To be honest, I didn't really want to write a chapter tonight, but I kinda forced myself to. I do like how this went, though. Not too bad!
Review and lemme know whatcha think! :D
Tracy woke up in a dark room. It was cold, cold enough that her fingers felt numb and her cheeks turned ruby red. It was a little while before she could remember how she got there.
The RED Medic had came back from the battle, his hair ruffled and his expression gleeful and near maniacal. He hadn't said much, only mentioning that RED had won the mission. Last thing she could remember before waking up in the room was him approaching with a syringe full of some mysterious liquid.
The room was mostly bare, with a single light dangling from the ceiling. It was quiet, and the door had to be locked. Near the door had been set a piece of bread and a bottle of water. Her stomach growled and she dragged herself over. All at once the pain from the scalpel returned, and she had to bite her lip to stop herself from screaming.
Turning to her wound, Tracy studied her knee. The scalpel had been removed and it had been bandaged, but not much else had been done to treat it. Burning and stinging traveled up her thigh, making her dizzy.
She scarfed down the breath and the water, and from the small window high above she assumed it had to be the early morning.
She lied down on the cold concrete, hugging herself to try and stay warm. Eventually, after what had to have been a few hours, she heard noises behind the door.
The door opened with a screech, and someone stepped in. The RED Scout, with a look of boredom on his face as he looked over her. He was strangely quiet, carrying a small plate. It looked to be burnt toast, and he carried no water with him.
"Here's yer food pal." He nearly dropped the plate on the floor and snatched the other plate, barely glancing at her.
Just as he was about to leave, she raised a hand, "Wait!"
The Scout barely turned, not quite meeting her eyes. Tracy wasn't sure about him. He didn't seem quite as brash or energetic as her teams Scout. In fact, he almost seemed... regretful? Doubtful, but she could hope.
"What the hell is going on? What are you gonna do to me?" She growled. Tracy sat up a bit, wincing at the pain in caused to her leg.
Scout shrugged, "Dunno. Doc never talks to me about anything."
"C'mon man! You can't do this to me!" She was yelling at this point as the Scout turned and left, leaving her in the room alone once more. Tracy was tired, breathing deeply in and out through her nose to try and calm herself. Her teammates had to know she was gone, right? They wouldn't have respawned her... right?
She left the plate of burnt toast where it was sat. It must have been a failed attempt at breakfast by one of the REDs and they decided to give it to her like someone would a dog.
Tracy got bored fast. There was nothing to do but stew in hatred and worry about what the doctor would do to her. Still, she could feel her screwdriver digging into her ass and the smoke bombs were in her front pocket. They must have forgotten to pat her down before bringing her in, and thanked god for that small mercy.
Time stretched on for hours. The room darkened as the sun began to set, or had it been blocked out by clouds or the mountains? She couldn't tell as she stared up through the window, watching snow pepper down.
The pain in her leg had dulled a bit. It still stung now and again, and just then Tracy began to worry about infection. She hadn't checked the wound, and in all honesty didn't want to know. She doubted the RED Medic would care enough to sterilize it, but at this point doubted she'd make it out of their base alive.
Eventually Tracy's stomach began to complain and she sucked up her pride and ate the toast, finishing off the last of her water just as another person came through the door.
In entered the RED Engineer. Tracy was mildly surprised but not totally shocked. He didn't carry a plate with him, which did not bode well. His expression wasn't any better, almost nervous and depressed as he took one look at her and cringed.
"I'm sorry about this." His voice was barely a whisper. "I didn't know until a couple of minutes ago. Medic wants you down in his lab."
"Oh boy, I can't wait." She snarled, unable to keep her emotions in check. Tracy bit back her tone, "I know, it's alright. Not your fault."
This didn't seem to comfort him very much, gesturing to her leg.
"Can ya walk?"
"I wouldn't want to find out." Regardless, she still tried to get to her feet. Bracing a hand against the wall of her prison, she managed to get on her uninjured leg but couldn't put any weight on the other. When she tried, pain erupted in front of her eyes and she almost toppled over when the Texan caught her. He took her shoulder, helping her to her feet. Dark spots covered Tracy's vision as she followed the Engineer out.
