Alex stared down at the freshly deposited soil before her, wordlessly and expressionless. A soft breeze carried fine wisps of her hair from the accumulated resting place upon her shoulders. In the still night, lit only by the flashlight she held, a chorus of insects were audible within the quiet stillness. It should have seemed, peaceful, but Alex felt only turmoil inside herself. Her mouth opened, but hung agape as she found a loss for what to say, what to do next. She had worked with James for the last couple of hours to finish moving the bodies, even adding the mangled corpses of the bloodhounds to avoid attracting more predators. Though the scent of blood and death still hung heavy in the air. In fact, Alex was sure the putrescent odor all but permeated from herself.
She was still grimy, covered from head to toe in blood, dirt, and things she’d rather not think too hard about. She felt the sting of bite marks on her leg, and another from the small gash on her arm. She had noticed these wounds earlier, but during the course of the skirmish with the bloodhounds they must have gone unnoticed, most likely due to the amount of adrenaline that was rushing through her. She took a slow, steady breath, feeling the soft caress of the wind playfully pass across her face, ruffling her hair. In the last few days she had come so close to dying, so many times, for many different reasons. All of which, boiled back down to herself. She unable to control herself, or her emotions, and that had become a great weakness on her part. Yet, despite everything, she was alive. These bodies… no, these people before her were not, and for what reason? A handful of food, meaningless jewelry? Killing came so easily to her, but as she stood over the aftermath, she couldn’t help but wonder why.
James let out a sigh shortly after using his shovel to smooth and level out the mound of dirt, jamming it into the ground next to him before gazing upwards. Somewhere inside him, there was a burning rage, an unbridled hatred against the ones who had done this, but for now it wasn’t more than a vestigial spark. Besides, as much as James’ more conscious emotions had similarly drifted towards that of contempt towards the Forsaken, they were far less substantial, and he knew his energy was better spent on trying to think of some way to memorialize this site. It wasn’t every day a town simply got sacked by a bunch of bloodthirsty sociopaths. He figured that he could get to that in time. Two people was hardly enough to either erect a proper epitaph, nor to perform a 21 gun salute.
He closed his eyes and tilted his head back downwards.
”Well, now what?” he asked, somewhat absentmindedly.
Alex glanced over at him, barely able to make him out through the darkness,
”I suppose that’s it… huh… we should say something..” “I suppose,” James replied.
“But what would we say? It’s not like either of us knew these people.” At that, James had to pause for a moment. What if no one had made it out? What if this was the entire population of the town? He hoped not, but if it were true, then who would know any of their names? Their lives? Their goals, accomplishments, shortcomings, any pertinent information about them? Their entire lives would be reduced to nothing other than “one among many who died at Isolone; rest in peace.” No one would know anything about them other than they were once alive, now dead.
“It’s a shame, what happened here,” he continued.
“What if we just buried the whole town? Who knows how long this… massacre would have gone unnoticed… And these people; what if this was all of them?” he murmured.
Alex glanced back down at the mound of dirt, here lied the last vestiges of the people of Isolone, as far as anybody was concerned.
”Perhaps you’re right,” She started, trailing off for only a moment,
”Here lie the remains of eighty-seven people, and not a soul left to speak about it.”There was a moment of silence between the two of them. James wanted to say something in return, but words refused to come to him. The two simply stood there for some time, alone with their thoughts. James bowed his head, laying it on the handle of the shovel.
”What more can we do at this point?” he asked. Of course he would have liked to do a little more for these unfortunate souls, but he also knew when there wasn’t much left to be done. Almost without thinking about it, he picked up the shovel and began trudging back to the post office.
Alex followed him wordlessly, bringing her own shovel. It was a quick walk back to their established shelter from around the back, from the freshly filled in mass grave. It wasn’t right to call it a cemetery, at least not yet. Alex felt she should be a bit more thankful for that thought, but it only brought more gloom into her mood.
”Your fight is over..” She whispered beneath her breath to the dead residents of Isolone. James almost chuckled at that.
“I suppose that’s befitting,” he commented.
Alex shot him a quizzical look, before remembering exactly what it was that made him so special,
”That’s going to take some getting used to,” She said, giving a meager chuckle.
She entered the post office after James, feeling the somberness in the air like a thick, translucent blanket. Her body ached, and her wounds required attention.
”The fifth building or so down the road there has a broken water main… I could use with a bit of freshening up,” She said, wiping her hands as best as she could before shouldering one of the duffel bags,
”Try not to run off with my stuff,” She said, only half heartedly trying to sound amused, before turning and exiting the building. She needed some time to process, and she was guessing James did too.
James sat himself down in the post office, finding a ratty couch to sit on while Alex went to clean up. Had he been somewhat more lucid, it would have occurred to him that this may be the only intact couch within a hundred miles, and it would be a bad idea to get it dirty.
“I’ll be going after you,” he said, reclining himself on the couch. He could feel the soupy texture of every blotch of filth on him and his clothes, which prompted him to remove his gloves, shemagh, and hoodie, tossing them aside for later cleaning. His bare upper body had managed to remain mostly clean, but it didn’t stop him from feeling disgusting. It was a good thing he removed his jacket when he did, or it would be just as filthy. He knew he should be doing something productive, but he was too exhausted; physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Alex arrived at the shattered house and let out a sigh. The entire front of it was caved in, but one section had toppled outwards leaving a room with piles of rubble on two sides, and open air on the others. A mangled pipe protruded out of the rubble, which Alex bent to somewhat better accommodate itself to a showering fixture. It was still only better than a trickle, but it would be enough to get the grime off of herself, and maybe wash her clothes too.
