She felt hot and stuffy, trapped inside but she had no idea what. She was not bound, in fact, she had no body. She was stretched to her absolute limit, expanding to fill up all space available around her. She couldn't breathe, but she could feel many pairs of lungs at the same time, each struggling for air. She could feel many hearts beating, out of synch, all to their own tune. Each was stricken with all encompassing fear, as one pair of eyes opened.
Her vision was hazy, dark spots fading into her vision. She looked down the slope of her nose, and noticed a clear oxygen mask strapped to her face. She must be in the infirmary... but the Medic was nowhere to be seen. In fact, the room looked nothing like the medical ward, but closely resembled one of the holding cells under their base. She didn't feel hurt either, no wounds, but the more she breathed in, the heavier her body felt.
As Tracy's eyes began to close, her head slumped to the side, and she finally noticed two things:
The room was red... and the tank her mask was connected to was pure nitrogen.
Tracy shot up from bed, smacking her head against the bunk above her. The pain in her head and the startled moan from the Pyro above her were distant as she thought about her nightmare. She had never had such a vivid dream before, and from HER perspective... She had a creeping suspicion that it wasn't just a coincidence. Just as she stood up from bed, the Pyro rolled over to see what she was doing.
It had been weeks since Victor made his debut and her call with Miss Pauling. Most days she was just going through the motions: the days they were scheduled a match she did her best to keep up with her team mates, but any time past that was filled with drinking and trying to keep her mind off her new discovery. Hell, she preferred battle, it kept her busy. For awhile now, she had a creeping feeling in her gut. Cold and empty, like nothing could fill it. No matter how much she drank or ate, if she could eat, could make it completely go away. Her team could tell too, she became less talkative, and when she did talk she was so drunk she hardly made any sense.
Turning to the Pyro, she pulled on her suede shoes. "I think something bad just happened, will you come along?"
The Pyro shrugged and nodded, Tracy noticed they were already in their suit. Had they been sleeping in it...? She shook her head, too preoccupied to think about it further. Opening the door as quietly as she could, they stepped out of their room and crept into the kitchen. Tracy turned to the Pyro, smiling awkwardly. "I know it's stupid, but I just have this gut feeling something's wrong."
Pyro nodded and gave a thumbs up, and Tracy smiled. Very little seemed to phase the masked maniac, they always had a cheery demeanor. She wished the others of her group could get to know them better, but she could understand their hesitation. There had been some, shall we say, incidents with a lighter.
It was a stormy night, cliché as it was. Most of the rain had already fallen, but enough was still falling to soak her hair and shoulders as they ran across the battlefield. The two made their way up to RED, their footsteps soft and nearly silent against the sound of thunder growling overhead. The sweet aroma of wet grass and ozone left behind from lightning strikes was strong, overpowering the usual scent of sulfur and blood. Reaching the kitchen door identical to the one they just left, she tried the handle. Locked, of course.
Tracy smiled, finally, something she might be able to do. Reaching into her hair, she pulled out a hairpin. She never needed them for her hair, but they were perfect for her uses. There had been a few times where they came in handy, especially when you really don't like detention. She took two out of her hair, bending it and twisting the rubbing end off before bending the other pin just right.
"It's been awhile, so I might be a bit rusty." She gave a nervous smile to her comrade. Gently, she inserted one pin inside the lock, pushing it down and to the side while gently using the other to test the lock bolts. She went slowly, not wanting them to snap. She didn't have that many in her hair, they could get really itchy and twist her roots. Finally, she heard a click, and stood up. Tracy nodded to the Pyro and quietly as she could, she turned the knob. The Thief cringed as the rusty hinged squealed, and quickly stepped inside. Ushering the Pyro in, she quickly shut the door.
The kitchen and living area was exactly like her own, aside from the obvious color difference. Scanning the room, her eyes settled on the door to the basement. The pair silently descended the stairs, wary of their surroundings. It was strangely quiet, it didn't even sound like their furnace was on. The Pyro was peering around corners in a cartoonish fashion, and she was certain it would be obvious to anyone who could have saw the pair. Eventually they stumbled upon what she assumed was the prison, several doors with peep holes inside the cells and slots where food could be delivered. Just as the two stepped into the area, there was loud creak from behind. Spinning, Pyro and Tracy pressed themselves against a wall, but it was almost pointless.
From the southern's underground work area came out the RED Texan himself and his Demoman, the two clearly having a friendly conversation. A nice chat after a long arduous battle, and some drinks. Probably a lot of drinks on the Scotsman's part. The Engineer was the first to spot them, his smile dropped into stern confusion as his eyes first laid on the Pyro.
