Well folks, Joe had his first face-to-face meeting with Alma and a lot is yet to happen. Like the end of this little Perseus mandate arc that you can call an introduction, as well as the arrival of certain enemies that we love to hate. Without further ado, here is the second chapter.
"That was an ugly fall."
"Chen, is he dead?"
"Nah, he's breathing. He has no visible injuries, but he may wake up with a headache. "
I hear voices around me, but I can't recognize any of them. Did I hit my head too hard? Hell…
I open my eyes, my vision is spinning a little, but I can see three figures standing looking at me. I think this is the time when I freak out because the police have arrived? I don't know ... fuck the police!
My vision stabilizes and I can get a better look at the three individuals. They are carrying weapons and wearing the memorable D-12 heavy body armor.
Holy shit… .I'm just looking at three fucking First encounter assault recon operatives! I think it was already expected that they were here, given the bizarre shit that went on.
"... well ... I think if you're here, the shit must have hit the fan." I say standing up and rubbing the sore part of my head.
"And you are?" Asked the guy in front of the group of three men. He must be in his 38 or 40 years. And if I had to guess, I would say that he is the leader of this small team, which apparently is just 3 people.
"The pizza guy." I respond with humor.
"Well, the guys here aren't going to be eating a lot of pepperoni for a while." Said the guy a little younger, gesturing around. He must be around 30 years old, with short black hair and brown eyes.
"Chen…" the team leader sighs and turns his attention back to me.
"Look whoever you are, I think it's best that you accompany us to our medical evacuation point. You seem to need it. " He says this indicating my not so well treated wounds.
I just nod and start following the three men.
F.E.A.R operatives, mysterious mercenaries, visions and a little girl who should have existed only in my nightmares, proved to be very real.
Another day in hell.
"Just take it easy."
"And you just relax. I know what I'm doing." Said the medical officer as he examined my anti-arm.
"Hum…"
"What is it? Is it that bad?"
"Not really. I thought it would be in worse condition, but it's almost fine. I still think it's better to clean it up a bit and cover it with sterile gauze."
I let out a sigh of relief at that. Well ... I think I was born with a good blood type or whatever. Which leaves another question ...
"And how's my arm?" I ask.
"I was getting to that part." He comes over and starts examining my arm.
"Good job removing the bullet. If it had been left there it could have been harmful, we just need to cover it properly. I can give you something for the pain too."
"I thank doc, the more I will refuse." I prefer to avoid any medication that can reduce my mobility as a pain reliever.
He just shrugs. "Okay then. Now, stay still."
I stand still while he starts to take care of my arm. I watch some delta force soldiers who appear to have suffered some heavy injuries. They had a hell of a fight against those guys, didn't they? The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is the main anti-terrorism unit in the United States. They are the best of the best and these mercs or whatever have passed through them. If these motherfuckers are so good, they mustn't be cheap and I doubt that a donut eater who likes to watch videos of inflatable dolls while masturbating may have hired them. This has to come from someone with money and influence, with little concern for civilian casualties.
I wonder if…
"Dude, you look almost brand new. I think the tips received by the pizzas aren't worth that much." My thoughts are interrupted by one of the guys from F.E.A.R who have escorted me here.
I give a short laugh before I answer. "No, they really aren't. I don't think I got your name."
"I'm Lieutenant Steve Chen. The guy in charge is Captain David Raynes and the other is the representation of silence. We call him the sergeant."
I give him a confused look before asking. "Why do you call him 'the sergeant'"?
He gives a goofy smile before answering me. "We call him that to mess with him, because in his entire career he never got a promotion."
I just shake my head at this. At least someone is still keeping their sense of humor intact. But there is still another question ...
"Did you manage to find out who the assholes with Darth Vader voices were?" I ask.
From the confused look he's giving me, I don't think he understood.
"The hostiles who killed the civilians."