She didn’t spend very long at all, working vigilantly to pull the grime from her hair, and whatever was stuck to her skin. Perhaps what was about twenty minutes later, a tired, but refreshed Alex emerged from the broken, decrepit house cleaner than when she had arrived. Her dirty clothes had been thoroughly washed, with a little help from a bar of soap, and she was dressed in a fresh set of clothes; A simple white shirt that reached down to her thighs, and a pair of shorts beneath. Though she kind of ruined the homely, girlfriend look with her spare set of clean boots.
”Your turn,” She said casually, still halfway down the street from the post office, trying to ascertain the extent of James’ powers, though mostly out of girlish curiosity.
“Kay,” James offhandedly shouted, standing himself up and grabbing his backpack in one hand and his dirty laundry in the other before heading off to the building he saw Alex coming from. She definitely seemed to do a good job of cleaning herself up. It wasn’t unlikely she had some cleaning supplies on her. Something he didn’t have.
“Do you have any soap or something that I can borrow?” he asked , stopping in the street a few feet from her.
”Oh, yea I do, one sec,” She replied, fishing around inside her duffel bag and pulling out her amenities,
”I hope you don’t mind smelling like a bouquet of flowers, but here you go. Just try not to use it all,” she said, handing the supplies over to him.
James was caught somewhat off guard by that. He hadn’t taken Alex to be the sort of person to use anything that could be construed as girly, but he figured it best not to dwell on it.
“Thanks,” he replied, hardly even taking notice of the fact that he would soon be using this stuff. Regardless of the scent which he was about to douse himself with, he still wanted to get himself clean.
He maneuvered his way around all the collapsed bits of the building towards the sound of the trickling water. Once he reached the pipe, he began his typical routine of cleaning himself off. It occurred to him that it would have been smart to bring his own hygienic equipment from Aspin, but he also hadn’t expected this turn of events. He had expected to buy more things in Russell before moving in; something that may have been an impossibility regardless of whether or not he had ever met Alex.
After spending roughly fifteen minutes cleaning off himself and his filthy clothes, he was back to looking like a proper human being, and while he managed to completely clean his gloves, shemagh and jeans, his hoodie had suffered from taking on a couple grimy stains. He figured they would come out after enough times washing it. After drying off and putting on a clean pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, he headed back to the post office, feeling clean, but still tired. Today had been nothing short of exhausting for him. It seemed that there would, furthermore, be no rest for the weary as he noticed the couch on which he had previously sought relief was now outside of the post office.
“What the hell is this?” he asked, indignantly.
Alex walked through the door, looking up at James as if he had asked a silly question.
”It’s a couch,” She replied simply as she fiddled with opening the top of a jar filled with a dark colored liquid.
“I can see that, but I had hoped to, you know, lay on it,” he retorted.
“What prompted you to move it out here, and…” he stopped, taking note of the jar in her hands.
“What’s in that? It looks… oily.””Well..” She started, stopping as she looked at him,
”I was going to burn it.”James dropped his backpack, and nearly his still-wet clothes as well, at the thought of that.
“Why would you do that?” he half-asked, half-exclaimed.
“It’s a perfectly intact couch, we can clean it up and use it to sleep on! I don’t know about you, but I don’t think we’ll find a bed in that post office!” he ranted.
“For that matter, why burn anything in the first place? It’s not like…” He stopped himself, realizing he was about to say something incredibly stupid. He noticeably calmed down for a moment, clearing his throat.
“Surely you can find something, I dunno, less useful to burn,” he quipped.
”If you want to scrub the human remains, blood, and.. brownish goop from the cushions than be my guest, but I’m not wasting all of my soap on a couch,” She retorted calmly.
Calmly. That thought made her pause for a moment, she wasn’t getting overly aggressive or angry, which was curious thing considering her recent track record.
James cracked a small smile at that.
“Given enough time, and that we can get some proper cleaning supplies, I’m sure I will,” he replied smugly. He was about to push the couch back inside when he realized that there wasn’t really any good place to put his damn clothes. He sighed, conceding to a point.
“We should probably put up a clothesline, or something,” he stated.
”Better than where I put mine,” Alex replied, pointing to her wet clothes hung within the office’s broken window,
”You can see a hell of a lot better than I can though.”James set his things down in the post office, looking for supplies to set up a line.
“If you want to make a fire, go for it. Just, you know, don’t touch my damn couch!” he said, somewhat playfully. He put his clothes on a relatively clean counter, setting his backpack down to look for a rope. He found that fairly easily, but he knew he’d still need something to secure the clothes to the line, once he found a spot.
His hands found the rope in his pack, which he promptly pulled out and took outside to find a place to set up the line. It didn’t take long. He tied one end of the rope onto what was likely a flagpole at one point, then took the rest of the rope over to an adjacent building, tying it off on what was once a post on the front porch of a house. It was damaged, but would likely hold enough weight to keep both his and Alex’s drying clothes suspended. Now he just needed some way to secure said clothes.
