The Barracks Under Fire
by EagleRock
Note: Still won't fit in one post. Stupid post limit not working properly...
Chapter 2 - Orientation
The speaker continued to crackle its message.
"There's no need for alarm, soldiers. I must apologize for how you all were handled on your way here, but I'm afraid my moderators got a bit...overzealous...in summoning you all."
Anger was stewing in Phantom that had to be released. "OVERZEALOUS??? You almost fucking killed us!!! What happened to us, and what the hell is going on?"
"You know," said Supreme Commander SlashFirestorm, "There isn't exactly a microphone nearby."
The speaker responded, "Don't worry. I can hear you fine. I understand that you're all upset right now, but don't worry. You will not be harmed. After all, what reason would I have to hurt my own Elite Guard?"
Phantom was livid. "This absolutely makes no FUCKING SENSE!!! YOU REALLY EXPECT ME TO FUCKING-"
"STOP!!!" EagleRock's voice echoed through the hall. "Calm the fuck down. This is not helping." He directed his attention to the speaker in the corner of the room. "If you really needed to summon us, why the hell didn't you just ASK us? You really expect me to believe this bullshit?"
"Listen," said Wade. "I know. I didn't really want to take a chance, because I know your Barrack has shouldered most of the Portal activity and has been running ragged. That's why you're here. You're going to be part of a celebration of the Newgrounds' renovation."
"This makes no sense," said Supreme Commander Sentio. "How the hell do we even know it's you? And if we're not going to be harmed, why not come down here yourself and have a chat?"
"The reason you are down there is simple: you are going to be part of a competition for all of Newgrounds to see. We have left you in this area for you during the competition, so that you are not disturbed. You'll actually find the amenities down here quite well. The mess produces nice food, and your living quarters are furnished nicely."
"Oh yeah? You call that board of a cot 'furnished nicely?'" said Sentio.
"Oh no. That was your recovery station. After the procedure."
EagleRock paused for a second before he spoke. "Did that have to do with the sickness we all experienced?"
"Yes, of course. You see, you're going to be in a competition based on the popular game Counter-Strike. We are attempting to get as many new people to join Newgrounds as possible, and what a better way then to have a little competition? The treatment you received was actually a form of adrenaline that will stay in your body and protect you from all pain and harm. This way, you can be an inch from death, and you will still feel great, and will still be able to fight. We can't, after all, have our best soldiers dying all over the place, now can we?"
"Huh." EagleRock's face showed disgust and hatred at the same time. "What happens if we pass that last inch of death, huh?"
"Yes, you will die. Hopefully, however, that won't happen. I trust you all, though, as you are all handpicked for your skills and abilities. You will be fighting as Counter-Terrorists in replica maps that we have constructed in the area. You'll get to them using teleportation pods found down the corridor."
EagleRock pauses. "Okay then...who are we fighting?"
"My moderators will fight you, taking the terrorist side. Look, again, I know why you are angry and upset about this and I'm sorry that it had to start this way."
"Then," said EagleRock, "why should we trust you now?"
"Well let me ask you this. Do you see all the computers and monitors all around the area? Those are surveillance stations for all the different maps you'll be fighting in. They show maps of all the arenas for this competition, as there are cameras all over the place. If I really wanted to just kill you, why would I spend the millions of dollars it took to build these?"
There was a slight pause, but no one responded.
"Listen. I think what's best right now is for you to get some food and relax. Think it over, as you have a day or two before we start the matches. That way you can feel better about the whole thing. I'm signing off for now." The monitor then crackled off and the transmission was over.
-----
The room stayed silent, as everyone appeared to be thinking about the situation. "So," started Slash, "what now?"
Phantom replied, "I don't believe this bullshit one bit."
"Neither do I, guys." EagleRock looked like his head was buzzing a million miles a minute. "But we need to think about something. Why would Wade betray us? He's never done it before. After all, we've done nothing but help out the Portal and his Forum."
Sentio replied, "Yeah, but how the hell do you know that's even him?"
"Dude, that had to have been him," replied EagleRock. "There's no way I could have mistaken that voice. Either way, I think we need to look around this place more and consider the mess hall."
Phantom got a bit pissed at that point. "So you're just going to trust these assholes? Since when have you trusted the mods? I think you just trust way to easily."
EagleRock was going to respond, but Phantom's last sentence stopped him in his tracks. He then closed his eyes for a second, then responded, "We are weaponless right now. They can hear us talking. They will kill us if we try to fight right now. What makes you think we should move now?"
Phantom stalled. Supreme Command Major-punk then commented, "I think he's right. I know I'm not around as much anymore, but I always knew Eagle to make a move at the right time. Why do it now when we're weaponless? Don't they need to give us GUNS for their stupid show?"
"Also," added EagleRock, "We don't know if this whole adrenaline thing is on the line. Yeah, the pain from when they ambushed us is gone, but how do we know that they didn't stick something else in us? For all we know, they can press a magic button and blow us all up!"
Sentio then added, "Okay, okay, point taken. But before we just go and eat their food, I think we need to take roll call and figure out who is down here."
"Great idea, Sentio." EagleRock then found a pad and started to scribe everyone's name as they called in. All the bigwigs were there from the Barracks, including the former officers were present. There were also new recruits and a few that were demoted back to the Police Department. Even Dream-of-Duke was there, which got a few groans from the other Barracks members. After closing his eyes, EagleRock then had to say, "OKAY, let's keep moving." Soon after, his sheet was full with members.
Phantom inquired, "How many we got?"
EagleRock said, "Twenty-Five. All of them from our Barrack. We have enough skill here to stage a small war. But I personally am starving after all of this. I say we check out the place a bit better and see what kind of food they have."
They all proceeded down the hallway across from the computer stations. On their left they saw the bunks that Wade was talking about, all of them well furnished. On the right, they saw the teleportation pods. Further down, past the pods, were big storage lockers. As they came near the end of the hallway, they saw showers and locker rooms. As the hallway bent to the left, they came down to the mess hall on their right, with the hallway lined with the recovery pods they all woke up in.
