5 – Somethingness
The two chrome claws clashed and interlocked their claws. The two were standing their grounds. #2 let out a roar, drops of spit flew at the monitor. ˝Ever heard oral hygiene?˝ #2 didn't answer, ˝Of course not. How are you guys doing?˝ The genet looked up to his leader and gave a somethings up (no thumbs).
˝Then fire it up already!˝ ordered the reptile. ˝Oh right, you two, get back, this I gonna get messy.˝ The roadrunner and flying fox escaped from underneath the mutation and were followed by Clemens who lit a fuse before jumping away. #1 and #2 were still in a stalemate until the explosion went off. #2's legs were blown off. Red shell fragments and blue goo flew in all directions.
The wounded monster was now just lying there on the ground. It looked up and saw the monitor with his hands inside #1's head. He pulled back and #1 raised his claw. #2 avoided his look as the chrome pincer smashed its head. ˝How does it go again,… oh yeah, 3, 2, 1!˝ while saying one, he thrusted his arms deeper into the lobster's head, killing it. Alexander pulled out his hands, jumped off the monster and went over to his team. ˝Nice work out there,˝ they saluted, ˝no need for that, this was friends thing.˝
˝Yeah, we know, but the nostalgia is getting the better of me,˝ replied the bird. ˝Uh-huh, the memories are great,˝ added the bat. ˝ by the way, what's the story with you and those penguins?˝ asked Clemens. ˝Let's find them and I'll give you a proper introduction, but first things first, the elephant seal.˝ They began scanning the room and found no signs of their enemy. All the normal lobsters had also fled the scene. They saw the open exit and the water coming from it. Alexander turned and threw a glare at the bat, ˝He he,… well at least the penguins got out.˝ The monitor sighed, ˝You're right, now let's follow their example.˝
Meanwhile, outside on the pears, the sun was already setting and three penguins were pulling an unconscious one out of the water. Exhausted, they followed his lead and also dropped. ˝Finally, I never thought my blood acidity would ever come to the critical point,˝ said Kowalski while trying to catch his breath. ˝Maybe next time we shouldn't chase after Rico while he's catching fish,˝ suggested Private. ˝FISH!˝ cheered the maniac.
Whispering was heard, the three birds stood up they and walked over to a wall. They jumped up and grabbed the edge. The birds pulled themselves up and peeked over it. On the other side they saw two lobsters having a conversation. It wasn't anything interesting, but then they noticed the black duffel bag, one of them was carrying. ˝I think that's Alexanda's,˝ whispered the Private. ˝I concur, but how will we retrieve it?˝ Rico demonstrated by hacking up his baseball bat and jumping over the wall. He beat up the lobsters to a pulp and came back with the bag.
˝That was… smooth,˝ commented the lieutenant, ˝now we just have to find our medic.˝ not a second later, an explosion went off. The birds looked into its direction, ˝What booth was that?˝ asked the short penguin. Plastic rings fell over the birds. ˝I would guess it was the ring tossing booth.˝ From the newly formed hole, came the rescue party. The first ones out was Dmitry, who simply flew, second was Ovid who climbed and flapped his wing and of course last were Alexander and Clemens.
˝Finally, I thought I'd never see the light of day again,˝ complained the monitor. He noticed the penguins and his bag. They all walked over to them and Rico handed the item over. ˝Thanks, now where's the captain?˝ Private pointed him in the direction. The reptile walked over to where Skipper was lying and pulled something out of his bag. He opened it above the bird's nostrils and his eyes shot open. ˝Who, what, where?˝ the lead penguin jumped up and looked around.