Alex, meanwhile, had wandered off in search of something to burn. A chill had seeped in over the night, while not particularly cold, it was making her legs wish she had on longer bottoms. Unfortunately she wasn’t always the most thorough when packing her things, and hadn’t even accounted on a situation of this magnitude. She meandered down the street, lot in her thoughts, trying to contemplate the day’s events and her feeling of serenity. For the past.. she didn’t know how long, she had been consumed by overwhelming rage, now she was–
She was broken from her thoughts as she bumped into a piece of bent metal. Lost in her thoughts, she had barely paid attention to where she was going, until she found herself in a building directly across the street from the post office. The interior of this building mostly consisted of rubble and splatterings of blood. A moment later and she was grunting with effort as she dragged out half of a heavy wooden bedframe, unconcerned about the feeling of lacquer beneath her hands; She had probably inhaled worse things.
James figured if push comes to shove, he could simply drape the damp clothes over the line and then tie them off at the bottom to keep them from getting blown away by a strong wind, or untying one end and sliding them over the line. As a matter of fact, that’s exactly what he started doing as he realized that he had no good way of securing them other than by their own weight. He started with his hoodie, untying the end of the line by the post office and threading the rope through each sleeve before pushing it down the line. The next item that he hung was his pants, which was done much easier by way of using the belt loops to keep them suspended.
He repeated the process with Alex’s clothes until every piece he could find was draped over the rope and blowing in the breeze. He then took a moment to ensure each end was tightly secured before taking a step back, as if to admire his own resourcefulness. He then went to push the couch back into the post office, although he figured it would be best to put it somewhere out of sight until he could get it cleaned up.
By the time Alex had dragged the wooden bed frame over, along with two broken end tables and a decent sized piece of flat scrap metal over towards the post office, it seemed James was just about done with what he had been doing.
”Having fun with the laundry, dear?” She jested playfully, through a grunt of effort at dragging the last bits of broken wood over that she was planning to gather.
James made a somewhat quizzical look at that comment, at which point he took note of their differences in activities. He was almost embarrassed.
“I can’t help but feel like there’s a bit of gender role reversal going on right now,” he replied, closing the door to the small storage room he had put the couch inside and coming out to help Alex with what she was doing.
”Hehe, thanks doll,” She teased, letting James give her a hand. Fortunately she was just about done.
”In the duffel bag closest to the window, there’s a cloth box zipped closed… do you like spicy?” Alex asked, locating her jar of fuel from the ground and unscrewing the cap to drizzle about a quarter of the liquid over the pile of miscellaneous scrap wood centered around a fragmented end table.
“In moderation,” he replied, walking over to the duffel and pulling out the item Alex asked for.
“I’m not really partial to spicy things, but I’ll eat them.” He brought the box over to her as she drenched the miscellaneous wood pieces in what James assumed was some flammable liquid. Alex motioned for him to set the box down as she clicked a sparking device, directing the tiny little spark towards the pile of wood.
A moment later and a spark at sailed far enough to catch on the starting agent and turn the pile of wood into a small raging inferno, if only for a second, before calming down into a steady blaze.
”I can try to cater to your tastes.. but it’s still probably gonna be spicy,” she said, opening the lunchbox. She looked down into its dim depths, thinking back on her original purpose of bring fresh meat–a celebratory beginning to a new life. She hadn’t once thought it would be the conclusion to a pitiful funeral for a multitude of strangers.
From inside the box she pulled out a small parcel, wrapped in shiny foil, and a small metal tool. She unwrapped the foil, and extending the metal tool out into a long cooking spit she skewered two slabs of normalish looking meat; which began sizzling almost immediately as she stuck one end of the tool into the ground to suspend the meat over a small edge of the fire.
”You know..” Alex started, as she drizzled an orange liquid over one of the cooking steaks, and just about drowning the other,
”I’m not sure if you’re incredibly open hearted with people.. or just plain off, but I’m glad you’re here.” She stopped for a moment, her mind finding the awkwardness in such a statement as she mulled it over.
”I mean, it’s better than being alone, and you did save my ass from hungry bloodhounds,” She followed up quickly to clarify what she had meant exactly.
James chuckled slightly at that statement as he sat down next to Alex.
“I’m not sure about ‘open hearted’. I mean, I did have my own motives for coming here. I suppose you just got lucky in that regard,” he said, matter of factly. He stopped to think about what he said, realizing that could have come off as being very cold.
“But really, I’m glad I could help,” he finished, hoping to mitigate his prior mistake.
“So, what is this, anyways?” he asked, waving a hand towards the food.
”I’m actually not entirely sure,” Alex responded, chuckling,
”It’s called Druffalo meat, and it’s spicy.”“Hahaha, hooray for mystery meat!” James exclaimed sarcastically.
Alex giggled softly in response as she watched the flames flicker and dance before her.
”Takes one to know one,” she mused aloud, though she was partially just thinking to herself.
James tilted his head, then cocked an eyebrow.
“What? Mystery meat? I’m not sure I follow,” he replied.
”No,” She replied with a slight chuckle,
”I meant you.. this wanderer who tracks down this monster to question her and then… and then what? There’s just… nothing,” She focused her gaze on the fire as she moved to rotate the quickly browning meat.
James grunted and laid himself down, placing his arms behind his head.
“Well when you put it that way it sounds so bleak,” he said. His eyes scanned across the sky, going between the stars. It reminded him of what some of the scientists back in Aspin would say, but he kept it to himself for now.
“And besides, you don’t seem like much of a monster to me,” he finished.
