A/N: I hope you enjoy :)
Let's all be selfless citizens, shall we? Selfishness is so...souring.
Quieting her breathing while she snuck around, Belarus tried to make it to the supply storage shack as quickly as possible. Her own bag was slung over her shoulder, but she was careful to keep it from making too much noise as she moved. If she was going to go out on her own, she needed to prepare herself for what was out there. Darkness and shadows covered her well. The moon was never all that bright these days, clouded by the ever present smog.
She yawned.
Although they had arrived earlier before midday from the dome, they had all technically been up for over 12 hours, only stopping to switch drivers. Among their supplies, there should be some caffeine pills, along with the anti-rad and fake bar-codes she needed. To prevent anyone from following her, she needed to get as much distance as possible from the camp.
It wasn't as if she was needed for the meetings, she thought. Most of the discussion would at least span over a week and it would take maybe another week to prepare for the actual action. Australia would be upset that she didn't stay, but he wasn't her keeper. He should know that she had priorities of her own then again... she would rather not have him talk her out of it. She made sure to be extra careful passing his own sleeping quarters.
Just as she skirted around an open field into the refuge of another building's roof, she froze up at the sight of a dim ember burning in the distance. Scotland was seated in a plastic chair, looking forlornly at the sky. Belarus rolled her eyes.
"Why are you out here?" She asked as she approached. The man jumped a little, then relaxed upon recognition.
"I'm always out here," He replied taking another slow inhale of his cigarette. Within that time, Belarus thought about all the excuses she could say to explain herself. However, he simply said, "How was Dome #35? You all looked absolutely beaten when ya came back. India looked the worst. Was it that bad?"
She crossed her arms. Then, she concluded that entertaining him for a while would throw him off her back, "It was not as terrible as we made it seem."
And so she recounted the events to him.
Once in a while he would interrupt her with, "Germany's down there? Huh, maybe I'll drop a visit when that storm's clear. Could use a good drinking partner again" and "Good to hear the wee lass is doing well. Can't imagine how bad it was for her." When she finished, he ended with a contemplative hum.
"At least, we have the E.M.P's, I suppose." He stood up and stretched, "So...mind telling me why you are heading over to the supplies."
"I was not…How did…"
"Why do ya think I park myself out here? Someone has to guard the booze. " He let out a small chuckle. "Only way to get there is through here. You're not exactly the first who's snuck out. But you are the first to actually be after something else, I presume. Night raid?"
She uncrossed her arms strategically. Her hands was now closer to her knives. She could pin him down to the ground, keep him stuck there till morning, and still leave in time. "I do not do night raids anymore," she replied.
"Ah yes…" he said. "Then...is it something to do with...ya brother?" He watched her carefully as he said those last words. Her body gave it away in a flinch. "Gottcha."
"It is none of your business." She hissed. Her fingers now really stretching for one of her pockets.
Upon seeing the dangerous hint in her eyes, Scotland raised his hands in surrender, "Hey, now. Easy lass. I ain't gonna stop ya."
The young woman stopped reaching for her weapons, "Good. I will be going then." Belarus tried to walk past him, but he stepped in her way.
"I do have a couple things to tell ya."
Wary of the coming morning, she peeked at the sky. Night wasn't going to last forever and she really needed to leave soon. "Hurry, then."
"It's short and simple. No matter what ya do, your brother is not coming back, ya listening? They never will. My advice is to move on."
As if the other man had transformed into a disgusting cockroach, she narrowed her eyes at him, "I am not trying to make him come back. I understand that he is dead."
"You've been asking, lass, as if he's otherwise. India's told me."
"I have been asking and not getting enough answers, Scotland. I am only getting more."
"Are ya sure it will be enough then?"
At this she found herself pausing. The thought had not yet occurred to her, only that she currently wanted more. What if Spain did not have any answers? Should she bother?
By now, Belarus had little patience for his pestering. "Leave me alone, or I will move you out of the way with not so pleasant methods."
