Evanescence: No More Dreams: It All Starts the Same
Countless explosions rock the ground three bruised and bleeding people are hiding upon. Screams and gunshots ring off, several of the bullets ricocheting off the tile of the small column a young redheaded woman is leaning against.
"Amii! What do we do now!?"
The woman glares at the two people across from her, the grenade launcher tight in her left hand, "Not much we can do! You got any grenades left Suki?"
The raven-haired woman frowns and holds up a small canister, "Just a smoker!"
Shit, curses the woman as she loads a grenade into the barrel, and then closes her treasured item.
"I've got a few…." mumbles the only male before her, then slides a bag toward Amii.
She grabs the bag, growls, and tosses the bag over her left shoulder, then propels herself out in the open, her sight set on the flying bag. Breathe in, breathe out, as the last bit of air leaves her red lips, she squeezes the trigger, days of fatigue suddenly disappearing in one true, peaceful moment.
THWUMP! The grenade flies from the barrel, connects with the bag, then all is silent and bright. The entire room shakes and is filled with a thundering string of explosions. When all the dust and debris clears, the three worn warriors are left standing, squatting, and prone on the top of the column.
"Stracener!"
Amii turns around, "What!?"
The entire room turns white, then fades away, revealing the entire scene was fake, a very disgruntled man in military green fatigues standing before them with crossed arms, "You almost destroyed our training compound with your bullshit hero-stuff!"
The slender redhead stands up, dusts her legs off, and growls, "Well, you didn't leave me much choice! Surrounded… Outgunned… What did you expect me to do? Wave the white flag and point out where I'm most vulnerable!?"
She has her dad's mentality, if the grenade launcher wasn't much of a clue. Everyone knows her as Little Miss Dusty, though no one really knows who Dusty is. He's kind of a lost dream among all the confusion of the virus. Only people that really remember him are Amii's mom and Aunt Trudie…. Or what's left of her…
Amii tries not to think about the shell of a woman Aunt Trudie has become… Too much has happened to her, to the people around her… The event that almost killed the woman is still fresh in her mind… Trudie and Aya were just walking down the street, talking about life, since Trudie went her own way several years back, when Amii was twelve. All of a sudden, a shot rings out, and Aya drops, blood covering Trudie's left side. A sniper got her, right above the heart, almost fatal. Trudie didn't talk for three months after that, and has only spoken in small sentences every now and then since the incident. They caught the guy, a gun-for-hire paid for by Umbrella... Guy got away scot-free, that is until Amii found him….
She shakes the bad memory from her head, her mom is okay, still kicking butt down at the shooting range every Friday and Tuesday, "What did you just say to me, woman?"
The man is dropped faster than anyone thought possible, the butt of her launcher shoved in his throat, "Leave me alone. We accomplished the mission… ALL NINE TIMES. We're tired, pissed, and fucking hungry... You got me?"
By this point, everyone on the other side of the observation glass is staring, a few laughing, but most of them are awe-struck. The temper that flows through her veins having been made from her mother and father, both of which no one wanted to piss off. Amii drops the worn guns and straps onto the ground, and then walks off in a huff, food is nearby, and she wants some.
11
"Hey 'Mii," calls Sukie as she walks up to the redhead.
Amii drops her fork and looks up, a weary smile on her lips, "Yeah, Salem?"
Salem is what she calls Sukie, though no one is sure why, "What was all that about? I mean, you just completely flipped and took out our superior!"
"He," the redhead smiles, "got off lucky… Hey, take a look over there... See that guy, and that girl WAY over there?"
Salem's eyes wander to the mentioned people, "Yeah?"
"They're going out…."
Salem's fork falls limp in her fingers, "What? They don't even like each other…"
"Heh, that," Amii smirks again, "is what they want you to think Salem…"
"Wow… Hey, what about those two?" green eyes follow the fork to the two mentioned people.
"Hmm…" Amii interlaces her fingers and stares at them, "Meh… I think they're just fuck-buddies…"
An approving noise comes from Salem's side of the table, and then a scream rakes across everyone in the kitchen. Amii jumps up and grabs the handgun from her holster, pointing it toward the noise, her left eyebrow raised in anticipation.
A rough hand is dropped on her foot, "Down girl," the man takes a step forward and screams, "THAT IS EEEENOUGH!"
The screams die down, the new recruit lying prone on the table with hot sauce poured into an open wound on his right forearm. He rolls around, then stops as Commander Brice steps up on the bench and drops a boot on his chest. His blonde hair is spiked up, his blue eyes cutting into the recruit's soul.
"Go. Wash. Now." the soldier quickly rolls off the table and runs out of the cafeteria, a few chiding laughs following him.
After the doors shut, a scowl drops down onto the Commander's face, "You three. My office, NOW!"
Looking like beaten puppies, the three older soldiers solemnly walk toward Brice's office, but not before Amii gets in a few choice words, "Going after smaller game after what I did to you eh?"
