Carina stood at the edge of the concrete walkway of the shelter.
Stoical, her arms were crossed as the thick wool blanket that protected her from the chilliness of the early morning rested onto her shoulders, gazing the uneventful landscape, far beyond the forest in the distance; the chasm between the silhouette of the mountain range and the starry sky that slowly turned between black and blue, announcing the break of dawn, began to juxtapose.
She observed keenly aware and immersed in a thoughtful seriousness at the distance, girding her thin eyebrows in her tired expression. Towards the next step in this journey. To The Passage.
Unexpectedly, a tapping of calm footsteps approaching her from behind made her briefly peeked over her shoulder searching for its owner without even disrupt her.
Her attention was elsewhere. Where it needed to be.
This was going to be the last time of quietness before everything changed…
"Having a hard time to gain some sleep…?" She heard Andal's casual voice as he summed up the pace and stood next to her. She didn't answer him, beaming and knowing out of the corner of her eye that he was watching her. "You know what it says, 'no rest for the weary…'"
Carina snorted. "Those beasts either," Her voice was a jaded murmur, yet she let out a grimace every time he spoke to her. "I will rest the day they do it so, in pieces…"
She heard him hold back his laughter as he crossed his arms and now turned his attention to the same place where she was looking at. "I almost feel sorry for those wretches! They will not see it coming then!" He commented, shaking his head, gesturing.
Carina barely let out a sigh, feeling as her lips by reflection, were trying to catch that easygoing attitude. But as soon as she noticed it, the sensation began to disappear; her primary aim was to remain always vigilant, and as she let herself be at ease because of the sudden mood, this pushed her buttons as triggering warning. Every time she felt like this, calm.
It was her only shield, and a reminder that in times like this, caution must prevail over. Even if the intent to lighten the burden on her shoulders was an attempt to relieve the distress of her duties, or even if it was Andal who did it.
There was only one time she let something like this go.
It must not happen again.
She stirred uneasily, as if wising up, adjusting her blanket anxiously as her thoughts went back from a sadden past towards the frontier among the mountains.
"I hope so…" Was all she mumbled.
She heeded the man still eyeing her, brooding, and with the prospect of no need to add anything else to the case. The sole implication of her words was a common and implied understanding for both to keep, though there was a slight restlessness in him as they both gaze again at the horizon, sharing the quiet vigil, hearing the distant howling of the early-rising wildlife and the agonizing perseverance of the crickets in the bordering boscage of the path that lead from the shelter into the depths of the forestry.
The zephyr blew in the chilly morning air and filled that quietness with the shush of the treetops in the outskirts. The whole scene then became a jarring imagery between the tranquility at the edge of the night and the reveille announcing what was about to happen.
Her thoughts soon wandered the millions of probabilities as she reassessed the plan again and again in her head: the number of people deployed for the tactical maneuvers; the field and a possible advantage for the strategy; the weaponry they had and the available replenishment, in addition to the firepower; the only two assets that could face the enemy offensive with the only advantage of speed and the unprecedented and supernatural gift they had; the lives of those who accompanied them; the only chances of survival, against all they had not…
She sighed, casting her eyes down to hide her darkest fears. The burden weighing on her shoulders all this way since the moment they left Antigua was a grueling tribulation.
Under the blanket, she rubbed the rings of her finger with her thumb like a mantra to which she clung with the same energy that she devoted in her weary body to keep always on the lookout. And when she looked up again, confused to hint the break of dawn near, her mind made an estimate how much time had passed and how much remained for the beginning of this new stage.
The skyline was there before her, slowly fading its deep blue against the rocky blackness of the mountains in the distance that started to begin to lose its gloom intensity irremediably while seconds by.
Feeling a cramp in the pit of her stomach, she tightened her fist.
They were almost there…
"I contacted the last squad leaving the perimeter half an hour ago: there's no change," Andal' voice rumbled in the stillness. "Some will stay here securing the shelter while the rest will be there…"
Carina returned her attention with a brief but tense nod and a flat gesture on her lips, finding despite the gloom around them, the glow of Andal's expressive huge black eyes, without needing to say anything else. She knew what he was thinking.
