Chapter Three

Leaving the sleeping Dash on the couch, I left our heaven and walked out into the streets of the warzone. The silence of the streets was always peaceful in the morning. I have come to find, that this point in the day is my most favorite part of the day, it’s quite, cold,   and peaceful. Much like the world I see in my dreams that I want to share with Dash in real life. But, I can’t make my dreams reality, because I’m still stuck in this hell hole.  

I walk down the dusty street and come to a four way intersection. I look both ways before I quickly dart from one side to the other.

After repeating this a couple times, I finally reach the market place, well what's left of it. I may not have been around when this war started, but I’m very certain I can I could see this place when it was still, well, alive. I imagined people bustling about, shop owners taking in orders and selling their produce to the population, and children playing in between the legs of their parents.

It was only a vision, but a very alive one. Of course comparing what I saw and reality, it’s a depressing sight.  Most stands are nearly blown to shreds, craters litter the street like trash, along with the trash. I never liked coming here, but I had to.

The air smelt of gunpowder and brass, with just a hint of dust and dirt. I make my way through the abandon streets, walking over craters, and  forging my own path in the destruction. I eventually reached an area where it wasn’t to bad, I began searching.

I found many things when I looked around. Bullet casings, shrapnel, bodies, more bodies, and weapons out the wild zoo. All of which I knew I wouldn't be able to use, with the locks and all. But,I did find one thing.

A teddy bear. I knelt down and stared at the childs toy.

I smiled as I picked it up and looked at it. The bear was dusty and partly covered in sand. But after dusting it off, I could really look at it. It had button eyes, and a string mouth, and fortunately seemed fully intact. I smiled at the play thing, I could imagine the child who used to play with it, before the gunfire would begin. I knew what had be done.

I took off my backpack and carefully put the bear on the bottom. I look at it again at the bottom of the bag, it’s smile shining up at me and making me feel warm inside as If the bear was saying, “Thank you.”

Infact I was feeling so good I isolated myself in this pocket of bliss of me just staring.

“Freeze…” My body froze up and stiffened as the words cut the air around me and snapped me back to reality.  The voice who spoke out sounded raspy, old, and worn, it terrified me. Sweat rolled down my forehead as he talked again,  “Up…”

I moved up slowly while raising my hand over my head until I was standing up straight. I could feel the muzzle of a gun he held push up against my head.

“Move, forward…” I began walking on command as I move away from my backpack, and the toy. Flashes of images of Dash appeared in my head of her being stranded, alone, hungry, lost, and dozens of others. My body began to have heat flashes and more sweat rolled off me. I shook as my vision was pinpointing any possible area where this man was taking me.

Moving off a pile of rubble, we came to an area where it was mostly flat.

“Stop, turn around…” Slowly and carefully I turned around and faced my foe. Then I knew I was doomed.

“Y-you.” I said under my breath, only for me to hear. It was him. The perfect soldier. One of the worlds best Mercenaries ever created. Solid Snake.

“Who are you?” He asked, “And where’s Liquid’s camp?” I searched my head for a possible valid answer but, I kept coming up blank. The camp I’m stationed at, isn’t anywhere close to Liquids, plus I never gave much effort to look at the maps either, I had no clue.

“I, I don’t know… but please don’t kill me… not here, not now…” I tried to plead with the killer, but his motionless face said otherwise. He just kept looking at me, his one eyes staring at me, never blinking, never stopping. If this was some kind of torture, it sure as hell was working.

“Who are you?” He asked again.

“Nobody, well, at least nobody worth your time.” I said, trying to ease the tension. Snake lowered his weapon. After a while of looking him in the face, I was able to look around, immediately looking at his gun. It was old looking one, it looked like one of the Praying Mantis GSR’s, but, longer, and stronger looking.

“You look like a PMC, but you're missing your gear, your helmet, your gun, and your communications… are you with the PMC?” This answer came quick.

“Yes, I was.” Now Snake half raised his Pistol again.

