The Second Wave

I was hearing voices but I had no idea where they came from.
"Over here! I think I found something!"
"... before she bleeds out."
I felt like I was floating through air, but at the same time, held up by some unknown force. Was I dead? Because if this was what death felt like, I wasn't so sure I could spend an eternity in this swirling darkness.
"What about the General?"
"Yeah... any help?"
Help? Help with what?
"... in case... wakes up."
Did this mean I wasn't dead?
"Ready?"
Wait. What? Ready for what? What are you doing to me?! Hello?! Someone! Someone please, answer me! Was anyone even there?

==-=

My eyes sprang open as pain shot through my body. A scream parted my lips, not only from the awful pain I was now in, but from panic. There were hands on my legs and shoulders. Who was touching me?! I looked wildly about and spotted two people, a boy and a girl.
"Shh! Calm down!" the boy said, his voice fairly calm despite the situation. "I promise the pain is only temporary." He looked at the girl, "Danny..."
"I'm trying, I'm trying," she responded, screwing the cap onto a bottle of rubbing alcohol. My screams died down to loud groans, the alcohol setting my leg on fire. If I had known one little slip could hurt so much, I would've paid closer attention to where I was going. No I had to pay the price. The boy took his hands off of me as the girl that I believed to be called "Danny" took a roll of bandages and quickly, but not unkindly, began to wrap my knee.
"Who are you people?" I asked, my voice shaking from shock. "And where am I?" I looked around at the small house I was in, was this theirs?
"I'm Jäger," the girl said, "and this is Francis," jerking her head at the boy. "We were just passing through when we found you. We just entered the first open house we saw." I winced as she pulled the bandages tight. "And if you don't mind me asking, what happened to you?"
I sat up and scooted until my back touched the armrest behind me. I pulled my uninjured knee to my chest and hugged it as I told them, "Well you may find this hard to believe, but I didn't watch where I was going and I slipped on a pile of wet leaves and I fell. I must've hit something pretty sharp though, in order to cause so much damage." I looked up at Jäger and Francis, and for the first time, I realized that they both wore matching green uniforms. "Are you guys in the military?"
"Yes," Francis said just as Jäger said, "Unfortunately."
"Okay." I replied in an uncaring manor, but what I was now really thinking about was if they would be able to help me find a certain someone. But I wouldn't ask now. Not until I knew if I could trust these people enough to know that they would give me good information. Or until I found out they had any worthy information at all.
"Here," Jäger said, reaching into a bag next to her and pulling out some clothes, "you should probably change into these. Don't want you to get sick."
"Thanks," I said as Jäger helped me onto my feet. "And did you by any chance find my gun and flashlight? I had them with me when I passed out."
"I dunno," she replied. "Hey Francis, did you spot them by any chance?"
"Yeah. I got them."
We walked down a hallway behind the couch, almost all my weight being supported by Jäger's shoulder. She led me into a door on the right, a bedroom with a small bed positioned in the corner. "Uh... I think this'll do. Do you need any help?"
"No. I think I'll be fine, thanks."
"Okay. Holler if you need something." She turned and walked away, her dark red ponytail disappearing around the corner.
I closed the door and hopped over to the bed, the clothes in hand. I sat down with a small gasp, my leg slightly jarred by the sudden movement of the bed. I carefully began to change my clothes, the wet fabric reluctant to peel away from my body. Changing pants proved to be more difficult than I'd thought. Not only is wet jean a very hard fabric to remove, but I was now almost completely unable to bend my right knee. All the bandages Jäger had used didn't exactly help.
After many contortions and... interesting maneuvers, I was once again in a set of warm, dry clothes. I pinched at the edge of the red Coca-Cola shirt I'd been given, and I realized that this was the cleanest thing I'd worn in quite some time. Gross, now that I thought about it. Pushing those thoughts aside, I hopped over to the door and out into the hall. I sat back down on the couch and surveyed my surroundings.
