"...Hey...
"Hey...
"Wake up, sleepy head~" A voice as sweet as honey and smooth as silk called out to me, a euphoric song to my sensitive ears.
My eyes fluttered open, a thin smile on my lips. Though the moment I saw who it was, it disappeared, replaced by a slight blush.
Right. I was still in Tarkov. I didn't need to look to my right to know who the owner of that soft voice was, or who the driver was, or the shorty.
Yesterday's events came back to me with the force of a truck going well over the speed limit in an urban zone in the process of isekai-ing another shallow protagonist into a world full of bimbos. The embarrassing wake-up call, the humiliating feeding which I did not agree to and or deny that I enjoyed, the moment I almost had my neck ripped off and folded like a piece of paper if not for the older sister's sudden change of heart, and the weird, one-sided affection session with her. Then, the raid, the rescue-
The car screeched to a sudden stop, a shadow looming over us blocking the sun. I glanced outside the heavily tinted windows, we were parked in some sort of garage. However, there were no tools on the walls, only a single door in front that led out of it.
"Where are we?" I asked, cracking each individual finger with a hard pop.
"We're here!" The shortest replied with a little too much giddiness for my taste, opening the door of the car and popping out like a canned spring.
"Where's here? "
"The hideout, stupid," the driver replied, also exiting the car. Thanks for stating the obvious, literal bitch.
I sighed, rubbing my face in circular motions with both hands. I might've woken up, but my brain was still a foot deep in dreamland.
"Are you okay?" The orange asked with genuine concern, her eyes never leaving me.
"Yeah, yeah. Just... tired..." I stopped the massage, breathing through my nose.
She hummed, stepping out of the vehicle. I left after her, shutting the door behind me. As I'd speculated, there was literally nothing here expect us and the car in this little garage. Was it even a garage? It was more like a big shed. The walls and roof were constructed from parts of those large containers on cargo ships, crudely welded together and supported by random metal poles.
While we were still in the back, the gray one had gone to the front of the car, kneeling down to the floor. What was she doing-
The answer was revealed to me once I went around to observe her. She opened a hatch in the ground and began climbing down, followed by the short one. I stepped closer to the cover and was even more impressed; the trapdoor blended perfectly with the concrete floor, scratch for scratch, point for point. If I wasn't aware of its existence, I would've disregarded this place as a failed crackhouse.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Go down," the way she said it felt a bit... commanding? It sounded more like a demand than a request, but it was probably just my brain dancing around like a ballerina in the circus that was my skull.
I approached the opened hatch, a light source illuminated the bottom which was three or four meters deep. Foot by foot, I descended into the hideout, mindful of my step as to not slip and embarrass myself. Unfortunately, that happened to me one time, I still suffered to this day, mostly mentally.
Once I reached the bottom, I turned around to see a small corridor leading to a reinforced door, that thing could probably takd a C4 and then some more without a problem. Just how armed were these operators?
There was a slight crack between the door and the frame, where the light bled from. I approached the armored door, pushing it open and stepping in.
Once inside, my eyes almost popped out of their sockets; it was loot fucking haven.
The room's foundation was approximately a ten by ten meters square with a height of two, every wall painted with a dull gray. In contrast to the depressing design, the interior was legendary; on the right were three, honest-to-God, actual beds, frame and everything, a couch to sit at in front of a coffee table, and best part? THERE AS A TELEVISION ON IT! Sure, it was an old box type, but it worked! I assumed it did, why would they have it otherwise? Esthetics don't mean shit anymore.
On the left was a workbench littered with weapon parts and bullet casings, a few lockers with spare loadouts, three chests which in total accounted to the biggest motherload of loot I've ever seen, most likely full of more weapons, armor, and a compressed radio station.
These PMCs were pimped the fuck out! Of course they were, they were USEC after all. By this point, they had to be.
And on the wall opposing me hung a few pictures of the shoreline and space itself as healthy, anti-sadness decor as well as a door that lead to a bathroom based on a piece of paper with a poorly drawn toilet seat cello-taped to it.
