Chapter 7: Coding Interest

Johnny covered the left side of his visor as he felt the sharp glare of the sun hit him hard as he passed the base's window. What time is it? He pondered whilst letting his eyes adjust. He slowly trudged towards the base's computer room. However, just before he could escape the hallway, he heard a familiar, agitated groan from behind him. Bonnie, he thought with frustration. No, don't let these thoughts get to you bro. He looked back as she cleared her voice. She stood just a few steps away, her arms crossed in visible annoyance. "So you finally decided to get your ass in gear."

He quickly turned his back towards her and went on his way. From the additional footsteps, he could tell she was following him. "Do you realize what time it is?"

Her question fell on deaf ears. "You need to start helping around the base."

He simply waved her off just as he reached the computer room. "I have work to do."

Quickly he shut the door behind him and was ever so tempted to lock the room, so it was only him and his one relief, his one source of great happiness. Bonnie looked at the plain metallic door in front of her and nearly felt a vein pop out in her forehead. As soon as he heard the footsteps dampen further into the distance, he turned on the computer and began to collect the data for his bi-weekly report to HQ using his self-coded scripts. This machine has tons of old files that were never cleaned out, he pondered staring at the various directories the script went through. Johnny opened a terminal and began to browse the directories of the different types of files. Unsurprisingly, he noticed some several images of women eating fancy assortments of food in bunny outfits. No doubt they are Grif's. Weird fetish though, he thought as he switched out to another directory. Hello, something instantly caught his eyes. It was a folder named 'Basebook v2.0'. The development environment is still on this machine. He opened up the various files and studied the code of the main block. "Interesting, how is it that I never noticed this before?"

The red team leader woke up to the calling of his stomach. His crusty eyelids struggled to part and with a groan he finally opted to apply more pressure. Like a flabby jelly, he felt himself weigh, and morph down with gravity. As a groan escaped him, he finally found himself sitting up. Grif took one look around the room and sighed at the littered snack bags all around. One could hardly see the floor at this point. He kicked a few to the side and peered at the new ones that popped up from underneath. Reaching down, he picked a few up and roughly shook them. Empty, fuck..., he looked at the door to the room as his stomach quickly quietened at the prospect. His mouth turned into an even bigger frown, overflowing with disappointment. I will have to step out to restock, he slowly walked towards the door. But with every step he became slower. I mean, it had to happen at some point. He reached for the door handle, but found himself frozen like a firm, rock statue. Out there, its a different world. If I go out there, I would be leaving the safety of this room. Can I really do that?

His hand quickly released the handle, and his feet stumbled back on auto-pilot, guiding him back to the bed. No, I can't! He bumped his head against the wall in a quiet, yet frustrated expression. I can't fucking do it!

A yellow mist appeared to Grif's right. He turned to face the fog, out from which he could see his sister emerge. She sat beside him with her fingers entangled into one another. Her head lowered and her legs crossed with one foot consistently shaking. "When did you turn into such a coward and an overthinking guy?"

Grif shook his head as he looked away. "I-...Things change."

"Just like you did with my death?", she asked. He suddenly looked at her with widened eyes and held one palm up to his visor as a headache came about. Sister took his silence as an answer and asked, "But I wonder sometimes, am I really dead or not?"

"Yes you are!", Grif exclaimed as he held his head now completely dug into his arms. "I know what's real!"

"Do you really, or are you just pretending so you can comfort yourself here alone in this room?"

Grif raised his head suddenly, and just as quickly head raised it, it lowered at how heavy her words felt now. His mouth slowly closed and tugged up into a smirk from one side. I wonder if that really is the case, or if these delusions have muddled my sense of reality so much that I only pretend now as to what is real.

Grif promptly slapped the sides of his helmet and through the pressure his brain became alert. He rushed towards the door and opened it wide. His nose lit up as his eyes opened wide from the difference in smells. His room carried the smell of several old plastic bags, and stale chips, while the rest of the base had a pleasant citrus scent. Sister from behind him spoke up once more, "If you go out there, you will be in a land of pain. Instead, you should just stay in this room with me, I can provide you safety from all that is bad."

Grif quickly left the room and Sister found her form fading away into the yellow fog that once created her. Amidst the ambient silence of the hallway, Grif heard the noises of a keyboard grow louder with every step he took forward. In the computer room, he found Johnny, intensely staring at the screen with what Grif could only think to be was computer code. Grif's eyes shifted back and forth between Johnny and the screen. He really can concentrate well on these sorts of things, Grif leaned against the door frame just as he thought he saw his red best friend in the chair. Just like a certain someone. Grif lowered his head and held both his arms close to his chest. He let out a long held in breath and bit his lower lip. I wonder how he is doing right now, if he is coping any better with this stuff than I'm. What can I do to make myself stronger?

