At first, Scarlett did not want to believe it. She could not believe it.
But the reality of Snake Eyes' departure gradually sank in, and she
resolved to forget him. No Snake Eyes, no G.I. JOE. The pillars of her
life were stripped from her, and a new life had begun for her. Scarlett
fell back on her martial arts expertise and took to teaching courses at
various universities throughout the southeastern United States. It was a
good life. Good enough, she supposed.
Scarlett was as beautiful as ever. Her rose was in full bloom, and the men she came in contact with never failed to notice her. Scarlett's fellow instructors tried to win her over. Her male students tried ceaselessly to impress her; many even openly flirted with her. At the bars and clubs, random men made passes at Scarlett. But Scarlett was unmoved by them all. Every suitor left disappointed. As much as she hoped to meet someone special, Scarlett never allowed anyone to come close to her. She avoided relationships that became too personal, yet she secretly yearned for one such relationship of trust and love. True intimacy seemed beyond her reach.
The memory of Snake Eyes haunted Scarlett's dreams. She spent long nights tossing and turning, trying in vain for an hour or more to fall asleep. The image of Snake Eyes persisted in her mind's eye. She asked herself, what did I do wrong? At times, Scarlett blamed herself. Surely there must have been something she could have done—had she been insensitive to Snake Eyes' needs? She was convinced that she must have failed Snake Eyes in some way. She longed for a second chance to show him that she loved him. If she could just close her eyes for a few seconds, it seemed to Scarlett as she lay in bed that she could hear a rustle of leaves outside… a hint of movement. Thinking that Snake Eyes had returned to her, Scarlett would open her eyes wide, throw off her bed covers, and put her senses on full alert. But it was nothing.
Four long years passed, and Scarlett remained alone and lonely. She had a recurring fantasy that, as she returned home, she would come home to a family that loved her. There would be beautiful children to take up in her arms and greet in happiness at the end of a long day, and a husband who would in turn take her up in his own arms, demonstrating only a fraction of his everlasting love. A family of her own. A husband and children for Scarlett to shower her unselfish devotion upon. Scarlett was all too happy to give up everything within herself if it meant the happiness of another. But it was just that, a dream. There was no loving family of her own. No one greeted her at her apartment when she returned home at the end of the day.
"When do I get to experience this kind of intimacy?" Scarlett asked Cover Girl, who was now married to Clutch, and was expecting a child. Sometimes, Cover Girl and Clutch would visit Scarlett. They saw her loneliness and how much she wanted a change in her life.
"When do I get to find someone? Sometimes it feels like there's someone out there for everyone except for me," Scarlett said.
Cover Girl touched Scarlett's hand.
"You'll find someone," she said reassuringly.
In her darkest moments, Scarlett felt as if she had somehow been cheated out of her destiny. And she knew who had cheated her—it was that cold, heartless rat bastard, Snake Eyes. She gave him the best years of her youth, and he left her behind at the altar. Try as she might, Scarlett could not let go of the memory of their time together, and all the hopes that had been crushed on that day in 1997. Years of melancholy and loneliness made her deeply bitter with Snake Eyes and with life. Snake Eyes never wrote or visited, and Scarlett never tried to track him down and contact him. With each passing year, her cheerful disposition and good humor seemed to be drained out of her, little by little, until nothing remained but anger and darkness.
* * *
"Hello?"
"Hello, Scarlett," a voice said on the other end.
"Excuse me?" Scarlett said, not recognizing the voice right away. She had not been addressed by her codename for a long time, and this was a bit of a surprise.
"It's Hawk."
"Hawk?" Scarlett said, wondering what this could mean. She knew intuitively that the phone call could mean only one thing. Cobra had returned, and Hawk was calling her to ask for her help.
"You need my help," Scarlett said.
"Yes."
A long silence.
"How are you, Scarlett?"
"I'm fine," Scarlett.
"We'll be bringing back as many of our veterans as we can."
"Is that so?"
"Stalker is working on getting in touch with Snake Eyes."
