Chapter 11 - Even Newer Discoveries.
"So who are we going to go meet?" I ask Sniper as he undid the laces of his shoes.
"My parents." He replied, kicking the shoes under the bed and laying down on the bed.
"But.. Lucy. Wait, Aunt Lucy, said they had passed away." I commented, my brow frowned in confusion. I loosed the tie around my neck, allowing the piece of red fabric to hang around my neck.
"Oh boy. Guess I have to explain our family history, don't I?" He chuckled, joking. It was the middle of the night, Scout was asleep on the top bunk above mine. Amber was sleeping above Sniper, clutching tightly to her pillow. The BLU Demo slept in another bunk further across the room whilst Engineer stayed above deck, ensuring that we were to get to our destination. The candle that sat on a small crate between us dropped wax and swayed occasionally as the waves slammed against the boat. I was mildly glad to have my memories back but I was still uncertain about my future or what happened in that two year gap. Memories of prison and of my past flicked in now and then but they disappeared as quickly as they came. I had my relationships back and my identity. Those two things were the only things that really mattered right now other than being in the right frame of mind. "So," Sniper's voice cut through my thoughts, shaking me from my inner monolog. "It turns out, I was lied to. They hadn't passed away, they went into hiding after a group of armed men threatened them because of me while I was in America and Lucy was off in prison. They faked their deaths and lied to everyone, including my sister and I. I found out last year when I got a letter from my sister who had been digging through files and found it out." He explained, rubbing his forehead with his fingers.
"What happened that caused that?" I asked, unclasping my lab coat and pulling it off.
"I 'accidently' shot their leader when I was still in Australia at a public bar before I left for the US." He awkwardly said.
After our brief conversation, the both of us got into our pajamas and went to sleep on our respective beds. Scout was snoring above me, rolling around in his sleep which caused the bedframe to groan as he moved. It was silent other than Scout's snores until I heard Amber mutter something from her bunk. It was so faint I could barely hear it. "Hans.. " She groaned, falling back asleep a second later. Hans? Where had I heard that name before? My brain rapidly thought. I shrugged it off, rolling onto my side and falling asleep.
"Get her!" I heard a voice behind me shout, the concrete under my feet was hard and corse. I slide past another hallway, crashing into a man who was wearing a tan uniform. I squealed in fear as I kicked the guard in the stomach, causing him to knee over in pain as I scampered down the hall. Another large group of guards blocked my way, the group that was following me close behind. "Freeze!" One shouted, aiming a taser at me. I swung my head around, searching for a possible escape. Realizing there was none, I rose my hands up in defeat, kneeling on the ground and lowering my head. They restrained me roughly, binding my hands with cuffs before walking me back down the hall. Another guard approached the one that was holding me, whispering something into his ear before walking away. "Lucky you, sweetheart. Your going to go see the doctor." He crudley said, yellow teeth showing. I began to panic, wiggling around in my restraints but the cuffs didn't yield. He lead me down another hallway, it looking exactly the same as the last. We walked into a doorway, it's metal door blocking out anyone inside. One of the nurses rushed forward, a large needle in her fingers. They sedated me before dumping me onto a gurney and restraining my legs, arms, hands and chest with brown leather straps. They covered my mouth with a metal gag, it's bitter metal taste horrid. My eyelids began to drop as I fought to stay awake. Slowly, I slipped into unconsciousness.
I woke up later, slightly disoriented and aware of what was going to happen. I tugged at the leather straps, my wrists becoming red from the stress. I froze when I heard his voice. "Ah, finally avake are you?" His german accent was sicking, feared by most in this cursed place. I looked up and to the side, my neck straining. He was standing there, a greyed lab coat on, glasses, blue rubber gloves and a medical mask across his face. "Nurse, how is she coping vith zhe experiments?" He asked a nearby nurse. The nurse carried over a file, its pale yellow cover torn in a few places. He opened it, skimming through the files. "Seems like your due to anozher shot." He smiled. A sinking feeling appeared in my stomach as he pulled out needle. It was always needles. Always those needles. I moved my head to face the ceiling, my neck painfully sore from the pressure I was putting on it. He hovered above me for a moment before pulling up the sleeve of my shirt.
"Doctor Hans?" A voice from the doorway said. I couldn't see who it was from the angle I was at but I could assume it was a guard. "Patient #EA569 has just shown signs of memory loss." The doctor's eyes widened in excitement, passing the needle back to the nurse before rushing out of the room, his coattails following behind.
