“Gunshots ring out through the streets of Arcadia.”
“On all sides rival gangs fight it out in the middle of a dirty alleyway. A wayward bullet pierces brain, a shotgun shreds a man’s throat.”
“As bodies fall all around you, you realize that you’re not in Arcadia anymore.”
“You’re in a warzone.”
“Men on all sides are firing at will, shells pelting the ground and the sounds of dying souls ringing in your ears.”
“When you’re in a fight like that, you need to know the men on your side are reliable.”
“You need to rely on them to survive.”
“Because you aren’t just fighting to kill another man, to end his life.”
“You’re shedding blood so that you can live.”
“The prize at the end of a firefight isn’t the blood on your hands or the bodies on the ground.”
“It’s the air in your lungs, the promise of another day to live.”
“Can you trust the men on your side?”
“As I stare across the street I see three ragtag teams cobbled together of men who trust one another as far as they can throw each other. They’re as likely to turn those guns on one another as they are to turn them on me.”
“Grimskull and Vision force beliefs upon one another over and over as Stubbins Doom hides behind them, well intent to let them bicker and argue while he uses them as his shield. Sorry to say, bodies can only sponge so many bullets.”
“Narcissa must hide in the corner that she shares with her stalker, a grave digger sitting at the ready to bury them deep when their petty woes lead them both to eat a stray bullet in their attempt to survive.”
“And Drewitt? Well, he’s been paraded around by the dealer, hasn’t he? But even more worrying for that poor wanderer, he’s being forced to fight alongside a man who’s already put a bullet between his eyes.”
“No one can rely on their teammates. The people holding guns next to them could very well turn it on their allies and leave them in a pool of blood on the mat.”
“The Gears of War are turning and once the dust settles which group of men will come out of it with their brain matter in their skulls and plasma in their veins?”
“I never thought I’d say it, but I know it’ll be mine.”
“Because I know these two would never let me die.”
“Dr. Death is Arcadia’s finest surgeon, after all.”
“But Jasper? Jasper would never let me die here. He wouldn’t kill me amidst the noise.”
“And I wouldn’t put him down until I get the chance to take my time with the deplorable piece of shit I share my corner of the ring with.”
“We can’t afford to let one another die.”
“Our mutual disdain is why we must rely on one another to survive.”
“I’ll breathe another breath.”
“Live another day.”
“All so that I can make Jasper face the justice he deserves.”
“Eagles soar.”