Realistic or Modern The Dust: The Parasite's Outbreak

[Peacemaker .45]

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  intro

  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  Cortege

  
  
  
  

  John Lunn

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  Overview

  
  
  
  

  T

  
  he year was 2043, and the Western World was in a state of devastating civil wars, with destruction and human toll on track to that of the Second World War. But soon, the civil wars and their destruction would be interrupted by a threat far greater than that the West, or the world, has ever seen. But in order to understand this threat, one would have to look at what happened on July 14th, 2024.
  
  On a warm day in mid July in 2021 in the Nahanni River Valley in the Northwest Territories in Canada, an explosion would disturb the desolate National Park and Preserve. Due to the isolated and largely uninhabited nature of the area, reports were nonexistent for a time, and official governmental response was slow at first. Once the Canadian government got word of a serious explosion, they dispatched a team to investigate the situation. What would follow would be highly classified, with documents almost completely blacked out. Wild rumors circulated, but nothing was confirmed. After a week or so, the Canadian government put out a statement. In it, they claimed a small asteroid impacted an area in the Nahanni River Valley. A wildfire broke out as a result, and teams were actively trying to contain the fire. It wouldn’t be for several months later that the government would come forward with findings from this piece of space rock that impacted the earth. In it, they explained that the first signs of life outside our planet were confirmed, with the existence of an organic powder that was found stored within the remnants of the asteroid.
  
  The years afterwards were full of speculation and supposed whistleblowers coming forth with classified information about the recovery of this organic material. As such, conspiracies about the asteroid core being of intelligent design housing this “dust,” as the organic compound became referred to as, and that it was being tested on humans. Governments categorically denied this. But in 2024, corporations and governments began to break news that this dust was found to be a miracle cure to almost all illnesses. They claimed that in controlled studies, people suffering from things such as cancer, even terminally ill cases, had complete recovery in under 24 hours. From minor infections to genetic disorders, this dust was proving to be an incredibly effective tool in combatting human and animal health disorders. As such, a medical revolution followed, with the dust becoming used as the cure to everything. It was even cleared, in small doses, as a supplement readily and commonly available at stores worldwide.
  
  However, with great success came great questioning and resistance. A large portion of the populace renounced this miracle drug, believing it was being used for nefarious reasons by both the government and corporations, combined with anecdotal stories that were claimed to be coverups of strange side effects coming from usage of this dust. As the years went on, this division between these groups of people and the government and corporations only grew, as more and more events lead the Western World down the path towards civil war. And in 2040, the Western world erupted in civil war.
  
  At first, the fighting was isolated and random throughout the countries in the West. Small scale battles raged randomly in different areas. But as time went on, things only worsened. Factions of the military would break off and cause infighting, while cities and towns became ground zero as the war grew larger. The governments at first were successful in thwarting the initial attacks from being effective. But as time for on and the rebellious forces in the countries became larger, better armed, and more organized, the destruction and death toll would only begin to rise. Entire towns and cities burned or were bombed into oblivion, civilians were caught in the crossfire. The war only became bloodier and bloodier as the years began to pass.
  
  But these wars would be stopped in their tracks when the parasite attacked. And the world would fall to its knees, at the mercy of this parasite.
  
  As the war raged on in 2042, the rebels in many Western countries were turning the tide of war, and winning on many fronts. But as the rebels pushed towards the capitals of their respective countries, something horrifying happened. People began to deform, their bodies violently changing. These people, these monsters, began to turn on their fellow man, biting some, devouring others. Nothing was spared: elderly, children, women, and even animals fell prey to this horror.
  
  This horror would be found out to be a product of the dust humanity had been using heavily throughout the world, and the parasite it was became known. Wars still raged, but they were shattered and complicated. Entire cities would be bombed, burned into oblivion. Both sides in the conflict did whatever they could to control the outbreak of this parasite. But every strategy failed. While the beginning of the outbreak showed an unorganized attack by the parasite. The sheer number of infected and the speed at which the parasite spread was what gave them an advantage. As more and more people were consumed, and cities became giant hives of biomass, the attacks became more intelligent and coordinated. By late 2043, actions of desperation for whatever remained of governments would see the only second use of nuclear weapons in history, but this time far more widespread and dramatic. As many of the governments convened and discussed what to do, they came to the conclusion that cities and highly infected area would need to be bombed and destroyed to oblivion. This was because the complicated webs of interconnected tentacles of the parasite's biomass revealed the construction of a large central intelligence, one that guided the parasite in its attacks and strategy, which only became more complicated and intelligent as the biomass and infected added up. Numerous central intellgiences sprung up around the world in cities where the outbreak was becoming large and completely uncontrolled. The parasite was even shown capable, at a certain point in the infection, of using electronics, electronic infrastructure, and machinery. Because of this, nuclear weapons were deployed in mass, being utilized to asbombs and EMP's to disable electronics. This strategy proved effective, but it was not the final solution.
  
  In the United States, the government forces captured a woman, the husband of the leader of the rebellion in the country. While she was to be put to death, it was discovered early on that she had an immunity to the parasite. The spores, that would infest a body and intelligently repair the body in preparation for an outbreak, had mutated, and began to actively fight all spores upon entry. It was believed that early on in the use of the dust in its infancy that if the spores had been corrupted, they would be incorporated into the immune system and actively fight any invasive spores of the parasite. With this development, and an alien construct recovered in the Nahanni River Valley Caves that they believe could be used to disperse the cure into the atmosphere into the atmosphere, a joint mission was launched between the United States and Canadian governments to bring this girl, who at the time was the only known individual with this immnunity, to the Nahanni River Valley where a secret underground miltary base was that had originally studied the dust upon initial recovery. This mission consisted of a small group of individuals, composed of special operations soldiers, the prisoner, scientists, and anyone deemed critical to the project, had to make the long, daunting trip from Camp Peary in York County, Virginia, to the area near Nahanni National Park and Preserve in the Northwest Territories, Canada where the base was. And with this, their last chance at defeating the parasite before the entirety of Earth is consumed by it.
  
  General RP Information
  
  The Dust is meant to be a semi-detailed to detailed RP. As such, I wouldn’t call this a casual-friendly RP. The desire is to have a community of writers who plot together, work together, and put out posts that aren’t one liners or a two short paragraphs. While I do not require people who are trying to join to send me a sample post, I do encourage anyone who wishes to do so to go ahead and send me one. There aren’t going to be a lot of slots open to join to begin with, maybe 6 or 7 at the most. So, there will be selectivity in accepting Character Sheets.
  
  I don’t say any of this to discourage anyone from trying to join, I just want to be honest with people on what to expect, and help people decide whether this RP is the right one for you or not.
  
  The RP is meant to follow a specific plot line with specific plot points to hit as the story progresses. But between these plot points will be freedom to entertain character arcs and subplots. There just will be a plot line that we follow.
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
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  Roles

  
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  Characters

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  Character One

  
  
  
  

  Closed

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  Pending information.
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  Character Two

  
  
  
  

  Closed

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  Pending Information.
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  Character Three

  
  
  
  

  Open

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  Pending Information.
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  Character Four

  
  
  
  

  Open

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  Pending Information.
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  Character Five

  
  
  
  

  Open

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  Pending Information.
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  Character Six

  
  
  
  

  Open

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  Pending Information.
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
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  rules

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  Rules

  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  Rule One

  
  

  
  
  
  

  Obviously, abide by all of RPN’s rules.
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  Rule Two

  
  

  
  
  
  

  No GModding characters without explicit permission to do so.
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  Rule Three

  
  

  
  
  
  

  Anything very specific to lore or the RP, it’s always best to check and make sure it’s consistent. This is especially for the civil wars prior to the outbreak. I intentionally made beliefs and political ideologies vague so that there was no arguing over politics. And as such, I wish to stay away from those topics in general with the RP. I hope that I’ve given enough information to get a general idea, however, of what happened. Additional information will be given in the RP by my two characters, one being the leader of the group trying to reach the Nahanni, and the other being the Rebel girl. Any questions on the lore of the universe, feel free to ask.
  
  ***Additional lore information will be linked in the thread so that you can read more detailed summaries will be linked once the Lore Thread is created.***
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  Rule Four

  
  

  
  
  
  

  This RP will be post order based, unless otherwise stated. As such, if someone does not respond after two days, they will be skipped in post order. Anyone who fails to respond within five days will have their character written off. This will give potential for the character to jump back in should the person wish to return.
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  Rule Five

  
  

  
  
  
  

  Be respectful of others in the RP and in any OOC. Drama ain’t fun.
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  Rule Six

  
  

  
  
  
  

  If you wish to leave the RP, please inform me. This isn’t a job, and life happens. We do this for fun, and as such, if anyone wishes to leave, I understand. Just give me a warning, and if possible, a final post.
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

intro

Roles

rules

The Dust

The Parasite's

Outbreak

Genres

Horror, Mystery, Post Apocalyptic, Zombies, Folklore, Action & Adventure, Survival

Status

Accepting

GM

Peacemaker .45

Spots Open

Open - No Specific Numeric Target Currently

Questions?

