Chapter 3
15th July 00:32 Skies near Echo city
The dull roar of the helicopter engines drowned out the loading of the teams' guns. Ben looked around at each of his team members as they prepared themselves for the forthcoming mission. Trying to remember each person's profile, he mentally recalled each soldier's persona. He gazed firstly at Jason.
"Jason South, AKA 'HAWK', specialises in explosives." As Ben stared at the man, he took into account his appearances. Jason had let his hair grow, and it sat atop his head, matted and small strands of black hair protruded at every angle. Short stubble adorned the mans face, giving him an unkempt look. Jason was loading his rifle, a Knight's SR-16 carbine. As he slipped the clip into the weapon, Jason shot a glance at Ben, smiled, and then turned his attention back to his weapon. Strapped to the mans' side was a small pouch, loaded with T-class explosives. His favourite type to blow things up with, and they made quite a show when they did.
"Amy Smith, AKA 'Quiksilver', specialises in field scouting." Ben thought as he looked at a woman that sat opposite him. Her long, blonde hair hung in a ponytail that reached to the middle of her back. She rested an APS-2 Sporter Mk2 in her lap and was slipping rounds into the base of the gun. Although she was a woman, she was one of the best shots he'd ever seen; she could nail a target from 1000 feet away. She brought the rifle to bear and stared down the sight of the gun, twisting a small dial slightly to realign the scope. Ben smiled slightly as she cocked a round into the weapon and slid the hammer back into its original position and lowered the weapon.
"Alfie Weston, AKA 'Death', specialises in Automatic weapons," Ben continued as he turned his head around the helicopter. The mans' hair was short, like the military issue ones. His service in the SEAL's showed. After the team had disbanded, he had returned to the military life. Now Alfie sat before him holding a Fabric Nation P90, small scratch lines were etched into the side of the guns stock. He held a rack of bullets in his hand, pilled with assault rifle bullets. Running his thumb over the clip, he pulled back the slide inside the gun and slammed the magazine in the weapon before releasing the slide.
"Nikki Overnorth, AKA 'FLASH', Team Medic," Ben thought as he looked at the Woman handing out small belt pouches with First Aid kits in. She was the youngest member of the team, being only 19, but no one criticised her of this. She had proven herself in so many past situations that her skill made up for her lack of age. Her short, chestnut brown hair was held out of her face by a blue hair band with the STORM insignia imprinted on the middle of the plastic. She had learnt everything she knew from the best medic he'd ever heard of, Rebecca Chambers, who was only 2 years older than Nikki, but was famous for surviving the Raccoon city incident three years ago, along with the S.T.A.R.S. team.
"Christina Steele, AKA 'THUNDER', Team Sniper," Ben reflected, looking deeply into the woman's Emerald green eyes. She sat with a blue PSG- 1 in her lap and a clip in her hand. She was slowly slipping rounds into the magazine with her thumb, counting quietly under her breath. She was also the only person who could better Amy at sniping. She could nail targets at 1200 feet, and he'd never seen her miss a single shot. Her Brown hair sat under a blue beret that was perched atop her head, the STORM team insignia emblazed upon the fabric. She lifted the full magazine and slipped it into the rifle before throwing it over her shoulder into her back holster. As she did this she pulled out her sidearm, a silver MK23 Socom pistol with scope and torch attached to a rack on the base of the weapon.
"Joey Tribiali, AKA 'SPEED', Team pilot," Ben finished, looking at the final member of his team. Joe sat at the helicopters controls, expertly flipping switches and reading dials. He was the most reliable pilots he had ever known, and had got Ben and the rest of the team out of many a tight spot, and was a great shot with a rifle as well. "The perfect pilot." Ben thought.
"Captain, we'll have a visual in 2 minutes!!" Joe called back
"Gotcha," Ben replied, rising to his feet and walking into the cockpit. He picked up a headset and sank into a chair beside the pilot.
"Sir, just a thought. What should I do during the mission?" Joe asked Ben
"Keep in radio contact. I want you to find a safe place to land the 'chopper and wait for the evac order, just in case we need to make a quick get away," Ben replied.
"Okay captain. Uhh, ETA 30 seconds!" Joe added, looking at a clock on the copters headset. Ben turned to face the rest of his troops.
