Alright, and here's another chapter, hope to get a few laughs and hopefull some reviews off of this. have to admit, did not expect how i ended this chapter at all, and i wrote it for crying out loud.


"Nobody looks like what they really are on the inside. You don't. I don't. People are much more complicated than that. It's true of everybody."

-Neil Gaimen


Lone Sniper, West of Denver, Three Miles from The Wall

Anya rubbed her sore arms, trying to relieve them. For the past two days, they had been zig-zagging through the suburban neighborhoods, sticking to the back yards and alley's as much as possible. Her body ached from climbing over fences, although some of his actions confused her. He would use the dog to avoid some patrols, while attacking and destroying others, and scavenging food off a few of the patrols. He never had her fire while he took down the KPA, which honestly confused her even more. To add to it, his zig zag pattern seemed to have no rhyme or reason to it. she was trying to figure out his reasons when he suddenly veered into one of the homes.

"Search." The one southern twanged word sent the dog ripping through home, sniffing and searching for any sign of life as he scanned the room with his rifle. The dog came trotting happily back down the stairs, a dead rat in her mouth. "Good girl! Eat up!" Anya felt the urge to puke as the dog happily chewed and ripped at the tiny rat until it was completely eaten. She glanced at Wander, just as he slid the face wrap down that normally covered his face. Her eyes looked him over for the hundredth time, taking in his gear yet again. He was strangely almost like the mixture between a civilian and a soldier. He had on a thick leather jacket, open to the elements. Beneath was a tan combat vest with a strange clay looking plate over the upper chest. Two straps ran across his chest and under his jacket, one a thin black cord with what looked like a clasp on it. the other was a thick worn bandolier, filled with the odd little metal clips his rifle used to chamber rounds. He had on a belt that two drop down rigs were on, one a handgun, one holding three long slender magazines that didn't seem to belong to either of his weapons. Pistol mag pouches lined the belt, and the ensemble was completed with knee pads and black combat boots, their color contrasting heavily with the faded digital camouflaged pants he was wearing.

"No fire tonight. We're too close to the wall, patrol might spot it." he marched up the stairs as she sat up against a wall, sighing. She quickly shifted and stripped of her weapons and ammo, piling them up against the wall. The dog trotted over to her and whined, her tail low. Anya smiled and patted the floor beside her, causing the dog to perk up before trotting over and curling up beside her, head resting on Anya's lap. She smiled and gently rubbed behind the dogs ear, earning Anya a pleasured moaning from the dog that she couldn't help but giggle at.

"Those weapons on safe?" she startled as Wander's partially southern accent ripped through the silent air. He was on his way down the stairs, a wad of blankets in his arms, helmet still strapped on.

"All but the sniper rifle. I don't think Samantha has a safety." He glared at her before dropping the blankets and scooping up her rifle.

"It's a Mosin Nagant. It may be a pain to work, but she has a fucking safety." He briskly gripped the rounded disk at the back of the bolt, pulling back on it before twisting it away from the bolt handle. There was a faint click as he released the bolt before setting the rifle down. "Why the hell did you call it Samantha?" she sighed as she slipped out from under the dog, grabbing the rifle and unwrapping the stock to reveal the name that had been painstakingly burned into the stock in beautiful calligraphy.

"I found her in an abandoned house. Made the wrap myself." She quickly rewrapped the stock and put it on the pile. She watched him as he made a bed out of the blankets before dropping on the hardwood floor beside the makeshift bed. She gave him a puzzled look as he slid his old rifle off his back, laying it on the floor in front of him, the grip at eye level. "Um, why make a bed if you aren't going to use it?" he rolled back and looked at her with his steel grey eyes, his young face still shocking her.

"'cause I didn't make it for me." The dog trotted over as he spoke and started to lay down on it. "And it aint for you either Roxy! Get over here ya silly gal." For a second, Anya thought he was talking to her until the dog stepped over Wander and curled up next to his chest, giving his face a single lick before settling. Anya quickly snaked under the top blanket, relieved to finally be off her feet. She glanced at Wander, his always scarily steady breath deep and even, unable to tell if he was already asleep. Her eye's slowly drooped closed and she slipped off to sleep, blissfully unaware of the world and worries she had during the day.


Wanderer

I walked through a field of tall grass, smiling at the calm life around me. Deer and rabbits and other animals were startled away from me at my usually quiet appearance. My hands naturally shifted the old rifle in my hands, admiring the weapon that had already saved my life once before. Although heavy, and nearly ninety years old, the weapon was a semi-automatic, far superior to the bolt action rifles that were the commonplace of the day. Although it did not have the accuracy of its bolt action brethren, it was still effective out to eight hundred yards, unlike the thousand yards of the bolt actions, was similar in power to them. That, coupled with more shots between reloads, and not needing to work a bolt, made the rifle still effective even in today's combat. Grass crunched behind me, and I instantly recognized the shadow on the path beside me.

