Henry had somehow fallen asleep inside the barracks and was very hungry after skipping his last meal. He got up and looked at the clock. Surprisingly it had only been 4 hours! However, looking at his notepad it revealed that he had to report to the drill sergeant for a military wargame between different units . Then, he realized that he had exactly 120 seconds before he was late. "Ahh crap!" Henry rushed out the door after putting on his power armor and sped through the hallways making full use of the enhanced speed granted to him. If he hurried up, he could still make it with 20 seconds to spare.

His rampage left many people shouting at him as 400lbs of Metal came hurtling down the hallways at 15 miles per hour. He arrived right on time to see hear the sergeant shouting out for them to move out. Henry moved along and entered the base underground where they would take up part of the large training room there. The game was simple, they would be equipped with armor that would lock up and shut down if they got hit enough times by the low energy laser rifles they would have. It took place in an artificial urban environment and each time of 15 people would fight till they were all down or the leader was taken down. It may not have seemed very special but the stakes were high, not only were many bets placed by the onlookers, the team that won was a direct reflection on their commander. Naturally, winning was highly sought after, it was also televised on the base Entertainment channels for soldiers to watch. Henry liked it because it could help him take his mind off of the experiments being performed on their own men.

They were given the cue to begin and he looked to see who they were against, oh dear, it was the Enclave science division, they didn't like to lose. Even worse was that fact that they would go and take away people they didn't like for experiments. Henry resolved to stay low and not to beat the scientists too badly least he incur their wrath. Blood Gulch could be an entire world unto itself sometimes, but the illusion never lasted long, the wasteland was out there and they were reminded of it every time someone came back in a body bag.

Sara watched as the colonel left the room. She had no intention of betraying him. At least, not yet. Right now Sara needed to bide her time. She needed to find out everything she could about this disease and how to cure it. Sara grinned ear to ear because of the promotion she had just received. It wasn't enough yet for her to realize her true goals. But good things come to those who wait, and are patient. And Sara's patience was infinite. There was a mirror hanging on the wall in the meeting room and Sara looked at herself in it. The colonel was right, she did need to freshen up. Sara walked out of the meeting room and back down the hall.

Sara exited the building and headed across the courtyard towards the Science Lab which housed her office and quarters. She had a spring her step and was almost skipping as she hurried towards the door. Sara suddenly stopped in her tracks and started to giggle. She couldn't believe that she had forgotten. Sara had left Bob all alone. How sad he must be that they weren't playing right now. She immediately changed direction and headed to the underground entrance.

Sara entered the underground area and skipped down the hallway, running her hand along the wall as she did. The smile was still on her face, along with the blood from earlier, and she could see the looks the guard were giving her. Rounding the corner, she came to Bob's room and entered.

"Did you miss me?" Claire looked at Bob who was still alive and looked quite horrid with his eyes bugging out of his head. Claire shut the door to the room and approached Bob. Bob started to scream again.

_____________________________________________________________________


Claire stood by her desk, refreshed and invigorated after her shower and change of clothes. She wore the officer uniform proudly and attached another blue band to each shoulder. Sara took a monet to attch bands also to the shoulders of her overcoat and put it on. She moved to a cupboard on the wall and unlocked it. Sara took a moment to reflect on her collection. All different colours. All looking at her. How beautiful they were. Sara reached into the cupboard and removed a jar with a preserving solution in it, and placed the right eye of Bob inside. She had had a lot of fun with bob, and she couldn't be sure when his screams were more melodic. When she cut out his eye, or when she gave him the I.V. of diluted sulphuric acid which eventually ended his life? She placed the jar back into cupboard amongst the dozens of others, locked it, and moved back over to the desk and sat down.

Sara turned on the computer and entered her password. She immediately clicked on new messages, of which there were two. The first was from General Winter. It was a congratulatory message about her rise in rank. Sara smiled and clicked the next message. The colonel had been true to his word. She now had what appeared to be everything about the disease. She made herself comfortable and started to read

Demetri looked up at the sun, he had been on watch duty for a number of hours now, the sun was higher up and heated the desert considerably since the cold air in the morning. Demetri turned to look behind him, hearing the crunch of sand under someone's foot. Demetri gazed upon an Enclave soldier, wearing the standard issue power armour. "Sir, I'm here to relieve you," the soldier told Demetri. Demetri nodded and moved off to the base.

