The night was peaceful once more.
No more bangs or booms, no more fighting, no more screams of death. Just... silence.
How I wish that were true. I was safe, sure, but that was an arbitrary term nowadays.
I felt my heartbeat pulsating in my thigh, it hurt like hell, and even more so when I put too much weight on that leg. On a positive note, the bleeding had stopped, for now. I'd have to change bandages in a couple hours, I had to minimize the chance of developing an infection.
Ah, who am I kidding? I shouldn't have dug the bullet out, damn panic.
I whimpered, the holy stick being the sole reason I could even stand up. I should've waited for them to finish their fight before rushing across, or maybe... fuck, I don't know if that was a good decision.
On one hand, it was the perfect distraction. While they were preoccupied saving their own asses, I got away. However, I was injured, and the price for that was reduced coverage of distance.
Mostly pain though.
On the other hand, if I waited for too long, they would've probably spotted me followed by a "pop goes the weasel" between my eyes. I bet they had night vision goggles too, the bastards.
I've been moving for at least an hour since I treated the wound to the best of my ability, the tall trees became less dense as I moved towards the west. The overgrown grass reached all the way up to my hip, the wildlife made its presence known around me but stayed hidden out of sight.
I sighed, coughing into my hand. I needed...
What did I need? Better yet, what did I not need? The latter was a much shorter list if I had a pen and paper on hand. I massaged the bandage around my thigh, a growing itch on the covered skin I knew I shouldn't scratch.
What I'd do for a warm bed-
"AH! CYKA!" I jumped around on my good leg, I hit something with my left foot in the grass. It was worse than stepping on a fucking lego brick!
I glared down at the source of another pain in my life, but upon realizing what it was, my frown instantly turned into a maniacal grin.
It was a hatch! Moss and rust ate away at its protective cover, but a hatch no less! Maybe there is a god after all.
I crouched down to the hidden hatch, the, also rusted, handle threatening to break at a mere touch. I gave it a few test pulls, exhaling in relief that it withheld against the elements for this long. Just in case it was somehow left open, I pulled as hard as I could counter-clockwise, a screeching of metal against metal followed by silence.
It actually opened.
I brought the rifle up in alarm, there was no reason for it to be unlocked. I thought I'd have to break in, if that was even possible. Fuck, there might be someone down there that forgot to lock the door behind themselves.
Man, that would be pretty embarrassing for them.
I grabbed the handle again with my left hand, lifting it up with some struggle. After making half a circle, it hit the dirt with a quiet thud, that somehow echoed into the bunker. Down the hole was complete darkness, not good. A ladder lead down the hatch into the unknown, so fucking rusty too.
I felt around my pockets while keeping my weapon trained on the depths of the hole, pulling out a flashlight. I pressed a button to turn it on, shining light down the bunker.
It wasn't as deep as I thought it'd be, about three meters. I wouldn't even call this a bunker, it was more like a basement, or a tornado shelter.
Whatever, down the rabbit hole I go.
I held the flashlight under my right armpit, using my right hand to hold the rifle while I went down using my left to hole onto the ladder. Once my head was below the hatch, I closed it near-shut, don't want to suffocate myself if there's no circulation system installed.
Once I was low enough to the bottom, I let go of the ladder, landing in a not-so-graceful squat. I took hold of the flashlight with my left hand, scanning the room for anything of value.
There was an old mattress with suspicious spots on it, opened, rusty cans strewn out on the floor, three vents in total I didn't trust one bit, and a couple duffle bags in the corner. Oh, cant forget the rust, rusted rust, and all of the rust on top. Half of the damn thing had to have rusted all the way through. Above the mattress was a-
I almost dropped my flashlight, instinctively moving my hand, still holding the flashlight, to close my nose and avoid the scent I'd come to despise more than disgust.
Oh god, oh fuck. Deyabano blyat.
If I had to use one word to describe what I felt, it would be gnarly. And if I could use two more, it'd be really fucking gnarly.
From the ceiling hung a hangman's noose, and through the noose was the neck of a rotting man. By the look of it, the noose must've suffocated him instead of breaking his neck on impact as intended, shit, there was even a small stool under him, poor bastard.
