After recent revelations, Sigma squad must now decide where to go from here...

Chapter 14: Detour

Trying to forget
We're falling right through
Lying to forget
We're raising our truth

Lacuna Coil

Our truth

"Gus baby, you need your hat…you can't go out in that without keeping your head warm…"

A six year old, Augustus Cole groaned, feeling the time delay between being stuck in the house all day from the white, snowball fight, bliss. As with most little boys, time cannot be wasted trying to put on a bunch of outdoor attire before jumping out to explore the freezing enigma that awaits them.

"Aw, c'mon mom. I'm not going to get sick," he moaned as his mother walked over to him to fasten his hat on his earflap beanie, snug on his head.

"That's exactly right…you're not going to get sick, if you keep your head warm…do you understand me?"

His mother gave him a scolding look as he nodded.

"Yes ma'am…" he muttered out as she finished wrapping the crochet scarf around his neck and checks the buttons on his coat. After she finished, she kneels down to him, laying a kiss on his exposed cheek.

"I only want what's best for you baby…you know that," she said solemnly. Looking up at her, she gives him a smile while he flashes one back as he gives her a hug. She lets him go, and then looks him in the eye,

"Now you be careful…and you will be back in this house by six o'clock, do you understand…unless you don't want your supper?"

"I don't want to miss supper."

"Then you'll be back here by six, right?"

"Right!"

"Ok…now go out and play nice!"

"I will, momma…bye!"

"Bye, baby!"

His mother waved as he darted out the door and into the snow, covered wonderland, teaming up with his friends from down the street.

Ever since Gus was four years old, his mother practically raised him herself, taking on the multitasks that most single parents often had to do for the welfare of their children. His dad had disappeared, along with forty-three other men, who worked out on the Imulsion drilling fields.

With the war becoming closer to home, a lot of kids have either lost a father, or a brother, sometimes even a mother. Gus could remember two of his friends whom lost family members a year later from when he lost his daddy. It was sadly starting to become the norm as he grew up in school, along with every other kid who lived with a single parent or grandparent.

But his mother would always wake him up in the morning while she got herself ready for work, and him ready for school. She would always make sure he had his shoes on right with his shirt tucked in and his teeth brushed, while she kissed him before she dropped him off to school. His bond with her was beyond price.

Like many, she worked hard, but she always had him in mind when she would help him with his homework or take him to his games, followed with a homemade meal. She did the best she could not to let her circumstances get her down. She would always tell him,

"You make the best of what you have…the good Lord will never leave you with just nothing. Everything he gives you is for a reason."

She supported his internship at school to play "thrashball," making an effort to come to some of his games when she could get off of work early enough to watch her son play. She was impressed by his intensity as his talent eventually helped pave his way through college, where he was eventually employed to the "thrashball" profession. As he moved up into the big leagues, however, he started to lose contact with his mother as the games took him further away from home. He often sent her money to help pay bills back home, but she often refused it, sending him letters stating how proud she was, to see him become the man he grew up to be. That was all she ever wanted from him.

If only momma could see me now.

Cole was trudging through the snow, trying to bring his knees up to keep the snow from dampening the rest of his fatigues. They we're already soaked around the knees and started to bleed up into his thighs.

He wrapped his head and arms in the blanket he took from the conduit station, while he trekked around the trees, occasionally looking back to see if Feral was coming.

All three were getting dreary as the snow started to soak into their pants from all the hiking. Sven had a pillow tied to his lower back, which offered some warmth, but his lower thighs were screaming at him. He kept moving his legs, just to keep them warm, but it did nothing to settle the hunger pains in his gut and the cramping in his aching calves.

Baird still had the torn sheet wrapped around his neck and another around his waist, trying to make sense of where they were actually going. Nobody else seemed to know where they were going, but him. He finally halted as they come to a rocky ridge, inside the forest that probably stood down twenty feet, peering over to see the rocky bottom below.