Demetri went to the barracks, sidestepping as another soldier stepped out. Going in Demetri changed from his armour into his uniform and stored the armour and his weapons in the armoury. Demetri made his way to his bunk and pulled the footlocker out from under it. Demetri opened it and scavenged for his ration tokens. Upon finding them Demetri closed the footlocker and put it back under the bunk, slipping the tokens into his pocket.

On his way to the mess hall, Demetri often had to hug the wall of the narrow corridor as men rushed up and down it. Entering the mess hall, Demetri was greet by the pvssyr as comrades talked to each other, or gambled. A group were playing cards in a corner, but most were at the western side, making bets with each other about what was being shown on the viewing screens. Demetri never betted on those things, but it kept morale up, and allowed the men to forget why they were here.

Demetri went to a food dispenser, and placed a ration token into a slot which tugged on it until Demetri let go and it swallowed the token. What came out was a plastic bowel which was filled with a creamy coloured mush. Demetri a door on the side of the dispenser opened up and showed a bottle of water. Demetri took both items and sat down, using a spoon to eat the food, or what seemed like food, most considered it just edible. The food provided everything that the body needed and was the main food for the Enclave army, with the occasional proper meal for the men. The food it's self was foul, and after each mouthful, Demetri drank some water to wash away the taste. Demetri looked at the western wall when a huge cheer was heard from some of the men, Demetri could not see the screen from where he was, but it seemed something good had happened for this men.

There was an incessant tapping echoing around the office, it annoyed the hell out of me; but it cleared my head. Stopping the tapping on the desk I continued to type into the terminal, clacking away I went at it for a few hours, writing. It was something to do to pass the time here, there wasn't much else anyone could do these days... It was all waiting and guesswork, we had war games at least.

Checking the time over and over I eventually made my way to my microphone, clicking a button on it I cleared my throat. Starting my speech with something normal would be boring, but anything else would be against what they wanted... Hell to it.

"Good morning fellow Enclave soldiers, it's another beautiful day in America it seems. It's 1000 hours, which means it's time for the morning report is it not? Okay, it seems... Well, absolutely no Brotherood activity since the last scare a few weeks ago, which is good. It seems like the food rations are being dulled down to less appetising food for now, but we are sure to have something better soon enough.

Doctor Trevor Sorein is wondering if there are any test subjects for some new gene implants... Hmm... Also, if anyone's up for it, Captain Henry Yaren is wondering about getting a team together to do a small object retrieval mission. Anyone interested about any of these announcements, or if you have any further questions; consult myself in my personal office. Ask at the front desk for permission to see me, make sure you have it first.

That is all for now, remember, front desk is in the very first room of the Command Post... If you haven't already noticed that, you must be blind or very green. Anyway, it's now 1002 hours, have a nice day fellow soldiers of the Enclave, god bless America."

Bringing my finger off the button I took a quick breath and leant back in the chair, moving forward again I looked at the Terminal. With a quick swish of clicking I locked the file with a 11-character password and smiled. No one would be stupid enough to try and hack into my system, but if they were; they certainly wouldn't get anything out of it. Yawning lightly I stood up and walked over to one of my two bookshelves.

Shuffling through it I came across a nice copy of Nikola Tesla & You, grinning ear to ear I opened the book eagerly, sat back down and started reading.

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OOC: Basically, this is free rein for about a game week, so if you want to do anything come and talk to Colonel Pavlic hmm? Oppurtunities change every day, some may cause your death, some may cause promotions... Some may cause fame, some may cause infamy, it's all about what you choose and what you do amongst that group.

Henry knew that if he lost at least half the people on the team would be humiliated publicly by their peers. He followed the team as they moved into the environment. It was designed to be a tactical nightmare so as to keep officers on their toes and get them used to the types of battlefields they would face out in the wasteland. The squad came across an intersection with rubble strewn about. The squad leader motioned for the fireteam Alpha cover fireteam Bravo. as part of Bravo team Henry moved up cautiously down the street. Their boots made loud clanking noises as they moved to a building that they needed to secure as part of the battle plan. Suddenly without warning there was a shout from behind them.