Feel free to PM me or ask below!

http://link here/

cs

http://link here/

http://link here/

lore

http://link here/

http://link here/

ooc

http://link here/

♡coded by uxie♡

 

[Peacemaker .45]

A pair of military vehicles moved through the deserted streets. The sound of the vehicle reverberated off the vacant and decrepit buildings around them. The streets were littered with paper, dust, and rubble. What skeletal remains of people lie randomly in the streets, with rusted weapons and shell casings: remnants of a war fought not long ago between two groups of people in the country trying desperately to get power. A tattered flag of the group known as “the Rebels” flapped in the wind, it’s threads torn and it’s color faded. It was almost like a snapshot in time before the Parasite emerged and attacked. The vehicles continued down the main road, the occupants scanning for fuel.

In the back of the vehicle, the sounds of chains rattling broke the silence inside the vehicle. A young girl was fiddling with her restraints, trying to adjust herself in a comfortable position. A man ahead of her in the vehicle turned around, watching her. Annoyed, the girl shot him a face of annoyance.

“I’m not trying to get loose, you dunce,” the woman remarked with attitude. The man, wearing sunglasses, had no expression that was identifiable on his face. He slowly turned back towards the front of the vehicle.

The vehicle they were in was a special vehicle. It was capable of withstanding chemical, nuclear, and biological threats. Built from the base of an MRAP, the vehicle had undergone extensive modification in order to suit the needs of the mission. It was fully armored to the equivalence of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and featured a small turret on the top equipped with a 25mm chain gun. It was converted to a 6x6, and featured a hybrid diesel engine. To the side of the turret was another turret, which was manned inside the vehicle on a screen and controller. On the sides and rear of the vehicle were small port mounted guns, capable of providing point defense. The vehicle itself was lengthened to allow a larger crew quarters, as most time would be spent inside of the vehicle. In addition to this, amphibious capabilities were added, in the likely case that infrastructure would be destroyed or inoperable. Teams inside of the vehicles consisted of a minimum of a gunner, driver, and commander. The vehicle had room for 8 occupants, with rudimentary fold out beds. While these beds were uncomfortable, they worked. Other features of the vehicle were a combination of slat and reactive armor, the ability to change to a half-track with the rear two wheels. They were also outfitted with a sensor array that could detect movement within a 15 meter zone, as well as thermal and night vision capabilities. In the case of water contamination, there was a water filtration system aboard that was capable of cleansing water, which most often was used in the case of purifying their urine. And, in the case of the vehicle tipping over, four arms, two on either side, will assist the vehicle in recovering from them. While the vehicle was top heavy, slow, and uncomfortable, it was all that could be assembled in time for the mission to begin. The vehicle was formally designated the M43 MRAP Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive Infantry Fighting & Reconnaissance Vehicle, or abbreviated the M43 MRAP CBRNE IFRV. But colloquially it was referred to as the M43.

“Sawyer, I got a gas station ahead in half a mile,” called out the driver of the vehicle.

“Roger that, we’ll stop there.” The man with the sunglasses pulled out his radio, and spoke into it. “Bravo One, gas station ahead half a mile. Prepare to stop and provide overwatch.”

The vehicle pulled up to the gas station, and beside a pump. Opening the hatch, the man, Sawyer, stepped out onto the payment. Wearing a full kit, he adjusted his plate carrier to comfort himself, before reaching for his radio. “Bravo One, go forward and scan for hostiles. We’ll trade places once we are done.”

“Affirmative,” the voice on his comms replied. The second vehicle moved forward, and began to scan the surroundings for hostile movement and activity.

Due to the nuclear weapons not only being used as direct weapons, many were used to cause devastating EMP’s. The Parasite had progressed to the point quite rapidly where a Central Intelligence was formed. With the existence of the CI, the Parasite had been capable of using and manipulating electronics and the electric grid to their desire. While not anywhere near as efficient as humans using it, the Parasite’s use of it posed a very significant threat. As such, EMP’s were widely used over many countries, including large portions of the United States and Canada. As such, many electronics were completely fried and unusable. To skirt around any issues with pumping fuel, the M43 was fitted with a special device that was capable of pumping the fuel itself, even if no power were present in a gas station. It worked by several methods; one by direct syphoning out abandoned vehicles, attaching directly to a gas pump, or by putting the hose directly into the fuel reservoirs tanks in the gas stations.

Putting the syphoning device directly onto the gas pump nozzle and flipping a switch, a small engine sounded as the device began sucking the fuel into the M43’s fuel tank.

“Bravo One, do you register any movement,” Sawyer asked the commander of the second M43.

“Negative, sir. Nothing but dust and echoes.”

“Roger, keep me posted.” Sawyer watched the pump as it syphoned. It would take awhile with refueling, both due to the syphon’s speed and the M43’s massive main fuel and reserve tank. Walking towards the back of the M43, where the door he exited was, he peered inside.

“It’ll be a bit if you guys want to stretch your legs for a moment,” Sawyer stated to the occupants, hanging off of of the steps to get into the beast.

“Does that include me,” the handcuffed woman asked. Sawyer turned towards her. Though he wore sunglasses, his intense dislike of the woman was felt through his gaze at her.

“Not a chance in hell, Aerolyn,” he replied in a low, yet firm voice.

Aerolyn Woodbead was the whole reason this mission was put together. If it wasn’t for her luck of immunity to the Parasite, she would have been executed long ago for treason. Married to the leader of the Rebels in the US, she was captured long ago by the US Special Forces. She had been a target for awhile given her fame and relation to the Rebel Leader, Wilhelm Woodbead, within the Rebel’s movement. When it was found that Aerolyn had immunity, the Government initially conducted a series of brutal tests on her to understand the extent of her immunity. But as the Parasite consumed and consumed more and more of humanity, and the situation became desperate, her immunity, coupled with an alien construct believed to be capable of dispersing the cure into the atmosphere, were believed to be the only way of saving humanity from complete extinction. So, despite the two sides hatred of one another, the Government was forced to create a covert team of its best to transport Aerolyn to Canada for research on extracting her cure and placing it into the alien construct. But neither extraction and mass replication of the cure, or how to use the alien construct, were currently known to even be possible. It was a shot in the dark, but the only round left in the gun they had in this fight. Any chance at success was deemed absolutely necessary to pursue. And so far, no other option presented itself with any measurable amount of success.

Slumping in her seat, Aerolyn pouted. She was nothing more than a prisoner with people who hated her around her. She had no freedom, and no one trusted her. Despite this, the history of the occupants in the vehicle, and the history they shared, Aerolyn had no desire to escape or harm them. Though they hated her for her husband, the Rebels, the war, and the ideology they stood for, Aerolyn did not hate them. She saw many of them as how she were once: blinded by a world created for them aimed at their destruction. Though they may have been pawns in her enemy’s game, she believed that everyone was worth revealing the truth to. However, these ideological battles were of no use now. The Parasite and fate of Humanity were the only thing she was focused on. She understood her role, and the consequences of failure. And failure was not an option she was willing to entertain. So, despite their differences, Aerolyn wasn’t going to be selfish and try to escape or harm her captors. This was bigger than her.

The driver side door opened up, and out came the driver, 37 year old Austin Whittemore, another Navy SEAL assigned to the mission. Though Sawyer and Austin were both SEAL’s, the two didn’t know each other well, and had never been on any teams together before this mission. Austin was an average sized man at 5’8, his hair blonde and cut in a military fade. His eyes were a piercing blue, and were immediately noticeable. Hailing from Massachusetts, his family’s lineage on both sides settled in North America before the United States came to be, with ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, something he took great pride in.

With his full kit on, and his rifle in his hand, Austin walked over to Sawyer. “I’m going to check that store, see if there’s anything edible in there.” Austin turned on his scanner, a device that was developed to help sort food that was contaminated by either radiation or the Parasite.

“Roger, make it quick,” Sawyer replied, then reaching for his comm’s talk button. “Bravo One, how are we looking?”

“So far, still nothing on sensors, Alpha One,” replied the commander.

“10-4, we’re still refueling. Whittemore stepped inside the store to check for edible food.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” the commander of Bravo One replied with a chuckle. “We’ll continue to cover the area and scan for hostiles. The weather isn't looking too good, I'm concerned about tornadoes. We may need to hunker down here for a little before we can continue. ”

Sawyer checked the sky. The clouds were growing darker and darker by the minute, and the wind was picking up. To make matters worse, there was the distant rumbling of thunder. Sawyer spoke into his comms. “Tornadoes? Last I checked, we're in Ohio, not Oklahoma."

