Felix's feet are beginning to get also starts to shiver from the cold. Can't Tucker finally leave, he asks himself.
As if Tucker had heard his thoughts, he turns around. " Anyway, that's the best I can do. Actually, I've already done more than enough. That's how horror movies start. The stupid guy running after a monster... I think I'd better go and pretend it never happened. So ghosts are real. How am I ever supposed to sleep peacefully again?" Tucker murmurs quietly.
Felix listens to the fading footsteps. He exhales with relief. Then he steps out of his hiding place and back into the light of the algae. Shivering, he wraps the sheet around his shoulders like a cloak.
He still has the bloody knife in his hand. Felix briefly dips it into the pond. He watches as red streaks contaminate the crystal-clear water.
Then he heads home. Back to his quarters at the base of the reds. He has lost a lot of time because of the chase. Once outside, he realizes that it is almost morning.
But Felix is lucky, the Reds are still asleep. In any case, none of them are out and about in the base yet. As inattentive as the Reds are, he just strolls back to his quarters.
Once there, Felix wants to go to sleep. To be honest, he barely made it back. He feels like he could sleep forever.
But now he is faced with the next problem. His bed sheet has remained surprisingly clean, but there are two slits in the middle, which were the eyes for his costume. There is also a bullet hole in the top corner. The sheet is, if you look closely, evidence of his crime. He must make it disappear at the first opportunity, or swap it with one of the red ones.
But it will have to wait for today. Felix just wants to sleep. Since he doesn't want to lie directly on the mattress with a stain on it, which in the best case, could be from someone spilling food, or in the worst case could be mold, Felix stretches the sheet back over the mattress. He places the pillow over the bullet hole so that it is not too obvious.
He just remembers to take off his shoes. Then he makes himself comfortable. Or as comfortable as he can get on the hard mattress. It doesn't take long for Felix to fall asleep.
...
Felix is sitting in a cell. He stares at the metal bars. There is no door. No way out.
Suddenly the air behind the bars blurs. Locus appears as if from nowhere. He is wearing his armor. Felix can't see his old partner's face, but he senses that Locus is angry.
Locus says nothing. He stares at him for a while. "Traitor," he growls in his robotically distorted voice.
Then he points his gun at Felix. It's a shotgun. Felix knows that Locus could kill him from this distance with a single shot.
Felix's hands begin to tremble. "Who do you think betrayed whom?" Felix wants to protest, but he can't get the words out.
Felix doesn't know what to do. So he does what he does best, he fights. Felix jumps up and lunges at Locus. He wants to reach through the bars and snatch the weapon from him.
Felix is too slow. It's as if something is pulling him back down. Every step takes an incredible amount of strength.
Locus pulls the trigger. Felix squeezes his eyes shut. That's it, he thinks. A bang and darkness envelops Felix.
It doesn't hurt at all, Felix realizes in confusion. He carefully opens his eyes. He is no longer in a cell. Instead, he is lying on an uncomfortably hard stone floor. Above him, he can see the stone ceiling. It is full of turquoise green algae. Is he back on Chorus?
Someone laughs. "You've deserve it. Come on, show him what you think of him." Mocks Tucker. His face contorts into an ugly grimace.
Then the reds and blues surround him. They laugh and mumble unintelligible things. Felix wants to get up and run away, but once again his body feels far too heavy.
Tucker pulls out a knife. "This is what I've been waiting for all this time." Slowly he points his knife at Felix and he stabs. Again and again. But this time he feels the pain. Every stab burns like fire. Something tells him that none of this is real. Nevertheless, he can't stay calm. Panic constricts his chest and Felix struggles to catch his breath.
Then the other reds and blues bend down towards him. They are all armed. Felix is sure that they will only stop when there is nothing left of him.
"Do you regret it?" hisses one. It's Epsilon, or Church, in his light blue armor. The helmet melts and changes. A strangely distorted face stares back at him. On the man's neck is a deep wound from a knife.
"It's time to finish this." Tucker says. A deep abyss suddenly gapes behind him. Someone grabs him and pushes Felix. He falls. It seems there is no end to the fall. Clouds and stone walls rush past him. In the distance, he hears the engines of a pelican and the crack of gunfire.
At some point, after what feels like an eternity, Felix can make out the ground. He is not sure whether he should feel fear or relief. It will be over soon. At last...
...
Felix wakes up in a cold sweat. He feels dizzy and gasps desperately for air. His throat feels dry and sore. Abruptly, he sits up and clutches the frame of the bed as if it will give him some support.
At some point, Felix pulls himself together. It was just a dream, he tells himself again and again. He represses the memories, as he usually does.
Compared to yesterday, his headache is almost gone and he no longer sees double. Only the scratchy throat remains. Has he caught a cold?
Felix sighs and gets up. He is quite hungry. He hasn't eaten or drank since he arrived. If Felix were to put on his armor, he would nevertheless feel fit, the life support system would see to that. But the feeling of an empty stomach would still remain.
Felix had never been able to get used to it. He often had to endure up to a week without food and water on the battlefield. But after the war, he was determined never to let it come to that again.
Felix thinks about whether he saw food anywhere on the base. But then he remembers. He has stolen the supplies... Perhaps he is not fully awake yet, if he forgot something like this.
Now he's glad he's stowed a few rations in his armor. Felix reaches into the pocket on the chestpiece of his armor and pulls out a small plastic bag. He can hardly believe it. It's not the standard rations he's used to. No, it's a small bag of potato chips. Who takes chips onto the battlefield?
Felix checks the other packages, somewhat confused. There are sweets, cookies and more potato chips.
Better than nothing, thinks Felix and shrugs his shoulders. He opens the packet of potato chips with the triple cheese flavor. The potato chips taste surprisingly good, even if they are a little too greasy for Felix's taste.
He can't even put into words how much he wants to eat fine food cooked by a celebrity chef. As soon as he leaves Blood Gulch, Felix plans to find one of the best and most expensive restaurants and order everything on the menu. Will he manage to get access to his old self's bank account, to pay for it? The old Felix will eventually fall into the abyss anyway and won't need all the money.
When he has finished, he stuffs the pack back into the pocket of his armor.
His gaze falls on the small mirror on the table. He looks worse today than he did the day before. Although he has slept for a few hours, the circles under his eyes are even deeper. He quickly reaches for his helmet. He doesn't want the Reds to see him like this. He can't afford to show any more weakness.
He leaves his quarters in full armor. He is ready to face the Reds and the Blues. He also has to make a plan with them to get back the "stolen" food.