"Incoming!" a electronic hum of a energy grenade went off, causing all of Alpha team's armor to shut down and they all fell limp to the ground. Henry spun around and started firing as the opposing team started to opened fire from every nook and cranny there was. Instantly half the team was disabled and Henry took cover behind a low wall. He sat there helplessly as anyone who poked their head out of cover got disabled. The amount of shots required to disable someone depended on where they were hit in order to simulate getting hit. However if you got hit in the leg, the leg joints would lock up and you wouldn't be able to move. After everyone was disabled except for Henry, he heard the opposing team came out to finish off anyone who was damaged execution style.

His team leader was still inside that building, no doubt trying to get away from the cameras for his defeat was certain. However Henry was still undamaged and he saw a golden opportunity to win. The Science division's leader was walking out in the open giving orders to his team with everyone facing away from Henry's position. "I'm not going to let some egg heads take my trophy!" Henry jumped up and fired three shots at him, all three hit the leader's head bringing him down. Henry jumped up and started to sprint to the downed body and retrieve the key that would automatically win the game. The enemy team spun around and fired in a desperate attempt to keep him from winning while the others hunted down his team leader. Henry got hit in the knees and he jumped for it. It was everything or nothing. In the last possible moment he pressed the button on the electronic key seconds before his arms and every part of his body was frozen up. There was a massive cheer from the infantry and an evil look upon the scientists. They got lucky that time. Not being able to move at all when frozen was uncomfortable enough but the victory was worth it.

" Sir, one of the snipers received a wound when a weapon discharged by accident, he is currently in the medical bay with a wounded leg". Gregory frowned, knowing they needed the snipers to spot any BOS. " Does Colonel Pavlic know of this" Gregory asked. " I don't think so sir, the colonel has been busy". " Thank you, report to your egular duties, I will go inform the colonel myself". The assistant walked off, leaving Gregory to see the colonel.

Gregory began walking towards colonel Pavlic's office, preparing the bad news. Gregory walked down the metal hallway, his shoes making a slight tapping sound as he walked forward. It began to annoy him as he approached the Colonel's office. He couldn't believe he was thinking about this, but he was. He hit the button on the door controller, opening the steel door.

" Colonel Pavlic sir, one of our snipers has received an injury on his leg, an accidental weapon's discharge". The colonel had a happy expression on his face, as if the news had given him happiness. " What is it sir, do you have something to talk about"?

Looking up as Gregory entered the room I let a smile creep over my face, even at the bad news. I decided to start off on the news, "Well, Gregory, it doesn't sound like that's good in any way... Sorry about the smile, you just saved me a trouble that I didn't necesarrily want to go to... Hmm..." Trailing off I tapped my fingers on the desk, then I smashed my whole fist upon it.

"Gregory, in all seriousness, their's something I need to tell you. About 3 Months ago, there was a scientist that snuck into the Barracks and injected you with an experimental disease. Due to the time that you've had the disease, well, you have the best chance of getting rid of this disease. I've already talked to a Scientist about fixing this, the people on the intercom earlier this morning are all people with the disease as well.

Unluckily, they've had the disease for months more than you, I've had it the second-longest in the entire base... Speaking of that, excuse me for one moment." Moving forward in my chair a bit I pulled out one of the drawers, lifting out a syringe I injected myself with the substance within. It zoomed through my veins, quickly throwing the syringe back into the drawer I closed it.

"Their's something else I'd like to show you Gregory... One moment..." I trailed off and booted up my Terminal. Right at the wrong moment I heard footsteps out in the hall outside...

Gregory was taken aback. How could he have not known of this, how did he not know he had been injected with a disease. He sat down, not knowing what to say. Gregory thought of about a million things that moment, why had he been injected, why was he injected later than the other, why wasn't he informed of this before. He put his head in his hands, unsure of what to do. As he thought, the colonel grabbed something from a drawer. Gregory saw that it was a syringe filled with something. Pavlic injected it into himself, leaving Gregory shocked.

The colonel than told him there was something else to see. Pavlic got up and booted up his terminal. Just as he did, they both heard footsteps outside the office door. The colonel stopped what he was doing and looked towards the door.

