#so his panic attack when he tries thinking of claire to calm down it only makes everything worse

[oddeyevibes]

Ch 3 - Good Boy

Words: 1731

A/N: Outline? What’s that? I’m just here for the ride…and it’s name is Leon.

You, Leon, and Evie had found some respite inside of a room that seemed somehow completely isolated from the chaos happening outside. It was perfect for a breather.

Up until now, the scariest moment in your life was when you were younger and in the middle of the night you began suffering from some sort of asthma attack. That’s what your mother explained it was.

It was one of the most traumatizing events you ever went through as it felt like your body was fighting against you. You remember feeling an intense paralysis as it felt like your body was fighting itself.

You ended up cooped in the house for the next few days as your mother nursed you back to health. That’s when you started using your inhalers, courtesy of Umbrella. They stood as the only pharmacy that had EXACTLY what your body needed as your mother told you. There was also the fact that since she worked there, she got discounts. You never had an attack like that again after the inhalers.

Not too long afterwards, Evie was brought into your life and it was safe to say that you got better but kept a hold on your inhalers, since using them either invigorated you or calmed you down depending on your mood.

In this scenario, it was definitely mixing the two. Calm enough not to have a panic attack but active enough to keep you alive.

But the fact that your prescription came from Umbrella made you anxious. If they had something to do with this outbreak then what else could have been tampered with by them? Is this outbreak something intentional or is it a complete accident? A search for a cure gone wrong, maybe?

“I had my doubts about Umbrella for years now but something like this?” You let out, drawing Evie and Leon’s attention. “Somehow it feels unbelievable.”

“From what I read about this place, Umbrella seemed like it was doing a good thing. Orphanages, schools, the general quality of life in this place.”

“That’s what most folks have an issue with. At some point, a lot of us started to think what do they gain from putting so much into the town. When it comes to a corporation that makes bank through healthcare, it’s suspicious. But still…”

“This seems all too out there to be believable?” He asked.

“Yeah. I mean, you saw that big dude. He lifted that huge ass ‘copter. I’m pretty sure that’s the same thing that mutilated that Ben guy. And the way he was shrugging off our bullets?”

“Then there’s that…thing I fought before I found you.”

“….you never told me what it looked like.”

Leon was silent for a moment. Like he was trying to find the right words. “I think it was a man but…he was also something else. It was like his skin was melting off into something else and it was growing from him. Something like that only exists in movies and games.”

“The FBI being involved just confirms everything though, doesn’t it?”

There was a moment of silence before Leon spoke up again.

“What if they knew that the FBI were on their case and released this…virus into the city?” He suggested. “To throw off the investigation?”

“I mean…that’s possible.”

“I read about the Arklay mountain attacks…”

You nodded. “Yeah, it mainly started with them. RPD sent their special unit to go check it out. They tried to keep it tight lipped about the details but people have ways of hearing things in Raccoon City and it sounds like 12 went but only 4 or 5 came back.”

“The girl I came into the city with, Claire, said she was looking for her brother. Any chance he was a member?”

“Wait…Redfield?”

“Yeah.”

“I know him. Chris! Well…I don’t KNOW know him but I’ve met him during my time working in the RPD kennels.”

“STARS member?”

“Yup. I’m pretty sure he’s one of the ones that made it back.”

“That’s good to hear.” The faint sound of zombie moaning downed Leon’s mood. “I guess that means he’s somewhere in the city dealing with this though.”

“Yeah…”

There was another pause. This one broken up by an exhausted sigh from you.

“So…I guess we better get back out there. We can head towards that lab Ben was talking about on the tape.”

Leon let out a soft chuckle. “You seem more eager to uncover the mystery.”

“Well now that there’s a big chance that my mother has an involvement in this, I feel…somewhat responsible with figuring it out.”

There was no denying his expression, Leon felt bad about the hand you’ve been dealt. As if an apocalyptic catastrophe wasn’t enough, realizing a loved one might be behind it is something else. You began leading the way as Elvira stood up, yawned and began trailing after you two.

Readying your gun, you quickly took aim at one end of the hallway as Leon took the other.

“All clear.” He stated.

“Same here.”

“Let’s get going.”

The three of you cautiously made your way towards the parking garage. Finally, a way out of here. However, anxieties quickly skyrocketed when you found yourself walking in front of one of the infected Great Danes.

Straight off of instinct, you felt yourself freeze on the spot.

“Holy shit, is that a dog? Dogs are infected too?”

Leon was surprised by the question. “You haven’t encountered the dogs yet?”

You shook your head. “No. I thought they were all locked up in the kennels.”

“Alright just…” The rookie picked up on a peculiar behavior. “Stay still?”

“What?”

“It’s sniffing you.”

“What?” This one sounded more deadpanned.

Sure enough, the infected dog was merely sniffing you. Specifically, your pants leg. Leon turned to Elvira and noticed that she also wasn’t on guard. Despite the vast difference in how both dogs looked. Elvira was not reacting in the same way that she reacted with other infected. It was almost like…she trusted the other dog not to harm you.

“Evie seems calm.” Leon pointed out to you.

You turned to see her simply sitting and wagging her tail. Just waiting. You then turned back to the infected dog.

Looking at it more, it sent a pain through your heart. This dog was probably scared when it got infected. A human would at least have some semblance of a clue but an animal really wouldn’t understand why its body was changing in the way it did. Then it’s stripped down to its basic functions as a beast. No love, compassion, warmth, just a hunger for something they were never really hungry for to begin with.

“Sit?”

It did as you said.

Leon inched closer to the dog, earning a low growl before he stopped dead in his tracks. Assured that the dog wasn’t going to hurt you, you had kneeled down to its eye level, hesitantly reaching a hand out to pet its head.

“Aww…it’s ok.” You cooed. “I’m not gonna hurt you.” The dog began wagging its tail. “Gimme paw?” It did so. “Good boy.”

You looked back at Leon who still had a stunned expression on his face.

“Have they been aggressive to you this whole time?” You asked.

He nodded. “I’ve never seen them so calm. You said you worked in the kennels right? Maybe they remember you?”

“Maybe…I’ve seen zombie movies where infected humans would remember something of their human life. Like talking on the phone, jogging, going to their mailboxes but…never seen it happen with animals.”

Leon inched closer again. The dog began low growling again and you quickly began calming it down.

“It’s ok. He’s not gonna hurt you either. Don’t get upset.”

The dog calmed itself as Leon lightly brushed his fingers against the dog’s matted fur that still had tiny bits and pieces of gunk and flesh attached. It made him sick but now that the dog was calm, he wasn’t gonna risk getting it all riled up again.

“This is sooo weird.” You said quietly.

“Yeah…”

Suddenly, Evie began growling off into the distance. The infected dog growled in the same direction before running off. That’s when the sound of heavy footsteps thumping against the hard flooring put your nerves on end.

“Please don’t tell me…”

Right on cue, the hulking grey brick wall of a creature busted through the thick walls and reached out without hesitation, grabbing onto Leon’s neck and hoisting the cop into air.

“LEON!” You shouted, aiming your gun towards the creature’s head and letting the bullets fly.

Of course, outside of small flinches, the creature remained unfazed until one of your bullets managed to smack his fedora off, pausing his movements. Allowing Leon’s neck a moment of ease before a pair of bright lights illuminated the dim parking lot.

The deep revving of an engine drew your to the truck that bounced slightly in anticipation before the tires started screeching and the truck came barreling towards Leon and the hulking man, with its sights set on the man.

The man loosened his grip, allowing Leon to fall from his clutches as the truck collided with the tall creature, smashing him against the wall and from the driver’s seat stepped Ada.

“This is getting old.” She said in annoyance. “Saving your ass! That’s twice!”

Leon quickly stood up. “I didn’t realize you were keeping score.” He replied.

“Look, this isn’t a game.” The woman stopped next to you as the truck began moving. The creature was trying to push the truck off of itself. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

The agent groaned. “Nothing ever dies down here!” She pulled out a small device and pressed the button, triggering an explosion that had you and Leon stumble against the quake. Both you and Leon looked at her in amazement as she reached a hand out. “I take it you guys have the key card?”

You mindlessly nodded as Leon tossed the tape over to her. “We also got this, we were hoping you could tell us more about it.”

Ada shrugged. “Maybe…after I hear it.” She started for the exit gate. “If you two are done playing with dogs, let’s get out of here.”

Evie barked in agreement, wasting no time in following the woman with a pep in her little steps. Leon and you exchanged glances before trailing behind the two.

‘Seriously. What the hell is going on?’ You thought

[americaswritings]

Never until now

Warnings: Suicide, throwing up, angst, hurt, fluff

Summary: When the prisoner shoots himself to donate a part of his liver, you’re there instead of Claire (1x15).

Words: 4.6k

Pairing: Neil Melendez x resident!reader (can be read as Neil x Claire on my ao3) 

A/N: I wish they would have adressed Claire’s feelings after what she witnessed. It was a traumatic event and I think it should have been talked about. This is my take on what could have happened instead. I hope you enjoy!

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“Please, Boris, put down the gun”, you tried to get through to the prisoner standing in front of you, his gun pointed towards the head of one of the security men. You had always prided yourself in your ability to connect with patients, but now you felt as though your words were meaningless.

He had already made his decision, even before the moment he had sprung up and attacked them. What was even worse was that Alex seemed to support his action, his words hinting that his death could allow him to make the donation he so desperately wanted.

You frankly shook your head, feeling helpless as you tried to overtalk him. You were running out of time. You could feel the prisoner slipping away, the tension in the air growing with every passing second. 

You had been trained to expect the unexpected, to adapt to every change and surprising upcoming. But nothing had prepared you for something like this, the fading chance to save someone who was about to take his own life in front of your very eyes.

“Please, don’t do this. There are other ways”, you pleaded, not caring how desperate you sounded. All you could think of was preventing what could never be undone. Your gaze shifted towards Alex, who was standing in front of you. He seemed composed, rational, the police officer in him coming to the surface.

For a brief moment you wondered how often he had been in a similar situation and how often he had failed, not chosen the right words, lost the person. But maybe there were no right words, maybe the choice had already been made and there was nothing you could do.

“Don’t listen to her. It’s your choice. You do what you want”, Alex pushed, and you narrowed your eyes at him, disturbed at his intention. “Yeah”, Boris muttered, his voice shaky but filled with determination. From the corner of your eye, you saw the prisoner move, pushing the security guard away raising the gun to his own head.

“Boris, no!”, you shouted, your eyes widening as you realized what he was about to do. You wanted to turn your head away, knew that you should, but you were frozen.

As the shot rang out you flinched violently, the horror of what had happened only slowly sinking in. Your hand came up to cover your mouth as you gagged, feeling the sudden urge to throw up. 

Everything seemed to be in a blur as your heart was racing in your chest, your eyes ringing from the loud noise of the shot. Even though it was over, had barely taken more than a second, your mind was replaying the scene over and over again.

It all became too much. You turned away, your hands coming up to your temples. You grasped your hair at its roots as you paced back and forth, trying to calm yourself. You wanted to erase the memories, wanted to get out of here and pretend it hadn’t happened, but you couldn’t forget what you had seen.  

Your breath had sped up and you realized you were on the edge of a panic attack when a sudden thought caused you to freeze in your tracks. What if the bullet hadn’t killed him?  

The chances were slim, but you had heard of patients who had survived a shot in the head. What if there was still the chance to save him and you were wasting time? You were a doctor after all.

You ran towards his limp figure on the ground, trying to ignore your stomach twisting at the sight. Crouching down you ignored the other’s stares on you. Your fingers came up to feel for a pulse and the contact send a shiver down your spine.

“He still has a pulse. We need to get him up right now!” You turned towards the men, disbelief written on your face as they didn’t react. How could they just stand by and watch? “Alex!” His eyes locked on yours. But your voice, now firm and authoritative, seemed to have an effect, because he finally sprang into action, calling for a gurney.

You knew he didn’t do it, because he thought there was a chance for the man to survive or because he thought he deserved it. He only did it for you.

But his reasons didn’t matter right now. You had to move fast, get all the help you needed and try your best to save the prisoner’s life. It was all you could do after you hadn’t been able to stop him.

It didn’t matter what he had done or what you thought of him. It was your job. You had sworn to save lives and that was what you would do.

You were too focused on the man in front of you, his weak pulse under your fingers to notice what was going on around you. When you looked back up someone had brought in a gurney. You figured Alex must have paged someone to come down.

“Come one!”, you urged the security men, and they finally followed your command, helping to get the man up on the gurney and rolling him towards the ER.

You didn’t know where you took the strength to keep going as you raced through the halls, your heart hammering in your chest. Finally you reached the ER, people looking up in shock as you wheeled the man in.

“What happened?” Jared and a team of doctors came rushing towards you. You opened your mouth but couldn’t bring yourself to say the words out loud.

Alex’ gaze fell on you as you stayed silent. “He shot himself”, he told Jared, and you watched as they moved around the man, hooking him onto the monitors.

The sound of the heart monitor filled the room, a shrill sound to your ears. “He’s flatlining”, Jared announced, moving to start PCR, but Alex held him back. “He’s dead and he has a donor’s card. We’re gonna take everything he can donate.”

With that he turned away, leaving the room and Jared and you starring at each other in shock. 

You felt numb as you watched the scene in front of you. Someone had turned the heart monitor off and you felt grateful for the silence, but it reminded you of the shot. The memory had started playing in your mind again now that it was slowing down. The adrenaline was leaving your body as you realized it was over.

“I am sure you did everything you could”, Jared told you, his eyes earnest as he patted your shoulder in a way to comfort you. You didn’t say a word, not knowing if you could agree with him.

Had you done everything you could?

Shouldn’t you have seen it coming long before you had guided him towards the prisoner’s transport? Hadn’t all the signs been there? You had been to blind to notice them, too influenced by Alex’ comments on how Boris would use every opportunity to escape and use it for his own good. 

Jared squeezed your shoulder slightly before hurrying out of the room. He was probably on his way to the OR, hoping to be able to assist Dr. Melendez to save the little boy’s life. At least something good would come out of it. The boy would get a second chance, a new life.

But you couldn’t think of that right now, couldn’t bring yourself to join the surgery when you had watched the man take his own life just moments ago. Even if he had been a bad person, it felt wrong. 

You hoped Dr. Melendez wouldn’t question your absence, but frankly, you didn’t care. Your shift was nearly over anyway and afterwards everyone would be enjoying themselves during the hospital’s ball. They would forget easily.

So you shuffled towards the locker rooms, stopping at the restroom when the sickness returned. You couldn’t remember the last time you had thrown up, the bile leaving a bitter taste in your mouth. You washed it away with water from the sink, splashing cold water onto your hot face. 

When you lifted your face, you nearly didn’t recognize yourself. You looked pale and exhausted, your eyes were bloodshot. Your hair was sticking to your face and sweat was covering your forehead. Your eyes widened when you noticed red traces on your scrubs, another wave of sickness sending you rushing to the toilet once more.

You had been covered in blood before. It came with the job, especially the shifts at the ER, but you had never felt so repulsed by it before. The mere look of it made you grip onto the sink, your knuckles turning white as you gasped for air.

You thought back to Alex, how collected he had been, calm even. He had been eager to assist the transplantation, even though he had been a witness to Bori’s death, his suicide, just like you had.

You figured it came with his experiences of being a cop. He had probably seen worse things countless of times before.

Right now, you wished you were more like him. What he had told Boris had been wrong, but at least he wasn’t on the edge of a panic attack, freaking out over the sight of blood stains on his clothes. 

You decided you needed to shower and get changed, hoping you could make the way from the restroom to the lockers without running into someone. You really looked like hell. 

You peeked out of the door, rushing through the corridors and keeping your gaze locked to the ground to avoid any eye contact. Luckily you made it to the changing rooms without any encounter.

The cold water felt like heaven on your hot skin. Even when you started to shiver, you couldn’t bring yourself to turn up the temperature. The coldness seemed to have a sobering effect on you, sharpening your senses and waking you up. 

When you walked back to your locker, you let out an audible sigh as your eyes fell on the only piece of clothing it contained. Your dress.

When starting your shift this morning you had still planned to go to the ball afterwards, to have some fun with your friends and let loose. Now you couldn’t imagine being surrounded by laughter and music. Another thing that felt wrong.

But even though you didn’t want to attend the ball, you didn’t have any other option than to change into your dress. You had changed into your scrubs at home, bringing only the dress with you. So it was either the dress or a pair of bloodied scrubs.

You chose the dress but ignored the necklace and earrings you had brought with you to wear with the dress. When you wanted to slip back into your shoes, you paused, inspecting your right shoe. 

“Are you serious?”, you muttered as you observed the faint bloodstain on it. Now that you had noticed it you couldn’t bring yourself to put on the shoes, so you fished for your heels. At least if people saw you dressed up like this, they would think you were attending the ball. Maybe it was a good thing, preventing people from raising questions.

You quickly blow dried your hair, hoping to make it out in time before the others showed up. You wouldn’t be able to endure their chatter and worried glances.

The noise of your heels on the hospital floor nearly made you flinch. You tried not to draw attention to yourself, yet that was exactly what you did as you hurried through the floors.

When you finally made it outside, you took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air. It immediately seemed to ground you, allowing your breathing to calm and your heartbeat to return to a steady rhythm. 

All you had wanted was to escape the enclosing walls of the hospital and go home, but now that you had stepped outside, the thought of returning to your apartment didn’t seem appealing anymore. It would be too quiet, allowing your mind to replay the scene over and over again. You didn’t even want to imagine going to sleep tonight. 

But that would be a problem for later. For now, you would enjoy the night air, trying to think of nothing at all.

You didn’t know how much time had passed, but eventually you heard the dim sound of music. So the ball had started. 

You wondered if someone would notice your absence. Claire and Jared wanted to go as a couple, making it finally official, so they probably would have eyes only for each other. You smiled a little at the thought. They were a cute pair. 

Shaun had enough to deal with. The pure concept of a party was a challenge for him, the loud music, mix of sounds and crowd of people. You couldn’t imagine how overbearing it must feel like for him if it only took a bad day for you to feel overwhelmed by it too.   

And Alex and Morgan, they weren’t your friends. 

You grimaced as you imagined the triumph Morgan would feel the moment, she noticed you hadn’t showed up. Not showing up meant passing up the chance to talk to people who had influence and money. Another opponent down and she didn’t even have to move a finger.

“Shouldn’t you be inside with your friends?” You jumped at the familiar voice, not heaving heard someone approaching you. You turned, the railing you had previously leant on now against your back.

Dr. Melendez, your boss, was standing a few feet away from you. Your eyes darted over his body. You had seen him in suits before, but it never ceased your knees to go weak. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” You could have sworn his eyes had flickered over your body, taking in your appearance, but they were just as quickly on yours again that you couldn’t be sure.

“I’m not really in the mood for partying”, you confessed. “Or flattering some influential people”, you added as you thought of Morgan’s attitude. She had taken one look at your dress in the locker room this morning and had declared that it was a bad choice. That alone had told you that you had picked the right one. 

She was scared of you, of your chances to get a job after your residency was over. Of course it was important to you, but you felt whenever you didn’t try to impress your attendings with your actions, you were more successful. Pretending to be someone else and acting against your own instincts wouldn’t get you to success. Even if it did, you wouldn’t want it.

Dr. Melendez, though you two weren’t on shift anymore so he was Neil to you now, raised his brow. “No, that’s not really your style”, he agreed, and you quirked your brow. “What’s my style?” He seemed to think about your words, a little smile spreading on his face. 

“You’re definitely a people pleaser. You want people to like you, but that doesn’t mean you agree with everything they say. You have a set of principles you live by. If you get something in your head, it’s hard to convince you otherwise. You can be quite stubborn sometimes, which can be a good and a bad thing for a surgeon, it depends.”

“Wow, that’s alarmingly accurate”, you admitted, not being able to hide your surprise. You had always known that Neil picked up on more than he let on. He could be quiet and pretend to be indifferent, but he was observant and attentive. A good mentor.

He probably knew more about you than you anticipated.

Neil chuckled. “I know my team”, he stated, but it didn’t sound patronizing. You nodded slowly, searching his face for clues of what he was really feeling. He seemed relaxed, so you guessed the transplantation had gone well.

You expected him to leave, either heading home or to the ball but he surprised you again by walking over to stand beside you at the railing. You turned back towards it, your gaze lingering on him for a moment to try and understand why he was here, here with you, before darting back to stare into the distance like he did.

Maybe he had noticed you had been absent at his surgery and wanted to lecture you. But it didn’t seem that way. Outside of the hospital he seemed so normal, like a guy you could meet in a bar and not the surgeon you looked up to and hoped to impress. 

“It’s been a tough day”, he suddenly spoke up, his eyes fixed on the skyline in front of you. “But in the end, we saved a little boy’s life. Through his sacrifice many more will live. He gave them a second chance.”

“A second chance he will never get”, you threw in and Neil turned his head to look at you, his eyes sharp. “He was a murderer. His last action might have been heroic, but he still took the lives of many innocent people.” You avoided Neil’s eyes boring into you, turning back to face the city. 

“I know”, you sighed, your thoughts racing now that you thought back to what had happened. “Alex told me you were there, when it happened.” You let out a frustrated huff. Naturally he had told Melendez about it, so much for staying under the radar. 

“Of course, he did”, you muttered under your breath, but loud enough for Neil to hear. You could see him frowning at your reaction. “You should take the day off tomorrow.”

You took a sharp inhale at his words, your anger growing. “And Alex?” 

Neil’s frown deepened. “He’s been a cop. He knows how to deal with it.” “Right”, you let out a bitter chuckle, “Alex is the hero of the day and I get punished for trying to save someone’s life.” 

You knew you were being difficult and maybe a little respectless, Neil was your boss after all, but you were too exhausted to supress your feelings and too tired to care.

You could see Neil tense beside you, his jaw clenching as he tried to calm himself. “This is not a punishment”, he stated, surprised by your intense reaction to his order. “What else would you call banning me from my job for a day?”

A cold breeze made you shiver, but you ignored it, too upset to feel the cold. Neil’s gaze shifted into something else. He looked concerned now as his eyes searched yours, trying to see through the walls you had built around yourself.

“You were a witness to something traumatic today. You will need time to process it. In your and your patient’s best interest I am telling you to take a day off.” “You think I can’t handle patients right now?” The hurt was visible in your voice, a sense of betrayal settling in your stomach.

Neil ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated by the way you were misinterpreting all of his words. 

“As a surgeon and your boss, it’s my job to make sure you’re in the condition to treat patients. It wouldn’t help anyone, least of all you, if you made a mistake, because your head is somewhere else. But-”, he raised his finger, stopping you from interrupting. 

You closed your mouth, your shoulders slumping as you waited for him to continue. “As a friend I am trying to look out for you. You have a big heart, and you care more than most. What you saw today-”, he trailed off, his eyes now soft, searching your face, “You shouldn’t have to go through that alone.”

A lump formed in your throat, the anger vanishing as quickly as it had emerged. Neil was looking at you with such affection. His eyes were gentle, but filled with pain, like he could see how much you were hurting, and he was hurting with you.

You had seen him worried before, mostly when it came to his patients and the risks complicated procedures included, but it had never been directed at you. 

Never until now.

“He was a murderer”, you repeated his words from earlier, as if who he was would ease the horror of what had you seen. As if it could take away the pain. You wished it did, felt like it should, but your feelings didn’t change. 

Neil’s eyes softened, a dimple appearing on his cheek as he curled one side of his lips into an empathetic smile. “But he was still a man, taking his own life in front of your eyes. It’s okay not to be okay right now.”

A tear escaped your eye and you quickly brushed it away, wanting to keep as much of your dignity as you could. The evening had already been an emotional rollercoaster so far, crying in front of your boss, who you had a hidden crush on wasn’t something you wanted to add to the list of things going wrong.

“It wasn’t your fault. From what Alex told me, he had already made up his mind. No one could have stopped him.” Neil’s voice was gentle, but firm. He seemed to know how much you needed to hear those words, how the regret nibbled on you. 

It seemed like he always knew exactly what to say, even if you didn’t want to hear it at first. He had been right earlier, he really knew his team. Knew you.

“We lose patients all the time. It’s always hard, but this-”, you bit your lip as your voice wavered, “it’s different.” Neil listened attentively, nodding in understanding. “You should consider talking to the hospital’s counsellor”, he suggested, and you immediately tensed. 

“Knowing when to ask for help is not weak, it’s a sign of strength. You should give it a chance or talk to someone else about it.” You considered his words, knowing he was right. If it had been someone else, you would have told them the same thing. Why was it so much harder now that it came to yourself?

“You’re used to putting others first, but you have to look out for yourself just as much.” Neil’s eyes were locked on yours, his stare so intense that you wanted to look away but couldn’t. It was as if he could see right through you, as if the walls you had built around yourself didn’t apply to him.

You shivered as you wondered how much he could really see.

“I’ll give it a chance”, you muttered weakly, and Neil responded with a smile. “Let’s get inside.” He offered his arm to you and your eyes widened a little in surprise. “I actually didn’t plan to show up”, you confessed, letting out a nervous chuckle.

Neil raised his brow, his eyes darting over your dress, and you felt yourself blush. Hopefully he couldn’t see it in the dark which was surrounding the two of you. “I didn’t bring anything else with me and I needed to get out of my scrubs”, you explained, and his eyes darkened for a moment as he understood.

“It would be a waste not to dance in that dress”, he claimed, a playful smile on his lips. You immediately felt lighter, the sudden change of atmosphere a nice welcome after the heavy conversation. You shook your head, a shy smile stealing its way on your lips. 