"Yeah, well Ohio was getting more and more tornadoes in the past few decades because of tornado alley shifting eastward. We outta take this seriously. The M43 can withstand a lot, but a tornado ain't one of them."

Sawyer sighed. "You're right, Russ. Scan this place and figure out a good spot to seek cover to ride this storm out. Happy scanning, Bravo One. Alpha One out."

Sawyer walked around towards the back of the M43, the rear door still open. "Alright team," Sawyer began by clearing his throat, "we look like we have some severe weather coming in. Russ is worried about the possibility of tornadoes. Bravo One is scanning for hostiles and suitable cover to wait out this storm. So let's just wait here, refueling should be done soon."

Sawyer walked away from the rear of the vehicle and back to the syphone. Aerolyn sifted once more in her seat, and with her free hand held a pen. Aerolyn kept a journal that she wrote in daily. Throughout her entire time in captivity, her journal was the one thing they allowed her to keep. Her journal meant a lot to her. Throughout the years, she wrote in it constantly. Her thoughts, feelings, and experiences were all written down in the journal. It became her one escape, her one safe place. With her family dead, their memories lived on in the journal. With the journal open and on a blank page, Aerolyn began to write another entry.

I have no idea what day today is, or where we are. It's another day on our mission.... my mission forced upon me. These people still hate me, they won't look at me like another person, but a nuisance. I wish to be given the decency of being free from handcuffs. Despite their hatred of me, I do not wish them any harm. But I understand their predicament. But one day, I will show them they can trust me, I will earn their trust. But that day is not today. At least I don't think. The Big Man leading this mission says there is a concern about tornadoes with a bad storm that's rolling in. I can hear the thunder rumbling getting closer, and the winds are picking up pretty bad. I dunno... something about this situation is making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Something isn't right here, and I feel like the tornado isn't the problem we face, or at the least of our problems. But feelings, especially mine, don't matter to these people. I understand the mission, and my own self preservation is tied to it, conveniently. I don't know what to do to try and get them to get out of here, to listen to me.

Aerolyn put the pen down for a moment and began to twirl her fingers nervously. She looked outside, scanning the streets and buildings she could see through the back door. She wanted to say something, as the feeling of danger was rising slowly. But she couldn't figure out what to do. They never listened to her.

"C'mon fuel, c'mon," she whispered to herself, "hurry the hell up." Aerolyn continued to look out at the buildings, feeling that something was there. The buildings seemed to be just outside the 15 meter scan zone of the M43's sensors. Aerolyn continued to sit there, trying to hide her anxiety. She just hoped that this thing would be refueled in the next minute or so. The downside about the syphone was that, while it can get the fuel from dead vehicles or dead gas station fuel reserves was that the rate it syphoned the fuel was slow, slower than the average gas pump would pump gas out with a functional gas station. All Aerolyn could do at this moment was wait and hope that feeling would go away. But she knew her gut instincts were never off. It was a skill, or a "sixth sense" she developed in her years in the mountains hunting and backpacking. Aerolyn was going to watch their surroundings like a hawk until this vehicle was refueled. There was something out there, and she was sure of it.

101 BeyondDandy Eviexe

​

 

[101]

Liam Burner

​

Looking out of the window of the M43’s window, Liam let out a muffled sigh, pulling his head away from his hand, turning his head to look out the front window of vehicle, seeing bravo one driving in front of them. After a quick minute he returned his head to resting on his hand as he stared out at the previous window of the M43. Watching out for anything remotely suspicious and to immediately report it to the the rest of the team.

Liam took note that he was the only operator in the mission that wasn’t a SEAL. He wasn’t even supposed to be in the mission to begin with, but this meant too much for him not to be in this mission. Hence why his request to join the operation was accepted and his presence was even allowed in the major operation.

Once the two vehicles came to a stop at the gas station to refuel Bravos gas tanks, Liam readjusted, moving his Colt M4A1 assault rifle, towards his knee. Still aiming the rifle down, and holding it with a tight grip, still laser focused on the possibility of any ambushes from other humans or even the parasite.

Then he heard the door open as Sawyer stepped out and opened the rear door, giving the green light to step out and get a small and quick stretching ‘session’. Stepping out the rear door, still holding the rifle down, he placed a foot on the ground and pushed himself out of the vehicle. Looking up he too noticed the bad weather, causing him to look ahead and attempt to see bravo’s progress on the refueling. His nose sniffled as he scratched his top notch beard before hearing the ‘special case’, Aerolyn, talk about stepping out.

As he was about to say something, Sawyer said it for him, and it was a lot nicer than what Liam was going to say to Aerolyn. Though, Liam couldn’t stop himself from adding some words to Sawyers response,

“Your lucky that you even get to keep that journal of yours, remember that your not here to have a blast with us, your simply just a special case. If you weren’t I would’ve dealt with you already…”

He said looking down at her with a seriously intimidating face. Then looking back at Sawyer as he mentioned a possible tornado.

“You SEALS always get nervous from the slightest inconvenience don’t you? This is obviously why the Rangers and Delta Force is the superior special forces you fuckin’ couch potato!”

He said laughing as he pushed his shoulder roughly. Though obviously this wasn’t to be aggressive at all, it would be more of an accurate assumption that they were just fucking around. Even if special forces and the military as a whole poked and shit talked each other constantly.

Then looking back once again too see the progress of Bravos refueling.

Suddenly a hard breeze of wind blew through the city, bringing a certain cold feelings to Liam. Causing him to put a third hand on the barrel of the assault rifle he was carrying. His PS-930 Ranger Body armor, ( Or better know as his RBA ) shuffled a bit as well as his Glock-19, from the aggressive breeze of wind.

“The only thing I regret about doing this operation is not begging able to bring my music with me….. oooor having some picture of some hot model….heh”

He said joking around more knowing that what he said was completely relatable.

“You think Canada has some hot chicks there Sawyer?”

 

[Eviexe]

Ranee K. Escherich was never known to be nervous, but yet, at this very moment, she managed to be just that. It was a small thing in her posture; bending down from her shoulders and twisting along her wrists; in the curvature between her index finger and thumb. It was the small click she kept repeating. Field missions weren’t typically in the peruse of her skills. She was more suited to a microscope and clipboard. Genomes were her love language and chromosomes were her dedication; filling through all the unique structures with a keen eye. None of that was offered to the doctor; nothing for her mind to focus on other than the passing outside world. Refuelling seemed like a terrible idea, something her own logical mind supplied in silence, she wasn’t there to ‘advise’ and maybe her station didn’t afford her much authority; though her tangibility in being an asset probably gave her some protection. Other than the principal asset. Ranee wasn’t the only one sharing in the nervous pool, but outwardly her face remained passive in spite of the discomfort clawing at her stomach. Though she could do without the pissing contests and threats laden with words.

Doctor Escherich was no fan of the many aspects of military life and culture — and this was definitely one of them. It provided a means and a life she wasn’t about to shy from either.

She was certainly going to shy away from stretching her legs, or maybe she could recount her medical kit again (another habit over the last few hours). Needles, bandages, antiseptic wipes, antibiotics, painkillers, precious as a droplet of water and her supplies were a necessity. Making that kind of investment in the mission showed how vital she knew immunity to be. Aerolyn wasn’t a miracle but a miracle in probability; the numbers, the smallest percentage, down to the decimal, marked the young woman. In a way that was inconceivable to the scientists at first, how, why? What was so different about the rebel woman? It was eagerness within Ranee to know and the precisions that came with it; the parameters of her condition and subsequent immunity.

There was a lot to draw from, but not enough for a conclusion to be formed. At least, what she deduced from her own experiences and trilling through her own notes. It wasn’t hatred which tinted her eyes but morbid curiosity and sometimes with a compelling itch to cut open the young woman. She would never, of course, it was intrusive, but indicated the seedling deep down to know more. Ranee’s task was foremost survival and thus sticking to Aerolyn’s side more often. “Are you feeling any discomfort? Dehydrated?” The doctor finally spoke through all the oppressive chatter and ominous silence; though her words were not spoken with softness. It was apathy at its finest; rolling the words to completion and bland as a packet of mush the military pushed as ‘healthy goodness.'

A slogan her tongue soon forgot with each choke and lavishing in tasteless lumps. She was fed, that much she could attest to her with her living, but she swallowed begrudgingly. As begrudgingly, she was in this seat at the back. “The longer we are stationary… the longer..” The woman cut herself off, cynical as she was and prone to her own emotional complexities. It wasn’t a good idea to tempt fate and murmured the sentence down her worried throat, poking the gear she had on. Bad weather aside; this wasn’t bad.

