At first, it was a blast. Busting skulls and snapping limbs, it was like a game. Sure, they were there for a very serious reason. Elimination. Find and destroy anything incriminating, and then some, just for good measure. But, just because they were being kept on a very short leash, didn't mean they didn't deserve a few treats. First, they kept a tally on the number of kills. They downed any passing threat without a thought. Even enemies that were far away and completely unaware of their presence were up for grabs. Then, whilst in the height of eagerness and drowning in their own pride, they found it more interesting to bring the fights closer. Hand to hand, and knife to throat. Simply shooting the infected from a few feet away wasn't enough to gather any bragging rights. So, naturally, it was only fitting to increase the danger by lessening the distance. Close Quarters Combat, or CQC for all the experts, was the only way to play the game and get the results.

It wasn't until the scientist, codename Four Eyes, started running out of antivirals that the severity of the situation began to outweigh the appeal of the sport. Then, next to go was the supplies. The whole reason the game switched from guns to knives was that they were becoming short on ammunition, and the ammo dumps provided by Command were showing up less and less. Not to mention the medical supplies. By the time Four Eyes was sapped of her resources, the medic, codename Bertha, was already having to compensate. Not only was it Command's job to provide them with ammunition, but it was also up to Command to deliver them refills of medicinal and antiviral supplies. While Four Eyes and Bertha could generate their own supplies over time, they were far out of their comfort zone. By the time Four Eyes could muster up enough to make a crude antiviral supplement someone else would turn around and contract the sickness. It was too hard to scavenge and be diligent in continuing the mission...

Mission. No one could recall when it happened exactly, that Command determined the expendable, but once they heard that they had been abandoned things began to unravel past the point of mending. They were never a family, just a group. They were people from all different walks of life, who went through their own individual trials and excelled in their own fields. The only reason they were together was because they were being paid, and they were being paid enough to risk their lives without so much as a thought. They had gone beyond the call of duty as far as they were concerned. They did everything they were instructed to do. Listened to Command, followed like obedient dogs. Sure, they might have enjoyed themselves too much, and may have even been around to see something terrible happen, but ultimately nothing happened because of them. They didn't deserve to be deserted, but they still were in the end.

Depleted and hungry, they fought on their own, trying to stay alive in order to get back to Command and prove how useful they could truly be. But, as they pushed through the city, running from hideout to hideout, moral began to crumble away. They may have been professionals, but even professionals would have needed something personal to hold on to. Maybe they'd get to know each other, shake hands once or twice and find out their favorite sports and colors. Or, at least, catch each other's first name. Instead, they stayed together, and said nothing of any significance. Silence and death was all they heard for a while.

They lost the Russian first, codename Spectre, to a group of infected not two hours after being shunned by Command. Out of all of them, he was the one that spoke the least, and when he did, he spoke in slow, heavy breaths. It was something that might have sparked questions in others less seasoned. Then, after another night of Command still giving them the silent treatment, recon, codename Vector, vanished. He was clearly upset when they last spoke with Command. His voice wasn't as steady, and his actions were far more unpredictable after that point. Having the skills he had, he probably just turned on his cloaking device and checked out while everyone else was recuperating. When he was discovered to be gone no one was upset. They just picked themselves up and continued on. They had to get out of Raccoon, and judging by how often assault, codename Lupo, kept looking at her watch, their escape needed to be quick.

It seemed like only an hour ago they were all making light of the situation, making games out of a situation that would prove to be no less than war. Now there were only four of them left. No more games. Things had to change, and the luxury of anonymity was one that they could no longer afford. They stayed together with their guns pointed in the four major directions, but kept to themselves. Luckily, they stayed alive. Once they made it to an abandoned store and hunkered down things began to change.

Demolition, codename Beltway, was the first to take notice of the food scattered around the debris. Little boxes of cereal. Nothing extravagant, but it was food. He gathered a few for himself. It felt like a glimmer of hope was beginning to take form as he looked at the cereal. It was the kind with the flakes, his favorite. He heard the three women begin to settle into their corners of the room as he made his way to a wall. The women were beat up, bruised, and joyless. He felt, for maybe the first time in his life, guilty. He found a reward for himself, and even if it wasn't much it was apparently more than any of them had. As he looked at them, their skin caked with sweat and dirt, and their eyes closed, he knew he couldn't spend another night with no one but himself and his thoughts. He heard Lupo in the corner closest to him beginning to shift. He looked at her, and was finally able to see the true extent of her exhaustion. Her hand rubbed her stomach briefly, then went back to her side. It was a small window of physical weakness, but one that Beltway was there to witness.

