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pleasancies · 3 years

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Tragedy At Brineward

content : team whump, self-sacrifice, collapse, bleeding, vomiting

wordcount : 2.2k+

This one needs a lot of setup before getting into the meat of things, a lot of action scenes, I'm actually a bit worried if this counts as whump. Anyway, this is set in Heretics series. The events in this happens before First Shot. Tagging : @summer-of-whump

***

Brineward Research Facility loomed in the distance. The moon basked upon the roofs, creating a bright silhouette as Avis watched from afar. Its walls enshrined with greenery. Stone constructs overgrown with mold and moss. It spread several meters outside of the gate, a contrast with miles of dead plants around it. Hiding so far up from the institute, it doesn't took a binocular to make out the soldiers standing guard and the occasional Professors passing to and fro.

Someone tapped on her shoulder. Avis turned around, seeing a fully equipped James, with Sherman standing behind him. It wasn't a uniform by any measure, but it's something that can protect. He hold a gas mask for her. Nancy kneeled beside them, tying her shoes. Emmet sat behind Nancy, his expression deep in thought as he shuffled a deck of cards.

"Isn't it a little too early to wear your entire gear? They might spot us from here."

"Change of plans. Mary's group arrives half an hour from now."

Avis took the mask and wore it over her face. "Is it bad?" She asked.

James shrugged. "Nah. They didn't say much. How's the lab going?"

"Some of them have been working all night. I saw one going back and forth between buildings."

"They received another Wreckage?" Nancy asked.

"Not sure. Ask Sherman. He's on watch duty this afternoon."

Sherman, who sat back in front of Emmet between the stack of cards said, "If I saw a package coming I would have said it already."

"Ominous," Nancy noted.

Emmet perked up, "Anyone guessing they're reanimating the Pilots or is it just me?"

Avis chuckled, "They might as well reconstruct the entire spaceship. Flesh and all."

"Even the—"

Everyone raised their voice, voicing variations of horrified expressions to them. Nancy let out a nervous laugh. Emmet smiled and throw a card on the ground. Sherman groaned. James walked over them, lightly poking Emmet and Sherman's back with his foot.

"Come on, put your mask back on. We're going in a few minutes."

The youngest member of the team huffed a yes before shoving the cards into his pockets. The conversation goes on, plans, strategy, teasing. They traced their way back, retreating from a small corner at the top of a cliff. Along the homogenous forest and down until they arrived at a set of boulders in a hidden corner of the hill. Avis could only see the front side of Brineward now, but it's not the building they have to watch.

James leaned the radio to his ears. It buzzed. An uncomprehensible scramble.

"We're just waiting for Mary to enter the driveway now."

The Motorwagen arrives. It was a behemoth. A train of repurposed shipping containers with a chamber for the driver at the front. For something so big, it barely made a noise. It halted at the checkpoint. This is it. Everything hinges on whether Mary could sell the act. The security guard gets out of his booth. Everyone draw their breath in. A hand stretched out of the vehicle window. It gave him a paper. Avis gripped her gun. James brings out his binoculars, trying to gauge the man's expression. The fifteen seconds of him reading was unbearable. It was too long.

He let her in. Mary drives inside, but there's no collective sigh of relief to be heard. Only footsteps slowly marching to Brineward.

The plan was simple. Mary's group enter at the front. Cause a ruckus while they sneak in by crawling at the stony fence. Once they notice Mary's a distraction, they will be too busy fighting while James and his teammates navigated the path Mary had prepared for them

They were quiet, save from a few confirmations between Sherman and Nancy. A strong breeze passed through the forest, leaving a loud shrill in its wake. Minutes passed. Then a bright flash of white.

Glass shattered. Smoke billowed. Avis felt the ground shake before hearing anything. It was on left wing. Second floor, in seventh window from the right. Another bang followed, on the opposite side. Outside, close to the hybrid garden.

It's time.

James group approached the outer walls. They hold their breath as their clothes hugged the toxic mold. It crawled to their improvised plastic suits, blades of grass writhing like worms.

