Reaper, Mira, and Sam had managed to find a nearby storage room and locked the doors. They had only seconds of safety before the infected started hammering at the door. They moved quickly, trying to barricade the door with anything they could find. Reaper heaved a coil of heavy cable onto the top of the barricade beside Mira. Mira clutched her necklace, muttering a panicked prayer in Russian. Reaper nudged Mira's arm, bringing her back into moment.
"Ostan'sya so mnoy , Mira." He said.
Mira nodded slowly and lowered her hand. "Vse yeshche zdes'."
"How long before they get through?" Sam asked. She carried a heavy cable in her arms.
"Sbor, kotoryy oni vzyali iz dveri-"
"English." Sam said.
"They broke through that nanowall in under a minute..." Mira trialed off. She wiped the blood from her right cheek. Seconds later, her lacerations grew darker as the blood returned to her cheek. "It won't take-"
"Not long." Reaper answered, ending Mira's sentence. He winced as a sharp pain surged through his lower body. He groaned and leaned against the barricade be Mira.
Sam's eyes drifted to Reaper's body. Her eyes spotted a stream of liquid running down his black uniform. "You've been hit!"
Mira's head snapped toward Reaper. Her eyes immediately dropped to his hand, covering the bullet wound in his hip. "Shit."
"Oh John." Sam rushed to his side and pressed her hand on his leg. Mira took Reaper's right arm and pulled it over her shoulder. Together, they guided Reaper from the barricade to the nearest wall. Reaper staggered backward into the wall, unable to carry his own weight. He staggered back into a set of cabinets and nearly collapsed, If Mira hadn't held onto him. She eased him onto the ground and lowered his arm.
Mira looked at his leg. Blood spilled from the hole in his pants, just a few inches below his hip. She reached to her boot and pulled out her knife. "Sorry John." She reached over a cut a small slit in his uniform to investigate his wound.
"Femoral...artery." Reaper gasped
Mira looked to Reaper. If the artery was hit he'd bleed to death in minutes...it was amazing he was still alive but...there was nothing to be done for him. He was already dead. Whatever medical supplies that could slow it down were back in the corridor and Reaper had used most of his supplies back on Mars. They had nothing to stop the bleeding. Mira shook her head. She reached over and pressed her hand on his leg. "No. No." Mira quickly pulled off her shirt and spun it into a rope. She wrapped her shirt around Reaper's leg and tied it tight, buying a few more minutes.
"Sam." Reaper gasped. "Listen to me."
"You're cold." Sam said. Sam reached into her pocket and pulled out a clear vial. She pulled out a sterile syringe and opened the casing. Sam injected the liquid into the syringe. "You're shivering."
"It's important." He reached into his belt and pulled out an ST grenade. "This is an ST grenade. When they come through, you pop the top and hit the button."
Sam stared at the grenade. She knew what he was asking. None of those creatures could reach the surface, so someone had to pull the trigger, so to speak. Sam looked over to Mira, who met her gaze.
"Pop the top and hit the button." Reaper mumbled. His hand felt onto lap as he struggled between conscious and unconscious. The room danced around him. The images of Sam and Mira blurred beyond recognition.
"John stay with us." Sam called. "Stay awake."
"He's bleeding out." Mira said. She squeezed his leg tighter, trying to stop the bleeding. Reaper hissed slightly in pain, momentarily conscious. Mira looked at Reaper. "Don't do this John. Don't you fucking dare! All the shit you've given me the past few weeks there's no fucking way in hell I'm letting you get away with that!"
Reaper's head lolled to the side.
"Dammit John!" Mira yelled. She leaned her forehead against his, touching his bloodied face with her left hand. "You didn't give up on me in Russia, don't you fucking dare give up on us now!" She tilt Reaper's head up, slightly returning him to consciousness.
Sam rolled up Reaper's sleeve and tied his arm. She pressed the syringe to Reaper's arm.
"What's that?" He muttered.
"C twenty-four." Sam answered. She looked at Reaper. "It's from Carmack's lab."
Reaper pulled his arm from her. "No. No way."
"It may be the only thing that can save you." Mira urged.
"Forget it." Reaper shoot his head.
"You're bleeding to death." Sam explained.
Reaper looked up at Sam. "Oh Sam, I've done some bad things."
"I know you." Sam said.
Reaper shook his head. How could he tell her? How could she even comprehend what he'd done with the corps? Hell there were things that Mira didn't know about him. Things that would put even her past actions to shame. "You don't know me. You don't know."