Sara finished reading the files which the colonel had sent to her. She felt sick, and somewhat enraged, at the thought of what the Enclave had been doing to her. Worst of all, she had already had the disease for eight months now. Sara had read the file completely and apparently had only four months left before the disease went into it's final stage. There was also no way to detect the disease through ordinary medical means. It meant she would have to go see the colonel again to requisition something more advanced. Sara locked the computer, attached her holsters to her belt, and headed for the door.

The look on Sara's face was serious as she walked down the halls of the science lab. The guards in the hallway saluted as she walked by, but Sara paid them no mind. She had too many questions right now and needed answers. And the only person who could give her those answers, the only person she could trust anyway, was colonel Pavlic. Exiting the science building she silently made her way back across the courtyard to the command post.

Sara pushed her way through the door and bumped into a scientist who subsequently dropped the files that he was carrying.

"Excuse you!!" The scientist raised his voice at Sara and then quickly cowered when he realized who he was talking to. "That is?. Uh ?I'm sorry ma'am. Please forgive me."

Sara smiled at the scientist and her first thought was of cutting off his leg and beating him to death with it. No that wouldn't be enough for someone with this lack of respect. She could cut off his ears and staple them to his nose. Sara chuckled at the thought and spoke to the scientist.

"It's okay sweetie. No harm done." Sara winked at the scientist, who breathed a sigh of relief, and continued down the hallway.

Sara reached the door of the colonel's office and saw him seated at his desk, apparently reading something to the other man who was also seated.. Sara recognized him from the photo in his file. His name was Gregory, and he had had the disease for the least amount of time of any of them. This was certainly going to make her life a little easier. Especially considering the look on his face told her that the colonel had already told him what was going on.

"Colonel we need to talk about a few things. And while Gregory is here if you don't mind as this will concern him as well." Sara looked over at Greg and winked at him, a playful expression on her face.

Looking as Sara walked in I felt a little thing snap inside my head for a few moments. My legs twitched and my arms wobbled a little like jelly, sighing lightly I took control of myself again and closed my eyes for a few moments. My mind wandered at what the future held, how would things turn out in the next week? Would the Brotherood find us for good this time, or would we just go ahead and stay under the radar?

Upon opening my eyes I heard what Sara had to say, biting my lip I replied, "Well, Sara, it seems that first I need to ask you to adress me by my first name. Since your helping me here, you may as well drop some of these things that are held in place all the time. We're already doing what? So, what is it you wanted to talk about and what seems to be important about Gregory here staying?"

Tapping my fingers upon my desk it started twitching again, with a scowl I pulled out another syringe and injected it into my arm. The familiar high of this drug rushed through my veins, instead of putting it in the drawer again I left it upon the desk for Sara to see. She'd recognize it and what it meant I hoped, a nice syringe that was once filled with psycho that was now empty... The last one was med-x, although, she wouldn't know that.

Coughing into my hand I continued, "The clock is ticking, it's already too late for a few people except with extreme cases... But Gregory here will be a good start to get rid of it, or maybe even quicken it. It all depends on what he wants, the right mix of anything should do a lot with a man-made disease... True? Either way, hurry up with what you want Sara, time is running out even if it doesn't seem it."

Watched as the Colonel injected himself. She could tell the moment she laid eyes upon him that he was as high as a kite. It did explain a few things. Sara looked at the colonel with a smile. Walking over, she closed the door, then returned back to the desk.

"Right now it seems that the most major problem with this disease, though I really don't think that's the right word, is that there is no way to detect it. According to the research all blood work has come back negative and there are no signs of any cellular decay. There is however something I would like to try. I believe that with the right equipment, and somebody who had been infected for a short period of time, say three months." Sara looked at Gregory again and smiled.

"That my dear is where you come in. Of all the people on the base who are infected, it seems you have been for the least amount of time. As such, I would like you to volunteer to help me with some research." Sara may have asked him to volunteer, but she had no intention of giving him a choice in the matter.

"Oh and? colonel?" Sara couldn't bring herself to call him by name. For her this was not a personal matter. "I need to requisition some equipment if you don't mind. I need three items, and I won't need them for long." The pleading little girl had returned. "It's just a mark two radiation chamber, an electron microscope, and a particle synthesizer. Surely the science lab won't miss them for long. Please." Sara batted her eyelids when she said please. She could be so cute when she wanted to be. Sara had the eyes of an angel, and darkness and destruction lay behind them.

