Agony. The burning sensation that charred my flesh and greedily devoured any noise that escaped my blistered lips. The repetitive torture to take the faintest breath rocked the furthest corners of my mind, shattering any coherent thought I tried to hold onto.

"Hey, get up!" I felt a dull thud connect with my ribs, the pain slowly travelling up my spine and made my stomach convulse uncomfortably. I couldn't break away; I was trapped in the empty blackness of my own head. But before I could search further, my mind snapped back to focus on the impenetrable darkness that pulsating with a dull, thudding pain. But there was silence. Was no-one there?

"I said fucking 'get up' you piece of shit!" Another hard kick landed heavily in my midriff, creating a similar effect to that of a small cannonball being fired straight into my gut. I bolted upright, my eyes stretched to an abnormal, misty blue and mouth agape in a silent scream.

"He ain't even dead-"

"I know that, you fuckin' cloth-eared dipshit!" Through the blurriness of my eyesight I saw a large, dark blob turn incredibly fast, dealing a swift blow to whoever had challenged him. Then, ever so faintly, distinct edges faded across my vision; the outlines of shapes, and people.

People.

The large blue, dark one with a loud voice and to my left, someone clad in an orange shirt was crouched over something with a silvery sheen around the middle... Mini! I recognised the silver as the bandana he wore around his waist – 'For protection' apparently. There was a greyish smudge in the back, behind the loud-mouth, but I couldn't make out any individual people. At least one, maybe two.

"Hell, why not a third?!" I muttered bitterly, knowing I was in no state to fight and much less concentrate on defending myself and consequently escape, all the while picking Mini up on the way. I'd have no fucking chance.

"What you sayin'? Huh?" A mocking comment was thrown my way. I remained silent. "C'mon New Blood! You ain't got no backbone?"

"Shut up Wildcat. Messages have been sent." The voice seemed to come from the one with the orange shirt, who was now standing directly above Mini; most likely directed at the loud-mouth, who I know knew as 'Wildcat'.

"Fuck off Lui." There was a pause and Wildcat shuffled away, his back to Mini and me. "They'd better be quick."

"What's up Wildcat? Can't handle this without your leader?" A new voice, more lofty-toned and dripping with venom; was it Mini? I wondered how long he had been awake.

"Shut the fuck up."

"Poor Wildcat... you so desperately wanted to become leader after Drummond- but you never got it, did you?" Suddenly Wildcat had spun around and landed a brutal kick to Mini's head, which connected with a sickening crack and a dull thud as he fell to the ground; harsh breathing emanating from his still body.

"Fuckin' piece of shit." Wildcat snarled and returned to his spot, three or four paces away from my feet. I heard a sigh come from Lui, and he turned his back to the paralysed Mini. A few minutes passed in near silence, apart from faint gunshots that shattered the fragile atmosphere of tension that was stretched over the landscape like a single sheet of skin. I dared not open my eyes, let alone speak up or move.

"They're taking a long time..." Lui muttered, planting his gun on the ground with a huff. Wildcat however, stayed tense and alert.

"We could just kill them and get someone to drag them back to base." Came the merciless reply.

"We could..." Lui dithered; the fear making my body burn with an icy cold wave that crept up my spine that felt like ice picks were being hammered into my skin. "But we might need the New Blood."

"If we only need him then why is he still breathing?" Wildcat growled and spun around, aiming his gun at Mini – but was only met with an empty space where he'd been, seconds before. "What the fuck? Where'd he go?!"

"Who?" Lui noticed that Mini was indeed, gone. He scrambled on top of a large stack of crates, readying his sniper for any flash of silver that caught his eyes. Wildcat just struck his boot into the dry earth with a grunt, and then I felt his eyes land on me.

"New Blood!" Before I could make any move to reply he strode towards me, the dull metal muzzle pressed into my forehead. I opened my eyes and glared at Wildcat, suppressing the overwhelming panic that rose in my throat. He grinned and flexed his fist.

"Oh, he is awake!" Lui chirped, casting a curious glance over his shoulder at my slumped form.

"Good. Otherwise I'd have to put a bullet in your empty skull." I didn't react to the subtle insult, just narrowed my eyes and tried to muster the most intimidating stare I could. "A quiet one are we? We have ways to make little shits spill their guts."

