"Where's your companion, Holly?" Aragorn asked the next morning. Holly
looked at him with blurry eyes, yawning as she stood up.
"She'll be here. She just needs to calm down. And if she's not back soon, just look for a mutilated tree trunk," she said tiredly. Aragorn sighed and watched the sun rise, noticing a figure sitting on a small cliff.
"There! You had better retrieve her, Holly," he said, pointing at Rachel's distant figure. Holly walked to her friend and sat down.
"This place is so cool, huh?" she asked, trying to start a light conversation. Rachel didn't move.
"When do we leave?" she asked finally. Holly looked at her and then into the rising sun.
"I think in an hour. C'mon, we need to have breakfast," Holly said, standing. She held out her hand and Rachel took hold, remembering Jake and Bryan and the rest of her men. That was all she had been thinking about since the wizard brought up the subject. Jake was a Scorpion under Rachel's command, but he was also her fiancé before he was killed during their last mission. Bryan was also a marine, but not a Scorpion. They had gone through boot camp together. Bryan committed suicide after his comrades found out that he was homosexual. In all, Rachel was responsible for thirty-eight of her soldiers' deaths and she had to deliver thirty-nine (including Bryan's) black letters (a letter a soldier writes to his family in case he's killed in action). It was horrible and it stuck in her mind.
"I'm not hungry," Rachel said. Holly sighed and shook her head, pulling Rachel down the hill and toward camp. All nine men were sitting around the ashen campfire, eating an apple or a piece of bread. Rachel and Holly sat beside each other, but neither talked, until Aragorn spoke to them.
"What are your names and stories? I like to know my comrades," he asked. Holly began when Rachel would not speak.
"Holly Marie Warren. I'm an ex-Marine. It's a division in the military. Well, I was actually in the corps called Scorpions. They are the most elite force in the military. A couple of years ago I shattered my knee cap and busted my eye open because of a jackass lieutenant and I had to resign my position. I'm twenty-eight, by the way," she finished. There was a few moments of awkward silence and Holly hit Rachel in the side. She growled deep in her throat and sighed, knowing she couldn't get out of telling her story too. If she didn't, Holly would for her.
"Rachel Gwyneth Conaway-Bennison. Ex-Scorpion. I was their commanding officer for three years and resigned two years ago. Twenty-seven," she said briefly. Aragorn looked at her quizzically.
"Why did you resign?" he asked. Rachel looked at the ground before reaching into her bag and grabbing a gun.
"After my last mission, I didn't have any men to command," she said without expression. Grabbing a clip from her bag, she loaded her gun and everyone watched in fascination.
"What are those?" Boromir asked. Everyone crowded around her and watched as she loaded it and grabbed her other gun, loading it as well.
"They're called guns. Weapons that cause more destruction than any weapon you have here. Never use them, they kill off more than just your enemies," she said, putting them in their holsters on her gear belt. Grabbing her dagger (which was still stuck in the tree), she resheathed it and walked back to the camp.
"How far is it to Moria or Khazàd-Dùm?' she asked. Gimli looked at her with awe.
"You know of Moria?" he asked, rushing forward. Rachel looked at him with profound intelligence.
"Of course I do. Tolkein is one of the only things I read."
With that last comment, they headed toward Moria, for the group had already failed to cross over the Pass at Caradhras.
"She'll be here. She just needs to calm down. And if she's not back soon, just look for a mutilated tree trunk," she said tiredly. Aragorn sighed and watched the sun rise, noticing a figure sitting on a small cliff.
"There! You had better retrieve her, Holly," he said, pointing at Rachel's distant figure. Holly walked to her friend and sat down.
"This place is so cool, huh?" she asked, trying to start a light conversation. Rachel didn't move.
"When do we leave?" she asked finally. Holly looked at her and then into the rising sun.
"I think in an hour. C'mon, we need to have breakfast," Holly said, standing. She held out her hand and Rachel took hold, remembering Jake and Bryan and the rest of her men. That was all she had been thinking about since the wizard brought up the subject. Jake was a Scorpion under Rachel's command, but he was also her fiancé before he was killed during their last mission. Bryan was also a marine, but not a Scorpion. They had gone through boot camp together. Bryan committed suicide after his comrades found out that he was homosexual. In all, Rachel was responsible for thirty-eight of her soldiers' deaths and she had to deliver thirty-nine (including Bryan's) black letters (a letter a soldier writes to his family in case he's killed in action). It was horrible and it stuck in her mind.
"I'm not hungry," Rachel said. Holly sighed and shook her head, pulling Rachel down the hill and toward camp. All nine men were sitting around the ashen campfire, eating an apple or a piece of bread. Rachel and Holly sat beside each other, but neither talked, until Aragorn spoke to them.
"What are your names and stories? I like to know my comrades," he asked. Holly began when Rachel would not speak.
"Holly Marie Warren. I'm an ex-Marine. It's a division in the military. Well, I was actually in the corps called Scorpions. They are the most elite force in the military. A couple of years ago I shattered my knee cap and busted my eye open because of a jackass lieutenant and I had to resign my position. I'm twenty-eight, by the way," she finished. There was a few moments of awkward silence and Holly hit Rachel in the side. She growled deep in her throat and sighed, knowing she couldn't get out of telling her story too. If she didn't, Holly would for her.
"Rachel Gwyneth Conaway-Bennison. Ex-Scorpion. I was their commanding officer for three years and resigned two years ago. Twenty-seven," she said briefly. Aragorn looked at her quizzically.
"Why did you resign?" he asked. Rachel looked at the ground before reaching into her bag and grabbing a gun.
"After my last mission, I didn't have any men to command," she said without expression. Grabbing a clip from her bag, she loaded her gun and everyone watched in fascination.
"What are those?" Boromir asked. Everyone crowded around her and watched as she loaded it and grabbed her other gun, loading it as well.
"They're called guns. Weapons that cause more destruction than any weapon you have here. Never use them, they kill off more than just your enemies," she said, putting them in their holsters on her gear belt. Grabbing her dagger (which was still stuck in the tree), she resheathed it and walked back to the camp.
"How far is it to Moria or Khazàd-Dùm?' she asked. Gimli looked at her with awe.
"You know of Moria?" he asked, rushing forward. Rachel looked at him with profound intelligence.
"Of course I do. Tolkein is one of the only things I read."
With that last comment, they headed toward Moria, for the group had already failed to cross over the Pass at Caradhras.