Why wasn't there a smell? Not that I'm unthankful, but how? Examining the body closer, all he had left were his bones and skin, the latter barely holding the body in tact. What the fuck happened here? Why was he here? Hold long was he here? Why did he...
No, not important. I needed sleep, but...
I had to take him off, that's too fucking creepy to sleep around.
I approached the corpse, the roof of the bunker two heads taller than me. I placed the rifle on the ground, the barrel pointing towards the wall. Propping up the stool, I reached out above the noose with my hunting knife, cutting through the rope until it snapped.
The corpse fell down on my feet, and I screamed like a little girl while nearly loosing my balance. Thank fuck no one could hear me.
I grabbed him by his legs, dragging him to a corner beside the ladder and away from the bed. Yes, that mattress was fucking perfect, what stains are you talking about? I don't see anything.
Definitely beats the "soft" grass.
I shone the flashlight around the bunker for a second time, spotting the dusty bags that seemed a little full of something. Sorry sir, but I'm going to need your stuff; finders, keepers.
I began searching through each bag for anything that could be of use to me. The first bag held nothing but a zippo lighter that somehow still worked and an old playboy magazine. I considered burning it for the meme, but left it where I found it.
Also because the smoke would attract unwanted attention.
The two other bags on the other hand were simply epic.
"LOOT! LOOOOOT!"
Canned bread for days, I grabbed one of them and rotated it, checking the expiration date. Holy shit, it still had a year to go. This place was ancient, a decaying time capsule in the middle of nowhere.
And... shit, the water was fucked, it was greener than Grove Street. I counted how many extra cans I had, coming up with seven in total, that would keep me satiated for a week.
The third bag also had an old pistol in it, too bad it was unusable due to the rust that had eaten away at it. As dark as it sounds, I wondered why he didn't just use the gun. But after pulling out the clip with some struggle, my answer revealed itself; it was empty.
Once I was done taking what I needed, I went to the mattress and sat down at the edge, taking off my rig and backpack. I glanced back at the man, many theories on what his story was. Maybe he was trapped? Was he hiding from someone? So many possibilities. I hope he didn't suffer too much given his choice of checking out.
I let myself fall on my back, the springs creaking under my weight, though it wasn't much anyway. The flashlight by my side, exposing the ladder out of the bunker.
I wish I had a watch, a digital one to set an alarm clock, but it is what it is. Clicking off the flashlight, I curled up on the bed, breathing in and out as my mind drifted away. Even the smallest of comforts helped me fall asleep like a baby.
Yeah, like a baby.
"Don't worry, they're coming to help us."
"O-okay," I replied to the guard, returning to the tent I shared with four other people. They were decent. I wouldn't say they were good or bad, just decent. They, like me, were going to be taken out of this hell hole of a city.
I was inside a camp set up by the government for extracting civilians out of what was dubbed now as "The Zone". No, it wasn't like the one in Chernobyl, thank fuck it wasn't anything like that. There used to be a few hundred people here, but in the past few days almost everyone got to safety.
The guards protecting us and the military assets were a mix of soldiers, policemen, firemen, and even some good samaritans that were proficient with firearms. The soldiers were recruited, whether they wanted to or not, into a special unit dedicated to solving the crisis at hand; BEAR.
I didn't know what the acronym stood for, but I knew they were the good guys.
I hope.
When I lost conscious at the university, I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. It was one of the many interest points that were fortified and used by them as outposts. I heard from one of the guards they even converted the airport into a military base, jets and everything.
Around the camp were high concrete walls, a watch tower here and there armed with machine guns. There was no way the compound could be breached, it was invincible.
Wait, is that music-
Sudno by Molchat Doma
"BREACH BREACH BREACH!"
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"
"THEY'RE COMING FROM THE NORTH GATE! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"
"PROTECT THE CIVS!"
"GET TO COVER!"
Smoke rose from the other side of the camp, the blazing gunfire was deafening even from this distance as the sirens blared without mercy. Out of nowhere, shells came raining down on the compound, indiscriminate of who they blew into a million pieces.
It was absolute chaos.
I was frozen in place. I couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't think-
"I SAID GET TO COVER!" A guard grabbed me by the shoulder, throwing me behind a parked truck. He took cover beside me, using his two-way radio to communicate with the others.
