Fortress of Death

Chapter 03 - No easy way out

Comment: Archimedes? I guess in the previous chapter there was his only appearance in the story. I run the risk to forget way too often that there is still a pet pigeon by the Medic's side. Just assume that he's always following the mercs or sitting somewhere up above.

Song from the original challenge for this chapter: "No easy way out" by Robert Tepper (song from Rocky IV)

For three days they had been staying at their new home now - the grounds of a car dealer from the look of it. The company sign was missing and the way the garage and offices looked it had been closed a long time ago - no wonder since in the middle of nowhere the owner would hardly have done good business - but at least the buildings and the fence around the whole ground were in good enough shape to call it a safe haven for the moment. The van now had a lot of parking space, the mercs a lot more personal space which might have been one of the reasons for the reduce in disputes. Another good thing was the few old cars someone had left next to the ground. None of them would drive, that was for sure but they were a good spare parts depot for the van and Engineer was able to do better repairs. For the first time since weeks their vehicle was able to move faster than the average running speed of a human again.

However, a faster travelling speed was of little use when they had no idea where to go. Other bypassing travellers with whom the mercs had traded some of their food for gasoline brought bad news from the north. The safe refugee camp there was no longer safe after there had been incidents and now the south of Colorado was probably contaminated as well. There were still other labs where refugees were brought which now had enforced their security measures but those were somewhere in the east and no one knew where exactly.

So close - they already had been so close to the border, just one more day with the crawling speed or not more than three hours with normal speed and they would have reached their destiny.

And now aside of not knowing where to go and zombies frequently crawling around their fence they had to deal with yet another problem.

"How's he doing today, doc?" Soldier asked when he returned from his night shift on guard duty. Medic just gave him a bleak glance and shook his head.

"Not much better. His fever seems to be rising. What we really could need are some medications."

Soldier silently cursed. Before it had just been faintness which they had believed to be caused by the blood loss or complications after the transfusion but then Demoman's condition had gotten worse and the possibility of an infection couldn't be excluded anymore. And it was all his fault. The feeling of guilt was eating him up. If he had listened to his friend, if he hadn't insisted on taking the other survivors' supplies, it all wouldn't have happened - no wounded, no deaths.

"Don't blame yourself", Medic said as if he had read Soldier's mind and put a hand on his shoulder. "In zhese times zhere will be even more victims. Maybe zhey would have died somehow else even when zhey kept zheir food. Or maybe one of us would have starved to death. Hopefully our exploration team has more luck today."

The exploration team consisting of Scout and Sniper was getting ready for departure. Their destination was a town in the north - only 20 minutes away when they used the van to get there.

"I'm up to my last few rounds", Scout said when he reloaded his scattergun. "Hope they don't just have a pharmacy there but also something where you could stock up on ammo."

"I thought in the US weapons and their accessories were sold in every one-horse town", Sniper said with a slight grin and climbed into the vehicle.

It was the van's first farther travel with new - or better said at least not damaged - parts. Now it would show if Engineer's work was good enough for travelling distances or only for testing rounds on the parking space.

"I don't know what I expected from this town. Maybe a bit more ... life?" Scout commented when they wandered through the empty streets. They already might have passed a corpse or two but those had been gone for good. No walking dead yet. Either the people had fled soon enough or they had gathered up closer to the centre of the town - if before or after their deaths was debatable.

"I'm kinda glad about that. Could'a been worse if we met them - no matter if living or dead. The living would loot the whole place empty before we could and the dead ... well, y' know", Sniper said and climbed up a windowsill of a storefront so he could look through the broken glass. "Looks like they already had been here though - nothing but yawning void."

"There's one of our pharmacies", Scout called from a bit further down the street. "But same problem here. Some raw materials, no drugs."

"Take them anyways; maybe the doctor knows something to do with them. As far as I know there's another pharmacy midtown."

A silent but sudden noise startled them. A few zombies had appeared at the corner a few houses away. They seemingly hadn't noticed the two mercs yet but were still staggering towards them.

"Oh piss, they are already out here? Come, we need to find another way."

Side by side they hurried through the streets, always close to walls, always ready to go into cover whenever they heard another strange noise - and those became more frequent the closer they got to the centre of the town.

"This should be it", Sniper whispered and nodded at one of the small backside windows of a building. To the front they couldn't go - from the sound of it there it was crowded by those creatures. "At least if I remember the map we had correctly."

"That map was from the 50s. They could have moved in the past ten years."

