Chapter Text
Miss Pauling looked at Hunter, her hands on his shoulders. She stood a little taller than him as her grip tightened. She opened her mouth to speak. “Are you sure about this?” She said, glancing behind her. A huge building with the word, ‘RED’ plastered on the front of it stood. Hunter nodded quietly, catching the glint of a scope from the tower situated in front of the building. Outside the building there was nothing but the tower, but below the tower sat a caravan, attached to no truck. Hunter just assumed someone was living in it instead of the building. She turned and started to walk. Hunter followed behind, remembering why exactly Hunter was here in the first place.
Living by yourself in the forestry tundras of Canada is fun until the government decides to completely flatten the area out, forcing you to move. Hunter was never one for human interaction, and when Miss Pauling approached him, eyeing his rifle, asking if he wanted to join a band of Mercenaries, he really didn't know why he obliged. That’s not something you just go up to someone and ask. Hunter huffed a small bit, tightening his pony tail as he rubbed the sweat off of the back of his neck. It was hot. Sweltering. It was honestly miserable. Hunter missed the cold dearly.
“‘S it always this hot?” Hunter asked, squinting at the sun above him. Miss Pauling paused, laughing. “Sure is,” She said, reaching to press the button on the door. A buzz sounded and a voice came through.
“Oui?” it said. Miss Pauling leaned forward and spoke into the microphone. “Spy? Pauling here. I’ve brought something, a gift, per se, for all of you.” Hunter heard the slight smacking of lips as the sound cut out, and the door clicked. Miss Pauling pushed it forward and Hunter trotted in, adjusting the Hunter's rifle on his back. It only got slightly cooler as Hunter stepped into the building, but the sweat dripping down his back didn’t falter.
“This is where you’ll be living. All you’re here for is to fight and make these boy’s lives slightly less miserable.” She said, turning to look at him. The clacking of footsteps started behind her as a masked man in a red suit appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. He had a cigarette in between his lips, and he gave off a rude vibe. He cleared his throat.
“Pauling, who is this?” he asked, gesturing to me. Miss Pauling clapped her hands together with excitement. “Right!” She said, “This is ‘The Hunter.’ The newest addition to the team.” She grabbed his wrist and forced him to wave as Hunter stood there, quite unamused. Spy cocked an eyebrow as he looked him up and down.
“She’s quite small, no?” He said, walking forward a small bit. The look on his face must have changed because he hesitated, and Hunter took the chance to speak. “Well, first off,” Hunter laughed a little, “It runs in the family. And second off, it’s kind of rude to get a person’s gender wrong when you first meet ‘em, eh?” Hunter rubbed his face a little, wiping the sweat off the top of his lip. Spy’s mouth made a little ‘o’ shape as he laughed, too.
“Mes excuses, [my apologies,]” He muttered, straightening out his tie. his eyes widened a bit. Hunter should have picked up on his French accent. “Non, cela arrive plus que vous ne le pensez. [No, it happens more than you think.]” Hunter replied in French. Spy gasped a small bit and walked towards me, looking at him with solid, blue eyes. “Vous parlez français? [You speak French?]” He asked, quite flabbergasted. Hunter nodded and he threw his head back as he laughed.
“You and I will get along great.” He said, grabbing his hand to shake it. Hunter gave him a firm shake and he turned and gestured to him to follow him. “Miss Pauling,” He said, “Allow him to take it from here. I already knew he was coming, I just didn’t know when. Thanks for coming out all this way,” He finished waving her off. She gave Hunter an apologetic look as her back faced him, walking out of the building.
“First off,” He started, walking down the hall. Hunter looked around as he spoke, not really paying attention. Spy’s scent wafted behind him, his nose scrunching up at the smell of cologne and cigarette smoke. It wasn’t pleasant. The floor near the door was caked with red dust from the dirt outside, the windows seemed reinforced. On the way, we passed a few closed doors, none of them labeled. Hunter's knife loosened around his waist as it fell out of its sheath and clattered on the ground. Spy stopped mid sentence as he turned to look at him with a disdainful eye.