Thoughtful, he looked her straight into her eyes, endorsing each of his words in mute assertion.
"We will follow the plan. There's still 3 more hours..." She allowed herself to say, looking at him and making disappear, even if the enormous task of whatever would happen seemed to crush her, any trace of despair.
The hermetic sound of each part of her gun that she was fitting back together echoed in the twilight stillness at the small corner of the armory.
Joyce, was sit on an old tarnished drum next to the table where the ammunition was arranged, illuminated by a battery-powered lamp, controlled her ammunition and the weapons she held meticulously: the sidearm in her hands, her long-range energetic rifle, a grenade belt with a detonator, and an old knife sheathed in black leather scabbard, a crimson seal with a bird-like creature inside an eight-pointed star rested on the bone handle.
The beam of light made some of her blond locks of hair slide of the black woolen cap, shimmering in the shade of her surroundings, and also made the rhythm of her breathing clear and transform her exhalations into a steam while clicking sounds crackled.
Giving the final adjustments with dedicated meticulousness, she stood and cocked the gun carefully examining its sight, triggering and making the banging sound echoed in a rumble as if it were loaded; again and again, every time even more faster than the last one, she repeated the process and pull the trigger with driven diligence, making her whole face cringe and her eyes become sharp reflexes of her every move. Though every moment the trigger was pulled measuring the sight of the gun, her breath was encased in her chest as the invisible bullets assessed the target practices in her mind. As soon as she eased the tension in her shoulders with an exhalation, a calmness seemed to reflect a fulfilled thrill of accomplishment in her demeanor. This one was ready.
Resting the sidearm on the table, but not before cocking it one last time as a routine, her attention went to the key part of the operation. Placing the rifle in front of her and leaning its supports, gently removed the sight to do a quick check.
"If you hold your breath like that you will faint…" A playful female voice was heard, satin and softly accented, emerging from the shade. Joyce turned in surprise but greeted her with a grimace as her figure step into the light.
With the curve of a smile, Yara came into view wrapped in a thick hooded jacket, her hands in its pockets to keep herself warm, approaching the work table in a curious mocking manner, while the blond woman turned to her work pleased for her presence.
"Shooting these babies is like swimming. You have to give little sips of air with each stroke," She joked with at her side, glancing her at those suggestive brownish and intense eyes that never cease to stare her enthralled.
Joyce widen her smile at the sight before her, the corner of her lips curved with a smirk before turning back at the telescopic sight of her rifle. "That's why I enjoy diving more than swimming, hun. Like diving, I do it all at once, and then the tension goes away," She said. "Thing is knowing where to plunge," She later implied, dazzling bright light-blue eyes turned to her partner in a dramatically yet suggestive way.
Joyce saw the wagging in her partner's thin lined eyebrows before turning her attention to her work once more. "That doesn't mean you're not good at one-on-one. We both know that you are just as lethal as a marksman as you're a fighter. You can fight pretty well..." She heard her soft accent which she knew quite well what wanted to imply as the smirk of her smooth lips wanting to appear just casual, like a subtle language between them. "but you know, the fact that every time you pull the trigger you make that pout, and I can see the dimple on your chin, doesn't scare anyone, love. You look so pretty though!"
Joyce turned to her baffled but teasing, letting out a joyful snicker that made each of the freckles on her cheeks wrinkle while trying to stifle a laughter and elbowing her friend, her face flushed brighten up her skin marks. "Oh, shush you! Since when someone has to know if is doing a funny face when sending some bugs to the afterlife?"
They guffawed enjoying themselves, and for a brief instant a brush of Yara's shoulder against her arm made Joyce feel the need to leave everything what she was working on, just to hear and see that sun kissed face of hers bright in heartwarming euphoria.
"I'm not saying I don't love your funny faces, but seriously though, if you hold your breath, you'll faint babe," Yara emphasize, teasing even more but a playful allusion was hinted in the spark of her eyes. Before turning to her again, Joyce shook his head at the thoughtful possibility chuckling, and finishing her work with the telescopic sight the laughter died down.
"As I said..." Joyce added with a roguish air, setting the sight in place and checking and aiming the barrel to at a simulated target, she took the shot, making the hammer roar with a blunt rumbling sound. "I just need to know where, and that's all..."
