Chapter Thirteen: Survival of the Fittest
Weaving through alleys, Snake and Jack made their way through Manhattan, trying to decide on a new destination, seeing as the warehouse would not be destroyed for another day. At least that weight was off of their shoulders.
Stopping in one of the alleys, Jack had stripped down to the same 'Skull- Suit' he had used when under the direction of FOX-HOUND and Colonel Campbell, who had eventually been proven to be an 'immortal being' of some sort. Nodding to Snake to continue, the two stepped into the sun, unprotected by the shadows of the alleyways. Seeing as public exposure could not really provide a hindrance to their operation, the refreshing warmth of the sun was something they invited whole-heartedly.
Southbound on Hudson Street, they cut west on Jay Street, and found themselves on the sidewalks of Greenwich. Their gazes were pulled to the Washington National Park, which was to their right, built into a nook between two sets of resident homes. In the green grass, there were no children playing, no mothers or fathers resting. It was as bare as anything…more desolate than the most barren of deserts.
Fear.
There was a fear lurking in them all, and even in those who passed Snake and Jack there was unwillingness…some sort of disposition. It was a blind resonance, and just in their eyes, it was clear for the world to see. Most stayed bottled up in their homes, afraid for their lives, but there were others who braved the streets of Manhattan: their love for the city too great, and their courage too strong.
Under the rays of the sun, everything appeared pure and lively…in most cases. But in the pale, blank, lifeless stares of the passing people, there was no purity. There was a wish for sleep…an awakening, for to the people of Manhattan, it was a dream. Some sick, eerie dream, configured through their fears and doubts.
Doubt.
Turning to Snake who stood nearest the street, Jack sighed, contemplating the relevance of the question that rested on the end of his tongue. "What…are you afraid of?" he asked, signaling a contemptuous clearing of Snake's throat.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, kid," Snake answered, still walking without replacing his gaze. "Who said I WAS afraid of anything?" Jack smirked, but Snake found no real amusement in his statement almost as if it was the truest response he had to offer.
"Just a question," Jack returned, bowing his head to the sidewalk.
"Well," Snake began, pondering a suitable reply. "I don't think about it much, and I know that there are some things…I'd say snakes would be one." Jack's head turned up to him in amazement. 'Snakes?!' he thought wildly, making a mental reference to his partner's codename: Solid Snake.
"I didn't chose my name, you know?" Snake answered, sensing Jack's bewilderment. "I got my fears from other people. Sort of inherited them from my…'role models.' Indiana Jones just happened to be one of them." Jack smiled. "I've never really been up close with a snake before, though…all of my fears are more of the unknown. Not so much the challenges of everyday life."
"Wow," Jack put his hands behind his head as he exhaled. Snake threw a look at him.
"What do you mean, 'wow'?"
"It's just…your everyday life is sneaking around guys with guns. Anyone who went to an office day after day would be scared stiff doing what you do," Jack commented. Snake nodded inquisitively.
"I guess so, but they don't have anything wrong with what they do day after day. They grow a custom to it. That's how I am," Snake answered insightfully. "You learn to adapt to your environment, whether its subconscious or not. But, the new age, it seems, is bent on adapting their surroundings to fit their own résumé."
Jack looked off to the park that was now behind them, and his eyes longed to stick with it, but as he turned to the streets ahead, the grayness of it all sucked his emotions dry. The conversation broke free from his mind, and deteriorated faster than he had thought to ask the question that had started it all.
"I take my world's shape," a familiar voice broke the silence.
There was an explosion of tension in that single moment as Snake's head whipped around, searching for something that stood out. There were resident homes littering the opposite side of the street – their roofs flat and their windows wide open. 'Anywhere,' Snake thought, and then he turned to Jack who was looking around in confusion. Something was sitting on his forehead, and had been resting there nearly their entire walk.
A big red dot.
"Frost!" Snake cried inside, and dove into Jack's side. Both of them fell to the pavement as a loud crack exploded through the air and a portion of the sidewalk was crumbled beneath the weight of a bullet, weathered by the rippling wind and the coarse cement.
Distant laughter came through the codec as Snake and Jack both found their footing and started off down the street. As walls of glass shattered, marking their path with a line of wreckage and destruction, people screamed and headed for cover as other stood in clear light, almost wishing for the next life lost to be their own.
"Here!" Snake cried, grabbing a tight hold on Jack's forearm and guiding him to the left and into a darkened building. Pushing open the first set of doors, and hearing them break in their pass, they came into an exposed lobby area and when attempting to push through the second set of doors, they took to notice the darkness of the interior. 'Closed,' a sign read.
