The Doc

Chapter 1

"What was that all about?" Alice inquired curiously as her watch partner, Buzz, walked towards her, returning to his seat.

"Hell if I know." He chuckled as he collapsed into the rickety deck chair.

Alice snorted, adjusting her grip on the rifle in her hands. It wasn't the kind of rifle she was used to handling, and it was a bit heavier. She didn't usually take guard shifts at the dam either, but here she was. Buzz had begged her to cover someone else's shift that day, because at least he'd have someone to talk to.

"Some stragglers showed up at the front gate. I think Tommy knew them, 'cause he let them in."

"Fireflies?" Alice wondered out loud, not without a bit of disdain in her voice.

Buzz smirked. "I don't think so. The guy had a kid with him."

"Huh."

Buzz made a little noise of agreement, before the both of them fell into silence, turning their attention to the outside. It was quiet, peaceful – too peaceful for Alice's liking. She scanned the forest tree line for anything out of the ordinary, letting out a sigh. She didn't think anything else of what Buzz had just told her – Tommy had a soft spot for kids, he'd probably let the stragglers in because he felt bad.

The light poles flickered, before turning on. In the distance, she could hear the familiar hum of the hydroelectric machinery once again.

"They fixed it." Buzz commented with a smile. "Hot showers today."

"Yeah."

Silence again.

A few minutes later, Alice sighed again. "This is boring."

"I know." Buzz said with a hint of amusement.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this."

"C'mon, weren't you just saying we needed to hang out more?"

"Outside of work, dumbass. Like, watching a movie or something. Not guard duty."

"Whatever. If I have to suffer, then you're suffering with me, sweetheart."

Alice barked out a laugh. "What kinda friend are you?"

Buzz laughed, until something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Alice saw it, too, and they both turned towards the forest, rifles aimed towards the tree line.

"Did you see that?" He breathed.

"Yup."

"I'm not going crazy?"

"Nope."

Leaves rustling. Branches snapping.

"Who's there?" One of the other guards further down the platform shouted. They hadn't been the only ones to notice something was in those trees.

The sound of a gunshot followed, a bullet whizzing between the two of them. Buzz shoved Alice down, dropping next to her behind the cover of a wooden panel nailed to the rail.

"Shit!" Alice breathed out, as more gunshots cracked across the compound. Peeking out, she could see figures in the distance, closer to the engine room of the dam.

"Bandits!" Someone yelled from across the platform.

"I should've known! They've got terrible fucking aim!" Buzz piped out, and Alice didn't know how he could be witty at a time like this.

She crouched along the platform with Buzz right behind her, before popping up to shoot at one of the bandits trying to break into one of the buildings. Alice hit him in the chest, a lucky shot that had her surprised, and she immediately dove behind cover again. She loaded another round into her rifle.