A Dash of Scarlet In Paradise

BLIND IN THE DARK

VI

Everything had just changed, and Marcus didn't know whether to find his new ally additional support or just another obstacle to slow him down. Either way he decided to see what Vector was on about.

The two ceased walking right ahead of the crater, the result of a fine-tuned missile. The fallen troops were spread apart from one another, but sure enough one was still quietly breathing. A few miniature hammers jolted within the Gunner suit and Vector came to a spot where he lifted his foe by the chest.

He choked for air, hands clamped around the firm bionic arm. It was amusing that Marcus was still fascinated with the mere power and force beheld by the exoskeleton. It was impossibly dominant over the PAU weakling.

"Why were you sent here?"

The man coughed, blood flowed down his chin. Then he spat hard, the specks of blood like spray paint all over Vector's Gunner suit.

"UDCF bastards...I'll tell you nothing..."

Big mistake son.

Vector pitched the man onto the ground and snapped a lever on the suit, a custom decaled machine gun came sliding down from beside the shoulder plating and into his dusty palms. With his fingers twitching so badly, Vector made a quick swipe and punched a hole through the man's knee.

"Tell us now!"

"...I was...sent to hunt down the survivors of your rescue team..."

"Where are the hostages?"

"You really think I'm just going to reveal that piece of information that easily? Heh, sometimes I wonder how they trained you pathetic bunch."

"This is your last chance, tell us."

Both survivors exchanged unpleasant looks when the enemy remained silent. Vector was the one to speak first.

"He's no use, this is a waste of time."

Indeed it had been quite far into the night. Nirvana constantly redesigned the environment as the dark shadows swept the forest. A unique kind of blossom began to morph and evolve into some kind of twirling lamp, emitting a turquoise shimmer.

Marcus had always been a merciful man, and so he raised his hands to stop Vector from pulling the trigger in anger again.

"Wait, he could be useful!"

"That's really funny."

"Hang on..."

The rest of what Marcus was going to say was cut by a loud thump. Apparently the PAU trooper now had an even larger hole directly above his eyebrow.

"He was completely useless, Marcus. If I let him live, he would have called for backup."

Shaking his head, Marcus showed Vector the com-link buried within his fist the whole time.

"Uh...when did you take that from him?"

"Before you shut him up."

Vector could only scratch his head.

"Erm...well, check the bags, maybe we'll find something helpful..." by then, Vector had already began digging for tools and extra supplies. Marcus followed, he picked up a backpack beside a fallen army man and rested it on his laps, trying to figure out what were the zippers in the pitch black.

"So tell me, what happened to your group?"

Suddenly, the sounds of somebody digging through plastic bags and paper boxes stopped. Vector paused to think for a while, but he was still more interested in looking for materials.

So that's how it's gonna be eh? No answer.

But the deep voice was raised again.

"We were sent to cover you guys."

Marcus didn't seem too surprised.

"I almost had a feeling that I was the only one to have survived the chaos." the line was interrupted just the same as many others Marcus had tried to bring out.

"Sergeant, none of you would have gotten shot down by those long-range missiles if it weren't for us."

Now Marcus' attention was sharpened.

"What...what do you mean?" a grave fear began to contaminate his beliefs. Marcus started to doubt the position Vector was in. Was he really working for the UDCF? What he said was it true? "I don't understand?"

"They sent Gunners to defend the extraction team, but we got on land way too early...the enemy had enough warning to realize that an attack was immanent. The general made a mistake."

Vector knelt down to face Marcus and handed over a data pad. Some moss had been smudged on the surface, the side even had been bent. Such items they collected were like treasure to them, it was as if those simple pieces of technology were the clips keeping their lifeline away from the fire below.

"Mistakes were made, but the past is the past. We must keep our heads into here and now and complete the mission. This is going to help us a lot."

A gentle tap on the silver rim allowed a floating 3D image to form. It was clear like glass but the two of them could remark a set of six digit numbers under the floating hologram.

"They're coordinates, aren't they."

"Correct. And according to this, there is a PAU research bunker over to the East."

But Marcus was very perplexed by that comment, for his commanders had never informed him of any research facility of any sort. The six digits were a surprising find, almost overwhelming. It was so very daunting, just hovering and spinning at the tip of Vector's frozen fingers.

What if the UDCF had no knowledge of such place? What if the PAU is trying to hide something? What if...

Both couldn't think straight anymore. Every moment was the key to the next; every find was a path to discovery.

"Marcus, we are at 140037, the base is approximately 27 miles away."

A light sparked to brighten the area as well as their spirits, Marcus' built-in flashlight was still near full charge.

"Hang on a second, when the sun was still up, I could see a PAU outpost right across the jungle, I'm pretty sure it didn't look like 27 miles away!"

"They're fooling us. Here, check it out. The coordinates of the bunker show that the elevation is even lower than ours. The one you saw was probably a decoy, and the reason why the sent troops in this direction was to prevent any survivors from wandering into the secret hideout."

"So you think the hostages are in this hideout?"

"I'm almost certain...the PAU must be smarter than what we thought they were."

"Do you think they're still alive?"

"Hey, I'm just as blind as you are, now let's pack up all this and get moving."

The men strapped all the backpacks on the floor onto some hinges on the Gunner suit. While Marcus kept his eyes open for enemy forces, Vector tiredly hauled the supplies.