"Oh don't be over dramatic. You're only going to Valhalla. It could be much worse, the last guy got sent to Lockout." Her sergeant soothed. "Or even worse, you could get sent to Blood Gulge. Be thankful you haven't been assigned there."

"I pray that that doesn't happen." Josi responded.

"Valhalla won't be that bad. Your team is one guy, Private Donut. How bad can a guy named after a dessert be? And they have a medic to help you out with any injuries and what not."

"I supposed it won't be that bad." She groaned.

"Yeah, that's the spirit. And the job comes with a nice promotion, corporal." He grinned at her. She rolled her eyes. "Oh, this is your stop." he said suddenly and then opened the cargo door to the ship and shoved her out.

"Oh shit!" She screamed as she fell towards the ground. With a thud she hit the ground and rolled over, she'd hit her bad arm and let out a winded sob. Her head now ached since she'd also managed to hit it on the ground as she "landed".

"This army is going to fucking give me brain damage." She rubbed her head through her helmet and got up out of the dirt. She clutched her half healed arm as it felt the pain of falling, walking into the base only to find no one was there.

"Oh, what the fuck? Knowing my luck he damn got himself kidnapped." She sighed. "Great, just great."

"Who's been kidnapped?" Someone asked from her flank.

"Agh!" She screamed, shocked and annoyed. She spun around and pointed her assault rifle at some stranger in purple armour. The safety was off and she was itching to pull the trigger.

"Don't shoot!" He cried out and threw his arms up in the air. "Sorry I startled you, please don't shoot."

"Who the hell are you?" Bentley asked rudely as she eyed him cautiously.

"Medical officer Frank DuFresne."

"So you're one of those pacifist guys who's on both sides, right?" She asked, not lowering her rifle.

"Uh, yeah. That's the gist." He said nervously, legs shaking.

"And if I put my gun down, you can't and won't hurt me, right?" She glared.

"Of course not!" He yelled. "Why would I attack you?"

"I've had a rough time lately, don't ask. Where's Private Donut?"

"Oh, Frankie? He's in our bungalow out front." The purple guy explained, I lowered my gun and put the safety back on. He seemed okay for now.

"You have a bungalow?" She raised an eyebrow, not that he could see through her visor.

"Yeah, and a thriving veggie patch. I'll have to show you." He enthused, leading her outside to show her and take her to Donut.

"In a few hours they're going to drop a jeep for me. Well Red team. Lets just hope they don't drop it like they dropped me."


"And this is my prize butternut pumpkin. They're much bigger this year than they were last." He stated proudly, showing off his prized vegetables.

"Yeah, you've done a lot." She commented, pretending to sound interested.

"Oh and you should see how well Frankie's hydrangeas are coming along." He went on to say. "I'll go grab him and we'll show you."

The purple medic rushed off back to the front of his bungalow and ducked inside it. Moments later he returned with a soldier dressed head to toe in pink, wearing a sunhat and carrying a metal watering can.

"Frankie, this is Corporal Bentley." The medic gestured to the unamused officer, who was now melting in the hot sun.

"Nice to meet you!" He said affectionately. "I'm Franklin Delano Donut, people just call me Donut for short."

"Corporal Josi Bentley." She shook his extended hand briefly. Then she was lead round the side of their little hut and through to back. Round the back of their accomodation was a little garden fenced off with white pickets. The grass was trimmed and green, the fence was surrounded by flowers and there was a little wooden table with two chairs sitting in the middle of it all. There was a path leading from the back gate into the garden and the back door to their home which was nice. The back windows had boxes attached where they'd been growing herbs. A lot of thought had clearly gone into this garden, which was impressive but with fuck all to do here it was hardly surprising.

The garden was decked out with mostly pink and purple hydrangeas and some deeper carnations. It was simple but still equally sweet. She wondered briefly if when she retired she would have a little house with a garden. Although with the over population which plagued the earth currently it was unlikely she'd end up anywhere close. She'd probably get a box apartment and have to share it with 4 other people if she was lucky. Although, now she was a corporal she may end up earning more. Maybe this had worked out in her favour after all.

The chopping sound of helicopter blades could be heard overhead causing the three to look up and see the pelican flying overhead, sending a hash wind through the garden. The warthog was hanging underneath and Bentley silently prayed it wouldn't be dropped like they did her, or worse, dropped on her.

"I guess the warthog is here." DuFrense commented, stating the obvious.

"Thanks Doc, real helpful." She responded bitterly.

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" He asked, ignoring her sarcasm for the moment.

"Well you are aren't you?" She replied, walking back around to the front of the bungalow, heading over to the front of Red Base.

"No, I'm a medic. Doctors help people, I make people more comfortable while they die." He explained.

"Thank you, I'm glad you explained that, I feel so much more comfortable now. What a weight off my chest."

"You know sarcasm is the lowest form of wit." Doc rebutted.