"Ok…we need to take a breather," Baird announced as he plopped along the side of a boulder, slumping into the snow. At this point, his pants were already soaked so it didn't matter anymore if he sat in snow or not.

"I heard that," Cole agreed as he too, descended to the ground, laying out with his limbs sprawled in all directions. Sven finally came up to join them, panting in between breaths from the climbing.

"Oh, good…a break!"

He too plopped down, leaning his back against a tree.

The three sat and waited, reminiscing what may have happened back where they found what was left of Gamma Four. It was a sobering encounter, considering they had no contact with command. They were literally on their own out in the arctic wilderness, without shelter, without food, and without their guide. The situation couldn't be any more bleak, although nobody dared to say it.

Cole groaned as he tries to pass the time, hoping that Feral would catch up with them, but in the back of his head, he was worried, and Baird could tell that he was worried.

"Relax, Cole…she's a big girl…well, not literally, but, you know what I mean."

"Yea…I just still can't help it…that we left her behind, alone."

"Cole, she's been wondering in the wilderness, alone, for weeks at a time. She knows this area like the back of her hand…"

"Maybe she had to take a detour…ya know…to lead the Stranded away from our trail," Sven added, sharing his thoughts openly.

"Sigh…maybe," Cole pondered.

"Do you think we'll ever get back…I mean…back to headquarters?"

"Yea kid…we'll make it…you'll see," said Cole a he too starts to wonder, does he really believe that? He tries to find something else to talk about to lighten the bland mood, making the best of what they did have…and right now, it was each other.

"So…Damon…what did you say to Feral?"

"Huh…what?"

"What did you say to her, man?"

"We didn't kiss and make up, if that's what you were wanting to know. You can give Vin his ten bucks back."

"Ok, so what were y'all talking about?"

"Sigh, nothing."

"What? Nothing, my ass! You guys were talking, non-stop for almost an hour…Sven would know, he timed it!"

"What…you actually timed it…for real?"

"Yea, I mean it was seventy one minutes," Sven said, despite it lacked Baird's point.

"Look…we just talked about the Feral's breeding theories"

"So you were talking about sex," Cole blurted out.

"Not really, she was just explaining to me how the Feral ordain their "fertile" periods," Baird responded.

"Ew…y'all were talking about periods," Sven cringed as Baird turns to him and sneer,

"Seasonal periods, not menstrual periods, you dumbass!"

Cole cuts into the conversation.

"So did she tell you about what they teach?"

"Teach?"

"Yea…like some sex ed class…ya know…how they stroke it,"

"No, Cole…we didn't talk "techniques"…can't imaging what the hell for,"

"Ah c'mon! It was some good stuff! She was talking about shit I never knew…and I know quite a bit, I mean…"

"Ok, Cole, we can stop right there,"

"Oh c'mon, baby…everyone can use some pointers, even Vinny learned some stuff…"

"Yea, I can't wait try some of it," Vinny joined in with a giddy expression. Baird retorted,

"Oh yea, great Cole, now you soiled his virgin mind with all that crap!"

"I didn't tell him…I showed him," Cole beams.

"You…wait…what? How'd you…"

"I used your pin-up drawings in your journal."

Baird's expression turned into irritation.

"Damnit Cole, you were rummaging through my shit again!"

"Hey, quite leaving your shit behind when you go out to take a shit!"

Sven jumps back in,

"Wow, I never knew you could draw like that…those were some hot chicks…I especially like the one with big knockers, holding a blowtorch…"

"Oh, great, Cole…now you ruined his virgin eyes too?"

"Hey, I'm not a virg…"

"Shut up, Vin," Baird stopped him in mid sentence.

"Ah, give the kid a break! It's been awhile since he's seen some nice ass…hey, remember when Tanner talked you into drawing him that one chick,"

"What chick?"

"Ya know, that one waitress from the bar,"

"Oh, yea…I remember now."

