by Tom Jones
After looking into the sky for a few moments, Bocchino heard a noise, and he looked down to see that the flashlight on his weapon had finally activated itself. The cat expressed his surprise, “Well, shit. Alright, I’ll have to find these assholes myself.” Bocchino used his flashlight to look around the environment. After a few moments, the cat realized that he was surrounded entirely by strange looking water. Bocchino shook his head, “Oh fuck… Shit! Fucking shit…” The cat squatted down and looked into the water as he tried his best not to fall into the water. Bocchino already hated being surrounded by water, but now he realized that he was entirely surrounded by water with no way to get out. The cat looked around with the flashlight again; he was wondering if he had missed something when he looked around for the first time. After a slightly more intensive surveying of the surroundings, Bocchino did conclude that he was indeed on a platform in the middle of the water.
The cat vocalized his frustrations once more, “Dammit! Why the fuck did it have to be me?” Bocchino raised his rifle upwards, and he tried to view some sort of land in the distance. Though Bocchino could swim, he still did not want to be in a situation where he would have to be submerged in water for an extended period of time. In a fit of rage, the cat flipped the safety off of his rifle, and he began to fire into the water. Water splashed into the air as the rounds collided with the water, but firing into the water did not make the water go away. Bocchino continued to fire until his magazine had been depleted. The cat heard the sound of the rifle’s chamber lock open, and he turned it to the side as he tried to look inside of the chamber. Since there was no lighting, Bocchino was unable to look inside of the weapon’s chamber to verify that it was empty. Instead, the cat placed his finger into the chamber of the weapon while being careful as to not drop the bolt and squish his finger. After making sure that the chamber was indeed empty, the cat detached the magazine from the weapon. The magazine bounced off of the platform and fell into the water. Bocchino heard the noise of the magazine falling into the water, so he turned his flashlight downwards in order to view the magazine as it sank into the water.
Bocchino was surprised to see that he could not visually locate the magazine in the water. He squatted down again and held the weapon’s barrel close to the water in order to illuminate the water’s oddly-colored surface as much as he possibly could. The cat shook his head and stood up again after confirming that he would not be able to locate the spent magazine. Bocchino spoke to himself as he checked his person for more ammunition, “Fucking hell. Those fucking bastards brought me all the way to fucking here, and now I’m fucking surrounded by damn water! Son of a bitch.” After finding out that he did not have any more ammunition, Bocchino continued to rant to himself when he suddenly felt the platform begin to rock violently. There was nothing for the cat to hang onto, but he did squat down in order to keep as much balance as he could. After rocking back and forth for a few seconds, Bocchino fell into the water and dropped the weapon he was carrying on his person. The cat panicked as he now realized that he had fallen into the water, and he tried to bring himself to the surface of the water to prevent himself from drowning. With the loss of his weapon and flashlight, the cat now did not know where the platform was.
Bocchino flailed his arms around trying to find the platform which he had been tossed from, but he simply could not locate it. The cat spun in circles as he tried to reach out and grab something, but this action also provided him with the same results. Bocchino gave up trying to find the platform, and he began to tread water. He knew that he would be in trouble when he ran out of energy to continue to tread water, so he knew that he had to conserve as much energy as he possibly could. The cat tried to move towards a random direction, and he looked at the sky in order to see if he could somehow orient himself towards a reference point. The sky was completely black, and there were no celestial bodies which were able to be seen from the water. Bocchino looked back down at the water, and he wondered where the weapon he was carrying went to. The cat held out his arms and spun himself around again, but he still ended up empty-handed. Despite his greatest attempts, he was unable to find his weapon.
When the cat finished his final rotation, he could suddenly feel a strong current from the water. Bocchino now felt himself moving somewhere, but he could not see where he was going. Though the cat did fall underneath the surface of the water for a few seconds, he brought himself back up and tried to catch as much of a breath as he could. He knew that struggling against the current would only end up with him depleting his energy faster than it would be if he went with the current. The cat realized that he would not be able to fight his way out of this situation, so he decided that he would prioritize keeping himself afloat. Bocchino looked at the rushing water around him, and he could also feel it splashing up against his fur that was not submerged in the water; However, one thing Bocchino noted was that the water felt significantly different than what he would call regular water. He was not sure what was exactly different, but he could indeed notice a difference of some sort as he found himself unable to control the direction he was proceeding in.