"This is classified." He responds immediately. Since I'm considered a civilian, at least for them, I don't think he can reveal anything to me anyway. But I dare say his hunch is as good as mine. I never saw anything like those guys and I don't think they did either.
"Understand." I say. I then notice Captain Raynes coming towards us.
"How's he doing?" He asks the medical officer.
"He has no serious injuries. Once I take care of the gunshot wound and the anti-arm burn he will be fine."
He turns his attention to me and starts talking.
"I think you could give me a name now. I'm sure the lieutenant has already introduced us to you."
"The name is Joe, Joe Marston." I say giving a fake greeting.
"Okay Joe, let's get you to a safe place. Once you answer a few questions you are free to go. "
I won't even complain, this is standard procedure. Since I'm kind of the only witness left on the scene, it makes sense that they want to question me. And well ... free bus ticket.
"Yeah, here we go ... ready. He's fine to go." Says the medical officer as he finishes bandaging my arm.
"You will be going to the Blackhawk along with the delta force operatives." Raynes informed me as I got up from where I was sitting.
I just go to the Blackhawk and join the other delta guys inside. I see Chen and Raynes together with the sergeant go to another helicopter and take off on it. Then the Blackhawk doors close and I feel the aircraft take off.
Hell. I think I'm going to have a hell of a story to tell at the next poker game. That night was not as I expected. Fuck, I don't think anyone ever waits to be woken up at 3 am to end up fighting inside a building where a lot of shitty black operations style is being performed. That was really a bitch of a race and with the F.E.A.R operatives in case I would say the mess is far from over. I heard about them a while ago, they are mostly not taken seriously by most armed forces. I, on the other hand, never disregarded them. After all, a unit would not have been created without being really necessary. Unless we're talking about Theseus mandate….
Ok cut it out. Let's just sit and relax…
I hear what is clearly something impacting the Blackhawk's hull, which is followed by the unmistakable sound of an explosion.
"WE WERE HIT!"
I hear the Blackhawk pilot scream when the aircraft starts to shake violently. Fuck! It would have been too easy, wouldn't it? Just get on the helicopter and get out. But no, of course not! Because every helicopter needs to be shot down to create a mood or whatever the hell it is!
Hell! Fuck…
"WE ARE FALLING!
With that the helicopter starts to turn and suddenly. This throws me out of my seat and I end up falling flat on my face. Crap saw!
The helicopter finally crashes into something. All I feel is a big impact and being sent flying before I hit my head again and black out.
"... ah ... fuck ... why the fuck in the head?"
I slowly open my eyes trying to see something, but I can't because my vision is like a carousel now. Everything is spinning, it's hard to see. Seriously…. why the hell do you always have to be the head? What the fuck …
I support myself on my knees and try to get up, but the vertigo ends up making me stumble. What the hell! Come on… I can't afford to get knocked out right now. I try to stay focused to see if I can stabilize my vision. Come on damn it! Come to you!
I lean on some structure of some kind that helps me stay upright, with my head starting to stop spinning. That, much better. I close and open my eyes for a moment and then look around when my head stops spinning my vision stabilizes.
"I think that means the ride is over."
I am simply in an apartment complex of some kind. I say this because I am in what was clearly a room one day. With the Blackhawk fully detonated sinking to the ground in front of me, right under a big hole in the ceiling.
That was a wild ride. I must have been thrown out of the window or something. Maybe there are survivors? I walk towards the door and try to open it, only to see that it is stuck. I try to force the door again, but then I hear the floor below me creak and crack. This shit is collapsing!
I move away from the Blackhawk, narrowly escaping the hole that forms when the rest of the floor next to the helicopter begins to collapse. I lean against the ends of the back wall of the room and watch the Blackhawk fall into the space below. I just hear the sound of the wood sagging against the weight of the aircraft for a few moments followed by a loud crash. Okay, if there were survivors before, there are certainly no more.
I approach the hole and see that the helicopter has crashed several floors below. Sparks emanate from the downed aircraft and soon after, everything that remains of the Blackhawk is destroyed in an explosion.
