Into The Tainted Waters

Desert

The bus comes to a stop in the middle of nowhere, seemingly like we were lost. Caoimhe gets up and says "Alright, everyone out". Juno rushes to the door and runs out, jumping all around and yipping. The rest of us file out and into the desert. Caoimhe turns to Viktoria and says "I feel like i'm gonna go crazy in that bus with all that shit going on". Viktoria chuckles "How do you think I feel, it's all happening to me". Caoimhe sees her eye patch and asks "What happened there" nodding to her head. "Oh, during the test that you gave us" she says "One of the guys blew up a pillar and the shrapnel hit my eye, so now it's pretty much gone blind". "Sorry about that, I knew I set those androids a bit too hard" Caoimhe apologizes "But you guys made it so it all worked".

I walk up to Caoimhe and ask "What the hell are we doing out here". She turns to me with a sigh and says "I can't spend another minute with all that shit". I turn to the others who are now stretching out. Nate was talking to Michael as he flies around, showing off his wings. "So, you were from New York eh" Nate asks Michael. "Yeah man, Brooklyn really" Michael replies. "I was stationed there for the longest time, keeping the Sentinels that went rogue at bay" he says. "One day i got a message from the Council telling me to go meet up with these three other Sentinels, that we were gonna start working with the UN to keep down humans trying to get these powers" he finishes. "Why can't humans have these powers" Nate asks. "It turns them into three foot monkeys" he says coldly. "Don't be a dumbass man" Nate says to him as he flies around. "Hahahaha, yeah it doesn't do that" Michael says "It does, however, fuck with their minds". "Makes them go crazy, and start destroying things" he finishes.

I look to the left of them to see Charlyse and Hannah sitting on a rock. "Oh my god this is disgusting" Hannah complains. "Can it really be that bad, being a rodent" Charlyse asks. "Yes it is, it's worse than that time a homeless guy threw up on my new heels" the ferret says. "When did that happen" Charlyse asks. "When i was stationed in Los Angeles, i was helping the poor a lot, at least that was my objective" Hannah says "And this damn homeless guy threw up all over me as i was trying to give him food". "Ugh, so ungrateful" she squeals. "Wait, so helping the homeless was your Sentinel mission" Charlyse asks. "Yeah, they told me that's where my talents would be helpful" Hannah says "It was obvious that there were a few people above me that were just jealous of my skills". "Then I got a message telling me to meet up with these guys to do some sort of UN business" she finishes.

I look next to them to see a jumping Juno and a jumping Taylor. "Gaaaaaah, we're gonna be great friends!" Juno says jumping at Taylor. "I've always wanted a puppy friend!" Taylor says in a high pitched excited voice. Juno gasps "I know riiiiiight, puppies are the greatest". "I saw a lot of dogs when i was stationed in Spain" she says. "Wait, you were in Spain, luckyyyyy!" Taylor exclaims. Juno says excitedly "Yes, the Sentinel Council sent me there to monitor the animal fighting scene there". Taylor gasps "There's an animal fighting scene in Spain!". "Mhm, it's very big too, i stopped a lot of rings" she says proudly. "What stopped you" Taylor asks. "Well, I got the call to meet up as a team with these guys, doing some top secret spy stuff" Juno says quietly. "I want to be a spy!" Taylor squeaks.

Viktoria walks off to Nikolai, who was laying in the sand. "It's so hot here, i wish i could sweat" he says. "Yea, it's a bit too hot for me too, i like the cold" Viktoria says. "You aren't from the States are you, your accent sounds German" Nikolai says curiously. "That's right, i'm originally from Germany" she says "And you're Russian right?". "Close, I'm Ukrainian, but i was stationed in Moscow" Nikolai says. "O, ya byl v Moskve" Viktoria says. "Where did you learn Russian girl" He says surprised and impressed. She chuckles "My father taught me, he's Russian". "Ah, I was working closely with the Russian government during the cold war, making sure no Sentinels were playing sides" he says. "That's really cool, ever find any?" she asks. "Yes, a few times, but the I got called to join up with these guys once the cold war came to a close" he explains.

I turn to Caoimhe "So, is this normal" I ask. "No, definitely not" she says, sighing and leaning against the bus. I lean back against the bus and notice bags under her eyes. "Hey, you alright, you seem stressed" I ask. "Hmm, yeah i'm fine, just been working extra hard lately" she says with a deep breath. "Why's that" i ask. "Well, it was my fault that Arkyn escaped, so I've been trying to make it up to the Council" she says. "That was not your fault don't beat yourself up over it" I say reassuringly. "No, I was behind him, i had the opportunity to kill him" she says. "And?" I ask. "I didn't, I called out to him and asked him to stand down, when our orders were to kill" she says. "Why did you do that" I ask. A tear starts to roll down her face. "You don't have to answer" I say. She wipes her face and continues "He got away because of that, so it's my fault we are in this mess". "Yeah, it kinda is" I say sarcastically. She punches me in the ribs. "You're a dick you know that" she says smiling.