Pulling out his Hammarli 280 as a bullet grazed the very tip of his big toe, Jack shot through the glass doors, and as he did an alarm broke through the streets and the police were alerted, instantly. But, just as soon as it had sounded, it disappeared again and faded into the quiet of day.
Limping into the store with Snake at his side, the two fell into the shadows, and as they peered upward they saw the sheer magnitude of the building. Its ceiling reached several stories high, and just looking down one aisle it appeared larger than any 'Toys R Us' storefront. Instead, as a sign indicated – the light that remained no more than a dim blue glow – it was 'ZB Toys,' the current leading franchise in the children's toy department.
Realizing its disposition, being located in the center of Tribeca, a once prosperous area of Manhattan crowded with mansions of the wealthy and famous, Jack dropped onto his back and sighed. Snake started down an aisle, stopping and turning to observe Jack's position. Seeing him on the floor he shook his head subtly.
"Get up," Snake said, walking over to him and lifting him promptly onto his feet. "She's a hasty one," he said. "She wont stay cooped up in some bedroom window…she'll be moving."
Walking deeper into the store, Snake guided Jack to the center of it all where Jack found rest against a towering shelf of 'Playschool' toys. Snake was pacing, his hand massaging his rough chin. "Damn," he voiced. "We were dumb to let our guard down."
Jack shook his head. "No," he said, stopping Snake in his tracks. "In crowds we're safest." Snake could not help himself from interrupting.
"You're wrong there, kid. All that does is increase the death toll. And that certainly isn't our job," Snake added testily.
"Hmm," Frost's voice whimsically entered the spotlight, putting Snake and Jack on the edge. Their eyes searched wildly as a light entered the giant cavern of a room. "In my world, I play the predator." A long streak of light shot into the room, settled in the glassy floor. Then, three equally long shadows stretched over the scarce light, and from their silhouettes Snake could make out Formal with his knives exposed, and Frost with her sniper rifle in hand. The third was bulkier than the others, but there was no apparent weapon on hand.
"Tell me," the woman whispered, alarming Snake and Jack again, "you wouldn't happen to be the prey?"
"Heh, nature games. Nice," Snake commented, dropping a spent clip from his SOCOM, and pulling forth another. "Let's see what Darwin thinks." He slid in the second clip.
Frost grinned. "Survival of the fittest." At that, the doors were shut, and all fell into darkness.
Weaving through alleys, Snake and Jack made their way through Manhattan, trying to decide on a new destination, seeing as the warehouse would not be destroyed for another day. At least that weight was off of their shoulders.
Stopping in one of the alleys, Jack had stripped down to the same 'Skull- Suit' he had used when under the direction of FOX-HOUND and Colonel Campbell, who had eventually been proven to be an 'immortal being' of some sort. Nodding to Snake to continue, the two stepped into the sun, unprotected by the shadows of the alleyways. Seeing as public exposure could not really provide a hindrance to their operation, the refreshing warmth of the sun was something they invited whole-heartedly.
Southbound on Hudson Street, they cut west on Jay Street, and found themselves on the sidewalks of Greenwich. Their gazes were pulled to the Washington National Park, which was to their right, built into a nook between two sets of resident homes. In the green grass, there were no children playing, no mothers or fathers resting. It was as bare as anything…more desolate than the most barren of deserts.
Fear.
There was a fear lurking in them all, and even in those who passed Snake and Jack there was unwillingness…some sort of disposition. It was a blind resonance, and just in their eyes, it was clear for the world to see. Most stayed bottled up in their homes, afraid for their lives, but there were others who braved the streets of Manhattan: their love for the city too great, and their courage too strong.
Under the rays of the sun, everything appeared pure and lively…in most cases. But in the pale, blank, lifeless stares of the passing people, there was no purity. There was a wish for sleep…an awakening, for to the people of Manhattan, it was a dream. Some sick, eerie dream, configured through their fears and doubts.
Doubt.
Turning to Snake who stood nearest the street, Jack sighed, contemplating the relevance of the question that rested on the end of his tongue. "What…are you afraid of?" he asked, signaling a contemptuous clearing of Snake's throat.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, kid," Snake answered, still walking without replacing his gaze. "Who said I WAS afraid of anything?" Jack smirked, but Snake found no real amusement in his statement almost as if it was the truest response he had to offer.
"Just a question," Jack returned, bowing his head to the sidewalk.
"Well," Snake began, pondering a suitable reply. "I don't think about it much, and I know that there are some things…I'd say snakes would be one." Jack's head turned up to him in amazement. 'Snakes?!' he thought wildly, making a mental reference to his partner's codename: Solid Snake.
