Snowbowl 29 – Discarded Toys
The passengers of this train hadn't been a noisy crowd from the very beginning of their voyage. Despite the number of humans caged inside the walls of steel, iron and decorative wood it had been surprisingly quiet. Not lonely like nobody or only a few had been there. They just didn't laugh or argue or complain, no matter what had happened. Some rested, some worked, some waited. Sometimes some left, following the orders of the boss – no matter who was the one in charge, as long as he was the one who commanded them. No questions, no resistance. Of course no discussions. Being surrounded by more than three dozen of those men made one feel secure while everything around went smoothly, executed efficiently. Be it guarding the office. Be it guarding the doors. Be it a simple task like preparing a meal or washing clothes. Smooth like clockwork, done with perfection instead of hesitation or protest. An atmosphere of missing inspiration and boredom.
Suddenly, everyone was absent. No more guards, no henchmen or servants, the lack of 40 empty personalities felt more exciting than their company. Wagner had disappeared, too. He always disappeared and only came back for a few minutes. Sometimes he was gone for days and it was so nice to have him back, if only for a little, precious time.
The task of waiting changed from dullness to tension, how thrilling. Being the only person left in those parts of the train had the thrill of an adventure; and when the noises of four men echoed from the walls the compartment was suddenly filled with more life than it had been since their departure almost two weeks ago.
The footsteps of a pair of high heels quickly rushed over the floor - leaving the machine room in a satisfied, but nervous hurry - the clicking sound drowned by the exclamations and shouts of the intruders. They were coming closer, but they wouldn't win! They had bothered Wagner long enough, it was time they were stopped for good. And then they could finally go home, together.
Their eyes crossed were she had seen them for the first time – in front of Smith's office. Slowly she raised her arm, swallowing hard as she aimed at the leader, steadying her position and straightening her back. She would give a firm stand, they would soon learn that all their struggling and opposing had been in vain. The voyage ended here. Now.
x x x
The moment they saw the small figure in front of them they stopped, almost falling over each other – the corridor was too narrow for them to walk side by side, so Demoman and Scout followed Soldier's and Heavy's lead and came just in time to a halt before they ran into their backs.
"Well, my lady, I suggest you put this gun away and explain us who you are." Soldier displaying such a level of gallantry was not something his teammembers were used to and all three of them suppressed a chuckle. The young woman confronting them seemed hardly a threat – her inner struggle to hide her nervousness showed plainly in her face and her arms holding the weapon trembled no less than the rest of her body. Her whole appearance was more sad than frightening, with her untidy hair and wrinkled clothes.
"Ah! I remember ya!" Scout was the first to recognize the face. "Ya were workin' for Smith, the secretary!"
"Ah!" Heavy and Demoman shared the exclamation, finally able to place the scared face. They had only seen her for a few minutes, when she lead them to Smith and later to their quarter at the end of the train on the day of their arrival.
"Lady, this war is no place for a good woman. I ask you again to drop the gun and -"
Her shrill voice interrupted the veteran's request.
"Don't talk! I arrest you! If you don't listen to me, I kill you! It's all your fault, because of you we can't go home! I'm sick of you and this forsaken place! No! Stop where you are!" she shrieked and backed off a few steps, almost stumbling over her own feet when the Heavy took a step forward.
"Little woman is too afraid. Hurt you we not want." Calm and a bit amused he went a bit closer, but the sight of the massive man moving in her direction only increased her anxiety and finally, she shot, her eyes closed and her hands shaky.
Without much room to dodge the result could have been devastating. But thanks to her lack of experience with arms and her tension the bullet only grazed the Russian's shoulder, leaving nothing but a harmless wound that would heal quickly even without much care.
The next shot echoing through the corridor was sure and went right through soft flesh.
She dropped the gun and pressed her hands against the right side of her body. Blood soaked through her white blouse where the projectile had left her abdomen.
All four men were about to dash to her the second she fell down on her knees when another figure entered through the door leading to Smith's office.
"Thomas! Why!" Turning her head to him once he stood next to her, she stared at him with puzzled, sad and dying eyes.
"Stupid bitch, do you think I would allow something like you to break my toys?" He shook his head in disgust and gave a little, disdaining snort before he faced the others.
