Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Rituals ❯ Part 8 ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.

Notes: Is anyone still reading this story? *cough* Hopefully, I'll be able to add chapters more often now that most of the major tests in school are done and over with.

Short explanation due the happenings in this chapter: If you read the last side-story carefully enough, you'd realize this already, but my OC planted bombs in the computer lab. Now you'll get to see what was happening.

I'm not good at writing `action' scenes . . . =,= This part is short, but I came to a perfect place to end it. Hopefully, it won't take as long as before until another chapter is done.

***

Rituals - Part 8 by Maaya

***

'Search unsuccessful. File does not exist.'

I stared-ahem-glared at the screen. Blinked once - twice. Resumed to glare again. The computer had worked, the password had worked, and so logically speaking, the file should be there somewhere. It was only before closing the search-window did I fruitlessly spell-check the filename and went to search through the folders manually, only to be frustratingly unsuccessful. In fact, it seemed as if someone had deleted *all* the files on the computer.

"Jesus fucking *Christ*!"

Duo took the words from my mouth before I had time to utter them myself. My head snapped around to stare at him. He pushed himself away from something by his hands on the wall in front of him, eyeing something behind a standard, metallic shelf with shock and disgust. A millisecond later had he thrown himself towards me and grabbed my arm to drag me after him.

"What!?" I snapped irritably, just as something exploded from where Duo had been standing moments ago. The fiery explosion triggered others all around in the room and I went down to the floor in order to avoid falling from the waves of heat . . . among things. "Shit!"

This would without doubt announce our presence in the base immediately.

I couldn't see Duo anywhere and wasn't keen on opening my eyes more than necessary because of the heat. "Status?" I shouted but no answer came. Either had he not heard me (which was rather possible) or so was he unable to do so for any reason. (This was even more possible.)

Deciding that searching for him in here wasn't an opinion for someone who didn't want to get grilled, I crawled towards where I thought the door was and hoped he was conscious to do the same thing.

Suddenly, my hand came in contact with something . . . soft. Soft as in body soft. I would have cursed if I had time when I felt around on . . . it, but could realize with a sigh that it was just the woman's body. It had a horrifyingly missing presence of a head - I guessed it had been blasted away by the explosion. The thought was somewhat . . . unpleasant.

I tried to shout for Duo again, but my throat filled with stinging smoke made me cough and suspect that something . . . unhealthy was burning to make the smoke taste like this. I hoped it was nothing chemical or dangerous - I couldn't recall if I had seen any containers or unidentified things in them when I entered.

The fumes *were* very strong though - it burned like fire in my throat and my eyes had began to water when I finally found the door and grabbed the door handle, hoping that I still would have time to escape before soldiers, alarmed from the explosion, would arrive.

The first thing that hit me was that the door was closed, meaning that Duo hadn't made it to the door yet. During a millisecond, questions flew through my mind, asking whether or not I should go back into the room to find Duo, doubt and hesitation filling me.

Then pain came. Obviously, something had been burning near the door because the door handle was white-hot, making me let go of the handle before I could even open the door. I would have spitefully sworn if the smoke hadn't taken my voice at the moment. Instead, I made myself useful and kicked at the handle to make it open.

I found myself out in the hallway again, coughing and blinking away stinging tears from my eyes, finding that I couldn't focus properly, and my mind felt hazy, as if I had been on drugs. This whole damn mission was a fluke; Duo was currently in a burning room, and OZ soldiers would soon find us. It's at moments like this you feel that all your efforts are completely useless. Waves of . . . something, something akin to melancholy threatened to overwhelm me, but I couldn't let them yet. I was still in action.

My common sense told me that one gundam pilot is better than no gundam pilot, and I should get away, quick. But I didn't want to. What I wanted to do was to run into the computer lab again and fetch him, because I *knew* him. And he knew me.

Suddenly, I heard what I had expected to come earlier, alarming footsteps coming my way. I snapped my head up fast enough to get dizzy and glared weakly at the three soldiers appearing around a corner. Three. Nothing more. Just three. Where were the others? They looked young too, were probably the unfortunate ones that were on guard this night, but damn, they couldn't be much older than me! Things were looking up for me, my mind told me, but my heart told me I wouldn't want to kill them.

The one at the front aimed his standard military gun at me and shouted, "Stay where you are!"

I looked at him and raised my hands slowly, muscles straining when I prepared myself to do something to get away. Whether I would attack them or just duck and cover wasn't yet completely decided.

Duo suddenly stumbled out from the room, falling onto the floor with a thud.

I used the soldiers surprise to my own profit. Even if I had forgotten the gun I kept tucked into the hold around my waist, my hands hadn't. Abruptly I held it fired in my hand; one of the young soldiers fell into a heap on the ground with a shout. The other two were too confused to react; it was no problem to hit them in their vain attempt to cover. Each screamed painfully as they met death, echoing in my ears. I hate to kill young people.

Seeing no good by loosing time, I turned swiftly to the heap of grime and soot covered Duo. He was lying face down on the floor, and for a shocking second, I almost thought he had stopped breathing, at least until he raised himself up on his elbows slowly and coughed very, very weakly.

I was by his side in an instant, leaning down over him. "Can you walk?" I wondered curtly.

He raised his head slowly to look at me. I almost winced when I saw his eyes, and realized that he *wouldn't* get out of here without help. The pupils were too large and unfocused, looking slightly glassy. He opened his mouth but he only succeeded in coughing again. The way he breathed worried me slightly, it sounded . . . rusty and not very healthy.

I managed to get him standing, and then we ran.

I won't say it was easy to escape the base, but it wasn't nearly as hard at it was supposed to be. Confusion was the most apparent thing the soldiers were feeling, and I don't think many of them realized they had been infiltrated by gundam pilots. I pitied them, and wondered what their superiors were doing.

We sneaked out using a small way out of a kitchen, and soon found ourselves stumbling down the dark backstreets where no one seemed to want to spend any night time.

And it was merely after I sank down on the ground, leaned against a dirty brick wall with Duo's half-unconscious body in my arms, when I finally had time to ask myself what the hell had happened tonight.

***

TBC

***

Like I said, sorry for the shortness of this part. I hope the next one will become longer.