30. Karte: Reinforcement

Helping up my squadmate after treating his wounds we pushed on the best we could through the compound of wooden crates. Waiting patiently trying to find the two men who wounded us for a few minutes revealed they were probably long gone. Pulling out the remaining blue shards of the shattered lens in the gasmask we pushed through our wounds as bandages staunched the bleeding.

With Terra suffering a considerable wound to his shoulder he followed close behind as a rear guard while I breached the compound. Rounding a corner to the warehouse visible over the shipping containers we found the bodies of outlaws recently killed. Carefully breaching the building expecting the worst we found our target in the office with a gaping wound in his chest. With a snarl Terra went to confirm his identity.

“Fuck… it’s definitely VG. They got him first.”

Watching the door Terra searched the body for any information the operative might have kept on him. Finding nothing stopping only to pick up his PDA he braced himself against the door ready to go on my mark. Pushing through we made our way to the original entry point stepping over the bodies of those who held their positions till death.

Avoiding another group returning to the compound after the desperate defence we found our entry point but it wasn’t relief we felt. Throwing an arm out before Terra crossed over from the safety of the wall we stood there wide eyed. Barely holding him in place Terra went to rush forward trying to shake my grasp.

“What are you doing they need help they’re dying!”

Looking over the bodies one of the men had half of his face blown off as the remaining sections of his gas mask collected a reservoir of blood under the blue lens. Looking to the others they were all the same, a single shot tearing through something vital. The wounds were tell tale of a death from afar. Terra realizing the same stopped resisting my grasp as I let him go.

“They’re dead man. Nothing we can do.”

A sudden gasp. Struggling but obvious. Movement on the ground. Fingers twitching. The wounded man rolled his head with a gentle stuttering pained wail. The both of us watched him lift his arm slightly trying to signal for help. Another minute went by with him slowly writhing in disconcerted agony. Peaking around with binoculars and giving the all clear Terra ran forward taking hold of the man’s hand looking into his eyes to confirm his identity.

“Bisso. It’s Bisso. Give me a hand.”

Running forward we picked Bisso up to move him into a more concealed set of rubble to immediately assess his state. Ripping out his armor and inspecting his torn uniform displayed a terrible wound on the side of his rib cage. Further inspection displayed a completely destroyed rib and the adjacent ones fractured. Giving him a shot of pain relief and observing him after applying a foam bandage quickly stemming the bleeding proved his vitals to be stable as I chuckled letting down his hand after monitoring his pulse.

“Your one lucky motherfucker Bisso. Give me your arm it’s not safe here.”

With a pained grunt Bisso rose to his feet assisted by myself on his good side. Terra went out a few meters ahead with rifle up scanning our route as we made our way to the secondary objective. Hobbling forward Bisso started to regain some strength growing used to the pain from the wound.

“Why aren’t we headed to extraction. We’re compromised that shooter knew our entry point.”

“That’s exactly why, secondary extraction point. Just have one last thing to do here before that though.” Carrying Bisso as he became more coherent with his movement he began to ramble through grunts of effort with every struggled step forward.

“This is fucked. First we get scrambled on last minute intel then on the flight over we get a secondary objective without cover for our operation on insertion. It’s no wonder we keep losing out to arbitrator forces.” Terra entered a building finding it clear and lowered his rifle to bring a chair to Bisso.

“Outgunned and outmatched. What's new.”

We sat in wait while tending to Bisso’s wound the best we could. Discarding the blue lensed gas masks we immediately felt the influence native to the zone. Already it pushed such discreet indoctrination into our minds that training made us aware to. Just gentle influences like the urge to continue on to the cemetery ships island and find an escape on our own. We stuck with our plan and waited for an operative to establish a cover for us.

The operative coming to our aid wasn’t a complete novice though hardly a veteran. With no other operatives in the region they would have to do. With a year in the zone however we could at least trust they had what it took to survive and that would be enough to give us a chance. Terra brought his rifle up in an instant as an individual walked in front of the building with a large rucksack. Slowly taking off her helmet she went to giving out the suits and armor it contained.

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“Thank god. I thought I was on my own in this.” Terra walked forward grabbing a suit.

“Not anymore Sparrow. Command has us on this adventure of bullshit as well now.”

Quickly taking off the webbing and removing any of the advanced equipment strapped to it I undressed as a new suit was handed to me. Jumping into the makeshift brown hazmat suit I strapped the webbing over it once more before taking a standard heavy duty gas mask from the bag. Connecting it to an impromptu oxygen supply I went to Bisso’s aid in getting his webbing back on as Sparrow noticed his wound.

“What happened to the rest of your squad?” Terra maintained his watch while filling her in.

“Wiped. Sniper knew our insertion point.” Turning to him her shoulders sunk.