Shit ... well I think it's time to get out of this building. I'm already tired of buildings.
I see that the door leading out of this room is right across the hole that was formed in the fall of the Blackhawk. Just one jump and we'll be good.
I don't have much space available to pick up speed. Great ... things are all against me right? Come on. I start running towards the door, get closer to the edge than I would like and with an impulse I jump to the other side of the big hole that was formed by the helicopter that sank to the ground. I cross the distance and land with a bearing. I don't stop for a second when the rest of the floor starts to sag under my feet, I start to run past the door leaving the room collapsing.
"I don't think I'll be hitchhiking in fairport anymore, not for a long time." I whisper to myself.
Well, it looks like we're actually in an abandoned apartment here. The corridor is as worn out as the room I just left. Everything is old and dusty with cobwebs everywhere. Well, we have all the doors that should lead to more rooms, but I'm more focused on finding the stairs.
And there you are honeys. I leave the corridor casually and go down the old pair of stairs. Seriously, getting out would be very inviting. If the luck I have had so far says anything, an abandoned old apartment or whatever can be seen as a bad omen. However, if there is no Spanish villager with an ax, we will be good.
I stop immediately when I hear intense gunfire. It's coming from outside the apartment, I think from the streets and it's very, very intense. It looks like there's a damn war going on outside. On second thought, there were guards patrolling Baker Hill when I arrived, So I think there's more going on in this neighborhood than you can tell by taking a quick look.
Let's just continue, whatever it is I better be away.
I hear a loud crash from the lower floors, along with the sound of boots stepping against the worn wooden floor. I think I have company.
"Enemy aircraft has been confirmed to have reached this area in the fall. Spread and search for possible survivors."
Okay, I think the slightly distorted and militarized voices are a good way to indicate that more people have arrived for the party.
I move my hand toward where I left my knife and see that it is still there, good girl.
This floor is not so different from the one I was on. Just a dark, dirty corridor with doors. Now that I think about it, it's really dark here, almost pitch black actually. I think this can be useful.
"Echo 1, we are checking the fifth floor."
Hi guys! Okay, there are six guys, all of them wearing a dark green uniform and a helmet that hides their faces. Judging by these conversations I would bet a coin that these guys are not friendly at all. Luckily, they didn't notice me clinging to the ceiling. Somewhat uncomfortable, but effective given what I have in mind.
"Stay tuned, there may still be survivors."
Very well said.
I let go of the ceiling and slowly descend, so that I land behind the soldier who is covering the rear without him noticing me.
I activate my reflexes and kick his knee, it makes him lose his balance and I take this to wrap my arms around his neck, so I twist until I hear a sick crack.
I carefully lower the body to avoid any noise and run towards the next soldier. I repeat the same process with two more, with the small group being reduced to just three. Perfect!
I run to another soldier with a blow to the knee followed by one on the back of the back with my knee. I break his neck and see that the other two soldiers have started to turn, well.
I pull out my knife and throw it at the soldier who was keeping the lead in front of the group. The blade finds the helmet visor and connects against it. Bingo! Now there is only one left.
I quickly close the distance between us and grab the tip of his gun, keeping his sights off me. I punch that connects against the helmet, but still stuns him. I do a spin that yanks the gun out of its grip and makes it fall to the ground. I hit your head repeatedly with the butt of the gun until I hear what sounds like a skull being broken, as well as the wooden floor that sinks when I make one last hit with the butt of the gun and deactivate my reflexes.
Okay, I think that takes care of things for now. Let's take a closer look at these guys ... um.
They have the ATC logo on their uniforms. Although this armor is not something that the Armacham security team usually wears. Besides that, they were moving in formation and using calls from a fire team. They can't be mercs or anything, certainly not. This ... has to be something else.
Meh. I'll just get out of here before they show up. I now have a Sub-Machinegun RPL that I took from that last soldier I killed. Let's see what others have.