She turned to her with a crafty grim on her lips, finding the brilliance of that intense look carefully observing every corner of her face as if were taking note of each of her freckles in a silence implicit language that only they knew.
"That's why I want you always on my back," Yara whispered, adding to the curve of her lips with her sweet voice.
Joyce smiled back, noticing how the light from the lamp highlight the sparkling in her eyes, and shared the intent by memorizing each of those graceful features of her curvy face and cheekbones, even noticing that peculiar twitch at the tip of her small rounded nose every time she smiled. It was a funny but mesmerizing scene for her, knowing how faithful her motives were, how truly her feelings are.
In a brief and sudden motion, she touched with her fingertip to that spot, making her barely blink in surprise in an affectionate gesture. "You look pretty like that too, honey!" She muttered playfully.
Yara chuckled, and her lips arched even more to graze her tanned cheeks.
The murmur of their laughter ran in the privacy of the early morning under the cover of the lit lamp, and immersed in their own complicity, they did not notice someone watching them.
He announced himself with a shy cough, trying to hide his gaze and nervous smile as his hands search a spot on his coat when realizing that perhaps he had bad timing to make an entrance. Both girls immediately turned around, startled at first, but then restless when they recognized him.
"Hey guys, hmmm... Sorry, but huh- you're both needed in the cabin," Brent's tired raspy voice addressed to both, trembling with some discomfort.
She saw Yara take some distance from her and cast restless glances between her and the newcomer, watching her subtle motions out of the corner of her eye as she turned roughly to the table and tried to disguise the tension in her body language turning to work with measured movements.
Sensing the urgency of her subtleties, and even needed to say anything when her partner snatched more into her coat to, hesitantly, pretend to leave for the meeting point as if was asking.
She even stopped her.
It only took a quick nod after noticing that one gesture of hers when words were not necessary and dangerous for others to hear. Even in that place.
And, even so, with the tension floating in the air and the raw feelings running high, it even played against her nerves as she worked on the delicate element in front of her; this was a common currency in her life, and right now, every fiber of body focused all that energy to expel it at the right moment. To something worth it, the target. To the enemy.
But, anyway, there was always something else, and this specific situation had an extra feeling that electrified her spine.
A reason to fail…
"So, hmm… Better get going..."
That murmur, intrusive and apathetic that tried to create some sort of familiarity, intruded in her ears with such impudence that it was invasive enough to make straighten her back and turn to give him a scathing glare.
"I heard it the first time," She spat. It was for sure that, aside the coarseness of her voice and even having that distinctive taunting tone in it, the liveliness of her eyes would speak even more loudly than any rejection that could be given or seen at first sight. And from the baffled expression she saw in that boy, the jumpy movement in his throat and the anxiety of his face was proof enough to catch the cue to go back to his business was received.
Nodding anxiously and not wanting to stay any longer and fearing to look at her again, he walked away, letting his footsteps be lost in the dying blue of the twilight towards the light coming from the cabin.
When the silhouette of that poor bastard was a diffuse movement in the shadows, she turned again to the work table, flustered in a raging but concealed anger and letting gush out a strong groan of irritation, leaning both hands extended on the edges of the table, shifting annoyingly in her spot; rage starting to make a lump in her throat as she clenched her fist with edginess. She worded a slur with a hiss while turning and starting to wander in the narrow place, unraveling part of this indignation with a steady punt to an old sack.
As she leaned back on the table trying to get rid of the bile emotion, closing her eyes and letting some of her body weight fall resignedly on his arms, she let herself go in an exhalation.
Her pulse was a mess, and as she pried her eyes to look at her right hand, it took much of her might not to burst into another quick-tempered flare of affronts.
Her hand was shaking, and the reasons why she was like this were getting her on the edge.
Fucking adrenaline! Serves only to fuck you up!
She clenched both her fists now, stirring impatiently again, but measuring her anxiety with a breathing exercise.
Her life depended on it. Not just for the obvious reasons, but for mastery.
One deep breath, and release, like diving.
Again, and again.
She closed her eyes.
Breathed in...
