Chapter 7, here we go. So, I originally planned on having the big confrontation between Levi and the base now, but then decided against it for a later chapter (got to have a buildup, and then, explosion). To satisfy my readers who wanted to see that, I give you a chapter with Tracer's POV, but its short, which is the plan with all introductory POV's. Last, before reading, this takes place two months after the last chapter. Other than that, I got nothing to say, except enjoy.
Levi sat quietly in the pews of the synagogue, listening to the Rabbi preach in his native Hebrew. Currently, the man was making his way through the Shemot, pausing here and there to emphasize certain points of interest or religious importance or ties to other events in the Torah. The scout listened faithfully to the religious leader, his eyes focusing solely on him and not roaming, just as his abba had taught him. If someone spoke to you, you listened without wandering eyes; it was a common courtesy.
The Rabbi continued his sermon, until after concluding his reading of the Shemot, he closed his Torah and signaled for those before him to bow their heads in prayer. Once that was finished, Levi left the house of worship and made his way into the small town around it, passing by shops, people, cars, and even a church as a few Gibraltar inhabitants left said establishment.
It was a day off, a day of rest, the Sabbath day. The scout had been given leave for the day to a close by town for reasons unknown to him, but if he had to guess, it had something to do with General Aleksander, who had returned to the Watchpoint, seeing as the war with Egypt had reached its conclusion. Once again, victory was Israel's and their enemies were restored to their place away from the homeland.
Of course, none of the Egyptians had taken the news well last week. The already tense relations they had had been shattered with the outcome of the war, which lasted a short two months. There was bound to be bloodshed sooner or later, but, like any good person, he hoped to avoid it and prayed it faded over time.
"Definitely not," Levi mumbled leaving the streets and entering a local deli for something to eat. His eyes were towards the menu the moment he entered through the glass doors. Nothing good or to his tastes lay before him, so he ordered a coffee and some pancakes.
Within minutes, his food was ready, and he was enjoying non-military food that made his tastebuds sing the highest of praises known to man. Unsurprisingly, he soon found his table occupied by his favorite American buddy, Dan.
"Shalom is in your home, mi amigo."
Levi looked quizzically at his red-haired friend.
"Do you even know what shalom means?"
"Nope, not a damn clue, but I hear you use as a greeting frequently."
"It means peace, Dan. It can either be a greeting or a form of a goodbye."
"Kinda like Aloha right?"
"Yep," Levi scoffed, "like Aloha, and salut in French."
"You speak surrender?"
This little comment earned a light chuckle from the Israeli sniper.
"If by surrender, you mean French, then oui. Ma mère est Français."
"What?"
"My mother is French. I was raised to know English, Hebrew, and French. I got the best of all three cultures in me."
"Ever try being an interpreter?"
"Definitely not. Office work and constantly kissing up to others would kill me."
"Spoken like a true soldier," the American smirked, watching his counterpart perform a mock salute.
"So anything good to eat here?"
"Not really, but everything here is definitely better than the crap we get fed by the military."
"Any recommendations?"
"Pancakes are good."
"They always are; it is scientifically impossible to make bad pancakes."
"Clearly you haven't tried to eat anything my sister makes. I don't know how, but one time, Misha managed to turn a simple slice of bread into a literal piece of garbage. I nearly threw up the moment I swallowed."
"So, pancakes?"
"Your money, your meal."
===line break===
Lena Oxton was bored.
Being bored might have been an understatement to her; she was dying of boredom with every second that passed.
Most of the base were out on leave at the local town, while she was stuck alone trying to cope with the lack of nothing to do. Thanks to her chronal disassociation, she could feel every monotonous second tick by at the rate of a snail. Even a snail might be faster than what she was experiencing.
Of course, these thoughts brought her back to the fateful Slipstream incident. Somedays, she was thankful she had flown that experiment because without it, she probably would not be able to do any of her speedy tricks. Other days, she loathed that very ship with every fiber of her being for screwing over her sense of time.
Today was one of those days.
She wanted something to happen, anything really.
Talon attack, call from Emily, reappearance of Levi, materialization of Widowmaker, or maybe the falling of the sky.
She needed to do something other than nothing—doing nothing always made her feel hazy of reality, as if everything was slowly starting to become a dream.
Chronal disassociation.
How she hated those words, and sometimes the very thing she wore to keep her anchored in the right time, her chronal accelerator. Constant reminders that there was something wrong with her which really couldn't be fixed. Long ago, she had come to terms with it all, but it still pissed her off at worst, or at its most minor, annoyed the hell out of her.
As if whatever power above heard her, her phone started to ring.
Emily.
She immediately answered.
"Hey, darling."
"Hi Lena. A little quick today, aren't we?"
"I am drowning in boredom over here, luv, you have no idea."
"That's unfortunate, anything I can do to help."
"Just keep talking; that's all I need right now."
Emily chuckled.
"You know I love it when you're sappily romantic like that."
"Of course, all for you luv."
"So, how are things, Lena?"
"The usual, Winston and Morrison arguing over everything, me being the negotiator, Talon being its usual elusive self. You?"
"Nothing nearly as interesting as you, just passing the time, reading, and working. Practically counting the days till you arrive home."
"It won't be long till Christmas, now darling."
"Yeah, any idea for what we should do this year?"
Lena paused for a moment to think over anything interesting. All her mind could produce involved Emily, her, a fancy dinner, then a bed, and absolutely zero clothing.
"I can think of a few things."
"Anything non sex related, Lena?"
"Nope. My mind is too focused on that. Sorry but not sorry, luv."
"Well, don't you know how to make a girl feel special."
"It's my secret super-power, but, on a more serious note, we could try going over to your parent's place on Christmas eve. Been awhile since our last visit."
"Sounds great, Lena, I'll call them in a bit. Listen, I'd love to continue talking, but I got to go soon, alright?"
"Okay," Tracer mumbled, not wanting to return to her day of nothingness.
"I'll call you back as soon as I am finished with work."
"Alright."
"Lena."
"Yes."
"I love you, and I'll talk to you soon, okay."
"Love you too, Ems, bye."
"Bye."
Once again, Lena Oxton was left alone in Gibraltar to deal with her chronal dissociation and boredom by herself. But vacation was coming, and Emily with it, so she would soldier on until then.
===line break===
It was dark by the time Levi returned to base. After a short stint at the deli with Dan, he had departed to go explore the town, wandering aimlessly through its streets and some of the shops, occasionally purchasing unique little gifts, ranging from colorful stones to old fountain pens, for his family back in Israel. The place felt homey and antique, as well as looked the part with its relatively technology-less buildings and homes; they were a welcomed reprieve from the futuristic style of almost every city that he had visited, save for Jerusalem, and instantly reminded him of home. As he boarded the dropship to take him back to base, Levi made a mental note to return to this place on his next leave after the holidays.
Like almost all personnel at Gibraltar, the scout was offered time off during the festive winter season to enjoy some rare time with family. In two weeks, he would be home, away from the stream of ridicule and alienation he felt on a daily base. Happiness awaited him on the other side. His mind immediately drifted to what lay waiting for him when Hannukah arrived—good food, gifts (including the ones he had purchased just that day), a warm bed, his abba and mama and achi and achot, as well as friends from the Sayeret Golani. Levi could already see his friends Joshua, Aaron, and Mieza strolling through the door carrying bottles of fine wine and good company in their arms.
Joshua would be the first to end up drunk, an inevitability considering he drank alcoholic beverages almost religiously, shortly followed by Aaron who rarely ever drank, but wouldn't be able to resist, hence leaving only Mieza and Levi the only non-tipsy celebrators, aside from his parents and siblings. Shortly after that, dinner would be served, and the two drunks would of course have to be dragged to their chairs, where they would either pass out cold or slowly recover from their state, and once the usual prayer was finished, the feast would begin. Levi could practically taste every meal that would be before him, and subconsciously, a sound of contentment rose from his throat.
"Happy thoughts? Girl?"
"No, just home, Dan."
"Oh yeah, you got Hannukah coming up soon right?"
"Yep. Mama's gonna be cooking za'atar latkes this year."
"What're those?"
"Basically, carrot waffles, but they taste so good. You got anything waiting for you for Christmas? I assume you celebrate it."
"Yeah, but I got nothing back home, 'cept for maybe a bottle of scotch or whiskey."
"That sucks."
"I know, but one day, I'll have something good to go home to."
Levi nodded, knowingly, thinking of his friend Mieza.
"Where exactly is home for you?"
"Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Greatest state in all of the United ones."
"I bet the other states would say the same."
"But are the others the birthplace of Gumbo and Jazz?"
"What's gumbo?"
"Gator. We eat gator. Come 'round South and you can try some."
"Is it Kosher?"
"Sometimes, depends on the type. You'd like it probably."
"I'll keep that in mind if I'm ever there."
The moment Levi finished the statement, the ship landed in Gibraltar, and the doors creaked open bringing forth the darkened silhouette of the base into view.
"Well, the eagle has landed, I need some shut-eye, man, I'm dying," the American said, stumbling out into the night air and waving back at the Israeli.
"I'll see you in the morning, bright 'n early as usual."
"See you then, Dan, shalom.
"Goodbye."
With one last wave, the American departed along the cracked roads, and Levi was left alone in the silver moonlight. Sighing, he marched along to his own bunk, passing by a few people here and there in for a long night. Most were military, a few scientists. Regardless, they were only shadows in the scout's path, blending in perfectly with the blackened surroundings. Some spoke, some did not; those that did muttered in hushed voices barely audible to his trained ears. They said the same things as usual, attempts at spite and even hollow threats, but they never truly worked against him. Boot camp had prepared him for the worst of verbal beatdowns, and these words were nothing compared to what the Drill Sergeant's had said.
He knew they would continue to do nothing.
He believed it.
He internalized it.
He was wrong.
It was a small thing, nothing extensively bad, a single bottle probably thrown carelessly at his back.
The shock was what set him off. The sudden, splattering of glass onto his back and a single high pitched squeal somewhere in the base.
The scout was on the ground as low as he could go, rolling off the slightly elevated roads and looking to find the thrower of the now broken bottle. He could hear other sounds, older sounds, sounds of war. They crept up on him replacing the quiet gradually, like the volume of an amp being slowly turned up.
===flashback===
"Nobody move! Stay where you are!" the captain yelled at his men, now hunkered along the old buildings at the border of Israel. The abandoned town was alive with gunfire, but it was all distant, background rattles and hums. The scout's platoon was on the other side of the town, the peaceful side, patrolling for enemy insurgents.
A single body lay in the sandy streets, shaking slightly as blood seeped from the entry and exit wounds of the bullet. His uniform slowly darkened with the free-flowing crimson as the sand turned red.
"Captain! I can walk, just get me up! Please!"
"Stay still, goddammit!"
"Kohen, where'd that come from?"
Levi looked up from his position in the dirt, his young, teenage face drenched in sweat and shining with fear. His first trip in combat was showing to be a trial by fire.
"I-I don't know, sir! He could be anywhere!"
"Shit!"
The red sand continued to expand.
"Please! Levi, please!"
A single gory hand reached out towards him.
"Stay still, Yvan!"
The wounded rolled over clutching at his stomach.
"Please!"
"Kohen, you better figure out where the fuck that came from!"
Levi looked up at the housing, praying to God that there would be a single flash of a scope's sight. Nothing.
Please God! Please!
"I can't find him, sir!"
"Fuck! Kohen, get that gun out now and get ready to fire. Mieza, Joshua, get Yvan."
"On my mark!"
A beat of pained cries passed while the unit awaited to move.
"Now!"
The two men designated with dragging their comrade to safety sprinted into the opening, quickly snagging him by the arms and taking him to the other side of the road.
Three loud cracks erupted from a rooftop.
The scout pulled his own trigger, the splatter of blood in the distance followed.
"Shit! Get the goddamn medic over her now!"
"Ah shit! Put Pressure on it!"
The medic immediately appeared, almost out of nowhere, flinging himself to Yvan's side and immediately opening up his fatigues and cutting his shirt in half. A ragged hole awaited him spewing crimson in large heaps. Levi watched terrified.
"Is he gonna make it?"
"Don't know but join the Captain and secure the area now, so he stands a fucking chance!"
A single hand ripped him from the scene and threw him back to his duty of patrol. As the rest of platoon left their friend to be tended to by the medic, they continued to clear out the houses one by one. All but one was deserted.
"Kohen, go 'round the back; Mieza, Joshua, follow him."
They did as was told, navigating their way to the back of the building, finding an already door as a greeting. They tentatively entered. Mieza first, then Joshua, and last Levi holding the back.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
The interior of the building was distinctly Islamic, as seen through the designs and rugs on the floor, but what would have once been a beautiful home was now littered with bullet holes in the walls and assorted cracks all along them. There was the sound of footsteps above on the second floor, just past the stairs.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Mieza slowly creeped up the stairs, reciting his own words of prayer from the Quran. The words flowed off his lips and up to the heavens, quickly and quietly.
Joshua followed shortly behind.
And Levi checked the rest of the bottom floor before tentatively opening up the front door for the rest of the platoon to enter. They stalked in before abruptly stopping at the sound of a loud click.
And then an explosion.
A massive surge of debris and heat slammed the men on the first floor into the ground, flinging dust up in the air like smoke.
"Levi, bandages now!" Joshua yelled amidst the ringing of Levi's ears.
"Levi! It's Mieza!"
"Levi!"
"Levi!"
===line break===
"Levi!"
The scout slowly returned to reality, finding himself rolled up in the dirt beside the concrete road. His head still rang from the sound of the explosion and the air smelled vaguely of spent explosives and burnt human flesh.
"What the hell was that?"
Levi raised his head to face the voice of concern.
Tracer.
"You alright, luv?"
His eyes scanned the rest of his surroundings to see if anyone else was watching him in his moment of flashback. Nobody was around.
"I'm fine…I just need a moment to recover from…that."
His voice was shaky and airy, still holding the fear he felt on his first battle. Slowly but surely, his heartbeat returned to normal, and the smells of war left him.
"What was that?"
He didn't answer; he wouldn't. Levi rarely talked about his rare episodes of PTSD. They were few and far between, but it always felt as if the outbursts built up overtime before finally exploding at the smallest and rarest of triggers.
There wasn't even a clear, defined trigger for him; they just happened.
Levi looked up at Tracer, who only offered a hand to him, which he immediately accepted, letting himself be pulled up from his sitting position. He only nodded his thanks before immediately looking away.
"Levi?"
"Yes."
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
She scoffed.
"That sure as hell didn't look like nothing."
"What's it matter to you?"
"You're my friend, Levi, friend's look out for each other. So, tell me what was that."
"No. Sorry, but I can't."
"Why?"
"No, Lena. Just no."
Saying nothing else, Levi walked away from her, only looking back once to find her still watching him. Tracer immediately zoomed after him.
And finished. The idea of a flashback has been floating around in my head for quite some time, and it seemed like a good time to bring it in; it helps establish a sense of care, in my opinion, as well as some common ground between the two (Tracer will have her own scars, physical and mental). Before anyone asks, the newest character, Mieza, did surivive the explosion, and we will see him when the Hannukah chapter comes. Finally, PTSD will be a prominent theme in this story, much different, though, to that of my other story A Fortunate Son. One does not return from as violent a war as the one I have created without a lot of emotional and mental baggage. However, Levi's PTSD will not be overly bad, mild at most, because his faith and family are his rocks to help him battle it (more on that later, it's going to be a flashback). Well then, author's rant over, hope y'all enjoyed, and see you in the next chapter.
Translations:
Achot=sister
Ma mère est Français=my mother is French
Y'all know the rest.
Other important notice: In five chapters, this story will turn to M due to the first part of the Battle of Sinai coming in. It will be much more violent than the other scenes of combat, and definitely will earn its rating (though not as much as the second part). Also, the lemon will show up eventually, and I hope I don't do crap on that. To those reading this, the story will still be strong T in its normal chapter, but with some M content, which I will give a warning to.