and followed him back to the centaur, leaving Baird alone in the pouring rain. He shrugged his shoulders, then went to go sit down on a crate Cole had dragged over to sit on as Baird worked. He figured that the girl could take care of herself; she had said she'd qualified as a medic, right? He chuckled slightly- he'd told her she'd have to patch herself up. It was only a matter of time.
"Yo, Baird," Cole said, startling him as he came around the side of the Centaur. Baird looked up at him, one eyebrow raised. "You gotta go help Allena out."
"I don't gotta do anything," Baird snorted. "She's a big girl, she can take care of herself."
"Damon," Cole said, crossing his arms. "Don't act like that, now. She might need stitches and you know mama didn't teach these hands how to thread a needle."
"She'll be fine," Baird said dismissively. He scowled at the pointed look that Cole gave him, then sighed and threw his hands into the air. "Fine! I'll go and help her, stop fucking looking at me like that." Cole chuckled, earning a fierce glare from the blonde.
"You're a good man, Baird," Cole called out sweetly.
"Jesus, I gotta do everything around here," he grumbled, more to himself then anything as he went around to the back of the centaur and hauled himself up. He spotted Allena sitting at the far end of the vehicle, dabbing at her neck with a rag with very little efficiency.
"Need some help," he asked mockingly, causing her to look up at him. She scowled, then paused, a soft sigh slipping from between her lips.
"Do you know anything about dressing injuries," she asked, one eyebrow arched delicately. He snorted, shaking his head.
"Me? Nothing besides the basics. I fix vehicles, sweetheart, not people- they're less annoying." She rolled her eyes at him, her jaw tightening slightly.
"Look," she said, heaving a sigh. "Sit over here, and I'll tell you what to do. You think you can handle that much?" Baird smirked at her as he crossed the back of the centaur, taking a seat next to her. She was on edge, and it made it fun to pick on her (Baird was an asshole, after all. It was what he did best.)
"I'll take that," he said, plucking the rag out of her hands. She tilted her head up carefully as he dabbed at the slash marks; now that he could actually see them, he could tell they weren't that bad. They were long, traveling diagonally down her neck from just under her left ear to her clavicle, but relatively shallow. "That lying bastard," he said, scowling. "Cole said you might need stitches."
"Really," she asked, glancing at him. "He told me you were better at these kinds of things." They paused, staring at each other over the other man's obvious lie.
"This is bullshit," Baird said with a sigh, breaking the silence that had settled over them.
"Why would Cole do that," she asked. He took her chin and slowly tilted it back up so he could finish cleaning the blood away.
"Probably because he's a lazy bastard," he said, although something in his head nagged at him, telling him that wasn't the reason at all. "God dammit." He felt her stiffen slightly under his fingertips, a grimace touching her face as he dabbed at the wounds a little too roughly; he paused, then lightened his touch. "Where's the peroxide?"
"It's in the kit," she said, pointing to the ground without looking. "Brown bo-"
"I know what it looks like, geez." She tilted her chin back down and looked at him, her brows furrowing together as she frowned. He leaned over and searched through the med kit until he found the tiny brown bottle- his COG tags were about the same size as the container. "Hope no one else needs any of this," he grumbled, then brushed his knuckles against her jaw; she tilted her chin back up without him having to do it for her. "This is gonna sting like a bitch," he told her, picking up the bottle of peroxide. She glanced at him, a scowl on her face.
"I know that."
He made a face at her, then poured the peroxide onto the claw marks- she gasped and chomped down on her lip, almost hard enough to draw blood. He watched as she closed her eyes for a moment, exhaled, then relaxed- a quick recovery. He wouldn't admit it, but he was slightly impressed as he reached down for the gauze. He knew some men who couldn't stand the sting of peroxide (wimps that they were.)
"Quit squirming," he said, as she shifted in her seat. She scowled at him, then fell still, allowing him to finish up. "There, I did what I could."
"Thanks," she said, tilting her head back down and lifting a hand to touch the bandages gingerly.
"You're welcome," he said, smirking just to irritate her- she scowled at him, her eyes narrowing. "So, did you even find anything in there?"
