Admire (DJ x Commander)

Chapter 13: COMMANDER

DJ, always, ALWAYS, getting ahead of himself. Commander grumbled in his mind. Walking into a dark tunnel surely screams danger to me.

DJ poked Commander playfully. "Looking tense, afraid of something?" He grinned. "Maybe some- really spooky spiders?? Or worse... RATS?" 

Commander looked at him flatly. Even through the darkness, Commander could see the mischievous smile on DJ's face. "Ha. Ha. Very funny." 

"Gosh, just lighten up a little. That joke wasn't THAT bad."

"-It was pretty bad." Commander admitted, shrugging and smiling. 

Their remarks bounced and echoed off the metal walls of the tunnel. 

It bugged Commander that DJ was making jokes when they could be walking into a room full of bombs. It was dangerous, and even Commander could admit, it was really dangerous. He didn't want to see his friend get hurt. 

Not again.

He frowned, looking at DJ's hurt leg and bruised face. 

Stupid, stupid. 

DJ looked at Commander, but Commander quickly broke eye contact.

"..." DJ paused, and attempted to reach his hand out to him. "Are you-"

"WOAH-" Gladiator stopped walking abruptly. Paintballer jumped at his sudden shout.

"What-" Paintballer walked forward past him. "AUGH-"

Gladiator grabbed the back of his hoodie before he fell. A large room seemed to take shape as Commander approached. It had smooth, metallic walls, and looked to be sort of an oval shape.

A large platform sat in front of them, and a large hole sat right in the middle of it. Directly under the hole, laid a small tractor-sized car sat at the bottom, it looked charred, like it had been on fire long ago. Very dim lights shone from the ceiling, most burnt out or seemingly about to be.

A layer of dust coated the room. 

"Got you." Slugger said, surprisingly unconfident. For once, he seemed a little worried. He pulled him back quickly. "Careful."

"I am-" Paintballer coughed. "perfectly capable of being independent." 

DJ and Commander glared at him.

"...What?" 

They rolled their eyes. 

"Any way to get around this?" DJ asked, cautiously looking down at the death trap that sat in front of them.

"We've got some metal sheets laying around somewhere. Add some wooden planks and that should be decently sturdy, at least for now." Gladiator said. 

"That doesn't sound the safest. There's gotta be SOME other way to get in here. Anyone got a flashlight?"

"Uhhh, right, here." Paintballer unhooked a small flashlight from his belt and handed it to Commander.

"Usually there's a-" Commander's eyes widened.

An entire arsenal of trucks, helicopters, and other vehicles filled the space, on different levels. There looked to be heavy duty lifts that would raise and lower them to the exit or a parking area.

Stairs made their way all the way to the bottom level. The floor was made of a thick, metal mesh. Like a wire fence, but with MUCH smaller holes and better structure. 

"Woah." The group said in perfect unison.

Commander leaned out of the tunnel and shone the flashlight upwards. It went up about 30 more feet, and an elevator looked to lead up to another big garage-like door. 

"Is there another entrance into here?" Commander tilted his head towards Gladiator and Paintballer.

"I have NO idea." Gladiator raised his hands.

"If there is, it's pretty hidden. Probably covered in vines or something, like some weird action movie hiding a secret base." Paintballer remarked. 

"Well this place is pretty big. Why don't we get some other people to help us?" DJ suggested.

"Hell, get your whole team. We could use the extra hands." Paintballer gestured back towards the way they came, and he started walking. 

Commander paused for a second, but agreed with their suggestions. 

Maybe we could find a way to get back to our- duties. World can't protect itself. That's what we all want to do, right?

Commander gazed at DJ.

Even the ones who aren't obligated to. God- what makes you tick? 

DJ glanced over at Commander, and seemed to notice that he was looking at him. Commander felt his heart skip a beat, not expecting DJ to suddenly just look at him.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Commander felt his face get hot.

"Huh? Uh- nothing." 

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's nothing."