Warzone
This is the near future, the world is in uproar due to resource crisis and...
This is the near future, the world is in uproar due to resource crisis and...
Warzone, The World of Esther (Multiworld System)
- Created
- Status
- Ongoing
- Watchers
- 4
- Recent readers
- 0
- Threadmarks
- 3
-
Statistics (3 threadmarks, 3.6k words)
User Total Elmithian 3 Threadmarks Reader mode
Elmithian
Cherno Alpha's fists are nothing to laugh at
- Location
- Iceland
Warzone
This is the near future, the world is in uproar due to resource crisis and overpopulation. Holly is a soldier from a special unit within NATO. The unit's task is to retrieve and recover VIPs from war zones or locations that are no longer deemed to be safe. Holly's current mission is to retrieve a group of scientists that were working near the Large Hadron Collider operation center in Genéva. Doctor Rodolphe Peltier, a french born scientist is the head of their research which is officially goes under the name, R.E.T.U.N.
They lost contact with the research team few hours ago as the city of Genéva was fully engulfed in the flames of a vicious civil war. One of many that had consumed most of Southern and Central Europe the past two decades.
This is our protagonist, Holly Churchwell
------------------------------------------
Ahhh... the first quest I created, I am surprised by how high quality the writing is, everything considered. The setting is also very well thought out and has a solid foundation. Not that much of a surprise, considering that the setting the story takes place in is something I had been working on for nearly 7 years when I began it, that would be 10 years now. But enough of me tooting my own horn.
Welcome dear readers! I hope this journey will be as interesting as it has and is for me. Oh and do let me know if ye are enjoying this story. We writers/qms thrive on feedback and ego-boosts after all. ; )
This is the near future, the world is in uproar due to resource crisis and overpopulation. Holly is a soldier from a special unit within NATO. The unit's task is to retrieve and recover VIPs from war zones or locations that are no longer deemed to be safe. Holly's current mission is to retrieve a group of scientists that were working near the Large Hadron Collider operation center in Genéva. Doctor Rodolphe Peltier, a french born scientist is the head of their research which is officially goes under the name, R.E.T.U.N.
They lost contact with the research team few hours ago as the city of Genéva was fully engulfed in the flames of a vicious civil war. One of many that had consumed most of Southern and Central Europe the past two decades.
This is our protagonist, Holly Churchwell
------------------------------------------
Ahhh... the first quest I created, I am surprised by how high quality the writing is, everything considered. The setting is also very well thought out and has a solid foundation. Not that much of a surprise, considering that the setting the story takes place in is something I had been working on for nearly 7 years when I began it, that would be 10 years now. But enough of me tooting my own horn.
Welcome dear readers! I hope this journey will be as interesting as it has and is for me. Oh and do let me know if ye are enjoying this story. We writers/qms thrive on feedback and ego-boosts after all. ; )
Last edited:
Characters+info
Update 1: Operation Genéva
Elmithian
Cherno Alpha's fists are nothing to laugh at
- Location
- Iceland
"This is recon unit Ringo, proceeding towards the target, zero tangos spotted so far. Target should be in sight in T minus 10 minutes, over" his voice came over clearly enough but she winced at the crackling in the end. It was funny that even in this day and age that they would still have to resort to short range radio signals when they entered a jammed area. And even then the background noise caused by the jamming made it often hard to discern what was being said.
"Noted Ringo, we will be proceeding from above and should see the target in less than 5. I will make another attempt to contact Raven, it would be shameful if we were killed by a walker we never saw. I will contact you if he has spotted any tangos but until then keep radio silence. Black Wolf out."
She sighed as she adjusted the wavelength, Anders, aka. Ringo was an excellent recon, but he was too inexperienced to be leading his own squad. He may have survived on the Hallow Grounds in Moscow by himself for a whole month but that didn't mean that he was ready to be leading others into their deaths. A familiar eel sound came as she found the correct wavelength. Now she just hoped that he could still hear her over the jamming. "Raven, do you read me, have you spotted any incoming tangos on Ringo or my route? Over"
Silence, with the exception of one or two distant explosions.