Looking at Sara I just raised an eyebrow, "Your trying to change my mind by giving me that kind of look? Seriously, does it look like I'm in a right sense of mind at the moment, or do I care? Take it, I'll send the forms over to the Science Lab, ask someone for the equipment... Gregory, if your up to being a test subject that's good, if not, we'll have to find some other way to do this... So... I hope you accept, now... Well..."

Trailing off a little I saw the world spin a bit, the downsides of these drugs weren't beating the ups just yet. I was playing my time a lot here, "Sara, would you mind... Finding a way to mix med-x and psycho somehow? They negate each other a lot, when mixed, I don't have any idea how to do it though... If you could do that I'd be grateful, if not, please get to work quickly and don't mess around."

Stretching a little I looked at Gregory, "I'm sending you a file to your office Terminal with some info on the disease, it's just a bit to say what sort of mutant agent it is. Keep healthy, and if you can, do what Sara says if you accept... Now... Both of you.. Out, please? I need some time to get over this," I muttered at them. Swaying my hands at them to direct them out I moved some files across the screen to send the requisition orders to the Science Lab.

As soon as that was done I leant back in the chair and closed my eyes.

Gregory listened as Sara talked about the disease, It didn't make much sense to him, but he thought he wouldn't really have to understand it. Until Sara asked him to help with the research. It sounded more like a command than a choice, so he realized he didn't have much of an option.

Gregory stood up, eying the colonel. Colonel Pavlic caught Gregory's eye, but Gregory couldn't tell if He should say yes or know. Gregory breathed deeply, " Fine, as long as you don't pull that crap you do on the prisoners". He knew she was one of the most dangerous people in the base, but he trusted her. Gregory looked down at his feet for a second, wondering about his safety. Pavlic then asked for him and Sara to leave, and telling Gregory he sent some info on the disease to his terminal.

The colonel had passed out on his desk, and Sara had her answer from Gregory. Though the way he voiced it left a little something to be desired. She opted to play the innocent.

"Gregory, do I really look like someone who is capable of committing the atrocities that the rumours would have you believe? I am a scientist and a doctor. My job is to save lives, not take them." Sara's expression changed to one that was both serious and sombre.

"Listen, I'm not the evil [censored] that everyone seems to think I am. I really am a good person and I need you to trust me. I want to thank you for volunteering to help me and I assure you I will do everything I can to keep you safe. We have to work together if we are to get to the bottom of all this." Sara paused for a second and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Now if you would please got to the science lab and take the requisitioned equipment to my office, I will meet you there. I have one other thing I need to discuss with the colonel. Oh and feel free to find some men to help you." Sara hoped that Gregory believed her act. She was good at manipulating people and getting them to buy what she was selling. It also helped that everything about her was based on rumour and conjecture. And since no one had actually seen her torturing her victims. It made it much easier to play the innocent No one had actually seen her killing the prisoners.

Sara told Gregory about how she could have never had done anything as she was a scientist and a doctor. " Damn, I'm sorry, I- I shouldn't have believed what I had heard. A tear rolled down her cheek, which Gregory gently wiped off. " Listen, I'm really sorry, I trust you, don't worry. He now felt bad as she told him to go to the science lab and get some equipment from the science lab and bring it to her office. " I'll Go get the equipment and bring it to your office".

Gregory walked down the steel hallway leading to the science lab, feeling horrible at what he had said. He entered the lab, spotting the equipment and asked an assistant to help him bring the stuff into Sara's office. They grabbed all the equipment and hauled it to Sara's office, where he thanked the assistant and waited for Sara.

Sara watched as Gregory left the office and closed the door behind him. She smiled at him when he wiped away the tear from her face. Now it was time to talk to the colonel. He had asked her to come up with a concoction for him, obviously what he was using to combat the disease. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a small leather case with a zipper holding it closed. Sara undid the zipper and opened the case, revealing several syringes, each with a different coloured fluid in it. From the case she removed two of the syringes, and one empty one, and placed them on the desk. Sara closed the case and returned it to her pocket.

