The Second Wave

Everything was settled.
In three days I would leave with Francis for Fort Sungard, where I would help them deal with their little Auslöschen problem. As if one former Hunter could do all that much. So yeah, I'll help them out for a while until they no longer need me and ask me to go to this other base. I'll play along and say okay, but that's when things would take a different route. Then, at some point, I'll ditch my escort and head in the western direction for what is known as the "Abandoned City."
Great name, I know.
Once there, I find Edward's son, some kid by the name of "B.J. Hollens." When I'd asked why his own son had a different surname, he simply responded that the poor bastard had been... well... bastard born. So I find "B.J.". And since he apparently has the long lost Pietra Stone, we rally up a posse and destroy it.
The end needed some work in my opinion. You don't just "rally up a posse" (those were his exact words) and just march into Auslöschen headquarters and cast the one thing that allows them to operate into the only place that it can be destroyed. Nuh-uh. It takes a whole lot more improvisation than that.
Just look at Frodo and the Ring. Things don't always go as you plan them out to be. Especially when you hold a very powerful, very dangerous thing that can only be destroyed when you cast it into the fires of Mount Doom. Well, in this case, it's more like... actually... we have no idea what it looks like. We only know that it's the one place that the Stone can be undone.
So it appeared as if all the thinking out in this plan would have to fall on me. Or me and B.J. could just make it up as we went. Personally, I prefer the latter option, don't you?
"Well," I said, standing up to look at Edward, "it's been a pleasure to work with you."
"Please," he told me as he stood and shook my hand, "the pleasure has been all mine. Besides, all I've wanted is for this whole ordeal to be over with. I believe that you can get it done."
"Let's hope so," I sighed, my hand dropping down. "Well. Unless you have anything else for me, I'd better be going."
"Alright, Lieutenant. I'll see you around."
I promptly left the scene, the eyes of the spectators on my back as I headed away and down the steps to the lower level. I sauntered over to my usual spot in the corner, a pair of male inmates seated at my table. "Beat it," I told them once I stopped in front of them.
"Y-yeah," one of them said, his voice sounding completely oblivious of the world around him despite his stutter. "And w-who's asking?"
"None of your business," I snarled, yanking the chair out beneath him. "And besides, I wasn't asking."
The one I'd just knocked to the floor looked up at me in awe, as if he had no idea that someone could get a chair ripped out from beneath him. "O-okay." He stood up and began to shuffle away when he noticed his partner wasn't following. "C-c'mon man. Let's g-get out of here.This chick is c-crazy"
The second one stood up, getting right up in my face as he said, "Hell naw. There's no way I'm letting a girl tell me what to do."
"Oh really?" I sneered. Two could play at this game. "Even if that girl could totally beat your ass into next week?"
He laughed in disbelief, "Whatever, girl. As if you could do anything to me. I'm an ex- Marine. Served all seven years in the war. What've you got? A killer recipe for chicken?"
"Are you new here?" I asked, my eyes looking over him in disgust.
"Yeah. So? What's it to you?"
"Because," I said right before I slammed him into the back wall, my arm over his throat, and my words coming out fast "everyone here knows not to mess with me. I'm the baddest thing you'll ever see in this Goddamned prison. I don't care if you're an ex- Marine. Hell, I don't care if you're Jesus come back to Earth. But you never, nev-er mess with a Hunter. Didn't they ever teach you that at military school? I could chew you up and spit you out and you would still have no idea what hit you. I've seen and done far too much to be told off by some smart-mouthed-pussy such as yourself. So don't make me say it again. Now beat it."
I released him just as a guard was jogging over to investigate, "It's okay sir," I told the guard. "We're cool. Just making sure this newbie understands just how he should be acting. Ain't that right, fella?" I said, throwing my arm over the prisoner's shoulders, a smile on my face just to prove my sweet innocence.
