Doom: Hell's End

Chapter 4 - In Hiding

When the trio of mercs started hearing a commotion outside of their hideout, they weren't too eager to go and investigate. Everyone except Pyro, that is. Sniper could hear them giggling and dancing with glee. The pyromaniac always had a tendency rush into battle, even if it jeopardized everybody else's safety. Even Medic, a crazy 'doctor' and mad scientist, couldn't keep Pyro in check. 

Their hideout used to be an office, judging by all the cubicles. It was decently nice. Sure, most of the lights didn't work. But the place had a functioning bathroom, which was a massive plus. After the trio arrived, they'd rearranged the individual cubicles to form makeshift rooms. His and Pyro's areas were parallel to the walls. Sandwiched between their rooms was a corridor that led to Medic's room, which also happened to be nearly twice the size. The German had justified the size difference by saying the extra space was for his dove, Archimedes. 

They had a seemingly infinite amount of bread due to Engie's teleporter. For some reason, they couldn't use it to actually teleport anywhere. But it did spit out bread every couple minutes, which was useful. Strangely, Pyro never ate anything. Hell, the pyromaniac never even took off their mask. Their two companions certainly didn't mind though. All the more bread for the two of them. 

Currently, Sniper and Medic were sat around a campfire and eating bread in the dark corridor. The fire was barely contained inside a tiny trash bin. Pyro seemed to be spending their time alone, as usual. Sniper had attempted to get the pyromaniac to eat with them, but those attempts always ended in failure. 

"So, yaw telling me that ya sold yah soul t' the bloody Devil?!?" Sniper asked, shocked.

"Vell yes," Medic responded with a chuckle. "And on our second meeting, I tricked him into letting me live for another FIFTY years!"

"Bloody hell...the man's gone mad!" Sniper thought to himself.

The Aussie shook his head in disbelief and continued eating his bread. Maybe Doc's time with the TFC mercs is finally getting to him. After all, those bastards were complete lunatics. The two ate in silence for a while before Sniper spoke once again.

"How's the rest of the team holdin' up?"

Medic's cheerful expression immediately disappeared and was replaced by a much grimmer look. He slowly reached up and rummaged around in his lab coat.

"Zhe last message Soldier's group sent is...vorrying." The German pulled out a stained piece of paper and gingerly handed it to Sniper.

Judging from the horrid handwriting and numerous spelling errors, the Aussie assumed that a very drunk Demo had written the note. Either that or Soldier hit his head extra hard. After a few minutes of squinting in the fire's dim light, Sniper finally deciphered the message.

The note read: "Lads, an army of demons overwhelmed our hideout. Spy left us when the fighting began, and the others couldn't get to us in time. For now, we're hiding out near Gate B. Enough bread here to last us a few days."

When he finished reading the last few words, the severity of the situation slowly dawned on him, and he began to think. An army of demons? He knew Demo and Soldier were more than capable of defending themselves, but they were limited by their ammo supply. And if the demons leading the army were left alive, they would continue to summon reinforcements. Did the loud commotion outside have anything to do with the situation?

And what about Spy abandoning the group? Sure, Sniper disliked the guy, but he knew that Spy wouldn't abandon his teammates. The note stated that he simply ran when the fighting started. A feeling of dread kept nagging at Sniper, but he couldn't seem to figure out why.

Unlike their other notes, this one was short and concise. The serious tone actually unnerved Sniper. Looking back up at Medic, he noticed the man frantically hiding something in his lab coat. The Aussie gave him a suspicious look but decided not to press the issue. 

"So, are we gonna go help 'em or not?" 

Medic seemed to be deep in thought as he stared off into the darkness. An awkward silence fell upon the two as Sniper patiently waited for an answer. He sincerely hoped Medic would agree to go help their trapped teammates.

"Vell...," he shrugged. "Ve could go rescue zhem, but I vouldn't recommend it. Zhere's barely enough food for ourselves, dämonen are roaming around, and zhe journey to Gate B could draw unvanted attention to our hideout."

Although Medic's logic was undeniable, Sniper still felt responsible for the safety of his colleagues. He was distracted from his line of thought as the door to their hideout slowly creaked open. A hunched silhouette of a person stood in the open doorway. 

As the Aussie struggled to make out who was in the darkness, the figure turned around and faced him. The fire's light lit up the person's masked face, revealing it to be...

"Pyro? Vhat are you-"

Before Medic could even finish, the pyromaniac mumbled something nonsensical and ran out of the hideout.

Sorry for the long wait. School and other stuff were taking up most of my time. I'll be updating more frequently since I've gotten my shit together.