No copright intended.
The cooing caught her attention. She knew that sound. She spent two years hearing that sound. The amount of relief a soft sound, barely noticeable produced was astonishing. She had spent the last few months praying this animal was alive and healthy. Had she had the chance she would've came out here sooner to check on him. But she would've been caught before she even made it to the gate.
She crouched down and watched as the animal made excruciating slow steps towards. He wasn't a slow-moving animal, he just was hesitant, almost doubtful it was actually her.
He never left her side. Even when she traveled between her and Lucas' hideout to her cave, she always brought him along. He never learned how to survive in the wild, he was abandoned at birth and left to die in a tangle of vines, till she found him. They were in the same boat, neither knew what it took to survive this jungle, but in time they learned. Lucas didn't approve of her care for the animal, she wasted their food, water and medicine on him, but she just told him it was hers, not his, and put her hands on her hips like a child waiting for him to argue with her.
He started sniffing and it was almost like his annoying, but cute quiet little snore he did at night curled up beside her, except it required patience. Finally done with his verification process, he started his greeting one and bumped his head into her knee. She giggled like actually laughed, and the feeling was amazing.
"I missed you, too." Her fingers ran up and down his scaly back, and he purred in response. "I'm glad you're happy, at least one of us are." Her smile turned sad as she thought back to the choice she would have to make.
She never imagined it would be this difficult.
|~Brother or Mother~|
He waited for a response that never came. Only dead silence that filled the gap between him and the door. He didn't know what he was waiting for, or looking for. There was obviously more to the story then just a simple check-in, but he didn't want to question her. At least not yet.
But when the door didn't open, he assumed something was wrong. He was suppose to be checking on Wash's daughter, probably because she was just being a worried parent concerned about their child's welfare while she was gone, but in the three minutes he'd been waiting the door hadn't made any move to be opened. And he hadn't heard any noise coming from within the house.
He waited for another three before following his gut. Wash wouldn't be happy, but if Natalie was in danger wouldn't she want to know? Regardless of the consequences. She was going to be OTG for a few more days, he could get the damage fixed by then, right? Why was he even doubting this, Wash had asked him to check in on Natalie and that's exactly what he would do.
Breaking in was easy, at least it seemed so compared to shifting his way through the darkness in search of the light. It was a different layout then his so it took a moment to locate the light switch. Once inside the newly lighted home, Jim scoured the room for her.
"Natalie?" His call was a futile attempt to find her her without raiding though the lieutenant's house. Because afetr five days OTG, the last thing he wanted was for her to come back to a raided house.
He was careful to leave no trace. It didn't take long to come to the conclusion she was missing, but she wouldn't of left as her stuff was still there. Maybe she didn't have the time, or didn't care. Or she never left the colony, she just went out to the market for a little bit.
She couldn't of been taken, there was no sign of a struggle or forced entry beyond his own. Besides, who in Terra Nova would kidnap a fourteen year-old girl? This wasn't Chicago where people would kill for money, or food. Everyone was carefully vetted. The Sixers still got through, and for all he knew they were the ones that took her.
Jim signed, it was time to tell Wash. She was expecting an update, so he couldn't wait to tell her person.
He didn't have to tell her for her to know what he was going to say. "She's not there."
He couldn't help but wonder how she knew that. Did she know she was leaving? "How'd you know?"
"Because I left." It was a simple sentence that held so much emotion and such honesty it seemed to actually hurt her.
|~Brother or Mother~|
Thre were other animals inside the cave. Three including Mike. The other two were already there when she found the place, it was part of the reason she chose to stay. That and the stream of water that was a couple minutes walk away. The terrain around produced a lot of fun activities. None of which were a good idea, and all of them she had hurt herself doing it at least once. It was never anything major, her recent accident was the worst of all her stupid actions.
She saw her little room a few legs away and she took the steps to cross. She dropped to her knees on the mossy floor and her eyes darting around the open area as she reached for her stuff. The light shimmered down the baby-like hole producing some sunlight and a great view of the night skye once the moon rose.
Her pack wasn't here, she knew where it was but she wouldn't dare to go there. Something about returning to that place tortured her. Lucas was there, answers were there, but so was the cave wall. Her body shuddered at the memory of it. She didn't think she would be able to ever face that dinosaur again. She never could with a velicorapter, she avoided them like plague and when she so much as heard the growl she froze.