All he did was glare at me with hatred as he spat out, "Yeah. We were just getting acquainted," he thrust off my arm and I laughed at his childish behavior.
The guard looked at us for another moment before saying, "Okay, Reis. But if I see you two roughing around again, you'll both be sent to the Warden. God knows what would happen to you then. Got it?"
"Yes sir." I responded right as the other prisoner said, "Yeah, whatever."
I turned to look at him as the guard walked away, a smirk on my face, "See? Even the guards know not to mess with me. I got them wrapped around my little finger." I pretended to wind string around my pinkie just to illustrate.
"Shut up, bitch," he said as he turned to walk away.
"Hey," I grabbed his shoulder, "Look, I was just kidding with you. I do it to all the new prisoners. Someone's gotta make sure they know what to do. Oh, and don't call me 'bitch.' It doesn't become me anyway. Just calm yourself down and get over it, okay?"
After looking over me for a minute, he said, "You know what? I like you. You got an ambitious attitude. What was your name again? Reese?"
"Last name," I corrected him. "But you can call me that, if you want."
"Okay... I guess an introduction's in order then. I'm Thomas Cayde. That over there is Charlie Winston," he gestured over at the man with a stutter, who had moved away to the other wall once I'd attacked Thomas.
"Nice to meet you," I said, sitting in the standing chair. "You can sit down if you want."
"Well your attitude certainly changed quickly..." he commented as he tentatively picked up the fallen chair and placed himself atop it.
I shrugged, "Happens all the time. Might as well get used to it."
Thomas nodded. He looked confused, as if he couldn't quite figure out why I was acting the way I was towards him. Hopefully he could come up with an answer because I had no idea myself. "So. What're you in for?" he asked, changing the topic to a more prison- related subject.
"A false crime. How about yourself?"
"Murder," he said in a small voice, his eyes darting to the floor.
I whistled, "Wow. That's some pretty serious stuff. Who was it?"
"The commander of my unit."
"Nice, nice," I said nodding my approval. I was never one for commanders. When it was a life and death situation, you played by your own rules. "You know, I was a commander once. But I still never really liked the stupid know-it-alls who out-ranked me. What'd he do?"
Thomas looked up at me, "He slept with my wife."
I winced, "Ooh. Now that's hitting below the belt. I can't say that ever slept with any of my boys' wives. That would just be kinda weird, don't you think so? Besides," I leaned back and propped my feet up on the table, "I was engaged to some schmuck at the time."
"Who?"
I waved my hand, "Irrelevant, irrelevant. So, how'd you do it?"
Thomas abruptly stood up, "What's got you so damn curious?!"
"I'm just a curious girl. You're a curious guy with a curious story. Can you blame me? Now please, sit back down."
He did. "Well I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you. What's done is done, right?"
I nodded, urging him to continue.
"Well. Once I found out what he was doing, I barged in one night when they were together and just... killed him..."
"Details! Give me the details!"
"I took one of the kitchen knives and stabbed him the heart. My wife screamed and before I knew it... she was dead too. I don't even remember doing it... I was just so... angry..."
"That's rough. Love is overrated, ya know? I don't understand the big craze over it with kids these days is."
"Well the world was just brought back from the brink of destruction. We survived the apocalypse. Makes sense if you ask me."
I blinked in a moment of confusion. Then the fog was lifted as I remembered that the rest of the world still thought the War was over. I had too until twenty-four hours ago.
"Yeah... still makes no logical sense. Why love someone if you just end up getting hurt in the end?"
"Now who sounds like they got the curious story now?" Thomas asked, leaning across the table quizzically.
"Nya. I'm not too big on pouring out my life story to a murderer I just met."
He cocked an eyebrow, "Well, if not to the convicted murderer you just met, then who can you tell your story to?"
"Touché," I said, crossing my arms and legs. "Unfortunately, some stories are better off being forgotten."

