Chapter 18 – A Day in the Life
"Hey man, listen, it's too dangerous out there! You know what happened last time, right?" - Noah heard from the room ahead of him.
"Listen, Esteban, we all know it's dangerous, but it's your turn to go on cave patrol this time! Else it's gonna get a whole lot more dangerous if nobody's patrolling out there!" – someone else responded.
"No way, man, I-I-I'm not ready for those things!"
"Hey, what's all this about?" – Noah asked after entering the room.
"Nixon! I mean, uh, Captain Nixon, I guess?" – Agent Alvarez said, unsure.
"Just Noah is fine. Now what's going on here?" – Noah demanded an answer.
"Well, according to the schedule, Esteban here should be going out with the SACT Agent on cave patrol, but he refuses to do it."
"Well, why can't someone else go?" – Esteban piped up.
"I told you already, everyone that's not injured, yet, is resting up from today's missions." – Alvarez explained to him.
"It doesn't matter, I can go alone if he doesn't want to come." – the SACT Agent proposed, but she was shut down by Noah.
"No. Absolutely no way." – Noah intervened. "It's bad enough to be going out in teams like this, but ALONE? You're gonna get yourself killed. Esteban, you're dismissed. I'll go on cave recon along with, um…"
"Agent Henshaw." – the Agent reminded her of his name.
"Right." – Noah nodded. "I'm going with you, Agent Esteban isn't really ready for this yet.
"But Nix- I mean, Capt- dammit, I mean, Noah, if we keep treating him like a civilian, how will he ever be ready?"
Noah sighed. "Look, some people in here, well, they won't be able to handle the Darklands. What's the point if we send him out like this only to die? He didn't realize what he was signing up for, that doesn't mean we have to push him off the cliff and see if he makes it."
"Well, you're the leader." – Alvarez shrugged and left the room.
"You hold on, I'll gear up and be right back." – Noah told Agent Henshaw and just as he was leaving to go to the armory, Agent Esteban approached him.
"Listen, I'm really sorry about this whole, uh, thing, but it's just…"
"Hey, I get it. Listen, you try to hold out in there, alright? And as soon as we reestablish contact with HQ, you request a transfer."
"Yeah, alright." – Esteban told him half-heartedly, wondering if he was really gonna quit or would he try to man up and face the Darklands head-on. The thought stuck with him for a while.
"So." – Noah said, right after they left the metal hallway exit out of Huntor's Nest. "Agent Henshaw, right?"
"Yep." – the SACT Agent responded.
"So hey, I don't really like the whole "Agent Last Name" thing. What's your, uh, your first name?" – he inquired.
"It's Kate."
"Alright, Kate. Hey, weren't there two of you SACT guys? The other one left along with the guys going to Huntor's Crest, right?"
"Three." – Kate corrected him.
"Hm?"
"There used to be three of us. August went back to the base, but the third one – David – he didn't make it in the battle back at the outpost." – she explained.
"Oh." – Noah said. He felt guilty – it was Providence's outpost that David died defending.
"So how come you didn't go along with the other Agent back to your base?"
"I, um… I couldn't bring myself to face the other Agents. I was there when David was… gone, you know? Okay, I can't just sugarcoat these words. Killed. David was killed. And I feel like it's my fault, and I… I just don't think I can show my face around there right now."
"I'm so sorry, I probably shouldn't have asked that." – Noah quickly apologized.
"No, it's okay."
"Listen. Kate. I'm going through the same thing as you, and, well, there's no easy way of doing this. You're gonna have to face it head on, sooner or later." – Noah advised.
"Hey, anyone can just say stuff like that. I say that to myself all the time. But this image of David's lifeless body keeps coming back to me. Like, when after the battle we were putting all the bodies along the wall so they wouldn't just lie around the battlefield, me and August were moving David. And the last glance I got at him, he was just… staring into my soul. I've known him for a year, and we were pretty close. I know I didn't actually bury him, but still, how do you bury someone like that?"
Noah didn't really have an answer for her. He thought back to all the bodies he had to carry as well. Including Captain Calan's. At this point, he was slowly getting desensitized to it, he knew he would gladly jump in their place if it meant saving the world, but for how long did this have to go on for before he couldn't take it anymore?
"And besides…" – Kate added. "That ship has sailed already. August and the outgoing team already went to the SACT outpost to deliver the news. And I can't go there alone, can I?"
"Well, not alone, but the least I can promise you is that I'll try to make something happen if you want to get out there." – Noah assured her. "I do have the authority now, after all."
"So how DOES that feel?" – Kate asked him, moving away from the subject.
"How does what feel?" – Noah didn't quite realize what she meant.
"The sudden leadership thing. I know I could never step up to something like that if we lost Lieutenant Steel."
"Oh, that. Honestly? I didn't exactly want this of all things to happen, you know? I told Doyle he should be the one to assume command." – Noah explained. "Neither of us wanted to do it, so we're like, uh, co-Captains now, but that doesn't really take any pressure or responsibility away from it, you know?
"Yeah. It's like thirty more Davids that I'd got to look out for. And I couldn't even save one."
At that point, they had arrived at one of the side tunnels coming out of the main shaft.
"Alright, this is the one that hasn't been explored yet. Apparently, it's in the general direction of Fusion Courage's lair, so be on the lookout for any sign of infection." – Noah told Kate. She nodded. As they went, Noah opened the map on his DexCom, which was issued to every Providence Agent, and set it to scan the surrounding area. The map automatically updated itself as they explored the shaft.
"But yeah, like there's twenty pairs of eyes looking up to ME, twenty pairs of ears, waiting to hear MY orders. It's pretty weird. And to think I only graduated high school last year. I really feel like I shouldn't be putting on such a responsibility, but Doyle and the others seem to think that I'm this super smart confident natural leader and, full disclosure to you, as you're not one of my Agents, Kate… wow, even saying "one of my Agents" feels super weird. But anyway, full disclosure to you, I have no idea what I'm doing, but Doyle seems to think I'm the one that should be leader." – Noah opened up. It felt good to have at least someone to talk to, and a SACT Agent, an outside presence, felt like the perfect person to vent to.
"Well, why don't you quit? It's like you told Esteban, nobody should force you onto something you're not ready for." – Kate proposed.
"Well, I can't just leave Doyle hanging like that now! If I quit, nothing's gonna stop Doyle from quitting, and the unit will fall back into chaos. You were there, right? In the cellar. Everyone was tugging the unit every which way until we decided to head here."
"Yeah, but why does Doyle think it has to be you?"
"I don't know, I mean, I am better put together than, say, Esteban. Or, probably because he knows me the best. It's not like I'm the most experienced Agent." – Noah supposed.
"Maybe Doyle is projecting." – Kate suggested.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Doyle has all these qualities that he sees in you, but for some reason, he can't accept that. And, well, that's why he needs your help. I don't know him as well as you, so it's just a theory." – Kate suggested.
"Yeah, that's true. Sometimes, I don't really get what that guy is thinking. Like he acts cool and mysterious, cause he's a mercenary with a shrouded past, I guess, but, yeah, he might just be using that to hide his feelings." – Noah supposed.
"See? And that's where you come in."
"Gee, is there anyone left on the island that DOESN'T have heavy psychological issues?" – Noah complained.
"There's a side shaft there." – Kate pointed out. Indeed, it looked like a shaft that had been dug through by the giant worms. It crossed the main tunnel and continued off on the other side.
"So, do we go in?" – Kate asked after they examined the holes.
"Well, exploring is what we're here for…" – Noah told her.