I woke up with a start, the sounds of people moving around was obvious. I sat up, staring down at my wrists. Amber looked at me with confusion as I rubbed my wrists at the imaginary friction burns. Amber placed a hand on my shoulder. Startled, I gripped onto her wrist with wide and frightened eyes. "Are you alright?" She asked. I let go of her wrist, fumbling with my hands.
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine. Just had a bad dream was all." I choked out, feeling embarrassed and awkward.
"Breakfast is upstairs on the deck." Amber said, rolling her eyes before walking off. No one else was in the room. I got up, walking over to a large crate labeled 'Medical Stuff'. Using a nearby crowbar, I pulled off the timber cover before rummaging through the supplies. Pull out a few bandages, I noticed a small, bond leather book. It's light brown colour stood out among the ivory white bandages and red rubber gloves. I pulled it out, highly interested. I pulled the cover back across, putting the crowbar away. I gingerly wrapped my now bruised wrists, sitting on the bed whilst I did it. No one will notice if I wear my gloves over my hands and I do have a healing factor to consider. I think. I opened the book, handwriting already covering the pages. It was a diary it seems, dates showing that it was from over two years ago. I flick through, ignoring the fact that German words screamed at me every couple of pages. I turned a final page, seeing a blank one on the right side. The left side was covered in writing, the way it was written was almost like a letter. It was dated June 28th 1968. The text was hastily scrawled, as if the owner was writing it so much in so little time. I began to read it outloud.
"My dear friend, I write this note not sure of the future. Tavish, I apologise for never telling you the honest truth. To be honest, I never planned to. Although you may not be reading this, I hope you are. I know someone will die tonight. I will not let anyone die. I love you so much Tavish. Sincerely, Karl." Who was Karl? Tavish is mention.. I thought. It suddenly dawned on me. The RED Medic who had died in Tavish's arms many years ago was the owner of this small leather book. I flick back many pages, landing in November the year prior. Notes were written in his chicken shit handwriting, detailing the events of the past. I snapped the book shut, my head filled with new information that swarmed my head. I got up abruptly, slipping socks over my bare feet and fixing the string that held my pajama pants up. I was wearing a plain red t-shirt and a pair of long grey pajama pants. I walked down the hallway and climbed up the stairs, bright light piercing through the sky above. I spotted everyone gathered around a crate with small stools surround it. I sat down at the table, beside Scout and Sniper. I raised an eyebrow at the fact that we were eating pancakes and orange juice. "Why are we eating this? It's odd, especially in this situation."
"We're getting rid of anything that will perish quickly. Eggs, butter, milk, fruit are a few examples." The Demo explained, fork full of the food. I shrug, accepting his reason before digging in myself.
"So, how long have you been working at BLU?" Sniper asked Demo.
"A few years." He answered, eating more pancakes.
"Same. I've been there roughly three or four years as well." Amber mentioned, leaning back in her chair.
"Hey Katie, wanna try fishing later?" Scout asked me as the three other people resumed their conversation. I finish up my food before replying.
"Not really. I'm going to ask Engineer if he needs any help." I get up, placing my plate on top of another dirty plate before picking up a full mug of prepared coffee. I walked up to the main control room. I open the door after knocking, Engineer looking at me with a tired expression. "Good morning, Engie. How you doing?" I ask, passing over the chipped mug.
"Mornin' Py. I'm fine right now. Thanks for the cup 'o coffee. Mind tellin' the other that we'll be in Queensland in about an hour."
"Queensland? I thought we were aiming for Darwin!" I heard a voice behind me shout. I watched as Amber stormed into the room.
"Hey! I'm the one in charge here, missy. Ya hear me?" Engineer shouted at her. I scrambled out of the room to avoid the danger. I closed the door behind me, their argument muffled.
A while later we docked into a pier off of Karuma. The town was completely barren, trucks and cars were tipped over and a few buildings were in ruin. Demo had discovered a large van that was dented in a few places but otherwise unscaved. We all clambered into the van, sitting along the benches that were lucky inside. It was cramped inside the small place, my medi-gun sitting on the floor between my feet. Engineer's body pressed up against mine on my right side, Scout sitting on the left side. Demo and Amber sat on the bench opposite us, Sniper being the one driving. It would be a day or two until we arrived to our safe haven. I looked out the window as the yellowing fields flickered past. The road was bumping, our bodies slamming into each other randomly every few meters. Night began to fall as I fell asleep in my spot, leaning against Scout's skinny frame.