“Sorry.” Hunter muttered, picking it up and situating it around his waist again. Spy cleared his throat. “Anyway, those rooms are for storage. We, well, I never really use them. Over here, is the common room. Usually there are people here, we wait here an hour before 'war' and then go into the locker rooms five minutes before.” He pointed down the hall to the left, where it split into two. Again, no labels. “Down this way,” He said, walking to the right, “Is my smoking room, and then further down the hall is Engineer’s workshop.”
Hunter looked at the common room for a bit, a few couches, tables and chairs were scattered around. Hunter hummed as he followed on. They stopped outside Engineer’s workshop, knocking on the door before opening it quietly. “Engineer,” Spy called out. Hunter stepped into the room from behind Spy, and Hunter looked around the workshop. Blueprints, bottles, and little machines were scattered around the floor, but definitely more concentrated at the table, where a burly yet short man sat, his hands gripping tools as he tinkered with some contraption. He looked up and smiled at Spy before his head shifted to Hunter. He couldn’t see his eyes behind his goggles but the look he gave him was nice.
“This is our newest addition, the Hunter.” Spy said, gesturing to me. “He’s going to work with us from now on, I’m just introducing him to everyone.” Engineer grunted as he stood, walking over to them. He was only a couple inches taller than Hunter, which he looked very proud of. He held out his ungloved hand and Hunter shook it.
“Ah, a firm shake is the sign of a good man,” He said, his voice smooth and solid. The southern accent comforted him, although Hunter didn’t know why. “Name’s Engineer. Call me Engie.” He said, tipping his hard hat a bit. Hunter nodded, giving him a small smile. Engineer frowned a small bit, laughing. “Not much of a talker, huh? That’s alright. Holler if you need anythin’.” Hunter smiled at him and turned, walking out and waiting for Spy. Spy took a small moment before he exited the room, and Hunter swore he saw a small blush on his cheeks. He cleared his throat as he lit another cigarette, continuing to turn and walk down another hall. So many goddamn halls.
They arrived at what looked like a living room, where three people either on or near the couch, each doing different things. One was leaning over, elbows on his knees as he watched the television, one was sitting on the floor scribbling on a piece of paper, and the last one had a large bottle in his hand, and he periodically took sips from it. He seemed extremely drunk. Only one of them looked up as Spy and Hunter entered the room. The youngest who was sitting on the couch.
“Hey Spy, how’s it-” He paused as he looked at Hunter. “Oh ho ho, who’s the lady? Lookin’ real good there, reaaaal good.” He said, looking down at him. Spy snickered and shook his head as Hunter gently put his hand on his chest and pushed him away. “I might be short but I am a man.” Hunter said, sighing. He looked really upset for a moment and deflated a bit, stepping back. Spy put his hand on his shoulder and gripped it.
“Scout, Pyro, Demoman,” The one drawing on the floor, Pyro, looked up with a muffled “hello.” The one drinking out of the glass, Demoman, paused to look at Hunter. “This is Hunter. He’ll be working alongside us as another mercenary.” Hunter smiled and waved to each of them, nodding. Scout looked at his ponytail.
“Why do you have this thing? It’s not gonna do you any good runnin’ around with it.” He said. Hunter opened his mouth to speak when Demoman interrupted, his words slurred. “Let the lad grow his hair how he wants tae, ye hear?” He put up his glass, waving it in the air. “Glad tae have ye on the team, lad.” Demoman finished. He honestly seemed...Nice enough. They all took the news pretty well. Even the masked Pyro on the floor didn’t seem to be upset. Hunter walked over to see what he was drawing and his gaze fell when Hunter saw people on fire, bloody and burnt with a rainbow over all of them. With his mouth agape, Hunter stepped back slightly and looked at Spy.
“Est-ce que c’est normal? [Is that normal?]” Hunter said, motioning to Pyro. Spy chuckled and nodded, taking a long drag of his cigarette before moving on. The sun was beginning to set but the air inside the base was still dry and hot. Hunter prayed that at least it’d cool down at sunfall. They passed an open doored room, filled with equipment. Weights, bars, all kinds of machines just for working out. A seriously hefty man laid down on one of the bench presses and he pressed at least 5 weights on each side. The man who was spotting him had his helmet all the way down, covering his eyes. But nonetheless he encouraged the man below him.