"Yeah, but I hate those things. You gotta bend down because they're narrow and you never know if there's gonna be a worm coming your way."
"Okay, you stand guard here, I'm gonna go in, then."
"Nope. As you told Esteban, not doing this alone." – Kate objected.
"Okay, you come too. I'll just mark the other passages on the map here as unexplored entrances." – Noah said as they both entered the dark tunnel.
"So, if not me or Doyle, who would you pick to be the leader?" – Noah asked Kate, who was right behind her.
"Um… I mean, I don't really know you guys that well. I guess Alvarez seems to know what he's doing."
"Alvarez is cool but you put more rookie responsibility on him he's gonna have an aneurism." – Noah told her. Kate chuckled.
"Well, what kind of leader do you guys have?" – Noah asked Kate.
"Oh, boy. Lieutenant Steel is like… actually, he's a bit like your old Captain. Pretty hard, but can't say he's not fair. Though I don't think he really likes Providence that much."
"Yeah, you know, I noticed something weird. It's like there's some animosity between Providence and SACT. Like some members do not get along at all."
"Yeah, I felt that too. Especially now that I'm the only SACT Agent on this base." – Kate agreed. "And they won't even tell us, but it still gets carried over. It's like a family feud."
"Well, at least we're not like that. I'll ask Doyle later if he knows anything about this."
Noah's knees were slowly getting tired. He noticed that the tunnel was going slightly uphill.
"What do you think about these worms?" – Kate asked him.
"I don't know. I have a Fusionologist friend that's more like an expert on the Fusion creatures, but she's not around right now."
"Oh. Did the monsters get her too?" – Kate asked grimly.
"No, no, sorry, nothing like that. She's just off-base. Dang, I could have worded that better. So even she's only seen the worm twice, but she says they're here for a reason. Probably after Huntor's Nest."
"I just wish they could at least be bigger. These narrow holes are killing my back."
"I hear you." – Noah agreed. "Well, at least they're not killing you."
"Not yet, anyway. Not unless the worms want to finish the job. Hey, I think I see an exit up ahead."
"Is it me or did the tunnel turn west?" – Noah asked and opened the map on the DexCom. It wasn't showing their current location, though.
"Stupid GPS." – Noah said and tapped the watch repeatedly. As they got out of the tunnel, Kate stretched her back, which looked like it was very painful.
Noah looked around the tunnel. It was much wider, and went both ways. He could see another worm tunnel too, leading into the one they came from, going even further west.
"Yeah, I think we left the Firepits part and this is the tunnel heading towards Huntor's Crest more."
"I swear, if there's a whole other section to map out over there… You know what, we're too far off the path we were gonna explore. We should mark it as a new unexplored area and head back." – Kate suggested. "Someone else can come here later."
Noah took a look around this new cave, but Kate was already leaving back into the worm tunnel, so Noah had to follow her.
"How'd the exploration go?" – Alvarez asked them as Noah and Kate came back from the caves several hours later.
"Two dead ends, a loop, a new unmarked exit found and a new chamber discovered wayyy to the west from here." – Noah answered. "That one's gonna need to be explored further. We marked it on the map."
"Anything Esteban wouldn't have been able to handle?"
"No worm sightings whatsoever."
"I knew it!" – Alvarez exclaimed. "Well, you two are free now. I think Rivera and Trapezanidis are gonna do the next one, so they can probably check out that new cave. You should rest up, though. You look like shit." – he commented as Noah shared the updated map with Alvarez's DexCom.
"Hey. Don't we all?" – Noah joked as he went back to the main base along with Kate. Though, instead of going to the storage area Huntor had so generously offered as the sleeping chambers, Noah instead decided to go into the monitor room.
As he entered the room, he was met with screens covering the entire wall, each of them showing live feed of a specific location. The two people sitting at the console turned around and looked at him. It was Doyle and Thompson.
"Hey, Nixon. What brings you around these parts?" – Doyle asked him.
"Ah, you know. Thought I'd check out what's going on down here. Maybe I can get on monitor duty for a while."
"Didn't you JUST run a race in the IZ?" – Agent Thompson asked him.
'Nah, that was Lascano, I was on cave recon."
"Cave recon, yeah. Well, you should get some rest then." – Doyle told him. "You can leave monitor duty to us."
"Or, I could take the rest of Thompson's shift." – Noah suggested.
"Oh, no, it's fine, I can hold out." – Thompson told him.
"Didn't you fall asleep earlier?" – Doyle asked him.
"You can go rest up, Jame, I really don't mind." – Noah offered again.
Thompson, not looking a gift horse in the mouth, complied, got up and gave out a good yawn while walking out of the room.
"So…" – Noah sat down in his place. "What's the comings and goings around this place?" – he asked Doyle.
"The usual. Monsters from all over the island converging around the Crest and two extremely dangerous Fusions running around unchecked"
"Fusion Six and Fusion you still around?" – Noah asked.
"Yep. Caught another glimpse, this time in Dino Pass. Nothing else much."
"At least they're away from Huntor's. I'd hate to face a Fusion of Agent Six."
"And a Fusion of me, right?" – Doyle asked eagerly, though trying to hide it.
"Ehh…"
"Eh?" – Doyle repeated.
"I mean, if I had to choose between the two of them, I'd totally face a Fusion of you rather than one of him."
"What? C'mon, I'm way more dangerous than Six."
"He's literally the sixth mos-"
"Yeah, yeah, the sixth deadliest person in the world, heard it about six thousand times already."
"And you think you can compete with that?" – Noah sneered.
"Well, how come nobody took me into consideration when they were ranking them? I'd have shown them a thing or two. I am wanted in over 20 co-"
"Yeah, yeah, many countries have placed a bounty on your head. I've heard." - this time, Noah interrupted Doyle. "The question is, why were you so sloppy as to let them identify you in the first place?" – Noah shot his remark down.
"I, uh…"
"All in all, I still think I'd stand a better chance against a Fusion of you."
"Oh. There's no way you just said that, Nixon."
"What?"
"You'd stand zero chance against a Fusion of me." – Doyle told him cockily.
"Oh yeah? How do you know?" – Noah got riled up too.
"Oh, I know."
"Wanna prove it, then?"
"Arm up, blondie!"
Both of them immediately put their right elbows on the console and gripped each other's arms. Three, two, one… The arm-wrestling match was on.
Noah strained. He strained his arm as much as he could to stand a chance against Doyle, but he realized that Doyle wasn't making any effort at all. Why did he even call him out like that? I mean, sure, Noah went through physical training at basic, but he knew Doyle's biceps were almost as big as his entire head. Though, Doyle always managed to bring out the petty rival in him.
"Focus, Nixon!" – Doyle yelled. Doyle's callout was right, he was being introspective in the middle of this, he should use even more of his strength…
"RRRRHHHHHGGH" – Noah was groaning in pain.
The door to the room opened, revealing Huntor at the threshold, about to enter. Once he saw their arm-wrestling match, with Noah groaning in pain as hard as he could while making a ridiculously contorted face, Huntor froze for a moment, unsure what this whole thing meant, then closed the door and turned away. Noah and Doyle didn't even notice him.
As Noah's vocal cords were about to burst from all that groaning, Doyle pretended to yawn, then applied his actual strength and pinned Noah's arm against the console with ease.
"Heh. Not bad, Nixon. For a cadet."
"Okay, okay, I'll admit it. You are pretty dang ripped." – Noah said while rubbing his wrist. He still felt pain in it. "But I still think Agent Six would be worse."
"You're just jealous you don't get to have a Fusion and I do." – Doyle mumbled.