"I didn't chose my name, you know?" Snake answered, sensing Jack's bewilderment. "I got my fears from other people. Sort of inherited them from my…'role models.' Indiana Jones just happened to be one of them." Jack smiled. "I've never really been up close with a snake before, though…all of my fears are more of the unknown. Not so much the challenges of everyday life."
"Wow," Jack put his hands behind his head as he exhaled. Snake threw a look at him.
"What do you mean, 'wow'?"
"It's just…your everyday life is sneaking around guys with guns. Anyone who went to an office day after day would be scared stiff doing what you do," Jack commented. Snake nodded inquisitively.
"I guess so, but they don't have anything wrong with what they do day after day. They grow a custom to it. That's how I am," Snake answered insightfully. "You learn to adapt to your environment, whether its subconscious or not. But, the new age, it seems, is bent on adapting their surroundings to fit their own résumé."
Jack looked off to the park that was now behind them, and his eyes longed to stick with it, but as he turned to the streets ahead, the grayness of it all sucked his emotions dry. The conversation broke free from his mind, and deteriorated faster than he had thought to ask the question that had started it all.
"I take my world's shape," a familiar voice broke the silence.
There was an explosion of tension in that single moment as Snake's head whipped around, searching for something that stood out. There were resident homes littering the opposite side of the street – their roofs flat and their windows wide open. 'Anywhere,' Snake thought, and then he turned to Jack who was looking around in confusion. Something was sitting on his forehead, and had been resting there nearly their entire walk.
A big red dot.
"Frost!" Snake cried inside, and dove into Jack's side. Both of them fell to the pavement as a loud crack exploded through the air and a portion of the sidewalk was crumbled beneath the weight of a bullet, weathered by the rippling wind and the coarse cement.
Distant laughter came through the codec as Snake and Jack both found their footing and started off down the street. As walls of glass shattered, marking their path with a line of wreckage and destruction, people screamed and headed for cover as other stood in clear light, almost wishing for the next life lost to be their own.
"Here!" Snake cried, grabbing a tight hold on Jack's forearm and guiding him to the left and into a darkened building. Pushing open the first set of doors, and hearing them break in their pass, they came into an exposed lobby area and when attempting to push through the second set of doors, they took to notice the darkness of the interior. 'Closed,' a sign read.
Pulling out his Hammarli 280 as a bullet grazed the very tip of his big toe, Jack shot through the glass doors, and as he did an alarm broke through the streets and the police were alerted, instantly. But, just as soon as it had sounded, it disappeared again and faded into the quiet of day.
Limping into the store with Snake at his side, the two fell into the shadows, and as they peered upward they saw the sheer magnitude of the building. Its ceiling reached several stories high, and just looking down one aisle it appeared larger than any 'Toys R Us' storefront. Instead, as a sign indicated – the light that remained no more than a dim blue glow – it was 'ZB Toys,' the current leading franchise in the children's toy department.
Realizing its disposition, being located in the center of Tribeca, a once prosperous area of Manhattan crowded with mansions of the wealthy and famous, Jack dropped onto his back and sighed. Snake started down an aisle, stopping and turning to observe Jack's position. Seeing him on the floor he shook his head subtly.
"Get up," Snake said, walking over to him and lifting him promptly onto his feet. "She's a hasty one," he said. "She wont stay cooped up in some bedroom window…she'll be moving."
Walking deeper into the store, Snake guided Jack to the center of it all where Jack found rest against a towering shelf of 'Playschool' toys. Snake was pacing, his hand massaging his rough chin. "Damn," he voiced. "We were dumb to let our guard down."
Jack shook his head. "No," he said, stopping Snake in his tracks. "In crowds we're safest." Snake could not help himself from interrupting.
"You're wrong there, kid. All that does is increase the death toll. And that certainly isn't our job," Snake added testily.
"Hmm," Frost's voice whimsically entered the spotlight, putting Snake and Jack on the edge. Their eyes searched wildly as a light entered the giant cavern of a room. "In my world, I play the predator." A long streak of light shot into the room, settled in the glassy floor. Then, three equally long shadows stretched over the scarce light, and from their silhouettes Snake could make out Formal with his knives exposed, and Frost with her sniper rifle in hand. The third was bulkier than the others, but there was no apparent weapon on hand.
"Tell me," the woman whispered, alarming Snake and Jack again, "you wouldn't happen to be the prey?"
"Heh, nature games. Nice," Snake commented, dropping a spent clip from his SOCOM, and pulling forth another. "Let's see what Darwin thinks." He slid in the second clip.
Frost grinned. "Survival of the fittest." At that, the doors were shut, and all fell into darkness.