The darkness became a solid image.
The tunnel vision of her sight sharpened all her senses while the erratic and violent mob down there rushed unrestrained and chaotic through the dusty streets and collapsing structures of a sieged city, unaware of her hegemony.
Fallen everywhere, and at her mercy, an Archon.
Her prey...
Two shots, and it would be all...
Her index finger is all she felt moving.
She pulled the trigger.
One.
The Arc barrier fell, and the beast staggered in rage, dazed and stunned.
Reload.
Again, at her mercy. The last shot.
A collective war roar broke out in the Horde down there, and the tunnel vision disappeared.
A radio transmission burst in her ear. A distress call.
A cry for help, whose voice she recognized.
She hesitated.
Failed.
She opened her eyes.
Breathed out...
The same rifle was there, same ammunition and situation.
But her past self wasn't there. Nor Antigua or those who lived there either; they were long gone. A memory of dust and fire, of terror and chaos.
Joyce blinked, chasing away this reminiscence of her most desperate moment, and turned her attention to her right hand.
She was in control again. She must be…
Sighing, her attention turned at the surroundings covered in the shady calm of the blackened earliness, trying to distract himself and collect all that tension for later.
There was a target to shoot at, and hesitation would not be an option.
Not this time…
She felt the brush of the blankets against her body and the friction of her clothes against her skin when she wrapped herself up, stretching herself only slightly, for fear that by doing it too much the cocoon where she was keeping the heat against the cold would collapse; she had only left a little space where she breathe, and which at times she re-arranged whenever the chilly air make their way into her.
It was a placid warm sensation that invited her to fall again under the safety of slumber every time she felt to wake up. Because she was comforted, because she was safe.
She breathed out deeply, nestling her face against the rough wool folded in four that was used as a pillow, surrounding it with both arms and holding toward her torso, and folding her legs to her chest. Everything around was an abstracted complete stillness, and the echoes of the sleepless world had disappeared into the lethargy. Though something at the edge of her unconsciousness oscillated with a musing sensation, causing this little lucidity pulsing like a dying star made her stir unnervingly aware, as the shadow of an unavoidable moment seemed to approach.
There was something strange, overwhelming yet familiar, and slowly, that alleged tranquility and its fragile veil that separated certainty from of the outside world was drawing the restlessness that precedes awakening to a harsh reality preceding a beautiful dream. Or just to the real life.
She perceived a subtle sway on the cot, followed by the grumble of shy, cautious and measured cracks on the wooden floors; deliberate, as far as she could recognize in the midst of drowsiness; and restrained, where with every second passing by they were heard making her muscles tense and became more and more attentive.
Then, there was another sound. Several in fact, equally discreet, but suspicious; like the friction of something resistant but soft, a light metallic tinkle every time that, again, the crackles tried to resume its cautious way in the middle of the dimness; a singular and very soft sound like the cooing of water, but subtle like the wind in the trees. Fleeting like a beam of light.
And then, some muffled angry swearing…
She wide her eyes open with the urgency of a heartbeat, the very same that now was knotted in her throat, blinking as trying to chase away the sleepiness, adjusting her eyesight in the dark while standing straight awkwardly and coming out of the wooled cocoon, caring little about being outside the only barrier that kept her warm refuge from the icy uncertainty.
Those sounds were wrapped in the same veil of shadows that she had around her, and they took shape making her perceive where to look. Where it was worth to look.
She saw him become paralyzed, as if trying to be one with the darkness and become invisible, giving his back to her and with no intention of turn around. As if he were afraid.
Sitting, tense but shivering with anxiety, she could see him clearly in the dimness.
Now fully awake, the cold of the morning and its play of shadows brought her to reality, recognizing the harshness of the world in which she lived as she came finally out of her safe place.
She fixed her gaze on him, feeling how each of her muscles reacted to the tension, releasing some of those nerves by squeezing the blanket wool on her lap, while every gram of her energy became a sharp glint between her eyebrows, demanding him to turn around and face her. She needs it.
And with reluctance, it worked.
