New Hope Cog Research Facility
Present Time
I refuse to tolerate no-go areas for COG citizens in COG sovereign territory. We are either Citizens or Stranded-there is no middle ground.
-Chairman Richard Prescott, responding to the discussion of the separation of humanity.
"Marcus, this is Baird. Weather's gone to shit, feels like razor hail's on the way. If this keeps up, we'll have to head inside." Baird was right; the light rain had increased exponentially, until it was dumping buckets. Sam and I were soaked to the bone, and the rain had even gotten through Cole and Baird's thick armor.
Marcus's gravelly voice came through the radio. "Alright, get out of the storm. We'll get back there as soon as we can."
"Wilco. Baird out." Baird dropped his hand from his communicator and placed it back on his lancer. "You heard the man. Let's get out of here."
I wasn't about to complain. The rain had kept up for about an hour, and I didn't know what was worse; the stinging rain or the awkward silence. Baird had periodically shot me death glares, while Cole hummed something under his breath, seemingly oblivious to the tense situation. Even Sam had given up, leaving my side to go lay down under the Centaur in hopes of staying dry. Hadn't worked much; the amount of the rain formed a small river that ran beneath our boots. As we stood up to go, the smell of wet dog plagued us.
"Field trip!" Cole called out. Even the shitty weather couldn't damper his spirits. I tagged along slightly behind the two, not sure if I was supposed to come along. Cole answered my unspoken question when he patted his hip, signaling Sam to join him.
The facility was dark and smelled musty, with the coppery tinge of blood in the air. I pulled my pistol; my sniper was no good for close quarter fights. Something about the place had me on edge, and it wasn't just the wretches corpse's littering the ground. Something was off about this place.
"Damn…this place is giving me the heebie-jeebies," Cole said, lowering his voice to a dull thunder. He finished his sentence just as the door clanged shut behind us, plunging us into darkness. The only light came from the faint glow of their armor, which wasn't enough to see by.
"Yeah…cause that's not ominous…" I murmured to myself. I snapped my fingers and relaxed fractionally when I felt Sam's wet fur brush up against my side.
I heard Baird clear his throat from somewhere to my right. "Alright, I guess it's safe to say we ain't going out that way. Let's see if we can find somewhere with some light."
"Whats the matter, Baby? You afraid of the dark?" Cole said.
"No, I'm afraid of what's in the dark." Baird sighed, "Let's just get out of here."
They started blindly forward, and I followed their footsteps in the dark. I reached the opposite wall and felt for a door. My fingers ran across a switch, and I pulled on it. I heard the scraping of a door just to my left.
"Over here," I called, unnecessarily as the open door left a beacon of light. We filed through, checking out the next room for hostiles.
The room was filled with large tanks. Tubes and wires criss-crossed between them, forming a maze in the center of the room. A few had lights on top of them, glowing a dull red. I ventured too close to one and something thrashed around inside the tank. I backed away, uttering a low curse. "What is this place?" I asked to no one in particular.
"Beats me," Cole said, examining some papers that were left scattered on the floor.
Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass reverberated throughout the room. "We've got company!" yelled Baird, and he open fired on something that was out of my view point.
The tank next to me crashed open, revealing another sort of monster. It looked like a grub, but different. It had ropes of flesh hanging off its body, and a thick neck that transformed into its chinless head. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen before, but that didn't stop me from pumping it full of lead.
I fell back to reload. I dropped the mag the same time I heard a roar from my right. The fresh clip slid home as I peered out to assess the danger. There was another of those things mere feet from me. I raised my pistol to shoot it, panic bubbling up in my gut. My mind screamed at me to run like hell, and only Ace's training forced me to stay put. I squeezed the trigger just as a chainsaw bayonet protruded through its chest. When it fell to the floor, dead, I saw Baird standing behind it, lancer raised.
Another enemy appeared behind Baird, and he spun around to face it. Just like before, I shot it around Baird, the round just grazing past his shoulder. He shot me a stunned look, finally realizing who his 'mystery sniper' was. I gave him a small smirk, holding his gaze, until a burst of fire grabbed our attention.
We cleared the room quickly and efficiently, the coppery scent of blood filling the air. Cole let out a low whistle as he assessed the carnage. "Damn…we make friends everywhere we go!" he chuckled, turning to assess me. "You're good with that pistol, but we'll have to drag out something with a bit more firepower if you plan on sticking around." Something occurred to him, and he furrowed his eyebrows, "Where'd you learn to shoot like that anyway?"
