1 . Name: Anonymous @ 2011-10-24 20:39

Okay, was gonna post this up at Halloween, but screw it. Got it done, so I'm gonna post it.

Enjoy!


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The Engineer grinned as he carried his cooler in one hand with a folding chair tucked under his other arm. He couldn’t wait to reach the area where he had found the small fire dug out.

He had found the fire pit about a week ago. It wasn’t too far from 2fort, but still well within the confines of the base’s perimeter, and also away from the BLUs. There was still fire wood set up by the small shack that sat between the pit and the enemy base. He gratefully set his cooler down and set up his chair before arranging the wood for a fire.

It took some time for him to get the fire to catch. It would be easier if Pyro were with him, but that would defeat the purpose of even coming here alone. Don’t get him wrong, he loved his team, they were all good men, or decent at least. But they still got on his nerves from time to time, and he just needed space.

He gave a sigh as he settled in his chair. Some of the fabric on it was a bit worn in places, but it still held up well. He grabbed a RED Shed beer from the cooler to his side. Not his favourite brand, but it would do.

As The Engineer leaned back, he gave a contented sigh, finally allowing his body to go slack. There was no fear of the enemy attacking. No one dared to break the nightly ceasefire truce. Not to mention it had been a hard day on both of the teams.

The fire crackled and popped across the twigs he had used to make a tepee before it fell in on itself. The heat from the fire was a bit uncomfortable right now, but the sun was still up. In an hour or so the warmth would be nice.

Engineer took another sip of his beer. It was nice, just sitting out there. Calmed his nerves like nothing else. Reminded him of back home, and how he would do something similar when he had to get away from people, mostly his family. Large family it was, and over bearing too. He idly wondered if the little cave that used to be an old mineshaft was ever found.

The air smelled much fresher out there. though that was probably because the spy wasn’t there blowing smoke in his face every chance he got.

“May I join you for a beer?”

Engie’s eyes snapped open as he sat up, choking on his drink.

“Woah, easy there. Don’t want you to choke and die on me now,” a friendly voice said, patting him soundly on the back.

The engineer coughed roughly as his throat cleared. When he got control of himself he looked at the stranger.

The guy had a happy air about him, though his face looked weathered. He was dirty looking, like he had just got off work, dust in his hair and on his hands. The guy must not spend much money on clothes. The ones he was wearing, while not torn, were definitely worn, the knees of his pants were threadbare, shedding a little light on pale skin. The sandals he was wearing looked like they were going to fall apart any moment. But damn if he didn’t look familiar.

“Do ah know you from somewhere?” The Engineer finally asked when he composed himself.

“Yeah, m’name’s John. Don’t you remember me?” he asked, still smiling, moving back when he was sure the Engineer was done choking.

“Ya do seem familiar...” the engineer said, rubbing his jaw. The sun was going down fast now.

“Can I join you for a beer? Catch up?” he asked, shivering slightly, with a crooked smile.

“Ah, shoot. ‘Course you can,” he said, reaching inside his cooler for another beer. “Hope you like RED shed, got nothin’ else for you I’m afraid. Ah, I don’t seem to have anything for you t’sit on..” He said, looking around briefly.

“No worries, I found something.”

The engineer turned back to his guest who had seated himself on a medium sized log. There was a carving of a heart on one side, peeking out between his skinny ankles. Hadn’t he put that log in the fire...?

“It’s a nice night out,“ the stranger, John said, leaning on his knees, taking a sip of his beer.

“Yeah, was hotter ‘then hell today. It’ll be chilly tonight though,” he said, looking at his companion. He could feel the temperature lower with the sun, but John wasn’t shivering.

“Yeah, that it was. Walked a long way to get here. Heh heh, probably don’t smell so good.”

Engineer smiled at the man. He couldn't smell him from where he was at. His brows came together. How did John even get here? It’s the middle of nowhere. “You from ‘round here?”

“Nah, I’m just passing through. May stay around here for a few more days, I think. Still got work to do.”

The Engineer nodded and took another swing of his beer.

----

The stranger snorted as he tipped his bottle, downing the remaining liquor. “How did you even get away with that?”

“Hid in one of the horses’ stalls. Was lucky the thing was asleep. Probably woulda kicked me otherwise. Haha.” The engineer grinned.

The stranger pulled a gold pocket watch from his worn pants. It looked to be in pristine condition, shining brightly in the low light. John opened the top, clicking his tongue; he shut it, putting it back in his pocket. “Looks like I’ve gotta vamoose, friend. Getting about that time,” John said, putting his bottle by his feet. “Was a charm catchin’ up with ya,” he said smiling as he offered his hand.