"Was she hot?" Sven asked as Cole nodded,

"Whoa yea…she was hot, wasn't she Baird…" Cole lightly kicked Baird's boot as he continued, "…he would know, he drew her."

"Yea, Cole I did…thanks for reminding me," Baird muttered while rubbing his arms, trying to stay warm.

"Hey, you went along with it willingly, don't say you regret it now, white boy."

"I'm not implying anything…besides, Tanner was the one who had a big crush on her."

"Yea, he did…may he rest in peace," Cole muttered solemnly.

The three sit quietly, contemplating about the events that have taken place in their military careers, reflecting the times of tribulation, and wondering where will they go from here? But despite the past and the bitter, freezing cold, Cole decided to break the ice of their gloom for a second round of useless, men's locker room chitchat.

"So, Damon…did you frisk her?"

"What…who?"

"You know…that chick you drew,"

"What, no, I didn't frisk her, she just…willingly took off her clothes to let me sketch her, especially when I told her that it was for Tanner."

"Uh huh…"

"Ah damn…she actually did that, man, I really need to change my strategy," Sven whimpered.

"Yea…Baird's all good about strategy, hehe," Cole let out a chuckle.

"I didn't bang her, for crying out loud, Cole…ok, I'll admit, she was kinda playful."

"Uh huh…so what stopped you?"

"Are you kidding me, you know Tanner would've been pissed about it, besides, I didn't feel like picking up every disease in the STD alphabet,"

"What, you didn't know where she'd been?"

"No, I knew exactly where'd she been…that's what was so scary,"

"Yea, I guess you got a point there," Cole pondered for a second before flashing a playful grin, "…so, when are you gonna draw Feral?"

"Oh, oh now I get it, you just couldn't resist, could you. You had to bring that up!"

"Damn right, baby…no point in leaving any blank spaces in yo journal, when you could be fillin it up…so when can we see some artistic pics of Feral?"

"Damnit Cole, I'm gonna start hiding my journal from you!"

"Damn, you already drew some stuff on Feral…how'd I miss that?"

"I didn't…and even if I did, it's none of your fucking business!"

"Aha, so you did!"

"Sigh…you know what, fuck you," Baird then redirected his attention to Sven, "…and fuck you too!"

"Ah, c'mon baby, it's all good…everybody likes your artwork…I especially like the one you did of Marcus banging Any…"

"Shit, Cole, what else have you…"

Before Baird could finish, the three look up to find Raven standing above them with her arms crossed, and her brow lowered, glooming at them. It was apparent she'd been eavesdropping on them for some time.

The mood suddenly turns awkward as the three sat in hesitation, as if mom caught them with their pants down, pissing in the yard. Instead, Raven simply strolled down next to the ledge as she peered forwards and then turns to all three...

"We need to talk."

Baird sighed, finding the right noted as he attempted to try and explain.

"Yea…we figured that. Look, we just…"

"Not about your "male," gossip," she said in exasperation.

"Oh…well, while we're somewhat on topic, yea we do need to talk. We're cold, we're hungry…we're cold,"

"Yes, Damon, I know,"

"Did he mention that we we're cold…and hungry," Cole reiterated for Baird as the three look at her with weary gazes. Glances at the three of them, she could tell they were uncomfortable and fatigued, not to mention famished.

"Sigh…listen, for a moment…please…and I promise I will take you to some food."

The three slump further into their places as they look up drearily at her. Considering she hadn't let them down yet, they figured they could spare some time to give her their audience, despite their unpleasant dilemma.

"Ok…look…I found out for sure that the Stranded, did, in fact, set up those bodies back there,"

"Shit, man," Cole spat while shaking his head in disgust.

"I also…found out…that they have been eavesdropping on our radio conversations to control."

Baird quickly looked up, pondering back to what all was said during those radio contacts. He then turned his gaze to Raven,

"You mean to tell me they've been monitoring our communications…which means, they knew we were coming, and, any contact from here on out is going to expose the other squads, not to mention, ourselves…all further communications from this point on will be compromised, right?"