"Well, that's a risk we have to take. At least it's still a store and there might be something else we could need." He ran a hand over the glass, slightly knocked at it. "Looks and sounds fragile enough. After I do that we will only have a few seconds. Grab whatever you find. We probably have to shoot our way out. You ready?"

Scout silently nodded. He looked as tensed up as never before in his life.

Sniper took off his vest, covered his hand in it then rammed his fist against the window which broke with a loud clash. At the front bedlam broke loose. Quickly Scout dragged himself up and through the window. The bandages protected his hands but he could feel remains of glass in the frame scratch over his skin. Sniper followed right after, also his hands were protected, one by the glove the other by the vest.

It looked as if this store lately rather had been selling food instead of medications. Only very few cans and packs were left. In the dim light it was hard to see what it contained but the two took it nevertheless, grabbed everything in reach. Some zombies tried to get through the back window; others were banging at the door and the bigger windows in the front. More and more cracks appeared at the glass until it eventually broke. Scout let out a curse and shot at the first few dragging themselves into the room.

"Out through the front!" Sniper shouted after he had turned around and seen that the creatures had found out how to reach and get through the back window. Scout ran towards them, jumped over their heads and shot at them from above. The recoil of his weapon brought him out of balance though. He ungently hit the ground but rolled over, leapt up immediately and started firing at them again. Sniper used the moment of distraction to jump over them as well. As soon as he was out Scout ceased fire and they both ran.

The rasping sounds behind them already had gotten quiet when Sniper suddenly grabbed Scout's wrist and dragged him with him against a house wall.

"There are some right in front of us", he breathlessly whispered.

They crouched down and slowly crawled along a lower wall beside the house.

"Are they still blocking the way?" Scout silently asked. "They are quite hard to hear. I think they have already moved on."

"Wait, let me see."

Sniper stood up so he could have a look over their cover. Scout noticed his muscles stiffened and that he stood like frozen for a moment before he let out a silent curse.

"What is it?" he asked worriedly when Sniper crouched down again.

"You don't want to know, you really don't want to know. No, stay down!"

But Scout had already stood up and now his eyes widened in shock.

Part of the RED team really had made it that far as well - only to meet their demise in this town. Dead eyes turned towards Scout's direction but the boy had already gone into cover again. He slowly slid down the wall and wrapped his arms around his knees. His body was shivering; his eyes were in a straight stare.

"This is ... this could be you and me", he whispered with choked voice. "We will never get out of this alive. We will all die ... just like them ..."

Sniper knelt down beside him, grabbed his shoulders and gently forced him to turn his body towards him a bit.

"Look at me, Scout. Come on, look at me. This is not us and just because they had died and turned doesn't necessarily mean we will too. They had a head start, could stock up on supplies before they left and then were probably taken by surprise when something happened in the city. We were pushed right into the middle of it, had not more than the things that could fit into a van full of people but we learned how to push through and to be prepared for anything and we are still alive. And we will stay alive. It won't be easy but somehow we will get out of this shit."

'I promise', he still wanted to add but somehow he couldn't say it. How could he make a promise when he had no idea how to keep it?

"Come", he gently said when Scout had calmed down a bit again. "Let's go back to the van and drive home. We continue our loot on another day or in another town. Right now it's just too dangerous."

"Yeah ... I don't have any more shots left anyways", Scout silently said and tried not to look at Sniper again.

With the main way blocked they took another route over a construction site. Up at one side of the building, down at the other - at least that was the plan. Scout definitely was better at climbing over half-finished walls so he soon was a few metres ahead and he never looked if Sniper could follow him or not but the latter also didn't call him back. If the boy was ashamed for his outbreak of feelings and wanted some distance then he should have it.

Wheezing moans and a sound as if bricks were forcefully pushed aside ripped him out of his thoughts.

"Not again..." he muttered.

From what he heard there were only one or two on the construction site. Good for someone who was only armed with a bat and an empty gun and someone who only had one more shot left but even better if they could get away without drawing more attention.

"To the van, quick", he called and let out a curse when he turned around only to see the RED Soldier coming up the stairs - and he was one of those few zombies still capable of running fast. And from the corner of his eyes Sniper noticed something else.

Scout had reached the bottom of the building when he turned around to see where Sniper was. He opened his mouth, wanted to call he should hurry but that moment something rammed him. The bat flew out of his hand and bounced over the ground a few metres. He quickly crawled backwards, tried to get up and away from that thing in front of him and closer to his bat but the zombified RED Scout lunged down on him again.

