Warning to the readers: yes there is swearing etc in this story just to warn you all! otherwise enjoy!
Bits of the story does go with the canon, however I have adjusted and created and few characters myself, I have changed the story a little bit so don't expect it to go straight through the same storyline constantly! I have created this story myself, not the Gears of war of course!
Act one[]
1:1 Escape[]
Marcus stood in his grungy prison cell, above him was a window where Locust wretches tried to get in to get him countless number of times. He could remember the reason he was in here, and the memory burned him, four years into his forty year prison sentence and the memory was still fresh in his mind as if it only happened the day before. Hoffman's face was fuming as he told the jury in the court about how he abandoned his men just to rescue his father, Adam Fenix. He was to be sentenced to death, thankfull his best friend Dominic Santiago had testified for him. At least he wasn't going to die. Suddenly the Wretches above him scuttled off screeching as they went. Someone or something was coming, it was making a noise as it went, and the noise was heading to his cell. The cell door suddenly opened, and there stood Dom.
"What are you doing here?" Marcus growled.
"Getting you out" his friend replied, handing over a bag that contained all of Marcus's clothes. After Marcus was changed, Dom handed him his Lancer.
"War against the Grubs still going on?" he asked
"Yeah, still haven't been able to send them back down those grub holes, everywhere is destroyed whilst you were in here. Hoffman freed everyone in here except you so I went to get you, best get going this place is going down" They both worked their way out of the prison, passing all the dead bodies that have been executed and were now rotting.
"Shit, what goes on in this place?" Dom was mortified at the rotting flesh that were suspended in mid-air. They both fought their way out against the Locust in the prison, until they were finally outside, the ground was rumbling as they ran and there was no need to guess what was coming, they both jumped onto a Raven, just in time to see a Corpser sinking the whole prison.
"Welcome back soldier" Dom said grinning "Hoffman is waiting for us in Embry Square"
"Oh shit" Marcus groaned, the very last person he wanted to see on sera was the person who sent him to prison.
1:2 Amber[]
They landed in Embry square, it was the place where Marcus could remember him and Dom recieving their medals for the Pendulum wars, but Marcus quashed the memory at the back of his mind, down below he could see Hoffman waiting, waiting for them, Marcus knew already that Hoffman hasn't forgiven him yet and that he wouldn't let the fact that he was out of prison down quietly. He and Dom jumped onto the ground. They both walked up to him who was watching Marcus very carefully.
"A soldier like you doesn't deserve to wear the uniform" he sneered "Step aside" Marcus did so and the colonel walked past him to greet Kim. Marcus sighed, No Hoffman had not forgiven him, and yet he let the other criminals who had done a worser crime than his go. There was giggling coming for a nearby raven that had just landed. Marcus turned to see who it was and his heart froze. There stood Anya. Four years and not a day off her face, He couldn't take his eyes of her. Next to Anya was another woman, she was in armour just like he and everyone else who were fighting was. He couldn't help but think why on earth would a woman young as she is be allowed to fight, she looked like she was still young enough to have kids. The two women were talking and giggling amongst themselves. Marcus sighed, well there weren't the only people he recognised (except for Anya's friend) Baird and Cole were there aswell.
"Hey Ladies!" Cole bellowed, he had a big grin on his face.
"Hey" the girls said in unison and they both giggled
Cole and Baird walked up to Marcus and Dom. Baird had a scowl on his face that said why-Cole-do-you-have-to-be-so-embarrassing. Cole on the other hand couldn't care less, his booming voice was heard by everyone and he didn't seem to care who heard him.
"Anya's friend is a total cute chick!" He boomed "I'd ask her out but I haven't met her properly yet!" The two women looked at Cole and then giggled before walking over.
"Great Cole now their coming here" Baird groaned, it seemed that no matter what mood he was in he always had a scowl on his face.
"Hey boys" said Anya "I'm sure you've heard about my best friend Amber"
"Well, Cole can't keep his gob shut" Baid muttered
"Well, Amber is joining your squad" said Kim joining in the conversation "So treat her like equal please, just because she's female doesn't mean she can't fight, trust me I've seen her kick some rookies ass in training, not a pretty sight I tell you"
The women giggled again.
"Yeah I showed him, the bastard deserved it anyway" Amber said for the first time
"Well, he shouldn't of said that women should be used for breeding and not fighting" Anya added "I mean we can kick Locust ass just like men can anyway!"
"So Amber, what made a cutie like you join the army?" Cole asked
"Well, there weren't much jobs around because of what happened, so I decided to join the COG and see how long I'll last" she replied smiling still.
"You'll last longer with us" Marcus growled
"Yeah, as long as you got Marcus and Dom on your squad then you will survive longer" Anya beamed
"Right Delta, you best get going, and I expect 110 per cent Fenix" Hoffman yelled
"I'll leave you guys to it, Good luck Amber" Anya waved before joining Hoffman on the raven.
The squad set off to begin their mission. All Marcus could hope was that Amber was actually good at fighting.
1:3 Franklins Stranded Camp[]
This is where the story changes aways from the main gears of war storyline, the events that happen in the game happens on here aswell
It had been a while sinces the men of Delta first met Anya's best friend Amber. Ever since they first met they had lost Kim, Carmine and Gyrules and now the squad consists of Amber, Marcus, Dom, Baird and Cole. Marcus was also promoted back to sergeant much to the disdain of Baird. Kim was right, Amber was fierce in battle, but that no longer mattered, what did matter was that they get back to base and to do that was to rely on Dom to puesuade his friend to give him his Junker. The downside to the plan was that Doms "friend" is a stranded, They all walked quietly towards the direction of the stranded camp.
"You sure you can trust this guy Dom?" Marcus asked cautiously
"I trust him to find Maria so I'll trust him to give me his Junker" Dom replied calmly
Delta stood before the camps doors, above them was a stranded guard and he looked menacingly at Delta.
"Who goes there!" He spat
"We've come to see Franklin" Dom called up to him
"Fine, whatever" the Guard opened the gates and the Delta squad walked in. The gates shut once they were inside so no other person or creature could get in, all of the stranded inside looked at the men and stepped away from them on the pavements treating the situation as if it was a raid. However Marcus and everyone else wasn't bothered, as long as the stranded didn't get in their way.
"It's all yours Dom" Marcus muttered
"I'll be ok, Don't worry" came the calm reply
They all stood in before Franklin who was sat on some steps in front of a shack.
"Santiago! What you doing here man!" Franklin said cheerfully, then his voice lowered to a serious whisper "I can't be seen with you man, not good for business"
"I need that Junker of yours" Dom said skipping past what Franklin just said.
"Say what! Get real man!"
"I'm being serious, I need it!"
"I'm not giving you my Junker, I know the problems your having but no!"
"You owe me one!" Dom shouted poking Franklin frustratingly in his chest. The guards behind Franklin brought their guns up in a threatening way Delta did the same.
"I'm nots giving you it, No way!"
Dom sighed, he tried everything all without success he looked pleadingly around at the men for assistance on getting Franklin to give him the keys.
"Let me try" Amber whispered in his ears "A woman has a solution to everything without violence"
"Ok" he sighed "Be careful"
Amber walked up to Franklin, It was the first time Franklin had seen Amber and his eyes were gazing directly at her chest.
"Woah! Hello!" He stuttered
"Hello" Amber replied in her smooth voice looking him up and down "You'll do" and with that she grabbed him by the front of his collar and dragged him inside the shack, the men watched and waited in stunned silence, the next thing they knew was Franklin running out screaming, he was wearing nothing except his Boxers, Amber came out moments later with his trousers and jackets searching for the keys, she finally found them in his trouser pockets.
"Are these them?" she purred. Franklin nodded, Amber handed the keys to Dom before throwing the clothes at Franklin
"Ohh nice" she said laughingly at Franklins underwear "Right now wheres the Junker?"
"Chaps gas station" Franklin muttered putting his trousers back on
"Thank you for your assistance, alright guys lets find that bloody Junker"
The men walked off with Amber laughing.
