Chapter 2: BETA

As the match started, all squads were instructed to jump out of their individually assigned aircraft that fly across the map in a random straight line. The sun was out, a cold breeze lingers into the air.

Gabe have not seen anything like this, it was all too real.

The wind blew hard. Every single thing gave a realistic impression.

The graphics, the sounds, the details, and the wounds. She was down on the snow, pale pixelated blood was scattered as she bleeds from a shot to the side.

How has it come to this?

Certain that she was close to death, a group of players walk towards her, their guns pointed at her ready to shoot.

Gabriel winced in pain but was not gonna give up just yet. She tries to crawl away from her attackers when one of them suddenly fell flat on the ground. The 'DEAD' marker appearing on top of it immediately afterwards.

The group was shocked. Having one of them shot, they immediately placed their hand on the trigger. Red lines appeared from the muzzle mostly pointing at Gabe.

She was a complete mess, blood flowing through her bruises and with all the snow and leaves intertwined with her brown messed up hair.

Mere seconds before her certain demise, a man came crashing in on a wingsuit and bumped to one of the two. He then immediately stabbed the player in quick succession killing it instantly.

The other one then fell dead on the ground. A red circle illuminated in pale red was found in his forehead. Gabe turned around and saw a slim dummy-like robot, in it's arms was a SVD Dragunov pointed at her direction and ready to shoot.

"Target neutralized, Hemluck. Awaiting further orders"

Yutsuzuki's voice could be heard on her right ear. She raised her hand and did a thumbs up, both in terror and fascinated at the same time as everything went smoothly as it would in real life.

She never knew that gaming could get so realistic. Every single thing had been adept and detailed, it was as if she was in a completely different reality. The chirping of birds, the movement of the trees, it had reached such perfection that it was all too tantalizing for her.

As she stood, she winced in pain as her arm continues to bleed with a stream of pale-red pixels.

"What exactly is this, Suzuki?" she asked in bewilderment as she observes the palm and the back of her hands. "I've never heard of this"

"That's because you really shouldn't" Yotsuzuki promted. "This was made for the war that would be held. They did said that 'twas a more safer approach" he said as he stood up and approached them with caution.

"Held?" Gabe asked in confusion. She didn't knew a thing ever since the war was declared. "Held with this? I thought this war would be like those written in history?"

"Apparently, a bit of in formation was aired by the media about this so called 'approach' "he replied as he opened a hologramme panel and swiped it towards her direction. "It says there that it'll serve as a more peaceful way to resolve this matter"

"Yeah, but only a bit" Amelia squeezed through the conversation.

The panel flew smoothly without delay as if it was a precisely folded paper plane tossed in the air. Yotsuzuki then turns around and proceeds to interact with Amy who was unable to use her wing-suit properly and got blown away as a result.

As Yotsuzuki talks with Amy, Gabe decides to read what was written on the news. Displayed on the the panel was a headline of a few newspaper accident.

'Maritime Incident Brews Another World War', 'We Had Enough: Another War to be Written in History' Those were some of the headlines on the panel.

Gabe slowly swiped upwards as she carefully reads every little detail being displayed on the panel. She was so drawn to it that she wasn't even able to notice the other man wall beside her.

"Hey, Hemluck" the man whispered to her ears. She then suddenly felt a cold object under her chin.

Knowing that there were only two players in the vicinity, she rolled sideways and kicked him in the croth.

"Ow!" he yelled as he lied on the snow wincing in pain.

"Fuckin' MORON! Didn't your parents told you to don't play with knives?!" Gabe scowled. Her hand ready to give the second blow.

"But it wasn't my knife, Gabe" Nathan replied, holding out a small metal bandage kit. "Geez, here I am trying to help you and I get a yank on the crotch as thanks" he said sarcastically, obviously unhappy with his situation.

"Cut the crap, Tag. This is no time to try and score to the captain. Amy drifted away from the drop earlier, We have to fetch CUTLASS immediately. I need that sheild of hers" Cue said as he stood between the two bickering teenagers.

Gabe, who is now Hemluck, felt her face suddenly burn a little hot. 'Am I blushing?' she thought to herself as she clumsily fails to hide her embarassment with her bloodied hands.

"Normally I wouldn't worry mind if CUTLASS was in trouble, but this is different" Cue mumbles but it was loud enough for the two to hear. "If I could feel the cold snow, then I should also-" he continued as he pointed his gun as his feet, his finger pressing against the trigger ready to shoot.

As the two noticed what Cue was up to, they watched in wonder. Yotsuzuki, the most rational person in their group, was about to shoot himself out of curiousity.

Seconds of deafening silence filled the air as Cue heaves a sigh in the comms then-

BANG!

Hemluck tightly closed her eyes. The loud bang echoed through the air as she hears Nathan grunt and then groans in pain.

Opening her eyes she sees a splash of blood which stains the beautiful white snow, yet it wasn't hers or neither Yotsuzuki's. As she looked up, Nuke was already down, his side was bleeding heavily.

