Chapter 2

Nightmares

After that little… Ordeal in the mess hall, Jake pulled us all into the war room so that way he could fill us in on what went down at the meeting.

"Say what?" asked Alicia.

"The Templars have sent in spies to assassinate the Soviet military leadership," Jake said slowly.

"That's crazy, if the Templars have the Soviet leadership assassinated Russia's going to be fucking screwed," said Victor.

"That's kind of the idea," I said as I took a swig of water from my cup, "without Russia's military leadership, each of their respective branches won't have anyone to lead them when Germany comes knocking down their door."

"And there's another problem… In almost every war that Russia's participated in, if her forces didn't kill off the opposing army, the brutal cold would… But very slowly," said Alicia, "without anyone guiding her military, Germany will only have to worry about the cold weather. Same goes for the Templars."

"And taking down Russia will be a cake walk for them," I said.

"Then you all know what we must do," said Jake, "we need to intercept these spies and kill them before they can kill off Russia's military leaders. And if possible, find out the names of the Templars who sent them."

"Kill two birds with one stone," said Alicia, "I like that."

"So, who are we protecting and when do we begin?" I asked.

Jake reached into his coat and pulled out some photos, thirteen to be exact, and each one of them had a different colored dot on them, green, blue and white.

"These men you see here are the people that we need to keep alive. Master Andreevich believes that the Templars will target Russia's military leaders from the army first," Jake said as he pointed to the photos with the green dots, "as for when we'll begin. The mission starts tomorrow night. So, rest up kids, you're going to need it. Dismissed."

All of us turned and started to file out of the war room, except Jake, who pulled me to the side.

"Hey… You okay?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You know what I mean Ariela," he said, "are you okay being here… In Russia?"

It took me a while to figure out what he meant, but then it suddenly hit me… He wanted to know if I felt comfortable being in the same country that divided my home with Adolf's country.

"…No," I said looking down, "as much as I want to deny it… I'm not feeling okay."

Jake sighed.

"I don't feel comfortable knowing that I'm here… Helping to protect these people from the very organization that we're at war with," I growled as I started to form my hands into tight fists, "if it were up to me, I would say that we just pack up and return home… Leave our brothers to handle this problem all on their own…"

I let out a gasp as I felt Jake wrap his arms around me and pull me in close, resting my head on his chest.

"Do you want to sit this out?" he asked.

I slowly shook my head.

"No," I said quietly as I felt my arms slowly wrap around Jake.

Just then, something happened that made my muscles tense up. I felt Jake kiss me on the head. I let out an alarmed squeak.

"If you want to sleep in my room tonight, you're more than happy to… If you get nightmares I mean," he said.

"O-O-Okay…" I stammered as I let go and looked down.

Jake chuckled and pulled away before walking out of the war room. I felt my face start to get hot as I shook my head rapidly.

"Keep it together Ariela! You're an assassin! Not some love-struck school girl!" I scolded myself.

I let out a huff, turned and walked out. I made my way to my quarters, which was set up for me before the others and I arrived. It wasn't much different from my quarters back at the compound, except there was a half-bath and not a full bathroom. I walked inside, closed the door, locked it and started changing into my pajamas. Once that was done, I crawled under the covers, turned out the lights and fell into a deep sleep.

As I slept soundly, I felt something was… Off. Like something… Or someone, was in the room with me. I opened my eyes and slowly sat up.

"Hello?" I asked, looking around my dark bedroom.

Nothing.

"…Hello?" I asked again.

Silence. I let out a sigh and started to lay back down when… I felt someone grab my shoulder and pin me to the bed.

"W-W-What the hell!?" I exclaimed.

I couldn't see who was in the room, but all I could feel was someone climbing onto the bed and laying on top of me.

"G-Get off me! Get off!" I screamed as I started to push against the intruder with my free hand.

But my attacker grabbed my hand and pinned it down. I started to get scared.

"H-Help! Help! Help me!" I cried out, "J-Jake! Antoly! Alicia!"

"҉Y̵̨͟o͠ư'r̕e̴͠ g̨͡oin̶͠g̶ ̕t́o̸̴͞ ҉͘d̶i͢é̸ ͘n͢o͟w̴͞,̡͟"͞ said the attacker.

I froze when I heard the person's voice. No… It couldn't be.

"Who… Who are…" I struggled to say.

I heard something shoot out. I turned pale. In a flash, I activated my Eagle Vision, so I could see who was in here with me. I was horrified. My attacker took the weapon and aimed it at my neck, before thrusting downward.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I woke up in a shock, I quickly turned on the lamp on my nightstand and looked around fast, panting heavily. Suddenly, I heard loud knocking at the door.

"Ari! Ariela!" someone screamed from the other side.