˝Ain't nothing as powerful as the spirit of hartshorn.˝ The last thing the bird could remember was their fight with the morbidly obese mammal. He gave it another thought and then it came to him, ˝YOU DRUGGED ME!˝ he yelled, pointing at his medic. ˝Whoa, I wouldn't say that, I just did what was best for you.˝ Skipper growled and then punched the reptile in the stomach. It took his breath away. ˝That's for leaving in the first place,˝ as the monitor bent over from to the first punch, and the bird threw another one at his face, ˝and that's for drugging me.˝
The others watched in shock. Alexander was lying on the ground, looking into the sky. The captain walked over to him and offered him a flipper, ˝and this is for saving us.˝ He smiled and happily accepted it. Skipper helped him stand up and they both walked over to the remaining team. ˝So, what happens now?˝ asked Private. ˝I believe we can spend the night here and return before the break of dawn in the morning,˝ suggested Skipper.
And so they did. They gathered some wood and carried it to the beach, where they started a fire. ˝So, how's about those introductions,˝ suggested Skipper. ˝Sure, anything to pass the time,˝ replied Alexander.
˝Ok, I'll go first. I'm Private and well, I'm responsible for special ops and I like the Lunacorns.˝
˝Ovidius, or Ovid, for short, as you probably saw, I'm quite nifty with the throwing knives and I'm pretty fast˝
˝Kowalski, second in command and responsible for data retrieval, and armory and weaponry additions.˝
˝Clemens, lock picker extraordinaire, agile as no other, responsible for demolition and of course a shrink by education.˝
(Rico will be introduced by Private) ˝This is Rico, he's a tad bit hard to understand, but he's our one-bird demolition crew and responsible for the supplies.˝
˝Dmitry, electronics expert and physicist with an IQ yet to be measured.˝
˝Captain Skipper, leader of the troop.˝
˝Alexander, but you all know me.˝
With the introductions over, and handshakes exchanged, the animals were talking, until THE SUBJECT was struck by private, ˝so, how come you guys aren't a team anymore.˝ there was a disturbing silence, and the monitor sighed, ˝It's probably time I tell you anyway. It's quite the story actually.˝ The penguins edged closer as the monitor began.
˝It all began about two and a half years ago…˝
WARNING, IF YOU HAVE ADD OR ARE NOT INTERESTED IN THE PAST OF MY OC, YOU CAN STOP READING HERE, BECAUSE THE REST OF THE CHAPTER WILL CONSIST OF THIS FLASHBACK. YOU WON'T MISS ANYTHING IMPORTANT, IT'LL JUST EXPLAIN HOW HE LOST HIS FREEDOM.
Flashback
It was my fifth year in the army. My rank was sergeant and I was stationed, with the team you see here, in Africa. It's an interesting story how we got together, but let's leave it for another time, since this is flashback of my last mission.
On that faithful day, my team and I were just sitting in our tent out in the wild when we suddenly intercepted a radio signal. ˝Yo, got something here,˝ I walked over to my electronics expert. ˝What is it?˝ he increased the volume so we all could hear. High-pitched shouting German: ˝…SCHIEßEN SIE DIE GEISEL, SCHIEßEN SIE!…˝ the transmission ended.
We waited in silence a little longer, waiting for more, but there was nothing. ˝What do we do?˝ asked Clemens. I shrugged, ˝Well we can pinpoint their location and kill them all… but that's just me.˝ There was no response at first, but eventually, ˝But you're the squad leader,˝ said Ovid. I acted surprised, ˝Really, didn't notice, so that's settled then, we take them at sun set.˝
I waited for the regular cheers, but instead I got nothing. ˝How about we just report this to command center and help if they request it,˝ suggested Dmitry. Just a little heads up, this is where I made my first mistake. I stormed out of the tent and grabbed my duffel bag on the way. My team called me, but I didn't turn around. I don't know what they were talking about in the time I was gone, but no one came after me.
I wandered around, trying to clear my head, but I was a man of action. As soon as the sun set I went back to the camp site. My team was already fast asleep, so I snuck in and grabbed sheet of paper with the coordinates of the transmission. Luckily, Dmitry was careless enough to leave them lying.