Nancy keep her head up, observing the windows. Her hands frantically scribbling at her notebook as the others take care of the two guards advancing at them. She was almost done when someone snatched her hand. Emmett muttered a curse and landed a kick. It wasn't enough to bring the guard to the ground, but the man was off-balance enough for Nancy to stab him in the leg. He fell, and James helped her strip him off of any communication device.

"Sector 5-6-B. All clear," James lied.

That done, they went inside the building. They've memorized the blueprints, and Mary provided them an easy entrance. They crossed path with a researcher, and he backs off as far away as possible when his eyes saw their green stained plastic apron.

"This way guys," Nancy pointed. Avis and Emmet go first, gun in hand. She hope it was unnecessary. Most people would run seeing the mold, outer guards excepted. They had their own military grade cloak to protect themself for long term exposure. The plastic cover does not compare. Their paths were cleared first so they don't run out of time.

It was a desperate plan. Research facilities had a reputation for being impossible to infiltrate. Their fences are poisonous, and their gates will always catch someone that doesn't belong.

They ventured down the hallway. It smelled of burnt cables and gunpowder. A scream erupts from the distance. Avis checked at the corners of the ceiling. Broken cameras riddled with holes. Mary's work. She shot the ones still functioning. At a hidden corner of the far end of the floor, they found a set of stairs. The bottom was relatively clean than the chaos upstairs. They're on their own for now.

Emmet went first, and he was greeted with an identical corridor of the above. Slightly darker, with thick metal doors. It was quiet sans the buzzing fluorescent lights and the drumming of their heartbeats.

"There's cameras. Should I shoot it?"

Sherman shook his head. "They'll know we're here."

"But they already watched the cameras. It's better to make them react instead of us fighting off a coordinated strike," Avis said.

"Alright, but don't waste your bullets."

A muffled shriek followed the loud bang of their pistols. Avis heard pounding from one of the doors.

"Don't do anything rash. We're covered head to toe with mold and we will not hesitate to smear it on your face," James walked around the hall, adressing the hiding researchers as if they are lined up in front of him. He couldn't mimic the slight hysterical tilt in Avis voice, but his threat are bold enough to keep the reputation of Heretics as a mad terrorist group.

Nancy chimed in, friendlier "This will be over soon if you cooperate."

Sherman reached a door on the far end of the complex. A solid block of metal work with a narrow hole to pass paperwork. His fist rapped at the door. He heard footsteps, someone rummaging.

"Open up, we know you're in here."

"No!" The person shouted. "You're all empty threats. As long as I'm here I'm safe and the soldiers are slowly making their way to you."

James mouthed a word. Hurry.

Sherman took off his cover. He crumpled it into a ball and slipped it to the door slot. It wasn't halfway in when the scientist flung his door open. He trembled in the corner of the lab. The man barely struggled as Sherman drag him by the arms.

It was worrying. Avis glanced at the other labs. That man must not be the only one. How many of them are sitting patiently with help on the way? The ceiling vibrated. A deep thunderous stampede of safeguards and panic.

"Hey, I think we should wrap this guy's head with your coat. Get it over with. He did said he called for help," Avis said, slightly louder than she should.

"Please, no! I lied, I didn't get the chance."

"Right, right. Well, you shouldn't lie to us this time. This next part is important. You're going to lead us into your special storage section, and we'll activate the traps if you try to screw us over."

Avis smiled. It was never pretty. A little too big, coupled with asymmetrical rows of teeth. The man nodded. Sherman held him as he shakily press the code for the final basement's door. They walked down a stairwell, past a lab, a warehouse, and an office. The room was small. Three set of cubicles and rows of metal racks and glass cases. They set to work. Nancy and James head to the cabinets. Emmet and Avis searched the cases. Sherman guarding their hostage.

They came here for data. Every file regarding Brineward's experiments with The Ship, barring the most sensitive. Blueprints of cutting edge technology on the shelves are a bonus.

Avis grinned. Her heart thudded with her whole body. She was jittery. They're almost done. And yet, a nagging sense of dread crept up to her senses. The room shook. Loud footsteps marching. A small buzz of the radio were barely heard. James understand either way. His face fell.

