A/N: Well it was quite a shock to me that, that many people reviewed the other one. So, in thanks of those people, here's another one. I might've strayed off a bit for this one, but it's kind of hard to express the feelings they have in the Bullet Witch atmosphere. And the ending's a little off because I just lost it. Anyways, thank you all again!
The explosion went off in all directions. Pieces of debris shot hundreds of feet into the air, with a mushroom cloud of dark smoke to finish it off. What was left of the building was only an empty shell of collapsed bricks and burning interior. The initial explosion went off by the gas barrels, which exploded up and outward, destroying everything within a hundred yard ratio. The air was filled with suffocating smoke and clouds of it clotted together to form an impenetrable wall of sight.
Alicia groaned and slowly picked herself up from the gravel. Her fingers gingerly touched the small burns on her left arm. The skin was red and sore, but aside from a first degree, there was nothing else to worry for other than small scrapes from the gravel landing. She picked up her gunrod from nearby and slowly got to her feet. She had used the ancient wall just beforehand to take the initial hit; it left her slightly protected but left Maxwell and his team open to the explosions.
I think we have bigger problems than just about your 'boyfriend'.
His voice was sarcastic at the end, but she took hint of his forewarning. Her dark eyes darted around her, and spotted the fire ring that surrounded her on all sides. She had blocked the main explosion but that didn't keep her from the ground zero of it. A wrecked wall laid in bricks behind her, while the remains of the gas barrels were to her front. Both her right and left sides were covered in flames, providing no way out without injury.
Shame you don't know any water spells.
Her mind wasn't focused on water, or any plans on escaping the death ring. All she could think of was the fire. The smoke clouding around her and practically draining the air from her lips. She turned around in a semi circle, focusing just on the large flames that seemed to burst free from the ground. The burning smell of Geist bodies in the fire didn't catch her attention. She turned back to the front, and focused just on the fire before her.
Alicia?
She closed her eyes and the fire disappeared. Instead, before her was the folded, pale-tan tray put back in place at the stewardess' orders. The Navy-blue thread of the seat in front of her was darkened in some areas from stains and multiple drink spillages. The narrow aisles were filled with stewardesses running back and forth trying to calm some people down. Her hands held tight to her seat arms, trying not to look as worried as she felt. It was just minor engine problems, one stewardesses assured, nothing to worry about everything's fine. That's when a loud crack came as the right wing exploded into flames. People were screaming all over the place, jumping up from their seats despite the stewardesses' orders. Her heart quickened and she felt her breathing follow shortly after. Another pop came towards the back of the plane, causing only more screams. When she looked over her shoulder, all she could see were more flames coming from the back. Oxygen masks dropped down from the ceiling compartment as the plane dropped sharply and angled downward, causing several stewardesses to fall down the aisles. Everyone was screaming so loudly, she couldn't even tell if her voice was one of them.
"Everyone please strap in!" the captain shouted over the intercom. "We'll be making an emergency landing, please be…oh God…we're all going to die."
There was a crack as the plane shattered upon impact with the water's surface. She looked up in time to see everything fall apart. The last thing she saw, was more fire.
"Oh my God…oh Jesus," Maxwell groaned, his hands to his face as he rolled onto his back. His whole body was in pain from the being thrown back from the explosion. Dropping his arms to the side, he coughed several times to ease his burning lungs before looking up with blurry vision. "Oh my God, that hurt like a son of a bitch."
"Look at that place," he looked over as one of his soldiers, Jackson, got up from where he had been thrown. His temple was bleeding profusely but the only thing that man could focus on was the burning hellhole in front of them. "That place went quick."
"At least we weren't inside," Maxwell reminded, as he slowly got to his feet. Feeling pain explode from every bone and joint. He groaned and rubbed his lower back before retrieving his gun from nearby. "Is everyone okay?"
"I'm here," Jackson spoke, looking around. "There's two more over there, and one up on that hill. So counting the two of us, there's all five."
"We came with six," Maxwell corrected, as he rubbed the side of his head, finding another bloody spot. His arms were red from the heat and his armor scorched some from the flames. "Where's Alicia?" he glanced in both directions trying to find an extra figure among the debris.
"Maxwell! We got a downed soldier!"
"Jackson, go do what you can," Maxwell ordered. "And if he needs more critical help, you take him out of here without a second thought, you got me?"
"Yes sir," he nodded as he started over to the downed man. "I doubt any Geist made it out of there, but just watch yourself."
"Will do," Maxwell replied, as he took off to his left. If Alicia was caught in the blast, which she most likely was, she would've landed somewhere near them. But he couldn't find her anywhere. He stopped and focused on trying to remember the moments before. They were battling some Geist near a gas station when a stray bullet struck a group of gas barrels. Then the scene ended with a huge explosions and some minor hearing loss. So that didn't help him much. "Okay…okay, let's see, I was standing over there shooting and Alicia…she managed to get closer. Which means she was near the building…" he muttered, circling around the fire's reach. Could she had gone through the building instead? And then emerged on the other side? No, that would've been too harsh, even for her. He picked up into a small trot and went around to the other side of the building, where only half a wall remained. Everything inside of the store had been obliterated in the blast. Nothing remained.