I shook my head, my eyes still darting around the room, looking for enemies. "Long story, and this isn't the place for it. I'll tell you later, if you really wanna know."
He nodded, accepting my answer- for now, at least. Baird narrowed his eyes, and I guessed that he wasn't thrilled at the idea of me getting more 'firepower'.
"Let's go," he said, starting off in a random direction. "We need to find a way back to the Centaur."
The outpost was one of the creepiest and downright deadly places I had ever been. Those things- Sires, by what Marcus said- were stuffed into tubes everywhere, and there was no telling when they would jump out and try to tear your head off. The worst part was when they came up behind you, the only warning the soft sound of wet feet on the dirty floor; and maybe a growl if you were lucky. It looked like a science outpost, with computers and data sheets everywhere. The ones that weren't decrepit beyond recognition made no sense to me.
Baird, on the other hand, looked the happiest I'd seen him. His eyes greedily absorbed the scant amount of data the scattered papers provided, and he actually smiled when he saw a computer that was still reasonably functional. I decided I liked this Baird better than the one I had met outside, the one who scowled and pointed guns at me.
"Anything useful?" Cole asked Baird, scanning the scant amount of paper work with a slightly puzzled look on his face.
Baird didn't even look up. "Plenty. But none of it is making sense. If this is true then…" he drifted off, losing himself in another file. I cocked an eyebrow at him, but didn't question it.
While he geeked over the musty paper, I cased out the place, looking for an escape option. When the razor hail died down, we would need a way to get back to the Centaur. This place was heavy on the security and was set up to keep people out, but that didn't mean finding an exit was easy. Windows were almost nonexistent, and the ones I did see were impossible to reach. It was an escape artist's nightmare.
I tried another door and found it locked. This irritated me to no end. I turned around, and saw Baird still hunched over those files. "Shouldn't we be looking for a way out?" I snapped at him.
He cut his gaze to me and growled quietly. "First day on the job and you're already calling the shots?" But he folded up the papers, stuck them in his armor, and got ready to move out. He checked the windows as a viable option, then dismissed them in the same breath. With full armor, there was no way the two gears were getting through there. I could've, but I doubted Baird was going to let me out of his sight anytime soon, not that I would even think about leaving the two gears. He marched over to the door I had just tried. "It's lock-" I started, but he ignored me and hefted his boot into it. The door swung open, the locks broken. I shrugged slightly. "That works too…"
We marched through it into another similar room, with a slight light streaming through from the windows. I looked, and saw that the hail was still coming down hard.
"Well, let me see," Baird said, looking around the room and noting the obvious lack of exits. "We've got slow death, quick death, painful death, cold, lonely death…" he prattled off. I ignored him, and investigated one of the windows.
"Hey, Cole," I called, "Come over here and look at this." He obeyed, adding his armor light to what I was looking at.
"Whatcha need, little sister?" he asked. I blinked once at the unexpected nickname, but didn't mention it.
Through the grime on the window and the shitty weather, I could just make out the outline of the Centaur. It looked like it was taking a beating. "You think that thing will still work, even when we do get out of here?"
"Even if it don't, we'll fix it up." Cole said, not looking the least bit worried, which worried me. It was a long walk back to Jacinto. I supposed I could probably take them to the camp, but I wasn't sure how well that would go down.
I gave the Centaur one last mournful look, sighing as I noted the ever-present amount of hail. "You sure? That thing looks next to impossible to clean up right now."
Baird scoffed behind us. "I realize you haven't known us long, but I'm Damon Baird. 'Difficult' takes a few seconds. "Impossible', a few minutes."
I cocked an eyebrow that he didn't see. "And humility is just another service you provide, am I right?" He scoffed, but didn't answer. Neither did Cole, which was surprising. I looked at him, and saw he was examining the window sill closely.
"Hey, Baird baby," he called over his shoulder. "Any chance of blowing this wall?"
I moved out of the way as his heavy boot falls got closer. He examined the wall, checking for support beams in the wall by knocking on it. Not finding any, he pushed on it to see how structurally sound it was.
