𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐁𝐈𝐀 ━ jason x reader.

Thirteen

[Temple, Iraq. Thursday,
May 30, 2003.]

𝚃𝙴𝙼𝙿𝙻𝙴
𝟸𝟸:𝟶𝟶 𝙷𝚁𝚂
𝙳𝙴𝙿𝚃𝙷: 𝟷𝟺𝟺 𝙵𝚃.

Back at the main temple, Eric King stayed in the old researcher's tent where he took a swig of water but — upon seeing the grim expression on Salim Othman — approached the Iraqi and offered him a drink. Salim stared at the bottle for a moment, considering, as his blank face did not falter. He soon looked away which caused Eric to back away, "Suit yourself," the blond let out a small sigh. "I want you to tell me everything you know about these creatures. Have you seen them before? Do you know where they came from? How many are there down here?" The lieutenant corporal gestured towards the corpse.

"I hope you're a believer, brother," Salim finally spoke. "When those things come back, you're going to need a higher power to pray to." He advised the American.

Not responding, Eric returned to the table where the corpse of the creature was placed and picked up a recorder left by the now-deceased archaeologists to discuss his findings for he was going to conduct an autopsy. "My name is Lieutenant Colonel Eric King of the United States Air Force. I'm a chief nuclear engineer of the Iraq Survey Group, tasked with locating hidden chemical weapons," he started. "Our mission has uncovered something... unexpected. I will now begin an autopsy of an unidentified life form." While Eric was analyzing the creature, his back was turned to a monitor which showed a live feed of Lieutenant Kolchek who finished setting up a camera.

"Wait, guys, wait up!" Y/n called out to Nick and Jason. "I'm coming with you." She flagged the down and Lieutenant Kolchek, in response, stopped in his tracks, his back facing her whilst his left hand tightens involuntarily around the straps of his backpack, making the string crinkle ever so slightly.

"Oh, hey, N/n," Nick greeted his colleague with furrowed brows. He was confused, to say the least, wondering as to why she would want to include herself in a side mission that was supposed to only include him and Jason. "You doing alright?" The sergeant inquired.

Y/n eagerly nodded, "Yes, thank you." She panted and watched from her peripheral as Jason swung his pack onto the ground where he took inventory of his supplies. Unbeknownst to the h/c-haired girl, he was doing this to distract himself from Y/n's arrival. In the meantime, Nick planted and detonated explosives in a crawl space, given that creatures have been infiltrating the passage.

"That's the last one," Nick spoke to Jason who rejoined the pair. "Should at least slow them down." The sergeant shrugged his shoulders, wanting to believe his hypothesis.

"Long enough to spot them on the cameras."

With Lieutenant Kolchek leading the group, Nick and Y/n followed the Southern man to an adjacent room where he — Jason — checked one of the cameras before uttering, "We should reset that tripwire. Give me a hand." He ordered the two.

"We've been in some fucked up situations before," Nick said matter-of-factly while he and Y/n joined Jason on the ground. "Never as fucked as this." Jason rebutted, mumbling to himself.

"If I gotta fight these things, there's no one else I would want by my side." Nick then gently elbowed Y/n's side to ensure that his statement included her. Jason couldn't help but smile whereas Y/n nodded, silently showing her gratitude but didn't want to intervene in their conversation.

"You know I've always got your back, buddy. Come what may." Jason reassured his comrade and stood to his feet, having finished resetting the tripwire as the three promptly returned to the main hall of the temple.