Warnings: Blood, Guns/Weapons, Some Intense Action, Some Mild Smoking, Implied Death

Feet pounding down cracked pavement and hearts thundering in our ears, we rushed to the location of the SOS.

It may sound crazy, but this was a pretty normal start to our day. As we ran farther and farther, the pavement slowly diminished until were purely in the forest. Luckily the terrain was familiar and somewhat homey to us.

Screeching to a halt in front of a short cliff face, Eas looked at me. "Dude I tell you every time, we're not going straight down, we have to go around!" he shouted.

I smirked at him already ripping a vine down out of a tree. "Says who? You don't count because your a scaredy cat."

I looped the vine on one of the taller trees below. "Snips, I don't think this—," Before he could finish protesting, I put the vine in Eas's hands and shoved him down the rock face. He screamed the whole way down just like I knew he would; he does this every single time.

Once he was safely back on the ground below, I yelled down to him, "Toss the vine back up to me!" Despite his death grip on the vine and ashen face, he did as asked.

Once I was safely on solid ground as well, it was Eas's turn to yell. I already knew this rant word for word so I spoke along with him. "What were you thinking Snips, you could have got me killed! What if I didn't have the vine tight enough? What if it snapped under my weight? What if-," he stopped his face going blank after hearing me say everything he did at the same time as him.

I snickered. "Come on Eas, you do this every time. Same rant same excuse same hesitation. Don't expect me not to know you inside out. Now come on, we gotta hurry. They might already be gone because you made this take so long," Before he could run his mouth any more, I grabbed his wrist and sprinted off again.

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Finally. There it was. An old, musty smelling shed made of rotting planks with more moss and mildew than actual shed growing on it. Surrounding it was a small graveyard, each tombstone cracked or worn in some way, but diligently crafted with care. It was made sure each grave was well decorated in flowers. Some graves were much older than others, with grass already covering the upturned soil and vines creeping up the headstone. Other graves were newer, despite the headstones being well worn, with the soil still freshly turned.

There was the faint sound of speaking coming from the shed. A few hand signals back and forth with Eas, and we both were standing either side of the door with a plan devised. I pulled out a small canister of chloroform and wet down two rags. Carefully tossing one to Eas, we waited. Two guards came out and we both took one, clamping our rags over their noses and mouths shushing them softly, and walking backwards so when they were unconscious  it'd be easier to lay them down. Eas peeked in the doorway and signaled that the coast was clear.

When we crept in, it was obvious things were bad. They had Bidge all tied up and hanging upside down from the rafters. He didn't react to us walking in, which I don't blame him for, since his eyes were closed.

He looked horrible. His face was all bruised and his lip was split and bleeding pretty bad, probably from a fistfight of some sorts. Through the shoulder of his jacket there was a small tear and blood seeped out everywhere onto his clothes and was dripping on the floor. Gunshot, no doubt. The worst part was the cord running from his watch to a computer set with some strands of code running a program on it.

Why was that so bad you ask? The watch was basically his life. It supplied him with the blood cells lost well too often in fights or when he was on the job. It could also spike his adrenaline so he could fight better and amp his senses to 120 percent for better awareness at work. It could also provide him with the chemical that makes you feel rested so he wouldn't ever have to sleep; all at the press of a button. However it was a very delicate technology that should not be tampered with if you were inexperienced. One wrong move and he'd be in the grave.

I looked at Eas, "Go lock the door, I'll handle Bidge," he nodded and went to find something for a barricade. Crouching down in front of him, I snapped in Bidge's face, "Hey there sleeping beauty."

Thank goodness he opened his eyes. Now I knew we weren't too late, but we weren't out of the woods yet. He gave me a dopey smile, eyes only half open. "Hey Snips," he took a shuddering breath before coughing a little, "boy am I glad to see you guys..."

"Snips we got company!" I nodded and switched spots with Eas, manning the door while he cut Bidge down.