She counted slowly up to 20 and was about to try again when the radio crackled to life and a familiar gruff voice greeted her "Ain't a speck in sight darlin', oh but I would still be quick if I'ere you. The walkers are set on automatic patrol so one of'em is bound to go close to your route sooner or later. I have also spotted around 15-20 Black Demons 10 clicks to the southeast of the city so keep yer eyes and ears out for more of them. I could'ave sworn that couple of them walkers carried their mark, over"
Holly shuddered.
The Black Demons were a mercenary group infamous for getting the job done, but they always left a path of destruction in their waste. Collateral damage they called it. Buildings in ruins, civilian deaths, massacres, if you didn't mind those things The Black Demons were perfect. They were renown for never routing, as far as she knew not a single captured Black Demon had ever revealed who was hiring them or who was the mastermind behind their operations. In short, they were the perfect tools for corrupt politicians and warlords alike. And now Griff... Raven had spotted a concentration of them just 10 km away? That was way too close for her taste. She had seen how they operated and she would prefer to finish this mission before they came any closer.
"Roger that Raven, we will proceed to the mission area with haste and recover the packages, keep radio silence unless you see movement closing in on us. Someone may be trying to find our frequency, lets not give them the pleasure, over" couple of second passed before she got a reply "Affirmative, be careful out there, Raven out".
She removed the radio plug from her ear, she would know it immediately if someone tried to contact her. Currently she needed to focus on getting everyone through this. She gave her squad-mates and twins, Jack and Jeremy, the signal to scout ahead whilst she moved slightly further back to give the non-recon team the sign to move in on her position. Out from the shadow of one of the blocks 200 m away from her appeared 7 soldiers in a close line. Even with her equipment it was hard to spot them, and for guys that she had called "loud as drunk elephants" they were doing remarkable job of being silent.
As they came closer one of them split from the team and headed directly to her. It was easy to see it was Nathan. Standing good 2 meters tall it would be an understatement to say that he stood out. Though for being this huge he moved with surprising deftness, reaching her in mere seconds.
"Report" he commanded in a no-nonsense manner removing his mask so they could see eye to eye. she quickly explained the situation. As she finished he simply nodded. "I trust you, but with those guys so close to us I think it would be wise if we all moved as one whole with maximum haste. The longer we stay, the more likely they are to spot us and we don't want that. Move ahead with your men and we will follow you at 10 meter distance. We cannot afford to lose more time" Holly simply nodded, when Nathan gave orders, you did it. He had seen and survived more than anyone else in the team and if you wanted to survive you better follow his commands.
She ran nimbly back to the location where her teammates were waiting. "So, did he kiss you and tell you that he loved you?" One of the twins asked with exaggeratedly squeaky voice. "I doubt he did, he is made out of stone that man, I am more surprised that she even managed to get him up at that time" the other replied in a similarly teasing tone.
Holly sighed "Give it up guys, it was one fucking night and I honestly don't remember much from that. Though I do remember distinctly that one of you owes me a hefty sum for drinking him under the table." She could hear the twins wince slightly at that. They did oh so much hate losing, especially when there was money involved. "Anyways, we don't have time for chitter chatter, we need to get to the target as quickly as those elephants behind us can move, is that clear?" The twins gave her the sign that they understood and they remained thankfully silent as they moved ahead.
3 minutes later they spotted the Target. It immediately struck her as an odd one. For a mere post office it was huge and its structure was somehow 'wrong'. "You sure this is the right place?" she asked the twins, even though she knew the answer already.
"23 Montbrillant St, just like it was said in the briefing. This is the place." one of them confirmed. "I also spotted some movement but it is more likely it were civilians rather than hostiles... at least that is what I read from their movements" the other added.
"Okay, scout both street corners and be on the lookout while I report to Nathan. If luck is with us we will be in and out before anyone is wiser." with a curt nod of confirmation they split up and started running.
