SALVATION
Chapter Two ("The Gathering Storm")
By Slayne
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"Let me enlighten you, This is the way I pray. Living just isn't hard enough. Burn me alive inside. Living my life's not hard enough. Take everything away..."
-- Prayer... By Disturbed
"Courtney?" The brown eyes widened and, for a moment, were filled with an unreadable emotion before they narrowed again. She realized that she had learned to read his eyes well after so many years of watching his gaze behind that balaclava he always wore.
"Surprise." She proclaimed in a mock lilting voice. He just stared at her in disbelief, until she glanced nervously at the barrel of the shotgun and then reached slowly out to push it down and away from her. "Is this how you treat all your guests?"
"I don't have guests... how did you find me?" He recovered and flipped the 12-gauge up, setting it carefully down on the table. They stood for a long moment, just taking each other in. Her gaze ran over the gun belt he wore around his waist, his old M-9 holstered at his hip. He wore camouflage BDU pants, mud-covered swamp boots, and a long sleeved flannel shirt. He hadn't shaved in a few days, but his hair was clipped and neat and military short.
"I um...heard you were back in Alabama, and when I got to your mailing address, it was a general store in Sheldon.
He stared at her a second and then leaned down to pick up two dead squirrels that he'd lain in the grass while he'd held the gun on her. He walked to the table and threw them up on it. "The mail doesn't come up this far. I'm surprised that Dakota made it. The road is dangerous when it's raining."
"Yeah, well it's... modified."
He glanced at her and shook his head slightly as he picked up one of the squirrels. "I should have known."
"I should have known you'd be packing heat... good thing I left my Glock in its case in the truck." She watched him, puzzled, as he slipped the tiny cord noose on the tree around a rear leg of the dead squirrel. He rolled his sleeves up past his elbows, revealing thick forearms covered in auburn hair. She caught the glint of red as a beam of sun reached through the blowing tree branches and landed on him. When she looked up, he was staring directly at her.
"Jesus... you look good, Cover Girl." He was sincere, and his gaze raked down over her leather jacket, jeans and boots before settling on her blue eyes again. She smiled faintly, feeling those butterflies jump up in her stomach again. That old annoyance flared up with them. How did he do that? Why was he the only one who COULD do that?
"Well, I wish I could say the same to you...but you look like shit, Beach."
He shot her a familiar and annoyed glance. "Thanks..." He stated dryly.
He didn't really. He looked like he'd been out rolling in the forest all day, but she could see the same old planes and angles of his face through the day-old growth of beard. There were a few more lines around his eyes and his mouth, a harder glare to his gaze... but he didn't look that much older. Considering what he'd been through since the end of G.I. Joe, she had expected him to look ancient. But even in his mid-thirties, he looked damn good. His stomach was still flat, and his arms still bulged with muscle. He glanced up at her.
"So... I thought I'd see your picture in all the magazines once you left the Army."
She smiled at that. "I was a little over-the-hill to become a model again...besides, I had enough of that when I was actually doing it."
"Playboy would pay you big bucks..."
She laughed and raised an eyebrow at him. "They already offered, but it's not my thing. Ummm.. Playboy, Wayne?"
There was a flash of amusement in his eyes and he shrugged, motioning at their surroundings. "What can I say? A man needs some type of companionship."
She glanced around and mimicked the shrug. "Especially if you keep killing off all the squirrels."
He snorted and drew a shiny, sharp knife from his belt, twirling it in his fingers expertly before suddenly grabbing the dead animal and sliding the blade along its neck. Courtney flinched.
"Awww..." She glanced away as the blood ran. That drew a stiff but amused smile from the former Army Ranger.
"You can kill a tankful of Cobras in battle, but you can't stand the sight of a couple of dead squirrels?"
She ignored him and watched as he began gutting and skinning the animal. His hands moved with precision and his eyes were intense and focused. It was a look she knew well on him.
"Wayne..."
"Why are you here, Courtney?" He didn't look up from his task, his voice was low, the accent thick, making the 'why' sound like 'whah'.
"What happened to you?" She asked quietly.
He hesitated for a brief minute, his gaze losing that intense focus for a moment. "You know what happened. Is that why you're here? Did Hawk send you to talk me into joining up again?"
"What? No! Besides...if he wanted to send someone to do that, shouldn't he have sent someone you actually like?"
Their gazes met and locked together. His was heavy and piercing. Courtney looked away.
"Right." He agreed, a bit sarcastically and with anger behind his tone.
Courtney sighed. "That was a joke...I guess it was a bad one."