Walking was a chore. She used the RED as a crutch, trying her best to keep her injured leg from dragging behind her. As they walked, the Engineer drew his face closer to hers and began whispering.
"I can't stand this." He grunted out.
She chuckled dryly. "Join the club."
"I think..." He paused for a moment. "I think I can get ya out of here."
Tracy whipped her head around in surprise. "Now yer just getting ballsy. I don't want you to get killed or fired because you helped an enemy."
"Now calm down. This is my decision and I want to help ya. I won't stand idly by and let an innocent person get tortured." RED Engineer's face twisted in disgust, his mind lingering a moment on her injury before continuing. "Don't think I can talk the doc out of experimentin' on you. But if we happened to... incapacitate him for a lil while, I think I can sneak you out."
"Yeah, because killing the Medic would be so discreet."
"I'm not talkin' about killin' him, just knocking him out for a few hours. He has plenty of drugs back there that we can use, or just good old fashion violence." He chuckled and shook his head.
"Awright, but if things get hairy, promise to shoot me and spare yourself." Tracy's voice went down an octave, not liking the picture, but she hated the image of the Engineer getting killed over trying to help her.
He didn't respond to that request. They went down hallway after hallway. Stairs were particularly a bitch, but Tracy didn't really focus on it. The impending doom that lingered over her was enough to block out the pain.
Finally, they approached a set of double doors that had to be the medical ward. The Engineer nodded, and Tracy nodded back. She was ready to get this over with, whatever happened.
The RED Medic had been waiting for them to arrive, with his supplies and instruments pulled to the side of an operation table. He smiled with esctatic expression on his face, excited to proceed.
"Nice of you to join me." The German doctor quipped, patting his operation table. The Engineer practically dropped her onto the table without any fanfair, trying to act as if he didn't care at all. To be honest, Tracy almost assumed everything before was just an act.
They maneuvered her onto the table, the doctor kindly asking his comrade to secure her down. As the RED Medic turned, the Engineer strapped her on as loosely as possible, giving her a small smile. She didn't return the smile, thankfully just as the doctor returned.
"Hmm, I am not sure where to start! I'd like to examine their heart, see what the BLU Medic has done. Perhaps he has a different prototype? Seeing it in action would be great. Removing it would be just as well." The RED doctor tapped his chin, leaning down to rustling through a bag on the lower table. Engineer walked around the table, leaning down to his level.
"Whatcha lookin' for?"
"Ach, my rib splitter. I cannot seem to find it..."
"Lemme give you a hand, sawbones."
SCRUNCH.
Tracy didn't see what happened, but the RED Engineer stood with a wrench in hand. He didn't seem all that happy, with blood staining his wrench.
"I mighta hit him a tad harder than I wanted, but I don't think he's dead." He reached over onto one of the supply tables, taking a syringe. "Dunno what this does, hopefully keeps him out long enough to get you out as well."
After a couple minutes of injecting the doctor and dragging him from his place on the floor into one of the back rooms, the Engineer helped Tracy unstrap herself.
"I know it's embarrassin', but I'd think it simpler to carry ya." He adjusted his hard hat, smiling sheepishly as he put his arms out. Tracy's face lit up like a flame, but allowed him to pick her up. It certainly wasn't as painful as dragging her had been.
The Engineer picked up the pace as he lugged her from the ward down a couple of halls. He told her that he wasn't quite familiar with the layout of the building, but knew there was an escape route out one of the sides. Just as they were about to go up a flight of stairs, an alarm blared.
"BLU INVASION! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"
Tracy perked up, the Engineer gritting his teeth but nodding. "Seems like yer lucky day."
She couldn't believe it. Why were they attacking when it wasn't a match? Perhaps they knew the REDs had taken her? She could only hope. She knew that the REDs were much more violent than the BLUs, who were more into strategy and thinking than brute force. Although it seemed the RED Engineer, rather than violent, his red uniform exuded the feeling of warmth and friendliness. Perhaps it was just her that sensed these differences.