Not knowing what to do, she just pressed his wounds in the heat of the moment since she was once taught to apply pressure to open wounds to stop the bleeding.

With the blood kept pouring, panic consumed her even more. Looking from left to right showing visible signs of hysteria.

A cold hand then presses on her shoulder. The way Yotsuzuki's hand felt like true metal sent chills down her spine. She immidiately grabbed him and started to let loose of a barage of questions.

"Yotsuzuki! Yotsuzuki! I don't know what to do. What should we do? Can we still save him? Can we? Can we?" she asked nonstop as Nuke started to taste the blood that was coming out of his mouth.

Yotsuzuki sighed heavily as he set aside his weapon and placed both his hands to Hemluck's shoulder as if to say that she should calm down in this situation. She breathed in and out, looked at the wounded Nuke before facing the metal-head in front of him.

Knowing that she calmed down he began to speak, "We can help him up to restore an ounce of his health-" he said as sparkles like those as the nightsky began to form on the eyes of Gabe's avatar. "Is what I'd usually say" he added and the world started to collapse around her.

He freed her from his grip and backed away for distance. "Listen, there's no aid button" he explained. "Might as well let him die here than having him slow us down"

"Man, how cruel could you be?" Taglia vexed, coughing blood in the process.

"There must be something we can do. This is 'Cross Fire' after all" she said and stood up looking at Cue, waiting for a respone.

"There's none, I tell you" he said out of boredom. "Can we leave him now? Someone with full health is waiting for us." he asked.

As Cue grabbed his gun and started to walk away, Nuke stopped him, grabbing his metal leg.

"Hel- me u-" Taglia muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"I said-" he was cut off, coughing in blood. His health-bar was no longer in good condition. If it would go on like this, he'd probably die in the game. A big handicap for their team since Taglia usually takes care of enemy snipers. With his high agility and expertise in the art of close quarter combat, he can make quick work of any enemy he wishes, be it an enemy sniper or a sturdy teammate behind a metal shield.

Cue stayed silent for a while. He was weighing the pros and cons of having Nuke on their side. As he comes up with a decision, he heaves yet another long sigh.

He bends over beside him and grabs his arms, dragging him up to his feet. Suprisingly, an 'Helping up...' bar showed up in his vision. As the bar was filled up, Tagliagole's life-bar has recovered twenty-percent of it's original health points.

Gabe immediately grabbed the health kit lying on the cold snow and took out its contents.

A long strip of gauze that was rolled up fell out of it along with something that looks like a pin. She violently wraps the bandage around Taglia's lower torso and plunges the pin to his flesh making him squeal in pain.

He was fine now. Holding his side he looked at her with disappointment. "Should've done it myself" he said as he turns to look at Cue and then to he's feet. "What the hell?"he shouted as a he notices a dent that can be found on Cue's robotic foot.

"This game's too realistic" said Cue, nonchalantly turning his gaze to the east. A sense of worry can be felt in his current behavior.

A long silence enveloped the whole mountain-side. None dared to speak, Hemluck was too busy figuring out how would she heal Taglia's wounds when there's no heal button on her display and panel.

Folds were now visible on the forehead of Gabe's avatar, ruining it's calm and collected older sister vibes.

Time seems to have flown very slowly. Gabe took the small patch of garment inside the thin metal box with outmost care. She then layed Nate down on her lap.

Grabbing him by the shoulder, she proceeds to make him sit up to get a clearer view of his wounds.

Her face was inches away from his bloodied shoulders. She looks up and sees a fascinated gaze plastered on Nate's face.

Gabe ignored the look on his face and finishes wrapping his messed up torso.

As she carefully fixed the gauze she proceeded to stand up but was pulled back by Nate with songle pull.

"You're also injured. Let me treat your wounds" he offered as he gently places her beside him.

Gabe's heart was raising. She doen't even know what to do. As he grabbed her hand, she tried to grab the gauze to hand it to him but was utterly taken aback when he licked her wounded hand.

She let out a shriek, she then hurriedly took the gauze before shoving it down to Nathan's throat. Healing him and loosing a few teeth in the process.

/ / /

10:57, thirty minutes had passed since Amy spoke with the others through the comms. She managed to arranged a rallying point and is now running across a sea of ruin.

Slabs of concrete debris was scattered all over the area. She was kind of exhausted. Nothing else could be heard but the rustling of fallen leaves being blown by the wind and the the sound of metal bumping to each other.

Compared to the others, she has the lowest mobility of the four due to her gun that somehow resembles a KPV heavy machine gun except for the fact that it can be carried. It functions exactly just like a mini-gun and is loaded with a 14.5x114 mm cartridge. And as if to add insult to injury, on her back was a large box-like object hidden inside a bagpack that also adds up to her movement penalty.

Taking short glances from left to right, she proceeds to advance with great caution. Taking cover under dark and damaged parts of an abandoned building.

She took a deep breath and then slumped down the concrete floor casting aside her weapon and taking off her bagpack.

