Overwatch - Deception (Sombra x Reader)

Chapter Twenty Four - On the Run

The stench of smoke filled the air. Screams echoed in the distance, and artillery shells pounded like a deafening drumbeat, piercing the ground in an array of explosions. Emotionless metal horrors marched down the street, murdering anything that moved. The sky was filled with ash, and the sun was drowned out by the clouds of wartime smog. You stood, atop a tall skyscraper, staring down at an entire city burning. Svyatogor mechs sent the high-rises toppling down with a single thrust, as chaos reigned supreme. You had lived this nightmare before, to the point now where you knew this was a dream even as you watched it. You couldn't explain it, but you almost felt as if your dreams were premonitions, of a future where Talon succeeded. The view before you was exactly what Doomfist yearned for, conflict...where only the strongest would survive to form a new world order. Rebirth...the cost being genocide. It didn't matter how many times you saw this dream; you always noticed some new horror in the midst of the slaughter. This time, you could see a small child, a girl no older than nine, running towards a small UN evacuation shuttle on the street down below. You watched her climb aboard, knowing the inevitable and yet being forced to bear witness. The shuttle hurriedly took off into the air, and you stared on as a Svyatogor burst through a building nearby, sending chunks of debris falling onto the ship. You didn't need to look any longer to know that there were no survivors. You expected you would wake up any time now, usually these nightmares only gave you a glimpse of this horrific potential future. But as you stood there, surrounded by death, you clenched your fist, despising your helplessness. You had to do something; you couldn't just keep running until your nightmare became a reality. There must be something you could do...

You awoke to the loud blaring of a car horn outside, echoing through the air. As you rubbed the sleep from your eyes, you glanced at the watch on your wrist. 7:56 AM. You'd overslept again. Spending more than eight hours asleep was a poor idea when on the run. You slowly pulled yourself up, wincing as your bones cracked with the movement. Sleeping in these dingy motel beds was doing nothing for your back, but you didn't have the cash to afford anything more.

It had been exactly three weeks since Tortuga, and in that time, you had remained on the move. After arriving in New Orleans, you decided to travel north, into the central states. You hoped that the further inland you moved, the more difficult it would become to track your movements. For the most part, you had been correct. In that time, you had only suffered one further attack from Talon, and that had occurred just two days after you'd removed the tracker. Since then, nothing.

Still, it paid to be prepared, and you weren't about to lower your guard now. In those three weeks, you had managed to reach Nashville, Tennessee, where you were currently staying. Progress was slow, due in large part to the fact that you were on foot with only a backpack to your name, but you hardly minded. In fact, were it not for the constant overshadowing paranoia that an ominous terrorist organisation was hunting you, the trip would actually be quite pleasant. Travelling alone, taking each day as it came and seeing a plethora of sights along the way, it was somewhat enjoyable. But it was impossible to forget what you were running from.

"I've brought your breakfast, Mr Jenkins. Bacon and eggs" a female voice called through the door.

"Just leave the tray on the floor outside, thanks. I'm in the shower, I'll get it in a second" you lied, listening as the woman did exactly as you asked before walking away.

Once you no longer heard her footsteps, you carefully opened the door and grabbed the food tray. With a sigh, you scoured through your backpack and retrieved your toxin detector, a small handheld device. Baptiste had been working on this as a prototype, and kindly donated it to you when he heard about Eléna's attempts to kill you. Since then, it had been invaluable in making sure no-one else was trying to poison you. The detector promptly informed you that your food was safe to eat, and you begrudgingly tucked into a poorly made motel breakfast. Oh, the sacrifices you made for anonymity...