[Author's note]a few German translations at the bottom, as usual ^^ [/Author's note]
Don't mess with me!
"Vho are you?"
From the impact their footsteps had made the Medic knew they were huge and therefore probably strong. And there were two of them now, standing in front of him, above him, silently. The door had been opened and closed again too quickly, no chance for his eyes to make use of the small shimmer of light from the outside corridor. Was that why they didn't move, did they try to get used to the darkness?
"Vhere am I?" he demanded, but all questions remained unanswered, they didn't speak at all. More time passed, probably only a minute or two, and although time seemed to flow slowly he couldn't come up with a plan to escape this undignified predicament. He refused the urge to struggle, his mind knew he wouldn't be able to fight, bound like this, and all actions he could take would only result in nothing but him giving a pathetic sight to his captors.
'Never give up zhe control of a situation, no matter how small it is.' was all that echoed in his head, an old mantra from times he preferred to forget, but nevertheless helpful, as usual. So even when one of the men suddenly moved, kneeled down next to him, while he still only could stare into the darkness, not even the tiniest muscle twitched, no matter how much fear clenched his gut.
"I vant you to tell me vho you are and vhy I'm here!" Faking a tone of authority despite his momentary inferiority didn't impress the men - not that he was surprised, no man in his right senses would have been fooled into believing that he had an ace up in his sleeve, but at least he tried.
Suddenly he felt something against his lips, the hard edge of a glass or a cup and he turned away, but the man seized him by his hair and tried to force him to drink. Panic mixed with a sudden idea, and more on an impulse his upper body leaped forward, and although his reach was limited by the strong grip pulling him back at once he managed to hit against the arm holding the drink with his shoulder.
Surprised by the unexpected attack the man let go of the cup, as the sound of fragile chinaware crashing against a hard surface proved.
A fist hit his chin, followed by a kick against his stomach, and with nothing to support his body he went down again, lying on his back once more.
Another kick brushed his side, obviously the man couldn't see that well after all. He breathed in sharply when the next attack didn't miss. Preparing himself to the thought of being beaten to death after all he expected the next blow, still keeping control, refusing to scream.
"Don't kill him, he said. Let's go."
The Medic stared in the direction the voice came from. He had almost forgotten about the second man. So again, he wasn't going to die. Something felt wet against the back of his head. Blood? No, he hadn't been hit there, and his impact on the floor hadn't been hard enough to cause a bleeding wound.
Impatiently he waited until the two men left, neither of the two of them speaking another word. Finally, they were gone, and with a groan of pain he shifted on the ground, hoping that his little idea had worked and not been, literally, blown to smithereens.
"Und dann Gnade Euch Gott..."
x x x
"Fuck! How could that happen!" Angry with himself and his teammates the Sniper climbed into the train, limping back his way to those that had remained or were already back inside.
Most of them had returned, only Spy was still gone.
"Found somethin'? Traces, hints, ANYTHING?" But all they could do was shaking their heads.
"Gawddamned wankas, how could y'lose one of us 'gain? Him 'gain?" he went on, of course being aware that raging wouldn't help anything, but he had to vent his anger. Before his accident on the roof he had felt useless, but that was nothing compared to the feeling of uselessness and being helpless he felt right now.
"Uh yeah, 'specially with ya bein' such a big help 'n all." the Scout retorted, regretting his remark when the Australian suddenly turned around and grabbed him by his shirt. "Let go of me! Don't touch me!" the boy yelled when the Sniper shook him.
"Oi'd be outside right naow, turnin' ev'ry stone of that fuckin' desert when oi could, drongo, 'n when oi weren' sleepin' lika log 'cause o' that fuckin' sleepin' pill he gave me this wouldn't happen at all!"
"Good thing ya did, we don't need more guys running away, outta their mind, pardner. Let the kid go!" the Engineer admonished him firmly. "And for heaven's sake, calm down!"
Still growling and cursing under his breath the Sniper pushed the Scout away and faced the Texan. Although the man seemed unruffled as usual Sniper could read the worry in the Engineer's face. Slowly, his anger simmered down.
"I'm sorry, mate. Ya right. Okay, what's the plan?" he addressed the Soldier who had remained silent during the last few minutes.