To my right was the door that went outside, a Christmas wreath hanging crookedly in the center. In front of me was a set of stairs that led upstairs, pictures of young children with cracked frames lining the wall. There was also another hallway to the left of the stairs that led further into the house. Left of my couch was a large television with bullet holes covering its screen, spidery cracks leading to all edges of its surface. And you already know about the hallway behind the couch that led to the bedroom.
Francis sat in a chair across from me, his head leaned back and his eyes closed. He must've been pretty exhausted to be taking a nap near the middle of the day. At least, that's what time I assumed it was. The door swung open as Jäger walked in and I turned my head to look at her.
"How're the clothes?" she asked, her voice sounding tense.
"Good," I replied. "Um thanks, for saving me and all this. It was very kind of you." I shifted uncomfortably as I asked, "You alright? You seem a little... tense all of the sudden."
She nodded, a look that said "what makes you think I'm tense?" on her face. "Yeah. I'm fine. Hey, if Sleeping Beauty here," she gestured at Francis, "asks where I am, tell him that he should stop worrying and just carry on with his life. It shouldn't be all that hard for him, I think."
"Okay..."
"Cool," she grabbed her pack off the floor and jogged upstairs, the thump thump thump of her boots the last noise before silence settled over the house. I shivered even though I was nowhere near cold and began to drum my fingers on my thigh. When I was on the road, I always was doing something and always thinking. Now, all I could do was sit and wonder how long it would take until I was fit to leave.
I looked over at Francis, sleeping in his wet clothes, and wondered what Jäger had meant by "It shouldn't be all that hard for him, I think." I wasn't quite sure if I'd decided if I thought these two hated, or got along with each other. They hadn't argued, yet. But then again, I just met them. Jäger had this... demeanor about her when it came to Francis that made me think that their relationship was much more complicated than "hate" or "got along." I shook my head, it wasn't any of my business anyway. Once I was healed, I would be gone and never see these people again.
I pushed myself up onto my left foot and steadied myself on the armrest; I was going exploring. I hopped through the room and over to the hallway on the other side. I turned left and into a kitchen, the only room I'd seen so far that seemed to be intact. I stopped to lean against the counter, my left leg already feeling a little worn out from all the supporting it had to do by itself. After I felt I could continue, I hopped over to the cabinets and opened it just out of curiosity.
Plus, I was starving.
All I could find in the first was a bunch of cups and Tupperware dishes, so I moved on to the next. This is where all the cereal and other boxed foods were stored. I rummaged through them, trying to find something that hadn't been opened yet. I finally found a sealed box of oyster crackers and I figured I wouldn't die if I were to eat them. I continued looking about the kitchen for a while, and after finding one and a half jars of peanut butter, I got an idea. I grabbed a large Tupperware dish and opened all the drawers possible until I found a spoon. I sat gently down on the floor, not even thinking about how I was going to get back up, and laid everything out before me. I scooped all the peanut butter out and into the dish, occasionally stealing a small lick here and there of the nutty goodness. Then, for the finishing touch, I dumped all the crackers on top and mixed it all together.
I could feel my mouth watering as I lifted the spoon to my mouth, strange concoction though it was. As soon as my lips closed around the cool metal, a moan of pleasure vibrated deep within my throat. It was the best thing I'd eaten... ever. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the bottom cabinets, my wonderful creation clutched tight to my stomach. My teeth crushed the small crackers to bits as I savored each and every bite, and for a while I didn't even notice the pain in my leg.
"What are you doing?" someone asked.
I opened my eyes and saw Jäger leaning on the doorway, now in a fresh set of clothes and a towel wrapped around her hair. I swallowed, "Peanut butter and oyster crackers. I found them in the cabinets."
She nodded, "Interesting choice." She walked over to a window and drew back the curtain to see outside. "Well, the rain's stopped." After looking for several moments she came to stand in front of me. "I'm going outside," she said, reaching down to help me up. "What to come with?"
