Your eyes drift over Chris as you grip the rock in your hand. He's speaking to Loosha and Ormina, hunched over a table and poring over what you'd assume is a map of the infirmary. Glancing around, nobody seems to be looking as you skulk over to one of the infirmary windows. Annoyingly, it's rather close to the front entrance, but you can't dally. You need to seize your chance.
You have a mission, after all. Raindrop is relying on you. The Bastion is relying on you… right?
You raise your arm, grasping the stone. You wish you could throw it, but it would attract too much attention. Too much noise, too much risk. Your hand trembles as you prepare to bring it down against the glass, glancing around one final time to make sure you aren't being watched. Even as you confirm that everyone's paying attention to something else, you still can't shake the crawling feeling of eyes on your back. You bring the stone down, point first, and are greeted by a disappointing 'thud'. You try again. And again. And AGAIN. Each time, the thud gets louder, and you get more panicked. What if someone hears? What if someone sees? With one last burst of adrenaline-fueled energy, you drive the stone through the window, the shards of glass tearing through your skin, leaving a vibrant red on the window frame. You smile through the searing pain. It looks even more convincing now.
You grab some of the spare bandages before going up to Chris. His face is as stoic as ever, but he looks… tired. The bags under his eyes look deeper than ever as he turns to you. You hold your lacerated hand in the pocket of your coat as you stammer on about the hole in the fence. Kathleen, Lottie, whatever excuse you can pull out. You speak loud enough to draw over a couple of others, as Chris pinches the bridge of his nose, saying that others are already on the way to fix it and that Lottie takes priority. He manages to calm everyone down, but the damage is done. You've wasted as much time as possible, and you go to turn away, but just as you do, he puts a hand on your shoulder.
'Nio, I appreciate your diligence and your bravery. It takes a lot of guts to speak up like that. How about you come along with us?'
Uh oh. This is more than you signed up for. But… maybe this is an opportunity?
You're side by side with Ormina, Chris and Loosha joint at the front with his pistols and her shield in hand. The corridors of the substation stretch out in front of you, with every corner a potential route of ambush. You're holding your gun shakily as you clear each room one by one, heading through the infirmary towards the deeper regions of the substation. Getting in took far longer than planned due to your window-breaking shenanigans prompting a perimeter sweep, just to ensure that Lottie hadn't gotten out. Every now and again, so as not to draw too much attention to yourself, you claim to see movement or a shadow in a room you pass through, prompting deeper investigation. It works to draw out the process even longer, and you hope you buy Raindrop and the others enough time to neutralise Lottie.
Oddly enough, Chris is rather chatty during this whole process, quietly recounting stories of similar operations back when he was in the military. Clearing rooms, losing people, arguments with the top brass. It's… strange, you wouldn't have expected a stoic military man like himself to act this way. But then you look closer at his eyes, at his mouth. The way it twitches at the corners and the way his lips tighten occasionally. He's scared, just like you. Yet he's still the one going in first with flashlight and firearm in hand. Loosha throws you two a dirty look, prompting you to hurry up as Ormina simply sighs.
But that's all drowned out by the sound of a single, loud gunshot reverberating through the corridors. You're too late.
You look down at your hand. Blood is seeping through the bandages, dripping onto the floor. Some of it has gotten onto your other hand, too. At least, you feel like it has. You realise you can't actually see anything anymore. The lights have gone out.
Mission accomplished… right? Then why do you feel this sinking feeling in your stomach?
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