'The Pit: Hell Frozen Over' - Arc 3, Chapter 3: 'The One Truth' (Closed, Started)

[Fappy]

It was like watching a train wreck. Despite detesting everything that went on below, Neil couldn't pry his eyes away from the anarchy that had gripped the lower levels of the Pit. Neil hadn't seen the worst of the riots when they happened three months ago, but he imagined the scene looked remarkably similar. Thankfully many of the more docile or... 'innocent' prisoners had been kept out of the violence. There were wardens to lynch, after all. Their comrades that had died on the surface had it easy.

Their suffering hadn't been prolonged.

Neil looked on from a rooftop as several wardens were wrangled up and executed; their corpses paraded around like trophies shortly thereafter. Even if he could act, what could he do against this. No one could stop this. No one could control this.

And then he saw it. A woman, perhaps in her thirties, garbed in warden gear and being dragged by the back of the collar by some deranged in-mate twice her size. Neil clutched the roof's ledge and gritted his teeth, "No..." Though he was a fair distance away, it was clear enough to him what was going on. The man had taken a knife and had peeled away her clothing before bending her over a rock. "NO!" He shouted. "NO! NO! NO! NO!" Fortunately for him, his protests had been drowned out by the roaring crowd below.

As more prisoners fell in on her he swung his rifle over his shoulder and took aim. He could stop this. He could stop this RIGHT NOW! Maybe she'd be able to slip away to safety after he took them down. Maybe she'd live to see tomorrow.

A lot of maybes, one of which being: 'maybe I will compromise my mission'. It had hardly been a day and he was already on the verge of throwing away their only chance at survival. Would this one woman be worth the lives of everyone in the Pit? "FUCK! FUCK ME! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!" He spat as he watched them through the scope, his finger twitching on the trigger. "IT'S NOT FUCKING FAIR!"

He couldn't do it. She wasn't worth it. He had to tell himself she wasn't worth losing everything. Dropping to his knees, he looked down at the rifle in his hands. He had to remind himself that this wasn't his call. He wasn't doing this to her nor was he letting this happen to her. Lee was. This was Lee's call.

Turning around, he leaned his back against the ledge and buried his face in his hands. He tried to forget what was transpiring below. He tried to ignore the fact that a woman was being raped and murdered... a woman he could very well save. He didn't have the strength to stop it then and... as it turned out, he didn't have the strength to do it now.

"No..." He whispered to himself as he tried to calm his nerves.

It's not about strength, Neil. Under different circumstances you would save her.

Sighing heavily, he looked up at the stone ceiling longingly.

This was only the beginning.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************

Lucia nodded along with him, always smiling, even when he got stuck or made mistakes. It was remarkable, really. She'd never guessed he'd be able to pick it up so quickly. Though she'd never taught someone to read before, she didn't imagine it'd ever been this... easy. Then again, perhaps she was more patient than she'd given herself credit for. Despite the pain, she'd been in a remarkably happy mood. It had been so long since she'd felt anything like this. It had been so long since she felt anything close to... normalcy.

"That was great, Nikolai!" She remarked as he finished the chapter. "You're brave to start with such complicated literature, you know. Most people would start with something far more basic, but you're taking to it like a natural. Maybe I need to start testing your reading comprehension a little earlier than I'd planned!" She teased, giving Nikolai a light shove.

Breaking eye contact, she looked past a Songbird who'd been looking out the back of the truck. Seeing the water glistening in the sun intensified her smile. It reminded her of home, "You know... maybe after we settle down in Holland we can visit Greece. The Mediterranean is beautiful. You'd love it there."

 

[ProtoChimp]

Felix had stayed in the vent for hours and hours on end. Hearing the cries and screams and shouts of violence unfolding beneath him. His heart was breaking. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't... but what could just one man do-

"NO! NOOOO! GET AWAY FROM ME NO NO!"

A voice was screaming, a woman's voice, soon followed by the sickening laughter of a man. Felix's eyes widened as he peeked his head down. The girl couldn't have even been twenty years old, yet here a man looking three times her age was choking her with his hands down his pants.

No more.

Leaping down from the vent, ignoring the dulled pain within him, he grabbed the metal grate which closed the shaft, ran up and slammed it as hard as he could over the man's head. "Forgive me for not having honour." He said before savagely beating the man until he was unconscious. He turned to the girl who was crying. "Are you okay?"

The girl sobbed and merely ran away from Felix. "Wait please! The vents are safe, hide there you can-"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" The girl screamed as she kept running. Felix gave chase and couldn't help but feel like he himself was some kind of monster chasing the poor girl. He ran and ran as long and as far as he could until they had hit a dead end; however it wasn't a wall they ran into. It was a mass of huge hulking men. Within seconds they picked up the girl and snapped her neck like it was nothing.

"NOOO!!!!" Yelled Felix as he saw her die before him.

"Put the body away, we'll need it for later." Said her murderer.

"She's not enough for a full day's meal, look at her she's tiny!" Screeched another.

"This one might be though." Replied a third man as they approached Felix. He forced himself to focus, to push away the sight of such a grisly murder of an undeserving, innocent person.

Distance, a few metres. Four men, all massively outweighing me. Low railing, can use to my advantage.