"Okay team, I want this mission to be like any other, quick and with no friendly casualties. We should be getting a visual at any second now so I want you all to survey the scene and take into account any places or points you consider important or of relevance," He said
"Look captain!!" Amy shouted, pointing out of the helicopters side window. Ben turned to look, and was greeted by a horrific site.
Almost the entire city was ablaze, the smoke rising in dark, black plumes, cloaking the city in a veil of death. Buildings had collapsed, cars were burning and the city stank of the dead. Ben turned to his team.
"Alright everyone, stay focused. I want us to split up. Amy, you and me will drop off this side of the city, Joe, I want you to take the others to the opposite end of the city. We work our way in and meet at a designated point, so we all stay in radio contact at all times," Ben started looking around at his team. They all looked nervous, but he couldn't blame them. The sight of an entire city burning was very disturbing to say the very least, but he could not let his team become distracted. That was when people made fatal mistakes. Amy rose to her feet and stood next to him, her rifle in her trembling hands. He put his hand on her shoulder gently.
"It's ok, stay calm. We're gonna make it through this, just stay close to me. I won't let anything happen to you," Ben said, trying to comfort her. Amy stared at him with her warm, blue eyes. He could almost see the fear that she hid within herself. He had never seen her so afraid of something that shouldn't bother a well-trained mind.
"Training? What's training got to do with anything?" Ben thought. "When you stare death in the face, all you need is bravery and. Nothing. It all comes down to bravery, something you can't be taught." Amy looked down at her weapon, her gaze resting upon the polished, wooden handle. Ben turned and picked up two bundles of ropes, and handed one to Amy.
"Come on, let's do this and get the mission finished as soon as possible, with no casualties, okay?" Ben started
"Yes sir," Amy started, holding her hand out and taking the rope. "This is for you, Claire." Amy trailed off as she attached the rope to her waist, a look of newfound courage and determination on her face. Ben smiled at her before tying the rope to his belt and pulling it tight.
"Joe, lower us down here, were gonna make the drop in this park. The rest of you, find a suitable place and radio us when you land. Amy, you ready?" Ben finished, turning to look at the woman stood next to him. She nodded slightly before giving her rope a few sharp tugs.
"See you lot soon!" Ben said as he turned and opened the door.
"Yes sir!!" The rest of the team replied. Ben smiled and jumped out of the helicopter, lowering himself down on the rappelling rope. He hit the floor, followed closely by Amy. Ben pulled out a knife and cut away the rope before throwing the weapon to Amy, who also cut away her rope. Ben looked up at the helicopter and waved it away. The metal vehicle hovered higher, before disappearing into the black sky. Ben reached down and pulled out his Desert Eagle and signalled for Amy to run through the park with him. He brought the weapon to bear and slowly jogged the length of the burnt field.
"It's quiet, too quiet. Where are the people who made this mess?" Ben thought. He reached a padlocked gate and slowed to a stop. Ben reached out and gave the rusted gate a hard rattle, the hinges squealing in protest.
"Damn. Amy stand back," Ben said. Amy took two steps back and raised her rifle to eye level.
"Ready," She said to Ben. He nodded and pointed the gun at the lock and pulled the trigger. The round echoed through the area as it ripped its way through the metal of the padlock, sending it flying away from the gate. Ben reached down and gave the metal gate a sharp tug, wrenching it away from the frame. Amy ran forward, her rifle still in a ready position as she scanned the left side of the open alleyway the gate opened up in to. Ben followed her and scanned the right side of the alley, ensuring it was clear. Stood in the shadows ahead of Ben was a man with his back to him.
"He looks ill, his clothes are in an absolute state." Ben thought. The man was missing chunks of hair from his scalp and his clothes were stained with unknown blood, making parts of his shirt rigid.
"Hey, you, are you okay?" Ben shouted, stepping forward slowly. As he finished shouting, the man lumbered slowly around and turned to face Ben. It was then that Ben knew that the man was ill. His face was ghostly pale, and his eyes were stained white with cataracts. His face was, sunken, if that was the word to describe it. His lips were coated with blood that flaked away with each movement of its hungry mouth. His arms were hung in front of it, it's hands opening and closing rapidly as it neared its meal.
