Chapter-8 Market

"Our graduation? The fuck does that even mean?" He opened his backpack and he rummaged through it briefly ignoring her stated question. He offered her a dog tag that had a dark azure exterior and silver interior. However, he did not leave his grip on it as she held it making her hold onto one end while he still held the other end. He tossed another dog tag across from him to Joel.

"Like I said your graduation. Congrats on being promoted to a MERCENARY." He responded to the question that had been suspended in the room as he released his grip and allowed her to retrieve the dog tag completely.

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Name: Theresa Braver

DOB: 26 February 2003

Join Date: 36 March 2048

Merc ID: MDFFV26022003BQZ35

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Name: Joel Miller

DOB: 26 September 1985

Join Date: 28 April 2048

Merc ID: MDFFV26091985BQZ36

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Name: Ragnar J Barrett

DOB: 41 January 2031

Join Date: 03 May 2048

Merc ID: MDFFV03052048BQZ37

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'Loss'. She was at a loss as she stared at the dog tag in her hands. She knew what this meant and how hard it would have been to make this possible especially for folks like her. She wasn't naive she knew both she and Joel had a reputation, that their background had been checked into and they were on some sort of blacklist. The surge of awe and gratefulness completely left her speechless as she repeatedly looked at the tag and then at the person that had handed it to her.

"What? Don't act so surprised. Don't take this for granted just so you know this is an advanced birthday present don't expect any more shit from me and that goes for you too, Joel. "He slanted a bit to look beyond Tess as he addressed the last part to Joel who was staring at his dog tag.

The callout from J was not sufficient for him to break his attention away from his dog tag. Ellie was quietly observing the situation play out as she pieced everything together. 'So being a mercenary must be a massive advantage which implies it is hard to gain. He took a major risk to get them the 'mercenary' position by cutting a deal with that Rivers guy. This must carry official authorization since the reaction by both Tess and Joel is unguarded.'

J placed his dog tag back in his bag as he rose. "I also got rid of your files.

Let's go… break is over." He casually dropped another truth bomb on them as he exercised and rotated his left shoulder before moving forward.

"Hey...What files? Was mine more impressive than Joel's?" Tess sprinted after him questioning him. Her voice was audible to the two who had remained seated. Ellie hopped down as she joined Joel midway, the latter duo walked chasing after the prior.

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The group picked their pace up as the entrance of the service tunnel came into their view. The entry door although reinforced and built of steel looked beaten and bruised up. Tiny black rust sprawled the door's entirety intermingling with larger normal rust displaying their brilliance on the ideal canvas acquired by them.

*screech* *skreeeee…* The bolts on the door emitted horrific sounds as J tried to unlatch them. They fought valiantly against him refusing to be moved as he started to incrementally apply more and more pressure on them. He pushed and pulled them trying to unjam them. Suddenly he pulled them back so violently that one of the bolts finally gave in as it went back. While its companion released a snapping sound.

*kachak…* The remaining bolt that had stayed lodged in broke into two. He delicately pulled the broken bolt back and threw away the smaller broken piece that was stuck in the latch.

"Well, that's one way to unlock it. You could have used oil y'know?" Tess stated as she watched him manoeuvre the lock in a very primal sense. She was met with a faint grunt from him as he continued to rotate the hand wheel to unlock the door.

The door made a huge creaking noise as it was pushed open.

"Shit! SPORES. Mask on everybody." Tess crisply called out as she noticed the musty pale green fog creep towards their legs.

"Guess we'll finally see what you're made of kiddo. " The implication of Joel's word was not lost on her.

"Just so you know I can breathe in spores doesn't equate to I like breathing in spores. They smell awful like burnt plastic. It burns a bit at the back of your throat and if someone wants to practice their fake crying I recommend walking in a spore-filled area coz it irritates the eyes like hell and make them watery.

But if that's the proof you want then fine I'll do it." Ellie replied as she shrugged her shoulders indicating she wasn't fascinated by the idea but was willing to do it to prove to them first-hand that she was truly indeed immune.

'And how'd I know what they smell like?' a light frown emerged around the corner of Joel's mouth as he paid attention to the info that was being narrated to him. She spoke as if it was supposed to be common knowledge what spores were supposed to smell like. The other two also silently listened to what was being said as they adjusted their containment masks.

