Overwatch (editing)

Journey to Infected Ruins

3

I've come up with the terrible joke we need. This is gonna be so embarrassing.

•••••••••

Oh God, get me out of this room. I clutch my present tightly and beat the Ops members to the door.

The mission is officially underway, I think. I missed the part where the FBI told me to join Kassandra immediately after the briefing. Oops.

I board her patrol car a bit late with my mystery box. I smile at the grumpy vampire behind the wheel and open my present.

An earpiece. It fits in my ear snugly.

"Good call not putting it on in there," a distorted, low voice called from the other side.

"Yeah I figured they didn't need to see," Felix replied, "Fill me in."

"I am your Sentinel, your guardian angel assigned to you by Foresight."

"Nice."

"The infection begins in a person's body through an open wound, and within hours, the infection claims the host. Infected lose autonomy and the brain-"

Kassandra pins me roughly to the car window, with a gun pointed to my neck. "What the hell are you doing here? Give me one reason why I shouldn't just kill you now!" she screams.

"I don't know, maybe because two countries might declare war on you. Pull the trigger, Kassie."

"I brought you from hell, don't think for one second I won't just throw you back down there."

"Why don't you? If you're so ballsy."

She lets me go and stows her gun away. "No. I've changed."

"Sure! Hair dye and piercings are life-changing."

Kassandra shakes her head and turned the engine over. She handles the wheel stiffly and drives like a brute, nothing like the precise, graceful motorcyclist I rode with last year.

My Sentinel pours questions into my ear. "What happened? Hey! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, my new partner just held me at gunpoint, but don't worry. She was never going to off me," I say, slightly out of breath. Kassandra shoots me a sideways look and drives on. "What's up?" I ask my Sentinel, trying to keep from panting.

"Normal protocol would have us eliminate her, but I don't think the U.S.A. would be happy with that."

I wouldn't be happy with that, I think to myself, I wouldn't let you touch her.

.........

By "remote area," the Asians meant an abandoned temple in a rainforest. I transition as we jump out of the patrol car; various chirps and screeches emanate from within the moist land before us. We begin our trek, looking out for big animals, snakes, and infected.

After a while, I start prancing on the soft earth. Back home, I promised myself I'd get away from Kiersten to visit some place natural. This green world is so colorful. I claw up a tree and swing from thick vines.

"Stop," Kassandra says, "We're not here to mess around."

But I've already launched myself across the air and to the next tree. I'm weaving through the habitat above Kassandra, who's clearly out of her niche, chopping down the plants in her way.

I pause on a branch and observe the irritated redhead below. She moves ivy out of her way instead of walking around. Unlike her, I flow in nature's rhythm. Yet, she maneuvers fine. The tall trees must be protecting her from the sun.

"Can you hurry up?" Kassandra calls over her shoulder as she pushes away some leaves. "You're taking too long!"

"I haven't had so much fun before!" I yell, racing through the tree again.

"I'm going to shoot you if you don't get down here!"

"But then I can't protect you from the scary zombies anymore."

"I'm immune, you spastic. That's why they chose me," she explains.

"Oh."

I jump down beside her and walk beside her on all fours. I look up at her and can't believe my eyes. She looks just as angelic as I remember her, despite the hardcore look she tried to put on. It's not like she failed at what she was trying to get at; I like her choices. Down to every stud.

Kassandra's eyes twinkle orange; the Asians feed her well. Her white skin and red hair contrast with the rich green around us. There's something cute about her cheeks and heavenly about her body. Her scent beckons me closer but I fight it.

She has indeed changed. I got her message. She deplores me now. I lower my gaze and frown at the mud before my paws.

Kassandra stops once she spots something. In the misty clearing ahead lies the lone temple we seek - its stone walls are mossy and cracked. Skeletons lay ominously in the courtyard.

"They're almost as pale as you!" I sneer.

Unamused, Kassandra steps into a tree's shadow. No amount of blood can make her sunproof for long.

"You okay?" I ask. She nods grimly in the shade. My Inner Feline has been acting up since we left the car. It hums now. Like a warning.

Ignoring the feeling, face the ruins and say, "Once we have a look, we can go our separate ways again." I cut down a large plant with a claw and hold it out to her.

She follows me through the courtyard, holding up the plant for shade. The smiling skulls don't at all give me chills. I bet Kassandra isn't so affected.

Snarls echo from within the temple. They're the kind of twisted sounds only zombies can produce. We enter, guns and claws out.

Kassandra pulls me back sharply. At my feet is a silvery tripwire I almost disturbed. "Thanks," I whisper.

"I'll go first. Out of the way," she orders. I look at her quizzically as she passes. She steps over the trap, avoiding my gaze.  

The noises in the temple continue, sometimes sounding more like moans than gargles. Like moans of souls who want us to stay away.