The Hero's Story

Zeke

He watched as John fumbled with the door, hoping the guy would be able to open it. The sounds and lights from below were starting to make him anxious. That terrifying scream from before kept playing through his head, like an awful broken record. He kept looking back and forth from below his feet to John. He did not want to die in an elevator. "Hey how's it-" His question on progress was halted as he dodged the falling blade, "Whoa! Whatch it!" He looked up as John apologized, an irritated frown on his face. As if dying in an elevator wasn't bad enough, friendly fire had to come into the mix.. He fidgeted below, placing the broken boards back on the top of the elevator, as John worked his magic with his gun. He grimaced as the man bent the weapon, knowing that that sacrifice might come back to bite them in the ass. They needed every weapon they could get and ruining a gun like that..he just hoped they'd run into more ammo and weapons or find this friggin device before they ran into more trouble.

A smile grew upon Zeke's face as John successfully pried the doors apart. He watched the man climbed out and offered his help. He began scaling the shaft when John disappeared behind the door. "Just one moment.." He stopped, more confused than anything. Was that an other voice up there? The realization made him freeze. Was there an other puppet or was there actually some life in this base? Grabbing the support bars in the shaft, he attempts to peek his head over the door. "Hey!" He called out, "What the hell's going on?!" He wasn't exactly sure if that was the right choice to make. For all he knew he could've just called some puppets toward him, but at least if that was the case, maybe John would have enough of a distraction to help him out. The thought of being trapped between to bad senarios made him look down. He could see the lights between the cracks in the board just in time to see them go out. "Hey!" he smashed his fist on the wall, hoping to get some form of help or attention, "We need to get the fuck outta here!"

John

John was too focused on the task at hand to respond to Zeke's yells. He heard the woman's response, and thought to himself, Another one? He wasn't quite sure at the time if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but her final statement wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear. He yelled back at the sell sword, "Jesus Christ woman! There's a horde out there waiting to eat us alive and you want me to pay you???" He hoped this would knock some sense into that crazy woman, but there really was no getting to these types. Says one thing that you're a mercenary, says another to be one in screwed up times like these.

Ria

She aimed her gun at where the man was hiding. A frown on her lips. Almost immediately after he'd finished speaking, she shot off a round at the wall. The sound of the bullet ricocheting in the darkness echoed for some time before fading away. Ria ignored the cries of the other man from the other side of the elevator shaft. She'd kept him in sight, but now her attention was entirely on the one who'd shouted back at her.

"You know, money isn't the only thing I'll work for, darling," she sighed as she kept her place, feigning sadness she continued, "Such a shame. It's so lonely without male company. Too bad you don't want to work with me," another round exploded into the wall where the man was hiding.

"I might be willing to compromise though. Work together and pay me later? Give you some time to come up with some ideas," Ria's voice was slick with taunting as she spoke after the sound of her bullet faded away. Either way, she was going to finish what she came for. As said before, she had a buyer who wanted the weapon the military had, or the power back. Either one would do, and she would be paid. Loyalty to her came with what someone was willing to give her in return.

John

"Tch..." The girl's taunts were really starting to get to John. He never could keep down his temper, and right now he was so angry he felt like pulling something stupid like jumping out from behind the wall to fight her... No! I'm not doing that! So he looked at his other options, although he was awfully limited. He was basically cornered, and she had the offensive advantage. Plus, the risk was too great to stage an attack. Zeke was pretty much useless, being the terrible shot he was, and being trapped. He couldn't actually pay her, money lost its meaning completely to him, except for starting fires... To pay her... Well, John's pride was much too great for that. Maybe he could sell off Zeke. ...Ya right, can't do that...

Then there was the compromise she offered. At first it seemed like a good idea. John had no qualms about back stabbing that bitch later on. But, it wasn't like he could trust her anymore than she could him. Then, John came to a revelation. Wait, why the hell am I doing this? John's life was much better than most people's during that time. He could fend for himself, was good with a gun, among other survival skills he had. Why did he suddenly care about saving this God-Forsaken species? "You know what, fuck this." In a single leaping motion, he dived out from behind the concrete and fired a few rounds towards the sell sword.

