6
Once the monstrous cargo plane had landed and was at a complete stop, Storm Shadow unbuckled himself and rose from his seat. He turned and began to lean down to undo the harness around Midnight's Shadow.
She roughly shoved his hands away. "I can do it myself, ninja," she said icily, saying the last word like it was an insult.
Slightly amused, Storm Shadow took a few steps back and watched as the dark haired woman undid the restraints with speed to match his own. When she had finished, he stepped forward and grasped her arm, pulling her to her feet. Just as she rose to her feet, the massive cargo bay door slowly descended onto the ground. Leading her alongside him, Storm Shadow headed out of the plane, the rest of the soldiers hot on their heels.
The entire area in which they landed lay shrouded in a dark night, only the moon and stars lighting the land. The plane had landed upon a small asphalt runway in the middle of no where. Small road flares were placed around the edge of the runway to light the cargo plane's way. Midnight's Shadow glanced over her shoulder at the plane and saw that the wings of the monstrous vehicle barely cleared the edge of an expansive forest. Midnight's Shadow looked about her and saw nothing but trees, tall and looming in the darkness of night. All around her, the dark haired woman could see mountains, both large and small, encompassing the small runway. It looked like mountains trapped them inside the large forested valley, but that couldn't be the case. Storm Shadow and the others knew where they were going. Their destination couldn't be far now.
The white ninja led her over to the side of the runway where a faint dirt road was visible through the trees. Midnight's Shadow was momentarily confused. Were they going to walk the rest of the way to this new facility?
As if in answer to her silent question, from out of the darkness appeared several armored trucks that looked like they belonged to some sort of military. Who were these guys?
The trucks-seven to be exact- rumbled down the dirt road towards them. When they reached them, they turned around until they were facing back the way they came. From out of the vehicle nearest to them, a passenger door opened and out stepped a massive man clad all in black, the same as the soldiers behind her.
Midnight's Shadow took a slight step back in spite of herself. The man was huge! He had to be at least seven feet tall.
Storm Shadow, as patient as ever, held her arm, tightening his grip when she moved back. Midnight's Shadow had to bite her lip through the pain. Surely there would be a bruise on her arm later from all the times the white ninja had escorted her places.
His gaze momentarily straying over his captive, Storm Shadow returned his gaze to the hulking man before him. "You're late," he stated bluntly.
The man crossed his massive arms across his muscular chest. His dark eyes were hard as he regarded the ninja, clearly not so easily intimidated by him as some of the other soldiers. "I arrived right when I wanted to. It would do you some good to learn some patience, Storm Shadow," the man said sternly.
Midnight's Shadow inwardly smiled at the scowl that crossed the white ninja's face.
The man now turned his attention on the prisoner. "Is this her then? She doesn't look as tough as you said," he commented. His eyes raked her up and down, causing Midnight's Shadow to feel sick.
"Do not judge by appearances. She is probably more than a match for you," Storm Shadow said with an insulting smile. The man growled but said nothing in response.
Midnight's Shadow gave a small gasp of surprise as the white ninja, none too gently, shoved her at the man. The dark haired woman smacked roughly into the hard exterior of the massive man. She tried to quickly move away, but instantly the man's large hands clamped down on her shoulders, holding her fast.
"She is your problem now. Ensure she reaches her destination safely or you will have you choice of answering to me or the Doctor," the white ninja said, a hard edge to his voice.
Midnight's Shadow missed the flash of fear that crossed the big man's features when the Doctor was mentioned. She was too busy staring at Storm Shadow. He wasn't coming with? He had been with her this entire time. Why was he leaving now?
She tried to force down the questions like she had so many other times, but this time she couldn't do it. She had to ask. "You're not coming with?" she asked quietly, confusion coloring her tone.
The hard almond eyes of the white ninja shifted to her. "I have other matters to attend to. Don't worry. I will meet up with you and the Doctor soon enough," he told her, a small smile on his face. Without another word, he turned on his heel and began to head back towards the plane.
The man steered Midnight's Shadow around and began to lead her towards the awaiting vehicles. "Alright! Pick a truck and file in!" he roared to the men behind him.