"Khtch- Black Hawk, insurgents breached the north gate, we need evac! Now!"
"Khtch- Copy that, extract inbound in T minus thirty seconds. How many civilians?"
"Fifteen, there might be less now," a loud scream was silenced by a louder bang, and the fighting raged on.
"Blyat, faster! We don't have much-" The voice on the other side shouted at someone else before the radio turned into a garbled mess.
"Black Hawk, do you copy? Black Hawk? Black Hawk?!" I tugged at his shoulder, my entire being shaking in terror.
"WHAT?! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M-" I pointed upwards, he followed my finger, gasping at what we were witnessing.
A black helicopter was spinning out of control, the back rotor on fire, leaving a smoke trail in the evening sky.
"Khtch- MAYDAY! MAYDAY! WE'RE GOING DOWN! I REPEAT, WE ARE GOING DOW-"
We watched as the aircraft crashed into a watch tower, said tower falling down, breaking the entire wall on that side and peppering the ground with debris alongside even more fire.
Breaking out of his shock, the guard got up, taking me with him by my arm.
"Can you shoot?!"
"N-no," I stuttered, the booming of bullets coming our way.
He looked back and forth between me and the creeping action, handing me his sidearm.
"RUN!" I didn't think twice and did as he said, sprinting away from the truck and the guard. I glanced back to see him prop himself behind the front wheel, cocking back the hammer of his gun.
I kept running further away from the camp, passing burning tents, flipped vehicles and a few fresh bodies. Oh god, this can't be happening, this can't be happening!
Along the way I caught the site of small breach in the wall, but before I could pass through, I heard voices approaching. I dived down into a random tent, crawling under a bunk bed as the insurgents entered, their silhouettes passing by the tent and to where I ran from.
Once they were away I rolled out of my hiding spot and rushed out of the tent towards the breach, and into the wilderness. My legs burned like hell, every breath a wheezing mess.
The orange fiery of the sky blended in with the deadly fires, the action was dying down as the insurgents killed the last few survivors of the initial assault.
I turned back to the camp, the flames reaching so high into the sky. The destruction left behind was immeasurable. And...
I was trapped, my only way out taken down.
BOOM!
I gasped awake, every part of my body drenched in sweat. I held my chest, my breath rapid and unstable. The guard, the people, the camp!
All gone. It was just a dream, just... a dream. Nothing more, nothing less.
I rolled onto my side, pulling at my wild, unkempt hair. Fuck this, fuck all of this! I just want to get out. I was supposed to be an engineer, not some fucking scav-a-like scavenging for scraps in a warzone!
I stared at the wall, the rust had so many unique patterns on it. I could make out many unique shapes, a toy train, a slingshot, a piece of cake, a slice of pizza, clouds.
The sky.
Out.
Out of the bunker.
Shook to the core and well rested, I rubbed the tiredness out of my eyes, swinging myself off the mattress and onto my feet. I stumbled some before regaining my balance, huffing in distain.
I grabbed my weapon, rig and backpack which were exactly where I'd left them the day before. I turned my flashlight on and bid a silent farewell to the man, walking towards the ladder. I climbed up, pushing open the hatch, but only a crack, turning off my source of light as I scouted the area from relative safety.
Seeing that there were no threats around, I pushed it all the way open and climbed out, closing it behind me.
Breath in, and out. Fresh air, much better than the tetanus down there. The sun was around the middle of the sky, so I couldn't go to any landmarks yet.
My sleep schedule might've been fucked- well, it was fucked, but I would never go loot during the day. Daytime was for the operators and scavs, night time was for the scavs and me. I made that mistake once and I'm never repeating it again. The shadows were my only friends.
What a depressing thought.
Taking out a folded piece of paper from my rig, I checked the map to see where I was. I approximated my current whereabouts to be around... not good, that's too close for comfort. I was five kilometers away from a small farm south west of me, controlled by scavs for sure.
That left me with two options; stay put and risk being discovered and gunned down, or go towards the town... fifty kilometers away and risk also being discovered and gunned down.
That sounds like a lose-lose to me! Hell yeah, what a great fucking deal.
