2OO3 :House Of Ashes:

』Descending Into Madness『

[{ Alright! Whether you're interested or not (to those who are reading this), "Bird" is a marine OC of mine and I am using him in this story to put a bit of it together in the BEFORE all of this. You will get a full description of him. The next chapter, maybe two will bring this character to light a bit more so everyone will understand what Jason means at the end of this chapter, why Joey joined the USMC in the first place and how he ties in with knowing Rachel before their underground silo mission. I figured he could be a key character to this and I've changed some of his description to fit a bit better to this and I love it. They will be past tense chapters (I LIED).}]

Eric had already forgiven the Lieutenant for his stunt without saying anything to him. There was no arguing about what his intentions really were and it in fact scared Eric enough to not say anything. Being the pencil pusher that he was, there was loads of paperwork that floated around in his mind.

If there was one thing that went right in this whole new fucked up situation was that the grappling hook they used to catch the ledge to climb out were still hooked in the same spot and left there. It looked a bit loose but only because the ground had shifted and a few mounds of the edge fell from around it.

Noticing this, Jason moved over to it, stepping carefully as he did. In response to his movements, Nick was right behind him in an instant with his hand on his right shoulder ready to grab him in case the ground decided to give out. Jason appreciated this as he knelt down to adjust it, unhooking and moving it a foot away from where it was hooked.

Nick removed his hand so Jason could push his weight down on it with his palms with a light grunt and it sunk back into the ground.

"Check it," Jason ordered Nick.

Nick nodded and took a step forward, bending over and grabbing the small amount of rope visible, Jason in turn reaching up and grabbing a hold on Nick's pack as they were still dangerously close to the edge. The Sergeant did a small count down from three and then gave it a good yank - it was hard enough that if the grapple was loose or not in the ground properly, it would fly out and hit him in the face.

Satisfied, he released the rope and gave Jason a small smile, "We're good."

Jason nodded, releasing his grip from Nick as he straightened himself up and turning his gaze over at the other two. Eric gave the Lieutenant a quick nod and Jason returned one to him. At this point, the sun had set and as the seconds rolled on, they were losing the rest of the light they had above ground and they were losing it fast.

"Alright, listen up-" Jason tilted his head down a bit before continuing, "We head down and then get our bearings.." He spoke to everyone, automatically taking charge. "We blew this fuckin' place up, shits gonna be different down there now, but we'll find a way to get Rachel and then get the fuck out. Hopefully, we can save her from this."

Nick gave a faint 'Oorah' which made Salim smile instantly. He remembered how he shared that moment as they escaped in the elevator the first time. Everyone was on par with his words, they were true. Things would be different down there. The paths that they were able to trace through the temple two weeks ago, although confusing, would probably be even more confusing than before.

Nick wasted no time grabbing ahold of the rope to go down first. No one protested but were there as his side just in case. Another good reason not to skip workouts and gym rotations, Nick had enough muscle to balance and hold his own body weight for a long time if he needed to, which is something he often practiced and wanted to help Jason with though the Lieutenant could hold his own.