Mudwrestling Female
July 7, 2008 Outside of Galice, Oregon 0930 hours Bella stripped her clothes off, she was too hot and if the van was stuck there was no way she could drive this boat with all those layers. She followed Paige out of the van, smiling as the rain hit her skin and stung a little. Paige was staring disgustedly at the van. "Wheels are buried in mud, I think we're gonna have to try and push it out…or hike to the airfield" Bella started shaking her head and signalled to Simon to vacate the driver's seat as she moved to take her place she yelled back to Paige. "We're not pushing, Get in," She smiled as she climbed in the van and Paige disappeared back into the vehicle. She threw it into gear and floored the pedal; they had been stuck but it was a traction thing, the mud hadn't been too thick under the tyres and she knew if she could get it to clear away they'd be rolling again. She sat as the tyres spun, wishing she had some music and a stereo; she hated driving in silence. The wheels grabbed the road and jerked them free of their position; as it did she realised that perhaps the people in the back may not be used to her so she called back to them. "You better hold on back there!" She changed gear and took off trying to get them out of there ASAP, as much as she loved the rain, this was getting a little ridiculous. They didn't get too far when Bella got the sense something wasn't right. Most of her driving was instinctual and something was up. She threw on the breaks and heard Jordy mutter something from the back but her attention was elsewhere just now. The hill off to her right was coming toward her and the entire ground was moving in on their position. No amount of driving skill would get them out of its way. "Shit!" it was a heart felt statement, "brace yourselves!" She called to them at the back but she wasn't sure if anyone had heard her. The flood hit them before she could finish speaking. She whipped off her belt and worked on the window; the van was going to tip and if she timed it right, she could get out onto the vehicle and not land on her ass in the mud. From up there she might be able to help the others before they were lost to the wave. The van tipped and as Bella got out onto it she realised that this would be so much easier if it weren't so damned slippery. She slipped and landed on her back once, winding herself for a moment, but she didn't have time to feel sorry for herself just now. Bella reached in the passenger side window and reached for Simon. "This way!" she yelled at him, helping him free of the mud. Jordy brought their attention to the kids. *Shit, of course we gotta baby-sit as well* She cut them free and shoved them toward the window; the mud was filling the small space up way too quickly. She tried to get Paige and Declan to leave the equipment and get out of the van, but they just waved her on, so she left and made her way to the roof. Jordy and Simon helped her grab the equipment the others handed out to them then, due to the awkwardness of the situation, they waited for the others to climb out - trying to help them was a bad idea in these conditions, unless it was obvious they needed it. When Paige was secure on the roof they all stood and looked around. The mud hadn't shifted the van so they were quite solid…for the moment. Cereal Killer's comment brought a smile to Bella's face; she couldn't help herself, the kid was amusing. Acid Burn had the presence of mind to make a more constructive comment, "What do we do now? Swim to your boss' office?" Jordy gave the orders out. Their equipment was minimal, time even less; she helped Declan with the rigging line system as Paige worked on a way out. This was the spice of life: variety. At least she could never claim her life was boring. They managed to use their ropes and each some safer, higher ground not too far away. Declan went first, then one of the kids, then Jordy…etc. They alternated until all were safe. Looking around them Jordy sighed, "we're going to have to hike through the woods; stay off the roads." Declan looked at Paige who indicated the direction they should go as Jordy followed. Bella indicated that some of the kids should go ahead of her; she was actually delaying as the mud looked deep, very deep. Very quickly Bella found that it was indeed deep; looking ahead she could see that while most of the others were wading thigh high, Bella had mud coming up to her waist. At one point Declan appeared next to her out of the trees, she wondered why he'd broken order but she soon found out. "Need a lift?" He asked, grinning at her cheekily. He moved as if to lift her up. "Try it and I'll break you." She offered him in answer, one he'd been expecting because he smiled at her, laughing a little and then disappearing into the trees again. Bella heard Paige behind