"Good thing we got you on the team baby!" Cole chortled
1:4 Personal Issues[]
Amber sat in the Junker facing Cole and Baird whilst Dom and Marcus sat in the front with Dom driving, the humor over Franklin was long gone and everyone had settled down, now all they had to do was to get back to base. Hoffman seemed to be protective over Amber because it was very rare to see women fighting on the frontline nowadays on Sera, since most women for part had to be in "breeding" camps. Now that thought seemed to struck Cole who could not seem to stand the silence of the journey whilst salsa music was playing from the Junkers radio. Hell man! We're suppose to have fun, what happened to the Franklin jokes!? He sighed before beginning his convo with his fellow squaddies.
"Hey Amber baby, whats a pretty woman like you doin' outta here on the frontlines, most woman are in camps and shit giving births to babies so men can keep fighting?" he asked looking at Amber with a hint of admiration in his eyes.
Amber sighed and grinned, for some reason she knew this question was going to pop up anytime. "Well" she started "For starter I can't have kids, I have a bad cyst on my ovaries which is really bad, so now I can't have kids, so I decided to join the COG and that was it, well I was going to be a singer and musician when I finished uni but you know with the war it got really bad so COG it was"
"Any particular reason why you joined the COG baby apart from the "can't have kids" and "not able to get my dream job?""
Amber chuckled "The men is probably the main reason, Anya told me how fit and gorgeous most of them are"
"Like me cutiecake?" Cole asked cheekily
Amber grinned "Yeah, like you, and if you ever meet my fiance don't tell him that reason, he'll murder me" she chuckled whilst Cole wore the expression that said OoOoOoh Baird just simply rolled his eyes and muttered Yeah, he's probs dead by now
"Anyway, thanks again on getting the keys for the Junker, Franklin ain't gonna say no to us again in a hurry" Dom called back to them
"Yeah no problem, every woman has a solution" Amber winked "Anyways you guys are good, Hoffman tried to had me all sorts of squads but I got removed by every single one of them, all the other men in those other squads are bastards, I nearly got raped by one asshole"
The men were shocked. "Shiiiit" Baird hissed under his breath in horror "Fuck, thats bad, who was it"
"Dunno, he attacked me before he introduced himself he was the sergeant in all, he told me I should be in them breeding camps, thankfully I know mens weakness, I managed to tell Hoffman, the pisshead got struck off and kicked out of Jacinto"
"Thank god, I woulda kicked that bastard in his balls" Cole said angrily "If you ever see him again point him out and I'll beat the crap outta him!"
"Yeah, thanks" Amber replied her smile faltering a little "You know, your sweet Cole, Anya was right, your easy to talk to, she told me your better than anyone else and can change the mood in an instant"
Cole smiled "Yeah thats me baby! You can tell us anything! Well maybe not Baird but you can tell us!" Baird glared at him "I am not an asshole!" before looking back at Amber "Am I?" Amber just simply rolled her eyes
1:5 Familiar[]
Cole watched Amber intently as she was drifting off in to a quiet slumber. Something wasn't right, She was very pale, her eyes change colour and she seemed to try and distance herself occasionally depsite earlier when she was trying to get the keys of franklin. Cole decided not to tell the others of his suspicions, they would only think he was on a mad one. It had been over an hour since they arrived back at base, Hoffman decided to let the men have a break since they were going to be working hard on trying to get a lightmass bomb into the Locust tunnels where hopefully it will wipe out all of those damned monsters. For now however they needed to rest. The door suddenly slammed which snapped the group instantly, Marcus stood looking furious.
"Great" he muttered to himself "Just great!" Amber rubbed her tired eyes
"Whats great?" she yawned
Marcus shifted a look at her and sighed.
"Hoffman tracked down your fiance, well, actually he found the base and managed to make contact with Hoffman. He wants to see you"
Amber looked at him, for a moment he could see what he though it was as a flicker of fear in her soft green eyes and she figeted a little at the sound of fiance, but then it went as swiftly as it came.
"You don't want to see him do you?" he growled quietly
"Not really, no" she replied looking away, Marcus gaze remained fixed on her wondering whats bothering her, but then decided not to pursue on what was worrying her and continued to his bed. Cole looked at Amber, he was right, something about Amber made her different from the others, apart from bein female of course. Then Cole remembered, he had seen her before thats why something wasn't right when she turned up suddenly in the army.
Shit!
A six year old Augustus Cole sat on the park bench drinking his small can pop next to his mum. He loved it out here, he didn't want it to change, ever. His mum looked down at him and smiled
"You seem to be very thirsty Augustus" she said still smiling
"That's because I am momma" Cole replied still drinking trying to get the last few drops at the bottom of it. It was a very sunny day and very hot. But as long as he was able to quench his thirst then he would be ok. Suddenly things began to change, there was a loud honk coming from a car followed by the sound of skidding. Cole looked up just in time to see a woman knock the car and make a huge dent on it's front, she got up and carried a small body to the same side of the road nearest Cole and his Mother. Cole looked at her in the face, she was sweating profusely. She then covered her face and the next thing Cole knew, she was gone, just in a blink of an eye, she had vanished on the spot.
"Oh my god!" he heard her mother cry out before running to the body of a boy, Cole followed, it was a boy around the same age as him, he was wearing a tee shirt and jeans with trainers. He was still alive, and sat up looking at both Cole and his mother.
"What happened?" he asked them
Cole sat up suddenly on his bed sweating from panic, everyone was asleep and the lights were out, he could hear Baird snoring softly on the bed next to his, tommorrow he had to speak to Amber, It was her he had seen that day rescuing that little boy, she hadn't aged one bit on her face. He lay back down in deep thought, yes it was Amber he had seen he was certain of it.
1:6 Kaylee[]
The whole squad awoke the following morning, doing their typical rountine, getting dressed, making beds and getting breakfast before training. It wasn't until they arrived at the Mess hall did they realise that Amber was nowhere to be seen. Cole could tell that Amber's sudden disappearance was probably down to his thoughts last night.
"Where the hell is Amber?" Baird asked irritably at Marcus
"I don't know, why the hell would I know" he growled in his typical sergeant growl.
They all looked around for a familiar brunette haired woman, there was no sign one.
"Well, she'll have to miss breakfast" Marcus grumbled tucking into his toast.
Just as they did, a blonde haired girl sat at a chair next to Cole, she looked too young to be in the army. She placed her plate of crumpets on the table and nibbled them lightly, she acted as if she knew the men well and didn't seem to care about the fact she had just randomly sat at the table.
"And who the fuck are you?" Baird spat, annoyed at the girl's sudden intrusion.
"I'm Kaylee, and I'm in your squad" she replied not seemingly to be fazed by Bairds abuse.
"And how old are you exactly" Baird started again in his usual sarcasm.
"Seventeen" she shrugged
Bairds mouth dropped "and they let YOU into the army!?"
"Yes, do you have a problem with that?"
Baird looked down at his full english breakfast. "Yes, I do actually, your too young to be here"
"There is no age limit Baird" She replied cooly
Now Baird couldn't eat, no one on the table could.
"And how the hell do you know my name?"
Kaylee shrugged again "I know everyones name on this table"
"You didn't answer my question. How do you know my name?"
Kaylee had a hint of defeat in her face, it was as if a secret was forced out of her "Amber told me"
The men were stunned even Marcus looked up in amazement, he placed his half eaten toast back onto the plate. His blue eyes locked on Kaylee.
"Amber told you?"
"Yes, I joined the COG with her, she's my mum"
"Wait, Amber's your mum?" Baird asked in shock, his sneer was wiped off his face.
"How old is Amber?" Dom asked
"32 years young, she doesn't like the term old" Kaylee grinned
"So Amber had you at 15?" Marcus said his voice had hint of suspicion "But Amber said she couldn't have kids"
"She did?"
They all nodded, all eyes fixed on her, all filled with suspicion and a desire to find an answer.
"Well, she had a cyst that formed after she had me" Kaylee explained finally munching on her last crumpet. Again she didn't seemed bothered or notice how the men were now leaning on every single word she said.
"Your a bad liar you know" Baird grinned "I think we should have a word with Amber" he added looking at Marcus who had now returned to his toast eating it slowly.