"Lights" he called out as he pulled out his machete preparing to enter the tunnel. The flashlights were immediately pointed at the pitch-dark tunnel creating some field of vision. He entered the tunnel while raising his closed fist in a signal for the rest to hold as he assessed the situation.

He walked quietly towards the huge metal pipes adjacent to him. Using the heel end of his machete he repeatedly struck it with decent force and exited out of the tunnel.*clank* *clank* *clank* *clank* *clank*

The noise created reverbed all the way through as he retrieved his AK pulling the action back and clearing the orange bullet out of the ejection port. He held the AK at a tilted angle as he waited.

*hUAAAH…..* *Han-hoo…..* *blaaaaah…..* *byaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh* He didn't have to wait for long as the creepy noises of infected resounded back.

*thad…* *thad…*thad* *thhhhrrrrrrrrrrr….* He unloaded the entire mag at the barely visible infected about 500 yards from them who were desperately trying to close the space between them. Without a pause, he reloaded his AK and sprayed another round at them until their melodies died down.

'See….! You should have used your gun in the first place. Easy peasy.' Ellie thought as she watched him switch out his mags and place the empty ones in his vest pockets. He removed his machete and proceeded to drive down his blade into the fallen infected as he moved to thrust his blade at the last body.

The seemingly dead infected sprang back to life as he grabbed his machete. He reflexively hopped back as he let go of his machete.

"J, watch out" Tess had simultaneously cried out in worry. Before she could come forward to help him in any capacity. She watched him dodge a claw as he took hold of its wrist and pinned it to the pipes. His other hand was on its throat choking him as he lifted it upwards. In a flash, his gun was out and in his grip as he shot him three times in the head. The infected finally went limp in his grasp as he threw it to the ground.

"Calm down." He answered Tess's concern as he wiped the blood stains off his mask. He walked forward indirectly indicating them to follow.

Joel closed the door behind them as they walked in the dim light provided by the flashlight. The spore fog was dense restricting their field of view.

"How are you holding up kiddo?" Joel watched Ellie who had covered her nose and mouth with her hand.

"Ughh… it smells so bad (✿ ╥﹏╥). The infected sure do have a bad body odour. Someone should invent a perfume that can not only kill the infected but also release a good fragrance. This is unbearable." He grunted at her weird response as he maintained his keen eyes on her, analyzing her behaviour and movements trying to spot any discrepancy.

'This is quite a high risk. Figuring this kid out is the priority we are exposing ourselves to a lot of possible bad outcomes. Reason J is soloing the lead is a direct cue for me to focus on observing her. My input might be the key that informs the next major decision of the group related to Ellie. Tess is on her side and he is against her. We are carrying this mission out because I agreed with Tess. For now, it has been likely the correct decision so far.'

They halted as they came to the other end of the tunnel J worked on opening the exit. Fresh air, vibrant and soothing fresh air, the group breathed a sigh of relief as they removed their masks. Ellie had the most violent reaction she was crouching and coughing her lungs out as she tried to soothe her throat. She rubbed her eyes using the back of her palms as she sniffled a bit.

*cough* *cough* "Thanks Joel, I won't be eating for a day. I think I can taste the smell in the back of my mouth. Yuck…"

"Wash your mouth then. As it is the damn rain isn't ceasing might as well use it in some sort. J, straight and right from here." They walked towards the path outlined by Joel. Coming across the subway, it was surrounded by a lot of random weathered down and rotted vehicles.

*whistle*

"What now?" Ellie looked confused as she asked to, particularly no one.

"It's a fortress, kiddo. The haphazard arrangement is intentional. In my opinion no lethal traps but still better if we avoid them. J, you know the correct route or somethin' since you dealt with them?"

"Hah? What the fuck do I know. I was there to clear them there was no security check like this then."

*sigh* "You should have asked them later then. Fine. Switch with me. I'll figure this out." Joel said as he came up front to swap their places. He kneeled as he looked at a particular angle

'Wait a second did I mishear it or he said he cleared them?' she caressed her chin as she tried to recall his words.

Tess raised her eyebrow as she looked at her. "What's up? Something bothering you?" she prodded her hoping to get an answer out of Ellie.

"He said he cleared them. Them must mean as in multiple correct?" Ellie absent-mindedly commented on her point of contention throwing Tess for a loop. She did not initially grasp her train of thought but as she thought harder and replayed their conversation from a few minutes back she was struck with a realization.