Midnight's Shadow's heart dropped. With this many men as an armed escort, she felt her hope for escape slowly ebbing away. When they reached this new facility, she half wondered to herself if she would ever come out again.
The large man put her in the center truck in the long line of vehicles. He had elected to ride with her and was now sitting in the front seat, looking out the front window with a hard expression. Midnight's Shadow sat handcuffed in between two more soldiers in the back seat.
They had handcuffed her in front so that they could watch her hands, making entirely sure that she didn't pick the lock or something like that. Midnight's Shadow couldn't help but wonder if that was even within her strange repertoire of talents. She had seen the man give the key to the handcuffs to one of the soldiers next her. She had hoped she might be able to snatch it off of him, but there would be no point even if she did manage it. They would see her unlocking her handcuffs for sure.
So, Midnight's Shadow just sat there, listening to the rocks pelt the outside of the truck as they drove down the gravel road. She stared at her hands, which rested lightly in her lap, dreading the fact that they were slowly getting closer and closer to their destination with each passing minute. She felt sick to her stomach anytime she thought about what the Doctor had in store for her. So, to the best of her ability, Midnight's Shadow tried to force any thoughts of the Doctor from her mind. That was when she thought of Storm Shadow.
The ninja had been there with her since she first awoke in that cell. He had taken a special interest in her as he took it upon himself to personally escort her to and from her cell. She had briefly considered it was because he seemed to be the only one Midnight's Shadow couldn't beat in a fight, but she quickly added that there was more to it than that. She constantly thought of when the white ninja had taken her to that room to test her ability to recall how to fight, despite losing her memory. He had said it had been because of curiosity that he had done it, but she didn't buy it. Everything Storm Shadow did felt like it had an ulterior motive behind it. She wasn't sure if she could trust him or not.
But now, as she was without him for the first time, she half wished he had come along. He had seemed to keep the other soldiers in line and away from her. She had no illusions about what could have happened to her trapped in that cell. All one of them had to do was walk in…
Midnight's Shadow shivered at the thought, quickly forcing it away. Now that Storm Shadow was gone, was something bad going to happen to her in his absence? She recalled the way that the large man had looked her up and down upon their first meeting. She silently swore that she would snap his neck if he tried anything with her.
She inwardly flinched at her own thought. She wasn't sure if she was ever going to get used to the fact that she was so utterly prepared to kill someone without a second thought. All this did was serve to draw her thoughts back to the riddle of her past.
Suddenly the vehicle skidded to a halt, the rocks grinding beneath the wheels in protest. Midnight's Shadow's head snapped up instantly. They couldn't be there already, could they?
The large man in the front seat dug a walkie talkie out of his jacket pocket. "What the hell is going on up there? Why have we stopped?"
There was a brief moment of static before the answer came. "Sorry, sir. There is a massive tree laying on the road. It must have been knocked over in the storm from the other night."
"It wasn't there when we came in," the man stated, his voice a low growl.
"Maybe the storm weakened it? Either way, we can't get through."
"Well, go around it!" the man said, annoyance coloring his tone.
"We can't. The trees are too close together. The trucks will never make it," the soldier on the other end of the line replied. "We'll have to backtrack."
"We'll see about that. I'm coming up there." The man shoved the comm. back into the confines of his jacket. He turned in his seat to look at the two soldiers. "Keep your eye on her." His hard eyes shifted to Midnight's Shadow, who scowled fiercely at him, and pointed a finger menacingly at her. "Don't try anything. You won't get far." With that, he opened the passenger side door and exited. Midnight's Shadow watched him as he strode away and disappeared around the side of the vehicle ahead of them.
Now was probably her best chance for escape, but how could she? She couldn't get to the key to her handcuffs without the soldiers seeing her and stopping her. Her mind scrambled to try to construct an escape plan, but she couldn't come up with anything that wouldn't lead to her eventually getting caught. She probably had one chance and she didn't want to waste it.