"…I'm afraid so," she answered him.

"Fuck…" Baird growled to himself, leaning his head back against the boulder behind him.

"It gets worse, Damon."

"How can it possibly get any worse, Feral?"

"They…may, have some former Gears working with them."

The three look up, appalled by what Raven had just revealed to them. She could feel the heavy, concentrated glares as she decided to sit in her place, grasping the inevitable unpleasantries.

Baird's brow began to sit heavy over his blue eyes as if he was demanding her full attention.

"Are you sure?" he said sternly.

"They were wearing some of the Gear fatigues and armor…and they moved like you guys do. They were not typical Stranded, that's for sure, which might explain the new strategies they used to hunt down Gamma Four."

Cole kept his gaze fixated to the ground as he curls his lip, processing Raven's words, and then started to speak out loud.

"That explains why they set up Gamma…they were waitin' for us...or some other squad that happened to be nearby."

Raven let out a sigh, "That seems to be the better theory, but, they definitely know, that we know, where they are located," she said as she starts to rub her brow, still trying to unwrap her head from the image of the large man with the cold, piercing gaze.

"Well shit…that changes our plans, big time," said Baird as he slowly sat up, trying to get comfortable, but it did nothing to relieve his cold joints. Forgetting the fact that the older he got, the longer it took him to warm up and stretch his muscles. He realized that he was going to have to get these guys to some food and warmth pretty soon. That was their current, and only objective. He turns his attention back to Feral.

"First thing's first, we need to go someplace where we can eat and get warm…preferably somewhere that we will not be found, before these freezing temperatures kick our ass."

"It's not horribly far…we can get there by dark."

Baird nodded his head as he motioned the others to get up as well.

"But what are we going to do afterwards?" Cole stammered impatiently, suddenly forgetting that he was cold and hungry.

"I don't know yet, Gus…we'll figure this out after some grub, ok," said Baird, trying to get Cole to focus on the problem at hand.

"We can't stay out here after dark…it's not feasible."

Cole glanced to his side as if he was going to say something, but instead, he just nodded his head and coldly gathered his gear. He knew Baird was right. There was nothing they could do at the moment but relocate before nightfall. The idea of potentially freezing to death was not at the top of anyone's list.

Sven gathered himself from the cold, mushy ground, as Baird helped him up on his feet. Raven stepped back up towards where they just came, motioning to them,

"...this way."

As they depart to follow Raven to their next shelter for the night, it started to snow.

Damon's Journal Entry #1

Baird here,

It's been nearly two days since we landed, oh wait I'm sorry, crashed, for a mission that was supposed to take only till dusk. Well, somehow, somewhere, we fucked that up royally.

As much as I was able to gather within the past few days, when Cole and Vinny are not bugging me about shit I could care less to talk about, I have been monitoring our Feral "guide," Raven in hopes that maybe we can get a little better understanding of the Feral and how they have managed to function as a somewhat separate culture. Now, I have not been able to observe their language since Raven has seldom used it, but she speaks our language rather well, which I later found that she was actually integrated into COG society before she ran off and joined the Feral; a little tidbit I had to pick her brain to get, but with some perseverance I was able to manage it. Yay me.

Needless to say, apparently they have some sort of caste "structure," broken down into what I believe to be two major groups. First we have those similar to Raven, who do reconnaissance work, spying, hacking, busting balls, the usual, and then there are the "breeders," to put literally are specifically "trained," yea you heard me right, to seduce and mate with whoever they find, I guess "worthy" to lay pipe with, all under the guidance or leadership of a "matriarch," or "reverend mother," whom supersedes above the "right of passage" for mating and procreation.