==-=

Two days later...

==-=

It was early in the morning, but I'd already been awake for quite some time. I couldn't sleep. No way. I was far too excited. Know why? Because today was the day. The day that Francis promised me I was going to be released. Even though I'd only been here for half the year, it still felt like it had been a lifetime. Each day passed with agonizing slowness.
That tends to happen when all you have to do is walk around in circles and eat.
I ran through my hand over my ponytail, the damp strands chilling my fingers. Earlier, I'd been told by a guard to hurry up and get ready. This had been extremely fortunate seeing as I had begun to grow bored in the small hours of dawn. I now stood in the same room I had three days before, except I now wore the clothes I had first arrived in (washed, of course) and my hands and ankles were no longer bound.
I picked nonchalantly at the collar of my olive green shirt, it was the exact same shade as my pants and went along just perfectly with my black boots. My army uniform. I never thought I would have to wear it again after I'd been arrested. I wished I had something different to wear because green is a very unattractive color on me.
Or maybe I'm just not attracted to it...
Part of me wished that they had me given a dishonorable discharge, the army had never really done all that much good for me and I didn't know how I felt about still being an official member. Apparently I was still a "good person" at heart. Well at least someone thought so, because I had no idea what to make of myself anymore.
Well at least you're going to be free.
Oh yeah? But about how long is it going to last?
"Shut up," I scolded, stopping the thoughts before they had the chance to run wild and drag me away. "It's going to be fine. Just shut up and just... stop thinking about it, okay?"
"Danny? Who are you talking to?"
I looked up with a start, I'd been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't even heard Francis walk in.
"No one," I told him, confused as to why he was asking. He used to talk all the time to himself during the war.
He sighed, "Come on. The paper work has all been dealt with. We're free to go." He escorted me out of the room and through a door I'd never noticed before, which lead down a small hallway and up a flight of stairs that led to the uppermost (and ground) level of the jail. Rune Hall was built underground to help protect it from enemy attacks. We walked straight past the security guards and towards the front doors. I waved flirtatiously at one of the guards as I passed, my tongue momentarily sticking out tauntingly.
"How are they allowing that one to go?" I heard him ask.
I ignored him. I didn't care. I was a free woman now and that's all that mattered. Then, for the first time in six months, I was able to step outside. I pushed open the small metal door and stepped into the world. I took a moment for my eyes to adjust, but once they did, I nearly cried out for joy. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my entire life. The pale morning light of the sun shone on my face and tickled my skin. It was such a wonderful difference to the cold stone walls of my cell. A small breeze tousled my hair as I gazed off at the dark storm clouds squatting far off on the horizon.
Francis was adjusting the saddle on a pale gray horse, not paying attention to the wonderful scenery around him. Didn't he realize how gorgeous it was? I walked up to him slowly, the dirt path beneath me not making a sound. So. Quiet.
"So," I said.
He looked up, "Here," he picked up a black backpack from off the ground and handed it to me. "I got you some of your clothes."
"My clothes?" I asked in confusion. I unzipped the bag and peered inside. Sure enough, several pairs of my very own clothing were nestled inside. I always figured he just got rid of all my stuff. "Oh. Thanks." I shouldered it onto my back.
"This is Shiloh," he said, patting the gray horse's neck. "And," he nodded at a black horse on the other side of Shiloh's rump, "I believe you two already know each other."
I slowly walked around the front of Shiloh to look at the other horse. Knew each other? But as soon as I saw the white blaze on his nose and the white ear I exclaimed, "Hey there Joey!" He had been my faithful companion during the war and I was overjoyed to see him once again. I rubbed his velvety nose as I said, "I had no idea he didn't get a new owner, I thought they would've passed him on after I... had to leave."
"They were going to," Francis told me, "but I held onto him in case you were released." He cleared his throat and mounted.
"Um, thanks," after patting Joey on the shoulder, I pulled myself on top of his back, my legs shifting into their familiar ridding position.
"Right," Francis said, "it's about a week or so until we reach the fort. So just follow me and... just don't do anything stupid, okay?"
I urged Joey into a walk, a smile on my face as I passed Francis, his serious expression making the moment all the more hilarious to me, "Me? Do something stupid? Now where in the world did you ever get that idea?"
He spurred Shiloh to ride next to me, an are-you-kidding-me? expression on his face, "We were engaged once. I know you better than anyone. And if there's one thing I learned from that experience, it's that you have a tendency to do dumb things."
"I was being sarcastic, Francis. Man, it's like you've gotten serious since the last time I saw you. Weeeiird. Heed my words when I say I will have this strange attitude of yours dropped by the end of the week."
"Is that a threat? Or a promise?"
"It's whatever you want it to be, honey."
We rode for the next hour in silence. This of course was completely fine with me, it gave me plenty of time to admire our surroundings. We were traveling on a dirt path, all around us there was nothing but flat plains, sparse trees and other assorted shrubberies scattered here and there. As time passed, the clouds slowly began to grow closer, the wind blowing more frequently than it had earlier. By the end of the morning, it would most definitely be raining. A little strange for summer, but nonetheless welcomed by my newly free body.
Another thing that this long period of silence allowed me to do was think. Something that isn't always the best when it comes to my particular mind. My thoughts had the tendency to run away with me to ideas that I preferred not to think about. For instance, I began to think about what would happen once we got to this fort. I had seen from the picture that there were Auslöschen lurking about. This didn't sit too well with me, of course, because it began to make me think about whether I would still be able to do what I had done in the past. In the war, we had always worked in groups, that way, you don't give your enemy only one target to lock on to. Now, seeing as I had been one of the best there was, I had taken a few down by myself on more than one occasion, but that had been years ago. What if I was just going to end up dying as soon as I faced it? What if freeing me from prison just ended being a complete mistake? The idea of being free only with the purpose of dying didn't settle nicely with me.
Better to die a free hero than to live as a coward in captivity, I thought.
I felt something tap against my hand, and I looked down to see that it was a raindrop. One by one, more and more rain slowly began to fall; the clouds had finally reached us. "Lovely," Francis said, pulling Shiloh to a stop to pull out his coat. "You know, I left one in your bag for you too." He looked at me expectantly as I pulled Joey up alongside him.
"So?"
"So, I suggest that you put it on unless you feel like being soaked to the core."
"I don't mind," I told him as we resumed our journey. "In fact, I would love getting soaked in the rain after being stuck inside for six months of my life." I smiled at him tersely, just to remind him that he was partly to blame.
"Oh, give it a rest, Danny. Ever since I came to visit you three days ago, all I've heard is 'prison this' and 'it's all your fault Francis' and 'what happened to us?' Well I'll tell you what, I'm one-hundred percent willing to let all of this go, if you do too." And to prove that the conversation was over, he nudged Shiloh several feet ahead of me so we could no longer talk without raising our voices.
His words stung, but they made me think, what if he was right?