Suddenly, a fiery explosion rocked the truck. Midnight's Shadow looked through the windshield just in time to see the lead truck launch into the air, wreathed in flames, before it crashed down on top of the next truck in line. Screams rose in the night air. Almost instantly, Midnight's Shadow could hear the sound of gunfire, but it wasn't coming from the soldiers. It was coming from within the forest. Someone was attacking them. The dark haired woman could make out the vague shapes of black clad soldiers, though not in the same uniform as her captors. They moved in on the solders from both sides of the road, pinning them. They were trapped.
Midnight's Shadow seized her chance while her captors were momentarily shocked by their sudden attack. Bringing up her elbows, she slammed it as hard as she could into the temple of the soldier to her left. The soldier let out a small grunt of pain before he went slack against the door. The soldier to her right started to turn towards her upon seeing her take out his comrade. He had no time to react when Midnight's Shadow's elbow slammed into his temple as well.
The driver started to turn around in his seat, but Midnight's Shadow was quicker. She swung her handcuffed arms over the head of his seat, wrapping around his neck and pulled. She felt as if she would be sick as she listened to his strained breathing as he choked. She could feel his throat working underneath her iron grip as he desperately tried to breath. His entire body went rigid, frantic for even a single breath of air. All of a sudden, the truck lurched forward. The driver had apparently stepped onto the gas pedal. The truck drove forward until it collided with the vehicle in front of them and stopped. The glass of the windshield shattered around them. Midnight's Shadow closed her eyes to protect them, not loosening her grip on the driver. She could feel the glass cut into her face as it sailed past her, still she did not let go. A second later, the driver went limp.
Midnight's Shadow let out her breath, which she hadn't even realized she had been holding. She hurriedly removed her arms from around the driver's neck. The dark haired woman sat back, adrenaline pumping wildly through her veins. She unbuckled her seat belt, reached over to the door handle on her left, and pushed it open. She swiftly undid the seatbelt on the unconscious soldier nearest to the door and kicked him out onto the ground. She leaped out after him and immediately fell into a protective crouch. Her blue eyes darted everywhere as she looked at the chaotic scene before her.
Soldiers ran this way and that, trying to find cover behind trees or the remaining vehicles. Explosions and gunfire rang out in the dark forest. The shadows of the mysterious soldiers took refuge behind the trees, never coming out. Perhaps it was because the darkness of the forest gave them an advantage, seeing as how they could see them but the enemy soldiers couldn't quite see them.
Midnight's Shadow ducked lower as a stray bullet hit the passenger window above her head, causing glass to rain down on top of her. Hurriedly, she sifted through the pockets of the unconscious soldier until she found what she was looking for: the key to the handcuffs. In a matter of seconds, the handcuffs fell off of Midnight's Shadow's wrists. She rubbed her wrists to get feeling back into them where they had come into contact with her bandages.
The newly freed Midnight's Shadow looked around. She wasn't sure where to go. Everywhere she looked was a soldier. If she just got up and started running, she risked getting caught in between the two sides and getting struck down by gunfire. She wasn't even sure if the soldiers in the forest were friendly or not. They could think she was apart of the same organization as the soldiers that they were fighting. How could they know that she was a prisoner?
Either way, she couldn't stay here. She was bound to get hit by a stray bullet for sure. Making up her mind, Midnight's Shadow rose to her feet and sprinted as fast as she could to take refuge within the darkness of the forest.
Snake Eyes finished off yet another soldier cleanly with his katana. He whirled it expertly in his fingers before he sheathed it on his back. He drew his pistol and with three well placed shots, instantly and easily took out three more soldiers that attempted to enter the woods. He listened to the shouts and screams of the pinned soldiers, trying to take what cover they could behind their trucks. They could easily surrender and end this here and now, but inside he knew they would not give up until the last man had fallen.
The black ninja's eyes strayed to farther up the line of trucks as a rocket launcher took out yet another. The flaming vehicle flew up into air before it came crashing back down to the earth. Soldiers dived out of the way of the falling truck. Some made it out of the way in time, but others weren't as lucky.
Snake Eyes fired two more shots as some soldiers attempted to flee into the forest and directly into his path. The ninja listened to his comm., vigilant for any new information. All he heard, though, was orders being shouted by Heavy Duty to the other soldiers, offering them encouragement and strategic advice.
