Status: Redo of my old story
Silence Falls
Chapter 58: Heat Signatures
“Strange…” Otep murmured to herself, tapping a finger to her chin with a demeanor of interest on her face.
“Which is strange? That there is a wall in the middle of the swamps, or that there is a wall period?” Bam quizzed, pinning up at the same hoisted object as she.
From what they could tell the wall was generated of cobblestones of assorted sizes under layers of moss and algae and was noticeably towering, but not enough to be seen from above the treetops. It was so out of place there it stuck out like a sore thumb. But also regarding how deep in the swamps it had been constructed at, it was also kept hidden from exploring eyes. Bert ran a palm over it while he migrated alongside it, inquisitive as to how far it went and what could be harbored on the other side of it. Bam and Otep accompanied along behind him without a second thought as to where he was taking them, all the while speculating where this wall led to too.
BANG!
"SHIT, GET DOWN, GUYS!!" Bert notified, catching a hold of them both and slinging them towards a huge family of shrubberies with leafy branches that swelled outwards.
Bam cried out before diving head first in, covering his head in case of prickly branches. He couldn’t stop himself from babbling in a rush at who could induce that hazardous piercing sound. “FUCK, THEY FOUND US DIDN’T THEY!? OH SHIT SHIT SHIT!”
Rapidly, Otep subdued him by smacking him upside the head, hissing at him as she then shifted in front of him to conceal him. Bert moved to do the same for her.”Shut up Bam, or they'll hear you!” While Bam crouched in the background, Bert and Otep stretched their necks upwards to try and gander out over the massive bushes. They couldn't see anyone especially now that there was another fog quickly rolling in as if summoned by magic. Cursing to herself, Otep looked to Bert. “Bert, what do we do now?”
Bert shook his head slowly with uneasiness. “I-I don't know. They could be anywhere out there in this goddamn fog. Unlike us, they're well able to handle a skirmish if we try and give them one...I don't think there is anything we can do here, except to wait for them to appear and risk it anyway, or surrender to them with hope they don't shoot us right then and there.”
Otep and Bert didn't like those odds. There was no way they could be 100% convinced they wouldn’t be shot on sight. For now, all they can do is snuggle close to each other and pray that if they were meant to die together today it will be together and not alone.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Connor, Hermanni, and Cris were dodged behind a family of trees whose branches were also quite full and outreaching. They had heard the same gunshot ahead of them and had explored a few feet ahead once there was silence again. Before them was a wide field of long tall grasses vacant of any trees, and what they identified within it was the tops of the helmets of a squad of operatives having discharged at something ahead of them. Cris and Connor shared a look of perplexity as to what they had been firing at, but felt a wave of shame overwhelm them after grasping how indebted they should be that it wasn't them.
“Do you think it could be that Subject V character they're looking for?” Cris asked softly, staring at Connor for an explanation he knew he didn’t have.
“I don't know. I just hope it is and that they'll finally nab him so they can get their asses out of this swamp and back to whatever DC grovel they came out of and forget all about us. We have enough to worry about as it is.” Connor growled, vexed by how rapidly the odds were strengthening against them when all they wanted was their freedom back.
Hermanni tilted his head at Cris and Connor before wandering out across the field towards the company he was able to distinctly observe through the long grasses with his extraordinary perception. The group had been shooting ahead of them save for one man who chose to peer behind them sporting a set of peculiar cumbersome goggles. Hermanni tilted his head again in query as to what it was wielded for before the knowledge barreled into him, making his eyes extend in awe. Reaching out, he apprehended both Cris and Connor by the back of their shirts and hurtled them back behind the trees as the bullets started sailing in their direction.
“LIEUTENANT, HEAT SIGNATURES 3:00!!" The man with the heat goggles reported before a hail of bullets began to intermingle with his. Hermanni poked his head out from around the tree trunk to glower at the soldiers with fury noted on his face. Meanwhile Cris and Connor sought to wriggle away on their stomachs back towards the camp in anticipation of defending the girls in time from another approaching ambush. By this time, Hermanni had already dissipated from sight.