“Back at ya,” Engie said, shaking his hand. The grip was strong, but the skin was smooth, like he never worked a day in his life, despite his nails being dirty.

“I’ll be seeing you later,” he said, gripping the engineer’s hand tightly for a moment before letting go. The engineer shivered a bit, hand freezing for a few seconds before falling to his lap.

He watched John go, walking away from the fire and into the night, towards the open desert. Engineer furrowed his brow. There’s no town in that direction...

Alarm sounds blared, making the engineer drop his bottle, the cheap beer spilling and seeping into the ground. He swore as he looked back towards the bases, both were brightly illuminated against the dusk as he staggered to his feet. He gave a quick look back to his things, but decided to leave it. He could just clean it up later.

He huffed as he sprinted across the Field, tilting his hat up to get a better look. Everyone was up and about, shooting and hollering. There were no side exits into the main base when a battle was on; everything automatically locked up tight. He would have to go in the front. His team’s Heavy was currently out on the bridge, the Medic crouched down behind him, hair messed and clothes slightly askew. They had most of the enemy team taking refuge behind the wide doors. Better time than ever to make a break for it.

He broke into a run towards the large bay doors by the front, hopping over the wooden fence as quick as he could. He grinned as he made it to the doorway. It was too late though, when he saw the blue dot on the wall, he only had time to let out a half curse before a bullet pierced his skull, his body crumpling just inside.

The Scout saw the Engineer’s body land and he jumped slightly, staring at the body of his friend for a few seconds. It never stopped being weird for him to see his allies die. But Engie would be back in a few minutes, building a sentry in the intelligence room. He took off, towards the enemy base.

The fight ended in a draw, neither team gaining the other’s intelligence. There was much grumbling as the RED team turned in. The Soldier yelled at his teammates, and cursed the BLUs for attacking them during the night as the team sat at the table.

Medic was nursing some kind of tea, along with the Heavy and Spy. The Sniper and Pyro had already disappeared. Scout was sitting by the door, chewing on a half eaten sandwich. It had been twenty minutes since the alarms stopped, where the hell was Engie?

“Yo, you guys seen Engie?” he asked through a mouthful of sandwich. This set off the Soldier again about his teammates. There seemed to be no other answer coming, so the Scout slipped out the doorway when the Soldier turned around. He made his way down to the intelligence room to go tell Engie that it was over. Sometimes the alarms couldn’t be heard that deep inside the base. He had once found the Engineer two hours after the battle had ended, still tending to his machines.

When he arrived, there was no beeping of sentries or Engie singing to himself. He checked inside just to be sure, but it was empty. The Scout furrowed his brow as he made his back up towards the sewers to check there, but when he got to the main hallway, movement by the front door and some growling caught his attention.

“Hey, who’s there?” He called out, pulling his pistol as he made his way to the front doors. When he jumped around the corner, he froze. Engie’s body was still there, lying face down, one hand looked like it had been chewed off. A tail disappeared through the door way and into the night.

The scream could be heard from the kitchen in the back.

They couldn’t figure out why the Respawn hadn’t picked him up. They had called HQ that very night; they had to anyways as a unscheduled fight had happened. HQ would be sending in a new Engineer on the next supply train, they said, to either replace the one that died or to figure out what happened.

They carried the body of the Engineer to the med bay, where the medic performed an autopsy, though it was obvious that the enemy sniper had killed him. The coyotes that had been chewing on the body had also made off with a portion of the Engineer’s calf. The Scout nearly threw up when he had grabbed the legs to help move, but felt only bone.

No one had talked that night, all mourning the death of their friend. Scout wandered the halls; sleep wouldn’t come. He was looking out the windows when he saw where the Engineer had his fires, the embers were still burning, casting light on the lawn chair and the cooler that he had left there.

Engie took care of his things well, he wouldn’t want them to just sit there. The Scout made his way back out the front doors, avoiding the one where Engie had died. He could still smell the blood.

The embers were just burned out when he approached.He folded and set the lawn chair beside the cooler before he went to pick up the knocked over beer bottle. He stopped when he saw the other sitting by itself on the ground. Scout was about to go take a swig from it, and was surprised to find it empty.

He had watched the Engineer as he went out to his fire, when he wanted to be alone. He’d seen him set up and sit down. Though he had seen him place another beer on the ground to his left, but he hadn’t seen him touch it since. The Scout frowned, but placed the other bottle in the cooler as well before he picked up both things and carried them back.

By the old shed, John stepped out of the shadows, dirty as ever, rubbing his thumb over the gold pocket watch, caressing the scythe engraved on the top.

One down...