Just as they were about to turn a corner, a barrage of REDs came bursting out a set of doors. The Engineer hid behind a crate as they passed, letting out a sigh of relief they had not been seen. Explosions rocked the building, shouts and screams going through the halls in a cacophony.
They ran up after the REDs, considering it was the only way to get to the surface. It seemed most REDs had been taken down in exception to one of the Heavys, who was holding the BLUs back with a spray from his minigun. Tracy whispered to the Engineer to get her closer, grabbing her screwdriver from her pocket.
When they got right behind him, Tracy nearly leapt out of the Texan's arms and stabbed the minigun toting man in the jugular, a spray of blood coating her hand and arm. He gargled and choked on his own blood, quickly collapsing to the ground. Pain soared through her body, but it mostly dampened by the adrenaline pumping through her.
Just as the RED Engineer picked her up again, stomping was heard and Tracy caught sight of the BLU Soldier. He gasped in surprise at the display, marching towards the pair. He glanced from the Heavy to the two, his expression confused yet pleased.
"Glad to see you're in good health, private." He nodded, smiling at her.
"Not quite." The Engineer spoke up, maneuvering her slightly to expose her wound. The Soldier quickly grew mad, almost appearing ready to tackle the enemy just as Tracy spoke up.
"Try not to kill him. He did help me escape, y'know." Her voice was strained, the adrenaline rush fading as quickly as it had hit.
The Soldier quickly regained himself, appearing sheepish. "Yeah..."
"Little man is okay!" The BLU Heavy peeked around a corner before walking up, Medic at his back.
"Yeah, but can we celebrate back at base? Engineer can't keep carryin' me and the REDs are sure to come back." She smiled at the larger man's enthusiasm, happy to see that they actually cared about her disappearance.
The BLU Soldier nodded, "Alright, get over here cupcake." He forcefully took her from the RED Engineer's arms, holding her tight against his chest.
"Thanks, Engie." Tracy grinned at the RED, receiving a smile back.
"Anytime. Now git goin'!" He waved as they disappeared around a corner. The cold was sneaky this time, not hitting hard but seeping through her clothes. Luckily she was bundled up to the Soldier.
"See, not all REDs are bad." She tapped her knuckles against his helmet, the Soldier grunting in admission. The BLUs retreated back to base, the American carrying her all the way down the medical bay.
"Thanks, soldier." Tracy gave him a mock salute as the Soldier nodded before exiting. The BLU Medic quickly began to assess the damage done to her knee, frowning.
"Not good, but fixable." He nodded, unwrapping her bandage with delicate movements. "My medigun should be able to heal the damage, but I will need to examine it to make sure there are not any fragments. You said it was a scalpel, ja?"
"Yeah, damn RED Thief stabbed me for no good reason." Tracy grunted, crossing her arms in an almost pouting manner.
The doctor poked around in her knee for a little while, pulling out a few shards of a blade. Once he was certain he got all the pieces, he healed her back up. She felt fit as a fiddle, overjoyed she could walk by her own once more.
"Thanks doc."
"Of course."
There was a small pause as Tracy felt her knee. There wasn't even a scar.
"So, how long was it before you guys noticed I was gone?" She asked, almost unsure she wanted to hear the answer. She was nervous that they hadn't noticed until that day.
"Oh, immediately. Soldier was the first to notice. He was quite angry, yelling about you being captured and tortured and the like. I think he may have a little crush on you." The Medic teased, and Tracy was sure he was just kidding, but the possibility made her both nervous and intrigued. "We managed to calm him before he charged out by himself. We had to make a plan rather than charge in full steam. I hope you are not too angry by our lateness."
"Ah, it's fine." She waved a hand, "Not like I was... you know... being tortured or anything." She sarcastically rolled her eyes, receiving a dry chuckle.
"Well, we should not have another match for another day or two. Get some rest, that is an order." He waved a finger at her before nearly shoving her out of her medical ward. "Have a good night, thief."
Tracy sighed, but was glad to be back. It almost felt like home, with these mercs.
TBC! Please leave a review with your thoughts!