After floating in the water for what felt like eternity, Bocchino could see that he was approaching lights of some sort in the distance. The cat found that he was heading straight for the lights, but he did not know where the lights were being emitted from. Within the next couple of seconds, the current increased its intensity, and Bocchino was sent beneath the surface of the water yet again as he continued to go forwards. When the cat emerged from under the water, he could see a hand extended from what appeared to be land. There was minimal lighting, but the lighting was enough for the cat to see the hand reaching out. Bocchino was reluctant to trust the hand at first, but he did take into consideration that he did not really have any other choice. Bocchino held out his own hand, but he also started to fall back below the surface of the water once more. The cat took a deep breath as he sank, but he used his legs in order to try and keep himself partially out of the water. With the cat’s head now underwater yet again, he was hoping that his hand was extended far enough to make contact with the other hand. Seconds passed, and the cat suddenly felt himself going against the current. Bocchino tried to move his arm, but he could feel that the hand of another anthro was holding onto his arm. The cat struggled to raise his head from the water again, but he quickly felt himself being extracted from the water. Bocchino grunted as his body made contact with solid ground.
Coughing the strange water out of his system, Bocchino rolled around on the ground in order to confirm to himself that he was indeed out of the water. Dirt was quickly accumulating on the cat’s soaked fur and clothes. The cat rolled to his back, and he looked up at the anthro who had dragged him out of the water. Though the lighting was very minimal, it was enough for the cat to see who rescued him. Bocchino voiced his amazement as he recognized the anthro he viewed, “Kurt?” Arcades stood before the cat, and the fox reached out his hand yet again for the cat to grab. Bocchino extended his own hand, and he accepted Arcades’ invitation for help standing up. The fox helped the cat stand, but he did not say anything to Bocchino. The cat looked at the fox and asked, “So, Kurt… Where’s everybody else?” Arcades returned with a vague response, “They’re not here.” Bocchino shook his head, “I knew that, but I wanna know what happened to them.” Arcades spoke once more, but his statement was ambiguous at best, “They didn’t make it.”
Bocchino was confused and moderately concerned, “What? What do you mean they didn’t make it? Kurt?” Arcades inhaled before he spoke, “Our helicopter went down. Jim and Jason are dead. I was the only one who made it out alive.” Bocchino asked the fox another question, “Kurt, where the fuck are we?” Arcades turned around, and Bocchino watched the fox’s tail brush up against his right leg. Bocchino shook his head, “Kurt, are you gonna answer me or not?” Arcades pointed towards the stream, “The Foundation filled this stream with the blood of the anthros that had been killed. You see, you’ve killed more anthros than
you were able to save.” Bocchino knew that what Arcades was correct, but the cat was not willing to simply take the blame, “Kurt, what the fuck have you done about it? You didn’t do jack shit the entire time! Your dumbass is the fucking reason why you got swooped up in the first place.” Arcades turned back around to face the cat, “Bobby, it didn’t have to be like this.”
Bocchino was unsure of what the fox was trying to tell him, “What do you mean, Kurt?” Arcades replied, “You’ll figure that out.” Bocchino then heard a vehicle approaching from behind him, and he could see the headlights of the vehicle were bright enough to illuminate both of the anthros, the ground, and the red water. The cat turned around to view the vehicle, but he could not identify the make or model of the vehicle since its headlights were simply too bright for him to look past. Arcades commented on the vehicle’s arrival, “Looks like they’re here.” Bocchino was not sure who Arcades was referring to, “What? Who’s here? Who the fuck are these guys?” The cat looked back at the vehicle again, and he could see a couple humans approaching the two anthros. Both of the humans were wearing full UCP kits and were holding XMP-1s. Bocchino was rather surprised, “The Foundation? What the fuck?” Arcades looked at the cat, “That’s right. There here to finally give me what I deserve.” Bocchino was confused, “What the fuck are you talking about?”