There is someone staring at me, isn't there? Pondered Johnny as his typing became slower and quieter. He slowly turned around, expecting one angry self elected team leader, but to his surprise it wasn't so. I don't know if this is any better. He looked at Grif who held his stomach uncomfortably. Johnny scratched the back of his helmet and looked towards the floor. I knew I shouldn't have opened the door again. Should have just kept it closed, but nope, couldn't even do that now could you Johnny?

Johnny looked at Grif as he looked at the rookie. The two men continued to stare, and could easily give several wrong impressions to outside third parties. And yet as uncomfortable as Johnny felt at the rare appearance of their true team leader, he also was left in disbelief of whether this Grif was actually real or not. Daisy hopped along happily inside the base and took a right. With one leg in front of the other, she jumped along with the high notes of her merry tune. I wonder what it is I should do after my hair dye session, she pondered with a smile slowly growing on her face. A large, dynamite metallic mantis like lady flashed in her mind. If Sheila had any hair, she would definitely look super cute with short hair. Her happy demeanour however left her temporarily as a glaze of orange caught her glance. Grif slowly approached her and in a trance of dumbfoundedness, she stared at their team leader. Her mouth hung open with her shoulders and arms hanging to her sides. Did he really step out of his room after three months?

As he walked past her, she slowly turned her head to follow his every step. This should be quite the treat for Bonnie as well. But just as the surprise train kept on chugging along for her, she saw Bonnie stand behind her. Uh oh, would have been better if I could have eased her into this, thought Daisy as Bonnie made way for Grif. Her hands gripped together whilst gently rubbing her fingers. Bonnie watched her CO approach with slow, dragging feet. Her mind felt it self to be in a mess, a loss for words. Yet she knew she had to say something at this point, otherwise she might not get a chance to again. "It's about time you decided to step out of your room and do something."

Oh dear, Daisy quickly moved towards her friend, but Bonnie was not deterred. Grif quickly opened the fridge and began to pick the most appealing, unhealthy foods he could find, all filled to the brim with processed sugar. Bonnie approached him and stood behind the fridge door. "Is this all that you came out for, isn't there something more important to be doing at this point in time, Grif?"

The snacks simply continued to pile and not a word was uttered out of his mouth. Bonnie tapped her finger against the fridge door and spoke, "You need to be leading us Grif, you are our leader."

When silence again greeted her like an old familiar friend, she gritted her teeth in irritation. "You are supposed to be our leader, do your job already!"

"Okay," Daisy quickly hopped in between the two and slowly guided Bonnie away. "Shouting at him won't help, you already know that."

"Dammit, I know," Bonnie admitted as she looked away from her friend's intense gaze. Daisy gently shook Bonnie's arm in her hand and inquired, "Then why do you do it repeatedly?"

"I- Because I don't know what else to do with Grif," Bonnie loosened Daisy's grip as she took notice of their CO retreating back to his cocoon no doubt. Daisy patted her best friend on the back and beamed a smile of confidence. "Things will be fine. This just requires time. Give him more time."

"How much more?"

"Look, I can't tell you that to be completely honest with you," she replied. "But if you try to force this, you will make things worse, that much I'm certain of."

Bonnie shook her head and quickly began to follow Grif back to his room. But before she could approach him any closer, he was well behind the safety of his locked door. Johnny looked back at the rather intense Bonnie who slammed the side of her fist against the wall. Before long, she noticed her audience and shot a stern glare in his general direction, to which Johnny quickly understood and turned back to his computer screen. Yeah, I don't want none of that, he thought as he continued to type away. Daisy rested a gentle grip on Bonnie's arm and led her away to the kitchen, where she poured them both a cold cup of iced coffee. Daisy gently placed the cup in front of her friend who removed her helmet to brush her short hair in repeated motions.

Daisy removed hers and felt the freedom from the tight, confined space. "If you keep rubbing your hair like that, you will ruin it."

"Ugh," Bonnie quickly redid the style and picked up her cup with a sigh. "I'm sorry for losing my cool like that."

Daisy quietly looked up with a smile as she continued to listen. Bonnie took a small sip and felt her throat cool down from the sweet, yet a sour liquid at the same time. "I'm finding that nowadays my patience is wearing thin, and continues to become thinner."