"Maybe. I'd need a few minutes to create another blast charge…you got any 'nades on ya'?" Cole grabbed a few off of his belt and handed them to him. Baird got to work, collecting a few things from around the room. Cole stood back, content to watch him work his magic.
I, on the other hand, didn't have as much faith in Baird as Cole did. I eyed him warily as he started to pull the grenades apart. "You sure this will work?" I asked him.
"I don't know if you noticed or not, but I'm an arrogant asshole who tends to think all of his plans will work," he paused, "At least, when I don't have an annoying know-it-all standing over my shoulder and second guessing everything I do."
I narrowed my eyes at the jab, but didn't say anything. I fell back to the edge of the room, keeping Sam by my side. It was a pointless gesture; if Baird fucked it up, there was nowhere in the room that would be safe.
"Alright then," he said after a while. "That ought to do it." He stood up and gently placed the small package under the window. He motioned us back into the other room, while he unwound the fuse he had pulled from his pack.
"Get ready," Baird said, crouching down. Cole chuckled slightly, as if he couldn't imagine doing anything better than spending his afternoon blowing holes in walls. Baird lit the det cord. There was a sizzle, a flash…and then a thunderous boom that sent flecks of rubble tumbling down from the ceiling. A dust cloud billowed in through the open doorway, engulfing the room we were in.
"Well, let's go see our new door, shall we?" Cole said, standing up. I followed him, gingerly stepping over the mounds of blown drywall and just-settled dust.
The effect was impressive, I'd have to give Baird that. The blast wasn't big enough to blow the whole wall, just the bit under the window. Speaking of which, the window was now reduced to glittering shards, scattered around the room and on the pavement outside. The effect was one new door, just tall enough for me to fit through easily, but Baird and Cole would have to duck.
"Well, well. Look's like somebody does know what they're doing," Baird said sarcastically, coming up behind me. I rolled my eyes.
"Fair enough," I said, "Kindly blow it out your ass."
Cole laughed, grinning at Baird. "I like her. Let's ask mom and dad if we can keep it." I kinda figured 'mom and dad' would be Dom and Marcus. I pondered over his statement while we watched the hail and rain fall down in silence. How long would I be staying with Delta, anyway?
We spent the next half hour alternating between trading sarcastic remarks and silence. The razor hail died down, finally, and we made our way back to the Centaur.
"Marcus, come in. What's your ETA?" Baird said, pressing his finger to his communicator. There was a pause while Marcus answered, and then he continued. "Yeah, it's just you guys left," Baird said, talking about the Sires. "I got six. The girl got…"
He trailed off, looking at me questioningly. "I got eight," I said simply.
Baird gave me a curt nod. "Right, well, I got nine, Bri got eight, and Cole got the rest."
"Will do. See you assholes in a few." Baird signed off, and whistled when he saw the damage done to the tank. "Damn, I dunno if I can fix this thing…"
"Sure you can," I said, examining something that had been ripped open by the razor hail and was now a labyrinth of tangled wires.
He glared at me. "Oh yeah? Who told you that?"
"You did. On several occasions," I snapped back without missing a beat. Cole roared with laughter behind us.
"She's got you pegged, man," Cole laughed lightheartedly. He didn't seem to note the murderous look Baird gave me, or he just didn't think Baird would do anything about it. Baird climbed on top of the Centaur, grumbling low under his breath. He pulled out his tools and set to work, just as the outline of two hulking gears appeared in the distance, coming around the other side of the building.
"Baird," Marcus called, getting down to business. "What's the status on the Centaur?"
"Minor damage. I'll have it repaired in a minute." I rolled my eyes at Baird's reply. Apparently, he was one to build up the complexity of a task just to make himself come off as a miracle worker when he accomplished it.
The quick gust of wind, followed by a nearby roar, spiked the already over-flowing amount of adrenalin in my veins. I turned and searched the skies, seeing the dark shadows race toward us.
"Reavers!" Dom yelled, affirming what I'd already seen. A reaver was a large flying creature used by the locust as a gunship and a transport. They were ugly bastards, and capable of carrying two regular old grubs as riders. Their four long legs slammed into the ground hard, and suddenly the world was filled with gunfire.
