This chapter was SO STRESSFUL to write. My fingers hurt so much from typing and retyping this chapter... O_o And the chapter is a little confusing, but you'll get it eventually! Hang in there!
Question of the Chapter: (best to be read and answered after you read) Price will answer some more of Mckinley's questions in the next chapter. If you still are a bit fuzzy on the topic they are about to discuss, tell me your question, and I'll have Mckinley ask him. Any question!
Again, if you want to email me, the email you can send things to is on my profile.
Love you guys so much! Please read, enjoy, and review this chapter. No flames, please. PLEASE. O_O
-ecto1B
"Revelation"
Day 6 – 16:38:12
Pfc. Mckinley 'Queen' Front
Task Force 141
Encounter Base, Russia
It was as if she'd been backed into a tight corner and then whipped. Her lungs had no purpose whatsoever to pull oxygen from the air. Her heart claimed unwilling to pump blood through her veins. Her brain refused to think. Her nostrils flared. Her throat fought back an ear-splitting scream, while her lips constricted and her teeth gnashed together. At her hands, fists formed, ready to throw punches. There was no rationality. No common sense. No sanity. Her body flooded with an instable urge to fall to her knees and sob.
He'd figured it out.
How could he, though? She'd only just met him… unless he had some sort of all-seeing eye, he shouldn't really know her personally. He'd not spoken to her much, besides on the helicopter from the gulag, and even then, he'd not obtained much information about her. So how did he have anything to compare to?
Price knew. Somehow, dammit, he knew.
As the two of them stood there—eyes locked, faces gleaming with austere conflict—Mckinley felt her jaw lock in its place. She wasn't able to open her mouth. Not that she wanted to answer him, of course. He knew her secret. He knew that all along, she'd been acting as Queen. She was a goner, for he'd tell the others, and they'd kick her off the team for good. Just the thought of it dragged sharp claws deep into her abdomen, fastening to her skin and letting blood of despair trickle from the wounds. She smothered another heavy cry from the depths of her lungs when the image of Ghost's shattered face intruded onto her thoughts.
At that time, Price found it best to break the silence.
"If you decide to confirm my guess, I won't tell the others." He paused. "Yet. Just tell me your real name."
Gulping, Mckinley began to stutter. Her jaw snapped from its tight hold to enable her mouth to move. "P-P-Price… I—"
Price held up his hands. "Just tell me your name, please. I don't want any lies from you."
Tears began developing at the corners of her wide grey eyes. She dared not glance about the base, for the fear of spotting Ghost nearby seemed just as bad as being confronted by Price about this topic. If he overheard what Price had said… a shudder ran down her spine as she considered what would happen.
"M-My name is…" she fumbled, wiping away a lone tear with her elbow. Am I really doing this? Am I going to tell him my name? Am I going to give away my protection, lose my friends, make the one I love hate me, and risk my life while getting kicked from the team? Can I do this? Should I do this? She inhaled, and let the tranquil breath travel through her nose. I have to do this. He knows already. I can't deny it. I'm done. It's not worth fighting any longer. A fight is truly pointless. I have to surrender, I have to give up. It's over. "My name is… Mckinley…"
When Price remained frozen in place—looking a bit taken aback for some reason—she tried again. "Mckinley. That's my name." She sighed wearily. She wasn't in the mood for putting up with any crap from him. He got her name, and that was that. "Look, Price, I'm not lying or—"
"Yes, you are," Price interrupted unexpectedly. "You're not Mckinley."
Now it was her turn to be completely baffled. What is he talking about? "Uh… Price… yes, that's my name. I'm Mckinley."
"No, you're not." He sounded slightly unsure now. His face twisted hesitantly at his own words. "You can't be Mckinley."
"Uh, yes I am! I think I would know what my name is." She gave him a look of disbelief. "Price… why, exactly, can't I be Mckinley? How do you know I can't? I mean, it's not a very common name—"
"Because," he said instantly. His blue eyes darkened rapidly, preparing himself to disclose something astounding. It was almost as if he was about to tell a top-secret piece of information that might get him killed; he bit his lip and lowered his voice to a small whisper. "'Cos Queen's real name is Mckinley. Mckinley Front."