"WAGNER!" Only a man like the Soldier could manage to shout through clenched teeth. All four men were readying their weapons, finally, their chance to end this had come.
Wagner's mutilated face wore an amused expression and he bowed with a smirk, not at all disturbed by the events.
"But of course. I'm glad you could make it, my friends. I hope her insolent behavior doesn't ruin our delightful game for you."
"Ye bloody tumshie, when yer thinkin' me and me friends here are jist ye bloody toys ye better think 'gain!" Growling and seething Demoman squeezed between Soldier and Heavy who made way for the Scotsman. Scout stayed behind, a strange, anxious feeling he couldn't define crept through him as he watched the man, heard him speak and saw how he treated the woman at his feet.
"But my dear Demoman, although I understand your hostility I advice you to keep calm. Remember, you have many questions and right now only I am your answer for everything. You'd rather want me alive, I assure you." He smirked and shook off the shaking hand of the dying woman that reached pleadingly for his leg without even looking at her.
"You are very confident to think we won't kill you, freak." Soldier bellowed, but he, too, didn't fire at Wagner. None of them wanted to kill the woman with a reckless attack, but as they saw it she was already behind hope, so her fate didn't stop them in the first place. But they knew that truth lay in Wagner's words, if they liked it or not.
"Of course I am, why shouldn't I? I'm probably the biggest mystery for you in this game, and I bet you are dying to know who or what I am and why I do all this. Am I right?" He laughed, the gun still in his hand, but not aiming at anybody. The violent coughing that soon changed into a pained gurgling finally made him look down.
"Thomas... why... I thought you loved me..." With her eyes wide open and viscid threads of blood running from her mouth she looked up to him, already unaware of what was happening around her. She had forgotten about the four men, the train and the desert.
"Don't be ridiculous, sleeping with you was as interesting as a conversation with your former boss." His cold stare made her wince and finally, she collapsed and fell to the floor, her face hitting the hard ground.
"He, on the other hand," Wagner ignored her and spoke on like nothing happened, nodding and smiling cheerfully at the Scout. "You'd be surprised how inspiring this little boy is, my dear Miss Johnson." The puzzled faces of the four men delighted him, but not as much as the shattered expression of the Scout.
"Whaddya mean, ya freak, what the fucking hell are ya talking about?" His guts suddenly felt tied up in knots, the look in this man's cold eyes was familiar, but he refused to understand what his mind was trying to tell him.
"Do you really 'ave to ask, mon petit putain?"
Before the others could stop him Scout leaped over the Demoman's shoulder, almost falling over his feet, and jumped at the hysterically laughing man, throwing him to the floor, his hands around his throat.
"YOU WERE THERE, ASSHOLE, WHY WOULD YA... YA STINKIN' BASTARD!" the boy yelled and Wagner still laughed, seizing the Scout's wrists and freeing his throat with ease from the grip.
"Oh come on, mon amour, are you really that stupid? Or is it maybe... that you don't want to believe the truth? Do you need some help to understand?" His features became soft and he smiled gently at the boy, as he had done before, let his hands go and lay his own on the Scout's hips.
The youth's face was blank, his skin pale, ashen. With dull eyes he stared at the scarred face and the faked smile, his stomach about to revolt when two strong hands pulled him up and away from Wagner.
"Scout, what is matter?" Heavy asked softly, alarmed by the expression of their youngest teammember. "What he did?"
"Whaddya scared of, laddie?" Demoman, equally worried, gently patted the boy's back, while the Soldier pointed his rocket launcher at the snickering Wagner.
"You want me to tell them, Scout?"
"SHUT UP YOU FILTHY MAGGOT! DON'T MESS WITH MY MEN!" A vein in his temple throbbed angrily as the Soldier put his foot on Wagner's chest.
"Scout! Wait!" Heavy shouted as the boy suddenly broke away from them and ran away, the whole way back through the train.
"DON'T RUN AWAY, SEE THEM OTHER LADS!" Hoping that his advice had reached the Scout's ears Demoman looked after him.
"Damn you bastard, I should just blow that stupid smile off your ugly face."
"I'd love to see that, Soldier-boy." Wagner retorted the threat dryly. "Do you really think I'd lie here peacefully if I preferred to escape? Do you really think the boy would have survived his little attack if I hadn't decided to play along?"