Her hand ran over the materials on the ground and each item her hand gripped tight. There wasn't much significant meaning in any object, they were just scarps of clothing and old utensils that were useless now that the meteor fried all the circuits. All except one, she never understood why she kept it, she hid it here in an attempt to never see it again, but she came back here. She never meant to, not after she found Lucas again, but then he got busy, she got bored and she needed time. She swore she threw it in the ocean, or maybe that was just a dream, a fantasy where she could forget the past and not have it haunt her in the daylight. It never worked out, and she always held onto it. It was never meant to be a trophy, but somehow it ended up being the worst kind of prize, and she never even bothered to wipe off the blood.
|~Brother or Mother~|
She stayed at the cave all day. Dreading the moment she had to make the decision. She was already pushing her luck. Taylor would be back from OTG soon, she had to get back early before anyone was sent to check on her.
Unless she chose to stay.
That's what she intended to do. She never meant to go back. This was where she would live the rest of her life, grow old. She would never have to experience the pain of seeing another human again, the only flesh belonging to a human she would ever see would belong to her.
She wouldn't go back to the Sixers. Go back to Lucas.
She couldn't.
She had to run. Run away as far as possible away from her problems. Then she wouldn't have to bother with the pain, the lies, the secrets. She would be safe. Protected from the manipulation, the cruelty...the hope.
|~Brother or Mother~|
They got in late. It was already dark when they finally drove in, but despite wanting to stay out there another day, dreading the return, she wouldn't keep everyone out there another night.
Her body was exhausted by the time she finally got out of the car. Typically, she would've went home and collapsed, this was no typical night. She couldn't pull herself to face the reality tonight. Instead she made a path for the barracks to take a shower. It was better than going come. She would have to eventually, but till she collapsed of sleep deprivation she would busy herself.
Freshly showered and her hair hanging loose at her shoulders she made her way up the steps of Command. Taylor would be there, she could debrief now and let him know her trip went fine.
"Sir." She gave him a respectfully nod, her eyes not straying from his. She noticed the paperwork was laid out, piles of datapads scattered across his desk. "Getting an earlier start on paperwork?"
"It doesn't do itself. How was Outpost 9?"
"Good. Ready for debrief."
"You're probably exhausted, you should home, get some rest. Debrief can wait till tomorrow." He waved his hand dismissedly.
She quirked an eyebrow, "Sir?" This wasn't like him. He was lowering his hand when the light caught it and shined a spotlight on the mostly healed wound.
She was over by him in a moment's notice, her tiredness quickly forgotten. "What happened?" She uncharismatically took his hand and started examining it.
He knew there was no point of hiding it, not now that she knew. "Mira."
The one word was all it took for her blood to boil. "How?"
"I was looking at Lucas' calculations–he's getting close–" Her eyes narrowed, forcing him to continue and not with the update. "She got the drop on me."
"Have you been to the infirmary, had Dr. Shannon looked at these?" She already knew the answer before the words even left her mouth. "These could've gotten infected. What, were you going to wait till I got back for me to stitch them up?"
"Wash, your motherly side is coming out." He joked about that with her time to time, and she always came back with a quick- witted remark. Something border-lining insubordination, but never crossing. This time only a smile flickered across her face but it disappeared as quickly as it came.
"Wash, you all right?" Concern laced his voice. Her hitting him in reply would make more sense then this troubled look marring her face.
Her eyes darted away from his, bring them to the ground, slowly closing them. She knew the moment she said it out loud it'd be real, and she'd have to face the truth again.
Nathaniel waited patiently, growing more suspicious about her behavior since she rarely avoided a conversation. Finally she opened up, her voice strong, but holding a sense of vulnerability. "Natalie left."
Immediately, he understood her behavior. He couldn't offer her any comfort, nothing that would make it better. "I got the alert."
Alicia merely nodded, giving a slight indication of acknowledgement. "I had Shannon check on her, she wasn't there."
"Have you gone home yourself?" She knew what he was really asking.
Her gaze shifted downwards, trying to hide the slight hint of sadness edging up in her eyes, "No, I came straight here."
He knew it wasn't for debrief. She chose to come to Command, almost as if she dreaded going home. He knew at moments she did, but being so tried that feeling disappeared. It's why she worked so hard, why he was so against this new development. It was back to the days short after Natalie disappeared. She came here to avoid the answer.
He knew there was more to why she left on the trip, but he didn't ask. They drew personal boundaries of what they could and could not ask about one another. She never asked too much about Lucas, he never asked too much about Natalie.
"Alicia," The shift from professional to personal had her looking up, "You can't avoid your house forever."
|~Brother or Mother~|
It was everything she feared it would be.
The house was dark, clean and empty. Untouched, and uninhabited.
The lights flickered on and a short message laid still on the clear counter. She didn't have to read it to know what it was written. It wouldn't be a apology, it would just be a goodbye note with a single sentence just like last time.
Sorry, I failed your test.
Five words was it all it took to make her military facade drop. Five words that hurt more than the spiteful words Natalie had thrown at her just days previous. Five words which to the common eye made no sense, but hit her harder knowing what Natalie truly thought.
And those five words were not an apology.
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