"Yeah, either that, or I'm not inattentive enough to lose a personal item for the Fusions to use." – Noah sniggered. "Hell, you lost TWO." – he added. Doyle groaned, as he didn't have a response for that, and he wasn't keen on discussing Fusion Van Rook either.
There was a short moment of silence after that as they simply watched the monitors without saying anything to each other.
"So, any other movement on the cams? What about that squad with Bobo? Did they arrive at the Precipice?" – Noah tried to break the ice.
"No, not yet. They are…" – Doyle looked around the monitors. "They were around here somewhere. Aha!"
A car – Huntor's off-roader was parked near the mountainside filled with Terrafuser-like growths. A green mist was partially obscuring the SACT and Providence Agents, though it was visible that Bobo wasn't among them.
"VALDEZ!" – SACT Agent August Bock yelled with his hands around his mouth to make it louder.
"YEAH?" – Providence Agent Valdez yelled from the cliffside.
"GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!"
"I'M LOOKING FOR THE DAMN PLUMBER CAMP!"
"THERE'S SUPPOSED TO BE A FOOTPATH!" – SACT Agent Strauss intervened.
"WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR IT ALL DAY! THIS WAY AT LEAST WE'LL GET UP THERE!" – Valdez yelled at them while making his next step. He grabbed the neck of a Fusion Matter pod growth for leverage and climbed sideways.
"WELL, ARE WE SUPPOSED TO LEAVE THE CAR HERE THEN?" – Agent Bock shouted at Valdez.
"Stop yelling. You're gonna attract attention." – Agent Fortier told him and Strauss. "Besides, that'll just encourage him."
"Well, what the hell are we supposed to do?" – Agent Strauss protested. "Let him get himself lost or get his neck broken?"
"His choice. No need to get ourselves killed for no reason." – Fortier told her.
"But it's okay for him to get himself killed?" – Bock backed Abnett up.
At that moment, the three of them heard Valdez up there yell, then a branch snap, then Valdez yelling as he plummeted down onto the ground. The three of them ran over to check on him.
"Are you okay?" – Bock asked him.
"Fufufufufufuh fuh fuh fuh…" – Valdez was stuttering with a terrified face.
"He's in shock from the fall! Check for any open fractures!" – Bock commanded as he checked if Valdez was breathing.
"Fuh fus Fusion!" – Valdez yelled.
"Fusion? Fusion what?!" – Bock asked.
"Fusion Duh… Demongo!" – Valdez was finally able to articulate.
Everyone else paused in shock. Hell, Noah and Doyle watching this on the cams looked at each other in shock.
"Fusion Demongo? You saw him?" – Agent Strauss said after a brief pause.
"Hallucinations and brain damage are common after falls like these." – Fortier commented.
"Dude, what the hell? I'm perfectly fine." – Valdez told him as he got up, shrugging off Bock's attempts to hold him steady. "That was Fusion fucking Demongo up there."
"Holy shit." – Agent Abnett murmured. Bock drew his weapon and turned around, looking to see if Fusion Demongo was about to attack.
"And the three of you were shouting your lungs off." – Fortier scolded them.
"We should get out of here as quickly as possible." – Agent Valdez told them.
"Agreed. But what the hell was Fusion Demongo doing in this area?" – Bock wondered.
"Seemed to me he was just looking around. Lucky he didn't see me." – Valdez told them.
"Hey people, hallo?" – Agent Baumgardner approached them, who was until now waiting in the car. "What for are we standing around here? Are we setting up camp, or…?"
After they all got back in the car, they drove as quickly away as they could while keeping the engine as quiet as possible. Fusion Demongo wasn't the only thing crawling around in the shadow of the night, so the Agents had to be extra careful. Noah and Doyle followed them along different camera views as they set up camp in a different part of the Precipice.
"So, uh… anyone gonna talk about that damn Fusion flying around?" – Bock broke the silence.
"Maybe we should send someone to warn the camp. That's one of Fuse's most powerful Fusions, after all." – Agent Strauss suggested.
"Aren't we already going to that camp, or?" – Agent Baumgardner told her.
"She meant the SACT camp, doofus." – Agent Valdez answered.
"Oh. No chance of me going back there, nope!" – Baumgardner then decided.
"Yeah, it's not like you wanted there." – SACT Agent Strauss responded.
"You kicked me out into the wilderness!"
"You spied on our outpost!"
"Well, you abandoned us on the raid!" – Baumgardner replied.
"We did not abandon you, you went rushing in and didn't listen to us!"
"We had a very short opening!"
"Uh, guys?" – Agent Valdez intervened. "What's this about?"
Agent Bock leaned in, also eager to find out.
"You guys don't know?" – Agent Strauss asked them. Valdez shrugged.
"I've been hearing a lot from both sides that something happened between our organizations, but I have no idea what it actually was." – Bock confirmed.
"Well, it all happened during the raid on Fuse's lair." – Baumgardner started explaining.
"The one from last year?" – Valdez asked.
"There's only ever been one!" – Baumgardner yelled.
"Okay, okay. So, what happened?"
"The heroes went in after managing to disable the shields using some kind of Imaginary Energy overload. They were trying to stop Fuse from manifesting himself on earth, or at least to delay it until they activated some sort of uh, magical barrier. I'm not too clear on the details of it, but I think it involved a prophecy?" – Agent Strauss then continued.
"Well, the heroes became overcome by the monsters and had to retreat, but the force field was still down, and we still had the chance to attack. So, we, Providence, picked up where they left off, and requested help of Plumbers and SACT." – Baumgardner told them. "The Plumbers immediately helped, but SACT…" – he threw a dirty stare at the SACT Agents. "…not so much. But we moved in anyway while we still had the chance."
"It. Was. A. Suicide mission!" – Agent Strauss exclaimed. "You lost like 50 Agents in there!"
"Maybe we would have not, if you people didn't turn your back on us!" – Baumgardner retorted.
"We told you not to go in, that it was too risky, that not even Ben 10 or Samurai Jack managed to make it through Fuse's defenses, but you had to do it anyway. Why can't you just let it go?! Plumbers never had a hostile attitude toward us because of it!" - Strauss yelled. From then on, the conversation deteriorated into petty arguments until they remembered Fusion Demongo might be around, so they decided to keep their mouths shut. Or, at least argue while whispering.
"Oh, now I get why we don't get along with SACT." – Noah remarked.
"How bout that." – Doyle commented.
Noah looked at the time. It was already 9 in the morning. He yawned and stretched his arms, but then he felt a pain on his right wrist. Noah rubbed it again to try to relieve it.
"I didn't grip it that hard, did I?" – Doyle noticed. "Damn, sorry. That was your good arm too, right?"
"Don't sweat it, man. I had that coming."
"Maybe that'll keep you from going out on recon for a while. You look like you need some rest." – Doyle advised him.
"Nah, I can keep this up." – Noah responded. "I'd rather it was me than the others."
"Well, you're the leader, so it's your call." – Doyle shrugged.
"Hey. It's co-leader. We're in this together, you and me."
"You'll be no leader if you crash after putting so much strain onto yourself like that." – Doyle remarked. Noah ignored him as he kept rubbing his palm.
Though, Doyle did feel guilty for overdoing the macho schtick. He had to keep in mind that Noah was a teenager. Practically a child. God knows he was a brat at that age…
"Hey, you mind holding the fort down for a couple minutes? I'll be right back." - Doyle then asked him.
"Yeah, no problem." – Noah told him.