"When we see her, she'll have a lot of explaining to do"
"Also, how come Hoffman didn't notice anything?" Cole asked for the first time.
"We signed up as friends, but yeah, we're both here now, Amber can't have kids and neither can I"
By the time they had finished breakfast, the sky had became cloudy and the sun was no longer seen. The Delta squad were now doing random tasks. They grouped together again, waiting in the courtyard of the base sitting on and around a bench underneath the tree that was in the centre. It wasn't long until Amber arrived with Kaylee and Anya, they was all talking about random things that wouldn't interest the men.
"I always wondered if Clay Carmine actually had a tattoo on his stomach, but no one has even seen it, we gonna have to group together and pin him to the ground to see if its true" Anya grinned
"I bet its true" Kaylee smiled
"I bet he hasn't got a tatoo at all" Amber smirked
The three stopped and looked at the men before giggling.
"Ok, which one do you think is the hottest?" Amber asked "And I know what Anya is going to say"
"Oh I bet you do" Anya winked, grinning at Marcus.
"I like Dom, he has a family guy image about him" Kaylee looked at Dom with interest.
"Well, I think Baird is fit!" Amber declared, winking at Baird which instantly made him uncomfortable.
"But Bairds an asshole" Anya said looking at Baird carefully trying to figure out why Amber would say he is good looking.
"Well, I do like bad boys" Amber grinned "Alright gorgeous!" she then called to Baird.
The women laughed, Amber strode over to Baird and sat on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.
"How ya doin'?" She asked winking at Baird who was by now figeting nervously
Anya and Kaylee were wetting themselves laughing.
"Poor Baird" Kaylee said with sympathy
Anya joined Amber and sat on Baird other lap.
"Oh now I see what you mean" she grinned "He is good looking, I mean, those goggles are a cool accessory"
"Makes him look dead cool" Amber grinned
"Anyway, Amber we want to talk to you" Marcus said at last after enjoying watching Baird getting embaressed.
"Here we go, the joke killer" Amber groaned "Whats up grumpy?"
"We need to talk to you" Marcus started "in private"
"Ooooooh Amber" Anya winked laughing "Me and Kaylee will see you later" and with that Anya left with Kaylee in tow.
Baird pushed Amber off his leg before giving his leg a rub.
"You gave me a dead leg with your fat arse!" He grumbled
"Sorry" Amber smirked
"Right, Kaylee is your daughter, and you told us your can't have kids, explain" Marcus growled.
Act Two[]
2:1 Shit Goes Down Well[]
They trudged their way around the Lethia Immulsion Facility trying to find the entrance. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and Amber was getting rather tired of being outside, stood next to her was her daughter Kaylee and Baird. They went seperate ways from Marcus Dom and Cole. So far there was no sign of an opening into the building.
"Any signs of an opening or switch?" Marcus buzzed through their Comms
Amber looked at Baird and Kaylee, all three shook their heads.
"No sign of anything our end, what about you guys? See anything?"
"No, we'll let you know if we do though"
Amber sighed "Come on guys lets not hang round there may be wretches around here so lets not play bait"
The rain was not helping, Kaylee's blonde hair now looked like rat tails, and Baird kept fussing over his goggles that were rubbing his forehead. The turned the corner to see a Lambent Wretch coming right at them startling Amber, Baird fired his Gnasher and the Wretch lay dead, its blood pouring out of its mutated head and went all over the soggy mud.
"Thanks" Amber muttered, she really needed to be careful, she was thankful that Baird was around, Kaylee wouldn't cope with Wretches they were too fast for Kaylee to react quick enough. However there wasn't time to think, more Lambent Wretches came scurrying along.
Man these things never go on their own
They fired until every last one of them dropped dead on the floor, Kaylee prodded her boot onto one to check if it is dead just to be sure, you can't always tell whats dead and whats alive these days. They silently trodded their way until they saw Marcus, Dom and Cole at the other end, behind a gate.
"I can see a switch" Marcus called "It's on our side, Cole, Dom you cut the wiring on the fence"
The two obeyed, nobody dared to refuse to Marcus, afterall he was in charge, and he looked very intimidating. Marcus turned the switch and the door opened, just as it did, Cole and Dom had finished cutting a hole big enough for the trio to climb through. Amber carefully lifted her leg being extra careful not to fall over the wiring. Kaylee followed and then Baird. After catching their breath then turned to the open door that led to the pitch black. Baird headed to where the switch was and fumbled around until the light suddenly came on.
"There, now we can see where we're going" he smirked, bigging himself up as always.
"Smartass" Amber muttered chuckling under her breath "Right, who first?"
No one said anything, they all looked at Amber implying that she was going in first.
"Fine" she snapped, the laughter between the men could be heard even in the silence. Amber didn't say anything else and tredded her way into the building with the rest of the squad following cautiously. Looking around carefully making sure she didn't miss out any details of the derelict walls and broken down machines.
"So what are we doing again?" Amber asked trying to make a conversation that was secretly meant to check that the others were still behind her and not left her to go alone.
"To go underground into the mining and activate the Resonator there" Marcus answered gruffly. Good they were still there, now she knew she can trust them. Of course what was she thinking! They're her squad, her comrades, her brothers (and daughter) they would never leave her, if they did she would haunt their sorry asses until they die. They finally reached to the end of the hall. Where another door greeted them. Amber tried to push the door but it wouldn't open. It was wooden but it was firm, so it had to be handed to one of the men to kick it down, she decided to take the piss.
"Baird, being a sexy manly man that you are, can you blow this door down you big bad wolf" she smirked
Baird didn't seem amused, but the others found this hilarious.
"And can't you do it yourself?" he responded with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Nah, I wanna see your muscles work it out" Amber winked trying not to burst out laughing at Baird reaction.
"Fine" he muttered and pushed his way to the front, he built himself up and kicked the door down with all his power in his boot. The sight inside the room was horrendous. Mutilated bodies lay all over the floor their inards scattered across the floor, and feeding upon them were the dreaded Wretches themselves, the Wretches saw the squad and quickly scurried up the wall and into the hole in the ceiling never to be seen again hopefully.
"Eurgh!" Kaylee groaned "That is so rank!"
Slowly but surely they entered the room, fighting off the horrendous smells that entered their noses. They all headed to the one door that had a sign that stated that the door leads to the underground. Cole tried to push the door open but with no avail. Dom pointed to the keypad next to it then looked at Marcus.
"Only Kim knows the pass codes" the sergeant sighed "Lets look around first"
Kaylee did her best to walk miles around the bodies, she felt very sick because of the sight, but she didn't dare show it. It would only make the men question as to why she signed up in the first place and then have a go at Amber for forcing her child to sign up. Whilst the others were investigating the bodies, Kaylee found the door that everyone blatently ignored and she didn't notice. She saw the handle and tried to push it open, like the other door it didn't open. She found the keypad next to it, it only had two buttons, one was lit red the other didn't have any light. So she decided to push the dull button. The door clicked and she opened it. Only to be greeted with a gun fire she managed to duck in time behind the wall. The others looked at her wondering what had just happend. Kaylee peered through the doorway. She saw a stranded man stood there looking at her with panic in his eyes.
"Thank god, the rescue team!" he cried with relief
"Erm, is that how you greet the people who come to rescue you?" Kaylee asked bewildered "I mean, shooting at them for no apparent reason"
"I'm sorry, I thought you were the Locust" he replied guiltily
"And I could've shot you dead if I thought you were a Locust" Kaylee groaned
"Anyway" Marcus butted in changing the subject completely "Do you know the pass code to get into the underground?"
"Well I sort of do, why would you want to go down there? it's not safe"
"We just need to go down there" Marcus stated finalising the conversation.
"The entrance is down there, at the end of this corridor" The workman said to the squad, pointing down into the pitch black. The team peered in but could not see anything. Baird pulled down his goggles to get a better view, a smirk grew on his face.
"Well, since you know this place better that we do, why don't you lead us down here" he grinned. The man looked at him nervously before looking back into the pitch black room.
