Counting the Cost by Sons of Pythagoras

Battle Weary by Audiomachine

Wrath of a Giant by Zack Hemsey

Brave by Moriah Peters

Keep Fighting by Fireflight

Can't Get You Out of My Head by Fireflight

Don't Get Any Closer by Bebe Rexha

Ava by Bear McCreary

2020 Verdun

Reset 83

Rita was sitting alone in the mess hall with her fingers pressed against her eyes. Flashes of her team dying kept replaying over and over, and she didn't know how much longer she could take of this. Doing nothing was greatly aggravating her. If she at least had a purpose or an end goal, it would help her keep going. Just dying every day for no reason was so pointless and painful.

"Hey," Kamden said, finding her and sitting across from her. "You're awfully quiet today. What's up?"

"I'm just ready for this bloody war to end," she answered, resting her cheek on her hand and giving him a tired smile.

"Hear, hear," Kamden agreed. "I'm sometimes amazed I've gotten this far."

"You're a force to be reckoned with," Rita said. He chuckled.

"So are you," he commented. "Man, in another life, I think you and I could have made one hell of an FBI team or something."

"FBI?" she asked, starting to laugh.

"What? You're tough and smart. You'd have all the bad guys cowering," Kamden said, eyes twinkling.

"Well, thanks," Rita replied. "And ditto." He reached to fist bump her hand resting on the table.

"Don't give up," he said. "The world falls if we all just give up. Someone has to keep going."

"Nicely said, Kamden." She smiled again as he grinned and patted the table lightly before standing up.

"Come on," he said. "Rumor has it Travis thinks he can beat you tonight."

"Is that so?"

As hard as it was to be around her team while they laughed and joked around without seeing them all dead, she knew it was one of the few things that was keeping her sane.

Reset 88

Travis was breathing hard as he trained. Rita felt bad that he couldn't remember this training, but he was up for it each and every time regardless. Rita was getting faster and better, which she was glad for. All of the things Luke had taught her in the past had come back easily enough, and adding it on top of this training was making her feel like anything could come at her and she'd be ready.

"I can hear my mother's voice telling me to step it up," Travis said, laughing. "Anytime I've ever felt too tired, stressed, or like I can't go on, her voice starts hollering at me."

"Is that a good thing?" Rita asked.

"Yea. She was my best friend. God bless her, she did her best to be a mother and a father for me. I didn't realize how much she did do until I got a bit older, and then I started trying to pay her back."

"Let me guess, she wouldn't take it?"

"Not money," Travis said, chuckling. "She got angry if I tried to hide it in the house too. So, I just always was there to fix what was broken and look after the maintenance stuff. She wasn't keen on me listening to her emotional stuff, but I did try."

"It sounds like you two were close."

"We still are. She had me young, so she's only in her early 60s."

"She's survived the Mimics so far?"

"So far," Travis answered, nodding. "She's got a shotgun loaded at the door and a lot of supplies so she doesn't have to leave the house. If you think I'm tough, you better think again. She'll send you running to your room with your hands covering your head."

Rita laughed softly. As much as she'd tried to avoid getting close to Travis, she did appreciate hearing stories like this. It made things feel a bit more normal. And she'd long given up on trying to keep him shut out. He was the only one who knew she could reset, so they spent a lot of time together.

"What about you?" Travis asked. "Are your parents still alive?"

"No," she answered quietly.

"I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago," she said. The image of her father laying there with bullet holes in him made her almost vomit. She still had nightmares about it. That entire day was one of the worst things she'd experienced.

"Not to pry, but if you want to talk about it, I'll listen," Travis offered. She contemplated it, wondering if she could tell him who her father was, but she changed her mind just as quickly.

"Maybe another time," she said.

"Right, cos I'll never remember anyway," he pointed out.

"That's right."

"This is really taking a toll on you, isn't it?" he asked, tilting his head at her. She didn't say anything, so he ended up just gripping her shoulder and giving her a slight shake before heading to get a drink of water.

