{Breed War Games 2015} Part 2

Mira Nicholas-Archer

*At the sound of gunfire, I launched myself forward. The barbed wire surrounded the entrance...the only way in was to dive in and hope it didn't take off a layer of skin with it. My body tucked and rolled on the hard dirt ground, the wire scraping my exposed skin causing a rough sting.* For fuck sake. *The course cleared...allowing me to pause for a few moments to catch my bearings...the path ahead seemed to grow tighter and tighter as the barbed wire continued to get thicker and in more spots. I continued on, maneuvering over, under and through barbed wire with relative ease...encountering only two stationary dummies that were vanquished with a single plunge of my knife. Once past the second dummy, I noticed a particularly ominous final patch of barbed wire, with a rope ladder at the end.* That must be the en- *My last word was cut off by the heavy slam of a dummy body hitting me from behind and causing my body to lurch forward into the barbed wire covered floor. The barbs scratched and cut my skin, which as luck would have it was minimally exposed.* Freaking great... *I exclaimed as I carefully got up and inspected my injuries before unsheathing my knife and embedding it into the dummy's thick chest. The very last thing I needed was for my mate, father, teammates and the rest of the elders to start freaking out because they could smell my spilled blood....I rolled my eyes as visions of Niko and Kellan diving through the course after me sped through my mind and carried me to very weak looking rope ladder, to what I could only assume was the next challenge. I climbed the ladder slowly, the cuts stinging with each upward movement...the ladder, which wobbled and swayed with each move I made, continued about ten feet in the air over a pit of what looked like mud. Once at the top, I took a few cleansing breaths before pulling myself up and continuing on my horizontal trek to Hell. The rungs of the ladder finally ended abruptly, with a zip line almost six feet above it...* Thanks a lot assholes! *With the handles inches above what my arms could reach, I would have to balance myself on the edge of the unstable ladder and jump the remaining inches to catch the zip line...if I fell, I would drop over ten feet into a pit of mud and then have to climb the cargo net and try it all over again. * Don't freaking miss, Mira...don't freaking miss! *I jumped, both hands catching the handles and allowing the zip line to zoom forward...finally landing me at the edge of pool...a pool with stones going across it, like some kind of twisted trail of bread crumbs.* Why can't it just be a damn normal pool? *I stepped on the first stone, knowing full well that this would not be as easy a task as it looked...the more weight pressed on the stone, the more it sunk into the water. I continued forward, hopping from stone to stone; moving from sturdy to wobbly to sinking over and over and over... at about halfway though the pool, my speed got away from me and I fell into the water.* Damn it! *I yelled, my still fresh cuts stinging as soon as the water hit them; but I continued on...swimming back to the beginning and starting the challenge over, with more success on my second try. Finally at the edge of the pool, I ran...ran to the end of the course, where my teammate Julian was waiting.*

• Julian Webb *Waiting to start I hear Mira running toward me, inhaling I smell the faint tinge of her blood, cursing to myself*
  
  *Sitting quickly at the table blind folded, I began to pick up the different pieces to all the guns, feeling each one to know what parts they were. Separating the different pieces into piles, then putting the first gun together* Damn tiny pieces, I am missing something. *Quickly assembling it, I ran my hand across the table looking for the missing piece* Got it! *plugging in the last part, and snapped in into place. Running my hands over the gun feeling for any issues, when satisfied I turned to Mira*
  
  Mira where do I need to shoot? *She began to speak and I listened to her words. Loading the gun with paint balls then aiming to where she was telling me to, steadying my hand, I took a breath*
  
  Mira Nicholas-Archer *As expected, the first words out of my teammates mouth were asking if I was okay...* Why wouldn't I be, it's just a freakin' scratch! *My eyes travel through the room, searching for the target that Julian needed to hit in order for us to get to the next part of the challenge.* It's 30 degrees to your right...*looking closer, I notice that the target is a giant X with four words written in each quadrant.* Bring your gun down about 20 inches.*I watch his movements carefully, squatting down to get the same view* Okay, if you don't move from this position we'll have a rainstorm as a challenge...trust me, it's better than the alternatives. *Without hesitation, Julian fired...the paintball round splatting on the lower right hand quadrant of the target...over the word"rainstorm".*
  