"Why did you come out of your hiding place anyway?" Soldier inquired and fought the urge to ram the end of his weapon into Wagner's scarred face when the man crossed his arms under his head and made himself more comfortable.
"Why you ask? Firstly, this woman annoyed me, if somebody kills one of you, that's me. Second – I was curious what would happen, that's all I think." he concluded with a nod.
"Ye bloody..."
The sound of an explosion from the top end of the train caught all their attention, even Wagner sat up and turned his head.
"This came from the machine room." he hissed. The lights flickered and went out when the electricity died.
"For you... my love... see... they... can't escape you now..." the weak voice of the woman suddenly spoke, she lifted her head and faintly smiled at Wagner. "You... won... your game... let's go... home..." Then her eyes became blank and her head fell down again, the smile still on her face.
"Stupid wench, go home how when you blow up the train, silly goose?" he snorted in disgust at the corpse and, ignoring the others, he stood up and ran towards the exit that led to the next compartment.
"Wait, you damn hippie, don't think you can just run away like that!" Soldier cursed and followed him, so did the others. They had wasted precious time with talking instead of simply capturing this man, and now the machine room was the first priority.
They entered the next part of the train and ran along another long, narrow corridor, passing rooms without caring about their purpose and finally arrived at the source of the commotion.
Whoever designed the engine room was clever enough to refrain from decorating this chamber with wood as well, so the flames weren't high and already dying. The air was dark with smoke and they could smell burnt and molten cables.
Wagner had already taken one of the nearby fire extinguishers and fought back the last flames, Soldier followed suit, while Demo and Heavy tried to open the security latches of the windows so the smoke could leave once the fire was dead.
"Quite a damage." Soldier frowned as he eyed up the burst machines and devices.
"Engineer busy will be." Heavy agreed.
"Aye, where's the bloody bastard?" Everyone looked around at Demoman's angry shout, but Wagner was gone although Soldier was sure he had been still there, close to him just a second ago.
"DAMMIT SON OF A MOTHERFUCKING MAGGOTFUCKER!"
x x x
Scout sprinted through the corridor as fast as he could, trying to push away the image of those two cold eyes staring at him. He passed the part that looked like a large canteen and finally the rooms where they had found the two dead henchmen, but he didn't care, he didn't even stop or hesitate when the sound of an explosion reached his ears.
He jumped out of the train, almost running over the Pyro who stood close to the entrance.
"Bloody hell, kid, what happened there? What's that smoke comin' from the other end..."
But Scout didn't pay any attention to the Sniper's question, he ignored all of them as they stood there and gazed at the clouds of smoke that had soon followed an explosion they had heard a minute ago.
"Heya, boy, are ya listenin' to us?" the Engineer tried, but Scout had already seized the collar of the surprised Spy who still sat in the sand.
"What is wrong, lapin?" the French wondered, confused by the desperate look in the boy's eyes.
"Tell me it were you!" Scout cried and shook him. His face was still pale, only his cheeks glowed in a bright, feverish crimson.
"Excuse-moi, I do not know what is ze matter, Scout." The usual annoyance rose in him, as it always did when he had to deal with the Scout's impulsive, immature behavior, but something in his eyes, the same something he had noticed before but couldn't place, also worried him.
"JUST TELL ME ALREADY IT WERE YOU! YOU AND NOT HIM!" He both yelled and pleaded, obviously hoping for a certain, reassuring, comforting answer the Spy couldn't give him.
"I would love to 'elp you, but I do not know what you want to 'ear. What are you talking about?"
The Scout's voice and expression suddenly changed. He became calm, his breath went slower and he even smiled – an almost grotesque smile in his otherwise frozen features.
The grip at the collar got stronger and his words rang with a threatening undertone.
"Tell me it was you."
"What..." Spy was relieved when Pyro finally pulled Scout away from him by his arm.
"Sc't... ca'm do'n... it... it wasn't 'im... all the t'me..." the small man calmly answered the boy's question, sounding dismayed behind his mask.
"LET GO!" the Scout yelled and pulled his arm free from the Pyro's grip. Then he started to chuckle, and finally, he laughed, sneering at the bewildered Spy.
"My gawd, what a loser, eh, frogs? Gettin' caught like that. Yo, only an idiot could be so stupid. And ya call yaself a Spy. What a joke!"