"Forgive me..." Spoke Felix through gritted teeth as he stared upon the giant cannibals. "But I believe I may need to kill you, I wish I didn't, and I apologise."

The men didn't laugh at him, they smiled, but it vanished immediately. Still gripping the metal grate, he stood in a low stance, close to the ground, knees bent and ready for an attack. All men rushed him at the same time. He slammed the side of the grate into the knee of one man, ducking the swing of another before bashing him over the back of the head with all his force. He hit the ground, blood pouring from the back of his head.

1

Felix began running away from the three, giving chase to the man. He stopped and pushed off the other direction, turning back to them, jumping off the ground, kicking the leader in the chest before also clasping him in the face with the grate. As he fell back, another grabbed the grate and tried to pull it from Felix's hands. He allowed it, and in that moment of opportunity reached down and punched the man's inside knee, popping it out of place, swiftly elbowing the opposite knee and giving it the same treatment. The man fell to his knees and Felix rolled out the way of another man who went to stomp on him. Felix kicked the grate the man on his knees was holding into his own face, knocking him clean unconscious.

2

The last man approached and swung wild, horizontal punches to Felix. He dodged and weaved side to side, avoiding a few knee attempts as well. The man kicked forwards, Felix dropped down and grabbed his ankle, twisting and snapping all of the bones. The man lurched out in pain, giving the Spaniard a chance to jump forward, punching his Adam's apple into his throat with such force he lay on the ground, spurting up blood. He quickly stomped on his face to end it quickly.

3

The leader was now back on his feet and was ready to charge him. Felix stepped towards the railing, awaiting the man. In his bloody mess the Cannibal didn't think clearly, as Felix side stepped and flung him over the side to his death.

4

Felix leaned against the wall, fighting the opportunity to weep as he he lay his eyes upon the young girl's dead body. He was about to pick her up when the sounds of more fighting were getting closer. Deciding he couldn't stand by as more people slaughtered each other in the droves, he set off to help any he could, and all he could, as the girl's face preyed upon his psyche.

===============================================

Eleven. The knife had dipped in the blood of eleven victims as Travis cleaned it with his own clothing. He looked like a killer from a horror movie as he stalked the mid levels with his knife. Travis grinned as he held up his knife in surrender, approaching one of the invaders.

"I hear I can offer my services to our, glorious rescuers?" He smiled wickedly.

==============================================

Clementina sat slumped against a rock, her rifle laying over her knees. She was with three other wardens. She didn't know their names, she didn't even know if they were in the same battalion, or if they were stationed down here, all that mattered was holding off the horde of prisoners that kept trying to kill them, and probably rape her and the other female wardens. She was with two women and one man, Clementina had run out of ammo for the rifle and didn't have the energy to keep carrying it around. She just had her sidearm, a baton and taser. One of the other warden's helped her stand. "Come on, we got a break, we need somewhere we can hide."

"Sure," said Clementina weakly as she threw her rifle aside, however another warden picked it up. "Leave it I'm out of ammo for it.

"You never know what you might find down here, keep it." she replied.

Clemtina sighed and hung the strap around herself again as they jogged into a nearby building. It was extremely small and only had two floors, but it would do for now. They checked the building and set up on both floors, two on the top, two on the bottom. The leiutenant set up on the top floor, sitting on a table and putting the rifle to one side, but keeping it with her.

"You think we can survive?" Asked the same female warden who picked up her rifle.

"Pfft, probably not. All I know is if one tries to rape me I'm gonna make them wish they had been good little boys." Said Clem, pulling out her pistol.

"But what if they overpower us? Should we not keep a bullet for ourselves?"

"You can. I'll face all those fuckers and not give them a chance to get their pants off."

How did it end up like this? The wardens stuck in the lower levels? An outside force ruling and winning within a day? None of this made any sense, the sheer numbers of the opposing force was baffling, how every soldier was expendable because a hundred would take their place. The jump from a favela to the pit was...

'Eu prefiro morrer em casa...'

==============================================

By the following day, Felix was exhausted. He had to run from more opponents than finish the fight, and it was always the right thing to do to fight to the very end. But the end was frightening and he didn't want to see it. Things were beginning to die down anyway as he found a line of cells far removed from the general chaos. These were filled with those attempting to run, rather than those attempting to kill. He tried to pull open a cell door, but he just didn't have the energy, as he collapsed on the floor in front of it.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

Lewis remembered when he first arrived at the facility. It was bristling with strong structures that were manned by equally if not more, strong men and women. The place had an air of confidence, a breath of impenetrability as it looked so. There were high-tech weapon systems, heavily-armed vehicles and trained men. It was intimidating but it was so for a reason. It was a prison after all but not like any prison he had ever seen. The place looked like it could withstand everything.

Now it was a crumbled facade of what Lewis remembered. In the room they threw him in there was the strong stench of death. There was a hole next to his bed with dried blood splattered where the hole was. No doubt the last resident met an unfortunate end here but now he had to live with it. The invaders came and occupied the place, wearing uniforms he didn't recognize but now see on a daily basis.