"So here's where you guys are hiding out!" Harvey called, entering with Pete and Kamden. Rita turned to see them, and Harvey did a weird little jig before he side stepped and bounced towards them. At least Pete wasn't singing this time.

"Someone's got a lot of energy," Travis noted as Harvey clapped his hands and made a goofy face.

"He didn't get into your whiskey again, did he?" Rita asked, knowing the answer. Sometimes she just played her part of the conversation because it was automatic. Sometimes it was just fun to watch the results.

"Noooo," Harvey said, shaking his head.

"Just a smidge," Pete offered, smirking.

"I had one glass!" Harvey said, holding up a finger. "One. Just one. I swear."

"You really want to go into battle tomorrow with a hangover?" Travis asked.

"It was only one! I'm telling you!"

"Show me what you got then," Travis ordered, getting into a fighting stance. Harvey mimicked him instantly.

"Oh, it's on," he said as they started to circle each other.

"This oughta be interesting," Kamden noted, crossing his arms.

"You wanna make it more interesting?" Pete asked him.

"Oye," Rita said, rolling her eyes and looking away.

"I'm listening. What you got?" Kamden asked.

"If Harv loses, you gotta clean all our rifles and the shitter with a toothbrush," Pete said.

"And if Harv wins?" Kamden asked.

"I'll prank Farell."

"No," Rita said immediately, but she was promptly ignored. She didn't know why she bothered trying to say no; they never listened. No one ever seemed to notice, either, that she'd suddenly start breathing hard and was unable to concentrate. This entire thing was making her think about the bets she would make with Luke a long time ago, back when things were carefree and fun and they liked challenging each other. It triggered her every time it happened.

"Oh, yea!" Kamden said, reaching to shake Pete's hand. "You're on!" Then he turned to Harvey and Travis. "Get 'im, Harv! Come on! Pete's gotta prank Farell!"

"No pressure," Harvey said, ducking Travis's first blow. Then they were full out tackling each other and pounding on each other. Rita watched the spit and sweat fly and wondered when they would pull their heads out of their arses.

"You give yet?" Travis asked, his arm around Harvey's throat. Harvey's face was turning a bit purple as he struggled to breathe.

"No," he choked out.

"Come on, Harv!" Kamden hollered. "I'm not cleaning the shitter, Harv!"

"Oh, I think you are," Pete said, grinning wickedly.

"I'm done with this," Rita said to nobody in particular as she threw her coat on and walked away from the wrestling. Her mind was racing, and she needed it to stop. Just as she reached the door, she heard the commotion followed by:

"Travis! Get me a toothbrush!"

She snorted and stepped outside, letting the door shut firmly behind her.

Reset 91

Rita was trying to meditate as she did her push up. Instead of thinking about Luke like she typically did, though, she was thinking about her father.

"Not only do you have your mother's beauty, you also have her heart."

Despite her best efforts, the tear slid down her cheek. She missed her father a lot. She didn't know what was worse, losing a parent without ever knowing them or losing a parent after getting a lot of time with them.

Both options were equally shit.

"There she is," Travis said, walking over to her. She listened to his boots hitting the floor and lost her concentration. She lowered herself to the floor and tried to catch her breath.

"Can't sleep?" she asked him.

"Not really. My head is still spinning with this whole resetting the day thing," he answered, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand gently. "There's that push up again. Remind me who showed you how to do that?"

"A friend showed it to me a long time ago," she replied truthfully.

"Looks intense as always."

"It is."

"How many times have I tried it only to embarrass myself?"

"Quite a few," she confirmed, a slight smirk on her lips. He scoffed and shook his head playfully.

"So, you've done this 91 times," Travis said, crossing his arms now. "You must be exhausted."

"I do feel a bit weary," she agreed. "I feel like I'm getting closer to something, though. I can feel it."

"Let's hope so. I'd hate to see you stuck doing this forever."

"I won't be. We are gonna find the Omega, and we are gonna kill it," Rita said.