"Ay, Loop," Beltway spoke up, his voice clearly surprising to the others as two of them jumped slightly.

"Beltway?" Lupo's voice was rough. "What is it?" She wasn't entirely comfortable with him having given her an alternate nickname, but it wasn't her job to correct him anymore.

"Catch, Mami." Beltway smiled lightly under his mask as he threw a box of cereal to the team leader.

Lupo caught the box that was thrown her way with little effort. She looked at the small, dented box, and then back at Beltway. She was starving, and hadn't even noticed it until she looked at the cereal. If she hadn't been conscious of that herself, how did he know? Not only that, but that was the first thing any of them did out of pure kindness towards one another. She looked over towards the others. Bertha was looking outside, detached, but Four Eyes was looking at the box that Beltway had thrown her. Four Eyes looked a little surprised, too, so Lupo just tried to roll with it.

"Thanks, uh... Belt." Lupo felt stupid, but she tried to adapt. He gave her a new nickname, so she gave him one, too. "Hadn't noticed how hungry I was." She opened the box and tore the bag inside.

"Name's Hector. We're off the clock now, so no need to keep acting official." Beltway tore into a box of cereal, rage beginning to flood his veins. "Those fuckers can suck my dick, leaving me out here. I wanna break as many of their rules as I can!"

At that, Bertha turned her head towards Beltway. She didn't speak, though. She just watched him for a second before looking back outside. Beltway didn't notice her looking at him as he lifted up his helmet to pour the cereal into his mouth. Instinctively Lupo and Four Eyes averted their eyes. It was against policy to see a teammate's face unless completely necessary. And, even then, it was frowned upon. Beltway laughed as he chewed. They were stubborn, he'd give them that much.

"Ladies, look. We ain't their little play things anymore. We're expendable, always been expendable. The sooner you guys figure that out, the better." He sighed as he moved his mask back over his face. They wouldn't look at him without it.

"It's true they've left us, but deep down we always knew that it could happen at any time." Lupo said as soon as Beltway put his mask back on. She took a few flakes of cereal and brought them up to her face, lifting her mask just enough to slip her finger under.

"Correct. Breaking their rules now is nothing more than a pathetic attempt at retaliation. Nothing but wasted energy." Four Eyes' voice was a new sound that they hadn't heard in hours.

"Bitch," Beltway looked at her swiftly, peeved at the whole situation. "maybe this kinda thing ain't right for you, but it sure as hell feels good to me!" Beltway began to speak with his hands, pointing hard at Four Eyes as his words came out. "Maybe you wanna go out with your ankles behind your ears, but I don't intend on being so easy!"

"You can cuss and yell all you want, but when they come around I intend on getting out of here. This is just a test, and believe me, you are starting to fail it." Four Eyes didn't let Beltway bother her. She knew they would be saved. This was a test, and the weak were being weeded out from the strong. She was certain of it.

"Test?" Beltway scoffed. "You can't be serious?"

"Let's just settle down here..." Lupo tried to intervene, but was ignored.

"I'll tell you, I am being tested here. I'm being tested on whether or not I'll snap your neck!" Beltway stood up and began to walk towards Four Eyes, who was only beginning to stand up. "Shit! I think I'm about to fail, for sure!"

"Stop!" Lupo yelled as she jutted between the two and shoved Beltway back. "Take a corner, Beltway. Let's calm down." Lupo tapped her hand against Beltway's chest, telling him to take the corner she'd previously been occupying.

As things grew quiet again, the tension in the room began to settle. Lupo rested her head against the wall behind her as she sat on the floor. Even though there were still some varying ideas on what was happening, she felt she knew the truth, and unfortunately for Four Eyes, she was on Beltway's wavelength. Help wasn't coming, and if it was it certainly wouldn't be for them. They were left for dead, and it was up to them to get out alive, and while she wasn't at the point Beltway was with his desires for revenge, she was starting to have some ideas of her own. She wanted to start making plans with the others. Bring them in and work together to beat the odds and get out despite being thrown away by Command. She wanted to, but something was telling her it wasn't a good idea.