The Dark-Breed

The sounds of gunfire had drawn interest and now seeing as the flickering lights had disappeared there was nothing to stop their advance. Figures as dark as pitch could bearly be seen as they massed amongst the walls, looking for anyway inside. Though they were creatures of darkness, they couldn't just manifest themselves anywhere. The darkness was more like a portal- a lifeline where one could dwell, traverse and gather strength. Solid things such as walls were impossible to phase through. However, with so many gathered in one place, barriers as such became much easier to overcome. With so many forcing themselves upon the building, the door easily gave, allowing them acess inside. The only noise which proved louder than their cries were those of Zeke. What first began as pleas for aid quickly transformed into frantic screams upon realizing that death was merely moments away. Creatures of darkness and puppets alike came roaring down the hallway. Sweat and fear was in the air and it drew them like flies.

Zeke scrambled up the shaft, but with no one to help, his efforts proved fruitless. He fumbled with the handgun given to him as the creatures filled the space beneath him. It wouldn't be long until they discovered his whereabouts and though he knew death was surely at hand, he was going to take something out with him. He used to think himself a descent guy, but that was before he was left to die. If people were petty enough to argue over payment when the world was going to shit, maybe people weren't worth saving afterall. "You know what, fuck this." John's words came from above and Zeke couldn't agree more. A bittersweet smile traced his lips as he struggled to see his enemy through tear-filled eyes. "Fuck this is right.." He managed to choke out as his hands trembled pointing the gun below. Maybe he'd be better off shooting himself right now. A quick blow to the head. A death chosen by his hands rather than getting picked apart by the beasts below or becoming one.. It was then that he took notice of the pulley system. His eyes widened as they traced the cords up towards the ceiling, thoughts coming a mile an hour. Maybe he could get out of this afterall.

As the creatures took notice of the noise above, Zeke positioned himself near the elevator cords. He cast a guilty glance up towards the open door where John was arguing with the newcomer. What he was about to do would free him up, but leave the others behind. His eyes narrowed, however, as he remembered why he was making this desicion. If he wasn't worth helping then neither were they. Descion made, he wrapped his arm around cord, preparing himself for the oncoming jolt. Using the last of the bullets, he began to shoot the bottom of the opposite cord. If anything the gunshots would give the guys some warning, since his screams were pretty much in vain. The creatures below took notice of this and immediately began the climb upwards, matching the gunshots with their peircing shrieks. Zeke screamed in terror and defiance as they flailed for his legs and to his surprise his idea worked..however not as planned. The cord snapped, sending him flying into the darkness above. His shoulder wrentched out of his socket from the sudden force and speed of his launch and thanks to his little preparations he continued upwards. His blood-curtling scream echoed only momentarily, since he was thrust into the gears and wheels above. The impact left him nearly melded into the metal work, the bits of flesh not ground into or stuck within the gears fell down to the ink-like creatures below, keeping their attention for the time being. Though unintentional, Zeke learned two things: 1) Don't believe what you see in the movies and 2) Those who try to fuck others over, usually get fucked themselves.

Ria

Bullets came flying at her from the man as he jumped out and shot at her. Ria instinctively curled where she was kneeling and didn't move. Her finger tightened and shot off a couple of rounds at him as well, though she was sure she didn't hit anything. A sharp burn cut across her side, letting her know that one of his shots had hit her. Ria was thankful that it hadn't gone all the way through, the last thing she wanted was to have to deal with a bullet wound that could possibly get her killed.

Then the lights went out and her eyes narrowed as she quickly twisted around to try to see in the darkness. Her mind twisted around the young mans earlier words, 'Fuck this'... yeah, that's about right, I suppose," she thought. Slowly she moved herself towards the opening where her opponent was, she was silent as she moved, her boots hardly making a sound. Somewhere in the dark she could hear the guttural noises of the puppets moving through the darkness that was now their ally.