Okay, they just had ammo and a pistol. Four magazines for RPL and three magazines for the pistol. It will do the trick when it comes to involving these fuckers. I just need it now ...
I go to the body of the soldier that I threw my knife at. I pull it out of the visor of the deceased's helmet and holster it. Now we can go.
I walk up the stairs, but I don't even reach them because the floor under my feet just collapses.
Shit!
Impact against another floor that gives in under my weight. This continues for a while until my fall is stopped when I reach a floor that doesn't collapse and I end up falling flat on my face.
Son of a bitch ... today really isn't my day. I look around and see that it falls right behind another group of these soldiers of some kind. I can't see their expressions because of the helmet, but I bet they are really surprised, or who knows, confused by my entry.
I grab my submachine gun and hit the nearest soldier with a burst and repeat the process with two more who were a little behind.
They retaliate with their own shot, and I activate my reflexes. I dodge some bullets that pass where I was a few moments ago and hide behind a corner.
I deactivate my reflexes and shoot the bunch of miserable motherfuckers right in front of me. I hit a few rounds on one that was hiding behind a slightly worn sofa and then another that just came out of one of the bedrooms.
They open fire and I am forced to hide. Which was good timing, as there is a small group coming from behind me down the stairs.
Fuck you, I activate my reflexes and spray them with a shower of bullets. The submachine gun clicks empty when the last soldier falls rolling down the stairs with his body full of bullets.
I disable my reflexes and reload. Three magazines and 5 remaining enemies setting up makeshift cover behind bedroom doors and an old sofa.
I hit two of those soldiers who were hiding behind the sofa. They quickly fall when caught by the rounds of my submachine gun. Okay, now there are three.
I activate my reflexes and hit two more soldiers who were hiding behind the doors with gunshots to the head. Just one more. And he is behind a corner. He comes out of the penthouse to aim at me, but he doesn't even have time to pull the trigger when I hit a blast in his head.
Well, now the stairs ...
"Contact!"
I shoot some more of these guys who came up the stairs. They fall full of bullet holes and I make my way up the stairs.
"Well done you bastards! They say things like missing the TV show and being late for an appointment makes you upset", I cry as I go down the stairs, gun raised. "But I say that being shot, burned and caught in a helicopter crash makes me fucking upset and violent!"
I activate my reflexes and eliminate the first soldier I see. Then I do the same with one that was coming out of a door on my right and another that came around the corner.
I turn off my reflexes and hide behind a corner. I reload my submachine gun and hit several rounds on four soldiers who came from the corridor in front of me.
"Throwing grenade!"
A grenade, which apparently came out of the fucking nowhere, lands right under my feet. Sons of a bitch!
I activate my reflexes and run into one of the rooms. I throw myself behind a table and use it to escape the explosion.
The grenade detonates and generates a small explosion that raises various debris and some wood chips. I disable my reflexes and get up. I see two soldiers moving to the door, these bastards are really frantic.
Without wasting time, I aim my submachine gun and put them down quickly.
My reflexes are activated and I lower myself, just in time to escape several bullets that hit the place where I was. I look in the direction where the bullets are coming from and see that it comes from the wall to the right of the room. It is well worn and I can see the outline of someone on the other side through a crack.
Not today, you shit.
I shoot the wall, with any luck I will hit the sniper on the other side. It doesn't happen and I see more bullets coming towards me in a short time. Want to know something? Fuck it!
I run towards the wall, avoiding several bullets that pass through me slowly due to my improved perception. I throw myself against the worn wooden wall and it breaks. I bump into the soldier on the other side and we both fall.
I grab my pistol and shoot him repeatedly in the head. It takes a few shots to kill him but he finally stops moving and the wounds succumb.
I disable my reflexes and get up off the floor. I exchange the pistol for the submachine gun and leave the room.
I end up running into another soldier, but I just hit his head with the butt of the gun and kick him in the chest. This sends him stumbling against the remaining group behind him, I take advantage of this and activate my reflexes, hitting them with several rounds of my submachine gun.
