METAL GEAR SOLID: RESURRECTION
by Rookie's Eyes (based off of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake)
Disclaimer: the Metal Gear series and their characters are property of Kojima Productions and Konami
Chapter 14 Caution: Smoking Reveals Laser Traps?
Stepping through the door, Snake could no longer contain the stress of his latest mission. Leaning against the door, he pulled out his favorite brand of cigarettes, Lucky Strikes, and lit up.
Despite the health risks often attributed to smoking, Snake refused for two reasons; he saw no benefit in quiting, after all, he was in top physical condition, and at the age of twenty-nine he was the top of his class. A more logical reason being, however, that the psychological benefits far outweighed the risks, as smoking was widely regarded among military personnel as an efficient way to relieve combat stress. Those who smoked in the field are typically more accomplished than those who didn't, at least as far as stealth missions go.
Snake took a long drag, exhaling slowly, and as he drew another breath he noticed something strange. A faint glowing red band of light, stretching from one end of the wall to the other. It was another set of lasers.
Snake exhaled once more, this time purposefully into the laser's path. He watched as the smoke uncovered more like it, bent at odd angles, and impossible to get past if they weren't visible. Snake made a mental note to use the trick in future situations as he made his way through the lasers. Crawling, and rolling, Snake more than once had to go into some very uncomfortable positions in order to slip through the beams unnoticed.
Once on the other side, Snake found the chute. He climbed in, letting himself go. Snake slid through the chute for a long thirty seconds, landing straight into a pile of garbage. Dusting off his BDU's, Snake climbed up out of the trash, a bag of trash following down the chute moments after Snake left.
An alarm blared. Startled, Snake readied himself for a fight. The walls started closing in, and Snake realized that it wasn't an alert at all. Frankly, he would have preferred a fight over getting crushed. Snake noticed a door to his right. Approaching it, Snake was annoyed to find that his card wouldn't open it. Closer inspection of the door revealed that it required a code to be entered into a small console on the side of the exit.
Quickly, Snake dialed Bennet's codec number, turning the knob to 'SEND'.
"Bennet! Quickly, I'm trapped in the B-One trash compactor! I need the code to unlock the door!"
"Hold on Snake, I'll find it."
Tense moments passed as the wall drew closer. Snake said impatiently, "You know, Bennet, any time today would be great!"
"Okay, try 112-872." The wall was now within five feet of compacting Snake into oblivion.
Anxiously, Snake entered the number into the computer, pressing enter more than once. 'INVALID CODE' appeared across the pixilated screen, a light above the door blinked red, and Snake swore, "Dammit, Bennet! You gave me the wrong code!" The door was now so close Snake didn't have to reach to touch the opposite side.
"Okay! Uh, uhm, try 001-138!"
Snake entered as instructed, and the code failed again, "DAMN!Never mind! I'm doing this my way!"
Snake pulled out the Uzi, taking aim directly at the computer screen. He let loose with a hail of bullets, and miraculously, the red light flashed green, and the door slid open. Snake fell out, followed by a surplus of trash flowing from the compactor.
"Snake, are you okay! Snake! Snnnaaaaakkee!"
Snake covered his ears in a vain attempt to stop the pain, "Shut up! Stop yelling in my ear! I'm fine!"
"I'm sorry, Snake. I thought you were a goner for sure!"
"Yeah well, Big Boss isn't going to get rid of me that easily."
Snake cut transmission, taking a moment to look around. He was definitely underground. It smelled musty and stale, it was dark as well. A single fluorescent tube lit the ceiling above him, spaced at intervals of about ten or fifteen feet each. A river flowed below Snake, and a pipe fed the juice from the trash compactor directly into the river. From where Snake stood, he was about five feet above the water, but the incline of the path would make it difficult not to slip in.
Looking at the radar, Snake cursed, because he was so deep underground that the screen showed nothing but snow. Snake followed the pathway, taking a left turn into an even larger waterway. A massive sewage system, over thirty feet wide, separated Snake from the opposite side of the rushing waters. Snake passed an elevator as he followed the path, and a distant thrumming reached his ear. Snake recognized the sound as a water pump. He quickened his pace, anxious to get to Holly.
Walking into an adjacent pipeline,… Snake strayed straight into the plain sight of two guards. They raised their rifles in surprise, but they didn't fire. Snake was careful to ensure that he stayed close to the edge of the water.
"Stop! Don't come any closer," the closest of the two ordered.