"Mhmm," I said as I grabbed her arm after placing the spoon in my mouth.
"Okay. Here, lean on me."
"It's okay, I got this," I placed the dish and spoon on the countertop and then began hopping back down the hallway and into the main room, past the sleepy man in the chair and over to the front door. I braced myself for a moment, then hopped back and let Jäger open the door. I followed her outside and she helped me as I went down a small set of stairs.
"You know what I just realized," Jäger said, looking at me as we walked. Well, hopped. "I don't believe I heard your name."
"Tracie. Tracie Walker."
"Well, Tracie Walker," Jäger said with a smile," It's nice to meet you. I'm Jäger Reis."
"Jäger." I said, trying the word out on my tongue. "That's not your real name, is it?"
"Just a nickname I got during my time in the military. But I've been called it so many times, that it feels more and more like my name each day. It's for the best though. I never liked my birth name anyway."
"Oh."
"But Tracie," Jäger said, waggling her finger in the air, "now there's a name you can be proud of. I always liked that name, you know."
"Thanks."
"You don't talk much, do you?"
"Not really."
I heard her give a small laugh as I followed her over to the garage. She went inside while I took a short rest against the wall. I heard her murmur to someone and I lifted up my head to hear better. Were there possibly more of them? I pushed myself away and rounded the corner only to spot Jäger talking to two... horses? I slowly hopped forward, wondering if the recent loss of blood was messing with my vision. But sure enough, there were two horses standing in the garage, a pile of provisions stacked in the corner. Jäger turned to look at me, a small smile on her face. This made her look silly along with the towel wrapped on top of her head, "They don't bite," she said, ushering me forward. I made my way over, the gray horse turning its great head and tipping its ears in my direction. I stopped next to Jäger, who was petting the muzzle of the larger black horse. "This," she kissed a white patch running down his face, "is Joey. He's my big buddy. And that's Shiloh, Francis' horse."
I nodded but didn't say anything, the large animals scaring but amazing me. I'd never seen a horse this close before. Only on TV. or along the road in pastures as me and my family drove through the more rural parts of Kentucky, my home state. I know that Kentucky is, was known for its horses, but that doesn't mean I ever got to get this close.
"You can pet them, if you want."
"I'm fine, thanks. I'll just watch."
"Suit yourself," After a few moments of silence, Jäger broke it by saying, "Man, this towel's hot." She bent over and unwound the towel, then, she flipped her head back as she straightened, bright red hair falling into place.
Wait. Bright red hair. Military.
Suddenly, a rush of memories flooded into my mind. Sights and sounds playing in a never ending loop.
"Don't play coy with me," the woman snarled, her fingers clutching tighter at the gun aimed at my dad's head. "I know that you've been feeding vital information to the Machines. I have the evidence to prove it."
"We swear," my mother cried. "We would nev-"
"Shut up!" she screamed.
I remember cowering inside of the closet, the whole scene visible through the slightly opened door. I remember shutting my eyes just as she pulled the trigger, not wanting to watch the life leave my parents.
I knew that it was just a coincidence that these two things happened to fit the description of the person I was searching for, but it brought back the entire purpose of my travels back to mind. Besides, Jäger was too nice to ever kill innocent people. Plus, I had seen her face, and it wasn't Jäger's. I was certain that there were multiple red- headed women in the army. Especially after the war and everyone started joining up. All I had to do was find the right one.
"Tracie?" Jäger asked, her voice echoing through my skull.
I looked at her, "Hm?"
"You okay?" she had her brows furrowed and her hand was on my shoulder.
"Yeah," I told her, placing a hand on my forehead. "I think I'm just tired and a little dizzy from all the blood loss."
"Do you want me to help you into the house?" she asked, completely believing the lie.
I nodded.

==-=

That night, I didn't sleep.
My body was too fidgety.
My ears were too willing to hear everything.
My eyes were darting all over the walls.
And as I laid there all night, tossing and turning...
My mind was busy thinking about how I could sneak away without them noticing.
Because I was more determined than ever to find her.
Before it was too late.