Turning away she gave Nathan and his team the signal to come closer. As they huddled up she started to explain."It is clear path at the moment but we don't know when the next patrol or walker will head over here so we need to be quick. So far there is little indication that there are hostiles in the building. The briefing indicated that there is a special elevator at the innermost part of the post office that leads down into the labs where the scientists are holed up. We supposedly have the password that is needed to gain access to the lower floors but we have not confirmed that it works yet. We need to get in and out as silently as possible. There are most likely still civies so lets be careful."
Nathan nodded "Affirmative. Now, what is your plan?" he said and looked directly at Holly.
Bit surprised she started thinking, there was of course the possibility that she could scout ahead into the post office and clear out the area to the elevator. They could also breach and clear through the entrance, though if there were civies inside that would surely cause some panic, not to mention it wouldn't be very subtle, but it would be fast and effective if there were indeed any hostiles inside. Third possibility was simply to wait for Ringo and his team to arrive but then they could enter from two different locations at once, giving themselves the maximum spread without thinning out their forces too much or causing too much noise.
She glanced back at the post office, even if the building felt wrong she didn't have the time to worry about something as small as her distaste in modern architecture. "I think it would be best if I scouted ahead. One of the twins did report movement inside, most likely civies, but you can never be too sure."
Nathan seemed to contemplating this for a second before nodding. "If you are sure then we will have it that way. Make sure to send us a 'all clear' signal once you are sure the way is clear." She gave him a curt nod and started sprinting.
She was confident in her ability to remain hidden, as she passed the street towards the post office she made herself as small of a target as possible. If someone was watching he would most likely mistake her for a large black dog, if they would spot her at all. As she approached the entrance she could feel a bit of an excitement running through her body. She smiled faintly. No matter how often she did this she could never get quite used...
She froze. The door was broken from the hinges, someone had forced their way in here. Slowing her pace she pushed her back to the wall near the entrance and quickly glanced inside. No sign of movement but she thought she had spotted a body in the hallway further in. Slowly making her way to the entrance she carefully opened it and entered the building.
Silently she made her way further inside. What she had spotted in the hallway had indeed been a body, or rather a pile of them, strewn across the hallway like badly used things. She tested one of the bodies for pulse. Dead, but still warm, whoever did this was no doubt close by. Part of her wished her visors didn't work so well, but seeing young and old, children and elders lying in their own pool of blood would have that effect on most. Moving past the corpses as quickly as she could, she counted at least 30 dead. Who they were had mattered little. It was obvious that they had been a slaughtered indiscriminately.
She felt her blood boil as she moved through this massacre. It was one thing for soldiers to shoot at other soldiers, but it was altogether another thing fire at innocent bystanders. Whoever did this would pay. As she was moving past the final pile of bodies one of her legs got stuck in something. As she looked down she could see a small hand extended out from underneath that pile... and that hand was grabbing her leg with such force that she was amazed that a such small fingers could have that much strength in them. She took in a quick breath, someone was alive! A child. At that same instant Holly overhears voices further in the building. From the way it sounded they were probably speaking in Russian. She could feel her blood boil but she had to do something about that child.
---------------------------------
First update! Hopefully this first update isn't too lengthy. ^^,
"Noted Ringo, we will be proceeding from above and should see the target in less than 5. I will make another attempt to contact Raven, it would be shameful if we were killed by a walker we never saw. I will contact you if he has spotted any tangos but until then keep radio silence. Black Wolf out."
Silence, with the exception of one or two distant explosions.
She counted slowly up to 20 and was about to try again when the radio crackled to life and a familiar gruff voice greeted her "Ain't a speck in sight darlin', oh but I would still be quick if I'ere you. The walkers are set on automatic patrol so one of'em is bound to go close to your route sooner or later. I have also spotted around 15-20 Black Demons 10 clicks to the southeast of the city so keep yer eyes and ears out for more of them. I could'ave sworn that couple of them walkers carried their mark, over"
Holly shuddered.