He looked over his shoulder, barely turning and not saying a word. His eyes shone amid the shadows in bright electric azure, looking at her with the certainty that she would know with absolute assertiveness what was going on in his head at that moment. And so it was…
There was concern in them, sadness, worry; those shimmering lens moved restlessly trying to hold her gaze on him, or at least, make an effort to do it, wanting to express something with a deep feeling, but not succeeding. Part of that sorrow they expressed was because of being found and exposed as someone who seemed to be running away.
But then again, there was also something in the way those eyes looked at her that made any trace of doubt disappear letting be known that those emotions were the result of something else, and not what it seemed to be first-hand.
A small glimmer in the radiance of those eyes crushed her chest every time she spotted this moment happening, and what they mean to express its eve.
Longing.
She tried to ease the anguished feeling in her throat, swallowing the uncertainty that was pushed to ooze from inside and began to burst in her eyes, never stop gazing at him with a plea. Standing and immobile under the blue morning that approach inevitable, washing the surroundings in gloomy anticipation.
In her heart she swore that if there was a way to prevent this, she would do what every means to be necessary to do to be able to prevent it.
Getting herself together, summing up all the courage she could, she left the safety of her resting place to go to him, fighting with all her might so that every step she walked would not end up breaking her.
In silence and preserving that same solace in his eyes, he turned slowly to receive her as the tiny shape of Ghost peeked out from behind and moved away, taking some distance when she recognized, without the need to word it, what was happening, because this was a moment between the two of them.
Agony had taken hold of her voice, leaving her mute, and every attempt to utter a word was a tortuous struggle. The distress of stifling that same uneasiness had made her look away, not wanting to openly expose how her emotions were beginning to erode her will in an attempt not to wane and give in to the selfish desires that were screaming inside her head, from every corner of her mind, that she had to stop this.
She was there now, standing in front of him, surely expecting her to say something, but all she could do now was keep her head down and squeezing her eyes shut, blaming about how cowardly she was for not having the strength to prevent herself of crying.
"You're a light sleeper," He said suddenly in a low tone.
His voice brought her out of her restless trance, and baffled, she looked up at those bright eyes that looked at her with a personal and intended gesture.
"I tried to leave many times, and all those times it seemed that you were about to wake up and throw something at me," He said as she watched him shift in place with both hands on his waist. "You have good ear! Can't escape no matter how I try to…!" He added, the blinking of his voice had a cheerful mood.
She let slip a slight grin pursing her lips as she looked downcast again, trying to gather her strength; she felt that if she gave in more to this talking, some of the anguish she was trying to hide away would be release. This was not the time, she needed to be strong.
"And why would you do that…?" She finally asked in a trembling whisper, daring to look at him once more, hugging herself as she felt not only the cold in her arms, but the restlessness within her.
She saw him hesitating, looking to the side as he seemed to contemplate her query, his vocal module blinked with a restless babble. And after a few moments, staring back with the shine of his eyes, he let out a confession in a tacit murmur.
"I… don't know..."
She was so close to him now. Tulisse could see him gazing at every angle of her face while she was struggling to keep distress in check, clinging by the elbows to the sleeves of her sweater, not wanting to yield to the agony of parting, returning to him with the same intensity, the implicit feeling in his eyes, holding back the urgency to give off all that sadness, forcing down her throat all emotion of pain.
She tried to hold her gaze on him as long as she could, her vision became blurred and her eyes stung, until the weight of angst overcame her.
They remained silent, and she was sure that he was waiting for an answer worthy of this heartfelt revelation.
Looking down her eyes clouded in tears. She saw him drop his arms again at both sides and stirring in the place and perceiving that insistence of trying once more to get her attention. Squeezing her eyelids as the tears were beginning to drain, and with both arms surrounding her torso, she felt her body shudder.
She heard him shifting impatiently in his spot again, thanks to those same sounds that woke her up, and the certainty that the distance between them was now even inches close, became so evident and was perceived clearly in front of her, measured with subtle movements. As if he did not want to chase her away.
Pulling herself together once more, at least to say something, she tried to regain the strength of her voice so as not to finally break down, wanting somehow let out part of that commotion before it consumed her to her very core.
If this moment had come, then, she should treasure until the last second that was given to her.
