LOOTING THE TUNNEL

Miranda grabbed a chair. Instead of sitting, she picked it up a few centimeters and slammed it backdown. Then she took a step closer to Mark. She was pissed. “What was with the stupid grenade crap?” He didn’t answer. “You could have killed us!”

“I, I,” he stammered. “It worked out. “

“Did you see that mess in there?” She pointed back through the hole in the control room wall. “That bloody disgusting mess that used to be a person? That could have been us! Praise Jesus the roof didn’t collapse.”

“I didn’t know.”

“What the hell kind of soldier are you?”

He made some inarticulate sounds before finally managing to say “not a great one.”

“That’s for sure.” She collapsed into the chair. “You made the mess, you go check the bodies.”

“What?” Why on earth...

“Loot, go get the loot. They have to have something, unless you blew it all up!”

He did as he was told.

There was more loose dirt on the floor than he would have liked to see. The ceiling hadn’t caved in. Not really. Maybe a little. The walls had been supported at regular intervals by wooden planks. Many of them were broken now. Small amounts of dirt intermittently rained down, but at least the choking cloud of dust and dirt had settled.

The bloody disgusting mess of a person had a few credits. His weapon was ruined. The woman who had been blown through the wall had some credits and a pistol. Mark took the pistol, holster and ammo. It turned out the small room had a bed and table crammed into the corner. He supposed they lived in the room. Maybe just when they were on duty. Nothing great was stored there, some papers and a small notebook, food and ammo. He dumped most of it into his magic pouch. He kept some of the food out, specifically, two chocolate bars.

He went back into the control room. That’s what they were calling it. The best part is a real walls and a real ceiling. He wasn’t worried about it collapsing on him. Maybe a little worried now that he had damaged a wall with his grenade attack.

There had been three people here in the control room. Two of them were dead now, the third, a woman, was cowering in the corner. The live woman had shown him how to deactivate the automatic perimeter defenses. The woman had been reluctant, but decided she would rather cooperate with Mark than deal with Miranda and her wicked knife.

At first the woman had refused to help, that changed after Miranda drew the knife and stormed over to one of the guys lying on the ground. The guy had probably been dead. Probably. Still the woman freaked out. Mark himself didn’t know how to react as he watched Miranda cut him from neck to… from the neck down. Revulsion, horror, he didn’t know which one to choose.

The third guy was moaning from his gunshot wound when Miranda turned to him, bloody knife in hand. The woman had started to cooperate when Miranda threatened to first kill him and then skin her. That guy had since died of natural causes. As natural as could be after being shot by Mark and Miranda when they first came through the hole in the wall. If that guy hadn’t been brave and tried to reach for a button, he would be alive. The woman had cowered in the corner and she was alive.

Mark lheld one of the chocolate bars out to the scowling Miranda. “Sorry,” he said.

She lightened up just a bit as she stood and snatched the bar out of his hand. “Be more careful next time.”

“What was it?” He was curious, so why not ask. There might be more danger out there

She tilted her head as she took a bite of chocolate. She didn’t understand the question.

“The thing that was after you in the tunnel. You screamed and jumped into me before we fell.”

“Oh.” She said through a mouth full of chocolate. She swallowed, looked away and mumbled something.

“What?” He was sounding a bit more aggressive than his apology before.

“Spider,” she said sheepishly.

“What?” Are you kidding me?

“A spider or something was on the back of my neck. I hate spiders. My abuela was bitten by a green poison...”

“You screamed and we ended up falling and getting into a gunfight because of a spider?”

She whirled to face him. They were a meter apart. “You shot first!”

He stepped closer to her. “You shot second and they shot third. So what? You nearly got us killed because of a spider?”

She was defensive. “My abuela nearly died from a green poison spider bite.” Miranda’s tone changed slightly. Changed entirely. It was softer, much softer. “And you nearly killed us with the explosion.”

They were inches apart. He could feel her breath. He could see something in her eyes. Her breasts were just touching his chest. Thank God no armour. Kiss her, no don’t kiss her. He argued with himself. Do something! He yelled at himself. He started to lean forward. She didn’t pull away. Millimeter by millimeter he came closer.

“We’re coming to your position!” The voice in his ear abruptly announced. Based on the look on her face, Miranda must have gotten a message too. If the mood was broken by Angie’s voice, the gunshot down the outside hall surely was the coup de gras.

She still looked in his eyes. He could get used to those smoking hot eyes. Then those smoking hot eyes looked up at the top of his head. “Does that thing have night vision?”

“What thing?” he said warily, turning to look up behind him. She hit him lightly. “No stupid. The helmet. Doesn’t it have night vision?”

He reached up and touched the helmet. Night vision? Would I need a visor or would it just brighten up the HUD? There was a visor like thing. “I don’t know.”

“idiota estúpido.” Her voice was lilting in the cadence of her sexy South American Spanish accent. Very sexy. But no chance of anything now you stupid idiot.

She turned away from him. “Si,” she said, responding to something he couldn’t hear. She was wearing an earpiece. “They’re coming in,” Miranda said to him, “don’t shoot...” she smiled at him, “or throw any grenades.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t mention that falling in the tunnel and shooting the walls.

She shrugged. “They’re going to see it eventually, everything is being recorded and streamed for this challenge.”

Oh my God! Does that mean she is a real player?

“But lets do as you say, yes? Maybe we get lucky, and nobody sees.”