"Are we gonna loop in the guys at all?"

"You think we should?"

"The more bodies the better. That's just my opinion, though," he said with a shrug.

"I'll consider it."

"You married?" Travis asked, spying her ring that had fallen out from under her vest somehow. "Or widowed?"

"Separated," she answered.

"Ah. I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"He must still mean something to you," Travis noted.

"Why do you say that?"

"Who else wears their wedding ring around their neck when they're separated?"

"I'm sure lots of people do."

"Maybe, but I doubt it. Come on, out with it," he said, gesturing with his hand. "What happened?"

It always surprised Rita how often she told Travis about Luke now. She'd said it enough times that she had a summary mentally prepared to tell him each time. Every time, he typically said the same thing, that she should tell him about Brendan and about the video and see if it's actually what it is. The fact he always said this made her doubts about the damn thing that much bigger.

"Well," he said on cue once Rita was finished her spiel. "I think perhaps you should tell him about this and see if you're right or wrong about it."

"You say that every time," she sighed.

"Oh good, so I'm wise in every reset," he teased. She rolled her eyes and made to leave. He walked alongside her in companionable silence. Rita was thinking about the fight tomorrow when she saw the shadow again. She stopped in her tracks, causing Travis to walk a few steps ahead of her before noticing.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Rita stared at the spot where she had been certain someone was standing. Her heart quivered.

"Nothing," she answered. "Just thought I saw something."

"Not a Mimic I hope," Travis commented, sounding a bit concerned.

"No. Just a shadow," she answered. She kept walking, doing her best to not think about whoever it was that had been watching her.

...

"GET DOWN!"

Rita jerked awake, gasping for air. Luke's shout was echoing in her mind as if he'd actually been standing there yelling at her to get down. She reached to wipe her sweaty brow with her hand and tried to calm her breathing, the fingers on her other hand sliding up and down the chain around her neck.

I love you.

She felt emotion rise in her throat and worked to swallow it back down. She couldn't stop hearing his voice and being haunted by him. The worst of it was the dreams of him being intimate with her. She'd wake up craving him like air and feeling so empty.

Travis snorted and snuffled across from her, and she flinched slightly from the noise. She tried to get back settled into sleep, but she was wide awake at this point.

I don't deserve you, but you're still here anyway. I am so in love with you, and I'll never stop.

She relived their first time together, remembering how vulnerable she had felt and how trusting she'd been of him. She was remembering his lips on her skin when Travis gave a shout.

"Chloe!" he yelled, lurching forward and scaring Rita. It always brought some relief to know she wasn't alone in having nightmares. Sometimes she was awake for his shouting and sometimes not.

"Travis," she said gently.

"What?" he asked. She heard him shift to face her in the darkness.

"It's Rita. We're in Verdun."

"Oh," he said. "Yea. I remember."

"You okay?"

"Yea. Why are you awake?"

"Still can't sleep."

"Well that sucks." She heard him settle back down on his cot.

"Yea," she agreed. They were quiet for a moment, and she thought he might have fallen back asleep when he spoke again.

"Does it scare you?" he asked.

"What's that?"

"Death?"

"I can't really die right now," she said. "It just goes dark for a moment and then I'm back."

"I meant before you could reset."

"Oh." Did it? She thought hard. In a way it did, but she always had faith she'd see mother (and now her father) again. "I suppose it did."

"I was always afraid of getting shot," Travis admitted. "I just imagined it being painful."

"I am terrified of drowning," Rita confessed.

"That is scary too."

"You miss her," Rita said, referring to Chloe. Travis sighed.

"So much," he replied. "It sometimes physically hurts to breathe when I think about her and miss her."

Rita knew exactly what he meant, but Luke wasn't dead that she knew of. He was out there in the world alive and with someone else (that always stung when she remembered it), but then again, he might be fighting with the UDF somewhere. Maybe he had gotten killed. She wouldn't know.

"One day at a time, I guess," Travis said next, breaking into her thoughts. "It's all we can do." She agreed nonverbally with her throat.

"You ever think about using your resets to find him?" Travis asked.

"Who?"

"Your husband."

"No," Rita said after a pause. "I haven't."

"Maybe you should. Maybe this is part of the reason you were given this opportunity, to make things right with him before we all die."

Rita had never thought about it, but she didn't even know where to look. "I think I'll just keep doing what I'm doing."

"Suit yourself, but if it were me, and I had the chance to see Chloe one last time, I would."

Rita didn't respond, and after a few minutes, she heard him snore softly again. She felt jealous that he could fall asleep again so easily.

She didn't sleep at all for the rest of the night. She kept thinking about what he'd said. It made her think, though, that perhaps she should use this opportunity to try and find Brendan. When she had the vision, maybe she'd carve out some resets to do just that, but she wasn't sure if she should. While finding her son was important, winning this war was a bit more urgent. If they lost, she'd never see him again anyway. If she won, she could always have that hope that she'd find him. If she found out now that he was already dead, she didn't think she could go on. It was a hard call to make, one she would take her time with.

Because she really needed all the hope she could get right now.

...

"Shit, shit, shit, come on!" Harvey yelled, smashing his gun with the heel of his hand angrily. It was jammed, and they were pinned down. Pete kept popping up to fire off shots and keep the Mimics at bay.

"We ain't getting out of this," Kamden commented, his back against the dirt of the pit they were hiding in. Travis shared a look with Rita. They knew they'd get out of this, but not necessarily all of them.

"Bloody hell," Harvey growled, tossing down his rifle. "It's done."

"You should try a melee," Rita commented. "Don't need bullets."

"Don't have to worry about it getting jammed either," Travis added.

"What's the point?" Harvey asked angrily. "We're done for anyway. This is a trap, clearly. We are gonna die here."

"With that attitude, probably," Pete retorted.

"What are we doing?" Harvey went on, looking at Rita. "What is the point of this? We can't beat those things."

"Yes," Rita said, gripping her melee tight in her hands as she saw more Mimics charging towards them. "We can."

It went black not long after.

Reset 92

Rita was out for a walk in the dark because she couldn't sleep. She heard a noise and decided to investigate despite her uneasiness that someone was watching her. She approached the side of a building with caution, her pistol in her hand, and she looked around the corner to see Farell losing his shit.

He was actually yelling and throwing things. Rita lowered her gun, watching in awe. She'd never seen him lose his cool like this.

"Why?" Farell asked, looking up at the sky. "Why did you take him from me? Why would you do that? He was just a kid! Just a kid..." Then he broke into sobs and fell to his knees. Rita moved out of sight, her heart pounding. It had been so raw and personal, and she'd witnessed it. She felt bad for intruding on something so private, so she decided to leave rather than talk to him about it. His pain felt so similar to hers, but she just knew trying to help him right in that moment was not going to fly. As she walked away, her hands in her jacket pockets, she kept thinking that maybe she and Farell had more in common than she thought.

Reset 93

"I don't remember my father," Travis said. He was sitting cross legged on the training room floor while Rita held herself up as best as she could, legs as straight as she could get them. After teasing her about the pose, he'd tried it for himself only to fall flat on his face as usual. He opted to stick with observing to spare himself Rita's snickers.

"Did he die?" she asked, unable to help herself. The thing with spending so much time with the same person was that she couldn't keep her walls up as much anymore. She still had her moments where she didn't want to know or care, but she was starting to feel a bit curious about her team's lives lately. She didn't know why and couldn't explain it.

"I don't know," Travis admitted. "Ma never said. I was barely two years old, so I don't remember."

"Weird," Rita commented. She was trying to get her balance just right, but her muscles were screaming at her hardcore.

"I used to imagine what he was like," Travis continued. "I had myself convinced once that he was a spy working for MI6 and had to separate from us in order to keep us safe."

"That's a pretty wild idea," Rita said, trying not to laugh because it was basically the same thing she'd told Brendan about Luke. What were the odds?