She was more impatient in this sort of situation than she needed to be and that was currently feeding her nervous tick against her thumb/index finger.

 

[BeyondDandy]

Gazing worriedly at the incoming storm, Anthony hopped off the convoy and landed silently on the open terrain - uneasy at the idea of getting stranded in a thunderstorm when those things lurked about. He took Sawyer’s words to heart however and puffed his chest out, reaching back with long arms to stretch his upper back. He let out an unearthly sound as he felt every little vertebrae pop back in place and a sudden bodily comfort throughout his whole being. Adjusting his gear, he told Aerolyn to “not take them too seriously,” referring to the nasty remarks his friends had made. Adding that she would repay her debts to them by “saving the world.”

“Keep an eye on her Doc, will you?” He asked Ranee as he scurried away towards his comrades. He respected the Doctor as any other comrade, yet did not see much use for her in this mission. She had no field training and would pose a liability if they encountered any opposition. Her contribution thus far could have been given by any other combat medic - basic first aid. Maybe her use would come into play down the road, but Anthony hoped it did not. He wished she would stay as workless as possible.

“Not to be biased, but Canadian women are beautiful in every way. I’ll introduce you to my fried Sarah Haus if we get across the border. She loves monkeys like you,” Anthony teased, bending the truth about her zoologists friend to poke fun at Burner. He missed his home country, but understood the severity of his mission and what it meant for everyone he knew and did not know.

Anthony was picked on the mission for his experience north of the states. He was the only Canadian on the mission and felt that weigh heavily on his shoulders. He had to make his country proud - to do so they had to succeed and end the curse that plagued the world. Despite the circumstances, he was excited to see it through. He wanted to be remembered in history, the ultimate tribute.

“On your six, Austin,” he called out, following his fellow soldier into the convenience store with arms ready. Slowly he forced the once-automated door open, the creaking of metal echoing throughout the store. Anthony immediately turned on the flashlight mounted on his assault rifle, scanning the room to get a full picture of what they were walking into. With caution he entered, carefully stepping over the mess that was left behind. It had been looted years ago, one could tell by the empty cigarette boxes covering the floor.

“Keep that scanner up for anything worthwhile. Maybe we can find some canned ham or beans. I remember-“ his words were interrupted by a sudden clanking noise that came near the back of the store. He signaled Austin before marching towards the noise with his weapon raised. Switching off his light, the soldier went dark - taking lead as he silenced his walkie, allowing Austin to call it in from the rear.

The clank came again as Anthony approached, this time louder than the last. It’s remote location, the back room - must have been a storage room or something of the like. Again he signaled Austin, giving the command to close in on the back room. With his finger near the trigger and his laser pointer now engaged, Anthony put his hand on the door handle. With a two count, he slung the door wide open, took a step back and prepared to fire only to find his eyes chasing the creature that made the noise.

A squirrel rushed between the two men and out of the room. It jumped over the front counter and hid again from dumb and dumber. Anthony looked at it in amazement, he had not seen much wildlife since they started their mission. “That was nuts.”

 

[Peacemaker .45]

Sawyer Lee, standing by the syphoning device of the M43 attached to the gas station’s fuel pump, turned to his side to see Liam Burner heading towards him. “Look at who the Parasite’s dragged to me here: the one and only Liam Burner,” exclaimed Sawyer.

Liam, being a former Army Ranger, and now a Delta Force operator, came up to Sawyer, immediately bullshitting with him about the SEAL-Ranger/Delta Force rivalry. Sawyer smirked at his remarks. “That’s funny coming from a DF operator. When you guys can’t get something done, you come bitching to us to finish the job. Which we do, mind you, with utter ease. And that’s how we steal ‘all your credit’ that you always claim.” Sawyer punched the DF operator’s shoulder lightly. While Sawyer was stressed, he tried resorting to sarcasm and jokes to ease his own stress. Though, the stress right now was too high for even that attempt at humor and sarcasm to help reduce it. Still, he was a broken record, trying it until it would work. Returning his attention back to the syphon Sawyer glanced back at the syphoning device to see progress.

“God damn this fucking thing takes forever. You’d think high brass would be able to come up with something better than this piece of shit.”

~~~~~~~~

Sitting on the bench in the rear of the M43, Aerolyn Woodbead, secured in a handcuff to the assist handle by the door, stared out intently at the surroundings, looking for any trouble. But her concentration was interrupted by the Doctor, who had come up to her and asked in an apathetic tone if she was feeling dehydrated or feeling discomfort. The doctor’s words had caught her off guard, even startling her for a moment, as she was so focused on the abandoned and crumbling buildings around her and the threats she knew were out there somewhere in them.

“Dehydrated? No. Discomfort?” Aerolyn raised her handcuffed hand, shooting the doctor a disgruntled expression, “oh yeah, never been better.” Aerolyn returned her gaze to the same scene she had been observing before the doctor asked her those questions.

Aerolyn hadn’t made her mind up about the doctor. She felt as if her medical mystery of being immune to the Parasite had interested her more than Aerolyn herself. And, to some degree, Aerolyn understood that. But for everyone involved in this mission, she felt as if they didn’t view her as a human, but more so as an oddity, or an abhorrent excuse of a person. Her crimes and her immunity seemed to be all they saw her as. While some members of the group treated her better than others, she still felt like an object of their morbid curiosity, or an object of their hatred.

The Doctor, however, seemed to have an uneasy feeling similar to Aerolyn, as she heard the doctor mutter a sentence that she cut herself short on. Aerolyn turned and looked at her for a moment, trying to register what she was thinking. But before Aerolyn could question the Doc if she felt the same that she did, Anthony Duran walked up. While the interaction with her was short, it was one of the few conversations that wasn’t hostile, much like the earlier interactions with Sawyer and Liam were. “Thanks?” But the Canadian SpecOps soldier had moved on to talk to Liam and Sawyer before any other words could be exchanged.

Anthony Duran was an enigma to Aerolyn. He was part of a very specific unit tasked with taking out Rebel Individuals in Canada. But in all of the interactions Aerolyn had with him, she could sense a light in him, maybe a reckoning that he felt, during the times of the Civil Wars, that he didn’t know who was the true enemy. This was, in her mind, compounded by the fact that, out of everyone in the group, he seemed to treat her with the most respect than the others do, seeing her more as a human than the widow of the most important man involved in the Civil Wars, or some freak of nature that is immune to the Parasite. However, she felt that, out of anyone in the group as it stands now, he may be the one she can gain the trust of, which she hoped would then trickle down to the rest of the members on this mission.

Aerolyn turned back to glance at the Doc after their interaction with Anthony. At this point, Aerolyn wasn’t sure what to make of her. While unlike others in the group, she didn’t seem to harbor animosity towards Aerolyn. It seemed that the Doc’s morbid curiosity about her own immunity to the Parasite was the center of the Doc’s interest in her. Aerolyn studied the Doc for a moment. She could sense the anxiety in her the longer they sat there refueling. While the Doc may have cut herself off mid-sentence earlier, her body language finished what was left of it to say.

“Do you sense that too, Doc?”

~~~~~~~~~~

As the gust of wind blew past them, Sawyer had to grab his hat so it didn’t fly off. “Damn,” he exclaimed. “That storm’s coming in fast, we can’t stay out here for a whole lot longer.”

As the wind died down for a time, Liam stated his regret of not bringing music, or ‘pictures of hot women.’ Before Sawyer had a chance to answer, Liam then went on to ask him if there were any hot girls in Canada. And, once more, before Sawyer could answer, Anthony Duran came right up. And just like always, he had something humorous to say.

“You sure about that, Anthony,” he asked, “I think even the sight of this foul, foul Delta Force creature right here would be repulsive even for someone with the taste of monkeys. Hell, I bet Liam here is so repulsive that even the Parasite wouldn’t want to consume this poor bastard.”

Walking to the store to check on Austin, Anthony left the pair alone. “So you don’t like my country music that I play?” While radio stations were all obviously silent now, they still did have their personal phones and such. While the communication part of them didn’t work, things already downloaded, like music, pictures, videos, games, etc. were still available, as long as there was a way to charge them. And luckily, due to a lot of various equipment on the M43, power outlets were available for use. “I just keep finding more and more reasons to dislike you, Burner,” sarcastically stated Sawyer, finishing his thoughts.