Soon, Doyle came back into the room, holding something in his hand. It was a package of what looked like drinks, no doubt taken from Huntor's alien food stash.
"Can you believe that even aliens have them in sixpacks? It has to be a universal constant or something. They know it's the best way to share them."
"What exactly is that?" – Noah asked as Doyle put the sixpack on the computer console between them.
"Something I can drink. Beyond that, I have no idea." – Doyle told him as he grabbed one.
"WHAT?! Are you sure it's even safe for human consumption?" – Noah exclaimed, worried about Doyle's carelessness.
"Relax, inspector, I had DOC-27 scan the entire storeroom for the stuff that's edible for humans. Most of it is in the clear. Stay away from the giant spider legs, though. Here, grab a can, or, bottle-like thing. It'll help you forget about the arm." – Doyle told him as he handed the featureless vessel to Noah.
"Is this stuff intoxicating? You do realize I'm not 21, right?" – Noah told him with hesitation as he peeped down the vessel's drinking hole, which was on the side of its tip for some reason.
"Okay, one: we're not in the States. You are 18, aren't you? Two: don't be such a massive wussy. And three, I never said it was that kind of drink." – Doyle remarked.
"Okay, I guess. Cheers." – Noah said and took a sip. Weirdly, it tasted like stale apple juice, but somehow, not in a bad way. There was a hint of metallic in there, like when you suck on the zipper of your hoodie. Noah didn't know what, but something in it made him want to keep and keep drinking.
"Of course, I never said it WASN'T alien booze either. We're gonna find out now." – Doyle said matter-of-factly, and Noah spit out his drink.
"Okay, you keep drinking that, and if you don't start acting like a total bonehead… more than you are now, then it's safe to drink." – Noah concluded. Doyle laughed as he took a swig.
"So… you've been chatting it up with the SACT Agent." – Doyle said suddenly.
"What… exactly do you mean?" – Noah asked warily, hoping that this didn't mean what he thought he meant.
"Dude. I heard everything. You know Huntor has cameras all over the place." – Doyle told him. A wave of embarrassed cringe engulfed Noah.
"I, uh… I hope you didn't take any of that seriously, you know, and, uh…" – Noah stuttered.
"Relax. I think it's sweet that you care about me." – Doyle told him while trying to contain the laughter. Noah turned a bit red. "But Thompson, man, he was laughing so much, he had to wipe tears off his eyes when you said that everyone on the island has issues." - he said and broke out laughing.
"Okay, can we change the subject now?" – Noah intervened, irritated. He should have known to keep his big mouth shut.
"Sure. So, that SACT Agent, uh…"
"Kate."
"Oh, first name basis already, I like it. So, I noticed how you went out of your way to go on patrol with her."
"So…?" – Noah asked.
"So?" – Doyle repeated, expecting something. "Has the great Noah Nixon's heart been smitten by a ki-"
"Do NOT finish that sentence." – Noah interrupted him. Doyle chuckled, hoping for a reaction like that.
"They said love between Providence and SACT Agents wasn't allowed, but nothing could stop Noah and, uh…"
"Kate."
"Yeah, Kate the Great and their true love!" – Doyle yelled and started making smooching faces.
"You know, normally I'd think this is that weird alien drink doing the speaking, but knowing you, it might just be you."
"Okay, Romeo, maybe not the SACT Agent. Anyone else around here that's caught your eye? Cindy?"
"Wh… no." – Noah objected.
"Alice?"
"Alice is just a friend!"
"Don't tell me it's DOC-27!"
At that point, both of them cracked up and started laughing. Neither of them was even paying attention to the monitors anymore, though luckily, all was well.
"Okay, for real though, I do not like anyone on the island. I do have a girlfriend, you know." – Noah then told Doyle after they had calmed down.
"Yeah? She waiting for you back home?" – Doyle asked.
"Yep. As soon as the war is over and the world is saved, I'm on the first S.C.A.M.P.E.R. or Jump Jet or whatever the hell takes me back to HQ."
"Keep talking like that and you're gonna be the guy that dies first in a war movie."
"I think we're way past that." – Noah told him. Doyle nodded regretfully. He paused and considered something for a moment.
"But if you think about it… when is the world saved?" – Doyle then said.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, think about it. Before the Fusion war there was the Nanite event. Before that was the Kaiju war. There's always something to save the world from. I bet something bad's gonna go down after this whole thing is over too. So when does it end?" – Doyle asked him. "And when do you?"
"I… I don't know." – Noah answered, looking inwards. Was this just a Fusion war thing, or would he feel the call of duty in every Earth-threatening conflict? He certainly did so during the Nanite event.
After a moment of contemplation, Noah noticed an awkward silence between them.
"Your turn." - he said to break the ice.
"My turn to what?"
"To talk about your conquests." - Noah said. He felt a bit dirty calling them "conquests", but he was a teenager, after all. And, he didn't know what else to call it.
"Oh, that. No, you don't wanna hear about my conquests." - Doyle tried to move away from the conversation, but Noah wasn't having it.
"Oh, come on, you know that just saying that makes me want to hear them more. Or is the international bounty hunter/mercenary lifestyle too boring and one-note for the girls?"
Doyle was still reluctant to say anything.
"You know you wanna boast about it." - Noah said convincingly while handing another container of Huntor's drink to him.
"Fine, fine. And FYI, this…" - he shook the drink in his hand. "...doesn't work."
"Yessss…" - Noah cheered.
"So there was this archaeologist, Abby, that went on a mission with me and the Saturdays. She was super-hot and wicked smart to boot." - Doyle told him.
"Of course, she was wicked smart, she was working with the Saturdays." - Noah supposed.
"Do you want me to tell the story or are you just gonna interrupt me?" – Doyle got ticked.
"Oh no, go ahead."
"She was pretty skilled too. I thought I'd have to carry her if things got dangerous but turns out, she didn't need my help. Also, I kinda dug her British accent. So yeah, not just another pretty face." - Doyle went on.
"I can already tell this didn't end well for you." - Noah said rhetorically.
"You wanna go for round two?" - Doyle clenched his fist. "But yeah, you're right. Turns out, she was the new apprentice of my… "teacher", and she stabbed us in the back and left me and my family to die."
"Ouch."
"Anyway, we've hooked up a few times since then, but it's not like a steady relationship."
"You did WHAT?!" - Noah yelled in shock.
"What? Her being evil doesn't change the fact that she was super-hot. In fact, that kinda made it even hotter."
"I can't believe you right now. It's like Rex with Circe. All the time I kept telling him to drop it because she was with Van Kleiss, but did he listen? Of course not!"
"I think we were talking about me here." - Doyle reminded him.
"Yeah. How could you crawl back to her? She tried to kill you whole family!"
"Hey, there was no crawling involved. Me and Abby were fighting over who'd get Van Rook's secret stash, had each other in a deadlock, and it sort of, just, happened. I wonder how Van Rook would feel about his two best students "doing it" in his lair."
"Bleargh!" - Noah got grossed out. "And don't you care about the "evil" part?"
"Okay, she's not "evil" evil, more like, "working for the highest bidder" evil, which is not THAT evil. And besides, when have I been the paragon of good morals, anyway?"
"Alright, you do whatever with your psycho evil mercenary girlfriend, just remind me to never, never ever, take dating advice from you, E V E R." - Noah finally said.
"Hey, you're the one who wanted to know in the first place." - said Doyle as he took a swig of the alien drink.