"I should have read yesterday. I… I didn't… like you asked me the last time you left, and… now, I don't know how the story goes and what will happen to the old pirate. I should… I should have done it when I could; like last night... At least- At least… I would have taken the chance while I could, and… not been such a coward... So selfish!" Tulisse reproached herself, feeling her throat hurt and burning at the same time while trying to conceal her trembling frame. "And now… I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if there will be a chance anymore... Now-I don't-!" She halted when her voice hushed away in tears.
And in the midst of the silence and the shed tears, another gentle motion in front of her was followed by the slight rose of two firm hands resting on her shoulders and running down her arms, gently undoing the tense grip of hers. She raised her gaze and shyly returned her compassionate gaze to the one in front of her.
Cayde's eyes stopped in hers, and that gentle glow they radiated helped her to drive the anguish away.
The expressions of his face have such fidelity despite the little light and thanks to this closeness, perceiving the profound feeling he professed to her. Her heart jumped at the explicitness of memorizing her every gesture.
She felt her hands contained within his, and the soft touch of the leather was warm while the caressing on her knuckles was tender but firm, in an attempt to comfort her.
"And if there were another chance, what would you do?" He asked in a gentle murmur, brighten his features, while downstairs the grumble of voices began to announce the break of dawn, and the morning glow began to draw more clearly the silhouettes around them.
She contemplated not just his words as her eyes began to haze in tears, yet the significance of that question was implicit at his unique gaze on her. She would break, even if every part of herself asked to let go. Not now.
"I would read... I would read and wait for you to tell me how I did," She tempered her voice, avoiding to wave, biting his lower lip as a smile began to appear and a shy giggle wanted to chase away the sadness. "And I would have some help from Ghost for sure, when you can't say me if it's OK because you got lost and don't know how to explain me..."
He gestured the closest thing to a playful sneer tilting his head sightly, squinting his gaze without looking away. "You'll never let that go, huh…?" He mumbled wittily, paying special attention to her lips.
She shook her head teasing him, grinning as she held onto his hands, feeling a reciprocity in the back of hers; she even saw him chuckling with a blink of his tune, never taking her eyes off her.
There was a brief silence between the two of them, as she noticed that he was again gapping at her beaming visage.
"Then I won't do it either," He reassured. "I won't miss another chance," There was conviction in his voice.
Soon as the faint smile vanished into emotion, she pursed her lips in a futile attempt to keep the tears from running down her cheeks, not hiding it this time.
Again, every word said was contemplated, and each one of it charged with the sentiment that made that bit of strength in her stagger. But, at the same time, invited her to open herself to him at last. No fear and with total openness.
"I'd like to believe what you said… That I'm brave… I want to believe that!" Her voice was a shattered stutter. "I want to be brave! To help other people the way you guys helped me! I want to do something in return!" Hesitating, she looked at his face that was veiled with concern. "I want to help you...!" Finally added.
She watched him remain silent as his eyes looked at her with intent, feeling that each beat of her heart was a desperate stroke to escape from agony in which she was sinking away.
"You are, Lis; and I'd want the same thing too..." He whispered to him at the end.
At that openness, that tightness in her chest was fused with the warm sensation that every emotion exposed was mutual at last, while he, still holding her hands and no looking away from her eyes in which now tears flowed freely, raised his hands letting hers rest on his chest.
"When I go back, and I will, we'll be on the road again to that place I told you 'bout. We're all going to make it in one piece, you hear me?" He assured. "And when we were far away from here, far away from any danger, you'll read me 'bout the ol' pirate, yeah?"
Just as she did all this time, she grasped at his every feature and nodded eagerly, without looking away. It took all her remaining strength not to finally give in, asserting to him unconditionality all time, knowing that he wouldn't need her to put it into words what she was implying.
"'Til then, let's make a deal," Cayde added, making her blink in confusion. "There's no need for long goodbyes; it's… just a walk. When you realize, I'll be back. So, let's make the next time worthwhile, whaddya say?"
Tulisse hesitated, trying to grasp the reason for that request and the peculiar glow in his eyes when he asked. And something in them made her understand finally, recalling sensations of minutes ago behind the real reason for his early but failed departure; from the moment she woke up and saw him getting ready to leave.
