> F L O O D < -- (A Mostly Text Adventure)

[Eversor]

>Be relieved, atleast you aren't alone in this kerfuffle now.

[kaninchen]

You study the two scavengers closely. They're different from you. A pale flesh, rather than your soft grey. You can't see their ears. The images flash again. Cells, embryos, a heartbeat, birth, growth, life, death, blood. Humans. These are humans.

<They are humans.>

"Yeah I got that," you whisper.

<And how did you know?>

"I... I could just tell."

<I hope this doesn't affect my usefulness in the future.>

"No, no, it's okay." You make your way towards the stairwell, shadowing the two men. They mutter among themselves, something about the weather. "Sometimes things just... come to me. Ideas and words, out of nowhere. It's jarring, really."

<Ah, your conditioning. I was wondering if it was kicking in.>

You wait for the men to get up to the next floor before you begin going up. Thankfully, the muffled rain covers any slight scuffs or light clanks your metal feet make upon the ruined carpet. They are attempting to be stealthy, but aren't doing as good of a job as you are.

"Conditioning?" you say, so quietly you are nearly mouthing the words.

<Training, implanted into your mind to take the place of 'memories'. They were put there to prepare you. That way, even after waking up alone, you could still learn.>

"I'm not alone, though. I have you."

Valerie doesn't respond, and just does her usual humming sound.

Slowly but surely, you arrive several floors up. It's so strange, sneaking behind these two people. Living people. Moving, talking, breathing. One of them stifles a sneeze, then the two pause for what seems like half a minute, checking to ensure nobody heard it. You did, of course, but you are crouched on a stairwell landing, shrouded in shadow and waiting for them to move. Valerie, thankfully, has turned her screen off, even while talking. She understands your caution.

It's strange. Not long ago you had hoped to meet the living. Now, you trail them but do not speak. You don't dare make any sound above the quietest of whispers. Why are you so scared? They're heading up to kill the sniper. By all accounts, they're on your side. And yet, you get the feeling that if they saw you, they'd chase you off... or worse.

The two men go down the hall, where individual private offices are boarded up. The hall reaches a T-junction about halfway down, with a path headed left. Presumably, the sniper's hiding spot is in that direction. You arrive at the top of the stairs, peeking your head out to watch them slowly sneak towards the junction. They're no longer whispering, and making an active effort to remain stealthy. Old pipes groan in the walls and the occasional draft sweeps up a scattered paper or two as the storm outside continues to batter the building.

A few steps before they reach the intersection, you notice something. Close to the ground, right at the corner. A little red dot. It blinks on for just a moment, then disappears. A second goes by, and then again. Rhythmic. The two scavengers haven't noticed it at all.

[knightlygale]

> Is it perhaps... doing morse code? It might be signalling someone.

[kaninchen]

Content Warning: This scene contains ... well, I had to google some stuff. Landmine injuries. Don't click on the spoiler if you're bad with blood/gore.

The red light flashes faster. Something in the back of your head -- no, not Valerie, but an instinct, of sorts -- tells you to duck back into cover.

A faint clicking sound.

And then everything is ringing. The walls shake, dust on the ceiling showers down upon you. A bright flash -- not of lightning, but of something far more cruel -- appears in the hall, and the various papers and debris on the ground are rapidly kicked up in a concussive wave. The air smells of smoke, dust, and ... something worse. You rub your ears, groaning, attempting to shake free of the high-pitched whine. It slowly subsides, but is replaced with a different sound. Pain.

You peer down the hall again.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Content Warning: Blood and Gore }

A giant hole is blown into the wall opposite of where the red light was blinking. One of the two men is completely missing. The soles of his boots are all that's left, melted and glued to the floor from the extreme heat of the blast. Everything else of his is now a red paste. His companion is a few feet away, blown back closer to where you are now. He chokes and sputters, breath ragged and shaking. Both his legs are missing, one arm is twisted in a direction that it definitely shouldn't be in, and his other arm grasps weakly at his chest. His jacket has fused to his flesh. Instead of a pale, peach-colored face, it is a deep red, with blackened charred spots. He turns his head, his skin making a sickly crackling noise as it does so. He looks towards you, but has no eyes -- the concussive blast must have burst them. Just blood. He chokes again, blood spurting from his mouth.