After that conversation, they just watched the monitors in silence. Noah kept trying to stay awake, but his eyes were closing on their own, his vision was getting blurry and his attention kept dissipating. He even felt his neck muscles relax as his head got comfortable between the shoulders and the back of the chair. He tried blinking hard – wasn't working. Rubbing his eyes didn't work either. No matter what he tried, he was falling asleep. Though, he wanted all of his energy to be directed towards something productive, so he wouldn't allow himself to fall asleep on the job. He stood up and sat down. Stood up and sat down. Looked over at Doyle, wondering how he'd react to watching Noah do this… and Doyle had his head back, eyes closed, mouth open, drool drooling. Noah decided not to wake him up. He alone could handle the job. But the next time he sat down, he couldn't even get up himself.
"It's fine, I can stay awake…" – he thought to himself as he blinked once, blinked twice, and didn't open his eyelids again.
"So, how are my two favorite Captains doing?" – Agent Thompson entered the room, but was shocked when he saw Doyle sleeping and Noah on the brink of it.
"DUDES!" – he yelled. "I mean, um, sirs!"
"Wh… uh, what?" – Noah sprang up.
"When was the last time you've had some sleep, No- I mean, uh, Captain Noah?"
"Dude, just Noah is fine!" – Noah stressed. He was getting irritated by everyone referring to him as a superior at this point.
"Well, Captain or not, you know you can't drift off to sleep like that, right? Same thing goes to you, Blackwell!" – he shoted at Doyle. "The only reason I let you take over for me is because I thought you were up for it."
"I am, I am, it's just…" – Noah's mind was racing, looking for excuses. It's not like he was trying to get out of trouble, he just wanted Thompson to know that he was capable of taking his shift. "I think something in those alien drinks must be inducing sleep. I mean, look at Sleeping Beauty over there. He's had 3." For all he knew, that probably was the reason for that.
"Alright, but whatever it is, I can't leave monitor duty to you. You should go rest up, boss, you've earned it."
"Alright." – Noah said, half-disappointed.
"No, I mean it. Get some sleep. You've been a good Captain so far, but you don't have to be one all the time. Especially not when you have a co-…" – Thompson was saying, and looked over at Doyle, the "Co-captain", who had started snoring. "Nevermind."
Noah sighed and left the monitor room.
"I should at least get someone to watch with Thompson, the sleeping Doyle isn't gonna be of much help. Esteban. Since he can't go out on missions, at least he'll be able to make himself useful in there." – he thought to himself and headed for the living quarters.
Several Providence Agents were in there. His Providence Agents now, as he kept being reminded. Most of them were sleeping. A couple of Academy Recruits were there too, having a conversation. "I can't take being stuck underground like this any longer." – one of them, who Noah knew was named Nicholas, told the other, whose name eluded Noah. But the person who he was looking for was Agent Esteban, and that's who Noah went to talk to.
"Hey, Esteban." – Noah approached him.
"C-captain! I'm sorry!" – Esteban got nervous when he saw him.
"Oh, come on, how many times am I supposed to…" – Noah was about to correct him on the Captain thing, but then he saw the scared puppy dog eyes Esteban was looking at him with and it was clear that Esteban thought he was mad at him for something.
"Wow, Calan really did a number on these people." – Noah thought to himself. "And I'm supposed to be the new Calan!"
"Okay, okay, calm down. I'm not mad at you or anything." – Noah explained to him. "You're not in trouble of any kind." God, this was impossible.
"Sorry, Sir, I mean…"
"No need to call me sir. Just Noah is fine." – Noah said for what feels like the thousandth time today. "You think you're in trouble for refusing to go on patrol?"
Esteban nodded warily.
"Relax, you're not in trouble. If you want to make yourself useful, however, I got something else for you. I'm leaving monitor duty up to you. You can handle that, right?"
Esteban nodded again. He stood there and kept looking at Noah.
"Well, what are you waiting for? You can start now! You know where the monitor room is, right?" – Noah told him. And the nervous agent stumbled himself out of the room.
"What the hell is wrong with that guy?" – another Agent, Agent Zebedee, muttered to herself. "I'm pretty sure he's older than me. He's like 3 years older than you, too." – she told Noah.
"He's a rookie, isn't he?" – Noah said. "Or, well, inexperienced, at least. In a normal situation, he might have gotten used to the Darklands over time, but, well, we're in a crisis mode, plus we lost the base, we lost a bunch of Agents, a lot of them are injured, and, yeah, you already know that much." – Noah said, referring to Zebedee's arm. "How is the arm, by the way?"
"Oh, you know, it's alright. Bit tired from working double-time, but it'll manage." – Zebedee lifted her right arm and showed it to Noah from all sides.
"Har-dee-har." – Noah pretended to laugh sarcastically.
"Oh, you mean the other arm, the one that I- how silly of me, I didn't realize which arm you were talking about." – Zebedee said sarcastically. Her left arm had been bitten off by a Lizard Queen during the siege of the Fireswamps outpost three days ago.
"Yeah, no, I have no idea. It's probably still in that lizard's stomach. So, I'll get back to you on that if I ever see it again." – Zebedee kept going.
"You done?"
"Pretty much, yeah. I was just about to go to the medlab to have my bandages changed." – she told him.
"Oh, cool, I'll come with." – Noah suggested. "Haven't seen Cindy in a while."
Noah entered the infirmary right after Zebedee. "Hey, everyone!" – he said, trying to look cheerful. Though, then he saw all these injured Agents crammed in a tight space, a sight which could depress anyone. Besides Cindy and Maison, there were three patients – Jon Winthrop, Agent Danvers (whose first name Noah didn't know), and Astrid Aquajack. The latter was not in good shape, with various tubes going into and out of her body, as well as her being hooked up to a breathing apparatus. At least the fourth bed was empty.
"Oh. Hey, Zee! You here for the bandage change?" – Cindy asked her. "What are you doing down here, though? Y'manage to get yourself injured?" – she then asked Noah. "Excuse me, no guns in the infirmary."
"Nah, just checking in. I wanted to see how you guys were doing." – Noah answered as he took off his weapon and left it outside.
"How do you think?" – Winthrop, asked him.
"How are you're still here, Jon?" – Noah asked, surprised.
"Yep. I'm still here. Not sure if you know how this works, but sometimes serious injuries take more than a couple days to recover from." – Winthrop told him.
Cindy rolled her eyes. "He actually got better since the last time, demanded to get out and go on patrol, and immediately got injured by the first monster he saw. Luckily Rivera saved him and hauled his ass back here, but he's in an even worse state than before."
Winthrop groaned.
"WHAT the hell were you thinking?!" – Cindy immediately turned to yell at him. "You're not even a fighter, you're supposed to be researching Fusion flora, now how are you gonna do that on the hospital bed?! And you're taking up space that a real patient might need soon!"
Winthrop ignored her and looked at the wall instead.
"I can see you've got your hands full. Hey, how's, uh…" – Noah looked at Maison, who was sitting silently in the corner.
Cindy shook her head. "The usual. And Winthrop's attitude hasn't been exactly helping to lift her mood, either."
Zebedee sat down on the single empty bed left and Maison was about to get up, but Cindy stopped her. "Don't worry, I got this." – Cindy told her as she went to put on the rubber gloves.
Noah watched as Zebedee sat down and pulled her sleeve up, revealing a short stub where her arm was supposed to be, the end of which was covered in wound dressing, which Cindy slowly peeled off. After she got all the bandages off, what was left was the ugly wound across the bottom of Zebedee's misshapen skin, stitched together.
"Woah." – Noah said as he looked in closely.
"What, you want one too?" – Zebedee said jokingly as Cindy put fresh betadine on the wound.