"Oh, yes," she said, sitting up and reaching into her pack. "I found this picture, and a small log book of sorts…" she held out the picture, opening up the book. He took it, then gave a low whistle- well, they were certainly lookers, slim and blonde with light brown eyes. "I'm not exactly sure, but I think this was one of theirs." He took a seat next to her and looked at the journal, leaning forward slightly as she read it out loud.
"June 3. Administered R31 to half of the patients, and R32 to the other half. No immediate response."
"Niles wants me to call them subjects. I think that's ridiculous, they aren't subjects, they're patients- even if this drug is experimental, we're trying to cure them." She glanced at Baird, a small frown on her face. He shrugged, nodding for her to continue- he had no idea what this woman was talking about, either. But it didn't sound good.
"June 5. All patients show responses, but they don't seem to be good- patients on R31 are beginning to show signs of hair loss and restricted motor skills. Patients on R32 show a continuing decline in health- if anything, it seems like the drug only helped to speed up the deterioration."
"When I told Doctor Niles this, he told me that he'd have the other doctors look into it. He won't let me touch the R32, not a single vial of it- he told me that the R31 is my responsibility, and to leave the R32 to the others. I'm not sure how much faith I have in the others, but I'll have to wait and see how things play out."
"Doctor Niles," Allena mused, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Why does that name sound so familiar?"
"What do you think they were treating," Baird asked, his eyes still scanning the spidery handwriting. She shrugged, flipping the page.
"It could be anything, really- Cancer, maybe, because this R31 thing they're talking about seems to have the same effects of chemotherapy…" She paused, blinking. "Or maybe rust lung," she said, looking up at him. "Emulsion sickness." They stared at each other for a moment, then looked back down at the book; even Baird had to admit, he was immensely curious.
"June 10. We lost one of the patients on R32- his name was John. Elizabeth seemed upset, apparently she had gotten close to him although she won't tell me anything. I tried to talk to Niles about it, but he wouldn't listen, just said that things happened and there was nothing we could do."
"The other patients look bad, even those on the R31- I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. Niles won't give me any new components, just keeps telling me that it will all work out eventually. The patients on my R31 show signs of memory loss and bouts of extreme aggression. Motor skills deteriorating, and most have experienced complete hair loss. There are reports of liver failure in the patients on R32, among other things."
"I'm starting to question how much good we're doing here."
Allena silently turned the page, obviously getting absorbed into her own little world as she tilted the book so that the light caught it better, giving him a better view as she continued to read.
"June 22. We've lost five so far. Three of them were on the R32. Niles still won't give me any new components."
"Patients on R31 showing signs of complete memory loss. Increased aggression. They're so pale, as pale as death. For some reason, the R31 seems to have speed up the aging of cells in the patients- they all look like old men and women. I believe the oldest patient is only 20."
Some of the patients on R32 have slipped into a coma."
"June 30. Elizabeth. She's sick, and I don't know what to do. It looks like she has it, too- Rust lung. Doctor Niles says its because she wasn't following the rules, because she didn't wear the protective gear, but Elizabeth was never so reckless. Part of me thinks he has something to do with this, but that's… that's impossible, right? He's not that heartless, right? Adam is telling me to calm down, that we can save her- but I know he's lying. We've lost more of the patients on the R32, and those who aren't in a coma cough like their lungs are filled with nothing but mucous- we've had to hook them up to breathing apparatus so that they don't suffocate."
"Patients on R31 aren't faring much better. Some are so aggressive that we've had to induce comas on them, to continue studying. It's almost eerie, looking at their pale, wrinkled bodies floating in the stasis tubes. I don't understand it, and Niles won't let me near them even though they're my patients. Speech skills are impaired, all the patients are clumsy and aggressive and so pale. It's becoming obvious that the R31 is causing mutations."
"Please, God, help me save my sister."
"They were experimenting with drugs," she said, her brow furrowing. "I don't think something like this would have been sanctioned by the Chairman, or even the scientific community for that matter- I've never heard of an incident like this." Baird only shrugged, trying to come to his own conclusions. Yes, there was definitely some illegal experimentation going on here. But by who? Adam… It couldn't have been Adam Fenix, could it? It seemed like too much of a coincidence- but then again, life was a bitch and that seemed like something that would happen. All Baird could think of was how much of a kick Marcus would get out of hearing that his old man had once worked at this place when Allena cleared her throat, turning the page.