"Who tells us he didn't leave on purpose, because..." the veteran mused almost absentmindedly, but stopped when the Demoman gave him a push with his elbow. "WHAT?"
"Ye back with us?" Narrowing his good eye, the Scotsman looked at him reproachfully.
"Not that shit again, thought ya finally snapped out of it." the Engineer sighed, but before the Soldier could answer the door opened and the Spy joined them.
"Any luck, lad?" Demoman inquired and the Spy shook his head, letting himself drop on the chair next to the Scout.
"Non, mon ami. But whatever 'appened, 'e didn't take ze car... but..."
"But WHAT?" the Soldier bellowed, thoroughly fed up with the bad news that didn't seem to stop since they had set foot in this goddamned train.
"Ze tires are flat. Ze zing won't go anywhere until we repair it." the French reported as a matter of fact. "Seems like we are still stuck 'ere, Monsieur Soldier."
"Bullshit." the American snorted and turned to the Engineer. "That is a job for you, can you fix it?"
"Built a car from scrap metal and a shot-down helicopter, just tellin' in case ya forgot." the Texan stated, almost insulted. "Ya'd patchin' a set of tires should be a cakewalk for me."
"Just making sure." the Soldier grinned. "Wait, before you go – did anyone notice something strange during their shift? I want to know where you were and when this could have happened. Whatever happened..." he finished.
But none of them had noticed anything.
Spy sighed.
"'e was still zere when I went to bed, after waking up le Pyro and Scout. You did not see somezing?" With raised eyebrows he questioningly looked at the Pyro. Despite the mask Spy felt the glare of the short man.
"We 'ent b'ck to t'e s'ckbay aft'r our sh'ft." he explained, still watching the Spy. "'aybe we should 'ave ch'cked here, too, b't we dn't wn't to 'ake ev'ryb'dy up. B't I dn't not'ce a'ybody c'me or go w'ile we wer' outs'de. You, Sc't?"
"No, nothin'." the boy confirmed. "'kay, I was still kinda tired, but we didn't talk much, guess we'd heard when somebody walked 'round then... Sorry..." Cautiously, he eyed the Sniper, as if he feared the Australian would attack him again, blaming him.
"It's okay, mate." Sniper reassured him weakly. "But what about this morning, when everyone was back? Why didn't anybody notice he was gone?"
That was a valid question after all, and it made them thinking.
"Well, Pyro 'n I weren't here at all, I thought Doc was here. Later, Demo came over." Scout finally said, and Pyro nodded in agreement.
"Aye... me was the first wakin' up." Demoman remembered. "To tell ye the truth, me didn't check the beds, didn't notice anybody being here or gone." he admitted. "Just wanted to have a nice leetle talk with ol' Pyro here. We sat down in the corridor, letting the kid sleep. No soul went by. Ye noticed somethin', lad?" he passed the question to Heavy who frowned.
"Demoman leave I saw, but continue sleeping. When wake up, Soldier and Engineer awake already, no Spy, and Sniper asleep. Doktor with Scout I thought." He sighed. "No help I am, I is sorry."
"Ah thought the same, him bein' with Scout. Guess that's what all of us thought." the Engineer resumed.
"So all we know is that we know nothing. What a great team of professionals we are. All of us." Soldier sneered sarcastically. "Anyway. We better get moving. Engineer, you repair the car, we are coming with you and help. Off we go!"
They followed the two older Americans. Sniper caught up with the Engineer, asking him about his rifle, grinning humorlessly but satisfied at the answer he received.
The Spy fell behind, watching the men intensely, especially Heavy, but the Russian didn't do anything out of his usual behavior.
'Time to do something about that.' he growled inwardly, speeding up.
"Out of ze way, rubber duck!" he hissed, pushing the Pyro aside, and joined the Engineer's and Sniper's conversation, feeling Pyro scornfully glaring at his back.
x x x
"Ah! Verdammt noch mal..." he cursed when he cut into the flesh of his wrist again. The blood made the broken piece of the cup slippery in his hand and he almost dropped it. More blood dripped from his fingertips, but for now, the flow wasn't concerning, he hadn't cut too deep.
