Life Here After - Part Four { Revised }
I was glad to see things start to look up. The snow had started to melt by the time the sun had reached it's zenith. I was amazed at how drastically the weather changed. I had been born in the old USA so I couldn't say for certain if the weather here was normal or if it was abnormal. I made a quiet "Hmm" sound as I stopped walking and looked at my surroundings.
Much of the rain and snow that had fallen the previous night had all but vanished already. Much of the forests greenery was already visible, and with the greenery came the smell of wet grass and trees and who knew what else. As much as I would have liked to I didn't stop to smell the flowers. I had allowed myself to get sidetracked enough.
At that thought I started to see several images freshly in my mind. Once again questions started to surface. I doubted they would ever really be answered, I was just a grunt after all. Lowest on the proverbial food chain as some had put it.
I rolled my eyes. It was food for thought. If I needed to know something I was certain I would be told when I reported in, but it did make me curious about what would happen to Ariyana. I thought on it for a few seconds, stopping once I heard a alarm in my helmet, a red light completely enveloping my helmet before my HUD automatically brought up the areas map.
I just stopped and shook my head. There no more then three miles to the west of our position was a lot of red dots. They weren't Aeon soldiers. It was something else. I didn't understand the letters that started to appear next to the red dots and before I could study them further the letters and the red dots vanished. It was baffling for something like that to happen. Whatever the force was it was moving quick and there were a lot of them.
I turned my head to look back at Ariyana, my hand moving up to tap on my helmet to active the com link "Did you see that or was it a broadcast to only my helmet?" The link remained silent for a few seconds before the female finally shook her head. I let out another "hmm" sound as I thought on it. Things didn't make sense.
I sighed and started to walk again. One more day and we would be at the base. I brought both my hands to my helmet before speaking into it "Playback last contact" There was a beep before the enemy force reappeared on the screen. I watched it as I walked. The force seemed to be heading in the same direction that Ariyana and I were heading in. Maybe it was coincidence? I scoffed at the thought as soon as I had thought it. With my luck the past few days I knew better then to think like that.
I tapped the sides of my helmet, making the recording vanish and a updated map reappear in its place. Before dropping my hands to my side I opened the com link "We need to pick up our pace. I saw some enemies on my HUD a bit ago. It seemed they were heading towards base." The female didn't respond verbally but she did start to run. I crouched down a bit to stretch out. I hadn't run in my armor since boot camp, I wasn't even sure if I had the endurance to go very far. Didn't hurt to try.
I ran as quickly as my legs would carry me. The armor was heavier then I had thought it was. To top it off the armor was a bit bulky. I was panting five minutes later and had to slow to a jog. Maybe I was just out of shape. I chuckled at the thought as I came to a stop and bent over to catch my breath. Ariyana was long gone. I would either catch up with her later or...well...maybe she would come back? I truthfully didn't know.
After I had caught my breath I started to jog again. At the rate I was going I was either going to throw up or manage to make it back to base within the next few hours, depending on how hydrated I stayed. The saying "Mind over matter" came to mind. I had heard it at boot camp. Almost every day we had been told that by the instructors.
It was almost a hour before I finally caught up to Ariyana. She had stopped and her green dot wasn't moving. I slowed to a complete stop before allowing myself to fall over, exhausted. I remained where I fell for a good fifteen minutes before finally starting to get up. Twice I had nearly thrown up while I laid there.
I checked Ariyana's dot again. It was still in the same spot. Maybe she had found a spot to rest and was waiting for me? For once I was hoping that I wasn't going to have a run of bad luck, but once again I was proved wrong. She was gone. All that was left was her armor. Had she taken it off? Why would she? There wasn't any blood on the ground so it didn't seem that she was injured.
I checked her armor. It had deep gashes in the armor like something had tried clawing into it. Yet again things didn't add up. Everything that happened seemed to have no actual answer. Despite what my gut was telling me I knew I had to mark her as either KIA or MIA and just continue with what my job forced on me. I sighed. I had become a bit attached to the female. She had been easy to get along with. I didn't know how else to explain the urge that came to mind when I thought about her.
I shook my head as I turned the armor over and removed the casing along the back of the neck. One thing that had changed about the new military. They didn't take their dead if there wasn't time to. I pressed the button and set the timer for a minute. Enough time to get clear of the blast.
I pushed the thought of the female from my mind as I ran at top speed, weight and bulkiness of the armor having vanished for now. I continued to run long after I heard the explosion in the distance and I continued to run long after I had lost my breath. I only stopped when I fell and skidded across the forest floor.
I didn't realize that I had passed out from exhaustion until I slowly started to open my eyes. It was dark. I had run myself too much and had paid for it. I was extremely hungry and thirsty. My lips felt dry. The muscles on my legs hurt and my chest felt a bit sore from where I had landed on a rock when I collapsed.
My right hand moved down to the small compartment that hid along my right leg. I pushed the small buttons in a specific order then waited for the small pocket to open. Once it opened I grabbed the pill and shot that were inside. I hated experimental drugs but I knew I didn't have a choice. The pill was supposed to be a fast acting vitamin supplement. The shot on the other hand. I lifted the shot until I could see the blood red liquid that filled the syringe.
When I had been given the armor I had been told that I wasn't supposed to use the syringe unless absolutely necessary. That was the only warning they had given me. I rolled my eyes. Being used to test a drug hadn't been in my plans when I was drafted but I figured I had nothing to lose by using it. Maybe it was a form of adrenaline shot?
I removed my helmet before pressing the needle to my exposed my. Taking a small breath I plunged the needle into my neck. There was a momentary blinding pain as I felt the needle go in then some more pain when I felt the liquid enter my body. It was cold. Soon after it entered my body the cold feeling started to spread. I groaned and leaned forward, my hands moving to hold my stomach. It hurt. that was generally the only way I could describe how it felt. It felt like my insides were being torn up.
After a few minutes the feeling subsided and I started to breath easier. I could feel my strength returning. Not just returning but I felt stronger. I smiled a bit. It was a adrenaline shot after all but what was with the pain? I shook my head and stood up. I hadn't realized it but the sun had since set and clouds had started to cover the sky, blotting out any lights. The area around me was completely dark yet it seemed there was light all around. I reached down and grabbed my helmet. I had taken the shot first and considering it had worked I put the pill back in the compartment it had come from before closing and locking it.
I felt pretty good to say the least. Better then I had before. With that thought in mind I ran again. I was quicker. Faster. The armor felt like it weighed nothing. I laughed a bit. It felt great to be running and I didn't want to stop. I felt reactions coming and felt my body reacting. I turned my head to look at a tree five feet away. Once I was within three feet of it I jumped. Before I could think it my body kicked off from the tree and I soared through the air. My head did a quick look around and a branch nearby seemed to glow in my mind. Again my body reacted before I could think it. My hands lifted to grab the branch. I clung to the branch as the momentum made me do a 360. Unable to keep my grip I lost balance and fell ten feet to the ground.
It didn't hurt. If anything I was excited. I felt amazing. I panted a bit as I lay there staring up into the forests canopy. After a few seconds I stood and checked my HUD before walking in the distance of the base. It was maybe a hour off. I had run further then I had thought. All I could think was how weak I would feel after the adrenaline shot wore off.
I shook my head at the thought as I saw lights in the distance. It wouldn't be much longer before I reached base. I wondered how I would report everything that had happened and I was curious as to what would be happening.