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Chapter Text

Ian 'Archer' Richards sat quietly in his watch tower, stormy blue eyes scanning the thick forest for type of strange movement, his eyes were blood shot from lack of sleep but he refused to give into his exhaustion. Not until his partner came back to him in one piece. He shifted his gaze to the clear blue sky above his tower. He wasn't sure exactly how they got into this mess in the first place, he remembers the chaos that followed Shepard betraying them. How he and Toad had to high tail it out of the area despite leaving Simon 'Ghost' Riley and Gary 'Roach' Sanderson behind, at least for awhile. They returned as soon as the air crafts left, the two snipers wasting no time helping their wounded teammates by stripping the burnt clothes off them. The smell of burnt skin still stuck to Ian despite that happening nearly two years ago at this point. He rubbed his eyes a bit, the images still clear in his mind. Despite the fire proof gear they wore under their combat gear they still lost, Miles 'Ozone' Kristie, Marcus 'Rook' Charmat and Justin 'Scarecrow' Goslar. They had been gunned down right in the view of his scope. His heart ached a bit. Watching his friends fall lifeless, watching a enemy mortar team land a lucky hit near Ghost and Roach. He remembered holding his breath, watching the sergeant's body tossed back into the air like a rag doll and seeing the blood blossom across his abdomen. He felt helpless watching the two Brits fight against a growing horde of Russian's. He did the only thing he could at the time, try to thin out the number's with Toad, his spotter. The fear that ran through them still haunted both of them.

Christian..., He thought to himself, every other thought came to s screeching halt as his mind settled on the man's wide toothy grin. Sun kissed tan skin, bright hazel eyes, messy blonde curls tousled from his ghillie suit's hood. He thought of watching his broad shoulders and slim but bulky body walk way with Roach and a infiltrate expert named Anthony 'Gridlock' Davis. The latter had made a recent recovery from his wounds from that day, eager to get back in the field. 

Archer returned his eyes to the forest tree line, it was eerily quiet. He sighed inwardly, the world had gone to hell after that fight. Nukes and some new kind of warfare had turned everything upside down, countries fell, militaries split, people died by the hundreds. Worse of all… they didn't actually 'die'. Couldn't be that simple right? Whatever new warfare had been launched against Shepard had turned the dead into mindless cannibals. Zombies if you will. Of course the remaining task force member's referred to them as walkers or UD's (undeads), tango's for anyone still living. They were pretty easy to take down honestly. A well placed shot to the head brought them down with little fuss and if they got too close, a simple knife in the ear or temple. 

A sudden buzz from his ear piece sparked his attention back to reality, he really needed to pay more attention. It was unusual for him to be so distracted, without Toad in his sight he always grew nervous which was far from his usual calm, stoic, attentive personality. He shook his head a bit and focused on the words being spoken to him. 

"Archer, Worm. You two good for another watch? Joker is still sleeping and Hiker got pulled into inventory count." Replied a familiar voice, another S.A.S operator by the name Radar. He took care of the communication equipment the best he could. 

Archer hesitated to reply, he felt the exhaustion starting to settle in his bones. Toad would give him a lashing when he got back for letting his body get this tired, he really didn't want that from his own partner. 'Partner' That word make his heart ship in more than one way, his spotter, his fellow sniper, his fiancé. Christian 'Toad' Williams had proposed to him three years ago and he cherished every moment of it. He found himself staring down at the golden band on his left ring finger. You gotta come back to me Chris. He thought to himself before replying to Radar. He was tired. Very tired. Roach's team had left 24 hours ago and Archer hadn't slept a wink. Everyone at the base knew that, he was cranky and snappier than usual. 

"I need some rest mate, I've been up far to long." He replied before stifling a yawn behind his half mask. 

"Copy, I'll send Gator up. Come down and get some rest."

Archer didn't waste any time, packing up his rifle and heading down the ladder and into the base. His heavy foot steps bouncing off the walls was the only sound keeping him company. Not Toad's relentless topic's about different foods, card games, training exercises. None of it. Not even his heart melting chuckle that always boomed from his chest. He caught himself smiling at the thought and shook his head. Yeah he seriously needed sleep. He trudged to his room and shed his gear, changing into shorts and a grey t-shirt before settling into his cold empty bed. His eyes lingered on Toad's pillow for a moment before he grabbed it and held it close. Inhaling the crisp sweet honey like scent that seemed to stick to the younger male. He allowed himself another smile as he finally gave into sleep.

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Roach walked as quiet as he could in Toad's footsteps, following the snipers path without worry. They were sticking to the shadows of the looming buildings surrounding them. It was deathly quiet around them, not even a bird was chirping despite it being roughly 4pm in the afternoon with the sun high. Roach studied the overgrowth in the street and buildings, some burnt to the ground, other's holding broken or boarded up windows, car's left abandoned in the street. Some suffering the same fate, burned, overgrown or broken into it. A few bodies scattered the road and side walk, killed off by survivor's or city police when all of this happened. He turned his attention back to the task at hand, he couldn't afford to let his mind linger on small details if he didn't need to. The bodies were nothing but bones and clothes, they weren't going to get them. They were somewhat safe right now. Despite being out here for 24 hours now they had only come across a handful of UD's and one mass group they managed to wait out in the safety of a old barn house they crossed.  

They had been asked to trek out to a distress signal that came from another group TF 141's that had been sent out a day before for supplies. Roach thought about them for a moment, twin American soldiers who had joined not long after he had. Triston and Tobias . Both 32, shaggy golden brown hair, piercing blue eyes that stood out against olive skin. They were the task force's secondary sniper team incase Archer and Toad were already deployed somewhere, injured or on leave. They made a pretty good team, holding similar training the Brits had. The only thing they couldn't do was Archer and Toad's silent conversations they held. Even after years of serving with them Roach still had no idea how to decipher any of it. 

"We're nearing the area." Girdlock spoke up from in front of them.

Roach leaned around Toad's bulky frame to see the marked building, the top of it still spouting out green smoke. He hoped their friends were okay and still in the area. 

"Lets get going, we've been out here long enough and I want my bed back." Toad complained, rolling his throbbing shoulders from carrying his M14 EBR. It wasn't a light gun by any means but he refused to take anything else. The Simi auto rifle was his go to for anything aside from the HP that was strapped to his right thigh. 

"Soon Toad, I promise mate." Roach assured the American man as he watched Gridlock jog across the open street to the building. Toad followed soon after and covered Roach as their friend worked on getting in the building. Once inside they noticed drawn marks on the walls leading up the near by stair case. T1. That was their short indicator for their task force. They hurried up the stairs and were met with their radio's clicking into a short private channel they all emitted to each other. It was encrypted for safety reasons. 

"Apollo, Artic, You guys read me?" Gridlock asked, keeping his voice calm and smooth with his light southern accent and holding up at the top of the stairs. 

A few moments of silence follow before another click sounds off. "Yeah, yeah we hear you." 

Roach let his shoulders sag in relief to hearing the familiar voice cross the channel. Considering the calm tone it was most likely Artic. He always kept the twins out of trouble since Apollon use to get into prank war's with a few others around base, he's majorly calmed down since everything went to shit but he still cracks laughs out of everyone from time to time. 

"We're in the building bud, which end are you on? The marks stopped at the top here."

"Right hallway, last room to the left. Lemme unbar the door."  Shuffling could be heard between their comm links and the hallway itself as Artic got busy removing objects from the door which he opened soon after. Smiling tiredly at Gridlock, Roach and Toad. "Glad to see you guys."

"Same to you mate." Roach replied, bumping fists with him. He cast a glance over the sniper's shoulder in search of Apollo. He saw the spotter resting against a wall with his arm in a make shift sling. "What happened?"

"Ah. We got cornered by the UD's. Went to the next building over and had to jump the gab to this one, he lost his footing and his shoulder took the brunt of the fall. Dislocated. I got it back in place but he's still hurting a lot, Dunno if it's fractured or not." Artic replied, walking over to his sleeping brother. He gently patted his chest. "Up and at'm bro, lets go."

He groaned in reply and raised his good arm, scrubbing at his face. "What time is it?"

"Time to get up, won't say it again. Come on."

"Right right, I'm up." Apollo grumbled, blue eyes blinking and settling on their friends. It took his sleep hazed mind a moment to realize who they were, he sat up quickly which caused a pained grunt. "Forgot about that…"

"Easy big guy, we're getting out of here and Doc can look at your shoulder." Roach reassured him, gaining a smile from the spotter. They packed up everything the twin's had and set out to return home. 

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Nothing eventful happened at all on their way back. They kept their voices down and made small talk just to keep their sanity going or to keep themselves awake. This wasn't the first time they went more than a day without sleep. Unfortunately they had to take shelter at a gas station when a heavy storm settled in. They boarded up the windows and doors the best they could with the shelves and whatever else they could get their hands on. Toad took some time to check on Apollo's shoulder, every sniper unit went through heavy medical training under Doc's teachings since they were deployed as two man team's with no back up for days, weeks or month's at a time. They only had each other so injuries were bound to happen with small teams, but that also left them a lot of stress when it came to handling wounds, hence the training they needed. 

Toad helped the fellow spotter ease his vest off, pealing back his uniform and grey t-shirt. He was greeted with a decent sized angry purple bruise with a yellow and green edge surrounding it. He let out a low whistle. "You really did take a nasty fall there."

"Tell me something I don't know, fucker hurts like hell. But I least I almost stuck the landing" He chuckled, always the one to try and stay positive. 

Toad shook his head and shrugged off his back pack, fishing around for a small bottle. He popped it open and gave him two of the pills, unscrewing the cap off his canteen and watched the man chase the pills down with two gulps of water. "Those should last you until we make it back." 

