Proceed with the plan.

You suspected Angel and Oldfield to be the biggest threat below. The other one left there besides Oldfield was still groggy from sleep.

You managed to get Oldfield to heat the water for the drinks and started to go in for a conversation with Angel and the other guy. He yawned; he wouldn’t be able to see you acting for your pistol. Oldfield struggled with the stove as you called for hot cocoa. Angel turned away and announced for coffee, giving you a second to step back and shoot him. The back of Angel’s head spat out flesh and blood as it knocked back. The total weight of his body fell to the ground silently as your ears rang.

You snapped your barrel over and shot the second guy four times in the chest and then once in the head when he collapsed to the ground. Oldfield was armed, however, and he was not slow to react. You dipped down and pressed himself flat against the dirt wall. He shot his hand out with his sidearm and winged four shots in your direction.

You’re showered by debris, but you can aim while you’re sprawled out on the ground. You shoot a couple of times but miss. You are acutely aware of your ammo situation, though, and figure you only have about 3 or 4 more bullets left in your gun. Oldfield shoots a few more times. Only by luck does it seem like he misses you as you stand and get after him.

Oldfield manages to wing another shot off, but it only grazes your arm. A hand-to-hand confrontation unfolds as soon as you see the slide on his pistol lock back. It isn’t you that tackles him, however. It’s Oldfield pouncing on you for your gun instead.

This isn’t a long fight, though. Despite his best efforts, you can slide around him enough that he never manages to grab your gun more than once. You press the barrel of your pistol against his stomach and squeeze off the remainder of your rounds into him.

He falls to his back and gasps as he blinks rapidly. He sputters a few words while grasping at the large cavity created by the jacketed hollow points Scarlet gave you from her own supply of 45. caliber bullets. The dirt beneath him is dark red as he bleeds through his clothing and the exit holes in his back. And then, he hemorrhages as he loses all of his color. He coughs a few times but then goes still.

His body joins Angel’s and the last remaining member of his team. You search for something flammable. You find lamp oil, dose everything you can, bodies included, and light it all on fire. Smoke rapidly builds in the tight underground space, so you take your leave quickly. You stumble outside in a hard sweat. Behind you, plumes of black smoke shoot out of the doorway as everything in the tunnel turns to ash.

You feel relieved but also unsure of what to do next. After all of that, you thought you would have supposed the world's weight slide off your shoulders, but instead, you were conflicted with what still lies ahead. You brush back your hair, shaking your head in an attempt to clear your thoughts, but everything remains fuzzy– almost surreal before you start the journey back to Scarlet and the 30-some-odd children she wanted to prevent falling into the wrong hands.

...

...

You’re surprised to meet Alice and Angelica outside the room. It seems like they’re having a serious discussion. You’re more surprised to see them produce Scarlet’s pistol from their coat pocket. You’re out of ammo, and you were so caught up with eliminating Angel and his leftover goons that you didn’t think about grabbing or searching them for ammo. However, that doesn’t stop you from bluffing.

“I’ll still shoot you,” you roll your fingers along the pistol grip.

“Alice,” Angelica says behind her. “This guy doesn’t give a shit about us. He’ll kill you if you threaten him like that.”

“What’s this even about?”

“Alice thinks you’re trying to stop us from going home,” Angelica pleads, reaching for the gun. When the threat level drops, you disarm and snatch the weapon away from the girls, shoving Alice back into Angelica. You check if the firearm is even chambered, which it isn’t, and rack the slide. You cock the hammer back and point it at them.

“If I didn’t just risk my life for you idiots, I would have killed you,” you hiss. “What the fuck is going on?”

“She overheard what you and that girl were planning, and we thought we could stop you from doing what you are doing,” Angelica’s voice is shaky, but she can get it out. “But, you wouldn’t actually kill–”

“He’s dead.” you prevent her from finishing her topic. “I killed him because he was going to sell you off to God-only-knows who.”

Alice shakes her head. “Angel wouldn’t have done that! Do you have any idea how much he’s done for us!?”

“Do you know how much you’re worth to seem of these freaks would pay for you,” you wave the pistol out behind them. “How much some of them would even pay for the boys in there.”

“Listen,” you continue. “You don’t have to like any of this, but Scarlet’s already on thin ice as it is. But we’re giving you a chance to return to the life you deserve. Get it?”

“But he’s=”

“In it for a quick buck. The world is so more fucked up than you think. You might be in denial, and judging by your history with the guy, I’m not surprised. But you have to realize how weird this entire situation is.”

The girls look at each other, almost lost as they consider their recent lives. “So what’s next?” Alice finally says.

“We’re taking you back to Highlight, and we’re going to make sure they’ll at least try to get back where you belong. The worst case scenario is that you live there instead, but that will be a much better outcome than if you got stuck with Angel.”

“When are we leaving?”

“As soon as we can, I guess. How’s Scarlet? You little assholes didn’t kill her, did you?”

“No,” Angelica says. “We… thought about it, but we decided to go after you instead.”

“Good,” you snort. “I would have cut off your feet and left you to freeze to death out here.”

…

…

Scarlet has herself draped over you. You have to hold her as you walk her back to Highlight. She’s weaker than she was earlier that morning. Unfortunately, you can’t even go any faster because the kids are now traveling with you. Luckily, the older girls keep pretty good track of everything and accepted the news about Angel being a shitty person.

You’re far too worried about Scarlet than to heed the others any kind of attention. She’s silent, and her face is gone green. “Talk to me, Scarlet. What’s on your mind?”

“I’m sick of this life,” she sighs. “I’m ready to go home.”

“We’re getting there,” you look around, seeing the vague outline of Highlight. With luck, you didn’t run into anyone else out here, not even the remnants of Angel’s 2nd team. You didn’t know how long you’d cross paths with them, but you figured you still had 12 or 24 hours left.

At “Drunk,” you have all the children remain in the lobby as you take Scarlet to your room. She kicked you off and waved you away, telling you to deal with the kids. She had to rest, and you being in the same room as her as she was like this wasn’t going to do anything. You wanted to protest but didn’t. You went back to the lobby.

Down there, you got together with a very confused Marcelina. She didn’t even seem interested in playing games. She listened to your story with great concern and didn’t ask questions until you were done.

There’s a long discussion. With that discussion is a stack of concerns for you and the entirety of Highlight. It was closed off for the most part, and they had minimal connections with the outside places. Not to mention, Macelina was the wrong person to lend these children off to.

Finally, after a bit of back and forth, you mention Billings. More specifically, you bring up Summer and her ongoing efforts against the ARS. Marcelina laughs when you bring up the Automatic Rifle Syndicate, but when you begin roping in the details of your job, the contracts, the tasks that brought you out here, the less enthusiastic she becomes as she gets better informed.

Her eyes dart to the kids in the lobby, and she curses. “Christ, Warren. I- I don’t know what to say. This is so fucked. This is a lot of weight to drop on someone’s lap.”

“I can’t take them back to where I’m going. I don’t know what will happen if they fall into the direct hands of the ARS, so they have to stay here for as long as it takes.”

“No, I get it, but…What the hell… Sure. It’s not like I have anyone else coming in today, so I’ll take them all to the police here and see if we can get them taken care of.”

“Thanks,” you tell her. “You’re doing a good thing.”

“I know I am,” she says and then looks around. “Where’s your friend? The one with the fake name.”

“Scarlet? She’s…resting, I guess you could say.” You didn’t want to share any more about her than you had to, so you didn’t.

Marcelina has more on her mind but doesn’t offer any questions that are on a personal level. “In the meantime, since we’re both here, do you need anything from me?”