After spending some time on the range and doing timed maneuvers we head back to the garage, and I pull Kay aside for a word.
"Kay, I don't even know if the orphanage will allow me to do this, I'm pretty much using all my freedom just coming here on weekends to help with maintenance." I keep my voice low, as to not let the others hear.
"Oh…" Kay slumps her shoulders, dropping her usual carefree attitude for a moment before it's back, and she's got that dangerous gleam in her eyes. "Well I guess we'll just have to come in and spread some democracy eh?"
I roll my eyes at the bad joke and sigh. "And what do you mean by that?"
Kay gives me a wry smile. "Well, I've always wanted a sister who's roughly the same age."
"Y-you mean it? Like, you really mean that?" I stammer, my heart having jumped into my throat.
"Of course! Why would I joke about something like that?"
I don't know why, but the tears I'd been holding back for months on end start to flow, streaking down my face and dripping off my chin.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Kay puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and I wipe my eyes with my forearm.
"Nothing's wrong, things couldn't be more right! I could kiss you right now, I'm so happy!"
I rush forward and hug Kay tightly, catching her off guard for a second before she returns the hug.
I step back after a few seconds, giving a sniffle while wiping my eyes again. Then I wince and lean against a table for support. "Ow, okay, maybe things could be a little better. If only this damn pain would go away."
"You want some ibuprofen?"
I shake my head. "No, it's not that kind of pain. It's a phantom pain, I've got a prescription I take every morning, but I was in such a rush this morning that I forgot to take it."
"Oh, you want me to take you to the orphanage so you can get some relief?"
I grit my teeth and nod, the pain is getting worse by the second, making it feel like what's left of my leg is on fire.
"Arisa! Pull around the jeep on the double!" Kay yells across the garage at the office overlooking the garage from the second floor.
I see Arisa jump up, run down the stairs, then out of the building, followed by the sound of a jeep starting up outside.
Pushing myself off the table I start walking towards the open bay door, with a little assistance from Kay, who insists on having me lean on her. I wave goodbye to my crew, who all are crawling over the Panther, doing after-mission maintenance.
They all happily wave back, yelling words of praise towards my performance today.
I limp out to the jeep, where Arisa sits in the back, behind the driver's seat, and I climb into the passenger seat, letting Kay drive.
We arrive at the orphanage only three minutes later, to find that the gate is closed. While Kay is wondering how we're going to get in, I climb out and sprint at the wall, jumping last-second and pulling myself over before walking to the gate and unlocking it, since the caretaker likes to put the padlock on the inside.
The gates are swung open, and Kay parks the jeep in the driveway before following me up the front steps. When I open the door I find Miss Ratched waiting for me, her expression makes me shiver, because she is pissed, until she sees Kay that is.
"Oh, well hello Kay! What brings the sensha-do team president here?"
I politely brush past her and head upstairs to the girls room, where four beds and a surplus cot sit lined up on a wall. I walk to the end and open up my footlocker, quickly grabbing the bottle of pills and dumping two into my palm. Without any water I just swallow them dry, capping and tossing the bottle back into my footlocker before closing the lid and locking the padlock.
I've actually got four footlockers, but the one at the foot of my bed is the only one I lock, because it holds all my valuables, including medications, my laptop, and what little money I have. The other three are organized under my bed, holding my clothes in accordance to how I sleep, so my bras and shirts are closest to the the head, while the next one holds my undergarments and jeans, and then my socks and an extra prosthetic in the last one. It takes up a lot of space under my bed, but I don't have to mess around trying to find what I'm looking for, I just grab the metal handle, flip the lid open, and everything is right there instead of being in a drawer. I've got my idea of efficiency, you've got yours.
I can feel someone watching me while I spin the tumbler on the padlock, and look over my shoulder to find Arisa leaning on the door jamb, a smile on her face.
"You're really military-oriented aren't you? I mean, basically everything in your corner is surplus."
I smile and nod, standing up and waving her in while I wait for the medication to kick in. "Yeah, I'm pretty rough on things when I'm in a hurry, I ended up 'accidentally' breaking the dresser they gave me, so before they could get me another one I went out and bought some footlockers. It's just more conservative on space, and I know for certain where everything is. Plus if someone ever decides to adopt me I can just pack my cot, carry these out, and I'm ready to go."
"That's…actually really smart. Y'know, Kay is talking to the administration about adopting you. She's really excited about it, and from what she told me you're gonna be the official crew of that Panther. She showed me some footage of you running the time trials, and I'll say that I am really impressed, nobody's ever gotten times like that, not even Kay."
I sit down on my messy bed, in my rush this morning I didn't make it, so my covers are kinda haphazardly thrown towards the wall. "I guess video games do transfer over to real life sometimes."
"Really? With how you did I'd guess you'd done sensha-do before. You were flawless in micromanaging your crew, and some of those shots on the move surprised everyone, even Naomi."
I giggle a little, now the medication has finally started to work its magic, and the pain slowly fades away. "I play a ton of military sims, some more realistic than others, so I've learned to micromanage. And those shots were a technique that I learned from a tank sim, though it was my gunner that made it possible."