"Jesus!" she exclaimed as she gasped for air. "Who knew a game could be this tiring" she added as she wipes off the sweat dripping from her face.

She then proceeds to take a look at her gun, annoyed. The 1,980 mm heavy machine gun that she uses was no freaking joke in this game. It was so heavy that she needed to carry it with her shoulders, not to mention the weight all all the ammo she's carrying.

Resting her head on a wall, she looks through the damaged portions of the room. The view outside was tantalizing. It was though as if it beckons her to come closer.

Radiant Maple Trees, a golden brick road. A see of tall grasses. A crashed Battleship. A High Tower. A truly tempting offer. A world of wonders, a temporary Utopia.

Knowing that going somewhere she could be easily seen would be a bad idea ( because her gear is dyed in yellow ), she hesitantly brushed off the thought out of her head.

Swiping in the air downwards, she opens a series of panels that seemed to be a menu. With a few taps she opened a panel that showed her position in the map. The others were still far away from her.

The map has a size of 20 km x 20 km radius, she currently resides on a certain area called 'Abandoned Residency' while the others were still at the foot of a mountain 6 km away from her.

With another series of taps, a holographic 3D model of the map appeared before her. Her position was pin pointed by a white tag. If she were to proceed, it would most likely be better to go through the 'Crossing Field', a 1 km x 1 km field that is completely filled by fields of wheat that is 5 ft in height. It would serve as a fine cover since her full yellow gear could blend in to the environment.

With that, she grabs her stuff and sets off for the extraction point. Taking quick glances, she seem to have made it to the field without being noticed if ever there is someone who could notice.

The wind blows smoothly from all directions. The fields of wheat sways with the breeze resembling waves from the great seas.

She crotched down even though she was a few inches shorter than the grass and slowly made her way across, her finger placed on the trigger as she remains vigilant for an unexpected shoot-out.

A few moments later, a voice could be heard from the comms calling out her name.

"Amy? Amy?!" the voice called out, an open engine and gunshots could be heard from the background. "Where are you-?" the voice tried to add but was cut off by a sound of punctured metal.

"I'm at the Crossing Fields. Yotsuzuki, what's happening?" she asked as she stopped and sat in the ground, swiping down to open the menu.

A few static noises were heard from the other side of the comms that was accompanied by gunshots in random intervals. Screeches can also be heard, must've been car tires roughly rubbing on asphalt. It was clear enough that they were in the middle of a gunfight.

"Hey Amy!" a cheerful tone was audibly heard from another man, it was Nathan.

"What do you want?" she grumpily asked as she was reminded of what he said to her earlier that morning.

He giggle through the comms, a mischievous one, enough to piss her off that very instant.

"Sorry but you can't disturb the current chauffeur, he's currently busy on the road" he said as the sound of shattered glass joins the coversation.

Yotsuzuki could be heard swearing yet his words were suppressed by the loud sound of gunfire.

Amelia could already imagine the look on Nathan's face. "How about Gabriel?" she asked failing to rid her annoyance in her voice.

"Busy shooting some random guys on a Krankenwagen" he prompted, whistling skillfully in the mic.

"What Krakenraven?" cluelessly asked a confused Amelia. She doesn't have a single clue of what in the world those three were doing. "Please take Gabe's position and let her speak in yhe comms"

"About that-" Nathan made a flicking noise with his tounge before speaking. "Is that even possible here?" he asked and remained quiet.

Throughout the silence Amy cupped her face in disappointment.

"We can almost feel everything right?"

"Yes" answered Nate.

"Then try taking her gun. It might work"

"I see. Give me a minute" he said as a few faint rustling noises could be heard in the earpiece she has. Nate could then be heard arguing with Gabe about her idea.

Moments passed when Gabe was finally able to talk with her.

"Amy?" concern could be found in her voice.

"Yes?! MY Gabriel!" she exclaimed giving too much emphasis on 'MY' that it fails to hide her assertiveness to Gabe.

"Eh- Uhmm- " Gabe stuttered in embarassment. The two boys were probably listening, Nate in the brink of bursting out of laughter and Yotsuzuki trying his best to ignore such vulgar display of possesiveness to one person. "Hang in there, okay?" was all she could say and bid farewell to go back to her gun and shoot.

Amy was happy.

'Her' Gabe was coming for her.

"How romantic" she thought to herself, clinging to her gun like it was some sort of beloved child. She eagerly stood up and ran for the roses with only one goal on her mind. Go to the harbor and get to the extraction point to meet with Gabriel.

But as she was nearing the edge of the fields, a thunderous BANG roared through the heaven. Explosions followed a few meters ahead of her. If she had not stopped at the exact moment she heard the noise she would've been a goner. Now aware of her situation she held her gun ready to shoot.

Lines. She saw lines. Red straight lines aiming pass her direction.

"Open fire!" a voice of a woman echoed through the air. A suuccessive fire kept on raining in her direction. The red lines disappearing as bullets flew through them.

"So that's how it is" she said as if she had figured out how some mechanics would likely give her an upperhand. "I'm screwed"

Maybe not.