He sighed. "Australia's told me ya changed. Can't see where he sees that. Can't understand what he sees at all…" The last bit was muttered so quietly Belarus had barely picked it up. She had no reaction to it. Regardless, he wisely stepped out of her path.
Inside the storage shack, she stuffed into her bag all that she needed. Pills, check. Two meal bags should suffice for her trip across, the rest she could get from the Empire. Old Spain, District #11, should be well stocked. For a moment her hand wavered above an eye-visor. It was constantly on the Liberator's network and could be tracked down easily. She grabbed it anyways. Better to have the extra help than not.
Next stop would be at their weapons reserves. She knew the password on that one and she needed the ammunition. When she stepped out, Scotland was still there with his disapproving look while she returned with a threatening glare.
"Are ya gonna be back within the week at least?"
She stopped and shrugged, "Maybe."
"We trust ya."
And on those words, she went on her way to collect the rest of her supplies and finish up. Twelve magazine rounds, more throwing knives, and a side note quickly scribbled in the inventory records later, she was seated inside the car. The vehicle started up with a light rumble of its engine, as if waking up from a nap. As guilt crept up on her, she reminded herself that there were other cars from their allies and other camps. Missing one would not ruin any plans.
She decided then that she will definitely be back within the week. Belarus hadn't lied about caring dearly for the cause. Rather, she needed to get this problem sorted out to clear her head for that very cause. After popping in a caffeine pill to get her started, she drove off, making the Liberator camp behind her a tiny dot in her rear view mirror.
Traveling in the wasteland at night was not something Belarus had experienced in a long time. She had forgotten how isolated and eerie the roads became. Further out in the distance, she could see bright green blobs, which were too far to make her worry but added to her discomfort regardless. Only the running car was heard in the silence.
Weak moonlight shone down on her, only slightly adding to the light from the car. Stars in the night sky were now the stuff of miracles, like empire promises. Neither ever fulfilled, she thought.
Out here, it was all too easy to remember her life before the Liberators. Of all the things that never changed, it was the desolate feeling of this place. What a sight it had been for her, as someone who had been left to memorize the ceilings and walls around her, almost oblivious to the drastic changes outside. But there was no point in getting lost in those old countless days. She was not in the past any longer.
Her mind, instead, focused itself on constructing a plan for investigation in the District. Being alone was going to add to her risks, so she had to be careful. She could easily find her way into their record buildings and bribe more information out of the easy-speaking citizens. That should get her on some sort of lead. She had also packed the letter with her, in case the seal proved to be useful. Though she highly doubted that.
Empire-Tech, like the I.C.U droids, were going to be her biggest worry. The District was also bound to have more than one Kuma-bot and a league of A.L's. Without back up, she would have to go through long lengths to stay low. Knives and threats would have to be used in last measure efforts.
Hopefully, these temporary bar-code tattoos had enough credits on their accounts to last her stay. She would hate to have to spend any time trying to earn the credits for herself. No amount of answers was worth that.
The car jolted over a bump. Belarus turned the wheel quickly to avoid any more. Her eyes suddenly snapped to one side. What was that? She could have sworn she had seen a shadow move in the corner of her vision. She pressed on the accelerator, just in case.
Hours later, she found herself smiling, as a brownish-orange color filled the sky. Sunrise was still as beautiful as ever. Belarus let out a yawn. The pills were losing their effect. She parked the car over to the side of the road, watchful that it didn't get stuck in a ditch. From her bag, she pulled out a folded up blanket and moved to the back of the car. She took one last glance at the fading color in the sky, she rested her head down to sleep.
Belarus let out a hiss of pain as she accidentally rolled over to her wounded side. The kick from the man at Dome #35 still stung. She turned over and hoped that it wouldn't bother her too much. She adjusted the blankets one more time and closed her eyes again.
She dreamed about a beach, and a warm hand around hers.
Heavy breathing and rustling was not what Belarus wanted to hear when she woke up. She opened her eyes to the sight of a Gang-Tribe member, noted from the symbol on their clothes, looking through her bag. The young woman immediately sat up, but someone from behind her grabbed at her wrists before she had any time to pull any weapons out. Shit.
