Albert gulped, then stepped up to stand beside you.
"Shoul-" he starts.
"No," you say, quietly, shaking your head. "No, you absolutely should not."
"But-"
"We're leaving."
"Bu-"
"Now."
You grabbed Albert's wrist and dragged him forward, Gloria following after, her LMG aimed back behind her as the three of you started forward into the grimy corridor. You walked quickly, and still got a thick droplet of gunk onto the back of your neck, which made your whole skin tremble and grow cold and clammy. You came to the stairs and headed up - and as you headed up, you could hear the faint sound of thumping helicopter blades. You and the others stepped out into the light outside, to find that the sun was breaking and there were several bodies stretched out on the grass - two of them were even the big wolf guys.
Half the building was burning, smoke reaching into the sky as you, Albert and Gloria stumbled out of the front door, your submachine gun tracing around for targets.
Tracy broke cover, poking her head from some brushes. "You guys are alive!"
She started towards you - battered and bruised, but still alive - and the thrumming helicopter blades resolves itself overhead as a trio of stealth helos come roaring overhead, their sound subdued...but not
that subdued, all things considered.
SFOD-D teams started to rappel down. Your com crackles in your ear and you can hear Betters. "Thank god, we're back in contact - what the hell happened down there?"
"What happened up here?" you ask, looking around yourself as the special forces badasses start to fan out, their weapons sweeping over the bodies.
One of them whistles. "You sure we dropped in the right place, or is this a fucking furry convention?"
"Agent McBrant stayed in contact with me once you went in - and reported that you'd secured the viruses. We dispatched our backup teams to secure the site now that the BTX-01 and BTX-02 has been secured. McBrant said she had some shots exchanged with the hostiles still up here and...well, then you came back out," Betters says. "How banged up are you kids?"
You looked at Gloria, who looks fine, then at Albert, who look as if he'd been recently tied up and prepped for a sacrificial altar. Then you look over at Tracy. You shoot her a questioning look, and mouth the word 'vampire.' Fuck the fact she hadn't been in the basement, she'd know. Tracy shook her head subtly. Betters didn't know. Honestly, you weren't sure how you'd even begin to explain a quarter of what happened down there to him. Or to anyone. You looked back at the burning building, frowning to yourself.
"Eh," you say. "We'll live."
A helicopter settled down in the clearing.
The four of you clambered onto the helicopter.
The chopper began to lift up, into the air, away from the building.
"How did you know we'd secured the viruses?" Gloria asks.
"We secured them?" you ask, blinking. "I was too distracted by the vampires. And the zombies."
"You didn't secure them?" Tracy asks. Then, a beat later "The
fucking what?"
"I thought you knew?" You say, looking at Tracy as the helicopter smoothly lifts and turns away.
"I knew about the vampires, but not the zombies!" Tracy says, shaking her head. "I got a pretty strong premonition of you grabbing the vials and taking them."
"I didn't take them!" you say, then open your vest. "See?"
They all look at the stunning absence of BDX-01 and BDX-02.
"Shit," Albert whispers.
The helo kept on its merry way.
"So, hows this for a total fucking balls up," you say, drawing your legs up. "We get shot down, all of us almost die, we don't even get the viruses...or arrest anyone. Or...even know what the fuck happened!"
Tracy narrows her eyes, slightly.
"What?" you ask.
"I mean," Gloria says, not noticing Tracy's look as she watches the landscape roll by under the gathering dawn. "We're all alive - that's a huge step up over the last F.E.A.R team, right?"
Tracy, though, reaches forward, and tugs open your vest.
Two gleaming glass vials are tucked into the empty pockets there, one labled with a BDX- and the other with a 2-XD-, their last letters cut off by the line of your pockets. You jerk your vest back, your face feeling cold.
"...another favor, huh?" Albert says.
"Another?" Tracy look worried.
You look back out the window. "...you know what?" you ask. "I don't fucking want to know."
***
Brrring.
Brrring.
Brrring.
*
CLICK*
"Mm...yeah?"
"The anomaly has occurred again."
"Shit..."
Sigh. "I'll be on a plane in ten-"
"We believe it is contained."
"How?"
"Unknown."
"Is it another Freeport?"
"...decidedly not."
"Okay."
Pause. "Don't tell me, it's not because of the new-"
"Directly related, yes."
"Betters managed to find one, then."
"Without a doubt."
"But it's still contained?"
"Contained and...cautiously optimistic."
"Keep an eye on this, Geneviève."
"Of course, Senator."
"And Geneviève..."
"Yes, Senator?"
"Where are you calling from?"
**CLICK**
THE END...
I hope everyone enjoyed their spooky visit to the F.E.A.R universe - with enough holes and hints that I hope you're left with tantalizing mysteries and not annoyed bafflement! This thread did help a lot with my HEAT playtesting and I'm currently kind of at the point where to really move to the next playtesting stage, I need people who aren't
me to GM HEAT to make sure it actually makes sense and doesn't just make sense to me!
Either way, have a happy new year!