…
…
…
...
...
Dead silence, dripping excessively with frostbitten stupefaction, grew in profusion at the end of his sentence. Not even the native Russian birds could be heard from the woods bordering the base. It was completely silent. The entire earth seemed to stand still.
Mckinley's brain raced hundreds of miles an hour, piecing together parts of the puzzle and translating each fragment of information until she couldn't take it any longer.
"H-Her name is M-Mckinley, too?" she sputtered, fear darkening the usually cheerful tone in her voice.
Price also looked confused, but faint traces on his face proved that the puzzle was coming together much quicker inside his head.
"No, I think there's just one Mckinley," he replied thoughtfully. He rapped a finger on his hair-covered chin. "And I think I know how." When she opened her mouth to inquire further, he cut her off with an alarming question. "Do you happen to own the game 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2?'"
Shakily and bewilderedly, she half-nodded.
"Yeah… why? Do you somehow know—"
"You were playing the game and was transported here, inside the video game." He faltered for a moment. "Am I correct?"
Woah, woah, woah! Hang on! How does he know this?
Price seemed to smile behind his beard. "You're wondering how I know?"
"Hang on, Price," she demanded. "Before you go all sensei on me, I'd like to clarify something, 'cause I am not getting any of this." Mckinley pointed to herself. "When you say there is only one Mckinley, you mean… Queen and I are the same person?" Her eyes glanced down at her hands, lost in thought.
When he nodded, and she nearly fell over.
"Queen is merely your future self," he explained calmly. "You have temporarily replaced her to get a sneak peek at what's to come. It's something I was told about by an old friend of mine, but never believed. And, now, I guess, it's happened."
"How the hell do you know this?" Mckinley screeched. She was breathing heavily, and her eyes were wide with fear. "I traveled to the effing FUTURE?"
"Keep your voice down!" Price ordered gruffly. He clasped his hand over her mouth to silence her and glanced over his shoulder. No one was there. With a groan, Price shoved Mckinley behind one of the tents so they could talk in private. Behind his hand, there came muffled curses and insults, but Price ignored them and terminated her rambling with his solemn tone.
"You need to listen to me, Mckinley," he said sternly. "I am going to give you all the answers you're looking for, but you need to do me a favor and listen to them. No interruptions. Are we clear?"
The woman nodded uneasily, looking like a deer in headlights when he removed his hand from her mouth. Her plump red lips narrowed together to keep excess questions from wriggling out.
"Okay… where do I begin?" Price tilted his head for a moment and gazed upward into dimming blue sky. "There's so much to tell you about; so many questions that need answering." Pausing, he shut his blue irises tightly and grew silent. Seconds later, the cobalt circles popped back open. "Ah! I know what to start with…" He itched his nose and brought his attention back to the trembling girl before him. "So, Mckinley, you're a bit baffled as to how you managed to transport into the future, eh?" No response. He sighed. "Okay, I'll take that as a yes. Now, the story's a bit on the long side, so if I start to flap my jaws too much, just let me know." Price clasped his hands together and rolled his shoulders. "All right, let's begin.
"About eight years ago, a friend of mine, named Thomas Green, went through something that no other person on earth had ever experienced." Price's voice became stiff, recalling back into his mind. "While he was sleeping, Thomas was transported eight years into the future, which basically means 'now.' He saw what was to become of the world; he saw the destruction, the hate, the ambition that consumed opposing countries. He saw the Russian airport massacre—" At this, Mckinley bowed her head, thinking back to Joseph Allen. "—and the declaration of war on the U.S. He saw Washington, D.C. as it was invaded, and he saw how the war would end." Another pause. "When he returned to the present, Thomas was determined to make known what he'd seen. Instead of broadcasting that 'he'd been to the future,' which would have landed him in an asylum instantly, Thomas was smart. He alternatively brought the story of what he'd seen to the head writer of the video game company he worked for. The head writer loved the idea and, after showing others within the company, approved of it for a video game that would fit perfectly into their Call of Duty series."