Lewis couldn't sleep. For the past 24 hours he sat in his room, sulking and thinking. He didn't even want to touch what they gave him. So he sat there. He didn't know where Aggie was. She could be in the same building but he didn't want to risk getting shot just by peeping out the doorway. He could hear her coughing.

That's when he noticed his neighbor. Lewis only caught glimpses of him as he paced about his room. He looked to be more worse for wear than he did. He appeared to be bald and maybe the same nationality as Lee but it was hard to tell. He probably was an executive judging by his worn out fancy clothes. Still Lewis minded his business, wondering what these men had in plan.

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Aggie was given a room in one of the buildings up above. The cold blew through the broken windows and walls making warmth one of the things she missed from the Pitt. Suddenly she grew tired and weary and huddled in a corner in the room. Quickly she fell asleep, not realizing how sleepy she truly was.

What woke her up was a coughing fit although not quite as violent as her past ones. She slept through a good part of part of a day and awoke to a frigid temperature. She shivered as she rubbed her hands for heat. It reminded her of her lovely stay in Denmark where the prison camps never had warm fires for their inmates. Aggie tried to remember her time there but it was more of a blur than anything else. The cold took away her memories and it began to take her again. She needed to find warmth.

Aggie pushed herself up and towards the door. She looked through the keyhole to see if any of the guards were around and to her surprise there were none. Carefully, Aggie opened the door and stealthily wandered the hallways searching for a some sort of blanket or anything. As she looked around, she noticed there were barely any guards guarding the hallways. She figured most of them would either be setting up shop or killing more Wardens in the lower levels.

She moved quietly until a coughing fit hit her hard. She coughed and wheezed loudly as her illness decided to come back in full force.

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Richard paced nervously around his given room. Part of him was scared to death considering the fact that he was an executive of the company that the invaders clearly hated but another part of him perplexed him too much. There were too many questions floating around in his head to sort through. The fact that he was left to a room to himself didn't help either. Now he couldn't do anything but think and try to connect the dots one by one.

Someone coughed loudly outside but he didn't pay any attention to it. He dug in his pockets for something when he found a small, plastic pen in his pocket. It wasn't much of a weapon and he couldn't really fight either but it allowed him to do another thing. He ripped a piece of the sheet from his worn out blanket. Richard began writing but the as fate had it, the ink died only after a one word.

"Songbirds"

 

[The Funslinger]

"You know... maybe after we settle down in Holland we can visit Greece. The Mediterranean is beautiful. You'd love it there."

Acolyte had been silent for some time, watching Lucia instruct Nikolai, but now he had something to contribute. "That sounds great. I've been to a lot of places, but never Greece."

With that, he looked back down at what he was doing. The piece of wood he was whittling was beginning to take the shape of a hawk. Holding his knife like a pen, Acolyte began detailing the beak delicately.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

As Nikolai continued to stumble over the first page of the book, he became distracted by the sight of Acolyte's whittling. He had seen the man make similar shapes out of wood before, and given not much thought to them. Now, however, he was beginning to see the appeal of such things. He made a note of one more thing he would like to learn, although he was not sure if he possessed the aptitude for it. Nikolai had tested Acolyte's strength first hand, and yet he could also be so delicate. Not that Nikolai wasn't also nimble, but this would require a different sort of finesse.

"We'll be coming up on a village about an hour down the road." their guide spoke up again. "We'll be making a stop there to take on some supplies and speak with the locals. Our journey will be a lot easier when we know how things stand with the tribal communities further south."

===========================================================================================================================

Selina was broken out of her timid stasis by the sound of somebody having a violent coughing fit not too far outside her room. It was difficult to tell from how aggressive the fit was, but it sounded like a woman's voice. For a while Selina stayed still and silent, debating whether or not she should do anything. General Hammond may have agreed to spare her life and the lives of her fellow Executives (the five that remained), for now, but Selina needed to be extra careful not to cause any trouble. This wasn't over yet.

The wheezing and spluttering continued however, and there was only so much Selina could stand of just sitting there, twiddling her thumbs and pretending not to hear. All that did was make her think of how many souls were making worse noises underground right now. In a flurry of motion, as if she had been coiled up like a spring for the past several hours, Selina rose and strode out of her room into the corridor. There, at the end of the blasted, blackened hallway she saw a woman that she did not recognise. She did not where any uniform, and the way she held herself spoke of someone who had spent years surviving by not drawing unwanted attention. She was an Inmate, what little that meant any more, Selina would have staked, if not her life, then surely someone else's on it. What was an Inmate doing up here though? If she was looking to join the ranks of the new Wardens of RACDI-Alpha, then she would likely be sorely disappointed, the state she was in.

"Excuse me? Are you alright?" Selina asked tentatively.

=========================================================================================================================

The Songbird was getting bored. The battle had been truly something, and he had cried with elation along with all of his brothers at the moments when, after such a struggle with so much blood spilt in the name of The One Truth, when the Warden's resolve had fractured, and one by one their front-lines began to dissolve as most turned and ran, the inevitability of their defeat gripping them. Since then however, it had just been butchery. Not that he didn't take satisfaction from any killing of these scum who worked for the enemy, kicking other human beings like dogs at the command of their masters... but it was much better when they fought back. He wasn't particularly fond of the Inmates either. Turning them loose had been fun at first, but now the Songbird was hoping that things would settle down into some kind of rhythm soon. It wasn't that he had any sympathy for their victims, of that there would forever be none. However, some of these people were an even more shining example of why the world must change, and why their glorious leader was the only one with the strength and vision to make it happen.