I took cover behind the wheel of the Centaur, aiming at the riders with my pistol. A part of me was filled with unease as to how much ammo I was actually spending- and how in the world I was going to replenish it. It had been a long time since I'd been on an ordinance run for the complex; which became painfully evident when I reached into my pack to pull out a fresh clip, only to feel all of them empty."Shit…" I said, still rooting around hopelessly in my pack. I usually kept them tucked into assigned pockets for easy reach, but I was halfway hoping one might have fallen out. When I came up empty handed, I thought about using my longshot, which wasn't the best option, but I was out of choices.
When I pulled the strap from around my shoulders, another pistol entered my field of view. Marcus was holding it out to me, firing his lancer one-handed. I spared him a quick glance before grabbing the gun from him and shooting.
"Got it!" Baird called down to us, just as another pair of reavers landed behind us. "We're good to go."
"Move it!" Marcus called, grabbing hold of the side of the tank while firing at the reavers with his free hand. Everyone copied his action, and I ended up next to Dom, holding on to some kind of armor plating. Baird stepped on the gas just as I heard my borrowed gun go click. I stuffed it into my pack to hold on with both hands, glancing down to see Sam running alongside the Centaur, with no visible wounds. I breathed a sigh of relief. Not bad for the first day on the job…
"C'mon," Dom said, "Let's get you checked out by the Doc." We had gone back to Jacinto, riding inside when Baird finally stopped to let us in. I had held my breath as we passed the road to the complex, but they didn't even slow as we passed by. Along the way, Cole had filled Dom and Marcus in on exactly why I was in the tank, and as soon as we got back to base, Dom insisted on taking me to the clinic. I followed along close behind him, ignoring the glares and stunned looks by some of the other gears.
We reached the clinic, which was mostly empty. There was a man with a gun shot wound in his shoulder, sleeping soundly, and a woman, with the whitest coat I've seen, tending over Higgins. He was awake, and sitting up. He smiled at the doc… until he caught sight of us. He glared.
"What the hell is Stranded doing-" he started, but a stern look from the Doc shut him up.
"Hello, Dom," she said, placing her hands in her coat pocket. "What can I do for you?"
He gestured to me with one hand. "She's got a bad gash in her side, think you can check it out?"
She turned her steel-gray eyes to me. "Of course. Come with me." She whirled on her heels, expecting me to follow. Dom gave me a quiet "See you later" before turning around and exiting.
"I don't have all day!" she snapped from the next room, and the order in her voice sent me and Sam scurrying after her. She gave a disapproving look to Sam. "I assume your dog won't be a problem?"
"I couldn't get her to leave if I tried." I said, and she gave a slow nod to Sam. Sam watched her, and then laid down out of the way, responding to her unspoken command.
"So. Want to tell me where you're hurt?" She asked, rubbing her hands down at a nearby sink.
"I'm not really hurt. This is all a big misunderstanding. I'll go," I started to get off the exam table, but the look she gave me cut me off.
She strode back over to me, pushing my shoulder to get me back up on the table. "You'll do no such thing. You're stuck here until I release you for active duty."
That's where I had her. "But I'm not a gear. You don't have any authority over me."
"I don't care if you're a gear, citizen, or stranded. You are my patient, and you are in my care. Is that understood?" Something in her tone made me want to snap off a salute, but I settled for giving her a disgruntled look.
"Yes, Ma'am," I said, climbing back onto the table with some difficulty.
She observed this with a self satisfied look. "Good. Now, where's this gash of yours?" I rolled my eyes before lifting up my shirt, revealing my stitches.
She probed them gently with her bare hands, as gloves had become a rare delicacy. She observed them with critical eyes, before saying, "Did you do these yourself?"
I shook my head. "No. Cole did them."
"Of course. That explains it." The corners of her lips twitched, as if she was thinking about smiling. She struck me as the kind of person who didn't have a lot to smile about.
She pulled out a pair of scissors and a fresh suture pack. "What's your name, anyway?"
"Call me Bri," I said. When she went to cut my stitches, I pulled away from her. "It's okay. They're not that bad. You don't have to waste another pack on me."
She gave me an appraising look. "Okay…and did you happen to clean the wound before you let Cole stitch you up?"
"Uh…no…" I said hesitantly. By the look on her face, she had already known that.
"I see," she said, "Now sit there, shut up, and let me do my job." She steadily unclipped and removed all the stitches, before flushing the wound with a saline solution. She rubbed the skin around the wound with an antibacterial ointment, before finally beginning to stitch.