"What the hell are you?" Ben asked as he raised his Desert Eagle and pointed it at the monster. A loud gasp brought his attention to Amy as she stood behind him. Several bodies began to move on the floor, slowly rising to their feet around the woman. She raised her weapon shakily, her eyes filled with pure terror at what she was seeing. Ben didn't hesitate. He fired a round into the creature that was lumbering towards him, tearing through its ashen skull, sending blood spraying over the concrete floor. Amy stood staring at the creatures, frozen out of pure fear as they lumbered towards her, their fists opening and closing in anticipation.
"Amy!!" Ben shouted. Amy blinked before raising her rifle and firing a round into the face of one of the creatures, sending it reeling backwards. She chambered another round in the weapon and fired again, taking down a second zombie. Then the third lunged at her. Ben didn't hesitate. He raised his weapon and fired a round into the monsters face, blowing it backwards onto the floor. Amy was breathing heavily, her hands trembling so much that she nearly dropped her rifle. Ben turned to look at her.
"Are you okay Amy?" he asked. She turned to look at him, her eyes full of tears and terror.
"I'll be fine..." she stuttered.
"Come on, let's keep moving. If we can get somewhere safe, we can rest for a little while," Ben said, raising his hand and resting it on her shoulder. Amy blinked rapidly before nodding slowly. Ben smiled at her gently before turning and walking towards a nearby door. Lowering his hand, Ben raised his Desert Eagle and threw the door open as he made quick sweeping movements with his gun before stepping into the room. He surveyed his surroundings slowly as he checked the area. It looked like a bunkhouse but with more furniture, yet not quite big enough to be classed as a house. In the corner was a large bed set next to a window with a small table near the headrest. Ben turned to Amy and ushered her gently into the building before shutting the door.
"Alright Amy, we should be safe here for a while, so you can get a little sleep," He told her. She lowered her rifle and walked slowly over to the bed, her steps a little disorientated. When she reached the bed, she lay her rifle down on the floor and collapsed onto the bed. Ben watched her for a little while before ejecting the clip from his weapon and loading a new one into it. He walked over to the bed and sat on the end, rubbing his eyes lightly, before dropping backwards and dropping off to sleep.
15th July 00:32 Skies near Echo city
The dull roar of the helicopter engines drowned out the loading of the teams' guns. Ben looked around at each of his team members as they prepared themselves for the forthcoming mission. Trying to remember each person's profile, he mentally recalled each soldier's persona. He gazed firstly at Jason.
"Jason South, AKA 'HAWK', specialises in explosives." As Ben stared at the man, he took into account his appearances. Jason had let his hair grow, and it sat atop his head, matted and small strands of black hair protruded at every angle. Short stubble adorned the mans face, giving him an unkempt look. Jason was loading his rifle, a Knight's SR-16 carbine. As he slipped the clip into the weapon, Jason shot a glance at Ben, smiled, and then turned his attention back to his weapon. Strapped to the mans' side was a small pouch, loaded with T-class explosives. His favourite type to blow things up with, and they made quite a show when they did.
"Amy Smith, AKA 'Quiksilver', specialises in field scouting." Ben thought as he looked at a woman that sat opposite him. Her long, blonde hair hung in a ponytail that reached to the middle of her back. She rested an APS-2 Sporter Mk2 in her lap and was slipping rounds into the base of the gun. Although she was a woman, she was one of the best shots he'd ever seen; she could nail a target from 1000 feet away. She brought the rifle to bear and stared down the sight of the gun, twisting a small dial slightly to realign the scope. Ben smiled slightly as she cocked a round into the weapon and slid the hammer back into its original position and lowered the weapon.
"Alfie Weston, AKA 'Death', specialises in Automatic weapons," Ben continued as he turned his head around the helicopter. The mans' hair was short, like the military issue ones. His service in the SEAL's showed. After the team had disbanded, he had returned to the military life. Now Alfie sat before him holding a Fabric Nation P90, small scratch lines were etched into the side of the guns stock. He held a rack of bullets in his hand, pilled with assault rifle bullets. Running his thumb over the clip, he pulled back the slide inside the gun and slammed the magazine in the weapon before releasing the slide.