Then, more footsteps. A figure approaches from the T-junction. They are clad in body armor, a helmet with a glowing visor covering their face. A rifle is slung over their shoulder. They produce a pistol, and put the survivor out of his misery. The gunshot is loud, and once more your ears ring. The figure watches the body go still, and glances around. You're peeking out carefully, and thankfully they don't spot you.

They produce a hand-held radio. "Two scavengers. One killed instantly. The other was alive, but wouldn't have lasted much longer. I put them down so I wouldn't have to listen to them moaning."

A voice crackles on the radio. You can't hear what it's saying.

"Alright. Still no sign of the target yet. I think they're still in the apartment complex across the street. I'll keep you posted. Over and out."

They slip the radio into a belt pouch and walk back down the hall, disappearing around the corner.

You shiver, looking at the grisly scene.

[knightlygale]

> How are you doing? Are you okay?

[Eversor]

Gah, hate to be a broken record but you need to do your best to compartmentalize these sights for later. Don't stare any longer then you half too, it'll drive you mad otherwise.

[fuzzysocks]

Should we continue down the hall to get to the sniper's stash? Or should we give some sort of respect to these two? I'm getting the sneaking feeling that we'll be seeing more bodies along the way, more than we'll be able to pay respects to.

[kaninchen]

Breathe. Breathe.

^{I'm back.}

The ringing has stopped, but the sound of the blast and the finality of the gunshot still echoes in your head.

^{I'm here.}

Shake it out. Don't think about it. Get past the bodies... or what's left of them... and get to the sniper. That's what matters. That's what these scavvers wanted to do. You can't bury them, not physically. But this is what they came here for. This is what they died for.

^{I know you can hear me.}

You steady your breathing. Alright. You can do this. Let's go.

^{I'm not here to make you scared, no.}

You hold your breath and sneak down the hall. You keep your eyes focused on the corner turn, not the grisly scene. Don't breathe in the smell. The air is still hot. A few embers flicker on the floor, the aftermath of the explosive's flash-heating effect. You grit your teeth. Your steps are silent, muffled by the blood.

^{Oh no, I like you.}

The corner. No lights, no explosives. You're safe. You peer down the junction. Emptiness. Eyes, scanning, darting. No traps, no tricks, nothing to stop your progress. A door, at the end of the hall. Slightly ajar.

^{I think you've got guts.}

Blood pounds in your ears. Your teeth grit harder. Steady your breathing. Steady, steady. In, out, in, out. Your grip tightens on the pistol. No, no, you won't kill. Maybe wound, but you won't stoop as low as killing. You're not like this bastard. You wouldn't kill in cold blood like that. No, you're better. You'll get him.

^{You've got anger in you.}

You arrive at the door. The sniper is at the window. Rifle ready, looking out the window. Their radio buzzes again.

^{But it's not regular anger, no.}

"Still no sign of them. Doubt they made it far. They woke up not that long ago, I doubt they're awake enough to make a move at me. I'll keep watch."

^{It's focused.}

More buzzing from the radio.

^{It's like a scalpel.}

"Yeah, I'll set up another mine later. Maybe I'll hide it on the mostly-intact one, just in case their friends try to search the body."

^{It's brutal, but not crude. It's refined. It's useful.}

Buzzing.

^{I like it.}

"Mhm. Over and out."

^{This sniper's been waiting for you.}

Lightning flashes, thunder rumbles. The pipes in the walls rattle. The sniper mumbles something about it, but doesn't turn.

^{I can't wait for you to look them in the eyes as you kill them.}

The door is open. The sniper has their back turned. Your breathing is steady, and your jaw hardened.

^{Oh, it'll be beautiful. I know you can do it.}

Alright. Let's do this.

^{Let's do this.}

[Eversor]

>Sniper: Duck! Watch out!