Apollo nodded his thanks and closed his eyes while resting his head back against the wall behind him as Christian rewrapped his shoulder and fixed his clothes. He opted to keep his vest off for while to relieve the pressure it put on his shoulder. He needed to let the meds do their job, ease the pain and swelling. 

The older spotter left the man to rest and returned to his original spot by a window to watch for any movement. He hoped everything at base was okay, he knew for a fact that Archer wasn't sleeping like he should. He chewed at the inside of his mouth as he fiddled with his engagement ring, smiling fondly to picturing the usual stoic sniper give him a full on warm, loving toothy grin and accepting his proposal. He smirked to himself, he couldn't wait to get back. He wanted to hold the older man close and cuddle in their bed or beat him in a card game again. He wanted to hear Archer's graveled, calm and deep voice. Wanted to hear his views on physiological questions or how he would solve a near impossible situation. His thoughts drew to the books in his back pack, he had picked them up a few hours ago in the barn they stayed at. Archer always loved books, even when they first met the man would stay up on restless nights and read a book, even if he already read it several times before. He explained there could have been something he didn't read right or maybe missed, which was hard to believe. Ian had extremely good hearing and even better eye sight. It was almost like he was born to be a sniper. He had the perfect build for it as well and could lay in the same spot for hours on end. He was a man of endless patience it seemed like, until he really got to know him. Archer was honestly a huge softy under all his walls. How Toad managed to get past them to the teddy bear in the middle he would never know. Despite the show Archer put on most of the time he cared deeply for everyone in the task force, he would do anything for them at the drop of a hat. Toad could proudly say he honestly loved every side of Ian Richards. Even his grumpy sleep deprived side that he knew would be present once they arrived on base. 

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Gator scanned the forest tree line with his rifle, nothing had shown up since his rotation with Archer which he was secretly happy about. The UD's honestly creeped him out. He just didn't understand anything that happened, he was simply grateful to be alive despite the people and friend's they lost since the beginning of this weird sickness. He could never bring himself to look at the grave markers towards the far north corner, couldn't bring himself to grieve a second time over their friends. His heart suddenly skipped a beat to hearing rustling down by the wall. Gator looked over the edge of his tower and saw Gridlock's group waving up at him. Relief flooded his system before he called to the gate guards to open the doors, they ushered the soldiers in who immediately jogged in. The door closed behind them with ease. Gator radioed in to let MacTavish and Ghost know the party returned mainly in one piece, his eyes settling on Apollo's injured shoulder. At least that was the only injury from what he could see. He smiled a bit and settled back into his seat to continue his watch. 

MacTavish approached Roach after speaking with Gridlock about the mission, He watched the sergeant shedding his gear, "Didn't run into too much trouble aye?"

"Naw mate, was a pretty clean run. The twins caught more hell than we did."

"Gridlock told me, glad everyone got out alive."

Roach nodded in respond, "Not a lot left in the area though, near bloody empty for supplies. At this point we'll have to go out further or move."

"Aye.… Ghost brought that up, get off my arse about it."

"Well he's not wrong John," He chuckled, "We got enough to stay for three months but that's it unless we move."

MacTavish sighed and patted his shoulder before smiling brightly, "We'll make the choice soon bug, Casper just returned today with more info from his travel out west."

Roach smiled and nodded, "Glad he made it back mate." He replied before trying to hold back a yawn and failing. 

"Get some sleep Gary, we got a lot of work ahead of us."

"Don't have to tell me twice." 

Gary put away his gear and headed to his room, grabbing a change of clothes and walking to the shower room. He already heard a few going and choose one of the further showers, he was still self-conscious about the burn marks Shepard left him. Roach knew he shouldn’t be but it still bothered him since they brought back bad memories. He had no doubts they could have died that day, hell they almost did. He couldn't remember the last time he had been that close to death's door, seeing Ghost tossed in beside him and burned. Roach felt the stress leave his body to a firm callused hand clasping the base of his neck, it lingered with a light squeezing before disappearing. He knew it was Ghost, the man always seemed to appear just when he needed him. Gary smiled warmly, he had been dating the older man for years now. Their relationship had advanced quickly and now they seemed glued at the hip when they were at the base. He never took Simon for a romantic person but their alone time in bed showed how untrue that was along with their random date nights in Hereford. Roach chuckled at the thought and finished up his shower, washing the grime and sweat away from the mission. He got dressed and headed for his room to rest. 

Toad checked in with the twins, making sure Apollo was good to go under Doc's care. The civilian medic had dealt with a lot between Ghost and Roach's recovery, honestly the task force wouldn't have anyone else. He volunteered to help them out with large payment and became part of the family. He patted the medic on his back and waved goodbye to the twins as he left the infirmary. Chris rolled his sore shoulders and easily navigated the halls to his and Archer's room which resided on the east side of the base, they loved the quiet private room they were given away from everyone else. He grabbed the door nob, twisting and pushing it open without a sound but he knew his partner would be awake. No one could get remotely close to the man without him knowing, either he saw you or heard you first. Sure enough those familiar stormy blue eyes were locked on him cover the edge of a book, the older sniper was relaxed on their bed, sitting with his back against the wall. The book was discarded to the side as Toad trudged over, toeing his boots off and flopping down beside Archer. The other man chuckled and carded his callused fingered through Toad's scruffy blonde hair, finger tips gently scratching his scalp which earned a soft content sigh in return. He vaguely heard Archer tell him to rest, saying he could explain the mission later when he wakes up. Toad smiled a bit and settled in, letting his body relax as Archer pulled the blanket up and cut the light off. Tonight they would rest easy and safe, knowing their friends were okay and back with them. Tomorrow always brought a new day for them.  

Chapter Text

Ash sat quietly by herself in a dimly lit room, looking over a map and notes. She was trying to carve the map lines into her brain, red circles littering the map for dangerous area's, blue lines marked safe routes, green unknown and… the black crossed speckled across the entire map. Lost friends. Bitten, fatally injured or gunned down by some random survivor. 60 operators cut down to a small group and one civilian, Harry. She picked up the notepad that listed the remaining operators, the people who had become her family. The GIGN group survived, along with the Spetsnaz and SAS group. The rest… they were there, missing member's but there. GSG 9 had lost IQ during the start of the war, a mission gone wrong. Ace and Aruni were the last standing members for Nighthaven, Wamai and Kali had given up their lives to make sure the rest got away when Hereford base was over ran by the undead. They lost a lot of their family along the way and each dog tag recovered weighed heavy on her and everyone else.

Ash sighed and leaned back in her chair, hearing a soft knock at the door to her room. "It's open." She called, hoping It wasn't Thermite coming back to try and 'cheer' her up. She really was not in the mood.

The door opened to show Harry, he had brought her food and a drink. "You know it's late right?" He said with a small smile. Harry always tried to look after them.

She returned the smile and gladly accepted the food and drink, "I know. But we're moving in two hours. I want to make sure everything is good to go. I have the trail mapped out with Kapkan and Bandit's help. It's more open than I like it to be, we don't have a choice though. The area is clean and we can't afford to stay here any longer." Ash explained, not really speaking what was on her mind. 

He hummed and grabbed a chair, sitting beside her. Harry knew her better though, he could see the gleam in her eyes. "Worried about Rook and Chameleon?"

Ash nodded after a moment, Rook was slowly recovering from a nasty concussion and Chameleon had broken ribs from some stupid trap that had been set while they were out on a scouting missing for supplies. Despite being able to get up and move around, Saulo could only do so for an hour without Kapkan carrying him back to a seat. "How can we move with them both injured? We don't have a choice in the matter which is stressful, neither one are in the right condition to venture out but we also can't leave them or split the group. The supplies we have won't last any of us."

"I understand the worry. Gustave believes we can make it well enough, if he's giving the green line I'm fine with it but you're in control here Eliza."

"You're always above us Harry, despite everything that's happened we're still going to look up to you."

"I appreciate the honesty."
 

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Julien stirred to hearing the temporary infirmary's door opened, if you wanted to call the room that. They had set up a FOB in an hotel building after clearing it out and removing any Undead's In the area. The infirmary was an large open room for big group's on vacation so the beds had been lined up against a wall. What medical supplies they had was packed up for the move later. He groaned to light filling the area, pulling the covers above his head as his head pulsed with pain. He quietly cursed under his breath in French.

"Sorry mon ami,"(my friend) Rumbled Doc's smooth heavy accented voice, as he neared the younger GIGN operator. "We're getting ready to move, you need to get up."

"Already?" Rook questioned tiredly, feeling the medic gently tug at the blanket in his grasp. He relented his grip on it and carefully set up, thankful for the second person he just noticed for blocking the sunlight. He blinked a few times through narrowed eyes and blurry vision before it cleared. He recognized Lion's tall and large figure standing there with a worried expression, green eyes shining with it as well. Julien loved those green eyes, no matter what emotion they showed. He was happy Olivier even took the time to come in, He had been relentlessly working with Finka and Lesion to try and figure out exactly what this virus was that encased the earth. All of them hoped to some extent they could make a cure or at least some find of vaccination to ward off the infection and become immune to it. Either way something would have to give eventually.

"Oui,"(yeah) Doc replied, running him through a few tests. "One last thing, do you remember how you gained your concussion?"

Julien thought for a moment before nodding a bit, winching at the pain that shot through his head. 

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Chameleon and Kapkan lead their small group around Herefordshire they needed to recon for supplies. Behind them walked Rook, Doc and Glaz. They had been out searching for nearly half a day now, making runs like this once a month was enough to keep them going but now they were having to venture a little further out just about every other week. Thankfully there weren't many Undead in the area, they had been cleared out by the Rainbow operators and walls built in the larger area's to keep them out which helped protect the hotel they were currently stationed at since Hereford base got over run by the creatures. 