Now, it was clearer. The reasons of this melancholy. That longing…
Now, she understood.
She held back an exhalation of anxiety, and finally answered, smiling.
"I'll do…"
With her eyes gleaming with tears, even when they were the product of grief, they gave an outspoken assertion.
And after her express response, she was certain to see him smile.
Expressed in his face, the brightness of his eyes, and the way he held her hands against his chest, not wanting to ever let her go; every gesture guaranteed without no need of telling, her reply was definitive.
It was all he needed.
In the same way she trusted him every time he asked, and like all the times when their words were upheld with actions.
Like the times she saw him leave.
Like last night.
Like a promise.
Now, it was she who granted it.
The radiance of dawn was beginning to appear behind the rugged silhouette of the mountain range, and the melancholy color of the early morning had been replaced by the aliveness that the sunlight was beginning to bring out.
At the foot of the entrance to The Base, the group of 50 men and women talked in murmurs, exchanging anxious grins and some laughter to relieve the tension of the moment. Each one already equipped, weapons on their shoulders, camo capes and the attentive look of the movement inside the communications cabin, where the last and most important detail of the operation was being prepared for one last trip.
In the most reticent of silences, the first ones to appeared was Yara escorted by Joyce, Darwin and Andal, with his full dark-gray leather equipment, plasteel vest marked in a vibrant red stripe like his cape. The AIM, a key piece of the assault, modified and adjusted to be carried like a backpack, was secured thanks to Yamir's effort, who peeked out immediately after them; the dark circles under his eyes and the exhaustion was read in his fac; always alert, he followed closely the important item with the wariness of those who know the value of something unique, but which was not more important than those who helped in the task and were, moreover, those whose function would be just as essential as it was this device to execute the whole plan with no setbacks.
Behind them, with a more diffident pace trying to conceal how the tension in the environment affected him, Brent went out to meet the whole group; stiff yet thoughtful, his height made him stand out from the rest of his companions, and he tried to hide under a shabby cap the uneasiness reflected in his gaze, the same drowsy shade bordered his pale eyelids.
And finally, Carina was the very last to come out. However, something was different.
She was no longer the same…
Unlike the boy just a few steps ahead, her demeanor was stern yet assertive and fearless. Any vestige of concern or doubt that would have been present in the early hours was now gone.
Her hazel eyes shone with a roaring radiance, and where before it seemed the heaviness of exhaustion would crush her, there was now a battling resolution of survival, presenting the tenacious unwavering look of someone who can still fight.
With a firm steady pace, her leather boots rattled against the paved floor, ready for a journey into The Wilderness.
She walked to meet the company, her crew, and as soon as they saw her coming out, the look of their faces transformed, standing up to greet her in solemn reception. The jumpy smiles and restlessness dissipated as soon as they noticed her, and even with her small figure yet standing out presence approaching hastily as they encircled her, spotting themselves around her to get a place for what was necessary to listen to, aside of any new indication in the original plan, or rectification, they were now willing to hear a different kind of message: Her words.
The facade of the woman who only duty seemed to heal the wounded and embellish her face with a gentle and jaded smile, offering a relief to the anguished soul, always reflective of her actions and concerned about the forthcoming while she looked at the morning horizon, was long gone.
Now, before them was someone who was not only willing to heal the wounds, but also inflict them in order to protect those under her leadership and care.
In the morning quietness, and looking each one of them in the eye, Carina Bright stood, abstracting from any other task or word the all Crew.
"The plan is the same, as it was said last night. There will be 2 groups of 20 people, each that will fence at the perimeter, previously wiping out the marauders patrolling the area for potential intruders," Carina stated, making the gentle chime of her voice now a clear and firm command stridency. "Once they're in position, our marksmen will be the ones to execute. "She turned her attention briefly to Yara, kneeling in front of her squadron captain, Joyce, and to Cayde, who stood silently and only nodded. "There will be radio silence during deployment, and the frequency will only be opened once in position," She clarified by asserting her words with a strict gesture of her hand. "Sticking to the plan is vital. There will be no exceptions," There was emphasis in those last words. "Having them, means to die…" Her stare settled directly on Armand, who noticing the tone of his commander's glance, just shifted in his spot, displaying a defiant stance to show his disagreement at being exhorted to obey.
