The Will To Live✔️

Chapter 13: Great Expectations

"Holy crap, I see it," Izzy said.

Greg looked up sharply as she broke the silence that had fallen over them once more. They'd settled into a comfortable conversation about whatever came to mind after getting up the ladder (it had held surprisingly well) and resuming their walk along the road. Eventually, the words had petered out, and after a few failed attempts at reigniting the dialogue, they'd simply fallen into quietude, letting the cold desolation wash over them as they walked. He was glad to see that it wasn't weird though. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, more a relaxed one. They weren't speaking because they were okay without it. It was hard to really find someone like that.

"Finally," he muttered.

Greg felt his hopes begin to rise like the fires he'd stoked since coming here, but he tried to tamp those hopes down. The base was more than likely abandoned. They hadn't run into a single survivor on this island, and the place just felt...dead. Derelict. Abandoned. They still didn't know what had caused the initial distress, but if it warranted a subspace distress call to an official UNSC cruiser, there was a good chance that the local military was involved in one form or another. As it was, he didn't see any kind of activity, or hear anything beyond the occasional gust of wind. That might not mean anything though.

The place had a solid wall built around it and the power was almost certainly dead. It had been everywhere else so far. There could be people inside. If there was a place to go in an emergency, it would be this base. It was kind of designed for prolonged survival. The two of them picked up the pace, hurrying down the road towards the outpost.

"You think anyone's actually there?" he asked.

"I kind of doubt it. I feel like we would've seen someone if there was anything resembling an official presence on this island. There might be survivors there, though," Izzy replied.

"That's what I was thinking."

"I hope there's other people."

"Oh, my company's not good enough for you?"

She looked over at him, and for a second he wondered if he'd touched a nerve, but she just grinned and punched his shoulder. "Shut the hell up," she said. "Your company is fine, jackass, I'd just prefer more people for backup."

"You and me both," he agreed.

Two Marines alone against the elements wasn't exactly ideal. They'd do pretty good, probably better than most, but still, no reason not to have more people around. They managed to get down the road, right up to the gate, without a problem. If there were vargs or drubs or volar around, they were keeping their distance. For which Greg was extremely grateful. Already, he'd had more than a lifetime's fill of those awful creatures.

"Someone was here," Izzy murmured as she studied the gate. Greg nodded silently in agreement, it had been broken open by brute force, the lock smashed. "How should we handle this?" she asked softly as they slipped in past the threshold.

"Hostile territory with potential friendlies. Sweep and clear, room by room," he replied, pulling out his shotgun.

"Let's do it."

Their progress was relatively swift, first checking out the perimeter inside the simple wall that surrounded the outpost. Nothing but snow and dirt and pavement. Their first destination after that was a pair of small, detached structures that Greg knew had to be storage sheds. They cleared them out quickly enough, although the fact that they weren't packed full of crates worried him. From there, they moved to the only other detached structure: the motorpool. He opened the door and Izzy stepped in, pistol at ready.