"I hear I can offer my services to our, glorious rescuers?"

Here was one now, covered in blood and with a satisfied smirk on his face. The Songbird returned the smile but kept his rifle at the ready. The Inmate sure as hell want going to get within ten feet of him still holding that knife. He might not work for the bastards who built this place, but for some of these Inmates the bloodshed had nothing to do with revenge. They just loved killing. Such could still be used, but the Songbird was never going to get comfortable around them.

"Maybe you can..." he said in reply. "but it's a buyer's market right now. Plenty of people just like you looking to increase their lot, and we're only taking the best. I'll tell you what. Go find me a Warden, a big one with a mean look on their face so I know it wasn't easy, and bring them back here alive. You can't just drag back any old corpse and claim you made it. Anyway, bring them back alive, and give me a demonstration of your willingness to join the cause, and maybe we'll see about taking you upstairs."

 

[Fappy]

"That sounds great. I've been to a lot of places, but never Greece."

Lucia was beaming, "It's warm!" She laughed, causing a sharp pain to rattle her midsection. She shrugged it off and continued. "You and Nikolai should be fine though. Neither of you two seem to be huge fans of shirts anyway."

"We'll be coming up on a village about an hour down the road. We'll be making a stop there to take on some supplies and speak with the locals. Our journey will be a lot easier when we know how things stand with the tribal communities further south."

"Great," Lucia chirped. She looked to Nikolai and Acolyte. "Don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. If one of you goes to the market be sure to pick me up something scrumptious." It suddenly occurred to her that Nikolai may not have ever heard the word 'scrumptious' before in his life. Having lived his entire life in the Pit, what reason would he have had to hear such a word?

Though he'd have no clue what compelled her to do it, Lucia reached out and patted Nikolai gently on his enormous forearm. She smiled, "I'm excited for you, Nikolai. You're finally going to get to see what the rest of the world is like."

 

[The Funslinger]

"Our journey will be a lot easier when we know how things stand with the tribal communities further south."

"I suppose you'll be sending Riley to handle that? The man's half tribal himself." he asked, mildly.

"Don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. If one of you goes to the market be sure to pick me up something scrumptious."

Acolyte laughed idly. "Sure thing."

He thought he and Lucia might be best left for handling the purchasing of things at the moment, though. He wasn't sure, but he thought there was a good chance Nikolai hadn't had any experience with currency before. Usually in the Pit, people traded and trafficked various resources. Food and medicine, and suchlike. The two weren't fully comparable. Still, he wasn't going to embarrass the man by inquiring about that possible gap in his experience in front of other people. If Nikolai needed to learn, he would probably ask someone.

 

[ProtoChimp]

"Upstairs eh? I sure would love feeling the snow on my face. I'll fine one, but the condition might not be too good, alive though!" Travis laughed as he cleaned his knife with his own clothes, wiping it. Where he could find living wardens in the Mid Levels of the Pit. In the small break he took from killing he remembered standing next to other killers like himself, laughing and spitting and revelling at the misfortune of the Wardens as they ran, unable to pause for even a moment to kill them since their enemy was in hot pursuit.

No. No if he wanted to find Wardens he would need to travel to the very depths of the Pit. And where oh where would be an excellent place to hide from their invaders? Old Wolf territory? Perhaps, but many like himself would want to lay claim there, becoming the new King of the Pit. Abandoned buildings would be a safe bet but they'd see him coming. Any running about would get wasted by the horde. Mines would be full of either running cowards or Warden's trying to make a stand.

Wait! Old gang turfs! Not the massive ones like the Wolves or the Crips or Zulu, the smaller ones like the White Stars or the Yakuza. Former members may flock there, but they were small enough that perhaps a small troop of Wardens could flood in for safety. There he could surely find one and take them head on in a one on one fight.

However, before he descended into the biggest ghetto of the Pit, a more cowardly thought had come to mind: The Hive, from a fighting ground to an execution stage for prisoners, no doubt the more theatrical prisoners would bring Wardens there to execute. Surely, surely he could grab one that has been beaten down, a big one, a scary one, and most importantly, one who had already been beaten down for him. Not that he needed that of course, he kept telling himself at least. But a pre battered Warden was certainly welcome.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

"Excuse me? Are you alright?"

Aggie looked to the figure down the hall. Even with the limited light of the destroyed building, Aggie could tell it was a woman and the voice confirmed it. She also knew that the woman wasn't a Songbird by the fact that Aggie wasn't being shot or yelled at. Recovering from her fit, Aggie stood up.

"I'd be lying if I said yes." Aggie said groggily. Aggie walked carefully towards the figure but only to get a better view. She didn't encroach on the woman more than she had to. Aggie didn't want to find out if the woman was armed the hard way. She stuck close to the doors along the way, pretending to use them as some sort of support but really it was in case she needed to retreat in a hurry. She could just turn the handle and jump into the room if someone opened fire on her. These were the things she learned in the Pitt and it seemed more like second nature now.