"Nikki Overnorth, AKA 'FLASH', Team Medic," Ben thought as he looked at the Woman handing out small belt pouches with First Aid kits in. She was the youngest member of the team, being only 19, but no one criticised her of this. She had proven herself in so many past situations that her skill made up for her lack of age. Her short, chestnut brown hair was held out of her face by a blue hair band with the STORM insignia imprinted on the middle of the plastic. She had learnt everything she knew from the best medic he'd ever heard of, Rebecca Chambers, who was only 2 years older than Nikki, but was famous for surviving the Raccoon city incident three years ago, along with the S.T.A.R.S. team.
"Christina Steele, AKA 'THUNDER', Team Sniper," Ben reflected, looking deeply into the woman's Emerald green eyes. She sat with a blue PSG- 1 in her lap and a clip in her hand. She was slowly slipping rounds into the magazine with her thumb, counting quietly under her breath. She was also the only person who could better Amy at sniping. She could nail targets at 1200 feet, and he'd never seen her miss a single shot. Her Brown hair sat under a blue beret that was perched atop her head, the STORM team insignia emblazed upon the fabric. She lifted the full magazine and slipped it into the rifle before throwing it over her shoulder into her back holster. As she did this she pulled out her sidearm, a silver MK23 Socom pistol with scope and torch attached to a rack on the base of the weapon.
"Joey Tribiali, AKA 'SPEED', Team pilot," Ben finished, looking at the final member of his team. Joe sat at the helicopters controls, expertly flipping switches and reading dials. He was the most reliable pilots he had ever known, and had got Ben and the rest of the team out of many a tight spot, and was a great shot with a rifle as well. "The perfect pilot." Ben thought.
"Captain, we'll have a visual in 2 minutes!!" Joe called back
"Gotcha," Ben replied, rising to his feet and walking into the cockpit. He picked up a headset and sank into a chair beside the pilot.
"Sir, just a thought. What should I do during the mission?" Joe asked Ben
"Keep in radio contact. I want you to find a safe place to land the 'chopper and wait for the evac order, just in case we need to make a quick get away," Ben replied.
"Okay captain. Uhh, ETA 30 seconds!" Joe added, looking at a clock on the copters headset. Ben turned to face the rest of his troops.
"Okay team, I want this mission to be like any other, quick and with no friendly casualties. We should be getting a visual at any second now so I want you all to survey the scene and take into account any places or points you consider important or of relevance," He said
"Look captain!!" Amy shouted, pointing out of the helicopters side window. Ben turned to look, and was greeted by a horrific site.
Almost the entire city was ablaze, the smoke rising in dark, black plumes, cloaking the city in a veil of death. Buildings had collapsed, cars were burning and the city stank of the dead. Ben turned to his team.
"Alright everyone, stay focused. I want us to split up. Amy, you and me will drop off this side of the city, Joe, I want you to take the others to the opposite end of the city. We work our way in and meet at a designated point, so we all stay in radio contact at all times," Ben started looking around at his team. They all looked nervous, but he couldn't blame them. The sight of an entire city burning was very disturbing to say the very least, but he could not let his team become distracted. That was when people made fatal mistakes. Amy rose to her feet and stood next to him, her rifle in her trembling hands. He put his hand on her shoulder gently.
"It's ok, stay calm. We're gonna make it through this, just stay close to me. I won't let anything happen to you," Ben said, trying to comfort her. Amy stared at him with her warm, blue eyes. He could almost see the fear that she hid within herself. He had never seen her so afraid of something that shouldn't bother a well-trained mind.
"Training? What's training got to do with anything?" Ben thought. "When you stare death in the face, all you need is bravery and. Nothing. It all comes down to bravery, something you can't be taught." Amy looked down at her weapon, her gaze resting upon the polished, wooden handle. Ben turned and picked up two bundles of ropes, and handed one to Amy.
"Come on, let's do this and get the mission finished as soon as possible, with no casualties, okay?" Ben started
"Yes sir," Amy started, holding her hand out and taking the rope. "This is for you, Claire." Amy trailed off as she attached the rope to her waist, a look of newfound courage and determination on her face. Ben smiled at her before tying the rope to his belt and pulling it tight.
"Joe, lower us down here, were gonna make the drop in this park. The rest of you, find a suitable place and radio us when you land. Amy, you ready?" Ben finished, turning to look at the woman stood next to him. She nodded slightly before giving her rope a few sharp tugs.