==-=

It was several hours later, now late morning and rain coming down in full force, when we heard the scream. Both our horses stopped and whinnied, startled by the sudden noise.
"What was that?" I asked, leaning down to pat Joey's neck as I looked around. We had just walked through a small suburban and now we stood stopped on the other side.
"I have no idea," Francis replied as he urged Shiloh forward, her hooves clicking on the blacktop as she cautiously moved forward, "It sounded like it came from that direction," he pointed straight ahead.
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," I tried to peer through the heavy curtain of rain, but I couldn't see anyone. "I'm going to go take a look," I told Francis as I spurred Joey into a slow canter.
"Be careful!" he called after me. I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find the source of the mysterious scream. All I could see were trees, road and rain. Lots and lots of rain. Just as I was about to turn around and head back to Francis, I heard another shout, this time closer and with words.
"You've always been out to get me!" it said. I turned in my saddle and that's when I saw a small figure laying several yards away in the middle of the road.
"Francis!" I called. "I think I've found something!" I dismounted and hurried over to the strange shape. When I got closer, I saw it was a girl, probably about sixteen or so in age and completely passed out. She didn't have much on her, just a flashlight and a pistol which laid next to her body in a small pool of blood. I took one glance over her and I immediately noticed the deep gash on her knee.
"What's going on?" Francis asked, kneeling beside me.
"We need to get her inside before she bleeds out," I said, gently picking her up underneath her knees and shoulders.
We rushed over to the nearest house with an open door, Francis put the horses in the safety of the garage while I placed her on the couch. I set down my bag and pulled out one of my dry shirts, wrapping it around her injured leg. Once I had pressed down nice and secure, I took out another shirt and began in an attempt to dry her off. I started with her hair, which was a dark brown and cut just above her shoulders in rugged, feathery layers.
Cute.
From there I worked the shirt over her arms and uninjured leg, I would have to give her a set of my clothes for her to change in to. Francis walked in, "How is she?" he asked as he closed the door.
"I don't know," I said, leaning back with a sigh. "We'll just have to keep an eye on her and hope she doesn't die."
"What about the General?" Francis asked, but he didn't really sound all that concerned with the subject.
"He'll just have to wait," I said, "because it would too cruel to abandon her in this sort of condition. Do you have any alcohol or antiseptic?"
"Yeah," he handed me a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a roll of bandages. "Need any help?"
"Hold her down in case she wakes up," I screwed the cap off and removed the now blood soaked t-shirt as Francis moved into position. "Ready?"
He nodded.
I tipped the bottle and the clearish liquid poured through the opening and onto her knee.
I'd never heard anybody scream so loud in my entire life.