RED vs. BLUE
REVIVE
CHAPTER 6: WHAT FATE HAS IN STORE
A pair of guards stood along one of the walls of the UNSC Federal prison – staring out into the night. Spotlights slowly circled on the ground, revealing the night stillness. Other guards walked in pairs along the other walls and along the ground on the outside and inside of the prison.
A single guard sat inside at the television booth – monitoring the CCTV while sipping his coffee.
"Yo, Mac?" asked one of the guards as he shifted his rifle to the other arm.
"Yeah, rookie?" The guard asked as he glanced at his partner.
"Did you hear that?" The guard looked over at one area of the wall; aiming his gun in the direction.
"Hear what?"
"I thought I heard something." The guard took a few steps in the direction.
"Could be a bird. Or a squirrel." The seasoned guard shrugged and watched his new counterpart as he inched closer to the wall. "What did it sound like?"
"I dunno, man. It sounded like a…," The rookie came to the end of the wall and peered over, only to be hit in the face with a grappling hook. "OW!"
"What the fuck?!" The guard cursed, running over to help his partner. As he reached the end of the wall, a dark shadow rose upward. The guard slid on his heels to stop and attempted to rise his rifle, but the dark figure kicked it out of his hands. The rifle slid along the concrete ground; several feet away.
The soldier looked at his gun, then back at the shadow. The shadow had stabbed his partner in the back; yanking out a katana. The body collapsed upon the ground, lifeless. A pool of blood slowly formed under him.
"What the-?!" The soldier stuttered, and went to grab his walkie to alert everyone, but the shadowy fighter whipped a knife at him. It pierced the walkie, which was clipped to his chest, and then into him. The soldier gasped, feeling the blade pierce his armor and into his body. He dropped to his knees, then fell onto his side and slowly, everything fade to black.
The shadowy figure walked forward and ripped the knife out of the soldier, then wiped his blood off across a sheath.
The figure noticed the badge clipped to the soldier's hip, and gladly ripped it off of him.
The soldier in the CCTV booth sighed as he looked at each of the screens. Boredom was creeping in, and thus, he began to yawn.
He brought his cup of coffee back up to his mouth, only to pause when he noticed one of the cameras going out.
"Hmm… Strange." He tapped the television, only to receive total blackness. He pressed the button to his walkie. "Hey, Mac. It's Davis in the camera room. You got problems with the camera feed. Over."
David paused, only to hear static return on the walkie.
"Come in, Mac. Mac? You there? Over." He listened again, only to hear nothing.
"Hey, Callihan. You with Mac?" He called out over the walkie, feeling his heart starting to race with nervousness. "Dammit, Callihan? Mac? Any of you guys hear me?!" His voice began to rise with panic. The soldier got to his feet as he saw another television screen go out.
A few seconds pass.
Then another screen went out.
"Aw, shit." He went to reach for the alarm button, but suddenly heard a knock at his office door. He whirled around, seeing Mac's head come into view.
"Geez, Mac. You trying to scare me? That's not funny. What the hell are you doing? The cameras are going out-," Davis began to ramble, but he suddenly froze when Mac's helmet was suddenly whipped at him. David dove to the side, looked at the helmet that rolled across the table and onto the ground. His jaw quivered as he saw the remains of a neck still within the helmet. "M-M-M…?!"
His eyes darted to the door, only to see a katana fly at him. The blade pierced his helmet – going through his visor and between his eyes.
Sitting in his cell, a former sim soldier was reading his book. He flipped the corner of the page gingerly as his eyes scanned the page; not knowing someone was standing outside his cell.
He heard the click of the room being unlocked, and he quickly lowered the book onto his chest.
"What's going on?" The soldier asked, feeling confused. He swung his legs out over the bed and stood to his feet. The door opened, and to his surprise, a shadowy figure entered. "Who the hell are you?"
A uniform was tossed at him.
"Get. Dressed." Ordered the figure. The sim trooper did what he was ordered and stepped into the armor of a UNSC guard.
The shadowy figure nodded its head, which was covered in a black and green helmet. Its visor was a tint of blue that reflected back at the former sim soldier.
"Okay, what now?" asked the sim trooper, gruffly. The black-green dressed soldier turned away from the cell door.
"We go get our recruitments."
The sim trooper kept quiet as he walked alongside the supposed stranger in black-green armor. His voice was hidden by a voice changer that distorted his tone. He couldn't help but feel… familiar with this person.
They turned down a corridor, seeing a UNSC guard marching their way. The guard paused in his tracks, seeming hesitant about his next move.
The sim trooper paused, even though he was dressed in a matching uniform.
"S'up?" The sim trooper said, attempting to act normal.
"N-Nothing…," murmured the mirroring guard. His head turned to the soldier in black-green armor. "New prisoner?" He asked shyly.
"Yep. Bringing him to his cell." The sim trooper responded as he hooked his hand around the arm of the 'prisoner' and started marching forward.
"…Then why does he still have his weapon?" The UNSC guard questioned as he aimed his rifle to the two of them.
The soldier in black-green armor chuckled, and with one swift movement, threw a smoke grenade in the guard's face. The guard cursed, feeling dazzed.
The sim trooper watched in awe as the black-green dressed culprit dove at the guard, unsheathed his katana and sliced downward into his neck. The guard collapsed at his feet, barely gasping for air.
"Very impressive." The sim trooper said as he slowly clapped. "I like your style."