I duck under one of the bodies and pull out two grenades that were with him. Let's speed things up a bit.
I'm looking down the stairs. We know how this is going to work, I go down and they try to get me down. I think I'm going to diversify things a bit.
Swallow this, you pridurki!
"Watch out, grenade!" That's all I hear before the grenades detonate, generating a small explosion and a quick bang.
Now cleaning.
I go down the stairs and hit a soldier who is getting up, probably was shaken by the explosion. I repeat the process with more that are coming out of a pile of wood and a little debris. This place is really unstable.
My gun clicks empty when I see a soldier coming to my right. I think the motherfucker escaped the grenade detonation.
I activate my reflexes and throw my weapon at him. It impacts against his head and stuns him slightly. I pull out my knife and close the distance between us with a rolling pin, then I stick it in the bastard's visor. He squirms for a few seconds and then falls dead on the floor.
Okay, it's a little quiet. I look around and see that there really is nothing left. Most on this floor were caught by the explosion and those who were not, I finished. I don't hear anything, the place is totally silent.
"Yeah, I think it was all …"
The wall behind me is broken and my neck is surrounded by something that is applying a significant amount of pressure. Shit…
"Still ... you won't ... suffocate me ... YOU BITCH BUTCH!"
I try to take my arm away from whatever is holding me, but I fail. This crap will end up breaking my neck like that!
I pick up the knife and start trying to stab the arm that is squeezing my windpipe. "Try" being the key word, the knife doesn't look like it's hitting anything, not a skin, bone or anything. It feels like I'm trying to drill through metal. More than drugs!
I am running out of air and if I continue like this I will be lifeless. Knife doesn't work and I'm separated from whatever that thing is by a wooden wall. A wall of wood all screwed, that's it!
I start impacting my back against the wall and I see the wood sag with it. I repeat this three more times and end up falling on my back when I break the wall.
And there is my strangler. Standing facing me, this is what I can only describe as a 7 feet soldier wrapped in a large suit with metal plates, plus bright blue eyes emanating from your helmet.
"Hello Nemesis."
I roll to the side avoiding a boot that sinks the wooden floor where my head was. I get up and give the armored soldier a right hook, that is barely disturbed by my blow. Instead, he retaliates with a swing of his gun that tries to hit my head, but I bend down and hit him with a kick in the abdomen area, followed by another on the side of the head and then an elbow strike on the top of the head.
He retaliates brutally, hitting my rib cage with the butt of his gun. The blow makes me fly against the bedroom door and I collapse on it. I fight the pain that arises in my body and activate my reflexes, just in time to get out of the way of a pile of nail-shaped projectiles with a bearing.
I grab a G2A2 assault rifle from one of the dead soldiers and disable my reflexes to conserve energy. I see the brute pass through the fallen door and I shoot at him. The rounds impact your armor and make you a little stunned but not for long, because he fires multiple shots of that nail gun at me.
I narrowly avoid the projectiles, but some end up grazing my arm and shoulder. I activate my reflexes and start shooting at the brute while I walk around him.
The bastard really can take a few shots, I keep shooting and shooting and he keeps coming. The assault rifle clicks empty and I discard it. I deactivate my reflexes and grab cover behind a stage
Okay, I think all we need now is for him to scream S.T.A.R.S and we'll have a legit Nemesis for this fucking night. Now come on, think ... think ... MATRIX!
This whole place is old and deteriorating. We are on the second floor and it's not a big drop, I just pray to God that it works and if it works, it will be fucking painful.
I hear the brute's heavy footsteps approaching the corner and take this as my cue to hide. I walk into one of the nearby rooms as quietly as I can. Down in the corner
I wait patiently. I see the brute pass in front of the entrance to the room, but he doesn't notice me and just goes straight. I crouch, doing my best to step silently on the wooden floor. I grab a large wooden board lying on the floor, now it's time boy.