"So, how did you manage to do this? Doesn't look like a bullet wound, or a knife wound," she asked, tying up another stitch.
"I fell," I answered simply.
Her eyes flickered up to me, disbelieving. "Uh-huh…" she said with her eyebrows raised.
"From three stories up, into a pile of rubble," I said, which got a smile out of her.
"That would do it," she said while finished the eighteenth and final stitch. She laid her tools down on the table beside me. "When you fell, did you hit your head?"
I nodded. "I assume so. I was knocked unconscious for awhile."
"For how long?" she asked, eyes serious again.
I had to think about it. "I'm not sure. When I fell, it was close to sundown, and when I woke up it was dark." While I talked, she pulled out a small pen-light, and shone it into my eyes. Before she could answer, Dom walked into the room.
"What's up, Doc?" he asked with a chuckle. "How's our patient?"
"I stitched her up, again, but she has a possible concussion. Keep an eye on her tonight, and wake her up every few hours."
"Will do," Dom said to her, before looking at me. "C'mon. The guys are already in the cafeteria, and I'm starving."
I nodded to him and slid off the table, clicking my fingers for Sam to follow. Before we got to the door, Doc called out to me. "Hey, tell Cole that stitches are supposed to go in a straight line."
"Will do," I said with a small laugh, before following Dom out the door.
I stuck close behind Dom, trying to blend into the wall. I paused at the entrance of the cafeteria, and Dom noticed. "Yo, you coming?"
I watched a man walk past us, glaring at me. A few people stopped and stared outright, and whispers flew throughout the room.
"In a minute," I said hesitantly. "Bathroom?"
He nodded at me, as if he understood why I was reluctant to walk into the room. "We passed 'em on our way in. Go back into this hallway, fourth door on the left."
I nodded, not telling him that I didn't need his directions. Sam was sniffing the air hungrily, and I had to call her twice before she turned around and followed me, albeit reluctantly. I turned into the right room, breathing a sigh of relief when I found it empty. Sam headed over to an empty stall, and I hastily called her back. I could already hear the ribbing I'd get if someone came in and found my dog drinking out of the toilet.
I strode over to the sinks, placing one hand over the drain. I let the cool water run for a second, just enough to cover my hand, before I turned the faucet off. Running water was such a luxury, compared to bathing in a river, and I didn't want to take advantage of it. I did my best to scrub the dirt, dust, and blood off of my hands. I caught my reflection in the mirror, and I looked at myself, stunned.
It had been a while since I had seen myself in any reflective material worth looking into. Despite the hairline crack around the edge and the layer of grime covering it, I could see myself pretty clearly, although I almost didn't recognize myself.
When I first left Jacinto, it had been after living five years in good company, with good food and rations. Now I was skinnier than I cared to think about, and my skin was pocketed with scars. Some of the traits I recognized were still there. The dark brown curly hair, ragged from haircuts with a field knife. The slightly crooked nose from a fight long lost. The dark brown, almost black eyes, although they were more shadowed and haunted then I remembered. I rubbed my wet hands over my face, trying to clear away some of the grime that covered it. "You look like shit, girl," I said to my reflection, giving it one last once-over before turning on my heels and heading out the door.
Dom was standing there, waiting for me, when I got out. He gave me a glance over. "You okay? You were in there a while."
"I'm fine," I said, none of the usual bite in my tone. Something about Dom put me at ease, which worried me. I didn't know him, and if I wasn't on guard twenty-four-seven, I'd most likely end up getting burned. He started walking towards the cafeteria, and I balked. "You know, I'm not really that hungry, maybe I'll just-"
"No," he said, a little anger darkening his brown eyes. "Heaven only knows the last time you had a decent meal in you. The stuff here ain't the best, but it'll keep you full."
I glared at him. "Alright, Mom," I snapped, but he just grinned at me. The line Cole gave earlier about Marcus and Dom being 'Mom and Dad' of the squad made sense to me now.
Dom fell out as we entered the cafeteria, heading over to the table Delta squad claimed as their own. Sam pressed to my side, sensing I was uneasy, and I curled my fingers in her long fur for comfort. I hated feeling out of place, and I glared at a couple gears who were staring my way.
"You looking to start something?" I snapped at them, the contempt in my voice thick enough to send a brumack running to his momma. They didn't answer, and I moved to stand in line for chow.
I could hear the countless whispers or the gears, some louder than most.
