I Give My Heart Unto the Beast (IC)

[KittyKatAlly]

Kyda managed to drift off to sleep for a few minutes in between the potholes and turns. Her head wasn't pounding as bad now that she was out of direct sunlight. It was oddly peaceful as they drove the only sounds where the engine and the wildlife.
Hearing Vulture start to talk Kyda sat up braving the light to see what had prompted the conversation.

Looking out the window and seeing the villages digging through the charred remains of their houses her heart clenched. The poor civilians that where caught in the middle of other peoples fights.
"Then why fight at all?" She found herself asking out loud. "If you have no clear enemy why bother fighting, it would just be an endless life of battles and struggle.... "

[Holocene]

"Why fight? Because here, if you don't fight, you die," Vulture said, adding, "And plus, war is a lucrative business." They drove on for another half hour, before Vulture pulled off the road. Large mountains had come into view, but were still quite far away. James even thought he could see a bit of snow at the top of one.

James was surprised when he also noticed a large city far in the distance. "A city?" he asked. "Yes, it's a UN safezone. Most of the other cities have major fighting in them. If we go any farther we'll star running into roadblocks or military patrols. There's a smuggling operation nearby I want to check out. We're going to have to hump it from here if y'all are ready."

((Got writer's block yesterday, so I didn't manage a post.))

[KittyKatAlly]

Kyda frowned at the vultures response. What did this make them then? Good guys or bad guys? or did that just not matter in this place?
There where to many questions for her liking and thinking about them just made her head hurt.
Laying back down Kyda found it hard to fall back to sleep.

It was some time later when Kyda was forced to sit up or be thrown to the cars floor as they turned off the road and onto rougher terrain. Large mountains loomed in the distance with what seemed to be a city near its base.
James got to the question before she did.
"A City?"
"Yes its a UN safezone..." Kyda tuned out after that maybe if they where closer they could get into the city and find help. Her thought where cut off though when the car stopped and vulture announced they would have to walk the rest of the way.

Hopping out of the car Kyda had to take a few moments to steady herself. Stealth was not going to be her best feature today.
"Hey bird man, you wouldn't happen to know this guys name would you? Its kinda hard to be a team if I don't know what to call him." Kyda said hoping the man would at least give them that much info.

[The Cockatiel]

Darryl shifted his weight forward to account for the repulsion of the launcher and fired at the largest hut. The roof exploded into flames but most of the structural integrity was still intact. He reloaded but put the launcher over his shoulder instead of firing again. Drawing his knife, he chose the quickest route to the camp and went for the first enemy target he saw. With the smoke and explosions, the man had almost no idea Darryl was there until it was too late. Both of them went down but only Darryl stood up again. He took the dead man's rifle and started firing in rapid bursts. Several men went down, and one man that had only been injured was laying on the ground screaming. Darryl continued firing until the hammer clicked on an empty shell, at which point he left the rifle and moved forward with his knife again.

[Holocene]

((Whoops, we got out personal effects and never looked at them....))

Vulture sighed, "I gave you each a bag with your name on it yesterday? Did you forget to look at it? They are probably still in the jeep." James remembered that now that Vulture mentioned it. It had been dark and he had other worries at the time though. Vulture sighed again, "Go look at them, and hurry will you?"

James went to the jeep and saw them lying on the floor of the back seat area. He picked Kyda's up first, looking at the name scribbled on. "This is yours," he said handing it to her. He then picked up the second one, looking at the name. "James...." he read slowly. James. He thought he'd have a sudden revelation of memory, but nothing was jogged by the name.

He opened it and sifted through. There was a badge with a clip. It had a picture of him, as well a his name and general information. It read "Press" at the top. Was he a reporter? Inside was also a black leather wallet. He opened it up, sifting through. There was some cheap looking foreign currency, an American driver's license, and a Visa credit card. There was also an American passport, a small notebook, and a handheld video camera, but before he could check these out, Vulture called out to them. "Let's go, time's a-wasting!"
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Charlie was about to take down another soldier before an explosion rocked one of the buildings. He then watched with awe as Darryl ran out with a knife, taking down several enemies. He'd make sure to let Darryl go get the truck next time. He quickly focused back on the mission as Darryl moved up, Fox moved behind, taking down one soldier.

Charlie followed, hearing gunshots from the other side of the base. That must be Snake. Smoke was filling the air, as the building burned and the fire they had made started to eat away at the edge of the base. Fox shouted, "We need to meet up with Snake, then we will clear what buildings aren't burning!"