"J, you said them. You said you cleared them. CARE TO EXPLAIN?" He was struck with the same reverie as her. He face-palmed as he realized his minor slip-up.

"No time to explain… looks like Joel found a path." He hastily replied as he looked sideways refusing to meet Tess's glare.

"Found it, it's quite impossible to find the correct path but I think I figured out a feasible path… Through that red car, over the green truck. Right, Right, straight, left…..Hmm seems a bit tricky. J, remain at the rear." Joel started to carefully move as he disabled some trip wires and some alarms.

"You're up J" Tess called him out as they were standing in front of the subway entrance. He moved forward and peculiarly knocked on the door.

*knock* *knock* *knock* *knock* *knock* *knock*

.

.

*knock*

.

*knock* *knock* *knock*

His knocks were responded to in return with 4 distinct sounds of knocking within the delay of a couple of seconds.

*knock* *knock* *knock* *knock*

He knocked twice after their response. Suddenly the sliding peephole of the door was pulled back. J, pulled his mercenary dog tag from his backpack as he extended it towards the door viewer enabling the person on the other side to verify it. He withdrew his hand as the door viewer was shut as fast as it was opened throughout the interaction not a single word had been exchanged between either of the parties.

'What in the name of mafia shit is this? What are they doing to this subway?' Tess silently thought as she heard various sounds of unlocking from the other side of the door.

"You never told us what they planned to do to the subway once they got hold of it." Joel stated vaguely not interested in posing it as a question since the answer was soon to be revealed regardless and he had made some reasonable assumptions as to what it could be.

"Me too."

"Same."

Two very different voices also chimed in after Joel, supporting his question.

J merely glanced back as he heard the door swing open. "Find out for yourself." He walked into the entrance leaving no room for rebuttals. The group followed behind him each expressing their discontent in their way.

*grunt* *tch* *ugh*

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PEOPLE.

Yup, A lot of people. Ellie was rubbing her eyes with her fists as she was amazed by what she saw. The subway was lit up in red lights intermingled with yellow forming a comforting, lucid night-time atmosphere. In her proximity, there were countless booths on both sides of the subway offering various stuff at a price. In the distance, she could see individual vendors selling stuff. There were even food stalls and right in the centre on the left side of the subway, there were huge houses constructed occupying a major chunk of the space. The name 'night fox' and 'exchange house' stood out to her the most.

"It's a market! (✿⊙︿⊙).

.

.

Wow…." She was pretty shocked and rightfully so the dreary atmosphere of the outside and the warm atmosphere she was witnessing now were two opposites she never thought could co-exist.

*whistle* "Well colour me surprised Rivers is more capable than what I gave him credit for. Never knew he'd go for a market. Damn…" Joel admitted to the fact as he seemed impressed with what he saw as well but that impression was short-lived as his grim face returned when J acknowledged that it was beyond doubt Rivers was utilizing this in the way Joel may have assumed initially.

His answer brought a tightness to Tess's face as well as she read between the lines of their conversation.

He handed Tess an id card with the name Elijah Mikaelson "Here you go… you can purchase stuff you want or need with this. Just make sure to not get scammed. Remember this is not a friendly place even though the rules prohibit violence of all sorts in this territory. I am going to the exchange house there's some business I have to finish."

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Name: Elijah Mikaelson

Merc ID: _

Points: 12,690 (MP)

7 ,080 ¥ (CP) =

19,770 $ (AP)

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"What the hell? That's some crazy amount of points how many locations did you clear for them?" Tess asked as she stared at the card handed to her. There was a QR code right next to the listed details on the ID card.

"Just three. " He replied as he walked away from them his hand in his pockets. "See you in a while. Joel, stick with them. "The trio stared at him as he made his way through the crowd.

*sigh* Tess pinched her eyes at his indifferent manner before looking at the card again she turned around towards the other two waving the card to them as she suggested they were going to look around for a while.

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The group were at a pharmacy stall, Tess standing in front of them who was going insane on buying medical supplies. She was buying various coloured powders he had no idea of, different types of ointments, bandages and medical kits. Joel was looking around when he felt a tug on his shirt. He lowered his gaze to look at a pair of green eyes staring back at him.

"What is it now?" at some point he had gotten used to her inquisitive nature. Joel had no idea why she preferred to direct questions at him.

