Protect & Survive(3)

(Site Director Zolgamax Jones office, Site-17 - 2:15 PM)

Right now on Site-17, Jones was talking on his phone with the director of site-19 and found out that the transport never made it to site-19. 

"Alright, thank you for the information." Says Director Jones before the call ends, "Damn it... hope you're both alright."

———

(Forest - 2:30 PM)

Rodeo and Amelia continued walking down the forest and pretty much they haven't found a way out yet. 

'This is getting us nowhere.' Rodeo thought.

Amelia's stomach then starts growling.

Rodeo notices this and says, "Hungry I presume?"

"Yes."

"Well I'll try to find something. Stay here." Rodeo looks around some bushes and trees finding anything suitable for her to eat. 

Amelia sits on a rock and waits for him. She took a look at the pistol she was holding and found it quite weird holding a gun, since she never held a gun in her life. 

'From flintlocks to this, time really has a way of changing things.' She thought.

Amelia then saw Rodeo coming back with a bunch of berries in his hand.

"Eat up and then we're moving."

Amelia takes the berries and starts eating them and actually they were perfect and tasted good. 

"Amelia, I need you to give me your pistol and the silencer barrel as well."

Amelia then gives the pistol and silencer to him, Rodeo then attaches the silencer barrel to the pistol and then gives it back to her.

"Alright, now listen closely, Amelia. I'm gonna train you on how to use a gun."

Amelia then by mistakely chokes on one of the berries she was eating before swallowing it, "What!?"

"Look, I know you're not the type of person to wield a gun or... kill somebody, but we have GOC roaming this forest. Now either we prepare ourselves, protect each other and survive or get killed by them." He said in a serious tone.

Amelia wasn't sure about this, but seeing Rodeo act like a different person and telling her how to use a gun made her... a bit uneasy. 

"Rodeo... you've been acting differently."

"Look I'm fine... I'm just trying to help you and myself to get out of this forest... Ok look we'll start gun training tomorrow but for now let's find shelter. I think the rain's gonna start again. Come on."

"Rodeo, I know you don't want to see me get hurt, but at least tell me what are you feeling right now?"

"Look, the guy I just shot in the head tried to kill me and you even after I showed him mercy. Which means they are not gonna negotiate with us or show us mercy. So I'm trying to help you and myself from getting killed. So we will do gun training tomorrow." He said in a serious and commanding tone.

Amelia sighs, "Alright, but Rodeo are you feeling ok at least mentally?"

"I'm fine. Come on, we're wasting our time here."

Amelia gets up and takes the berries as well and both keep moving forward. Amelia wasn't sure what Rodeo was feeling right now, while he understood that he wanted to protect her, but the fact he wanted to teach her how to shoot a gun just for the sake of protection and survival didn't sit well with her, but she had to agree with Rodeo's decision, the GOC aren't as merciless as the Serpent's Hand and knew that they would kill her and Rodeo on sight. 

So they will have to be serious against them, even if it means killing them.

'I wonder if Collingwood and the others have tried to contact us.' She thought.

———

(Site-17, Breakroom - 4:00 PM)

Collingwood, Lawrence, Green, Johnson, Simmons and even good ol boy Carson were in the breakroom. Collingwood was trying to contact Rodeo and Dr. Amelia Buck but it would always come unreachable. 

"Come on, come on."

"They... could be busy with experiments, right?" Carson said.

Johnson shook his head, "They can't be that busy that they wouldn't try to contact us, Carson. Maybe we should try our phones since Rodeo did give us his number."

Everyone nodded, everyone then dialed Rodeo's number but it was unreachable as well. 

"I got nothing." Carson said.

"Me neither." Simmons.

"Same." Says Lawrence.

"Nothing." Green.

Johnson sighs, "Same on my side as well."

"Do you think they might have gotten into trouble or something?" Collingwood said worried.

"Don't jinx it." Carson said.

The door of the breakroom opens and Site Director Jones enters the room. 

"Sir, what brings you here?" Johnson asked.

Jones sighed, "It is regarding the transport in which Dr. Buck, Rodeo and the MTF group were on."

"What happened?"

"They never reached site-19 and no contact was made with them."

Everybody in the room were shocked by this information. 

"You jinxed it."

"Carson, shut up."

"Then shouldn't we go look for them?" Green suggests.

"I've already talked with the director of site-19. She will send a search party to go look for them. So for now, we can only wait."