Doc whistled lowly for them to stop for a bit, huddling under a store front and out of the blazing sun. "Break time, take a few sips from your water. This is our last stop before we head back." He told everyone. 

They gratefully rested, taking small sips from their canteens and sitting to stretch out sore legs. It was once hell of a job running out like this and running back to the hotel within a reasonable time frame. 

Chameleon pulled a map from his vest and unfolded it, using a purple marker to map their route with Kapkan watching and making small comments on some key focus points they had kept in mind to check out later. He marked with them green for now with a smaller circle in them. "There should be a few stores of interest near by, Mind if I scout ahead?" He asked Doc who was their acting leader for this mission. 

"Just be careful, take someone with you." 

Saulo nodded and nudged Julien who happily got up and followed him. The two kept their weapons aimed in front of them just in case. Wouldn't be the first time they got surprised by an undead or a survivor. Chameleon lead him out of view from the other's. 

"If the map is right, there's a few small stores. Mainly clothes, books, small crafts and a tool store. Hopefully it's up ta date." He explained. 

"It should be, it's a newer map from two years ago." 

They ventured to the middle of the road, weaving between car's and over growth of the tree's and grass. Most of the store's were right side from three that looked newer, like they had just been built here. 

"Well.…guess we can start with the smaller stores right?" Chameleon said with a smile before heading over to one, he tested the door and quietly pushed it open while Rook took the other store to his right. He ventured further in and checked a few boxes and a book bag he found. Saulo took a moment to scan the store. Most of the items were still in tact, dusty and covered in spider webs. Dirt and god knows what else caked the ground. His eyes flicked to the back of the store where the checkout counter was, venturing over to it and leaning to check behind it with his M16A4. Coming up clear he walked around and gently nudged the door open to the back, rinse and repeating his actions until nothing of use came up. Chameleon sighed and walked out of the store, checking in on Rook who was just exiting his own area. "Any luck?"

"Nothing so far, maybe we should skip the small area's and go check out the bigger tool store? Could be some useful items in there, we really need more nails and tape." Rook offered, gesturing towards the new looking building. 

"Fair join, lets go." He replied, jogging over to the hardware store with the French operator as the other's came around the corner to help them search. 

"You two faring okay?" Doc called over their coms. 

"Just dandy," Saulo replied, starting his search through boxes and isles on one side while Rook got the other. "We gave up on the smaller areas, not much beside dust and spiders." 

"We'll keep an eye out, continue searching."

"Copy." 

It took a good hour for them to fully search everything, they managed to find exactly what they needed and a few other tools that could come in handy. A lot of stuff had been left that was too heavy or large for them to move and decided to make a mental note if they needed to reinforce a wall or fix one then they could come here and get the supplies, they would need someone like Tachanka, Lion or Sledge to help carry the materials. Rook called for the urban expert to meet him towards the back of the place so they could check the storage room together. They met up after a few minutes and stacked up at one of the double door's before going in, weapons raised. A sudden loud click caught them off guard before clanging from their left was heard, Chameleon glanced over just in time to see three pipes about the size of his forearm swinging towards him at a startling speed. He instinctively stepped back, forgetting Rook was on his hills. He felt a sickening crack and instant blooming pain in his torso as the pipes slammed into him. A second round was launched as Rook yanked him back out of the way only to catch one under his helmet which knocked them both to the floor as Rook still had a hold on the other man's vest. His surprised and painful yelp caught the other's attention. 

Chameleon was gasping for breath through the pain throbbing in his ribs, rolling from his back to his side as he blinked way tears to check on Rook. The GIGN operator was sitting up but holding a place under his cracked face shield, it was dislodged and sitting at a weird angel. He tried to ask if he was okay but struggled to form words pass a labored groan of agony. He heard familiar foot steps and voices calling for them. 

Julien carefully moved over to him, wiping at the blood at dripped down his face from his eye brow. "In here!" He called despite the pain in his head throbbing, he knew the signs of a concussion but had to ignore them for a moment. 

Soon enough Glaz, Kapkan and Doc appeared. The medic immeditily went to work, seeing that Chameleon was the worse one while Glaz checked on Rook. The sniper had been trained in field medicine in case he was sent off alone. He noticed the signs on the concussion right away and moved Julien over to a wall, pulling out his medical kit and got to work cleaning the mark and carefully removed the French operator's helmet to fully access the wound. Doc on the other hand was carefully pulling off Chameleon's vest, pulling up his shirt and seeing the bruise forming. "What hit you?" He asked them. 

"Pipes.…That machine over there, it was a trap. He got hit straight on and I got the second round to the head…" Julien explained. 

Doc nodded and carefully checked the man next to him, stopping his poking and prodding when Saulo released a strained groan of pain. "Broken ribs, not sure about enteral bleeding. We need to move, now." He bandaged him the best he could and instructed Kapkan to carry the man so they could move faster just strictly warned him not to jostle him around. They made it back in record time. 

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"Good, more detail than last time." Doc commended as he made some notes about it. "We're good to move you then. Just take it easy when we leave, I'll be keeping you and Chameleon in my sight."

Julien hummed in understanding and glanced at Lion. "How is he by the way? He came by yesterday with Kapkan to check on me and still looks like he was hurting."

"He'll be fine, it's going to be a slow move with his ribs still busted. Kapkan and Tachanka have decided to take turns carrying him if they need to." Lion replied calmly. "You'll be sticking with me."

"Ca me semble bien cherie."(Sounds good to me honey) Rook said with a tired smile. He was helped to his feet by Doc before the older GIGN operator moved away to pack the last of his medical supplies. Listening to Lion quietly walk his boyfriend through putting his gear on. Most if it would protect him from any bites should the undead get close enough which any of them doubted since they were on major high alert now. They had lost two of their own to surprise attacks before. There wouldn't be a third time. Not under their watch. 

Further down the hall, soft rustling and footsteps rushing around could be heard. Everyone else was getting ready to move, transporting their items and gear to the main lobby of the hotel. Ash kept a mental check on everything happening, guns, ammo, grenades, tools, food, water, medicine, medical equipment, and extra clothes. They also had three backpacks pull of research from their CBRN unit they weren't willing to part with, not at this point in time. She couldn't blame them, it was nearly a years worth of research, test results, and pictures. It was too valuable to leave. A sudden grumbling curse caught her attention, her hazel brown eyes flicking up from her notepad to one of the main hallways. They settled on Kapkan's large form helping Chameleon walk. She noticed he was wearing his bullet proof vest despite the injury he had, despite it being a mandatory rule when they left the FOB. Even Harry wore one for safety reasons, but injuries were different. He didn't have to wear it, mainly if Doc said it would cause more harm than good. Ash waited until they got within the lobby to say anything.

"Is that a good idea? With his ribs the way they are?" She asked with a faint amused smile at how stubborn the mixed soldier was. 

Chameleon gave her a pained grin, "Would rather be protected against bullets than worry 'bout some broken ribs. Besides the vest can provide some protection, already saw Doc before we left our room. I got permission ta remove my vest if it becomes too much. I'll be careful Ash, I promise." He explained to her, his grin softening to the promise.  

She nodded a bit and glanced at Kapkan who had a firm grip on the boyfriend. "And you?"

"What about me?" He asked gruffly, eyes narrowing a bit as if Eliza was about to pull him away from his current job.

"Just making sure you'll be okay. I know you like to lead the group, you know the area better than any of us, that being said... Doc wants the injured in the middle of the group formation. You good with that?"

Kapkan released a sigh, closing his steely blue eyes for a moment. He glanced at Saulo who was leaning against him. "I will be fine, Tachanka has offered to switch out if I need him to."

"Alright. Once the other's gather up we'll be moving."

It took everyone only a few minutes to fully get geared up and carry what they could before they left the hotel. Fuze, Montagne, Twitch and Tachanka had been leading the group for hours now under Kapkan's guide, using their com links to keep their voices down so nothing was drawn to them. They tried their best to stick too a diamond formation when possible to keep their injured guarded but also cover themselves from every angle. Kapkan was stuck in the middle with Chameleon a step or two behind him with Harry, Rook wasn't not far behind, keeping one hand gripped onto Lion's back pack since he had to keep his head down and out of view of the sun and to allow the operator to man his sub machine gun. He complained a few times it still made his concussion worse. Doc and Ace brought up the either side of the injured soldiers, keeping a close eye on them and intervening when they needed to or simply to do a routine check up. They were flanked on their front and back by Jager, Bandit, Elias and Finka while Glaz, Sledge, Thatcher, Smoke and Mute brought up the back. Thermite, Castle, Pulse and Ash rotated out with him on watch, allowing them to rest inside the formation for awhile before going back on alert. This was going to a long walk to their destination, one they hoped was worth the time and effort for their own survival.  

Chapter Text

October 13th XXX2 = Task Force 141 

It had been a silent few days for the task force, Worm, Jester, Gator and Joker took turns on the guard towers while small search parties went out for food or any type of equipment they could find. It was clock work at this point, they were trying to bleed the area dry of resources before they packed up and moved. They were nearing their two month mark, most of the base was already being packed up in preparation. Most of their equipment would have to stay here since each soldier would only carry what they could, MacTavish didn't want anyone weighed down or carrying too much that would make noise. That's the last thing they wanted. The task force didn't need every UD for miles coming towards them while moving, then again they wanted to get as much space between them and the dried up area as possible even if that meant going into unfriendly area's. No choice in the matter really. Worm perked up to their comm's buzzing to life, Roach and Ghost were requesting entry to the base. It was the last run before they officially bedded down for the week to move in two days. The front gate guards gladly let them in, locking the gate afterwards. 