In the face of this clarification and the heavy silence, the light of the new day was only a small detail on the stage ahead. The glances among them intensified, and the anxiety and restlessness that prevailed minutes before was now a solemn stillness before The Great Act.
Carina remained there, standing, staring silently at each one of them while the first beams of the Sun began to enter inside the enormous place gradually, brightening upon the whole group entirely and making the golden light of the dawn shine in those aged hairs giving her an aura of magnificence.
In a fleeting glance, with the figure of Sarah in the crowd encouraging her on, she manifested the strongest of her emotions, reflecting them on all the faces to all around her.
"I'm not asking you to die, I'm asking you to live. This is not blind obedience, but diligence, because I want everyone back, safe and sound. Your every action falls now into your own hands every time you go out there and have to watch on your back, and your companions' backs. And that's what I'm asking you: To fight! Side by side, because we are brothers in arms! Because we are who have each other to count with, and no one will do this job for us! We got this far, together! And if anyone gets left behind, we will all be there to helped them to stand up and move forward!"
Her whole expression was a blazing semblance and a passionate spirit, and the feeling was contagious in each of the people as they listened to her.
"We shall all arrive to that place, our Promised Land; it does not matter how, when, but it will be all or nothing! Because I swear to you, whatever force is above us now, and you can take my word for it that I will have to open the way with my own hands, it will be so! The path lies before us and we will spare no effort to cross it! It is ours! And it will be ours and for anyone who still wants to survive!"
In each one of them was now embracing the blaze that arose from that small woman, as they motivated each other more and more before the imminence. The clamor welcomed them all and they celebrated it with exaltation.
"Now, let's get those sons of a bitch out of our way!"
Bravery invited them to accomplish that feat, and they applauded emboldened a in a deafeningly outcry.
Those 50 people, hasty to march to the fight, prepared their equipment and any element for the assault. Once ready, they began the long walk that would divide them, a few miles inside the forestry, for the offensive deployment.
There were also indications from Carina and Sarah to the few who remained inside the place to prepare everything to mobilize keeping a minimal watch on backup ready for departure when the times comes. And while the last stragglers of the company of 50 people were departing down the road, those few left behind patted the shoulders of the one who was the ideologist of all this, as a wish of good luck as other few of that squadron offered a brief greeting to those who were be there at the awaiting for the impending news.
The line of men and women was getting lost among the woods slowly, with the line of trees in the distance dividing The Base into The Unknown, like leaving it to chance.
Again, Carina was on the edge of the concrete walkway, welcomed by the sunrise as the lucidity of her gaze followed closely each of those companions, brothers, who were now marching, doing what they knew, just like her, it was a risky move and the only one they could make now.
The darkness and uncertainty of the night was gone, it was only Light. And the mournful cold that enveloped them all, forcing them to hide, had dissipated.
Now she could see the horizon, and beyond…
She suddenly heard the footsteps of someone joining her, and as she turned, she found the slim figure of Tulisse standing now beside her. The sun was shining on her half tied brown and wavy hair, as the morning chill could not break her stance into the uncertainty, a gentle morning zephyr swayed her hair while she watched to the distance.
Carina mused at her presence for a few moments, maybe surprised to have her there, or… maybe not, but what she could discern with clarity, was all her bearing turned now into a sentry at the doors of a sanctuary, or a lighthouse indicating a way home. Her eyes, those intense dark gray and almond eyes, piercing the thickness of the foliage, seeking.
The woman turned her gaze to the company in the distance, which was now hardly discernible. Her voice emerged with that same gentle tone, but renewed strength.
"They will come back..." She said, breathing out confidently. There was a small ellipsis.
"I know..."
She heard the young woman's deep voice in a statement that now seemed to take on a relentless tone shifting in place, not out of concern but for longing. "They always do…"
Carina looked at her, and even though the young woman seemed to be trying to concealing it, the radiance of the Sun brightening her figure did not prevent the eager glow in her eyes from betrayed her from what she saw in the distance.
To whom she saw, and beyond…