"People only say that when they can't think of a comeback." Bentley retorted, watching them ease the warthog down to the ground. When the Warthog was safely on the ground a guy jumped out to unhook the vehicle. The pelican landed off to the side when he had finished while he recorded some information on his clipboard.

"Corporal Bentley?" He asked, looking up at the group of garishly dressed soldiers.

"Yeah?" She stepped forward a little, crossing her arms.

"Then this is for you." He reached into the pelican to pull out a small crate. She looked at Donut and jerked her head towards the box.

"Thanks." She told him as he handed over the package and climbed into his ride home. 'Bastard.' She thought.


"So what do you think's in it?" Donut asked as Bentley sat down on the sofa, putting her feet up on the coffee table.

"Not a clue." She replied honestly as he picked up her feet and slid some kind of cloth under them.

"Didn't your mother teach you not to put your feet on the table?" He asked, tutting at her.

"My mother was a little busy working the streets to pay the bills." Bentley folded her arms across her chest and glared off to the side.

"Sorry, I didn't know." He apologised, sitting beside her. "Don't you at least want to open it?"

"Nope. Not after the week I've had. I can't take any more surprises." She responded, taking a sip out of the mug she'd been holding.

"What if it's something really nice?" He argued.

"Then it can be a pleasant surprise for later. I'm not opening it." She stood her ground, not feeling like doing anything right now but here she was talking to Pinkie Pie over here.

"Oh come on~" He coaxed.

"For god's sake Donut!" She let out a frustrated huff. "If it makes you fucking happy, you fucking open it."

"Oh, uh, sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Just open it," She sighed. He nodded, getting up to fetch a crowbar. Just as he left, Doc wandered in and she let out a deep sigh. No rest for a the wicked.

"So~ How are you settling in?" He asked enthusiastically.

"Fine." She ground her teeth together. She was going to kill someone. Donut returned with the crowbar and shover the thin end in-between the lid and the sides. He pried it open and coughed a little as dust flew off the top. The container was filled with shredded paper and bubblewrap and you couldn't see anything else inside.

"Perfect, we can use the paper as compost in the garden. We'll just need to soak it in some water from the lake and put it out there on the garden beds." Doc enthused, hands coming together in a clap.

"And we can use the bubblewrap to pass time." Donut added.

"I'm pretty sure the UNSC did not just send me a crate full of paper and bubblewrap." Bentley got up off the couch and walked over to the crate. She dug through the stuffing, throwing paper everywhere. Eventually she uncovered a suit of armour and new under armour on top of another layer of paper and bubblewrap. There was also a small silver box inside tied with a ribbon. She pulled that out and looked at the tag hanging off of it.

'Shit.' She breathed.

"Oooh, what's that?" Donut asked, spotting the gift in her hand.

"Uhh, I don't know. I haven't opened it yet." Her heart was beginning to race.

"Well what does the card say?" He replied. She wondered for a moment if she should tell them, after all it was highly unlikely they knew anything about him, where was the harm?

"Use wisely, with love from Wyoming." She said after a pregnant pause.

"What?" Donut asked sinisterly, sounding deeper than she'd heard him speak the whole time she'd been here. He stood up, looking very angry.

"I thought Wyoming was dead?" Doc commented sliding out of the direct path to Bentley.

"He can't be, I only saw him a while back." Bentley answered, eyes on Donut.

"How do you know Wyoming." Donut demanded, striding over closer to her.

"None of your fucking business." Bentley snarled in response, standing up in a wide offensive stance.

"Oh yes it is." Donut shot back, poking her chest for every word said. She grabbed the top of his chest plate in a flash of anger, tugging him towards her and using her foot to pull his leg out from beneath him. He was on his knees in front of her, and she was leaning over him, lip curled with rage.

"All you need to know, Mrs Nesbitt, is that he is still fucking alive and in the short time I knew him he put me through hell. Now, you're not going to ask anymore fucking questions and I don't have to answer you anything. From now on you're going to sit down, shut up and stay the fuck out of my way." She growled at him. "Do I make myself clear, Private?"

"Crystal." He replied as she stormed off out of the room, grabbing the silver box on her way.


Bentley ran the box over in her hands, sliding her fingertips over the soft ribbon. She kept thinking about what the card had said. 'With love from Wyoming' what a sicko. 'Use wisely' use what wisely? She would only know when she opened the damn box.

It was late evening now and she'd changed into some cotton shorts and a tank top. She ran her curly hair through her fingers and sighed. She couldn't open the box. If she did, she wouldn't know what do do with what she found. Also, who's to say Wyoming wasn't completely nuts and it was some explosive packaging he'd sent her just for fun? Who's to say that he didn't just send her an empty box to terrorise and fuck with her until she actually decided to open it.

"I'm not going to open it." She said aloud to herself and then climbed into her cot. "I'm not."