MergePunk: An Ooorah & WattpadPunkFiction Anthology

Unblinkers - @Spider-Hawk - GothPunk + Military SF

Unblinkers

A GothPunk + Military SF story by Spider-Hawk 

"Remind me what the mission is again?"

Lisa scoffed at the burly man. The question ignited her frustration, drawing a frown on her already distraught face. Too many times she had heard it from her irresponsible crew.

"Were you not paying attention during the briefing, Alan?" she returned.

Shaking his head, he adjusted his belt. "I took a nap because we never get any sleep nowadays, and it seemed like a good time," he stated.

Lisa sighed as one of her companions chuckled. She looked to the source of the sound, although she recognized his voice.

"One of these days, this war will kill you, and I'm just gonna laugh!" Akio teased, earning him a playful punch from the blonde.

"Keep talking like that, and I'll stop watching your back."

A glance from their commander silenced them. Every gaze in the truck was on Lisa, solemn as she stood. "We are twenty minutes out from the drop-off, and it'll be another two-mile trek to the fortress. If any of you aren't ready for this, I'll chuck you out the back right now."

The silence hung as her crimson eyes drifted from one to the next. They were a small team, holding only seven fighters altogether. Used to have more, but the war had taken its toll on all of them. Hardened, professional warriors, each chosen for one reason or another onto this specialty team.

"Alright then." She turned away, sitting in the middle of the two rows on the sides of the truck. "We're not here to start a fight. General Faultline has entrusted us to get in, retrieve the weapon, and get out. We've done missions similar plenty of times before, so you all know your roles."

"So, as usual, you guys will be having all the fun while we try not to die, " Breada noted, folding her arms over her chest.

Trini snickered, yet kept her thoughts quiet. As the last to join the group, she had less experience with the high-stakes missions they regularly took part in, yet she wasn't less skilled—at least not compared to some.

"Will you stop making that joke?" Alan jabbed. "You're actually dead. The rest of us run a very real risk of never seeing the sun again!"

The ghost frowned, her hollowed eyes narrowing. "An exorcism grenade can ionize me to death if it messes with my energy. If anyone here is invincible, it would be Lisa or Murray!"

The steel golem lifted its head at the mention of its name. It looked around, deciding it wasn't needed before going back to its statue-like rest.

"Vampires aren't invincible, and neither are golems," Ravea stated. Xe fiddled with a block of wood, using a combat knife to shave it down. A clutter of wood chips was scattered around xyr feet—evidence of xyr lasting boredom. "They're just better than you."

Eyes wide, Alan tilted his chin upward. He clicked his tongue, shaking his head gently. Right as he was about to speak, Lisa stomped her foot on the ground.

"Alright, that's enough from all of you!" she shouted, glaring at each instigator in turn. "Unless you are going to discuss how we can better our tactics for this mission, I want silence until we arrive."

They shut their mouths quickly, not wanting to anger their already annoyed commander any further. Of everyone in their group, she was the best at her job: keeping everyone else in line.