The Bitter Angel [3/?]
anonymous
February 12 2013, 22:02:03 UTC
She restored the camera to its original position and hesitated, reluctant to go on but aware that they needed to search for survivors. The wreckage was still far ahead, which told her that the single corpse had likely been flung all this way by something inherently powerful. Steeling herself, she gripped the controls and started driving again as Garrus stared at her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just be ready for any trouble.”
The dust storm relented as they progressed, granting them the horrific sight of the area surrounding the Grizzly. Shepard’s pulse quickened with dread. It was like déjà vu. Human remains were strewn everywhere, some intact, but most just pieces of flesh and bone. All of it was covered with the same green acid that had drenched her unit six years ago and burned scars into the left side of her body. Now the permanent grimace of her mouth deepened as she used the camera to scan the devastation.
“Damn,” Wrex piped up, bending closer to get a better look.
In her head she saw the faces of her team, stricken with shock and terror the instant they were besieged. They had been capable people, all good at their jobs, but even the most proficient of warriors couldn’t have looked hell in the eye and returned unscathed. And now here, once again, another group was claimed.
She maneuvered the Mako in a wide circle around the gruesome graveyard, alert and cautious for the faintest trace of danger. Every instinct was screaming at her to flee, to speed out of there and radio Joker for pickup. But she had to make sure no was left behind. The Alliance had done that much for her, when everyone else was either ripped apart or melted at her feet, and the least she could do was offer the same chance to another unit. She would finish checking the perimeter, she decided, and then they could leave.
So when the suspension of the Mako gave out and the vehicle collapsed upon itself, refusing to move further, Shepard gave a cry of dismay and asked aloud why, of all times, the accursed contraption chose now to break down. Garrus was already working to find the problem, sounding incredulous at the malfunction after all the work he’d put into maintaining it after every groundside mission.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just be ready for any trouble.”
The dust storm relented as they progressed, granting them the horrific sight of the area surrounding the Grizzly. Shepard’s pulse quickened with dread. It was like déjà vu. Human remains were strewn everywhere, some intact, but most just pieces of flesh and bone. All of it was covered with the same green acid that had drenched her unit six years ago and burned scars into the left side of her body. Now the permanent grimace of her mouth deepened as she used the camera to scan the devastation.
“Damn,” Wrex piped up, bending closer to get a better look.
In her head she saw the faces of her team, stricken with shock and terror the instant they were besieged. They had been capable people, all good at their jobs, but even the most proficient of warriors couldn’t have looked hell in the eye and returned unscathed. And now here, once again, another group was claimed.
She maneuvered the Mako in a wide circle around the gruesome graveyard, alert and cautious for the faintest trace of danger. Every instinct was screaming at her to flee, to speed out of there and radio Joker for pickup. But she had to make sure no was left behind. The Alliance had done that much for her, when everyone else was either ripped apart or melted at her feet, and the least she could do was offer the same chance to another unit. She would finish checking the perimeter, she decided, and then they could leave.
So when the suspension of the Mako gave out and the vehicle collapsed upon itself, refusing to move further, Shepard gave a cry of dismay and asked aloud why, of all times, the accursed contraption chose now to break down. Garrus was already working to find the problem, sounding incredulous at the malfunction after all the work he’d put into maintaining it after every groundside mission.
At that moment, the soil shook ever so slightly.
So listen for the rumbling sound…
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