According to Raven, after I had to drag my ass and apologize to her just so I could get her to talk to me, (don't ask why) majority of the Feral have had some basic training on "breeding," techniques. As I am trying to keep a straight face while writing this, please pardon the following jargon as I attempt to orient this to my own understanding of the topic. Besides, we can always edit later.

Now what one can find anything about sex that requires training was for the most part beyond me. I had always assumed that it was "wham bam, thank you ma'am," until Raven mentioned the methods they use to inevitably turn a man on to the point his load blows all the way to the moon. Anyway, the Feral have amassed some sort of techniques on pleasuring, enticing the male by multiple means, and let me tell you, there was shit I found out that made me shudder. Things that they can do with their hands, feet, mouth, breasts, buttocks (don't ask because I didn't), legs, nose (wtf) and of course the vaginal fly trap.

Now, being inevitably the man that I am, you would think I would find the conversation rather alluring, but I shit you not when I say that it was pretty disturbing. These women can be malicious! They make S&M look like kiddie play, and on top of that, they take this business pretty seriously, almost as if it was a religion.

But moving along from the sex ed category, Raven has proven to be more resourceful than we give her credit for, hence the reason most of Sigma squad is still alive. Apparently, we have been trekking into her assigned territory, which crosshatches into other Feral "scouts'" along the mountain border and coast. She has amassed supplies, including food, shelter, and ammunitions for quite some time, stashing it away in "secret" locations, some of which is pretty well hidden. I believe she uses these places to stay at weeks at a time, carefully rationing her supplies, including medical and hygiene supplies. These chicks really take care of themselves, I mean, I've seen Raven use her toothbrush on the road several occasions using some "homemade" toothpaste and peroxide mouthwash. She probably uses the river, when it's not frozen, to bathe, otherwise, she has found access to some old wells with a water heater, powered by a fuel generator. Needless to say, she doesn't stink!

Now whether this is relevant, I am not sure, but it has been difficult to tell how old Raven really is because the Feral have found some means to keep them looking young. I found out that Raven is actually twenty-seven years of age, but she looks as if she's nineteen, and apparently from what I gathered when I was conversing to her about it, they use some means of detoxification and natural ointments to keep their skin protected from the elements. Whatever it is they're doing or using to keep them looking young, they could make a fortune patenting it.

Anyway, obviously she has been spying on us for quite some time, longer than I expected, so I would put money on the fact that these chicks are not by any means ignorant of what's going on between us and the Locusts, as well as the Stranded. I can only guess though is that they are losing territory and their natural resources to the Locusts, Stranded, and probably us. This may be the contributing factor as to why they're attacking Gears, but this is just speculation.

I also have reason to believe that she has been hacking into our network in the past few years, maybe longer, especially since she has access to computer terminals in some places where they are still connected to Jacinto's mainframe. Now I do not know as of yet how much of our intel she has gathered but I bet she has a whole network of "classified" information somewhere in that little riddle of a head of hers that as of now has managed to keep from me, imagine that. But whatever the case, we seriously need to upgrade our security system on command's terminal, because obviously it's not working.

When and if we return to headquarters, I would strongly suggest to command to invest into the further development of Feral and COG ties. The last thing we need is for these bitches to go medieval on our ass!

But on a more observational note, if these chicks have a more advanced means of reproducing as Raven claims them to be, then perhaps the COG needs to rethink it's present "breeding" strategy other than just throwing all the women in the barn and hoping for the best.

Author's notes

I just want to say that the brief intermission of Cole's childhood past is by no means canon and is speculative only, based on my research and the understanding of the character.

I also included a bonus journal entry from Baird's, infamous dictations to help bridge additional facts that I did not want to drench the dialogue of the story so much, it starts to lag. Although you could probably understand the basic plot without reading Baird's journal entry's, I was hoping it would help to break up dialogue sequences so they don't become redundant. That, and understanding Baird's sarcasm in almost everything he does, it may provide some additional comical relief as he tries to be objective at the same time. Again, let me know of your opinion.