The Pyro lunged out, ready to grapple with the Texan. The Scotsman was quicker, his bottle smashing into the BLU's gasmask. Tracy grabbed the Pyro by the shoulders, pulling them back as the Engineer held the Demo by his collar.
"Aw'right now, what the hell is goin' on?" The Texan spat, eyeing Tracy warily. She instantly felt a pit of ice in her stomach, causing her to consider her next words carefully.
Thief sighed, cringing before the words were even uttered. "I had a dream about your Thief, and it was a bad one."
His expression screwed up into confusion and frustration, until his face relaxed. The Demoman shoved his hands away, and stood up straight, gazing at them with clear mistrust, but it was not quite... murderous. Tracy gave him a nervous smile, trying to be friendly without making herself and easy target.
"I-I know it's stupid, we can leave..." She stuttered out, grasping the pyromaniac by the shoulder to lead them out. "C'mon Smokey..."
"Naw, hold on." The Texan spoke, "No harm in checking it out, if you're right. What ah mean is..."
Tracy turned to face him, smiling briefly before he continued.
"They been worryin' us a bit. Not talkin' as much, mind he don't talk very much t' us in the first place. But now all 'e does is stay in his room, he refused the rocket man's buddy system and made his space in one of the cells. Don't eat either."
"And SOMEONE's been stealin' me scrumpy, sonuvabitch THIEF lives up to 'is name." The black Scot growled out, giving her a quick nasty look with his one good eye. She sheepishly chuckled, rubbing the back of her head.
"Anyways, we've been mighty concerned 'bout their wellbein'. Good as time as any to drop in on 'em." Engie nodded, turning to direct them to their destination. The Pyro giggled, she assumed they were surprised by the outcome. Frankly, Tracy was surprised the maniac wasn't disappointed, they missed the opportunity to maim the pair of REDs when they had the chance. She shrugged to herself and went to follow, when she felt a crippling weight on her chest. Like all the air had been pushed out of her. She nearly stumbled to the floor, but suddenly the sensation left her. Shaking her head, she caught up with the three. That startled her, but it just spurred her on. Something was definitely wrong here.
It was a cramped hallway, it had barely enough room for the four of them to crowd around the door she assumed was the RED Thief's. Glancing at the rest, she stepped up and gave the metal door a hard knock. The sound reverberated through the basement, there was no way she couldn't have heard that. They waited a full minute, but there was no response. She knocked once, twice, three more times, but there wasn't even a peep from the other side. Tracy's brow nit in concern, and she tried the door. Of course it was locked, but from the other side.
"Move aside, 'e wanted me to set up a lock for him on that side. But luckily I got the right tools to open 'er up like a tin can!" The Texan grinned as he pulled the Short Circuit out from his toolbelt. She had seen the weapon in battle, if you could really call it that. It was good at turning enemy rockets and sticky bombs into dust, but not very good for offense. He pressed the tool against the door, she presumed where the lock must be, and began cutting the metal bolt off the door. A few seconds later, and she heard like metal snap inside the door itself. Smiling proudly to himself, he opened the door.
That smile quickly crumbled as they took in the room.
It was dirty, plates and cups piled up around the room. A small desk was in the corner, filled with coffee mugs still half full, mold and dead flies floating the in foul liquid. Crumpled up notes littered the desk and the floor around it, the handwriting so manic it was incomprehensible. Bottles and bottles of alcohol littered every space, there wasn't a single spot that didn't have at least one kind of container tipped over leaking its sticky contents. A clock hung on the wall, but it's hands didn't move. She must have taken the batteries out, Tracy herself couldn't stand the sound of a ticking clock when she was trying to sleep. The walls were stained yellow with tar, the evidence was several ash trays across the room, filled to the brim with cigarette butts and ash. Tracy's tongue swept over her teeth, and she suddenly felt the urge to pick up one of the longer ones to light up. What caught everyone's attention was the bed at the center of the back wall.
It was a hospital gurney, probably borrowed from the Medic. Atop it lay the still body of the RED Thief, the RED Tracy. She was just like in her dream, a clear oxygen mask strapped to her face. Connected to the mask was the same nitrogen tank, set to 100%. Of course her first reaction was to push past the garbage into the room, ripping the mask off her doppelganger's face. There was no reaction to the swift movement, worrying the Thief even more. She had no medical training whatsoever, but she was certain nitrogen wasn't something you should be breathing in for the amount of time the RED had been. In fact, she was certain she saw the Pyros wearing the exact same tank on their backs when they went into battle to fuel their flamethrowers. Why the hell would she willingly breath that stuff in? The rest of the group packed into the cramped room, surrounding the gurney. The Engineer's face was strangely stoic as he pressed his ungloved hand against the RED Thief's throat, feeling for a pulse.