Anxiously he listened to the darkness, waiting for the men's return, but nothing could be heard except his own heartbeat and hastened breathing. They could be back any time and finish their work, and he really didn't want to wait for that.
"Vorzhless scum. Just vait, I can't avait to drain you of every drop of blood... just vait..." He shifted the shard between his fingers and let the sharp edge work against the rope, slowly cutting through it. The smaller edges were equally sharp, but he didn't even feel it when his fingers started to bleed as well.
"Just vait... wartet nur... ich schlitz Euch auf... Stück für Stück... wartet nur..."
Finally, the cord snapped and he smiled.
x x x
"Alright boys, this is how we gonna proceed!" Soldier was eagerly orating as usual. "Pack up, reload your weapons, stock up with canned food, water and first aid packs, and get ready to leave! We climb the car and follow the tracks."
"Why on earz do we want to follow ze tracks, all of us in zat petit car?" Spy queried the plan.
"Ahem, Gentlemen, this is all about what we have now. No hints somebody walked off into the wasteland. No hints along the tracks, yes. But it is very plausible we will find something if we follow those goddamned tracks and... and... AND I WILL NOT HAVE YOU QUESTION MY DECISIONS, CROUTON!" he suddenly shouted.
The Spy raised his hands in defense but didn't say anything else.
"But car still tiny leetle car is." Heavy pointed out thoughtfully. When he, Pyro and the Demoman had returned with it, it had just been big enough for the three of them, maybe they could squeeze in the Scout or Engineer, but as for the others... not to mention their weapons and provision.
"Erm... we will talk about that later, Heavy." Soldier procrastinated the matter. "Anyway, once we meet more of those hippies, we blow them up and then..."
"No blowin' up, Soldier! Not before asking questions, ya hotheaded, it's 'bout time to solve this mystery... Dammit!" The Engineer called from under the engine cover, cursing when something exploded and black smoke engulfed his head. "Whoever did that to the poor thing ain't no amateur, he knew what he was doin'." Speaking more to himself than to the others he coughed, waited until the smoke disappeared and continued with the repairs. Mending the tires wasn't a challenge and quickly done, but a glance at the engine, after they tried to start the car in vain, had told him that the real work was just about to begin.
"Could ya blokes stop foolin' 'round and get down to business?" Sniper grew more and more restless by the minute. "We're wastin' time here..."
"One step at the time, maggot! Move your ass and get your equipment ready, and make haste! If the Engineer cannot fix that thing it's plan B."
"Great, what's plan B?" Scout pulled a face. He knew from experience that a Plan B by Soldier usually meant trouble.
"You will see when you return, kid. Would you kindly consider preparing and, but only if it's not too much trouble for you, and MOVE YOUR SCRAWNY ASS RIGHT NOW BEFORE I DECIDE TO SPEED YOUR SORRY SELF UP?"
"Alright, alright." Quickly, the boy jumped from the boulder he was sitting on, flinching when his legs and his hip hurt. "Geez, Plan B already sucks..." But he didn't wish to provoke the Soldier more than necessary and hurried back into the train for his weapons.
"Kid's quick, ya better hurry 'n come up with ya 'Plan B' before he returns, John." Engineer stated, his upper half still invisible, busily inspecting and fixing cables and tightening screws.
Soldier was about to reply, his mouth already opened, when a loud roar caught his attention. The Texan, too, lifted his head, glancing at the small group close to the train.
Something dangled from the Demoman's hand, sparkling as it reflected the sunlight.
"HOW PYRO GET THIS I ASK!" the massive Russian shouted, pointing a large finger at the small man's chest.
"I dnt' 'now wa't you 'r t'lkin' 'bout!" the Pyro defended himself, obviously at loss.
"THEN WHY AMULETT IN POCKET OF PYRO DEMO FOUND?" The Heavy's face was crimson, and a vein throbbed dangerously on his forehead. Soldier hurriedly rushed to them, when Heavy would lose control of his temper... he readied his shotgun, hoping he wouldn't need it.
"...my suit 'oesn't e'en 'ave p'ckets..." The short man was still confused, staring at the amulet held by Demoman.