"July 10. Remaining patients put in stasis- they're either too weak to survive without support or too aggressive. Elizabeth sits in the hospital wing, alone- her condition has stabilized, but we're not certain for how long. Niles wants to put her on the R32, but I won't have it. Dammit, she's my sister, and I won't let her die. I'm working on a cure as we speak, I'm sick of all this death. We've destroyed so many innocent people, children who were depending on us. I think Niles was giving us a bunch of bullshit when he told us that we were going to help them, and I think Adam knows it, too. He's trying to help me, covering up my work from Niles and keeping an eye on things. He promised he wouldn't let them near Elizabeth."
"July 19. They're all dead. Only a handful continued to show vital signs when we went to check on the stasis tubes. They were all on the R31. What have I done?"
"Elizabeth worsens. She's so sick, and pale. I tried a new synthesis with her, but it didn't work- I have to wait for it to run out of her system before I try another one, I can't risk anything going wrong here. I only pray that I can save my sister."
"July 30. She's dead. Elizabeth is dead. Niles doesn't even care, but my little sister is dead. Why? Why Elizabeth, why not me? I don't understand. Adam can only comfort me, but it all hurts so much. I can't think anymore."
"What have we done?"
"What in god's name were they doing here," she asked, a disbelieving frown touching her face as she stared at the book.
"Some seriously fucked up shit," he replied grimly, before leaning over and picking up the book. "Is there more?" She leaned closer as he flipped it open to the last entry, taking over in the reading.
"I am disgusted with myself. Disgusted with all of us, really, but most of all I am disgusted with Niles. He is a lying, rotten man who cost so many innocent young people their lives, and he must be punished. People are beginning to disappear, realizing that what we've been told is a lie. It won't be long before it is just Adam and I, left alone with that disgusting little man."
"I will destroy him. Niles will learn what happens when you try to play god. We will emerge victorious, and anyone who tries to stop us will be crushed underneath our feet. He is a prime example of the disgusting filth that makes up society, and we will destroy it all."
"The plans have been made. Adam, my dear friend, has agreed to help me. We will leave this place, escape before there is no more opportunity for us to leave. I wish we could take the patients- the victims- away from here. Unfortunately, we cannot take all of the survivors with us- we simply have no way to transport them all. We can take only one, and we have chosen Ruth. She was a sweet child, but strong. I believe she has what it takes to survive. It will be hard, but together we will rebuild, and when the time comes Niles will see justice."
"I have created a tool. An instrument for our revenge. And with it, I will create a new world."
"Someone obviously went off the deep end," Baird said, closing the book in disdain. She shook her head, daintily plucking the book out of his hands and looking at the worn cover. "Jesus, did you hear that at the end? All that shit about creating a new world?"
"She was obviously suffering from the loss of her sister," Allena said, trying to be reasonable. Baird only rolled his eyes at her- there was no tiptoeing around this. He was perfectly convinced that the writer of the diary was bat-shit crazy.
"Who the hell is this crazy bitch, anyways," he asked, spotting the picture on the floor a few feet away. "One of them?"
"Maybe," she said, with a deft shrug of her shoulders. "They're connected to Niles somehow… I know him, I just can't remember how."
"Careful, I can see smoke coming out of your ears," he said, earning a glare from her. "Honestly, does it matter? More then likely they're all dead, end of story, big whoop. If this bitch really did go through with her plan, you think we would have heard of it? The assassination of scientists really isn't something that goes without notice." Allena only shrugged, looking at the book in her lap thoughtfully.
"I don't know," she finally said, exhaling slowly and closing her eyes. "I don't have enough information at the moment." She shook her head and pressed the heel of her palm to her eye, and he was suddenly very aware of how young she was; she could have been some teenaged girl off the street. He scoffed at himself and turned his face away from her, trying not to think about it. A change of subject, that was what he needed.
"So, Hoffman sounded surprised to see you."