"Looks like the pale ghost isn't dead." The person who held her wrists locked together, remarked.
She twisted and turned desperately. With a grunt, she managed to slip one hand out and give the person a punch in the face. He went down. She wasted no time as she cocked and aimed her gun at the one rummaging through her stuff.
She barked out her order, "Step away from that or I will blast your head off!"
Click! The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. "Put away your gun or I'll blast your head off," The person she had punched said right behind her. Belarus had thought she knocked him out. She felt her heart pound hard in her chest.
Belarus forced her fingers to loosen on the gun's trigger. As subtly as she could, she moved her eyes down.
The Gang-Tribes were often a hit or miss with their hatred for the nations. Depending on which one you landed, either got you the same treatment as a human, terrible, or as a nation, instant death sentence.
In addition, they were all good fighters. Had it not been for their immoral policies, they would have made great Liberator allies. Nomads were nothing compared to them, never scratching them. Liberators often avoided them if they could. Slowly, she lowered her weapon.
"There we go. That's a good girl. Now drop it."
She did so without a word.
While still keeping her eyes away from them, she tried counting the amount of people around her. No use. In an odd coping mechanism to fear, she started to let out a small laugh. People had always kept her from working alone, for fear of the Gang-Tribes. Looks like they were right after all.
"Hey! What are you chuckling about?" The gun wielder walked forward and placed the gun underneath her chin, almost biting her neck.
"Nothing," she said softly, faking submissiveness.
The gun forced her chin to lift up, "Oh really now-" Eye-contact. "…nation!" Instantly the gun was pulled away, scratching a bit of her skin.
In his short moment of shock, she dropped for her gun and shot him. She did a side-roll as she sensed someone else tried to rush at her. Ding! Someone else had pulled out their own gun. She fired at a head shot at the one rummaging her stuff. Down the person went.
Gah! Belarus yelped. Her left leg, right in the thigh, had been shot and she fell to her knees. Now that was going to sting for months. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't force herself up on her legs. Her weapon was snatched from her hands and she found herself looking down their barrel.
"Stop!" One of her opponents ordered, upon seeing her unable to get up. Belarus covered her wound with her hand and watched the other one approach. "She'll want to have this nation alive before she commences the process."
A round of enthusiastic oh's and jeers approved. The gun in her face was lowered, and the individual backed up to laugh with their fellow members. It was as if they were a class of children, laughing as someone else was about to receive punishment. Belarus took the moment to count the number left. Four. Okay…
"...like I would let you" Belarus interrupted their elation. It was in moments like these that she was glad that her voice was cold and piercing.
Each of them gaped at her. She had pulled out one of her blades and aimed at her chest. They hadn't known about her other weapons, as they were hidden within her many pockets. Steady, she warned herself.
The man who had ordered everyone, rushed to stop her. With a quick flick of her wrist, she turned the knife around and stabbed him instead. Ignoring the searing pain in her leg, she shifted her body and tossed two more blades at another two necks. She rolled again onto the floor and grabbed a gun from a dead body. Bang! The last human slumped to the ground. Utter shock was permanently etched on their faces. Belarus let out a sigh of relief.
She felt her stomach un-twist.
Belarus groaned as she slid down against the side of the car. Nation wounds no longer healed as quickly as they had before. She glared at her injury. She had spent so much time with company that she had forgotten how dangerous it was to sleep in the wasteland.
"Wonderful," she muttered darkly. "Just wonderful..." She hadn't brought any medical equipment.
A moment of catching her breath passed and then, she dragged herself to a window. There was a van parked beside, thankfully, now empty. The young woman opened the door and one of the dead bodies, the foolish man that had told them not to kill her, dropped onto the dusty ground.
Gasping at every step she had to take on her bad leg, she walked languidly over to the other car. It did not disappoint. This particular group had seemed to be doing a bit of scavenging. Just as she was about to grab their medical kit, she failed to notice the figure approaching from her side. Whack! Belarus was knocked unconscious.