  *Just as I began the second gun the torrential rain simulation hit us both, water slammed against me, and I began to put the next one together, trying to keep the parts to the gun dry* ~Holy hell, this shit just got real~
  
  *Putting down the gun I had started to assemble when the parts rolled across the table from the wind. Catching them all quickly, I placed them in my lap and began to get the pieces placed on the gun. Cursing to myself when running my hand over the gun* Damn it, the trigger piece is missing. *Reaching down, I felt it against the chair, snatching it up, and slapping it in place* Okay Captain, ready!
  
  Mira Nicholas-Archer *My already soaked clothes grew heavy and cold with the onslaught of simulated rain falling on us...goosebumps appeared over my arms and a shiver went down my spine as I watched Julian assemble the next weapon.* I think our best option is the loud music...*his head tilts to the side slightly* Trust me, it will be better than the alternatives of earthquake and tornado! *I rip off pieces of my jacket and proceed to shove them into Julian's ear.* This probably wont eliminate all of the sound, but at least it will dampen it slightly...*I squat down next to my teammate to get the same perspective* Okay, you want to go up about 20 inches...stop right there! *assessing the view one last time* Fire!
  
  *Firing the next shot, we are hit with loud rock music, the room shook from the bass. Taking a cleansing breath, tuning out everything but the gun and putting it together. Placing the pieces in order, snapping them, twisting them, growling as the loudness of the music increased* 
  
  *Thinking back to a training session with our team, we learned to concentrate on only the task at hand, the mission. Singing loudly along with the music, bobbing my head, and snapping the last piece in place. Grinning widely, I yelled as I fired it* Whoop there it is!!
• Dare Thorne *Pacing around the entrance to the warehouse waiting for Torin, I hear someone humming the theme to "Mission Impossible". Shaking my head.* Dude, that is so appropriate! C'mon - we got this.
• *Entering the warehouse, I figure this should be easy enough. Just then, the acrid odor of smoke begin to fill the air.* Torin, watch the eggs - there's fucking smoke bombs in here! *waving my arms trying to dissipate the smoke some so Torin can see where he's going. Rounding a corner, I hear a noise, and SPLAT! I get hit in the leg with a paintball.* Fuck me! There's a paintball mine field! I'll try to run interference for you so we can protect those damned motherfucking eggs.
  *Continuing to move forward as fast as I can through the booby traps set for us, I get splattered with several more paint bombs.* Holy shit, I must look like a tie-dyed hippie from the 60's by now. *Rounding the next corner and turning down the hall, we're finally out of the paint mine field.*
  
  Torin Matthews *Laughing, he cradled his sling-o-eggs* Color looks good on your man. Should I start calling you Sunflower now or wait til we are done? *Looking behind him, he saw Julian enter the warehouse* Come on Webb, we've got a bomb to find. *Moving past Dare, they were met with another door. Pushing it open, he heard a loud bell and the timer started. Walking over the the bomb, he set the sling down to get a closer look. There was a keypad attached to it and he swore* Shit, Julian, give me your radio. I need to talk to Dare. *Taking the radio from the male, he called to Dare* Hey Sunflower, found the bomb but its coded. Look around and see if you can find one. We have 8 mins to find it before the bomb goes off.
  
  Dare Thorne Shit. Looking - but don't call me Sunflower, Foghorn Leghorn. You're the one babysitting eggs. *Looking around, I see nothing. Then I look up. Oh hell....*Grabbing the radio, I press the mike button* Foghorn, I think I know where the code may be. Hang on. *Pointing up at the ceiling, I show Mira the balloons tacked up on the ceiling. The code has to be in there. We've got to break them.* Mira, help me break these sons of bitches so we can get the code. *Throwing rocks and nails from the debris on the ground, we begin breaking balloons. All of a sudden, stuff begins to rain down on us.* What the fuck is this? *Mira is covered in feathers, and my hair is filled with a sticky, thick goop that smells like honey. Wiping the goo from my eyes, we continue breaking balloons. Sand pours down on both Mira and I from the one I just broke, and almost immediately her next volley douses us with water.* What else are they going to do to us for crying out loud? *Just then, as I wipe my eyes again, I see something shiny flutter down mixed with clumps of dirt. Grabbing it and trying to wipe off the dirt and goo off it on my pants, I raise my fist in triumph. Shouting into the radio:* Torin! Got the code! Ready? It's 07734 ! * Turning the piece of metal around in my hand, I groan. Some smart ass idea of a joke. It says "hello" if you turn it upside down.*
  