"You've always made a lot of those...it should have been your secondary MOS." There wasn't a hint of a smile on his face, and Courtney fought the old urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she fell back on her old defense. She ignored the comment.
"I thought that general store was the end of the line, but then the guy working there mentioned that I should watch out for the crazy militia kook who was living up in the mountains with a small armory." She grinned at him. "Then I realized I had found you."
He glared at her and jabbed the knife in the air in her direction. "Well, if you're here to talk me into re-joining, then you can just un-find me and be on your way."
She fell quiet and watched him silently, her thoughts flying. The clouds above were getting darker, and the cool wind had picked up a bit. She inhaled the breeze deeply and smiled, closing her eyes.
"I didn't realize Alabama could be so beautiful." She remarked.
"It's alright." He muttered, his eyes meeting hers as he moved past her. She held his gaze with searching eyes. They both knew that while Alabama was his home state, it was the Army that was truly 'home' for him.
"There's a lot of things you never realized over the years." He said. He took the pan from the table and set it under a water spigot, filling it with cold water. He lifted it to the table and threw the first skinned squirrel into it. Courtney dodged the splash. He hung the second squirrel, and she grimaced as he set to work on it.
"Maybe not." She agreed. She hesitated then, watching him carefully, before she said softly. "I saw the funerals on TV."
He stopped working, his gaze shifting to the tree trunk past the hanging squirrel. She saw his jaw tighten, and he blinked rapidly a few times.
"So? Everyone did."
"You didn't want to resign..."
"What I don't want...is to talk about this right now, Corp...Courtney."
"Beach..."
"Don't call me that anymore." He yanked the squirrel down from the noose and threw it in the pan of water. The glare on his face was dangerous. He walked past her and picked up the pan. "So...are you staying for dinner?"
She glanced at the skinned bodies of the squirrels and felt her stomach lurch. When she looked back at him, he had a slight smirk behind the glare, and she felt that old annoyance come rushing back.
"Yeah...if you don't mind."
"What if I DO mind?"
"Tough shit. I'm not missing a home-cooked meal from you, of all people."
"Tell me that after you've tried squirrel gravy over noodles."
She grinned and turned to follow him towards the door. "Do you wear an apron when you cook?"
"Shut it, Barbie doll."
To be continued......
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Chapter Two ("The Gathering Storm")
By Slayne
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Let me enlighten you, This is the way I pray. Living just isn't hard enough. Burn me alive inside. Living my life's not hard enough. Take everything away..."
-- Prayer... By Disturbed
"Courtney?" The brown eyes widened and, for a moment, were filled with an unreadable emotion before they narrowed again. She realized that she had learned to read his eyes well after so many years of watching his gaze behind that balaclava he always wore.
"Surprise." She proclaimed in a mock lilting voice. He just stared at her in disbelief, until she glanced nervously at the barrel of the shotgun and then reached slowly out to push it down and away from her. "Is this how you treat all your guests?"
"I don't have guests... how did you find me?" He recovered and flipped the 12-gauge up, setting it carefully down on the table. They stood for a long moment, just taking each other in. Her gaze ran over the gun belt he wore around his waist, his old M-9 holstered at his hip. He wore camouflage BDU pants, mud-covered swamp boots, and a long sleeved flannel shirt. He hadn't shaved in a few days, but his hair was clipped and neat and military short.
"I um...heard you were back in Alabama, and when I got to your mailing address, it was a general store in Sheldon.
He stared at her a second and then leaned down to pick up two dead squirrels that he'd lain in the grass while he'd held the gun on her. He walked to the table and threw them up on it. "The mail doesn't come up this far. I'm surprised that Dakota made it. The road is dangerous when it's raining."
"Yeah, well it's... modified."
He glanced at her and shook his head slightly as he picked up one of the squirrels. "I should have known."
"I should have known you'd be packing heat... good thing I left my Glock in its case in the truck." She watched him, puzzled, as he slipped the tiny cord noose on the tree around a rear leg of the dead squirrel. He rolled his sleeves up past his elbows, revealing thick forearms covered in auburn hair. She caught the glint of red as a beam of sun reached through the blowing tree branches and landed on him. When she looked up, he was staring directly at her.
"Jesus... you look good, Cover Girl." He was sincere, and his gaze raked down over her leather jacket, jeans and boots before settling on her blue eyes again. She smiled faintly, feeling those butterflies jump up in her stomach again. That old annoyance flared up with them. How did he do that? Why was he the only one who COULD do that?
"Well, I wish I could say the same to you...but you look like shit, Beach."