“No, I can’t go in there”, you insisted, still smiling. You didn’t want him to miss out on the party because he felt guilty for leaving you out here.

Neil pretended to pout, thinking over how else he could convince you. “One song?”, he asked, hope in his voice and you grimaced. “Sorry.” He let out a sigh, reaching out and placing his hand on your lower back.

You were too surprised to protest as he guided you towards the building, the sound of the music growing louder the nearer you came. “What are you doing?”, you stammered, panic creeping into your voice. 

You hadn’t taken him for the guy to care, if you attended the ball or not. But just this morning you had chatted the others up over the ball. He had proven how attentive he was, so he probably remembered your previous enthusiasm.

It seemed like he didn’t want you to regret missing out on it later, but he wouldn’t force you. Right?

A moment later his hand was gone, and he stepped away from you. “You said you don’t want to go inside, so we’re taking the dance outside.” He extended his hand, waiting expectantly. You eyed it suspiciously at first, disbelief written over your face. 

“One song?”, he repeated, and you felt yourself melt under his hopeful gaze. “Okay”, you agreed, taking his hand and stepping forward to meet him.

He gently placed his hand on your lower back again, reaching your intertwined hands upwards to guide you to the music. You placed your other hand on his shoulder, keeping a reasonable amount of distance between the two of you.

The music sounded muffled, but it was loud enough for you to recognize the song, vowing to remember it later.

Someone could have seen the two of you, but Neil didn’t seem to mind. So maybe you were interpreting too much into it.

You had never been so close to him before and you couldn’t deny that you wanted more, to close the remaining space between the two of you.

As you swayed to the music, both of you caught in a comfortable silence, you wondered if this meant as much to him as it did to you.

He probably always danced with his residents at the ball, nothing more than a friendly gesture you told yourself, though Morgan was the only other woman on the team except Claire, who was taken, and you couldn’t imagine them dancing together. Didn’t want to imagine it.

Not possible, you reminded yourself. But in nights like these, when Neil let his guard down and showed you how much he cared, you couldn’t help yourself and hope. Hope that there was a chance he might feel for you too. 

It was desperate, but it was thrilling all the same. A dream out of reach and yet so close. You inhaled his scent, a smile forming on your lips as you decided that no matter what this meant to him, you were grateful that he was here with you.

Neil caught your smile, responding with one of his own. “You look beautiful by the way”, he whispered, and you nearly choked on air. A part of you pushed you to play it down, brush it off by pointing out your flaws. But you stopped yourself, choosing to accept his compliment instead.

He spun you around and a surprised giggle left your mouth, making him laugh. It was a beautiful sound, one you weren't used to. He was always so professional during shifts, keeping his emotions under control. So when you got a hint of what he felt underneath all those layers, you couldn't help but marvel at it.

Never had Neil looked at you with such an intensity behind his eyes, such fondness.

You knew the song would come to an end, night would fade into dawn and a new day would begin. But what had happened between the two of you tonight meant more than you could put into words. 

After everything that had happened today, he had managed to make you smile and enjoy yourself, even if it was only for a moment. You knew the next few days would be hard, beginning with the moment you stepped into your quiet apartment and were left alone with your thoughts and memories. But with him there to support you, it didn't seem as scary anymore. As hopeless.

You dared to catch his gaze once more.

Never until now.

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Miles Between Us Chapter 9 ~The Mediation~

Previously in Light Vs Dark ...

Tears streamed down her face as he grabbed his phone and keys and made his way out. He couldn't get out of the cottage fast enough. His heart hammered, his ears started to ring, his lungs squeezing out the last air. He'd hurt her. He'd seen the bruises with his eyes, and now she's crying because of him. He needed to get out fast to clear his head.

She followed him closely behind. "Please tell me where you're going, Jamie. At least give me that," she pleaded.

He couldn't stand to see her tears anymore or hear the plea in her voice. He was doing what's right for her because he loved her too much. He wasn't even sure where he was going or if anyone would be safe in his presence. All he could think of was how frightened his sister had looked at him and the bruises he'd inflicted in Claire's arms. He needed to get as far away as possible, away from the people he loved.

He got into his car, slammed the door, and started the engine.

Claire banged on his window, her face wet with tears. "Don't do this, Jamie. We can fix this together. Please don't go. I'm begging you."

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The sun blazed through the windows, but instead of feeling delighted with the promise of a beautiful day, Claire felt hollow.

Earlier, moving on autopilot, she'd numbly climbed out of bed, showered and gathered all the will and strength she could summon and prepared to face the day. Though a part of her would rather curl into a ball under the duvet until Jamie returns, she made a Herculean effort to stay positive for sanity's sake. It should have given her comfort knowing Jamie was safe after Willie had informed her he'd been spotted at three in the morning at Lallybroch's driveway in his car and was now resting in his childhood home. But her eyes would prickle with tears every time she stood still and stared into space. So Claire kept herself busy, feeding Jamie's pets, letting them out of the house, doing a bit of laundry and setting up her work station for the day on the dining table. Currently, there were things that needed attending to, like her own work, and anytime soon, Willie would be arriving.

She was just about to open her laptop when there was a knock on the kitchen's back door.

She knew it was Willie. "Door's open," she croaked.

Willie walked in and stopped. A line formed between his brows, reminding her so much of Jamie she felt the beginning of tears welling up. "Hey, how are ye?" he asked.

With more enthusiasm than she had in her, she gave him a small smile. "I'm hanging in there. How's Jamie?"

"He's asleep ...last time I heard from ma."

"How about you? You look like you didn't get much rest either."

"Knackered," he replied, shoving his hands into his jeans' pocket. "The bloody git sent us on a merry chase. And now he gets to sleep the whole day while I'm left to pick up the slack at work."

Claire knew Willie was trying to make light of things. Needing to move, she stood and made her way to the kitchen, having the sudden urge to keep her hands busy. It would have been easier if she'd asked Willie to take her to Lallybroch. But there had been a reason for her decision to stay put. She needed to remind herself, there's a probability her presence could make Jamie's condition worsened after having seen his reaction to her bruise last night. Even if in the light of day, nothing seemed good enough excuse to be separated from him.

"Would you like something to drink? Coffee or tea?" she offered. "I could use a strong cuppa."

"Coffee would be grand."

Conscious of Willie watching, she went through the motion of taking out cups and switching on the coffee machine. When she opened the fridge to retrieve some milk, she accidentally nudged one of Jamie's magnets on the door, sending a post-it note to slip down. Automatically bending down, she picked up the piece of paper from the floor.

As she turned it the other way round and read it, a cross between a sob and a laugh broke passed through her mouth. It was a note Jamie had written to her just the other day.

Gone to work. Bought some croissants, and they're in the bread bin just in case Adso gets his grubby paws on it first. Can't wait to see you later. Missing you already. Love you. X

"Oh, damn it." Claire leaned over the countertop, pressing the note with one hand on her chest. "I-I can't do this."

Willie came up behind her and touched her elbow, gently turning her to face him. "Ye cannae do exactly what, Claire?" he asked, a look of concern etching his face.

"Pretend Jamie is fine." She squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them again, she let out a lungful of air. "When we first met, he was in a good place. And I have this strong feeling that I am making his condition more frequent and worse."

"No, Claire ...dinnae speak like that."

She glanced down at Jamie's note, and when she felt prickles behind her eyelids, she slipped the piece of paper in her jean's pocket and shook her head. "How can Jamie and I be together if I'm the one triggering his nightmares and anxiety? Before I came along, his episodes were a rare occurrence. And now here I am making that classic mistake of attempting to fix a man." Her breathing suddenly became laboured, like she'd raced ten miles. "I wish I could be by his side. I know it's selfish wanting to be with him right now when I'm the reason for his distress. But I do. On the other hand, logic tells me, it's probably a good thing all those memories he hasn't dealt with are finally coming to the surface, so at least we have something to work on. I just wish there was a less unpleasant way for Jamie to handle all of these." She glanced out the window, unseeing the beautiful view in the sun.

When the silence dragged on for too long, Claire turned to face Willie and was surprised to see him smiling. "Cannae ye see it yet, Claire? Ye are not making Jamie's condition worse. In fact, ye have been helping him heal all this time."

She frowned. She was confused. "What do you mean? I don't understand."

Willie took the portafilter and began filling it with coffee for her. "Ye said it yersel'. The suppressed memories are coming to the surface." He shrugged as he worked the coffee machine. "Meaning, after all these years, Jamie can finally confront them head-on, deal with it and lay it to rest once and for all. Isn't that what his dreams are trying to tell him? He's forgone dealing with grief and issues that it had nowhere to go to except present itself as this monstrous nightmare and panic attacks. And then ye came along, and somehow, ye've extracted more out from him than all his therapists put together."

A nervous laugh gurgled from her throat. "I might have been able to do that, but at what cost? Jamie could've hurt himself last night." She'd worried at the speed he'd taken off, thinking if anything grievous had resulted from it, she would have been so utterly devastated, she'd blamed herself. "He needs professional help, Willie. It can't go on like this."

"He does," he agreed, pressing the button on the coffee machine. "But Jamie needs you too, more than ever ...even if he believes he's a danger to ye."

"But he didn't hurt me."

He pushed the stop button on the coffee machine. "May I see the bruise?"

"Of course." She rolled up her sweatshirt sleeves. "I told him I bruise easily. I have an iron deficiency which I'm taking supplements for."

Willie studied the markings on her arms. "They're not that bad."

"No, they're not. I tried to convince him, but he won't listen. I only need to pinch my skin, and I bruise. It's a symptom of being anaemic."

Willie sighed. "Jamie won't be easily convinced, though. Weel ...at least not until he's calmed down."

"He used to have a therapist. Why isn't he seeing one now?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her. "I know he's against taking pills for his condition, but surely talking to a professional would help him a lot."

"He has nothing against seeing a therapist ..." he replied matter-of-factly as he handed her the coffee. "...just a particular one."

"Oh!" She took the cup from Willie and watched him make another one for himself. "May I know why?"

"Her name is Geneva Dunsany. She's the only available therapist in Broch Mordha. She took over Jamie's former therapist after he left for England." He paused to look at her. "Ye see ...a few years back, my da remortgage Lallybroch and then when the recession came, our family was hit hard financially and had trouble paying the bank. To cut a long story short, Jenny, our meddling sister, knew Geneva was infatuated with Jamie. Since Geneva comes from a well-off family, Jenny thought by playing matchmaker, she would solve everyone's problems single-handedly. Ever since then, my sister has been trying to get them together. So when she heard Jamie's therapist left for England, she encouraged Geneva to take the job even though she already had one in another town. Jamie is quite perceptive, though and knew what our wee sister was up to. Hence he refused to see Geneva."

"That's a bit sneaky."

"Ye can say that again. Geneva might have a wee crush on Jamie, but I dinnae think she's aware of Jenny's meddling, even though they're friends. Jenny thinks she's doing Jamie a favour by finding him a lass who lives here and can help him with his condition. Jen is practical like that."

"I've met her, actually. The therapist that is. We were introduced ...just before I went back to London," she explained, thinking back to the day when she first met Jenny and Geneva. And she's beautiful too, she thought grudgingly. Although Jamie had never given Claire reason to feel jealous before, every muscle in her body had gone rigid, hearing Willie's account on Jamie's would-be therapist. Jealousy continued to roll in like a lick of a flame as the image of Jamie pouring his heart out to a beautiful woman burned hot in her guts. The sudden urgent need to see him made her want to sprint out of the cottage at full speed, but a dose of decorum kept her rooted on the spot. "So, Jamie wasn't interested, huh? Not even the teeny, tiniest bit?" she squeaked, annoyed at the sudden change in her voice.

She thought she saw a muscle twitched along Willie's jaw, but she must have imagined it. Looking like he was sucking the inside of his cheek, he shook his head. "No. Never. And ye have nought to worry about, Claire. Jamie only has eyes for ye."

She swallowed the bitter taste of doubt. "Not worried," she lied, sipping her coffee. But in the true sense of the word, she already felt loads better after the enlightening conversation with Willie. It had taken the edge off her worry over Jamie's condition, even though she still couldn't erase the thought of Jenny pushing Jamie towards Geneva.

"Maybe ye should attend a therapy session with Jamie ...at least initially," he suggested, eyeing her closely as if trying to read her thoughts. "That way, it would put Jamie at ease, and Geneva would realise he's taken already."

Claire slowly placed her cup on the countertop. "Why do I get the feeling this meddling thing is inherent in your family?" she asked, feigning disapproval.

Willie put his own cup down. "Not inherent, Claire. I have my own selfish motive. Ye're the best friend of my Annalise, and I wouldn't be helping my cause if she finds out I've done nought to help ye." When Claire gasped, he grinned. "Kidding aside, even if Annalise wasn't my girlfriend, I want ye to know, I really like you for my brother."

Claire could barely see through the tears she hadn't been aware that was building up. "You sound so sure."

Willie placed his hand over hers and squeezed it. "Are ye sure about my brother?"

"With all my heart," she whispered.

"That's all I need to know."

..........

Jamie slowly opened his eyes and took in the familiar surroundings of his old room. His heart throbbed when he realised the last time he'd slept here had been on New Year's eve, with Claire tucked snuggly on the crook of his arm. Bracing himself up on his elbows, he heard his mother talking to Jenny and his da downstairs. They were probably in the kitchen discussing his state.

He rubbed his face with one hand, feeling the beginning of a day-old stubble, exhaustion washing over him in waves. A mixture of self-loathing and guilt rose within as he replayed the incident from the night before. He couldn't decide what pained him the most, the bruises he'd inflicted on Claire or the fact he'd left her in tears standing in his driveway.

When he'd taken off from his cottage, his heart had been heavy and thoughts dark, not having had any clue what he wanted to do or where to go, only determinedly pushing himself to get as far away from Claire as possible. A few hours later, he'd found himself parked outside his childhood home after Willie and Murtagh had woken him up in his car. So far, he'd only talked to his older brother Willie, and he hoped it would be enough to keep the rest of his family's questions at bay.

Sitting up, he realised he was still in his clothes. He searched for his phone and found it on the nightstand. Swiping the screen, he saw he had a few missed calls from clients and a voice message from Claire. Willie must have switched his phone to silence.

I should call her, he thought. It wouldn't be that difficult. Her voice would soothe him, and her lack of judgement would make him feel like he's on solid ground. He could show his worst, and he knew she'd still be there, smiling and soothing him with words, just like last night. Every hour that passed without seeing her or hearing from her put him a little more off centre, and he could see how too reliant he was becoming on those breaths of fresh air that sprung from her. He shook his head. She was too precious to be with someone who had this nonstop ugliness embedded in the insides of his head. It would only be a matter of time before he dragged her into his hell. He couldn't do that to her.

He was about to tap on Claire's voice message when he was alerted by a double knock on the door.

"Jamie, are ye awake, son?" It was his father.

"Come in," he answered, his voice still hoarse from sleep.

The door opened, and he saw his mother walk in first with a mug of tea. "My darling boy," she smiled, placing the hot brew on the bedside table. "I thought ye could use a bit of something warm in yer belly. How are ye feeling?" She stooped down and kissed him on the forehead.

Jamie scooted back to the headboard to make space for his mother while his father took the chair. "Exhausted," he said honestly. Although he'd slept all morning, it hadn't been a restful sleep.

His father, Brian, cleared his throat. "So ... what's going on with ye, lad?" he asked, cutting to the chase as usual.

Ellen sent her husband a warning glare before refocusing her attention back to Jamie. "Whenever ye're ready, darling," she reassured him, patting his thigh. "Willie vaguely told us what happened, and Jenny is beside herself thinking she triggered yer panic attack yesterday. And Claire ...ye never told us she's here. She's worried sick about ye."

Jamie sighed. "What's there to tell." He leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "It wasnae Jenny's fault. It's just the same old, same old. The only difference this time is, I made a stupid mistake getting Claire involved with me. And I'm hurting her in the process."

Ellen briefly looked at her husband. "I find that hard to believe, Jamie. Ye're such a gentle soul, ye could never ever hurt a fly even if it's bugging ye to bits. Did ye two have a fight? Did Claire say ye were hurting her?" she asked Jamie gently.

"No. I just know I am."

"Oh, darling ..."

"So that's it ..." Brian raised his hands in the air before letting them drop to his sides. "Ye're giving in to this condition ye've fought hard against all yer life when the chance for happiness finally present itsel' to ye because ye THINK ye are hurting Claire. Is that what ye're trying to tell us? Because believe ye me, we didnae raise a violent or abusive son. So enlighten us ...where in heaven's name is this all coming from?"

"Brian!"

"It's a futile fight," Jamie blurted before taking a deep breath. "Trust me ... I'd like to have what ye both have. But at what cost? Look at the state of me. Is this the kind of man Claire deserves? She's willing to turn her life upside down for me, and for what? Only to find out later she'd saddled herself with a mentally ill man. So perhaps it's for the best she lucked out early before its too late for either of us."

His mother moved closer to his side and took his hand. "So let me get this straight. Ye're staying away from Claire because ye like her a lot, and ye're afraid to hurt her." Pain clenched tight on his vocal cords, incapacitating him to answer, but she interpreted his silence as a yes. Even though it's far more complex than that. "Oh, sweet lord, how youth is so wasted on the young," she clucked.

"Aye, perhaps." He rubbed a hand behind his neck. "But trust me, I ken fine what the problem is."

"Oh, is that so?"

His father's sarcasm wasn't lost on him, but he ignored it in favour of the pressure sinking into his chest. "I ken I hold back a lot from everyone, and I ken too that's wrong. When things get too much, I keep my mouth shut. And I dinnae realised at first that suffering in silence damages, instead of helping. Though it's easier said than done, I'm working on it. All I ever wanted was no' to be a burden or be the cause of anyone's pain. Claire deserves more."

Ellen sighed. "Jamie ...Jamie ... ye're never a burden. Ye're a delight, and we're so proud of ye. Ye need to understand, ever since ye were a wee bairn, ye've always needed a purpose, like fixing everyone's problem because it gave ye satisfaction to see ye've righted someone's world. Whenever someone was hurting, ye're always the first to reach out." Her shoulders lifted in a shrug. "I thought it was endearing at first until it began to take over yer life. The trauma you've gone through only amplified yer true nature to a point it wasnae healthy anymore. And the guilt that came with it when ye can do nought and thought you've failed ...almost destroyed ye every time." She shifted on the bed. "Jamie ...ye have to stop denying yersel' a chance for happiness because ye're afraid of hurting or failing someone. Pain is part of life. It's inevitable. Though it's good of ye to think of others first, sometimes, it's also good to let others carry that burden for ye and help ye. Running away because ye're afraid of hurting someone is no' gonnae to do anyone any good. Ye'll only end up hurting yersel'. And when that happens, who's going to help ye?"

His mother's logic made sense, but the chatter in his brain continued to hold its ground. "Claire's been through a lot, ma."

"And so have ye, son," Brian interjected, firmly.

"But what if I make things worse for both of us?"

"Oh my sweet boy, what if ye end up happy together?" Ellen smiled. "I ken a crystal ball would come in handy right now, but because we dinnae have one, the only way to find out is to take the risk and hope for the best. Just like what Claire is doing."

Jamie shut his eyes for a while and pictured them together. Every fibre in his body was screaming to get in his car and drive back to Broch Mordha and start making it up to Claire. But his mother was right ...he needed help. He didn't want to put Claire through all that misery again, so he decided right there and then he would start attending therapy afresh. It was the way forth, and he'd held off attending therapy for too long, which might have worsened his condition. But first things first. He needed to be in the right headspace to start doing anything.

"Fine, I'll call the clinic later for an appointment but do ye mind if I rest some more. I'm still feeling a bit off."

The chair scraped the wooden floor as Brian stood up. "Aye, of course. Ye look worn to a frazzle."

Ellen reached out and pulled Jamie into her arms and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be downstairs if ye need anything." She got up and ruffled his hair as if he was still a wee boy. "And I've made leek and tattie soup in case ye're hungry."

"Thanks, ma."

His parents were just about to walk out when Jenny strode in. "Hey."

Jamie rubbed his forehead with his fingers. "Jenny, can we talk later? I'd like to be alone for a bit."

Brian and Ellen gave his sister a warning look as they left the room, but she just shrugged. "I promise this willnae take long. Please, Jamie?"

Jamie waved a hand. "Fine. What is it?"

He watched his sister retrieve something from her jeans' pocket. "Mrs Fitz from the Airbnb gave me this. One of her clients staying over her place left an Oxford Mail newspaper a couple of weeks ago. As she was browsing through it, she came across Claire's name." She handed him a newspaper clipping. "Looks like yer wee girlfriend is an heiress."

"What? Let me see that."

Jamie skimmed through the short article about some property in Fox Lane, Boars Hill in Oxford. It said it was formerly part of the Berkeley Castle Estate. The original part of the house had been designed by the celebrated architect Sir Ernest George for Lord Berkeley, a family ancestor from her mother side. The house had apparently garnered loads of interest among the local rich after being recently vacated by a local MP. It mentioned the original owners' name as Henry and Julia Beauchamp, deceased, and the heiress as Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp.

Was this the South Lodge property Claire had been talking about she'd inherited from her parents? He hadn't really given it much thought ever since she'd casually mentioned it. This was a far cry from the cabin in the woods he'd envisioned.

"Three million pounds for a house!" Jenny broke through his reflection. "Doesn't it make ye wonder what else she inherited?"

Jamie looked at the paper again. That's what the house is worth? Ach, Christ! Even the Oxford gossip found its way to Broch Mordha. He knew Claire would be mortified if the news of her assets became everyone's favourite topic of conversation.

Folding the note, he handed it back to his sister. He saw Claire a little differently now. All that money in the world and all she only ever wanted was a place to belong to. Suddenly he felt awful for leaving her last night. He shook his head at his sister. "Not a word about this to any of yer mates!" he warned her. "Or else ..."

Jenny's eyes widened. "What do ye take me for?"

"A babble merchant," he ribbed, unsmiling. "Now, let me be."

"Ye're no' angry at me still, are ye?"

"No," he sighed. "I'm just exhausted."

"Can I do anything for ye?"

He puffed out a breath. Jenny was looking at him earnestly, and he knew she only wanted to reach out. "Aye, in fact, ye can. Ye can arrange that appointment with the therapist for me."

She smiled, seemingly happy to please. "Right on it. If ye need anything else ..."

"Aye, aye, I'll let ye know."

Jenny left, and somehow, he felt a little less heavy in the heart than he did when he woke up earlier. Grabbing his phone, he tapped play on Claire's voice message.

"Hey, it's me. Just letting you know how much I miss you. I felt a little sad earlier, so I wandered into a cafe in the village centre after Willie left. They had this upbeat music playing in the background. It's an old song. Probably from the eighties or nineties, I'm not quite sure. It's pretty cheesy, but it brought a smile to my face. And now I can't get the music out of my head. Maybe if you listen to it too, it will bring a smile to your face. It's from Rick Astley, Never Gonna Give You Up." There was a pause before she spoke again. "Right, I'll let you rest. Willie told me that's what you've been doing. I'm going to take Rollo out for a walk now and try to get some work done. I'll text and send you a voice message later. I love you."

Ah, Sassenach! He swiped the screen to phone her, but his phone beeped and died. Ah, shite! He wanted to go and see her now but stopped. He had to take steps to make himself better first. He needed to put in the hours to help himself. She deserved the extra time he would put in because she's not getting half-arsed from him again. But for now ...

He scrambled out of bed and opened the bedroom door.

"Ma!" he called out.

"What is it, dear?"

"Do ye still have all yer old music from yer university days?"

"Anything in particular?"

He cringed inwardly. Ah, fuck! "Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley?"

He thought he heard females sniggering downstairs.

Dear Readers,

Thank you so much for your patience with the previous chapter and, mostly, the feedback and beautiful comments. I hope this latest update felt a lot lighter to read. I'll keep this short as I'm drained today; nevertheless, I wish you a great weekend.

Looking forward to reading what you think of this update. Take care always, and keep those love vibes rolling. Much love. X

[astringofmadhousefloozies]

Slumber Party Massacree

Not a typo!

Yuu has a sleepover, and things go to shit. Second person, as always. Let me know if you liked it!  And You can find more on my blog under the “twisted wonderland fanfiction” tag.

~*~*~*~

"Thank you for inviting me, Yuu."

"Thank you for coming, Mal. You too, Idia."

The tablet made a cheery ping as it hovered in the air.

Mal tilted his head as he inspected the strange object. "Why is it that you couldn't show up in person, and instead used this," he poked at the screen, "device?"

You said "Ortho maintenance night, can't be skipped" Idia said "Sleepovers mean touching hair and I don't know you that well," and Ortho, from some distance, said "I don't want her putting her hands on my brother," and you sputtered.

"I... see." Malleus sounded as serious as the grave. "At least you are present in some capacity. I do appreciate it."

You'd invited them both for a sleepover at your dorm, but only Mal was here in person. Ortho still hadn't forgiven you for laying hands on Idia, even if you both explained to him that you'd made up (vigorously), and he refused to allow Idia to come. You really needed to make up with him, or you wouldn't have even the beginning of a love life.

"How are we to begin? I understand there are... rituals involved with sleepovers."

"I mean, sort of. Like, pillow fights. Scary movies. Popcorn. Braiding each others hair."

"Lesbianism!"

You stared at Grim in horror. "We're missing a very important aspect for that, and also, no. Who taught you that."

"Your movies?"

“Shut.”

Malleus raised a hand, and thankfully did not ask what lesbianism was. "I would like to start with the scary movie."

You clapped your hands. "Perfect! I have a few."