Ria reached the door and leapt through it. Turning on her heel, she met the man who'd shot at her and tackled him to the ground, straddling him with her gun resting right on his chest, "Now, you and you're friend have a few choices-" her thoughts were cut off as a terrible scream cut through the air and her head snapped up to the sound. She looked over to where the elevator shaft was and where she had just been. Shrieks from the creatures filled the air as something came hurdling upwards. Another scream echoed and a sickening sound followed right after. Ria's heart wrenched as she twisted around on the man's upper body to look into the deep dark.

"Shit," she cursed softly. Leaning over she removed her gun and put her hand over the man's mouth, her lips brushed his ear as she whispered to him, "Be quiet and stand up. We don't have time for this. Lets get to a place where there's light then you and I can finish our little debate. Until then, I'll help you. Deal?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she spoke. Behind her she could hear the sounds of scratching and tearing as the puppets were fighting over the scraps of whatever was left of the poor man's friend. Ria bit her lip, there was no time for sentiments either, though she did feel bad for the young man losing a comrade.

John

"Shit... Just this once, mercenary..." John knew how bad things could get with the dark-breed now here. Even Zeke was gone... You son of a bitch... Who said you could go and die... But john held in all the mixed feelings he held for his poor companion, and quickly scanned the hall. The hall had several rooms on either side, but all of them had a neat electronic lock, and breaking one open would take too long. They did have a little time, though, thanks to Zeke's sacrifice. He looked at his new companion, and saw her painfully grabbing her side. Without wasting any time, he quickly grabbed some old, worn gauze from his pack, coldly lifted her shirt, and dressed her shallow wound. John gave her a look that said, "Don't hold me back."

John had a new sense of purpose, thanks to these two unlikely allies. Now, he knew what had to be done. He saw a large double door at the very end of the dimly lit hall. Must be the treasure room... The door didn't have an electronic lock like the others, but a rusty pad lock holding the two doors together. He quickly ran over and signaled the girl to follow. "Get ready." He said right before smashing the old lock off with the handle of his gun. This, of course, caught the attention of the creatures, and they voraciously charged at them. "Hurry hurry!" He pulled the mercenary in and slammed the doors shut, sliding his last gun under the handles to keep the door closed, for a while at least.

Ria

"Shit... Just this once, mercenary..." she smiled slyly at him, putting all of her charm in that look. She saw his gaze sweep the hall behind them, then return to her and in the next moment, her shirt was lifted and he was dressing her little wound. Her immediate reaction was to break every finger in his hand, but instead she widened her smile, letting her eyes glitter in the darkness.

"My my, you're a rough one. I could get used to that," she muttered, sure to throw him off a bit with that. Without waiting a moment longer, he got up and went down towards a set of double doors as quietly as he could. Ria followed him closely.

"Get ready."

He lifted his gun and slammed it into the old lock breaking it in a single swipe, however the sound caught the attention of the puppets down the hall and Ria turned, aimed her gun down the hall and shot off a few rounds, taking out a couple of the lead creatures. Behind her, the young man grabbed her arm, shouting 'Hurry! Hurry!' and dragged her into the room. The doors slammed shut and he slid his gun between the handles of the door.

Ria turned immediately and leveled her weapon into the darkness trying to see if there was anything inside the room. For several moments, both were quite, only the sounds of their breathing could be heard. Slowly, she let her gun come to rest at her side. After listening for a little while longer, she put the gun back in it's holster on her thigh and walked forwards, her boots hardly making a sound.

"Can you find a lighter or something? We should try to figure out what's in here," her voice was soft, whispering as she walked around with her hands out in front of her. She brushed up against a table, then a chair. Following the table she tried to figure out what was in the room and if it was anything close to what they were looking. Her fingers brushed against computer keyboards and other things.

"I think we're in some kind of lab," she continued as she walked.