“What do you mean, ‘was’ you mean you were with the PMCs?” Okay, time to cut loose, the only way I’m leaving this alive, is if I answer with the truth and truth alone.

“Yes, I was part of them, but now, I’m free, something happened to me, something happened with me and the system. I fought back for my emotions, and I won.” Snake had a cigarette in his mouth. But upon my finishing, he took it out and placed it in a silver case.

“Thats impossible, no one can ever fight the system, the system is too strong to fight. It would have to take years of mental training to accomplish that, even then, it would be sheer luck.”

“Well, here I am, flesh and blood.” Snake began to circle me, like an animal about to pounce.

“You, you're something else kid. You look in top physical form, even though you fought the system. Tell me, are you alone.” My heart froze.

‘Shit,shit,shit,shit,SHIT!!!! Dashy! Oh my god, what do I say? What can I say? Could he believe me? Should I tell him? Jesus Christ, whatdoidowhatdoidoWHATDOIDO?????’ My mind kept on sputtering as snake came face to face with me again.

He wore a face of confusion. I must have let my emotion take hold of me, for, I was shaking again.

“You’re not alone are you…” He looked right through me.

“No, I’m not, but please go easy on me.” He put his gun away and walked closer resting a hand on my shoulder. Then what came next was the strangest thing I might ever see, besides, you know, Dashy.

A smile.

“Listen kid, I hate the system just as much as you do, these days anyone can be  made a soldier, even if they had zero combat experience. You can take a Private and make him a Commander in ten seconds flat. The time of real war has passed, it’s been replaced by the illusion of war. War was about fighting for whats right, fighting for what you believed in, fighting for something to be protected. It made this world what it really is, it’s shaped who people are or what they're going to be. It’s shaped their lives and their outlook on reality. But now, war means nothing, the only thing it’s accomplishing is a fake world filled with the shadows of the past. The system, SOP, the Patriots, all of those things have blinded us from what the world really is, and it our jobs to go along with the tides of time.”

Snake removed his and turned around and looked to the distance.

“Remember kid, this life you lived, is over now, and I think tha-,” Snake stopped talking. I could hear a faint buzzing sound coming from him.

‘Radio?’ I thought. He knelt down and placed two fingers on his neck right below his head.

“Hello?” He said. I couldn’t hear anything.

“Yes, I’m close alright, but what about him?”

“You want me to do what?”

“Isn’t that a little extreme Otacon, it is a little far away.”

“Yeah but, what? Why?”

He continued to talk, to from what I could see, himself. I felt really awkward standing near him.

“What do you mean I talk forever?”

“Says you!”

“Alrightalrightalright, I’ll do it, Snake out.” Standing up straight again he turn around to face me.

“Okay listen up, my friend needs me to get back to work, but heres the deal,” He reaches behind himself and grabs something. He pulls his hand back and hands me his gun. I take the gun from him and start sizing it up in my hand.  

“Why are you giving me this?” I ask as he pulls out another gun just like mine.

“Run… find your friend, and head north, on that street,” He pointed to the street to the right of us, “head to the end of town. When you reach a fountain, go east, someone will be waiting for you there.” As he began to walk away, I felt a question building up inside me.

“Snake, why are you doing this? I’m the Enemy remember? Why do you care?” It seemed like a dumbass thing to ask, but it needed to be said. He turned around again and looked at me dead in the eyes as he said,

“Because, in this whole proxy war, you are the innocent one, along with all the soldiers in the PMC Corporations that stand on this world. You are being forced to fight a war that you have no say in. A war that shouldn’t even exist in the grand scheme of this planet.This war means nothing, your life on the battlefield means nothing, but your true life means as much as you want it too, along with the ones you care for. So, if you want to live to see the sun rise one more time, run.”  He turned around and began to walk once again. Wind passing by picked up sand and dust as he just seemed to disappear into the rubble.

“Yes sir.” I saluted for a good three seconds, making sure he was gone. I walked back to the backpack and saw the bear one more time before picking it up and walking off towards my house.