He let out a breath he had been clearly holding, "He's still got a pulse, but I have no idea fer how long."
"Aye, stay with 'em, I'll get the nurse." Demoman nodded, his expression full of determination. He swiftly turned, all of the drunkness he previously had gone, as he dashed back the way they came.
The Engineer turned to Tracy as the door closed again, glancing at the Pyro. "You two should probably get outta here before sawbones gets here. If One-Eye starts hollerin', everyone in this base is gonna hear it. We can handle our own."
"Go on ahead Pyro, I'll be right behind you." Tracy nodded, keeping her eyes on... well... herself. She didn't really have time to get a good look at herself aside from the first time she ever met her doppelganger on the battlefield. But she could tell that this Tracy was not doing well. She had deeper, darker purple bags under her eyes, and she was much paler than she remembered. Hell, Tracy herself had been getting tanner from spending all her time outdoors. Harvest didn't have much territory to begin with, so most of her time was spent on one of the upper floors staring out the windows. She also noticed scars, something she had only heard about happening. Most people would get injured, but the respawn system would always bring you back without any sort of battle scars to speak of. Although, if someone were to get injured at the very end of a match before the respawn could get to them, they would be stuck with those injuries. Mediguns weren't sanctioned to be used outside of battle or whatever Medic was funded to perform. Anyone's suffering outside of work hours wasn't really the company's problem. Plus, she heard the ingredients for the medigun to work at all were a little... complicated to create in the first place. Using them all the time wasn't exactly feasible. Most were smart enough to "clean themselves up" so they wouldn't have to deal with the hassle of a broken jaw or joining Demo's one-eye club.
As she was studying the RED, she noticed her face twitch, her fingers curl into a fist. In a moment, her eyes cracked open and unrolled from the back of her head. Again, Tracy could feel that heavy feeling on her chest, compressing all the air in her lungs. Somehow this time, she was prepared, and only slightly doubled over. She ended up nearly face to face with herself, a strange sensation slithering up around her spine that turned into a skittering up her neck and into her skull. It felt like deja vu, like she was seeing this scene through both sets of eyes. It was terrifying and magnetic, she couldn't pull away, her body felt like lead as she hovered over the gurney.
"T-There's a pistol... you know where. You can end this for me." RED Tracy murmured, her lips barely moved, she was almost convinced she didn't hear it. Maybe she didn't want to. But that illusion was shattered when she spoke once more, "Please."
As if she were a puppet, she felt her hand sliding down the RED's body, reaching for that very pistol. But she stopped herself, wondering who had been doing that, her or RED Tracy?
Was she even in control of herself anymore?
A hand on her shoulder shook her out of it, the Engineer looking at her with a concerned expression. Tracy blinked and looked up at him before looking back down at her counterpart.
"You know it won't work. You know you'll just come back." Tracy mutters, pushing past the dark spots in her vision.
From the gurney, she whimpers. "You... could at least try."
Tracy shook her head, closing her eyes. She thought she had been having it bad... if she knew now how many of HER were out there... then surely RED did as well. Finally, she felt some sort of similarity between the two of them. Despite their looks, she never considered them similar at all. The RED had always been so cruel and calculating, making sure to be as vitriolic as possible to rile her up. But now, seeing her curled up like this, spiraling just like she had been... All she could feel was pity now.
Pulling the pistol from RED Thief's belt, she handed the firearm to the Texan. She then took the girl's hand in hers, giving it a squeeze. "I know what I say won't help. But I can't do what you want me to do. Please try to understand. Your team cares about you, and wants the best for you."
The Thief pulled her hand away, stepping past the Engineer. She didn't know what else to say. She was never good at consoling anyone, much less herself. She had always let things bottle up, and she finally saw what the extreme could lead to. She just hoped she was right... and the RED would let her team help her. For now, she could feel the weight on her chest leave, and she took that as a good sign.
Letting out a breath of relief, Tracy left the RED Base and back out into the storm. She decided she'd take the long way around and let the rain pour.
Author's note:
I hope you guys like this and it wasn't insensitive or anything.
please leave a review if you found this chapter interesting or good. reviews keep me motivated to write. I'm also looking for people to beta my chapters in advance, if anyone is interested. I'd also like suggestions. Of course I have ideas where to go, but I love to get suggestions from people ^^