“Just like that. No firefight with him?” Bisso now set and ready painfully rose to his feet again.

“Was like a fucking ghost. Didn’t even see a muzzle flash.” Raising a hand to her mouth Sparrow looked around the ruined building.

“Similar thing with my team. Ambushed. If your squad didn’t stand a chance then what do we. God we’re just marching into the depths to die aren’t we.” With a chuckle inspecting my rifle a hand ran down the bolt to check if a round was chambered.

“Dead anyway if we don’t. If this thing gets out we’re all fucked.” Looking up I properly analyzed her expression. Standing up and placing a hand on her shoulder she broke herself from her despair for a moment.

“Just one more op. We’ll get it done.”

Nodding she reattached the helmet to her suit before we made our way cautiously to the island. Crossing the bridge with wooden planks clanking beneath our feet. Bisso now on his own two feet limped forward attracting only the attention of pity looking to be another pioneer whose luck ran out for a moment. Our cover held up with no one suspecting we were anything more than pioneers here to find something more, like all the other tired faces that walked the streets.

It was strange watching them walk by. Their faces looked as if they were all about to collapse to the stresses of the zone but their expressions held firm and confident in what the day might bring. The stresses would break most of us but the people that bustled through the islands many tight pathways carried on as if going to and from work. The promise of a better tomorrow kept them going even though they didn’t know where that promise originated from.

The crowd continued to flow by us preparing for the next job they had in store for themselves. Some set up for raids most likely never to return being assimilated by the influence of the zone. In a way we were just as ill prepared as they were. We knew of the influence but didn’t even have a name for it. Soon though we would be the ones to make that change. Trailblazing into the depths of hell to give tomorrow a better chance.

Reaching an apartment complex and finding Sparrow’s room we took the time to properly treat Bisso. With a makeshift IV setup and a steady supply of saline and antibiotics from Sparrows emergency stash we went through Sparrow’s plan to infiltrate the pillars location. Upon her revealing we were effectively being led there by a madman Terra scoffed interrupting her briefing.

“That’s it? No better leads? We should head directly to extraction that’ll be tough enough.”

“A veteran pioneer claimed to know a way out of the zone evading the border. He was intent on going to the pillar so his escape was likely associated with that as well. Best chance we have.”

“Best chance… what’s worse than the heart of the zone?”

“Pripyat is. Extraction point is in Pripyat.” Terra’s mouth dropped for a moment.

“They want to get helicopters into Pripyat.”

“Yep.” With a frown letting his eyes drift around the room Terra stood up to begin pacing.

“So they’re that desperate…”

“The Chairman wants this objective bad. Honestly I think it’s all or nothing at this point. If this operation fails we might all go down with it.” Standing quietly for a moment Sparrow spoke up again quivering slightly.

“It wouldn’t be so bad right? We’d get to enjoy our lives if only for a few years. Wouldn’t have to go through this repetitious hell any longer.” Standing up moving to the door leaving my equipment in the room gained the attention of both Sparrow and Terra while Bisso slowly drifted off to recover.

“The operation remains as it stands. If we don’t do this we end up dead and a part of it anyway. Dying while it’s alive is far worse than anything either of you will see down there.”

Collecting herself Sparrow brought herself to realize the weight of the situation while Terra simply sighed.

“We’re fighting in the dark but this might offer some illumination. One more fight. It’s always one more fight.” Gently throwing his head back looking towards the ceiling he stood up with me to leave the building as well.

“Fuck it. Nothing else to do I guess. Let’s try kill a god.”

Leaving Sparrow to monitor Bisso we went out to find the other pioneers and mercenaries she spoke of in her briefing. With so many more bodies assisting us maybe this wouldn’t be so hopeless. Mustering my courage I had to stand tall beside my comrades. Terra held an unbreakable will though his inexperience still showed. Bisso was a veteran who had fought these forces for years though even he was beginning to wear down losing the will to fight. Sparrow wasn’t ready for the forces of this place due to inexperience and her knowledge as a scientist brought an absolute fear of death while the influence existed.

If we failed the world would be left to an unrelenting singularity gouging itself on consciousness. Chances are it wouldn’t stop here either. As a species we unleashed a terrifying predator on the universe and now it was left up to us few to fight who would try manipulate the forces it wreaked havoc on. Us brave few, ignorant to what we were trying to fight. Each day being earned in blood or a faltering grip on reality. Marching past the pioneers in the streets once more just reinforced the bedlam of this place quietly occurring.

Such tired faces all wearing the same lie. That everything was fine. That this was normal. Fighting for our lives for no other reason than to survive even though the decision was their own to come here. Death and madness were the normal as were horrific mutant beasts and tears. These people accepted the cancer of this world as their own, driving our will to set out and excise it. We would be the cure even if it killed us. The flame of our souls would be kept alive and free. Just one more fight.