"Would you happen to have a blanket or two?" Aggie asked the woman, still expecting nothing short of a no. "It wouldn't really brighten the place up if there was another dead body here, now would it?" Aggie joked although she feared that by the way things were going with her health, that may be a possibility.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"Would you happen to have a blanket or two?"

Selina opened her mouth to make her apologies. Unfortunately there was nothing she could do for the poor girl. While she did have blankets, she needed them for herself if she was going to have any hope of keeping warm up here, and she didn't want to do anything that might get her in trouble with the General.

What actually came out however, was "Of course. Follow me, I'll see what I can do." and so she turned tail and went back into her room, now with the strange girl in tow.

"It wouldn't really brighten the place up if there was another dead body here, now would it?"

If the scars weren't proof enough, this remark cemented Selina's certainty that the girl was an Inmate. Selina imagined that to her, this must all be some kind of sick joke, to escape the captivity she had been held in for who the hell knew how long, only to end up a prisoner above ground as well.

"Here." Selina said, stripping the top blanket of her bed and draping it around the girl's shoulders, where she stood shivering. "I hope you don't mind if I ask... what's your name?"

===========================================================================================================================

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The young Captain stood upon the high hill, binoculars scanning the terrain below him, a steely expression on his face as he watched the civilians mill around in the village below. A jeep rolled in behind him, and out of the plume of dust that followed in its wake, one of his platoon leaders stepped forward.

"No sign of Protectorate forces Sir. It seems that they were forewarned of our arrival and retreated."

"No doubt to regroup and consolidate their forces at some more valuable choke-point to the West." replied the Captain, displeased by the hin of satisfaction in the Lieutenant's voice. "This is no victory."

"We made sure to cover our advance with the sandstorm. How did they know that we were coming?"

"Collaborators." Lee spat out the word as if it tasted unpleasant. "The tribes here are sympathetic to the Protectorate, mistaking their weakness for fair treatment. They can navigate this land faster than we can."

"What are our orders Captain?"

"If the Arabs have indeed retreated West, then we need the knowledge to flank them. That knowledge exists in this village, in these people."

"They are refusing to speak to us, even to our translators you use their language."

"Then we must speak in a more universal tongue."

***

The Tigers gathered them all in the market square, a sea of sullen, impudent faces, with the exception of the children, who peaked out from behind the skirts of their mothers with expressions of mixed fear and wonder. Lee spoke to them all in their dialect, much as it shamed him.

"There are those among you who have aided our enemy." he announced, clearly and authoritatively. "This land is ours now, it's riches and it's people belong to us by right of strength. The lives of each and every one of you are mine, and you should consider the fact that you all still breathe a reward from me, a reward that you have yet to earn. We are, however, not without mercy, and I am prepared to fogrive these transgressions against us, all of them, if just one of you steps forward now and performs the same service for us, as you did for those who preceded us."

No one spoke.

"The Protectorate fled, abandoning you to your fate." Lee continued after the pause. "They knew we would come, and they made no effort to fight for you, or else take you with them so that you might escape us. Answer me, what have they done to earn your silence? What is it that makes them more worthy masters than we?"

Still no-one spoke. An old man at the front spat on the dirt, looking insolently at Lee.

The Captain's face showed no emotion as he said "So be it." and nodded to his men.

Roughly, the Tiger troops barged their way through the crowd, silencing cries of protest with the socks of their rifles. As Lee had instructed, the separated out first the women, and then the children, marching each group off to either side, and penning them each into a different house, adjacent to where Lee stood in the centre of the square. Once they had all been herded in and the doors barred, more Tigers brought forth stacks of dry, brittle wood, that they began piling at the bases of each house, before dousing the wood in petrol.

That was when people began to cry out.

"These mud houses that you build will not catch fire." Lee called out above the anguish. "Instead, the walls will heat and heat, until the insides become an oven. The people inside will roast slowly, and you will hear their cries for hours. Either you people offer me your full cooperation, or you must choose who to cook first, your women, or your children. Refuse to answer me again, and I will kill them all."

"Please!" One man cried out, stumbling forward and falling to his knees before Lee. "I beg of you, do not hurt my family! I helped the Protectorate, and I will help you."

Lee looked down at the snivelling creature, clutching at the legs of his uniform, and smiled.

***

A few hours later, the recon team, with their new guide, returned from the West.

"He was not playing us false Captain." The Sergeant who led them said. The Protectorate is there, and they know nothing of our approach.

Lee looked satisfied, and turned to the local man.

"You should know that it is a great honour to Serve the Tiger Republics. You have not repaid my mercy with treachery..."

Lee drew his side-arm and shot the man in the head.

"and nor will you."

As the cries went up behind him, Lee turned to the Sergeant.

"Shoot the men first, but waste no more ammunition on the rest."

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Back in darkness, and back in pain, Lee awoke shivering. He was glad of it.

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"The man's half tribal himself."

Their guide looked a little puzzled.

"Oh, that is not necessary. Everyone here has experience of this route South. Besides, the Wolf Brother has stayed behind with our Leader. He is one of her most adept followers, and she is keeping him close for their own journey.