The katana was re-sheathed and they continued their walk to a cell at the end of a corridor. The sim trooper watched his new comrade, unsure of who was on the other side of the door. The black-green soldier slid the guard's badge, and the door clicked.
He yanked open the door, and the sim trooper grinned under his helmet, seeing two familiar faces.
"Bucky! Cronut! Well, I'll be…," The sim trooper beamed in his camouflage.
The two fellow sim troopers jumped off their bunks, standing before him in orange jumpsuits.
"What the hell is this?" asked Bucky.
"It's a prison break," announced the soldier in black-green armor.
"Guys, it's me." The fake UNSC guard removed his helmet, and he watched as smiles came to the faces of Bucky and Cronut.
"Temple."
Virginia hesitantly shifted her weight. Her face was complexed, as if she were deep in thought. She bit her lower lip as she stared down at the floor.
"It will be fine. You got us." Grif assured her.
"Plus, Carolina and Wash we'll be there." Simmons added. Virginia let out a breath and nodded.
"Okay, but I'm staying in my armor." Virginia added. She felt safer within her armor. It was like her second skin. It was all she had known for years.
Run. Hide. Fight.
Virginia kept close to Simmon's sides as the three of them walked into the busy hustle of Chorus' streets. Random strangers would high five Simmons and Grif, or thank them for their service.
"It's like we're celebrities." Grif chuckled. "You think someone will give me a free pizza?" Simmons groaned at the suggestion. Virginia just looked at the two banter, and giggled to herself.
Up ahead, Carolina and Wash at the entranceway to the General Doyle hospital.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Carolina asked.
"Yeah, not too bad." Virginia said, sheepishly.
"Well, that's good. Ready to go in?" Wash asked. Virginia nodded, unsure of what to expect.
Dr. Grey ran up to the soldiers, squealing with joy.
"Oh my goodness! This is so exciting! A new specimen!" Dr. Grey looked over Virginia's armor.
"Um… what?" Virginia was puzzled.
"Don't you worry, dear. I will take good care of you! This way, please!" Dr. Grey got behind Virginia and began to push her into the nearest examination room. Virginia looked back at the soldiers, but they couldn't see her pleading face from behind the helmet.
"That poor woman didn't have a chance." Grif said as he shook his head.
"Is torturing her really necessary?" Simmons asked, his voice thick with concern.
"We just want to see if she's a danger…," Carolina began to say. A danger to others or herself. "She has gone through a lot."
"Sometimes a good soldier needs help." Wash added and rubbed the back of his neck.
They wait for several minutes before Dr. Grey came prancing out of the examination room.
"So? What did you find?" Carolina asked.
"Well, our little miss has gone through the ringer." Dr. Grey stated. "Besides some P.T.S.D. and the occasional night terrors, she's all green!" She giggled happily.
"Really? Nothing of concern?" Wash asked.
"Nope. You got nothing to worry about. She is slightly malnourished and definitely needs to some good ol' Vitamin D from hiding in a cave for so long! But she's good!"
Virginia exited the room shortly thereafter, holding a bright green lollipop.
"Thanks for the check-up, Dr. Grey." Virginia said.
"And thank you for not kicking me when I gave you the shot." Dr. Grey giggled. She looked back at the other fighters. "Don't hesitate to visit! And let me know if any of you are due for a check-up!" She beamed and went off down the corridor, humming happily.
"God, she's frightening." Grif murmured.
"I think I'll have something new to have night terrors about." Virginia admitted, before lifting the bottom of her helmet to put the lollipop into her mouth.
The group began to exit the hospital, when Carolina started to hear the rhythmic tune of a ringtone in her helmet.
"Hello? Dylan Andrews?" Carolina asked, confused. "Long time, no talk." The group paused and looked at Carolina.
"Carolina. Are you near any prompters?!" Dylan asked, nearly screaming.
"Wha…? Um, hold on." Carolina ran out to the street, looking up at the large flat screens that decorated the cityscape. Several of the screens displayed flashy lights of advertisements, but then they slowly began to flash to a news teleprompter.
The group followed Carolina to the sidewalk, and noticed the usual hustle of the city had come to a pause. Everyone's heads were craned back to look at the news that was being announced on the screen.
They read the bold letters that scrolled along the bottom of the screens.
"ESCAPED CONVICTS FROM UNSC FEDERAL PRISON"
Wash, Carolina, Grif and Simmons cursed simultaneously as they announced the names of the convicts that had escaped.
BUCKY. CRONUT. TEMPLE.
"Son of a bitch!" Wash hissed angrily.
"Those are those guys you brought down…," Virginia murmured, recalling the news she had seen several months ago. "The Freelancer murderers."
"Those cockbites escaped…" Simmons grumbled angrily. They listened to the news reported that stepped into the view of the screen. Behind the reporter was the smoldering view of the UNSC federal prison, with a hole in part of the wall that bellowed with smoke.
"…12 UNSC guards were found murdered, and 3 other UNSC guards wounded and in critical condition. The CCTV within the prison had been tampered with and no new news has been released about who or whom may have broken out these three convicts…"
"This is bad." Carolina said with gritted teeth. Her anxiety began to rise as she recalled how Wash and she stood there for days, locked in their armor. She could still remember the scent of death in that room, and her stomach began to turn.
Wash looked at Carolina, sensing that she was feeling uneasy.
"So much for not having to look over my shoulder." Virginia stated dryly. "We have targets painted on our backs."
Carolina's nostrils flared and she looked at Virginia.
"Let them come. I'll make them regret it."
