Quaranteam: Mike's Hurdles Ch. 02

This is an official spin off approved by Corrupting Power. Thank you for letting me write in your world of Quaranteam. I would also love to thank all the writers who also share this universe for their stories, support and encouragement. BreakTheBar and AgathonWrites for your reviews and keeping everyone on track. I would highly recommend that you review all the stories that exist in this world and support the other authors.

CHAPTER 2

Team Hutchinson

-Mike Hutchinson: 18 year old high school graduate. He is a natural goalkeeper for both his high school and the men's Moscow United team.

-Cindy Lee Jones: 18 years old, Mike's high school crush and star striker on any soccer (football) team she was on. Her non school team was the women's Moscow United. She is biracial with her dad being of American English descent and her mom being Tiwanesse.

-Tina Johnson: A 22 year old recent graduate from the Air Force Academy in Colorado. The pandemic threw her into the deep end and gave her the opportunity to be partnered to Mike.

-Emma Anderson: 18 years old, Cindy's rival in soccer from the Boise Timbers for many years. Her dad is well off due all of his business connections in Idaho especially around the mining operations.

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July 19, 2020

Mike's eyes slowly opened as the sun started to filter through the curtains. At some point in the night he had rolled onto his back. It took him a moment to remember that he wasn't in his room with Cindy or Tina.

As he slowly pieced together his surroundings and world he realized that Emma was cuddled up next to him with her arm across his chest. Looking at her, he couldn't help but smile at this gal that was put together to impress him last night now laying there ponytail starting to come undone. With the sunlight coming in and the fact he felt rested, Mike figured that he should probably go and get checked in with the person who explained everything the night before.

He slid out from Emma's arm and she seemed to cuddle into the pillow he was laying on. He then took the world's fastest shower mostly to wash the scent of sex off of himself before he got dressed with the clothing he managed to put on before heading here. The last things he put on was the Mask that he was given and his phone.

An eerily silence filled the halls as he went to the elevator and went downstairs. The awkwardness Mike felt in the elevator could smother a small animal as he didn't know what to expect. Really he had no clue if this was a cruel prank or a gift from the heavens as he went from being a virgin to having sex with three really attractive women, one of which he had been pining over for years. As the doors opened he heard noises for the first time that wasn't just him.

Before him were all sorts of masked individuals. Dressed in military fatigues, bright yellow hazmat suits, and even cop and firefighter uniforms. Everyone seemed to have a job or was handling something.

Mike stood like a deer in the headlights before he heard a familiar voice, "Michael over here, it's a great sign that you are able to come down." He looked to see one of the guys in a gas mask and fatigues waving to him. He hurried over as they stepped into one of the meeting rooms. Set up were disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer and a similar testing machine to what he had seen last night. The soldier raised Mike's sleeve and wiped a spot down with disinfectant before pulling a blood sample which he quickly put into the machine.

As it started to do its thing, "so how are you feeling?" The man asked.

Mike, "I feel way better, the cough is gone, but I also don't know how to feel. I mean 12 hours ago, if you had told me I was going to have a threesome with two extremely attractive women, I would have laughed and said you were out of your mind. I doubted I would even get a chance with Cindy and yet here I am." There was a pause, "I mean I feel like I just lived every teenage boy's dream but everything just doesn't feel real any more. I am also worried as no one I have texted has responded. Well, except my mom. I should probably let her know."

There was a ding from the machine, which broke Mike out of his thoughts. The soldier let out a sigh of relief. "You can text your mom you are all clear of DuoHalo. It looks like we were able to get you in time."

Mike pulled out his phone and frantically texted his mom that he was okay. He also sent a text to his family group chat that he was okay and feeling better. As he typed the last words he couldn't help but have a sense of dread that he quickly pushed to the side.

Looking up Mike noticed the guy he had been speaking with had taken off the mask. Sitting in front of him was an older gentleman with gray streaks in his hair. "So I guess we get to dive into what is next, and don't worry I have three partners currently myself as I am working as security for different moving parts. My name is Sergeant Davis." He extended a hand to Mike, which Mike shook.