Roach took a moment to catch his breath, he and Ghost had ran all the way back. "That's… that last… bloody time… I'm checkin' an open building like that." He said between gasps of breath. 

Ghost let out a wheezing laugh, "Should have… seen ya face love, never seen you… go that white before!" 

The sergeant chuckled and stood up straight, whipping sweat from his face. "You try havin' a UD charge up like that, barely got a shot off."

"I would have killed it before hand, not letting my bug get bit." 

"Yes you would, for bloody shites n giggles." 

Ghost shook his head, wrapping an arm around Roach and leading him inside to fill out reports on what they found. Both had been hauling backpacks and managed to find some food and bottled water. Despite the scare they got when Roach cleared a building, they were unscathed and tired now. Both brits went to the shared office with MacTavish and settled to talk about what they found, taking inventory and bringing out a map for their move. After three hours of planning and marking the map they went to the mess hall, finding Casper, Avi, Archer and Toad sitting together enjoying a small meal between them. 

"You gents doin' alright?" Simon asked the lot as he and Gary joined them. 

"We're doin' fine mate, how ya gettin' on?" Octavius 'Avi' Lachlar asked, the aussie was leaning back against his seat. 

"Bloody wonderful, Bug nearly got his face kissed." 

"Never gonna let me live that down."

"Not for awhile." 

Avi shook his head, grinning to seeing Nathan 'Casper' Quillman chuckling silently into the scarf that stayed tucked around his neck. It was hiding a nasty scar there from a near miss slashed throat attempt by a russian roughly four years ago, he still had his voice but it would quickly go out after about an hour's use but even then it was strained and pain rattled. 

"Look, you even got a chuckle out of Cas. It was funny." Toad spoke up, all of them knew it was hard to make the American laugh. He would grin or smirk at a joke but rarely laughed over one, he had a pretty dark sense of humor. 

"Alright alright, I call that a win. I'll get it go." Ghost replied, taking a sip from his water and eating his pack of crackers. 

Roach shook his head and settled in, enjoying his own food as he listened to everyone talk. Their conversation ranged from old memories, odd dreams, track ran times, CQC tips, remembering old songs, movies, show's, bar's, stores, etc. It felt like to riminess even if it was painful to realize all of that was gone now. He only hoped this move they had planned would yield some kind of reward. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Before any of them knew it, the day rounded. Carrying what they could, the soldiers headed out. The plan was simple enough honestly, read for the hidden bunker safe house Nikolai had told them about awhile back, only the Task force had the access codes for it. At the moment it was their best shot. MacTavish ordered the group to stop at least a mile away from the location, he sent Archer and Toad ahead to scout the area since they could blend in better with the forest due to their ghillie suit's. It took about eight minutes before Archer's sooth voice came over the comm link. 

"Clear. Bucker intact. No sign of tango's." 

"Roger, we're moving up." Soap replied before giving the signal to move forward. Soon enough the group reached the entrance of the bunker, Archer and Toad announcing their approach. It never ceased to amaze the captain how the sniper pair seemed to emerge out of no where, even in the morning light. He chalked it up to years of training and their camouflage. Soap nodded to them in passing as he went down the opened hatch with Roach and Worm behind him to sweep the bunker just incase. You could never be too sure or careful right now. Thankfully the padlock was still in tact and working, he typed in the numbers a beat later. The second it hissed open he raised his M16 ready to pull the trigger, he slowly advanced into the bucker. It was dusty from years of abandonment but everything on the list was there and every room was empty of a person or UD. Soap called the other's down so they could get situated and get power rolling, he remembered there was a generator in the far back and called Casper and Ghost to follow him, the two could work electronics like magic. Roach took over for the most part, organizing everyone and pointing out where to store things. Despite being a young soldier he could be serious when he needed to be and would be a good leader one day should the time call for it. Soap smiled fondly and bitterly at the thought, he never wanted to put the bug in that spot but knew they all had their day's numbered even know with the world gone to shit. 

The captain focused on the map in his hands, trying to get back on track. He lead Ghost and Casper to the back rooms, clearing the last few rooms. A whistle from Casper caught his and Simon's attention, they jogged over and followed him inside. The generator was in front of them, ready to go. The American got to work as Ghost searched the room for anything useful after setting down the fuel can's by the door. A sudden spark from the generator caught them off guard as the man in front of it growled, his expression clearly displeased but went right back to work. 

Soap couldn't help the smile at crossed his face, the man's long lasting injury didn't stop him from expressing himself. If the wound had caused him complete muteness he would have personally tossed medical discharge papers at him but Nathan was still very useful, he was given short missions so he wouldn't have to stay out for hours or days at a time and strain his throat. The kid was around Roach's age with an impressive background in electronics, CQC rewards, firearm efficiency, rural exploration expert and survivalist. He topped most of his classes and came out as victor every time during training. He held himself well under pressure and had the drive to serve. 

Those thoughts brought him to think about Avi, the Australian had been with them from the start. A ghost like Simon, he was brought on board due to his skills in Intel gathering, Clandestine tradecraft, Demolitions and Infiltration. Octavius had a knack for all of those, showing his skills without being cocky. He was able to keep a level head but off the field he was a regular fun loving guy, keeping the spirit alive with a few other's. He connected will with just about everyone, mainly Casper. The two were rarely seen alone unless one or both were on missions. Avi had taught the younger operator sign language for times his voice wouldn't work, contributing his knowledge of it due to his mother who was born deaf and taught it to her whole family. A lot of the Task Force operator's had learned it for him with Avi's help just to make Casper feel more at ease after the injury happened.

Another whistle caught his attention, Soap perked up and glanced at Nathan who was grinning. "You got it fixed?" He asked the soldier, who nodded in reply and motioned for Ghost to fill it up with the gas. After that task was done it was powered on, the entire bucker kicking to life after a few sputters. The generator hummed to life and worked it's magic. 

"We got power boss!" Joker said over their comm's, "Archer and Worm went to check the shower room for working water, we're all situated with our equipment here."

"Copy. We're heading back." The captain replied. Along the way the three soldiers checked every light bulb and room, making sure the entire place was functioning the way it needed to. Upon arrival to the main group, Archer returned with Worm.

"Shower's are working, cold water for now but it'll do." Worm reported. 

"Aye. Lets settle in for the day, go over everything we got. Get some rest if you need it, explore if you want, check rooms and claim beds. No fighting or you will be on first watch." Soap told them, turning his calm voice commanding towards the end with a warning. The last thing he needed was his own mean fighting over beds. He watched them break off into small groups, talking among themselves and exploring the rooms and memorizing the lay out. Soap sighed and rubbed at his tired eyes, maybe a nap wasn't such a bad idea. 

October 15th XXX2 = Rainbow

Heavy winds and rain beat against the windows of the old three story farm house, tree's swayed with the strong wind rustling through them. The surrounding lands gave no movement or signs of life, even in the darkness of the night. Nothing stirred in this storm. A sudden flash and boom of rolling thunder startled half the operator's occupying the house, no one questioned a yelp or two from the thunder. It was a common trigger with soldiers, it represented war for most of them. With the current time it was daily stress and the will to survive that drove them forward along with the hope of finding a cure. 

Finka, Lion and Doc had set up an area in the living room to study and go over information. The operator's sat for hours working, unhindered by the storm or the fading light. Exploring the farm house had yielded rewards, extra food, tools, clothes, and oil laps. Two were currently being used in low light for the three operator's to work under. 

Shuffling from one of the hallways caught Finka's attention, glancing up from the papers in her hands to see Rook coming their way with bed ruffled hair and one eye barely opened. She smiled a bit, the Frenchman was most likely coming to seek out Lion for comfort or to try and pry him away for sleep. Finka could guess it was roughly 2am maybe 3. She watched the GIGN operator make a straight line to Lion, wrapping his arms around the taller man's shoulders and bury his face into the man's dirty blonde hair. 

"Why are you awake?" Lion asked without looking, he only allowed Rook to get this close to him. Much less touch him without permission. 

"You said you were coming to bed earlier, why are you still working?" 

"Because we need to do this as fast as possible, you know that." 

"Hmm.… take a break at least? Let me fall asleep again?" 

"Julien, go back to bed." 

"Not without you."

"Please? I'll be there soon."

"Don't trust you."

Lion scoffed, gently pushing back from his hunched over position. He faked being hurt by the comment which earned him a kiss from Rook. "You can be so mean…" 

"Then come to bed, all of you need rest. This will be here in the morning right?"

Doc leaned back in his chair, "He has a point. We should turn in. I need to check on Saulo anyway, he's pass due on a check in." 

Finka stood up to that, "Sounds good. Lets turn in." 

Lion grumbled but didn't argue anymore, now that his focus was off the paper work he started to realize just how tired he actually was. "Fine." 

Rook smiled in victory and lead Lion away as Finka safely put out the oil lamp after organizing the papers into folders and stacking them neatly. The two GIGN operator's settled into their pallet on the floor, Rook rested his head against Lion's firm chest which allowed the taller soldier to have the fluffy pillow to rest his head on. 

Further down the hall, in a room with a small bed just big enough for two house Kapkan and Chameleon. Everyone had agreed to give the mixed man the bed so he wouldn't be sore from his healing ribs, he needed a stable place to sleep so they would set correctly. Doc gently knocked on the door when he reached it, after quiet moment, a grumbled curse, the bed creaking in protest of weight shifting off, the door opened. The medic was greeted by a sleepy Kapkan who narrowed his tired eyes at him. 

"I came to check on Saulo, is he awake?" 

"Da, the storm is keeping us awake." Kapkan replied, stepping to the side too let Doc in. 