"I..If you s..say s..so" he stammered, colour had now drained of his face. He took a slow step into the hallway followed by another step. Amber groaned.
"This is going to take years would it help if I did this?" she asked before taking a box of matches out of her hip bag and striked a match. It cast it's eerie glow into the narrow corridor all over the rusty metallic walls and delicate wooden floorboards, revealing a door at the other end of the room. "Thanks" the man muttered to her.
"Anytime" she replied. The workman felt more confident and it showed because he is now taking a few more brave steps into the hallway. "Just be careful guys, these floorboards of ancient, no one has been down here for ages, they could fall under you weight" and just as he took another step, the bunch of floorboards he was standing on fell taking him down into the darkness below, right into the hands of the hungry, bloodthirsty, ravenous wretches that instantly pounced on him ripping him to bloody pieces as he screamed in sheer agony.
"Ah fuck" Marcus groaned
"Shit! shit shit shit shit" Amber said to herself shakily "Kaylee, when you get up to here, don't look down ok?" Amber took a careful step around the hole, the wretches were now crawling around waiting for another to fall down to them. A floorboard fell under Kaylee's foot, she yelped in fright and had nearly fell under if it wasn't for Cole.
"I got you baby" he said gently to her "Be careful"
They all treaded carefully gently putting weight into their steps to see what could take their weight and what couldn't, Amber's heart was now in her mouth, she was trying not to be sick. Dom placed his foot on one floorboard and nearly lost it to the wretches. Shit!. To Amber the door seemed miles away and the corridor was beginning to feel longer that it actually was. But she managed to get to the door, she held her Boltok Pistol close in case anything jumped out at her in case, she swung the door open, a wretch jumped out at her and she shot it with ease, they all entered the lift room safely.
"Thank god thats over" Kaylee sighed wiping the sweat of her forehead "I was shitting it in there"
"Same here" Dome admitted "it's over now, at least we know what floorboards to stand on when we come back out"
Marcus groaned "All right guys enough chatter, lets get this over and done with"
2:2 Into The Darkness[]
Air rushed pass screaming down Amber's ear and Amber screamed back. She along with the rest of her squad had finally found the mining carts and are now going round and round, up and down, left and right. Just like a rollarcoaster in a funfair ground. Amber hated going on really fast things, like these carts for example. She was ok in a raven and vehicles, but for some damn ridiculous reason it had to be mining carts and fast fairground rides she hated the most, she never did like the fairground rides even when she was a young child, before she was... The mining carts were jut exactly like a fairground ride only it was riddled with Wretches and Locust, not to mention death could be just round the corner. Amber took a deep breath as the cart slowed down to a stop. Another cart slowly went past her with Baird grinning.
"Enjoying the ride?" he sniggered
"I'm having a wild of a time" Amber said sticking a finger up at Baird. Baird laughed. "One day someone will punch you and I will laugh!" she yelled to him as his cart turned a corner and went out of view, she heard Baird and the others laugh on the Comms.
"Well said baby!" Cole hooted "If only someone had the guts to give Baird a wallop!"
Amber grinned but not for long, her cart was on a move again, a Lambent Wretch was crawling above her screeching. It was just about to jump into the cart when Amber fired her Pistol. The wretch fell dead onto the tracks before her cart and exploded just as the cart ran over its dead body. Just a few metres away from her, a Boomer a few Drones were stood on the platform, Amber ducked into her cart for safety and fired her pistol randomly in their direction. When she felt it was safe to peer above her cart, she saw that she had crippled the Drone. If she had killed the Boomer that would cheer her up and make her day, probably make her enjoy the rest of the ride. Her cart came to a standstill again. Marcus and Dom passed her in seperate carts.
"You ok Amber?" Dom asked worriedly in his fatherly type voice, Marcus wore the a same expression as Dom, only in a more subtle way, he didn't seem to like making his feelings out in the open, he was a like a dark horse, and kept himself to himself, Amber learnt how to recognise when Marcus was worried or caring about someone just like the others in the squad.
"Yeah I'm fine, just trying not to be sick" she groaned "How long left until we're at the mines?"
"We're nearly there, Hang on in there Amber" Marcus said in his gruff voice, Amber could hear a hint of care in his voice, inside she felt warm for some odd reason. After Dom and Marcus passed her cart carried on. Sighing she looked around the tunnels for any Wretches that may pop out so she can shoot it to pass the time. Then Amber saw something she didn't want to see, her heart stopped and instantly moved to her mouth.
"Ah shit!" she groaned. Her Comm suddenly burst into life.
"Whats up baby?" Cole asked, his voice was more calmer and more worried than usual
"Theres a fucking huge steep slopey whatyoumaycallit" Amber winced. She wasn't lying, before her the tracks vanished and curved into a steep slope along with the ceiling it went straight down. Baird was now roaring with laughter.
"Baird thats not funny" Kaylee muttered "I've gotta go down one aswell"
"Oh that is priceless!" Baird chuckled into chuckle fits "See this is what women get for joining the army"
"Shut up Baird"
Amber winced as her cart came ever close to the steep tracks that was point directly straight down. Her cart slowed down, just like those rollarcoasters in a fairground.
"Wish me luck guys" Amber muttered "I'm shitting it now"
"Good luck Am... mum" Kaylee stuttered hoping that none of them noticed. Amber took a deep breath, slowly the cart went over the curve, and then raced down the steep slope like lightning, Amber screamed and held on for dear life.
Baird couldn't believe himself, he heard Amber scream and her cart racing down the tracks, he couldn't wait to see her face. Luckily for him. He, Marcus, Dom and Cole get to go on the lifts. Kaylee and Amber had to go down those steep tracks. Hell, he couldn't wait to see them both and laugh at their faces. His cart continued down the lift and finally the lift halted and the gate opened revealing another set of tracks, his cart obediently glided across them and stopped at a platform where he met Marcus, Dom and Cole. He jumped out of his cart and grinned at the men.
"So where are they?" He asked snickering to himself
"They're both just coming down now" Marcus growled. They could hear two carts roaring down the two tracks behind them and stop at the platform. Amber and Kaylee jumped out of the carts and walked up to them. Baird laughed at their faces, both were pale white with fright. Amber stormed up to him and slapped him across the face, Baird jumped back and clutched his face groaning at the numb stinging. When he recovered he glared at Amber.
"The fuck was that for?" He yelled
"Don't worry you got another one coming" Kaylee yelled, she stomped on his foot and punched him. Baird fell to the floor clutching both his foot and eye.
"Fuck, this is why they shouldn't let women in the army" he groaned
"Only coz your get your ass kicked easily by them" Dom grinned
Baird recovered once again and managed to climb back to his feet.
"And FYI Baird, That was the best ride me and Kaylee ever been on for years since the war started"
The men chuckled, Amber and Kaylee grinned but continued to glare daggers at Baird.
"Right guys, we better get this done now" Marcus growled back into his sergeant mode.
2:3 Painless Night[]
Pitch black. None of us could see our hands, literally. The air felt uncomfortably damp, I could hear water trickling down the sides of the jagged rock walls. I wished the COG gave us flashlights then we wouldn't fall over the unseen rocks and debris on the floor and be able to see where the path ends. I hope there is only Lambent Wretches down here, then we'll be able to see their glowing lambent asses. The only downside is that they can jump out, out of nowhere, I hate things that do that. They scare the shit out of me. I glanced at Amber, my mum. She looked jittery, when was the last time she fed? Did she know we were going to be down here all night? Amber looked back at me, and smiled warmly, I love it when she smiles, it has a reassuring effect on me, even in the darkest times like now. Up ahead I could see an eerie glow, that lit up the walls as we got closer, a toxic smell filled my nose, as I can recognise as Immulsion. We finally reached the end of the tunnel and before us we could see a single path leading through the Immulsion to a platform, behind it was a giant lift. We had made it.
"Finally!" Baird cheered sarcastically. Baird's sarcasm was peeing me off, big time. He stood over the ledge looking down at the immulsion. I managed to resist the urge to poke him. Amber looked at me, grinning. She too had the same temptation.