"Well... technically me didn't find eet in his pocket..." The Scotsman scratched his head. "Just saw eet fell down, ye know, might have stuck at them gas bottles or the belt..."
"THIS IS NOT POINT!" the enraged Heavy bellowed, his giant hands closing around the Pyro's neck. "WHY YOU HAVE IT? WHY LEETLE PYRO IS THIEF, NOT FRIEND?"
Suddenly, the Demoman's expression changed, from confusion to realization, and from the way Pyro lifted his head he knew his friend had a similar thought.
"Let him go, lad! He can't speek when ye choke him!" Sighing with relief Demoman watched how Heavy drew back his hands.
Pyro coughed and grasped for air before he spoke.
"I f'nd it a f'w m'nutes 'go, you dr'pped it, w's 'bout to 'ive it b'ck, but S'ldier st'rted to spe'k. Just w'en I w'nted to r'turn it, I not'ced I lost it, too." he explained calmly. He and Heavy looked at the Demoman who nodded.
The others held their breath, Scout tried to hide behind the Sniper. If Heavy didn't believe their Pyro things would turn ugly any second.
"Oh." Heavy finally exclaimed and took the amulet back from the Demoman, with an understanding smile on his face, his skin regaining its usual color. "So that's all that to it is. Let us then go, my friend." With a laugh, he put the amulet back around his wide neck and patted the Pyro's shoulder.
His teammates were as puzzled as Pyro before. But there was no time to wonder about this sudden turn out of events, they had to hurry. If this incident resolved itself so quickly and peacefully, the better for them all.
None of them had noticed the twinkle in the Demoman's eye and how he winked at both the Pyro and the Heavy.
None of them but the Spy, who now walked behind them with a frown. 'Why would that rubber gnome lie about...'
"DAGNABBIT FREAKIN' DARN SON OF A BITCH!" Another detonation from the car, followed by the Engineer's curses diverted their attention from the strange quarrel.
"Engineer, do you think it is impossible to fix it?" Soldier dashed back to the Texan, worried.
"Actually..." The Engineer climbed from the rock he had used to get a better access to the car's inner workings, coughing, but also smiling. "Actually, things are goin' pretty well. Gonna have that thing ready sooner or later. Don't ya bother ya head 'bout us."
x x x
His whole body was quivering with the emotion, the sensation of feeling the warm, sticky blood running through his fingers. The door stood wide open and a cone of light fell on the dead body in front of him.
"I told you, just vait... I varned you, but you didn't listen, did you?" he chuckled, patting the dead man's cheek. The surprise was still written in his mutilated face and didn't vanish when the Medic gently loosened the knife from his victim's belt and slowly cut across the skin of the man's throat. Another stream of blood rushed from the fresh, dark gap, but as the pulse had stopped along with the beating of his heart it dried up soon. More of the red liquid, more slimy, oozed from the hole of the man's eye, mixing with the streams now drying on his face.
The Medic knew he had been lucky when the first thing the sharp edge of the shard drilled in was an eye. Otherwise he probably wouldn't have been able to stand a chance against the huge man, a mere flesh wound wouldn't have impressed him much, as he had experienced it more than once from their Heavy.
Yes, it was luck, but he didn't question it. The rest – making use of the opportunity, snatching away the gun from his victim was easy, as was firing it at his stomach. Twice. The giant had collapsed, still twitching, blood running from the hole in his torso and from his mouth while the Medic sat down next to him and watched his face as he died.
Just another cut. Along the jaw, along the cheekbone. Just to make sure he was dead. It was not until then that he had noticed a pain in his arm. He turned his head. Indifferently he removed the syringe that stuck in his flesh. Obviously the man had somehow managed to ram it through his clothes. The Medic didn't mind. This was nothing. He was alive and the burning sensation that ran through his veins wasn't new to him.
His hand covered the open skin of the opened throat. No pulse. No more need to test if his victim was still alive. Almost gently his fingertip ran along the cut.
"I vonder... if I vere quick enough... at vhich point stopped zhe beating? Vhen did I miss zhe moment to feel your heart pulsating in my hands?" he asked softly. Then he stood up. His shirt was red, like in a dream he tried to dust it off, but only smeared it up more than before. His hands were red, too. For a second he looked at them. And then he laughed. A bitter, triumphant, yet desperate laugh.
