A Bunch Of Incomplete (and complete) Stories Of Mine

Writing 2: Untitled #1

Lieutenant Valentina Melendez lumbered through the dimly-lit corridor as she pulled her helmet's night vision goggles over her eyes, illuminating her immediate field of view. The Lieutenant briefly squinted as her eyes adjusted to the bright green filter of her goggles. Her two squadmates, Lance Corporal Katherine Taylor and Private First Class Sasha Nabatov, followed close behind her in a tight wedge formation with their M1A4 rifles drawn and ready to fire on Melendez's order.

"Everybody's goggles on?" Melendez asked in a hushed whisper while looking straight ahead, looking out for any tripwires or moving shadows.

Taylor was quick to answer, "Yeah, Valentine."

Melendez rolled her eyes, "Really? Name jokes? Didn't know I was leading a child soldier in my squad." Nabatov used this brief opportunity of Melendez's and Taylor's conversation to lower her goggles unnoticed.

Taylor chuckled, "The name does fit after what happened in High School."

Nabatov broke her silence with her delicate Russian accent, "What happened in High School?" The question from Mouse prompted Taylor to giggle and Melendez to roll her eyes.

Before the conversation could progress any further, Melendez halted and raised her right hand in a closed fist which prompted Taylor and Nabatov to both go silent and stop in place. "Kat, Mouse, do you two hear that?"

Nabatov and Taylor looked at each other briefly before focusing their ears on the sound that the Lieutenant mentioned. After a few seconds, they heard it as well. It was the sound of wood creaking coming from the floor above them.

Taylor looked towards Melendez, "I thought the village was abandoned. Did Command send another squad?"

Melendez turned and looked at Nabatov, "Mouse, take point for a few seconds." Without missing a beat, Nabatov walked ahead of the squad by a few meters and crouched, aiming at the door at the end of the corridor. Melendez took a knee and looked down at her wrist-mounted computer in order to check for any updates from High Command.

After a few moments of typing and waiting, Melendez stood back up and took a deep breath. "Command just confirmed we're the only squad in the area."

She looked over at Nabatov as she tapped her on the shoulder whilst walking by her prompting her to fall back into the wedge position, "Any chance there's civilians here, Mouse?"

Nabatov sighed and mumbled, "This is Pripyat, Sergeant. Pripyat."

Melendez nodded, "Good point. Alright you two, you see that door up ahead? Let's check it out, it may lead upstairs..." Nabatov and Taylor responded by nodding in unison.

"Alright you two, on me." Melendez ordered, prompting the two to follow behind her tightly in the wedge formation again. Upon reaching the door, Melendez stopped a meter away from the door while Taylor and Nabatov took cover on each side of the doorway. The Lieutenant crouched at the door and proceeded to reach into her chest pouch and pulled out a bobby pin and grabbed the knife from her boot. Using the knife in one hand and bobby pin in the other, she was able to pick the lock in a mere fifteen seconds.

After the door was unlocked, Melendez slowly pushed the door forward revealing the bottom of a stairway leading to the next six floors of the abandoned warehouse. Melendez proceeded through the door and upstairs with Taylor and Nabatov hot on her trail, all of them scanned their surroundings for any sign of hostiles as they moved up the stairs.

As they reached the door of the second floor, Melendez took note that the door was slightly opened--allowing a sliver of dull light to light up the stairs they had come up. Realizing this backed up the theory of somebody being on the second floor. Melendez kicked open the door, hoping to surprise any hostiles and give the squad a chance to take them out before any hostiles had a chance had to take cover and return fire. The trio moved through the door with their safeties off and ready to fire at anything that moved, each of the three looking down their red dot sights.

(Obviously unfinished.)