One of them lunges at the smaller woman, but she quickly ducks out of the way, then trips the soldier. With a grunt, he finds himself face-first in a pile of banana pudding and steak. An uproar of laughter shakes the room as the three soldiers walk out, Brice at their heels, chewing them apart verbally.
Amii sits down on her bench and smiles at Salem, "Always a fun day with me around, isn't it?" Salem just shakes her head and sits down, and then the two women eat in shared silence.
11
"GET…. UP!"
Amii's green eyes pop open, a snarl adorning her face, a snarl that means certain pain for someone in the near future. That feeling subsides when she sees that it is the other person that shares the room with her and Salem, Tawny Anderling. The male stands between the two women, his Mohawk just a little disheveled, a frantic expression on his face.
"Wha..? It's 4 in the morning… We got the night off…" Salem grumbles and rolls back over.
"No, this is serious… Amii, it's your mom..."
He is pushed up against the wall before he can finish, "What!? What about my mom!? Tell me!"
Tawny coughs and hands her a phone, "She wants to talk to you….."
The entire room dies down, six pairs of eyes on the device in Amii's worn hands, "Mom?"
"Amii! It's good to hear from you… Didn't think Brice would ever put me through…." Aya's voice instantly calms the younger woman.
Amii smiles and turns from Salem and Tawny, "Hi mom… How are things back home? Aunt Trudie still doing okay?"
The line is silent, causing a wave of worry to cascade over the younger female, her green eyes looking at her two friends for help. She receives none, but her worry is set aside as her mother picks back up.
"Sorry, was trying not to drop my sandwich… Took me a good half hour to find the cheese… Trudie is fine... She's sitting in the back watching the forums for new Umbrella information… She's actually gotten a lot better since you sent her that rifle… She's almost beat me once or twice…"
The young redhead smiles and laughs a little, "How many times has she gone up there? Five hundred times?"
Aya laughs back, "No... Just twice… And she almost beat me both times… I feel kind of ashamed…"
Both women share a laugh before the tone turns serious within a heartbeat, "So... Anything new to report about Umbrella's movements?"
The elder sighs and the sound of an old recliner creaking back fills the line, "No… Just the commercials for their new line of skin creams and hand sanitizers… Anything around the base being mentioned?"
Amii sighs just like her mom and prepares to lie, but Aya catches on, "Don't lie to me young lady. We've raised you better than that. Now, what has been said?"
"Yes ma'am... Sorry. Nothing has been said really... Just random commotion of why we're preparing to take down a company that has helped so many people… I can't believe Umbrella has been able to cover up almost every single outbreak. I mean it's insane that so many people are still oblivious to how evil this company is…"
The door silently closes, leaving Amii and her mom alone….
11
"So… How are things with you and Nick?"
Salem scoffs and flicks the hair from her face, "I don't know what they've been telling you, but he's my brother…."
Tawny proceeds to reply, but is stopped by a very good-looking woman walking past, "Hmm… Not bad…."
The male stops and stares at Salem, "Di… Did you just say that?"
The black-haired woman looks around and shrugs, "Oh no… Don't tell me you're THAT far out of the loop… My god Tawn…"
Salem chuckles to herself and continues down the hall, not believing that Tawny didn't know she was a lesbian… The raven-haired woman slowly shakes her head, adjusts her jacket, and steps outside, the warm breeze soothing compared to the cold interior of the base. The small courtyard the young woman found herself in is usually devoid of all life, but for some reason, a single girl is sitting on the solitary bench, her legs draped over the armrest. Combat boots adorn her feet, but that is about all that shows her connection to the base she is in. The straps are loose, just dangling limply, only slightly swaying in the breeze. Her black hair was at one point thrown back in two separate ponytails, but now the bands have stretched, looking more like her hair is just parted slightly. Black-rimmed glasses lay rested at the tip of her nose, her dark brown eyes reading a Psychology book.
Over the dim howl of the wind, a single line reaches Salem's perked ears, "So… That's why they think I'm insane?"
The woman smiles to herself and begins to approach the stranger; her usual nervousness gone as she finally comes into full view of the relaxed female, "Um… Hello."
Her brown eyes flash open, her head immediately jolting up, "Who are you?"
Salem looks around and points to herself, "I'm Salem…"
She is examined from head to toe, the other lady nodding in satisfaction at what she sees, "Take a seat. I've seen you with the obnoxious redhead yes?"
Salem nods and promptly sits down in the space that the newcomer's legs once rested in, "Yes... That's Amii... She may be loud and kind of mean, but she has a heart of gold... You'll love her once you get to know her. As long as you stay on her good side..."