”Thanks,” she said, though the thought hung heavily over her. Even if she wasn’t a monster, there was one inside of her.
”You really have this uncanny way of nonchalantly changing the subject whenever it falls onto you… I’m guessing there’s a reason?” She stated, casting a glance towards him as she sat down on the ground as well.
James mulled over that thought for a moment. Did he really do that so often? It didn’t seem like it, though there were times when he purposefully tried to misdirect the conversation.
“I honestly didn’t even know I was doing it. I mean, I do it intentionally at times, but not usually,” he stated.
“When, exactly, did I just do that?” He realized he may have to do it again, as this very subject wasn’t likely to keep their attention for much longer.
”You redirected it to how I’m not a monster, rather than enlighten me on the mysteriousness of yourself,” she clarified, listening to the fire hiss as she drizzled a bit more of the orange sauce of the nearly finished steaks.
He stood corrected, though on that point he figured he’d have a little fun with this.
“My mysteriousness? I’m just a guy who followed you through the desert. Plain and simple,” he said, playfully. Ahhh, screw it, why not keep going?
“You know, when I still lived in Aspin, I would get by by helping out some of the scientists. I was good with a gun, and good at spotting trouble, so I was sort of an escort when they needed it. Well, a few of them would mention how, back in the old world, they would name the stars. A couple of them said they’re the same as the sun, just… out there, rather than close to us.” he mused, allowing his mind to dwell on that thought a bit.
Alex looked up at the sky, at the thousands of twinkling pinpoints of light dotting the darkness, remembering what little she knew about stars–literally, nearly nothing.
”There’s this myth I hear once, around a campfire with some scavenging buddies. There was this old man there, like, literally ancient, talking about the sky and the stars, and how there used to be big this enormous white rock that would circle around our planet. He said that there were things living on those stars, that some of them were just like ours, a star, a planet, he said they are one in the same. They say The Orb came from one of those stars, somewhere way out there.. a place so far away that we could die a thousand lifetimes before we ever reached it.”James’ mind continued to simply ponder the thought of what’s out there. If what the scientists’ had said was to be believed, then the entirety of what was out there was likely far, far, far larger than anything anyone alive could comprehend. He suddenly felt very small.
“Pffff, it’s about as hard to think about as it is amazing, if you ask me,” he commented.
”It is,” Alex agreed, reaching over to focus her mind on a much simpler task, removing the meat from the fire. She remounted the tool in the dirt a couple of feet away, to let the steamy food cool.
”It kind of feels like my plans are just as grand as the universe out there.. It’s all I can think about, yet, I can’t fully comprehend what I’m doing out here, let alone the next step,” She confessed quietly, prodding the meat and finding it still much too hot.
“No kidding,” James replied nonchalantly, sitting up as Alex took the meat out of the fire.
“So, what made you pick this place? Why not Dead-End or something?” James asked.
”Defensible.. highground..” Aeshma murmured quietly in her mind.
”I’m not entirely sure.. it just..” She paused, blocking out Aeshma and trying to once more forget his presence,
”It was just a feeling I followed.”James shrugged, giving the piece of meat that he assumed was his a poke. Pretty hot, but it would cool down soon enough.
“So how do you plan on keeping this place afloat? If your plans to make this a sort of haven for Immortals come to fruition, we’re going to need a sustainable source of food and water,” he remarked.
Alex quirked an eyebrow at him, a small flutter catching in her heart. He had referred to both of them, was that unintentional or did she have an ally in this? She decided it was better not to press that, perhaps it was just a slip of the tongue.
”Well.. you already know about the information brokers.. and Missand should be here tomorrow afternoon with food and water. I wasn’t expecting to have to rebuild this place though..” She paused for a moment, weighing her options. There was plenty of scrap, but that would only provide enough material for a few buildings. She was out of money, and trade, meaning she couldn’t simply buy materials. With anything short of a gold mine beneath them buying materials was pretty unlikely anyways. Then perhaps the best, and worst idea hit her.
”I heard The Castalian Princess was in Russel…” she commented, letting the thought hang there as she reached for the meat coated in far less savory sauce than its counterpart, she rather enjoyed the natural spiciness of the beef.
“The who, now?” James asked. Castalia was definitely not a name he was familiar with, and as far as he knew there weren’t any literal monarchies in Dust, so that quip was likely sarcasm. Still, there was something in the way she said it that made it sound like it held some truth. The thought quickly escaped him as he grabbed for his slab of meat, it’s temperature adequately lowered to the point that it was edible. He took it in one hand and bit a chunk out of it.
”I’ve really only heard stories of her, though I never paid much mind to them. There’s a family based out in Serenity, and she’s the entitled doll-faced killer poster girl for them, or so I hear. Yet, some people become nervous at the mere mentioning of her name, her reputation of bloodthirstiness proceeds her, but there are two sides to every coin. I’d be willing to bet on an investment in my little.. project, as I heard she does business too.” She explained, tearing off a piece of the meat between her teeth and letting out a little hum of pleasure.
James grunted as he chewed down on the food. As much as he felt like a wuss for it being drenched in sauce, it was actually really good. He could still taste the spiciness in the meat, but it was largely suppressed. His appreciation for the taste of this food was cut off by Alex’s statement.
“It seems you don’t have any qualms with using what could very well be blood money,” he quipped.
”Maybe you’re right, but Dust is fueled by bloodshed… I hope to turn that to my advantage and change it. Dust is a mess, I want to clean it up, starting with us,” She retorted.
