Annihliation Fan Fiction: Estranged Chapter 2 BAIT, a misc. books fanfic

Annihilation/Southern Reach Fan Fiction

Estranged: By Corwin Black

Chapter: Bait.

I did not abandon the woman in distress, but I did not acknowledge her either. She knew I was here. Slingshot had barked an insistent plea to go to her rescue. I commanded him to follow me instead. Without talking a word to our woman in distress; I and the dog proceeded to leave the door open to the basement so as to let it air out a little. Slingshot and I quietly proceeded to the naked lady.

My shots had been accurate and had hit several vital organs and blood vessels. She was a mess. This was the first time I had killed a human being. I was remarkably unshaken about it. It was like I actually had killed a person before this. Several years ago I had brought a dog home from the pound only to have it attack and kill my miniature pincer without cause or warning. I had to pull the dog out of it's mouth with my bare hands. The dog I brought home from the pound was a menace. I put the dog down, I had to. I don't like to talk about it. Somehow that experience had prepared me for having to kill another human being.

The human body possesses a lot more blood than all of the horror movies would suggest. Horror movies are very inaccurate in terms of the blood and gore they display; but it's usually because they don't show ENOUGH blood; not even close to enough.

The naked ladies remains sat in the middle of her life's blood that was sprawled over a twenty foot diameter pool of it. I really didn't want all the shit on my boots but time was of the essence. However, I looked around and found her blanket; along with a couple of other blankets... and then I found a stack of sand bags in the corner. I wheeled a chair over to them and put two in the chair. I pulled out the 'One Way Ticket' that's what I named my knife and began to pour sand over the blood to make a path to the woman's dead body that I could walk on without slipping and falling in the blood bath. A blood bath now mixed with bile, feces, urine, and vomit. I pulled out my medical mask and put it on. I put some peppermint oil on the chair to displace the stench; a trick I had learned working in a hospital. I also scored some industrial glass cleaner on the way back to the body.

My trapped victim in the basement was now getting more insistent with her please; which resulted in a coughing fit. I didn't think that the fit could be faked. She really was in distress.

I managed to walk my way over to the naked lady's body. She was a Caucasian; African mix in her early forties or perhaps fifties. She had been in excellent health; at least physically. Her hair was died black but the roots were very gray; my beard was the same way.

She had the same fluorescent orange dog tags as the first soldier I had encountered. I removed them; and cleaned them off of the blood; they read:

SOUTHERN REACH EXPEDITION 16

ECOLOGIST & MEDIC; ATHEIST

USArmy. Fort Navajo; AZ

A Pos. KNDA PCN

Exposed to DM1-CX-47G 8-16-18

I put the clean dog tag in my admin pouch along with the other I had collected and placed the other one in the naked lady's jaw just as before. I teared up and shed a couple of them for this woman. She had been brave and had volunteered for an obvious suicide mission. Circumstances dictated that I had to kill her; it was me or her. However, the tragedy of this was not lost on me. If anything I wanted to find what was responsible and kill it, or them.

I needed to turn my attention to my lady who needed to be rescued; down in the basement.

CHAPTER: Big Brother is Watching You.

A team of tier 1 commandos were now observing the dead body of the cartographer from Expedition 14. The Captain now wondering how Southern Reach knew exactly where to find her. Whoever had gotten here first was male, wore a size fourteen boot; triple wide, and knew a lot about weapons. She was impressed that a male had gotten this far into the Shimmer without going insane. Especially since he had obviously not crossed at the door.

The Commando Team's tracker returned from her look about and reported to her captain, "Subject is male, probably two hundred and twenty pounds and wearing another one hundred and ten pounds of equipment. His boots are reinforced with braces of some sort. He has a dog with him. Definitely a Marine Corp K9; although his toe nails are not trimmed to Marine specs." the tracker concluded.

"Is the relay working?" asked the captain.

"Yes, it's up." said the comms expert.

The Captain spoke to her radio, "Reach; this is 'Kukri'. We have reached the way point. How copy?".

"Good Copy." replied the Southern Reach controller who was sitting in a nice safe control tower. "Please report."

She conveyed all the information about the subject they were tracking. She continued, "Subject also took time to properly deploy the cartographer's dog tag. He even made sure the body was face up so it could be easily seen, and her remains recovered." The Captain liked this guy. She liked him a lot. There was no way a veteran soldier; a female US Army Ranger no less could not like a person who took the time to show respect for a fallen soldier; and make sure that the body could be recovered more easily. Especially when he was male and the fallen soldier was female. This man didn't have to say he respected woman soldiers; he showed it. And he showed it when no one was watching.

"Continue;" prompted Reach, "what else?"

"Subject sprawled the words, 'Kilroy was here' on the cartographer's admin pouch. He topped off his magazines with her ammunition but left her weapons. Both of them have had their firing pins removed. This man is a weapon's expert at the least." The Captain wanted to know how Reach had known exactly where to find the cartographer. Reach had also known that this 'Kilroy' had deployed her dog tag properly; they were not surprised by this fact, and they should have been. They must have already known.

The Captain paused for orders. She deliberately neglected to mention that the cartographer's journal was gone. Reach should think to ask because Kukri (the commandos) were supposed to report that. The journal's status and location was of the upmost importance. This fact had been drilled into them. Reach failed to ask. Instead Reach said, "Proceed to Base Camp and search for 'Kilroy' there. Do not attack him. Even if fired upon; that is an order, under penalty of treason. He must be brought in alive at all costs." There was an unmistakable stress in Reach's voice on the words 'all costs'.