Upon entering he noticed Chameleon sitting up against the head board of the bed, his arms resting in his lap. They locked eyes as Doc neared to check his bandages, the bruising was lessoning and so was the pain but he still had a good 3 weeks of recovery left. 

"Has your pain worsened since we moved?" Gustave asked. 

 "Naw, been pretty dull lately." 

"Any internal or back pain?"

"None, Feelin' good actually. Even standin' up ain't bad anymore." 

Doc hummed and rewrapped his ribs, "Good. You are healing nicely, don't push it. I need you and Rook both to rest as much as you can before we move again."

"Understood. Ain't been movin' too much honestly. Kap' won't let me." Chameleon replied with a playful glare at the trapper who returned it.

Doc shook his head with a smile, "I'll leave you two be." He said as he left, closing the door behind him. He made a quick sweep through the building to make sure everyone was okay due to the storm. More than one night had every operator darkened his doorway back at Hereford due to a nightmare, seeking a sleep aid or someone to speak with just to ease their nerves. Gustave did the best he could every time. Quiet sobs and soft whispering caught his attention as he passed open of the open rooms, a soft light showing Ash sitting up with Thermite and trying to soothe the man with Pulse and Castle watching quietly. Doc knew thunder reminded the FBI operator of the day he gained his burns and Aruni lost her arm and leg in the car crash. The boom sounding like the explosive going off. He moved along, seeing Ash was slowly calming the man down. A few other's were awake, Thatcher was getting the same attention from Sledge while Mute and Smoke slept like rocks near by. Thunder was one of the few things that could unnerve the older man but Sledge knew how to handle him. Glaz had been woken by the loud rolling thunder as well, to him it sounded like sniper fire. This type of weather could a sniper's best friend or worst enemy. Timing a shot with a strike could conceal your presence, or signal your death to an enemy doing the same. Doc watched him a moment longer, the Russian was still laying down and staring at nothing with a cloudy look in his eyes. His hands were clenched in the blanket draped around him. 

"Timur?" He asked softly, taking a few steps closer. 

Glaz's ice blue eyes snapped to him, like a deer in headlights. His tense shoulders slowly relaxed when he realized where he was and who Doc was. "Ah..comrade. Did the storm wake you as well?"

He shook his head in reply and neared him, sitting down in a chair. "No, I have not been to sleep yet mon ami." 

"Research again? How is it coming along?"

"We are making small progress, a little is better than none."

Glaz nodded a bit, flinching to another strike hitting in the distance. He mumbled a curse in russian and scowled at the window. It was odd to see the usual happy go lucky operator make such a face. Doc decided to stay for awhile and chat about random topic's, distracting the man the best he could until the storm eased into a light drizzle. He noticed the man getting sleepy again and wished him a good nice before finally returning to the GIGN area. Twitch, Lion and Rook were already asleep. He noticed Montagne was sitting against the wall, it was hard to miss his large frame in the darkness of the room. Doc joined the man without hesitation, leaning against him and pulling the blanket across his lap. Monty smiled and wrapped an arm around him. Nothing was exchanged between the two before sleep took over. 

The next morning brought up a routine search party. Mute, Glaz, Castle and Thatcher volunteered to go this time. They packed light with two mags each primary and one for their secondary. So far they had never had to draw weapons on another human, only a handful of UD's they crossed along the way. Glaz took up the lead for the group, his good eye sight would spot anything moving before the other's could. Thatcher took up the middle with Mute behind him while Castle stayed in the back with his shot gun ready to go. The group quietly made their way down the dirt road from the farm house and out into the open road, sticking to the side of it they headed off to a town they had spotted along the way that was roughly an hour walk out. Thankfully nothing crossed their paths as they reached it. Each operator rotated out on clearing and searching buildings or houses. Rinse and repeat. 

Towards the end of their street, movement caught Timur's eyes which caused him to immeditly raise his rifle and look through the scope. His eye catching sight of a figure ducking into a building, seeing the M16 hanging from a strap off the back of the Kevlar clad person. "We have company."

Mute quickly returned to the group from the shop he had been checking, Castle kept an eye on their six while Thatcher moved up behind Glaz, resting a hand on his shoulder. "What do ya see?"

"Military maybe, vest, M16. Seven buildings down, ducked inside."

"Wait for 'm to come out." 

Minutes ticked by, no other movement came about until a new figure crossed the sniper's sight. The man's large frame reminded him of Lion's but the skull mask with fangs made him seem even more daunting, he studied the figure closely. A tan scarf hung off his shoulders, sleek black armor plating and matching clothes cladded his body. Just from the way the man held himself Glaz could tell he was military. He watched the man turn enough for him to see the patches on his arm, Task Force 141 and an Australian flag. Rainbow knew of another base close to Hereford, friendly's they had run missions with but he personally didn't now this man. 

"Thatcher, we got 141 soldiers here."

"Patches?"

He hesitated to answer as the one from earlier came out of the building, much smaller that the aussie. Gray jacket under a light tan tactical vest and jeans. The jacket held the same 141 patch but with an American flag, a green camo scarf tucked into his shirt and covering his neck. His honey brown hair rustling in the wind. 

"Australian and American." 

"Stay here." Thatcher told him and Mute, motioning for Castle to follow him. This was a chance they needed to take, Harry had asked them before hand to try and connect with the Task Force if they crossed them seeing as he had talked to Price and MacTavish before regarding joint operations. Thatcher had met with the captain's before and hoped they were still friendly.

Castle followed the brit in front of him as they carefully approached the two soldiers who quickly took notice of them. The Australian with the skull mask raised his rifle towards them for a moment but lowered it slightly to see Castle and Thatcher were holding their hands up to show they had no weapons. 

"State ya business mate." 

"Task Force ya?" Mike asked, keeping his hands up. 

"What 'bout it, you from the SAS branch?"

"Yes and no. I've worked with Soap and Price a few times, I just wanna talk."

Avi narrowed his eyes behind his mask and perked up to a call in his ear piece, "We're fine, this bloke sa-"

"Mike Baker, Thatcher." The brit interrupted carefully. 

"You catch that?" Avi asked into his ear piece. A long minute past before the aussie fully relaxed. "Aye sir, holdin'."

Two beats later and three houses down across the street, Soap and Roach came out and jogged over. Mike was relieved to see friendly faces, he relaxed along with Castle who smiled. They greeted each other with a firm hand shake. 

"Knew all of this shite wouldn't kill you old man." Soap chuckled with a smirk. 

"And you're too young to be taken out either, Price would have both our bloody heads." 

"Too right mate." The captain replied, glancing at Castle then back to Thatcher. "Just you two?"

He shook his head in reply. "Got a few lads still standin', two injured." Thatcher replied before signaling Mute and Glaz to join them. 

The two operator's jogged over to join them, both giving a nod in greeting. They all agreed to head into a house for cover as the rain from yesterday kicked up again. Glaz immeditly went for the upstairs balcony, he never did like standing around in groups. He would rather be up somewhere useful to keep an eye out for anything bad. 

"Don't mind him, not a fan of crowds." Castle told Casper who seemed like he had wanted to follow the Russian. He simply nodded and gave a faint smile. They were by the door while Thatcher, Roach and Soap talked in the kitchen. Mute sat close by in a chair while Avi paced a bit, he could never sit still for long. 

A few minutes of silence fell over the four soldiers in the living room before Castle spoke up again, "Never caught your names, I'm Miles Campbell, callsign Castle. Quiet one there is Mark Chandar, callsign Mute. The one upstairs is Timur Glazkov", callsign Glaz." He explained before gesturing to Casper who seemed nervous, casting a glance to Avi who sighed. 

"His name is Nathan Quillman, callsign Casper. My mate can't talk much, injury to his throat." The aussie replied, walking over to the shorter male and tugging at his scarf just enough to show the scar across his throat before covering it up and ruffling his hair fondly. "I'm Octavius Lachlar, Callsign Avi. Two from earlier are John Mactavish, callsign Soap and Gary Sanderson. His callsign is Roach, don't bloody ask 'bout that. Long story." 

The quiet male beside him chuckled into his scarf a bit, Roach had gotten his name from all the injuries he got despite most of them being life threatening the brit somehow came out on top. Recovering quickly and rearing to go. He stifled his humor when Thatcher, Soap and Roach joined them in the living room. 

"We're gonna wait out the storm and head back lads, Soap's got a radio we're gonna keep in contact with." 

"Sounds good. We were just getting to know each other." Castle replied. 

"Might as well, storm is brewin' up more." Soap commented as they heard the balcony door upstairs close to signal Glaz coming back inside to avoid getting wet. He watched Mute stand up and go up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time to reach his friend. "Got some loner's eh?"

"Those two? Always. But good people." Castle explained, "They'll be fine." 

The soldiers settled in for the night, making idle chatter between themselves. It ranged from reasons for joining the military, best unit's they served with, people they missed, items and places they missed how the Task Force got to work with Rainbow and some of the missions they ran. 141 had pulled through for Rainbow more than once by cleaning up the aftermath or helping them gather intel. It was nice to know they had an allies out here despite both of their groups being picked down to just under half of what both unit's use to be. Soap still remembered every single soldier that served under him and every soldier he lost, it was a hard hit and he knew just from Thatcher and Castle's expressions they had lost close people as well. This new war for life had taken so many over the course of two years, if they could officially work together and combine their teams maybe they would have a better shot at survival. One could only hope.