  Dare Thorne *Pocketing the piece of metal with the code, I enter the hallway. Rounding the corner, I get hit with an ink bomb, which splatters me from head to toe. When I find the person responsible for this, they aren't gonna walk right for a week. Grumbling to myself to spare Mira's ears from hearing my profanities, I get half way down the hall and trip over a wire. Hearing a clanging noise, I look up just as a bucket of paint pours all over us. Fuck!!* Well, we can see now - this shit glows in the dark! *Turning my hand over, I see that I now glow a sickly green. Grabbing the radio again - * Foghorn! I'm at a locked door, stop that bomb!!
  
  Torin Matthews I got it Sunflower, I say I say I got it Sunflower. *laughing at the reference, he moved back to the middle of the floor. Kneeling next to the bomb, he set his eggs down next to him. Punching in the "hello" code, 07734, he glanced up at the timer. The numbers flashed and went dark, and bomb was defused. Picking up the radio, he called to Dare* Sunflower, I defused the bomb and stopped the timer. Your door should be unlocked. It's go time!
  
  Dare Thorne *Just as Torin radios me, the door makes a loud "snick" sound and swings open. Good thing, because I'm so covered in goo I would have a hard time turning a fucking doorknob at this point, Pushing the door the rest of the way open, I rush into the room, and stop short, my eyes widening.* What in the blue fuck? A godamned teddy bear? We did all this to rescue a toy? *Looking up I see a huge fucking stuffed bear that must be about 4 feet tall hanging from the ceiling by a chain with a padlock. Yanking on the leg of the bear to see how strongly it is held, the fucking thing speaks to me!!* "Take me to Niko!!" *Fucking hell. Now I'm taking orders from a toy. Looking around, I don't see the key laying around anywhere.* Oh. My. Fucking. Hell. *Behind the bear, is a pool that looks to be about 3 feet deep. From the smell, it's not filled with water either. The key has to be in there. Diving in, not quite sure what to expect, I raise my head back up sputtering.* This fucking thing is filled with Jello! How can humans eat this shit? *Taking a deep breath, I dive back under, swiping my hands slowly and deliberately along the bottom to find something that isn't gelatinous. Feeling something small and sharp, I grab it and jump out victorious. It's a small padlock key. Running back around to the bear, I slip on Jello and bust my ass. Too damn pissed to be embarrassed, I concentrate on the task at hand, fitting the key into the lock. The bear drops from the ceiling. Raising my goo covered hands in victory, I call out to my teammates.* Got it! Let's roll!

  
  
• Kellan Archer *Pacing on the far end of the field, I wait impatiently for Mira 's team to return... Hell, who am I kidding? I was waiting for MY Mira, I knew my fellow warriors could withstand whatever was thrown at them. But even knowing my mate was a Captain of the Order and an Amazon warrioress, I couldn't get past the fact that she was human...and therefore vulnerable.
  I feel her before I see her, walking toward me along with our comrades. Even at a distance, I scan her for injuries, growling at the sight of her soaked and slightly bloodied body. I look at the warriors for a second, but then I make a double take. What the hell was that? Jules was soaked too, Tor was cradling a sling made of his t-shirt, filled with...eggs? And Dare... Well he seemed covered in a gooey substance splashed with some kind of glow in the dark paint... But the weirdest part? He was dragging an oversize teddy bear. He looked royally pissed off. It was all so surreal I could hardly suppress a smile.* This shit just got real...