I went to my destination on foot. It took me about an hour or so, but the building eventually rose on my horizon. My black scales blended perfectly with the night and I easily got to it undetected. I saw two guards, they were African wild dogs. They were pacing back and forth.
I took a syringe of imobillon and a scalpel from my bag. While the guards were facing in different directions, I threw the needle at the one on my left and made a run for the other. The first one got hit and let out a yelp before collapsing. The second heard it and turned around. He was soon introduced to the blade of my knife.
With surgical precision, I struck right above the heart, severing the aorta and thereby stopping the blood pumping organ. ˝Just fall asleep, it'll all be over soon,˝ I whispered while holding his muzzle. A few seconds later he collapsed like his buddy. There weren't any doors on this side, so I went around, and noticed a guarded door with two more canines.
I picked up a rock and threw it over the guard onto the other side. They heard it land and turned around. I made another run at them and used the blood-stained knife from before, on the first one. I stabbed him in the neck, right between the 4th and 5th vertebrae. I cut his spinal cord and paralyzed him.
When the second one turned around, I grabbed his esophagus. I held tightly, my claws sank into his flesh and I watched him struggle for another breath of air. I felt his body become limp in my hands. Two more dogs, dead, just like that. I turned to the door and began picking the lock. I used a combination of my claws and tail tip and smiled when I heard the click. I slowly pushed the door and then felt something touch my shoulder.
I instinctively grabbed it and turned around, ready to strike with my claws. But thankfully I noticed, that it was just my team. I was holding Clemens' paw and saw the terror in his eyes. ˝Sorry, but I didn't expect anyone,˝ I let go. ˝What are you doing here anyway, I thought you wanted to wait.˝ Ovid crossed his wings, ˝Hey, what can we say, we know you.˝
I formed my signature evil smile, ˝Then what are waiting for, I bet there are more guards inside and I'm already ahead by 4.˝ We proceeded with entering the building. It was like a ghost town inside. No sounds or voices were heard, ˝No security systems, no electrical grid, not even a flashlight in here,˝ commented Dmitry, after finding nothing on the WEH.
He was right, the place was isolated, but the silence was broken by the sound of a single drop. In the dark room, our senses became sharper, and we all heard it. We turned to it and stepped closer. I took a deep breath and the aroma reached me. Like a shark in the sea, I recognized it instantly. ˝Blood, the hostages must be upstairs.˝ we stormed up the stairs and went over to the only door there. Clemens did quick work of the lock and we were inside.
˝Are you ok?˝ there was no response. The air in the room was hot. The captives were probably locked inside for quite some time. You could also smell the blood inside. In the darkness, nobody saw the terrible scene, so we were shocked when someone outside suddenly turned on some lights. We only caught a glimpse of the numerous bodies before we were forced to shield our eyes.
Next thing we heard was glass breaking and then the air became hard to breath. I felt someone grab me from behind and push me to the ground. Everything was dark, so long after that. There was a bag over my head, as far as I could tell, and my hands were tied I could hear voices, but didn't bother making them out. I was being pushed around a lot until finally, light.
˝Boy, now what exactly made you think killing innocent animals was a great idea?˝ I slowly raised my head. In front of me, was the Lieutenant Colonel Arlie. He was a bald eagle and the only one who struck fear into my bones with his look. I stared into his eyes for a while and then looked at my surroundings. I saw my team mates behind me, also tied and watching, and the gorilla that was holding me. Unfortunately, I knew where I was and where this was all going.
As the leader of my squad I decided to take responsibility. ˝There wasn't enough action in the field,˝ the eagle formed a very angry glare, ˝The team just wasn't fast enough to stop me. I enjoyed every second of it. The screams, I'll never forget them,˝ I added with a smirk.
And there it is, I took the fall for my team, unfortunately, the birdbrain still suspended them. They were sent to the Bronx zoo, while I went over to Seneca. And the rest, as they would say, is history.
I really enjoyed describing the deaths of those dogs.
R&R