"I know," she said after a pause, looking up at him with a small frown. "Part of me thinks he wasn't expecting me to come back." He snorted, rolling his eyes at her as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Only part? Sorry, but did you see his face? He wasn't expecting you back at all," he said, earning a glare from her. After a moment she sighed, and shook her head.
"I just don't understand what's going on here," she said, pulling her gloves off and massaging her right hand gently. With the gloves on, her hands had looked decently sized; with them off, he realized they were downright tiny. She held one hand up and examined it under the light, as if she realized just how small they were herself.
"Well, the world's a bitch," he finally said, shrugging his shoulders. She paused, then let out a small, bitter, hollow laugh, one that actually kind of scared Baird.
"Yeah, I know," she said, her voice eerily soft. Not that Baird actually gave a fuck or anything (or so he told himself), but a small part of him wondered just what she had dealt with.
-=V=-
Allena yawned as she sunk slightly into her seat, closing her eyes for a moment.
"Sleepy, princess?" She scowled at the mocking edge Baird's voice, opening one eye to glare at him..
"I'm not exactly trained for going days on end with no sleep," she said pointedly, rubbing her eyes. "I'm going to go and talk to Cole, maybe the rain will wake me up." Baird raised an eyebrow as she got to her feet, slipping her gloves back on.
"You could just stay here and sleep," he suggested, surprising her. "Unlike the rest of us, Marcus won't bitch at you about sleeping on the job." She managed a smile, shaking her head.
"I'll be fine," she said, hiding another yawn. "Anyways, if they come back with anything, I want to dig into it immediately." He rolled his eyes at her as she got up, then made her way across the cabin of the centaur. She could hear the rain pounding away at the vehicle, pinging off the metal. She carefully pushed open the door and peered out, looking up at the dark, angry clouds in the sky as they unleashed torrents of rain. She stuck her foot out, groping blindly for the ladder. Her foot finally found the first rung- and slipped right off the slick metal, causing her to fall forward. Before she could pitch face-first into the mud and water outside, something grabbed her around the waist, dragging her back up.
"I can't take my eyes off you for a second, can I," Baird asked drolly, steadying her. She scowled, glancing back at him with narrowed eyes. "Does the Princess need help out?"
"I can get out on my own, thanks," she shot back, her voice stiff. She backed up a bit and pushed his arm away, then turned around and backed out of the centaur, planting her foot firmly on the metal rung. She carefully made her way down, shivering as rain drenched her and trickled down her armor. "There, see," she said a bit proudly, as she made it to the soggy ground. He snorted and rolled his eyes at her, then jumped down- the smirk he gave her at the end was enough to make her want to punch him again.
She shivered as they made their way to where Cole was, under the shelter of one of the old parking sheds "Oh, this is definitely waking me up," she said, hunching her shoulders slightly.
"Your idea," Baird said smugly. She sighed exasperatedly, shooting him a dark look.
"I can't decide if I hate you or like you," she said, giving him a wry look. He stiffened slightly, and she feared she had crossed some unspoken line. Then, he shrugged, giving her that smug bastard smile he did so well.
"What, is it my boyishly good looks or my natural charm? Feel free to say all of the above." She rolled her eyes at him as they came around the centaur- cocky bastard, she mused, waving as Cole looked up at them.
"Hey, baby," the man said with an infectious grin, waving back. "You two ain't torn each other apart yet? Now there's a miracle." Allena shook her head, stopping as soon as they made it under the parking shed. Cole had found some wooden crates and dragged them over, setting up some makeshift seats, which Allena quickly took advantage of. It wasn't the most comfortable thing- it was cold outside, and the rain banging against the sheet metal roof was almost deafening. Baird decided to stand up, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned casually against an old car.
"Christ, what's taking them so long," he said impatiently. "We should have all gone, we'd be out of here by now."
"And when some Stranded came along and stripped the centaur you'd come out and bitch till the locust came and shot ya," Cole chuckled good naturedly. "Marcus knows better then that, baby, he ain't no fool." Baird snorted rudely, rolling his eyes.
"Don't start that shit, Cole," Baird said. "Everyone thinks he's a fucking god or something, and he's really not that great." He looked at Allena, giving her a knowing look. "Take my advice on this one- if you ever get stuck alone with Marcus Fenix, do yourself a favor and shoot yourself in the head before the silence drives you nuts."