The thoughts were spinning in Sniper's head during those few seconds - if he shot the Soldier he would be able to escape but Scout would be attacked, if he climbed down he would escape too but he wouldn't be able to aim, if he shot the RED Scout the Soldier would attack him. In a flowing movement he brought the rifle to his shoulder, barely took a second to aim and shot. The bullet found its goal - RED Scout's head. A moment later Sniper was tackled to the ground. He screamed in pain when a piece of flesh was ripped from his left side and with full force rammed the stock of his weapon against the zombie's head. A sickening crack was heard then the Soldier plummeted to the ground. Holding his bleeding side Sniper tried to struggle free and drag himself to the edge when he was jerked back.

The zombified Scout was only a few centimetres away anymore when his head suddenly turned into a haze of crimson and he dropped down. For a second Scout stared at him with widened eyes then he pushed him off with disgust. His gaze shot back to the floor where he had seen Sniper the last time. He breathed in sharply when he saw what was happening, leapt back to his feet, grabbed his bat and raced towards the building.

However the RED Heavy had been able to appear unnoticed, he didn't even seem to be hungry, just very, very pissed. Sniper was dragged over the ground fast then ripped up and slammed against a wall. Once. Twice. The rifle had dropped out of his weak hand long ago and he was hanging in the Heavy's grip like a ragdoll. The world around him dissolved into blurry colours. Something blue was flying towards them.

The bat hit the Heavy's head with such force that Scout was whiplashed back. The zombie dropped his prey and turned against Scout now but the boy quickly dodged the attack, ran around him and dealt another hit against the back of Heavy's head. Four more strong hits were necessary before he finally cracked the skull and the zombie dropped dead for good.

For a moment Scout stood shakily, trying not to vomit. He had seen so many zombies fall but this one had been someone he once knew. And he had killed him. Just like the RED Spy - during a time that now felt like an eternity ago. But he quickly had himself under control again and rushed over to Sniper. His friend was still more or less awake and pressed his hands against the wound. A thin rivulet of blood was coming forth under his fingers.

"Come on man, don't you die on me", Scout mumbled when he dragged him up. Half Sniper walked on his own, half he was carried the way down and the last few metres to the van. Scout had never driven a vehicle of that size but somehow it had to work.

When they rolled out of the town and onto the highway Sniper slowly slid to the side, his head dropped against Scout's shoulder.

"Hey, stay with me, okay?" Scout said. He thought about it for a moment then he suddenly said. "Uhm ... anyone aside of your parents we should inform in case you kick the bucket?" He tried to make it sound like a joke but he didn't even get the corners of his mouth to twitch.

"Nah, not really", Sniper weakly replied. "Though I think some people down under might be happy when I copped it and they didn't even need to lift a finger. You can write them a post card - with some bloody zombies on it." He chuckled but then grimaced in pain. "Laughing's definitely not a good idea."

"So no little lady waiting for you back at home? Or a whole harem? Or did you receive a Dear John letter when she found out you left your home and her to fight for a worthless gravel pit?"

"You can write to my kangaroo wife." This time he already winced before he could laugh.

"Don't tell me you had been hiding in a bush your whole life scoping and killing people. Guess you were back in civilisation too sometimes, pulling an all-nighter, hooking up all the ladies."

"Not just the..." The sentence ended abruptly and Scout already feared he had fallen unconscious but then he continued. "Why are we even talking about that now?"

"I need something to keep you talking. So you will stay awake."

"So you want me to tell stories? Wanna hear a touching story?"

"Yeah, I know, once upon a time you..." This time Scout couldn't continue. "Can't we rather just talk about other things? The good old times for example?"

"You mean that time when you were still new to the camp, we had our first drinking party, you immediately got pissed like a newt after just two drinks and then wet your bed the same night? Yeah, those were good times."

"No! Can we never talk about that again?"

Sniper's grin turned into a grimace. "Promised... Blast, holding back laughter hurts about as much."

"How can you even joke around in a situation like this?"

"What else shall I do? Cry? Hit the panic button?" Slowly his voice became slurred. "No, I've been a sarcastic bastard my whole life and I wanna face the final curtain with a bow."

"Don't talk like that. I will get you back to the camp in time and you will make it out of this alive. I promise."

'I promise' - those two words he hadn't been able to say before. But Scout was giving him hope, like he always had done since this all started, even now when he was closer to death than ever before. He wanted to believe him. He didn't want to die. Sniper tried to lift his head so he could look at Scout's face but he was too weak even for that.

"Look, the camp is already in sight", Scout called out. "Just one more minute and we are there."

"Yeah ... just a bit ... and we made it ..." His eyes fell shut.

"Snipes? Oh come on, don't do that! Please don't do that to me!"

No reply.