I slowly got up and went to answer. I opened the door and saw Alicia was standing out in the hallway.

"Are you alright? I heard you scream," she said.

I didn't know what else to say, I just jumped into Alicia's arms and hugged her before breaking down crying.

"D-Do you want me to spend the night in your room?" she asked.

"Y-Yes… Please," I sobbed.

And with that, Alicia spent the night in my room... We just shared my bed. Okay? We didn't do anything. Okay? I don't swing that way. Okay? Wyjmij głowę z rynny (Get your head out of the gutter). Alicia was quick to fall into a deep sleep… I on the other hand, took quite a bit of time before I was able to finally fall asleep. I couldn't get the that… Nightmare out of my head. My attacker… That assassin.

I started to wonder what the nightmare was supposed to mean. Was it a sign? Was it the devil telling me that the people I've killed… The victims… Are screaming and crying in the lowest level of Hell? Tell me to hurry up and join them? Or perhaps… Perhaps it's something worse…

I didn't know. I didn't want to know. All I know is that I couldn't fall back asleep until… Gracious, I don't think I was able to finally get to sleep until at least close to 4AM, maybe 5. When I finally fell into a deep sleep, I was awoken to someone trying to nudge me awake.

"Ari?" asked a voice.

I opened my eyes and let out a gasp. It was Jake.

"J-Jake!" I exclaimed as I started to scramble out of bed.

"H-Hey, hey… Easy, easy," he said, trying to keep me in bed.

"Jake, I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean to oversleep I was just, I was only-"

Jake put a finger to my lips, shushing me.

"Here," he said, handing me a tray of food and a hot beverage.

I sat up and took the tray from him.

"…Thank you," I said.

I looked down at the food on my plate, which consisted of hash browns, an overstuffed omelet, and for my drink, it was a nice cup of warm milk. I cut into my omelet and took a bite, slowly chewing before swallowing.

"Alicia told me what happened last night, she said you must've had some sort of nightmare," said Jake.

I didn't say anything.

"…Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

I still didn't say anything.

"…Ariela," said Jake.

"…How do you deal with it Jake?" I slowly asked.

Jake gave me a surprised, if not curious look.

"Deal with what?" he asked.

"…The voices," I said, "…the voices of the people you kill."

"Is that's why you screamed?" asked Jake.

I slowly nodded.

"What happened?" asked Jake.

"…I was lying in bed… And I heard someone or something in my bedroom… It was so dark… I couldn't see anything," I said, "suddenly, I saw some assassin climb right on top of me… And… And…"

I started to shiver and put my hands to my ears. I could hear the voices again. I could hear that assassin's voice.

"I can hear them Jake… They're angry at me… They want me to come join them," I whimpered, "they want to Devil to take me… They want me to "come home"."

I started sobbing.

"I'm not ready… I don't want to die… I don't want to join them Jake…I don't want-"

But I was cut off as I felt Jake wrap his arms around me and hold me close to his chest, stroking my hair and my back.

"You're not going to die Ariela," he said quietly, "I promise you… So long as I'm alive, I won't let you get hurt… And I won't let you die."

I looked up at Jake.

"Do you understand?" he asked, "I will never… Let that happen to you."

I rested my head against his chest.

"Jake…" I said as I started to hold onto him.

"…You poor girl," he said as he started to rock me back and forth, "…I think it might be best if you sit tonight's mission out."

"What? B-But Jake, I'm one of the brotherhood's top agents, you're going to need me on this," I protested.

"And I need you to take it easy tonight," he said, "if that nightmare's going to keep you distracted from doing what you need to get done, then I recommend that you sit this mission out."

"Jake-"

"And don't… Make me turn this request into an order," said Jake.

I let out a heavy sigh.

"Alright… But can I ask you something?" I asked.

"Hmm?" he asked.

"Can you stay here with me?" I asked.

Jake started to blush.

"…Sorry what?" he asked.

"Can you stay here with me?" I repeated.

"…Ari… You know I can't stay here with you, the team's going to need me," said Jake.

"Give command over to Wesley and Quinton then," I said, "let them lead the mission."

"Ari, you're being needy… And a bit selfish right-"

"Jake please," I begged.

I know it seems needy and selfish of me wanting to hog my commanding officer all to myself… But I mean, I got finished having a nightmare. Come on girls, what would you do if you were in this situation?

"…You know I can't say no to you when you look at me like that," he said with an amused chuckle.

I giggled.

"That's why I always look at you like that," I said.

Jake let out a sigh.

"Alright… I'll need to go talk to Quinton and Wesley, let them know what's going on," he said, "then I'll come back."

"Promise?" I asked.

Jake gave me a smile. That same smile I remember him giving me when he first took me into the brotherhood that day.

"Obiecuję (I promise)," he said with a wink before walking out.