The guards pounded on the door shouting things like, 'I demand you open this door John!' and 'Traitor!' and (probably jokingly as they thought I was John, who I have no idea who that is; probably a colleague) 'FBI open up!' So I did. With a gun in hand.

Throwing the door open, I slammed the butt of my gun into the side of one's head hard enough to make them dizzy and senseless. I cocked my gun and pointed at the other two. "Here's Johnny!" Two bangs and both were on the ground in a red puddle coming from each's uniform.

When I turned around, Eas was cutting the final ropes that had Bidge's arms bound to his sides. After that, he ripped the cord from the watch and snapped the computer in half over his knee. Draping one of Bidge's arms over his shoulder and taking his weight, he looked at me, "Help me out here and let's roll." I nodded and did as told.

Despite being totally out of it, Bidge only needed slight assistance walking. Footsteps were starting to be able to be heard, so we made a beeline for the exit going as fast as we could while still helping Bidge. Sprinting down the path, we dove into a large hedge patch before army crawling down into a ditch.

Breathing hard, Eas nudged Bidge. "How're you feeling? What'd they do?"

He was already tweaking his watch to fix the settings. "They messed my poor watch all up. The adrenaline won't work, the sleep feature's stuck, and the blood supply is inoperative. I might could fix it when we get back, but for now I'll have to deal with it. Just if I pass out you got 5 minutesss..." he fell back, seemingly going unconscious. We both panicked until he sat back up snickering. "Oh come on, you'd know if I actually went out. I'm fine for now, we'll see warning signs well before I pass out."

I glared at him, somewhat annoyed after the prank he just pulled, but Eas just laughed. I sighed. "Why were you here anyway? You were out here getting caught and who knows what else, strung up by your feet waiting for us to save your skin while we were out getting things done, taking jobs pick-pocketing, and all that. And look," I held up my wrist, "I was off getting these bad boys! A Rolex and a G-shock! While you were crying for us to save you. I'd have another Rolex or two on my arm if we didn't have to come for you. You're lucky you're my buddy or you'd have it in for you," I scoffed, while lighting a cigarette for myself. Bidge and Eas just laughed at me.

Bidge rolled his eyes with a smile. "Wow thanks, it's great to hear your concerned for me after a near death experience." His tone was a little sarcastic and his voice was still gravely and tired, but his British accent was starting to sound normal again so I couldn't help but smile a little. He smiled at my smile, "Also nice watches. Knick Knack is going to be all over that G-shock of yours."

I laughed like he was crazy. "Um no, he can have the Rolex. The G is mine. I quite like the color scheme. Blue and white, I can't resist!"

Eas snickered at my joke, "I get it, it's because it's a G-shock resist," his voice was light and breathy as he spoke through giggles.

Bidge smiled and started to say something before he was cut off by footsteps and yelling. The voice was female, familiar, formidable. Tracy. We shut up, going still and flatting out on the ground, doing our best to conceal ourselves in the leaves. I put out my cigarette and we all pulled out our choice of weapon.

She was something like 20 yards or so from our hiding spot, facing us but slightly west. She had a gun in her hands and a Kevlar vest over her uniform. Scanning the terrain she shouted, "Come on out Brian, I know you're there!" Bidge flattened a bit more at hearing his real name, "You Wes and Sam, I know you're still out there, there's no way you could've got away with the condition you're in!" She fired off a couple rounds into the air just to prove a point before turning to one of her goons and giving an order. She turned and looked over her shoulder before leaving for one last scan. As her eyes passed over us we all tensed, being sure not to move. I don't think any of us were breathing for fear of her hearing or seeing us. Once we were sure she was gone we all let out a breath.

I looked at Bidge a silly look on my face only slightly annoyed, "Hey, why don't you go tell your girlfriend to chill?" Standing up I brushed myself off and helped the others up.

Bidge was a little shaky, but I couldn't tell if it was him losing a lot of blood or Tracy. Probably a little of both. He sighed and looked down muttering, "We broke up and you know that."