Arisa sits down beside me, wearing that same cocky smile she has when she's commanding her crew. "Care to show me what you play? I think Kay is probably going to be awhile."
I look at my digital watch momentarily.
The time reads 1636.
"Hmmm…I suppose. The guys should be online right about now."
Two hours after I took my medication and Arisa got interested in my collection of games on my computer we still sit on my bed, my laptop placed on three footlockers stacked in a pyramid to raise it up to our level. Arisa is at the controls, playing Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead with the I44 mod.
Through the speakers ring out the voices of some online friends from the U.S.A, mostly talking trash with some tactics mixed in while they play some PvP in tanks.
My headset sits on my head, with only the microphone plugged in so Arisa can hear and communicate too.
"Woah! Panther left!" One of them yells as the lead Cromwell in the column blows up, accompanied by a groan from the commander. It came to no surprise to me when Arisa chose the M4A3(76)W HVSS as her tank of choice, rather than taking something a little faster like a Cromwell, like the other three vehicles in the column.
Another Cromwell detonates before Arisa spots the Panther and directs the gunner onto the target and he fires. The shell hits dead on, and looking over Arisa's shoulder I can see the crew bail out, the gun and turret having been disabled.
"Panther destroyed, nice shot Brandon." I grin before the speakers register a loud clang and the Sherman detonates, leaving Arisa and I with nothing to do but re-spawn and wait while the last tank commander yelps. "There's a Tiger to the right!"
Suddenly there's a knock at the door, and I finally notice Kay standing in the doorway, a manila folder in one hand and a grin from ear to ear. "Welcome to the family, you need help getting your stuff packed?"
I practically rip the headset off and jump around the computer with the agility of a small bear before running to Kay and hugging her. "Thank you!" She hugs me back tightly for a few seconds before I pull away. "As for my stuff, once I get my computer and cot packed up I should be set to go." I talk while I walk back to my cot, sitting down next to Arisa and nudging her over so I can access the keyboard while simultaneously holding the headset up. "Hey guys, I'll talk to you all later. I' gotta hop off for the day."
They all voice their goodbyes while I shut down the game, and I start packing my headset while the computer turns off. Once the computer is off I slide it into my valuables footlocker and shut the lid, clicking the padlock into place once again.
"All the footlockers can be taken down, be careful with this one, but the others are just clothes. I'll get my bed packed."
Arisa and Kay start hauling the metal boxes outside while I break down my cot and secure it with two bungee cords, throwing the pillow two beds down to Serena's bed. I pull the pictures off the wall and stack them together before placing them in my back pocket, doing a thorough search to make sure I'm not forgetting anything.
"I think that's it…" I mutter to myself, looking around the room one last time with my cot under one arm. I feel happy to finally be leaving the orphanage, yet I know I'm going to miss all the other kids here.
Suddenly I feel a hand on my shoulder, and look over to find Kay standing there, a gentle smile on her face. "You want me to give you a minute?"
I look back at the room momentarily, then shake my head and turn to walk down the hall. "No, I've had enough time. Just getting one last look."
She takes the cot from me, and quickly carries it downstairs while I slowly saunter my way down the hall, and take the stairs slowly, remembering everything as it was when I first came here.
At the base of the stairs are the other dozen orphans, many of which no older than fifteen excluding myself and two others.
I come face-to-face with the headmistress, my 'mother' for the past few years, and hold my hand out. "Thank you for everything. I know you and I never really agreed on much, but you were the closest to family that I had."
She takes my hand and shakes it firmly, her stone-cold expression breaking when a tear rolls down her cheek. "I'm going to miss you, you added character to the orphanage. Feel free to stop by at any time."
I nod, any more than that and I risk breaking into tears.
Suddenly I'm wrapped up in a hug that pops a few of my ribs, I know it's Serena, who almost always hugs me hard enough to make it difficult to breathe.
I wait for her to release me, and gently hug her back once I can breathe again. "You'll see me again, just make sure you watch the Sensha-do matches. I'll visit whenever possible."
I feel a wet warmth on my shoulder, and realize Serena is crying, the normally incredibly withdrawn girl is actually crying over me leaving.
"Geez, I didn't know you'd fell for me so hard." I tease her, wiping the tears off her face with one hand while rubbing circles in her back with the other. "I'll visit you whenever I can, you hear?"
She nods, sniffling while she hugs me again. Then I feel another person hugging me, then another, and another. In seconds all of the children are hugging me, most around the legs.
"I'm gonna miss you guys...but I will visit….and remember this; every tank that I knock out in Sensha-do is for you guys."
My eyes start to water while I say my goodbyes to each of the younger kids, but I manage to keep the flood at bay until I get outside, and Kay starts to drive out.
As we drive away from the orphanage I smile, kick my feet up on the dash, and let the tears flow.
Time for my second chance at life.
[A/N]: This chapter is shorter than I normally do, but I do hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!
Chapter three should be uploaded shortly, most likely within an hour or so of this chapter.