"Komm raus, komm raus wo immer Du bist!" he jested in a dark, tantalizing voice. Smiled as he shoved up his glasses that had almost fallen off his nose. More trails of blood on his face.
"Don't tell me you haven't heard zhe shots! Come! I am vaiting for you!" Still laughing, he stepped over the corpse and left the room. The warm, burning sensation had reached his head and he felt dizzy again. Soon the world would spin again, then he would sleep. And wake up again. Or maybe not. Who knew, who cared.
He stumbled along the contorting corridor, using the walls to prevent his body from falling down, and no matter how hard he tried to avert his eyes, he couldn't escape the swirling flashes of absurdly bright, colorful light. Footsteps from somewhere. Wherever. From close or afar, it didn't matter and as he reached the door and flung it open he laughed at his freedom. But all he saw was another room, as bright as the corridor and in front of him another man slept. He looked so familiar, the first thing at this place he had seen before.
"Spy?" For a second the world calmed down, but then he collapsed on the floor and dreamed of crying colors and loud blood as it streamed from dark holes made of rotting flesh.
x x x
"Are you not done yet?"
"Soldier, ah ain't gonna fix that thing faster just 'cause ya asking every three minutes. When ahm done, ahm done, alright?" Another hot day, the sun burnt on his back, the wind stirred up the dry sand. His eyes were protected by his goggles, but it still made it more difficult to work quickly. The Engineer tried to repair the engine as fast as possible, but the heat made him sweat, and his shirt stuck to his skin. This, the sand, the Soldier's complaints, didn't help him.
"Gawd, ah feel like bein' cooked to death." He stretched his back for a moment, bending his spine, feeling each vertebra. "Guess ahm getting ' old after all." Grumbling, he pulled his shirt over his head and threw it at the Soldier.
"Don't gimme that look now!" Ignoring the man's grin he turned back to his work.
"So, when are you done?" the American asked after a pause while he listened to the sounds of his friend's tools. And his curses. "You said things are going to be done soon."
"Nah, ah said things are going well, like in 'ah know what's wrong and ah gonna fix it!'. That ain't sayin' ah can do it fast." he corrected him. "Puh." He emerged from his work once more, wiping the sweat off his forehead, ready to make another remark about the Soldier's grin as the man looked at his bare upper body, but the rest of the team returned. "Ya know, ah don't wanna make promises ah can't keep. Gimme another two hours, 'kay? That thing's really broken, it's kinda like rebuilding it from the scratch. Ahm sorry, ah'll work as fast as ah can, pardner." he assured him with a smile when he saw the Soldier's worried face, almost as anxious and crestfallen as the Sniper's. He threw a quick glance at the Australian, and suddenly remembered their short conversation after Soldier had attacked the Medic. And his conclusions.
'Guess ah'd have kicked maself in the butt to speed me up if ah were in his place.' With a sigh he bent down again, ignoring the sunburn that developed on his back.
"Okay, mate, what's the idea?" His rifle ready in his hand, his teeth clenched, the shadow of his hat covering his eyes – the Sniper was on the warpath, no doubt about that.
"You heard the Engineer, the car won't be ready within the next two hours. We will split up. Unfortunately some of us are still too weak to fight, that includes you, too, Sniper!" Soldier snapped and ignored the Australian's protest. "That's why you and Scout stay behind. Engineer is busy with the car and as I don't want the three of you to be unprotected I will stay, too. Larry, Moe and Curly Joe here..." he pointed at Demoman, Pyro and Heavy. "You three are our strongest fighters for now. You go ahead and better take care of any obstacles and yourself. What are you waiting for? GET STARTED! We will come right after you once the car is ready. As for Spy..."
"When ya thinkin' I gonna sit here getting' a tan and doin' nothin' ya mistaken, wanker!" Sniper cut him off angrily and jumped up, ready to follow his three teammates, but Scout held him back.
"Whaddya think ya doin', gremlin?" the Australian scoffed, shaking the hand off his arm. The boy stayed calm. There was something in his eyes that confused the Sniper.
