Chapter 36:

Flint sat staring out at the pond from the back porch, sitting motionless in the rocker. He remembered when he and Allie had found them at an old junk shop. They had enjoyed restoring them because Allie said that a good farm needed rockers. She had been so full of life, he sighed. Why had he wasted his time being so angry with her? He would give anything to turn back the clock and change how things had turned out. Because right now, life sucked.

"Hello?"

He heard Duke's voice, realizing he had been so lost in his own thoughts, he hadn't heard a car approach. He didn't move, and Duke soon found him. He didn't say anything and Duke just sat down in one of the rockers next to him, following his gaze to the empty lake.

After a long silence, Flint spoke. "Before," he said, his voice rusty from disuse, "before, we couldn't keep the animals away. It's like they knew…and left with her."

Duke nodded, not sure how to respond to this. He had been charged with checking up on his friend. Since GI Joe had disbanded, thanks to the lack of government funding and the completion of their original mission to defeat Cobra, he knew his friend hadn't done much but stay out at the small farm where he had lived with his wife.

Duke sighed. Each Joe, the ones still in the area, took their turn with him. Without them checking on him, he didn't eat, didn't sleep….Duke personally thought it was Flint's way of punishing himself and he was just waiting to die.

No one knew how to get him out of this depression. God knows, Hawk had sent plenty of professionals out to help. They had either angered the man, or Flint had flat out refused to respond or say anything to them. They just diagnosed severe depression or post dramatic stress disorder, left some medicine that lay untouched on the kitchen counter, and gave up.

Duke wondered if anyone had tried his next approach. He wasn't sure if he wanted to do it, but felt he needed to do something to shock his friend out of this.

"So," Duke began, looking out at the pond again, not meeting Flint's eyes but watching him out of the corner of his, "she'd be about term right now, right? Did anyone tell you whether the baby's been born or not? Didn't you say that they took her away for that purpose?"

He watched Flint's fists clench, and Duke thought he was finally getting a reaction. Then, they slowly unclenched and dropped to his sides.

"I wouldn't know," he finally answered, his voice flat and lifeless.

"You don't know where this Puck took her?"

"No."

Duke sat silently. Well, there had been some reaction, even if it was anger, and he guessed that was good. He felt like a heel at what he was going to say next.

"You know, she was your wife and if she's declared dead, you'd be inheriting quite a lot…" he let his voice trail off to see the effects of this bomb.

Flint slowly turned and faced Duke. "You think I care about her money? What good does money do? Does it bring her back? I killed her, you know! She didn't have to be there, but I killed her!"

Duke was confused. "How could you kill her? She chose to fight this demon, not you. You didn't order her to do it. You weren't sure at first she was even going!"

"I could have saved her. I stood there in the trees and watched! I could've done something!"

Duke sighed. "You're a good soldier, Flint, but if you had interfered…what I understand from what Hawk told me…you would have been instantly killed, or the demon would have used you against Allie. No…you didn't kill her. If she's dead, the demon did it."

"However," Duke continued, speculating, "wouldn't you think if she WAS dead, they would have returned her body to her family? I mean, I don't know how these things work, but I would say they at least would have buried her body or something. They would have to let you know, wouldn't they?"

Flint got up and stormed into the house, slamming the door shut behind him. Duke sighed again. He guessed this visit was over. At least some progress had been made, or at least he thought so. He missed his buddy and wanted him back, but was afraid that, like Allie, he was lost forever as well.