"No, it's just… what does it feel like?" – Noah asked.
"Well, I don't know, how am I supposed to explain it? I don't have my right arm anymore. Anytime I try to do something, I try to lift an arm that's not really there. It's weird. Hell, sometimes I get phantom pains."
"Hey, at least it was your left arm and not the right one." – Noah tried to look on the bright side.
"That's not any better. I'm supposed to be a leftie. So it's my main arm that the Lizard Queen chomped off."
"Oh."
"Well, you are getting used to it, right?" – Cindy asked her.
"I would be, but all I've gotten is monitor duty because you two won't let me patrol the caves." – Zebedee protested.
"At least you're not like me." – Winthrop piped up from his bed. He was wearing a cast on his arm and a cervical collar around his neck.
"SHUT IT YOU!" – Cindy yelled at him. "The doc says that you need to let the wound heal before even thinking about going into the battle." – she then told Zebedee. Noah nodded. "You don't want to open up the stitches, do you?"
"Wow, you sound like a total nurse." – Noah told Cindy.
"Do not!" – she protested.
"Ya kinda do." – Zebedee agreed.
"Yeah, well, that's the whole point of this, anyway!" – Cindy replied. "Maybe I am a nurse. A damn good one, too!"
"Yeah, right. Silly nursing students, studying for three years to become nurses, they should follow Cindy's example and just do it over the weekend!" – Noah said sarcastically.
"Oh, shut up." – Cindy told him. "Wait, three years? How do you know that?"
"I, uh… was considering med school at one point." – Noah admitted. "Before the invasion, that is, when everything was fine and I was just about to graduate."
"Why on earth would you consider med school?" – Cindy asked him.
"I… have an interest in psychology." – Noah admitted.
"Pfft. You as a psychologist. Now that'd be a sight."
"You say that while standing there changing bandages." – Noah retorted.
"Yeah, well, Maison needs all the help she can get around here. What with all the battle injuries piling up, and SOME OF THE PATIENTS…" – she yelled while looking in Winthrops direction – "being totally inadequate, she's got to have someone by her side. Especially, you know, after the…"
Cindy hinted Noah of Rodriguez's suicide while they were on the move in the Fireswamps, only she didn't want to say it out loud.
"Yeah, I know. Well, how's nursing for you? Eligible career choice?" – Noah asked him.
"Absolutely not. If this is what being a full-time nurse is like, I'd rather drive garbage trucks around."
"It's not like you're doing that great of a job!" – Winthrop yelled over from his corner.
"DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?!" – Cindy yelled back. "BECAUSE I CAN FINISH WHAT THOSE MONSTERS STARTED, YOU KNOW!"
"What happened to do no harm?" – Noah reminded her as Cindy was now wrapping new bandages around Zebedee's stub.
"You try doing no harm after a day with that guy."
"Yeah, well at least you can move around and leave anytime!" – another patient, Danvers, said from the other corner. "I have to listen to him all day and all night!"
"Well you don't at least have to put up with his antics during medical manipulations!" – Cindy responded to her.
"I know what he's like, but still, don't be that hard on him. You know what happened to him at that battle…" – Noah reminded Cindy in a low voice, so as not to let Jon hear him.
"I know he lost Peggy but that doesn't give him the excuse to act like a total and utter DICK to the people that are trying to help him!" – Cindy said extremely loudly, on purpose, so that Winthrop would hear her.
"Come on, don't be like that."
"You haven't actually had to deal with him for the past couple days." – Cindy retorted.
"Come on, he's just one guy. How bad can it get?"
"Oh yeah?" - Cindy asked, feeling challenged. "Well, why don't you try this out. The complete nursing experience. We'll see how long you are gonna last doing no harm."
"I'd gladly take you up on that." - Noah answered with a cocky grin.
They stared at each other for a moment.
"Well?" - Noah asked.
"Well, what?" - Cindy retorted.
"Well, what do you want me to do? What do I start with? May, you got anything for me to do?"
"I, um…" - Maison stuttered.
"It's 6 PM. Feeding time. Why don't you try helping our dear old patient Winthrop eat?" - Cindy asked, like she was daring him.
"Okay." - Noah said unsuredly. "What… how exactly does this process go?"
"You get food and you feed him. Pretty simple process, actually." - Cindy told him in a jokingly condescending voice.
"I am so staying to watch this unfold." - Agent Zebedee muttered to herself.
"And where's the…"
"It's right there in that corner!" - Cindy pointed out. "These were the best possible feeding options to feed the patients, according to DOC."
Noah got one of the orb-like containers in the corner. Whatever kind of alien food Huntor had stored, apparently this was good enough for the patients. Noah then approached Winthrop, who stared at him as if he was gonna bite him if he stepped one step closer.
"Don't give me that look! Else, you're gonna end up hungry for the night!" - Noah told him.
"What happened to "do no harm", Noah?" - Cindy mocked him.
"Keep that up and we'll find out if that applies to fellow nurses." - Noah retorted. Cindy smirked.
"You gotta raise his head, you can't feed him while he's lying down. Here, this bed's got special control at the bottom, the "mattress" can assume any shape you want it to." - Cindy showed him on the control panel as Winthrop was now in a sitting state. The neck collar now propped up his cheeks and made him look like a grumpy old man, and Noah barely resisted laughing.
"Well, here comes the airplane…" – Noah jokingly said as he neared his spoon towards Jon's mouth.
"You do that and I'll spit the food back at you." – Winthrop grumbled.
"Gee, forgive me for trying to lighten the mood." – Noah rolled his eyes.
Cindy was watching the whole ordeal unfold from the side, deeply amused and also relieved that she's not the one that has to do this anymore.
"Okay, now what?"
"Now you feed the other two patients."
"Okay. Anything else that needs doing?" – Noah asked eagerly after he was finished with feeding and watering all the patients.
"Nothing much. Nothing's scheduled right now, we don't gotta feed the patients till evening and they're all stable." Cindy looked over at Maison to check that she was fine too. "All we've gotta do is watch the vitals on Astrid and watch Winthrop so that he doesn't do any- oh, COME ON!"
"What? What is it?" – Noah asked, but then he noticed. Winthrop's arm was bleeding.
"He managed to get the IV out! AGAIN!" – Cindy yelled while she got some cotton to cover up the wound.
"How did he even manage to do that? I thought he couldn't move his hands!"
"He can move enough to pull out the IV tube, apparently! This is the fourth time! WHY do you keep doing that?" – Cindy yelled at Winthrop.
"It hurts when it's in there!"
"You're not gonna get better without it! Do you want me to tie your hands down again?" – she yelled at him.
"You've done that?"
"Ohhoh, yes I have. Okay, I'm gonna need you to hold his hand down. I'm gonna get the new tube. May, you can sit this one out." – she added as she saw Maison about to get up.
After Cindy got everything she needed and put medical gloves on, she tied a tourniquet around Winthrop's arm and sterilized his forearm.
"So the key is to find a good, wide vein that's easy to spot and easy to penetrate. I've done this a bunch of times already, so I know how to- hey, hold him harder! His hand should NOT be moving during the procedure."
"I don't want to hurt him!"
"You're gonna have to a little bit for this! Anyway, it would have been easy, except we've all used up all the good veins. He keeps getting them out. Great. It's okay, I know how to do this by now."
"You really grew into this nurse thing, huh." – Noah remarked.
"Well, yeah. I told you, May needed someone to be there for her. You know, after the whole battle, this is Hero's Hollow all over again for her. And not just with this work, emotionally too." – Cindy told him, although quietly, so as to not let Maison hear her. "And Fix isn't doing anything to help either, so it's up to me."