"Marcus ain't that bad, man," Cole countered, leaning back. "You'd know that if you weren't always trying to bust his balls." Baird scowled, and Allena suddenly wondered if it actually bothered the man that he couldn't ruffle Marcus's feathers.
"So, why don't you tell us about yourself," Cole said, suddenly turning the discussion to her. She blinked, startled.
"What do you mean," she asked. Baird snorted, and opened his mouth to say something; Cole beat him to the punch before he could start a fight.
"I mean, tell us what you did before this whole mess," he said. "C'mon now, baby, we don't know nothing' 'bout you." Allena pursed her lips for a moment, leaning forward slightly. Rain dripped onto the top of her head, startling her and causing her to lean back. She looked up and spotted a small hole in the sheet metal above their heads- well, that was just wonderful.
"Oh, you know, dad was in the COG, mom was a housewife," she finally said with an uncomfortable shrug. Her family had never been a big part of her life, except for a constant reminder of why she had to push so hard, strive so far. Her father was never home, usually at some local pub when he wasn't off at war, and her mother was always some sort of pitiful mess. Loneliness had driven the poor woman to misery and near-madness, leaving her oldest daughter to take care of things. The sad part was, before she had gotten married her mother had had a promising career; she had been extremely smart, the top of her field. Everything had gone downhill when she got pregnant with Allena. She'd dropped out of school, slowly deteriorating with each long absence of her husband.
She would never be her parents.
"I spent most of my life away from home at boarding school.," she continued. She tucked a strand of hair behind one ear, shrugging her shoulders again. "I kind of regret it all."
"And why's that, baby," Cole asked, leaning forward. "It'd be a shame if you put that brain of yours to waste."
"I wasn't home for my little sister," she said. She reached into her armor, withdrawing the small gold locket tucked away there next to her tags. She looked at it for a second, a far-away look in her eyes. "Now I don't even know where she is."
"Well, baby, now there's a reason for everything," Cole said, patting her back comfortingly. "What's your sister's name?"
"Harley," Allena said, opening the locket to show him. "She's eight years younger then me."
Aww, now ain't she cute," Cole exclaimed, leaning closer to peer at the picture. "Just like her big sister. I'm sure you'll find her."
"When we get back, I'm going to look for her," she said with a nod, tucking the locket back into her armor. "She's the only family I have left. I don't want her to live her life thinking she's ever going to be alone." They were silent for a moment- of course they all knew that Harley might not even be alive. The last Allena had ever heard from her was a couple years after E-Day; she was still going to school at one of the last universities that had bothered to stay open, trying to get her degree despite all the madness. Harley had written her, surprising her with a letter telling her that they were alright- and then she never heard from her again.
"So, you got a beau back home," Cole asked, startling her. "A pretty face like yours can't be single." Allena froze, looking down at her hand for a moment.
"Uh," she said, swallowing awkwardly. "Actually, I was married once."
"What? No kidding," Cole burst out after a moment of stunned silence, his eyes wide with surprise. Baird was giving her the strangest look, like he was trying to burn a hole in her forehead. "Really? Who you married to?"
"Was married," she reiterated, then pulled off her glove and held up her hand to show it was ring-free. "Things didn't work out too well." She shivered slightly at that sentence; it was the barest of movements, and she hoped the guys hadn't noticed. "We were only married for two years."
"So, what? You guys hooked up in school or something," Cole asked, sounding immensely curious.
"No, it was an arranged marriage," she said with a small, awkward shrug. "After my parents died, we decided it would be best if we split up." Cole whistled, placing his large hands on his knees. Baird just continued to stare, making her feel ten times more uncomfortable with the fact that she'd shared that bit of her past. She'd never been too proud of being married; she hadn't even really liked the man. Allena was an old-fashioned romantic, deep down. And towards the end, things had gotten messy…
She shook her head, deciding to turn the subject away from her. "What about you guys," she asked. She looked up at Baird, who was staring out at the rain as if he meant to destroy it. "Baird?" He turned that laser-gaze on her, his eyes narrowed blue chips.
