Aces P.O.V
The old mining factory
I woke from my sleep. I was still on the bench and half the bread loaf was still in my lap Hero was licking my hand. I moved it from his grasp.
I checked my fob watch that had held on an old silver chain around my neck inside was a photo of my parents usually I never looked at it because I was always admiring the tune it played when you opened it. I had been asleep for three hours without realising it. I noticed a blanket had been on me without waking me up I knew who had done it.
"HERA!" I yelled Hera came around the corner her curly blonde hair went down her back like mine, her cheeks were rosy and her face was beautiful but had a sort of tough look on it and her light green eyes I wondered how she would do as a soldier if this beauty was noticed by others.
"Hey your awake how are you?" she sat down near my feet.
"Fine, just wondering, how you are doing?" I was trying to put off her request as long as possible.
"Great I can't wait till the storm outside ends, you were lucky to get in when you did; it came thirty minutes after you got inside. Man when I get out of here, remind me to ask you something" I knew where this was going and I knew I was going to lose.
"Hera, your mother asked me something about you and your twin brother wanting to join COG and wanting me, to escort you two there, is this what you want?" her eyes locked with mine and they turned bright green.
"Yes I do! Please! I really want this. Michael and I have been talking about this since we first met you ten years ago. Please Aces! We really want this!" she begged
"If I say yes and this is if, to this you have to promise me, before we get to Jacinto you will take some lessons on survival along with Michael and I have to give you them" I said firmly from the smile on my face she knew what I was saying.
"OH YES! OH YES! THANK-YOU! THANK-YOU" She screamed out loud. "Calm down" I said clutching my chest she had literally scared me then. She pulled me up and hugged me to death, "What is all the fuss about?" Michael and Sally came out from the stall they had heard the screaming then.
"Aces said yes! Michael we can go!" Sally smiled at me.
"What? I knew I was going to lose anyway" I asked.
"Michael did the same thing to me as well, so I guess, it is ok when do you want to leave?" Jeremy came over and Hera gave him the short version of what was going on.
"Two days no more and no less than that the journey will take us all week and I suggest they pack really warm gear" Hero wolfed happily as I said this we all laughed.
Two Days Later…
"Come on you two walk slower than a bunch of dislocated turtles hurry up!" I waved behind me.
Hera and Michael were still tired they had never gotten up early and were a couple metres behind me. Hero stayed behind Hera nudging her along to make sure she stayed awake.
We had walked at least twenty kilometres and they were complaining about being up on a mountain! I pulled out the watch again and started to fiddle with it. I still had my clothes on I had been wearing three days ago except I had changed my white tank top to a black one and my black jacket was left unzipped I had put my hair into a ponytail but my fringe still went down my face.
A noise caught my attention gunfire, pulling out my gun I reacted instinctively.
I yelled "kids get down right now!" we were way up and had heaps of cover I walked to the edge crouching. Down below was a group of gears they probably fired the shot and were probably drunk.
"Wow! Are they actual Gear soldiers?" Michael asked, I nodded and peeked closer to see who had fired but none of them had their weapons drawn, they hadn't shot it and we certainly hadn't. I saw something behind them the name was in my head immediately. Grubs, they wouldn't see it not if they looked right away.
"Kids take these, stay here, fire at the big ugly things and please don't miss and hit me or the soldiers!" I said passing them two spare riffles I had taken.
I never thought of using them for this only to show the kids how to survive by hunting game in the woods.
"What are you doing?" Hera asked.
"Saving, their fucking lives!" I jump off the road and slid down the mountain as fast as I could.
Pulling my gun up to eye level looking down the barrel and at a grub that was behind one of them wearing goggles they had blonde hair like my brother.
Pulling the trigger again another one dropped dead the gears faced me obviously they had seen my shot go past them.
"Behind you" I yelled doing the same thing as last time. These guys pulled out their lancers taking down as many as possible.
I was so busy trying to stop the drones from attacking the gears; I didn't see the one that had come up behind me. I felt a knife scratch down the side my front and hip. One of the gears heard my scream and shot it down; barely able to stand I kept pulling the trigger until the attack was finished.
One of the soldiers came up to me. "Are you ok Miss? Answer me. Are you ok?"
"I am fine" I said. Placing the rifle over my shoulder, I started walking away from them back up the mountain.
"No you're not blood is everywhere on your hands. Let me help you?" he said.
"You can help by leaving me, alone oh by the way you need to practise your aim and thank you" I responded.
"For what?" another asked he was tall like the others except he was very dark.
"Giving me a reason not to leave your asses to the grubs and also I had to take my anger out on something they seemed like a good enough punching bag"
Still going up the hill I whistled out loud "Hera! Michael! Get your butts into gear we have to go back" I yelled out.
They slid down the mountains towards me "Why?" they both asked at once.
"Storm is coming and we can't outrun it so we have to go back and you guys will have to wait, sorry" I said.
They both were going to give me back the rifles but I decided otherwise.
"Keep them. You did well, but I am going to have to teach you properly with time" I demonstrated how to hold it without firing it at someone.
"Lady, you didn't tell us your name" one of them called.
"I didn't tell you and it's Aces" I turned to face them, there were two women and six men in the group.
"Aces as in, little Aces last time I saw you, you were fifteen. The only female hunter of Rasenti to be under twenty and take down an entire lambent patrol by herself." a man said.
"Dizzy, is that you?" I asked slinging my bag over my shoulder that I had given to Hera before sliding down the hill.
"You do remember me, girl for a second I thought you had forgotten" he gave me a hug.
"Wait a second! What are you doing out here? With those guys?" I asked nodding to the people he was with.
"I work with them young lady. And what are you doing out here exactly?" he said acting like a jack-ass.
"I can see that, I have to go back to the trade factory, I was out here on a hunting trip. A storm is coming and I don't want to be in it. How about you? Where are you going?" I asked.
"That's unbelievable. I am heading back to Rasenti as well for investigations on Grub attacks, and stop acting so tough" he said smartly.
I rolled my eyes "Dizzy I am not a little girl anymore you know that and I don't act tough. Remember what they said about me back at Angelo. I am not tough, I am just a plain bitch when I want to be" I said. We both started laughing.
"Who is this?" the blonde guy asked.
"Ok introductions. Aces this is Delta squad a bunch of crazy wack jobs and Delta Squad this is Aces, the best female hunter I will probably ever know that still acts her age" Dizzy smiled at that.
"Ok Dizzy, say goodbye to your friend. We need to get going" one of them said, he was wearing a black bandana and regular COG armour I guess he was leader.
"As do we that storm is going to hit soon and I don't want these two in it" I said nodding to Hera and Michael.
"There is a storm coming? Aces if there is a storm and you're in it you're going to get yourself killed at the temperatures. Especially in these areas" Dizzy said.
"What do you mean temperatures?" the leader asked.
"The temperatures here can kill you. It can get that cold so you don't want to be here when that happens. Aces this is Marcus Fenix by the way" Dizzy explained
"Hi. I can make it. I have been in worse and you know it. And it's these two I am worried about. I have to go, see you soon if you are In Rasenti drop bye at the factory I'll probably be with the others" I said waving behind me and dragging the teenagers along and calling to Hero who had been jumping up one of the soldiers.
"She seems nice" one of them said.
I laughed.