"Bonnie," began Daisy as she slowly and carefully placed her cup onto the surface of the island by the kitchen sink and fridge. "Why are you so determined to change Grif and Johnny?"

Bonnie turned to suddenly stare at her friend and felt as if a curve ball had been thrown her way. She felt her grip tighten around the cup and sighed with uncertainty as clear as the sky outside. "I'm not too sure, maybe because its a habit of mine."

"Sounds like this habit gets you into more trouble than its worth," Daisy rested a hand atop Bonnie's and leaned close with an understanding smile. "Maybe it's better to put a leash on it for now?"

"No," Bonnie quickly relented as she retrieved her hand. "We need our CO to properly function in order for us all to maintain cohesiveness as a team. We are barely getting by right now as it is."

"And we are getting by thanks to you, so thank you for keeping things together," Daisy raised her cup and washed her throat clean with relief. "But time is the cure here perhaps for Grif and to a certain extent, Johnny."

"Two years is too long," Bonnie countered. Daisy nodded her head, but quickly followed with a counter of her own. "Some wounds are deeper than others. But you should know that best out of the two of us from your experience as a psychologist. Now, if you will excuse me, my daily snack awaits!"

Daisy quickly reached over to the fridge and began to pile out a few ingredients near the kitchen stove. "I will make extra, so be sure to eat it!"

Like being stranded in the open amidst the thunder rain of cold showers, Bonnie's shoulders shuddered at the thought with a most crooked smile. "That sounds lovely..."

On the opposite end of the canyon, Marcus stood atop Blue base. To his side was a very happy blue soldier, Caboose who continued to hum to himself in a most joyous manner. Freckles blinked his flashlight twice as he opted to speak. "That is very good, Captain Caboose."

Good is not the word I would use, thought Marcus who struggled to breath, nearly hyperventilating. He felt the very numbers of his blood pressure rise, it's okay Marcus, calm down. He slowly reached into his back pocket and held out his trusty bottle of pills. Took one out and swiftly threw it into his mouth.

"What's that?", asked Caboose as he tilted his head to get a closer read on the bottle. "Ah, are you sick right now, because I don't like getting sick either. Getting sick is very sad because you have to stay in your room the whole time until you get better and it gets super boring."

"It's just something I normally take," explained Marcus whilst retreating the bottle back into his pocket. From the sounds of the pills hitting against the bottle alone he knew that he was almost dry. Those supplies from HQ better arrive today as they said they are supposed to. Caboose inched closer and squinted his eyes. To anyone outside however it was simply a plain visor gazing in their direction. Caboose having quickly realized that fact, he crossed his arms and leaned closer. "Staaaarrrreeee..."

Should I humour him? Marcus pondered with a heavy sigh. Fuck it, just do it. "What is it Caboose?"

"Um Private Marcus," began Caboose to the surprise of Marcus. Why the formalities now? He pondered as Caboose continued, "How is it that you are able to remain so calm all the time? Chill as ice."

"That takes a lot of work and discipline. Sometimes, more than the normal around some others."

"Oh I get what you mean," said the dark blue one as he wrapped his arms against his chest even tighter with a deep breath. "Some people can just get on your nerves so easily."

"You don't say," Marcus snickered in a slow, and methodical manner. Yet the sarcasm was non-existent to Caboose's ears. I think I will kill him first when things get tough with the food shortage, thought Marcus as he found Caboose to be his main source of frustration at the moment. "Caboose, go for a walk."

"Eh, oh boy, I love walks!"

"Great," Marcus turned his attention back out to the canyon skies. Both the men felt a vibration shake the roof they stood upon. From behind the base walked out Sheila who studied the canyon all around, taking every speck of dirt in this canyon into her calculations. "I'm about to make my daily rounds, would you like to join me Caboose?"

"Yay, walking with Sheila!", he happily exclaimed as he flew up into the air with the aid of his jets and onto her back. Marcus eyed the unit gain distance from him one step at a time. He breathed out a sigh of relief, and of freedom. How is it that Cholo can handle him everyday?

"Someone called?", as if magically having heard Marcus' thoughts, the Mexican man appeared from the rooftop entrance. Marcus nearly jumped in surprised and pulled back on the rifle trigger. I should have done it, dammit, I missed my chance. "Don't sneak up on me like that again Cholo, otherwise you may find yourself ten feet underground the next time this happens. Are we clear?"

"That's oddly specific," Cholo rested his hands inquisitively against his mouth piece with a raised eyebrow. Marcus glared at the man from his side and shuffled back to gaze out at the canyon. "I had nothing to do with it alright, there is nothing to talk about here."