Where was she?
He turned to go back to searching the high grass but stopped upon noticing a small clearing in the flames. And inside that clearing, stood a dark figure. "Alicia…" he whispered to himself, walking a few more paces to get a better view. Sure enough, he spotted her gunrod. "Alicia!" he called, watching as she didn't even look to him. "Alicia!" nothing. No response. "What…what are you doing?" she never answered him or even looked in his direction.
Shaking his head, he looked around before shaking his head. He had to go in there and get her. There was no way in hell he was going to let her stay in there and die of heat exposure, suffocation, or let her burn. He dropped his gun before working at removing his shoulder armor. Letting it hit the ground with a metallic ding, he prepared himself before running forward. One arm went over his face as he dashed through the wall of flames, doing his best to ignore the burnings. He nearly tripped over several items, but caught his footing just beforehand.
"Alicia," he panted, after getting to the small clearing. He didn't waste a moment before grabbing her around the waist and dragging her back the way he just came. Using his body to cover as much of hers as he could, he raced back through the flames and pulled the both of them to a safer area. Emerging to the other side, he stumbled slightly before collapsing to the ground. He made sure to take the fall before rolling away from where he had set the woman down. Flames covered his right arm and he quickly tried to smother them against the dirt patches that spotted the ground. Eventually they died down enough for him to quickly strip off his shirt, which was on fire as well. Using the burned material to help smother any other flames, he fell back against the ground and only stared up at the dark sky above him.
His lungs felt like they were on fire and his eyes were watering like mad. Groaning, he carefully tended to the burn marks running down his right arm. The slightest touch caused his flesh to peel back and fall to the ground in black pieces. For the most part, it felt numb, then again that could be the product of some minor head damage. Small burn marks raced across his broad chest as well, scorching the flesh black.
"Officially, the dumbest thing I've ever done," he muttered, as he slowly got up. He looked over at the unconscious woman a few feet from him. But completely worth it… Moving over, he knelt down beside her and took her into his not-as-injured arm. "Alicia?" he called, gently patting her cheek. Aside from a few scrapes and red marks, she was completely unharmed. "Alicia?"
She didn't respond, but her dark eyes shot open. It caught him off-guard and he made a light gasping sound from the back of his throat. She sat up from his arm and continued to stare at the flaming wreckage in front of them.
He waited a moment for her before continuing. "You okay?"
"In mid-flight, one of the wings exploded," she whispered, never turning to look at him. "People were screaming and going insane over it. Then, the tail burst into flames or maybe the plane just snapped right in half, I don't know. Everything happened so fast." she paused for a moment. "The plane dropped out of nowhere and went nose first into the ocean…the last thing I remember, was the fire."
Now he understood. Unable to stop himself, he pulled her into his arms and held her there for several moments. Her hands curled to the back of his shoulders and she rested her head in the curve of his shoulder. Her reaction surprised him a bit, but he wasn't going to spend the moment in shock. "I'm sorry for what you had to go through…how you had to die like that…but you're here now. And that's all that matters."
She remained silent but he felt her fingers slightly curl against his shoulders. As long as she was safe and alive…there was nothing more he could wish for.
"Maxwell!" someone shouted. "Maxwell!"
The two separated quickly. He chuckled lightly before slowly getting to his weak legs. "Yeah, we're over here!"
"You found her then?" Jackson called before coming into view. He quickly trotted over to the two just as Maxwell was helping Alicia to her feet. "And did you just somehow managed to lose your shirt from between those two points?"
"Yeah, real tragedy," Maxwell shrugged with a grin. "The fire got it and I wasn't really going to fight back. Besides, I think I look much better this way."
"Yeah well, let's put it to a vote," Jackson chuckled with a shake of his head. "Looks like most of us are just suffering from the same injures. Scrapes, burns, cuts, more burns and the such. Except Butch, he cracked open the back of his head by landing on a rock. He'll be fine though, just a few stitches and a lot of pain killers."
"Well, at least we didn't lose anyone," Maxwell sighed, as he ran a hand through his bloodied hair. "I think it's time to call it a day."
"Agreed," Jackson nodded. "I got Marilyn calling in for some road assistance, so a vehicle will be here soon to pick us up."
"Thank God, because I don't think I can make that walk back," Maxwell spoke.
"You uh, you got some blood coming off your arm there," Jackson noted.
"It's not that bad," he started before noticing the blood droplets running of his fingertips. His whole right arm was dressed in red as it spilt loose from the long burns. "Well it wasn't that bad when I looked at it the first time."
"You want me to-"
"Nah, I'll wait till we get to the base," Maxwell shrugged. "It's just a little blood."
"Still, I could wrap it up till we get there," Jackson continued. "I just don't want you bleeding all over the place and passing out."
"Maxwell, just do it," Alicia spoke.
"Alright, fine," he gave in. "Just because everyone's apparently ganging up on me now."