James nodded. There was definitely no denying that, but he supposed having a cataclysmic global catastrophe would tend to do that. Still, it was sad what happened to people when left to their own devices, with no law to govern them and stop them from hurting others.James had made a vow to never go against his own principles, no matter what, and while what Alex was suggesting had never really occurred to him, he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
His thoughts drifted off to whom else may come. He definitely wanted to see Ivan and Vladimira once more. He figured at least one of them would likely show up sometime soon.
A moment of silence passed between them as they finished their meager, but satisfying meal. Alex sighed happily laying back just far enough from the fire to not really feel its heat too much, the night wasn’t quite cold enough to huddle up next to a blazing fire.
”What do you think about all this?” She asked, her voice portraying a bit of melancholy attached to a soft chuckle,
”It seems impossible, right? Crazy.”James had to think about that question. Given the nature of immortals, hollows, the spark, everything that seemed to go with this wasteland, he really wasn’t sure it was worth worrying about.
“Honestly, after today, I’m not sure I care anymore. It’s not worth my time to worry about what may or may not be possible. If it’s happening, it’s possible, and I just leave it at that,” he said, nonchalantly.
Alex glanced over at him, watching the way the fire reflected off of his dark hair. It was only then that she noticed the startlingly vibrant shade of his eyes, a mysterious tone of green. His words bounced around in her head, but she wasn’t sure if she could not care, if she could feel such apathy he said he felt. The world was chaos, that much was true. She didn’t necessarily want to bring order, just acceptance. If she was going to die, it would be out there in the wastes, not to some frightened father trying to protect his family from a needlessly perceived threat.
”Where do you fit? In this crazy puzzle of life,” She asked, actually quite curious about his purpose. He was definitely an Enigma, a mystery. After feeling alone her entire life, Alex felt the need to have that trusty worthy companion, a friend, perhaps. It may have just been circumstance that James showed up here, and chose to stick around… for now. Alex wasn’t much one for destiny or fate anyways.
James couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at that, leaning himself all the way back until his head laid on the dirt.
“Where do I fit... “ As he thought about it, he began to really wonder about that. Being around scientists, his general opinion was that his problems were miniscule; practically meaningless in the grand scheme of things. The same went for everyone else. James supposed he should envy some for that, but it was what it was. Still, he’d never really been asked that question before, and he’d never really thought about it.
“I’m not sure yet,” he replied, simply and earnestly.
“Hell, I’m not sure there’s any meaning to my life at all, or even life in general,” he said. His face went from one of neutral apathy to near concern as he thought about it. It was what it was, sure, and while it made logical sense in his mind, the more he thought about it, the more he realized how much that prospect disturbed him. His worldview of borderline nihilism, which once he was content with, suddenly began to scare him. Why was that?
Alex rolled over, elbows in the dirt and chin resting on her hands,
”Doesn't everybody deserve purpose though?” She asked. It dawned on her that she didn’t really have any right to ask. Not because she was just curious, but because it was the falsification of purpose which nearly drove her over the edge. Still, should go never see herself as an aimless wanderer, drifting like so much sand across the dunes.
James’ thoughts came to a pause at Alex’s reply. Did he deserve a purpose? Why should he? He was just a guy, nothing special. Same as with everyone. Still, if everyone deserved a purpose, he supposed that was fair. Whether it was true or not was something James couldn't answer, but the possibility was enough to curb his growing worry. Still, the latter would likely begin to plague him for the time being
“If there is a purpose, I suppose you’re right,” he conceded.
”If you feel in need, the offer still stands,” Alex said quietly. In all fairness, she never really got a straight answer earlier, and it would be nice to have someone like him along for the ride. His phenomena was quite useful, but rather, she got a comfortable feeling from him. Though she was no empath, it’s a feeling she was rather enjoying. A rare thing in Dust, where everybody is suspicious and wants something from you.
James glanced over at Alex, giving her a quizzical look.
“Like I said, I'll stay and help however I can as long as I can or want to, and if ever I do decide this isn’t my place, I won't be leaving on short notice,” he replied. He was sure at this point that Alex was looking for a straight answer, and as much as James wanted to give her one, he simply couldn't at the moment. Well, he could, but he wasn't about to say it due to the fact that it would make him sound like a lunatic.
”I can accept that,” She said, rolling back over on the ground. So much for that shower and being clean, she thought, prompting a giggle from her. A few more moments passed as she laid back, relaxing with heavy eyes, though she felt very awake. Thoughts continued to circulate around her head without any real control over them.
”Thank you,” She said, after a particularly unpleasing thought crossed her mind,
”At the very least, it would be nice to have somebody around when more people show up, I’m totally drained,” she admitted, though that much was probably obvious after their encounter with the bloodhounds.
James let out a small chuckle, rolling over to look at Alex. There was no denying he had seen her before, and while he would typically write it off as saying she was just some stranger, there was something telling him she was far more important than that. He began to look her over somewhat, trying to find any telltale signs that might jog his memory. While he could see her just fine without the light of the fire, it definitely helped with other details he may have missed before. He could see lines of scar tissue ending at around her shoulder blades, indicating marks across her back. She had mentioned she was a slave at one point, though that didn’t necessarily help James. His eyes moved to her face, which seemed more or less free of marring, and of which the only thing that didn’t strike him as familiar was her eyes; completely white. It may have meant that he had seen her before she became an immortal. She turned towards him, quirking an eyebrow as he looked at her studiously. Alex felt a finite amount of warmth rising in her cheeks, reminded of the only other person who seemed to examine her in such a way.
