Raven Squad Nine [Part 2}
kind of resisting the urge to call them chapters instead of parts but hey. heh. onward to part two! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The first thing i remembered was the darkness. It was all around me, making me feel as if I was floating. Something was wrong. I could feel it in the back of my mind but I couldn't place the problem. I heard echos, voices. I felt numb. A sudden shock shook me from my thoughts and I felt myself taking a deep breath of air, my vision unclouded and revealed the problem to me. I was in a dark room and bound to, what felt like, a chair. Now I knew what the feeling at the back of my mind had been. I was being tortured. Why? I didn't know but In order to endure the torture to my mind had kept my sanity in one piece by forcing my conciousness into a deep part of my mind. Though, I was awake now. The sudden surge of pain, from my tortured body, made me wince. I ignored the pain for now and tried to take count of where all I hurt. Luckily, for now, it seemed that everything was entact and from what i could feel i had been stripped of my armor and, somehow, my collar had been removed. A small grin worked its way across my lips at the realization that i wasnt controllable anymore. a sudden hit against the side of my head sent blood to spatter against the wall to my right. I didn't feel the pain from the hit. My body was in enough pain already so now i was feeling numb. I started to chuckle at another realization. Another punch, this time to my stomache. A momentary stop in breathing. After a breath i started to laugh. Had i gone insane? No, I didn't feel the pain from their torture anymore so it was kind of pointless to torture me anymore, that's why i was laughing. "Get him out of here and don't get so rough with the next one, they aren't of any use to us if their mind's dont stay intact." I grinned again and felt myself start to laugh louder, it being a near evil, echoing and empty, laugh. Hearing it myself sent chills racing up and down my spine. I felt something sharp enter my arm and my mind was enveloped in darkness again, The laughing i had down still echoing in my ears and mind long after i stopped. I drifted once more. A part of me was glad the pain was over now. The rest of me still wanted to fight and live. Which side had won that battle? Was i alive now or dead and drifting forever in a pergatory of my own hell? My answer came as i heard a voice. A female. "Wake up..." Why wake up? It was finally all over, I was at peace, somewhat. "Wake up, we have to move!" i slowly opened my eyes and started to breath, it feeling like i hadnt in quite a while. I than started to sit up but was pushed back down. the females voice a whisper now "Too late, stay down and be still..." I was too weak right now to resist being forced back down onto the ground. My initial thought was on my location. Where was I? Wherever I was the smell was horrendous. Rot quickly filled my nose. My body twitched out of a urge to move away from this spot, but i couldnt move. something was ontop of me, keeping me pinned to the ground and unable to move due to how weak i felt. The only thing within vicinity, that didn't smell of rot, was the female. where was she? it didn't take long to realize that she was now laying ontop my body keeping me pinned down. I started to talk, to try and ask where i was, but was shocked to see the female reach over and place a kind of muzzle over my maw. No talking i guess. It was a few moments before i was told i could sit up, so i did. i stretched out a little, my joints sore. I than started looking around, trying to get my bearings and find out why it smelled of rot here. Shock came on quick as i realized i was in some kind of ditch. The smell of rot had been animal corpses that had been kicked into the ditch and left to rot thanks to the sun and other elements. If i could talk i would have asked where i was but, as if the creature had read my mind, she started talking "You're lucky we have the antidote to the poison they injected into you, if not for that you would have wound up dead like the rest of those here." I blinked a bit and took a look around again, curious as to weither those that filled the ditch where just those unlucky enough to get drawn into the war or if they were soldiers. None of them had markings or armor from what i could tell. I was forced from my thoughts by a sudden tug on my arm, the female was forcing me to my feet. I gladly got up, my strength returning quickly, the sooner i got away from this place the sooner I could get away from the pugnate smell of rotting flesh and bloated corpses. "They have patrols in this area and unless you want to wind up back at their base, or worse, i suggest you follow me and do everything i say as quickly and quietly as you can. We'll be safe once we get to my village." Village? i thought to myself. There was no intel outside of what we were told about the mission, though i had figured that there were bound to be some form of settlements throughout the land. The mission. My thoughts dwelled on the mission for a second before changing to dwell on my squad and their fate. With all the bodies here I couldn't tell if any had met the same fate, I hoped not. Had they escaped or were they still in the FUA base. I didn't get long to dwell on it before i noticed the female take off quickly, leaving me behind. Guess it was keep pace or fall behind and die. I still felt numb from all the torture, so running wouldn't be the problem. the problem was keeping up with the female. She was quick, agile. I tripped, falling hard to the forest's cold ground. I quickly got up, seeing the female get smaller, she didnt even bother to stop and check on me or wait for me to catch up. I raced after her as fast as my legs would carry me. One thought crossing my mind, "With grace and speed like that she must be a kind of feline." I couldn't help but admire her endurance and capabilities. Was she a soldier? It was now that i first took note of what she looked like, even if it was just from behind. Her back was bare, except for a strip of what looked like cloth hanging down to the middle of her back, colorful beads adroning it. From what i could tell, she was wearing a kind of large belt around her waist. It continued down a ways before fabric, sewn to the bottom of the belt, sprawled out and continued down past her hips, ending, almost half a foot above her knees. No armor, was my initial thought. my second thought was that she had a death wish. i shook my head and just continued to follow her. The sun had gown down by now, allowing the moon to rise. A few quick glimpses through the tree tops hinted to there being only a sliver of moon. How long had i been in that camp? It was hard to tell since i hadn't actually been awake during the time i was there, but i knew it had been quite a while since the moon had already gone through a phase. Having been lost in thought, letting myself subconciously run, I didn't see the female stop and i couldn't stop myself from ramming into her, hard. I felt myself thud to the ground, at the same time i heard her thump to the ground, after which I heard a loud growl followed soon by the females angered voice "Watch where you are going * * *
!!" what had she called me? i had heard her say it but it was like the wind, nothing came to mind when i thought about what she had called me. was it even a language? I didn't get much time to think on it before the female forced me back to my feet and turned towards me. Now i could get a better look at her and she was, actually, a kind of feline, probably cheetah from the way she moved and looked. it was hard to tell with all the paint she wore, the black paint noticable since it had rubbed off here and there. The belt she wore was actually leather while the rest of her clothing was cloth. She had some well fitted trinkets on her wrists and ankles, as well as what looked like necklaces on her neck, that hung down a bit towards her chest, but they stopped at her front instead of curving all the way around her neck. Piercings? The piece of fabric on her back had actually been two pieces of cloth that met together and had been braided into each other. Along her front those two pieces of cloth came down, from her neck, and crossed her chest doing a decent job of covering her breasts while making a "X" before coming to rest at her sides, leaving her lower ribcage, as well as her flat stomache, exposed. The fabric was then either sewn onto, or tied to, two O rings. Both rings connected to, at her left and right hip, the belt. She turned her head away from me and I followed her gaze, feeling awe creep into my mind at what i saw. There was a large wooden wall in front of us, one torch was light on both sides of what looked like the gate, into what i figured, was her village. Ontop of the wall stood sentries, one turning to yell something. Soon after the yell the gate opened inward, than up. The view from the outside had been nothing compared to what i saw from the gate's opening. What looked like a small city sprawled out and nestled into the forest around it. From where i stood i could see that torches where being used to light everything. No electricity? I guess that would kind of explain the females clothing, and the lack of anything more advanced than the spear i saw a sentry holding. Had these creatures developed backwards because of the war? It was something to think about later. For now i watched as the female moved forward, into the village. After a few moments I followed after her but kept my distance. I couldn't help but be curious about why i had been saved and brought here, and weither i was in for some trouble or not. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *