Songs I listened to while writing this chapter:

They Hit Without Warning by Epic Score

How to Control the Dream by Immediate Music

Broken Pieces Shine by Evanescence

Precious by Depeche Mode

A Thousand Years by Christina Perri

Catapult by 2WEI

Try by Nelly Furtado

Sorry for the delay. I have been reworking the story a bit as I'm writing Part II, and I'm at the point now where I need to make sure everything jives before I post to save me going back to change stuff.

Thanks for reviewing! Happy reading :)

2020

Heathrow Airport Base/The Beach/The Farmhouse

Reset 162

They were finally out of the battlefield and at a different spot where there were buildings and abandoned cars. Luke had no idea where to even start. Rita was looking at him expectantly, and he turned in slow circles, trying to figure out what to do next.

"You've never been here yet, have you?" she asked.

"Anyone ever tell you how smart you are?" he countered.

"You look like someone's asked you to write a test you've never studied for," she retorted. "It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

"Just...be quiet," he ordered, deciding on which car to try first. Rita was behind him as they walked towards it. The door was locked, so he smashed the window and reached in to unlock it.

"Very stealthy," she commented. "I don't think the soldiers on the beach could quite hear you, though. Maybe be a bit louder next time."

"Are you gonna just stand there and deliver snarky one liners to me all day or are you gonna help me?" he asked.

"Bring lock picks next time," she suggested. He ignored her and got in, hotwiring it. In seconds, a Mimic was on the car, and then it went black.

Reset 163

Luke jerked awake and growled in frustration. It was getting tiring, going over the steps with Rita every single day. He found her easily enough, had the same conversations he'd had with her for days, and spent the day getting her ready for tomorrow. Sometimes he tried to have other conversations with her, but she'd get incredibly angry or depressed (or both), so he stopped bringing up those topics. He knew they'd come up again at a later time, but for now, he'd keep it related to this. He always made sure she knew he wasn't angry with her anymore, though.

He got to his barrack late and found the J-Squad playing cards like they weren't supposed to. He smoked them all when he joined in and took their money. He went to bed thinking about Rita, remembering things about their past and wondered if she ever did.

When morning came, they went to the beach. He and Rita got to the same place, and he tried a different car, but he still ended up dying.

Reset 170

Rita jumped to dodge the explosion and caught up to Luke. He was forging on ahead, jaw clenched.

"What's with you?" she asked.

"Nothing."

She leaped out of the way of a Mimic and slaughtered it in moments. She ran after him again. Something was clearly bothering him.

"Did I say something to piss you off?" she asked. Her mind went through what she could have said to him, but it didn't add up.

"No."

He reached out suddenly and caught her chest with his arm, stopping her in her tracks. A rocket hit the ground less than three feet away in front of them.

"It feels like it's something I've said or done," Rita went on as they moved again.

"Since when do you care if you've upset me?" he challenged.

"Fair point," she replied. She'd never been afraid to be blunt or brutally honest with him, regardless of what it would make him feel, except with why she'd left him. That she was keeping to herself because she figured he already knew. "You're acting like you're on your period, though."

"Do I really have to spell it out for you?" he asked, annoyed.

"Right," she said, getting it. "Me dying every day. It's pissing you off."

"What time do you want your chicken dinner?" he asked sarcastically. She let out a slight guffaw, recalling how her father had always said "Winner, winner, chicken dinner" to her if she guessed something right. Then she felt sad from missing him. She channeled that grief into her fighting, which was something she'd done for a while now.

They got to the area with the cars again, and Luke went for an SUV. Rita looked around, waiting and watching while at the ready to jump into action. She heard him cry out and spun to see him sliding sideways to the ground holding his neck. Rita unloaded her guns on the Mimic, knowing there was no point in saving her ammo now, and it fell over dead. She skidded on her knees next to Luke as he rolled onto his back. Blood was pouring through his fingers, and he was gasping for air and choking. For a second, Rita was struck with fear and an intense sadness. She was surprised how hard it gripped her.

"Hang on," she said, pulling out her pistol. "I got you." He gave a groan and closed his eyes, waiting. She surprised herself and him by resting her hand on his cheek, and he opened his eyes again to look at her. He moved his other hand to rest on top of hers, and she felt her throat burn. He didn't have to say it out loud. His eyes said it all. He loved her.

"Try not to die so fast next time," she said through her emotion, determined to keep up the facade of toughness. It was hard to stay tough, though, as she watched him struggle to breathe. Even after everything, she wasn't entirely made of stone. His face broke into that crooked smile of his, and he closed his eyes again with a small nod.

Then she reset him.

Reset 171

Luke still felt her hand on his cheek when he opened his eyes. It never ceased to amaze him that underneath all her walls, Rita still loved him. It never ceased to amaze him that no matter how angry he'd gotten with her for everything, he still loved her. There was a missing piece to the puzzle, one that would explain why she'd left him, and he was going to find out what it was someday. He had faith.

He got up and dressed. He walked outside in the semi-darkness and went to watch Rita train Mei. Sometimes he liked to just watch the two of them interact. Rita was herself around Mei, and he liked to witness it for a while. It was like seeing his Rita again.

He smiled when she tipped her head back in laughter at something Mei said. He knew she held a tough image to the rest of the world, but in here, she was Rita.

"You got it. Great job," Rita said now as Mei was swinging a melee around against an invisible enemy. Luke backed away and left after a while, leaving them alone.

...

Rita enjoyed Mei's company. Something about this girl reminded her of herself. It probably had something to do with the fact that Mei shared her best friend was someone named Luke. If that wasn't a coincidence, Rita didn't know what was. It made her think about all the memories of her and her Luke starting from when he first walked into her house all those years ago.

"Thanks for this," Mei said, dusting herself off as she readied to leave.

"You're a strong soldier, Mei," Rita said. "Let me talk to my team. We could use your skills." The young woman's face beamed back at her, and Rita smiled a little herself.

"I wish you could meet Luke," Mei told her before leaving. "I think you'd really like him. He doesn't know I'm here, but I could try to somehow get him to run into you."

"Bye, Mei," Rita said, making it clear she didn't want to talk about it anymore. Mei just grinned and left. Rita was cleaning up when she heard boots walking towards her. She turned her head to see the coincidence himself approaching her. It took her by surprise at first. She felt a mixed bag of emotions as her eyes met his.

"It is you," she said.

"The one and only," he replied. "Did you have a good session with Mei this morning?"

"How did you...?"

"Let's just say I'm all knowing," he answered before she finished. She stared at him.

"You've done this before," she said, realizing.

"I always love how excited you get when you find out," he said with a smile. He jerked his head to the right. "Come on. We have a lot of work to do."

"What are we doing?"

"Trying to get to the Omega. I had the vision. It's in a dam."

"How far did we get?" she asked, walking alongside him.

"Still trying to get off the beach," he answered.

"Really?"

"It's hard, okay?" he said, twisting to look at her. "I'm doing my best, Rita."

"Alright. Don't get testy."

He led them to a private room that she'd obviously shown him before, and she got the maps out. He showed her everywhere she was to step, duck, weave, and kill Mimics. Then he explained he was still trying to find the vehicle that would get them out of there without dying.

It was late by the time they finished. Luke walked ahead of her to the door, and he pulled it open to find it raining. Rita saw him hesitate.

"Afraid you're gonna melt?" she asked, unable to help herself.

"Do you remember when I first arrived on the farm?" he questioned, looking at her. Rita remembered it like it was yesterday.

"I do," she answered warily. Where was he going with this?

"Did you really see the pain in my eyes?"

The question took her off guard. Why was he asking her about this? She couldn't help but flash back to first seeing him up close.

"Yes," she confirmed. "I did."

"Why didn't it scare you?"

"Because I finally had someone other than my father who I could relate to," she replied. "I had someone who could maybe understand my pain too." He nodded slowly and stepped out into the rain without a word. Rita watched him until he disappeared into the darkness.

...

Rita thought all night about his question. She wondered why he'd asked it. She looked over at Hendricks's empty cot and felt the guilt again for not being able to save him. She punched her pillow and tried to get comfortable. They hadn't assigned a new soldier to share her barrack with. She was grateful for that. No one would witness her screaming into her pillow out of grief.

Morning came all too quickly, and she was exhausted. She walked out with her team to the transport, and they flew to the beach to fight. She was to meet Luke on the beach and make their way off of it together. Even though she knew her transport was going to get struck, it still took her off guard when it happened. They landed hard, and she made her way out and started fighting the Mimic that had sought her out.

"Took you long enough," Luke commented when she finally got to him.

"Shut up," she retorted. They went along together, seamlessly fighting their way towards the vehicles.

"Process of elimination," Luke sighed.

"How many cars left to try?"

"Six."

"Better hurry up then."

He shot her a look before hurrying over to the truck.

"Get in the box," he instructed. She obeyed, scanning the area and the skies, just to be safe. A movement on the ground to her left made her turn to look.

"Luke," she warned.

"Yea, I'm trying," he said, still attempting to hot wire the truck.

"LUKE!" she shrieked as her feet were pulled out from under her. A second Mimic had wrapped around her ankles and yanked her down. She was thrown out of the box next, landing hard on her back. Winded, she fought back hard, but the Mimic wrapped its many arms around her wrists, legs, and neck to pin her down, getting ready to pound its other arms into her to kill her.

Luke used his melee to slice its arms off and then proceeded to kill it viciously, having killed the first Mimic already. Coughing, Rita sat up and got her wits back about her.

"You good?" he asked her, panting.

"Yea."

She ignored his hand and got up on her own. She felt angry. How had the Mimic taken her off guard like that? Luke went to go back to the truck when another Mimic came from the ground and threw the truck in the air, clipping Luke's head and knocking him down. Rita tried to roll out of the way, but she wasn't fast enough.

Her last thought was that she hoped Luke would reset.

Reset 172-175

Luke was determined to get the hell off this beach. He tried the next vehicle and failed. He failed to get to the cars the next time. He got to start the car the third time before getting killed. The next car blew up on him the fourth time.

That left two vehicles.

Reset 176

Luke walked through the rain after leaving Rita. They'd spent all day again going over everything. It was very second nature to him now. He was thinking about which vehicle would be the better one when he heard running footsteps coming behind him. He turned and was taken off guard when Rita grabbed the front of his coat and pulled him into her. His hands automatically went to hold her upper arms, and she looked into his eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Do you know?" she countered.

"Know what?"

"Everything? Did I tell you?"

Luke was at a loss for words. What the hell was she talking about? Then he realized she was referring to why she'd left. He felt his heart rate quicken at the thought of finally getting the answer.

"No," he started. "But you can tell me." She suddenly pushed back from him and started to step backwards. "Rita."

"I...I can't," she said, her voice emotional. "I'm sorry."

"Rita," he said again, reaching to catch her hand to stop her. "Rita, please...tell me."

"We spent too much time apart," she said thickly. "Then you...you said those things...I didn't want to fight for us after hearing them...there was no point."

"What things?"

"I can't," she said again, taking her hand back and turning to walk away again.

"Rita!" he called, but she was gone. He felt confused and frustrated all over again. Why couldn't she just tell him what he'd said to make her leave? Why was that so hard for her to do? Why couldn't he remember what he'd said? It broke him slightly to think that she'd given up on them because of it.

It was a puzzle he figured he'd never solve, and it was frustrating the hell out of him.

...

Rita didn't know what had possessed her to ask Luke that question last night. She just had the sudden need to know, but from the expression on his face, she knew he did not have a clue what she was talking about.

Clearly, she hadn't told him. She had obviously held it very close to her chest. In her mind, there was no need to rehash the past, because if she was wrong, if somehow the biggest reason she'd left was out of context, then she'd never be able to forgive herself. It was just easier to believe it was true now instead of dissecting it further. She made a promise to herself that if they survived this, she'd tell him everything...no matter what his reaction would be.

Now, he didn't mention it as they worked their way to the vehicles.

"Okay," he said. "You go try the one with the trailer. Remember to unhook it."

"Okay."

"Normally I have you cover me while I try it out, but I'm getting tired of wasting time," Luke said. "There's two left. One of them has to work."

"And if none of them do?"

"Then it's a long ass walk."

Rita didn't reply as she moved towards the car and trailer.

"Unhook the trailer!" he called after her. She lifted her hand in the air in response and hurried along. She found the keys in the visor and cranked the engine. Eventually, it sputtered to life.

"Yes!" she said to herself. She threw it in gear and started to drive, sticking her head out the window. "LUKE!"

He was there in moments, jumping into the passenger side.

"You forgot the trailer," he started.

"Shut up," she barked, driving erratically. They made it to the road, and a Mimic burst out of the trailer, making Luke kill it as fast as he could. He shot off the trailer when it was dead and fell back into the seat and looked pointedly at Rita, who was very careful to not look back at him.

"What's next?" she asked.

"Dunno," he answered. "First time we've gotten out of here." Rita drove, keeping her eye on the gas gauge. They wouldn't get too far on what they had, but it would have to do.

"You know," Luke said after a while. "It's okay to tell me, Rita. I'm not mad anymore."

"It doesn't matter."

"It does to me."

"I just want to forget it!" she snapped at him. Luke opened his mouth to say something else when a Mimic burst out from nowhere and caused them to flip end over end.

Then he died.

Reset 182

They finally evaded all the Mimics on their drive, and Luke was looking at Rita as she drove. She always insisted on driving. It made him smile. She refused to talk about the reason she'd left, so he had to make do with talking about other things to avoid her shooting him in the face or shouting at him that it didn't matter. He had no idea how to break through that wall, but he was determined to not give up.

"You remember my first car?" he asked her now.

"I remember you racing it and pissing my father off," she answered, not looking at him.

"He wasn't too mad after he saw the cash I was raking in," Luke scoffed.

"It was dangerous and reckless and..."

"You loved it," he cut her off. "Don't pretend otherwise. You liked coming along for the thrill."

"You caught me, Luke," Rita said sarcastically. "I'm a thrill junkie."

"Admitting you have a problem is the first step," he said logically, and she reached to hit him but missed. He laughed.

"You did make Trevor cry," she said after a moment.

"Cry? He was bawling like a baby," Luke said with a snort. Rita even laughed at this, unable to help herself. He rested his head against the headrest, feeling at ease. Whenever he was with her, he felt this way.

"It served him right," she added. "After everything."

"I imagine Vince told him to harass you after he'd left."

"Probably. He never did get over what I did to him."

"I still wish you hadn't gotten involved," Luke said.

"And I still don't regret it," she said, finally looking at him. He could still see that feisty teenage version of herself in her eyes. She looked away after a moment and continued driving.

They made it to a farmhouse after their vehicle broke down and they had to walk. Luke was walking around and searching for the keys to the helicopter in the backyard. He was stiff and sore and really just wanted this entire experience to be over. He heard Rita groan in pain and turned to see her bending down to look in a hutch drawer for the keys. She had a wound in her right shoulder.

"Hey," he said, making her look at him. "Let me fix that up."

"What's the point?" she asked.

"I need you fully functional for when we get to where we're going," he answered. She just rolled her eyes but didn't argue. She went to sit in a chair as he pulled her coat off gently. She groaned again, as quietly as she could.

Luke set to work patching her up; she didn't speak the entire time, just ran her fingers up and down the chain around her neck. When he was done, he gave her back a slight pat, causing her to turn her head to look at him.

"Thanks," she offered. Luke felt tempted to take her face in his hands and kiss her, but he knew that wouldn't go over well in this particular moment. He'd learned through trial and error when was a good time to surprise her with a kiss and when not to. He just pressed his lips together and nodded before going to continue his search.

"Hey, look what I found," he said a bit later.

"What?"

"Coffee."

"What?!"

"Oh, yea."

"Gimme, gimme, gimme," Rita said, almost tripping over her feet to get there. He held her at bay with his elbow as she tried to take it from him.

"Settle down," he laughed. "I'll get it brewing."

"I remember the first time Dad let me have coffee," Rita said, sitting back down again while Luke got it going.

"He had a little bit of an obsession with it, didn't he?" Luke asked, remembering.

"That's putting it mildly," Rita answered. She was smiling. He handed her a mug a bit later, and she held it with both hands.

"Well?" he asked.

"You remembered how many sugars I like," she said, looking at him over the rim of her mug.

"How could I forget? You almost ripped my face off the first time I got it wrong," he chuckled.

"Aw, you poor baby," she mocked. "You still remember that? It was a long time ago."

"I remember because it startled me how cranky and vicious you could be."

"I was not vicious!"

"Calling me a bigheaded, idiotic, bumbling wanker was a bit vicious," he insisted. She moved her mug to hide the smile that was trying to appear on her face.

"I did not call you those things."

"You did. Then you called me a doofus."

"To be fair, I hadn't had my coffee in me yet."

"It's okay to own up to being a hostile, threatening, fire breathing dragon," he said seriously. She raised her brows, staring at him.

"Really," she said, her voice flat. He started to smirk and she couldn't help but start to laugh.

"See? You own it," he commented.

"Don't you forget it," she said, taking another sip. "I'll kill you."

"I know," he agreed. He played with his fingers, looking down at them after a moment.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me."

He looked back at her and saw her toughness, pain, vulnerability, and beauty all at once. He wished he could tell her how much it broke his heart to see her die all the time. He knew she didn't want to hear that, though, so he had to tell her something else.

"I just feel bad that you will never remember my witty humor in these moments," he said finally. She gave a snort.

"You're not as witty as you think you are."

"I beg to differ."

"You're not that funny."

"Says the girl who laughed until she cried at my humor," he said, lifting a brow.

"I had something in my eye," she dismissed.

"The girl who snorted milk out her nose at something I said," he went on.

"I was choking on it. Totally coincidental."

He was smiling as he looked at her, and she was working hard not to return it.

"And you wonder why I love you," he said. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. He got up and continued his search, not waiting for her to tell him something negative. He found them not long after and headed outside. Rita followed. He pulled the tarp off, and she held her hand out for the keys.

"Since when do you know how to fly?" he asked.

"I learned," she replied.

"Who taught you?"

"Travis."

"Ah, yes. The casual boyfriend."

"Don't," she said sharply. She snatched the keys from his hand and stepped into the helicopter. Luke climbed in on the other side. Something about her changed whenever he mentioned Travis. He wanted to know who this man was and what he meant to her, but at the same time, he was afraid to.

They were barely three feet in the air when the Mimic attacked.

Reset 186

Luke was sitting cross legged on the training floor with his fingers laced and arms resting on his knees. He tapped his fingers against his mouth every so often, thinking.

"I can hear you thinking from here," Rita commented. She was doing her push up, her muscles rippling from the effort. Luke remembered teaching her how to do it. It was something his mother had taught him. It grounded him when he was feeling out of control.

"Your legs still need to go straighter."

"Shut up."

"You tell me that a lot."

"Well, I mean it."

Luke didn't respond and just watched her. He wondered what she was thinking. After a while, she rested her stomach on the floor and exhaled roughly. She stayed there, turning her head to look at him after a moment.

Luke wondered if she was thinking the same thing he was. He resisted moving to do what he wanted to do, what he would have done in the past.

"Why aren't you angrier with me?" she asked.

"I was for a long time," he answered. This wasn't the first time she'd asked this. "I'm more confused and frustrated about it now than angry."

"I left you, Luke," she said. "I abandoned you."

"For a reason I'm still waiting to hear," he commented. She pressed her lips together.

"If you thought I wouldn't find out what you said, you were wrong," she said.

"See, this is where I get confused," Luke said. "Because I have no idea what the hell you're talking about."

"Sure," Rita said.

"I'm serious."

"I'm not talking about this."

"Just tell me," he pressed. "I need to know."

"No."

"Rita..."

"I spent so long hurting, but I've moved on from it," she interrupted. "I let it go."

"I know, because you've told me that you still love me," he pointed out. "More than once."

"Just because I was angry at you didn't mean I stopped loving you," she said, trying not to look surprised by that information. "Even though I did try so hard to stop."

"Rita," he tried again.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said, pushing herself up on her knees and then getting to her feet. Luke stayed sitting on the floor. It was late. He was tired but not. He was also a bit frustrated again.

"Yea," he agreed. "I'll see you then." She walked by him, and he didn't move as he heard her walk farther away until the door opened and shut. He fell down onto his back and sighed roughly, searching his memories all over again for what he could have possibly said that would have made her leave.

...

He patched up her shoulder at the farmhouse. Rita let him for whatever reason. If she was honest, she liked his touch and had missed it for a long time. She hadn't lied to him. She had been unable to stop loving him, to stop missing him and aching for him in the dark of the night. She wished she'd been braver and had gone back sooner than she did. Maybe he wouldn't have moved on if she had. Maybe everything would be different.

"All set," he said, moving away from her. He gave her coffee a bit later, and she sat there looking at him and kept wondering what would have happened if she hadn't fled the relationship. His questions the night before had made her think about it ever since. She didn't know how to tell him about it. She still felt that he knew what he'd said and was just trying to make her look like an idiot. Well, she wasn't going to be an idiot.

"I'm driving this time," he said, holding up the helicopter keys.

"What? You think I can't?"

"I know you can. I just think it might have a different outcome."

"The last time we were in an aircraft that you flew, you almost killed us both."

"But I didn't," he pointed out. "And you always drive and we always die, so I'm trying something different."

Rita rolled her eyes but didn't comment. Let him think he could change the endgame. It would keep him going for a while longer.

They were dead less than ten minutes later.