The two humans stood next to Arcades, and the fox replied, “You already know.” Bocchino was still confused, “The fuck? What the fuck are you supposed to be saying, Kurt?” Bocchino watched as the two humans escorted Arcades to the edge of the land. The two humans stood back a bit, and they held their weapons at the hip. Bocchino continued to try and talk with the fox, “Kurt, what the fuck are you getting at? Dammit! Tell me something you bitch!” A third human walked past Bocchino, and he was also wearing the same uniform as the other ISG members. The only difference was that the third human was wielding a machete rather than an XMP-1. The fox stared at the cat, and he remained silent as the third human stood next to the fox while still holding the machete. Bocchino shook his head, “Dammit, Kurt! Fuck you! You fucking son of a bitch! Piece of fucking shit is what you are!” The cat made a brief pause, but he was not finished with what he wanted to say, “You fucking damned foxes! You fucking sons of bitches! You fucking assholes! Fuck all of you!”
Upon finishing his final sentence, the human with the machete quickly slit the throat of Arcades, and the fox fell backwards but not into the water. Blood spilled into the water, and Bocchino suddenly realized what he said and witnessed merely a few seconds later, “Oh shit!” The cat ran towards the fox, and he could see that Arcades was moments away from becoming deceased. Watching Arcades’ blood stream into the water, he placed his hands on the fox’s throat trying to stop the bleeding, but he found that it was ultimately useless to do such. After withdrawing his hand, Bocchino shook his head, “Fuck! Kurt! Dammit…” The cat looked up, and he could see that one of the ISG members dumped the mortally wounded fox into the water. The cat voiced his complaint, “Hey, fuck you, man! You’re a fucking asshole.” The human ignored the cat, and he proceeded to walk back to the vehicle.
With tears coming from his eyes, Bocchino quickly rushed the human carrying the machete, and he grabbed the machete from the human’s hand. The cat swung with the machete in his hand, but he only hit the kevlar ACH helmet of the human. The human turned around, grabbed the cat seemingly with minimal effort, and he slammed him directly into the ground. Bocchino grunted when he hit the ground, and he also dropped the machete which he was holding onto. The human disregarded the machete on the ground, and he began to walk away again. Bocchino did not stop yelling at the human, “Come back here you piece of shit! You fucking dickhead!” The cat stood up, grabbed the machete, and he threw it at the human this time. The machete ended up becoming lodged in the back of the human’s kevlar helmet, but the machete did not go far enough into the Gentex ACH in order for it to penetrate it. The human turned back around and looked at the cat, and he seemed to disregard the sizable machete which was now hanging out of his helmet. The human looked at the cat and remained silent. Bocchino shouted again with more tears in his eyes, “Fuck you!” The human said nothing as he turned back around and opened the driver side door of the vehicle. The human entered the vehicle, and Bocchino quickly jogged to approach the driver side door of the vehicle.
Bocchino stood up on the side skirt of the vehicle, and he looked at Arcades’ killer, but the human only looked at him. The cat pounded on the glass as he continued to shout, “Get your fucking ass out of there and let’s fucking handle this, you piece of shit! Fucking dickhead! Son of a bitch!” When it was clear to Bocchino that the human would not open the door for him, he knew that he would have to find an alternate method to gain access to the vehicle. Bocchino let go of the side handle, and he leaped from the side skirt before proceeding to the rear of the vehicle. When Bocchino made it to the rear, he looked inside of the back of the truck, and he could see that it was full of black and white anthro foxes. All of them just so happened to look identical to Arcades. Bocchino shook his head, “No… What the fuck? Kurt?” All of the foxes were looking at the cat, but Bocchino was not sure what was even happening anymore. Bocchino looked to the right of the vehicle’s rear, and he could see that a Heckler & Koch 433 was hanging off of the frame. Bocchino grabbed the rifle, and he was prepared to go back to the driver’s seat and kill the human who had killed the fox.