Chapter Text

April 3rd XXX3

Nearly six months had passed since 141 and Rainbow crossed paths. Both groups had found places to settle within radio of each other, they were on good terms and currently on a truce but stuck to their own people for safety reasons. Both teams were on their own unless a horde came through, either taking out what they could or alerting each other to let the mass move by to conserve ammo or weapons since some could get lost or broken after landing blows on a UD. Thankfully neither side had lost any soldiers over the months and injuries were healed over enough for everyone to help out with whatever their groups had planned.141 had build up around the bunker, making a small outpost with high walls that were protected by sharpened tree limbs and barbwire. Rainbow on the other hand had managed to come across an abandoned bed and breakfast estate and decided to build around it since the area was good enough and support plant growth. All in all, both groups were doing just fine and holding their own. This was their new life, one they had to fully embrace to live and make worth of what they had left. They had to protect each other since this was the only means of family any of them now. 

Artic and Apollo came out of the green house, the twins were in charge of the crops since they grew up on a farm before joining the military. Artic stretched his back, yawning as quietly as he could. He let his body relax as his blue eyes settled on the setting sun. "How can this place be so peaceful."

"We're doing what we can to keep it that way Triston, lets hope it stays like that." Tobias replied to him, double checking the vegetables they pulled from the green house. 

His brother smiled, brushing back his shaggy bangs from his eyes. They needed hair cuts soon. "Yeah… lets hope." 

Apollo nudged him with a grin and went to the bunker with him, typing in the code and walking in. They navigated to the kitchen and placed the perishables in the fridge. "Wonder when Archer and Toad will be back, they left a week ago right?" 

"Yeah, but you know those two. Even before all this they could be out for three months at a time on missions. They know their way and how to handle themselves, no different than us going out either. Remember that two month mission to Greenland?" 

"The one with the VIP at the log cabin?" Apollo asked, walking with him to their shared room. 

"That one. It took us an extra two weeks just to get out of Greenland due to comm's being down, Ian and Christian have been through a lot worse than us. I got faith they'll be alright, they're some of the best fucking snipers we've ever seen." Triston told him, "Have the same faith bro." 

"I do, just worried is all." 

Artic chuckled a bit and ruffled Apollo's hair. "Get some rest." He told him before laying down in his own bed for a nap. 

Top side, Roach was manning the radio tower to give Radar and Gator a break. Currently the airways were clear, soft white noise filtering through. The last word they heard was two days ago from a operator on Rainbow's end by the name Jager who warned them of a small horde shifting towards their area, sure enough the horde consisting of 50 if not 80 UD's slowly made their way by and out of the area yesterday. 

Roach sighed and leaned back in his chair, he glanced out the near by window to the darkening sky for a moment before shifting his gaze back to the journal in his lap. He flipped through some old entries and paused on two pages. Both sides holding sketches of four men with a neatly drawn Delta symbol in the button left corner. His eyes reading over the names wrote across the pages under each sketch. 

Derek "Frost" Westbrook, Matthew 'Sandman' Colton, Reed 'Grinch' Harrison and Hank 'Truck' Desmond. Last he heard the Delta Force group had been sent out on a recon mission to Norway before shit hit the fan. He quietly prayed they were fine and alive, maybe making their way here since Price had told them a few times before if they ever got caught up in something they shouldn't that this bunker was the place to go until it blows over. 

Price himself had tried to contact Metal over and over once they had a stable radio connection, their current station was private and locked down. Only a small handful of people knew about it or how to connect too the frequency. Roach hoped the rest of the night would stay quiet, that usually meant nothing was going on and peace could settle for another day. 

Roughly five hours passed before the radio clicked to life and a small burst of static sounded answered first before Archer's voice came over the radio. "Archer to tower." 

"I read ya Archer." 

"About blood damn time, we had to take a different route out towards the mountain and came across two Rainbow operator's and now we have a horde in the area. We're going to wait it out and move again in the morning." 

"Rodger that, stay safe and watch your back mate." Roach replied, hoping his friend and the rainbow operator's would be okay until morning. None of them carried enough ammo to deal with hordes no matter their size, the noise alone would bring in unwanted attention. It was easy to get over ran out here or cornered. 

Archer sighed and relaxed a bit beside Toad who patted his back, "Lets head back… We need to check those two." He told his spotter before they headed back to the cabin they were using as shelter for the night. He knocked gently on the door and it opened to reveal a woman named Elżbieta "Ela" Bosak and her sister Zofia, according to them they had been on their way here by a private plane and landed just outside the UK so it took them awhile to get this far on foot. They had already contacted Rainbow to let them know the sister's were safe, even letting their medic speak to them over the radio just to reassure everyone. They even went a step further and checked each other for any bites or wounds while the radio was going to sooth Doc's frayed nerves. 

The sister's for grateful for the contact but sadden to learn the state of their friends, the missing member's and known fallen. It would take a while for that to settle in and now they wanted to get there as fast as possible. They had so many questions and no answers other than the small one's the brits had, speaking of them, Ela watched the bigger of the two start up the fire place for the night. If she remembered right his call sign was Toad but couldn't quite remember his actual name. And the other by the windows was Archer, she had helped him earlier by covering the windows to conceal the light from the fire. There wasn't much they could do about the smoke but at least it would cover their scent for the night. 

"There we go, fire should stay lit for a while now." Toad said before standing up, dusting his hands off on his jeans. He went towards the kitchen were Zofia was currently scavenging for food. She had managed to find a few can's of fruit for them, they could split two can's between the four of them for the night. Zofia popped open both with her knife and handed one to Toad who nodded his thanks and returned to Archer who relented on his watch long enough to eat, the smaller man using a pocket knife to poke into the opened can for a slice of fruit. He held out the first piece for his partner who carefully snagged it off the tip of the knife and smiled at him before eating it, watching the sniper eat one himself. 

Ela and Zofia sat on the couch quietly by the fire, doing the same with their can. Both thinking over the situation, it wasn't any different across what land they saw through the clouds. Burning pits, scorched land, smoking buildings, people running away from rushing UD's. It was pure chaos in the making. Sure both sister's had seen their fair share of war but this was different. This was survival now, nothing more nothing less. The fact they had lost friends to this virus didn't settle well with either of them, but at least most of Rainbow had survived and they could only hope the missing operator's were alive and well and making their way back to the UK. 

Ela decided to ease the slight tension in the air when the snipers joined them by the fire for warmth, "So…you two served together? Before the collapse?"

"The collapse? That's what you're calling it now? Guess that's appropriate." Archer mused, grunting as he sat in the floor. 

Toad rolled his eyes and took a knee beside the sniper, "To answer your question, we did. Not many of us left in our task force but we're bloody here and fighting the best we can." 

"SAS or.…"

"Mixed." Toad said, "SAS, J-SOC, Australian Army, American Army Rangers, Navy SEALS, GIGN, you name it we got'm mate." 

"Sounds like Rainbow. Border's didn't matter to Six or Harry, they pulled from all around the world. FBI, GIGN, Spetsnaz, GSG 9, GEO, JTF2, and our unit, GROM." Zofia piped in for the first time since they met, Ela had done all the talking before hand. 

"Not much difference between us I'm guessing." Archer commented, poking at the fire carefully. 

"We deal with hostage situations and bomb threats all around the world. You do the same?"

"Depends really. We're trained for just about anything really. Been to nearly every state and country at this point, seen every type of weather and natural disaster you can think of. Nothing beats being here though." 

"Our own brits would agree with the weather and land, always dragging us out to go do stuff around the UK." Ela chuckled, "It was always fun." 

Toad smiled and nodded in agreement, "We'll always find something to do here, never bored. Even now."

"Speaking of now, we should get in bed soon. We barely have any light left." Zofia leaned back into the couch more as she stared out a crack in the boarded up windows, soft sunsetting slight filtered through. 

The other's agreed and enjoyed the fire for a while longer as the sun fully set. Toad took up first watch for the night, they would be leaving the second it was bright enough to see without risking bumping into any unseen UD's hiding in the shadows. The two different military forces had made up their minds to split once they reached the main open road that trailed through most of the town, Toad and Archer had to go back left at the T way to reach the bucker about five hours out while Ela and Zofia simply had to reach the other end of town for the estate. Either way it would be nice returning to their respective groups unharmed. 

April 4th XXX3

Tachanka picked up a large rock with ease, moving over to a pile by the fence surrounding the estate. This place had become their home for the last six months now and they were constantly working to make it better every day and it showed greatly. A few of the survivalist experts banded together to start up farms for the group, they were growing nicely and providing what they could. It also helped that everyone was fully recovered from any injuries and rearing to go to help with anything. Running out for supplies, scouting out areas, diverting away hoards, bringing back material for the wall incase the weather broken a part of it down. Whatever they needed, it happened. 

He took a moment to stand back and scan the grounds with his eyes, Glaz was on watch in the barn tower out in the field. Below at the doors stood Fuze and Jager, fixing one of the door's that didn't quite open as far as it should. Those two were always working on something just like Mute and Twitch, over the last six months they had managed to piece together a well working radio so they could keep in contact with Task Force 141. 

He remembered the call from yesterday, how everyone had been happy to learn more of their friends were alive before they had to deliver the bad news. Tachanka sighed out a huff of air, so many were missing with a few they knew for a fact were dead. Bitten or gunned down. Either way wasn't a favorable way to go down but this was simply their life now. 

Tachanka wondered back over to the plowed up area Blitz and Ace were currently extending and chattering about whatever came to their minds. He had to admit the two worked good together but never shut up long enough for a third person to speak so he opted to listen in on their conversations and move anything they needed out of the way.  

"So you are saying we have to time our days because some vegetables won't grow during certain seasons? I never really thought about that."

"But see now you understand right?! We have to watch the seasons carefully to grow the correct foods, we can not take area into effect anymore. We are here and staying, but as long as the vegetables yield seeds we should be fine. Between most of us we got this down pat." Ace said happily, ever the cheerful one even in times like this. 

