-The worm that never dies-
With bloodied ear drums and enough opium to subdue an elephant; I politely declined to enter the good doctor's sweepstake and made tracks for the staging area.
I had yet to harden to the callous make up of our Imperial barbarian. Nor had I fully convinced myself that I wasn't headed for the same furnace in hell as my cloven-footed counterpart. Short on allies and like minded colleagues; I kept my mouth firmly closed and let the opiates gnaw away at my conscience.
I arrived in time for the second round with nothing to report. All men stood as they were, united by their collective uncertainty. Three more rounds expired without breakthrough. I lingered in the shadows barely five yards short of the kill zone when Alpha threw caution to the wind and finally broke the deadlock.
Committed to his game plan, he lowered his head and fired blindly into the roof, taking my blood pressure with it.
Alpha did not flinch as the next desperate youngster panicked and wrapped his finger around the trigger. A second deafening shot echoed throughout the room masking the dull crash that a skull makes when it strikes concrete. Charlie's light went out.
I steadied myself as I approached Alpha who had not yet raised his head, perhaps unsure whether it was he who had been shot. I reached for his hand and dropped a cold metal bullet into his shivering palm. Having fulfilled my final role in this obscene theatre, I made my way back to the control room to seek solace from my pipe.
Thankfully, I was sitting down by the time our winner dispatched his defining shot. To Dr Ishii's great disgust, Alpha decided in favour of absolution. Locking teary eyes with his comrade, he wished him well before turning the gun on himself.
God willing, tommorrow's lineup will prove more productive.
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