I felt my face get hot.

"D-D-D-D-Did he just speak Polish to me!?" I thought.

True to his word, Jake did come back after giving command of the mission over to Quinton and Wesley… Though when he came back, he was really… Red in the face.

"What happened?" I asked.

"…Nothing," he said.

"Did they say anything to you?" I asked.

"…No," he said as he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked over to me.

"…What'd they say?" I asked.

"…They didn't say anything," he said.

"They why are you-"

I was cut off as Jake suddenly leaned forward, looking right in my face.

"…If I ever hear you say that there's something going on between the two of us… I'll tickle you until you piss yourself," he said.

My face turned bright red.

"M-M-M-M-Message received," I stammered.

For most of the day, Jake stayed with me. We didn't do much, we just talked, listened to the radio… Cuddled. He even decided to take it upon himself to teach me how to play cards, he taught me how to play poker, Texas Hold 'Em… He really cleaned me out when we played poker.

"Hey Jake… How do you deal with the voices?" I asked while we were playing another round of poker.

Jake looked up.

"What?" he asked.

"The voices… How do you deal with them?" I asked, "how do you deal when hearing the voices of the people you've killed?"

Jake sighed.

"Ariela, I already told you-"

"I know… I know," I interrupted, "I just want to know how you deal with them personally."

There was a long pause, then he let out a long breath before speaking.

"…I think about what's most important to me," he said.

I gave Jake a skeptical look. I didn't take him for the sentimental type.

"What's most important?" I asked.

Jake nodded.

"I always think about the reason why I'm out there fighting, why I'm out there risking my life… Why I'm out there, taking one life after another," he said, "whenever I hear the voices start coming back, I think about the reason why I'm fighting… And I'm able to drown the bastards out."

Jake smiled and looked at me.

"Now it's ever so rare that I hear them," he said before looking down at his hand, "…though… While it's ever so rare that I hear them… That doesn't excuse the actions I've committed. Because I know that whenever I'm out in the field, I might not make it back home alive… And should that day come… I'll accept my fate. But at least I'll know that I die protecting the one thing that I care about the mo-"

Jake was cut off as I leaned forward and… Kissed him. Ehehe… Funny… His lips are a lot softer than Oberon's… That's kind of… Cute. I pulled away and sat back down.

"W-W-What was that for?" he asked.

I gave him a warm smile.

"For telling me what I needed to hear," I said sweetly.

Jake blushed, then he smiled back.

"…And I fold," I said as I set my cards down.

Jake's eyes widened.

"Yowbutch… What!?" he exclaimed, "fold!? You didn't even bother to try this ti-"

Jake stopped when he saw me give him the biggest grin and the most mischievous giggle.

"…You looked at my hand when you pulled away didn't you?" he asked.

"Maaaaaaaaybe," I said with a shrug.

Suddenly, before I could even get my guard up, Jake pounced on me and started to tickle me.

"AHHH! NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO! JAHAHAHAHAHAKE PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE!" I squealed.

"No! Not until you say your sorry, you cheatin' weasel!" he snapped as he kept tickling my sides.

"I'M SAAAAAAAAREEEEEEE! I'M SAAAAAAAAAARRREEEEE!" I squealed, "AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP EEEEEEEEET!"

"What in god's name is going on in here!?" someone exclaimed.

Jake stopped and turned towards the door. I slowly raised my head and saw Quinton was standing in the doorway.

"Uh… This isn't what it looks like," said Jake.

"He… Attacked me… Because I cheated at-"

"I don't want to know," Quinton interrupted as he turned and walked out of my bedroom.

Jake looked down at me before climbing off.

"I think we're done," he said as he started to clean up the cards.

After I collected myself, I started to help clean too.

"…You know Jake… I think we should accompany the others," I said.

"Didn't you just say you wanted me to stay here with you since you were recovering from your nightmares?" he asked.

I giggled.

"I didn't you "You" I said "We"," I said.

Jake gave me a surprised look.

"Why the sudden mood change?" he asked.

I smiled.

"I told you, you told me what I needed to hear," I said, "…you reminded me that I have something important to fight for… Two things actually."

Jake looked at me as he gathered up half of the cards.

"So, thank you," I said, as I gathered up my half.

Jake gave me another smile and proceeded to put our halves to-

"Mmmmph!?" I exclaimed.

Jake pulled away after giving me a surprise kiss. And believe me when I say I was very surprised.

"We leave at eight," he said.

Jake took his cards, stuffed them in the box, grabbed the poker chips and walked out. I knelt on my bed, completely dazed out, before slowly falling over on my side and turning over onto my back, looking up at the ceiling.

…Then I grabbed my pillow and put it over my face, squeezing it tightly.

"Nyeeeeeeeeh…" I whimpered.