"Hmm," that one suspicious sigh from Cholo was always the indicator to eject for Marcus. Before Cholo could bombard him with questions however, Marcus stepped in front of him, rested a firm grip on Cholo's shoulders and said, "Don't you dare to even fire those questions at me."

"But you don't even know what I was going to ask."

"I can venture to guess, and I don't like those guesses," Marcus turned back to look at Sheila and Caboose, now nearly on the other side of the canyon. She sure does move fast. Cholo joined him near the edge of the roof like a pair of perched birds, ever so vigilant in their watch.

"So, how did you know I was thinking about you?"

"I sneezed," admitted Cholo. Marcus nearly felt his gun slip out of his hands. "Y- You can't be serious."

"Of course I'm, man it was a good sneeze. You know, the type of sneeze you get when someone is either talking or thinking about you. And it was also just a lucky guess that you were the one to actually have anything to do with this."

"Why come to me first?"

"You were the closest one," Cholo bumped shoulders with his friend with a perverse smile string from one cheek bone to the next. "By the way, you so naughty for thinking about me."

Marcus acted fast, he pulled out a knife and pointed it towards Cholo's crotch. The Mexican man quickly reacted with his hands to act as guards for his little friend. Marcus then waved the knife around as he inched closer. With every step, Cholo felt his heart beat rise. Marcus finally had him backed against a wall and he just grazed Cholo's helmet with the blade. "Listen Cholo, if you tell anyone about this, there will be no more alone time for you. Clear?"

"I will wipe this from my memory sir!", he shouted with a UNSC salute. Marcus stored the knife to his back with a nod. "Good boy."

The clouds above the canyon parted with a loud thunder roar in the ears of every inhabitant. They looked up to the growls of the sky, as if a monster storm was brewing. Sheila analyzed the noise patterns and used her enhanced zoom features to take note of their guest. "Attention Red and Blue base, the supply drop is here."

Cholo ran down to the center of the canyon and met Bonnie face to face. The Pelican was finally visible, and they landed gently against the hard, rocky ground. The back door slowly opened, swinging down to the ground, and drones exited with palettes of supplies towed behind them. One of the occupants of the ship walked over to the crates just as a third delivery drone prepped for receiving. He loaded it up to full capacity and sent it on its way. Cholo and Bonnie quickly jumped in to load up the boxes of their respective bases. The pilot exited the cockpit with a pad in hand as he studied the dwindling number of crates. "How are the rookies doing?"

"Oh come on," moaned Bonnie. "We are not rookies anymore, we have been here long enough to be past that now."

"Meh, same old, same old," Cholo motioned for the signing pad. The pilot quickly loaded the proper forms for Blue base and handed it to Cholo. "Not much to do around here except for embarrassing one another in a game of capture the flag."

"Sounds like a dream job," said the pilot's co-worker. "Get paid to do nothing all day long, that's the life."

"It's not nearly as fun as it may sound," Bonnie stated just as she finished her signature. Cholo nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I have to make my own fun around here in fact. Even that gets shut down though."

Bonnie shook her head in disapproval. "It would help if your fun wasn't always ending in some type of perversion."

"But, but that's the main ingredient for my fun! What else am I supposed to do otherwise?", Cholo demanded to know as Bonnie was in the midst of leaving for her base with the supply drones. Cholo quickly followed his own into Blue base. Inside Red base, Daisy approached the crates with her arms moving back and forth, stretching in all directions. "I will help."

"Thanks," said Bonnie as she began to undo the safety harness on the crates. The two women began to unload the crates one by one. All the monotony of the day that once was seemed to leave them behind as their muscles got a good workout in the process. In Blue base, Caboose and Marcus rummaged through the various crates and stored them into the storage area. Marcus eyed some of the boxes already in the storage room and began to open a few. Cholo looked back with a raised concern. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for something."

Outside by the pelican, the two UNSC soldiers took off their helmet and instantly felt their lungs set ablaze. As quickly as they had taken the helmets off, they were back on. The pilot felt the relief of his air conditioning fan as he sat down against the rear door. "How the hell does anyone survive in this heat out here?"

"Yeah, this heat is a killer," commented the co-pilot. "The weather hardly ever seems to change around here."

"Now that you mention it, you're right. I haven't seen it change much anyways."

"It's always either too hot or too cold," the co-pilot said looking at the weather reports for this sector of the UNSC. "In both instances, it seems like the weather would have it out for us."

"Eh not entirely true," the pilot pointed towards his own data pad. The co-pilot looked at the descriptions of Blood Gulch's weather patterns. "So? Only having two months of some nice temperatures, and only for two hours per day doesn't make the situation here any better."