"Ah…I was just wondering if being a mer-mercenary is a really big deal. You looked quite shocked when he revealed it."

"Hmmm…I guess so." He gave a curt reply as he faced forward folding his hands as he waited patiently for Tess to wrap up her business. Ellie could sense a clear refusal from him to engage in this topic. She lightly kicked a pebble near her as she faintly added she was only breaking the awkward silence.

She watched Tess hand the card to the merchant to scan it. He was wearing a pale green worn-down robe, brown pants, a patched-up beige shirt and a blue turban. He looked middle-aged, his eyes were blue and fashioned an unkempt beard. Behind him were countless shelves with different sorts of items, supplies and crystal bottles filled with pills and liquids respectively. Near the right, there was a rifle leaning across a tall narrow cabinet right next to a sofa chair. A dull blue backpack was placed between the rifle and the cabinet.

The supplies had been distributed equally, arranged and placed into three kits by him as per Tess's orders. He gave a crooked smile as he thanked Tess for the business and returned the card to her.

She passed one of the kits to Joel, placed one in her bag and held the other, reserved for their third member.

The group moved forward looking at different wares. Tess bought various other items including water filter bags, soap sheets, charcoals coarse and fine powder both, MREs and condiments, plastic and glass bottles, ropes and other items.

Ellie stopped as they moved past the exchange house causing Joel to pause as well. He tried asking her but she seemed non-responsive till suddenly she didn't.

"This smell…." She inhaled deeply as her stomach started grumbling. Her reaction was enough to resolve Joel's query as he looked at the food stall that was opposite them a few meters ahead. Tess had caught on to the situation as well.

"Well, he did say to spend however we wanted." Tess smiled as she grabbed Ellie's hand and tugged her towards the stall she was staring at.

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Colourful, fragrant and appetizing grilled chicken skewers.

*nom* *nom* *nom* *nom…..*

Ellie was smiling as she took another bite. She had five skewers on her left and three on her right and a big smile on her face. Behind her Joel was biting into his burrito with a straight face and in the lead Tess was enjoying her beef kebabs. They had reached the end when they came up face to face with their last member who was sporting a frown on his face.

'What the fuc-k? Oi…oi…Where's my portion from anything? (_)'

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Additional Reading Navigation:

1. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx – a) stream of 'x' indicates scene break (Narration or Flashback.)

b) Indicates a major lapse in time from a few minutes to hours. It's a dynamic allocation of time. I trust the readers are sensible enough to create practical time frames. As 'within 5 min, within 2 min, within 20 min' every few lines would be just ugly writing (Previously it was ' = ' sign)

2. ... - stream of vertical dots indicates a lapse in time or shift to a concurrent view of a different character within the same time-lapse.

3. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz - stream of 'z' is only meant for text styling. It holds no significance besides decorating data.

Meta-data about the story:

1. About merchants: - I described the first one but I would like to leave most of their description to the reader's imagination. I believe most of the readers have played video games and would roughly know merchant-based outfits (would have loved to depict images but unfortunately on this site, you just can't.)

a) Merchant outfits based on Elden ring – Merchants located in extreme scenarios. (Not in the current location. They have armour and fashion old school outfits coz ancient traditional clothing and armour-set fashion are way too cool)

b) Merchant outfits based on Witcher 3 – Merchants located in hunter territory.

c) Merchant outfit based on Pokemon legends – Merchant located in a snowy area.

d) Merchant outfit based on Day's gone – Normal merchants located throughout (Present in this location)

2. I changed Tess's last name. According to the game, her name was 'Theresa Servopoulos'. I don't know I didn't like it very much. I thought 'Braver' was a more powerful and apt last name since she and J share the same last name and it didn't fit him either.

3. There's no typo error in the dates.

4. Remember J is an unreliable narrator. He will obfuscate things he deems necessary. The proof is provided already in this chapter in two different cases.

5. The mercenary is an important occupation. It will be explained later on.

6. The point system on the ID card will be explained later but it functions like currency.

7. A lot of hidden trivia that is highly descriptive to world description but I have made it very difficult to even decipher so don't bother with it. When the time comes the characters will reveal it by themselves.

Author's Note: Next chapter would be short as well because the chapter after it would be quite crucial in my opinion. This was short as well because I naturally found the perfect stopping point.