"What's she doing here?"
"I dunno. If Fenix thinks she's okay, shouldn't we give her a chance?:
"Figures. Delta squad disobeying orders, again. I wonder when Hoffman's just going to place the lot of them on a charge."
"Look there. Up for some target practice?"
I felt an almost over-powering wave of nostalgia, being back in this place, despite the hostile welcome. I had spent countless hours hanging around here when I was younger with Ace and a few of the other guys. The memories made my eyes prickle, but I refused to let them fall. I don't cry, I reminded myself. It was just a pointless show to get empathy, which I didn't need. I didn't need anything, or anybody. Ace's death showed me that.
I grabbed a tray and moved forward, meeting the cook's glare with one of my own. He slopped something on my plate, and I tried to ignore the fact that it was a fraction of what other people would get. I spun on my heel and headed for the table Delta was at.
Baird was griping about something as I approached, but he fell silent when my tray hit the table. Nobody seemed too broken up about this. I immediately cut my piece of gravy-covered mystery meat in half, sending the larger portion down to be wolfed up by Sam. When I looked up, two other halves had been mysteriously placed onto my plate, and Dom and Marcus were both tucking into their meals innocently. Too innocently.
"Really, guys?" I asked, stabbing one of the slices. Dom just was annoying, but Marcus confused me. Why would he care if I got enough to eat?
I went to place the slice back on Marcus's plate, but he intercepted me midair with his knife. I met his gaze and he raised an eyebrow slightly, making me realize he wasn't above food fighting at the table. I rolled my eyes, and dropped another piece down to Sam, who lapped it up greedily.
Ignoring the unwelcome pieces of meat, I stabbed a small green stalk on my plate. "What's this stuff?"
"It's called broccoli," Dom answered my question. "Try it, it's good for you."
Hesitantly, I stuffed the small tree into my mouth, and promptly gagged. "Oh, dear god. It's horrid."
Cole boomed out laughing. "That's what I keep trying to tell these people! That ain't fit for human consumption!"
Baird piped up, "Really? I'd figure you Stranded would have to eat a bunch of nasty shit." There was malice in his tone, and I eyed him cautiously.
Dom just shook his head, coming to my rescue and filling the awkward silence. "You two are just like my daughter. She'd rather sit at the table all night than eat a forkful of broccoli."
"I don't blame her," I said, examining another piece I had speared on a fork. I tossed it down to Sam, wondering if she'd eat it or not. She sniffed it, then backed away from it and giving me a look, wondering why I was trying to poison her.
The guys took in her reaction, Cole still chuckling. I looked at their plates, and noticed Cole hadn't even touched his, but Marcus was busy finishing off the last bites of his.
"You ever have anybody try to force you to eat this shit, before?" Cole asked me, evidently trying to get a feel for my back-story.
"Nope," I said, trying another piece of broccoli and shuddering at the taste. "At least, not that I remember."
Marcus perked up at this, fixing me with a stare that seemed to see right through me. "You don't remember?"
I cocked an eyebrow at him. "No…I was really young on E-day. Both my parents died that day, or at least I never saw either of them again. I don't even remember their names."
Marcus just nodded slowly, as if I had just confirmed something for him, something that wasn't altogether pleasant.
Cole observed this with a halfway amused smile on his face. He chuckled, before saying,
"Hey, lil sis, you never did say where you're from."
My gaze flickered over to him. "How far back do you wanna go?"
"As far back as we need to," he said, but there was nothing but curiosity and amusement in his tone. I was entertainment to these men, nothing more.
"Well, I used to live on base, if that's what you're asking." This caught Dom's attention.
"Really?" he asked. "Then how did you…"
He trailed off, but I caught the edge of his question. Why did I become Stranded? "Because of the breeding laws. I was set to be a gear, but when I went to enlist, all they saw was a walking baby-machine. I had ten days to register someone as my 'baby daddy' or they threatened to throw me in a farm. I split after that."
Dom nodded, pondering it over. Baird scoffed, "Yeah, right. As if any man or women would ever willingly become Stranded. A more likely story is that you got kicked out."
"Alright, asshole," I finally snapped at Baird. "Let's say our roles were reversed. I'm the big, burly gear with the smart mouth, and you're the teenage girl with the choice of getting locked up until you squeeze out the legally mandated number of kids, or getting the hell out. What would you do?"