Sawyer, of course, didn’t really mean the things he’d been saying to Liam. It was military humor and sarcasm that Sawyer combined to make him the way he was. And in the military, camaraderie was shown often times by jokingly insulting those you actually liked, much like how any male friendship seems to evolve to once “bro status” is reached.

~~~~~~~~~

Austin Whittemore walked down the isles of the convenient store, scanning what was left of the food. A familiar voice came from behind him: it was Anthony Duran, the only Canadian to be assisting with the ground operation of bringing Aerolyn to the Nahanni. Austin, who was in the process of scanning the little food left on the shelves, turned to face his comrade for a moment, letting his arm with the scanner fall to his side.

“Well look who the moose dragged in,” Austin said to Anthony in his usual sarcastic tone. “I already cleared this place out,” Austin stated to Anthony, who was scanning the building with his weapon mounted light.

“The place is clear, aside from the skeleton of some poor rebel bastard behind the counter. And,” Austin began as he reached into his pocket, pulling out an armband, “I was able to grab this from him.” It was the tattered remains of the Rebel’s insignia, which was present on all of those who were affiliated with the Rebel’s cause.

The armband has been severely damaged over time. The backend of it was ragged and worn, with several threads holding it together, whereas the front only left the partial remains of the Eagle insignia. Austin held it up and laughed.

“You think this’ll make that bitch we have in our truck cry? Maybe it’ll remind her of one of her buddies we annihilated on our counter offensive last year?” Austin paused for a moment. “You know, as much as I hate her, I can’t deny she’s kind of cute, no?”

After the man finished his sentence, a clank was heard. Austin turned his body, clipping the scanner to a carabiner clip on his plate carrier, and brought his gun up in the direction of the sound. Turning to Anthony, he signaled Austin to move on in to the place the sound came from; a storage room. Austin had already looked in there when initially clearing the building, but it was possible that an infection form or something else could have been lurking in the shadows behind something. Though, if it were one, the M43’s scanner should detect it.

Infection forms are dangerous. Fast, small, agile, and strong for what they are, all it takes is one wrapping it’s tentacle-like arms around a poor victim before it tears through everything - armor, clothing, skin, and bone - to get to the central nervous system, and start the transformation process. While the process takes varying amounts of time, even if the Infection Form is killed before the process is complete, the wounds suffered by the tearing of flesh and bone caused by the Infection Form is enough to kill the victim. It became widely known that if one Infection Form gets ahold of you, it’s generally a death sentence. Even with tests that were with armor meant to stop the Infection Form’s ability to tear through anything in its path, no single piece of equipment was found effective enough to be considered for field use. As such, due to the importance of this mission, every soldier was outfitted with a small explosive device. If someone were to successfully succumb to the Parasite, and due to the Parasite’s ability to gain knowledge from their victim’s brain through a hive mind, a contingency plan to keep operational security was devised; a small explosive that, when placed in the mouth and bitten, would explode, leaving the head catastrophically destroyed. It was crude and gruesome, but effective.

As Anthony put his hand on the door, Austin flipped his rifle’s fire selector to semi. Tightening the grip on his rifle, he activated his weapon mounted light and waited for Anthony to swing the door open. As he did, he scanned the room for hostiles. But alas, the great threat they heard lurking in the shadows was nothing more than a harmless squirrel. Realizing they were not in danger, Austin flipped his gun to safe, and dropped it to his side, letting his sling support it. As he did so, Anthony made sure to get a pun in. Austin shook his head in disapproval of the pun.

“God damnit…,” Austin replied in disapproval to the pun. “What’re we gonna do with you with a fool like you, Duran,” quipped a sarcastic Austin, closing the door as the squirrel ran past them.

“Y’know, it is kind of weird though,” began Austin, scratching his jaw. “The parasite consumes all it comes across, even little woodland critters like that. I’m surprised to even see a squirrel alive. Maybe this place wasn’t entirely hit by the Parasite as bad as other places?”

Austin shrugged his shoulders and sighed. “Ah well, whatever. I’m fucking hungry for something other than a shitty MRE, back to checking this shit out.” Austin pulled out his scanner, and turned it on. And audible click and lights appear, meaning the device was ready. He went back to the last aisle he was scanning, and picked up where we left off.

“So, Anthony, when we get to Canada, you gonna show me a pretty woman? What’s that one girl you always bring up, that friend of yours? What’s her name… ah, Sarah Haus? Because, you know, when we save the world, I think a good woman to marry is quite in line with what I deserve, eh?”

Before Anthony could respond, Austin’s scanner beeped loudly, with green lights on the indicator showing the food was safe. “Ah hell yeah, jackpot!” Austin picked up a pack of the food, and ripped the bag open, pulling out a strip of beef jerky, and tore right into it. “This shit,” Austin said between his chewing, “was my favorite thing in the whole world. I ate more of this than MRE’s on long deployments. And,” he said as he grabbed another bag and tossed it over to Anthony, “I’m going to do the most beautiful thing you’ll ever see with it once we get back to the 43. Here, I’ll put some aside that you can bring back to everyone. I’ll meet you out there in a minute. I have one aisle left to scan.”

Austin began to grab all of the beef jerky off the shelf, and made a pile of it on the counter for Anthony to take. Loudly chewing his prized snack, Austin scanned the remainder of the aisle he had left, before he went to the last one.

~~~~~~~~~

“Alpha One, come in,” came a voice over the comm line for Sawyer.

“I read you, Russ. Sitrep,” responded Sawyer, his heart rate increasing, knowing the news was going to be bad.

“We’ve scanned a number of blocks north of your position, and nothing’s coming up on our scanner. But we just pulled out of the town, and have a good line of sight towards that storm. And, ah… yeah, yeah, it’s looking real bad. There’s a pretty nasty looking supercell, and I can see a uh.. I see a dense rain curtain in the distance. Uh… I don’t know what you want to do here. If that thing produces a tornado, we’re not looking too great here. Our only option may be to drive away from it, but it’s almost impossible to predict where a tornado will form, and what twists and turns it’ll take. And with a rain curtain, we may not even be able to see and track it.”

Sawyer sighed for a moment, trying to think of what to do. “Shit, alright. How much fuel do you have?”

“We’re sitting at, uh… a-about a quarter tank, maybe a little more.”

“Alright, turn off your engine, and sit there and watch this cell. Radio back to me with any updates. We should be done refueling in the next 10 minutes or so. Worse come to worse, we can transfer some of our fuel to your 43 until we reach another gas station or farm with a refueling station. I’ll radio when we’re done and ready to meet back up. Trying to outrun this is probably our best worst option we have.”

“10-4. Bravo One out.”

Sawyer sighed. “Well shit,” he said with an exhale. “That storm’s looking to be no joke,” Sawyer began, looking at Liam. “We’re just going to have to get this girl filled up to full, and try and ride away from this storm. It’s the only chance we really have. I don’t want to take any chances here.”

Sawyer’s anxiety made him laugh. “Of all fuckin’, things that could be going wrong with this mission, it’s a storm. Not Rebel Remnants, not some weird survivor cult, or hell, not even the fuckin’ Parasite. Nope, it’s a storm that might create a tornado. Our luck, right? You can scare off a lot, but not a storm. What use are you good for, Burner,” Sawyer joked.