"And keeping the workload off of you is now up to me." – Noah told her.
"Ha, ha. You've got more important stuff to decide than good ol' us." – Cindy reminded him.
"Well, I think no job is too small for me to help around with." – Noah retorted.
"Huh." – Cindy said. "You really aren't like Calan, are you?"
Noah shrugged. Or, at least, tried to shrug, since his arms were busy holding down a struggling Winthrop.
"And, we've got blood!" – Cindy exclaimed cheerfully as the needle penetrated Winthrop's vein, with blood entering it as proof. She put wound dressing over it, attached the IV tube and hung it over his bed, then victoriously took off her gloves and threw them into the garbage chute as if it were a basketball.
"I swear, one of us isn't making out of this alive." – she said while sitting down. "Can't even get some shuteye without having to worry about you-know-who."
"When was it the last time you got some sleep?" – Noah inquired, completely ignoring his own insomniac habits.
"I don't know, the day before yesterday, I think?"
"You have GOT to take a break." – Noah suggested. "I can take over for you while you're gone."
"Really?" – Cindy's eyes brightened up. "But are you sure you're up to doing all the stuff around here? Some of it is quite messy." – she warned him.
"Well, if Maison taught it to you, I don't think I'd have any troubles with it either." – Noah supposed.
"Are you sure about this?" – Cindy was still hesitant.
"Trust me." – Noah assured her while looking in her eyes.
"Well, alright." – Cindy said and got up. "I'm gonna go catch some Zs." – she said as she headed towards the exit.
"Zee! Run! I'll hold her off!" – Noah yelled suddenly. Zee didn't understand what he meant by that at first, but once she got it, she rolled her eyes.
"Oh come on, more puns?" – she complained.
"Hey, at least they're not arm puns anymore, are they?" – Noah responded. Zee scoffed.
A couple hours, and just as many tantrums later…
"Man, I don't get why do you have to be like that." – Noah told Winthrop as he was tearing up extra bandages. "I mean, we're trying to help you, and you're making it harder for us, and for yourself." – he said as he rolled up the bandage and started tying Winthrop's arm to his bed. "Look at what I have to do now. I mean, you're a Secret Scientist, for Pete's sake! Why don't you act like a distinguished mind!"
Winthrop glared at him, as he always did. "Well, at least he's not trying to bite me anymore." – Noah thought to himself. He had stopped tying him up as he was waiting for the answer.
"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" – Noah said. "I sound like a suburban mom now, jeez." – he thought.
Winthrop gave him another glare and looked away.
"What was that?" – Noah said.
"What was what?"
"I know that look. That's a totally different look you just gave me. That's the "as if you would ever understand" look." – Noah caught on.
"Tell me, Nixon. Have you lost someone in this war?" – Jon asked condescendingly.
"What do you mean? We lose people all the damn time!" – Noah retorted. He then knotted the bandage that was holding Winthrop's arm down. "How's this?" – he quickly asked. Winthrop tried to budge. No use. "Good enough." – Winthrop answered.
"Yeah, we lose people all the time, but I'm asking you. You specifically." – Winthrop then said. "Have you ever lost someone you truly care about with all of your heart?"
Noah didn't answer anything, as silence was indicative of the answer.
"Yeah. I thought so." – Winthrop said.
"Listen… lots of people lose their loved ones. You need to move on or else you'll be consumed by your bitterness. I've seen it happen around here." – Noah thought as he remembered Fortier's sudden change of personality.
"It's…" – Winthrop tried saying, but stopped mid-sentence. "How can I move on when she was everything that I had? I mean, yeah, most people even mildly in love say stuff like that all the time. "She's my world." "She is my better half." But to me, she really was my better half. I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not that pleasant of a person to be around. Hell, even me and Peggy were more often fighting than not. I used to pull these stupid pranks on her… Y'know what I did when I met her?"
Noah shook his head.
"When we had our first assignment together, I tried to steal her work and take the credit for it. I was a total douche. Still am. But, well, eventually something happened with me and Peggy, even I don't know how, and I found myself wanting to be better for her. Even when we weren't talking, or worse, talking when neither of us had good things to say… I was hoping I'd eventually be like what she must see in me. What she must have seen in me."
Noah listened to him, without interrupting. This was the first time Winthrop had opened up since the battle, and he needed to vent.
"But what the hell do I do now that I don't have her anymore?" – Winthrop whined.
"Are you kidding me? Obviously, you've got to remain good. For her. Prove that having known her was a positive influence on you. People might come and go, but the impact they make on us stays. You do realize that, right?" – Noah explained him. This got Winthrop thinking. "And you need to do right by her memories." – Noah added.
Winthrop didn't respond, but at least he wasn't staring anymore. He looked like he was lost in his own train of thought. Soon, he fell asleep. He seemed at peace. Noah decided it would no longer be necessary to keep his arms restrained, so, he untied them.
With a sigh, he slammed himself down onto the chair next to Maison. "I don't think Jon will be such a nuisance anymore." – he told the good doctor.
Maison smiled, but soon her face went back into the same troubled expression that Noah had gotten used to seeing on her.
"With I could do the same for Maison." – Noah thought to himself. He then looked over at Zebedee on the free bed, who had gotten bored and was catching some Zs of her own. Agent Danvers was also sleeping. Heck, all this snoozing all around him was enough to make him fall asleep…
But then the final patient caught his eye. Astrid Aquajack. A terrible, terrible encounter with a Freakasaurus Rex. He had gotten to see the results of it in the time he was helping out in the medlab. Blunt force trauma, third degree burns, deep gashes from the claws… If this was the stuff Maison dealt with on a regular basis, no wonder she was in such a bad state. And props to Cindy for helping her through all this. Though looking at her, he wished it was him in that bed if it meant Astrid would be fine.
Just then, the alarm sounded in the infirmary. Not just the infirmary, this was the base-wide alarm. This was the first time he was actually hearing it, but Noah knew that it was designated for one thing and one thing only – the base was under attack.
"What are you waiting for? Get to the battlefield!" – Zebedee told him, woken up by the alarm.
"What if Maison needs help with the injured?" – Noah replied.
"I'll get Cindy, you get out of here NOW!" – Zebedee told him sternly.
"Finally someone who doesn't treat me like the supreme commander." – Noah thought to himself. He got out, grabbed his gun, and headed immediately towards the staircase. He saw Agents heading towards the Firepits exit.
"What's the situation?" – Noah asked.
"The worm creatures are attacking, sir!" – Agent Lascano replied.
"No need to call me sir" was what Noah wanted to say, but now wasn't the time for it.
"Alright, we move out! Make sure a couple Agents stay behind to protect the infirmary, just in case. Everyone else, come on." – Noah gave orders as they ran through the trophy hallway and got out into the caves. Huntor and Doyle were already there.
"They're digging new tunnels and attacking the walls!" – Agent Thompson reported.
"How many?" – Noah asked.
"According to the scanners, three, but we're not sure!" – Thompson replied.
"Send three pairs of Agents to the potential points of entry just in case they do make it in, the rest of us, we split up and follow them into the tunnels!" – Noah declared. He then looked at Doyle for confirmation. Doyle nodded.
"Those cunts think they can take me on at my home turf, eh?" – Huntor growled and cocked his gun.
"They've got 'nother thing coming, I'll tell ya that much!"
As everyone was about to move out, Agent Thompson pulled Noah's shoulder to talk to him.
"You get some sleep? You looked like you needed it last time I saw you."