Eas draped Bidge's arm over his shoulder. "Alright Bidge let's get going, you're starting to look worse. How do you feel? Dizzy? Lightheaded? Nauseous?" He put a hand on forehead, feeling for a high temperature.

Bidge was really starting to get under the weather, so regardless of him saying he was fine and didn't feel like any of that, we started on our way back to the UAA. The journey back was about three times slower than me and Eas' journey here, and the farther we walked the slower we had to go so Bidge wouldn't get left in the dust.

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By the time we got out of the woods, our shirts smelled less like pine and more like Bidge's blood, and rather than being their normal color they were red. He bled quite a bit and I'd be surprised if none of it was on the ground or if Tracy and her FBI goons hadn't found us by following our clear trail of blood, churned dirt, and leaves from Bidge stumbling. It got to the point where we had to stop or just carry Bidge altogether. The three of us were exhausted, so we decided just to stop in a nearby alleyway.

Suddenly there was a soft tick of boots landing on pavement. We all whipped around weapons drawn. There stood a feminine figure, wearing a motorcycle gear style helmet with most of the front a tinted and reflective visor. She wore a full set of modern esk armor shaped in panels and fitted to her body. Attached to her belt was a cloth making a quarter skirt that wrapped behind her waist. We all relaxed and pocketed our weapons when she pulled away the helmet to show her face.

"Hey boys, miss me?" She snickered at the fact we all had guns and knives drawn, "Or do you not remember me?"

Eas sighed, "Sorry Kristinee, we just had a pretty bad run in with Tracy. Bidge got caught and beat up, and they screwed with the watch."

Bidge nodded and slipped the shoulder of his jacket and shirt down to show the gunshot that had bled all over us. She walked over and kneeled beside him, going over his wounds.

She looked at us like we were guilty, "Alright who let this happen?" She just about snarled at me and Eas.

I crossed my arms and replied, "It wasn't us, we swear. Why do you always think it's our fault when he's hurt?"

"Because he's too smart to get caught, and you're too stupid to not be responsible." She and Bidge both laughed at us.

I sighed, "Thanks a lot, you've got your girlfriend on your side so she's mad us and not you." I punched his arm that wasn't shot.

"Hey, I thought you said Tracy was my girlfriend. Plus me and Kristinee aren't dating either so ha," Bidge retorted as Kristinee wrapped his bleeding shoulder.

Kristinee gently pulled Bidge up to his feet and supported his weight. "I can't do much for him here, but if we get back to the UAA it'll be a lot easier. C'mon let's get going,"

We nodded and followed her, Eas on Bidge's other side helping Kristinee support our British friend's weight.

We wondered down a few blocks until coming to another alley between the old, rundown bank and an abandoned office building. Eas pushed an unused dumpster aside to reveal a doorway and staircase leading down below the office building. A tall, bulky, and muscular man holding a really big gun nodded to us as we walked down the steps. He stopped us at the bottom.

"I know you four but as protocol I need an ID from one of you," the man took an ID from Kristinee and scanned it over. Afterwards he stepped aside and let us pass.

"Thank you Brutus," Kristinee stated cheerfully through a smile.

Once safely back at the UAA, we all flopped down on beds, couches, and plush chairs in mine and Eas' dorm. We all talked for a while as Kristinee fixed Bidge up again.

Once Bidge was back up and running, we went with Kristinee to play a game or two and trade our pickpocketing spoils off to Knick Knack. Bidge split up and went off to get a job or two for us.

Little did we know that the job he got was going to change the course of our entire lives.

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Words: 2483

Omg guys. Writing this took me a few weeks and a really long time before that planning characters and plot. This is my first book ever that I've posted that's entirely out of my mind and I'm so proud of it. I hope you guys like it, I've got a lot more in store. For anyone who's reading my other book, Corrupt Minds, this isn't me giving up on that book, I'm just putting this one out too because I've been working on it so hard. Thank you guys so much again.

And don't forget - Keep on adventuring!