Cold War (TF2)

Chapter One: A Trip

Harvest is always quiet. No gunfire, no screaming, no death. Only the sound of footsteps and the hum of Sniper's van as it approaches the base.

"Pyro, do you have everything?" Medic asks me while rummaging through his own bag.

"Yes." I say through my mask, hoping Medic can understand what I mean through its thick rubber.

Sniper opens the door to his van. "Hey, hurry it up! We have to get going." He says in his heavy Australian accent.

I slowly rise to my boots and walk to the van. Inside, Scout is sitting on the bed while Heavy takes up most of the left half of the van. I squish in next to Soldier, who's messing with a deck of playing cards.

"Hello Pyro!" Soldier says, basically screaming.

"Hi." I say back.

He looks at me, confused. He doesn't understand what I say most of the time.

"What?" He asks with a blank expression on his face.

"I just said hi!" I reply, trying to speak more clearly.

He gasps. "Pyro! Out of everyone here, I expected you to be the last one to bring my mother into this!" He stands up.

I put my hands up and shake my head. 

He rolls up his sleeves and raises his arm, his hand balled into a fist. Suddenly, Heavy grabs his wrist.

"Soldier, Pyro says your mother is very beautiful." Heavy says, letting go of him.

Soldier regains his posture. "Oh, right. Thank you, Pyro!" He gives me a bear hug, lifting me slightly off the ground.

I let out a sigh of relief and give Heavy a thumbs-up. He smiles and gives a knowing nod.

"When are we leaving? And where is Spy and Demoman?" Soldier asks Sniper, poking his head out of the window.

"Spy's driving with Engineer and Demoman." Sniper replies. "Medic is up front with me, so you four try not to destroy my van."

"Ja, you all play nicely!" Medic lightly chuckles as he hops into the passenger seat. I feel a slight jolt as Sniper starts driving. I grab my lighter and watch a flame spark to life. This will hopefully entertain me during the long drive.

A few hours later, I find myself laying on the bed, half asleep. Suddenly, Sniper hits the brakes, bringing the van to a screeching halt. 

I fall onto the floor with a loud thud and Scout hits himself in the face with his ball. Heavy barely moves and Soldier is too enthralled with his own hands to notice anything.

I hear voices from the front of the van. 

"Crikey, Doc, you seeing this?"

"It's impossible to miss!" 

I crawl to my feet and look out the front window to see a pile of dead men laying on the road, their skin a light blue color. Sniper and Medic were outside, observing the scene.

"They look poisoned." Sniper says, poking one body with the tip of his kukri.

"No, no. They died from the cold." 

As they argue over the autopsy, Heavy opens to back door to greet them, sending a chill into the back of the van. 

"Why did van stop?" Heavy asks them, clearly annoyed.

"Look around, mate, there's dead bodies everywhere!" Sniper says.

"This is problem?" Heavy replies. "We see dead bodies every day."

"Heavy is right, we need to keep moving." Medic says. The three walk back to the van and Sniper slams the door shut and starts up the engine.

Scout pops his head up front to face Sniper.

"What the hell was that for, man?!" He exclaims.

"What?" Sniper asks with a puzzled look.

Scout doesn't reply, but simply points to a large bruise on his forehead. 

Sniper chuckles. "Pinhead." he says quietly.

Scout frowns and moves back to the bed.

I shake my head in amusement as I watch the two talk. 

"Um, fellas? You got your winter coats, right?" Our heads all rise up, listening to Engineer on the radio.

"A big snow storm is heading this way."

Soldier grabs his helmet. "Like the cold kind of snow?!"

Heavy looks at Soldier silently for a bit then goes back to listening to Engie.

"Snow can't be so bad, 2Fort is hot" Heavy says to him.

"Well, that's the issue. According to weather patterns, 2Fort shouldn't even be under 65 degrees. This storm is artificial." Engie informs him

"Aw, don't worry about it. I doubt it will be a big deal, it may melt by the time we get there!" scout says, hiding his worries under his own arrogance.

I roll my eyes under my mask before the radio cuts to static.

"That doesn't sound good." Medic says, worried.

"Eh, I bet it will be nothing." Sniper replies. 

"I hope you're right about that. For all of our sakes." Medic stares out of the window at the passing trees. In between the two, Archimedes ruffles his feathers within his cage. 

"Did he have to sit up here?" Sniper asks. "I'm trying to drive here."

"Yes, I'm studying how he reacts to the cold. Doves aren't used to it and I want to see what he does." Medic opens up the cage and holds him. "Besides, he's a much better companion that you are."

I laugh as he and Sniper argue. This is going to be a long trip.