He shot her a familiar and annoyed glance. "Thanks..." He stated dryly.
He didn't really. He looked like he'd been out rolling in the forest all day, but she could see the same old planes and angles of his face through the day-old growth of beard. There were a few more lines around his eyes and his mouth, a harder glare to his gaze... but he didn't look that much older. Considering what he'd been through since the end of G.I. Joe, she had expected him to look ancient. But even in his mid-thirties, he looked damn good. His stomach was still flat, and his arms still bulged with muscle. He glanced up at her.
"So... I thought I'd see your picture in all the magazines once you left the Army."
She smiled at that. "I was a little over-the-hill to become a model again...besides, I had enough of that when I was actually doing it."
"Playboy would pay you big bucks..."
She laughed and raised an eyebrow at him. "They already offered, but it's not my thing. Ummm.. Playboy, Wayne?"
There was a flash of amusement in his eyes and he shrugged, motioning at their surroundings. "What can I say? A man needs some type of companionship."
She glanced around and mimicked the shrug. "Especially if you keep killing off all the squirrels."
He snorted and drew a shiny, sharp knife from his belt, twirling it in his fingers expertly before suddenly grabbing the dead animal and sliding the blade along its neck. Courtney flinched.
"Awww..." She glanced away as the blood ran. That drew a stiff but amused smile from the former Army Ranger.
"You can kill a tankful of Cobras in battle, but you can't stand the sight of a couple of dead squirrels?"
She ignored him and watched as he began gutting and skinning the animal. His hands moved with precision and his eyes were intense and focused. It was a look she knew well on him.
"Wayne..."
"Why are you here, Courtney?" He didn't look up from his task, his voice was low, the accent thick, making the 'why' sound like 'whah'.
"What happened to you?" She asked quietly.
He hesitated for a brief minute, his gaze losing that intense focus for a moment. "You know what happened. Is that why you're here? Did Hawk send you to talk me into joining up again?"
"What? No! Besides...if he wanted to send someone to do that, shouldn't he have sent someone you actually like?"
Their gazes met and locked together. His was heavy and piercing. Courtney looked away.
"Right." He agreed, a bit sarcastically and with anger behind his tone.
Courtney sighed. "That was a joke...I guess it was a bad one."
"You've always made a lot of those...it should have been your secondary MOS." There wasn't a hint of a smile on his face, and Courtney fought the old urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she fell back on her old defense. She ignored the comment.
"I thought that general store was the end of the line, but then the guy working there mentioned that I should watch out for the crazy militia kook who was living up in the mountains with a small armory." She grinned at him. "Then I realized I had found you."
He glared at her and jabbed the knife in the air in her direction. "Well, if you're here to talk me into re-joining, then you can just un-find me and be on your way."
She fell quiet and watched him silently, her thoughts flying. The clouds above were getting darker, and the cool wind had picked up a bit. She inhaled the breeze deeply and smiled, closing her eyes.
"I didn't realize Alabama could be so beautiful." She remarked.
"It's alright." He muttered, his eyes meeting hers as he moved past her. She held his gaze with searching eyes. They both knew that while Alabama was his home state, it was the Army that was truly 'home' for him.
"There's a lot of things you never realized over the years." He said. He took the pan from the table and set it under a water spigot, filling it with cold water. He lifted it to the table and threw the first skinned squirrel into it. Courtney dodged the splash. He hung the second squirrel, and she grimaced as he set to work on it.
"Maybe not." She agreed. She hesitated then, watching him carefully, before she said softly. "I saw the funerals on TV."
He stopped working, his gaze shifting to the tree trunk past the hanging squirrel. She saw his jaw tighten, and he blinked rapidly a few times.
"So? Everyone did."
"You didn't want to resign..."
"What I don't want...is to talk about this right now, Corp...Courtney."
"Beach..."
"Don't call me that anymore." He yanked the squirrel down from the noose and threw it in the pan of water. The glare on his face was dangerous. He walked past her and picked up the pan. "So...are you staying for dinner?"
She glanced at the skinned bodies of the squirrels and felt her stomach lurch. When she looked back at him, he had a slight smirk behind the glare, and she felt that old annoyance come rushing back.
"Yeah...if you don't mind."
"What if I DO mind?"
"Tough shit. I'm not missing a home-cooked meal from you, of all people."
"Tell me that after you've tried squirrel gravy over noodles."
She grinned and turned to follow him towards the door. "Do you wear an apron when you cook?"
"Shut it, Barbie doll."
To be continued......
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