The Black Demons were a mercenary group infamous for getting the job done, but they always left a path of destruction in their waste. Collateral damage they called it. Buildings in ruins, civilian deaths, massacres, if you didn't mind those things The Black Demons were perfect. They were renown for never routing, as far as she knew not a single captured Black Demon had ever revealed who was hiring them or who was the mastermind behind their operations. In short, they were the perfect tools for corrupt politicians and warlords alike. And now Griff... Raven had spotted a concentration of them just 10 km away? That was way too close for her taste. She had seen how they operated and she would prefer to finish this mission before they came any closer.
"Roger that Raven, we will proceed to the mission area with haste and recover the packages, keep radio silence unless you see movement closing in on us. Someone may be trying to find our frequency, lets not give them the pleasure, over" couple of second passed before she got a reply "Affirmative, be careful out there, Raven out".
She removed the radio plug from her ear, she would know it immediately if someone tried to contact her. Currently she needed to focus on getting everyone through this. She gave her squad-mates and twins, Jack and Jeremy, the signal to scout ahead whilst she moved slightly further back to give the non-recon team the sign to move in on her position. Out from the shadow of one of the blocks 200 m away from her appeared 7 soldiers in a close line. Even with her equipment it was hard to spot them, and for guys that she had called "loud as drunk elephants" they were doing remarkable job of being silent.
As they came closer one of them split from the team and headed directly to her. It was easy to see it was Nathan. Standing good 2 meters tall it would be an understatement to say that he stood out. Though for being this huge he moved with surprising deftness, reaching her in mere seconds.
She ran nimbly back to the location where her teammates were waiting. "So, did he kiss you and tell you that he loved you?" One of the twins asked with exaggeratedly squeaky voice. "I doubt he did, he is made out of stone that man, I am more surprised that she even managed to get him up at that time" the other replied in a similarly teasing tone.
3 minutes later they spotted the Target. It immediately struck her as an odd one. For a mere post office it was huge and its structure was somehow 'wrong'. "You sure this is the right place?" she asked the twins, even though she knew the answer already.
"23 Montbrillant St, just like it was said in the briefing. This is the place." one of them confirmed. "I also spotted some movement but it is more likely it were civilians rather than hostiles... at least that is what I read from their movements" the other added.
"Okay, scout both street corners and be on the lookout while I report to Nathan. If luck is with us we will be in and out before anyone is wiser." with a curt nod of confirmation they split up and started running.
Turning away she gave Nathan and his team the signal to come closer. As they huddled up she started to explain."It is clear path at the moment but we don't know when the next patrol or walker will head over here so we need to be quick. So far there is little indication that there are hostiles in the building. The briefing indicated that there is a special elevator at the innermost part of the post office that leads down into the labs where the scientists are holed up. We supposedly have the password that is needed to gain access to the lower floors but we have not confirmed that it works yet. We need to get in and out as silently as possible. There are most likely still civies so lets be careful."
Nathan nodded "Affirmative. Now, what is your plan?" he said and looked directly at Holly.
Bit surprised she started thinking, there was of course the possibility that she could scout ahead into the post office and clear out the area to the elevator. They could also breach and clear through the entrance, though if there were civies inside that would surely cause some panic, not to mention it wouldn't be very subtle, but it would be fast and effective if there were indeed any hostiles inside. Third possibility was simply to wait for Ringo and his team to arrive but then they could enter from two different locations at once, giving themselves the maximum spread without thinning out their forces too much or causing too much noise.
What do you do?
[ X ] Enter by yourself (minimum panic, though risk of being harmed)
[ ] Do breach and clear (risk of high panic, minimal risks of harm, risk of being noticed)
[ ] Wait for Ringo (minimal panic, time is lost, higher risk of patrols)
[ ] Write in (be clever!)
[ X ] Enter by yourself (minimum panic, though risk of being harmed)
[ ] Do breach and clear (risk of high panic, minimal risks of harm, risk of being noticed)
[ ] Wait for Ringo (minimal panic, time is lost, higher risk of patrols)
[ ] Write in (be clever!)
She glanced back at the post office, even if the building felt wrong she didn't have the time to worry about something as small as her distaste in modern architecture. "I think it would be best if I scouted ahead. One of the twins did report movement inside, most likely civies, but you can never be too sure."