Before the cat had a chance to return to the driver side door, a door connecting the cabin to the rear of the vehicle opened, and Bocchino saw the human emerge. The human still had the machete embedded into the rear of his helmet. The cat pulled the charging handle, flipped the safety off, and aimed the weapon directly at the human. After silence filled the air for a few seconds, Bocchino broke it by screaming, “FUCK YOU!” The cat held down the trigger, and he fired the fully-automatic weapon at the human. The cat continued to scream in rage as he held down the trigger. Within a few seconds, the weapon’s magazine was now depleted. Bocchino looked at the weapon, and he could see that the chamber was empty this time. When he looked back up at the vehicle, he could see that the human was still standing while all of the black foxes were dead. Bocchino shook his head, “Oh no… Fuck… No…” The cat dropped the weapon, and he looked at the faces of all of the dead foxes. Some of them had been severely disfigured by their injuries, and Bocchino could no longer recognize them as Arcades.
The human with the machete in his helmet stepped past the bodies, and he disembarked from the vehicle. The human looked directly at the cat, and he shook his head, “It’s a shame. It really is.” Bocchino could not speak, for he was entirely in disbelief. The cat only continued to look at the human. He knew that he did not have a way to kill him. The human removed a Smith & Wesson M&P45 M2.0 from his thigh holster, and he aimed the handgun at the cat. The cat looked down the barrel of the handgun, but he did not have anything left to say. When the cat felt that the human should have already killed him, he spoke, “Just fucking do it already. What are you waiting for?” The human placed the handgun back into the holster, and he turned around and walked back to the driver side of the vehicle. The human entered the vehicle, and he drove off into the water with the rest of the dead foxes. After the vehicle was gone, Bocchino slowly walked towards the water, and he looked at the rushing stream of blood water. Though the light emitted from the vehicle was no longer shining, the cat still noticed that there was some light coming from somewhere. Otherwise, he knew that he would not be able to see anything at all. Bocchino sat in front of the water, and he continued to watch it flow. He knew that there was nothing he could do to help Arcades. The fox was already dead. Bocchino screamed as loud as he could. The cat awoke in a sweat, and he looked around his room. He was back on the ship. Bocchino sighed once he realized that he was back in the real world, “Dammit… Fuck… Why do I always have to dream about this shit? Fucking hell…”
Chapter 12
Reunion
“R
attlesnake, shift right ninety degrees. Over,” a CDI operative on the ground spoke to the helicopter pilot. The pilot of the Mil Mi-35M Super Hind pressed down one of the rudder pedals in order to make the aircraft yaw right. The gunner was keeping an eye out on the ground for any Omega personnel that might be emerging from Facility One. The pilot spoke once the turn was complete, “Copy. Shifted right ninety degrees.” The gunner watched as a CDI General Dynamics M1A5 Super Abrams was driving up the dirt path to the complex while being escorted by four tan GAZ BTR-90s. Since a mechanized infantry assault was planned on the compound, no infantry units were moving on foot outside of the APCs. The pilot of Rattlesnake looked over to the other helicopter on the mission, a tan Mil Mi-28M Super Havoc. The pilot of the Super Havoc spoke to Rattlesnake over the radio, “Rattlesnake, this is Copperhead, we’ll watch the building’s roof. You guys should look after the ground vehicles. Over.” Rattlesnake’s gunner looked over to Copperhead when he heard the transmission, but it was the pilot of Rattlesnake who replied to the allied helicopter, “Solid copy, Copperhead.”
The mechanized infantry unit finally reached the front of Facility One, and two of the BTR-90s opened their rear doors to allow the infantry to move out. The CDI operatives began to exit the vehicle once the doors opened to their fullest extent. Six operatives were deployed from each vehicle, and the squad of twelve soon was able to regroup in front of the main entrance after the Super Abrams drove through the barbed wire fence. The tank drove in reverse once the gate was destroyed, and the operatives kept their eyes open for any sightings of ISG personnel. While most of the squad was carrying AK-12s, a few had AK-15s and RPK-16s. The four BTR-90s began to drive in circles around the facility, and their gunners were scanning the walls and the roof for hostile forces. The group of ISG operatives was now lined up in front of the main entrance, and they were waiting for the go ahead from the driver of the Super Abrams. When the tank successfully moved into position, the driver spoke on the radio to the squad, “This is Turtle. We’re in position. You guys have the green light. Over.”