Suddenly, Snake Eyes heard Breaker's voice over the comm. "I see the package! I see it!" he exclaimed.
"Well? What is it?" Heavy Duty said, the sound of his gatling gun carrying over the comm..
"It's a girl. She's running into the forest directly towards me, but she's got a hell of a lot of soldiers chasing after her," he answered.
"Well, intercept her without harming her," Heavy Duty commanded. "Snake Eyes. Scarlett. Go give him some back up."
"On it!" came Scarlett's reply.
The black ninja reached over his comm. and sent a ping to let Heavy Duty know that he had heard his order. Instantly, Snake Eyes raced full speed towards the area that Breaker was supposed to cover. He cut down soldiers with his katana and shot ones that were not close enough as he ran. The other Joes didn't seem to notice him as he sprinted in between the trees. Perhaps it was because they didn't see him or it was due to the fact that they were so wrapped up in the ensuing battle. It didn't really matter.
Within about a minute or so, Snake Eyes reached the area that Breaker was supposed to be covering. He stopped and scanned the forest. At first, he didn't see anything besides the occasional flare of light from the barrel of a gun as another round was released. That was when he saw her.
She darted in between the shadows of the trees, scarcely visible in the small amount of moonlight that illuminated the dark forest. She sprinted full speed through the forest, her long strides eating up the distance between her and freedom. Snake eyes saw her whip her head around to check over her shoulder, her black hair splaying around her head like a waterfall. The black clad ninja looked where she had and immediately spotted the forms of at least twelve soldiers racing after her, shouting to one another to capture her alive as they held their guns at the ready.
Immediately, Snake Eyes ran stealthily towards them. They didn't even realize he was there until it was too late. The ninja intercepted them and stepped right in between the soldiers and their fleeing target. The soldiers skidded to a halt, momentarily surprised by his sudden appearance.
Not waiting for them to snap out of it and bring their weapons to bear, the black ninja swiftly drew his gun from its holster and quickly dispatched with two of the lead soldiers. The rest of them ducked slightly, as if they couldn't believe he had fired on them.
Before they could recover, Snake Eyes saw the familiar light of a red laser dance onto the forehead of one of the soldiers on the fringe of the group. One of the soldiers turned, saw it, and tried to warn his comrade, but it was too late. Merely a moment later, the soldier's head was no longer attached to his body. Not long after, Scarlett darted out of the woods, her red hair like a small fire within the forest, and came to stand next to Snake Eyes.
She pointed her handheld crossbow menacingly at the group of soldiers and fired off one more shot. "Where is the package?" she asked him, talking rather loudly in order to be heard over the sound of gunfire.
Snake Eyes quickly checked over his shoulder. He had been so focused on the soldiers before him that he had actually forgotten to see where the girl had been running off to. He instantly spotted her still running away into the woods.
Scarlett briefly took her eyes off the soldiers to follow the ninja's gaze. She must have seen her too because she reached up a hand to turn on her comm. system. "Breaker. Heads up. She's heading your way."
Taking one last look behind them at the fleeing figure, Snake Eyes and Scarlett turned to face the soldiers, who were finally shaking themselves out of the initial shock of how quickly four of them had been killed. Snake Eyes paused for a moment. He knew they had killed a few of them, but it seems that there were less soldiers than there were a moment ago. It only took him a moment to realize what happened. They had split up. Some soldiers stayed behind to attack Scarlett and him while the others circled around them to continue their pursuit of the mysterious girl.
Snake Eyes started to turn around to go after them, but immediately stopped. Scarlett didn't appear to realize what happened; she was still focused on the soldiers before her. If Snake Eyes left to go after the other soldiers, she would be left to fend for herself against the remaining ones. He couldn't leave her. The girl would just have to outrun them. Maybe Breaker could help her.
The ninja paused in his thoughts. An amused smile appeared on his face underneath his dark mask. Or, he could finish here as quick as he could and go after her himself.
Scarlett turned to look at Snake Eyes. "You ready?"
The ninja nodded, not looking away from the group in front of them.
Then, all at once, the two of them leapt into the fray.