"Better than nothing," argued the pilot. Co-pilot sat down beside the pilot, he felt only the laziness that screamed from every part of his body thanks to the heat. "At least it's a good thing that we have these suits, otherwise we would be fried alive out here."

"Amen to that."

In the storage of Blue base, Marcus continued to rummage through the containers. It should be here somewhere, come on. He eyed one box from the side of his eyes with a special seal on it. There! Marcus reached for the knife and broke the seal on the box. Inside he found the much needed relief he sought. Cholo entered with the final box in hand and stopped at the door for he saw his ever so serious friend gently caressing the bottle of what only seemed like medication against his cheeks. Marcus quickly retrieved his knife against the Mexican. Cholo put the box down in a hurry, and zipped the area around his mouth. "My lips are sealed on this matter."

Marcus stored his knife back with a careful nod. Cholo placed the box amidst the sea of others and stretched his back, whilst quickly eyeing the bottle. "What is so important about those pills? You have freaked out about them before as well."

"I need them," Marcus stored the bottle in one of his pouches. With one last look of confirmation and safety, he sealed the pouch. "They help me function normally everyday. But if you would like to see the crazy psychopath I can be running around the canyon without these pills, I am sure I can arrange for that."

Cholo smirked underneath his helmet with a small chuckle. So it must be medication for the mind then, me thinks. He exited the base towards the Pelican and gave a thumb up. The pilots acknowledged as they received one from Bonnie as well. The two men stood up at a delivery well made and headed for the cockpit. "Finally out of this boiling pit."

The Pelican lifted off into the air, and with the roaring thunder it once descended, it left for space with the loud clamour following it until they hit the stratosphere. The Pelican was now gone. Out of sight, out of mind for both the bases. Cholo retreated back towards Blue base to draft his usual delivery procurement report.

Daisy held out the contents of the box specifically addressed to her. Her glee only grew when she noticed it's contents. With both her hands stretching it, she showed off her brand new pink underwear in all its glory. "Yay, command finally approved my request for pink underwear."

"Why did you send in a request for underwear specifically, and why pink?", asked Bonnie, as she did her best to hold back the judgmental beast in its cage within her mind. Daisy stored it safely back in with the rest of the pink panties and said, "Because I like pink, and I was starting to run low. The heat here doesn't do much good for our clothes underneath you know."

"But you do realize that it will be hidden underneath all that armour, so I don't get your point for trying to get a fancy one."

"Being fashionable is important," Daisy squealed as she held her box close like a girl in the school courtyard with a love letter in hand. "It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside."

Bonnie held up a hand for the elementary girl to stop as she raised her eyebrow in confusion. I shouldn't push this any further. More importantly however, she pondered reaching into a box she had requested herself. Bonnie felt the leather bound texture of a book. She held it out to study its title and nodded in silence. They got the right edition and everything. I'm impressed HQ, most impressive. She opened the front cover to feel the golden coated pages, as smooth as the morning coffee she drank every day for fuel. Daisy bent down below to read the title of the book and instantly knew it was about psychology. "What is this book about exactly?"

"Client therapy," Bonnie answered. "I'm rusty in that domain, so I figured that it would be good to brush up on it, and hopefully get everyone here back into shape."

Everyone, huh? Daisy pondered as she left with her box of presents back to her room. Bonnie studied her friend in surprise, leaving quietly when she normally expected her to make some comments in response. This was most unlike her, but people are strange at the end of the day no matter how they behave. While predictable, they can also be so very incredibly unpredictable. That random factor always threw Bonnie a curve ball, something she hated most in her line of work as a past psychologist. I guess even Daisy would have some issues she would need to work on. But I shouldn't go down that road, main concern here is Grif. Bonnie also held out a small mirror. She took off her helmet to reveal her short buzz cut hair. She coursed her fingers through the various bangs against her forehead to elevate them into the air. That helmet can really do a number on my hair.

Bonnie stared at her own features in the mirror, which reflected what she could only perceive as reality of the world around her. I wonder, she thought as she held the object closer. What is it that I would have to work on?

I know I'm pushy, and aggressive at times. But I only do so with the intention to help others, Bonnie placed the mirror and the book back into the box. But maybe like Daisy tells me from time to time, I try too hard. But what other flaw could there be? There must be something, after all, I'm always getting this strange feeling as if something is off.

A/N: That chapter was a little tougher to write, but I hope you enjoyed the slower pacing and events of this one.

Feedback is always welcomed!

Thank you for your support and readership!

~ Monty