"Run! Forget about the blueprints, we got what we need!"

The Thing found them halfway near the stairs leading to the ground floor. It pounced behind them. Emmet barely escaped. His gun fell from his grasp. He practically skidded on the floor. His back hits the wall, hard.

They all turned to look. They only glimpsed at the creature, but its form burned into their minds. A man, kneeling. His thighs and arms swollen with muscle. Sharp, gigantic teeth forcing his mouth to a permanent scowl. He had a wolf-like snout. Mostly humanoid, except for the peculiar haunted look in his face. Driven by adrenaline, Sherman shot him. It wake Nancy out of her stupor to run for Emmet.

"Come on, run! Don't pass out on me."

His shoulders hissed in pain as he tried to stand. Emmet staggered, one good push away from collapsing. The Thing gets up again, chunks of flesh missing from his face.

No time to waste. Avis threw a grenade. Nancy and Sherman had to practically hauled Emmet to the top of the stairs. They covered their ears and eyes as they run. The blast rippled through the basement.

A rap of frantic footsteps closing in on them. The Thing lets out a primal scream. An angry, deep red husk of a person.

A rain of bullets hit him. Wasn't an accurate shot, but it slowed him down. The group went outside, climbing and walking in detours and unlikely places to distract it. The Thing found them nevertheless. Again and again. James threw his last hand bomb. They slipped in an alleyway between two buildings.

"What the fuck is that and how did it find us so quickly?" Nancy shrieked between gasps of breath.

"I think it's the smell. It had a dog's nose. We can't hide as long as it knows our scent," James said.

"B-but we burned him twice! It must be dead by now."

"I'm not sure. The thing barely looked like it was in pain," Emmett leaned against the wall. His dark hair slick with blood. It flowed throughout one side of his face. His eyes are wide, terror transfixed to his expression. Avis could see the slight tremor running through his body. It made him look small. A young boy realizing his mortality for the first time.

The exit is still a long way to go, possibly guarded. They wasted most of their bullets.

Avis spoke up, "We should split up. James, you took Emmet. Nancy you're with Sherman."

"No, never!" James raised his voice. "I'm not letting you run alone. This thing could kill you."

"This is our best chance. I could be bait, while you and Nancy grab your files and scram. It can't chase us all. The worst outcome would be two of us coming back with fifty-percent of the data."

"This isn't about the mission. It's about you! The mission doesn't matter if one of us bite it in the end."

"I'm not letting the four of you die for me! Face it, one of us had to go."

"Then it has to be me." James said. His voice thick with emotion, "I'm the leader. I brought you all into this."

Avis hitched her breath. Her thoughts ran into a thousand directions. Words spilled from her mouth. "No. You-you're useful. You had a wife and kids. Emmett's still young. Nancy is smart, she's valuable asset. Sherman have to take care of his mother alone."

"What?"

"I said what I said. You're all more valuable and important."

Nancy pushed Avis to the wall, hoisting her up by the collar, "Since when did you have the right to judge how valuable our life is?!"

She didn't wait for a reply. "You matter. Just as much as me. You have a mother just like Sherman. What about her, huh? I don't care about the mission anymore. Don't do this."

"My mother's fine. She had my siblings. Heretic will go on without me. I'm-I'm not needed." Avis voice were hollow. Nancy dropped her to the ground, too stunned to process.

James turned to look at Sherman. His brows furrowed. He saw a pale face, sweat beaded on Sherman's forehead.

"You've been quiet. Are you—"

Sherman collapsed. His eyes rolled back, knees buckling. James caught him in a hug. Vomit splattered on the pavement. A slurry of blood red, yellow bile, and mossy green. The rampaging monster's roar could be heard from a distance.

"Please, keep them safe." Avis said. None of them stopped her as she charged her way further and further from the exit.

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#summer of whump #team whump #self sacrifice #collapse #bleeding #emeto cw #guns cw #whump series #whump fic #summerofwhump13

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