Pyro who was opening the gates could jump out of the way just in time when the van bombed pass him and stopped with squealing tyres. The door was slammed open and Scout could barely drag out Sniper before he broke down to the ground weakened by exhaustion and desperation.

"Get Medic, we have an emergency!" he called at Pyro then remained kneeling on the floor, holding Sniper in his arms as if letting go off him meant his certain death.

"What the hell?" Soldier had come closer and now stared at Sniper. "Have you completely lost it? You have brought a dying man in here. He can turn any second."

"No!" Scout screamed. "He's not dead yet! He can still be healed!"

Soldier slapped him in the face.

"You are out of your mind, boy! Look at that bite! Think of the amount of blood he must have lost! He is half dead and how much do we have left to heal someone?! If you don't blast that bullet through his head then I will do it!"

"You bloody bastard!" Now tears were running over Scout's face. "Then why don't you go in there and kill the other one who we don't have the meanings to heal for? Go ahead and shoot Demo, you son of a bitch!"

"Why you little..."

Soldier bared his teeth and clenched his fists but then he was hold back by Heavy and Medic stepped between them.

"Stop fighting in front of zhis building. Zhis is a hospital. Well, no, it's not but you know what I mean." He knelt down to have a look at Sniper's wounds. "Zhere is still enough liquid left so I can close zhat, not sure about inner wounds until I examined him closer. He lost a lot of blood. Tools for transfusion are still available, not sterile anymore but zhey have to do it. Only one of us has zhe same blood type if I remember correctly. Go and get Spy, Pyro. Now if you please would let go of him, Scout."

"Not as long as this bloody bastard is still there!"

"He won't come into zhe hospital. But I can't examine anyzhing as long as you are holding on to him."

"But ... I wanna stay with him..."

"Come 'ere, son. You ain't gonna help anyone when you cling to him like this", a soft voice said and gently pulled him away.

"It's all my fault ... I just wanna stay with him ..." Scout mumbled but he let it happen that Engineer led him away while Heavy carefully lifted up Sniper and carried him towards the office building.

Sitting next to Pyro and Engineer in front of a campfire Scout leaned backwards until he felt the van behind him and gazed at the night sky. It wasn't a cold night and the fire was warming him up but still he was shivering. Earlier Soldier had come by to apologize but actually there wasn't really a need for it since Scout had already forgiven him. They all were on the edge and he knew the others long enough to know who of them would explode first during such times. However he couldn't forgive himself. Had he only stayed close to Sniper then it all wouldn't have happened. They would have eliminated the RED Soldier together, would have gotten away before the Heavy was there and the zombified Scout would never have stood a chance against two mercs, even if he had caught them by surprise. But no, he had to run from Sniper like an embarrassed little child and was caught off guard like a noob. Sniper's blood was on his hands - both, literally and figuratively. If he died it was his fault. Scout closed his eyes. It was burning in his throat but he didn't want to cry, not again. Still the tears were soon running over his face. If the other two had noticed it they stayed silent about it and continued staring at the fire.

"How are patients doing?" Heavy asked when Medic came up the roof of the office building and sat down beside him. Being the doctor of the team he never had to be on guard duty but he often came up here when Heavy was. Just enjoying a calm moment and his company.

"At least Sniper won't die because of his visible wounds or zhe loss of blood anymore", he replied bleakly and stared at the ground. "Zherefor zhere are ozher complications. Light fever, a concussion and I can't tell if zhere are any inner wounds. Some of zhe ingredients Scout brought could have been made into a cooling paste against the fever but zhere is way too less of it. Verdammt, what is a doctor good for when he can't heal anymore? Heavy ... I can't ... ich kann einfach nicht mehr."

Heavy wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer.

"You are great doctor", he silently said, "and you are doing best. Maybe more than anyone else could do in such situation with so little tools. It is not medigun that makes a good doctor, it is your knowledge."

A little smile flickered over Medic's face. How long was it ago since he had smiled for the last time? Those muscles felt as if they hadn't moved anymore for weeks.

"Danke, Heavy", he silently said.

In the darkness Soldier silently sat on Demo's bed which was made out of car seats. He spent nearly all his time on this place, or at least as long until Medic lost his patience again and threw him out. Feeling helpless, guilty, not knowing what to do - he hated it. But at least he wanted to be there for Demo now. Maybe he could feel that he wasn't alone. And he also had done something before. Demo's blood type was quite common and a lot of people could have been donators - Medic himself, Heavy, Engineer - but Soldier had insisted to take his blood.

And now there was nothing more for him to do than to sit and wait in silence.