Insanity

Chapter 25

Song: Skyfall by Adele

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"This is the end. 
Hold your breath 
and count to ten."

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Soldier had no doubt in his mind that the colorful man would be heading towards the control center of the helicarrier next, and that just meant that Soldier had to get there first. "Soldier, USA is coming your way so watch out," the voice in his ear said. Then, the voice said something unexpected. "Kill him, kill him dead."

A new mission? Soldier thought to himself as he ran for the control center. Kill USA? Who even is USA? he wondered, but assured himself he'd know when the time was right and that he'd kill this USA, no matter who he was. No matter what.

Soldier scanned the perimeter of the control center, seeing nothing that appeared even remotely American. But what did "American" even look like, anyway? He paced around for a bit, eventually deciding to perch himself in front of the access point; whoever this guy was, he wouldn't be able to get anything done if he couldn't get past Soldier, and Soldier was going to make sure he was impenetrable.

Soldier heard soft footfalls against the metal walkways of the helicarrier, and he suddenly realized why the voice in his ear had called this man USA. His heart thumped as he saw the man on approach, and he took a deep breath to ready himself to fight. It was most definitely a colorful man, but USA was certainly far more fitting given his red, white, and blue outfit and circular shield of the same colors, a huge star in the center. He even had striking blue eyes, the kind one only ever saw in movies. Something about him was intriguing, and something about his outfit made Soldier feel uneasy. But not sick, necessarily, just confused, as if somewhere long ago he'd seen it in a picture book or something.

The man slowed his steps when his eyes fell on Soldier, though he didn't seem to be fearful at all; in fact, he only looked downcast, pleading even. "People are gonna die, Buck," he said. Soldier felt a twinge in his head, but ignored it. He knew people were going to die, in fact he'd already killed several. That wasn't some new, profound statement. "I can't let that happen," the man continued.

Soldier said nothing. He was going to stop this man and he was going to kill him. The man stared at him, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Please. . . Don't make me do this," he said, shaking his head lightly, though Soldier didn't understand what he meant. Do what? Fight him? Because sure, he'd probably regret that later.

Something came over the man's face that startled Soldier, and it wasn't anger or aggression: it was determination. The man threw his shield at Soldier, who swatted it away with his arm and pulled out his pistol. If he wanted to play rough, Soldier could play rough right back. The man charged at Soldier and he fired several shots, all blocked by the star spangled shield that made Soldier's eye sockets throb.

They were getting too close to the control center for comfort and Soldier ducked down, firing a shot into the man's side and piercing his skin and because of it, Soldier was met with a strike to the head as he was shoved backwards against the control center. His pistol had escaped his grip and landed too far away so as he stood, he opted for his knife instead.

Soldier threw aggressive punches, aiming his knife for the man's throat with each stab. The man attacked his left arm with the shield several times, and Soldier realized exactly what he was trying to do - the man was trying to break his arm, his most powerful weapon. Soldier increased the strength of his strikes, all while pushing the name the man had uttered to the deepest, furthest part of his mind.