I activate my reflexes and run for the brute. He turns at a reduced speed and I use this to hit his head with the piece of wood when I close the distance between us. It stuns him for just a brief second, but that's all I need. I wrap my arms around the biggest soldier and with as much effort as I can muster from my muscles, I carry it under my shoulders and start running.
The weight of the brute and overwhelming and I feel my muscles beg under the tremendous force I am exercising to lift this shit. I cross the corridor and we play against the wooden wall, the wall gives way under impact and then gravity does the rest. I feel myself falling for a few moments, then I hear a loud thump when I finally land on something solid.
My fall is practically muffled by the heavy brute, who is alive and breathing. Tough motherfucker! What does it take to kill this shit anyway? A bazooka?
He grabs me by the neck with one hand and tosses me aside. I fall to the asphalt floor and quickly get up. I turn my attention to the brute and see that we fell on top of a car, a little cliché, but I hope it hurt for that shit.
He tries to get up, but stays in place when he realizes the 2 fatal mistakes he made.
First, he didn't have a tight grip on his gun.
Second, the nail gun or whatever, is now being held by MY hands.
I give him a sadistic smile and then speak. "That's why you have to keep a good grip on your gun, you piece of shit!"
I point the gun at the brute and ferociously pull the trigger. I watch with satisfaction as the various nails connect against the brute's armor. One after another, he continues to be hit continuously by the various nails that come out of the gun. Finally, he finally falls when a final project lodges in one of his helmet's blue lights.
I let out a long breath. It has really been a wild ride. Now let's see ... I'm clearly in what I can assume to be the Auburn district. After all, the street is really deserted and I can even say that it is decadent. the only thing I hear is the exchange of shots from afar by what would probably be these soldiers and perhaps the military.
Ok, new plan: my car is parked next to Baker Street, which is not that far from here. If there is a roadblock, I can get around. If someone or anything tries to stop me, I just send them to the deepest pit of hell with a shot in the face.
"Just another day in hell."
"With eyes that hide the man within
You see behind the eyes of, other men
You've lived and died and come to life again
And now you stand alone at the crossroads of your mind
You've left your yesterdays behind..
But which road leads you to tomorrow?"
I hum as I pass through the alley. It's a dirty alley, with rats feeding on a pile of rubbish. Dirty alley on the side of a building, back doors to my left. A typical murder scenario in my opinion, so nothing like a song from a great movie to lighten the mood.
I am not a fan of Elvis, in fact I never heard any of the great successes of his time. But I can't deny that I liked what he did in that western movie. Jess wade and his character were cool in my opinion. Some like it and others don't, but I think it was 1 hour and 38 minutes well spent in my time.
"There's something hanging, in the wind
Your past is catching up and closing in
You've been halfway to hell and back again
And now you laugh in the devil's face
with your last breath...
You'll run a race with life and death...
But will you live to see tomorrow?"
I stand motionless when I see the great movement in the street on the other side of the alley. Several soldiers of some kind are running hurriedly in a certain direction and accompanied by them, there is a large gray motorized armor with REV6 printed on the front. I just remain quiet, camouflaged by the shadows of the dark alley while I wait for the movement to pass. A confrontation is not advisable, given my scarce firepower.
They disappear from view and I start a quick run, cross the street and head to the next alley. That thing must do a lot of damage. If my eyes didn't deceive me, I'm pretty sure there were double rocket launchers mounted on their arms. Yes ... it would certainly do a real damage, which begs the question, what the hell would require so much firepower to be taken down?
Priorities first, curiosities later. I can question what's going on later. I keep walking, silent this time. I don't want to alert any passing troops about my presence.
My steps are interrupted by the sound of cans hitting the floor behind me. I turn around and see nothing but exactly what I thought. A lot of cans lying on the floor.
I hear barefoot footsteps stepping against the hard alley floor. Quiet enough that most don't listen, but I'm not the majority, I'm a guy who's starting to be on edge here!
