The Heart Darkens

Something Darker

The night was young as the lone soldier trekked through and above the lands. Matthew had paced himself quite well, going fast when he needed to and slow when it was necessary. Something about the Afghanistan mountains was significant to him. More striking than a rainfall of red tracers, more impactful than any artillery strike, and certainty more surprising than the things he had learnt so far. The desert was a different kind of pain. When things were too silent, it was in his experience that the worse things happened. The cold silence was just an anticipation, a ticking time bomb. The desert was not a haven, and the false sense of security was most likely Matthew's biggest rival. More closely, it was the things he really couldn't predict that were. He could imagine a lot of things his enemy had. Tanks, sure. A small army, awaiting him, which he knew would be there. Things he wouldn't think of he was vulnerable to. Which is why he was closely following this mission, to be in the know, more than ever. It was why he tried his best to keep his resolve and stamina kept at a high point. He couldn't drop his guard.

Something stopped him in his place however. When he closed his eyes, the visions came back. The things he had been seeing for most of his life. He thought about chances, the ridiculous nature of his disorder. But when he thought about anything that had happened so far, it became ridiculous regardless. It didn't change the fact that these hallucinations were a part of him, a part he deeply abhorred and regretted. The whispers they gave to him called to him to give up. Manifestations of his anxieties. He couldn't let them distract him, despite how challenging that may be. He pulled out the vial containing his pills. He couldn't remember what the real name for them was, it was so long ago that Dr. Clarke had explained it to him. Just 1 every hour was enough to deter his condition away. It made him feel better, but not for long. He took one and sighed, placing the container back into the pouch it was originally placed in.

Matthew continued his trek to the warehouse, where he would hopefully get some insight into Pestilence's plans. As he marched onwards, his radio beeped with a familiar ringtone, meaning that someone back at HQ was calling him. He stopped, just as he saw a slight glimpse of a sniper's den parked just off the side of a rocky cliff, made out to be facing into the valley ahead to overlook it. He crouched down while watching the sniper den and took the call.

"TECH 2, reporting in." Matthew whispered, holding onto the radio. 

"This is Red Watcher, TECH 2. Command has a side assignment for you, if you are currently not busy. It is just around your position."

"Yeah- yeah, you called me at a bad time, currently staring down a Sniper's nest..." Matthew groaned, huffing. Was this seriously necessary, could it have been called in earlier? He could hear Sam audibly chuckle.

"How convenient..." She began. "Luckily for you, this mission is simple, and is yours to take if you want to. The 3rd Infantry Platoon is under heavy fire from two angles in the Panjshir valley. TECH intercepted one of their calls for reinforcements, and no clear US units are on route. I know you aren't one for sympathy and it isn't a part of your mission, but if you help them out it could help to stabilize the region. That is, if you have the time. The choice is up to you, TECH 2." Sam had given him a simple job. The chances are one of the things that were firing on the unit was the sniper, and he could probably make quick time. On the other hand, every other second he wasn't getting to the warehouse was an advantage for Pestilence. But, a past part of him knew he could take the chance to help a fellow unit under these circumstances.

"I'll let you know when it's done." He took the assignment out of a slight feeling of sympathy. It's something he would have done before TECH, and that shouldn't change what he does now.

"Thank you, TECH 2. You're doing the right thing. Red Watcher out." The radio clicked off, and Matthew shook his head, looking back up at the sniper's den and taking out his pistol, slowly approaching the den. He slid down a small rocky slope, gritting his teeth as he maneuvered to the side while sliding to get to a flat shimmy piece on the side of the cliff, and to avoid a grim fate of plummeting into the valley below. He continued his way to the sniper's den, shimmying to get to the den slowly to avoid the sniper's attention. Matthew made his way to the entryway of the den and peeked inside, raising the De Gauze inside as well. Matthew saw the sniper crouched down over a rocky barrier, with a desert coating over the entire den making it into a makeshift den. The sniper also had all the essentials for survival here as well. One thing was for certain, he was firing at something in the Valley, certainly not friendly.