=========================================================================================================================

The Talon sat cross-legged, in the centre of her chambers, concentrating hard to keep her mind clear. While the usefulness of this mountain network could not be denied, she hated this place. Walking through its rough-cut walls she felt an itch, and itch at the back of her skull that she could not abate. A single itch that contained all that was inflicted on her in that place long ago. She longed to claw her wall out, killing anything that got in her way, just as she had done before. It was hard to keep her connection to the One Truth down here, hidden from the beauty of life above. Down beneath the soil, there is nothing but corpses and corpse-feeders. Only death lives underground.

A muscle at the corner of her eye jumped, when one of her men announced his presence in the doorway by clearing his throat.

"Excuse me... my Lady." The man's voice quivered a little, as if what he saw in the room made him queasy. A soldier of her's should know better. "You called for someone?"

"I did. Send for the Wolf Brother. I have need of his report on our progress. I do not wish to remain here a minute longer than I must."

"Y-yes, my Lady."

When he was gone, The Talon looked up from her seat to the figures that kept her company. There were eight of them in the chamber altogether, suspended from the walls and ceiling by a hundred strips of their own skin. At least three of them still groaned and rattled with waning life.

The Talon could not see what unnerved them so. It was not as if she did this to other Songbirds. All of these were prisoners who had already been interrogated, serving all but their ultimate purpose. No-one but her would ever truly understand. Down here, the connection was so weak, and with the Great Revolution so close, she needed to touch their souls, make sure that her path was still clear. It was the only way she could stay sane.

 

[The Funslinger]

It felt good to be back in his own clothing. Good rawhide leggings and a sleeveless top made by him. Eventually Riley came to the door behind which Talon resided.

There was no need to knock. She was expecting him. He opened the door and looked up at the poor bastards hanging by their own skin.

"Curing up some bacon, I see," he said sardonically.

There was a groaning from one of the flayed men. "... help... help me..."

Riley gave a sigh of regret that even he wasn't sure was or wasn't genuine. "Not my job, mate."

With that, he took knee before Talon. "The phantom samples have been organized and are being prepared for distribution. They'll be ready in approximately three hours."

==================================================

So this is what it had come to. Crawling through the ventilation to infiltrate the lower levels. But even without his bloodied warden's uniform, Korovitch's scarred face was very well recognized in The Pit.

Eventually he came to a grate and could see the source of the noise. The Hive was packed. He could see from his elevated position the circle in the middle of the crowd.

Two men armed with shivs stripped to the waist grappled before the onlookers. Korovitch vaguely recognized them both as low ranking wardens. This went on for several minutes, before one managed to lodge his shiv in the other man's chest. The wounded man fell twitching.

A large, burly man walked into the center and lifted the winner's arm in mock praise. "Our winner, ladies and gentlemen!"

Then he pulled a pistol and shot him. The crowd cheered even louder at this, but when it had died down, the man spoke again.

"We found some... very special company earlier," he said. "About five Wardens--" he was interrupted with mock booing. It died down. "These scumbags had... a very interesting insignia. A grey hammer."

The cheering was immense. It seemed to go on forever, but eventually, it too died down. "We got 'em, ladies and gentlemen. Our new lords and masters have delivered to us the remnant of that Russian mother fucker's personal unit!

They were paraded out, then. Four men and one woman. All had been badly beaten.

"One hour!" exclaimed the man. "One hour and we'll hang these fuckers for all your entertainment."

One hour. Korovitch had one hour to retrieve the survivors of Iron Squad.

"But..."

Korovitch's heart sank.

"Speaking of entertainment... we'll bring back the lovely lady in... say twenty minutes to give you fellas a little warm up fun. How's that sound? I don't know about you, but that last ***** just didn't cut it!"

Korovitch's fist clenched tight enough that the nails drew blood.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

"Of course. Follow me, I'll see what I can do."

Aggie followed the woman because she really didn't have a choice. It was either freeze to death in her room or go in this mysterious lady's room and Aggie certainly didn't mind being in the presence of another woman. Aggie has certainly been in worse situations. Once inside, she draped a blanket on Aggie which gradually made her feel better. Whoever this woman was, she was far too kind for Warden and far too helpful to be an inmate.

"I hope you don't mind if I ask... what's your name?"

"Aggie... but if you're more curious its Agatha Moore, number 59384." Aggie said as if choreographed. "But numbers don't really matter anymore, really. Now its just names. Now... if you don't mind me asking, what's yours?"

 

[Fappy]

[sub]"One hour and we'll hang these fuckers for all your entertainment."[/sub]

Neil could hardly hear the announcer over the roar of the crowd. He'd made his way over to the Hive via his regular route through the ventilation system. He'd hoped to get a good look at the enemy, but it was beginning to sound like there were just prisoners below.

"Speaking of entertainment... we'll bring back the lovely lady in... say twenty minutes to give you fellas a little warm up fun. How's that sound? I don't know about you, but that last ***** just didn't cut it!"

Neil froze. He could turn back now. He didn't have to see this.

Stop being such a god damn pussy, Neil.

