Survival

[deadwarrior]

more please. Thanks alot. Its entertaining.

[uwasawaya]

Hey Dead, glad you're enjoying. I'm in the middle of writing now... and it's creepy, because the forum seems to follow it in odd ways... maybe if I write that I receive a PM full of money or something...

And Dastard, no, he's not all that dead, just mostly dead. He just needs a miracle.

[Dr. Macon Dead]

Hmm...guess I've gotta give him his change back, then:(.

[Mortan Astral]

Nay ya can keep it m8
I won't miss it where I am right now, as long as tee don't spend it on drugz it is fine ;D

[Grim]

Chop! Chop! Where is our story slave?!??!?

[uwasawaya]

Excuse me for having a life you son of a b*tch!

Actually almost done with the next part, should be up soon.

[Seras Victoria]

Rawr

*Purrs*

[Abyx]

Woof?

So, Mike, since I can't be bothered to copy and paste your forum name, how goes the writing?

[zombieButcher]

Yea cant wait to see what happens next.
*Hopes for hunting shotty training... *

[uwasawaya]

lol, Mike is fine Abyx. Or Uwasa if you're so inclined. Never had anyone call me the whole thing... wish I'd picked something that could be yelled more easily in a gunfight...

In other news, since people seem to assume that since I majored in Japanese Uwasa Waya IS Japanese, I decided to attempt a translation... the closest thing it could be is "(A/The) Rumor is an Arrow", or "(A/The) Rumor is Melting"... yeah...

The writing is well... I actually hit a bit of a block, as certain plot strings don't seem to flow right... but it'll be ok. I need to finish it so I can finish the OTHER short story I'm working on... lol...

[uwasawaya]

Just because everyone was asking, and Lara was purring so nicely, here you all go-

EDIT: Dur, spel cheq R gud
- - -

Wolf had slept better, in retrospect. The last week was the most peaceful and energizing he had experienced in a long time. Strange that it would take something like learning how to shoot to free him from dreams. In the range, he could imagine all his horrors painted across the targets, and he was getting better at hitting them. He had also been getting tips from other members, practicing with Soul, Macon and Butcher.

It was late, and he made his way to the door of the range absentmindedly. From inside he could hear gunfire, but he noted instantly that it wasn't Abyx. His firing was too methodical, too rhythmic. This was fluctuating. He slid the door open and entered. Only one stall was inhabited, and by the person's build, he could tell it was Lara. He hadn't ran into her yet in the range.

He watched quietly, noting that her stance was tense. Her firing was solid, but not on target as much as the others usually were. When she stopped firing to reload, he said, "Haven't seen you here before."

Lara drew in a sharp breath and brought her rifle around, startled, only pulling off and aiming at the ceiling just before bringing him in her sights. Wolf stood frozen, eyes wide.

"I'm so sorry, I thought you'd noticed me come in..." he said quickly. She let out a long breath. "No, it's alright, I'm the one who broke the rules here," she said, flicking on the safety and placing the gun on the shelf. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

Wolf walked to the weapons locker and selected a bull-pup, grabbing a handful of magazines and a box of ammunition as well. He set up in the stall next to Lara's, and as he loaded the magazines, he answered, "Abyx got me to try shooting for awhile... rather therapeutic isn't it?"

She looked at him through the safety glass that separated them with a small smile, brushing hair from her eyes. "Yeah, it kind of is," she replied, and began to reload her magazines. Wolf slapped a clip into the weapon and cocked it, noting he didn't even have to look anymore. "So what's on your mind that you need therapy for anyway?" he asked.

Lara glanced sideways at him. "Nothing, really," she answered, adjusting the sight on her weapon. Wolf looked at her. "That's bull. I've walked in here on Abyx, Soul, Butcher, Macon and more and never once did they fail to notice me come in. I know you're at least on par with them... and besides, they scare the hell out of me all the time. Each time it's because I'm thinking of something else," he said, resting on the shelf in front of him.

She bit her lip, then slowly loaded her weapon and cocked it. "You heard about Delta right?" she asked.

"Macon told me they vanished on a mission," he replied.

"Yep, that's about right. Well, someone important to me was part of that squad," she said, voice tight. She closed her eyes and sighed shakily. "I don't really want to talk about it..." she finished.

"Fair enough," Wolf said. " You know what though? There are a lot of people out there who have lost people they love. A lot of them were unlucky enough to watch them die..." He trailed off a bit, then continued, "The lucky ones died with them. You, I know how you feel... you can't help but hope he's still alive, even though you know the chances of that. And it scares you, because you're afraid to hope and allow yourself to be devastated," he finished.