[The Cockatiel]

Darryl responded to Fox's orders with an o.k. sign and a grin. He circled the huts, making sure to approach the sound of gunfire at right angles. Nobody, except maybe Snake, would be happy if friendly fire got him killed. In a few moments he'd passed Fox and Charlie and was moving between a few huts that had caught fire. A third hut started smoking, and within seconds the dry thatch of the roof was almost solid flame. Someone inside started yelling and cursing and Darryl hesitated. A moment later he had kicked the door open and was looking inside.

The only occupant of the hut was a slim figure about six inches shorter than Darryl. When the door opened he lunged for Darryl and the two went down together. The teen ran off and Darryl didn't bother chasing him. Instead he picked up his knife from where it had fallen to the hard-packed dirt, and continued on his way to Snake's position.

[Holocene]

Charlie and Fox moved up, going around the other side of the building that Darryl went. Charlie shot a soldier who was hiding behind a jeep, the bullet going through his skull. A bullet whizzed past his face, another few just missing Fox. Fox turned and opened fire on the soldier who was shooting, taking him down with three shots to the chest.

Charlie thanked God for improper training and bad accuracy. They had gotten through the worst now, most of the base was littered with dead bodies or on fire. Fox and Charlie now followed the sound of gunfire. Charlie spotted Snake, standing with flames blazing behind him and on his sides. In front of him were two soldiers firing from inside a building. To the right was a jeep with a machine gun, a soldier preparing to open up on Snake's flank.

Snake was hiding behind a rock, which was chipped away by bullets. Charlie quickly emptied his gun onto the jeep, taking down the machine gunner. An RPG exploded five feet away from where Snake was, coming from out of Charlie's view on the left.

[KittyKatAlly]

"Obviously, we were to busy being exhausted." Kyda drawled her voice mocking in everyway. she followed James to the jeep and looked over his shoulder as he reached into the back and grabbed two brown paper bags.
Thanking him quietly as he handed her the bag with her name written on it Kyda lent against the side of the car clutching the bag tightly.
there was no way this could be everything of hers, but then again she guessed they wouldn't be that generous.

Opening the bag the first thing that caught her eye was a neatly folded bit of paper with the neatest hand writing she had ever seen on it.
The rest of your possessions are safe and will be returned to you in time.
This did not help her mood at all. Stuffing the note into her back pocket she pulled out a leather wallet with a strange insignia on it. Something at the back of her mind told her it was from a game but she couldn't remember it and the more she tried the more her head hurt.
Opening the wallet up she found an Australian drivers license and some currency as well as a photo of her and a couple of girls her own age but they looked local.
an Australian passport was also in there along with a few small canisters of negatives.
'Maybe im a photographer or something...' She wondered putting the items back in the bag and placing it on the back seat again along side James's.

Spotting the name written on the other bag she smiled.
"So your name is James. I like that." She told him with a smile just as vulture called for them to get moving.
"come on, out dear mother hen is wanting to set out."

[The Cockatiel]

Darryl had just caught sight of the others when an RPG nearly killed him. The blast knocked him off his feet but he rolled with the shock wave when he hit the ground again. His own launcher flew out of his hands and skidded across the ground. Darryl used his preexisting momentum to roll over once more and get to his feet. The machine gun that had been steadily firing for several minutes fell silent after a dozen bullets mauled the vehicle it was mounted on. Grabbing his launcher, Darryl took cover behind a few bodies until he was sure that it was friendly fire that was making most of the noise.

There was a momentary lull in enemy fire and Darryl crossed the last patch of open space to join Charlie and Fox. He grinned as he caught up to them, his expression slightly maniacal. "Having fun yet?" he asked Charlie, raising his voice to be heard over the continued gunfire.

[Holocene]

"Thanks. As good a name as any, I suppose," James said, setting his things back and the vehicle and returning to Vulture obediently. "Alright, now that you two are done dilly-dallying, we can move out. If I put my hand up in a fist, that means you shut up and get down right that second. Are we clear?" Vulture said.

James nodded. He may not like Vulture, but he certainly trusted his experience in this country. As they started walking, James asked Kyda, "So, find anything out in your stuff?"
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Charlie shouted back, "Fun as getting shot at can be!" Fox yelled, "Alright, let's save Snake." Fox crouched, and started moving forwards, he moved to the front of the building, two guns firing from the window above him. Snake fired his M4 from behind the rock, a yelp of pain coming from inside.

Fox pulled the pin from a grenade, cooking it for a few seconds before lightly tossing it in. There was a yell then an explosion, the guns silencing. Charlie realized now that there was no more gunfire. Snake made his way cautiously to them. "You alright?" Fox asked. "Ah, got a bit of shrapnel in my leg, i'll be okay," Snake replied. Fox asked, "Should we clear the buildings?" "No. Anyone that is left will scatter. I say we're done here. Be wary of stragglers as we get out."