~*~*~*~

"Yuu."

"Yes?"

"Deadites are not a real occurrence in your world, are they?"

"No, dear. They are entirely fictional." You swatted at the tablet as it issued a hissing laugh. "Don't make fun, you asked me if the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was real."

"That said it was a true story!"

It was going excellently, if you did say so yourself. Grim had his own little bowl of popcorn, watching the screen with rapt attention. Idia had synced his own file of the movie to play, although you were fairly certain he was paying more attention to some Fortnite equivalent or other. Mal had you splayed over him as you both lounged on the couch, watching the screen with curiosity as he stroked your hair. "If we are supposed to braid this, there is really not enough to properly do so. Shall I grow it for you?"

"What? no."

"A pity. You would look fine with hair to your ankles."

You lightly thumped his chest. "I would not. You've never seen me with my long hair. It was all split ends and hung like lead. At least like this, there's volume."

"I would keep it very healthy for you, if you ever decide to let it grow." He leaned his cheek on the top of your head, and switched from fussing with your hair to your earlobes. "These are very nice."

"You like them?" You'd gotten a set of tiny pearl studs from a "secret admirer" that you were fairly certain had sharp teeth and a streak in his hair. "They're pretty cute. I got more, too."

Mal hummed as he looked at them. "They suit you well. I don't see you with much else but earrings."

"They stay out of the way. Do you want to try any of mine on, later?"

"I am afraid I cannot, as I lack holes in my ears for them."

You sat bolt upright with a great idea.

~*~*~*~

"And this is safe?"

"Safer than Claire's." You'd already wiped his ear with peroxide, and done the same to a sewing needle. "I've done this dozens of times, and the only girl who got an infection went to the beach the next day and got it there."

"Was that Claire, then?"

"No, that's a store. Kitschy, little girl shit. They use a piercing gun and are legendary for giving people dreadful infections because they don't clean the gun properly. Their jewelry's cheap as shit at turns your skin green. Fantastic place, you'd love it."

"I'm still surprised that you simply did not grow the holes naturally."

"We don't work like that. We've been shoving things in out soft bits for forever."

Idia, through his tablet, wheezed, but otherwise didn't comment.

"And just think, my dude, you get one of the most authentic sleepover experiences ever. And you get to be sparkly!"

"I could sparkle plenty if I so chose." He turned towards you slightly, doubt on his face. "Only a small amount of blood?"

"Just a little bit. Beauty is pain, as Schoenheit would say. Deep breath now."

He obeyed, and as quick as you could, you drew the needle through his earlobe. He didn't bleed much - his blood had a curious oilslick sheen to it, and after sanitizing again, you placed a plain gold stud in. "One down! You want to see?"

He nodded heavily, and you held up a small hand mirror. The gold stud shone pleasantly in his ear, and his face shone with a sweet, childish wonder as he turned to you. "I like it very much."

And then he keeled over on top of you.

~*~*~*~

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO LORD MALLEUS?"

"I- DON'T- KNOW-" Sebek was shaking you furiously as Lilia peered over his charge and Silver tried to coax him into not giving you whiplash. "IT- JUST- HAPPENED-"

"Please do not arrest her I don't know how to break people out of prison-"

"He'll be fine."

Sebek dropped you to the floor and walked away. "Thank the seven! We must take him away from this assassin right away!"

"What was it?" You still felt like you were moving, though whether it was Sebek-caused dizziness or stress over hurting your friend was unclear.

Lilia held up the needle. "You used this, right?"

You nodded.

"What's it made of?"

"Steel?"

"What's steel?"

You thought for a moment, before you put your head in your hands and howled.

"YOU TRIED TO GIVE THE PRINCE IRON POISONING?" If he kept shaking you like this you’re going to wind up with a concussion.

"It was an accident please stop-"

"Ziegvolt, please. He'll be up in a few minutes, we can go and leave them all be."

"I refuse to leave him alone with her!"

"I said he'll be fine." Lilia came and clapped him in the shoulder. "We can go. Take Silver with you, he's already out."

He was, indeed, already out and asleep on one of the couches, peaceful as could be.

Sebek only left, cradling Silver to him, at the insistence of Lilia. Lilia, before he left, got on tiptoe and placed a kiss on your forehead, which you accepted with grace and more than a few sniffles.

"Honest accident, don't cry. Make sure he gets some water when he wakes up. Next time you try that, use gold needles, they clean easier and won’t make anyone sick, fae or not. I'll calm the kids down so it'll be all good. Play safe now." He tucked an old paisley handkerchief in your hand for your running nose and flew out the door, leaving you with an unconscious friend, another friend not present but in the midst of a panic attack, and a deeply annoyed not-cat. First things first.

Mal was fine, breathing regularly, on the floor with a few pillows to support his head. He looked a bit grey, but alright, otherwise. At least this wasn't a sleeping curse, while you loves Mal dearly you weren’t sure if friendship was the right kind of love to break- Lilia did the other ear for you, what the fuck.

[dopescotlandwarrior]

Sinners & Saints - Chapter One

                     Special thanks to @statell​ for all your help.

Find on AO3

Chapter One

Galerie Charpentier is home to Sotheby’s Auction house in the center of the Parisian art world and host to almost eighty auctions per year. Art buyers worldwide watch for pieces to add to their collection and millions of dollars change hands as the gavel comes down on the final bids. A rare Rembrandt was up for sale today. One of three self-portraits done by the artist and the only one still in a private collection. The estimated price at auction is twenty-eight to thirty-five million dollars for the eight by twelve-inch painting. It will elevate any collection to new boasting heights and there is a lot of interest.

Jamie Fraser walked the halls of the auction house and checked in on his team trying to stay clear of buyers flocking into the building. He could care less about the art bought and sold today. He was here to catch a master art thief, his nemesis, who bested him at every turn. Jamie was number one in the world for profiling and catching the most accomplished thieves until he signed on to find Casper, the most prolific art thief in Europe. He was dubbed Casper because he came in and went out like a ghost, leaving nothing behind.

Jamie’s jaw clenched thinking of the many times he was closing in on his prey only to have him vanish with the prized art. This time was different, he could feel it. He was tipped off by a black-market snitch that told him the Rembrandt would be in play soon and that painting was being sold today. Casper had to be here, and Jamie would leave him crippled when he took him down. Payback for leading a merry chase for the past two years.

Jamie walked quickly toward the back entrance to verify the doors were locked. He was surprised to pass a large group of people in one of the auditoriums and glanced at the signboard, Doctor Claire Beauchamp, professor of fine arts, University of Chicago. By the size of the audience, she was quite popular. Jamie caught a glimpse of the striking professor in a body-hugging dress that she wore like a fashion model. Black rimmed glasses were perched on her nose above red lipstick and a pile of hair on top of her head that looked exquisitely messy. She pushed a coil of hair off her face and looked up at a huge screen, flipping slides with a remote control. One word came to Jamie’s mind; fascinating. His earpiece crackled and he spun around to head back to the front of the building.

Claire Beauchamp clicked for the next slide, clicked again, and again to no avail. She apologized to the audience and ripped her headset off to find some assistance. Five minutes later she was back to wrap up the lecture with the slides moving perfectly.

Jamie walked by the auditorium three more times as the professor worked her way through the questions, signed copies of her new book, and accepted the thanks of the Parisian art world. Jamie watched her, knowing the auction was underway and the clock was ticking on Casper’s entrance.

“Doctor Beauchamp, there’s a rumor you’re joining the team to catch Casper. Any truth to that?”

“Well, no. He has stolen pieces that I have a particular fondness for, and I would love to help catch him, but I have not been asked. It’s just a rumor.”

Claire shrugged her shoulders and smiled at the last of the people leaving. She stuffed her materials into her briefcase and took a deep cleansing breath. She had one more meeting and a plane to catch back to Chicago. She would give anything for a day to herself in Paris to wander around the Louvre and spend as much time as she wanted with the Masters. Maybe next time, she thought.

Claire emerged from the auditorium and made her way to the back entrance where she was allowed to park. She stopped abruptly and opened her case, smiling when she saw her headset tucked safely inside. She pulled the case up to secure the retaining strap and lowered her arm as the explosion blew her sideways, off her feet, and into a wall that was coming down. She could hear herself screaming until something heavy hit her on the head. Her screaming stopped.

Claire was vaguely aware she was laying in rubble from an explosion. The rubble was warm and had hands that held her upper arms, and a voice that kept asking if she was alright. She tried to lift her head and bumped it on something above her.

“What the bloody hell?”

Her hands were splayed on someone’s chest and she felt around deciding it was a male with a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger! Claire looked to her right and left seeing the tiny space they were pinned into and her heart pounded in her chest, feeling the claustrophobic fear that made elevators impossible.

“Jesus Christ, I have to get out of here, right now! Help me get out of here Mister, please!”

She felt the beefy arms wrap around her and hold her down making the panic even worse. Her wiggling made it hard to hear the man saying her name, getting more stern by the second. He finally held her tightly to him and warned her not to move.

“Doctor Beauchamp, Doctor Beauchamp, Claire! Stop moving! Something is holding the tonnage of walls, ceiling, and live wires above us. If you knock it loose it will kill us. Do you understand?”

Claire gripped his arms and panted from her attempt to escape. She listened to his voice calming her down and telling her to breathe with him. He was very encouraging and kept telling her they would be all right. He talked her down from a panic attack but kept his hands on her to be sure.

“May I call you Claire?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Alright, thank you. I need your help lass. Look around for something strong, like metal, a strong metal box, or something like that not connected to anything, free moving and about a foot tall. Do you see anything like that?”

“Why, for what?” Claire finally lifted her head a few inches and looked up at the man’s head, but it wasn’t there. A very large piece of the wall was suspended right above his throat and his head was on the other side of it.

“Oh my God, oh my God! Sweet Jesus, what are we going to do?” Her panic was rising again, and the arms came around her while the disembodied voice told her to breathe and keep her wits about her. It took several minutes but she finally gained control again and looked around for something strong with the limited space she had to lift her head.

“There are cinder blocks in the rubble, two of them are not touching anything. Will those work Mister?”

“Sorry lass, my name is Jamie, and those might hold this wall up long enough for me to scoot free of it. Can you move one, can you reach it?”

Claire could move the block slowly by stretching her arm until it hurt. Little by little she scooted the cinder block closer to the wall, muttering about a decapitated Arnold and she didn’t want to be alone. Jamie patiently calmed her reminding her to breathe deeply. He helped her push the block under the section of wall and patted her shoulder, thanking her for being so brave. Claire felt the man’s body scooting slowly, taking her with him an inch at a time until he was free of the would-be guillotine.

Jamie laid very still, trying to calm his racing heart. He could see what Claire could not and knew they were buried by at least twenty or thirty feet of debris. It would take hours for rescuers to find them if they ever did. Shafts of light were coming through, but those would disappear when the sun went down leaving them in complete darkness. Jamie felt a murderous rage boiling in his stomach.

“You fucking bastard,” was whispered through clenched teeth. “I will hunt you right into hell before I give up.”

“Who’s a bastard, who will you hunt, who’s going to hell?”

Claire was patting his arm trying to comfort the rage she felt in his tensed muscles. It scared her because she didn’t know this man. Jamie’s arms encircled her lightly for a few seconds.

“He’s called Casper and he’s a dead man walking because I’m gonna finish him when I find him.”

“Casper? The art thief did this?”

Claire got very quiet for a few minutes before asking, “who are you?”

“Jamie Fraser. I head up the task force trying to catch that piece of shit. Just so you know, we are getting out of here, one way or another, because I won’t let him win.”

He felt Claire shaking and heard her sniffling. He held her, feeling bad because he scared her. He lifted his head to look at her.

“I’m sorry lass, I didn’t mean to scare you. Look at me, Claire.”

Jamie wasn’t expecting the large whisky colored eyes and long black lashes wet from her tears. Her face stole his words for a moment, so he just looked at her. He wanted to touch her porcelain skin and feel the coils of curls that had fallen around her face and shoulders.

“I’m sorry Sassenach, rest now. It won’t be long.”

“Sassenach means crazy bitch, doesn’t it?”

Jamie laughed and Claire bounced on his stomach until she smiled too. “No. It means outsider. You’re a Brit, living in America, trapped in Paris, with a Scott,” he said laughing. He laid his head back down, “tell me about yourself, are you married? Any kids?”

“There is an offer on the table, but I haven’t decided yet. I like him fine but he’s a politician and I’m …not.”

“Tell me more. Why hesitate?”

Claire talked about the senator from Illinois who said he loved her and promised a life of excitement and purpose. Jamie listened to the story of two mismatched people and hoped she would choose herself over a man with plans to change everything about her. She couldn’t see that yet but to him, it was very clear.

“What about you when you’re not chasing a master criminal around the world?”

“I cannot say, it’s been too long. I asked a beautiful girl to marry me once and she said yes but she died in an automobile wreck before the wedding. I haven’t dated since then, about two years now.”

“I’m sorry for your loss Jamie, and if it hurts you, I’m sorry to bring it up.”

“I have never been to Chicago, what is it like?”

The conversation was interesting as they took turns asking questions about the other. Jamie was waiting for some sign, pounding, or yelling, that would indicate workers were close. He heard nothing so far and the light was fading in their rubble pocket. He prayed the night would not be terrifying to the woman on top of him.

“Can you sleep, Claire? I think you should try, it will make the time pass faster. Close your eyes and think about something you do at home for fun, breathe deep, that’s a good lass.”

Jamie could hear Claire’s breathing deepen into her slumber and he closed his eyes hoping to join her. He had a feeling it would be a long night.

Senator Randall was startled by a tap on his shoulder and a note passed to him by his aide. It said Doctor Beauchamp had not gotten off her plane from Paris and was not answering her phone. Frank nodded to the aide and gathered his papers into a case leaving the meeting as quietly as possible. He was calling Claire when the door closed behind him. No answer. Claire was reliable, punctual, predictable, and always called when her plans changed. He felt a nervous twitch in his stomach as his phone vibrated continuously with messages delayed while his phone was turned off. He read through the text messages quickly and was jogging to find his driver and get back to his office.

Claire’s secretary and friend had bombed his phone about an explosion at Sotheby’s, part of the building collapsed, and Claire had not boarded her plane. Frank was feeling a surge of anxiety that was quite unfamiliar and unwanted. He kept his life sterile and empty of drama so he could pursue what made him happy, successful, and energized. He barked at the driver to find a way out of the traffic and back to his office. He couldn’t wait. The laptop lid flipped open and Frank searched for news of the Sotheby bombing. It was all over the internet and the pictures of the damage almost stopped his heart. He started dialing for his aides, giving orders to find her, book a flight to Paris tonight, and get him an emergency number for who was in charge at the auction house. He walked briskly to his office followed by jogging aides handing him notes with flight times, and phone numbers.

“Hello”

“Thank God! Jesus yer hard to find Frank. Ye know whats happened at Sotheby’s. Claire didn’t check-in at the airport, she didn’t return her rental or check out of the hotel. I’m sorry Frank, she is unaccounted for and …”

Frank clicked off of the call when Geillis was mid-sentence. He couldn’t deal with her at the moment, and punched in the numbers to Sotheby’s but couldn’t get through. He assigned two aids to keep calling the emergency number until one of them got a person on the phone.

The sixty-inch television in his office was streaming news of the explosion and the missing Rembrandt painting that was discovered. The explosion was reported as a possible diversion so the thief could get away. One of the aides held her phone out.

“Senator Bradley, sir. He says you won’t answer your own phone and he needs to speak with you.”

“Hello, yes, no I can’t meet tonight, I’m flying to Paris, my girl…” Pausing to listen, “sorry Gary, I can’t, it’s an emergency. No, I won’t be voting tomorrow, I have an emergency, I have to …”

Senator Bradley could be heard from across the room making the aides press into the farthest point in the office to complete their tasks. Frank drew his arm back to throw the phone into the wall and someone shrieked and grabbed her phone away from him. It might cost her job, but this was her brand-new iPhone and no cranky senator was going to smash it to pieces. She headed for the door and disappeared.

“It’s the manager at Sotheby’s, sir. Please don’t break my phone.”

Frank dropped into his chair and reported the news of his missing fiancé, Doctor Claire Beauchamp from the University of Chicago. The manager wanted the name of her rental car company, hotel, and time of day she was last heard from. Frank gave him Geillis’s cell phone number adding she would be the point of contact. Tomorrow would be a ball-breaker and he needed someone attached to their phone in case any news came in.

Hours later, Frank laid in bed in the dark and thought about Claire. So many hours after the explosion and no word from her. He didn’t want to believe it but found little hope she was alive. He closed his eyes.

Claire was shifting her weight trying to get comfortable on the lumpiest mattress ever made. When she moved to her side Jamie’s eyes slammed opened and he groaned loudly from her hip crushing his balls. He lifted her hip and moved her over three inches letting his hands rest on her hip and leg. The dress she wore was knit and very soft. It had pulled up above her knee so Jamie pulled it back down.

He didn’t know Claire, and would never see her again once they were free, but he did not like hearing about her fiancé and that made him feel weird. He closed his eyes again.

“Jesus Christ! What is that?”

Jamie was yanked to the surface of consciousness by a loud and panicked voice coming from a wiggling woman trying to move up his body. His arms came around her and he shushed her, asking what was wrong.

“Something crawled up my leg and it had sharp claws, small sharp claws. I need to sit on your chest.”

Jamie grunted and held her still while he talked her down from another panic. He had worried about rats in the building being attracted to their smell. He told Claire to breathe with him while he stroked her hair in the pitch darkness. She had wiggled up toward his head and now her cheek was pressed against his, her mouth only inches from his. He could feel her relaxing and truly hoped for no more surprises tonight. He fell asleep with his arms around Claire.

Jamie opened his eyes when the noise of pounding pulled him back to consciousness. He felt Claire pressed against him, their faces touching, and the morning erection that threatened what little dignity he had left. He willed it away, quite unsuccessfully. The banging started again and he smiled to himself, it won’t be long before they are back on their feet, he thought. The pounding gave way to ripping metal and the distinct sound of a backhoe.

Claire moaned and moved to her stomach, rolling her face so her mouth was smashed against Jamie’s. He didn’t want to breathe for fear she would wake up and take her lips away. The noise from moving heavy debris got louder and the light from the new day flooded their pocket. Claire opened her eyes and screamed, pushing away from Jamie and hitting her head hard.

“What the bloody hell!”

“I’ll have you know madam that you accosted me just now, taking advantage of my inability to move and get away. This assault comes after you nearly strangled me getting away from a mouse.”

Claire rubbed her head and looked at the most beautiful face she had ever seen on a man. He could be a movie star with looks like that, she thought. Jamie was trying to look indignant but started to chuckle when her mouth turned into a smile. She looked adorable with a mass of curls pouring over her face as she felt for a bump on her head.

“Do you need me to rub it for you?”

The laugh that followed was genuine, feminine, and he loved hearing it.

“I’ll let you know if I want you to rub it.”

She laid her head on his chest and listened to the cavalry above them. “Sounds like they are making progress Jamie. I think you will soon be free of me.”

“Let’s hope it’s before I die of dehydration. I have never felt thirst like this in my life.”

With nothing to do but wait for the rescuers, they dozed and tried not to move too much. Through the early morning, the efforts above them intensified. The crew boss called a halt to the noise so they could get a radar fix on the heartbeats again. The radar technician moved his finger in a circle above their location and the infrared tech nodded his agreement. The noise continued.

“Jamie?”

“Yes, Sassenach.”

“What is the first thing you want to do when we’re rescued?”

“Drink like an elephant.”

“How is that?”

“Someone hands them a hose and they use their trunk to place it in their mouth. An hour or so later, the elephant pulls it out.”

“I’m quite sure you made that up but it’s still funny.”

“It’s God’s truth, I swear. Next, I will jump into the hotel pool until my body temperature comes back to normal. You laying on me is like a giant quilt heating me through for the last twenty hours or so. What about you Sassenach?”

“I’m down for the elephant thing, and a bubble bath, while I pray there are no flights to Chicago today. I want to lose myself in the Louvre.”

“Your list is impressive but surely a phone call to the senator will be done first, even before you put the hose in your mouth?”

Claire was giggling at Jamie’s charm, “of course, the senator, and then the hose.”

“Your dress is so soft, I woke up petting it like a rabbit in the middle of the night.” Jamie ran his hands down her back for effect and then instantly dropped them to his sides while Claire laughed. He just wanted to make her laugh until they took her away from him forever.

“Don’t move Sassenach!”

“Why? Is something crawling on me?”

Jamie grunted when her knee made contact with his balls as she twisted to look for a bug, or worse.

“No, it’s a phone call is all.”

Jamie reached up and pulled a phone to his ear. He spoke to the rescue worker and described how they were trapped. The phone was then pulled upward through the remaining debris until it was out of sight.

“Wow, how do they know exactly where we are?”

Jamie watched her childlike wonder and smiled at her until the dangling section of wall that had been directly above his throat dropped onto the cinder block making a deafening noise. Claire screamed and held onto Jamie tightly. She buried her face in his chest and cried until he could calm her down again. Claire felt his hand stroking her hair, and his arm around her waist. It was so foreign to be held this way and she didn’t want it to stop but could not force more tears, so he let her go. Jamie smiled encouragingly at her and pointed to the crushed cinder block.

“You see, you saved my life. That means you’re responsible for me forever.”

“Wait. If I saved you, that means you owe me a life, I think.”

“Anybody’s life?”

“I’m not quite sure about that. Maybe it’s like a debt that is paid by saving my life.”

Jamie took a chance and twisted his body and hers until they were lying side by side looking at the other.

“I don’t imagine a professor of fine arts and future first lady of the United States finds her life in peril much. But if you did, I will be the first one there Claire.”

She looked so innocent and beautiful looking at him. He seized her mouth and gorged himself on the beautiful professor. She turned her head for better access to his lips and he felt the exhilaration of her interest, however brief it would be. Aside from inhalation, the kiss continued until a large section that had them pinned was ripped away.

Claire sat up smiling at the men that surrounded them about ten feet up. She waved and stretched her back. A harness was lowered, held still by the men until she was safely in it. She pulled her briefcase strap over her head and was lifted through the debris to safety. Jamie watched her legs until she was pulled from his view.

Jamie looked up at the men, “any of the art stolen yesterday?”

“One small painting is all,” said with a heavy accent.

His stomach suddenly felt like a rock grinder. He asked the man, “quelle peinture?” The man shrugged his shoulders and looked around at the other workers until someone yelled “Rembrandt”. The sling was lowered again and Jamie was tempted to wrap it around his neck, but then Casper would win. He buckled himself into the harness.

Claire was loaded into an ambulance and whisked off to the nearest hospital. She gripped her briefcase and tried to calm her sense of shock at being thrust back into normality and away from Jamie. The EMT bent the straw top of a bottle of water and placed it in her mouth. She pulled the cool water into her mouth and thought about the elephants.

Claire was released by nine in the morning and now sat on her hotel bed with the phone in her hand.

“Sweet heavens, I am glad to talk to ye Claire, I haven’t slept a wink!”

“You are such a good friend Geillis. I tried to call Frank but his phone is off. Is he on his way to Paris?”

“No, he tried to leave last night but there’s an important vote today, it couldn’t be missed. What do ye need me to do? I already checked flights and they are booked today and tomorrow, even first class. I booked ye on United, leaving Paris at ten in the morning on Friday. All your appointments are canceled because ye were missin from a building that was bombed and I dinna ken if you were dead or alive.”

Geillis sobbed through the last part of the sentence and continued to cry until Claire calmed her down.

“I have quite the war story from the experience. I spent almost twenty-four hours laying on top of a giant Scot with a gorgeous face and bulging muscles.”

Claire giggled at Geillis’s reaction, knowing her friend would find that part of the tragedy delicious. After the call, Claire pulled her filthy clothes off and dropped them in the wastebasket. Flipping the security bar on the door meant she would be undisturbed while she scrubbed the dirt away. Sinking into the hot fragrant bubbles, she exhaled and thought about the rest of her day. She would meet with her client later and conclude their business and then tomorrow was all for her. The silver-lining as it were.

The exquisite bed in Claire’s room was so expansive one might miss the 8x12 inch Rembrandt in the center. Soon it would be handed over to the client in exchange for a deed to an Italian property valued at three million dollars. All in a day’s work.

[re-diesirae]

Chapter 3

3. LEON

It was fortunate that Leon had experience tracking a target amidst the chaos. The attacks had unleashed panic in the population. People were running and screaming from side to side, and Leon thought he saw several members of TerraSave moving from side to side.

He was glad that, at least, there were no signs of other B.O.W.s besides the one that had attacked them at the main street. That was good news.

Leon looked around, searching for any traces of the men in black suits, suddenly his phone rang, and Leon quickly answered.

"Hunnigan."

"Leon," the woman greeted him, "How are things over there?"

"Not as good as I'd like," Leon answered, "Did you find anything useful?"

"Not good news, I am afraid," Hunnigan sighed, "the terrorist group responsible for this attack and Ms. Redfield's kidnapping call themselves Arcana. It's a small terrorist group that works under Neo-umbrella."

"I expected Neo-umbrella to be no more. I can't believe they're still providing them with monsters."

"Yes, after the incident in China, we thought the organization had died away with Simmons and Radames, but it seems we were wrong. I've sent the report to the higher-ups."

"Yeah, good to know. I'll worry about Neo-umbrella later. They aren't our top problem now," Leon said, "Claire getting kidnapped is. Any idea of why they would target her?"

There was a short pause as Leon dodged a group of panicked citizens that ran in the opposite direction.

