Madness Bio-Haz 2

Chapter 15: Reunited...with Unwanted News

Leri looked around as she and Homicide stopped near the road. "This isn't a good idea...we're wanted, remember?" She chuckled and looked at Homicide, claws clicking together as she looked at him. "Oh stop worryin', Homicide. I mean, what's the worst that could happen to us?"

"Hmmm, let's see. Someone could try to kill us with their car for the bounty...or whatever'll come down this way that sees us and recognize us and does all the stuff we can think of!"

"Hello, listen to the lizard for once. I can't die and technically neither can ya."

He gave her a blank look as the sound of a vehicle was heard. He looked at the direction and groaned as she gave it a glance and looked down at the ground, ears laying back tightly. The car passed by them without stopping which surprised them both but the surprise quickly turned to fear as they heard sirens. "This is sooooo awkward." She muttered as she looked around quickly, trying to find a place to hide. Within the second of finding nowhere to hide she just stood there, waiting for the police car to stop. It passed by without a second glance. She looked up, then at Homicide with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged and chuckled nervously. "Guess we're not THAT important."

"I hope ya right. Should we go along the road or stray and stay clear of it?"

He stared at both directions as he thought. "We'd better steer clear of the road. Who knows what's blazing it these days?"

She saw that he was backing up, slowly turning around with a sigh. She knew this was going to be a long day unless they find a vehicle of some kind quickly. She followed closely, hands behind her back as she stared at the ground. He looked back and saw that she was a little out of it. "Hey..." She looked at him through half open eyes but he couldn't come to talk to her. The idea of an enemy that became an ally was too much for him but he had to make it work. "If not...we're all screwed." He thought as he faced forward.

It was a few hours later that ATP looked out the window finally. The barren land passed quickly but it seemed endless as he tried to keep his eyes open. Est looked ahead, leaning on the steering wheel as he continually looked down at the map on his lap. The Anti was getting frustrated that he soon found that he had took the wrong turn several miles back. He stopped the truck and propped up the map on the steering wheel with a growl as he tried to find a road back to where he needed to go. After a while he crumpled it and threw it to the floorboards below, resting his chin on the wheel as he thought. "We're so screwed right now. Wrong road and fucked up maps makes travelin' this place harder than it seems."

ATP looked at him in silence as he sat back up from leaning on the armrest. Est looked ahead, his mouth slowly opening as he sees a car that was a few feet away. He rolled down the window and looked both ways before jumping out and running toward the car. He skids and grabs the car door, finding up close that the windows had been broken. He looked around in the seats and groaned as he leaned on the door now, pounding the hood. "Ransacked? At a time like this they HAD to ransack it!" The hood was now dented as he gripped the side of the door, ignoring the glass that was cutting into him. The whole car was empty from what he can see as he pushed himself away from the door, cutting his hands. He walked back to the truck and grabbed the door. "Looks like we're stuck here until we find a way to get to town. I don't know the road that well, I admit." He looked at the door and saw that his blood was dripping down the side making him sigh and shake his head as he opened it. "ATP...can you get the First Aid for me? I think the glass got me." He takes the kit and threw it open, taking out the bandages. He didn't like where this was going and also that he couldn't do a thing about it. A low fuel tank makes matters worse as he made his rounds on the truck. "Only a low fuel tank...ain't that bad."

"If only that was true."

He looked at ATP and then in the direction he was looking. The two oncoming silhouettes made matters even worse.

She looked at the sky as she dragged her feet. "You that tired?"

"No...just bored."

Homicide smirked as he heard her snicker. She looked forward and picked up the pace as she saw a car straight ahead. "Car ho!" He watched her run ahead, jumping onto the back of the car to look in with a smirk in her eyes. He hurried over and looked the car over, nodding slowly. "Windows broken, not a big deal. I mean, we'd be better off without the windows."

"Yeah...and I'm a dead lizard, rottin' in the hard dirt."

He laughed as he threw open the door and looked in more closely. "We have a ride!"

"Wait...the keys are there?"

"Keys, wallet under the seat...I see a few knives for self-defense."