"Caylee, when are you going to learn to watch your shadow?" I heard her usually sweet voice curse behind me before she trotted up beside me.

"I can sneak up on everyone else just fine thank you! You always know when I'm nearby. I almost think your nose is as good as the dogs." I smirked and let go of the grip on my rifle, freeing my hand to wrap it over her shoulders. She let her head rest on my shoulder as we walked, her long wavy brown hair fluttering slightly in the wind.

"I'll try to take that as a compliment." She smiled and kissed my cheek. Suddenly, a loud echoing boom filled the air and we both went wide eyed, just before taking off at a run.

My eye's jerked open, snapping around the dark home like I expected the place to be on fire. Tears were on my face and I felt a cold wet nose nudge my chin. I looked down and scratched behind her ear. It didn't seem to counsel her at all as she whined softly at me.


Lone Sniper

A whimper echoed into Anya's ears causing her to open her eyes. Wander was still facing away from her, but she heard his soft voice speak, presumably to the dog.

"It's okay Roxy. I know you're worried, I just….. I still dream about her." The dog whimpered again and he continued on his own. "I know, you miss her too." He sighed again and kept speaking. "hell, I miss all of them. Dan, Caylee, Jacobs. The whole crew." The dog whimpered softly until she heard a gentle scratching noise. After a second or so, his voice returned, much louder.

"Oh, awl stop! Please!" she closed her eyes, feigning sleep as he rolled over. He continued to make noises until one of his elbows accidently hit her. She feigned startling awake as the dog was on his chest, licking his face over and over.

"What the heck are you doing!? I'm trying to sleep here!" he finally forced the dog off, speaking in one of the lightest voices she had heard from him.

"Sorry, sorry, dog attack in progress!" she laughed as the dog strained against his arms, stretching to reach his face, still licking the air between them. "Roxy, come on gal, stop it!" the dog finally relaxed, still wagging madly. The dog looked at Anya before leaping off Wander and onto Anya, licking her face instead.

"Hey, hey! Get the dog off me!" he grabbed Roxy and pulled her off, the dog looking up and licking his chin once. "jeez, I know I need a bath but it isn't that bad yet." She looked up at wander after she wiped the slobber off her face, seeing the shocked expression on Wander's face. "what?"

"I… Roxy hasn't been like that with someone other than me in, years!" she raised an eyebrow at him and he continued. "she normally growls and tries to bite anyone who comes close." She smirked and stood up stretching.

"Who was the last person she did that too?" his face darkened and he remained silent after she spoke. She shrugged and collected her gear, quickly strapping it on and picking up her rifle.

"we're not far from the wall, and it's still dark, so lets try and find a way in." she sighed and nodded as he made a lowered fist toward the dog. The dog instantly snapped to his left side. They crossed a few more streets before the dog suddenly growled, but the warning came to late as a KPA soldier shouted.

"It's the dog soldier! Get him!"


Wanderer

I saw the KPA squad and instinctively leapt back, slamming into Anya and sending both of us back into beside the house. Roxy, meanwhile, took off across the street, sliding behind a car. Tiny sparks pinged off the metal of the car as wood splinters ripped away from the wall. Rapid cracks and bangs accompanied the bullets that were ripping past them.

"Anya, there is way too many of them for a straight up fight. When I tell you to, run." She didn't get the chance to respond as I leaned around the corner and fired, not even looking down the sights. Surprisingly, one of the KPA soldiers dropped, screaming in agony. But return shots forced me back. "Damn it, too many for that. Anya, back the way we came. You are going to have to find your own way into Denver." She gave me a confused look, clearly not understanding what I was implying.

"Wait, what are you…." I cut her off and shoved her toward the fence.

"Just go you stupid bitch!" I didn't pay attention to her as I slung my M1 and undid the clasp over my chest. In one smooth, heavily practiced, motion, I caught the fold out stock on the small submachine gun that hung loosely on my back, instantly folding it out and lightly tossing the weapon. As soon as the weapon left my hand, I was sifting my hands to catch the weapon by both it's rgips, instantly readying the military Kriss Vector. It had a fore grip on it, as well as a flash light and an EO-tech sight that I quickly powered on.

"Wander, what about you? You cant fight a whole squad on your own!" I glared at her and shoved her back the way we came yet again.

