[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/XRq18Tg.png[/img][/center] [center][b]Captain Iroquois Pliskin, United States Marine Corps[/b][/center] [center][b]Located: Above Survivor Processing[/b][/center] Iroquois peaked around the corner, grunting in satisfaction when the civilian answered the maths question correctly. It didn't solve all of the problems, but it countered an immediate threat to his mission: getting these people topside. He reached into the pocket of his BDU, and pulled out a thick Alligator cigar, and stuffed it into his mouth. Today was proving to be one Heck of a roller coaster ride. He sparked a light with a match, and ignited the tobacco dream he'd been savoring since the 22nd ceased ground operations. Today would be as good a day as any to suffocate himself on that sweet, sweet smoke. He pulled, the familiar and pleasant taste of acrid cancer-giving smoke swirling in his mouth. He puffed some of it out, and inhaled the rest. And then it was time to put his cards on the table; those people needed his help, and wouldn't last a second without him. He stood up, let his M4A1 hang freely on its shoulder strap, and walked out onto the walkway with his arms raised. His cigar blazed lazily in his mouth, and rolled slightly as he chewed it. His military training kicked in immediately, and he started appraising the makeshift militia; analyzing its strengths and weaknesses. They'd begun arming themselves; two women wore slightly over-sized ballistic vests, a few of them were armed and had pilfered grenades from Iroquois's comrades. This was good, they were thinking on their feet; secure a strong defense, and use it to launch a strong offense. He liked these people, they had a chance. Though he also saw fear in some, perhaps even dissent; mistrust and selfishness - that'd be a nail in the coffin. Then again, he saw a child, trapped under a body of the not-so-fortunate. A woman was helping her. Selflessness, compassion... yeah, that'd be a nail too. [b][color=fff200]"If you people want to stay alive,"[/color][/b] he called out to them. [color=fff200][b]"Stay with me."[/b][/color] Iroquois pulled out a rope from his battle harness, and attached it to the railing, and threw it over the edge. [b][color=fff200]"Through that door is the de-contamination area; it's a whole mess of small cells, shower rooms, adhock labs and security check points. There's an armoury that'll deck you guys out in the latest and best that the U.S of A has to offer,"[/color][/b] he said, expelling a cloud of cigar smoke.[b][color=fff200] "Only problem is, we lost contact with that area fifteen minutes ago, so you can bet that your friend there isn't going to be the last crazy to come your way."[/color][/b] Then he motioned to the dangling rope. [b][color=fff200]"Or, if you've got the upper body strength, you can climb this rope to freedom. Should be a nice easy walk from here to the helipad, where in about five minutes a whole Blackhawk full of Navy Seals is about to extract your all-important asses."[/color][/b] [b][color=ed1c24]"Ca-Captain?"[/color][/b] A familiar but weak voice moaned out from the middle of the room. [hr] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/GlfXr47.png[/img][/center] [center][b]PFC James Corville, United States Marine Corps[/b][/center] [center][b]Located: Survivor Processing [/b][/center] The world dimmed, and then it flashed a vibrant white; large banging noises echoed through his mind, but they were distorted, as if he was underwater. Then he felt himself being lifted, and tossed about; the angelic and overly bright image of a woman's face crashed against his brain. Then everything went black again. [b][color=fff200]James awoke with a start[/color][/b], his head spinning; bile rose to his throat, and he vomited over the floor immediately in-front of his face. His eyes gave him distorted pictures, silhouettes; his ears haunted by an intense ringing noise. [i]Where the fuck am I?[/i] were his first coherent thoughts. And then he remembered everything; the walkway, the Level 5 Breach, his orders to kill the civilians - Jones! James reached for his rifle, only to find himself finding the fabric of his fatigues. Where was his armour? He sat up, rubbing his head, trying to piece everything together. Nothing made sense though, his memory had cut itself off the moment he left the walkway. Looking around, he realized he was in the middle of the civilians; half of them were covered in blood, some were dead, others were gearing themselves up for war. [b][color=00aeef]"Or, if you've got the upper body strength, you can climb this rope to freedom. Should be a nice easy walk from here to the helipad, where in about five minutes a whole Blackhawk full of Navy Seals is about to extract your all-important asses."