"Stop lying man," Jackson chuckled, as he pulled out a new roll of gauze from his medical pouch. "We all know you can't say no to her."
"You never know when to shut your mouth, do you?"
Alicia sat back against the worn leather of the abandoned couch the team had 'borrowed'. Most of the time the group spent only a week or so in one town clearing out the Geist and helping the survivors get back on their feet. But this time, they had fortified an entire office building and was using it as their sort of HQ. She recalled overhearing some of them talking about waiting for reinforcements but she couldn't say if that was the exact reason why. Either way, it gave everyone some time to relax and not worry about traveling dangerous roads between cities.
"This seat taken?"
She looked up at the voice and noticed Maxwell standing at the other end of the couch. His chest was wrapped up in a light layer of gauze while his right arm was tightly covered in thicker material. There were small red marks on his face, and some black soot from the smoke that would remain for a few more hours.
Shrugging lightly, she turned her eyes back to the dark sky outside. "Knock yourself out."
"I wish," he chuckled, as he eased himself down on the couch. Wincing slightly at the contact against his wounds, before slowly giving it into soft leather. "Well, I won't be moving for awhile."
She watched as he slumped down slightly against the cushions. "That was a stupid thing you did back there."
"Yeah, believe me, I know," he replied, running a hand through his hair. "But I'd do again in a heartbeat."
"I never thanked you for it though."
"Well I kind of figured it would go to balancing the scales of how many times you've saved my ass too." Maxwell remarked. "Although I'm still down by what, like twenty rescues."
She shook her head and subconsciously rested one of her hands over his own. "I would've been burnt to ashes if it hadn't been for you. I don't understand why…, why it's now coming out. Why the memories I still have are showing up now?"
"Maybe it's just a way of reminding you that you're still human," he commented. "No matter how much you deny it."
She remained silent for a moment, and continued to stare out of the large window before them. "Darkness suggested that it's because of my father's recent death that everything's coming back to me."
"That too," Maxwell nodded, although he tried to avoid the subject to keep from upsetting her. Although she proclaimed that she had lost all feelings and emotions of human beings, he could still recognize the look of hurt in her dark eyes. "But hey, at least it didn't turn out like the Salem Witch trails, right?" he watched as she ducked her head slightly. "Ooh, too soon?"
When she looked back up, he caught the small remains of a smile. "That was in England, not the colonies."
"It's been like twenty years since I last had a history class, okay," he replied. "Plus I think my brain got fried for a bit back at the gas station." he sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "I think Marilyn said something about watching a movie tonight, you wanna watch it?"
"I think I'll just stay up here," she answered.
"Yeah, I don't think I'll be moving from this spot any time soon," Maxwell remarked. "My skin might've just melted back onto this leather."
"Can you feel anything?" Alicia questioned.
"Not really, but can't really move that well either," he replied. "And that burn ointment Jackson put on my arm smells like a dead body after three days in the desert lying in the only oasis."
"I'm guessing you have experience like that."
He shrugged. "I've seen my fair share of combat. Not exactly anything like that, but I can only imagine that as the closest reference."
"Well it's quite a work of your imagination," she noted.
"Thanks, I'll be here all night." he chuckled. He looked out of the dirt-smeared window and into the blinding darkness outside. The outline of a few buildings could be seen but other than that, there were no leading details. "So, what was it like being in that plane knowing well you wouldn't survive the crash?"
Alicia sighed silently and rummaged through her thoughts and memories. "You remember when we were on that plane when it got attacked and one of the engines took a hit?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "It was by some skinless, whale looking thing."
"It was kind of like that, only more fire, a crash into the ocean and everyone died in the end," she finished. "And more screaming."
"Well I'm not sure if anything could beat Butch screaming and cursing, but I'll take your word for it," he replied. "I've never had a near-death experience, so I can't really say for sure how it would feel. Well, an experience before all hell broke loose."
"Literally."
He laughed at her addition and noticed another light smile on her lips. "Oh, what was that?"
"Something I just remembered," she answered, brushing away a stray bang. "But you should really get some rest, you know."
"Why is it every time I'm making progress here, you change the subject?" Maxwell asked with a light groan.
"It's just easier that way," Alicia answered.
"What makes you think I like it easy?" he returned before waiting a moment. "That came out sounding a lot weirder than expected. Should've kept that one in my head."
"You're just a simple man, Maxwell," she remarked.
"And you're a complicated woman, Alicia," he replied. "But what the hell, we make quite a pair…On the battlefield! I meant, we make a perfect pair on the battlefield."
She shook her head and moved her hand to his shoulder. "You try too hard Maxwell."
"Well at least I make a decent attempt, right?" he chuckled. "Or at least by some standards."
"You're doing fine." she assured.
"Is that a yes, or a no?"
"That's a 'you're doing fine, don't push it,'" she replied.
A/N: Yeah I haven't been able to play Bullet Witch in awhile, so I can't remember if it tells specifically how she died or not. I know the plane crashed though. Also, the whole thing about the Salen Witch thing, was that 'witches' were mainly burned in England, not in the US colonies. Just in case it confused anyone.