Author's Note: I totally forgot to give credits to the video game Detroit: Become Human! There are some environmental aspects and minor plot themes inspired by Detroit throughout this story, especially in the later chapters, so I felt it was necessary to give proper credits. Anyway, here's chapter 2!
"Oh shit," Sam cursed in realization.
"It's been the Renegades the whole time," Bucky said. "The ID cards, the wall, the uniforms-"
"That's sketchy as hell."
"But why?" Nat asked. "Are they trying to hunt us down or something?"
"I don't know, but we shouldn't stick around to find out," Steve answered. "We want nothing to do with them. If they ever come around, we'll defend ourselves from them and move on. We're not going to do a thing about them. It's every man for themselves, remember?" It sounded a bit like Steve was trying to remind himself more than the others.
"Then let's get out of here."
It was pitch black outside save for a couple street lights and the glow of the moon. They left their bags on the edge of the gate, so they could grab them on the way out. The plan was clear; get through as soldiers with the fake uniforms and IDs, and use the small ship at the harbor to cross the border.
"Are you guys taking over the shift?" one of the soldiers asked.
"We actually just have to get through Checkpoint 5," Steve said as a fake Sergeant Ricardo Montebellum. "We have orders to follow a possible pursuit of the Renegades across the border."
"Who's orders?" another soldier questioned with suspicion.
"Agent Ramsay. He told us to take the ship and-"
Suddenly without warning, an explosion blew up a few soldiers. The four former Avengers took this as their opportunity to get to the ship.
"Renegades!" one of the military soldiers called.
Such a perfectly timed attack, they had to admit. Although all it really proved was that the Renegades were near taking out the entirety of Sector 7. They needed to move quickly. The sirens rang out, notifying the public that Checkpoint 5 was locking down as a default mechanism.
They each grabbed their things and sprinted toward the ship on the West End Port. Naturally, the super soldiers of the team were in the lead. Once on, Bucky immediately started up the engine of the ship while Steve stayed behind to help the other two on.
Since he had the most experience with boats, Sam was up front making sure the ship sailed smoothly. They couldn't trust that the engine would last long, but the lifeboats could help them get across if the ship breaks down.
"To North End?" Nat announced, looking for a response from the boys.
"To North End."
As expected, the ship barely lasted the whole trip. A little past halfway, it broke down and the four were forced to row the rest of the voyage.
"I hope we can find a decent place," Sam said.
"It'll be a while, but as long as we're away from the Renegades' planned attacks we'll be safe," Steve replied.
Silence rang out among them. The water was thankfully calm. In fact, ever since the apocalypse hit, nature has been thriving for the most part. With the world more barren of people and technology, it has given way for a more healthful environment. The small bit of technology left over in the world was inefficient and barely lasted, hence the ship breaking down.
Sam hated the quiet, so he opted to break it.
"You know what I can go for right now?" No answer. "Some Marvin Gaye! Yeah, right?" he smiled enthusiastically, nudging Bucky jokingly.
"If you start singing, Sam, I swear I'll tip the boat," Bucky threatened playfully.
"Cause baby there-"
"We're here," Nat interrupted, pointing out the North End Port appearing in the near distance.
"Aw man!" Sam whined. "I was just about to sing!"
"Ha, even the universe does want you to sing," Bucky smirked. Sam threw his bag at him in response.
"We'll have to sneak around the soldiers, especially since we're not in uniform," Steve stated, getting back to business. "They're surely on edge with the stunt we pulled back on West End."
"No need," Bucky announced, "looks like they locked down as well."
"The Renegades attacked North End's Checkpoint 5, too?" Nat asked.
"That, or the government closed it down since it's the main route used to get from the West End to the North End. It's probably just a precaution to make sure the Renegades don't attack them next."
"So how do we get in?"
"We find another way around," Steve answered.
"We could jump the gate," Sam offered. "Quick and simple."
"You'd have to be careful to avoid security scanners and cameras."
"Shouldn't be a problem, if you calculate a clear path around them," Bucky stated.
The government were truly the only ones with any form of leftover technology on them. All they really had were some security stuff and intercoms, which were all hanging on a life wire, but they still held onto them.
They stopped the boat at the deck of the port, all four staying hidden until they found a way around the security measures.
At the gate entrance, a scanner blinked. If they passed in the direct view of it, it would alert the authorities immediately. All they had to do to avoid it was pass above the outside of the main gate, no problem.
The real issue was with the camera. It covered a 360 degree scan, moving slowly as it tracked every movement around the gate. They would have to analyze its timing sequence. That way, they could sneak past it without the risk of getting caught.