"I told you to run!" she gave me one more backwards glance before sprinting away, leaving me to deal with the soldiers. They had stopped firing and I could hear Roxy whimpering over the radio. She looked fine from where I was, just cowering after the hail of bullets. I opened the feed from Roxy's camera, speaking very softly.

"Roxy, scan." She perked her ears up and slowly raised her head to the now shattered car windows. Roughly two dozen KPA soldiers in their white out camoed armor were slowly advancing on where I was. Two of them were within just feet of where I was, and I reacted by sticking the SMG around the corner and squeezing the trigger. Although still heavily, the weapon only really bounced back, not pitching up like most weapons on full auto. On Roxy's camera, the two soldiers dropped and I stepped around the corner, bringing the weapon to my shoulder and firing short controlled bursts as the KPA scattered.

"Roxy, retreat!" the dog sprinted back across the street and through the smashed fence. I quickly swapped the empty magazine in my weapon for a fresh thirty-six round magazine off my thigh. Bullets started ripping through the wall again and I shied away, but not in time. Something ripped through my upper arm, and I nearly dropped my vector trying to grip the wound.

"Fuck!" the curse ripped out of it's own accord, deep pulse spikes of pain ripping away from the bleeding wound every second or so. A KPA soldier stepped around the corner, to quick for me to respond, but a rifle shot rang out. Half his head burst open and he fell to the ground, another shot following a few seconds later. I could feel blood dripping down my arm under the jacket and I quickly stood and ran, holding the weapon with my injured left and griping the wound with my uninjured right.


Anya slowed to a stop a few blocks down the street, having sprinted the whole way there. Wild thoughts ripped through her mind, suddenly very worried about Wander, even with how harsh he could be at times. The street had curved a block or two down, and she was standing at that curve. She heard the gunfire cease and her heart leapt into her throat. She sprinted into the houses and up to the second story, quickly finding a room with a great view down the street she could see where Wander was still holding, and the whole KPA group was creeping up on him. He suddenly stuck his weapon around the corner and fired a fully automatic burst. Two of the KPA fell, the others scattering as he stepped around the corner and aimed properly, the dog dashing back across the street as he covered her. His weapon emptied and he slid back, the KPA quickly continuing their assault. She saw him suddenly nearly drop his weapon, falling back onto his rear as he clutched his wound. A KPA soldier suddenly sprinted toward his position, almost to fast for Anya to react. Almost. She snapped her rifle in his direction and fired, just as he was stepping around the corner. She knew it was a clean hit as the corpse collapsed, working the bolt and firing again, at one of the troopers that had been covering the assaulter. The round missed him, but she knew it must have sprayed metal shards at him by how close it was. Wander quickly disappeared through the wrecked fence. She fired the last round in her weapon, satisfied to see the soldier she had aimed at dropped. She quickly rushed out of the building and just in time. As she ran down the stairs, the upstairs was engulfed in an explosion. Evidently, one of the soldiers had been carrying a grenade launcher. She sprinted out of the houses and saw Roxy a few dozen feet away. She barked frantically at Anya.

"Alright, I'm coming Roxy!" she sprinted at the dog and Roxy turned and ran, leading her away from the KPA group. She could hear the sound of massive sirens going off inside the wall. She cursed and followed the dog into a small department store. She was about to call for Wander when a figure popped out from behind the counter to her right, aiming a pistol at her. She nearly dropped her empty rifle, only stopping when she realized that it was Wander, missing his jacket and ruck sack. His face was contorted in pain as he dropped back down behind the counter, causing her to slide over it to him.

"Hey, you okay Wander?" he shook his head, still clutching the bleeding wound. It had soaked the camouflaged sleeve that had been hidden underneath his jacket.

"Bastards got me in the arm. Clean through but darned thing hurts like nobody's business." She nodded and helped him strip out of the combat vest and the camouflaged shirt, leaving him in a t-shirt. "In my pack, med kit." She nodded and opened his pack to find ammo and explosives in it, most of it in boxes. She dug through it until she found the small kit, finding a near empty bottle of morphine and filling the last dose of the pain killer into a syringe. He snatched it from her and injected himself before she started bandaging his arm.

"i… you are going to need a doctor. I'm bad with injuries." He shrugged her off as he leaned against the counter, panting. A helicopter rushed over, making her reach for her assault rifle.

"We…We need to move. I….. I think I have enough C4 to blow our way into Denver, and I know a cell in there. We just.. need to get in there." She nodded and helped him strap his gear on, holding her hand out to him. He accepted it and she gathered his weapons, helping him sling them before leading the way out. "Roxy, guide." The dog barked once before trotting off ahead, leading them toward the wall and way from the KPA soldiers.