Nathan seemed to contemplating this for a second before nodding. "If you are sure then we will have it that way. Make sure to send us a 'all clear' signal once you are sure the way is clear." She gave him a curt nod and started sprinting.
She was confident in her ability to remain hidden, as she passed the street towards the post office she made herself as small of a target as possible. If someone was watching he would most likely mistake her for a large black dog, if they would spot her at all. As she approached the entrance she could feel a bit of an excitement running through her body. She smiled faintly. No matter how often she did this she could never get quite used...
She froze. The door was broken from the hinges, someone had forced their way in here. Slowing her pace she pushed her back to the wall near the entrance and quickly glanced inside. No sign of movement but she thought she had spotted a body in the hallway further in. Slowly making her way to the entrance she carefully opened it and entered the building.
Silently she made her way further inside. What she had spotted in the hallway had indeed been a body, or rather a pile of them, strewn across the hallway like badly used things. She tested one of the bodies for pulse. Dead, but still warm, whoever did this was no doubt close by. Part of her wished her visors didn't work so well, but seeing young and old, children and elders lying in their own pool of blood would have that effect on most. Moving past the corpses as quickly as she could, she counted at least 30 dead. Who they were had mattered little. It was obvious that they had been a slaughtered indiscriminately.
She felt her blood boil as she moved through this massacre. It was one thing for soldiers to shoot at other soldiers, but it was altogether another thing fire at innocent bystanders. Whoever did this would pay. As she was moving past the final pile of bodies one of her legs got stuck in something. As she looked down she could see a small hand extended out from underneath that pile... and that hand was grabbing her leg with such force that she was amazed that a such small fingers could have that much strength in them. She took in a quick breath, someone was alive! A child. At that same instant Holly overhears voices further in the building. From the way it sounded they were probably speaking in Russian. She could feel her blood boil but she had to do something about that child.
What do you do?
[ ] Leave the child as it is and greet those new friends
[ ] Help the child and tell it to stay put before proceeding
[X] Help the child, and hide it somewhere before moving on
[ ] Write in
[ ] Leave the child as it is and greet those new friends
[ ] Help the child and tell it to stay put before proceeding
[X] Help the child, and hide it somewhere before moving on
[ ] Write in
---------------------------------
First update! Hopefully this first update isn't too lengthy. ^^,
Elmithian
Cherno Alpha's fists are nothing to laugh at
- Location
- Iceland
She took a quick glance in the direction of the voices before kneeling beside the small hand and started to push away the bodies as carefully as she could. Odd, now that she saw them in better light, some of the bodies were quite oddly dressed. That thought passed quickly as she kept pushing the bodies off each other. She could now see a glimmer of small face beneath the pile, why that child hadn't been crushed by the weight of the corpses was nothing short of miracle. Finally with a grunt she managed to push the final corpse away and there lay... a small girl, maybe 6 or 7 years old holding a teddy as close to her body as she could muster.
The girl looked emptily up at Holly, her eyes red and sunken from how crying. Her face uncannily pale, almost the same hue as the corpses that surrounded them. For what felt like minutes the girl appeared to realize that she was looking up at someone that was alive. Then she collapsed, losing consciousness. Worriedly, Holly checked for pulse, still there, thank god. She didn't want to think about what the girl must have been through. Carefully she picked the girl up and carried her towards one of the the offices, one of them should be unlocked. She found one, she needed to be quick, she didn't want to leave the child alone longer than she needed to but she had some unfinished business to taker care of...
She moved towards the voices in the distance, making extra care not to be heard. Whoever they were, they were no doubt well armed. As she got closer she could slowly discern that there 3 people arguing rather than the 2 she had initially thought. She didn't understand everything but she had the inkling they were arguing about the elevators. The flickering of a flashlight revealed their location. They were just around the next corner. She had to be quick and precise. If there were more than just these 3 in the vicinity, a single gunshot could ruin the whole operation. She took a quick glance over the corner. Those were Black Demons alright. One couldn't miss their mark.