"It was better than thinking he was some super villain who got killed before enacting on his evil plan," Travis sighed. Rita felt tense all over, and she lost her concentration. She ended the push up before she fell on her face. She had never told anyone about this, and she wouldn't have if she didn't know that Travis would forget it all tomorrow.

"My father was an assassin," she said quietly.

"What?" Travis asked, laughing. He stopped after seeing her face. "Oh, you're serious."

"I am. I found out when I was 19, not long before he was killed."

"Oh, shit."

"My husband is an assassin too," Rita went on. "That's how we met. He got dropped off at our farm to be my dad's apprentice when he was 16. He almost didn't do it, but then our friend's granddaughter was killed by psychopaths, and it sent him over the edge. He wanted to save people from that horror."

"Damn," Travis said, sounding shocked. "I had no idea you'd spit out something like that."

"No one knows," Rita told him.

"I won't say anything. Wow. You just got a whole lot more complicated," he said with a chuckle.

"I like to say I'm unique," she corrected.

"Okay, sure."

"There they are!" Harvey called, and Rita felt glad for the interruption. She suddenly felt foolish for telling Travis about her father and Luke. No one needed to know who they were.

"He got into the whiskey," Kamden advised, referring to Harvey.

Rita decided to get out of there. She didn't know why, but she suddenly just wanted to be alone.

Reset 96

Rita's muscles ached as she swung her melee over and over again. She'd lost track of Pete and Kamden on the battlefield. Travis was to her left, fighting for his life. Harvey was dead.

She let out a scream as she slaughtered the Mimic in front of her. Panting, she turned to survey the battle going on around her. She'd never felt so weary than she did in this moment. It just felt like it was never going to end. She was going to be stuck doing this over and over and over...

"Rita!" Travis shouted, and she turned just in time to side step the Mimic attacking her. She brought her melee down on it when she twisted back. She used her guns to finish it off before moving to assist Travis with the two attacking him.

"No!" she cried when he went down. She killed the last standing Mimic and collapsed to her knees next to Travis. He was coughing and bleeding out fast. Despite her walls, she reached to take his hands in hers tightly. She could see he was scared, and it was the only comfort she could think to give him right now.

"You'll bring me back," he said to her. "Right?"

"I promise," she replied.

She would always bring him back...no matter what.

Reset 99

Rita opened her eyes and hit the training room floor hard with her stomach. Breathing shakily, she blinked and worked hard to remember every single detail of the vision she'd just seen. She got to her feet and went looking for Travis. She found him walking towards her outside.

"Where's the fire?" he asked her, laughing.

"Come with me," she answered, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him.

"Well alright," he said, going with her easily.

"Travis, I have to tell you something," she started. "And no, it's not that." He'd mistaken her speech for confessing feelings for him a couple of times, and it annoyed her how amused it made him when he let her down easy. He'd always say Chloe was his one true love and he wasn't interested in finding another, and she'd always retort back with a remark on not being a presumptuous ass who thought he was the cat's meow. It was a whole thing.

"Rita, you're not making sense right now," he said.

"Just listen," she ordered. She quickly told him about resetting, and he took a moment before nodding.

"Okay," he said. "Weird as shit, but okay. What do we do?"

"I just had the vision," she said eagerly. "I know where the Omega is. I can find it and kill it. We can win this war, Travis."

"All right!" Travis exclaimed, high fiving her. "Now that's what I want to hear!"

Rita felt giddy. She could do this. She could win this war. She could find Brendan. She could go home.

"So where is it?" Travis asked.

"Notre Dame Cathedral," she answered.

"So what's the plan? We go tomorrow? Right now?"

"Let's try right now," she said. "Why not?"

"Can you imagine if we actually kill this bastard tonight?" Travis asked, rubbing his hands together gleefully. "We'll be true heroes, Rita."

She couldn't help it. She smiled.

And it was wiped off her face hours later when she got instantly killed.