"So since you are partnered with three women we obviously can't really have you going home to live with your family or Ms Jones's family, so I have pushed through a background check for both you and Ms Jones so you can live at the on base housing we have Airman Johnson set up at."

Mike sat and nodded as he processed the information. "Don't worry I know this is a lot, but I may have to let my wife know about you and your team coming to the base and she will be happy to help with your getting settled and making food. She is a natural mom so anything she can do to take care of others is a good thing. So she will probably check on you all at some point to make sure you all are settling in okay."

There was a knock at the door and someone waved to the Sergeant. He looked at Mike and gave a smile, as he started to put on his mask. "My name is Nathan by the way, here is my personal number if you need anything. I know you are young and life isn't going the way you expected. Well it's not for any of us, but I want to make sure you have the support you need." He laughs as he says "plus I have worked with your mom before despite being different branches and she will murder me and figure out how to get away with it if I let anything happen to you."

With this last statement, Nathan put on his mask and left the room for Mike to sit with his thoughts. Walking over to the window he looked out over the front. He saw a bunch of emergency vehicles along with military vehicles as well. The most shocking thing was the rows of bodies he saw laying out mostly covered by sheets. They ranged in size from teenagers to full adults. Mike looked at his phone as a dark thought hit him, Dan, Tony, his coach, the rest of his teammates could all be out there. He then looked back out as two people carried another body out.

The sheet slipped and Mike saw it was Dan. It was no longer just a thought but a realization, rushing to him like a tidal wave.

His stomach turned and he grabbed the nearest garbage can as he threw up, which was mostly stomach acid as he didn't have anything to really eat since yesterday morning. Once he wiped up his mouth, he grabbed his phone and tried to call his dad, then his step mom with both going to voicemail. "Please call me back as soon as you can please," he uttered to both voicemail boxes. He felt the world slipping away as his vision started to tunnel.

Mike glanced back outside and saw the next body being brought out and laid next to Dan. It was a similar size and he just knew it was Tony. Turning away Mike sat on the floor, his back against the wall as he just started to hyperventilate. He sent Snapchat messages, texts, TikTok messages to everyone he knew just asking them to reach out to him as soon as they could. Tyson was sent four different messages via different platforms. His best friend, the guy he had known since first grade, the one who encouraged him to try out for soccer in the first place. Was this why he wasn't here at the tournament?

Mike was always told that he shouldn't cry but he could feel his chest tightening with every passing moment. His breathing had become raspy and irregular as he tried to regain control of his emotions but the world crashed onto him and sent him into a full panic attack. He couldn't hold it any longer as he just started uncontrollably sobbing. Struggling to breathe as he often gasped for breath before the sobs took over again.

He was lost. There was no sense of time as he sat there trying to bring himself back to a state that he could make it back to his room, and go back to the women that probably saved his life. His head buried into his legs he felt left a pair of arms wrapped around him. They just held him as he let his shoulders slump, the sobbing coming to an end. Mike felt his senses slowly come back as he heard Tina's muffled voice through her mask and the only words he could catch were, "I am so sorry Mike." His head was still buried into his knees as he just sat there. He didn't know how long he sat there before she helped him stand up and walked him back to his room.

It felt both like a second and an eternity when they left the conference room to get to his room. Mike didn't really remember the walk or that Tina was half carrying him up to the room.

As they stepped in the room, Mike could see that Cindy was very scared as she had waited there for him. She launched herself at him and shoved her face into his chest. This caused him to just break down again. The two of them sank to the floor as Tina stood there for a moment before slowly leaving the room. Mike choked as he managed to get out, "they are all dead, Dan, Tony, who knows who else." Cindy joined him in crying about those who had passed and those whose status were unknown.

Eventually Tina came back to the room. "Hey Cindy I know this is going to be hard but can I get you to come with me so we can pack your stuff up," she sadly stated not quite wanting to pull her away from Mike. Then awkwardly keep going, "Your roommate has passed away and I don't want to accidentally mix her stuff in with yours." Mike felt Cindy just stiffen up in his arms, he knew he needed to say something but in his grief and shock he couldn't find the words to get out. Cindy broke away from the embrace and wiped her nose as she nodded to Tina. Grabbing a mask and tightened her hoodie so only her bloodshot eyes showed, the pair left the room.