“C’MON, PRINCESS, LIFT!” He yelled, quite loudly. The man below must have sensed Spy and Hunter standing in the doorway because he paused, holding the weights up to crane his neck to look at us. He placed the bar on the metal holders with a grunt as he sat up, wiping sweat off his brow. His voice bellowed deep and sturdy, but it didn’t sound mean.
“Spy, who’s this?” He asked politely, standing. He looked down at Hunter and furrowed his brow. Spy nodded. “Right. Hunter, this is Heavy. Heavy, meet Hunter. This is our newest addition to the team.” Hunter waved up at Heavy, who was easily a foot taller than him. Spy cleared his throat and continued. “And behind him is Soldier.” Spy turned to walk off but Soldier ran up to Hunter and grabbed his hand, shaking it extremely hard.
“VERY NICE TO MEET A NEW MEMBER!” He yelled, smiling wildly. “Let’s see what you’ve got, private!” He motioned to the weights and Hunter shook his head. “The administrator ran plenty of tests on me already, I’m here for a reason and I hope you can trust me to do well. I’ll prove myself on the battlefield.” When Hunter was finished with his little speech, Spy looked at him, mouth agape for a while. Soldier nodded aggressively and as they turned to walk away, they could hear Soldier ranting about how reliable Hunter seemed.
The further they walked down the hall, the more it smelled like a Doctor’s office. The smell of clean formaldehyde wafted through the air and Hunter visibly shuddered. Spy looked over and asked, “What?” Hunter hesitated and shook his head. “Nothing, just thinking about how I’m scared of the doctor’s.” He rubbed his hands together and looked at his camo pants. His red shirt was tucked into them, and big, sturdy boots clanked against the floor as he walked. He readjusted the strap of his rifle, starting to get tired of carrying it around. Spy chuckled.
“Then you’re going to love Medic,” He pushed open the door to Medic’s lab and Hunter had to try not to gag when he saw what was inside. A rather large man was bent over a bucket, rummaging through it. Hunter couldn’t see what was inside of the bucket, but the smell of blood and the squish of organs made it obviously clear what he was searching through. Spy knocked on the door frame and he looked up, delicately pushing up his glasses with his bloody gloves.
“Guten tag!” He called, rather friendly. “Who’s zis?” He asked, gesturing to Hunter but looking at Spy. Before Spy could speak, Hunter said, “Name’s Hunter. I’m the new merc around here. Pleasure to meet you.” He spoke rather quietly but Medic’s eyes opened a little more after each sentence. Medic clapped his hands together, a little blood splattering off of them.
“Ah! Ah ah ah! Amazing! I am ze Medic, you can let me know if you’re hurt and I’ll fix you right up!” He laughed and went back to the bucket. “I am just sorting meine organ bucket, you’re velcome to help!” Hunter shook his head and put his hands up, smiling. “I’m more tired than anything, but if you want to grab a mickey with me sometime, I’ll be around, eh?” The smile from Medic’s face didn’t falter but internally he didn’t know what the hell Hunter was saying. When Medic didn’t respond, Hunter looked at Spy oddly and waved to him as he turned.
“I forgot not everybody is from Canada,” He said, frowning. Spy laughed, patting him on the shoulder. “You get used to the cultural differences. Only three of us are from the same country.” He said, wiping off his coat. He huffed loudly, exhaling smoke. “Well, I think that’s everybody. Shall I show you to your room?” Hunter almost obliged but he remembered the glint of the scope he saw in the tower, as well as the caravan.
“Wait, what about the guy in the tower?” Hunter asked. Spy looked confused for a moment but he clicked his tongue in remembrance. “Right! Sniper. I forgot about him. He’s usually not here...how’d you know about him?” Hunter smiled. “The sunlight reflected off the scope of his gun when Miss Pauling and I walked in. I saw it clear as day,” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. Spy laughed, rubbing his nose. “He’s getting sloppy.”