"So my guess is that platform is where we place the resonator, and the lifts lead us the fuck out" Dom said looking at Marcus who nodded slowly
"Well if thats the case" I smirked "Lets get this over and done with, I'm tired" I started to walk up the path leading to the platform and I heard Baird mutter something along the lines of "she's gonna get us killed". I grinned to myself, only you Baird. I was the first to reach the platform. Followed by Amber, then Dom, Marcus, Cole and finally Baird. I sat down waiting as Baird laid down the resonator. Suddenly we all heard a crack from a gun, we all turned to see Locust drones and a weird looking dude with a Bow and arrow sort of thing running along the path towards us. None of us hesitated to fire back. One Locust drone fell and didn't move again.
"Whoes the guy with the bow and arrow?!" Dom yelled over his fire
"Theron Guard!" Amber and Baird yelled back in unison, I saw Baird look out of it at Amber trying to figiure out as to how she outsmarted him. But he quickly snapped out of it and fired towards the said Theron Guard. I ducked under a rock, reloading, an earpiercing scream rang my ears, I looked down to see a Lambent Wretch hissing at me. Its vile breath nearly killed me. I smashed the butt of the gun into its head and sent it flying where it landed at the foot of the Theron Guard, the Wretch exploded and crippled the Theron who was now crawling around on the floor towards its fellows in bid to be saved. Cole fired at the fallen Theron until it stopped moving. Eventually there was no more left. I heard Baird sigh with relief before returning his focus to the resonator that waited patiently for us to kill the grubs. I looked at Amber, her face was twisted in pain, and I could sense that she was hungry. Looks like she hadn't fed afterall.
"You ok?" I whispered so low that the men couldn't hear.
"I'm starving" she whispered her reply "I didn't get the chance to hunt before we set off" she then looked at me in the eyes. And I could see that her eyes were completely black. A serious sign of hunger, my heart rate increased with worry.
"How long can you hold on for?" I asked keeping my eye on Baird making sure he was going quick enough to get the resonator working and active.
"Long enough" she replied, she suddenly straightened her face and I could see that Marcus was heading up to us. Had he heard us?
"Time to go" he told us and walked straight to the lift behind us, we followed with Dom, Baird and Cole in tow. The lift started to ascend and just before we disappeared to the ground above, we heard the resonator beep. Now we had to get the hell out of here.
The sun was shining brightly by the time we got out of the factory, both me and Amber legged it to the shade before the men spotted us. The others nearly caught up with us but were sent knocked into the air by the force of the explosion made by the resonator deep down underground. We all clutched our ears after a deep ringing filled the air. After the ringing faded we all cheered at our success of getting out before the kryll came in. Amber disappeared into the trees, I knew why so I wasn't concerned. I lay back under the shade making sure not one piece of me was under the sun. I could hear Marcus radio to control informing them of our success, I heard a thud next to me and saw that it was Cole sitting down. He looked at me smiling gently before looking round.
"Wheres Amber?" he asked puzzle filled his features.
"er" I said racking my brains for an excuse as to why my mum vanished "She needs a lady moment"
Cole made an "oh" sound before lying down next to me "Lady moment" he smirked
I grinned "Yeah, lady moment"
2:4 Lost and Found[]
A raven hovered down towards the ground to pick up the Delta Squad who had just set of the resonator, that failed to map the whole of the Hollow. Annoyed Marcus sat with his arms folded frustrated at the failed work he and his team worked hard to get done. Next to him, was his best friend Dom, he too was pissed at the failed resonator, they were all dead tired. Amber and Kaylee on the other hand didn't seem to be tired, even though they tried their hardest to do so. Amber looked out at the glaring sunset and sighed a little. It had been a while since the that fateful day when she and Kaylee left the high kingdom that supported the Locust. They had been found by the Gear squad who rescued them, but their starvation took over and she and Kaylee feasted themselves on them, immediately regretted afterwards when they realised what they had done. The Delta Squad didn't know what they were yet, but it was only a matter of time, Amber felt it was best to leave it for Hoffman to explain to them. She could remember Hoffman furious face when he found out that they had killed his best gear squad, but finally agreed to hush it all up. It was only ten years ago, but to her and Kaylee it seemed as though it was yesterday.
Two women stumbled across the rocky road, starving and getting weak and weaker by the minute, Kylie Amber held her adopted daughter close to her as they walked further and further away from the high palace of the Bloodeaters. They had betrayed them by refusing to join sides with the Locust Queen. Amber felt it was the best decision she had ever made for once in her life, she didn't want to be a monster. No, she wanted to help the humans, they didn't stand a chance against the Bloodeaters and Locust, she and Kaylee can't go back, it's too late for that now.
"Amber, how long left?" Kaylee moaned clutching her throat, it felt like it was burnt dry. Amber sighed a little trying to muster some strength to carry on moving.
"Not far now" She gasped "We'll get there, just hang on in there"
They took a few more struggled steps but eventually their thirst got the better of them and they collapsed onto the rocky rocky road that was full of potholes. Gasping for air even though it wouldn't help them, it seemed to calm down the burning in their throats. Kaylee shuddered a moment and slowly crawled up to her carer.
"I'm so glad we left" she muttered finally stopping at her mother's level and with some strength she looked up to the sky above and waited for any help to arrive, she prayed silently in her head that maybe a deer or some animal would come out towards them so she and Amber could feed and return their energy to carry on their long trek back to Jacinto.
"Me too" Amber sighed and tried unsuccessfully to pick herself up, she collapsed once again back onto the ground unable to get back up again.
After what seemed a long hour, a sudden fate arrived, a gear squad of four headed down the road and stopped at the sight of the two young beautiful women, the first one couldn't take his eyes of them but managed to shake himself out of it.
"You ok? Whatcha doin' down there?" he asked gruffly and took a slow step towards them.
Kaylee groaned, the smell of him was irresistable, almost to hard to resist to pounce on him and feed. Amber snarled when he took another step forward, the Gear stood back again, stunned. She didn't mean to snarl at him, but she was so thirsty nature had an overwhelming effect on her. Another gear took a step forward.
"What was that for!?" he bellowed, this time Amber and Kaylee couldn't resist themselves.
~God forgive us~
The two pounced on them and in one swift strike the group of four fell to the ground, Amber and Kaylee drank their blood greedily, when the two bodies drained dry they moved to the next two and eventually satisfied. The regret sank in, but they had to feed otherwise they would never move again. The both thought quietly amongst themselves as to how they were going to hide the bodies that all looked sunken and hollow. Amber looked carefully at Kaylee.
"Rip them to pieces" she ordered "Make it look like they were attacked by a Locust or an animal or something"
Kaylee nodded and instantly set to work slashing the bodies open emptying their contents, to the humans this would look disgusting and most would throw up at the sight, but since Kaylee and Amber can only feed on blood their brain would do something to make them less fuss about it. Amber looked around for any, suddenly another gear squad appeared at the end of the road and paused at the sight of Kaylee and Amber, their eyes mainly fixed on Kaylee who was midway tearing throw one of the corpses.
"Arrest them" One bellowed and they all charged towards Kaylee and Amber, neither of them moved.
"Don't move" Amber whispered to Kaylee "This will be the quickest way to get to Victor Hoffman" Kaylee nodded and waited for the men to come and get them.
Victor Hoffman sat quietly in his office, signing a few sheets and putting them into piles, occasionally he'd have to shout at some people and as he did so, he would drink some whisky that helped calm him down. He was a rather proud man especially of his men who sacrificed themselves to save the lives of others. His men, his men of war. He sat back in his chair, things have quietened down for once in his office, maybe he could sneak some shut eye. However just before he could, there was a sharp knock on his door. He grumbled loudly.
"Come in!" he ordered annoyed and sat back upright in the instant. As two young beautiful women, one blonde the other brunette, entered the room with three men surrounding them cautiously, Hoffman looked at the two women studying their faces with careful intrest, he doesn't know them from anywhere so why the hell are they in the base?
"Whats up gentlemen?" he asked directly to the three men behind the two women, who stood expressionless on the each of the two faces that were watching him intently.
"These two" growled the one "We saw them ripping men to shreds!"