It seemed the camera moved non-stop at a slow pace in a circle. If they left the moment it faced straight forward, on the outside of the port, they could cross over the gate at the left side and progress through the Sector before the camera could whip back around and spot them.
One at a time, the second the camera was out of range, the four swiftly jumped the gate and dropped to the ground as silently as gravity would allow. They wasted no time proceeding through the checkpoint, the camera slowly nearing its full turn. The group was far out of sight by the time the camera hit its 360 degrees.
"This could've been a whole lot easier with my wings," Sam commented in a sour tone of voice. The government had long confiscated some of the more intricate pieces of technology that anyone in the U.S. owned, which especially applied to the Avengers. Whatever the government viewed as too dangerous and risky of a weapon or tool to be used by citizens was taken without question after the start of the apocalypse; the Avengers were forced to comply.
"That way," Steve directed the group to a path between a bunch of broken towers. "We can scale the buildings for ammo and maybe a map to better navigate our way around here. Look out for infected."
As if on cue, the moment the four stepped into the building, two infected came straggling toward them. They didn't even flinch. Nothing Bucky and his machine gun couldn't take out in two quick shots.
The team proceeded to scan the buildings, grabbing what they can and killing whatever infected they found in their way. Once they got out, they continued down the streets of the North End.
"If the set up is anything like West End, we should be passing through Sector 8 by now," Steve tried to piece together. "Maybe we'll find someone who can guide us in the right direction?"
"They won't tell us shit," Nat spoke the hard truth. "Every man for themselves, remember? Nobody is gonna be willing to help us around here."
"Then we better hope we find ourselves a map."
The odds were clearly against them. Hours of walking and trying to get through the North End got them nowhere closer to an actual sense of direction. They were wandering aimlessly and it was getting too late.
"We're long past curfew," Bucky notified.
"We're in trouble if we don't find somewhere to spend the night," Sam added.
"No place out here is safe," Steve said warily. "Any place that we aren't familiar with is dangerous. We haven't even found a single common area-"
"Grocery district!" Nat called, pointing to a bunch of lined up booths ahead.
"No shit," the former Captain America muttered in disbelief.
"You think they're still open?"
Bucky sourly rolled his eyes. "What part of 'we're long past curfew' did you not understand?"
"Well shit, Barnes, I was hungry," Nat called in defense. "With that attitude, I'd definitely say it's way past your bedtime."
"If there's a grocery district here, that means there must be a public community nearby," Sam concluded. "We could find a temporary shelter for the night and continue tomorrow morning."
And so they did just that. They found an old abandoned warehouse not far from the food booths. It was kind of sketchy, but what other option did they have? Besides, it was only one night. Of course, they had to cleanse it of infected first, but once it was all clear they settled down.
The next cool autumn morning brought the four back to the grocery district, courtesy of a starving Natasha. People stared at the new set of former Avengers as they paid for a couple of meals. They made it quick as the next few hours would consist of a lot of walking through Sector after Sector.
Lucky for them, the main streets revealed they were just leaving Sector 8.
"Sector 9 has to be close by then, right?" Steve looked for confirmation. Nat and Sam just shrugged.
"9 comes after 8, Steve," Bucky sarcastically commented, teasing his old friend.
"Who would've thought?" Steve asked himself, smiling at the antics.
Another hour of following the dirt road brought the four to an old, wrecked, half-empty neighborhood. Some small broken down houses stood on either side of the four, clearly inhabited. It didn't look like a very lavish neighborhood at all.
That was until they stumbled upon a large wall with a gate-like door that guarded whatever was inside. Naturally, the four tried to discover what was behind the door. Who knew? Perhaps there were some things they'd find useful to their long trip? Like a god damn map maybe?!
Bucky tried his hand at unlocking the gate, Nat watching intently from behind him. Sam scanned the walls on one side in search of another way in. Until suddenly, Steve spotted a figure leaning over the wall from the inside, a gun in his grasp.
Steve reacted accordingly, covering himself and Sam with his shield as the gunshot rang through the air. Nat ducked and Bucky threateningly aimed his gun at the figure on instinct. The bullet bounced harmlessly off the vibranium shield.
The figure lowered the gun in realization. "Steve?"
Bucky kept his gun trained on the man as he made his way to open the gate. The four had no idea who this guy was until he came down to meet them. The man cupped his hand over his mouth dramatically as he faced them.
"It's really you," he muttered. "Oh my god, it's really you guys."
Steve's face relaxed as he figured out who they were talking to.
-next chapter-