James took note of Alex’s attention being turned towards him, as well as the color of her cheeks turning slightly darker. His eyes met Alex’s for a moment, his mouth turning into a playfully coy grin.
“Sorry, I was just spacing out for a moment,” he said.
Alex turned her gaze away, choosing to look at the smoldering fire instead as the haunting memory slowly fades away.
”It wouldn’t be the first time somebody got lost in my eyes… except that you looked at me first,” She teased, chuckling slightly. Her heart gave a tiny flutter, a bit from the sadness of that memory, and partly from intrigue. She silently wondered to herself if he had x-ray vision, causing her blush to deepen.
James chuckled again, turning his eyes towards the fire. It would likely last about another hour, which at this point would be… late. Very late. Even now it was pretty late, and James’ exhaustion finally began to catch up with him. He let out a yawn whilst simultaneously stretching his arms above his head.
“It’s pretty late. We should probably look into getting some sleep,” he stated, sitting himself up.
”You go ahead,” Alex started,
”I think I’ll stay up for awhile.” Truthfully she wasn’t sure if she could sleep right at the moment. The mixture of feelings and memories, coupled with everything was trying to process made her feel like she was in overload. Everytime she leaned back and closed her eyes she saw Cassie’s smiling face, vibrant and pure like nothing was wrong in the world. She cursed her weakness, letting Aeshma’s influence over power her rational thought, and yet he sat there in the back of her mind with a deep and throaty chuckle.
James gave her a look as he was getting up, then let out a sigh.
“If you say so,” he replied, dusting himself off as he headed back towards the post office. There probably wasn’t anyplace comfortable to sleep, at least none that was also clean, much to James’ chagrine. Still, he figured he’d look around for something that vaguely resembled bedding, or else he could just clean a small bit of floor and use his clothes and backpack as padding.
He picked up his backpack and weapons, which he had left near the entrance of the building, and headed upstairs. Fortunately, some of the rooms on the second floor had carpeting, which was at least a plus. He managed to find a spot in the corner of what once was likely a copy room. He set his stuff down against the wall before opening his backpack and finding some things to use as bedding.
Alex yawned, mostly from fatigue, as she watched James go. Now that he had left she was left alone with the silence of her own thoughts, and the paltry sounds of the crackling fire. She had put on a brave, strong face, though part of her felt James had seen through it. Maybe that’s why he wouldn’t give his full acceptance of what she wanted to do, maybe he sensed she was weak. Unable to fully carry out her ideals, and he wanted an out for when things starting collapsing around her. She wouldn’t blame him, things did have a habit of collapsing around her and getting violent. She leaned back, scooting up to the edge of the building, as she traversed the muddled waters of her mind. Her heart physically hurt as she passed across the ghostly faces of those who appeared behind her closed eyes. A lonely tear leaked from her eye, accompanied by a soft sniffle. She wiped it away and grit her teeth, there would be no more of that.
Her fists tightened as she willed herself to forget, to leave those faces behind. Her tormentors, her victims, she tried to mentally rub them out as she ground her fist into the fist, bringing her knees close to her body. The dull aches of her wounds reminding her of what real pain was, these thoughts in her head were nothing but weights holding her down. Torn flesh, blood, those were real problems. Externalizing it made it make more sense, she couldn’t fathom all of the feelings she was having inside. The only thing that felt quite familiar was the rage, the anger, the hostility towards other people. But that wasn’t even her own emotion, that was an influence from a demon placed upon her unwillingly. Every boon came with a curse. That thought make her chuckle almost sinisterly.
”That much is true…” She mumbled to herself, wrapping her arms around her legs and staring into the flames of the fire. Watching how they danced, how they fluttered in the slightest disturbance in the air. The most destructive force of nature, yet it was beautiful; strong and fearsome. She had to be the fire, enthralling to look at, deadly to cross. The wounds of her heart had no place in what was to come, things she barely understood. Difficult things to process… it was much easier to just feel the pain. She flexed her arm, feeling the dull ache turn into an active throb. That–that should could understand.
James stood in one of the windows looking at Alex, having heard her choke up. He had a feeling she was trying to put up a strong front ever since she had met him, but without direct observation he couldn’t be sure. He quietly let out a sigh and lowered his head. He almost wanted to go back outside and ask what was wrong, but he knew that would likely do more harm than good at this point. It wasn’t hard to tell Alex was an emotionally damaged girl, and as much as James wanted to help, this was a problem one needed to approach with tact.
He raised his head, seeing Alex curl into her current position, muttering a few words to herself. It seemed now James had gained another reason to stick around for a while. It occurred to him how odd it was that he had seen Alex as a bloodthirsty animal earlier that day, and now was seeing her true colors. Funny how drastically one’s opinion can change over such a short timeframe. He nearly felt guilty for it.
He took a few steps away from the window, pausing briefly before returning to his shoddy excuse for a mattress. He laid himself down on the thin layer of clothes before shutting his eyes and drifting off to sleep.