Noah chose not to respond to that question. He knew Jame was right, he was feeling extremely tired and drained, but he also knew that Cindy needed to rest so he had to take over for her. Though, he also expected Thompson to disapprove.
"STOP!" – SACT Agent Henshaw suddenly yelled. "This one! This tunnel's new! This is where one of the worms is attacking from!" – she declared. Immediately, one third of the Agents, with Noah at the helm, went after it.
"Alright, we've got it!" – Noah yelled when they finally got to the worm's tail. Its head was trying to break into the steel wall of Huntor's base.
"Go for the mouth!" – Doyle yelled, but the worm, instead of turning around, kept on digging to the side. The Agents followed it as it slid away, but soon they lost it. Suddenly, the ground shook from behind them and the worm reemerged, now attacking them with its mouth. It grabbed the closest Agent, Alvarez, with its mouth flaps and lifted him up with his legs. Everyone else had to stop shooting at its face or else they'd hit Alvarez. Noah, however, broke the line of Agents and charged towards the worm, climbed up on its body and grabbed Alvarez's arm, who was now hanging in the air upside down. Noah tried to pull him away from the worm while the flappers tugged the other way.
"Pull, Nixon!" – Alvarez cheered him on.
"I can't find even footing!" – Noah retorted, as the flappers kept trying to grab his leg and weren't letting him stand firmly.
"Shoot at it, Noah!" – Thompson yelled from below. Noah let go of Alvarez and started shooting into the worm's mouth, but the worm just started dragging in Alvarez even more.
"Nixon! Catch!" – Doyle yelled as he threw an Energy Grenade at him. Noah caught it, primed it and dropped it down the worm's esophagus, but now there was the issue of getting out of there quickly enough so that the explosion wouldn't reach them. So he pulled, pulled with all of his strength, while Alvarez kicked with his free leg as hard as he could. Noah could feel the familiar Firepits heat, he started sweating underneath the costume, drops of sweat trickled down, hitting Alvarez on their way to the ground, but after all that effort, he was finally able to make the monster let go just before it exploded. He heard cheering all around.
Alvarez quickly sprang up and grabbed his gun. Noah tried, but he was too weak, too depleted. The others noticed that he wasn't getting up. He tried again, but struggled. His arms weren't working anymore. And it wasn't just his arms. He soon noticed that he really wanted to go to sleep. The image of Claire started flashing through his dreams…
Noah opened his eyes. He was back in the medlab. In one of the beds, the one that was free until now.
"What the heck happened?" – he said. He noticed that he wasn't wearing the Providence armor anymore.
"Look who's finally awake." – Cindy said as she walked over to Noah's bed and sat down.
"The other worms! Where are-" – Noah started, trying to get up, but he was still weary and could barely move.
"Relax, they're all fine. They fought them off. Now don't make me tie you up like you did Winthrop." – Cindy told him and laughed.
"What the heck happened to me? Did I get hit with the grenade? Because Alvarez was fine."
"No, it wasn't the grenade, Noah. It was you."
"Me?" – Noah repeated, not quite getting it.
"Your body could not go on anymore. You exhausted yourself."
"What? No, that's nothing, I can…"
"Noah, when was the last time you slept?" – Cindy asked with a slightly stern voice, like a real doctor expecting a serious answer.
"The day we got here."
"You've been up for four days?! No wonder your body gave up!" – she exclaimed. "Oh my god, Noah, why would you do that to yourself?"
"Well, everyone else needed help around the base. Like how Esteban couldn't go out on patrol, or, hell, you, you needed to rest. I couldn't just leave you to it!"
"Well, I couldn't rest at your expense! If I had known that, I would have never taken you up on it!" – Cindy retorted. "Listen. You need to let go of this whole helping thing. You're sorta like the leader now, or the co-leader or whatever, it doesn't matter. Point is, you've got bigger responsibilities like making important decisions or thinking up tactics and stuff like that, and you can't take on every little thing onto yourself!"
Noah contemplated for a moment. "Yeah, you might be right."
"Four days. Unbelievable." – Cindy said to herself.
"You know… you might wanna take your own advice." – Noah suggested.
"What's that supposed to mean?" – Cindy asked.
"The time you were here you were all like "I've got this, May", "I'll do it, no need to worry May", and, well, I don't think that's for the best either."
"That's totally different! I just don't want May to stress herself!" – Cindy replied, but with a lower voice. She didn't want Maison overhearing this either.
"Don't you think that it would be healthier for her to work on her patients with her own hands? You know, successfully rejuvenating patients herself instead of letting you do it might be better for her morale. And she's been the camp's only medic for months, it's not like she really needed a nurse then. I think she just let you do it because she couldn't say no." – Noah whispered.
"I'm trying to be there for her!" – Cindy replied.
"I know, but letting her be there for herself might be a good idea."
"Okay, okay. Now rest up, little psychologist. Your body needs it."
Noah looked at the DexCom next to him to check the time. 12:01 AM. Huh…
He closed his eyes, and surely he was dreaming by now, because he heard Cindy say "Oh and by the way, wait till you hear about how Huntor had a real life dinosaur locked up on the basement floor!"
Yep. He was definitely dreaming.
End of Chapter 18.
Extract from Alice Quickfeet's Fusion Monster research log:
Undertaker Worm
Fusion Matter type: [variability not fully determined yet], Adaptium
Power Level: 36
Boss: unknown
Length: [variability not fully determined yet] over 8'
Width: [variability not fully determined yet] over 2'
Weight: unknown
Special types of attack: unknown
Description:
Giant, underground-burrowing worms. Body comprised of what looks like many coils joined together. The front end of it is the entire mouth, covered with flaps, which help with digging ground as well as in combat. Their inside is lined with many, many sets of teeth, parallel to each other, that can move in opposing directions. The monster doesn't seem to be Fireswamps/Firepits in origin, though it can tolerate extreme levels of heat and even the lava covering the ground.
Behavior:
They burrow themselves underground and can erupt out of it to surprise their prey. During battle they can spit out Fusion Matter as well as grab people by the flippers and try to push them into their esophagus to devour them. The monster is also able to deflect grenades thrown into its mouth with the flappers, so you either have to aim carefully or throw it in from up close, which can be quite dangerous.
It is unknown how they manage to navigate through the underground, or even sense humans. Attraction to heat not likely, as the high temperatures of the Fireswamps/Firepits would scramble any sort of heat sense they might have, and cover the humans. The likeliest answer is detecting sound/vibrations, though this is pure speculation.
So far, there have only been sightings of them one-by-one, it is unknown if they travel in groups.
Their purpose might be to detect and dig out/infiltrate Huntor's Nest, a base that lies underground between Huntor's Crest and the Firepits.
It is unknown if they've ever been under Fusion control, or if they're constantly under it, and therefore I have no way of knowing the difference in their behavior between those states. It would seem likely that they'd need to organize to attack Huntor's Nest, so Fusion activity is highly likely.
Area spread:
As of writing this, there have only been three confirmed sightings, one in the Fireswamps near the Providence outpost, and two in the Firepits Infected Zone.
Known Fusions that have controlled Frilled Killers:
Fusion Courage (possibly? Not sure yet)
Other unidentified Fusion
Notes:
The Undertaker Worms have not been registered or even sighted until now, 12/05. As soon as we reestablish contact with the mainland, I'm sending info to the Secret Scientists and DexLabs. We might need to contact further field studies with multiple units to discover the exact nature of these monsters. I might have to categorize them as a Titan along with Bad Max, Dark Horntail, etc. And another one with a Darklands origin at that.