Gritting his teeth, he continued crawling through the vent until he'd made it to the final bend. After a quick peak around the corner, his eyes went wide and he withdrew. Why was Luka here?! Though he hadn't gotten a very good look at him, he appeared... distressed. Judging by what was likely going on below, he couldn't very well blame him. The woman's cries pierced through the crowd's cheers, making him feel nauseous. He felt like he was about to vomit right then and there.

What the fuck are you doing?!

Neil turned around the corner and whisper, "K-Korovitch?"

*******************************************************************************************************************************************************

"Oh, that is not necessary. Everyone here has experience of this route South. Besides, the Wolf Brother has stayed behind with our Leader. He is one of her most adept followers, and she is keeping him close for their own journey."

"This may be a dumb question, but do you think I could get some crutches? Now that I think of it, I'd love to get out and get some face-time with the locals. It's been... a very long time since I have been able to..." Her words died in her throat. She didn't want to insult anyone, but she didn't know how else to put it. "It's just that, it's been a long time since I've had the chance to talk to ordinary people. This whole thing still feels like a dream. Like it's too good to be true. If I could actually get out there and spend some time with the outside world I'd really appreciate it."

 

[The Funslinger]

"It's just that, it's been a long time since I've had the chance to talk to ordinary people."

Acolyte put his hand over his heart and and gave her a look of mock scandal. "Wow, thanks, Lucia!"

====================================================

"K-Korovitch?"

In a flash, Korovitch was on his back with his sidearm pointed at Neil. Upon recognition, his expression relaxed, though it remained cold.

"Verner."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

It had been roughly an hour later, and Abigail was out amongst the bar patrons collecting up all the empty beer bottles that she could more easily grab without heading into the thick of things. Despite them celebrating for the lion's share of the day, it looked as though they still had some energy in them.

She'd heard a few things from these new patrons of what was going on down below; deeds far more atrocious than before. The feeling that came from hearing them almost made her slip into Lilith, but she knew the other side would cause trouble, and would likely get her killed. For now, Lilith had simply bide her time, waiting for the moment.

"Would you look at that fine piece of ass." One patron said to his friend as Abigail was walking past them on her way to clear up another table. "What you reckon my chances are of getting her in bed with me?" He then asked, a devious grin on his face.

"I wouldn't push your luck, the barmaid may have surrendered herself and those other civvies easily, but I don't think she's gonna fall to your charms. From what I heard from the boys who took the Mess Hall, she responded to Hammond rather maturely, not one to be taken likely." The patron's friend responded, having heard about Abigail's action from the previous day whilst taking a sip of his beer.

"Heh. Your just jealous I got those two girls last month." The more arrogant and cocksure patron responded with to his more level headed friend's comments.

"You did have a shotgun pressed into their backs, and threatened to kill them if they didn't sleep with you. Listen Charlie, don't do anything stupid."

"I don't take orders from you Leigh; besides this is our place now, I can do what I fucking want." To which end Leigh responded with a small sigh before taking another sip of beer.

"I know, but just think about what you're doing before you actually do it. You don't want the boss man coming down on you in the event that he happens to side with her. Seems unlikely, but you never know. Remember the last time someone crossed him, rumours were that the person was never seen from again." This woke Charlie up and placed his empty bottle on the table; moments later, Abigail came by to pick it up before returning to the counter.

"Yeah well, maybe your right. Might find me some meat downstairs to play with."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"They'll be ready in approximately three hours."

A muscle in The Talon's jaw twitched once more. she had hoped they would be ready sooner than that. She needed to be out of this place. The Great Revolution, the final day of reckoning for the corrupt and perverse, the ultimate victory of providence, was so close, and she would be its arbiter. With the knowledge of all that would be, that must be, careering round her mind, she could not bear to be so still.

"Thank you for your report." she replied stiffly "Now please, go and stand under the archway, you are upsetting the balance. I have calculated the point in the three dimensional space equidistant from each of the nearest solid surfaces in every direction... It feels like I can breathe here."

She took a series of slow, deep breaths as Riley did as he was bid, settling herself.

"Have you ever asked yourself why I do it?" she said eventually, opening her eyes and looking up at the grisly canvas she had made. "Do you wish to satisfy your curiosity?"

===========================================================================================================================

"If I could actually get out there and spend some time with the outside world I'd really appreciate it."

The guide smiled, not showing any offence if any was taken.

"The crutches should be easy to arrange." he replied "and I see no harm in letting you get some fresh air. I'll warn you though, I wouldn't expect the locals to be too friendly. As part of our convoy, you won't be in any danger from them, but you have to understand that some of these settlements have lived outside the jurisdictions of any higher authority for centuries, and it hasn't made them all too friendly towards outsiders.

As for when we get further South..." he continued, looking grim "We'll be heading straight through the disputed lands of Pan-Arabia. The few settlements that survived that war, we'd do well to avoid altogether."

=========================================================================================================================

When the commander entered the Gates of Pandemonium, even the rowdiest and most inebriated of its occupants rose, a hush descending over them.

"Miss Nyte..." He called from across the room, the trademark little smile on his face that didn't quite warm up his eyes "I trust none of my men have been taking liberties with your hospitality."