"Unfortunately, no, but I'll let you know if something comes up."

"Well, thanks."

"Sounds like a mess over there."

"Nothing I haven't seen before," Lin said, "not that many hostiles yet."

"I've got reports of hostiles incoming, but compared to other cases, it seems rather calm."

That was odd, Leon thought. Terrorist groups didn't shine for their consideration of innocent citizens, and he had to admit that comparing the current situation to what he'd lived other times before, it wasn't as bad as it could get.

"Leon, I found your target. They are heading to a building located north of your current position. It's an office building."

"Yeah, I think I just saw them," Leon said, watching the black-suited men walk into a large building across him.

"Good luck, Leon, and be careful."

"Yeah, thanks."

Leon pushed his phone back into his pocket and made his way to the building. The first thing he heard upon entering the lobby was a wave of gunfire, screaming, and grunting. The sounds were familiar, and they were enough for Leon to have an idea of what to expect later.

The zombies were the same kind he had faced in Tall Oaks: violent, nasty, and annoying, but not too hard to dispatch. The problem was that they were fast spreaders, which turned them into an infinite annoyance.

"Shit, " Leon groaned, shooting several zombies as he chased the group, "I hope Claire is ok."

Leon looked around the destruction and the pile of dead monsters he was leaving behind him.

"Claire is surely going to love this when she sees it," Leon said bitterly.

Claire would be furious. He could almost picture her indignation look in his thoughts, and he unavoidably smirked.

"Leon, do you copy?"

"Yeah, I am here."

"I identified an aircraft moving steadily to your position."

"An aircraft?" Leon grunted, "so they're extracting Claire from here."

"Yes, the air is most likely their escape route."

"Huh, then, they will head to the highest extraction point, the rooftop. Thanks, Hunnigan."

Leon shot his upcoming enemies without issues and made his way to the roof. He caught up with the kidnappers on the fifth floor. Four men from the original group were still alive, and he had to give them their credit. They weren't the usual bunch of amateur fighters.

Claire was still unconscious and, in addition to the way the men were carrying her like a sack of potatoes, the fact that she'd not woken up yet bothered Leon.

"Stop there," Leon shouted once they reached the roof.

"What the fuck?" the man holding Claire groaned.

"Isn't that one of the guys from earlier?"

"He caught up with us?"

"Shut up, you two!" the one holding Claire shouted. He pulled out his gun and aimed at Leon.

Leon smirked and jumped aside, taking cover. The fire exchange was intense. The agent had to be cautious where he aimed. Claire was in a vulnerable position, and the last thing he wanted was shooting her by mistake.

The kidnappers were losing focus. The anxiety and the stress, caused by the screams and roars that came from below, were making them uneasy.

Suddenly, one of the men let out a screech. Claire had woken up, and she had managed to kick him, making him drop her.

"That's my Claire," Leon smirked to himself.

He saw Claire roll away from the men and tried to get up. She seemed a little unbalanced, but Leon attributed it to having just woken up. The men looked thrown by her sudden awakening, and Leon used that opportunity to get out from his hiding spot and reach for the woman as he shot the men.

He pulled a, still confused Claire, behind a concrete block and took cover with her.

"L-Leon?" Claire groaned with surprise.

"Hey, again. Are you ok?"

"Y-yeah," she answered, rubbing her head, "What's going on?"

"Long story," Leon told her, punching the man that tried to catch her again.

The woman looked around her, confused, almost as if she wasn't processing the events. That was odd since Claire was usually fast to catch on to things. Leon was going to ask Claire if she was alright once more, but he never got to voice the question.

Suddenly, Leon heard a thunderous noise. The agent looked up and saw in horror as a helicopter got attacked by several flying B.O.W.s. The chopper lost stability and began to move erratically in the air, trying to get rid of the monsters that had trapped it.

One of the creatures destroyed the blades of the helicopter, and it began to fall towards them.

"Shit."

Leon turned to Claire, who was rubbing her head again. The agent picked her up, much to Claire's shock, and rushed away as fast as he could, but unfortunately, there was not much that he could do to run away from a burnt, falling chopper.

The crash was strong enough to make the whole building shake violently; debris burst flying around them, and Leon automatically shielded Claire from the damage.

Amid the chaos, they both rolled on the ground from the impact. Leon looked at his friend, letting out a painful groan. Claire was struggling, and he tried to reach out for her, but before he could, he felt a hard hit behind him, and everything went black.

Her head hurt like hell. That was the first thought that crossed Claire's mind as she regained her senses. Her surroundings were dark, and she felt the unfamiliar rocky ground under her hand.

"Great," Claire sighed, grabbing her head and feeling a little dizzy, "Why do I always end up in these places?"

The auburn headed looked around, ignoring the dizziness and the need to throw up that she was feeling. It was dark, damp, and for what she could tell, it looked like she was in some cave or tunnel. Claire sat up, resting her back against a near wall. It took her some minutes to put her thoughts back in order. Her memories were chaotic. She remembered fighting with some unknown men in the Command Room, and then, she had a blackout. Her last memories were of Leon, fire, pain, and a lot of noise. Wait, Leon?

"Leon?" she asked, trying to stand up.

There was no answer, and Claire looked around, concerned. She was sure she'd seen Leon. He had been with her before, and his current absence made Claire worry.

She tried to stand up so that she could search the area for her friend, but a wave of dizziness staggered her. The bastards had probably hit her head, and she'd not be surprised if she had a concussion. She needed to recover a little before she could think of moving.

"Leon? Are you there?" she called into the darkness, but no answer again.

He is an agent. He is going to be alright.

Claire took a deep breath, letting the oxygen fill her lungs and reach her head. The headache was annoying, but she could handle it. The pain wasn't enough to hinder her. She took some minutes to calm down and clear her head as much as she could.

"Fantastic," Claire sighed, "knowing my luck, I am probably in another experimental facility. I'll need a weapon if that's the case."

It took her some more minutes to be able to see. Her vision was still slightly blurry, but it was enough for her to move without issues.

Claire navigated herself through the darkness, using the wall as a guide. The terrain wasn't friendly to navigate, especially in the dark. Claire stumbled several times on the uneven ground; the last thing she needed now was to fall and damage her head even more.

It was too quiet for her taste, silent as death, and in her experience, dead things rarely stayed like that in these circumstances.

I am technically useless right now.

Claire wasn't in the best of shapes. Her vision was unreliable, her movements were slow and clumsy due to her headache, even her balance was giving her problems, and to top all that, she was weaponless. Her only hope was that there wouldn't be any enemies on her way out of the tunnel. She tried calling for Leon a couple of times, but the lack of replies made her assume that the agent was not anywhere around.

She knew Leon. If he were there, he'd find his way and meet her, eventually.

"Well, at least I'll get some friendly company," she sighed, "but first things first. I need to get out of here."

Claire's sight was getting used to the dark, but her dizziness was complicating things in many ways. Suddenly, Claire heard a loud howl in the distance, and a chill ran down her spine. She hated it when she was right; her hopes of having an easy way out crumbled in seconds. There was something in there, most likely a mutant monster, ready to tear her into pieces at any possible chance. A fight was unavoidable, but if she had to fight, she hoped to have at least a chance to defend herself, and to do that, she needed a weapon.

Claire rushed her pace, hoping that she was on the right track. After some stressing moments of silences and darkness, the tunnel finally opened up, and she caught the smell of grass and damp soil. She had made it outside. The fresh air and the view of the sky sparkled with stars made her feel better both physically and mentally.

"Right, this isn't time to feel relieved," Claire admonished herself. "I am still unarmed, lost, and most likely surrounded by vicious foes. I need to move."

Claire looked around here. At least, the light from the stars and moon allowed her a better look at her surroundings. Judging by the appearance of the sky, Claire could tell she had to be somewhere very far from the city. The sky looked beautiful, and that could only mean that the light pollution in the place was minimal.

After scanning around her for a bit, she noticed some lights in the distance. There were insignificant, and Claire guessed that it had to be a village or a small town. If her situation were like her previous misadventures, the place would probably be crawling with undead things, and god knew what other mutants. In other words, heading to a human settlement in her current situation screamed "bad idea" in capital letters. However, just like the place was the best place to find nasty creatures, it was also a place where she would most likely find weapons and other useful things.

It was a dangerous bet for all she cared, she had little to lose, and besides, it wasn't the first time she'd found herself in a place infested by zombie-mutant creatures.

The young woman found a trail that, she guessed, would lead to the settlement and followed it cautiously. She walked for some minutes, and she, surprisingly, didn't encounter any foes. However, she wasn't entirely sure of whether that was good or bad.

"No monsters," Claire said, frowning with distrust, "Now, I call that suspicious."

Claire had dealt with enough zombie outbreaks already to know that zombies were never quiet. A town hit by a virus meant lots of infected people, and lots of infected people meant lots of hostiles.

"Why is it so empty?" Claire asked softly.

Looks can be deceiving.

Claire made her way into town cautiously. Just because there were no monsters in sight didn't mean they weren't nearby. She reached town after some minutes of walking through the vegetation. Her walk gave her a chance to do some recognizance of her surroundings.

Claire entered town cautiously, and as soon as she had set a step there, a stinging pain pierced through her skull, causing her to hive. The ache brought a series of disjointed and blurred visions that Claire quickly associated with her nightmares.

"Ag," she groaned, "why am I getting flashbacks from that damn place right now?"

The village was different from the one Sushestvivanie, so she wasn't sure what had triggered the memories.

Claire looked around her. Unlike the Russian town, which had looked like no one had lived in it for ages, this village still looked lived in despite the lack of population.

"Right, the question now is what happened to the people," Claire muttered, "Ok, Claire. Pull yourself together. We need to get weapons."

Claire walked around carefully, peeking inside the house through the windows. The place seemed frozen in time. It was a typical scenario that Claire had gotten used to finding. People must have gotten suddenly infected, and amid the chaos, everyone had abandoned what they were doing without looking back.

Claire sighed with sadness as she searched for supplies amid the chaos inside the houses. The bloodstains she found on several confirmed her fears regarding the locals. Most likely, there were no healthy people left in the place.

Claire found an old hunting rifle in one of the houses, and after searching a little more, she found ammo, a knife, and a sturdy chain. She had no idea if the chain could be useful, but hell, she would take it anyway.

Claire noticed a slight movement from the corner of her eye. It'd been fast, a white blur that she wasn't able to discern.

"Hello?" she said cautiously, "anyone there?"

No answer. Claire's grip on the old rifle tightened. She looked around, almost holding her breath. The complete silence around her made her extremely uneasy. There were no birds, no insects, nothing, which in nature's language only meant one thing. There was a predator nearby.

ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR

Claire started to regret her complaints about the lack of noise. That roar was something she wished she had not heard. It sounded distant, so at least Claire might have a chance to avoid the confrontation. She didn't know what waited for her out there and her supplies were not infinite.

"Time to play stealthy," she said, moving out of the house carefully.

Claire reached the street, and to her annoyance, she found her path blocked by unfriendly looking villagers. She made a quick diagnosis on their appearance and quickly concluded that they were not T-virus infected, but they had to have something.

"Alright, not sure I should be happy about that," she said, aiming her rifle at the hostiles and shooting them with perfect aim.

"Purplish-gray skin; dilated, bloodshot eyes and inhuman vocalization," Claire listed, shooting the approaching enemies, "Reasoning still intact."

The hostiles weren't moving randomly. Even though their actions didn't move under intellectual reasoning, there was some thought behind them.

"They still hold some reason," Claire realized."That cuts down the list of possible pathogens..."

She alternated her attacks between gunshots and using the knives. She still wanted to save ammo as much as she could. Surprisingly, handling these guys was being a lot easier than she expected, and that was starting to worry her. For the third time in the day, she hated when she was right.

A howl cut through the air, making Claire shiver. To her horror, she saw how a deformed creature appeared out of nowhere and launched in her direction. She reacted mechanically and jumped out of the street, taking cover behind a pile of wooden boxes.

Claire had never seen any creature like that, but she guessed that this was one of Neo-Umbrella's new toys. The monster was humanoid, but its body was elongated and ghoulish thin. The skin was pale, and part of the tissue was decaying and falling in pieces. Claire noted that aside from an unnatural big mouth, there were no other features on the creature's face.

The creature grabbed a bunch of the villagers with its elongated arms and brought them to its mouth.

Is it eating them? That's new.

The BOWs created from variations of the progenitor virus needed fresh DNA to stabilize. That was the reason why they would attack people and eat them. Usually, the monsters would not feed on fellow creatures. Then again, this guy probably did not mind about freshness, and his only interest was dinner. She'd have to hurry, or she'd end up as dessert.

Taking advantage of the chaos, she dodged the villagers and ran off. Confronting this thing now would only bring her into an early death, and wise people knew when to retreat.

Unfortunately, her escape would not be easy, and she cursed as she sliced the throats of a couple of villagers as she ran past them. Her head was starting to hurt again, and she could tell that the dizziness was coming back.

Her run came to an abrupt stop when another deformed creature appeared in front of her. Once more, it seemed to be a new one monster, but unlike the other one she'd seen, it was smaller and more human-like.

"Oh, come on. Give me a break."

Claire shot the monster a couple of times only to find that, to her dismay, it did nothing. Its decaying skin was sturdier than it looked. Suddenly, a loud growl made her look back, and she groaned. The bigger guy had caught up with her, too, which meant that they had cornered her. Cursing her luck, Claire looked around, trying to come up with a plan. She ran into what seemed to be a storage shack. If she was lucky enough, maybe she could find something useful.

"Fuel tanks," Claire said, looking around her, "Ok, I am not going to ask why they keep this here. Well, this will come in handy, now, how do I use them without killing myself in the process?"

Claire was trying to formulate a plan when the shriek and the sound of wood breaking startled her. The smallest monster had managed to enter the cellar. The creature shook its head as if trying to track its prey.

Shit.

Claire looked around her in a panic. She saw a window nearby, and she made a run to it. The monster chased after her, howling horribly. Claire jumped through the glass, spinning at the last second, and shot her rifle into the closest tank. The result was instantaneous. The barrel exploded, creating a chain reaction of fire and destruction. The wave of the explosion hit Claire directly, and the woman flew a couple of meters into the woods that surrounded the town. She rolled down the hill, hitting her head, face, and limbs against rocks and wood before falling into a ditch filled with plants. The pain in her head had become so strong that she barely had time to realize what had happened before she lost consciousness.

[imagineclaireandjamie]

Can you PLEASE share more of The High Road?

After learning the truth from Claire, a furious Brianna runs to Craig na Dun to prove her mother’s crazy only to fall through the stones herself.

Part One

The High Road and the Low Road - Part Two

“Ye’re called ‘Bree’?” Ian clarified.

“That’s right,” Brianna said, her tone defensive.

Ian chuckled. “Well, from what I can see of ye, ye look Scots but ye dinna sound it and ye’ve clearly got no Gaidhlig.”

“I should think that was obvious,” Brianna quipped. “Now are you going to help me find my car or not?”

“Yer what?” Ian blinked and yawned from his place on the floor.

“My car – actually, I borrowed it, which is why I need to find it and get it back to Inverness before my mom and Roger get too worried.”

Ian looked at her confused. 

“Inverness? Even if ‘car’ is the name of yer horse and we found him right now, ye’ll never reach Inverness by morning,” Ian informed her. “It’s a day’s ride at least – nearer two.”

Brianna fought to make sense of what he was saying, the knot in her stomach that had untangled the further she walked from the stones was beginning to reform. “But… it couldn’t have been more than an hour after I left that I reached the stones…” she muttered to herself.

“The stones? Ye mean the fairy hill at Craigh na Dun? There’s tales of what happens there to those who get too close. If yer ‘car’ is all the fairies took from ye, count yerself lucky and dinna go near there again,” Ian advised.

“What am I gonna do?” Brianna asked in a quiet panic, voicing her thoughts aloud. “How am I gonna get back? Can I get back?”

“Calm yerself, lass,” Ian urged, relaxing into his place on the floor and closing his eyes. “Whatever it is ye decide to do, ye’ll no be able to make a start until morning, so, ye dinna need to decide till morning either. Ye can stay here tonight and share the fire so ye’re no alone.”

While Brianna was still inclined to panic, exhaustion was encouraging her to take Ian up on his offer. It was more comfortable in the cabin than outside and Ian was right – she needed the light of day to find her way back to Craigh na Dun… or whatever she decided to do. Her body screamed against going back to that stone circle – she didn’t even know what year it was or if she would land back when she’d originally left. What if she ended up further back in medieval days? 

She lowered herself to the floor, eventually lying down parallel to Ian with a gap of about three feet between them and their heads pointed toward the low fire. It would be a rough night on the hard and uneven dirt floor.

She thought Ian had already succumbed to sleep but he turned his face toward her and peeked one eye open.

“Ye never said who yer family are,” he pointed out quietly.

“Yeah well you’re pretty much a stranger,” Brianna reminded him.

He chuckled. “Ye’d no object to sharing that were ye a Scot,” he told her. “And did I ken yer family name, it may be that we’re no strangers after all. Near every man, woman, and child in Scotland can claim common kin some generations back if ye talk it through enough.”

“Well I’m not from around here,” Brianna said defensively. “My mother’s English and my father… he’s dead.”

“But he was a Scot,” Ian guessed.

“That’s what my mother tells me.”

“Ye sound like ye dinna believe her.”

Brianna sighed. What did it matter if she told a stranger the shocking truth? She would be going back through the stones soon anyway (though the thought made her shudder). And she wanted – needed – to talk about it with someone who might understand and feel for what she was going through. She couldn’t explain why, but she felt that this young man would understand her.

“The man who raised me died about two years ago in an accident,” she confided. “I always thought he was my father. But, my mother recently told me that actually, she was already pregnant with me when she… married him. She’s only just told me that she was married to another man before him and that that man was my real father. He died in battle and she… It’s uh… it’s been a bit of a shock.”

“I’m sorry, lass. I didna mean to make light. My uncle fought at Culloden. Lucky to be alive. Was wounded and nearly died of a fever. To hear my mam tell it, he tried a few times and wasna happy wi’ her for stoppin’ him,” Ian shared. “I’m headed to Edinburgh to see him. He’s a printer now. My mam and da need seed and tools from the city so I thought I’d fetch them and check in on my uncle while I’m there.”

“Sounds… nice,” Brianna replied when he paused. “I didn’t grow up with much in the way of family and now it’s just me and my mom.”

“Is that why ye’re travelin’ alone? Ye dinna have kin to travel wi’ ye and protect ye?”

“I can take pretty good care of myself,” Brianna snapped. “You’re traveling alone and you’re younger than me.” 

“No by much, I’d wager,” Ian snapped back. “And I’m a man, besides.”

“Do your parents even know you’re here or did you run away or something?”

Ian sputtered and scoffed, struggling to find words with which to deny her accusation.

Brianna laughed. “You ran away.”

“Well, then I suppose ye think ye’re too good for my help. Perhaps ye’d prefer to sleep outside if ye’re so capable of takin’ care of yerself.”

“I don’t care if you’ve run away or not and the first thing to know about taking care of yourself is knowing when to ask for and accept help,” Brianna told him. 

“Did yer father teach ye that? Certainly sounds like what my Da would say. My mam would tell me to stop courtin’ trouble in the first place.”

“My mother says it, actually. She’s a doctor – a surgeon. She’s used to helping people and convincing her more stubborn patients to accept help when it’s offered.”

“A surgeon? Really? And yer father didna mind?”

Brianna shifted to find a more comfortable position (there wasn’t one). She was tired and not thinking straight. She’d have to be more careful. She was confident she must be some time after Culloden from what the boy said (but how long after could be anywhere between five and fifty years for all she knew). 

“Didn’t say he didn’t mind it. But my mother is an unusual woman.” Brianna felt a stab of longing as she thought of her mother. She missed her desperately. Why had she let her temper get the better of her? She should have stayed and heard her mother out – of course, who could blame her for not believing Claire’s story?

“A rare woman,” Ian murmured. “Tha’s how my da talks of my mam…” He yawned. “Best we rest now. I’ll see if there’s anything I can help ye with in the morning ‘fore I go on my way,” he promised.

“Thanks,” Brianna said with a yawn of her own. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to calm her mind and pretend she was back at the Manse, that this was all a dream and the world would make sense again when she woke.

*************************************

Ian woke before her and was watching her strangely when she started coming around. She turned away to yawn and stretch, then faced him again.

“You know, it’s unsettling, you watching like that,” she said, not really ready to be awake and have to think about her predicament again.

“Sorry,” Ian said, flushing and offering her a bit of bread from the pack he’d brought. “It’s just… I didna get a fair look at ye before. There’s something… Who did ye say yer family are?”

“I didn’t,” Brianna reminded him. “But I guess you didn’t attack me in my sleep.”

“Gave ye food as well,” he pointed out.

“My mother’s name is Claire. And she’s going to murder me for getting lost like this and scaring her,” Brianna told him, hoping to sidestep the subject of her father so she wouldn’t have to think about it more.

“And ye said ye got lost near the fairy hill?”

“You mean Craigh na Dun? Yes. If you point me in the right direction, I should be able to get back on my own.”

Ian dusted away crumbs and began pulling his pack back together, readying to depart.

“I can’t let ye go on yer own – it would be too dangerous. But I also cannae be turnin’ back just now. I’ve no time to lose on my way to Edinburgh.”

“It can’t be that far away,” Brianna objected. “I wandered from there to here in less than a night.”

“And ye’re lucky ye werena set upon as ye did,” Ian warned. “It’s no a safe stretch here – not if ye dinna ken the safe places along the way, like this wee cabin here. It’ll be safer for both of us if we travel together as I do ken the safe stops along the way.” 

“You want me to go all the way to Edinburgh with you?” Brianna asked, skeptical. “Even though the place I’m trying to find is the other direction…”

“I promise we’ll no stay in Edinburgh for more than a day or two and my uncle will be more’n happy to let ye stay wi’ him, as he’s used to puttin’ me up. Then, on my way home again, I’ll be able to bring ye all the way to Inverness myself.”

It was a crazy, ridiculous, and stupid idea to follow this boy all the way to Edinburgh. She had no way to get word to her mother – if it was possible for her to get back at all… Maybe her mother was unique in being able to go back and forth. From her mom’s stories, this was where she should have been born. What if the stones decided this was where she belonged and that was it? Could she risk wandering off on her own only to discover she was trapped here alone without even basic supplies? Ian seemed nice enough and was willing to help. If she let him walk away and she was really stuck here, how long would it take her to find another person and what were the chances they would be willing or able to help?

And who was to say that even with a detour, when she reached the stones and went back again, maybe she'd show up the same day she’d left. Her mother didn’t seem to know how they worked so it was anyone’s guess. Besides, having made the journey and gotten through her initial panic, she had to admit she was getting curious. She’d studied this time extensively – read about it in her father’s books countless times. But to have a chance to live it…

She couldn’t believe she was actively talking herself into it and promised it would only be for a few days – she still couldn’t imagine what (or who) could have inspired her mother to stay for almost three years. 

“Fine,” Brianna muttered, rolling her eyes at the triumphant grin that broke across Ian’s face. “But if your uncle refuses to let me stay, whatever alternative lodgings are necessary are going to be found and paid for by you. And we can’t stay in Edinburgh for more than a few days.”

“I can assure ye, my uncle willna mind. Now, if ye’re ready, we can make a start and if we’re lucky, we’ll find someone wi’ a cart who’ll let us have a ride part of the way.”

“Hitchhiking,” Brianna remarked with a smile as she squinted into the early morning sun. “That I can do.”

*************************************

“If she didn’t come back through right away, then it must mean something’s happened to her,” Claire explained as she packed supplies – a change of clothes for herself and Brianna, her traveling medical kit, some food.

“Ye cannae know that for sure,” Roger insisted. “We cannae even be certain she went through the stones. We don’t know she can or why it is you can.”

“She went through with me when I was pregnant. That’s reason enough for me to believe. And she wouldn’t wander off on her own and if she found a ride with someone and was safe, she would have phoned. She went through the stones and she’s stuck or injured or scared or all three. I won’t leave her alone there for a moment longer than I have to.”

“Right,” Roger agreed. “Fiona will be here in a few minutes. What can I do?”

“Are you going to try and come with me or are you going to wait on this side for me to bring her back?”

Roger froze. “What makes ye think I could even travel through the stones?”

Claire nodded to the framed family tree on the wall.

“William Buccleigh Mackenzie. He wasn’t the child of those two listed there. Well… he was. But their son by that name died before his first birthday. The one that lived to father children was born to Geillis Duncan and Dougal Mackenzie – and I know for a fact Geillis Duncan traveled through the stones.”

“What? How?” Roger sputtered.

But Fiona had pulled into the yard. 

“I’ll tell you in the car,” Claire promised.

Roger hastily grabbed a few things and threw them into a bag before ushering Claire outside and locking the door behind them.

[some-dr-writings]

Shuichi x Kaede: Kaede helps her boyfriend Shuichi cope with his trauma through music

·       How. How did this happen!? Why was this happening!? Kaede’s mind was but a blur as she heard another gunshot ring, Shuichi collapsing to the ground, blood pouring from his face. How did it turn out like this!? They were just out on a date, so why?

·       Their date.

·       It all started out as an average day. Keade had gotten back to Japan from doing a tour in Europe. To celebrate, her and Shuichi decided to have a day long date. They didn’t have a plan for the day, so they simply wandered around town. They missed one another and just wanted to be together, it didn’t matter what they did, as long as they were at one another’s side.