[/color][/b] That voice! James could never mistaken that grizzly, smokey velvet of Captain Pliskin. "Ca-Captain?" He said, as loud as he could, making to stand. [b][color=fff200]"Four divided by two,"[/color][/b] the husky voice blared back at him. James didn't immediately understand, "What?" A streak of heart rending fear pierced his addled consciousness, as the horrifying realization dawned on him that he probably had a millisecond before the Captain put a bullet through his brain. [b][color=ed1c24]"Four!" [h3]FUCK![/h3] "NO! TWO! IT'S TWO!" [/color][/b] [b][color=fff200]"Welcome back to the party, Private,"[/color][/b] he heard the Captain say; the man was still a blur to James' eyes. James managed to get to his feet, his eyes slowly regaining their proper 20/20 vision. The survivors were looking at him, but they didn't seem all that concerned, more pissed off than anything. [b][color=ed1c24]"We've gotta neutralize them, Sir, the Colon-"[/color][/b] James tried to say, perhaps unwisely given his predicament. [b][color=fff200]"Orders have changed Private, those men and women are now our top priority. The Colonel wants them top side,"[/color][/b] the Captain interluded. He addressed the survivors. [color=fff200][b]"So what's it going to be? A crawl through the belly of the beast? Or a quick climb to freedom? Make it quick, as that Einstein of yours just pointed out, we haven't got long."[/b][/color] [hr] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/Y6tHX9N.png[/img][/center] [center][b]Jamie Alycia Reyes[/b][/center] [center][b]Location: Survivor Processing[/b][/center] The armour was heavy on Jamie. She was the kind of girl that took good care of herself, not obsessively so, but she prided herself on her New York Minute style workouts that she'd crammed in at every opportunity in a life she could now barely remember. Still, the weight of the ceramic plates, the buckles and the Kevlar all added up to double gravity. She shifted her weight to the left, then the right, trying to gauge some kind of happy medium. It'd keep her alive, and it'd be great for cardio, but she wasn't so certain it'd do her speed any good. "Are you okay?" Kahleen asked, Jamie looked up at her. Those big, wonderful green eyes eclipsing everything. Jamie could tell that Kahleen wanted this nightmare to be over, but Hell, who wouldn't? Jamie was starting to remember who she was, starting to remember her father's words. The andrenaline had run itself dry, and the cold rush of reason was returning at an impressive pace. "I'm fine babe," Jamie said, patting at the pockets on the body armour. "Has that guy gone crazy yet? Maybe you should give me that gun and I can put him down." "Ask him a maths question," a voice yelled out from above, "the infected can't logic for shit." Jamie pushed Kahleen aside, and stood in front of her. It was her time to be the heroine! "Stay behind me, babe. Looks like another one of these fucking soldiers wants a piece!" Jamie's eyes narrowed on the doorway up top, and for a split second, she saw the spindly legs of a bandanna blow around the edge of the door frame. "How about you fuck off," she mumbled to herself, before turning to Kahleen. "I don't like this, we need to get out of here." "For--fortynine!" called out the potential murderous clown from across the room, Jamie heard audible sighs of relief. "Idiots," she whispered to Kahleen. "Really? A maths question? These people can fly planes!" And then Army Guy #4 was up on the walkway, giving a speech reminiscent of a 90's action flick. If Jamie had a gun, she'd of shot him down; soldiers had managed to get their way down to the bottom of her "trust list". He was a grizzled hunk for sure, and were Jamie that way inclined, she might have found him half way to being attractive; she wasn't though, and that kind of macho bullshit didn't come close to touching her. And then he tossed a rope down. Seriously? Jamie looked at Kahleen, "I can't climb that, is he crazy?" she paused, "Of course he's fucking crazy." "Ca-Captain?" Jamie looked across the room, and saw Soldier #1 starting to get up. [i]OH HELL NO[/i] She marched across the room towards the soldier, even as he haphazardly conversed with his buddy up top in a manner that made Jamie think he'd done one too many vodkas. Still, whether he was sane, crazy, just an asshole or a moron, it didn't matter. He was going to kill them all a few minutes ago. She walked up to him, and launched her right foot into his unprotected genitals. He fell down with a whimper. "Yeah fuck you," she said, spitting at him. "I'm done with the Army. You guys can all go with Captain Crunch if you want, but me and Kahleen will take our chances on the other side of that door!" She turned to Kahleen, "come on, babe, let's get the Hell out of here."