"Now, that's something we best not go into," Cole interjected, placing a big hand over Allena's. The tension in the air was palpable- Allena wondered just what kind of landmine she had just stepped on. Thunder rumbled through the air, as the three sat in silence. "Once Baird gets started on all his 'achievements'- then you're gonna wanna shoot yourself in the head." Baird flipped Cole the bird, rolling his eyes, and just like that the tension dissipated. Cole winked at Allena before leaning back in his seat. "I played thrash ball back in the day." Allena tilted her head to the side quizzically; she'd never really followed sports at all, even in her school days. But now that she thought about it, his name was familiar- she recalled having heard some boys talking about him in Study Hall, back in the University. Before Cole could elaborate, Baird snorted, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Oh no, here we go again," Baird said, rolling his eyes. Cole chuckled, nudging Allena.
"Damon over there is just jealous," Cole stage whispered to her. "'Cause the Cole Train always gets the girls."
"You know what, Cole," Baird said, falsely pleasant. "Fuck you."
"You know it's true," Cole said with a booming laugh. "Anyways, I was top of my game. I had switched over to the Cougars and baby, we had it. We were the best of the best." Cole winked, giving her a broad grin. "The Cole Train's still got it, too. As soon as this shit is over, I'm going right back at it." He leaned back, a dreamy smile on his face. Allena even managed a small smile as the man regaled her with a recap of one of his favorite games.
"What, are you- ow!" Allena jolted up suddenly, stumbling back against the car. She lifted her hand to the top of her head, feeling as if someone had thrown a rock at her head. "What was that?"
"What," Cole asked, alarmed, then cursed and jumped up too. "What the hell?"
"Get away from there," Baird ordered urgently. "Go!" Cole and Allena backed up from the edge just as the sound of rain falling turned into the sound of breaking glass.
"Marcus, we got razor hail out here," Baird said over the Tac/Com. There wasn't enough room for all of them to stand comfortably in the small shed; Cole helped Allena sit on top of the car as Baird talked to the others. Allena glanced at Cole, one eyebrow raised questioningly; he lifted his shoulders in a shrug.
"Well, shit's going down here too," Marcus said irately over the a crackle of static.
"You guys need backup," Baird asked, eyeing the rain. Allena wondered just how he was planning on getting in there to help.
"No, just get back to the centaur. I think we've got what we needed."
"Um, razor hail? Not so good for my life expectancy."
"Well… Find a way, dammit!"
The line went dead, leaving the three of them to sit there and ponder just what in Sera's name they were going to do.
"We could always make a run for it," Allena suggested. Baird rolled his eyes at her.
"You go right ahead," he said mockingly, causing her to frown. "You'll be Swiss cheese before you take four steps." She sighed in frustration, staring out at the razor hail as she tried to think of something, anything they could do.
"Without helmets on, this is going to be a bitch," Baird said, eyeing the hail accusingly. As if it was the weather's fault that none of them actually bothered to wear helmets.
"Where's that Carmine kid when you need him, right," Cole said sadly, with a shake of his head. Allena flinched slightly at the mention of their deceased teammate, then shook her head- she could mourn later. Right now, she needed to focus on getting to the centaur. She frowned, glaring out at the rain and trying to come up with an idea.
"What if we got a car door or something," she offered, looking at Baird. "You could pull one off, right?"
"Yeah, maybe if any of these cars had doors," Baird snorted, looking around pointedly. She looked at the cars within reach and realized, with a sinking feeling, that none of them had doors.
"Baird, what's your status?" Marcus's voice startled them, and Baird slapped a hand to his ear irately.
"Not good, man. We're still trapped, and the centaur is taking one hell of a beating!"
"Dammit."
"My sentiments exactly," Baird grumbled.
"What if we wait it out," Allena asked, looking up at the sky. "I mean, this can't last forever."
"We ain't exactly sure how long this'll go on for though, baby," Cole pointed out.
"And the longer we wait, the more trouble that Centaur is going to be," Baird added, annoyed. "Dammit, razor hail is not good for the paint."
"Well, what if we-" Allena began, and then gasped in surprise when a bullet hit the roof of the car. Baird reached up and yanked her off the car, pulling her into an ungraceful heap next to him as bullets began to rain down on them. She scowled as she propped herself up slowly, straining to look through the glassless windows of the car to see their attackers.