Mckinley began to ask a question, but Price cut her off. "As you can tell, no one noticed that the video game was foretelling the future. It became the second best-selling game in America, and still, no one noticed."
"How did you know about Thomas traveling to the future?" she managed to fit in before he could interrupt her again.
"'Cos he told me. Thomas was my best mate. We told each other everything. I called him crazy at first, but when he told me I'd been in the future, getting my ass locked away in the gulag for five years… I had to believe him. Well, only after I found myself in the gulag did I believe him." He shook his head. "I feel bad for the lad. After no one realized what the game was conveying, he thought he was going mad. I had to leave England around that time 'cos I enlisted with the SAS, so he was all alone." He rubbed his eyes and exhaled heavily. "He went missing almost a year after I left. Never found him."
"Hang on. You said nobody noticed the video game coming true."
"Correct."
Mckinley gave him a look. "Hasn't MacTavish or Ghost or any of the team played the game and seen themselves in it? Or wouldn't someone say, 'Hey, you remind me of that guy in Modern Warfare 2,' because obviously, someone had to have noticed by now?"
"Since the game came out, MacTavish, Ghost, and the entire team have been out on duty for the U.S. Army Rangers, the SAS, or Task Force 141. They've never had the time to even pick up a game controller in that time. Why no one's said anything perplexes me as much as it does you."
"Wait, wait, wait. What about Roach?" The name of the soldier she'd replaced when entering the game popped into mind.
"Roach?"
"In the game, there's a guy named Gary 'Roach' Sanderson that I must've taken the place of when I 'time-traveled.' What about him?"
It took Price a minute to figure out what she meant.
"Oh! I know who you're referring to." Price chuckled a bit. "Thomas had seen you in the future, but had somehow known that you would play the game. He also received a bit of criticism about having 'Queen' be the lead character. It turns out that in reality, Roach does exist. But Thomas—not wanting to force the game creators into making the lead character female—omitted 'Queen' and put another person he'd seen in the future, Roach, in Queen's place."
"So why isn't Roach—"
"Remember that you entered the video game version of the future. In that reality, there was no other character to substitute. Roach simply was excluded, and you took his place."
"So in the real future…"
"You are still in this position, but there is a teammate called Roach on the team."
Mckinley put her fingers at her temples and massaged. "So… confusing…"
To be perfectly honest, she was completely lost. How was she transported? Why had she been transported? Did this mean that after graduating high school, she'd bypass college and head straight for the training grounds of the Army Rangers? Mckinley winced. Her father would kill her if she neglected a college degree.
"You have more questions, I'm guessing?" Price asked calmly, noticing her apprehensiveness.
"Yes…" she moaned, feeling a raging headache approaching on the horizon. "So many more. I don't understand why—"
"Price? Queen?" It was MacTavish, peeking his head from around the tent. "You two okay? Shepherd wants to talk to us over the radio now."
Mckinley jumped when he spoke, but Price covered for her. "We're fine, Soap. I'll be there in a minute. I was just going over the mission with Queen."
MacTavish nodded, content with the lie. "Okay. Hurry, Price. Shepherd's not gonna wait for ever." His head disappeared behind the tent again, and his boots crunched in the snow away from them.
Price turned back to her. "I'll answer your questions later. If I don't head over there now, Shepherd will have a fit." He tightened his gaze. "Whatever you do, don't say anything about this. No one else knows. You're Queen."
Mckinley nodded, swallowing back another random attack of tears.
Price noticed her distress instantly. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. I'll promise to explain the rest. It's not that complicated. Just keep your head high, and we'll talk later."
Mckinley could only suppress more tears as a response.
Dunn: I am more confused over this chapter than I was while watching Inception.
ecto1B: (sighs) I'm sorry, Dunn. I didn't mean to confuse you. Will you do the music, anyway?
Dunn: Fine. My brain is mush anyway.
DUNN DUNN DUNN DUNN!
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(Now is a good time to answer the Question of the Chapter if you're really confused like poor Dunn)