Collingwood was having a look of worry for Rodeo and Dr. Buck, but then she remembers about Rodeo saying "Being brave and not living in fear". Collingwood can only hope that they are safe.

"Sir, can we join them for the search?" Johnson said.

"I'm afraid not since we still need additional units here in site-17, since we can't risk a containment breach from any of the SCPs here... but I'll only send only one of you to site-19 to join for the search."

"I'll do it." Green volunteers.

"Are you sure about this, Green? Nobody wants to see you back in bed again." Lawrence asked him.

"The kid got me back on my feet Lawrence, so I owe him and Amelia is with him as well. So yeah, I'm sure."

"Alright, I'll get a transport ready for site-19. Be ready."

Green nods and then Jones leaves the breakroom .

"I'll get my gear ready. See you guys later."

As Green was about to head for the door, Collingwood said, "Green, please make sure they come back safe."

"Don't worry, I will." Green said with a reassuring smile.

———

(Forest - 4:15 PM)

The humanoid figure was now walking through the forest, and once again was heading for the source that he was being drawn to, until he heard something.

"Hm? Seems to be coming from there."

He headed for the direction of the noise but quietly and when he got close he saw ten GOC soldiers looking at the bodies of three GOC soldiers lying on the ground. He quickly floats on a tree branch without anybody noticing and even if they did notice him he would just use his ability to escape. 

He then sits on the tree branch and listens to their conversation. 

"This doesn't seem like something an SCP would do." One of the GOC Soldiers said, looking at the three dead bodies of his comrades.

Another nodded, "Yeah, and judging by the way these guys were killed it seems like something a human would do."

"You think it might be one of those MTF soldiers?"

"Could be... do you think they might be looking for the golden man?"

"If they are, then we might have a problem."

Another GOC soldier approaches the two and says, "Enough talk, get these bodies in the Humvee. We will give them a proper burial and then find the ones who did this to them. If they're still in this goddamn forest."

Suddenly thunder sounds are heard, and all the soldiers look up and notice the clouds covering the sky. It was about to rain again. 

"Come on men. We're moving."

All the soldier's then started moving while they carried the dead soldier's bodies as well. The humanoid figure saw four blue colored military Humvees with GOC logo on the doors parked not far from him, armed with a .50 cal machine gun turret attached on top. 

The soldiers entered the vehicles and left the area.

'Did the one I'm looking for do this?' He thought.

———

(In a Cave - 10:00 PM)

Rodeo and Amelia were inside a cave taking refuge from the rainy night. Rodeo was sitting on a rock and was looking at the bloody knife he was holding in his hand. He turned his head around and saw Amelia asleep using her lab coat as a blanket. 

Rodeo and Amelia's weapons were placed next to a rocky wall since they don't need to carry it right now. He then continued looking at the knife. He saw the reflection of his face on the knife but then his reflection showed his face was covered in blood. 

Rodeo then dropped the knife on the ground out of shock of what he just saw right now. 

"W-W-what is this?"

Rodeo then started having flashbacks to the helicopter blowing up and now he was seeing even flashbacks of killing the GOC soldier. The flashbacks stopped, he was breathing heavily and was quite terrified of what he was seeing. 

"This... is... j-just... my mind is playing tricks, right?" He said, holding his face with both of his hands.

Rodeo was not in a good state, even though he hasn't realized it yet he is suffering mentally. He then shook his head, trying to ignore what he just saw or was feeling. He then picks up the knife and washes the blood off of it using the rain water. 

He then looks at it, "We will get out of here... no matter what. Even if I have crossed the line." He then grips the handle of the knife tightly.

'Which I didn't want to cross... but I already crossed that line when I killed those three soldiers.' He thought.

Rodeo then sat on the rock and continued looking at the knife, but then stopped looking at it and looked at the rain happening outside. 

Rodeo wasn't sure about giving gun training to Amelia knowing she never has pulled the trigger on a person, but the situation demands that they need to be ready, otherwise one will become a burden to another. 

"I thought mercy is possible here, but there are just some people who just don't give two shits about it... or am I just thinking it the wrong way... I just don't know what's right and what's wrong anymore, and I keep seeing those images flash in my head. Why, just why?" He said in both confusion and sadness.

Rodeo wanted to let out some tears but he quickly wipes those tears away and continues to look at the rain. He could only hope that they could get out of this forest tomorrow and give Amelia and himself the training they need to survive and protect each other with.