Medic and Engineer had joined Pyro, trying to calm the Scout down who almost broke into hysterics.
Spy still watched the boy with a frown, wondering what could have caused this unusual behavior. Yes, he had been insulted and cursed by Scout before, and he had known for a while that the boy's bratty behavior should hide the crush Scout had developed for him for some mysterious reason, but this outburst had nothing to do with that. Maybe the last days had been too grueling for the youth, after all, almost drowning in a dark water-tank, holding a dying person he thought was the man he liked wouldn't have been easy for a grown man as well. And then he remembered Scout's worried look when he arrived with Sniper and Engineer, how naturally he had addressed him... and those changed eyes... broken eyes and the desperation when he hoped Spy had been it. Finally he understood what had to be the only explanation.
"Mon dieu.. merde... c'est horrible... my god, Mathieu..." His words of sincere dismay went unheard as Scout's angry curses mixed with the voices of the other three men who just had returned to the group.
x x x
"I demand you to tell me at once what is going on here!" Soldier ordered, glaring at his men as they talked to the Scout, all at once. The boy had stopped snapping and yelling back, he simply stood there, his gaze unfocused, and let them say whatever they wanted, he didn't listen anyway.
"HELLOOOO SWEETHEARTS! ANYBODY HOME?" At his raised voice the others fell silent and turned around, finally realizing that the second group had returned.
"Good to see ye all are kickin' n alive. And the lad's back, too." Demo grinned. He hadn't missed that something seemed to be wrong, and of course it had to do with the Scout's sudden escape earlier, but he was relieved to see the young man with the other teammates, at least he hadn't run off all alone this time.
Scout smiled weakly at him and didn't protest when Pyro shoved him a few steps away from the others, further away from the Spy, giving the youth the chance to breathe a bit more freely.
Another person who smiled was the Engineer.
"Heck ya, all alive, and ya guys, too, as ah can see." He beamed at them. "Has been some darn time since all of us were together." he added more seriously. Thoughtfully, he looked at the Spy, who now wore a sorrowful expression, and at the Medic, who was urged to sit down again by a persistent Sniper. For a second the Texan wondered when those two would finally behave like grown-ups and came to terms - whatever was the matter with Scout would be enough to deal with. And those were only the less important priorities on their list of problems.
"Care ta tell us what happened, Soldier?" he inquired. "What's up with the explosion and the smoke?"
"Yeah, what's with that bloody train anyway, mate?" Sniper tossed in. "I tell ya, some of us could use a piece of rest now." His sideglance at the Medic was answered with a disgruntled snort by the German.
"One step at the time, boys." the Soldier warned and sat down on one of the rocks, gratefully accepting the bottle with water the Engineer gave him. He drank and passed it on Heavy before he reported what had happened.
"So this Wagner-maggot is still somewhere around, but we couldn't find him on our way back." he concluded their story. "After the explosion the electricity died. After a while an emergency power system started, so at least some of the lights are back and the doors between the compartments can be opened and closed. Those doors that were shut when the incident happened won't bust though." With a sigh, he smiled wryly at the Texan.
"I'm sorry, but I fear you..."
"Don't worry, pardner." Stopping him with a wave of his hand the Engineer nodded. "Ah ain't gonna rest before that thing works just fine 'gain."
"Thought so. Just don't overwork yourself, you hear me? Anyway." The Soldier cleared his throat, trying to ban the worry from his voice before anybody noticed. "There are two things we have to do before we can rest. We have to get rid of the bodies, it will do no good when they rot so close to us. I don't know about wild animals around here, but I already have my hands full with you maggots and that Wagner around. Don't need more of them."
"What you suggest, Soldier?" Heavy interrupted him before the American got lost in one of his speeches again.
"Well, as I told Pyro before, I think the best is we transport them away a few miles and burn them to ashes. This will be our task, Heavy and Pyro. As it is, Spy won't be of much help and I want you, Medic, to rest as well. No, shut up!" Frowning, he glared at the German when he was about to protest. "We don't know what will happen when Wagner decides to strike again and we don't need a medical support with shaky hands who looks like he's about to collapse any minute. Engineer," he continued, ignoring the curses the Medic muttered under his breath, "before you start in the machine room, Demo, Scout and you set up some traps and defensive devices. Please make sure you feed your sentry with the correct data of who belongs to us and who not! When you are done, Demoman can help us with those guys there."