Lara looked away, running a hand under her eye. "It's hard to keep going, you know? I can't stop thinking about him... I can't shoot straight, I can't focus. I'm afraid I'm going to get someone killed. I keep thinking he's alive, but I'm terrified that some day they'll find him, and I'll know..." she said, her voice unsteady. "I'm not even a soldier... I don't know how this all ended up like this..."

"Lara, no, you're not a soldier, and no, you don't know if he's coming back... but you're doing something. You're not hiding, you're out there helping the lost and scared... your team needs you as much as you need them for that. Every person you bring back from out there is someone who will get to see the one they love. You're a hero, Lara," Wolf said.

Lara sniffed as she rubbed an eye, and then smiled at Wolf. "When did you become the group therapist?" she joked lightly. Wolf smiled sadly and looked away. "You guys saved me... might as well help somehow. I was never much good at anything, but I could usually make people feel better," he replied.

A few moments passed quietly. "So... Abyx says you aren't going to stay with us?" she asked without accusation. Wolf nodded slowly. "I wish I could, but I just can't go back out there... I can't imagine facing those things again," he said carefully.

"After everything you just told me... about fighting for something, helping others... why?" she asked, curious.

"Because I watched my reason to fight die," he said quietly. He opened his mouth to continue when the room was suddenly flooded with red light. Wolf looked around confused a moment.

"We're being deployed," Lara said. She looked at Wolf as though she wanted to say more, then shook her head and ran for the door.

[Abyx]

TEH DRAMA!!11

Good stuff, more.

[uwasawaya]

Wow, you musta been waiting for that... lol

[zombieButcher]

Lol soap opera plx.
Anyway youre one of the few people that can actualy keep me hooked to a story (if thats the way to typ it).
Keep going

[uwasawaya]

If I have to... this'll probably be my last update for the day, story-wise. We'll see. I SHOULD be working... lol

- - -

Butcher stood at the front of the room. The entire staff of the base was assembled before him. The only two actual soldiers who were at the base at all, including the one who had given him his orders, stood at the side and watched him like hawks.

Lara had just walked in, and watched him calmly. She looked brighter than she had earlier at breakfast. He dreaded what he was about to do to her improved mood.

The unit leader cleared his throat and was about to speak when he saw Wolf slip into the back and stand near the rear wall.

"Alright guys, listen up. We just received some urgent intelligence and orders to deploy," he began. "It's a rescue op. A big one. In downtown London," he explained and paused to let the information sink in.

Murmuring spread around the room. The idea of survivors still in London was shocking enough, but the place was a rat trap, too many dead ends and too many monsters.

When the room quieted a bit, Butcher continued. "Reports came in from a routine helicopter recon flight over downtown twenty minutes ago. Apparently there was a group of refugees running from a bunch of creatures," he said, then paused, glancing at Lara a moment. "The pilots reported gunfire from the refugees," he said. Lara's eyes widened a moment before she quickly collected herself.

"The pilots couldn't find a safe place to touch down to extract the survivors, so they gave them as much air cover as they could afford before being forced to return for fuel. They are on their way back now,and immediately after fueling will take Alpha and Bravo out into the field. This gets uglier though. Before turning back, the pilots reported the group breaking into two, one being the unarmed survivors, led by two men, and the other one being the group of armed combatants. The gunmen appeared to be trying to lead off the main mass of creatures while the others got away," he related.

"Alpha will be dropped into combat along with the gunmen, while Bravo will be sent in to reinforce the unarmed refugees. Both squads will proceed to make their way through the streets to the John Labatt Centre for extraction. Alpha will have to stall for time before moving to the Center to avoid leading the creatures to the refugees before they can be removed. The army will be sending in transport choppers of their own to help with their recovery. Any questions?" he asked.

Abyx raised his hand. Butcher nodded to him. "The JLC isn't an open air stadium, you aren't suggesting we climb the walls to the roof are you?" He asked.

Macon spoke up. "During the fighting in the city when all this first broke out they tried a rescue mission a lot like this one... they got the ceiling down, but the chopper pilot wasn't quick enough to get into the opening. They lost everyone," he explained. "We're gonna use their exit right?"

Abyx glanced at him a moment, then looked to Butcher, who nodded to the group. "You have about 15 minutes. Get yourselves ready," he said. He glanced around and noted that Wolf was gone.

The two groups emptied out and left to gear up.