Mike sat in silence, alone once again. The thoughts of who else had died started to fill his head as he looked down at the dark screen of his phone. No new notifications, just the Manchester City logo stared back at him.

Mike took a deep breath before he stood up and started to slowly pack his things. He just felt numb, like he wasn't actually doing the task but just going through the motions.

Stopping at his soccer bag he saw a protein bar that had fallen out. Slowly realizing that he hadn't eaten in over 24 hours, he grabbed it and opened it up. By the time he had finished packing his bags the protein bar had been about halfway finished.

He sat down no longer having anything to distract him from the crushing weight of the reality that he was facing. It wasn't long before Tina came back, "Hey Mike, I took your car keys and got the girls out to your car." He nodded as barely he registered what was said to him. "Well, let's get you packed up and we can go. I think it's best we all get out of here as there isn't much else we can really do," Tina gently said to Mike putting a hand on his shoulder. Mike stood up and gathered his bags backs along with the Corgi butt pillow Cindy had brought to the room. Tina grabbed Cindy's laptop and led him down the elevator towards the back door. He followed through the hallways like a mindless zombie, not even registering how many open doors he passed.

The sun poked through the clouds as they approached the car. Before they even arrived they could sense a tension in the air. Mike finally broke out of his thoughts to see both Cindy and Emma at either end of the car. They stared at each other with their arms crossed and Cindy held a half eaten rice cake. Cindy in the Air Force sweatshirt and a pair of soccer shorts and Emma in her team's long sleeve warm up shirt and short shorts.

Cindy turned towards him and Tina as they approached. In an exacerbated voice Cindy vocalized, "Mike what do you mean she is paired with you too!?"

Emma not being out done, "you didn't tell me you were dating her!"

Mike watched as they turned back towards each other as they argued over the fact that they were both paired. Mike, completely taken aback, slowly asked, "I ummm, what is the issue?"

They both turned back towards and loudly talked at him where all he was able to make out was opponent, rival, wrong team. He raised his hands to try to quiet them down as his chest started to feel tight again.

Tina picking up on the situation gave a sharp whistle which shut everyone up.

"First Mike is in no place to mentally deal with this and neither are you two, we can hash out how we are going to make this work later. Second and I am going to be blunt, there is no reversing this so you two will be figuring this out so we don't run into issues down the road. Third, you are getting in this car now or I am leaving your asses here." Tina barked at the two young women. Their eyes were wide as they nodded not wanting to argue with Tina after that outburst.

"Now hand me your ids so I can just hand them when we get to the base gate." Tina held out her hands. The three 18 year olds all fumbled for their wallets before they passed the ids to Tina.

Turning to Mike and in a softer but still authoritative tone, "Mike I would recommend you three sit in the backseat with you in the middle to keep these two semi separated."

Mike knew better than to question and just opened the door and climbed in. Not that he had any mental energy to argue anyway. As he buckled up he felt two bodies press into either of his sides. Both Cindy and Emma clung to his arms as they drove. Even with everything that has happened and the unknowns that were still out there, having the two women cuddle up next to him just felt nice.

Tina started the car and began the 2 hour drive from Sandpoint, Idaho to Fairchild Air Force base on the opposite side of Spokane, Washington. The trip was quiet and uneventful. The three in the back seat fell asleep huddled against each other.

They woke with a start as there was a knock at the window. Mike glanced and jumped as he saw a gas mask peering through the window. The individual then held up their ids cards as they checked faces against the cards before they passed them back to Tina's outstretched hand.

With a nod someone opened the gate. Tina gave a salute before she pulled forward. She looked into the rearview mirror and commented, "look at you three sleepyheads. We are here. I am going to stop by the office to pick up my, our keys to the house as I was sent directly to you all as soon as I arrived."