Scarlett knew this was coming. She said nothing.
"Listen, are you sure you're okay with this?"
"Never been better," Scarlett said tersely.
* * *
And so the old team was reunited once again. Sitting together in the conference room in a military base in Virginia, it seemed to everyone that seven years had evaporated. It was as if the team had never been disbanded. Many of the old principals had returned, including Hawk, Stalker, Shipwreck, Lady Jaye, Flint, Roadblock, Lifeline, Mainframe, Rock 'N Roll, and Snake Eyes. Hawk informed everyone that Cobra Commander and his henchmen had returned to the United States and were up to something. Intelligence reports indicated that Cobra had insinuated itself into a small New Jersey town. The small town façade concealed a heavy military buildup and the beginning of a new conspiracy.
"Looks like Cobra is up to their old tricks again," Flint said.
"We're going to take a team there and storm the area by force," Hawk said. "We'll put an end to this once and for all, starting with this town. What I need from you is an answer. Are you in or out?"
One by one, the old Joes committed themselves to their new mission. Hawk was pleased but not surprised. He expected no less from his loyal, old warriors. Gradually, each of the team members filed out of the room, eager to catch up on seven years. Everyone left the conference room except for Scarlett and Snake Eyes, who had some catching up of their own to do.
The two stood near the door, tensely looking at each other in silence. Scarlett had said very little during General Hawk's briefing, only opening her mouth to say that she wanted to rejoin the team, along with the others. Now she glared at her old fiance, her expression dour, her heart hardened and unforgiving.
"You left me behind," Scarlett said in a level voice, maintaining her hostile stare at Snake Eyes. "Do I get an explanation?"
Snake Eyes bowed his head for a few seconds, before starting to say something in sign language. It was some self-centered nonsense about him being sorry, but he didn't feel right and he couldn't go through with the marriage—
Scarlett angrily turned away from Snake Eyes and shut her eyes. She folded her arms.
"That is such—such bullshit," she cried.
Scarlett spun around to face him and pointed a finger close to his face.
"Is that how you treat people who love you? What the hell kind of a human being are you? I was ready to share the rest of my life with you. Nothing could have been more 'right.' Four years, and this is the best you can do? Give me your sorry excuses?"
Snake Eyes looked at Scarlett for a few moments, saying nothing. Finally, he made a few more signs. It had something to do with him being unable to deal with good times.
"Maybe I'm afraid," Snake Eyes said, "I'm afraid of happiness."
Scarlett slapped Snake Eyes hard on the face. Snake Eyes did nothing to avoid the hit. He merely stood there impassively and took it.
"I wish I could break your heart," Scarlett spat out harshly, "for making me care about you all those years."
Scarlett stormed out of the room, leaving Snake Eyes alone with his ghosts.
* * *
"We're cut off!" Flint cried amidst the chaos of the battle.
Dusk was falling over the small New Jersey town as an intense battle raged throughout the streets. Flint, Hawk, Snake Eyes, Rock 'N Roll, and Scarlett were cut off from the rest of their group. Elsewhere in the town, the sounds of bullets flying and mortar exploding filled the air.
The G.I. JOE team had encountered stiffer resistance than anticipated. It appeared that Cobra Commander and his top lieutenants had managed to escape, but the peons who had been left behind were determined to fight the invaders to the death.
One of the new Joe recruits, a Special Forces man named Silvestri, had taken several bullets to the chest, and he lay dying in Scarlett's arms. Scarlett shut her eyes as a grenade exploded not far from her, and she ducked instinctively. A large number of enemy troops were advancing on their position down the street. The cut off Joes were trapped at a street corner, and they were using parked and abandoned cars as cover.
More gunfire. Scarlett winced. Why did she ever volunteer for this shit, she wondered.
Scarlett didn't have to think about that question for more than a few seconds as Silvestri breathed his last and expired. She knew why she had returned to duty. The fact was that she simply didn't care anymore whether she survived or not. If she made it, fine. If she didn't… well, it wasn't as if she had much to live for, anyway, so who cared?
In a snap, Scarlett made a dash for a nearby car. The driver's door was slightly open, as the driver had up and ditched his car as soon as the fighting had started.
"Scarlett," Flint shouted, "what the hell are you doing?"
"Cover her, goddamnit!" Hawk ordered.
As Hawk, Flint, Snake Eyes, and Rock 'N Roll opened fire on the advancing enemy, Scarlett managed to cover the distance between herself and the nearby car. For a few seconds, she had exposed herself to enemy fire, and a bullet pierced her shoulder. Scarlett cried in pain. Disregarding the pain, she threw open the door and jumped inside. The key was still in the ignition. Scarlett turned on the engine and floored the gas pedal.
The car roared to life as it sped toward the advancing enemy. Scarlett ignored the bullets that came her way. Bullets pierced the windshield, and Scarlett zigzagged wildly, hoping to live just long enough to finish her objective. The enemy was a matter of yards away. The entire scene shifted wildly before her eyes. Scarlett yanked the steering wheel hard right, and as she did so, she pointed her Uzi out the window and fired blindly. A bullet grazed Scarlett's temple, and she jerked her head in response. The car was out of control now as it jumped the curb and crashed into one of the buildings lining the street.
"Let's go, go, go!!!" Hawk shouted, urging his men on. Hawk led the way as he, Flint, Rock 'N Roll, and Snake Eyes, who carried Silvestri, left their position of cover and took advantage of Scarlett's reckless driving to break out of their entrapment.
Half of the enemy soldiers had fallen, and the rest had fallen back for the moment.
"Scarlett," Flint said in horror as he and Snake Eyes approached the crashed car. The front end of the car was smashed, and Scarlett lay against the steering wheel, motionless.
Hawk barked orders into his radio as Flint and Snake Eyes gingerly attempted to extricate a bloodied Scarlett from the vehicle.
"Stalker," Hawk yelled, "We're in trouble here. Do you copy?"
"I'm coming toward you right now," Stalker responded.
Flint and Snake Eyes lay Scarlett on the pavement. She looked like she could die any moment.
"I don't think we can carry her. She needs to be flown out of here immediately, or she'll die," Flint said.
"Lift Ticket," Hawk said into his radio, "I need a med evac immediately. Scarlett is down, do you read me? Scarlett's down!"
Scarlett opened her eyes and saw Flint and Snake Eyes looking down at her. They looked so concerned. Was this serious? Was she about to die? Dying really wasn't all that bad, she decided.
It's okay, Scarlett tried to say.
No sound came from her mouth. Only blood oozed down from her lips.
Flint put a hand to her mouth. "Don't try to speak. We'll have you out of here. You're gonna make it, you hear me? You're gonna make it…"
* * *
"So," Scarlett said to Clara, her guardian angel, "that brings us to the present day, doesn't it?"
The two of them stood together in an empty hospital room. It was the same hospital to which Snake Eyes and Flint had brought her after Lift Ticket and Lifeline had flown in with a chopper and removed her from the battle scene. It was the exact same room in the same critical care wing of the hospital.
Clara nodded silently.
"Do you still think you made no difference in people's lives, after all that I've shown you?"
"Well," Scarlett answered, "okay, so maybe I did help some people. Maybe they would even be sorry to see me die. But they didn't need me to do all that. It could just have easily been someone else. There's a million people being born in this world today that could do the same things that I've done in my life. I'm nothing special."
"But what's this? Where is everyone? Where's me?"
Scarlett turned a full circle, finding not a single human being present.
"You've gotten your wish now," Clara said. "You've never been born. You don't exist."
"If that's true, how can I still be here talking to you?"
"Shana," Clara said, "every moment in life is a decision. Every life is the sum total of a million decisions and events that could have easily gone down a different path. We know everything. We know what would have happened if Hitler had died in World War I, or what would have happened if JFK had not been assassinated. We know what the world would be like if you had never been born. This is what I'm now showing you. I'm showing you a world in which you do not exist. You're not in that bed, and there are no concerned G.I. JOE teammates in this room. You never participated in that battle in New Jersey."
Scarlett could think of nothing to say. She was speechless.
"Let me show you…" the angel said as the hospital room faded into darkness.
Scarlett was as beautiful as ever. Her rose was in full bloom, and the men she came in contact with never failed to notice her. Scarlett's fellow instructors tried to win her over. Her male students tried ceaselessly to impress her; many even openly flirted with her. At the bars and clubs, random men made passes at Scarlett. But Scarlett was unmoved by them all. Every suitor left disappointed. As much as she hoped to meet someone special, Scarlett never allowed anyone to come close to her. She avoided relationships that became too personal, yet she secretly yearned for one such relationship of trust and love. True intimacy seemed beyond her reach.
The memory of Snake Eyes haunted Scarlett's dreams. She spent long nights tossing and turning, trying in vain for an hour or more to fall asleep. The image of Snake Eyes persisted in her mind's eye. She asked herself, what did I do wrong? At times, Scarlett blamed herself. Surely there must have been something she could have done—had she been insensitive to Snake Eyes' needs? She was convinced that she must have failed Snake Eyes in some way. She longed for a second chance to show him that she loved him. If she could just close her eyes for a few seconds, it seemed to Scarlett as she lay in bed that she could hear a rustle of leaves outside… a hint of movement. Thinking that Snake Eyes had returned to her, Scarlett would open her eyes wide, throw off her bed covers, and put her senses on full alert. But it was nothing.
Four long years passed, and Scarlett remained alone and lonely. She had a recurring fantasy that, as she returned home, she would come home to a family that loved her. There would be beautiful children to take up in her arms and greet in happiness at the end of a long day, and a husband who would in turn take her up in his own arms, demonstrating only a fraction of his everlasting love. A family of her own. A husband and children for Scarlett to shower her unselfish devotion upon. Scarlett was all too happy to give up everything within herself if it meant the happiness of another. But it was just that, a dream. There was no loving family of her own. No one greeted her at her apartment when she returned home at the end of the day.
"When do I get to experience this kind of intimacy?" Scarlett asked Cover Girl, who was now married to Clutch, and was expecting a child. Sometimes, Cover Girl and Clutch would visit Scarlett. They saw her loneliness and how much she wanted a change in her life.
"When do I get to find someone? Sometimes it feels like there's someone out there for everyone except for me," Scarlett said.
Cover Girl touched Scarlett's hand.
"You'll find someone," she said reassuringly.
In her darkest moments, Scarlett felt as if she had somehow been cheated out of her destiny. And she knew who had cheated her—it was that cold, heartless rat bastard, Snake Eyes. She gave him the best years of her youth, and he left her behind at the altar. Try as she might, Scarlett could not let go of the memory of their time together, and all the hopes that had been crushed on that day in 1997. Years of melancholy and loneliness made her deeply bitter with Snake Eyes and with life. Snake Eyes never wrote or visited, and Scarlett never tried to track him down and contact him. With each passing year, her cheerful disposition and good humor seemed to be drained out of her, little by little, until nothing remained but anger and darkness.
* * *
"Hello?"
"Hello, Scarlett," a voice said on the other end.
"Excuse me?" Scarlett said, not recognizing the voice right away. She had not been addressed by her codename for a long time, and this was a bit of a surprise.
"It's Hawk."
"Hawk?" Scarlett said, wondering what this could mean. She knew intuitively that the phone call could mean only one thing. Cobra had returned, and Hawk was calling her to ask for her help.
"You need my help," Scarlett said.
"Yes."
A long silence.
"How are you, Scarlett?"
"I'm fine," Scarlett.
"We'll be bringing back as many of our veterans as we can."
"Is that so?"
"Stalker is working on getting in touch with Snake Eyes."
Scarlett knew this was coming. She said nothing.
"Listen, are you sure you're okay with this?"
"Never been better," Scarlett said tersely.
* * *
And so the old team was reunited once again. Sitting together in the conference room in a military base in Virginia, it seemed to everyone that seven years had evaporated. It was as if the team had never been disbanded. Many of the old principals had returned, including Hawk, Stalker, Shipwreck, Lady Jaye, Flint, Roadblock, Lifeline, Mainframe, Rock 'N Roll, and Snake Eyes. Hawk informed everyone that Cobra Commander and his henchmen had returned to the United States and were up to something. Intelligence reports indicated that Cobra had insinuated itself into a small New Jersey town. The small town façade concealed a heavy military buildup and the beginning of a new conspiracy.
"Looks like Cobra is up to their old tricks again," Flint said.
"We're going to take a team there and storm the area by force," Hawk said. "We'll put an end to this once and for all, starting with this town. What I need from you is an answer. Are you in or out?"
One by one, the old Joes committed themselves to their new mission. Hawk was pleased but not surprised. He expected no less from his loyal, old warriors. Gradually, each of the team members filed out of the room, eager to catch up on seven years. Everyone left the conference room except for Scarlett and Snake Eyes, who had some catching up of their own to do.
The two stood near the door, tensely looking at each other in silence. Scarlett had said very little during General Hawk's briefing, only opening her mouth to say that she wanted to rejoin the team, along with the others. Now she glared at her old fiance, her expression dour, her heart hardened and unforgiving.
"You left me behind," Scarlett said in a level voice, maintaining her hostile stare at Snake Eyes. "Do I get an explanation?"
Snake Eyes bowed his head for a few seconds, before starting to say something in sign language. It was some self-centered nonsense about him being sorry, but he didn't feel right and he couldn't go through with the marriage—
Scarlett angrily turned away from Snake Eyes and shut her eyes. She folded her arms.
"That is such—such bullshit," she cried.
Scarlett spun around to face him and pointed a finger close to his face.
"Is that how you treat people who love you? What the hell kind of a human being are you? I was ready to share the rest of my life with you. Nothing could have been more 'right.' Four years, and this is the best you can do? Give me your sorry excuses?"
Snake Eyes looked at Scarlett for a few moments, saying nothing. Finally, he made a few more signs. It had something to do with him being unable to deal with good times.
"Maybe I'm afraid," Snake Eyes said, "I'm afraid of happiness."
Scarlett slapped Snake Eyes hard on the face. Snake Eyes did nothing to avoid the hit. He merely stood there impassively and took it.
"I wish I could break your heart," Scarlett spat out harshly, "for making me care about you all those years."
Scarlett stormed out of the room, leaving Snake Eyes alone with his ghosts.
* * *
"We're cut off!" Flint cried amidst the chaos of the battle.
Dusk was falling over the small New Jersey town as an intense battle raged throughout the streets. Flint, Hawk, Snake Eyes, Rock 'N Roll, and Scarlett were cut off from the rest of their group. Elsewhere in the town, the sounds of bullets flying and mortar exploding filled the air.
The G.I. JOE team had encountered stiffer resistance than anticipated. It appeared that Cobra Commander and his top lieutenants had managed to escape, but the peons who had been left behind were determined to fight the invaders to the death.
One of the new Joe recruits, a Special Forces man named Silvestri, had taken several bullets to the chest, and he lay dying in Scarlett's arms. Scarlett shut her eyes as a grenade exploded not far from her, and she ducked instinctively. A large number of enemy troops were advancing on their position down the street. The cut off Joes were trapped at a street corner, and they were using parked and abandoned cars as cover.
More gunfire. Scarlett winced. Why did she ever volunteer for this shit, she wondered.
Scarlett didn't have to think about that question for more than a few seconds as Silvestri breathed his last and expired. She knew why she had returned to duty. The fact was that she simply didn't care anymore whether she survived or not. If she made it, fine. If she didn't… well, it wasn't as if she had much to live for, anyway, so who cared?
In a snap, Scarlett made a dash for a nearby car. The driver's door was slightly open, as the driver had up and ditched his car as soon as the fighting had started.
"Scarlett," Flint shouted, "what the hell are you doing?"
"Cover her, goddamnit!" Hawk ordered.
As Hawk, Flint, Snake Eyes, and Rock 'N Roll opened fire on the advancing enemy, Scarlett managed to cover the distance between herself and the nearby car. For a few seconds, she had exposed herself to enemy fire, and a bullet pierced her shoulder. Scarlett cried in pain. Disregarding the pain, she threw open the door and jumped inside. The key was still in the ignition. Scarlett turned on the engine and floored the gas pedal.
The car roared to life as it sped toward the advancing enemy. Scarlett ignored the bullets that came her way. Bullets pierced the windshield, and Scarlett zigzagged wildly, hoping to live just long enough to finish her objective. The enemy was a matter of yards away. The entire scene shifted wildly before her eyes. Scarlett yanked the steering wheel hard right, and as she did so, she pointed her Uzi out the window and fired blindly. A bullet grazed Scarlett's temple, and she jerked her head in response. The car was out of control now as it jumped the curb and crashed into one of the buildings lining the street.
"Let's go, go, go!!!" Hawk shouted, urging his men on. Hawk led the way as he, Flint, Rock 'N Roll, and Snake Eyes, who carried Silvestri, left their position of cover and took advantage of Scarlett's reckless driving to break out of their entrapment.
Half of the enemy soldiers had fallen, and the rest had fallen back for the moment.
"Scarlett," Flint said in horror as he and Snake Eyes approached the crashed car. The front end of the car was smashed, and Scarlett lay against the steering wheel, motionless.
Hawk barked orders into his radio as Flint and Snake Eyes gingerly attempted to extricate a bloodied Scarlett from the vehicle.
"Stalker," Hawk yelled, "We're in trouble here. Do you copy?"
"I'm coming toward you right now," Stalker responded.
Flint and Snake Eyes lay Scarlett on the pavement. She looked like she could die any moment.
"I don't think we can carry her. She needs to be flown out of here immediately, or she'll die," Flint said.
"Lift Ticket," Hawk said into his radio, "I need a med evac immediately. Scarlett is down, do you read me? Scarlett's down!"
Scarlett opened her eyes and saw Flint and Snake Eyes looking down at her. They looked so concerned. Was this serious? Was she about to die? Dying really wasn't all that bad, she decided.
It's okay, Scarlett tried to say.
No sound came from her mouth. Only blood oozed down from her lips.
Flint put a hand to her mouth. "Don't try to speak. We'll have you out of here. You're gonna make it, you hear me? You're gonna make it…"
* * *
"So," Scarlett said to Clara, her guardian angel, "that brings us to the present day, doesn't it?"
The two of them stood together in an empty hospital room. It was the same hospital to which Snake Eyes and Flint had brought her after Lift Ticket and Lifeline had flown in with a chopper and removed her from the battle scene. It was the exact same room in the same critical care wing of the hospital.
Clara nodded silently.
"Do you still think you made no difference in people's lives, after all that I've shown you?"
"Well," Scarlett answered, "okay, so maybe I did help some people. Maybe they would even be sorry to see me die. But they didn't need me to do all that. It could just have easily been someone else. There's a million people being born in this world today that could do the same things that I've done in my life. I'm nothing special."
"But what's this? Where is everyone? Where's me?"
Scarlett turned a full circle, finding not a single human being present.
"You've gotten your wish now," Clara said. "You've never been born. You don't exist."
"If that's true, how can I still be here talking to you?"
"Shana," Clara said, "every moment in life is a decision. Every life is the sum total of a million decisions and events that could have easily gone down a different path. We know everything. We know what would have happened if Hitler had died in World War I, or what would have happened if JFK had not been assassinated. We know what the world would be like if you had never been born. This is what I'm now showing you. I'm showing you a world in which you do not exist. You're not in that bed, and there are no concerned G.I. JOE teammates in this room. You never participated in that battle in New Jersey."
Scarlett could think of nothing to say. She was speechless.
"Let me show you…" the angel said as the hospital room faded into darkness.