DAY THREE ~ PARKER
Darkness, then light.
Parker opened his eyes, but shut them immediately. The pain was excruciating, throbbing through his entire body like individual hearts that hurt with each beat. Even lifting his eyelids brought a wave of agony and exhaustion.
He could hear soft murmuring around him, masked by the squeaking of wheels and heavy footsteps. Reaching out in desperation, Parker felt nothing but air slip through his fingers. As his hand fell, he felt his fingers brush fabric. He was on a medical stretcher.
He struggled to open his eyes once again, seeing the figure of another Gear watching him. It looks like backup had come after all. But instead of facing reality, he let himself drift back into the darkness, leaving the voices and light behind.
~LEAH~
"Damn."
Leah wasn't faced by much, but even she grimaced at the sight before her. What was left of the central area could hardly be called a city, ruins of what once was. Ash covered everything, leaving a sickly grey color on all it touched. Broken and battered buildings surrounded the cracked cement and burnt vehicles. The skyscrapers were now hollow frames, void of life. A once prosperous city was now a ghost town. Leah knew the ash on her boots wasn't just from things. People had lived here too.
Hoffman barked orders at the remaining men, ignoring Leah beside him. She tuned out his words as usual, not interested in playing the military game.
"Your first priority is to eliminate all hostiles. Then you search for survivors. You find a body, you get the tags and you take the weapons. You know the drill. Don't. Leave. Anything. Behind. Salvage everything you can. I don't want to see one single damn bullet on this road. NOW MOVE OUT!"
They marched deeper into the ruins, leaving their Dills parked by the city limit sign. She watched them leave, wondering how many would come back this time.
Hoffman let out a string of polite curse words under his breath, eyeing the fuel tank on his own Dill. The damn things ran on a shit ton of Imulsion. And fuel was harder to find than gold. Even the smallest leak in a tank could lead to the death of an entire squadron.
Adjusting her lancer impulsively, she jogged closer to the Colonel.
"Didn't I give you an order, Reyes?"
"You gave them an order."
"Well shit. You think you're special, princess? You're a Gear! And you follow the order your commanding officer gives!"
Leah scoffed. "Those soldiers out there are NOT gears. They're civilians with armor. Being a Gear is more than just pointing a gun."
Hoffman sighed, closing the metal door to the fuel tank. "We're at war, Sergeant. These are the only Gears we got left. And if you wanna live to see another day, you'll go out there and help your comrades. Civilians or not"
She didn't respond, watching her "comrades" in the distance. They were all strangers, but they walked together like a team. Funny how a war could make people come together.
"Hey! Assholes!"
And break them apart too. Fucking Stranded.
Both Hoffman and Leah glanced up, shading their eyes from the sun. At least three stories up on a nearby building stood a man, grimy and pissed off. He sure as hell wasn't a Gear, but he held his Hammerburst like a professional. Scratching his wild beard, he shouted down at them.
"What's wrong COG? Comin' to take what we got left? You dicks just take whatever you want huh? Fucking Bastards."
Leah raised her Lancer. "Excuse me? Why don't you say that down here you-"
"Stand down Sergeant," Hoffman held his end up, despite her protests. "We aren't here to cause trouble. We just wanna find our missing team."
"Oh I know who your talkin' about. A group of three."
"You've seen them?"
"Yeah," He shouted, slightly less aggressive, 'Saw 'em before they headed deeper into town. But they didn't come back out."
Leah narrowed her eyes. "Did you and your friends get a little trigger-happy?"
"Look who's talkin' sweetheart." He waved his rifle in the air. "The Stranded didn't do nothin' to your damn friends. But I can't say the same for the Locust. They always seem to come out of hiding when the COG shows up."
"You saw them attack and you didn't help?" Leah was on the verge of firing a round.
"They were dead. It was three against a hundred. There was so many, we couldn't even get down there to take the guns." The man slowly put his rifle down, pointing towards the direction of the Gears. "You wanna find your team? They were over there, what's left of them anyway."
Hoffman grunted. "Your help is appreciated."
"Don't give me that shit. Just hurry up and go… Damn COG."
They took his advice, making their way towards the rest of the team. As she jogged, Leah looked down, contemplating.
Dead. No surprise.
It's what she expected to hear. The once hopeful optimism that they used to have was now gone. Millions were dead, and hundreds were dying each day. No one really gave a damn about being positive anymore. It was all about survival. You either learned to live, or you died trying. Just like the rookies who were gunned down by the locust.
Hoffman seemed to think the same, shaking his head wearily as he surveyed the city. Leah knew he was there when the Hammer of Dawn went off. When the COG killed its own citizens to stop the Locust. It hadn't worked. And now the people called themselves "Stranded" and refused to trust their own Government. Hoffman had been working beside the men who hit the switch. And now, he was seeing all the destruction he had caused. They'd never win this war.
"Sir!"
As they reached the cross section, a Gear approached, his face covered by the standard helmet. His Lancer was pointed down, a sign that the hostiles had left the area.
Hoffman's bark was back, nearly shouting in his face. "Report Soldier!"
"We found the team but… two are dead. A locust ambush."
"Damn Grubs. Where's the survivor?"
He pointed towards another group of Gears, carrying a blood spattered stretcher. On it was one of the youngest soldiers Leah had seen so far. Dirty blonde hair that curled around his goggles and a 5 o'clock shadow. Blood seeped through his armor, maroon in color. Leah could tell he'd been laying there for awhile.
As the body was wheeled closer, she watched the man open his eyes. But he couldn't keep them open, and they shut almost immediately. His hand eased off the stretcher, reaching out with shaky fingers. He focused on Leah for only a moment before falling back unconcious.
She and Hoffman watched silently. Leah gazed across the city, seeing the other soldiers surrounding an abandoned home. She could just make out two bodies, both deathly still. A male and female, both just as young as the survivor. They hadn't been as lucky as him.
"Recon," Hoffman muttered beside her. "That's all it was. To investigate the area and check for hostiles."
"They found them."
"Sure did." He turned back to Leah, eyeing the soldier as he was carried back to the Dill. Seeing the chance to talk, she grabbed his attention.
"Why did you bring me here?"
He rolled his eyes as if it were obvious. "I've seen you work, Reyes. You don't see a war, you see a graveyard. Humanity ain't dead yet, but you're not giving it a chance."
"Those Gears are dead, sir."
"Wrong. Two are dead. But that one," He said nodding. "He survived. A civilian and a child just like the others, but he's still here."
She eyed him wearily. "What are you talking about."
"He's here because he wanted to survive. And so does humanity. But this war is already over if you've given up. So knock that shit off."
Leah stifled a laugh. "Yes sir."
"Good. Now that all this shit is out of the way, let's get the hell outta here. We need to report to CIC before the Locust get there first."
They began their walk back, avoiding the Stranded on the way. Leah chewed over Hoffman's words carefully. She knew he had good intentions, but she didn't have faith in something like this. She'd seen what was left of humanity, and it couldn't be saved at this point.
Before getting back into the Dill, her eyes rested on the sole survivor, still asleep on the stretcher. His wounds were bad, but he really had fought to survive.
Gears are born not made… I hope that counts for you too.