I grumbled, folding the map back into the pocket. I rolled my shoulders and with renewed determination, trudged into the wilderness.
A set of gloves held an advanced set of binoculars, looking over the forest that stretched to the shoreline in the horizon. Their user was laying prone on top of a cliff overlooking the rich greenery, her tail idly swishing from side to side.
"See anything?" the second asked the third, setting up a radio transmitter.
"Nnnnothing," she continued with her duties, watching out for anything that could be of interest to them.
"What did command say?" The first inquired from the second, sitting cross-legged by a campfire in the makings.
"At first, they denied any deviation from the objective, but once I told them what we were after..." The third giggled while the first smirked.
A moment of comfortable silence passed as each kept to their own task; the first worked on the campfire, the second set up the radio and the third was on the lookout.
"Bingo."
"What do you see?" The second asked, her full attention on her comrade. The first glanced from her work too, her ears flicking in intrigue
"A man, our man," the both of them perked up at that, all the more interested now.
"Are you sure it's him?"
"Yup. Same rig, same backpack, same gun. Damn, his hair is pretty... a-and long," she watched the small figure the size a mouse from where they were with a smile, his current path towards the town.
"Oh shit."
"Not again..." the first said, awaiting the dramatic punchline.
"He's going to the town."
"What?! Is he fucking nuts?!" The second shouted, she turned back to the communication device, working faster to get the stupid thing working.
The third got up from her position to help the second set up a connection with their headquarters while the first was getting some rations from her own backpack.
"Anything you want with your dish?" The first asked.
"Not now!" The second replied.
"Al... most... Got it!" A static came from the device, the third adjusted a knob to the right frequency of their encrypted channel. She grabbed the hand-held microphone and spoke into it.
"Mother Fox, do you copy?"
"Khtch- We read you loud and clear Pack Seven, any intel on the target?" A deep, distorted, feminine voice answered.
"Yes, we have visual of him. He is currently heading to... the town."
Radio silence, the operator didn't respond for a couple moments. But when she did, "Roger that, we'll send a team to-"
"NO!" The third shouted, surprising the other two.
"What was that? I didn't get that."
"Noted, she said noted. We'll keep following the target," the second mouthed ' what the fuck' while the first opened a large can of beef, setting it over the fire to cook, "Although it may... complicate some things."
"Elaborate."
"We got intel the town is under heavy occupation of scavs and rogue operators, sending more in might worsen the situation and result in an... unwanted outcome."
"...One second, stay on the line," while the operator went to get whoever they needed, the second glared at the third, though the first didn't care that much.
"What the hell was that?!" she whispered, genuinely baffled that her teammate would outright reject an order.
"I don't want anyone stealing him from us!" She returned with the same quiet tone, the first perking up at their conversation.
"Wha- what do you mean 'steal him from us'? I though you were 'willing to share'."
"Only with you girls, we're besties!" The first chuckled while the second continued her confrontation. But before she really could, the third cut her off.
"Think about it, what do you think will happen once they get him back to base? Hmm? Hmm?!" she threw her arms wide, her left eye twitching in anger.
The other two thought about it, understanding her point. If they did bring him back, their superiors were sure as hell going to abuse their power in order to keep him for themselves.
The second sighed, "Why can't we have nice things..."
"Welcome to life, Captain," the first added with a mock salute, the canned beef ready to eat. "I got salt, want some?"
"Khtch- Pack Seven, you have a new mission; retrieve the target asap. Preferably unharmed, General's orders."
"Copy that, Seven Pack out," and with that, the second ended the transmission.
"See? It'll work out, trust me. And... thanks for covering for me," the third said, coming to sit at the campfire.
"Yeah, whatever, you nutjob, " the second muttered under her breath, coming to sit down by her two friends as well. "And yes, I would like some salt."
For some time, I felt like I was being watched by someone, or something. Yet, no matter where I looked, I saw no one. I was the only one around, and who would go into the middle of nowhere? Except me, of course.
No one. Therefore, those feelings were just part of my justified paranoia.
As I was climbing over another hill, I saw the top of a wooden cabin appear in view, butterflies flapping around in my stomach. Yes! More loot!