Blitz chuckled in agreement, "This will work like the other patch behind the house is. Either way we have food, counting the hunting that's done by Glaz, Thermite, Kapkan and Chameleon. I'd say we'll be perfe-" He was cut off by a sudden spewed German curse from Jager. The three operator's glanced at the barn to see the pilot shaking his hand in annoyance and Fuze looking around the side of the door to check on him. Changes are he got his hand pinched in the door, wouldn't be the first time the man got hurt while fixing something. The stories he use to tell about car's, helicopters, restoring planes, fixing random objects as a hobby and even helping with gadgets from other operators. It was a wonder how the German man still had use of his hands. 

Ace shook his head, "I better go check on him, I'll be back." He handed over his plow to Tachanka before jogging across the open ground to the couple at the barn. He almost dwarfed the two engineers by his body size alone despite how bulky Fuze was. Ace took his time looking over the bruising spot that rested between Jager's index finger and thumb on his left hand. It wasn't bad, barely half an inch in size and no blood or splinters. 

"You are fine my friend, just be careful yeah?" 

Marius nodded and rubbed at the spot before slipping his glove back on, grumbling a bit to himself before thanking the medic and going back to work. Ace lingered for a moment longer to watch, returning to Tachanka and Blitz to resume work. 

Back in the estate, Harry was seated at a table with Ash, Thermite and Doc. They were preparing for Ela and Zofia's arrival soon but also had to refresh themselves on supplies and ammo, seeing what they had and what they needed to go forage for.

Doc's hand paused on a small box tucked away in a supply cabinet, he knew what it was, he was the one who put it there for safe keeping. Yet… it felt heavy, heavier than he wanted to admit. The small brown box held dog tags, one's his friends, his family once wore. He didn't need to open it too know who's were inside. Wamai, Kali, Capitao, Maestro, Warden, and Oryx. Six family memories lost to this chemical war and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. They didn't have a cure for whatever the virus was, people turned in minutes of being bit. 

Warden and Capitao had been lucky in a twisted sense, they had gone to patrol a few store fronts and ended up being gunned down by a trigger happy survivor. Doc cursed himself for weeks after that, wishing he had gone with them instead of staying back to do research with Lion and Finka. More names mulled over in his head, missing member's of their team who had the beginning of all of this had been on leave or missions. Buck, Blackbeard, Valkyrie, Caveria, Hibana, Jackal, Mira, Vigil, Dokkaebi, Nomad, Alibi, Kaid, Gridlock, Mozzie, Nokk, Amaru, Goyo, Iana, Melusi, Frost, Zero and Flores. All missing. No word from any of them. For all they knew they could be dead, trapped, or trying their best to survive. Whatever the challenges they faced, or didn't face, he just wished they could be here with everyone else. They needed to be together, to be with each other for safety. Ah curse his soft heart. He wanted to see all of them happy again, see them smile and joke around like nothing was happening. Sure a few of them did that now but none of them were full energy about it. How could they be? Nothing felt right anymore, not even in the slightest. 

"Gus, you alright?" Thermite's Texan accent suddenly graced his ears, causing the medic to glance up from the box he was organizing. 

"Yes, I'm fine. Lots to do and so little help." He replied, which wasn't a lie. Everyone had their jobs to do around the estate. 

Chameleon, Glaz, Kapkan, and Thermite provided food that required hunting and doubled on scouting jobs with Aruni, Bandit, Smoke, Montagne and Thatcher. Ace, Doc, and Finka were in charge of medical related jobs while doubling up with Lion for researching the virus. Fuze, Jager, Mute and Twitch were in charge of anything that needed to be fixed and the electronics around the estate. Sledge, Tachanka, Rook, Pulse, and Castle stuck around as security to keep the place safe. Ash and Harry rarely left for any reason, most of the time they were planning and marking area's down on a map when scout missions called in with results. 

"I hear ya, hopefully the other's will start springing up. Everything would be a lot easier with the rest here." Thermite commended openly, drawing a smile from Harry. 

"Family is a wonderful thing, blood related or not. Coming together and working for a common goal will push everyone to do better to reach that goal in mind." Harry told them, "And all of you doubted The Program never taught you anything, I beg to differ now." 

"I would take a thousand Program matches against Zero before this shit any day." 

"So I can listen to you whine every day how he never go's easy on anyone?" Ash quipped at him with a faint smirk. 

"Not fair Eliza, and you know I'm right about that. Hell I remember watching him take out Mira's entire team, Smoke was pissed about the bruise on his cheek from the chalk bullet. Sam wasn't even sorry it happened, just told him to be more aware of everything about him next time." 

"You know he took that to heart?" Doc suddenly pipped in, "I noticed he's been more careful since that day, even now he's majorly calmed down and even pays attention to what he's doing." 

"Do you blame him?" Ash responded, "This isn't some video game, we all know that far too well. There's… no time for games. Not anymore."

That seemed to settle the table down, they finished their work quietly before hearing Pulse inter the room, grinning from ear to ear. They already knew what that meant, the sister's were home. They left the meeting room to welcome the Bozak siblings. Sledge already had both of them in a tight hug, lifting them off the ground. Zofia was the first to tap him and beg for air, he apologized repeatedly and released them. Everyone got their hugs in before Ash and Harry guided them inside to get them food and water so they could settle down. 

Ash made a mental note to come up with a way too thank the Task Force for keeping a watch over Ela and Zofia, without them she wasn't sure exactly what their fate would have been. She sat down the sister's along with Harry and listened to their stories of how they got here and what they saw on the way back, any information they had gather and so forth. Maybe they could pay 141 a visit soon as a thank you, the two group did try to keep their distance when possible but at the same time she was happy beyond words they had allied with 141. This was proving to be a good shot on both ends and she couldn't wait to see where their alliance went from here on. 

Chapter Text

For those who follow me on tumblr and here, I’m taking a extended break from everything. I recently lost a very important person in my life and I need time to grieve. Thank you in advance for understanding.

Chapter Text

April 10th XXX3

Avi muted a yawn as he walked a few steps behind Casper, the duo had taken to a shaded forest path after finishing their scouting mission and decided a nice walk would do them some good. Being cooped up in the bunker for the last few days was annoying, when they had the base they could at least hit the track or training grounds to burn off energy. Now that wasn't allowed, no one left the bunker unless they had a mission or damn good reason. 

His thoughts drifted back to the base, he seriously missed it. Everyone there, the rec room, gun range, armory, early morning bantering in the cafeteria, vacations and traveling in their free time. That place held a special place in his heart, he met his first friends there outside the Ghosts. It's where he met the guy currently in front of him. Nathan had become his closest friend among the rest of the task force. The same man suddenly stopped and held up a balled fist as a signal to stop. Moments later a few UD's crossed their patch up ahead. Far enough away that neither would be any danger but alarming enough for them to stay as quiet as possible. Once the UD's were out of sight they carefully went around in a wide arch just in case. Avi gently patted Casper's shoulder, getting his attention. 

/Good job Cas, I was spacing out/ 

The American gave him a skeptical look, they were both always high on alert when they were away from the other's. /Yeah right/

Avi quietly scoffed at him, giving a playful hurt look. /I was!/

/I know the reason, you have to stop thinking about it/ Casper paused for a moment with a frown, /I want it back to but we have too accept what we have now/

He couldn't agree more with his friend, as much as he missed everything back then they needed to focus on present day. /Understood. Sorry about that, I'm focused now mate/

The shorter male nodded and smiled before leading them again. They walked for nearly three hours before they rounded back to the familiar wall of the bunker, as they reached the gate a gurgled croak caught their attention to the north wall where their containment/top side medical tent was. Both exchanged a look before approaching and finding Worm and Gator standing guard out of reach from a cage containing a UD, or what they thought was one. It seriously didn't look like it. 

Struggling to release itself from the pole tacked in the center of the cage, a chain collar keeping it from moving away from the pole. It's skin was a dark grey with red-ish purple veins showing through, it's eyes a shocking pure red with no visible pupil. Where a nose would be was completely flat and scarred over, leaving two long vertical slits in it's stead. The UD caught sight of them and growled but didn't screech or cause a commotion, seeming to have accepted it's captured fate. 

"How the fuck did you capture that ugly bastard?" Avi asked the two, scowling under his ghost mask at the creature.

"Ghost and Joker found it trapped in some razor wire and wrangled it back to base, Soap chewed them out but they had a good point. Those Rainbow guys are studying this virus with their CBRN unit so maybe they can get something off this thing that'll help, seems mutated but we're not taking any chances with it." Worm answered, keeping his eyes on it as well. 

"Were they already contacted?"

"Roach touch base with them awhile ago, they got a few coming over to stay awhile. It'll be welcomed company and a good chance to know them better." Gator shrugged. Both groups had been on good terms since meeting and any chance to break this virus was a chance they were going to jump on for some shot at a brighter future.

Avi hummed and nodded a bit, "Hopefully something good come out of this." He moved away after a moment and went down into the bucker with Casper so he could give their report to Soap, Price and Ghost after shrugging off most of his gear, thankful that Casper motioned for him to go while he dragged the gear back to the make shift armory. 

The Aussie navigated the hallways to the office space the two higher ranks were using for a base of mission planning, he knocked on the door and waited for Soap's reply to open the door. He did so and blinked at the mess of papers scattered around the two desks between the two soldiers but no Price in sight, he could be resting or simply walking the bunker. "You two seem busy." 

"Not at all, planning the next scout mission actually." Ghost told him while not looking up from a folder in his hands, flicking through some pages in search of something. 

"About that. North route was clear on our first passage. No targets, UD's, civi's or anything like that. On our way back a small group crossed over heading south, five UD's total. Didn't see much else and no other encounters. Could be a decent escape route if we need one."

Soap nodded a bit to the news, "Good work lad, we'll have to keep that in mind." 