The band of men in the tall grass quit shooting when the man in the goggles held up a fist to signal them to cease fire. He could no longer identify any traces of life. They all listened in for any noise of misery, or twigs snapping beneath the frenzied foot of a runaway, but the swamp was hushed except for their heavy breathing and their hammering hearts.
“Are they dead, or what?” Private Barry impatiently hissed, inspecting through his scope and distinguishing no movements.
“I'm not sure. I think so. Give me a minute.” Cyril responded, still browsing their surroundings through his military heat sensor goggles. At first he hadn’t been able to see anyone, but then tracked some still forms draped on the ground, either deceased or were in the process of perishing. That was until he observed them move. With a smile widening across his face, Cyril whispered. “Gotcha.”
Lieutenant Krieger shortly peeked down at the shorter soldier with dark hair and muttered to him while also keeping a close eye on their surroundings through his long scope. “What have we got, soldier? Talk to me.”
“Sir, we have a group of seven targets on the ground ahead of us, still alive and gradually crawling west.” Cyril briefed him confidently.
“Is there a sign of Subject V nearby?” Barry whispered zealously, his trigger finger shaking at the thought that their current mission could possibly be lying in that group of seven targets ahead. Everyone has heard tales of him, of the things he has done, and what he was capable of doing with very little ease on his part and absolutely no mercy.
“I can’t tell. Does he even have a heat signature, sir?” Cyril studied the Lieutenant for a split second before restoring his gaze to the warm vibrant colors in his goggles.
The Lieutenant said nothing at first because he wasn’t quite clear himself. Krieger has never seen nor had the bad luck of ever facing Subject V in person before. What has passed as a ghastly tale to terrorize the lower ranked officers in learning the REAL boogeyman was a substantial story of actual events of an authentic monster. Subject V isn’t something you feature in the movies, and isn’t a fantasy you tell your little brother or sister to paralyze the lights out of them for joke. No, he was as real as anything else on this planet. Oppose the presence of aliens, of mermaids, of fairies, of the devil and the almighty God for their absence of confirmation, but to refuse the survival of Subject V is a pure idiotic move of denial so ludicrous that a whack to the face better get your mind in check quick before he gets to you first.
“Which is strange? That there is a wall in the middle of the swamps, or that there is a wall period?” Bam quizzed, pinning up at the same hoisted object as she.
From what they could tell the wall was generated of cobblestones of assorted sizes under layers of moss and algae and was noticeably towering, but not enough to be seen from above the treetops. It was so out of place there it stuck out like a sore thumb. But also regarding how deep in the swamps it had been constructed at, it was also kept hidden from exploring eyes. Bert ran a palm over it while he migrated alongside it, inquisitive as to how far it went and what could be harbored on the other side of it. Bam and Otep accompanied along behind him without a second thought as to where he was taking them, all the while speculating where this wall led to too.
BANG!
"SHIT, GET DOWN, GUYS!!" Bert notified, catching a hold of them both and slinging them towards a huge family of shrubberies with leafy branches that swelled outwards.
Bam cried out before diving head first in, covering his head in case of prickly branches. He couldn’t stop himself from babbling in a rush at who could induce that hazardous piercing sound. “FUCK, THEY FOUND US DIDN’T THEY!? OH SHIT SHIT SHIT!”
Rapidly, Otep subdued him by smacking him upside the head, hissing at him as she then shifted in front of him to conceal him. Bert moved to do the same for her.”Shut up Bam, or they'll hear you!” While Bam crouched in the background, Bert and Otep stretched their necks upwards to try and gander out over the massive bushes. They couldn't see anyone especially now that there was another fog quickly rolling in as if summoned by magic. Cursing to herself, Otep looked to Bert. “Bert, what do we do now?”
Bert shook his head slowly with uneasiness. “I-I don't know. They could be anywhere out there in this goddamn fog. Unlike us, they're well able to handle a skirmish if we try and give them one...I don't think there is anything we can do here, except to wait for them to appear and risk it anyway, or surrender to them with hope they don't shoot us right then and there.”