His tone and demeanor becoming serious again, Sawyer remarked, “we’ll be done here soon. I’d get ready to leave. We just need the other two guys to get back here.”

~~~~~~~~~

Back in the rear of the M43, Aerolyn returned to where her gaze was locked earlier after speaking with Ranee. The buildings and streets were quiet, even with the storm coming in. As she studied the buildings around her, she felt her own anxiety start to creep up more and more. Scanning the buildings, her attention was brought to a partially collapsed four story office building about 70 or so feet away. In the corner facing them in a broken window, Aerolyn saw something that confirmed her fears: they were not alone. Aerolyn felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, her arms became covered in goosebumps. Her heart dropped, and then began to beat faster and faster, her eyes widening, and the sensation of her heartbeat reverberated through her body. In that third floor window of the building, behind the broken glass in the shadows, she saw something move. It was brief, and only lasted a mere moment. But the dark shadow casted in the room was interrupted by something that was ever so brighter than it’s surroundings. She couldn’t tell if it was human or not, but it was something, something to suggest they aren’t alone. And what’s more, the building gave the unidentified being a perfect view of the back of the M43, with its doors wide open exposing the occupants in it, and the small group outside the vehicle while it was refueling. They had to do something, and they had to do it fast.

Aerolyn turned back to the Doc, and began to plead with her. “I know you share the same anxiety that I have sitting here, because we are sitting ducks. But I need you to believe me when I say I saw something moving around in the office building 70 feet away.”

Aerolyn adjusted herself, now facing the Doc, Ranee Escherich. She tried to bring both hands in front of her to emphasize the urgency of the words she spoke, but the handcuffed hand didn’t allow her the maneuverability to do so. Letting her one hand rest next to her do to her restraints, she continued her plea.

“No one here believes me, and that’s fine. But they will believe someone like you. So, please, I’m pleading with you to listen to me. Go out there and tell them we need to move, immediately, because we are in danger at this very moment. And every second we waste could be another second whatever it is that is out there is getting ready to ambush us.” Aerolyn once again adjusted her posture, and with her free hand, placed it on Ranee’s. “Please, I’m begging you, tell those men out there to get us out of here, now.”

Aerolyn let go of Ranee’s hand, and returned it to her side. The door that opens in the rear of the M43 was wide open. There was no physical way that Aerolyn could reach out and grab it to pull it closed tight. It just would not work with her hand restrained. She didn’t know if this being was the Parasite or some person affiliated with a group actively hostile towards outsiders. But based on Aerolyn’s gut feeling, or her “sixth sense” as she called it, this thing was dangerous. And they needed to leave now.

101 BeyondDandy Eviexe ​

 

[101]

Liam Burner
​

Liam looked behind himself, turning away from Sawyer to get a good look at Anthony. Who was the only Canadian Special Operator in the group. The two of them could both relate to being the only person with different specialties within the group. Though even in he was Canadian Special Forces, he knew that he was just as dangerous as the next one and not to be taken lightly too much. He still respect Anthony for fighting for his nation and protecting others. As Anthony trailed on about the beauty of Canadian ladies Liam lifted an eyebrow particularly at the name of a Canadian woman going by, “Sara Haus” and that Anthony would introduce the two of them and that she particularly likes monkeys like himself. He gave an awkward nod thinking to himself, before Anthony joined Austin, whatever Austin was doing was a complete mystery but he trusted that the two of them would be fine.

He turned his head sharply at the comment of him disliking Sawyers country music.

“Hell no.”

He joked and poked at his music taste immediately after Sawyer asked the question.

“Would be nice to have a bit of rock music…”

He mumbled before looking back too see the Doctor and Aerolyn taking about something, lifting an eyebrow of curiosity he walked to the open door and looked at the two. Questioning the sudden nervous behavior coming from Aerolyn.

“Everything okay in here? Do the two of you need anything?”

He said walking in at the part when Aerolyn said the word,’Warn them’. Immediately causing Liam to look back at the surrounding environment, Liam soon felt the same odd feeling. Looking back at Sawyer he spoke,

“I don’t think we’re here alone….”

 

[Eviexe]

“Of course,” Ranee stated to Anthony as she watched him leave, another soldier to the chopping block, another card to the impossible stacked against them both, but Ranee shouldered that in her way: quiet dismissal. It was pointless to ascribe much more to her spoken tone; many faces she came to know wouldn’t be here, and perhaps her fate would be the same. It was another sombre thought of countless others, melding into a stiff posture. Her attention soon shifted back to the asset, hoping the creased lines under her eyes weren’t that obvious, and she understood the sarcasm dripping all over her. Disgruntled wouldn’t be enough to describe the entire situation — maybe if Ranee bust out her shoddy dictionary, she could find something as fitting. Resentment? It was more than appropriate as a sentiment, feeling that in the ‘never better’ directed her way; all the feelings pent up. Someone else confirming her bad feelings didn’t help her nerves, knotting together in her stomach over and over, absorbing the sentence with a distinct feeling that was something going to happen. A dark eyebrow slid over ‘sense’ — nothing else added to the statement itself; was there something else that she was missing? Or was Ranee plucking something out of the pile to focus on? She couldn’t deny the sensory application when applying that to her surroundings, heavy silence and empty buildings became a deadly tonic for danger. Add in a sprinkle of splitting up the group and the doctor confirmed this time, yeah, her bad feelings were more of a matter of logical deduction. Ranee declined to answer, tracking her eyes to the horizon, the buildings bore no recognisable details; derelict bricks and stones were worn into nothing. It was a perilous shack mounted to the sideway with no prospect of ever becoming a home again and this was the outside world. Objecting to her answer from earlier had been the right move, but her reprieve had been interrupted quickly with a pleading tone.

Aorelyn had spoken with absolute confidence as she made her proclamation. It was enough for the doctor to listen. To pause her entire profile, brushing her shoulder against the car window and stilling her hands into compliance. She wasn’t fidgeting anymore instead she was more glued to the other woman’s speech. Moving around? It could be a trick of the light or something else. She wanted to argue for her fears, but she knew better than to place her emotions over her working mind. The hand over her own was too gentle to recall ever someone doing that to her, but Ranee was tasting doubt again and she combed through her perspective. “How do you know all of this? Is this something you’re developing in connection—?” Her lips smacked together in another wave and squinted her eyes in the distance. It was a marvel for the woman in front of her to have any immunity, and the probability of developing something else unprecedented had to be assumed in conjunction. It was a tireless conjecture to base normality on something that wasn’t normal. “I have questions for you after this, but yes. I believe you and please do nothing rash, either.” The doctor rushed in adamantly; shifting her eyes away from the window and moving quickly into action. Liam’s entry into the conversation was welcomed by Ranee, nodding her head. “What else to expect? We’ve been sitting here; an attractive commodity in both weapons and vehicles. I am surprised someone is only moving now.” She trusted them to direct her, but she couldn’t hold on to that trust anymore, her fingernails digging into the car door, leaning out into the open. Fresh air greeted her into the open, but she didn’t have the stomach to enjoy anything else either, looking for the remaining military personnel. She could spot a few that were close and would her shout do anything? Attract something else at her location? No— if her location was already exposed and everyone else was; it wasn’t a matter of being quiet no longer. It was about urgency and quickness to pack up efficiently. Holster them all into something akin to a defensive manoeuvre and hope for the best. She hated hope.

“We need to move, I don’t care how we do so, but we need to move now. There’s something potentially out there and us remaining stationery is going to kill us.” The doctor addressed anyone who would listen to her; edging in the confidence to be louder than the wind and watching as her boots rooted themselves like a stone to the floor.

 

[BeyondDandy]

Back into the fray, Anthony shoved the rebel flag into his back pocket. He had no intention of bringing her any heartache - what good would it do? Instead the soldier opened a bag of snacks and started to chow down on flavors he’d long forgotten. He savored the gummy like taste of jerky, tearing away at the meat stick with his molars like an animal. It had been a while since he enjoyed anything but but MREs. He stared at the skies above him that grew darker and darker by the second. Noticing the wind had picked up as well, Anthony became more uncomfortable than usual. “I think it’s time to go, Cap.”

Now making his way towards the convoy, Anthony heard Burner - the hairs on his neck gave him goosebumps as he approached the convoy. Were they about to be attacked? He gathered around most of the crew, staring at the buildings they were looking at. “What do you see, Burner?” He asked, jumping into their truck and placing the snacks down next to Aerolyn with a smile. His gaze returned to the buildings in the backdrop, slinging his rifle back in his hands as he hopped back off the truck and aimed his rifle forward.

He looked through his red dot and couldn’t establish movement. “I don’t have eyes. What do you see Burner?!” He asked again with agitation. The mission practically just started, the last think Anthony wanted was to fail - especially this far from their destination. He wanted to see Canada one more time before he died.

 

[Peacemaker .45]

A group gathered at the rear of the M43, which Sawyer initially didn’t think much of. It wasn’t until Liam had said something to Sawyer that he became interested in whatever idle conversation was taking place in the back. Unfortunately, when Liam said this, Sawyer was unable to hear him due to the wind and the sound of the syphoning device. Puzzled, he shouted back at them, hoping they would hear.