·       “Hey, Shuichi, let’s do some karaoke!” Pulling on Shuichi’s arm she pointed towards the building with a message board out front reading karaoke sessions rooms were on sale. “Well… I’ve never really sung before, sorry if it’s awful.” “Nonsense, I’m sure you’ll be great! Let’s go!” Hand in hand they eagerly skipped into the establishment.

·       As they entered their karaoke room, they didn’t notice the pair of eyes that trailed behind them, glaring deadly daggers. The door to their room had a window in it and the television was across from it, so when their backs were turned being preoccupied with the television…

·       A loud bang rang out as Shuichi suddenly fell forward, collapsing onto the table. He managed to flip around to see what the hell was happening. “Kaede!” Another shot rang out as Shuichi tackled Kaede to the ground.

·       They couldn’t stay here, they needed to escape. The only exit was being blocked by the attacker though. Didn’t matter, Shuichi could disarm the criminal. It was going to be okay. It was going to be okay. That’s what he kept telling himself as he charged for the door. “Huh!?” It was locked!? They didn’t lock the do-

·       He collapsed to the ground; face completely bloodied. “Shuichi!” She couldn’t just sit around, Kaede had to do something! Grabbing a stool, she smashed it through the window, chucking it with all her might. It managed to knock the assailant to the ground and some workers arrived trying to restrain the man.

·       “Shuichi!? Are you alright!?” Blood just poured from his eye as if it were a fountain. “Shuichi!” Placing her ear to his chest she could feel his heart rate quickly fading. “k… kae… de.” His face had already paled so quickly. “Shuichi! Don’t talk. You need to keep your strength!” She tried to be calm, to not sound so scared and panicked, she needed to be strong for Shuichi right now. It all happened so quickly, she didn’t know what even happened. One moment they were happy, now she sat beside Shuichi feeling so lost and terrified, not knowing what to do.

·       Wait.

·       No, there was something she could do!

·       Whipping out her phone she immediately called the police for help. Even as she spoke, she squeezed Shuichi’s hand, letting him know she was still there.

·       The moment the call ended Kaede dropped the phone. “Hey, hey, Shuichi, you can still hear me, right? Don’t talk, just please, squeeze my hand, blink, something.”

·       It killed Kaede to not be in the ambulance with Shuichi, but she understood.

·       Shuichi died, just for a moment. Defibrillators had to be used on him on the way to the hospital. He was sent straight to the emergency care unit for surgery.

·       Kaito and Maki were by Kaede’s side as she had to wait those three suspenseful days before Shuichi was in stable enough condition to have visitors. Now that the incident was over and Kaede could really let it sink in what had happened, she bawled her eyes out. It was all just so messed up and all she could think of was wishing Shuichi would be alright and why all this even happened.

·       To her surprise, she did get an answer.

·       Kaito and Maki stayed behind to give Kaede a chance to be alone with Shuichi. The moment Shuichi saw her, he broke down into sobs, saying everything was his fault. Kaede silently listened to his explanation on how he recognized the man, it was the culprit from that case that got him the title of ‘ultimate detective’. Shuichi was an absolute wreck. It wasn’t even a planned revenge, they just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time after the guy had escaped prison.

·       Kaede gently gripped his hand, trying to keep him grounded while his mind reeled from the events that led to this.

·       Shuichi laid there crying and hugging himself. He just absolutely blamed himself for everything. Normally Kaede would refute him and get him back to his senses, but he didn’t need that right now. He was completely exhausted, he just needed comfort.

·       She placed a hand on his cheek, wiping away those tears with her thumb, she gently tilted him to face her a little. Her stomach churned seeing how where his second eye used to be was wrapped in bandages and just… sunk in. “Hey… I never got to show you the recordings of my concerts. Want to watch some now?” Slowly he nodded. She took out her phone and played the first recording. The first song she played was Clair De Lune. Shuichi tried to just focus on the music and nothing else.

·       Shuichi was not the same after the incident, even after leaving the hospital. All the confidence he had gained through the support and training with Kaede, Kaito and Maki just shriveled away. He was a shell of the person they first met. He tried easing into his detective work but… he just couldn’t do it. Every time he tried, this overwhelming terror and dread consumed him. It was so bad he’d often get panic attacks. He also got those attacks when in locked or small rooms. No matter where he was, he needed to know where a quick escape exit was. With the help of therapy, he was able to get better, but he still couldn’t bring himself to go back to work anymore.

·       Kaito tried training with Shuichi again, hoping it would help. They ended up fighting on several occasions and though it wasn’t the best for Shuichi’s mental health, it at least came from a place of care and genuine love. Kaito tried his best to get the message he wanted out without getting into fights.

·       It seems the only thing that could ever ease his emotions was hearing Kaede play the piano. Whenever she played, he was able to just focus on nothing but the music. After Shuichi quit being a detective Kaede began to teach Shuichi the piano. They had already started these lessons long ago, but now they could do it in earnest dedicating all their time to it.

·       Shuichi actually got pretty good at it, but… he like hearing Kaede play. He wanted to do more than just follow her lead all the time. He wanted to contribute something to her. Yes, there are piano duets, but Shuichi felt like he’d just be holding her back. He wanted to truly play WITH her.

·       He started to practice playing the cello.

·       Though in the beginning he only knew scales and the most basic of basic songs Kaede would start playing the piano while he practiced, making up a melody to surround his keeping of tempo. It made practice rather fun. With Kaede making up the melody they never played the same song twice together even if Shuichi was playing the scales for the ten-thousandth time.

·       Once Shuichi was better at playing the cello than he was at piano, him and Kaede began to look up more complicated duets to play together as practice.

·       Shuichi would follow Kaede wherever she went for concerts, them playing a duet together before her show. Doing this always calmed her nerves no matter what song they played.

·       Once Kaede was going to perform with an orchestra, but one of their leading cellist suddenly fell ill. “Oh, Shuichi can take their place!” “W-what!? No I can’t, I’m just a novice.” Taking his hand, she gently dragged him towards the conductor. “He’s just being modest! Shuichi is amazing! I’m sure he can fill in the role, easily, just give him a day or two to practice the song and he’ll be good to go!”

·       Somehow, she did manage to convince the conductor to give Shuichi a chance and so the next few days were spent practicing nonstop. When the day finally came the conductor thought Shuichi had been practicing the song for years, they were so impressed.

·       It was a… very strange experience for Shuichi. He didn’t want to think about it, but hearing the conductor’s words Shuichi was confronted with the fact that he had used his skills as a detective. The reason why he was able to pick up songs so quickly was because his mind still worked like that of a detective, those skills were warped and transferred to playing the music. He was able to quickly memorize the pieces and pick up on patterns that even the most experienced of musicians may have missed. He… didn’t know how to feel about this.

·       When they were alone, Kaede tried encouraging Shuichi telling him that even if he had gained those critical thinking skills as a detective, they didn’t have to only be applied and associated with that. He could use those skills to make new happy memories.

·       Shuichi was absolutely enamored on the day of the concert, playing with everyone in harmony. Hearing Kaede on the piano, how her, his own, and everyone else’s melodies filled the air. How to him, there was simply nothing but the beautiful music.

·       Through this Shuichi ended up making connections and wound up being the only cellist in another concert. On Kaede’s excited insistence he accepted the offer of being part of it.

·       Quickly he began to play more and more, though… him and Kaede were going down different paths. Sometimes they’d get to play together but most of the time they ended up in different countries. Soon after this began both Kaede and Shuichi announced they were taking a short break from their careers. During the break they ended up practicing the piano together again, and Shuichi started teaching Kaede the cello.

·       About a year or so later they returned to the stage. A single concert for the Hope’s Peak High School class reunion, Shuichi on piano and Kaede on cello. It was a fun night, getting to see everyone again. And, most importantly, it was a carefree night. Starting that night there were many days where Shuichi’s past seemed to not plague him. He was so full of life and vitality some of their classmates asked if he was even the same person.

·       They played one other time before going on a world tour as a duo, and that was for their wedding.

[rpd-rookie]

Under Her Extra-Large Umbrella - Chris Redfield x Reader (Part 2)

Summary: Chris Redfield’s deception is coming to an end in this second part of the story but not in the way he expected.

Author’s note: This fanfic was supposed to be 2 chapters long, but considering all the things I originally wrote in this second chapter, I chose to cut it in two and write a third chapter to develop the story a bit more . Hope you will like it anyway.

Part 1 is available here / Fanfiction also available on AO3 

Warnings: Angst, Romance, Fluff, Explicit Sexual Content, Language. 

Wet hair, forehead covered in pearls of sweat, Chris was gazing at you, panting and exhausted, his hot uneven breath tickling your face when you nudged his rear with your ankles to keep him inside of you, still feeling his cock in your core throbbing like crazy after the powerful orgasm he had just experienced. “Damn, woman. Are you trying to kill me?” He breathed out and you giggled “What? Have you lost your stamina?” “No, but I’m afraid you dried me. I’ve got nothing left.” You laughed, finding his naughty words more ridiculous than funny. “I think you’ll have to wait till tonight for round 3.” He pecked your nose and pulled out of you to get off the bed, majestic body glistening in sweat. “I’m gonna go get a shower.”                   “And I’m going to try and find my clothes.” You looked at the mess around you. Both yours and Chris’ clothes were scattered everywhere in his bedroom. A perfect picture of how wild and hot this afternoon alone together had been.                 “Good luck with that.” Chris humoured as he left the room, completely naked. Guess that was a good thing your roommate was not here this afternoon.

You got up, draped in his bed sheet, your body sore and still very hot and sticky. Chris had asked you if you were trying to kill him. Well, as you looked at yourself in the mirror, you wondered if he wasn’t the one who wanted you were trying to kill you judging by the your dishevelled hair and the swarm of dark hickeys he had left all over your chest and collar bones. Oh, he would hear about this!

You started gathering your clothes and Chris’, picking them up one by one onto the floor and the furniture. “Damn, where are my panties?” You cursed as you scanned the room but they were nowhere to be seen. So, you looked for them in the pile of clothes then under the blanket, actually unable to remember what Chris had done with them. Maybe under the bed.     You knelt and peaked under the mattress. There was nothing as well, except a lot of dust and bits of fluff that immediately tickled your nose.                   But as you kept looking under the bed, something weird caught your attention.         There was a sort of red cord hanging in between two slats of the bed base. It made you frown because it strangely looked like the cord of your Umbrella access badge. But it couldn’t be that. You had lost that badge weeks ago, probably in the Metropolitain. Its presence here, especially under Chris’ mattress was simply impossible and completely illogical. And yet, you pulled on the cord anyway.

What a horrible surprise when you saw the card fall onto the floor and realised it was indeed your old badge. How had it gotten here? You didn’t know what to think. But you couldn’t help but hear the same question repeating itself in your head. Why Chris? Why?

The badge in your hands, you sat on the bed, lost in sudden paranoid thoughts that were so unlike you. What if Chris was a spy? What if he was working for Tricell or the Connections? After all, those guys had been trying to compete with Umbrella for years. What if he worked for the Government? What if …         So many ‘what if’ and yet one single common denominator. Chris had betrayed you.

You didn’t know how to process all the emotions you were feeling right now. Burning anger. Frozen shock. Both mixed with a awful sorrow that didn’t seem to want to escape in the form of tears just yet, not as long as you were trying to deny all the conclusions you had drawn and convince yourself that you were imagining things. There was certainly another explanation.

You stood up and started walking in circles in the room like a lion in a cage, whispering to yourself. “Calm down, Y/N. Calm down.” But you couldn’t. And despite all the energy you were using to control your breathing right now, there was that raging uncontrollable panic inside of you growing bigger by the minute.  “Alright, if he’s truly spying on you. There must be something else here. There has to be. Think.” You opened Chris’ wardrobe and started rummaging in it. You sighed, relieved, when you found nothing in it except some dirty clothes that definitely needed some good washing. But it wasn’t enough to soothe your mind and so you pulled the drawer of his nightstand open and immediately threw the contents to the floor. A pen, a watch, cigarettes, condoms and an unsealed letter that you immediately grabbed. “S.T.A.R.S. Office – Raccoon City Police Department.” You read on the envelope and your clever brain immediately made the connection between that address and the incident with the American branch of Umbrella you had overheard at the lab weeks ago. But it was still very blurry to you.

You opened the enveloped without an ounce of hesitation or remorse and started reading.

                                                    “To my amazing S.T.A.R.S. buds,

                 What’s up in the station? Still surviving those long days without me? Barry, are you still crying?                  Me? I’ve been very busy. Spent many nights getting to know my umbrella girl better. Apparently she has some huge project for the both of us. I’m wondering what it can be. She’s so secretive. But no woman can resist Chris Redfield. You know me, I’m worse than a parasite.                    Jill, any news from Claire? ”

You barely knew Chris. But the Chris in that letter wasn’t the one you had spent your days with for the last seven weeks or so. This letter certainly had a hidden meaning and judging by the word ‘umbrella’, ‘project’ and ‘parasite’, it wasn’t very subtle.                 You gritted your teeth, anger slowly getting the better of you, and crumpled the letter in your hand.

“What are you doing?” Chris’ sudden trembling voice made you jumped. You turned around, still kneeled among his stuff, and immediately glared at him. He was standing in the doorframe, wearing only a pair of green sweatpants. His face was pale and you could read a certain fear in his usually very cheerful and relaxed features. “Y/N?” You got back on your feet and approached him, the letter and your badge in the same hand. Chris froze when he noticed them and his heart skipped in beat.                

You didn’t say a word – an ominous calm before the storm – and went too stand before him to look at him in his scared brown eyes. A couple of seconds passed in which you mind struggled to find out what to do right now, not really knowing how to react.   You finally let your impulse get the upper and suddenly, your hand burned Chris’ cheek with a huge slap. You had never hit anyone in your entire life. That was not who you were. But the storm was here and you couldn’t control it.   You violently slammed both items against Chris’ broad naked chest and started screaming and hitting him, lashing out all your anger at him like a fury. “How could you?! You son of a bitch!”     Chris barely flinched and took all your hits in silence, knowing that he deserved them, that he deserved all your rage right now. They didn’t hurt but your wrath against him did. “Answer me!” He could feel a knot strangling his throat. He couldn’t talk. He didn’t know what to say, afraid to make things worse. “Answer me, you asshole!” You yelled and he finally caught your wrists in an attempt to calm you down and prevent you from getting physically hurt. “Y/N, please.” He whispered, holding you still.             “Why?” You asked, huge tears rolling over your face. “Why?” You repeated, begging for an answer, for an explanation. But all you got was silence and guilty miserable eyes. “Are you a spy?”          

“ No … No I’m not a spy. Not exactly.” He finally managed to say. “I’m a cop.” You frowned, finding things always too blurry to understand the situation. “I work at the Raccoon City Police Department, S.T.A.R.S. unit.”     “So you’re not Air Force?” He shook his head. “And you’re definitely not on vacation.” You fell the floor crumble under your feet, afraid of the extent of Chris’ lies and terrified of the consequences that were to come. “I’m on a mission, a personal mission.” He confessed with a broken voice. He didn’t look so strong anymore.             “What mission?”                   “How about we get dressed and sit down to talk about it calmly?” He offered. But you didn’t care you were naked under this sheet right now. And you didn’t care Chris was only wearing sweatpants. You wanted your answers. And you wanted them now. “No. Talk to me now. Explain it to me. Explain the fucking reason why you used me and betrayed me.”

Chris briefly closed his eyes. Hearing those words coming from you were hard to bear even if he had been repeating them over and over in his head since the day he met you. They were hard to bear because hearing them from you was making him realise what he really had been doing all along. They were the painful truth that had finally come to hit him hard in the face.

He tried to catch your hands in his but you removed them as soon as you felt the warm palms against your skin. You didn’t want his affection right now. It repulsed you. “In July, my unit and I were sent on a mission in the Arklay Mountains to rescue the members of the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team who had gone missing while investigating a series of killings in the mountains. As soon as we landed, creatures attacked us and we took refuge in a mansion but that was just the beginning of the nightmare. My unit was entirely decimated by zombie-like creatures and other atrocities, monsters that had been created by the Umbrella Corporation thanks to what their scientists called the T-Virus.”             You froze. You had heard of the T-virus. You were using it in most of your experiments related to the Nemesis Project. Its existence was top secret. So if Chris knew, then …       “The surviving members of my team and I infiltrated Umbrella’s laboratory to collect evidence. That’s how we realised that Umbrella had failed to contain their virus and that it had escaped the facility, contaminating and killing locals that had been in contact with it. Only four of us came back.” Chris’ voice was so full of emotions. Sadness, grief, anger, guilt. It tied your stomach in a painful knot. “When we told our story to our chief, he refused to believe us. Somehow we understood he was probably corrupted. So I decided to leave and investigate on Umbrella on my own to find all the evidence I needed to end them and bring justice to my team. That’s how I took the first flight to Paris and that’s how I met you.”

You remained still for a while, trying to process the entire story. But even if there was a part of you that was sympathising with Chris and recognizing the horrors he had been through, there was still another part that was so mad at him and deeply resentful. “So you used me for your personal vendetta?” “It’s not a vendetta.” He tried to correct.     “Isn’t it?” You retorted and he sighed, a slight annoyance tinting his despair.

“You stole my badge and certainly spied on me judging by the content of this letter to, I quote, bring justice to your team and end Umbrella. Sounds more like a vendetta than a mission to me. But tell me. I’m curious. What else did you do?”           “Y/N.” He murmured, unwilling to admit that part of the story to you. “Stop Y/N me and answer the damn questions! Why did you want my badge? What did you discover when you spied on me? And more especially why me, Chris?!” He looked you in your begging eyes, feeling painfully sorry. “I don’t know why it happened to be you. I guess it could have been anyone else. But I’ve never…” He cupped your cheeks and you took a step back, trying to reject him, in vain. “…ever wanted to hurt you or use you like that.” A new tear slid along your cheek and Chris dried it with his thumb. “That wasn’t my intentions. I just got bogged down in my own lies and the situation escaped my control … and… I don’t expect your apology.”             “ Good. Cause you won’t have it.” You spat and he looked down, trying to contain his sadness. “You should have been honest with me.”             “ I had no choice.” Chris said in his defence but you would not have it.           “No choice?” You scoffed. “The second you felt like the situation was becoming out of your control, you had a choice. Give up, watch it become out of proportion or tell me the fucking truth!”     “I didn’t want to hurt you.” He confessed and you sighed, exasperated. “You said it already but look! Here we are!” You screamed. “I’m hurt! I’m fucking hurt because of you.” That was harsh yet fair.   “Can’t you at least understand why I did this? Can’t you put yourself in my shoes for a second?” He knew he would not have your forgiveness but he hoped to have your understanding.  

You jaw dropped. “Oh but I do understand, Chris! I do! I know what Umbrella is doing is terrible. I know what I’m doing is terrible. But if you had just talked to me, I would have helped you. We…”             “Helped me?” He harrumphed. “You’ve been creating dangerous monsters in your lab for months. And now you’re talking about doing what’s right? Well by all means, explain Project Nemesis!” He growled, finally starting to show his anger, and your eyes widened.     “Oh so you read my journal as well. Fantastic!”       “Yes, I read your journal. I stole your badge. I sent information to my colleagues and I used you. But what is it in comparison to all the awful things you and your scientists buds have been working on in secret in this god-forsaken lab of yours?! You guys are murderers!” You stared at him, bewildered and feeling insulted but the truth was that he was right and you couldn’t help but acknowledge it. “I feel guilty, Y/N. I feel guilty because I know that what I did hurt you. I feel guilty because I happen to care so fucking much about you despite all the reasons I have to despise you. Guilt is eating me up, day and night. But, tell me. how do you sleep at night knowing you’re creating those atrocities?” “Guess you didn’t read my diary so well, did you?” Your calm was back, your anger certainly drowned in pain and sadness. “You know shit, Chris. But if that’s what you think of me the maybe you should probably get out.”  But Chris refused to move.       “Get out” You repeated with the same tone. He shook his head and opened his mouth to speak but you immediately cut him off. “Get out!” You yelled, pushing him as strongly as you could, but he barely moved. “Get out of my place, Chris!” And he didn’t know why he refused to leave or move from that doorframe. Stubbornness? Denial? Or simply his deep attachment for you?                 But whatever it was, you would not have Chris spend another minute in your apartment. “Fine.” You opened his wardrobe and started throwing his clothes in his suitcase, tears running down your face, as Chris watched you, still and quiet. It was the end. He could feel it in his bones.         You grabbed his suitcase and shoved Chris with your shoulder as you left his room to head towards the main door and throw his stuff carelessly in the corridor. Then you went back to lock yourself in your room.  “And don’t forget your precious evidence before leaving!”

Chris blinked a couple times to keep his tears in his eyes when he heard the door to your room slam shut, knowing that this was certainly the last time he would ever see you or hear from you. And it ached more than what he had imagined. How he wished things had ended up differently.

[yellowmagicalgirl]

On one hand, I genuinely think that Douxie was being so “nice” to Claire because he could tell something was up and that she had some powerful dark magic surrounding her, and he didn’t want to piss her off and get himself and Archie attacked when Douxie wasn’t ready to face Claire...

But I’ve had this image in my mind, that Claire used to attend Arcadia Oaks Academy. That Douxie and Claire had the same counselor, or maybe there was only one counselor, but either way, we have two former gifted children (though one grew up before the term was invented) who’ve turned to alternative music to cope, sitting on a bench and trying not to have panic attacks. And Douxie, despite his panic, turns to Claire and tries to help her calm down.

Flash forward by about a year. Claire transferred to Arcadia Oaks High, and she made a giant portal two weeks ago. She’s now sick for what she thinks is unrelated reasons, and she drops her notes. A boy helps her pick them up, and Claire realizes that it’s the same boy who tried to help her manage her own panic despite struggling with her own. She smiles, and he talks to her goodnaturedly, both of them glad that their former classmate seems to be doing better than they were before.

[my-arlington-academia]

The main 10 cheering up a crying Scholar (Y/N) part 1?

I tried to make headcanons for the first time! (yay?) but since it already turned out so long with only half of the main 10 I decided to post only the first 5 (Al, Axel, Claire, Ellie and Karol). If you guys like it I'll try making part 2! (I actually didn't even start the remaining characters yet 😖)

Alistair

- He felt like you've been feeling really down lately

- But for a while he wasn't brave enough to ask why

- After all, if you wanted to you could've told him earlier

- But then the two of you end up alone and he just can't help it anymore, you really look like you're on the verge of tears

- "...Y/N, I know this sounds like it's coming out of nowhere but if there's something bugging you I'll always be there to listen. Whatever it is."

- You're so touched that when you try to reply to him your throat gets tight and you can't get a word out

- Yup, you burst into tears

- To be honest he panics a bit at first since he's so used to you being calm and collected

- But at the same time he's also used to this sort of thing, being the eldest sibling and all that

- He first asks you if it's okay to hug you and when you nod slightly he immediately takes you into his arms

- feeling his big arms around you makes you feel safe

- he doesn't force you to tell him anything but if you're crying because someone hurt you, he won't hesitate to deck that person whoever it is

- he knows he shouldn't think like that since he's a beast at boxing so even one of his punches can knock someone out cold but this is the one time he's ready to make an exception

- after that he's being really gentle with you, even more than usual

- he follows you everywhere you go for a while, almost like a puppy (or bodyguard, you choose)

- he's really doing his best not to pry or be pushy but whenever you hesitate to say something or when you try to speak up and fail he gets really frustrated

- he hates feeling curious but he really *really* wants to know what happend so he can hopefully help you better

Axel

-He hears about it from someone else

-"Oh, did you not see how Y/N was today? They aren't feeling well or something. I thought you would've noticed earlier since you spend so much time with them."

- Axel realizes that you were trying really really hard not to show him his weak side

-THIS BOY GRABS HIS GUITAR

- He has never written a song of this quality so quickly

- At first he thinks about singing it under your window

- quickly comes to the conclusion that it's probably too cringy and you wouldn't want everyone to know that you were feeling sad

- also you probably wouldn't hear the song that good from so high off the ground

- he (gently) drags your 🍑 to the garden, the place where he first sang a love song to you

- pulls out his guitar out of the bushes and sings THE song to you

- You're so touched that you start crying in the middle of the performance which makes him stop and he hurries to your side

- he's so worried, he's trying to dry your tears with his hands but you hide your face out of embarrassement

- "Hey, come on Y/N... Was my song really that bad haha?"

- he was obviously joking but you sincerely tell him that it was the most awesome and beautiful song you have ever heard (even though you didn't even hear the end of it yet)

- he would normally feel super proud at that statement but right now all he cares about is cheering you up

- Axel continues trying until you finally pull away your hands and when he sees your face covered in tears it gets harder for him to breath

- puts your head on his shoulder and hugs you sweetly

- runs his fingers through your hair

- "Ssshhhh... there there..."

- once you've calmed down he asks what's wrong and he swears to God that if it's because of someone he knows, he'll have to use his guitar as a bat

Claire

- You sit in the garden expecting no one to be there so you can be left alone

- you start crying and your vision gets all blurry but then you hear a voice

- "Y-Y/N?"

- Oh crap, so you weren't alone after all

- that's no surprise, Claire is always really quiet so it's easy to miss her

- it was a really stupid decision on your part when you think about it, why would you go cry in the school garden of all places??

- "Oh Claire... I, I'm sorry. I should go somewhere else."

- You get up from the bench to leave but Claire grabs your hand

- "No wait! I uh. Um... I have something to show you!!!"