"Relax, I know the drill," Snake said as he placed his gun on the floor and his hands into the air.
They approached, careful to keep their guns trained on him. The second guard trembled as he came closer. "Boo," Snake said, terrifying the guard to nearly pissing his pants.
"You think this is the guy?" The second one asked, afraid to look Snake in the eye.
"Hell no. This can't be the one they're talking about. That guy KO'd at least twelve people, do you really think he'd let himself get caught this easily?" The other answered.
"Gee, uh, I don't know. Maybe if he had no other choice?"
The first guard smacked the other in the back of the head, "That was a rhetorical question, Idiot!"
"Alright, spread it." The first guard demanded to Snake. Snake complied, naturally. The guard went behind Snake, padding him from the top down, pulling out grenades, ammo clips, rations, cigarettes, among other things, and tossing them to the side.
Snake spoke as the guard continued his search, "I think he's right, this intruder probably had no other choice."
"Yeah," The second guard said, "Some of our buddies have probably got him on the run, and he wouldn't know where else to go."
The first guard hit the second again, "What have I told you about talking to prisoners! Now shut the hell up." He pushed the second guard once more for good measure, but this time other guard pushed back. Punches were thrown, and both guards ended up on the ground, wrestling. Snake merely had to walk over, and kick them into the river.
Realizing what had happened, the guards tried to scramble back up the incline, but it was higher than he could manage. He resigned himself to cursing as he flowed away, "You son of a bitch! Damn! When I get back there, I'm gonna throttle your neck!"
Snake entered the corridor, spotting a door with the same coded console as the door that had sealed the trash compactor. He pulled out the Uzi, giving it the same treatment as he had treated its companion, and pulled open the door.
Snake entered the door into a dark room, a single light suspended from the ceiling. As his eyes adjusted, they fell upon a small figure huddled in the corner.
Relief spread across Holly's face, "Snake!"
"Holly."
"You came for me!" She stood up, and Snake stared. "What's wrong?" She asked.
Snake pondered how exactly to answer. Holly White was little like he had been expecting. Well sculpted, her body wasn't too toned to throw it off. She had just the right curves, a flawless face, and even teeth. She had brilliant blue eyes and short, dark brown hair. Somehow, she looked good in combat boots, khaki pants, and a t-shirt. Snake said the first thing that came to mind, "I… I didn't think you would be so… cute."
"Are you saying you were expecting me to look unpleasant?"
"No,.. but I am thinking that I should have met up with you sooner…"
Snake came in closer, but Holly backed away slightly, changing the subject, "Snake, about Dr. Marv,.. I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure he's still okay."
"I thought you'd said you made contact with Marv."
"Well… I didn't exactly speak with him. He's under armed guard somewhere… But he sent a message on his pet parakeet, Teliko. It might be some kind of clue."
"Teliko?" Snake repeated, a strange familiarity to the name. "Where's the parrot now?"
"I found her, but she flew away just as I was about to catch her… Last I saw of her she was in an elevator on it's way to the thirty-first floor."
"Toward the roof?!"
"Zanzibar's soldiers are looking for the bird too. We have to find her before they do. It's our only lead to Dr. Marv."
"A parrot hunt… What are you going to do?"
"I'd only get in your way. I want to get a little more info… Give those guards a punch for me would ya?"
"If this keeps up, I'm really going to let the have it! I see you've still got spirit… Just don't do anything crazy while I'm gone."
"The enemy may know about our communications, change our frequency to 140.76, Okay?"
"Got it."
Holly pulled a level four access card out of her pocket, "Take this, Snake… Oh, and Snake," She leaned into him, kissing him on the cheek, "take care of yourself, you hear?"
Snake stepped toward the door, "I promise…" Snake hesitated, "Stay alive, and we'll meet up again later…"
Snake took the elevator back up to the first floor, heading back up to the roof to start his search for Teliko.
So, it isn't for the first time we see a relationship developing between Snake and his damsel in distress. Will he break her heart? Certainly. Will I write about it? Probably not, but I had to put it in because it was in the original game. I do, however plan on making it less brief than that of the game, where they were goo-goo eyed near instantaneously. I know the way Snake discovered the lasers was more than a little weird, but I didn't want him to stray into a laser trap for the third time in a row.
Once again, another chapter up. If you feel so inclined, please review, but in a chapter like this it's not a great concern.
Up next: Chapter 15 Thirty Floors of Hell (title subject to change)