Chapter 7
The Answer
His gun was still in my face. Valentina slowly rose up from the ground behind him. She put her gun to the back of his head and cocked it.
"You're going to be dead if you don't put that gun down." she hissed.
He only laughed and let it fall to his side.
"That better?"
"For now."
She stayed back and lowered the gun a bit.
"You talk too loud."
I looked at Valentina but her eyes were trained on the man.
"Smelled you since you got here. If I can smell you, if I can hear you, they can too."
There was a rumble in the sky and I looked up.
"Storm's coming. This way."
He started walking away and Valentina lowered the gun. I looked at everyone else with raised brows. This guy wasn't all there anymore. We followed him and Hanzo stayed close to Valentina. He led us to an old machine and opened a hatch. He climbed in I went in after him.
"Valentina, lets go."
Hanzo helped her up and I pulled her the rest of the way. Everyone climbed in and then the man had us crawl through a tunnel. When we could stand I pulled her up and we followed him down a hall. He took a piece of the wall out and had us all crawl inside. The room lit up and I looked around.
"Wow, what a shithole. You live here?"
I rolled my eyes at the convict.
"Oh no. This is my summer home. I winter in the Riviera."
Valentina smirked and held back her laugh. His name was Noland, or so he said. I sat down and Valentina leaned against a wall.
"How have you survived this long?" she asked him.
"Salvaging what I can, when I can. From whatever I can."
He stirred something in a pot and smelled it.
"They drop you all in too?"
"Yeah."
He turned his eyes to Valentina and I clenched my fists.
Valentina's POV
He looked at me.
"Well aren't you a pretty little thing."
"Don't try it. That's Mr. Tough Guy's daughter. Plus I'm the only one who gets to stare at her."
"You DON'T get to stare at her either way." Royce growled.
Noland looked at him.
"That's yours?"
Royce didn't even hesitate.
"Yeah. She's mine. She's my daughter."
I was surprised he would say that. He looked at me but I didn't know what to say. He smirked and looked away.
"Found out this morning."
I laughed a bit.
"Surprise."
"Mhm."
I went and sat down next to Royce. I sat on the floor and he looked at me. He put his hand on my shoulder and nodded.
"Hey now…"
I looked at Stans.
"Yeah I'll tell him."
I looked at Noland again and narrowed my eyes slightly.
"Hey uh…agent orange. You wanna put that down? Certain people around here are particular about people touching their shit."
Stans put the chest plate down and looked at me. I raised my brows and shrugged. I paid close attention to him as he told us about those beasts.
"So they do this for sport?" I asked.
"Mhm. They bring in fresh meat every season. I mean shit you wouldn't believe."
He looked to his invisible friend.
"Bring it in, hunt it and kill it. In that order." he said.
He nodded to himself and Royce tightened his hold on my shoulder. I looked at him but his eyes were fixed on Noah.
"How long you been here man?" Stans asked.
I looked at Noland and waited for the answer.
"Seven seasons I think…what? Ten? Damn. Anyway, every once in a while one of us kills one of them. And let me tell you, that's when they get real interesting." He looked right at Royce. "See they learn…" he snapped his fingers. "Quick. They adapt. They develop a whole new set of skills. They come back the next season, in threes, always in threes. Their armor might have changed, or their weapons have changed, or their tactics are changed. It's amazing." he said.
I tried to back up further but I hit the wall. I didn't like this. I didn't want to be here.
"You said they come back. How?" Royce asked.
"They got a ship." he said.
My eyes went wide. That was our way out!
"A ship?"
"Yeah. It's thirty yards from their camp." he started to laugh. "I told you they wouldn't see it!"
I narrowed my eyes.
"You were there?"
He nodded and I stood up.
"You could've helped us! Mombasa could still be alive!"
"Valentina sit down."
Royce tried to get me to sit but I pushed him away.
"Chingao tu madre!" I said to Noland.
Royce's POV
She walked off and sat in a corner.
"Maybe you and your friend wanna tell me more about that ship." I said.
He looked at me.
"That's brilliant. Brilliant. The whole time I've been here it never occurred to me to commandeer the alien spacecraft. But I would know how to fly it." he looked to his right. "He would. To get his baby girl home."
"Exactly. So I'll give it a shot."
He told me all he knew and then nodded.
"I'm gonna get some sleep. Water over there." he pointed to the pot. "Help yourself. And be quiet. They're out there. They're always out there."
He went to his little bed and laid down. I took a deep breath and got some food and water.
"These are my kids."
I looked at Nikolai. He had a small picture of his sons. Real little boys. I looked over at my kid and went to her. She was fast asleep in the corner. She looked exhausted. She needed to eat but I wasn't going to wake her up yet. I sat down on a ledge just above her and ate my food. I looked down at her and I had to smile. She looked just like her mother. It made losing Esperanza harder. I stroked her hair and she turned on her side. She was so young and she'd already made a name for herself.
"The Driscoll Bounty Hunter huh? When we get home you won't have to do that anymore. You can have a normal life." I said quietly.
She mumbled something and I went back to eating. A little while later she jumped awake. Her eyes were wild and she looked scared.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
She looked around and I knelt down next to her.
"Look at me. Valentina look at me."
She looked at me and there were tears in her eyes.
"What happened?" I asked gently.
"Muerte. Mucha muerte."
Her voice shook and she tried to pull away from me but I wouldn't let her. For once in her life she was gonna have a father to be there for her. I held her in my arms and tried to calm her down.
"I've got you. You're alright." I told her.
She slowly calmed down and then I had her look a me.
"You asked me why I shot her?" she nodded. "If I didn't, someone else would've. I didn't shoot her to kill her. If I had you wouldn't be here. I had to make them think she was dead so she would be safe. I loved your mother Valentina, I always will. It killed me to pull that trigger, but I had no choice. Please believe me." I said.
She stared at me before nodding.
"I believe you, Royce." she whispered.
I smiled a bit in relief and then held her again.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything. I wasn't there for you growing up, but I'm here now."
She didn't say anything and I didn't expect her to. A few of the others were looking at us but I didn't care.
"Look at me."
She did as I asked.
"We're not done here yet. I need you to stay strong. Can you do that?"
She nodded and just like Esperanza, she became a blank canvas. Emotions completely hidden. I nodded in approval. She took a deep breath and sat up straight.
Just like your mother. So strong.
"Esperanza would be proud of you."
She smiled a little.
"Are you?"
"I'm very proud."
She smiled. She smiled a real smile.
"You have her smile. That same beautiful smile."
"Thanks, Royce." she said.
I shook my head.
"You can-"
I stopped.
"Smoke. Smoke!"
Valentina jumped up and got everyone else.