"Sorry to break it to ya, but he's right, ya know. With ya arm and leg ya only put them and the doc in danger... I... I made the mistake before... runnin' off like an idiot when I knew I didn't stand a fuckin' chance..." Scout chewed on his lip, he didn't like at all to admit mistakes. But he had been stupid before and now Sniper was about to do something stupid as well. A part of him was angry because he didn't see why his teammate was so anxious now that Medic was missing, but nobody seemed to care when Spy was gone... but then he recalled that Sniper had been asleep when he had decided to search for the Spy on his own – reproaching the Australian for that was unfair, so Scout swallowed further remarks.
"Listen to the boy, son." Soldier added in agreement.
The Sniper studied the Scout's face and finally nodded, albeit reluctantly.
"Guess ya'r right, kid." Without another word he limped over to the jeep and sat down on the passenger seat. From the breast pocket of his vest he took a small cigarette pack, put one stick between his lips and offered the packet to Scout. "Want one?"
The boy shook his head. "Na, stopped when I was... where's Spy?" he interrupted himself, looking around. Sniper and Soldier exchanged a puzzled glance.
"This... is not the first time he disappeared... all of a sudden..." the American hesitated, a feeling in his guts telling him something was strange, but he refused to listen to the screaming voices in his head again.
"Whaddya wanna say, man?" Alerted, Scout was ready to defend the Frenchman. Defend why? He shook off the uneasy feeling that crept into his mind.
"Well, spook used to vanish into thin air all the time before, right? It's nothin' unusual for him... but... now? Doubt somebody kidnapped that mongrel... Dunno, something's suspicious..." Sniper answered instead of the Soldier, taking a pull on his cigarette and realized he hadn't lighted it yet. Scout didn't speak at all, for once lost for words. His face face showed his emotions plainly though. Shock, scorn and a struggle between his love and loyality for the man and the sudden doubt when he saw the serious expressions of the other men.
Again, the Engineer interrupted his work, lifted his head and nodded when Soldier looked at him.
"Follow them." he dryly commanded.
"I won't leave the three of you here all alone!" Soldier responded firmly, but the Engineer gave a snort.
"Ahm not an invalid as ya know. The kid's still a bit weak on his legs, but his aiming should be fine enough and Sniper's an experienced fighter and shooter, we can defend ourselves without ya." He narrowed his eyes and smiled grimly. "And ah got a hunch that for some reason we are save here, while them guys could need ya soon. And ya thinkin' the same, it's plainly written on ya face! When ya keep discussin' that ya keep me from finishing ma job here. Move it, NOW!"
Soldier grinned back at him and picked up his rocket launcher.
"Alright, Sir. Take care, you hear me?" And off he went, leaving them behind, running as fast as he could under the weight of his weapon.
The remaining two men stared at the Engineer in amazement.
"Gotta have to respect how ya handled ol' bulldog there." Sniper chuckled in spite of himself, but his worries were still bigger than the small amusement.
"Ya know, son, sometimes ya need a little less talk but givin' them a good kick in the butt to get obstinate, stubborn things movin'" With a growl he kicked against the radiator and was, to their all surprise, rewarded with a short howl of the engine.
The Texan smiled.
"See what ahm talkin' 'bout? NOW we are cookin' with gas!"
x x x x x to be continued x x x x x
Another chapter filled with... words. ^^
This was close, I thought I wouldn't finish in time but here you go :)
A nice track for this chapter: Watchmen OST – Track 16 – I'll tell you about Rorschach
Aren't open questions nice? Well, expect an answer or two next week. Or rather not? We'll see ;)
Geez, I really don't like what FFnet does to my documents, the layout is all messed up :/ It looks
a bit better on Deviantart, so feel free to choose where you'd like to read ^^
Translations:
"Und dann Gnade Euch Gott..." = "And then - Woe betide you!"
"Ah! Verdammt noch mal..." = "Ah! Damn it!"
"... wartet nur... ich schlitz Euch auf... Stück für Stück... wartet nur..." = "...just wait... I slash you open... inch by inch... just wait..."
"Komm raus, komm raus wo immer Du bist!" = "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"