Hoffman instantly glared at them. "Then why didn't you kill them on the spot!?" he demanded furiously.
The one of the two women cleaed her throat deliberately "I told them not to colonel" she explained serenely "I bring news, that might make me and my daughter here seem like a couple of psycos that escaped a mental prison" she grinned at her own little joke, Hoffman just watched her carefully
"I just need to ask one question" she smirked
"Ask away" Hoffman said gruffly, still annoyed that he wasn't able to sneak in some sleep afterall.
"How much do you believe in myths and legends?" she asked still calm and serene, Hoffman looked even more annoyed, he had no time to waste aroun with anyone believing in fairytales. But decided to answer anyway.
"Hardly" He answered "Why?". It was the said woman's daughter's turn now.
"How would you react if I said that we're what you humans call, Vampires?" she asked her voice was more musical that her mother's but still calm and serene. Hoffman had no time for this really.
"Look, I have no time for this!" he growled "Get them out of my sight!" he then ordered to the men behind them. But then something happened the froze Hoffman to the core. The three men tried to grab the women to get them to move, but they stood still, as in stone still, the men tried everything to get them to move but they didn't budge, they tried to force their weight on the two women but still they were frozen to the spot not moving an inch, and they were still smiling gentle friendly smiles at Hoffman, it sent him shivers down his spine.
"You have to believe us" The mother said smiling still "They is no way your men can move us, we have strength that is beyond normal for human beings, we have unnatual speed for "normal humans"
"Prove it" Hoffman said carefully "Bring me a heavy crate that has to be carried by crane from the storage area at the other end of the base, and only one of you is to go"
"I'll go" The daughter smirked, and within a second she returned with a huge crate outside his office, Hoffman needed to sit down, he was shaken, it was not possible.
"Your monsters" he said shakily "You killed my men, you ate them!"
"Only their blood" Kaylee corrected after she returned the crate back to where is came from before anyone could see "We were starved sir, our thirst overwhelmed us, normally me and my mother only consist a diet of animal and Locust blood, there are others out there, my grandfather, the king of Bloodeaters joined sides with them, so we betrayed them by refusing to join, instead we decided to join humans, we regret our actions, we were too consumed by our thirst"
It took a while for Hoffman to digest what he was hearing, but then he calmed a little and looked back up to the blonde and brunette studying their gentle faces carefully.
"Does any other human know of your kind?" he asked his usual gruff voice was now shaky
"No" said the Brunette "We prefer it that way, but you may break the news if you wish, and this has been awfully rude of us no introducing ourselves, I'm Amber and this is Kaylee"
Hoffman nodded and thought for a moment before look back to the three men.
"You three did not hear or see any of this" he said "Understand?"
"Yessir" they chorused calmly
"This is classified, I'll also speak to the chairman about this aswell, but we'll keep our mouths shut about this, in the meantime, you can help us fight the war if you like, we'll join you into squads I'm not sure about Kaylee, I mean how old are you?"
"Seventeen forever" she smiled "But if your asking in terms of my existences well I'm well over fifty years"
Hoffman nodded again "We'll speak none of this"
Amber snapped out of her trance too see that they were still in mid air flying to wherever they were going next, she's made her mind up, she'll explain everything to the men once they get back to base, otherwise there will be hell, they'll probably try and throw her and Kaylee out as much as she liked to see them try. But first she needed to find a starting point in explaining, and that would be difficult, very difficult.
2:5 In a Daze[]
The courtyard in the middle of the COG HQ was the centre of all things important; as well as being in the middle of the most important building currently. The dead tree has finally lost its last two leaves that floated helplessly to the ground. The bench that surrounded it was covered in year old bird poop that the cleaners failed to get rid of before E-day and the woodwork of the bench was covered in grey cracks. The only thing in this courtyard that managed to live (well hardly) was the grass. Even the once legendary Thrashball player was awestruck by its strength of managing to stay alive through the Hammer strike and the current Locust-Human war. Cole could finally get a bit of peace for once, he was debating over whether the woman in his memory; who had saved a little boy in the eyes of his mother and himself, as well as sweating profusely under the sunlight and had never seemed to age, was indeed the woman he is fighting alongside now. He wasn't sure about her said "daughter" Kaylee, but it was Kylie Amber that was bugging him the most. He sighed frustratedly replaying his memory again and again in his head trying to determine if it was indeed Kylie Amber herself, but he was still put off by the idea that his memory could be made up. He rested his head in his hands frustratedly, and at the same time there was a sudden gush of wind blowing in front of him.
"Hello Cole" said the very lady herself, Cole looked up to see Kylie Amber in her glorious form. Her lips all pouted and red, he skin pearly white and looked incredibly like stone. Her chocolate brunette hair tied up in a 1940's style, her eyes were fire gold. She smiled a little at the gear before looking around to see if anyone else was around.
"On your own?" she asked in her serene voice.
Cole sighed "Nope, on my own, the others have gone out for a drink, might join them in a bit".
Amber sat down carefully in a rather graceful manner next to the Thrashball star, she sat up straight, refusing silently to never slouch. She place her hands on her lap whilst she gazed into Cole as if she was trying to seek whatever he was thinking.
"Trust them to leave you here, me and Kaylee were about to go out after them but then we saw you out here, I decided to come and see what's up. We don't like leaving our friends on their own" She smiled gently.
"Never leave your friends behind" he agreed.
They both gazed at the red tinted cloud from the sunset on the other side of the building. The breeze blew the dead leaves across the patio, the dead tree they sat in front of rustled its branches in the delicate wind. Cole shivered a little and thought deeply.
~Now's your chance you muppet, just tell her~
"I know what you're trying to tell me" she said suddenly "About that day when you was a little child, you wanted to know if I was that woman who saved that little boy, you wanted to know why I was sparkling under the sunlight and most importantly, you want to know why I haven't aged since"
Cole was gobsmacked, but he didn't want to show it somehow he managed to keep his face straight but Amber could tell that he was amazed.
"How did you know?" he asked calmly although his heart was racing at an incredible speed.
"I'll tell you later when you and the others are together, its best you all react together" she replied but Cole seemed to have another idea.
"No" he said firmly "You tell me now then you can tell the others"
Amber sighed and looked around to see if anyone was nearby before returning her fixed gaze at Cole. "I'm a bloodsucker" she said finally "I feed on blood of animals, specifically humans"
"What? You mean like vampire?" he asked his voice frozen, Amber nodded carefully.
"Yes. Those stories aren't myths you know, we do exist. I know it seems barmy and the I seem like a mad woman, but ask yourself, if someone said they were a locust before E-day would you believe them? I mean, they were supposed to be myths" she explained "Me and Kaylee ditched our coven"
Cole stared down at his boots, he felt sick and indeed, she did seem to be a mad woman, the problem is; can he believe her? She was right about the Locust however. They seemed to be the creatures that should be myths and yet, they exist and they are killing every last human being on this planet.
"What do you mean, you and Kaylee ditched your coven?" he asked as he twiddled his finger nervously like a small boy about to ask a girl out.
"Well, they joined sides with the Locust, mainly because the Locust could rise them up to power, but me and Kayleeas well as a few others left because we didn't agree with them, we can't return now otherwise we would be burned"
"Oh" well that explained everything to him. But he was still struggling to believe her, well no one would if someone came up to you and told you that they feed on human blood. Cole looked back up at Amber who was watching him with her soft glittery golden eyes.
"I'm surprised you're handling this well" she chuckled softly "If we told Baird, he'll probably run and scream like a girl"
Cole smiled at the thought of Baird running around the courtyard like a pansy-ass girl. He sighed and scratched his cheek. He looked up at the fire red sky, which always looked like there was a meteorite about to crash onto the planet.
"Well, if you left because you don't agree with your covens new alliance what are you going to eat?"
Amber grinned "Well we do feed on animals and Locust blood doesn't taste nor smell that bad, me and Kaylee managed to train ourselves not to pounce on humans since last time..."
"Wait. What do you mean "last time"? Did you attack humans?" Cole asked worriedly watching Amber with his careful eye, watching every move she made. Amber sighed and looked at the dead tree behind her.