I turn towards the source of the steps with the weapon raised. I search frantically for the owner of the steps, but again I see nothing but the emptiness and putrefaction of the alley. Slowly, I keep moving forward. Keeping the gun up and looking for any sign of ... well ... anything? After being sent flying by an invisible Hadouken, I am not putting my money on the table.
"You like games?"
I hear that female and childish voice whisper against my ear and immediately turn around, frantically firing my gun. To my surprise, there's nothing behind me and the nails hit just one wall in the alley.
Okay ... I don't need that shit again. Just turn around and keep walking, I have to get out before this shit hit me even more.
Suddenly, I feel myself stepping on something ... damp, yes it sure is damp. And for consistency, I wouldn't say it's water.
I look down and see that I am stepping into a giant pool of blood that has formed on the floor. I look at the blood fountain and see that it is coming from the walls of the alley around me.
Let me be the first to say that this is surprisingly bizarre. Blood does not come out of walls, better yet, bricks do not produce blood! And that shit is just gushing to the floor!
I watch as the floor fills with blood that continues to leak without pause from the walls of the alley. I'm about to just run out of a crazy tunnel when I see in my peripheral vision something crawling across the wall.
And there she is. Totally defying the laws of gravity, that same little girl that I had met at the data and research center, it is simply standing on the wall above me in a crawling position.
When I see her, my heart starts to beat faster than I thought possible. As if he practically wanted to jump off my chest. The memory of what she had done to those mercs, what she had done to me without even moving a muscle came back to my mind and I felt myself tremble a little. Which was only made worse by the intimidating appearance she had.
She stood there, staring at me with those bright eyes filled with destructive and primal anger. However, I was able to detect something more behind those eyes than pure anger. Did it seem ... curiosity?
I swallow dry and with the balls in my hand I ask. "Who ... who are you?"
She just looks at me and says nothing. Don't even move.
"What do you want from me?"
Again without an answer. She just continues to stare at me and I really don't know if I have the courage to move. This continues for a minute until it dissipates into a pile of ash.
I sigh with relief and feel myself relax a little. Well, the best I can be in a district where everything wants to shoot you. I turn to leave but stop on my tracks when I see her standing in front of me.
His menacing look never left his face and due to the proximity, I am getting a very clear view of his amazing shape. Her red dress splattered with blood, her feet covered in blood to below the knee and her hair unkempt. The different thing is that he is not completely covering his face and that allows me to have a better view of her features.
She is looking at me, a pale face and an empty expression, devoid of any emotion. The fact that she is staring at me is enough to freeze the hair on the back of my neck.
"Open your eyes."
Open my eyes?
I feel a twinge in my brain and suddenly ... images, several images go through my head in random ways.
I see several of those soldiers that I faced earlier, all of them in a state of suspended animation and then moving as if they had just come out of a deep trance. I see the same man I saw earlier, but now he is cannibalizing another person in a grotesque way.
Then the flashes of images stop and all I see is a clear, blinding light. And in the center of that light appears the figure of a man. He gets closer and closer, so now he's looking directly at me and I can get a better look at his face. Middle age, glasses and a mustache in passing, is really ridiculous.
"You will be a god among men."
It is all he says, it is all I hear when the images disappear as quickly as they appeared. I look around frantically and see that I am back in the alley. All the blood that dripped from the walls was gone, as well as any trace of the girl. It is as if none of that happened.
"I will be cursed, this shit is getting more and more crazy and look that my tolerance to madness is very high." I say to no one in particular and then I start running out of the alley.
I'm about to enter a street, but I stop running.
Okay, apparently the street is clear. There are no soldiers around and no opposition of any kind. I say "apparently", because I saw the unmistakable glow of a laser sight reflecting against a window. Kind of comforting, I prefer a sniper a thousand times over more of those weird shits.