Thankfully, two of them, likely on-field mechanics, were quite busy arguing in Russian with one another in front of the elevators. Holly could feel her blood boil as she gripped the handle of her knife. The third one was obviously their lookout only adding into their commentary when he changed location. Whoever that lookout was he was armed to the teeth and reminded her more of a walking tank rather than a human being.
Well, whatever, that simply meant that she would need to be even more precise in her timing. If she struck their lookout the moment he came towards this corner it would most likely give her couple of seconds before those blathering idiots realized that they were being attacked. And couple of seconds was all she needed.
He was changing position again. It was now or never. She waited until he was about to reach the edge of the corner before jumping him and plunging the knife into his neck as deeply as she could. With a disgusting ripping sound her knife tore through arteries and flesh alike. The man tried with weak force to grab her but his throat was a complete mess, his spine almost the only thing holding the head in its place. She kicked him, causing him to fall backwards as she ran over his twitching, gurgling frame.
The other two men were just now realizing that something was wrong, Holly couldn't help but smile grimly as she rushed at them. They tried to jump for their guns, but they were late, way too late. One quick stab in each of their site and a vicious cut at their neck and they were now on the ground bleeding out, trying with weak force to stem the fountain at their necks. They only had couple of seconds of consciousness left, so Holly lifted up her visors and looked them in their eyes. "This is how you properly kill someone." she said spitefully as she plunged her knife into their chest and watched the life drain away from their eyes.
Regaining her calm she stood up from the bloodbath, her suit splattered in blood. Well, she would have to deal with the trauma from all of this later and proceeded to quickly scout the rest of the building. Unsurprisingly, on the other side of the building there was a walker and, oddly enough, only a single lookout.
Those were likely the guys who were waiting for the team inside to finish whatever the business they had. Though from look of it the lookout didn't seem to be in much of a hurry, he was likely not going to worry much about his comrades as long as he still had a full pack of cigarettes, that would be roughly 15-20 minutes, which was plenty enough.
She quickly contacted Ringo to warn him about the walker just in case he missed the giant thing. Then she retreated to the location where she had entered the building to give Nathan and his team the all clear signal, the twins following them closely behind. She explained the situation curtly as Nathan passed but stopped the twins as they were about to enter the building. "I don't think this will be going smoothly from now on, so I need your eyes out here. Hide in the outside the building and be on the lookout for any hostile forces. Your suits should hide your temperature from thermal equipment so there is less change of a walker spotting you if you are careful. I need to go back inside and assist Nathan and his team... and for other reasons." They seemed slightly puzzled but nodded and disappeared into the greenery outside the structure.
She rushed back inside, practically running towards a certain office room. Please let her be okay, let her be okay, let her be okay. She sighed with relief when she saw that the girl had regained consciousness. But again, the girl didn't seem to notice her at first, her vacant eyes staring emptily at the wall next to the door. Holly had a strong suspicion that the girl had entered into a state of a shock, which wasn't surprising considering the horror she had experienced. Holly called towards the girl with a soft voice, after couple of tries the girl appeared to notice someone calling to her and turned her head towards the noise.
Going to her knees Holly was careful to be on the same eye level as the girl. For a brief second she didn't seem to register in the girls eyes but suddenly the girls eyes went wide with her running under one of the desks in a panic. For a second this behavior took Holly by surprsie, until she realized her suit and part of her face was splattered in blood. After making sure that she had removed most of the blood from her face she went down on her knees again in front of the desk and put out her hand towards the girl.
"Don't worry" she reassured the girl "The bad guys are gone, I promise... and they will never harm anyone again." The girl didn't react, Holly was beginning to suspect that she couldn't understand her, but it didn't matter, it was the tone that was important, and not once the whole time did she move her hand away. After what seemed like an eternity the girl moved and tenderly reached out towards her hand. Instead of rushing it, Holly waited until the girl was wrapped her whole arm around her hand. "There is nothing to be afraid of. I am here for you" For the first time some glimmer of life could be seen in the girl's eye. It was faint, but it was there. "Hold onto me and I promise everything is going to be okay" She continued to reassure the girl as she made sure to adjust her stride to match that of the girl.