"Gim'me a knife will ya? I need to see what's in the trunk before we go. Ya know...safety reasons."

He threw her a switchblade which she caught with a flick of her tail as she rattled a claw in the lock. After a while the trunk popped open. She looked at him as he appeared behind her, raising his goggles. The pitch black eyes stared at the now open trunk. "What're you waiting for?"

"Ya of course. Didn't know if ya ready to see what's in there."

"I always am. You should know by now."

She laughed and threw it open to find the trunk had a small suitcase in the back. Her ears laid back tightly as he took it out. She knelt low, eyes on the locks. "Combo lock...that's it? Just a flick here and there and the locks'll be done for."

He motioned with a grin. "After you then."

She looked at him and straightened up, cracking her knuckles before sliding a claw under both locks. There was a loud and rapid crunch of dirt behind them making her pull her claws away. She turned around and raised her arms, hands up and ready. She relaxed to find it was Est. "Ya? Whaddya doin' here, Est?"

"I'd ask the same question."

"Eh, ya know...the usual...left the base here to find a captured friend."

"ATP?"

She looked at Est blankly. "How'd ya know?"

"He's in my truck...it's kinda my fault he was taken as a hostage."

She growled menacingly as she grabbed him by the shoulders, claws digging in and piercing the skin. She ignored his cries and the blood that was staining her claws blue. "YA DID IT?"

"It's the only way to know if I was right!"

She pulled away, shaking her hands to get the blood off. She stopped as she saw ATP coming their way. They looked at each other but stayed silent. Homicide looked between the two and sensed something but stayed quiet about it as he turned toward the car. After a while he looked up as he knocked on the frame. "So are we going back to the base or not?"

"Yeah, let's git before we're seen. We don't need any more trouble..."

She hopped in the back, Est taking his seat next to her as ATP got in the front. Homicide gripped the wheel after shutting the door. "Now I know why she's Wrath...damn." He muttered as he turned on the ignition. He pulled out and drove back to the base.

The car screeched slightly as it stopped in front of the building. Leri stayed behind, arms crossed as she sat in the car while the others went inside. "That suitcase...wonder what was inside it."

"Eh...I don't know Me. I mean, who knows these days in this Realm. It could be a Mimic for all I know."

"Mimic...gawd Wrath, ya makin' it sound like I'm in a video game here!"

"Ya'd be better off if ya were in one...ya can redo stuff in them...unlike here or anywhere else."

She nodded in agreement as she leaned forward, resting her arms on her legs as she hunched a little bit. She didn't want to go in but she knew that she couldn't stay behind in the car for long. For now she just wanted to let the real teams be alone. She knew she was still the betrayer of the group, the Judas as some would call her if they hated her enough. She couldn't face that at the point she was now. She closed her eyes and sat there, not noticing the door opening or that the Auditor was heading her direction. She jumped and almost fell over as he slammed the side of the car with his palms to get her attention. She looked at him with a glare but relaxed a little as he saw the smirk on his face. "Well done. You actually accomplished something." She shook her head and looked away. "No...not really, Boss. We were just tryin' to find a way to travel better and stumbled across this car. Est was the one who found us, I did nothin'."

He shrugged and leaned on the door as he stared at her. His gaze wasn't comforting as she looked at him. "What's with you?"

She scoffed and gripped her mask as she felt like it was going to fall off. "What kinda question is that?"

He grabbed her hand and pulled it away, the mask following suit as he laid her hand on her lap. "Just answer the question, Lerioc. What is with you? I've never seen you like this for a few months now."

"Months eh? It doesn't seem like that."

"It's been almost six whole months since you came to me all thanks to Ray."

She thought before making a choking sound and looking around quickly. "How much longer until August?"

His smirk became a little demented at the question. "Why's that?"

"That's when I'll turn..." She looked at the roof as she thought some more. "Nineteen...oh gawd...don't tell me the thirteenth's on a Friday this year!"

"Relax you overgrown lizard of mine. Nothing's going to happen."

"That's what ya think! I became this due to Friday the thirteenth!"

He looked back as he reached for the car door's handle. "Just relax and come on in. I don't want to get Hank out here since both him and Homicide are getting a little too much..."