Together, Spy and Hunter walked outside. The sun was low on the horizon and the sky was orange and pink. The clouds merged with the skyline like perfect cotton candy. Hunter took a huff of fresh air. It was still sweltering but it had cooled down a bit. Spy gestured to the tower. “I’m tired of introducing you, go do it yourself. Sniper’s a little...difficile.” He walked away and Hunter set down his rifle, propping it up on the leg of the tower. He began to climb the rickety ladder, which creaked under his weight.
By the time he arrived at the top, he was sweating quite hard. He guessed it was easier to climb trees in -10 weather than it was to climb a ladder in 80. He put his hands on the wooden floor as he sighed for a moment, looking around. There was a small cot against the far wall, a desk with no chair, covered in jars. Some were empty, some were full. He didn’t know with what. There were cigarette butts here and there, dirty plates and silverware, and a thin pillow and blanket strewn on the cot. The sun barely peeked through the open windows, so it was darker inside than it was outside. But it was twice as warm inside of the tower. Near the window farthest from the cot, sat a man. He was quite lanky and thin, and he had a small stick in his mouth. He was slightly chewing on it as he looked through the scope of his sniper rifle, getting a solid view of the whole base from where he sat.
His red sleeves were rolled to his elbows, and Hunter noticed a yellow emblem of a crosshair on his shoulder. He glanced to his own shoulder and saw the same yellow emblem, except with a crude red pair of antlers. He wore a brown vest with bullets in the chest pocket. He looked quite comfortable, with one leg sprawled out and the other tucked tight to his chest. Hunter studied him a little closer, trying to get around to see his face. The man laughed.
“I know I’m a piece a’ art but you kind of have to say somethin’.” His voice was so deep it made Hunter involuntarily blush. He looked away from his scope and picked up his glasses, setting them on his head. His face was long and thin, and he had a decent amount of stubble painting it. He had smile lines but even more intense frown lines. The bags under his eyes signified he was extremely tired, but he looked at Hunter diligently. “‘Ello?” He said, putting his gun down. Hunter jumped, looking at Sniper.
“Right, yeah. I’m Hunter, well that’s what you can call me uh,” He was flustered and he wasn’t quite sure why. He looked everywhere but at Sniper. “I’ll be working with you from now on as a fellow mercenary. Hope we can work well together,” He finished. He started to go down the ladder when Sniper clattered around a bit. “Woah, wait, you can’t just say ‘ello and leave, come up ‘ere.” He said, scooting back. Hunter hesitated, but he hauled himself into the tower. He stood fully and looked down at Sniper, who was sitting. Sniper snickered under his breath. “You are a small one. Almost thought you were a sheila.” His accent seeped through Hunter’s skin. It was a little more captivating than the others’. Hunter laughed, fwipping hair out of his eye.
“Eh, I’ve gotten that a few times today,” He said, sitting down in front of Sniper’s cot. He looked around a little. “You live here eh?” Sniper shook his head. “No, but I live down in that caravan. It’s more welcoming than it looks.” He laughed, looking out the window again. He set up his rifle and looked through the scope. “So Hunter,” He started, getting comfortable again, “Where you from?” He asked. Sniper gripped his gun, his leather gloves creaking with the grip.
“Canada. Right above Maine or so.” He said, pondering a little. He fiddled with his knife, twisting it through his fingers and rubbing the hilt of it. “You?” Sniper looked over and Hunter and frowned. “Australia. Thought it was obvious.” Hunter waved his hand, dismissing it. “No, it’s just a polite thing to ask eh.” After a bit, silence settled over the two of them. It was really uncomfortable, at least for Hunter. Crickets started to chirp as it got darker. As Sniper shifted, the wood floor creaked under him.
“Aren’t you gonna go grab food? Engie’s one hell of a bloody cook,” He said, not looking up. Hunter huffed and shrugged. He pondered for a second and stood. “Yeah. Just, the silence is nice. Dunno if I’ll be able to get that from anybody else.” He undid his ponytail and started to braid it. Sniper looked up and watched Hunter’s hands move quickly through his blonde hair. His fingers made quick work, tying three strands into a perfect braid that cascaded down his back. “That’s better. I might be back,” He said, climbing down the ladder.