An approving grunt as the woman turns another page, "My name is Ayla. Was transferred here from London two days ago… I was brought in to do psychological exams on everyone here... But I seem to be stuck on one person…"
Oh great… Salem worries, Maybe she's already found someone…
Her worries are cast aside as Ayla continues, "I still can't figure out how someone as bipolar as that Hampton Brice is still leading this base…."
Salem covers her mouth and giggles uncontrollably, a weird feeling crawling over her as she laughs. Both of them continue talking as the sun slowly begins to rise, neither really bored of the others company.
11
"Hey! There you are! Didn't think you'd ever show up for breakfast!"
Salem sits down, a smile on her lips that hasn't left, "What you smilin' about kiddo?"
She just smiles wider and says, "I've met someone finally!"
Amii drops her spoon into her soggy cereal and blinks, "You woke up 4 hours ago… You met someone that fast?"
She nods and holds up a small piece of paper that reads, "Ayla... Room 7 Wing Q… Holy sh… That's awesome Salem!"
Tawny continues eating, the headphones over his ears the reason for his lack of involvement in the conversation, "~yeah, you know the way I like it!~"
Both women stop and look over at him, then both begin to laugh loudly, "Oh my god! Was that a…? It was, wasn't it? Wow Tawny… That's… Wow…"
He takes the headphones off and replies, "What?"
Salem shakes her head, "Nothing!"
Amii agrees, "Nothing at all…"
Suddenly an unfamiliar voice cuts in, "You were singing a girly-song out loud."
Tawny's face turns beet red as he quickly picks up his tray and runs out the cafeteria, the three women now laughing.
"Ayla! So glad you could make it this morning!" Salem jumps up and motions for her friend to sit down with her.
Ayla drops down, a pair of green eyes locking with brown. Amii quickly examines Ayla, while Ayla promptly does the same with Amii. Both nod and grunt approvingly, then they both look at each other in disbelief.
"You have a problem with loyalty issues…."
Amii glares and her appearance darkens, "It runs in the family…" she turns to Salem, "So this is the lovely Ayla huh? You never told me she was so upfront….."
Salem just giggles and shrugs, "What can I say? At least she's honest…"
Amii nods and quickly offers her hand to Ayla, "I'm Amii Stracener. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Ayla nods and shakes her hand, "Same on this side of the table, but I'm just Ayla."
"Ah... No last name eh? Mystery woman…" all three laugh at the joke as the loud conversation of the cafeteria picks up again, their conversation lost amongst the hundreds of others.
11
"So… What is so special about her?" Amii slowly sips her slushy as she and Salem walk down the hall to their shared room.
Salem smiles and looks up at her friend, "I had never clicked in so instantly with somebody until I talked to her… She's really added a lot to me..."
The redhead smiles and nods, "My mom said the same thing happened to her and my dad when they met… That kind of attraction is rare y'know?"
Salem's smile widens and she begins to blush, "Quit it 'Mii…"
"What?" Amii laughs, "I'm serious... That Ayla is a keeper... Your mood has pretty much done a 180 since you met her! She's good for you!"
Both of the women laugh and close the door to their room, while across the hall, Tawny has some problems of his own….
11
"What do you mean you're not physically attracted to me? I thought we were doing so well?"
The woman on the other end of the phone sighs and replies, "Look Tawny... You're nice and all... I'm in love with your mind… But there's nothing there that I'm physically attracted to with you… I'm sorry…"
Tawny growls and closes his cell phone, "Bitch…."
11
"Yo! Tawny! How's it going?" Amii slides halfway into her seat at their usual table.
The male she was addressing just twirls his spoon through his cereal and grumbles.
A slender red eyebrow is raised at this, "What?"
"She left me Amii… She left me…" his sadness just drools onto the table and his breakfast.
"Oh my god! I'm so sorry Tawn! What happened?"
"She," he sighs and takes a bite of his toast, "told me I just wasn't what she was looking for... Nothing attracted her to me in person…."
"Bah!" Amii slams her palm on the table, "Who needs her? You'll find plenty other girls that'll find you perfect! Trust me!"
Tawny attempts at a smile, but his friend knows better, "Hah... You said that last time… When YOU broke up with me…"
Miss Stracener's heart sinks at the thought of that moment, it was horrible… Tawny really did start out like the perfect guy to her, but after a while, his personality just kind of changed on her... He became overly nosy and just wanted her to be with him at all times... Amii just can't handle someone like that... Maybe now she should tell him why they didn't work out?
Amii shakes her head slowly, "What? What are you shaking your head for?"
"Oh, nothing... Just thinking… Look Tawn… I'm sorry we didn't work out... But you just became too possessive of me… I felt like I had no life other than what you wanted me to do with you, you know? I'm sure that's what happened between you and her…" Amii attempts a small smile, then reaches out and places her hand on his.
"Thanks Amii... You seen the training schedule for today? We're first…."
"Yeah," something eats at the back of Amii's mind, "seems Brice wants us to show the rest of the base up huh?" that was not it.
End