It had at least one window from where I stood, but there could be more. Its triangular roof had moss blanket, proving its success against the brutal weather.
I went down the hill and towards the cabin, grabbing my gun with both hands. I prayed it was abandoned, it was in the middle of nowhere after all. Who would- hell, who could live here?
Man, today was a good day.
Once I was in front of the door, I placed my ear against the wooden surface, listened for any sounds inside. After a while of nothing, I decided it was time to break in. Taking a few steps back, I ran at full speed towards the door, kicking it down with my good leg.
Effectively falling down and hissing in pain, stupid fucking wound.
On the other hand; Jack-motherfucking-pot, baby! Without even looking I could see fuel canisters, actual beds, a functional furnace, a chest in the corner and a strange creature tied on the floor.
Wait, what the fuck?!
It looked like some sort of... I don't know, animal-person? And it, sorry, she, it was a she based on the assets she had. She was squirming in her restrains, her words muffled by the cloth gag around her mouth.
I almost dropped my gun at the sight, I didn't know what to do. How do I even react? Was this even real? I'm pretty sure she was a wolf, her fur a light gray with a generous touch of crimson.
No, not important. I have to help her, ask questions later. Her captors could return at any moment.
Standing back on my feet, I approached the... wolf, I approached the wolf with caution as she kept struggling, tears forming at the edges of her eyes.
"Hey, hey. Shhh, I'm not here to hurt you," I crouched down to her level, pulling out my knife. She screamed into the gag, probably begging me to not kill her.
"Relax, relax! I'll free you, okay?" She immediately stopped, unmoving from her spot. She nodded her head slowly, so I took it as the queue to help her.
I first cut off the rope near her feet, followed by the one binding her hands behind her back. Once she was free, she removed the gag herself, coughing into the air.
"Who did this to you, what the hell even are you? N-never mind that, we need to get out of here before they come back."
"You helped me..." her voice was barely above a whisper.
"What?"
"You're the first person to ever free me, and... y-you're a man, a very young man," what the fuck? Are on acid, woman? Who cares?! We need to go, now!
"Yeah, and? Listen, we can't stay here, we need to get the fuck out of here!"
"I don't think so," a different voice said behind me. I turned my entire body around in a snap, my finger on the trigger.
...What. The actual fuck.
It was another one! Another she-wolf thing! And for some reason she reminded me of the one I just set free, her fur a darker, lesser shade of red and more gray.
I aimed my sights right at her head, my legs shaking from the sudden rush of adrenaline. She laughed at me, her toned muscles showing under a shirt that exposed her stomach a little too much.
"W-why are you laughing? What's so funny Ah?! Cyka!" She dropped her friendly demeanor, snapping her fingers. Five other creatures similar to her and the captive entered behind her, holy shit, their guns had to be military-grade.
I was outnumbered six to one, I...
Shit.
"You know, I never thought I'd see another human again. But here we are! And you freed my little sister, no less, we're gonna have a little talk about that later," wait, sister?
The captive sighed, I glanced behind at her. She was fiddling with her thumbs, clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation. "Yeah, hehehe, sorryyyy..."
"Always the great actor in the family!" The older one complimented.
I turned back to the five armed creatures, all of whom female, glaring at the elder sister.
...That's okay. I forgive you, little one.
SIKE!
GO FUCK YOURSELF YOU STUPID BITCH, FUCK YOU! YOUR GRANDMA GOT NO KNEES! YOUR PAPA WENT TO GET MILK AND DIDN'T COME BACK! YOU FUCKING-
A solid object hit the back of my head, knocking me down to the floor. I dropped my gun in the process, too dazed to even try to reach for it. The older sister laughed again, but this one was far more sinister than I could ever imagine.
"Well done, I am very proud of you," the older one said, ordering some of the others to do something. My hands were then brought behind my back, a plastic cable tie binding my wrists together.
It seems the liberator has become the liberated. Fuck my life.
"Thanks, and..." She whispered something to her sister, earning a soft chuckle.
"Ha! Just like your older sister, you are! Don't worry, once we get back to..." Everything around me faded into darkness, a numbness overtook my mind as I slipped away into a forced slumber.
Fuck. My. Life.