"See you lot soon!" Ben said as he turned and opened the door.
"Yes sir!!" The rest of the team replied. Ben smiled and jumped out of the helicopter, lowering himself down on the rappelling rope. He hit the floor, followed closely by Amy. Ben pulled out a knife and cut away the rope before throwing the weapon to Amy, who also cut away her rope. Ben looked up at the helicopter and waved it away. The metal vehicle hovered higher, before disappearing into the black sky. Ben reached down and pulled out his Desert Eagle and signalled for Amy to run through the park with him. He brought the weapon to bear and slowly jogged the length of the burnt field.
"It's quiet, too quiet. Where are the people who made this mess?" Ben thought. He reached a padlocked gate and slowed to a stop. Ben reached out and gave the rusted gate a hard rattle, the hinges squealing in protest.
"Damn. Amy stand back," Ben said. Amy took two steps back and raised her rifle to eye level.
"Ready," She said to Ben. He nodded and pointed the gun at the lock and pulled the trigger. The round echoed through the area as it ripped its way through the metal of the padlock, sending it flying away from the gate. Ben reached down and gave the metal gate a sharp tug, wrenching it away from the frame. Amy ran forward, her rifle still in a ready position as she scanned the left side of the open alleyway the gate opened up in to. Ben followed her and scanned the right side of the alley, ensuring it was clear. Stood in the shadows ahead of Ben was a man with his back to him.
"He looks ill, his clothes are in an absolute state." Ben thought. The man was missing chunks of hair from his scalp and his clothes were stained with unknown blood, making parts of his shirt rigid.
"Hey, you, are you okay?" Ben shouted, stepping forward slowly. As he finished shouting, the man lumbered slowly around and turned to face Ben. It was then that Ben knew that the man was ill. His face was ghostly pale, and his eyes were stained white with cataracts. His face was, sunken, if that was the word to describe it. His lips were coated with blood that flaked away with each movement of its hungry mouth. His arms were hung in front of it, it's hands opening and closing rapidly as it neared its meal.
"What the hell are you?" Ben asked as he raised his Desert Eagle and pointed it at the monster. A loud gasp brought his attention to Amy as she stood behind him. Several bodies began to move on the floor, slowly rising to their feet around the woman. She raised her weapon shakily, her eyes filled with pure terror at what she was seeing. Ben didn't hesitate. He fired a round into the creature that was lumbering towards him, tearing through its ashen skull, sending blood spraying over the concrete floor. Amy stood staring at the creatures, frozen out of pure fear as they lumbered towards her, their fists opening and closing in anticipation.
"Amy!!" Ben shouted. Amy blinked before raising her rifle and firing a round into the face of one of the creatures, sending it reeling backwards. She chambered another round in the weapon and fired again, taking down a second zombie. Then the third lunged at her. Ben didn't hesitate. He raised his weapon and fired a round into the monsters face, blowing it backwards onto the floor. Amy was breathing heavily, her hands trembling so much that she nearly dropped her rifle. Ben turned to look at her.
"Are you okay Amy?" he asked. She turned to look at him, her eyes full of tears and terror.
"I'll be fine..." she stuttered.
"Come on, let's keep moving. If we can get somewhere safe, we can rest for a little while," Ben said, raising his hand and resting it on her shoulder. Amy blinked rapidly before nodding slowly. Ben smiled at her gently before turning and walking towards a nearby door. Lowering his hand, Ben raised his Desert Eagle and threw the door open as he made quick sweeping movements with his gun before stepping into the room. He surveyed his surroundings slowly as he checked the area. It looked like a bunkhouse but with more furniture, yet not quite big enough to be classed as a house. In the corner was a large bed set next to a window with a small table near the headrest. Ben turned to Amy and ushered her gently into the building before shutting the door.
"Alright Amy, we should be safe here for a while, so you can get a little sleep," He told her. She lowered her rifle and walked slowly over to the bed, her steps a little disorientated. When she reached the bed, she lay her rifle down on the floor and collapsed onto the bed. Ben watched her for a little while before ejecting the clip from his weapon and loading a new one into it. He walked over to the bed and sat on the end, rubbing his eyes lightly, before dropping backwards and dropping off to sleep.