"Well.." she started "Me and Kaylee have been running for days after we left the kingdom, and we were starving, and when we starve our "vampire" instinct overwhelms us, of course the humans smelt so good we couldn't help ourselves, we regretted what happened and since then went on a strict diet of Animal and Locust blood"
"And since you never aged how come you met Anya in nursery?" he demanded urgently without meaning to.
Amber chuckled. "Well, all Vampires have different powers and magic and random "fairytale" shit, Kaylee for exampled has a strong ability at lying, althouth mentally strong people like Marcus and Baird can overcome that because they are difficult to manipulate, no offence Cole but you are easy to manipulate, Kaylee lied to you about that "Lady moment" I needed" Cole scowled but then grinned and had become more interested.
"Well anyway" she continued "I can change my age randomly and I can tell when people are lying with the exception of Kaylee, so I aged myself to three and went to nursery to see what its like and there I became long time friends with Anya" she beamed.
Cole guffawed in amazement "Well all I can say is good luck explaining to the others" he said smiling "I believe you by the way, you seem to be an honest person. Also I hope your not lying"
Amber grinned "I'm most definitely not, you can count on that"
And they both gazed at the setting sun, before heading back indoors to the messhall where the drinks were being served, before the kryll came out into the dark night.
2:6 The Confession[]
Marcus sat on in the cabin unsure of what he had heard from Amber and Cole. Dom was stunned by what he heard whilst Baird believed they were going loopy because of the war. Marcus on the other hand wanted evidence that its true. He rubbed his strained head as Cole, Amber and Kaylee waited to hear his next word.
"So" he started again "What your telling me is that your vampires"
Kaylee bit her lip "Technically, yes" she replied calmly, her ocean blue eyes dazzled under the dim light of the room, her blonde hair tied up in a ponytail.
"I wouldn't believe this bullshit for one minute, if they are vampires why aren't they in coffins? Why are they out in daylight, I mean they would burn under the sun don't they?" Baird said poisonously "So technically, your going nuts under the war conditions, except for Cole, he's just naive"
Amber sighed harshly "Fine, you want some evidence Baird?", she strode over to the window where the sunlight glittered through in a limited space, she rolled up her sleeves and placed her arm under the sun rays. The men gasped, Baird's eyes widened in amazement, her arm was soaked with sweat in seconds, water dripped off her ivory skin.
"We couldn't go out in sunlight because people would know our secret and have us destroyed, myself and Kaylee can only now reveal ourselves because the chairman desperately needed our help, and not only that but our fathers have betrayed the humans and us by joining sides with the Locust and their queen!"
"Wait a second, the Locust have a queen?" Baird asked incredulously
The two women nodded silently, Amber removed her arm from the UV rays and closed the curtains just as the sun increased its intensity.
"Our coven was split between vegans and carnivores, of course the carnivorves are consumed with greed, before they had a limit to the amount of humans they feed upon, the maximum was two, but now the war provided them an excuse to feed as much as they want on the humans. The vegans, ones like me and Kaylee, only feed on the blood of animals. The vegans fled after my father's betrayal, if me and Kaylee were to return, we would be killed unless we came with reason" Amber continued
The room turned silent after the confession, Marcus was relieved but still curious. Baird on the other hand remained quiet in disbelief.
"So how old are you two then? In terms of vampire age" Dom asked for the first time his hands held out in front of him, his eyes gazed to the floor.
"Amber's one hundred and twenty nine years old, I'm ninety five years old" Kaylee answered
"Shit" Marcus whispered "Your old enough to be around the era of silence"
Amber nodded "I had only thirty two years as a human and one hundred and twenty nine years a vampire, yes I do remember the era of silence, I wish it lasted but of course you can't have everything, but if it weren't for the pendulum wars we wouldn't have been able to last this long in this war"
"Good point" The grizzled sergeant agreed, he stood up from the sofa and scratched his forehead irritably.
"Are you really the mother of Kaylee" Baird asked, his sarcasm never failed to leave his voice, but Amber ignored it anyway.
"No" she replied simply "When I say that I'm her mother I mean that I was the one who turned Kaylee into a vampire"
"Oh"
Kaylee grinned "I was shot by a maniac and left to die, Amber found me and turned me into what I am now". The men listened in amazement, Cole's mouth was hanging open, he closed it as soon as he realised.
"What about you?" Dom asked "I don't mean to be rude or anything"
"Not at all" Amber smiled "I was a result of greed, my father was look for power and went round biting people he thought that could be useful to help him rise to power, those who are useless are automatically destroyed. I have the power to change my age and my father found this useful so he kept me alive"
"So how did you meet Anya in nursery?" Marcus asked quietly
"She changed her age to whatever and joined nursery which was where Anya was at the time when she was a baby, they've been friends ever since" Cole answered himself, proud that he knew this. Marcus took this as a straight answer and ignored the fact that Cole knew this before any of them did.
"And what makes you perfect for the army, why did Prescott let you in?" Baird asked his sarcasm calmed a little.
"Because, we have super speed and strength, you wouldn't be able to outrun me and Amber, you wouldn't be able to fight me off" Kaylee replied cooly.
"Pfft, alright then I'll race you outside" he grinned, he stood up fro the chair he was sat on. "One, two, thre..."
No sooner had he said three, Kaylee was at the door before he could finish saying the word. Baird strode over to her.
"Cheat" he boasted
"That was fair" Kaylee smirked
"As for super strength, you wouldn't even take me down"
"We'll see 'bout that"
"I'm not scared of you or anything"
"You sure?"
The next thing Baird knew was thAat he was flung across the room, and pinned on the floor by the petite forever seventeen year old. Cole gaffawed, Dom and even Marcus chuckled.
"Your a bitch" Baird groaned
"Thats THE bitch to you bimbo"
Dom and Cole were now laughing to bits, Kaylee released Baird and walked over to Amber. Marcus folded his arms, it was obvious that he was impressed.
"Now I can see why they let you in" He said gruffly "Next time, if Baird runs his mouth off too much, you have my permission to take him down" he added to Kaylee, she smiled.
"No problem"
Act Three[]
3:1 The Hunt[]
The air was crisp, the wind blew its chilly breeze as the sun went down to welcome the moon. Marcus crouched down to examined the fresh Locust corpse that Kaylee had killed a few seconds prior. He had to admit that the women's hunting skills are impressive, the men watched them whizz around so fast that they were literally a blur as they went. Baird and Dom stood and watched nervously - they both wore the same expression of hope that the women didn't turn on them. Cole stood a little further back to keep his distance, he was gawking in amazement. Marcus however kept his usual demeanor but shock was clear on his intense battered face. Amber cornered the last Locust who was whimpering now that his buddies were wiped out. Amber crouched low and took a careful few steps forward to make sure it couldn't get away, she smirked as the Locust raised his lancer to make the attempt to defend himself. The monster was the first to make his move, he fired his lancer at Amber but missed as she suddenly vanished into thin air, he turned to face the direction he was running in only to see Amber in his face, she pinned him down victoriously and forced his head up so she can bite into his neck, she suckled away at the fresh flow of blood coming from his vein, there was a silent thud as Kaylee joined her. Baird looked at the stopwatch that Kaylee gave him and stopped the time.
"One minute," He said loudly, "impressive."
Amber rose from the dead body, her smirk turned into a grin. She ran over to Baird and look at the stopwatch to make sure he was telling the truth; although she could tell that he tell truth anyway.
"I was hoping to break the record." She sighed.
"How long was it?" Baird asked.
"Fifteen seconds," she replied "and that was Kaylee by the way."
Baird eyes widened, but he didn't gawk like Cole since he was used to what Kaylee and Amber did and it no longer surprised him. Marcus strode over with Kaylee whilst Dom and Cole looked around to make sure the area was safe, for now.
"Not bad," Marcus commented gruffly, "could've done better though."
"Trust you to say that!" Kaylee laughed "And stop trying to make out we're bluffing."
Marcus chuckled.
"We know you're bluffing."