Otep and Bert didn't like those odds. There was no way they could be 100% convinced they wouldn’t be shot on sight. For now, all they can do is snuggle close to each other and pray that if they were meant to die together today it will be together and not alone.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Connor, Hermanni, and Cris were dodged behind a family of trees whose branches were also quite full and outreaching. They had heard the same gunshot ahead of them and had explored a few feet ahead once there was silence again. Before them was a wide field of long tall grasses vacant of any trees, and what they identified within it was the tops of the helmets of a squad of operatives having discharged at something ahead of them. Cris and Connor shared a look of perplexity as to what they had been firing at, but felt a wave of shame overwhelm them after grasping how indebted they should be that it wasn't them.
“Do you think it could be that Subject V character they're looking for?” Cris asked softly, staring at Connor for an explanation he knew he didn’t have.
“I don't know. I just hope it is and that they'll finally nab him so they can get their asses out of this swamp and back to whatever DC grovel they came out of and forget all about us. We have enough to worry about as it is.” Connor growled, vexed by how rapidly the odds were strengthening against them when all they wanted was their freedom back.
Hermanni tilted his head at Cris and Connor before wandering out across the field towards the company he was able to distinctly observe through the long grasses with his extraordinary perception. The group had been shooting ahead of them save for one man who chose to peer behind them sporting a set of peculiar cumbersome goggles. Hermanni tilted his head again in query as to what it was wielded for before the knowledge barreled into him, making his eyes extend in awe. Reaching out, he apprehended both Cris and Connor by the back of their shirts and hurtled them back behind the trees as the bullets started sailing in their direction.
“LIEUTENANT, HEAT SIGNATURES 3:00!!" The man with the heat goggles reported before a hail of bullets began to intermingle with his. Hermanni poked his head out from around the tree trunk to glower at the soldiers with fury noted on his face. Meanwhile Cris and Connor sought to wriggle away on their stomachs back towards the camp in anticipation of defending the girls in time from another approaching ambush. By this time, Hermanni had already dissipated from sight.
The band of men in the tall grass quit shooting when the man in the goggles held up a fist to signal them to cease fire. He could no longer identify any traces of life. They all listened in for any noise of misery, or twigs snapping beneath the frenzied foot of a runaway, but the swamp was hushed except for their heavy breathing and their hammering hearts.
“Are they dead, or what?” Private Barry impatiently hissed, inspecting through his scope and distinguishing no movements.
“I'm not sure. I think so. Give me a minute.” Cyril responded, still browsing their surroundings through his military heat sensor goggles. At first he hadn’t been able to see anyone, but then tracked some still forms draped on the ground, either deceased or were in the process of perishing. That was until he observed them move. With a smile widening across his face, Cyril whispered. “Gotcha.”
Lieutenant Krieger shortly peeked down at the shorter soldier with dark hair and muttered to him while also keeping a close eye on their surroundings through his long scope. “What have we got, soldier? Talk to me.”
“Sir, we have a group of seven targets on the ground ahead of us, still alive and gradually crawling west.” Cyril briefed him confidently.
“Is there a sign of Subject V nearby?” Barry whispered zealously, his trigger finger shaking at the thought that their current mission could possibly be lying in that group of seven targets ahead. Everyone has heard tales of him, of the things he has done, and what he was capable of doing with very little ease on his part and absolutely no mercy.
“I can’t tell. Does he even have a heat signature, sir?” Cyril studied the Lieutenant for a split second before restoring his gaze to the warm vibrant colors in his goggles.
The Lieutenant said nothing at first because he wasn’t quite clear himself. Krieger has never seen nor had the bad luck of ever facing Subject V in person before. What has passed as a ghastly tale to terrorize the lower ranked officers in learning the REAL boogeyman was a substantial story of actual events of an authentic monster. Subject V isn’t something you feature in the movies, and isn’t a fantasy you tell your little brother or sister to paralyze the lights out of them for joke. No, he was as real as anything else on this planet. Oppose the presence of aliens, of mermaids, of fairies, of the devil and the almighty God for their absence of confirmation, but to refuse the survival of Subject V is a pure idiotic move of denial so ludicrous that a whack to the face better get your mind in check quick before he gets to you first.