- for some reason she's being more loud than usual and not to mention that she doesn't let go of your hand

- usually by now she would've blushed and let it go but she keeps on holding it tight and drags you around the garden while talking about flowers

- she started giving you a tour of the garden and telling you each name, meaning and how to take care of them

- it's so obvious that she's trying to cheer you up that somehow it makes you want to cry even more

- despite that you keep on holding her hand and follow her around like a little kid

- then she stops in front of a certain kind of flower that you can't quite recognize, well, to be fair you never really pay attention to flowers in general

- "Those flowers are the ones I grew."

- when Claire says that you take a closer look at them, they all have different colors: red, pink, yellow, white... You're no expert but they look really pretty

- "They remind me of you so I really like them a lot."

- Your eyes dry out and your curiousness takes over

- "Why's that?"

- She smiles shyly before replying

- "Well, those are snapdragons so they have a lot of meanings like grace and deviousness and such but..."

- She tightens her hand around yours

- "They can also mean 'strength under pressure' and that part really seems like you."

- Your heart skips a beat, or a couple ones actually. Maybe you're about to get a heart attack or something but you don't care at all

- Somehow, what you thought was supposed to be the worst day of the week turns into the best one and you feel like you can give it your all again

Ellie

- She had noticed that you were feeling anxious the whole day

- You didn't speak as much and you spaced out a lot

- She wanted to get your mind out of it as much as she could, maybe you were just nervous or scared of something?

- but then when she arrived in front of your room to ask you if you guys could hang out she realized how bad it was

- She heard you crying from behind the door and started feeling really down

- smiles aren't the only thing that are contagious, sadness is too

- But she covered it up! It's not gonna help if she gets all gloomy

- She knocks on your door and is ready to act like she didn't hear a thing

- "Y/N!! It's Ellie! I have ice cream and an awesome movie we can watch together in my room! Wanna come?!"

- it takes a moment for you to dry out your tears and get a hold of yourself

- "Uhh... Sorry!! Not today! I'm not really in the mood..."

- "Okay, but can you at least open the door?! I want to see your cute face!"

- Oh God. You hope that she won't notice that you were crying

- You quickly take a look at yourself in the mirror and smile, then you open the door

- She notices the slightly red eyes with a glance and gets sad again

- She gets on her tippy-toes and puts both of her hands on your cheeks

- "Come on now! Let's go to my room, I'll put lots of chocolate syrup on the ice cream and those multi-colored little things."

- "...You mean sprinkles?"

- "Yeah. That."

- There's a short silence which is honestly rare with Ellie of all people, you can't help but feel like something is off

- "Didn't you say that you just wanted to see my face?"

- She grins

- "That was a lie! Haha. No but seriously, I promise that once you come you won't regret it. I won't allow myself to fail at making you smile."

- You give in and spend the evening with her, and of course she picked a comedy to make you laugh

- But while you're laughing and feeling better, Ellie feels a bit angry

- If the reason why you were in that state was because of someone let's just say that she'll have to play a little "prank" on them

Karolina

- You started crying in public out of nowhere and it really freaked you out

- having breakdowns alone in your room is already horrible as it is but this is the first time it ever happend outside. Ever.

- you start running towards the dorms while keeping your face down and hoping that no one will recognize you

- or at least if they do, you're begging so none of your friends and classmates do even though they're the most likely ones to recognize you

- when you're almost there you bump into someone

- You slowly lift up your head...

- "Hey! Watch where you're-"

- Oh no. Oh Jeebus. Out of everyone why did it have to be her?

- weirdly enough she stays silent, you have never seen her so surprised before

- before she can make fun of you, you apologize softly and run into your room

- it takes a few seconds for her to react and she calls out your name

- "HEY!! Stop running Y/N!!! Why are you running?? WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?!?!"

- Karolina is chasing you down the hall???

- the "why are you running?!" part reminds you of a vine and you start laughing while crying

- thankfully you get in your room and close the door behind you, however she bangs on the door

- "Open the damn door Y/N!!"

- "Leave me alone!"

- she keeps this up during at least 10 minutes but you don't answer to anything she asks

- after half an hour someone starts calling on your phone, it's an unknown number

- Could it be...? Nah, couldn't be.

- you professionally manage to forget your emotions and answer the phone only to hear "Get dressed up and Open. The. Effing. Door."

- "Karolina?? But... you don't have my number."

- "Oh please. I have everyone's number."

- "No, you don't."

- "Ugh. Fine. I asked Neha but that's not the point."

- You give up at resisting and get dressed up like Karolina says, about 20 minutes later the both of you are heading into town for shopping

- She's the one choosing all of your outfits because when you do she has that painfully disgusted look that says "I would never even consider dressing up like that but okay."

- She's judging you HARD.

- but she still cares a lot tho

- when you tell her that you don't have enough money (nor space in your wardrobe) for all those clothes, she pulls out her credit card

- You try to stop her but she's ready to literally fistfight you to buy 'dem fancy clothes for you

- when Karolina decides to do something it's impossible to stop her

- ends up saying that it's a gift so you finally shut it up and take it

- on the way back she asks what happend and what made you so upset

- just so you know, if it's someone's fault, she's going to find them and make them go through living HELL

[jadesjunk]

Character Bio Example 1

This is an example of some bio writing work for my Red Dead Redemption Online character Eve.

Name: Eve (Last Name TBD)

Short for Evelyn but hates being called by her full name. Comes from her Irish ancestry and named after her deceased aunt. Comes from Aibhilín or Éibhleann, the latter can be derived from the Old Irish óiph ("beauty.")

Alternate nicknames include Evy/Evie which she went by as a child but doesn’t like to be called that anymore.

Also uses the aliases Eliza or Rose and after arriving Lemoyne she may use Rhode as a last name.

Age: 21

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Lesbian (Unaware)

Appearance

Height: 5’8”

Weight: 180lbs

Eye color: Green

Hair color: Red head/Ginger

Has always been on the skinny side but after running away her increased activity leaves her often more on the underweight side. She tries to maintain a healthy weight despite her higher metabolism.

Often wears her long red hair in a braid either down her back or over her shoulder.

Prefers wearing loose work shirts and pants with mens boots. In general prefers more masculine apparel but isn’t opposed to occasionally wearing a dress or skirt when in an appropriate situation. She does like mixing up her outfits and has a variety of feminine and masculine apparel, often enjoying wearing nice vests when she can afford them.

Her main outfit consists of a black cowboy hat, red work shirt with a sash around her midsection, basic black pants, black boots, red leather work gloves and a red and black poncho gifted to her by her friend Reyes. She wears a black gun belt covered in an assortment of useful items.

Personality Traits: Kind, Stubborn, Determined, Bit Naive, Quiet

Likes and Dislikes

Likes

Animals

Good food

Comfortable clothes

Being out in nature

Warm weather/summer

Gathering plants or animal samples

Harriet

Dislikes

Having to kill (humans or animals, does it out of necessity)

Poor meals

Being cooped up indoors

The cold/winter

Alligators

Men who assume she should be grateful to be hit on

Family (Living)

??? (Father)

Catherine (Mother)

??? (Eldest Brother)

??? (Middle Brother)

??? (Younger Brother)

Savannah (Previously Claire)

Friends

Wes

Reyes

Faye?

Harriet

Trelawny?

Nazar?

Skills/Work

Eve’s main skills revolve around her witchcraft and animal handling. She’s also an incredibly good cook thanks to her mother and those she’s traveled with. She picks up recipes from all over and has a knack for figuring out what’s missing in a dish just as much as she can sort out what she might need in a particular potion. She seems to have a natural connection with animals as well, able to quickly bond with any horse she rides and often can calm horses she doesn’t know relatively easily.

Eve’s witchcraft mostly revolves around making potions. She does like to make trinkets and talismans as well but she puts more faith in producing potions. She generally avoids rituals and sacrifice as it makes her uncomfortable and she doesn’t like the feeling of possibly calling on devils. Eve’s potions are generally more for improving one’s body such as numbing the body to pain or increasing stamina and improving your sight. She has carefully tested some potions with her horses, finding ways to vitalize them much like herself.

With firearms Eve’s main choice is rifles with short to medium scopes. She can use a pistol/revolver but most of the time prefers to use her rifle without the scope instead. When she isn’t pressured or panicking she’s a great shot but her accuracy greatly decreases the more she panics. She’s also pretty bad at riding or driving and shooting and usually prefers to ride shotgun on a wagon. Sometimes she can fire off several crack shots at enemies heads, killing each in a single shot but other times she panics so terribly she can’t even hit their bodies.

Thanks to Reyes she becomes pretty decent with a bow as well but usually only uses it in hunting for stealth kills. She’s okay with it from horse back but like her rifles is far better when still on a horse or on the ground.

Her skill hunting animals varies, oftentimes she tries to shoot from horseback either to kill with rifle or bow or attempts to tranquilize with her varmint rifle. Due to how erratic and at times small her targets are she has a far harder time making clean kills and sometimes even just hitting the body with the tranqs. She’s gotten incredibly good at tracking animals but unless she gets a solid shot standing still before it runs away (or attacks) she typically fails at getting a clean kill. Eve usually tries to avoid doing hunting, preferring to focus more on managing samples for Harriet. When she does hunt it’s usually more for cooking or if she needs ingredients/materials for other things. She will assist in hunts if needed for the gang but otherwise likes to put her skills to use elsewhere.

Backstory/Past

Eve was born to a relatively affluent family far north of New Hanover. (Traveling to Saint Denis is a several day trip south.) She has three brothers who were brought up to take over her father’s business. As their only daughter Eve was raised under relatively strict parenting. While her brothers were allowed to come and go more freely Eve was often stuck at home or only allowed to go out with her family. What little freedom she had came after she was 15 and she was finally allowed her to go on brief horse rides around their land alone.

Age 15-16: Eve stumbles upon an old leather journal belonging to her great grandmother. It was hidden away in the attic of their home in an old trunk with the last remaining heirlooms of her mother’s side. The pages were worn and frail from age and much of the scrawled handwriting was in gaelic. Eve struggled with translating as she wasn’t as fluent as her mother but she manages to translate most of it. The journal mostly contains accounts of her great grandmother’s life. Mixed in amongst the crumbling pages were recipes and notes on what Eve could only think of as potions, spells and rituals. Eve keeps the journal a secret from her family, carefully translating the contents over to a new journal of her own. Outside of working on the journal she also explores in the forest trying to identify plants. She accidentally poisons herself a few times but fortunately never too seriously and her mother doesn’t catch on.

Age 16-17: Eve discovers an old abandoned cabin deep into the woods beyond her family’s estate. Over the course of the summer she slowly begins cleaning the inside and converting it for her own use. She begins using her riding trips sneak away to the cabin and soon even does so at night. She gets caught coming home once by one of her brothers, thankfully the most understanding one who doesn’t ask questions and instead just helps her get the horse put away and back in bed without being noticed. 

Age 17-18: Potential suitors begin approaching Eve but many end up getting the message she’s not interested and eventually move on to other women. Her mother and father are frustrated by her lack of interest in men. Soon Eve unfortunately catches the eye of one particularly stubborn man who becomes incredibly enamored with her. She repeatedly turns him down and this frustrates him as he knows she would be well off and would make a beautiful wife. He begins to become obsessed with her, believing he deserves her. The suitor is used to getting his way, being a slick and charismatic businessman. 

Age 19: Eve is in her cabin when suddenly the door bursts open. She grabs for her shotgun (in case of predators) and aims it at the intruder. It turns out to be the suitor from town who refuses to leave her alone. After he mocks her and tries to tempt her into marrying him he causes her to panic and she shoots him in the abdomen. He falls flat on the floor of the cabin, blood spilling from the hole in his torso. Eve barely collects herself after retching onto the floor, covers the body in an old blanket and then buries it in the back. She changes clothes, takes her horse (Deseray, a blood bay arabian) and runs away. 

Her family never finds out about the murder, they do eventually suspect the suitor had done something but doubted she eloped with him after so many refusals. A widespread search commences but they never pick up any sign of her and eventually it’s called off. They mourn for her loss and pray that she’s alive and well out there somewhere.

After the murder Eve makes it a town or two over before stopping and gathering herself. Still horribly shaken she decides to head towards Saint Denis as a backup plan. If everything goes wrong she has family there and can contact her parents or brothers if it comes to it. At least she knows the area and how to get there. For a brief while she barely scrapes by in the wilderness before falling in with some Irish travellers on their way to Rhodes. She takes up work cooking and caring for their horses while traveling with them.

Eve learns how to better survive on the road thanks to them and is finally taught how to use a gun properly. By the time they part they gift her with a beautiful cob and point her in the direction of a man named Trelawny. The mysterious con artist gives her work to help her survive and helps her get setup at Rhodes stables with her two horses. Trelawny is the main person who teaches Eve how to talk her way out of issues or use her innocent appearance against others. While she’s still relatively naive and unfortunately a little too trusting he helps sharpen her senses and skills. 

At some point Eve runs into Harriet and picks up work sampling and studying local wildlife. She doesn’t really understand it at the time but while working for the animal enthusiast Eve begins developing a massive crush on her. (Mostly because she’s never been in love or crushing on someone.) Despite Harriet’s eccentricity the pair get along incredibly well (though most of it is Eve listening to Harriet wax on about animals and how horrible hunters are.) She ends up sharing her knowledge of natural remedies and concoctions, delighting Harriet and helping her with developing her sedatives, revivers and so on.

At some point Eve ends up running into Reyes at a saloon after both end up so drunk they start hitting on people of the same sex. (Eve at the time is still unaware that she’s lesbian.) They get thrown out together and Reyes invites her back to his camp to continue drinking. The pair have a good time, mostly downing more alcohol, singing, dancing and howling at the moon. Eve ends up messing up some of her clothes and Reyes gives her a spare poncho to wear. Eve makes a joke while drunk that since they match they’re the “Happy Ponchos” now. The two pass out before sunrise and in the morning she convinces him to let her tag along.

Reyes ends up teaching Eve how to hunt more efficiently and the best way to use as much of an animal carcass as possible. She continues to sticks around him like a lost puppy and learns more than ever before, becoming incredibly proficient in using a bow thanks to him. Eventually she even manages to craft a bow made of antlers from her best buck kill with his help. Through Reyes Eve also runs into her cousin Claire who has since left home and changed her name to Savannah.

[soul4art]

Hunted

Warning: horror, zobies, death, blood, killing, 18 +

Chapter one : How it all started

My name is April, I'm going to tell you what happened in the year 2317. There were riots people were dying, soldiers and civilian's. We called it the new dark age. There we're sicknesses, no food and radiation poisoning. One by one the human race was dying and we couldn't do anything about it, until 3 years later, the government started experimenting on people, they called them The Hunters, but they wanted to upgrade them to be more stronger, they wanted to make them weapons . The government took sick dying people from the streets and experimented on them. A couple years ago I was in a group and that is were I met Cole my best friend, he has short brown hair and bleu eyes and a sarcastic attitude, he was one of the scouts. I woke up and then headed to the weapons tent and got my gun to go on a patrol with Cole "so where are we going today" Cole asked me. "the north side of the city, we have to pickup something there" I answered. "What is it that we have to pickup?" he asks "they didn't say" I told him "must be something important" he said. "Must be" I said, we took our stuff and started heading out.

We saw the city and parked the car and headed there. We were walking down a dark and awry street, there were people siting on the ground and building debris everywhere. "How far is it still, I don't like walking trough this part of the city, it gives me the creeps" Cole said. "Not far anymore, it's on the end of the street" I answered "why did we have to leave the car?" He asked. "We can't risk bringing it to the city" I answer. As we walked down the street every body was looking, of ones out of now were a woman walked up to me grabbing my arm, she was in here late 40's and was blind on her on eye. "have you seen a young girl she's about 7 years old and has short brown hair?" the old lady said. I looked shocked at her "No, I... I'm sorry" I answered. "LET GO OF HER!" Cole shouts and points the gun at her. The woman than stepped back and looks angrily at Cole. "Cole put down your gun" I say and calm him down, he nods and continues walking. Finally we reached our destination. There was a wooden box on the floor with the name "New World Corp" on it, Cole and I looked at each other in shock. "Why do we have to pickup something from NWC?" Cole asked me. "I don't know but i have a bad feeling about it" I answered. We brought the box back to camp.

When we got to the camp we went directly to the commander. " What the hell, why didn't you tell us what we were picking up?" Cole asked the commander "I didn't tell you because I new you would react like this" He answered. "We would have anyways reacted like this so what was the point." Cole said. "We should have just left the box, there might be a tracker on it or something" I said. "They wouldn't do that it would be to obvious" The commander said. "We still have to get it out of the camp" Cole said. "I'm the commander of this camp so I make the decision!" The commander shouted. "Your not the only one in this camp, there are families here your wife is here, do you want something to happen to her?" I said. "I'm doing this for my wife and all the sick people, in that box there is the cure to the radiation virus" the commander says. Cole and I look shocked at what he said. "What do you mean a cure?" I Ask "Are you saying that they generously gave you it" Cole says. "This is ridicules why are we even discussing this" I said. "This is not to discus, gourds get them out" the commander says and the gourds grab us and drags us out the cabin. "We have to worn the people they wold want to know" Cole says. "No, we cant stir up a panic" I say. "What should we do than" Cole asked. "I don't know" I answer.

That night the commander opens the box and sees injections with a red substance in it with a name tag The Syntphtesia cure, he grabs one injection and goes to his wife "What is that?" His wife asks "It's okay Clair this will heel you" he says and injects her with the substance. Here eyes became heavy and then she fell asleep. "Goodnight my love" the commander says to his wife, just as he walks out the room. A few minutes later Clair`s eyes shot open. They were as red as the substance in the injection, she stands up and walked towards the door, she opens it and she saw her husband sitting.

Chapter two : The attack

Clear sees her husband sitting on the couch and starts growling. The commander hears something behind him he looks and sees his wife standing in the door way, he stands up and looks at her, he looks at her blood red eyes and sees her drywalling and growling "Clair what`s wrong with you, are you okay?" he asks in shock. She starts running towards him screaming and pushes him to the ground, she starts hitting him and tries to bit him "STOP!" the commander shouts but Clair starts hitting him even harder, blood goes everywhere. "HELP...PLEASE HELP ME!" he screams over and over again but no one hears him. I couldn't sleep so I get out of bed "What`s wrong?" Cole asks me. "I cant sleep" I answer. I go outside for some fresh air and of ones I hear screaming coming from the commander's cabin. I hear him screaming "HELP" and run towards the cabin. I open the door, there's blood everywhere and I see Clear on top of the commander. She looks strait at me and starts charging at me, I run outside and grab a stick that I saw on the grounded and hit here in the face. When she hits the ground I run towards the commander's cabin to see if he was okay, I sit on my knees and feel his pols, I felt nothing.

I ran back out side and saw that Clair was gone, I ran to my cabin to tell Cole, I walk through the door and woke Cole up "April...l what is it, you got blood all over you?" He asks worried. "Something happened to the commander's wife, she attacked him, his dead, I nocked her out and went to check on him and when i walked back out she was gone, I think he injected her with that "cure" I say in shocked. "Ow shit, we need to find her before she hurts some one els" He said. Of ones we her screaming coming from outside, we run out and see someone on the floor, we run to the woman, her arm was bleeding and head "What happened" I asked. "Someone attack me, when you ran out she was gone" the woman said. "Witch way did she go" Cole asked the woman pointed towards medical. "Doc is in there" April said. We told the woman to hide in the cabin and to lock the door then we ran to medical. When we got to medical we saw bodies everywhere, we checked for a pols by everybody only a few were alive. We asked one man were the doctor was he pointed to one of the surgery rooms, we ran to the room and saw the doctor on the floor "I will check if his okay try to find Clair" I said. Cole stood up and started looking around. "Doc, hey are you okay" I said "What happened?" he asked. "You got attacked by the commander's injected his wife with a some kind "cure" that he got from NWC, his dead" I said.

Cole was looking around and he of ones heard something behind the desk. When he looked over the desk he saw Clear scratching the wall, she stopped and looked at Cole. Just when he wanted to call out to me Clair tackled and pushed him on the floor, she started hitting him, he tried to push her off but she was to strong. I looked up and took a bone cutter from the table and stabbed her in her neck, I grabbed Cole and helped him stand up "I found her" he said. "She's nocked out, Cole can you help me get her on the surgery table?" "yeah" We grabbed her and put her on the table and strapped her down. "Are you okay" I asked Cole. "Yeah just a few cuts and browses" he answered. "Come I will get that cleaned up, doc can you check what it is she has?" I asked. "Yes of course" He answered.

I took Cole to the room next door and grabbed a few things to clean his wounds. I took a peace of cotton and put some disaffected on it and pressed it on the wound "ouch, that burns" "don't be a baby" I said. Then I grabbed a surgical needle and stitched his cut on his eye brow up. "Why didn't he listened to us?" Cole asked. "He was worried about his wife, it's normal, love blinds" I answered. "True, but still he put everyone ells in danger and did you notes that there was no gourds around, don't you find that weird that we haven seen one of them on patrolling?" he said. "Your right" I said. We walked around the whole camp ground and found not one gourd "that`s weird normally Frank is on watch tonight" Cole says. "What if they were in this with the NWC" "I heard some of the gourds talking about the radiation virus but I didn't here much so didn't think much of it" He said. Out of nowhere we something behind us "bravo you are smart, but to bad no one wanted to listen too two kids" a strange man said he had black hair up to his shoulders and a peace was in a pony, his clothes were dark but was decent that means he was from the central, that is were all the rich people lived, it's a couple. He had ten body gourds and one of them was some of our gourds. "Who are you?" Cole asked the man. "I am Jonathan" He said. "Why are you doing this, this is murder" I said. "No this is how we life, now follow me or..." "And if we say no your going to kill us anywise, so why don't you just get it over with" Cole interrupted. "Ha, I like you, what`s your name kid" He asked. " Cole, and I'm not a kid I'm 16" Cole said. "Wow, you have one hell of a moth on you, take him" he ordered. " No wait let him" I shouted. "I almost forgot about you, so what`s your name?" he asked. "April, now let him go please" I said. "PLEASE ha, how polite" he says "That wont get you far in this world sweaty" he said and grabbed my chin, I pull back. "If gotten this far" I said. "With you boyfriends help" "his not my boyfriend were just friends" I said. I then grabbed a log from the floor and hit him across the head, he fell on the ground, Cole starts hitting the gourds and grabs my hand. We run in to one of the cabins and hide behind a wall. "GET THEM" Jonathan says "that bitch!!." We hear some gourds walk in the cabin pushing thing around.

"We need to get out of here" Cole says. "How, where surrounded" I say. "I will distract them, then you can get out" Cole says. "What about you, I'm not leaving without you" "Don't worry I will be right behind you" Cole then stands up and starts running and making noise. I try to grab him but he was to fast. Cole then ran towards the door and pushed it open, the gourds grabbed him and pushed him to the ground "APRIL RUN NOW...GO!" Cole shouts. I hesitated for a few minutes then I ran towards the gate, I looked behind me and saw Cole on the ground looking right at me but i just go on running, I make it out of the camp and I hear Cole screaming. "She left you behind, what a great friend she is" Jonathan says. "That`s not true she will find you and kill you so i would watch your back" Cole says. "Thank you for the advise" Jonathan says and nocks Cole out " Put him in the car." I hide behind the wall and hear the car pull out, I see someone throw something out the car. When they drove away I went and looked at what the person threw out, I kneel down and grabbed the thing I look at it, it was Coles neckless. I take and put it on I start walking, I take a few weapons and a car. "I will find you and get you back i promise." Chapter Tree : On the road

I drove a couple hours and then stopped at a gas station. I walk into the store by the gas station and look around. I grab some food and eat some thing. Then I hear something outside, I grab my gun and point it towards the door I open it and walk outside of ones a gun is pointing at my head I look next to me and put my hands up and look, it was a girl she had long hair one side was shaved. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" the girl asks. "My name is April, I was just looking for some food and fuel please I didn't mean to intrude, let me take my stuff and I will be out your hair" I say. "I don't think so leave your stuff then i will let you go" the girl says. "Just let her go V, she didn't hurt anybody" Some one said. "Why, she stole from us, the least she could do is give us her stuff" the girl says. The guy pushes the girls hand away. "So ... April was it, where you headed?" The guy says. "No were" I say. "I don't believe you, if your going no were why all the weapons?" he asks. "You looked through my stuff?" I say and he looked at me and hfs. "So were you going?" he asks. "I don't have to tell you, who are you anywise?" I ask. "Ow, sorry were are my manners, my name is Aiden" He said wile holding his hand out. I ignore his hand and he'd to my car. "If your going to central you would need help" he says. "What, were not helping her" V says, Aiden ignore her and walks towards me. "How do you no were I'm going?" I ask. "No one with so many weapons is just going looting" he answers. "You don't even no me so why would you want to help me?" I ask. "Good question" V says. "You can't fight them on your own you will die" He says. "Why do you care, look it was a "pleasure" to meat you and thanks for the offer but I can do this by my self I don't need your help so goodbye" I than get in the car, I start the engine and drive.

Central was quit far from the city because of all the riots that happen so they build it on a more secure aria. It's about a 4 day drive. A couple of hours later I reach a small town, it looked like a ghost town. I get out the car hide it underneath something and start walking towards it, I look around and see stray dogs and rats running around. The buildings were broken down and old, the paint became really dal. I walk into one of the bars, I look around if there was anyone but find nothing. I went behind the bar and took something to drink, it  then I saw a fireplace and looked for some wood, I found some and set it on fire. It got darker and darker and became night. I was eating some caned beans that I warmed up on the fire, it was not the best food but it was better then nothing.