 

[The Funslinger]

"Do you wish to satisfy your curiosity?"

Riley shrugged. "You can tell me if you like," he said, standing equidistant between the archway, watching the nearest man hanging. The exposed redness of the flayed skin reminded him of the burned corpse he'd held in his arms. Images and sensory memories flashed. Running, running, running through the undergrowth, gasping for air that was rapidly polluting with smoke as the vibrantly colourful plant life was overblown with the yellows, reds and oranges of the rapidly encroaching flames. The scorched body again. The scream. "I may even find your explanation interesting. But honestly? I don't really care." That was true enough. For once, he wasn't in two minds about what he was saying, he really didn't give a fuck why she was doing what she did. But true, it might be interesting.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Abigail was cleaning the counter, when all of a sudden the bar was quiet. Looking up she saw that the Commander from yesterday was standing in the doorway. "Miss Nyte..." He called from across the room with a strange smile as he made his way over. "I trust none of my men have been taking liberties with your hospitality."

"If your asking whether or not I've simply let them have full access to the bar's contents without asking me, then no, though I will admit they do drink a fair bit more than the Wardens did on a regular day. And I think one or two did give me a slap on the behind when I wasn't looking earlier, can't say that I approve of such behavior." Abigail said as she put her cleaning items back under the counter.

"But enough about that for now. What can I get for you, sir?"

 

[Fappy]

Lucia nodded along with the man's explanation. It was strange. Despite how well many of the Songbirds had treated her, she never felt at ease around them. There was something strange about how they looked at her. Like she didn't belong among them. It was a feeling she'd grown quite accustomed to.

"Thank you," She said as he finished his explanation.

Silence fell upon the truck for a time. Lucia had been playing with the twisted bullet the medic had pried from her ribs when she realized she hadn't shown it to Nikolai yet. Smiling, Lucia held it up for him to see. "Check it out, Nikolai. First bullet to ever hit me." She mused. "Holding it in my hand like this... it's kind of, I don't know, surreal?"

*******************************************************************************************************************************************************

"Verner."

"I'm not your enemy." He whispered, holding his hands up in surrender. He sighed, noting the look on his face. "Iron Squad... those are your people down there, right?" He winced. "I'm sorry."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"But honestly? I don't really care."

That made The Talon smile. This was why she liked Riley. His hatreds may have been the same, but unlike the other idealists, in truth he fought only because he wanted to, because he saw little point in doing anything else. It made him at once her most malleable, and most dangerous instrument. She wondered what he would do on the day of the Great Revolution. Would he turn on her in a last, futile attempt so clear his conscience, or was he truly so jaded that sheer apathy would keep him by her side until the end.

"A philosopher from the old world, by name of Friedrich Nietzsche, one said that 'when you stare into the abyss, so does the abyss stare back into you'. I remember reading that quote when I was very young, I can't have been more than eight years old, and it made me think... what of us who are born in the abyss, we monsters who are fashioned from darkness? What do we see, when we stare into the light?"

Uncrossing her legs and rising swiftly to her feet, The Talon, crossed to where one of her still living victims was suspended. The meat squirmed at her approach, it's breaths shallow and ragged, the eyes bulging as the light flashed against her metal arm as she brought it up against his chest. The scream was parched and ragged as she made a new cut across his breast.

"For all its faults, humanity has risen up to be the apex predators across every ecosystem in this world." she said, dreamily as she set to work, her voice carrying above the moans of pain even as a whisper. "They have been the pinnacle of live for untold millennia, and have survived hardships that those before them succumbed to. Inside each one, beneath the stinking, imperfect flesh, the secret as to why is hidden. I feel it; and at the moment when they break, when the strongest will and most ingrained instinct in all life collapses in on itself, I am affirmed by the knowledge that the One Truth guides me still. The feeling that what I do, what I was brought here to do, is not in vain... it is a transcendent kind of ecstasy."

=========================================================================================================================

"What can I get for you, sir?"

"I will have a vodka and lemon juice please." the commander said politely as he strode over to the bar to take a seat. "I am sorry if the actions of any of my men have disturbed you. You cannot understand what an important victory this was for us, not yet. We are changing the world, most assuredly for the better, but we are all flawed mortals still. In these circumstances, it is only too easy for the jubilation of victory to get the better of you. So long as you continue to co-operate however, I can assure you that you will come to no harm."

=========================================================================================================================

"what's yours?"

"My name's Selina." she replied. It was odd, this girl seemed so... calm; and Selina couldn't tell if it was because she possessed some kind of inner strength that she herself did not, or if it was just that she'd long ago accepted whatever fate awaited her at the hands of cruel men with guns. Was that really what this place did to you, make you so serene about to prospect of you inevitable, violation, mutilation or death? Selina had always thought herself to be so strong. Before she came here there was no-one, man or woman, who she couldn't have either eaten alive or wrapped around her little finger. Lately though, she was feeling like a child again, with everyone she met teaching her something new about a world she was only just beginning to understand. Would she grow stronger for it, because right now it seemed like it was only going to drive her mad, if she even made it that far?

"This might seem a silly question... but, is there anyone I can help you find?"

'Anyone who might be able to help us?'