The Last Abrams

Preparation and Relaxation

Jackson starred down the barrel of the rifle and took another bite of his cereal. Wyvern simply stood there, dumbfounded by the situation. "Well if you're just going to stand there, aiming that at me, you might as well pull the trigger," Jackson deadpanned.

"What are you....How did you.....why..." She stammered as she flicked on the safety and brought the rifle down. Jackson sighed and continued to eat as if nothing happened. Taking a deep breath Wyvern composed herself, sat down in the seat across from Jackson. Jackson glanced up from his food, raising his eyebrows. Wyvern sighed, "Why the fuck are you up and about? You just got shot and it's only been like what! 4 days?!"

"Actually it's only been three," Jackson quipped, chewing his food.

"That's not the point! You shouldn't be walking around! How are you even walking around!" She yelled.

"I healed"

Wyvern stared at him, "You...healed?"

"Yep"

"No, you didn't"

"I did."

"There's no possible way you did..."

Jackson smirked, "But I did..."

"NO, YOU FUCKIN DIDN'T!" Wyvern as she dove across the table, not listening to Jackson's protests, and lifted up his shirt to look at the wound. What greeted there wasn't what she was expecting or rather what wasn't there. On his side bear no scars or even signs of injury from the fight days earlier.

"If you're going to do that, buy me dinner first..." Jackson said, sweeping the remains of his cereal from himself.

Wyvern yelped at his comment and sat right back into her seat flustered. "How?" she questioned.

"How what?"

"How did it heal already!" she yelled, face already red, "even with the technology here, it would have taken weeks for you to even be moving around!"

"Maybe the radiation from the bombs gave me, superpowers," Jackson joked, picking the last pieces of cereal from his lap. He stood back up, as Wyvern was muttering to herself trying to comprehend the situation, and went back to the kitchen to get more food.

"Cell mutation that allowed for faster cell growth? No, if that was true what would prevent it from being cancer? What about..." Wyvern said to herself, without noticing the departure of her companion. When Jackson got back to the table Wyvern was still talking to herself. Sighing to himself he slid a plate of eggs to her and sat down.

"Wyvern..." Jackson called.

"Maybe the radiation mutated the receptors while affecting the growth hormones?" Wyvern muttered to herself.

'She's still talking to herself' Jackson thought to himself. Picking up a pea from his plate he flicked it at Wyvern, hitting her directly in the forehead.

"Hey!" She complained as she was taken out of her own little world. Noticing the food in front of her, her stomach growled.

Jackson smiled, "When was the last time you ate?"

"Umm.." Wyvern pondered and then paled, "two days ago..." Jackson didn't say anything, only giving her a concerned look. Wyvern nervously smiled at began eating her eggs. Beginning to eat his own food, Jackson watched Wyvern. Not only did she saved his injured ass, but she also kept watch over him for days.

Inwardly, he sighed, 'I don't deserve her'

Finishing their meals they walked side by side around the base, Wyvern telling him what happened after he went unconscious. "That's what happened," she explained.

Jackson nodded, "Thanks for telling me. At least we're here now, so we can grab supplies, fuel, ammo, Oh, by the way, where's my rifle? I still have the shorty and my 1991 and I didn't see it with the rest equipment you brought in."

Wyvern stopped in her tracks. 'Shit,' she swore as she remembered where it was. It was in the mud, in a field, surrounded by tall grass a whole day's worth of driving away. "It was destroyed by the sniper's bullet... yeah."

Jackson looked at her and stared. Wyvern smiled nervously as sweat formed on her forehead. "Welp, I can just grab a new one here" he shrugged walking towards a room that was labeled 'Armory'.

Sighing a breath of relief Wyvern followed Jackson into the room as the lights flashed on. Jackson grinned at what he saw. Boxes of ammunition stacked on top of each other, as well as firearms of all types lining racks across the walls. Running to one of the racks, Jackson grabbed a pristine Kirss Vector. Pulling the charging handle a couple of times, he placed it back. Goes through ammo too fast and doesn't have the range. He picked up another gun, this time being an M249. Lifting it up and pressing it against his shoulder, he immediately put it pack on its rack. Way too heavy for his liking. As Jackson went through the guns like a wine tasting, Wyvern was browsing the rest of the armory. She already had a list of things they needed in her head and began searching for them.

M67 frag grenades? Check.

Extra Armour Plates? Check

Active Headphones? Check

Boxes of .45, 5.56, and 7.62? Check

Carl Gustave launcher and ammo? Check.

Throwing everything in a messy pile, Wyvern glanced back towards Jackson. He was busy at the moment, pulling the magazine in and out of a UMP-45. Sighing for the umpteenth time Jackson placed the submachine gun back on its rack. He was just thinking of grabbing another HK416 when he caught the sight of tan sticking out of a pile of M4s. Digging through the rifles he smiled like a small child in a candy store. Grabbing the pistol grip of the rifle he pulled it out. In his hands, he held an MK17. "Chambered in 7.62x51 NATO and made by FN Hershal," Jackson monologued, "the MK17, also known as the SCAR was a popular rifle used by special forces due to its reliability and stopping power."

"You seem to know a lot about it, Gun Jesus" Wyvern laughed across the room hearing everything.

Jackson chuckled as he took out the magazine, "I actually found one when I was fighting in the states. When I was driving down one of the freeways, I saw a weapon case fall onto the road from one of the trucks ahead. Inside of it was this beauty, and of course, it being a SCAR I kept and used it. Looks like I found what I wanted." Placing a holographic with a 3x magnifier, foregrip, and PEQ box on the SCAR, Jackson smiled with satisfaction. "What else do we need?"

Wyvern put a finger to her chin, "Well, I need to bring the tank to the vehicle bay for repairs and upgrades. That should take a whole day." Jackson nodded as Wyvern lifted a barrel of gasoline, "I tell you once I'm finished, alright?" He put up a thumbs up exited the armory leaving Wyvern to her job.

Walking the hallways again Jackson's mind wandered. What was he going to do for an entire day? Maybe sleep it off? Practice in the firing range? While thinking for ideas, Jackson saw something that brought a smile to his face. Adjacent to the cafeteria sat a room named "Rec Room". Swinging open the door he was met with a room teeming with goodies. Videogame consoles, PCs, reclining chairs, and oh so many vending machines somehow filled with preserved junk food. Grabbing himself a remote, sodas, and chips, Jackson settled himself into a recliner for a long-awaited gaming session. So long in fact Wyvern would find him laying there the next day.