2015: So I've noticed that people tend to look at my 1st chapter and then move on. If you're one of those people, please give it a chance and read on. There's quite a bit going on – from abductions, informants and experiments! This might sound desperate, but I like to think of it as selling it. After all you have very little indication of what's to come. Also, if you have been following my story, in the process of rewriting I have deleted old chapters so there's no confusion while reading - it killed me a little bit to delete them, but I did it…for the story! *unbridled sobbing* almost half a decade of views! Sorry for all the changes, but I hope you all stick around and enjoy it! *SOB*
Dec 1 2013 - Sorry everyone, I'm still working on this, it's not dead yet! But it might die if I don't get my butt moving
Chapter 1 - The Move
As an officer in the S.R.T forces, she had been exposed to a lot of traumatising things, but this time, everything was too close to home and the loss, heartbreak, and guilt was wearing her out. Some people still believed that her brother was the villain and didn't understand that in the end he was a victim as well. She knew she couldn't absolve him of what he'd done, but they were so quick to judge. It's not easy dealing with the aftermath of suddenly losing all your family and she wished he had turned to her after the Raccoon City tragedy instead of distancing himself. Maybe then he would still be alive and she wouldn't be completely alone right now. She had no family left and while her friends had been a great support, they had their own families to look after. She just…wanted to wipe the slate clean.
"A transfer?" repeated Jack. "Why now, after all these months have passed? I thought you were fine."
Angela Miller was standing in front of the Chief of the Special Response Team in Harvardville. She had pretended that she was coping, trying to fool herself into believing that everything was 'fine', but she hadn't succeeded. She had felt abandoned and bitter, inadequate. She couldn't help her brother and Leon, who she thought could relate to about her experience, didn't appear to share the same connection; she hadn't heard from him since he left and she wasn't sure which scenario she wanted to believe. She wanted to feel better, but she kept re-living that night, her brother's turning and then his horrible death. She was through with riding an emotional roller-coaster, with its highs and lows. She wanted things to be the way they used to be, when she at least knew Curtis was alive and she didn't keep wondering whether a man she barely knew was alive or not. So, she had stuck to her old routine believing that it would eventually stop feeling alien to her. The team had believed the act, but it wasn't working for her. It was her fault though for not letting them know how much she'd really been affected, but she couldn't seem to express how she felt inside. She didn't really seem to have words for all the emotions, or lack of, but sometimes it felt like she was sinking…or drowning.
"I've been an idiot all this time, Jack. Fooling myself into thinking that with how things had changed I needed a constant in my life. I followed the same patterns every day, but I didn't try to fix anything. I'm sick of going through the motions, but I need an escape from my thoughts and this place."
Jack wasn't expecting such a raw response from her and it had really surprised him since they had never really been on the best of terms. He didn't say anything for a while, just studied her as he tried to respond to her sincerely. She didn't look unwell, but she looked a bit tired. He had often thought she was spirited and passionate about her job and now, though she was still a hard worker, she was evidently lacking that spark she used to have before. In the end, even if he could think of something to make her feel better, he doubted that it would help coming from him, "Well, I know that you've been through a lot, but I assumed that since there haven't been any issues brought to my attention that you were coping alright. I guess we should have realised that perhaps you were acting…too normal considering. I'm sorry that things turned out this way Angela, but I hope you'll be able to make it through this difficult period; good officers are always in demand."
Angela was shocked to hear Jack's words. It was a compliment from the indifferent villain of their squad. Not many on her team had viewed him favourably as he had kept them on a short leash when they had undertaken extracurricular activities to uncover conspiracies related to WilPharma. As she had been unsure of what to say she looked at him a bit warily in silence as she contemplated what to say to the usually stoic man.
As the silence stretched Jack spoke up, "You don't have to look at me like that. I'm your commanding officer and it's my job to make sure you all stay safe. In my case that has included threats outside of the field, even though you lot never saw it that way. Remember that when you go chasing after a lead and I'm not there to protect you."
"I…Jack…" Angela had started to say, but he interrupted her as he started signing the papers in front of him.
"Say 'Hi' to Rick for me. And tell him, we can't all be lucky carefree bastards like him. Now get out of here Angela, you've been a pain in the butt, sticking your nose in where it shouldn't have been, but you were always an excellent officer and be sure to give Rick as much trouble as you did me," Jack added with a playful smile.
She and Jack had never gotten along, coming to heads with each other about the limit of her duties and so she was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of her meeting. "Thank you Jack and I'll be sure to give 'em hell." Shaking hands goodbye, Angela thought it was unfortunate that she and her teammates had misjudged their Chief. However, that would be a problem to rectify when she returned. For now, she was glad to have left on friendly terms with him and went on to make her farewells to the rest of her teammates. She was sad to be leaving them. After all, saving each other's asses so often in the field meant that they all had formed a special bond, one that she would miss while she was gone, but it would always be there. As she looked back at the S.R.T. building there was a sense of finality. She wasn't sure when she'd return to Harvardville and while she was initially anxious about moving to an unfamiliar place, the heavy feelings slowly started seeping away as she and her belongings got further away from her hometown. She felt a bit more hopeful about the future and a bit more excited about the unknown.