He glared at me, but didn't say anything. It seemed I had done the impossible; left Baird speechless. "That's what I thought," I said, glaring right back at him. A moment passed, and I went back to my meal. The tone of the conversation changed; becoming less teasing and more serious. Even Cole seemed to be pondering my question seriously.
"Well, on that cheery note," Cole said, standing up with his tray a few minutes later. "I believe it's bed time. C'mon, you," he said to Baird, grabbing him by his neck plate.
"What am I, your teddy bear?" Baird said acidly. "I'll go to bed when I damn well please." Despite his complaints, he let Cole drag him along. I sighed when they were out of earshot.
"Really didn't want to do that," I said, pushing my empty tray away from me. The broccoli had tasted horrible, but I downed all of it, not one to waste food.
"Do what?" Dom asked me, cracking his neck. "Put Baird in his place? Don't worry about it, you're right. We just haven't thought about it like that. I wonder how many female Stranded are in your same situation." He seemed to be mulling my words over thoughtfully, and I'd bet he was wondering if his 'Maria' had left Jacinto for the same reasons. "How old were you when you split?"
"Fifteen," I said. Marcus was watching me closely, those crystal-clear blue eyes unnerving me. "So, am I stuck here, or…" I trailed off.
Dom shot a questioning look towards Marcus. "You can sleep in our room until we find something more permanent." Marcus got up from the table without looking behind him to see if we were following. Dom got up, motioning for me to follow suit. We dumped our empty trays at the cleaning station, me ignoring the myriad of death glares, and I stuck close behind the two as we headed over to barracks. I probably wasn't supposed to share quarters with guys, but then again, I probably wasn't supposed to still be breathing either. One regulation at a time.
We got to the small room Dom and Marcus shared. I headed to the wall across the door, and let my pack slump to the floor. There was a grunt of effort behind me and I turned just in time to see a pillow and a blanket fly towards my face. I caught Dom's blanket in one hand and shifted to the side to let the ratty pillow hit the wall.
"What the hell?" I asked, picking up the pillow and looking at the pair of gears questionably.
Marcus didn't answer, and Dom just shrugged, taking off his armor. Annoyed, I began to toss the items back to their original owners. I couldn't resist; I tossed Dom's blanket to his bed and threw the pillow at Marcus's head. He turned quickly and caught it in midair, reminding me I shouldn't take these guys' skills for granted.
"Keep your stuff," I said to them. "I'll be fine. I've slept on worse stuff then this."
"Suit yourself," Dom said, laying down on his thin cot. I blinked in surprise when it didn't collapse under him. He clicked off the lantern- or the power went out, one of the two- and we fell into complete darkness. I felt around for my pack, tossing it against the wall to use as a pillow.
I wanted to sleep facing the room, but my stitches protested and I ended up staring at the wall. Sam laid down next to me, pressing her warm body against my back. I sighed and adjusted my pack so it was more comfortable.
A few minutes later, when Dom's breathing relaxed and slowed, I heard Marcus's grunt of effort and a soft thump on the wall just above me.
It was another pillow, and from the direction it came from, it could only be Marcus'. Fighting a small smile, I raised it over my head to throw it back at him.
"Throw it at me, and I'm shooting you," was all he said, his gravelly voice sounding out of place in the darkness. I chuckled slightly before setting it to the side, intent on using my pack and only my pack as a pillow. As time went by, I slammed my fist into the rough canvas, trying to find the softest part. The way it felt, it might as well been filled with rocks. Then I remembered all the loose mags. I sighed and grabbed the pillow, stuffing in under my head. It was just sitting there, after all. Somebody might as well get some comfort from it.
I had intended on staying awake all night, not one to fall asleep in the lion's mouth. However, this was easier said than done. Exhaustion crept in, and, combined with the fact that I had technically been awake for two day, was too much to handle. I found my eyes sinking closed and me being dragged towards unconsciousness.
Authors note- Yay! Another chapter! Hopefully it's length was worth the wait.
Well? What do you think? Send me a review and let me know, and I'll throw in a free preview!
As always, thanks to my awesome and talented beta's Kade Riggs and Rockforthecross74. Check their stuff out, you won't regret it!
And just a hint, people write faster when they know there is people actually reading and critiquing their work. So...you know...reviews are awesome. Just saying...