1-2 minutes later they reached the elevator where the rest of the team had congregated. It took Nathan one glance to realize what had occured. "Survivor?" He simply asked. And a simple nod was all he needed. Seeing all those people the little girl hugged Holly's arm even tighter and hid her face in the teddy. Nathan gave Holly a sign to come over. "Ringo has reported that he has spotted your walker and that he has a plan" he whispered "He is suggesting that he and his team will serve as a diversion to buy us extra time by causing slight... havoc further down the road. Now, I know he is good but his odds ain't exactly great. The moment he does this the rest of the Black Demons will be on them in matter of minutes. But he states that the odds in his favour and this could provide us the much needed time to retrieve the scientists and their families."
He looked back at the girl, causing her to tighten her grip on Holly's hand.
"As I see matters, you have a choice. Join up with Ringo, I am sure that would increase their odds, or stay with us as we enter the labs. God knows that we need someone capable to scout ahead for us there... I have seen the overlay of the facility and it is practically a maze. Neither option is free of risks. But keep in mind that the girl stays with us. It is too much risk allowing a civilian, a child in particular to go with you. She will be safer with us anyways. Now make your choice." He stares expectantly at her.
The girl looked emptily up at Holly, her eyes red and sunken from how crying. Her face uncannily pale, almost the same hue as the corpses that surrounded them. For what felt like minutes the girl appeared to realize that she was looking up at someone that was alive. Then she collapsed, losing consciousness. Worriedly, Holly checked for pulse, still there, thank god. She didn't want to think about what the girl must have been through. Carefully she picked the girl up and carried her towards one of the the offices, one of them should be unlocked. She found one, she needed to be quick, she didn't want to leave the child alone longer than she needed to but she had some unfinished business to taker care of...
She moved towards the voices in the distance, making extra care not to be heard. Whoever they were, they were no doubt well armed. As she got closer she could slowly discern that there 3 people arguing rather than the 2 she had initially thought. She didn't understand everything but she had the inkling they were arguing about the elevators. The flickering of a flashlight revealed their location. They were just around the next corner. She had to be quick and precise. If there were more than just these 3 in the vicinity, a single gunshot could ruin the whole operation. She took a quick glance over the corner. Those were Black Demons alright. One couldn't miss their mark.
Thankfully, two of them, likely on-field mechanics, were quite busy arguing in Russian with one another in front of the elevators. Holly could feel her blood boil as she gripped the handle of her knife. The third one was obviously their lookout only adding into their commentary when he changed location. Whoever that lookout was he was armed to the teeth and reminded her more of a walking tank rather than a human being.
Well, whatever, that simply meant that she would need to be even more precise in her timing. If she struck their lookout the moment he came towards this corner it would most likely give her couple of seconds before those blathering idiots realized that they were being attacked. And couple of seconds was all she needed.
He was changing position again. It was now or never. She waited until he was about to reach the edge of the corner before jumping him and plunging the knife into his neck as deeply as she could. With a disgusting ripping sound her knife tore through arteries and flesh alike. The man tried with weak force to grab her but his throat was a complete mess, his spine almost the only thing holding the head in its place. She kicked him, causing him to fall backwards as she ran over his twitching, gurgling frame.
The other two men were just now realizing that something was wrong, Holly couldn't help but smile grimly as she rushed at them. They tried to jump for their guns, but they were late, way too late. One quick stab in each of their site and a vicious cut at their neck and they were now on the ground bleeding out, trying with weak force to stem the fountain at their necks. They only had couple of seconds of consciousness left, so Holly lifted up her visors and looked them in their eyes. "This is how you properly kill someone." she said spitefully as she plunged her knife into their chest and watched the life drain away from their eyes.
Regaining her calm she stood up from the bloodbath, her suit splattered in blood. Well, she would have to deal with the trauma from all of this later and proceeded to quickly scout the rest of the building. Unsurprisingly, on the other side of the building there was a walker and, oddly enough, only a single lookout.