"What 'bout me? Want me to help ya with ya campfire?" Most of the men grinned at the Sniper's question. It was plain enough that the Australian wasn't too keen about that task.
"Pah, like you vant to get your hands dirty. Don't zhink anybody believes you vould vant to help zhem." the Medic scoffed sarcastically.
"Hey, why are ya bitchin' at me 'gain, doc?"
"I am not bitching, you and your laziness simply annoy me!"
"Ya didn't seem very annoyed when ya leaned 'gainst me some little while ago, ya..."
"Excuse me when I let you know that your boys' honey moon quarrels simply annoy all of us." At the Soldier's dry remark they ended their argument and fell silent.
"Fine." Satisfied that he had their attention again, Soldier resumed his explanation. "Sniper, if you promise to be a good boy and not to bother our Medic too much I want you to stay here and help wherever you are needed. I leave that to you, Engie. When he can assist you, have him. Otherwise, Sniper, have an eye on Spy and Medic, I don't want any more surprises from our friend Wagner."
"Alright." the Australian confirmed shortly. This meant basically holding the Texan's toolbox and keeping a lookout for anything happening out of the ordinary. Not that he could do much more with his leg and arm anyway. He wasn't as lazy as the Medic loved to point out, but in this case he was rather glad to be confined to the train. The accusation that he hadn't helped at all to free the German still stung, although he knew it had been nothing more than a usual snide remark, more caused by weariness than anything.
"Good. Questions? No? Fine. Get moving, boys, I want the security up before nightfall and I hope we get rid of at least the half of them sleeping beauties here. Engie, you are in charge of the men with you. Maggots, you follow his orders! His words are your law!"
With that, the group set to their assigned tasks.
Pyro patted the Scout's back, muttering some apologizing words and joined Heavy, who had already seized one of the corpses and carried it to the nearest jeep.
"Let me lend ya a hand." the Sniper offered Medic to help him getting up, but the German declined. At first, he was about to snap at the Australian again, then he shook his head, smiling.
"No, I can walk, zhank you zhough. For your help. Go and see vhat you can do for zhe Engineer, zhis is important. I vill assist Spy."
"Wait a second s'il vous plaît, docteure." the Spy asked after Medic tried to support him so the French could go easy on his leg. "I 'ave to talk to ze lapin for a moment, please leave us, just a minute, if you do not mind."
The German nodded and gathered his bag and some water for later, while the Spy limped to the young man and gently touched his shoulder from behind.
"Scout..."
The youth turned around at once, brushing the hand away violently.
"Don't ya ever dare touchin' me again, asshole." he scowled, avoiding the man's eyes.
"Listen, lapin, I zink I know what 'appened and I am sorry zhat..." This was awkward. He didn't feel more for the boy than he did before, but the Scout was a teammate and half a child, and the Spy hated to think of what this Wagner might have done using his face and voice. Things had been bad lately for the youth and he felt sorry for him.
"Shut up, you know shit!" Scout glowered at him, his eyes lost their dull expression for a second and would almost have been as bright and spirited as they used to be - weren't it for the gloomy, sinister and desperate spark. In spite of himself the Spy had to admit that eyes like these looked interesting in such a young face.
"See, Scout, zis is..." he tried again, but the youth interrupted him once more, turning away.
"Forget it, frogs. I was an idiot, you are the last bastard on this fuckin' planet I wanna talk to right now. That's all I have to tell ya. Now lemme alone and piss off, the nurse's waitin' for ya."
x x x to be continued x x x
Sorry for the delay ^^ I messed this chapter up thoroughly - I already started on Saturday, but after two or three pages I decided it was crap. The whole script was crap and I hated it, hated myself and was sure I'm a complete failure even as an amateur fanfic writer (okay, I had a little crisis of self-doubts this weekend anyway...). So I deleted everything I had so far and went to bed rather frustrated.
Wrote this last night and it turned out better... well, at least better as my first attempt ^^
Anyway, I wonder how many readers remember that once upon a time 100 chapters ago Scout was introduced as Matthew/Matt? xD