Sara rolled up the colonels sleeve and removed the caps from the syringes. One of the syringes she palced in her mouth. The one she held in her hand contained a detox drug. It would eliminate all traces of any drugs or addiction from a person's system. The one in her mouth was for after. It was essentially what the colonel asked for. It was made up of med-x, psycho, as well as few other added ingredients. It should provide the colonel with what he needed, and have little to no side effects. She took the first needle and injected him. She needed to act fast as the detox would cause him to awake in a moment, and she assumed he would be caused a great amount of pain. Sara quickly injected the colonel with the second syringe and watched as he stirred back to life.

"Sorry to wake you colonel, but there is one more thing I need before I can go. And by the way, how do you feel?" Srara smiled at him.

As I stirred awake I felt pain and a weird feeling rush through my entire system. Grimacing I felt the high of the psycho fade away into a nothing, as well as the burn and need for more. Rolling my shoulders a little I looked up at Sara, she had two empty syringes in her hand as well as my syringe in a different position on the desk. Realising what happened I just gave a small smile.

"Well, thank you Sara, in return... Let me guess what you want, you want to know how long I've been infected right? Well... It's been a year, I'm due to change, I've been slowing down the process with these drugs, what you just gave me should last me another five days or so; after that it'll happen. Also, since my genes have literally started to mutate now, my blood sample might be useful to your investigation."

Grabbing one of the syringes off her I quickly stuck it into the nook in my elbow, then drew out the full syringe full of blood. I felt light-headed really quickly and I couldn't really move my arm well. It hurt to stick in and take out the blood, looking at her faintly I quickly muttered, "Now, get to work would you? I can take care of myself... Go on, shoo, haha."

Letting my head fall back onto the desk I closed my eyes and clenched my elbow tight with my other hand.

Sara happily took the blood sample and headed back to the science lab. She hoped that Gregory would be there waiting for her and she was walking at a fast pace. She was anxious to begin her experiments on this disease. Sara exited the command post yet again, and headed back to her office. When she arrived, Gregory was already there along with the equipment she had requested. Sara removed her coat and hung it on a peg on the wall. And then put her arms over her head and stretched, arching her back. She looked over at Gregory and smiled at him again.

"I just want to say thank you again. Not just for being here, but for deciding to accept me for who I am, and not what others would have you believe." Sara gave him a look of friendship and compassion and opened one of the drawers on her desk. Fishing through it for a moment she removed an empty syringe.

"Now, is their anything you wanted to ask me before we get started?" Sara held the needle and waited for the response.

" Well, What really is this disease, do we know anything about it, what we think it may be". " Also, do we know the scientist intentions on why he did this, his motives? If not, that's fine, I just was wondering about this. I'm ready when you are".

Even though Gregory said that, he was still worried. Why would have anyone done this? He looked up, hoping to get some answers.

Sara walked over to Gregory and looked directly into his eyes. She could tell him the truth, she didn't want to however. There were some things tat Sara felt were better left out. Loose lips and all that. She rolled up his sleeve and removed some surgical tubing from her pocket.

"First I need to take a sample of blood from you. After I have a look at it, we will move on to the next step." Sara paused for a moment and decided to tell him a little while she wrapped the tubing around his arm and tapped for a vein.

"Apparently the disease is altering our DNA?" Sara trailed off and got a glorious idea. She lowered her head and looked at the floor staying silent. After a moment she started to sob and tears flowed from her eyes. She turned her back on Gregory and gave the appearance of someone trying to regain their composure, bringing her arm up to her face to wipe away some of the tears.

"I'm so sorry Gregory. "Sara still had her back turned to him. "I have this disease as well. It's a very difficult thing for me, because I don't want to die. I just want my life to go back to the way it was before I found out about this. I feel so hollow and empty inside and I just don't know what to do." Of course Sara didn't want to die, and quite frankly she didn't think that she would. She still had four months to come up with a cure, and she had the utmost confidence in her abilities as a scientist. Right now Sara wanted to wrap Gregory around her finger as tight as she could.

Seeing Sara cry made Gregory feel bad, as if it was somehow his fault. He put his free hand on her shoulder telling her that he wouldn't have either of them die, but he knew that he couldn't help much, but right know, he just wanted to comfort Sara. He began to feel tears in his eyes but couldn't wipe them as he didn't want to take his hand off of her shoulder.

"I promise, that I will do my best to help, and I won't stop helping you with the research, no matter what" Gregory said in a choked voice. But what really killed him was when she said that she felt hollow and empty inside and didn't know what to do. He gripped her shoulder tighter. " I will help you get through this, don't worry.