Kaylee's face turned red as she tried to conceal her annoyance, she managed to hold back. Any emotion could send Marcus to hospital, or even the morgue. Dom and Cole joined the group after scoping around.
"Area is safe for now," Dom informed them "but it's best we get moving"
Marcus nodded in agreement.
"Come on Delta," He said, his voice full of authority "We need to find that squad."
Dom scoped the area from the top of the rubble that had once formed a bank. It was hard to believe that before E-day, this place was picturesque. To his left he could see a balcony that led to the once shopping mall. To his right he could see another rubble of the once coffee shop. Even when the street was in a bleak, destroyed state, he could still make out what the building used to be. Below him was the rest of his squad. He heard a rush of wind as Amber joined him on the rubble beside him.
"No sign of that squad?" she asked.
Dom shook his head sadly, "Nope, not a sign."
Amber sighed and rushed to the rubble of the building opposite him before vanished down to wherever. Kaylee was on the roof of a bleak building down the street but within a blink she was next to Marcus, a blink again and she was soon on the roof ahead of him. It was unbelievable as to how this stuff exists and how fast the women were going. It was like a circus to put it lightly. Dom closed his eyes as he jumped down to the ground, he let his boots cushion the floor and his teeth jar from the impact. He walked over to Marcus who was talking down his Tac-Comm.
"No sign of them Anya, Amber can smell rotten human meat from miles away," He informed the tireless woman, "She recognises the scent from the Corporal of that squad."
He heard Anya sigh.
"Ok Marcus, wait till Amber returns to see whether it is indeed them."
Dom hated bad news, he had a feeling he was going to expect one. Suddenly a feeble light glinted from the corner of his eye, he turned to its direction as it glinted again from the ligh of the sun. He walked over to the rubble and moved a few bricks until it came into view properly. It was a necklace, its small delicate chain was gold and the pendant was a ruby coloured heart shaped gem. It was in an impeccable condition. As if it had been made that day. He picked up the necklace gently and looked at it closely, the frame around the ruby heart had an inscription around it, but he couldn't read it under the light of the fading sun.
"Dom!" Marcus called gruffly "Get your ass here, we're going back to base."
Dom sprinted back to the group where Amber and Kaylee had returned, there was a gloomy expression round the group and Dom instantly knew that the squad they were searching for had been destroyed by the Locust.
"How are we going to get back in time?" he asked nervously, "The kryll will be out here any minute now."
A small smile etched on Kayle's face, and Marcus gloomy look had gloomed even more.
"Please don't tell me." Dom sighed.
"So," Kaylee said brightly, "Does anyone of you have motion sickness?"
3:2 Mystery[]
Anya sat sipping her cold coffee that she almost forgot that she had made it herself an hour ago whilst typing away one-handedly on the computer. It was a report that was to be sent to the chairman about the squads that have been missing. The numbers have multiplied and the colonel was pulling his hair out about it. Although she was worried about it, she was relieved at the same time that it was the Delta squad that went missing and later found dead. But she was worried that one day there would be a discovery and that it was them.
What a thought! She told herself furiously, Marcus can look after himself, and Dom. The door next opposite her opened and in stepped the tired looking colonel. Poor man, he hadn't slept properly in almost a week, He placed an opened envelope on the desk next to hers and sighed.
"Any news?" he asked tiredly as he pulled a document out from the pile on her desk and placed it next to the envelope. He opened the folder and pulled out two I.D papers from the folder.
"None yet, sir." she replied, Hoffman yawned as he read through the papers. Anya managed to get a peek of Kaylee's name on one of the papers and wondered why he had pulled out the documents. It was rude to read over someones shoulder but she couldn't help but be curious. Hoffman noticed that she was watching him and smiled gravely, his eyes filled with worry.
"We've received a letter from their coven." he informed her "They claim that they aren't responsible for the disappearences of those squads."
"You've managed to contact them?" She asked nervously. Hoffman nodded and gazed back down onto the documents.
"Sir, shouldn't we tell Amber?" She continued "Marcus told me that she can sense lies, maybe that letter..."
"I was thinking the same thing, Anya." He said gently. Anya tensed a little, it was rare for Hoffman to call her by her name, the only time he did was when he was sympathetic. And that was when she had heard her mother die back in the time of Aspho.
The rusty metallic door opened again, revealing the Bernadette Mataki, or Bernie as she liked to be called. She held two cups in her hands.
"Alright, Anya," she greeted "Sir, I got you a coffee, you look like shit again."
Hoffman smiled. Another rare treat, Anya pondered over what was could be happening that he wasn't telling her. Not that she should know but she couldn't help but get worked up about it.
"Thanks, Bernie." he said as she passed him his cup. He took a sip and relaxed as the hot contents poured into him.
"Need anything else sir?" Bernie asked as she leaned against Anya's desk, and gave Anya a warm smile. Anya smiled back before returning to her computer to finish off the report.
"I need you to bring Amber here, and Kaylee if you can please." He said taking another sip of his hot coffee.
"What have they done now?" She joked "They seem to have become increasingly popular." Hoffman smirked.
"Oh they're not in trouble, yet." he replied "Its just that I got something to clear up first." He sat down on the desk which he placed the documents and letter on. Benie sighed a little.
"Ok, I'll go find them." She walked out the room, outside, the sun was setting and its warm glow diminished as it went, the wind still pounding against the windows.
There wasn't much in a gears cabin, all there is inside was a few beds, a sofa, kitchen and a mini dining table, not to mention the squads most prized possesion which was a small broken radio, which their mechanic was currently trying to fix.
"You know, Amber," Baird grinned "They're considering building a radio station somewhere inside the base to help keep gears entertained, all they need now is some gears who are good at making music, maybe you should sign up."
Amber grinned, "sure, why not?" Cole sat on the sofa next to her with a beer bottle in hand. He smirked when he and Amber looked at each other, the two chuckled.
"What's up with you two?" Baird asked irritably as he twisted the screwdriver that was in the radio.
"You ain't told him, have ya?" Cole guffawed. Amber chuckled and shook her head trying not to burst into loud fits of laughter.
"Told him what?" Baird demanded incredulously, still trying to undo the small bolt in the radio. Amber sighed and when into the bed area and pulled out her duffel bag, she unzipped the bag and pulled out a laptop, in perfect condition. Baird's mouth dropped in a perfectly circular shape. "How the hell did you get that?"
Amber grinned, "I preserved it during the war, remember my fiance? He gave this to me just before I left the coven."
Baird thought for a moment, he put the radio and the screwdriver down for a moment and put on his best thinking face on. "Ok, about your fiance, Hoffman said he had made contact with him, why ain't we met him yet?"
"He ran off before we could get to him, he said he wanted to see me right? Well I went out to see him with Hoffman, and then he ran off, he wanted to see me alone." She shrugged, but pain and relief was clearly seen in her eyes.
"Amber, baby," Cole said quietly "What's going on between you and your fiance?"
Amber sighed "He wants to kill me." Cole went quiet, silently letting the information to sink in.
"And why would he do that?" Baird asked, unlike Cole, Baird was a little harsher and struggled to comfort someone when they were on the all-time low.
"Because I betrayed my coven remember." She replied annoyed. "He wants me to be put in my place, and be a typical housewife for him, rather than stand out and be rash about things."
"And by rash, you mean, standing against your covens decision to join forces with the Locust." Baird went on.
Amber nodded, there was a knock at the door and the door slowly opened, Bernie stepped in smiling gently at the trio.
"Hey granny." Baird greeted in his typical spiteful tone.
"Hello, hows granny's boy?" she responded with a smirk.
"He's fine baby!" Cole cheered "So what brings you here boomer lady? Gonna skin more cats?"
Bernie chuckled at this comment, "Naw, I've come ter pick up Amber and take her to Hoffman, some shits going on, he looks like shit as well."
"I'll see you guys later" Amber smiled, she got off the sofa and was by Bernie's side within a second. Bernie smiled happily.
"Well we can't keep the man waiting." she said.
Amber nodded in agreement and followed Bernie out the door, closing it behind her. Cole sighed and continued to drink his beer, and Baird returned to repairing the small radio.