"Anything else sir?" 

"You're free to go, get some rest."

Avi relaxed and left them to their searching, he immediately sought out his shared room with Casper. Finding the american already lying down with one leg stretched out and the other hitched up with his journal resting against it as he wrote something down, most likely the scout mission. Despite knowing that he wanted to ask anyway. "What'cha writing about mate?"

Nathan paused in his writing, setting the pencil in the center of the journal before signing his answer. /The mission and the discovery of the new infected./ 

"Right. Figured so." Octavius replied with a knowing smirk as he settled down on his own bed, kicking off his boots. He heard a huff from the younger man who went waited until Avi was settled in before he signed again.

/What do you think it is anyway? Being serious./ Casper paused at the end, his eyes showing a carious gleam while his face stayed neural. 

"The UD? Hard to say really, it's not aggro like the other's and clearly not the same. The eyes and nose thing actually made me a little sick earlier. I don't like having it within the walls but as long as someone keeps an eye on it.. guess it's fine. Either way something is going on, why now of all times would something like that thing be around here? I'm no scientist but it's strange. All of this." 

His friend nodded in agreement, seeming happy with the reply. He stared at his journal for a moment before replying, this time surprising the Aussie a bit by using his voice. "We'll be okay. We always are." Casper murmured out, tinkering with his scarf. 

"Bloody oath mate, we will be." Avi agreed after the sight shock left his system. "Get some rest Nate, I feel like we got a busy couple of days ahead of us."
 

April 10th XXX3

Finka kept her eyes forward of the group, Lion, Legion and Ash walking in a diamond formation behind her along the dirt forest path. They were making slow progress to the 141's bunker, six hours had already passed since they left the home stead but thankfully everything was in order in their makeshift home. No injuries or sickness at the moment and they all hoped it would stay that way while they worked on a cure, protecting their own from their research as well. 

Despite their months of research none of them had managed to figure out exactly what the virus was, the only info they had was from the 141's persona experance with it in Russia where all of this started. As for the source, no one knew. It was clearly weaponized and released on purpose. The chances of the person or people involved being alive now were very slim if not zero, it's the best they could guess anyway. Nearly two years in and uninfected were becoming harder and harder to come by or even spot while out on scavenge missions. The Task Force 141 were the only people Rainbow had. Even if they were located on the out skirts of town while Rainbow was nearly centered in the upper half with all the cabin's and inn's or in their turn of luck, The estate. 

The entire group had been nearly drop dead thankful to find such a place and the home it's become is the exact thing they needed to regroup and settle for everything they were trying to do, even though they were no longer considered soldiers, they were still family and human's. Whatever difference they could make before the UD's had a chance to fully take over they were going to try like hell to do it. 

"Looks like our destination is up a head." Legion said to Finka's left, gesturing ahead to the mismatched colored wall peeking out behind thick tree's. 

"About time, we've been walking for hours." Lion grumbled to her right, he would be lying if he tried to cover the fact that his feet were starting to hurt. Sure he had been on day long missions but he had moments of rest in between and wasn't constantly on the move like they were now. It also didn't help he was running on a small amount of sleep either, staying up late buried in work was something he was use to but not leaving the next morning with only three hours of sleep. 

Ash shook her head a bit with a small smile, of course Lion would find something to complain about. She pulled a radio from her vest and turned it to the right channel for the 141. "Ash to Baseplate."

"Go ahead Ash." Responded Roach's familiar voice. 

"We're approaching your west wall."

"Affirmative, Joker is waiting at the gate to let you in. Everyone good?"

Ash glanced over her teammates for a moment, she knew what the question meant. 'Is anyone bit'. Thankfully they had not crossed any trouble on the walk here or simply avoided any area with noise. "We're good Baseplate."

"See you inside." 

The radio clicked out with a soft static burst as they walked up to the gate, as Roach had said a soldier was there to let them in. He greeted them with a nod and closed the gate after they walked in. By the bunker was Roach waiting on them. 

Ash greeted him with a firm hand shake, "How's the UD you guys captured?" 

Straight to business, she reminded Roach of Price in a way. "Oddly quiet, you would think a being like that bloody thing would make a hell of a fuss but… it's hardly made noise aside from a growl or snarl." 

"It has not screeched like the other's? That is odd." Finka commented, glancing over to a tent with two guards. She figured that were it was being held. 

"We haven't messed with the bloke at all, figured we would leave it along for you lot." 

"That is very much apricated, less tempering means better work on our end." She replied with a smile. 

"Well let's introduce you then." He responded with his own smile, leading the group over to the tent. He pushed open a flap with his forearm and moved to the side, holding it open for the other's who came in one at a time. The four Rainbow operator's stopped in their tracks upon setting eyes on the creature. 

"You were not kidding, this is not a normal UD." Lion murmured, taking a step closer to get a better look at the caged infected. It only tracked his movement with a turn of it's head, red eyes locked on him. 

"Ghost and Joker found it wrapped up in razor wire, they managed to drag it back here. Even then it didn't show the same characteristic's most show. This bloke seems to control itself pretty well, at least in the cage."  

"When can we start our work? The faster we get samples under the scope the better." Ash asked him, keeping a even tone but clearly meant no rush in her words. 

"Right away, if you need anything I'm a call away in the tower or the two our front can get you what you need. One to the left is Worm, the other is Gator. Good luck on your research. Everything we have is up for use, even the spare rooms in the bunker if you need a break." The Brit corresponded, with an exchange of nods he departed and checked in with Price, Ghost and Soap before returning to his tower to monitor the radio with Radar who seemed to basically live in the tower at this point. He simply told everyone he felt at home there doing what he did best, operate and maintain the radio. 

Finka carefully walked around the cage, taking in the full view of the strange UD. "Darkened skin. Discomposure. Appears to have leather like texture similar regular infected. Swollen veins could be a result of superficial Thrombophlebitis." 

"Blood clots? That would be close to the regular infection progress, some showed inflammatory reactions while other's bleed out. Both would require heavy trauma." Lion piped in, watching her make a second circle around the cage. 

"And the eyes?" 

"Conjunctivitis, could have advanced with the help if the infection in someway."

"Does not answer the disappearance of the cornea, pupil or the iris. It is completely washed over with red." 

"Acute glaucoma? Or a pressure rupture that caused the blood to encase itself within the eyes… no that would not be correct either. The blood would be darkened by now." 

Finka paused for a moment, "Maybe not. The skin, it would be darker and the veins would have already collapsed. Something is keeping the blood flowing." 

"Higher brain activity? That would mean it is conscious enough to breath to allow oxygenic within it's blood stream, it would also have a heart beat. Meaning it is not dead, mutated for a lack of a better word." Lion narrowed his eyes, his eyes shifting to the UD's chest in search of breathing. Very faintly did he see movement consistent with the motion. His eyes widen a bit, "So it is…" 

"Exactly. This is not a regular infected. Something in their body interacted or shifted the compound of the protein that naturally carries viruses, depending on what exactly we're dealing with." 

Lion stood quietly in thought, his eyes shifting back to the UD's face where his eyes lingered on the two three inch long vertical slits where a nose should be. "And the nose? How would you explain that? The skin there looks new, slightly lighter. And the deformations, it is clearly breathing through them." 

"That.…I am not entirely sure of. Best we get started on samples right away, we need to test all idea's and theories to figure out what happened." Finka replied as she moved to an adjacent tent, placing her backpack on a able to carefully set out the items inside for their research. She could hear Lion behind her doing the same with his own table. 

They spent the rest of the day studying the samples they had carefully collected, it would take a week at best to figure out any solid information since they were working off notes and books instead of a computer that would speed this process up to a hour or two at best. Eventually they decided to call it a night when Gator came by and announced dinner was being served down below. They headed down with him, Worm, Roach and Radar while four other's came out with their own dinner's tucked away in containers. Worm mentioned they kept a rotation on people so someone was always keeping an eye on the surrounding area for safety or incase a sudden horde decided to breeze through. It made them feel more safe and helped ease tension for everyone. 

Lion joined Finka and Legion in their shared room while Ash had taken to joining Price and Soap to discuss further work and the duration of their stay. He could only hope they would be able to provide answers during so. Other wise he honestly felt like his work up to this point would simply have been a waste of time, and that was the last thing he wanted. He wasn't the only one putting in work on this. Finka, Legion, Smoke, Mute, Doc, and even Ace had been pitching in with his medical and regional knowledge along with Bandit, Kapkan and Chameleon. A good portion of them were fully aware of the different illnesses most countries carried from bugs or viruses. Every bit of knowledge helped, even the smallest enlightenment was fully welcomed. Only time and hard work would yield what he, and many others, wished for.  

Chapter Text

Hey guys, to start off I'm terribly sorry I haven't been updating like I should. This year has been... rough. More than usual. Just to give a run down, within the last 5 months I've had to move several times which has ate through my money meaning I've also had to work overtime at my job to try and keep my account from drying up. I recently got a promotion at work so I've been having to deal with all of that and classes so I can advance further at my current position. This month alone has marked a year that two of my grandparents have passed, I still deeply miss both of them. They were a huge part of my life and they both went suddenly and without warning, I'm still learning how to deal with that one day at a time. I also recently had some heart issues and ended up in the hospital from 8/8/2022 to 8/10/2022 under heavy watch. I'm currently at home resting for a week longer under doctor's orders. And... well to top everything off, my little sister's guinea pig has cancer and we have a month left with him at best. So needless to say I've had little to no time at all to work on any of these stories I have posted here. Hopefully everything will calm down again and soon enough I'll get back into the swing of things. All I can ask is keep me and my family in your thoughts as we go through all of this. Lets hope for a better year for 2023. Thank you guys for the contuined support, Love all of you.