“I don’t copy, Liam,” he shouted. Anthony, who had returned to the group, had taken his rifle and aimed in the direction of buildings down the street. It seemed to Sawyer that something was going on, and they needed to go. “Shit,” he muttered to himself running over to the small group. “What the hell’s going on here,” Sawyer asked in frustration.

“There is something out there, and I saw it. We need to go or else we are fucked,” Aerolyn shot back immediately. Aerolyn seldomly cursed, out loud at least. But in extreme moments of distress, she was prone to excessive swearing.

Sawyer looked at everyone else, the expression on their faces showing what was happening. But still, a part of him doubted there was something there. One trait of Sawyer that often was a point of contention with other squad members and even some of his CO’s was his “trust, but verify” approach. While he didn’t decline missions where he wanted to verify the claims, he often would meet others with skepticism, always wanting to see everything for himself to verify any claims. And, coming from Aerolyn, his distrust of her made him doubt that she’d seen anything, or that she was leading them into a trap.

“Where did you see it,” Sawyer questioned the Rebel Girl, pulling out his binoculars in a nonchalant manner.

“The partially collapsed four story office building, 70 feet away, third floor, right corner. But they may have moved elsewhere, this was minutes ago,” Aerolyn said, practically tripping over her words.

Sawyer brought the binoculars up to his eyes, and found the building. The collapsed walls and floors had exposed a fair of the building and any halls or doors behind the rubble. Looking at it, Sawyer couldn’t help but feel this was, at best, a figment of her imagination. Or, at worst, a trap that she was aware of. Regardless, everyone else was riled up about this, to Sawyer’s dismay.

“There’s nothing there,” Sawyer declared after studying the building. “If anything, you saw some trash in that building moving in the wind. This is a non-issue.”

“That’s fucking bullshit,” Aerolyn shot up, her movement limited by the restraint. Sawyer flinched at her defiance, not expecting her to be as passionate as she was. “I fucking saw something there! We have to leave now!” Aerolyn took a deep breath, feeling her anger flush out with the exhale. “Look, I know you don’t like or trust me, but I have no reason to lie. I understand the importance of our mission. I wouldn’t jeopardize this for selfish reasons. Please, you have to listen to me, we are all in danger right now.”

“Look,” Sawyer shook his head in frustration, “I believe you saw something. Ok? I do. But I have a hard time believing what you saw, based on what you told me you saw, is a threat. That movement could have been debris for all you know. Your only real confirmation is a feeling that we are in danger. We can’t operate based on what you feel.”

“But what if I am right, Sawyer,” Aerolyn questioned him. “What if I’m right and we are all in danger now.

“If it makes you feel any better, we’ll close the door right in front of you in case something does happen. But either way, this should be refueled soon enough. Bravo will have to come and refuel after us, but we will all be inside the M43 at this point.”

Seeing her point was futile in Sawyer’s eyes, Aerolyn accepted, reluctantly. Sawyer closed the door, it’s heavy metal mechanism making a satisfying clunk sound once closed.

As Sawyer closed the door, he looked over his shoulder, feeling that something may be watching him. His concentration was interrupted by another mechanical clunk. The sound of the syphoning device had finally registered it had reached a full tank, and no longer could take anymore fuel. “Bingo,” Sawyer said in response.

Aerolyn breathed a sigh of relief. This meant they were going to, at the very least, be out of the open and into the vehicle. And she began to realize that Sawyer was right to a degree. While they would need to wait for Bravo to refuel, they would most likely be in their vehicle. The vehicle wasn’t indestructible, but it could withstand all types of small arms fire, even that of anti-tank launchers - but only for a limited time. It wasn’t a guarantee of survival. But, given how little they trusted her word, being out of the direct line of fire was all that was necessary. This, however, didn’t mean that Aerolyn’s anxiety had gone away. It was still there, just not as intense.

“Bravo One, refueling is complete. You may now rendezvous on our location and proceed with refueling.” Sawyer waited for a response. But after a few seconds of nothing, Sawyer spoke into the comm line again. “Bravo One, this is Alpha One. How copy, over?” Again, there was silence. “Bravo One, I do not read you. Give me a sitrep.” Once again, silence. “Bravo One, does anyone copy on this frequency?”

Sawyer began to feel his heart rate increase. His shoulders suddenly felt twice as heavy as they did moments early, the sensation of his heart dropping in his chest disoriented him as it began to dawn on him that it was possible that, due to the high wind and low visibility, Bravo could have been attacked, and they wouldn’t know it. They hadn’t heard or seen anything, but the wind was so high that even from a distance of several yards, it was almost impossible to hear someone screaming. And, given that Bravo never tried to reach Sawyer at any point, assuming they were attacked, it would mean the attack would have to be sudden, and incredibly violent to disorient the crew inside the vehicle to the point they couldn’t reach their comm line. This would also confirm Aerolyn was right: they were being stalked by a predator, and their prey was willfully unaware of their presence, even denying it altogether.

Sawyer turned to the group, his relaxed expression no longer present. His face tense, he commanded his people. “Everyone, inside the vehicle now. I want every able body on a port firing gun and someone on the 25 auto cannon.”

“Wait,” Aerolyn screamed at Sawyer, trying to make sure her voice was loud enough to pierce the wind. “We can’t forget Austin!”

Sawyer cursed under his breath. He’d forgotten that Austin had still been inside the store. Without hesitation, Sawyer immediately hit the talk button on his comm set. “Austin, we need you back at the M43 right now, we need to move immediately. We need to exfil, situation is becoming hazardous.”

Sawyer was worried that Austin wouldn’t respond, thinking something happened to him. But his fears were settled to rest when Austin responded. “Roger that, cover my exit.”

Sawyer had made his way to the front of the vehicle, waiting in the front of it to cover Austin’s escape. Pulling his rifle to his shoulder, and leaning it on the M43, he firmly pushed it against his shoulder, and flipped the weapon from safe to semi automatic. The EOTech Holographic site on the weapon displayed the circle and dot reticle over the convenience store, where Sawyer kept his gun pointed in the direction of Austin, ready to provide any needed cover fire. Seconds felt like minutes as he awaited the door’s opening. After what felt like years, Sawyer breathed a sigh of relief when Austin appeared from the convenience store, holding bags of food, something only Austin would do.

“Let’s go,” Sawyer yelled to Austin, moving his hands to emphasize the urgency of the situation. As he left the store, Austin grabbed his rifle, and began to sprint. One stride became two, which then became three and the distance began to close. But then, Austin dropped to the ground, clutching his right knee, his clothing becoming more and more red.

Sawyer didn’t hear a shot. He didn’t hear anything, in fact. The wind and thunder were concealing much under their gusts and rumbles. Sawyer was trying to make sense of the situation, when a round impacted the ground a foot in front of him. Instinctively, Sawyer dashed behind the M43 to take cover. “Contact, contact, contact, I have no visual” he shouted in his mic for everyone with a comm line to hear.

At the same time this was happening, a barrage of gunfire erupted towards the back of the M43. The passenger side rear door, still being open, showed rounds beginning to impact the ground in front of it, each impact shooting up dust and rocks from asphalt. Not long after, some rounds began to impact the interior of the rear section of the vehicle. Aerolyn screamed as the rounds impacted, broke up, and scattered fragments around her. She could do nothing with the restraint on her hand to protect herself. She couldn’t close the door, as it was too far away, she was unable to move to a different spot. She had no choice but to sit there and hope someone closed it before a round hit her. Standing on the bench seat, trying to turn her body away from the gunfire, she felt a sharp pain on her arm. Aerolyn yelped in pain as she felt something tear through her arm. Aerolyn slipped and fell on her seat, as the pain of the impact startled her. She looked down towards her arm, and she saw she had been hit with a round, or a fragment of a round, on her bicep muscle. Blood began seep out of it.

“Someone close that other fucking door,” she screamed in terror as the rounds came down around them. “Doc, I’m hit! I need help!” Aerolyn clutched her arm. Moments later, the door shut. On the other side was adrenaline filled Sawyer.

Sawyer ducked behind the M43 once more, and opened up his comm line to Austin. “Austin, do you read me!?”

A muffled voice came through the earpiece. “Yeah, I do,” Austin’s voice was strained, clearly fighting pain. “I’ve been hit a few times. I ain’t gonna make it, Lee. Get out of here.”

“I’m not leaving without you, brother. Please tell me where are those shots coming from so I can help you.”

“Don’t be a fool, Sawyer, we all knew the price getting into this. Get the hell out of here a-“

Austin was suddenly cut off by an apparent struggle. Sawyer could hear Austin struggling against something. The question of what it was that Austin was fighting became apparent when he heard the inhuman growl. Peering around the front of the M43, Sawyer saw the unmistakable silhouette of several combat forms, their long, curled three fingered hands “hands,” the shine of the hardened yellowish-green skin that acts as an armor coving what was exposed, the sacks that would house infection forms inside of it, the limp head that was often frozen in horror upon infection, the expression never going away. One of the combat forms had its three long fingers wrapped around Austin’s head, while the other two, holding weapons, were firing inaccurately at the M43. As this was happening, a rain curtain began to sweep in rapidly, and visibility was becoming increasingly lower.

Austin was fighting the combat form the best he could. He grabbed his knife, thrusting it into whatever he could. But his knife was ineffective bouncing off their hardened skin armor with every blow. At this moment, Austin knew what was happening. He wasn’t afraid of death. One too many times he’d stared death in the eyes and somehow overcame it. But what was going to happen to him, infection by the parasite, terrified him. As it dawned on him that there was nothing he could do on his own. He had two options; either his comrades save him, or he uses the explosive device to keep the mission critical intel from the Parasite.