Time passed slowly as Alex drifted across the expanse of her memories, each of them fluttering up to the forefront of her consciousness one by one, as if they were ensuring that each of them got their fill of her attention. The fire died slowly as she mulled over her thoughts, as she tried to traverse the roiling sea of emotions coursing through her, faces like lightning striking pangs into her heart, threatening to tear apart her shoddy raft of stability. At some point she looked up, staring into the glowing embers peaking through the mounds of ashens heaped over them. Seeing only Vladimira’s eyes through the haze of rage from within a body should could no longer control, fueled by hunger and a thirst for bloodshed.
She frowned, kicking out with her foot and sending a spray of dirt to disturb the coals. A cloud of ash puffed up angrily swirling around rising sparks of luminescent whites and yellows. Colors that formed themselves into the blank gaze of Evelina as Alex mercilessly beat the light from her eyes, until the very sky cried in remorse. She grit her teeth, trying to subside the anger in deadlock with her sorrow. Alex stood abruptly, storming off out of the ruined town, with only stains of blood to herald the departure of its former denizens.
The soft sound of footsteps in the sand was enough to stir James from his sleep. He made a grab for his AK, fearing the worst, but when he heard the steps fading slightly with each step, he figured it was most likely Alex? Where was she going? He quickly got up from his makeshift bed, taking his pistol just in case. He went down the stairs and stepped in front of the post office, noticing the nearly-extinguished fire. Given Alex’s mental state, James figured it might not be a bad idea to follow her to make sure she doesn’t do anything rash.
A soft, tepid breeze blew in from the cliff face of the mesa, creating a stark contrast against the mildly chilly temperature atop the mesa. Alex kicked a sizable rock, feeling pain shoot through her toes. She focused on it, and for a moment the turmoil subsided, replaced by something real, something understandable. But that too faded, like so many memories of the people she had crossed paths with. Slowly her mind drifted, downwards into an emotional darkness that was suffocating and all consuming. She longed to feel nothing, she didn’t understand anything.
She had purpose, but there was only this pain she couldn’t rid herself of. She had reason, there was a monster–a demon inside of her, it wasn’t her fault. But there were still the tears. It was at this moment she truly hated life. She was so overburdened with excess emotion that she had never been taught to deal with, all because of what? A select few of people who deemed her worth her weight in jewels and bullets? Greya’s soft chuckle seemed to blast into her mind, hauntingly loud, and yet not all all. Alex saw her face, her body, looming over her prostrate form, afraid and sobbing as the lash cracked against her bare back.
”Stop it…” She sobbed, stumbling through the rocky stretch of land before her. The voices came back, the same scene repeating itself. They all laughed at her, dulled by the thunderous crack of the whip, sparking louder laughter. They judged her, everybody was judging her; because she wasn’t good enough. She would never be good enough. She had been such a bad girl, she had turned against her masters–
No!” Alex wailed, falling to her knees. She was far out from the town now, far enough that she could smell the salt in the air carried over from the ocean.
”I am free!” She muttered, her balled hands working to rub the blinding moisture from her eyes.
”Are you?” Aeshma hissed mockingly. Joining in on the cacophony of voices, the judgemental states, the derogatory remarks. Watching with such mirth as she was degraded into a hollow shell, every lash stripping her away until her very soul began to feel the pain. She could feel it too, vividly, the scars on her back felt like fire. Her body shook as she hunched over herself, unable to overcome the pain, unable to find her voice. This isn’t what she signed up for, she never wanted any of this. She just wanted a normal life, like everybody else.
She never asked to be an Immortal, to be a weapon. She never meant to kill Cassie, the thought of which brought on another bout of sobbing. She stood slowly, feeling her chest tremble as her breath caught in her lungs. Aeshma seemed to sense the hysterical state she was quickly spiraling into.
”Let me.. I can-””Shut up,” She seethed, the malice in her voice on the same level of the constant aura of anger and hunger Aeshma put off unto her. She felt his consciousness poke back in, ready to say something.
”Shut up… or I swear to the maker,” She spat, her hands grabbing forcefully into her hair as she desperately tried to block him out, conveying images of throwing her self from the cliff’s edge with a fervent passion strong enough to cow Aeshma into submission..
James was some ways away from Isolone by now, and even though Alex was still some ways off, James could hear nearly everything Alex said. Was she talking to someone? No, no one was with her. He still wasn’t unsure Alex was just mad, which even further necessitated him being close by. He kept up with her, but made sure to keep enough distance that he wouldn’t be easily seen or heard.
”It would be so easy,” She laughed, feeling him Aeshma back into the darkest recesses of her mind.
”So easy…” She mused softly. She meandered towards the cliff face slowly, though it was in fact quite a ways away.
”You killed her..” She whispered after a time, feeling the throbbing pain from the gash in her leg with every step,
”You killed all of them..””I loved her.. and you took her..” She accused, yet she couldn’t feel Aeshma’s presence.
”They tried to help me.. and you killed them…” She mumbled, feeling slight spasms in her chest as her tired body tried to prevent itself from breaking down.
”I was too weak..” She admitted, taking a shaky breath.
”I don’t deserve..” She began, tears once more welling in her eyes.
Then suddenly Aeshma’s presence slammed into her, like a raging inferno. He came so fast, and with such a viciousness that she was ripped away from her own consciousness. Immediately she could feel it, the dark rage bubbling in her veins, spreading throughout her body. She looked at her arms in shock, though that was merely a feeling as she was no longer in control. It spread much faster than the last time, she could feel the power rising up inside of her, the tingling of the change.
”NO!” She screamed, the mental resonance shattering Aeshma’s composure.
