Death Stranding: Higgs

Chapter Nineteen: Connections

-Higgs' POV- The deliveries are slowly getting easier. Some of them are a bit far, but going on the motorcycle makes them go quickly. I haven't encountered Sam nor the Homo Demens since Sam came too close for comfort. But why me? Why Nava?

Does he want to replace his BB with Nava? Does he have some weird, stalker-like attraction to me? I just want answers. I step outside after parking the motorcycle in the garage, looking up at the cloudy sky. Looks like a storm is coming.

The wind begins to pick up and Nava begins to fuss. "It's okay. Just a storm, Nava. Nothing to worry about." Understatement of the year.
Rain begins to fall heavily. The hood on my Porter suit covers my head automatically.

I run back to the building as the wind screams in my ears. But I'm not fast enough. I feel myself being lifted off the ground. I scream, feeling the wind and rain get more aggressive. My hands scrape against the concrete, trying to latch onto anything as Nava cries.

The ground gets further away from me as I get closer to the storm, which manifested in a large tornado. In panic, I pass out.
****
I wake up to the sound of gunfire and the smell of smoke. Nava had stopped crying.
I look around in fear. The place looks different, older. The sky is still a dark grey.

"Well, look who decided to wake up."
I scramble for the nearest weapon I own, one of the grenades, and grip it. "Calm down, sleeping beauty, it's just me." Sam is sitting against a pile of sand bags on the wet wooden boards.

"You've gotta be kidding me," I groan, feeling mud cake into my face from laying on my side. "Where are we? Why are you here?" I demand.
"I was going...t-to—Augh!"
Sam suddenly looks very sick. He kneels over and throws up this black sludge.

"Oh, God!" I cover my mouth, feeling a wave of nausea hit me. "Let it out," Sam shudders, stained saliva dripping down his chin. "Won't do you any good holding it in. I should know."
I vomit as well, the sludge just as dark.
"It's like vomiting up tar..." I gasp once I'm done.

"But....where are we?" The gunfire and scent of decay hasn't stopped since we got here.
"Do I look like a war expert to you?" Sam scoffs, wiping the black saliva from his mouth.
"Hold on....war...." He gets up on the pile of sand bags, then ducks back down quickly, nearly getting shot in the face. He looks pale.

"Yep. This is definitely a war." He shakes.
"An old one. The weapons look old. Not like the ones my men use. Their clothing looks older as well."
"So, we traveled back in time? Is that it?" I'm hyperventilating now, rocking back and forth.

"Oh, man up. I'm just as freaked out as you are. But I'm being calm about it." He huffs, crossing his arms.
"Coming from the man who nearly got shot in the face." I snap back.
"Okay look," Sam pinches the bridge of his nose. "I don't know how or why we ended up here. All I know is that we need to get out. I'm a terrorist leader and this place freaks me out."

"We should probably find a weapon first. Something to defend ourselves. I only have so many grenades." I sigh, standing up.
"Well, unlike you, I have weapons on...me..." His hands travel to his waist and feel around. He spins around, then looks back at me in fear and frustration. "Son of a..."
"What?" I cry out.
"All of the weapons I had are gone!" He looks flustered.

I feel my heart sink. "We're gonna die here!" I yell, pacing and clutching my head. "We are not!" Sam says, looking impatient while crossing his arms.

"We just need to find a way out and we'll be home free. We can't go up from the trenches, unless you want to be riddled with bullet holes. We need to move around the trenches and hope we don't get hurt! Simple." Sam explains, smiling.
I stare at him and stop pacing. "You're insane."
"Do you have any other bright ideas, sweetheart? I'd love to hear 'em. What about Nava? She doesn't look panicked." He teases.

Yeah, he's definitely crazy, and not in a good way.
"Okay. Fine. I'll follow your plan. Looks like we'll have to stick together in order to make it through."
"See? Now you're getting it, Boy Scout!" He hits my back affectionally a bit too hard, causing me to cough and nearly fall.

My cheeks burn in shame as I follow him. The trenches are like a wet and muddy maze. Corpses of soldiers are strewn about. Looks like Sam was right, the clothing and helmets on them really is outdated.

We walk around for a bit, the scent of blood and gunpowder nearly giving me a headache.
A new voice cuts through my train of thought.
"BB...."
I blink, looking around. "Did you hear that?" I ask.
"Hear...what? You mean besides the gunfire and screaming? No. Let's keep moving." Sam mutters.

I follow him, feeling mud squish under my boots.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, BB." I jump at the voice.
"There it is again!" I whisper.
"Stop being paranoid!" Sam snaps, stoping to turn around.
I look down. "Sorry..." Sam sighs, looking a bit upset.
"I'm just stressing out, okay? I didn't mean to snap at you, Higgs."

I nod, not saying anything.
We keep walking. Sam looks frustrated. "Well," We stop at an intersection where the trenches split in two directions. "I think we're lost."
"What?!" I yell, feeling anxiety hit me like a ton of bricks.

"No need to panic. We just need to pick a direction and go from there." Sam states, looking down both ways.
"BB....Where are you...?" That voice again. It sounds...sad.

We both hear a splash coming from the right trench. "Let's go," Sam heads for the noise. I reluctantly follow. We both crouch down behind some sand bags and see a figure come up from a large pool of black water.

It's a man, covered head to toe in that black tar stuff. Four skeleton soldiers come out from the pool with him. The man doesn't get up, but Sam and I can tell he's naked under the tar. My face heats up at the prospect of seeing a man nude, so I try to focus on his face.

He looks older than both of us, probably mid forties, with grey hair. His eyes are also grey, and incredibly sad. He clutched his head as black tears flow down. "BB..." he moans. I nearly gasp. That's the same voice.

"Where...are...you..?" He rasps, like a ghost weeping for a lost relative. "We need to leave." Sam whispers harshly.
We both slowly back away and I hold my breath.
The man's sad eyes meet mine and I freeze up. He scans me over, then his eyes land on Nava's pod.

He then looks back up at me, outraged. "BB!" He screams, the skeleton soldiers aiming their guns at me.
"Move!" Sam yells, shoving me as we both run down the trenches, taking random turns.
"This is bad! This is so bad!" I yell.
"What did you do to piss off the guy?!" Sam demands between breaths.
"I don't know! He just saw Nava's pod and flipped out!" I weep.

We both scurry into a small hallway under the trenches that provide some shelter.
"Find them!" We both hear the man yell. "I need my BB back!"
Sam glances down at Nava's pod.
"Can't you just give his kid back to him?" He whispers. "What?" My heart sinks.

"No! She's not going anywhere near that naked freak." I whisper back.
"Well, he looked pretty upset in my opinion! Just give him the baby back so we can get out of here!"

I look down at Nava's pod. She looks asleep, at least. Then I look at my shaking hands. What can I do? What should I do...?