Those were likely the guys who were waiting for the team inside to finish whatever the business they had. Though from look of it the lookout didn't seem to be in much of a hurry, he was likely not going to worry much about his comrades as long as he still had a full pack of cigarettes, that would be roughly 15-20 minutes, which was plenty enough.
She quickly contacted Ringo to warn him about the walker just in case he missed the giant thing. Then she retreated to the location where she had entered the building to give Nathan and his team the all clear signal, the twins following them closely behind. She explained the situation curtly as Nathan passed but stopped the twins as they were about to enter the building. "I don't think this will be going smoothly from now on, so I need your eyes out here. Hide in the outside the building and be on the lookout for any hostile forces. Your suits should hide your temperature from thermal equipment so there is less change of a walker spotting you if you are careful. I need to go back inside and assist Nathan and his team... and for other reasons." They seemed slightly puzzled but nodded and disappeared into the greenery outside the structure.
She rushed back inside, practically running towards a certain office room. Please let her be okay, let her be okay, let her be okay. She sighed with relief when she saw that the girl had regained consciousness. But again, the girl didn't seem to notice her at first, her vacant eyes staring emptily at the wall next to the door. Holly had a strong suspicion that the girl had entered into a state of a shock, which wasn't surprising considering the horror she had experienced. Holly called towards the girl with a soft voice, after couple of tries the girl appeared to notice someone calling to her and turned her head towards the noise.
Going to her knees Holly was careful to be on the same eye level as the girl. For a brief second she didn't seem to register in the girls eyes but suddenly the girls eyes went wide with her running under one of the desks in a panic. For a second this behavior took Holly by surprsie, until she realized her suit and part of her face was splattered in blood. After making sure that she had removed most of the blood from her face she went down on her knees again in front of the desk and put out her hand towards the girl.
"Don't worry" she reassured the girl "The bad guys are gone, I promise... and they will never harm anyone again." The girl didn't react, Holly was beginning to suspect that she couldn't understand her, but it didn't matter, it was the tone that was important, and not once the whole time did she move her hand away. After what seemed like an eternity the girl moved and tenderly reached out towards her hand. Instead of rushing it, Holly waited until the girl was wrapped her whole arm around her hand. "There is nothing to be afraid of. I am here for you" For the first time some glimmer of life could be seen in the girl's eye. It was faint, but it was there. "Hold onto me and I promise everything is going to be okay" She continued to reassure the girl as she made sure to adjust her stride to match that of the girl.
1-2 minutes later they reached the elevator where the rest of the team had congregated. It took Nathan one glance to realize what had occured. "Survivor?" He simply asked. And a simple nod was all he needed. Seeing all those people the little girl hugged Holly's arm even tighter and hid her face in the teddy. Nathan gave Holly a sign to come over. "Ringo has reported that he has spotted your walker and that he has a plan" he whispered "He is suggesting that he and his team will serve as a diversion to buy us extra time by causing slight... havoc further down the road. Now, I know he is good but his odds ain't exactly great. The moment he does this the rest of the Black Demons will be on them in matter of minutes. But he states that the odds in his favour and this could provide us the much needed time to retrieve the scientists and their families."
He looked back at the girl, causing her to tighten her grip on Holly's hand.
"As I see matters, you have a choice. Join up with Ringo, I am sure that would increase their odds, or stay with us as we enter the labs. God knows that we need someone capable to scout ahead for us there... I have seen the overlay of the facility and it is practically a maze. Neither option is free of risks. But keep in mind that the girl stays with us. It is too much risk allowing a civilian, a child in particular to go with you. She will be safer with us anyways. Now make your choice." He stares expectantly at her.
What will you do?
[ ] Join Ringo in his diversion
[X] Go with Nathan and team down into the labs+ staying with the girl (unknown risk/low risk?)
[ ] Stay upstairs and keep an eye out for possible incoming enemies.
[ ] Write in
[ ] Join Ringo in his diversion
[X] Go with Nathan and team down into the labs+ staying with the girl (unknown risk/low risk?)
[ ] Stay upstairs and keep an eye out for possible incoming enemies.
[ ] Write in