"Calm down Wildcat." Lui advised, but Wildcat merely scowled; his stony grey-blue eyes never leaving my face.

"So, what's your name?" I said nothing. Wildcat looked a little put off as he continued to interrogate me. "Hey, what's up with you? Are you delirious or somethin'?"

Inside my mind I smirked. 'Am I Delirious?' "Yeah, that's me."

"What?" My blatant reply seemed to unnerve Wildcat, and he released some of the pressure on my forehead.

"I'm Delirious."

"Tch." Wildcat righted himself and regained the dominant posture he had before – once again pushing the muzzle into my forehead. "You got a weird name, mute."

"I'm not mute." I replied, keeping my tone even and steady. If I showed any sign of weakness, I was screwed.

"Whatever." He turned away, ignoring my inclination to talk. We went back to silence; and they seemed to accept Mini's disappearance with cold indifference. I was about to start wriggling out of my binds when something cold and sharp was pressed into one of my palms.

"Use it well." I heard a distant whisper in my ear and I tried not to call out in surprise. I coughed to show I understood, and I thought I heard a faint laugh but I couldn't be sure. Once I confirmed Lui and Wildcat weren't focused on me, I immediately set to work. The dull metal was sharp on one edge, so I twisted it around in my palms to try and place the sharp edge on the rope that bound my wrists. It dug into the rope with a steely bite, slowly workings its way through the woven twine. Even so, the process was unbearably slow and tedious. Eventually one of the binds was cut, and I managed to wriggle out of my confinement with little concern; because now I had to get away from Wildcat and Lui – not to mention find Mini too. Then survive the war I was currently wrapped up in. I repressed a sigh. Life was so much simpler in the facility... No! I shouldn't think of that now.

"Why don't we just bring him to base? This place is hard to defend with just the two of us." Wildcat grumbled, repositioning his gun on the barrier and digging his heel into the dusty earth.

"We could, but-" There was a sudden whistle in the air and an arrow plunged into the hay-bale opposite me, in between Lui and Wildcat. I watched it quiver wildly, a small container dropping onto the ground; cracking open and releasing a foul, grey-green gas that seeped over the dry earth like water on refined glass. My eyes widened in surprise when Lui and Wildcat took cover, pulling their red bandanas over their mouths in order to ward off the smoke. It was subtly creeping towards me, its wispy tendrils reaching for my feet and climbing up my calves with an icy chill. Its putrid reek making my eyes water and I tilted my head back in a vain attempt to breath in the last remaining clean air; only to watch the swampy-green smoke crawl over my face and across my eyes, blinding me, choking me, deafening me with a misty silence.

"Wildcat, get back!" I saw a dark shape loom in my clouded vision, an arm extending to grab onto my upper arm. I struggled fiercely, believing it to be Wildcat – but when I saw a glimpse of a silver bandana I relaxed and followed the strangers lead. We wove through what felt like miles of narrow walkways, overshadowed tunnels and eventually, came to a stop at an unremarkable red brick wall, crowned by a small straggle of creepers worming in between the cement. The sound of gunfire was dull through the thick mist, and I couldn't focus on any definitive shapes; but I knew instantly what this was – a base. Whoever was leading me had dragged me back here, likely despite not knowing who I was or why I was here... I could only hope they wouldn't kill me. Or worse.

"Go!" I was quickly ushered into a small gap that created an opening; revealing a small slope and a bottomless pit, from within emerged a ladder. I shuffled backwards into the tunnel, bumping my head on the low ceiling before finding my footing on the top rung of the ladder. It quivered unnervingly under my weight, and I looked up in an effort to steady my nerves. I caught sight of the person who had lead me here, the bright light from the mouth of the tunnel giving them a mysterious, silhouetted demeanour. Although I could deduce by their voice that my 'savour' was another guy, he was wearing a silver bandana, which was slightly comforting, but wore it traditionally, covering most of his face. However, I could see short brown hair and what appeared to be hazel eyes; his clothing baggy and torn, with metal plated boot, shin and wrist guards. There wasn't much to say about him, and I didn't know if I could trust them. When it came down to it, I didn't know if I could even trust Mini. I considered my options, a withheld breath turning into a silent sigh before I began the long climb into the chasms pitch-black, morosely beckoning embrace.