Sara felt the hand on her shoulder and a small smile crept across her lips. She made sure that the tears were still flowing and she turned around and, wrapping her arms around Gregory, hugged him tightly, burying her face in her chest. She allowed the tears to flow freely for about a minute before stopping them and pulling away slightly. Sara looked up into Gregory's eyes and attempted to smile, her bottom lip quivering slightly. The tears were starting to dry up and she stood on her tip toes and pulled Gregory's head a little closer to her own, kissing him on the cheek. She placed a hand on his cheek and spoke.

"Thank you Gregory." The smile came a little easier now and Sara pulled away form him. She gave a couple of sniffles and started to speak again.

"Now let's get that sample. Don't worry, this won't hurt." Sara gently slid the needle into his arm and extracted the blood from his arm. When she had finished, she put a cotton swab and a small piece of surgical tape over the needle mark. Sara still had the look of someone who was very sad.

"Listen, I think I want to be alone for a bit. I just need a little time to pull myself together and then I will call you back. I hope you understand." Truth was, she didn't care if he left or not. Sara did need to anolyze the blood samples, and that would take a little time to do. Of course if Gregory stayed, she would be able to feed him more of her brand of venomous lies, and tighten her grip on him.

As Sara hugged Gregory tightly, he realized that none else has shown so much care to him. He loved the feeling of someone hugging him, depending on him.She then pulled away slightly, forcing a smile to appear on her lips. Then she did something that made Gregory feel the best he had ever been, she pulled him slightly closer and kissed his cheek. He was stunned, unable to move. She thanked him and grabbed a syringe.

Se inserted the needle into his arm, drawing his blood. After she finished, she put a piece of surgical tape on it to stop bleeding. Sara still looked depressed though, and Gregory just wanted to make her feel better. She then said she wanted to be alone for a awhile, but truth was He didn't want to leave her, and simply couldn't walk out of the room with her like that. He decided that if he could, maybe he could help her with the anolyzing, helping her and relieve the stress of the work.

Sara looked at Gregory, and thought he appeared as a puppy dog. She could tell by the look on his face that he didn't want to leave. Sara forced another smile.

"If you want to stay it's fine." Sara motioned to one of the chairs in the room. Have a seat and give me a moment to go in the other room and freshen up." She didn't wait for the reply and made her way into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Sara took a little time to pick out some fresh clothes to wear. There was no point in wearing the officer uniform at the moment. She wanted Gregory to see her as an equal, and not his captain. Sara changed into a pair of jeans and a tee shirt which hugged her figure slightly. She then returned to the other room and smiled at Gregory again.

"Make yourself comfortable while I look at these samples under a microscope. And why don't you tell me a little about yourself." Sara began to make slides of the blood samples and started by placing the colonel's under the microscope first. She was hoping that Gregory was going to open up to her now. The more Sara knew about him, the more she would be able to get inside his head.

As the speakers turned, Colonel Pavlic's voice could be heard through them, which everyone in the mess hall fell silent, listening. The announcement giving the daily report, assistance needed for drug tests and a mission. After the announcement finished, noise filled the mess hall again, mainly around the viewing screen.

About an hour later there was a sudden outburst of cheer, but was overshadowed by the large amount of groans, seems the team most betted on lost. The winner collected their winnings from a third party and the mess hall quietened down as men funnelled out.

Demetri got up and put his bowel and spoon in a bin, off for washing, which was done by soldiers as a punishment for mistakes they did when training. Demetri left the mess hall, going back to the barracks.

Demetri laid on his bunk and then put on his sound box. "Still listening to that rubbish?" a man's voice asked from the bunk above Demetri's. "See you're back from patrol," Demetri said. A head popped out from above and smiled, "And how boring it was as well."

The person was Sergeant Alexander Kurtz, at joined the Enclave Military about a year after Demetri had joined, the two had become quick friends and had fought along side each other countless times. "We got back just as a group of you were called to see the Colonel, care to explain why?" Alexander asked.
"Not really," Demetri replied, "Isn't there something else you could be doing?"
"Nope, got the whole day to rest up," Alexander laughed, "Seems you're not in a talking mood." Alexander went from Demetri's view. Demetri put his head back onto the pillow, closed his eyes and listened to the music.