"Pshheeesh, this place is pretty nice," I made an OK sign and gawked around some more, admiring the effort that went into building this place and transporting all the stuff into it.
"Glad you like it~" Came from behind me, which was followed by the door shutting with a loud bang.
I jumped in my place, hand over my chest, "Blyat! What was that for?!"
The orange one locked the door, and by "locked" I meant activated like thirty mechanisms on it.
"Sorry, old habits," yeah, sure, female Garfield wanna-be.
" Whatever- Hey, do you have anything to eat? The only thing I had was a can of pineapples," which I unwillingly shared, but I didn't need to mention that.
The short one's ears perked, "Of course! One moment," once she'd taken off her rig and vest, she went over to a small oven located on the left side of the hideout and began cooking up something. I didn't care what it was, anything would do.
"Thank you..." Well, they might be USEC, but at least they were nice.
...
WAIT A FUCKING SECOND!
"W-Wait! Timeout," I made a T shape with my hands, getting everyone's attention.
"Look, I... Thank you, just... Thank you. I don't know what would've happened to me if you didn't rescue me."
The orange one giggled, placing a hand on my shoulder, "You're welcome~ How about we sit on the couch while I answer all of your questions?" Yes! Thank you, you magnificent ginger!
She lead me to the sofa, it was a little torn and dusty, and its bright red texture had faded away, but sitting down on it reminded me that sometimes, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Despite its sorry state, it was soft and squishy, I could probably sleep on it if I wanted to. As I've learned in my time here, if you're tired enough, anything can become a bed.
Before the orange one sat beside me, she also took off her gear, leaving only her army uniform. I scooted away to give her some space, but she didn't seem to mind it.
I clasped my hands, "Okay! So... What are you- no, wait, what are your names? I'm Mike by the way," I couldn't keep calling them "orange", "gray" and "short," and the third one wasn't that short. Half a head lower than me, that's all.
" Mike... I like that name~"
"Hmm? You said something?"
"My name is Emeline, but you can call me Emmy."
"I'm Lily!" The short one, finally known by her first name, shouted from the kitchen corner, pouring something into a cup.
I turned to the gray wolf, waiting for her to give her own name. She'd also stripped herself of the cumbersome equipment and was in her pants and t-shirt, working on something at the workbench with her back to us.
"...Rachel." Not trying to be disrespectful, but that's a bit disappointing. I was expecting something badass like...
Never mind, I take it back, my name was no better. I shouldn't be throwing stones from a glass house.
"Great! Now we know each other," the orange- Emmeline said, she'd closed the distance between us, a knee away from me.
Lily then came over to us, a cup in hand, "I hope you like cold tea, we don't have any other cups beside plastic ones, sorry," she apologized, her hand extended to me with the cool drink. The green liquid had a tinge of blue in it, an effect of the light breaking.
"Nah, it's all good, thanks," I took the cup, gulping half of it in one go, "Ah~ That's better."
"Would you like some more?" She asked with her hands behind her back, donning an innocent smile.
"Thanks, but no thanks," I took a small sip, it was sweet with a hint of something bitter.
"Mike?" Emeline interjected, bringing me back to topic.
"Right. So... what are you?"
"We're wolves, isn't it obvious?" She pointed at her assets, no, not those assets. My blood pressure just spiked from that annoying reminder, but I didn't let that show. I swear, if I hear this sort of bullshit one more time, I'll start committing war crimes... more than I already have.
"Yes, I can see that. But wolves don't walk on two and talk and shit, what's with that?"
She sighed, leaning into the couch, "Have you heard of TerraGroup?"
Oh...
Oh.
OH.
OH! I THINK I JUST STRUCK GOLD!
"Who hasn't? Fucking bastards. "
"Agreed," came from Rachel. Yeah- Wait, what? She agreed with me?
"Hold up, I thought you were USEC?" Rachel burst out laughing from across the room, but dropped her joy a moment after.