[fuzzysocks]

Alright, you don't have much time. Where can you shoot the sniper where it'll do the most damage, but not kill them? You don't want to shoot them in the leg just for them to turn around and shoot you in the head. Maybe in the shoulder or the arm?

[Fish]

How quiet can you get? Because, if you are confident in your sneaking, you could try and get up behind this person and catch them off guard. Killing them would be pretty safe, but it might feel wrong. Besides, if you can disarm this person and get the upper hand, maybe you can get some extra information and turn a huge threat into an advantage in your survival.

[knightlygale]

> You have training, yes? Maybe in your training there's some kind of thing to help you be stealthy. Remember, your training was to help you survive.

[kaninchen]

You gently place a hand on the door. You wait for lightning, for thunder. As the thunder rumbles and the pipes rattle, you test the door. It doesn't creak. A smooth opening. Good. You won't need the thunder to mask the sound.

^{HUNT. AIM. EXHALE. BRACE. SQUEEZE. KILL. REPEAT.}

The room is large. A ceiling fan lazily spins, not from power but from the draft coming into the room. Various plaques, accolades, and certificates are hung on the wall, heavily stained. You catch glimpses of words -- this room was the main office of some sort of manager or boss of some kind. No office furniture remains, instead replaced with pallets and boxes of supplies. A sleeping bag is tucked into the corner. You can see stacks of food and water -- cans, boxes, pouches of all kinds -- in the supplies. Ammunition, toilet paper, soap. And that's just the supplies you can see. Who knows what else this sniper has stashed here? It must be several months worth of supplies.

^{HUNT. AIM. EXHALE. BRACE. SQUEEZE. KILL. REPEAT.}

Your attention turns back to the sniper. You won't kill them. But you have to hurt them. There's no other way.

^{HUNT. AIM. EXHALE. BRACE. SQUEEZE. KILL. REPEAT.}

Images in your head. Guns, aiming, firing. Words: action, receiver, blowback, recoil. In half a second, two decade's worth of training.

^{HUNT. AIM. EXHALE. BRACE. SQUEEZE. KILL. REPEAT.}

As you raise your arm, it feels natural. Too natural. Your grip is no longer crushingly tight, just firm. Your other hand wraps around, perfect. Something is unnerving about how easily you did it. But that thought is pushed out of your mind. No nerves, just action. Shoulders squared, arms at a length but not locked. You line up the rear and front sights of the pistol.

^{HUNT. AIM. EXHALE. BRACE. SQUEEZE. KILL. REPEAT.}

Breathing, breathing. In, out. Calm.

^{HUNT. AIM. EXHALE. BRACE. SQUEEZE. KILL. REPEAT.}

Your aim goes to the sniper's leg. In, out. Squeeze, don't pull.

^{HUNT. AIM. EXHALE. BRACE. SQUEEZE. KILL. REPEAT.}

Lightning. Thunder. The pipes rattle. Your breath doesn't. Exhale, brace, squeeze.

^{HUNT. AIM. EXHALE. BRACE. SQUEEZE. KILL. REPEAT.}

But...

^{HUNT. AIM. EXHALE. BRACE. SQUEEZE. KILL. REPEAT.}

Lightning strikes again, closer this time. Nearly on the next building over. The thunder is instant, shaking everything. One of the certificates on the wall rocks, then unhooks from the rusty nail. The glass cover plate shatters as it lands.

^{HUNT. AIM. EXHALE. BRACE. SQUEEZE. KILL. REPEAT.}

The sniper flinches. "Shit!"

^{HUNT. AIM. EXHALE. BRACE. SQUEEZE. KILL. REPEAT.}

Lightning. Thunder. Shattering. He moves. You squeeze. All in the blink of an eye.

PAK

Your ears ring for a moment. The sniper yells out another expletive, but you can't hear exactly what it is. Your bullet nicked his outer thigh.

^{cannot hear you cannot hear you cannot hear you cannot hear you cannot hear you cannot hear you cannot hear you}

And now he's charging you.

^SILENCE

[fuzzysocks]

Shoot his knees.

[baropin]

You've got no choice now, do you? It's you or him, so you know what to do: aim for center mass and eliminate the threat.