"Oh, this is just perfect," Baird snarled, as the Locusts came into view. The three hefted their weapons, rounds tracing through the air as they returned fire. Allena's shotgun slapped against her shoulder as she cocked, aimed, and fired, while simultaneously trying to stay out of Cole and Baird's way.
"What the hell is that," Allena asked in morbid awe as two large Locust charged forward, shields held out in front of them. They stopped just short of being out in the hail, swinging large maces on a chain. Allena watched, eyes wide, as one lifted its shield up to protect them from the hail of glass, as the other used its shield to protect them from the hail of bullets.
"I think I have an idea," Baird said, exchanging glances with Allena. "Aim for the heads, Cole. Allena, cover us." Allena nodded and lifted her shotgun, the weapon smacking almost painfully into her shoulder as she fired round after round. She was just grateful the wretches hadn't torn into the right side of her neck- wielding the shotgun would have been impossible. It still hurt, but she sucked it up- they were counting on her. She grit her teeth and held on to the weapon, covering the two as they took out the large Locusts. She couldn't help a small smile of satisfaction as she took out one of the Drones just as it was attempting to hop over a cement barrier, flopping back and out of sight.
"Back up, back up," Baird ordered, as the two behemoths got too close for comfort. Allena saw nowhere for them to go; they very well couldn't back up and out into the hail.
"Guys," She said, her voice an octave higher then usual. "Hurry up!" Baird and Cole let out a short burst each, and finally the monsters toppled over heavily, their shields sitting like presents in the mud. They took out the remaining Locusts, then Baird slid over the hood of the car and grabbed the shields, cursing slightly as he dragged one back.
"We're going to have to get real cozy," he commented mockingly, hefting the shield up. "Cole, you're going to have to hold the other end up. Allena, keep your gun out, just in case anyone else decides to join the party." Allena nodded and pulled her shotgun up, reloading it as the two men prepared themselves. She nodded to them, and they hefted the heavy shield up; Allena ducked underneath right in-between them, and they stepped out into the hail. They made their way through the hail and back to the Centaur, both men straining with the weight of the heavy metal shields. Allena kept her shotgun ready, her finger hovering over the trigger as she tried to make sure they were covered.
"Baird, I can hold it long enough for the two of you to get in," Cole said, his voice slightly strained as they reached the centaur.
"No way, man, I'm not leaving you out here," Baird shot back fiercely, surprising Allena. She suddenly realized that the two men were a lot closer then she thought, especially if the blonde had that kind of reaction to leaving Cole behind. Cole gave him a pointed look, rolling his eyes.
"Ain't nothing gonna happen to the Train, alright man," Cole said. "But you have to help Allena in. Now, I ain't saying Allena's a big girl or anything, but that's a two-hand job." Baird glared at Cole, then nodded as he reached forward and yanked open the door. He cautiously helped Cole grab the other edge, then reached over and grabbed Allena, hefting her into the centaur (It was more of him tossing her in, then anything.) He hopped up in after her; she scooted back to give him room, unable to see what was happening.
"Cole, put that here, we're gonna have to move fast." Both men grunted as the sound of scraping metal filled the air, and then Baird was yanking Cole in, both men almost falling on top of each other.
"We made it," Allena said, sounding relieved.
"That was some good thinking there, baby," Cole said, slapping Baird on the back. The blonde grimaced, and that was when Allena noticed that his hand was bleeding.
"You're bleeding," she said, blinking. He looked down at his hand, then back at her, one eyebrow raised.
"Well no shit Sherlock," he said, causing her to give him a threatening look. "That's kind of what happens when you reach out into razor hail." She rolled her eyes, motioning for him to come over.
"Let me take a look," she said, eager to help. Even if it was the most irritating man in the world.
"I'm fine," he said pointedly, then grimaced again as she grabbed his hand.
"Right," she said, pulling him closer. "Now sit still." Cole chuckled, shaking his head.
"You best listen to the girl, man, I don't think she's playin'," Cole said, winking to Allena and pulling a smile from her. Baird snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Fuck you, Cole."
