shattered
We’ve been on the run for almost a week now.
Its not easy - hiding from the patrol officers I’d always been told I could trust, running for cover whenever one came around, slipping out back doors and bribing shopkeepers. It’s a good thing we have plenty of credits to spare, but this is hardly the timeline I’d expected when he hired me.
Right now we’re not even close to any towns, so we can breathe a little easier. It won’t last long, but its nice to be able to stop looking over our shoulders, at least for a few minutes. Even if it does mean sleeping on the ground again.
“Nice to be so far away from the patrols for awhile.” Alec comments, reading my mind again. I don’t know how he does that. Do we really think the same things so often?
“Yeah, it’ll be nice to be able to sleep without worrying about who’s watching.”
I look out across the field. Nothing but grass and trees as far as I can see. Maybe my dad would see something on the borders, but I don’t. Just a field full of knee-high grasses and dandelions. Leaning down, I pick up a dandelion puff growing near my foot and study it for a moment.
“You know that’ll grow more weeds, right?” Alec muses, moving closer.
“Yes, but I like them. Dandelions are so sunny and bright. They’re... happy, in their own simplistic way. And besides,” I gently blow on the puff, releasing the seeds, “I’m supposed to be a creator, remember? I’m helping create plant life, right here.”
We watch the seeds scatter, carried by the wind. As they slowly fall to the ground, Alec picks up another puff and holds it out for me to blow on.
“I’m not one to argue against creation,” He whispers, “Do it again.”
"This is the end," Melodi whispered. Watching as the last man fell in the field below, she knew it was over. And any hope of peace dissolved with that final death.
"What did you expect?" Alec stood beside her, watching the scene unfolding before him with concern. "We never should have been here. This assignment wasn't ours."
"So it should have been someone else's instead, is that it?"
"No, that's not what I-"
"This battle should never have happened. It was unnecessary. What were they thinking..?"
Alec watched Melodi walk away in silence, shaking his head. He knew she was right -- the battle should never have happened. But that knowledge did them little good now. He had hoped to keep Melodi out of it, but that hadn't gone over well with the colonel.
He knew she was the best female soldier they had, but still. He wanted to protect her, and she didn't need this. Not right now...
"...and that was what led to the Battle of Glave Point."
"Battle..?" Cassandra muttered from the back of the room, "I'd call that a massacre."
Everyone forgot that Cassandra had been there. She'd seen the horrors with her own eyes. She didn't need someone to tell her what happened - she lived it.
"Regardless, the ensuing deaths were what prompted Obsidian Dawn to draw up a new charter, to prevent such a battle from happening in the future..."
Cassandra tuned them out.
"Light 'em up," She said, looking to him with fierce determination. There was no joy in her eyes; she took no pleasure from this. The games were over, the battles won. Except for this one. It was a heavy blow, and now they had to strike back.
They couldn't just lie down and turn away. Not this time. This time the message was clear. This time their enemies meant business.
This time... it was a declaration of war.
It all came down to this. The last moment. He had no idea that she would take this path, or that it would lead her here. But now that they were at this point, there was no turning back.
She stared down the lane with wary eyes, tilting her head back and forth as though that would change the path of the ball. She watched with anxious excitement as it made contact at the end of the lane, watched the domino effect as the first touch caused a chain reaction. Finally she looked back to him, grinning.
"Strike!"
The planter was the only thing left, the only thing that survived the fire. No one was sure how it remained untouched, though some suspected it was the mysterious blue roses that grew within it's walls that had something to do with it.
Perhaps Carl was more than just a gardener after all...
Or perhaps it was the Phantom, though some would say they were one in the same. Very few people knew the truth, and they would never tell.
He stared across the table at his opponent, disbelief clear in his eyes. How had she done it? How could she? Did she not realize the implication of her move? The aggressive nature? What was she thinking?
She stared back at him with a triumphant smile. She knew very well what she'd done, what it meant. She was the one who'd suggested the match, after all. It wasn't her fault he was so bad at the game.
"Checkmate."
She blew in like a tornado. No one knew she was coming, but then no one ever did. She would blow in whenever she felt like, stir things up, and then blow out again. She was a force of nature.
She was destined to die, but no one knew. We had no idea. She would smile and pretend that everything was fine, let us believe in our happy little illusion that we would save the world and all go home and live happily ever after.
But happy ever after is a myth. No one's ever found it. Not truly. People still look for it, still wonder if maybe this decision or that one will bring them the happiness they're searching for. But it never does. Never will.
They came down from the sky in a ball of light. Cliche much? But true nonetheless. The light exploded at eye level, so bright we had to shield our eyes. When we could see again, winged beings hovered before us.
Beings with familiar faces.
"How could you?"
"I have no choice."
"Liar."
I look to the other one. He's angry. At us?
"Why?"
One simple word, but heavy with meaning. A plea for understanding, explanation.
Make me understand...
load more entries
writing since 2010 · 36 entries · 33 days shown up
each square is a day—lit means Solo showed up.
8longest streak
33days written
0.3entries / week
the words Solo reaches for
nowunderstanddonebetterinsidecarhardlookinghappenedeyesblowbattlealecmeantcoffeehead