End Of The Beginning

Cooper Black heard the explosions, felt the tremors, saw the planes but yet, remained silent as a shadow.

He clutched his M416 and scanned his field of vision. Clear.

He aimed the FLAW at the second wall's height and climbed up with just one grappling shot. Then he saw the wonders of Ghost Striker's fortress.

Within the second wall, lay an immense stretch of low altitude land. At the west, barracks and artillery depots remained stationary. At the south, a long, wide runway was flanked by hangars on both sides. At the east, nothing but the remnants of some of the rocket artillery. The north was a breach. The two layers of the walls had collapsed and the padding spilled over to create a ramp for the tanks to pass through. The T-72s travelled in a long convoy and made for the building at the center.

Six floors high and constructed with modern artistic architecture, Dimitri Makovsvet's Zhigansk mansion would easily dwarf the walls. Its upper floors were perfect for sightseeing, as the walls were mostly composed of glass. From the uppermost floor, the glass had been smashed and tinged with a red liquid. (Yes, that's right! That's the spot where Dimitri had killed his Army General.)

Cooper used a rappel technique to descend down the inner side of the second wall. Then he shifted his guns to his back and freed both hands.

He began his sprint towards the whitish marble mansion. Since he was facing the setting sun (west), he put on his aviator sunglasses.

When he finally arrived near the doorstep, a T-72 was already parked beside it. A sergeant signaled him to stop.

"Stop! Wait!" the marine walked up to Black. By the looks of how he carried a M4A1, he seemed friendly enough. "What's your name, sergeant?"

He might've guessed Cooper's rank by looking at the number of '⋀' signs on his uniform.

"Blackburn, Cooprion della Blackburn," Cooper replied blankly. The last time he had told his name name to a Colonel, the army had turned hostile.

"Stone, Jerry Stone," the other marine introduced himself. "So which squad are you actually from, Sgt. Black?"

"Lizardshitter," Cooper fingered a knife in his pocket in case of need. "From the Azak landing site."

"Oh, I see. So you're the one who destroyed the communication tower?"

"Uh, no. That would be Sgt. Roger Jacob. He's been sent back to the nearest MBC base, for sanctuary."

"Why? Is he injured?"

"Yes. Now please, move aside; I've got work to do," Cooper was getting impatient by every word JS uttered. He really wished to stab him with the knife to cut the unexpected conversation short.

"What's the rush, huh?" he aimed the M4A1 at the doors to the mansion. Then the doors burst open with splinters. "There you go. You may enter!"

Jerry gestured at him to enter.

"Oh, really? But I think you should enter first! After all, you arrived here first."

"Sure, but I have my tank to manage," he turned to his T-72. "Everything fixed now, Rex?"

"Nope, the turret's jammed. But I'll clear that out soon enough," another marine appeared from the hatch. "Whoa! Who's this guy? A Russian or American?"

"American," both JS and CB replied at the same time.

"Okay… so why you don't you go in and check it out?"

"Alright, I'll go!" Cooper turned to J. Stone. "But only on one condition."

"What's the condition?"

"The condition is… I get the spoils."

Both Jerry and Reximus stood rooted to their spots in awe.

"Fine. It's a deal. Now get in there, you coward!" Jerry slapped him on the back.

Big mistake! Never slap Cooper Black on the back and call him a 'coward' at the same time!

Cooper kicked JS to the ground and smashed his skull with his gloved fists. He crushed his rib cage with his foot and sank the knife from his pocket into the marine's neck.

"Hey!" the other marine mounted the 0.72 mm coaxial LMG turret of the tank immediately. "Traitor! Deceiver! American terrorist! Die!"

Cooper took out the bloody knife and, without even looking at Rex's direction, threw it at him.

He heard Pill's voice one last time as he gurgled on his own blood from the wound at his jugular veins. Soon, there was a thud of the body falling to the snow-covered yard.

Then he went into the world of black onyx. The interior of the mansion was composed of dark shades whereas the exterior was full of light, peaceful hues.

"What's up with this transition?" he asked himself in the third person.

The sofas, chairs, tables, and even the exotic wall paintings were of rich quality and made of blackened materials. From the high ceiling, a black chandelier exposed a yellowish burning candle army that drenched the room with its light.

The only thing eerie about the place was its silence.

Cooper found a spiral staircase and climbed up to the second floor, full of dark emptiness. The polished onyx floors served as a slippery carpet across the black void.

"Hello?" his voice echoed through the vast, hollow emptiness. Hello-hello-'ello-'llo-'lo-'o'-'…

He climbed up more stairs to find a huge indoor pool with black marble floorings. He spotted a woman's swimsuit lying flat on a tile.

"Whatever!" Cooper shrugged his shoulders and continued onto the fourth floor. The last ray of sunlight hit his pupils with every climb.

At the fourth floor, there was a long corridor along the length of the mansion. Cooper Black naturally walked along and opened a dark oaken door. Inside, lay a treasure. Not one, not two, not three. Inside the room, rested hundreds of portable nukes!

"Holy shot! Did the entire world dump their nuclear waste here or something?"

At his word, the nukes' display popped up.

[18:00:00]

"What the hell?"

[17:59:59]

"Damn!"

"Drop the gun!" a female voice intruded from behind him. "Drop it!"

Cooper dropped his M416 assault rifle and held his hands up high. But what he saw was a silver-blonde girl just like —

"A-Amy?" Cooper couldn't believe his eyes. "Is that you?"

"Who? I'm sorry, I don't know who that is," the girl replied. "I'm Rochelle. The world is ending."