"You're my brother. I know you." Sam said. She moved the syringe to his arm again.
"Wait." Reaper mumbled. "Wait. Vera, you still got your pistol?"
"Yes." Mira answered quietly.
Reaper reached to his hip and pulled his back up weapon. He held it out to Sam. "If I should turn...into one of those demons, one through the heart, one through the head. Don't you hesitate. Okay?"
Sam took his hand and lowered the gun. "I won't need to."
Reaper turned to Mira. "You've...been wantin' to shoot me...for weeks. Don't hesitate now soldier."
Mira nodded slowly. She grabbed his hand and squeezed. "I won't hesitate."
Sam slipped the needle into Reaper's skin and injected the chromosome into his system. Reaper gasped as the chromosome hit his system. He slowly slid along the wall, leaning into Mira's shoulder. Mira carefully lowered him to the ground.
"Now we wait." Sam said.
Mira bit her lip nervously. "How long...until the signs show?"
"Minutes." Sam answered.
The pounding on the doors broke their thoughts. Both women turned their heads toward the door.
"I'm not sure we'll have that long to worry about him." Mira said. She grabbed Reaper's weapon and passed it to Sam. She rose to her feet and pulled out her own weapon. She chambered a round, looking at the door. "Those things are going to break through any second. You've got eight rounds in one clip, make 'em count."
Suddenly Reaper's body seized beside Sam.
"Mira." Sam called.
Mira looked down at Sam and noticed Reaper. "Shit. Damnit John."
Sam moved closer toward Reaper.
Mira grabbed Sam's shoulder. "No, get back. If he turns completely he could kill you at any second."
Sam moved from Reaper and stood behind Mira. She wanted to look away. She didn't want to watch her brother die, even if it was best for them. If he turned, he would kill them without hesitating. but she couldn't bring herself to look away from him.
Mira raised her gun, aiming for Reaper's head. "'One through the heart. One through the head.'" She tightened her grip around the gun. Her finger trembled against the trigger. She watched Reaper twitch on the ground. The synthetic chromosome surging through his veins, changing him with every passing second. Mutating him.
Pull it. Pull the trigger.
Her mind screamed. He'll kill you when he wakes up, pull the damn trigger. Mira closed her eyes and held her breath. Tears welled beneath her eyes. Her finger was on the trigger but she couldn't pull it. Mira gasped, lowering her gun. "Damnit!"
Mira opened her eyes. She wiped her face and turned to Sam. Mira shook her head. "Fucker gives me an order I've wanted to do for weeks and I can't fucking do it."
Sam opened her mouth but her words were lost to the thunderous echoed of the mental warping beneath hundreds of pounds of force. Sam and Mira both looked at the wall. Mira reached out and grabbed Sam's arm, pulling her from the wall. She raised her pistol at the door.
Behind the barricade, the steel door warped with every forceful blow. The steel creaked and moaned under the pressure. Déjà vu flooded back to Mira. Carmack's message. He'd been standing in his lab when the creature broke through and infected him. He had no escape from them, neither did she and Sam. The center of the door reached it endurance point. The metal groaned as it was ripped open from the outside.
"Get ready." Mira whispered. She watched Sam raise the gun out of the corner of her eye.
The metal stopped groaning completely. They were coming now. They were about to die. There was a moment of silence before a bone shatter scream echoed through the room. An Imp burst form behind the barricade, sending crates and cables flying at them. Mira ducked the crate and aimed her weapon. The Imp shot out fast, lashing at Sam. It knocked the gun from her hands and backhanded her. Sam was thrown backwards onto the floor.
"Sam!" Mira yelled. She raised her weapon and fired at the Imp, but the creature took each bullet without stopping.
It lashed out his massive claws at Mira, throwing her into the shelving unit by Reaper. The Imp grabbed Sam by the leg and started dragging her out of the room. Mira lifted her head from her chest and watched the Imp dragging a screaming Sam toward the door. Mira pushed herself up, ignoring the pain shooting through her back and head. She picked up the discarded pistols and ran after the Imp, leaving Reaper in the storage room alone.
minor altering here. Added a few more j/v moments.
just to let you know, the next chapter is more book based. FYI
tranlsations
Stay with me, Mira. Ostan'sya so mnoy , Mira .
Still here. Vse yeshche zdes' .
A the rate they took out the door... Sbor, kotoryy oni vzyali iz dveri ...