”I WILL NOT!” She howled, using every ounce of strength she had to grapple with Aeshma, two beasts with claws extended fighting for control over a single existence. Her body fell to the ground, spasming as the process began, and stopped, and began again as she and Aeshma fought for control. Her entire being felt hazy with rage as she focused on a single desire, to rid this monster of his control over her. Aeshma gave off a vibe of surprise and fear as she came at him with pure savagery in her thoughts.
The spasming form in the rocky shrub filled waste gave off a flash of light that intensified into a crescendo of brightness before falling away into a dull glimmering haze. Alex stood up quickly, gasping for breath as a soreness spread through her body. Such a dull ache, and so crippling at the same time. Something was wrong, very wrong.
“What the fuck?” James nearly exclaimed. He managed to keep his voice down as his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, and then back again to the dull, dark night. As his vision faded back into focus, he noticed a figure standing over Alex. A dark… ethereal… humanoid figure. His thoughts drifted back to how Alex had explained that the spark was a sentient being. Was this… the spark?
”How..” Aeshma whispered. Alex gave out a squeak of surprise as she looked up, to a shadowy silhouette standing before her.
”How can you..”Alex stared at the figure, it resembled a man, but with elongated limbs. The form was hazy, both ethereal and solid, but with a smoky blackness that trailed soft wisps of.. essence with the breeze. The form reached out towards her, but Alex scrambled away, bruising her hands against the rocks. She hadn’t felt this way since the day in the camp.. when Greya was torturing her in the dirt, prodding her with that electric device...
"I wouldn't want my little worm to wiggle away," Greya sneered, taking the odd metal baton she had been holding and pressing it into Alexandria's chest, right in the center between the upper portion of her breasts, the center of her collarbone.
Whatever this was had been new, fire spread throughout Alexandria's body, causing her to involuntarily seize up and spasm. Her screams caught in her throat, coming out only as a weak gurgle. Greya paused, but the burning sensation still remained in her body, causing her to twitch and spasm in pain. She pressed the rod again to the same area, Alexandria's flesh smoking from the point of impact. Again her body tensed up, the fire coursing across her flesh, her weak gurgling, the spasms, the pain. Alex’s wide eyes stared up, seemingly into the sky.
A shadowy figure stood before Alex, very light and nearly unnoticeable. It was wispy, shadowy, and dark. ”I am fading..” It whispered, hovering close to her, the world seemed to stop as it did so. ”I can save you.. Alex.. will you accept me?” It voice was so soft it seemed as if it were physically caressing her. It touched her, like a cloud of smoke dissipating across a hard surface. The rod was pressed into her flesh but she no longer felt it, but the pain was dull, as if he were distracting her away from it.
”Yes.. please..” She whispered, feeling the coolness of of his smoky form shourd her body. The merging was like a drug, she felt the power spring up inside her instantly, the crackling hotness of it, the burning desire to be unleashed. The rod crackled as it pressed against her, but the feeling subsided…
And then it had stopped. The pain was no longer there, but Greya was still pressing the rod against her smoldering flesh. Greya looked slightly confused as Alexandria's body relaxed. She adjusted a dial on the rod and the tip of it glowed brightly, attempting to increase the intensity. A new pain erupted from Alexandria's chest, the rod was burning through her flesh, and that she did feel. A tingling sensation ran across her body, and white hot lightning erupted from her hands. The impact sent Greya sprawling a few yards away, her body twitching. Alexandria stood weakly, the sun burning her naked flesh, her wounds throbbing. But she felt alive, for the first time she felt capable. The life returned to her soul, and rage filled her eyes.
”I’m.. I’m sorry.. Alex said quietly, her gaze downcast towards the dark earth.
”I couldn’t remember… what you did for me… you could have chosen anybody..” She muttered, feeling the silky coolness of Aeshma’s form lift her chin.
”..But I chose you” He whispered.
”I was rejecting you…” Alex realized,
”It was me.. I was the one.. the rage..”Every feature on James’ face grew wider as he realized what he was looking at. That was the spark, and it was fucking talking. He was about to get up and intervene, bringing his pistol to bear against the dark figure, not that it would be effective at this distance, or at all, given the apparent nature of this… thing. Still, he was too surprised and worried to care about those details.
”Without harmony… there is only chaos,” Aeshma stepped closer, though it seemed as if he simply willed himself to move with gracefulness of a light fog,
”Will you accept me?” He asked so familiarly, as he did all those years ago.
”Yes,” Alex croaked through a stifled sob, one of relief and understanding, of both joy and remorse.
Aeshma descended upon her like a misty blanket, with a mystical coolness that enveloped her body. She felt the euphoria of joining with him, the crippling soreness fading away as she felt him once more take residence in her mind. No longer fueled with rage and desire, it was oddly… comforting. Like the final piece of herself had been dusted off and refitted into place.
”I accept you.”Almost as quickly as the event had started, it ended. James was still too surprised to do much of anything other than stare at Alex as she regained her composure. Slowly, he lowered his pistol, tucking it in his waistband and processing what just happened, or at least trying to. She wasn’t crazy; the spark was fucking sentient. Still, James wasn’t sure at this point that madness wasn’t simply transmittable at this point and he was getting it from Alex. James let out a quiet chuckle at that thought before standing up.
“You know what? Fuck it. It is what it is.” he said, turning around and heading back towards Isolone.
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