It was morning again and I woke up from the sound of something braking outside. I went outside to look what happened and a dog runs past me when I threw the door. Then I heard something coming from the building in front of me, I took my gun and walked slowly towards the building. As I open the door I heard something run so I pushed the door open and pointed the gun towards were the noise came from. I started walking into the building and looked around, I came accrues a room were there was glass broken from a window. I looked in the room and saw a person, I hide behind the wall. It came and I heard it growl so I grabbed a pipe that was on the floor and hit the person with it, I didn't knock it out but did distracted it for a little wile so I could run out the building. I got out the building and saw two people in front of me, it was the two from the gas station "Aiden, V, what are you doing here, did you follow me?" I asked. "Yes" he answered and pointed the gun a me "duck now" he said and I ducked, he shot the person behind me, I stood up and looked behind me wile backing off.

"Why is there a hunter all the way out here?" I asked. "His not a hunter, it's an experiment, but your right what is it doing all the way out here" he says "how do you know that it was an experiment?" I ask "he wouldn't be so wild and there would be a guard nearby and we saw nothing when we walked in to town" he says and investigates the body, he took something out of the front pocket from the mans T-shirt. "What's that?" V asks. "It's his ID, his name was Mark he was a teacher, we need to bury him" he says, we go to the towns cemetery and bury the man. "let us help you, you could use our help" he says. I look at him "Why do you want to help me?" "Because were headed there to" he says. "Fine but don't get in my way" I say "fine, and pleasure by the way" he says "for what" I ask and look at him "for saving you" "you didn't save me I had it under control" I say and walk past him. "Do we have to go with her, she said that she didn't need our help" V says "were safer in numbers Aiden says and follows me. I took everything that was covering my car out and got in "Are you just going to stand there or are you going to get in" I say, they step in and I start driving.

Chapter four : Central

We drove another 2 days and saw central, there was a big grey building at the back of a massive wall. "There it is" "I'm going to save you Cole"  I say to my self wile looking at the building. We get out the car and and take the weapons out. We the wall and we hide behind a couple of rocks. Jonathan take out a pear of binoculars and looks through them. "I see a few gourds by the entrance and some military cars going in" Aiden says and gives me the binocular. I look through them and zoom in, I looked in one of the cars and saw Cole, I put the binoculars on the ground and run towards the wall, Aiden grabs my arm and pulls me down "what do you think your doing running off like that" "Let go of me!" I shout and push his hand off. "You can't be careless and run towards the surrounded by gourds with really big guns, we will get in but we have to make a plan and running like headless chicken wont help" he says "your right I was being careless, I wasn't thinking but how do we get in" I ask. "There are tunnels that they use for sewers, they go under the wall normally" he says and takes out an old map and puts it on the ground. "I'f I'm right there should be a manhole right here, aha" he says and opens it. We jump in, took out our flash lights and started walking.

Cole wakes up, and was stupid down in a chair in the middle of a white room and there`s one white door right in front of him. Of ones a guard walks in, he recognises him "were am I?" he asks but got no answer, the guard just looked at him. Another guard walks in and following him was Jonathan. "Your awake, good, how are you feeling?" He asked. "Why would you care, your the one who nocked me out" Cole answered. "You must be wondering why your here, well your a perfect test subject  for the new hunter drug that were testing but the only way we can give it to you is if you allow it" he says. "And of I say no" Cole asks. "You will die, but no worries I will make sure you will take it" He says and looks at me he walks to a table with surgical tools on it and he grabs a scalpel "what are you going to do to me?" Cole asks "Like I said I will make sure you will take the injection" he says and looks at me and grabs Cole's arm.

We were walking for 15 min and finally found a ladder up "I will check if the coast is clear"  Aiden says "Wait, I just wanted to know why your here" I asked "I'm looking for my mom, they took her a few weeks ago, why are you here?" he asked "I'm looking for my friend but, but I need to find him it's my fault his here and I'm freaking out..." Aiden grabs my shoulder "it's okay we will find your friend and my mom I promise" he says and goes up and opens the man hole and looks around to see if there was anyone. He gives the signal to say that it was clear, we all go up and hide behind a half wall. "Nice work Aiden, now what do we do" I said. Aiden looks around and sees a way to get in the building without getting detected "there, you see that there are soldier uniforms, we could use those to get in the building without getting detected" he says. We head to the uniforms and put them on. We walk towards the building and open the door "STOP" we hear someone shout behind us, we turned around and look at the guards.  "Were are you going?" the one guard said "Um, we were assigned to the 30 Th. floor" Aiden said "What were you assigned to do?" he asked "Guard the prisoner" Aiden replied "aah yes, the boy that came in today the one that there going to put The Syntphtesia virus in, they have  been torturing him all day, he might just brake" he answered, when I heard that my hart dropped "Go on ahead" the guard said and walked away. We walked into the building "I need to get to him" I say and stand still "We will but i need you to move" He says, I nod and start walking to the elevator.

The door opens to Cole's room he looks up, he had cutes and browses everywhere "Hey Cole, wow you look terrible" Jonathan says "You look worse" Cole reply. "You still got sas don't you, untie him and bring him to the lab" "Yes sir" the guards say and take Cole. They walk down the hall and through two big doors, there was a huge room and a glass were there was a room in and people were sitting watching the lab. The guards put Cole on a bed and strap him down "your not really co-operating" Jonathan said "Piss off" Cole replies, Jonathan looks at Cole angry "Inject him" "But sir he might... Jonathan Grabs the doctor "you want me to put you in the building!" he says "no sir" the doctor says "than do it" Jonathan says and puts the doctor down. The doctor grabs the Injection and walks towards Cole "I'm sorry" the doctor whispers and grabbed Cole's arm "No...please!" Cole shouts the doctor injects the red substance into Cole's arm and he blacks out.

Chapter Five : the building

We get to the 30 Th. floor "Witch room is it" V asked "We should check all the rooms, there`s not that much" Aiden says. We start looking threw the small hole in the door, his not here" I say and sit against the wall on the floor "your looking for that one boy aren't you, I saw him when they brought me here" we hear of ones someone say, we look to see witch room it was, V opens one of the holes in the door and found the person "hallo" the man says "guys come her" V says, we head to the door where V is. "Can you tell us were they took him" I ask the man "Yes, I heard them say something about a lab, they brought him there, It's down the hall on the right" the man says "thank you and we will help you get out of here" I say and head towards the end of the hall. I see to big white doors with a sine saying Lab, I open it a bit and look "there are a few people, I think there doctors or scientists, I don't see Cole" I say ,Aiden walks towards me and looks "Do you think the boy might die?" "He should have just said yes, They brought him to the hunting grounds" "were is that" "It's the black building next to central" he hears a few guards say and looks at me with a shocked "what's wrong?" I ask with a confused look "nothing, come need to go ,I think I know were he is" he answered and walks towards the stairs.

When we get down we head towards this big black building "wait, how do you now he might be here" I ask Aiden "I here'd the guards say something about a boy being brought here" he answered "is that all they said?" I asked "yes" he said and continued walking. We get to the building it was big and very weary, we open the door and walked in. In front of us there was a long hall, we closed the door behind us. "Now what?" V asks "start looking" Aiden answers. We look in every room we pass, then we head to the second floor. On the the second floor we see cell like rooms with people in them, as we walk past them someone grabbed V's arm and pulls her against the bars "let go of me!" she shouts and tries to get free "get me out of here or I will brake her neck" the man said and look's at us with a scared expression "let her go and we will help you" I say "no let me out first then I will let her go" he says Aiden starts walking towards the bars and tries to pick the lock on the gate. "FASTER! they will be back any minute" the man say "who... who will be back" I ask "Jonathan and his men, there taking people for "the hunt" as they say" the man answers "what`s the hunt?" I ask "it's were they put people on one floor to test how good the drug worked, the strongest and most reliable hunter they use for there army" he answers "army?" I say and look at V and Aiden.

Aiden gets the gate open and the man let's V go "wait before you go... can you tell as if you saw a boy here, he as short brown hair and bleu eyes?" I ask the man "No I'm sorry but I would look on the there'd floor they take everyone there for the hunt" he tells me "thank you" I say "find your friend and get out, you don't want to be here when it starts" he says and runs towards the stairs. We get to the 3d floor and look around we see again sells but they were empty, the walls are full of blood stains "what happened here?" Aides asks "what do you think" V replies "we need to find Cole and your mom fast" I say "did you hear that?" Aides says and walks towards were he heard the noise. He looks around the corner "MOM!" he shouts and runs towards the woman "mom....mom are you okay" he says and pushes her head up, she had cuts and bronzes all over her "Aiden, what are you doing here" she asks and looks at him "I came to save you" he said "do you think she would be able to move?" I ask "no, she's to beat up, you should go find Cole, we will try to get my mom out" Aiden says "okay, be careful" "you too"

I start walking to the end of the hall and open a big wooden door, I walk threw the door and hear of ones a voice coming from a speaker "April, nice to see you again" a man says, I recognise the voice, it was Jonathan "were is Cole?!" I ask "I can't tell you yet, look to your left" he says and I look "do you see douse people in the cell, you love saving people don't you so try and save them" he says "what, just tell me were he is" I say, the door closed behind me, I walk forward and look to my right and see a long dark hallway with a red flickering light "PLEASE HELP US!!" I hear the people scream, I run towards the them and try to open the gate "QUICE, THERE COMING!" a woman says, I start hearing screams and running coming from the hallway, I get the gate open and everyone starts running towards the door, I look at the hall way and see people with red eyes running towards the people "We need to get in the cell, that's the only place wear safe" I say and, we run to the cell and close the gate. The hunters try to brake down the gate. "What do we do now" the woman asks "we try to keep them back"

Aiden gets to the exit, he puts his mother on the ground "I need to help April" he says to V and heads in "don't risk your self for her okay, you come back to me" V says and hugs him "don't worry I'll be back" he says and hugs her back. He walks back in the building and hears screams coming from up stairs, he starts running, when he reaches the 3d floor he runs down the hall and went to the door, he tried opening the it but it was looked. He looked around for something to brake the lock with, he finds a crowbar with blood on it and grabs it he goes to the door and brakes the lock, he pushes through the door and I see him "Aiden... what you doing, you need to get out of here NOW!" I shout at him, he looks at me with a scared look on his face. The hunters look at him and start running towards him, I open the gate and grab a pipe that broke off, I start hitting hunters on the head and I see Aiden fighting back too. "Aiden... you need to go, get your mother and get out of here!" I say "NO" he says. Blood was flying every were, then a loud siren goes off and all the hunters run back to the hallway, than guards with big guns and armor walk in and grab people. I look next to me and see someone standing in the doorway "Cole?"

Chapter Six : Getting Out

"Cole?!" I say, I walk towards him "what did they do to you?" I asked "we heeled him" I hear Jonathan say "what do you mean?" I ask "I made him into a soldier, well a test" he says with a smile "Cole?" I say "he doesn't hear you, he only hears me because of a chip that I put in his head" he says "please just let him go" "I can't do that, take the rest out off here" he says and walks out the room along with everyone ells "No wait April his going to kill you!" Aiden says; the guards drag him out wile I just stand looking at him. A few minutes later I hear Jonathan again on the speaker "lets see if you can survive long enough, kill her" he says and Cole starts walking towards me "listen to me, you don't have to do this, please" I say and he pushes me against the wall and hits me in the stomach, I fall to the ground "I don't want to fight you please...stop!" he hits me again and grabs me, he pushes me against the wall again and strangles me. "Kill her" he says "Don't... listen...to him" I say straggling to breath. I start seeing my hart beet in my eyes, I try pushing his hand away "It's me...your best...friend, I love you" I say and kiss him.

He loosens his grip, I brake the kiss and look at his eyes, I see them change into there normal colour. "April?" he says and I hug him "did...did I hurt you?" he asks "I'm fine it doesn't hurt" I say "NO, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED" we hear Jonathan say. Guards burst in surrounding us, Cole stands in front of me. "You bitch, what did you do" Jonathan says "she saved me" Cole replies. Of ones we here gun shots coming from outside "HEADS UP" V shouts and throughs a gun to Cole, he caches it and starts shooting guards. Blood flies everywhere, I grab the crow bar on the floor and start hitting guards, I see Jonathan and shot his arm. V unties Aiden and runs to the door "come on, we need to get out of here" she said, we started running towards the exit. When we get out Aiden grabs his mother and run to a car, Cole grabs my hand and takes one of the military tracks "Come, get in!" Cole says. Guards start surrounding us and start shooting "Give me that!" Jonathan say says and starts shooting civilians, we were able to get through the gate but lost a lot of people. "If they want a war they get one, get the haters ready" Jonathan says "sir, your hurt, you need a doctor." a guard says "I'm fine" Jonathan says.

"lets stop hear we need to talk" we hear Aiden say from the radio. We pullover and step out the car, we walk towards Aiden and V "what's wrong?" I ask "there going to come after us and the only way we can survive is if we stay together so are you with us or not" Aides says "No, were fine thank you for but we should go home" Cole says and grabs my hand "WAIT, Aiden's right, if they come for us we need help fighting them" I say and pull away "April we can't trust them" Cole whispers to me "you don't even know them, they helped me and save you" I said angrily at him, he looks angrily back "we will rest here for the night, just sleep on it tell us your answer tomorrow, ow and can you guys get some fire wood" Aiden says and I nod. We head towards the forest and look for firewood.

"I'm sorry" I say "for what?" Aiden asks "for leaving you and being a coward" I say and sit on the ground "no, hi I told you to go" Cole says and sits next to me and hugs me "I should have helped" I say "you did you saved me didn't" Cole says "yes but if I helped you at the camp then you would not been infected" I say "don't worry I'm here now, don't blame your self, it's not your fault" Cole says, I put my head on Cole's shoulder "OW, I forgot here" I say and stick my hand out "my neckless, I was wondering wear that went, were did you find it," he asks and takes it "I found it on the floor outside the camp" I say "thanks" he says,  I then stand up and look for firewood. When we walk back to the camp grounds Cole stops "wait can I ask you something?" he says "yeah, of course" I say "back there in the building... umm... did you kiss me?" he asks, I look shocked at him, I start getting red "yes... but It was just..." I say "It's okay" he says, I got even more red and look at the ground, I look at him, everything went quiet "we should head back" I say and start walking back to the camp, "yeah" Cole says and picks up the firewood.

Chapter seven:

Fort Collins

"What took you so long?" Aides says "what do you think" V says with a sassy attitude "just bring the wood to the fire" Aiden says and we bring the wood too the fire "what`s her deal?" Aiden asks "she hates me, and now you to, for no reason" I say. A couple of hours past and everybody went to bed except for me, I was sitting against a tree and kept watch, Aiden comes and sits next to me "can't sleep?" I ask "yeah, so what are you going to do...about staying" he asks me "I don't know, I haven't spoken to him about it yet" "you should stay" he says "I know... it's just Cole is scared" I say, Cole hears that and wakes up, he gets out of bed and hides behind a car and eavesdrops "please I want you to stay" Aiden says and kisses me, Cole sees that and looks angry, he walks away and goes back to his bed, I brake the kiss "we shouldn't do that" "why... are you and Cole..." he says "no... I don't know" I say and stand up "we should go back too bed" I say and head back, I get back in bed and try to fall asleep.

The next morning I wake up and get some food, I look for Cole and see him packing his bag, I walk towards him "what are doing" I ask "what do you think, I'm leaving" he says "can we talk about this" I say "no... just stay here with your new boyfriend" he says, I look confused "yeah, I saw you kissing him" he says, I look at him in shock "that was nothing, please can we just talk about this" I say "no I think I'm better alone" he says and grabs his stuff and walks to one of the smaller cars "what`s going on?" Aides asks "his leaving, he" I say to Aiden, he starts walking towards Cole "we're you going to go" Aiden said to Cole "why do you care" he says "if you want to leave fine but just know you leaving April, the girl who saved your life" he said, Cole looks at me and back at  Aiden "I don't care" he says "well you should care, we could have just as easy left you there" Aiden say with an angry tone in his voice "you should have done that, then I didn't have to see you two together" Cole says "is that what this is all about or is Jonathan still controlling you" he says, Cole looks angrily at Aiden and hits him, I look shocked at Cole and then see Aiden run towards Cole and pushes him against the car. "STOP" I say and push Aiden away from Cole, I turn around to look at Cole "can we talk" I ask "why so you can..." "Now!" I shout and grab his hand. "You kissed her" V asks, Aiden ignores that and walks away.

"What`s your problem" Cole asks "what`s my problem, your the one who starts a fight for no reason" I say angrily "no reason, he insulted me" "you know maybe his right" I say, Cole looks angrily at me and walks away "hey, don't walk away from me" I say "why what use am I to you like this, thy did something to me I don't feel the same" he says and I see tears in his eyes "look at me Cole, shh, it's going to be okay, I'm right here" I say and hug him. After a wile we head back. "Is everything okay?" Aides asks "yeah everything is fine"

I reply "so what`s going to happen?" he asks "were with you guys" I say "good cause were heading out in 15" he says and starts walking away "where are we going by the way" I ask "to my home" he says.

"Lets head out" Aiden says, and start driving. "So how long is the drive?" I ask "About 4 hours" Aiden answers "so how is Cole?" "his doing fine, I think" I answer "and you" I ask "I'm fine, you know he really hits hard" he says "yeah" I say. After a wile of driving we finally reach our destination. "Well everyone, welcome to Fort Collins" Aiden says and drives the car threw this huge iron gate surrounding a colony. Aides stops the car and everybody climes out "Aiden, V your back" a man with white grey hair tide up says and gives Aiden a hug "uncle, I would like you to meet April and Cole they helped us" Aiden says. We walk towards him and his uncle "Hallo welcome to Fort Collins, my name is commander Rowlins, you must be April" the commander says and sticks his hand out "yes It's nice to meet you" I say and shack his hand "and your Cole" he says "yes" Cole says "please make your selves at home, my nephew will show you your accommodations" he says.

Here we are this is your room and two doors further in Cole's room, you can get settled, there are showers, the water is not that warm but it's something, if you need anything my room is all the way on the end of the hall, ow yeah and dinner will be in an hour" he says and gives us the keys to our rooms "thank you, for everything" I say "no thank you I wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for you" he says and walks away. I open my door and look at Cole "if you need me, I will be right here okay" I say, Cole nods and walks into his room. I walk into my room and close the door behind me, it was a medium sized room with a bed and closest and there was a door that led to the bathroom. I grabbed my bag and took everything out of it, I took some clothes and went in the bathroom to take a shower, I turn the shower on and take my clothes off, I get under the water "It feels nice to get all the dirt off of me" I say to may self. After 5 minutes I get out the shower and put some clean clothes on, I get on my bed and relax.

Cole puts his bag on the bed and explores his room, he then turns on the shower, an hour past fast and we head for dinner, we saw everyone heading to a building it was a school, we looked for the cafeteria and bump into Aiden and V "hi guys, are you lost?" Aides asks "yeah" I say "come on" Aiden says, we get to, the cafeteria and walk in "you can sit by us my uncle wants to talk to you" Aiden says and leads us to our chairs "aah, April Cole i hope my nephew as been good to you" the commander says "yes sir he has" I answer and we sit down "so if I understand you two were scouts in your old camp" he says "yes we were" I reply "if I may ask, what happened there?" "our commander send us to pickup a package but we dint know that it was from NWC, when we got to our location we saw there name on it, we brought it back to camp and took it to the commander, he told us that it was a "cure" but actually it was the Syntphtesia virus, that night he injected it into his wife she killed him and started killing everyone from the camp, we try to tell him that it was a bad idea but he didn't listen" I say "you don't need to worry about that here" he says "Aiden said you wanted to talk to us about something" I say "aah yes, I would like you two to be scouts like in your other camp, we could use skills like yours" he says "we would love to" I say and Cole just nods "good I would like to go over a few things tomorrow, so rest today and meat me in the gym tomorrow" he says and stands up, I nod and continue eating. After eating I head to my room and get in bed.  

Chapter Eight: There Here

I wake up the next morning and dress up, I go to Cole's room and knock on the door "Cole are you awake" I asks, the door opens "yeah just need to get dressed, come in" he says and lets me in, he closes the door behind me and starts getting dressed "are you okay" I ask him "yes, why do you ask?" he replies "you've been quiet lately" I say "I'm fine you don't have to worry about me" "I worry" I say. After he gets dressed we head to the school. I see Aiden and walk towards him "morning" I say "morning... my uncle said to wait for you guys here" he replies "thanks" I say. We start walking the gym, there were two soldiers standing next the door, they open it and we walk trough. "Your here" he says, we walk to the desk, there was a map "so we all know what the NWC is doing and you guys saw it first hand" he said "that's true and after what happened at central they will come and they would want a war Aiden says "we should make a plan to defend our selves" I say "and how will we do that" V says "you have good fighters here, I have seen it" I say "yes that`s true but we're not ready for a war" the commander says "but you can train them, you have enough time" I say "yes and then what, we fight, we die" V says "that's what happens" Cole says "how many hunters do they have" the commander asked "100, 1000 we don't know for sure" I say "we can send out scouts" Aiden says "we could do that, but who will volunteer" the commander asks "I'l go" I say "Me to" Aiden says to "I also volunteer" V says "I'll want to go to" "no, what you need to do is rest, your already not your self" I say, Cole looks angrily "fine" he replies and walks away. "We have our team than" the commander says.

"Sir, there ready" a guard says, Jonathan follows the guard to this massive room "how many hunters do we have?" Jonathan asks "1000" the doctors says "good get them ready, we leave in an hour" he says "yes sir." After an hour guards start loading trucks with the hunters and started driving. As we walk I hear cars driving "do you hear that" I ask "yes" Aiden answers, I look to my right and see military cars "it's them" I say "we need to get back" V says, we start heading back. We get back and had to the gym, we find the commander "sir, we have a problem, there coming" Aiden says "how far are they?" he asks "there about 1 and a half out" Aiden says "okay we have enough time to get the woman and children in the bunker and everyone that can fight ready "I'll get all the woman and children to the bunker" V says "and I'll get everyone who's able to fight ready" Aiden says, we head out "I'll look for Cole meet back here in a half an hour" I say, he nods and walks away.

I head to Cole's room and knock on his door, after a few minutes he opens "is everything okay" Cole asks "the hunters are on there way, we saw the NWC trucks curing them" I say "I thought they we're still far how did they get here so fast?" Cole asks "I don't know, maybe a shortcut or something, we need to head to the gym" I say, he nods and follows me. We get to the gym and see Aiden "is everyone ready?" I ask "yes" he says "now what" V asks "we wait" Aiden says "I'll head to the gate, to keep watch" I say " I'll go with you" Cole says. We head to the gate, grab some guns and keep watch "April, I just wanted to say sorry for how I was acting" Cole says "no , it's okay you cant do anything about that" I say "I should have tried" he says "you did and I know that" I say, Cole smiles at me. After 3 hours we hear cars "there here" I say and look at the thousands of cars driving towards us.

Chapter Nine : The Battle

"There here" I shout and grab a gun, I aim at one of the cars in front and shoot the driver. The car looses control and crashes into the wall, the hunters clime out of the car and start hitting the wall. Out of no were a tank comes and I see it aiming for the wall I grab Cole's hand and hide behind one of the barricades, we hear the wall explode and feel the ground beneath us tremble. "They've breached the wall" someone shouts, I look down and see hunters run in, I start shooting them, blood flies everywhere. I look beyond the wall and see more trucks coming, I head down with Cole, I see Aiden, he had blood all over his face "more are on there way" I worn him "there's to many of them " he say, I look around and see people dying one by one "we need to fall back" he say "no, I have a plan" I say, he looks confused at me "I was exploring one night and saw boxes of grenades under us, we can lore them to were the grenades are other them and have someone ignite them" I say "I'll do it" Cole says, I nod "Okay but how do we know if they still work" Aiden says "we will just have to find out where we have to go?" Cole asks "head down to the school basement, go to your right and you will se boxes there" I say "how do I know when to ignite them" he asks " you will know and when you take the pin out just run and hide behind the wall, okay" I say "Okay, stay save" he says "you too" I reply, he runs towards the school and heads in. "lets hope this works" Aiden says "it will" I reply.

Cole heads down to the basement and looks for the grenades, he finds them and waits for the signal. "We need to get the hunter's to the front of the school" I say, we start making noise to attract the hunter's "find coffer." Cole hears running on top of him, he grabs a grenade and takes the pin out, he throughs it in the middle of the room and hides behind a wall and coffers him self. "Get ready" I shout, we hear a huge explosion, the ground was trembling and we saw bodies fly everywhere. "It worked" I say, Cole runs back up and looks chocked. Out of nowhere we hear a siren, the same siren that we heard in the hunters building, I look at Cole and see him fall to the ground, I callout his name and run towards him. "Hey, Cole, look at me" I say, I look in his eyes and see them turning red again "I can feel it, it's starting to control me again, I'm trying to ignore it but it hurts" Cole says "look at me, I'm not loosing you again okay" I say and push his chin up, his eyes start going normal again. The sirens stop, I look behind me and se Jonathan standing at the gate. "Hallo again" I hear him say and stand up. "Why are you doing this" I ask "because it's fun and I needed to test them out and how better them the people who killed half my guards" he says "you have a grudge on us so you don't have to hurt these people, they didn't do anything wrong" I say "your right, grab those four" he says

The guards take us to the school and bring us to the gym "get on your knees" one of the guards say. We try to refuse but they push us to the ground. "Now who do I kill first" he says and and walks past everyone but stops by Cole "shell we start with the accident" he says and grabs Cole by his arm and throws him on the floor. "Just get it over with" Cole says "I want to have a little fun before" Jonathan says and takes his knife out, he grabs Cole's arm "stop please, take me" I shout, Jonathan and walks towards me "your braver than I thought" he says and grabs my chin "DON'T TOUTCH HER!" I hear Cole say "don't worry I won't" he says and walks back to Cole. He grabs Coles hand again and cuts Cole, blood drips from his arm "STOP IT!