"We stole this gear, like we'd ever side with either of those bitchy morons," good to know they weren't with Terra, but if that was the case, then who the fuck were they with? Neither USEC or BEAR? Why am I getting a bad feeling about this?
"Back before... things escalated, TerraGroup was conducting some illegal experiments. Are you aware of that?" Emeline added.
"...Holy shit."
"Get it now?"
HOLY SHIT! IT ALL MAKES SENSE!
I didn't respond right away, my mind has been officially blown. How did I not think of that? I knew they were doing some Area Fifty One shit with genetics, but this...
After a short moment of error, I replied, "I knew they were deep in shit, but I didn't think..." That one guy was right; God is dead, and we killed him.
"But we rebelled against them. Once they pulled out of Tarkov, we took over the labs," so that's why no one dares to go there, they had to have some heavy firepower, like sumo fighter level of heavy.
"Shit, that's... well, I support you for kicking their asses," I gave her a thumbs up. She grinned at that, her tail thumping against the couch.
"That's not what I was expecting, but thank you~" I raised my cup in their name, chugging the remaining liquid. Once it was empty, I put it aside on the coffee table.
"Well, that answers a lot," I laid back, my arms over the back rest.
Finally, I had the answers I longed for, and they weren't my enemies either! That's a big win in my books, and I was free. At last, lady luck was smiling at me, ha!
However...
"Hey... Why exactly... did you rescue me?" I quickly added, "N-Not that I'm ungrateful! I can't express how thankful I am, but... why? "
Emeline kept staring at me with that same grin, though I could swear it got even wider. After an uncomfortable silence hung like the dead man I'd found she began chuckling, sliding a hand over my shoulder.
"Mike... We had our orders, and we simply followed them," she brought me close to her, my breath hitched, is it just me or is it getting hot all of a sudden? "But that's not the real reason, no, no... You see, Mike, you are very, very important to us," why can't I move my legs? WHY CAN'T I MOVE THEM?!
I began hyperventilating, silently screaming at them to move, but the neurons refused to cooperate with the command center.
"Relax, relax... it's only temporary," she ran her clawed hand through my hair, the other two were watching us from their spots.
"W-What?"
"We can't risk you trying to escape or hurting any of us, so Lily put a little something to help you-" I tried to elbow her, but my arm didn't have much room to move around nor the energy.
"You... You poisoned me..."
She gasped, "No! Never! It's just some meds, you'll be fine," liar, liar! Why does this keep happening?! Ever since... fuck. I just can't catch a break, can I?
I couldn't move my body anymore from the neck down, but I still felt everything. I turned my head away from her, refusing to even look at the... traitor.
"I know that you're angry," she forced my head to rest on her shoulder, I was panting as if I'd just finished a marathon, "But it's for your own good. It's dangerous out there, even for skilled killers like us," fuck you, fuck you and... all of you.
I couldn't even speak, the words were lost in my throat. She laid across the couch, taking me down with her. Then, everything went dark, and soft.
...For fuck's sake.
She cooed in my ear, holding the back of my head while I mumbled something I didn't know myself into her chest. I don't... I can't formulate a coherent thought... I don't understand... Why? First, the sisters, and now...
"Hey! Don't hog him!" Was it Lily? It was a higher pitch, yes, it was her, it had to be.
Emeline hissed, "Don't worry. You said it yourself, we can always share ~ " WHAT?! What... What is this communist propaganda? Fuck... Fuck sharing, and what... does that even mean...
"I thought we agreed I get to cuddle first?" Was that Rachel? HA! The tough looking... wolf, and.. Cuddling? Hahaha! Ha, ha, ha...
I breathed through Emeline's fur, the countless strands ticklish and inviting. Why did it feel so... good?
I can't trust anyone, can I? It's bad, yet I don't learn. Could I have ran when we left the car? Or maybe rolled out of it mid-drive, risking a few broken bones? It didn't matter now, I was doomed.
As the world faded into the back of the dream bus, I slammed my foot down on the peddle, blasting off to infinity and beyond.