"Alike each other?"

He glared at her making her laugh. "Don't talk back to me!"

"I ain't and wasn't. Just move so I can get out."

He kept a glare on her as he moved. She opened the door and stepped out, the suitcase in hand. "What's that?"

"A little surprise we found in the trunk. Haven't opened it yet thanks to Est so that's on my To Do List later today."

"Do it later. We found some info that's possibly going to get you really...what's the word? Pissed? Super pissed?"

"That bad, eh?"

"Can't be any worse."

She walked in behind him, hands in her pockets as she looked around. ATP and his crew was standing in the middle of the room clearly waiting for the two of them to get situated. She leaned on the wall and looked at the floor as she waited for ATP to talk. He stood there for a few minutes looking at everyone before breaking the news to them. "I hate to say this up front but it's a must for Auditor to keep Leri calm during this." She looked at him with a glare at the comment but kept in her snarl as she felt the Auditor's grip on her wrist. "I saw the main Anti...and I can say that we all know him already. I hate to admit this but he's been under our noses and security all these months, years actually if I'm correct. The main Anti, Greed, has always been there. Taking the advantage of free security and laboratory work...one of us is one of his so called creations." He looked at Leri as he said that making the snarl even harder to keep in. She felt that he was blaming her for this. "Greed...is none other than...the one we know by the name of Warden."
She went rigid as she heard that, ears drooping as she heard her mask drop to the floor. This was really bad news for her. She looked at Hank as he started laughing. "No...I don't think a human can be Anti. I mean, come on. It's like what we think of this lizard here is really still a hundred percent human...it's not possible."

She nodded in agreement though she hated that she was in the middle of the conversation. "Though I hate to ask...when did Warden come for ya help, Boss?"

"Let me try to recall this. If I'm correct it was around the same time the sheriff was assassinated...by Hank...Warden looked pale but that cleared up after a few days with Medz."
"Anythin' weird while he was there?"

"Mmmm, no. Not that I remember."

"No differently colored blood?"

He scoffed and looked at her with a annoyed look. "Will you just drop it? Warden is not and never will be an Anti. He can't even lead or make plans that surpass step two."

She looked at ATP and saw the look on his face. She could see that he couldn't believe what he was hearing. She got up and walked out, tail tucked tightly as her ears were still drooped. This wasn't looking good for her, not at all. She panted hard as she felt the paranoia and panic attacks settling in. She jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked back to see ATP there. "The hell's wrong with you?"

"For some reason...I'm the only one that trusts ya. Though I haven't seen it for myself it's just the thought."

"You're having an attack on us?"

"Two actually...*

She turned back around and inhaled sharply as she closed her eyes. It was getting worse and she could feel it. He backed up and walked back inside to let her have her space. She leaned on the hood of the car, hands clasped over her head. "Friday's nearin' faster than I'd like it to, guys. What am I gonna do?"

"Ya can't hide under a rock forever, Me. I'm tempted to see for myself but I can tell ya need me more than I thought."

"Oh, thanks a lot Wrath!"

Wrath stayed quiet as Chaos kept both still and quiet. She jumped as she felt something cold and wet against her arm and looked to find a pitch black hand trying to give her a can of soda. "Here...I heard you were having a couple attacks on us. Though you could use the drink."

She shook her head and stood up. "Thanks but no thanks, Boss. I'm fine."

"Not what I heard from ATP and saw myself."

He stepped back with wide eyes as he heard her snarl finally. "I'M FINE, DAMMIT!"

He set the soda down and hurried back inside, knowing this was not the time to try to talk to her. She stood there alone again, panting and feeling a little better after the sudden explosion of anger. "Okay...was that ya that did that, Wrath?"

"Maybe yeah, maybe no. Who's to know and care about this?"

"Good point..."

"Just relax now, Me. Grab the drink and go back inside, we need to come up with a plan just in case it is Warden who's now behind all of this."

She growled and glared as she grabbed the can, walking back inside. "If ya say so, Wrath."

Wrath stifled a laugh as she soon found that she had her counterpart under control again.