Chapter Ten : End

A half an hour past "now who`s next?" Jonathan says, I look at Cole and see him unctuous and blooding "your a monster" I say "yes, I am sweet hart" he says and grabs my chin, I hit my head against his face and run towards Cole "YOU BITCH!" he shouts "Cole... Cole wake up" I say, I tray waking him up, Jonathan grabs me "fine... your next" he says, he thrown me on the ground and takes out his knife "were should I cut you first" he say, of ones we hear an explosion "find out what that was" Jonathan says, the guards head out "your going to die and I will be the one to kill you" I say, we hear the door open and see commander Rowlins with a gun to one of the guards head "let them go or I will shoot him" the commander says, Jonathan grabs my hear and pulls me up and put the knife against my neck. I try to get away but he grips me tighter "let her go" the commander says "kill him I have more guards" Jonathan says, the guard looks shocked.

The commander pushes the guard away from him and shoots him in the head. I see blood coming from his head and look shocked at the commander, he starts pointing the gun at Jonathan "let her go or I will shoot you" he says "you would have to shoot her first" Jonathan replies, the commander looks at Jonathan, I move my head a little and he shoots right in Jonathan's neck, I pull away and take his knife, I start stabbing him in his chest. "wow ... stop, his dead okay... his dead" Aiden says and hugs me "what happened" Aiden asks his uncle "we started fighting back, I'm sorry we didn't get here earlier" the commander  said, I look at Cole and walked towards him, I look if he has a pols "his still alive but barley, we need to get him to medical" I say and look at Aiden, he picked Cole up and heads to medical.

We get Cole to medical, we see body bags everywhere "we need help" Aiden says to one of the doctors "put him here" the doctor says, Aiden puts him on the hospital bed "what happened to him?" the doctor asks "he was tortured" I say "need to stop the bleeding, I need some room so if you guys could wait in the waiting room" the doctor said "okay please just help him" I say, we all leaf the room and head to the waiting room. A half hour later the doctor comes, he wakes me up "how is he" I ask "his still unconscious but if you want you can go to him" the doctor says, I head to Cole and sit on the chair next to him "please wake up Cole" I say and take his hand, I feel a small grip from him "Cole?" I say, I see his eyes start opening "your awake, how are you feeling?" I ask "I feel a little dizzy but otherwise fine, what happened, where am I?" he asks "your at medical, Jonathan is dead" I say, he looks at me relieved "are you okay, what`s that on your neck, is that a cut, did Jonathan do that?" he says "I'm fine it doesn't even hurt anymore" I say "are you sure" he says "yes, you should rest, okay" I say, "okay" he says and closes his eyes, I fall asleep in the chair next to him.

I wake up the next morning and look for something to eat. I see V and Aiden at a table with food and water "morning guys" I say "morning... how is Cole?" Aides asks "his fine... better" I say "that`s good" V says "and you" Aiden asks "I'm okay too, just hungry" I say, I grab a plate and start filling it up and take one for Cole too. I head back to him and wake him up "you need to eat something" I say, he sits up and I hand him the plate "how do you feel?" I ask "still a little tiered and I still hurt everywhere, but other wise fine" he says and grabs the plate. "What do we do now?" Cole asks "we make this our home and protect it" I say, he looks at me and smiles. I head out for some fresh air and see Aiden, I walk towards him "hi" I say "it's nice out here isn't it, quite, peaceful" Aiden says and sees me looking a little unsettled "don't worry his gone" he says, I look at him "I know, it's just... it feels weird not having to worry about him anymore" I say "that's true, we do still have the rest off the hunters to hunt down and try to find a cure for them" he says "what if there is no cure, it only worked by Cole because I have feelings for him" I say "we will just have to try right" he says "your right" I reply. "It is nice out here" I say all we need to do now is survive.

[dopescotlandwarrior]

Bluegrass-Chapter Seventeen

                     A special thanks to @statell​ for making my stories flow

Previous chapters at AO3

Chapter Seventeen

Claire was unnerved when she learned of the deliberate interference of the two jockeys. Jamie told her it was an isolated incident of an owner in New Jersey and described Runner’s protectiveness to bolster her courage. He had given in to Claire’s desire to enter the Kentucky Derby, so his demeanor changed, and he became her coach rather than her doubting boyfriend. There was one race in New York before the Derby, and it was an easy win for Runner. The famous Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack where the winning horse gained one hundred points and the purse was one million dollars. The whole world would be watching the remaining Derby contenders battle it out.

There would be two weeks between each of the remaining races and Michael adjusted Runner’s supplements to give the additional energy for such a tight racing schedule. This was when the rubber meets the road, he told Claire. There were two or three stakes races each weekend somewhere in the country, where Derby contenders would gain points if they won or wash out if they lost. Everything was in flux right now he told her. It was the most exciting time of the year for horse racing.

When they arrived in New York they were cocky and confident. Runner drew crowds wherever they landed which fueled Claire’s confidence and need to dominate the race. Runner was favored to win and all she had to do is stay in the saddle.

Claire felt nervous waiting for the race to start. She reached for her juice box and granola bar, not sure if it was her blood sugar or her nerves making her feel anxious and shaky. Jamie grabbed her hand to walk her outside where she waved to the yelling spectators before being launched into the saddle. She was feeling a bit better when a track pony brought her to the gate and Runner loaded without an issue.

There were only eight horses in the Wood Memorial Stakes and Runner was coming out of post position two, statistically proven to launch the most winners. Claire was ready to leave everyone in her dust and take home the winner’s cut of the million-dollar prize money and 100 qualifying points.

When the gate opened, Runner jumped into his lane and quickly passed one horse at a time until he was neck and neck with the third-place horse. To Claire, he was conserving his strength until the dash to the finish line. When Runner did not accelerate after the second turn Claire knew something was wrong. He seemed to be giving all he had just to maintain his third position. As the finish line approached, the lead horse was seven lengths ahead and there was no time to catch him. They wouldn’t win, they couldn’t win, and she felt the shock of that truth run through her body.

Claire’s brain turned off the roar of the crowd, and it became silent. It turned off the thundering hooves and all other noise except her own breathing and Runner’s. When she crossed the finish line in third place all the noise came crashing back into her head as Runner slowed to a trot immediately.

It was very hard to comprehend losing the race because she had complete confidence Runner would win. A track pony took her reins and delivered her to the men waiting, all looking grim. Jason walked the big colt until he cooled off and Jamie pulled Claire into the shade. She cried on his shoulder as he reassured her it was just one race, and Runner would be ready for the Derby in two weeks.

Jason noticed Runner tossed his head when the bit moved even slightly from Jason holding the reigns. It was clear he was in pain and Jason got the horse back to Claire right away. Pulling the bridal off hurt so much he reared in protest and refused to open his mouth. Claire grabbed the bridal and put her hand on his neck. She told him to relax, no one would force him and in ten minutes she asked him to open his mouth when he was ready. He finally did and the pain was so obvious Claire winced.

She could feel the fever in his muzzle and chest and felt panic creeping up her spine. When she could finally look in his mouth the giant abscess dropped down from the roof of his mouth the size of a golf ball and full of pus. She realized the bit had rubbed against the pressure and pain throughout the race.

He was given an injection of pain killer and antibiotics by the track veterinarian who helped hold him for Claire to lance the abscess and flush it with Hydrogen Peroxide. It was a very painful procedure, but Claire was fast and thorough alleviating the pressure the instant she cut into the bulging balloon and Runner settled down for the remainder of the procedure.

They all thanked the track vet for his assistance and packed up to fly Runner home. The reporter from Sports Illustrated strolled through the stalls and caught the last few minutes of the surgery. He expected something like this and caught Jason in the aisle telling him to shake Runner’s hay and check the wood chips in his stall for razor blades, pins, or burs. He had seen the near collision of the race in New Jersey and thought it prudent to check for foul play.

Jamie and Claire drove Runner to the airport and explained the abscess and surgery to the handlers. Once Runner was dozing in his transport stall the captain came in and spoke to them running his hand down the colt’s neck. Claire kissed his nose softly and told him to sleep tight.

When they returned to Aqueduct to pick up the guys, both Michael and Jason poured huge sharp burs found in the hay and floor, into Jamie’s hand. There were six burs that drew blood when Jamie pushed his finger into the points. Jamie looked up at the numerous cameras throughout the building and went to find the barn manager.

Before boarding the plane, Jamie called Rupert to warn him they would be picking up a drunk Colt with a sore mouth. Rupert sounded crushed they lost the race but assured Jamie they would be extra gentle with the laddie.

Claire was quiet on the trip back to Kentucky. After checking the foals and Runner she just wanted to go to the house and sit in silence for a while. Jamie kissed her before she got out of his truck and promised to be quick with his chores.

Claire sat on the patio and admired the stars shining brightly above her. She replayed the race, minute by minute, and decided the only reason they did not win was the pain in Runner’s mouth. They all knew from that point forward; Runner would be guarded while away at a race and they would provide their own food and hay. She felt completely exhausted and leaned her head back on the lounge. She would not let this discourage her from the Derby. They had two weeks to heal his mouth and they would be unbeatable again.

Jamie sifted through his mail quickly, wanting to get back home and relax with Claire. He almost missed it, the envelope from the Kentucky racing commission. Thinking he had forgotten one of the many fees required for the Derby he opened the envelope and felt his heart fall into his stomach. He launched from his chair and ran to catch Michael.

“She has raced at Churchill Downs twice, why is this coming up now?” Michael’s face was red and his eyes bugged out. “This is bullshit!”

Jamie looked at the floor. His heart was beating hard enough to give him a heart attack, so he took deep breaths and tried to calm down.

“I don’t know who is behind her disqualification, but I know what to do about it Jamie. Tell Claire I’m on this and to keep the faith. I’ll see ya tomorrow.”

The snail’s pace at which Jamie walked from his truck to the house broke land speed records. It was that slow. He would pay any price to keep this information from Claire but there was no way out from this truth. It was still difficult to breathe and he stopped at the garage and bent over to steady himself, before he found Claire and broke her heart.

She was walking somewhere feeling peaceful and happy when a little girl handed her a bouquet of beautiful flowers. She smiled at the girl and thanked her pulling one rose out of the bunch and handing it to her. The sun was so warm, but her cheek was suddenly very cool. Jamie’s hand on her cheek brought her quickly out of her dream and she smiled at him for the nine seconds it took to register the sadness in his eyes. She sat up quickly.

“What is it, Jamie?”

She saw the rims of his eyes, deep red from tears that were coming, and felt alarms going off in her head. She wanted to run and get away from the pain she knew was coming.

“Is it Runner? The foals? Is anyone hurt?”

Jamie grabbed both of her hands and fought his emotion until he could calmly speak. It was no more than a whisper.

“Ye’ve been disqualified from the Derby lass. Your jockey license does not meet the requirements of the track because you’re an apprentice. The Kentucky Horse Racing authority states there is no appealing this ruling. Runner can enter the race with a qualified jockey, but we both know that won’t happen.”

“Jamie?”

He could hear her voice, still strong, still hopeful, and he hated the world at that moment because there were no options.

“I’m sorry, love. Michael said he was on it and left, but the letter is clear, there is no appeal.”

Claire launched out of the lounge, suddenly very awake, fighting the urge to scream about her own helplessness and the cruel forces that stole her dream of winning the Kentucky Derby.

“He is Horse of the Year for Christ’s sake. How can they disqualify him?” She spoke softly like she couldn’t summon the strength for more volume.

Runner is not disqualified, only you sweetheart. When he doesn’t race, the world will be very unkind and make up their own reasons. I found dozens of comments online about the Wood Memorial. People are sayin it’s a fault in his breeding, findin all kinds of other reasons for his loss.

He reached for Claire and she hugged him with the dawning knowledge of what he was losing too. They held each other up until they could walk upstairs and said not another word about it. What could be said?

Runner’s mouth healed with no more sign of infection by the following week. He repeatedly tried to engage Claire, but she was in her own head and quiet with everyone else in the barn. She just didn’t have anything to say. Each morning brought her one day closer to the most famous race in the history of horse racing and she couldn’t go. She couldn’t get the knot out of her stomach or concentrate on anything else but the race she would miss. The town was energized with the upcoming festivities that were broadcast from radio shows and city news continuously. It was enough to drive her mad, so she just shut down.

Michael never came back after the night he read the commission’s letter. He said he would fix this and then vanished. It felt like the final insult to Jamie, but reminded himself that Michael was here to write the story of Midnight Runner, and if he didn’t enter the Derby there wasn’t much to write about.

Jamie and the other guys tried to pull Claire out of her funk until she begged them to let her be. She apologized for being moody and promised to bounce back if they would just leave her alone. She promised Jamie she would feel better when the race was over and then went back into her head.

The last foal dropped on Thursday night. Claire delivered the filly late at night with Jamie’s assistance. The Derby was two days away. When she tried to smile at him the corners of her mouth quivered a bit and he could plainly see she felt no smile on the inside.

Jamie set up his cot near the stalls and went to find Claire. He almost missed her standing behind Runner who was still as a statue and very awake.

“Sassenach?”

He pulled her to him and she sobbed like her very life was draining away. All he could do is hold her and pull her to his cot so he could wrap himself around her. When he heard the steady breathing of his sleeping love, he said the Gaelic prayer for courage, strength, and love. He said it for her so she could find her happiness when this nightmare was over. He slept little so she would feel his grip on her through the night. His wounded love.

The next morning, the big doors opened with a crash bringing both Jamie and Claire to their feet in seconds. Both blinking against the morning light wondering what catastrophe had befallen them now.

“Jamie! Jamie!! Go find him squirt and hurry. Jamie, goddammit, where are you?!”

“What the devil is this about?” Jamie growled at Michael, “what’s happened to ye?”

“I have been pounding on your front door for thirty minutes. Finally decided you were already here. Where the hell is Claire? Me and Jason will be twiddling our thumbs out there waiting for our rider. We have some work to do, so where is she?”

“What are ye doin Michael? There is no more racin and I’m sure ye remember that.”

Claire sat on the cot and listened with little interest in Michael’s ranting.

“Oh, sorry, what the fuck is wrong with me? Here.”

Jamie took the new license and studied the signature from the racing authority. It was a Journeyman’s license and looked legitimate but that was impossible.

“What trickery is this Michael?”

“No tricks, promise. The journeyman license has requirements for races, time in the saddle, experience on the track and with other horses, among other things. Poor Claire had no handlers to workout the Colt because he wouldn’t allow it. Consequently, she logged enough hours in the saddle, on the track, and in the race to qualify for Journeyman.”

Jamie stared at the license waiting for it to suddenly turn to dust and blow away. “How did ye do it?”

Michael smiled at Jamie, “the governor’s dad and my old man go way back. I grew up around their family and the governor himself was my babysitter on several occasions. It took a week and a half to see him, but I told him about Claire and Runner, the unique circumstances of their partnership, I avoided the whole talking to animals thing. I told him they deserve a space in the gate tomorrow. He agreed and we met with the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority and figured out how she could qualify for a Journeyman’s license. That is how I did it.”

The men saw Claire run by them like a streak. Ten minutes later she was pulling her helmet on and walking toward them with a beautiful blush in her cheeks.

“I love you Michael and I have the rest of my life to thank you, but right now we need to ride. The race starts in twenty-eight hours, let’s go.”

Claire was off toward Runner’s stall and came racing back to kiss Jamie hard and show him a brilliant smile.

“We run for the roses tomorrow, just like we planned, my precious love.” Then she was gone, leaving a smiling Rupert and Angus in her wake.

Jamie stood rooted to the ground, shaking his head and enjoying the moment. There would be time to panic trackside tomorrow, this was too good to ruin. He decided at that moment to host a celebration, tomorrow night, win or lose it would celebrate the perseverance and dedication of a phenomenal woman and horse. One way or another he would see it done.

Michael watched Runner with excitement. The rest made him a bit hot, but he used the energy for speed and Claire could hardly keep him breezing. It was a great workout and Michael told Claire she would be in the money tomorrow with him running like that.

“Actually Michael, I plan to win tomorrow but thank you for the good wishes.”

When Jamie finally got Claire into bed that night, she seemed tired enough to sleep filling him with relief. The enormity of the race tomorrow was mind-boggling to him. Of the billions of people in the world, only twenty-two are chosen each year to compete on a track of superstar Thoroughbreds. Because the Derby was open only to three-year-olds, those horses that didn’t make the cut lost the opportunity forever. Jamie held her close until her breathing became deep and even. He stopped thinking and dropped into the void.

Jamie’s sleep became fitful later in the night and he turned to hold his Sassenach only to find an empty bed. It took a while to find her and he approached quietly and listened to her grill Runner while she paced the aisle. He could see Porcelain’s big eyes watching Claire, and Runner, like a new recruit standing at attention. She looked like a funny little commander pacing in her robe and slippers and Jamie’s chuckle made her stop and look up.

“Suppose ye let Runner sleep a bit before the big race mo chridhe. I’m lonely for ye.”

The Kentucky Derby is a race like no other as people come from all over the world in their finery and decorative hats to witness the race and socialize. One hundred fifty thousand spectators fill every seat, inside and out, including celebrities from movie stars to Saudi princes. The infield is a giant party for the who’s who and a bank of photographers sit patiently along the side of the track. The event is bigger than the Super Bowl or the World Series, all steeped in history and tradition.

Claire was overwhelmed by the enormity of the event and found it hard to focus on the horses she would have to beat. When she was ready to mount for the parade and warm-up, Jamie stopped her and whispered in her ear.

“This is a once in a lifetime race for both of ye Sassenach, so feel every minute of it. Just gettin here means yer a winner so be proud of him and yerself lass and know how much I love ye.” He kissed her softly, “one more thing, the colt runs like a fat cow. Tell him I said so.”

Claire’s lead pony was waiting and pulled Runner’s reins to wrap around the horn of his saddle. When Runner started to act up, he would pull his head to the pony’s to settle him down. Claire was released to warm up and she looked at the staggering amount of people and felt the deafening noise they were making. She hoped Runner would relax a bit and stay in a safe range with all this noise, and color.

Runner was hot as they ponied to the gate. He was ready to explode from high-calorie food all week and too much rest. There was some acting out getting loaded into the gate as he reared up and told them to leave him alone. Claire waved the handlers back and asked them to let him load without the manhandling. He felt tense waiting for the bell and Claire willed the doors to slam open so she could direct all his extra energy. Each minute seemed like an hour.

Claire wrapped Runner's mane through her fingers and prepared to get off his back. She had spent several hours talking to him about winning by the space between him and the next horse, trying to make him understand it was not only beating the individual horses that mattered. Runner was looking for Sham and Angle Light, making Claire nervous about him acting up before they could get out of the gate.

“Jamie said you run like a fat cow. Just sayin”

The doors slammed open in the next minute and twenty-one horses made a mad dash for the track. When Runner jumped out, she could feel his extra energy and she watched for the best way through the mess of horses ahead.

Runner was doing little more than keeping pace with the pack until the first turn when he broke to the outside and picked up his speed. He stayed on the outside down the backstretch passing horses, one after the other. He overtook the pack and headed for the front seven horses. Claire could see Sham was in third place coming out of the second turn and they were still five horses behind him. Runner was increasing his speed and she tucked tight going into the home stretch. She watched horse after horse fade away in a blur as Runner accelerated toward the lead horse. He didn’t dawdle and run neck and neck like he usually did, it was all business today as she felt him accelerate one last time.

The noise from the crowd, the thundering hooves, and the loudspeaker barking the positions of the horses, all went away. Claire knew they were lengths ahead of the other horses and stretched her arms to allow the maximum lengthening of Runner’s stride. She watched the finish line come closer, scared shitless another horse would zoom past her and take the glory. She couldn’t help herself from yelling at Runner to hurry. The finish line was five feet ahead and she felt his front legs reach forward like in slow motion and saw the flash of the camera. She turned her head to the left and saw no other horse. She turned her head to the right and saw no other horse.

Claire was not processing anything during the next minute. She was trying to slow Runner down and looking around her at the other horses and jockeys sporadically spaced. So the race was over and I don’t know what to do now, she thought. As she came around the turn she saw Jamie and Michael jumping as high as they could and pointing at her. She started crying when she looked at Jamie. She could read his lips and see his incredible face. Jamie says I won, she thought and in the next second the deafening noise of the crowd came back and she heard the announcer say “the winner, Midnight Runner, by three lengths.

“Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Runner! You won, you won!! You won the Kentucky Derby!! Jesus H Roosevelt Christ, we just won the Kentucky Derby! She pulled on his mouth to slow him down and stood triumphantly in her stirrups, crop held high, rubbing her sleeve over her eyes to see the crowd through her gushing tears. When Runner had slowed to a trot, she found the governor who had abandoned his fancy observation box to get closer to the track.

Claire pulled Runner to a stop in front of the governor and unsnapped her helmet. Her hands were shaking so hard she could barely manage, but she pulled off her helmet in a salute as her tears flowed down her dirty cheeks. Her eyes locked with his for a brief moment and he nodded to her and smiled.

“Your team is busting at the seams Claire, let’s get you to the winner’s circle.”

Her favorite handler and his pony guided Runner to the incredulous faces of Jamie, Michael, and Jason. Claire tried to stop crying as they draped Runner in the garland of roses. Claire felt every moment like it was a sole event and smiled through her tears at the camera followed by a bank of cameras that flashed continuously. Runner was a stunning gentleman, watching the weird goings-on of the people all around him. He was telling them all that he was the fastest horse but only Claire heard him. She dropped her body down on his neck, “you are the greatest horse that ever lived.”

When Claire sat back in her saddle the reporters asked what she just said to the horse, making her laugh. When she slid into Jamie’s arms there were cameras flashing and questions shouted. As she hugged each man on her team the cameras caught it all. They were clamoring for her attention until she walked over to Runner and placed her cheek against his head so she could thank him. The reporters were suddenly quiet but the air around them flashed continuously and didn’t stop.

The reporters were pressing in making Claire feel like she couldn’t breathe. Jamie tried to steer her away, but she gave a look that said she was fine to stay. She just won the Kentucky Derby, after all, the first woman in history. She could stay for a while.

It was many interviews and hours later before they had Runner packed up and loaded into the trailer. Claire was so high she had trouble feeling her feet as she walked, and her smile looked as permanent as Jamie’s.

Jamie and Claire walked toward Runner’s wing and Jamie held her hand to make sure she didn’t get away. When they turned the corner a table had been set up next to the stalls and a crowd of people stood up and said surprise! One by one, her friends gave hugs and congratulations. Michael, Jason, the governor, racing commissioner, Molly, Lulu, Angus and Rupert. The people kept coming and Claire saw a blonde head at the end of the table sitting next to Molly. She kept watching that direction as she hugged more and more people. When the hugging stopped, Molly stood up and pulled the arm of the blonde until he stood up.

And there he was.

Dusty blushed crimson as he approached and hugged his dearest friend. Claire was completely overwhelmed by this and refused to let him go. It was a hug worth a whole year to both of them and Claire cried with happiness. Dusty shook hands with Jamie and the barn personnel he remembered, checking his watch every other minute. When they all sat down to eat a catered dinner arranged the night before by Jamie, Dusty was gone and Claire’s heart sank.

“Molly, where is Dustin?”

“He is coming right back, maybe thirty minutes. He has something important to do.”

Molly’s voice was relaxed and nonchalant, so Claire dropped it and fed her ravenous hunger stealing kisses from Jamie between bites. The governor and commissioner nibbled a bit and excused themselves from the party. Claire shook both their hands and with tears rolling down her cheeks, again, she thanked them from the bottom of her heart.

Returning to the table she had five minutes to relax before Dusty walked back in, holding the hand of a tiny girl with long blonde hair and big blue eyes. She was introduced as Dusty’s wife and Claire shot out of her chair to hug the stuffing out of her while Dusty laughed. It was quite a shock to everyone but Molly who had become Dusty’s dear friend over the hours and hours of phone calls. Molly knew Dusty’s story, from his heartbreaking love for Claire, through his lonely months at school when he wanted to quit, to his new found love. It was Molly who pulled him through and encouraged him to approach the girl named Summer.

Claire looked from Dusty to Summer with a brilliant smile. “You two look like shiny new pennies.”

“And they both have a 4.0!” Molly added.

After much food and drink the stories started and each of Claire’s good friends had something hilarious to tell, including Jamie who recounted Claire’s drunk phone call a very long time ago. Molly and Lulu were complicit with their giggling. Dustin told them all how he toppled Claire’s yoga position by honking his horn and had to speak to her cowboy boots when she did a headstand where she fell.

Claire watched Dustin talk, smile, and remember a day in their life together a long time ago. She was so proud of him and couldn’t wait to catch up on every single moment of his life during the past year. Deep down she knew, had always known, what kept him away and she was so happy he found such a perfect partner to share his life with.

The caterers were cleaning up and carrying everything to their van. On the last trip, they brought an enormous cake with sparklers all over it. Claire was crying again when she read “Kentucky Derby Winner” and below that, “1st woman in history.” She walked over to Runner and pressed her face into his neck, thanking him for making her a winner, just like he promised so many months before. She was seeing sugar cubes in her mind and laughed at his hopeful face before running to Jamie’s office to get handfuls for the most amazing horse that ever lived. Her best four-legged friend.