We will see. I'm certainly not entering this street, it's open ground and he would probably have a vision of me. I know that if I had my rifle and were looking at an open street, I would position myself in the corner with the best view.
I peer around the corner of the alley. My eyes roaming between the buildings, looking for the slightest hint of a presence in them. Come on you bastard, just any indication ...
"I found you, you son of a bitch." I see a gleam of a lens being reflected against the light, and in fact it came from the tallest building at the end of the street to my left. A privileged view of the street in front of me and the corner, as well as anything that runs out of the alleys. Not bad, but I'm not going down the street, buddy.
I look up and there it is, a side fire escape with access to the roof. I already know how we're going to do it.
POV: Replica sniper
I watch the street below through my rifle sight. All troops are mobilizing to prevent the advances of F.E.A.R. point man. apparently he was getting closer and closer to the Origin facility and Commander Fettel gave specific orders to stop his progress by any means necessary.
Number of casualties: high. Almost half of our forces were killed in combat. Despite the losses and the fact that it was previously stated that our goal was at Origin facility, some of us were ordered to come to that area.
Threat level: unknown. Reconnaissance troops that had been ordered to look for possible threats did not return or contact.
Current objective: to secure the area and wait for new orders. Any sighted individual will be eliminated as instructed.
Sighted movement. I see an object in a strange way moving down the street. I zoom in on my scope and it gives me a better view of…. object.
Garbage bags were used to form a sloppy humanoid shape. Pieces of wood are serving as improvised hands and neck. As head the ridiculous shape is using a bucket with smile drawn on it. In the "left hand" is a written sign: I lost my marbles.
" I dont understand…"
"It is a pun, you stupid."
"Shit!"
POV: Joe
The sniper doesn't even have time to turn around, because I put a few rounds of my pistol on his head at close range. He falls with a head full of bullet holes and I smile with satisfaction.
"Well, I'm still stealthy, of course the bidding with trash bags also helped. I just don't understand how this guy couldn't understand the pun. Maybe I should have introduced you to something called movies? "I say that last part by giving the sniper's corpse a light kick.
Meh, let's see what he had. I bend down and pick up the gun that my friend without cultural knowledge was using. Hmm.
Anti-material rifle, model km50. Magazine size 6. Low fire rate with a high range. This beauty will do the trick. If I stay on the roofs I can avoid direct confrontations and eliminate targets at a distance if necessary. Not to mention it will be useful if you have more snipers.
I take some clips he had with him. I would say we are fine, now back to business. I face the building closest to this one. It's not that far away, so I can reach it with a little
I take a little space to gain speed and start running. When my feet are about to touch the edge of the roof, I jump towards the other roof.
We can say that the bills were paid, because I land on the other roof with a bearing. I just straighten up and continue my run. Gain space and jump to the next mechanical and simple roof
Show time.
"Daddy's arrived!" I scream out loud when I'm finally greeted with the comforting sight of a black Ford Mustang Mach 1 in the street below.
It was a quiet ride, since there were no more snipers or other patrols. It was quiet, fast and good exercise. Simple and to the point, like that girl I met in Las Vegas.
I think enough of nostalgia. Time to get the hell out of here. I take one last look around with my sniper rifle. I find no sign of anyone and I walk to the edge of the building and just go down, grabbing me from the edge and hanging me. I take a small leap to propel myself and manage to grab a window in the building next door. I repeat the process a few more times. fall a little and cling to something so you don't fall like shit on the sidewalk. I do this one last time, until I feel my feet touch the ground.
I walk out of the alley and run towards my car. Indeed, this is a very beautiful sight under the circumstances. I take the keys, open the doors, enter and put the key in the ignition. Time to run kompan'ony.
I feel a smile form on my face when the engine comes to life. Good boy!
Put my feelings on, but I don't even start, because the vision in front of me simply…. Son of an old cow.
Hovering above the street is nothing but a fucking attack helicopter. top it off, it's pointing straight at me!
"Die, mothertfucker!"
Oh shit.