“Sawyer help,” Austin screamed in desperation as the parasite began to bring him closer to them, priming for infection.

But by now it was too late. As Sawyer peaked around and began firing at the three combat forms, an infection form climbed out of the sack that the combat form holding Austin. In a matter of seconds, the small creature was on top of Austin’s chest, ripping through gear, clothing, skin, and bone. Austin desperately reached for the explosive device despite his body being torn open. He knew there was no coming back once an infection form did this. Austin would be damned if he let the Parasite take him.

As this was happening, rounds started flying in Sawyer’s direction from behind the M43. There were more of the Parasite, and they were surrounding them. Sawyer cursed as the rounds flew in his direction. There was no other option for Sawyer at this point. Reluctantly, he opened the driver side door of the M43, and climbed into the driver seat, quickly closing the door behind him. He could hear the gunfire of his comrades in the rear of the vehicle trying to cut down on the Parasite forms quickly surrounding them. The thump of projectiles hitting the armor of the vehicle was staring to reverberate inside the M43. The direct fire on the vehicle seemed to be coming from everywhere, and it was increasing in intensity. They were surrounded.

“We have to get the fuck out of here before we’re overrun,” Sawyer shouted into the back of the M43, hoping that everyone could hear him over the sound of gunfire and thump of projectiles impacting the M43.

Austin in the midst of all the chaos, was now out of the grasp of the combat form, now lying on the ground with the infection form starting to cut into his spinal column, attempting to reach his spinal cord, and with it, the central nervous system. Despite the agony he was in, he had somehow reached explosive device, and brought it to his head. Arming the device, he let his head fall back into the pavement, the infection form preoccupied with infecting him and blissfully unaware of what Austin was doing. A loud tri-tone beep soon accompanied the sounds of gunfire. A second later, a small explosion appeared where Austin was lying.

Sawyer saw the explosion. A debris cloud covered what little there was to see with the rain hindering visibility. Sawyer’s heart sank as it realized what that explosion was, even if it was better for him, and the mission, than infection by the Parasite.

“Hang on, we’re about to exfil hot! Conserve all ammo for critical targets blocking our way,” Sawyer shouted behind him. Sawyer turned the ignition on as the loud engine roared starting up. Throwing the vehicle into drive, Sawyer gunned it. Any hostile in his way he ran over. Countless Parasitic creatures were becoming visible in the mirrors as they floored it out of the town. Within minutes, they were clear of the town, and creating as much separation between them and the Parasite.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sawyer pulled the armored vehicle in an abandoned barn that was down a long dirt road off the main roads. The barn door open, Sawyer pulled the hulking truck inside of it. After checking the scanner and confirming it was clear of hostile and unidentified personnel, Sawyer stepped outside the vehicle to examine the damage from the attack. There were numerous impacts from small arms fire. To his relief, no major damage could be found. There were some minor damages that could be ignored or fixed, namely to bullet impacts on the front windshield. Given the amount of incoming fire, Sawyer expected more problems with the vehicle. It was the only luck they seemingly had this entire day with how things had gone. reassured that their vehicle was in good condition, Sawyer climbed into the back of the vehicle to check on his crew.

“Everyone doing ok,” he asked his crew members, closing the door behind him. “Aerolyn, you ok after being hit?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” the woman replied in a low, somber voice.

“Good,” Sawyer replied, lightly tapping her shoulder. “The Doc knows what she is doing.” Sawyer stood up and looked at the remainder of his crew. “Listen up everyone,” Sawyer stood in the center of the back cabin of the vehicle. His head hung low for a moment, scratching his cheek. He was trying to find the words to say.

“I.., uh,” Sawyer paused, “I don’t know what to even say. We’re in bad shape. Austin is… gone. And we have had no contact with Bravo. And if my assumption is right, the Parasite attacked them first, and then us. The weather gave them the advantage. For now, it is best we assume they are KIA and proceed as such.”

“Doesn’t this present a logistical problem for us,” Aerolyn asked, interrupting Sawyer. “They had the majority of food rations, right? And they also had a lot of ammunition?”

Sawyer hung his head low and sighed. “Yes. Yes, that is true. But we planned for this. We can ration as much as we need to, and scavenge for some when there is time. But we have to push forward with the mission. We still have the key to stopping this,” Sawyer motioned to Aerolyn. “We cannot let our grief or hiccups get in the way of what needs to be done. We’ll take this time to rest. But come tomorrow, we need to be back up to full operational capacity. Let’s try and get whatever rest we can. We’ll rotate guard shifts for the night on the scanner. No one leaves the M43 no matter what.”

“Wait!” Aerolyn once interjected herself into the forefront of the conversation. “Am I the only one who noticed this?”

“Noticed what,” Sawyer replied, slightly intrigued by what the woman would say.

“The Parasite attacked us in a precise and coordinated manner.”

“What’s your point,” Sawyer responded.

“My point is that the Parasite attacked in strategic and coordinated manners when we know the Central Intelligence was present.”

“The existence of the Central Intelligence has always been a theory, an assumption. We have never directly observed or identified the CI.”

“Ok, yes Sawyer,” Aerolyn sighed in frustration, “but that’s not my point entirely. My point is that towards the end of the war, the entire arsenal of nuclear weapons on Earth were launched at every major place the Parasite controlled. And with any guess, I’m assuming they used this opportunity to try and destroy the theoretical existence of the CI to slow the outbreak down. If they had succeeded in that, we shouldn’t have seen such an organized attack on us like that. That attack seemed to me like they had extra brain behind it. We haven’t seen that coordination and strategy since before the nukes. So, my point is, what if the CI isn’t dead, and is very real and very alive. And if anyone from Bravo was taken, they’re going to learn about our mission, and me.”

“So,” Aerolyn continued, “they’ll know our route, our final destination, and whatever technology they have in that base… could be gone by the time we get there. What if we are seriously compromised now? What’s the term you military people use? Operational security, or OpSec? What if our OpSec is in danger, and this entire time we are racing to get there before the Parasite, while the Parasite knows the route we are going to take. They have time to prepare for us. What do we do then?”

Sawyer stood there for a moment trying to process. While he had his doubts about a Central Intelligence, he knew a lot of the high brass in the government thought it was the only plausible answer for the increased strategy, coordination, and aggression of the Parasite worldwide in the final months leading up to the nuclear armageddon.

“You might be right, but I…,” began Sawyer, “I don’t know. That would cause a huge problem for us. Our mapped routes would be nothing more than a death trap for us, if that were true. Our mission planning didn’t even assume this possiblity.” Unable to think of what to do, he turned to everyone. “I’ll leave this open to debate. Any suggestions? Anthony,” Sawyer turned to the only Canadian soldier in the room, “you know Canada better than any of us do. Do you have any ideas how to get to the Nahanni base that would be secret?”

Sawyer wanted to get dialogue from the rest of his crew. Perhaps they saw something he did not. Perhaps they had an idea better than his. In all his time of being in leadership positions, he found listening to his teammates to be invaluable at gaining trust of the individuals around him. And if Aerolyn was right, they had hit a major obstacle on the road ahead of them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Austin awoke, his body numb, the sound of thousands of voices speaking at once. He tried to move, but had no control over his body. His eyes strained to open, as if someone was pushing them closed. When he managed to open them even slightly, darkness was all he saw. A cold, wet darkness accompanied by the voices of thousands talking, screaming, pleading all at once. But suddenly, the voices stopped. An eerie silence filled the air.

“Do not be afraid,” a voice spoke, seemingly directly at him. The voice was deep and slightly guttural, sounding as if the voice of thousands subtly backed up the words. Austin froze in fear. He tried to scream, but no voice could come out.

“I am peace in the unknown, the salvation in everlasting life, the endless voice of a hundred million souls,” the voice once more spoke to Austin. Austin tried to resist the voice, but he was too weak to fight it. “I am a timeless chorus: join your voice with mine and sing victory everlasting.”

Austin could feel as if this thing were entering his mind. It felt to him as if his mind was intruded, and it began to comb through his memories. As it did, memories of his life played out in his mind in vivid detail. Every word, every smell, every taste, the temperature of the air, the humidity on his skin, the tears on his cheek, the happiness, the sorrow, the first love, the heartbreak of their loss, the hatred of every memory played out just like it were happening now. But they were forced, the entity in his head was combing though them, trying to find significance. Eventually, the entity made its way to the memories of his military service, and soon after, his mission with the Rebel Girl. When these memories started to appear, Austin fought with all his might to prevent these memories from showing. Austin began to think strongly of other memories, causing the ones of his mission to die out and be replaced with other non-significant ones. The entity kept trying to force back those memories. But every time he did force them back, Austin would change them. Though Austin tried his hardest, fragments of the mission details began to play out in his head. The entity saw these fragments, and became intrigued. It stopped searching for them. His mind was quiet for a minute.

“Your flesh and mind are in unity as one with mine. But secrets you possess and hide are key to your salvation, and my own. These secrets bring about questions that linger, and leave my mind in a state of unrest. So I shall ask, and you will answer.”

101 BeyondDandy Eviexe

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