Oblivion

Identity

Beast

As we stopped at the shack two guys came barreling out. One came to the right side of the vehicle, the other to the left. Upon closer inspection I found that the one to the left was actually a woman. Maybe in her mid-thirties. The guy appeared to be in his late forties. Both were equipped with headsets, dark brown fabric, which must be very form fitting armor, and a belt with numerous tools. I noticed assault riffles in the shack against the wall. They must've noticed the vehicle. Slade rolled down the windows and allowed them to scope out the inside of our vehicle. Once they cleared us they asked for names.
"Xena Harolds,"
"Slade Devin,"
"Brenda Natalie,"
            Names ran through my head. Had to be something cool. Or something scary, intimidating...
"Eagle," lame.
"Um, uh, Ghost"
             "Who's you're bleeding friend?" The female asked us in an authoritative voice.
             "This's Arrow," I patted his back cause him to groan. " Arrow," I quickly answered. Why the fuck didn't I come up with a piece of shit name for him?
             "And you are?" She turned her attention to me.
             "I, am Justice," my fellow companions began the eye rolling. Obviously disappointed that they hadn't thought of better names.
             "What happened?" The man asked. Still inspecting the Humvee.
             "Hydratech ambushed us. We really need to see Krious," Slade summed up.
             "Arrow, uh, needs medical attention too," Brenda stuttered.
             "Let me just phone it in. Let everyone know you're coming. Shouldn't have any problems since you three have been here before." The man rushed into the shack apparently to make a phone call. The woman approached the driver's side window. I couldn't help but see Slade tense up, his fists tightened around the steering wheel.
             "Slade, it's good to see you again," the woman muttered to him. His jaw instantly clenched. The atmosphere became thick in tension.
             "Wish I could say the same," he replied bluntly. The windows rolled up, cutting off any contract to the two soldiers.
             The man stuck his head out of the shack and waved us forward. The woman had her head hung downward almost in shame as she backed away from our vehicle. Slade stepped on the gas and we bolted forward.

Brenda

I traded Eagle places so i could check on Arrow. I don't specialize in surgical medicine but seeing as to how I am a doctor i figure the least i can do is ensure he doesn't die. Besides, Eagle looks like he might pass out. Not that i blame him, i can only imagine everything these guys have experienced. Learning that they're no more than a science experiment, abandoning everything they knew, watching one of their brothers die. Xena and i love each other but we've always been strict on our lone wolf policy. Now trying to be strong as his companion bleeds out from a war that they don't even know about.
Arrow's heart rate was surprisingly slow, it was unsteady, four beats one
second, seven beats the next. His skin was pale and you could see him struggling to maintain consciousness.
          I press my hands to his abdomen. The warm sticky blood coating my palms. I can feel his body tense under my hands. If I can just slow the blood flow, maybe I can buy him time. His strangled moans have dissipated into meek whimpers.
Slade rushes us to the center of The Underground. People of all ages, colors,
genders and skills are hustling around the opening. The Underground was built in the crosshairs of a major subway line. The stairs leading to the surface have long since been blocked off by concrete shattered by an explosion. In fact one level isn't even the entire place. Over the years when refugees began running out of room, they made the decision to dig. Three levels of chambers make up The Underground, and its expanding more everyday. With so few resources and being an illegal establishment, many 'buildings' and 'shops' were made up of cardboard, plastic, and duct tape. A few sported interesting materials like bubble wrap, empty bottles, and miscellaneous fabric chunks. The Underground was by no means a nice place to be, but it was all most people had. Including us now.
He pulled the vehicle over and put it in park.
"Help me," I instructed Eagle as we all started shuffling out. I pulled Arrow out of the
back by his ankles, then waited for Eagle to assist me with hauling his bleeding body to a standing position. I wrapped one of his arms around my shoulder and Eagle did the same. It was awkward because of how tall Eagle is and how short I am. Xena took the lead of our group and lead us swiftly to the makeshift infirmary.
We laid Arrow down on the hard wooden table and I immediately got to work,
using a knife to cut away his once white shirt. A piercing red hole making its presence known by squeezing more blood out. "I need a warm, wet washcloth, and some towels. Also some painkillers, tweezers, needle, thread, flashlight, and clamps," I focused on the job at hand. If I didn't do something now, he was going to die. Surprisingly, the wound wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
"We'll let you work Bug, let us know when your done. We'll go talk to Krious," Xena
said simply upon handing me a large, worn in, damp, stained towel, as well as a few dry ones. The rest of my materials I had asked for lay spread on a desk in the corner. I pulled it next to me and set the dry towels down.
"Good luck," I said as they exited.