“Cya, mate.” Sniper called, shifting again. Hunter grunted in response as he slid down the ladder, clacking with his rifle as he landed on the ground. He picked it up and slung it around his shoulder again, heading inside the building. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked. He followed the scent of Chili down the hall past the common room to a recreational room, in which Spy didn’t show him. All heads turned towards him and they all paused in silence before continuing. Engineer was serving food to everyone, and Hunter calmly grabbed two bowls of chili and two pieces of cornbread. Scout stopped him on his way out, grabbing his shoulder.
“Woah there, buddy pal. Where’re you going with two servings of food, huh” He snatched at the bowls. Hunter twisted his body and kicked Scout’s ankle, causing him to trip a little. Spy snorted behind them, and Scout shot him a weird look. “What the hell?” Hunter sniffed.
“It’s for Sniper. Not me, let me go.” He huffed, walking away. Scout ran up and caught up to him as he continued walking. “You coulda just said, that’s not a big deal, bro.” He said, his dog tags clinging together as he walked, and when Hunter didn’t say another word, he stopped walking. He looked behind him at everybody and a few of them shrugged.
Spy walked forward, interrupting Hunter. “I was thinking,” He started, “That you and Sniper could take turns watching over the base. I see that rifle on your back, and I just guess that you hold pride in it. Allow me to trust my intuition, don’t let me down.” Hunter was quiet as he thought for a second as he walked away, his feet picking up off the ground and lightly stomping back down.
“Let him get used to it, he might be nervous,” Heavy remarked. Medic nodded with him. Hunter’s ears picked up everything they said, and he frowned slightly. He pushed the door open with his back. Walking over to Sniper’s tower again, he carefully balanced two bowls of chili in one of his hands and used the other to help him climb up the ladder. Once he arrived at the top, he cleared his throat and slid hot chili across the floor and it tapped Sniper’s foot. He looked down and looked up at Hunter.
“What's all this?” Sniper quipped. Hunter shrugged, jumping into the tower and settled next to the desk, pushing a bottle to the side. The liquid contents were suspiciously warm. “Food,” He replied shortly, scooping some chili in his mouth. It was warm and nice, a little sweet but spicy at the same time. Engie really was a good cook. Sniper picked up the bowl and stirred the contents of it with his spoon. “I never said I was hungry,” he said, sighing.
“Well I just wanted to be nice. One sharp shooter to another,” He smiled, and they fell into a silence again. Hunter watched Sniper pick up the spoon and shove some chili into his mouth, his expression softening when he ate. He looked at Hunter and his brow furrowed. “How long are you going t’ fuckin’ bother me for?” He sniffed, taking a swig of water. “You bloody bugger.” Hunter deflated a bit.
“Spy was wondering if I-'' Sniper slammed down his bowl of chili angrily. “I don’t give a flying hell what Spy wonders, I was bein’ nice at first but you’ve bothered me too much, leave m’alone.” He said, scowling at Hunter. Quietly, Hunter continued. “Spy said we should take shifts in the tower watching over the fort. My rifle hasn’t got a scope but you can trust that I’ve got a damn good eye.” Hunter nervously watched the anger rise to Sniper’s face, but he composed himself quickly. “Look, Oi take my job seriously. Oi don’t need some wannabe coming in my tower disturbing my schedule. Tell Spy he can kiss my Aussie ass.”
Hunter kind of looked down, defeated. He sighed and nodded, gathering his rifle and hauling it on his back. “Enjoy your food, eh.” He tossed his rifle from the tower and made his way down the ladder. Above, he could hear Sniper walking around and settling on his cot. Hunter huffed as his boots hit the dirt ground. The sun had set low below the sky at this point, and a low chill settled in the air. Hunter kicked his rifle before picking it up, fastening around it his shoulder. He headed back towards the building, a small frown on his face.