her, laughing a little. She smiled to herself but turned a mock scowl on her comrade. Paige made innocent face and Bella returned her eyes back to the waist deep mud in front of her. By the time they reached the building they'd commandeered the kids from, Bella had mud caked up in her hair; at one stage the path had dropped a little and she had sunk a little further than she would have liked. For some reason she felt embarrassed about it whenever she saw Declan who did nothing but smile, laughing at her. They got inside the old warehouse again and Jordy led them to where the kids had set up all their computer gear. Simon immediately made for the equipment; he would be trying to make a connection with Gray or someone back at the safe house. Jordy instructed the kids to sit off in one of the corners and left Paige, Declan and Bella to watch them as she went off to try and get the radios to work. Paige sat against one wall while Declan stayed on his feet, so Bella went and sat on an empty milk crate that was nearby, back to a wall. "What Now?" It was Acid Burn again, was she their leader? It would seem that way. "You sit and be quiet." Paige seemed cranky. Declan glanced at her as he took his shirt off; the mud had finally gotten to him too. Bella looked at the floor, leaning forward on her knees wishing she had something to drink. Then suddenly something occurred to her: her sketchbook was still in the van. "Shit!!!" this was far more heart felt than her previous one. She stood and started to pace. "B?" Declan queried her, not using her full name, was he being cautious because of the kids? Did she care at this point? No, not really. She stopped in her tracks and looked at him; all six of them were looking at her now as she shook her head. "I'm fine. It's nothing. Sorry." She was lying and they knew it, but they dropped it. Simon had had no luck, nor had Jordy; they were still trying but Bella had returned to her crate and was leaning against her wall watching everything go by. She had noticed something. One of the kids had changed his body language, only slightly but he had. It wasn't until two other had also shifted their behaviours slightly that she decided something was up. She didn't shift herself in anyway, just kept watching. Their eyes wouldn't settle on anything and Acid Burn had taken to running her hand through her hair. But it wasn't until one of them finally fixed his sight on something that Bella could pinpoint whatever it was that had caused this shift in behaviour. Crash Override *still really silly names* was also very carefully shifting his hands and his eyes. He was…communicating. Paige and Declan were conversing and some of the kids were talking too. Bella silently got to her feet and quickly moved out of their sight; if anyone saw her go no one said anything. After a few minutes she found herself moving around some old boxes - none of them marked - but there was enough dust to indicate they'd been there for some time. She moved silently, quickly. Then she saw it: a cable, leading from one wall and around a corner. She followed it, and there sitting on the floor facing away from her and toward the rest of her team was another kid: computer on his lap, typing furiously. She looked over his shoulder for a bit, long enough to realise that this kid had an outside communication link and was about to do something that would not help her team at all. His hand was hovering over the enter key when she swiftly reached down and grabbed his wrist. "I don't think so." Her grip was tight as the kid tried to struggle away from her. "Let go of me." He spoke quietly, but urgently "Um, no. Put the computer down." She had dropped her voice and put on her best menacing air, it obviously worked because he did as she asked. As she pulled him to his feet he struggled, broke her grip and started to run. She sighed and moved after him; he only got a few steps before she pushed her way in front of him, he was a sixteen year old boy, bigger than her, but she was faster and now she had a gun in her hands. "Now this may or may not fire," She pulled the hammer back and received that satisfying clicking sound, "Do you want to test it out?" He looked at her, and eventually correctly decided she'd do it. He raised his hands and his shoulders slumped. Smiling, she led him back to the others. "Found something." She announced as she reached the others. They all looked at her again. Paige and Declan looked interested, the kids slumped; their friend was caught too. "Simon, we got a link to the outside behind those boxes." She called out as she directed the new addition to join the others. He sat down and she put her gun away. "How did you know?" Declan asked. She smiled at him. "It's my job to know. You saying you didn't?" She wasn't embarrassed about her fall anymore. Return