The pit stop didn't take too long as they were aware Tina was on her way. Mike watched as they drove past cookie cutter houses that were the on base housing. Tina pulled into a driveway and turned off the engine. "Home sweet home," she stated as she tried to be as cheerful as possible. Mike managed to give a very slight smile.

The trio disembarked from the back seat and unloaded the trunk. Cindy and Emma still glared at each other but at least no vocal arguments erupted. Tina led them inside to a fairly sparse house. There was an awkwardness that just filled the space as no one quite knew what to do.

Bags were moved past the few moving boxes to the upstairs bedroom. And they all stood there Mike just stared at the bed.

"I don't know if I want to share a bed with her," Emma stated into the aether.

Cindy shot her a dirty look, "well you are welcome to sleep on the couch or the guest bed but I am sleeping in the same bed as my boyfriend."

Before it escalated any farther, Tina was quick to speak up, "hey ladies let's discuss this elsewhere. Actually how about I take us to Wal-Mart so we can get some clothing as I can see you don't have a ton of clothes. Mike, what size do you wear? I want to make sure to grab some clothes for you too."

Mike looked over at Tina, "a large shirt and 32x34 pants."

She nodded and shooed the two other ladies out and to the car. Mike slumped to the bed and pulled out his phone. There were no new messages, and all the ones with read receipts were unread. He texted his family chat again, "I am so worried please let me know you are okay." There was a pit in his stomach when he hit send.

Without thinking he typed out, "I am at Fairchild." He sent this to his mom not expecting a response from her as he just assumed she was busy with this crisis that he had managed to find himself in.

Time seemed to slow as he stared at his phone and prayed someone would respond.

He jumped as he heard the doorbell ring. Coming back to reality he got up and put on a mask. Opening the door he saw a shorter middle aged woman with blonde hair and a pastel pink mask. He could tell she was smiling based on how her eyes sparkled.

"Hi I am Rachel. Nathan's wife! He texted me that you should be arriving with your partners today and I figured I would welcome you to the base with some homemade tater tot casserole," as she offered a baking pan covered in tin foil.

With everything that has happened in the last day Mike was shocked by the genuine kindness this stranger had shown. "Ummmmm thank you," Mike managed to get out.

"My pleasure, maybe once you all settle in and Nathan returns from disaster control, we can schedule dinner or a game night."

Mike looked up to her from the dish he just stared at. "Ya that would be good, Nathan exchanged numbers so I will text him to schedule something. That is once I ummmmm talk to my partners."

She nodded enthusiastically and left Mike closed the door and set the casserole on the counter. He noticed his phone screen listed a notification on it. He jumped at opening the phone and his shoulders sank.

"Hey Mike, it's Nathan. Don't be surprised but my wife Rachel insisted on making you all some food so you didn't have to cook tonight."

Conflicted emotions swirled in Mike's mind. It was nice to get the text from Nathan but he had gotten his hopes up that it was his family or one of his friends. "Thank you, she just dropped the food off."

He set down the phone as he sat down on the couch. All he could manage to do was blankly stare off into space. Before he knew it the three women returned with bags of clothes and groceries in their arms.

Cindy called from the kitchen, "what's this?"

Mike shamed his head to return back to reality, " oh, Nathan the soldier that was there at the hotel and gave us the vaccine. His wife made some tater tot casserole and brought it over for dinner."

He offered to help put stuff away but the girls refused and told him to just relax. Without the energy to even shrug, Mike returned to his spot on the couch.

Eventually a plate was put into his lap. The smell of the tater tot casserole filled his nose. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks that he was starving. Before anyone of his partners could say anything he just shoved the food into his mouth as fast as he could.

The sound of chuckles and laughter slowly filled the living room as he was watched. Once he finished scarfing the plate, he glanced up.

Tina tried not to laugh too much, "you were starving, do I need to get you another plate?"

Mike sheepishly nodded as he looked to see Cindy and Emma at opposite ends of the dining room table eating their food. They both blushed as he looked at them. Cindy diverted her gaze back to her food but Emma held his look for a moment.

He took more time to eat his second plate of food. For the first time since he woke up this morning he had a sense of comfort.