Rainy Night in Tallinn by Ludwig Goransson

White Flag by Bishop Briggs

Axis by Hi-Finesse

Ashes of Our Fathers by M83

I'm Ready to Die by TheUnder

Hellbreaker by Colossal Trailer Music

2020 Verdun

Reset 101

Rita didn't need to tell her team why they were going in the direction they were going. They just followed her and Travis with no questions asked because that was how much they trusted her, and she felt honored by that if she was honest. So far, though, they weren't making it far off the battlefield, and Rita was growing a bit frustrated.

"How many tries has it been?" Travis asked, panting. They were hiding behind a brick wall with Kamden and Harvey reloading a little farther down the left. Pete had been killed despite Rita's efforts to save him. She had to push away the image of his face as he fell from her mind.

"Two," she answered.

"Two tries and you're pissed off that you can't get farther?" he asked, starting to laugh. "Come on, Rita. I imagine it will take a bit more than that."

"It just shouldn't be this hard," she reasoned.

"They're gigantic, ugly aliens," Travis pointed out. "Cut yourself some slack, luv."

She refrained from rolling her eyes, but she worked her jaw.

"We're better than them," she insisted.

"We will be," he agreed. "With some practice."

"You never remember what you practiced," she pointed out.

"Touché, but you do."

Rita aimed and fired at the Mimic barreling towards them. She could hear Harvey shouting as he unloaded his guns too. She was breathing hard when it finally fell down dead.

"Okay, I think we should go that wa-," she started, turning to see Travis get killed and barely ducking out of the way in time herself. It was more her body's reflexes that kicked in than anything.

"TRAVIS!" Kamden bellowed. Rita fell onto her back, inching backwards in the sand as she shot at the Mimic bearing down on her.

"Hang on, Rita!" Harvey yelled, trying to help her out. It was pointless, and she needed Travis to move forward anyway. She stopped shooting and covered her head with her arms, letting death take her away once more.

Reset 103

She got Travis out of the way, but Kamden was lost shortly after. Pete was still dead. Harvey was hyperventilating and freaking out. She still couldn't get off the battleground.

Reset 104

She managed to save Pete, but Travis got taken out while they were reloading despite her efforts. They made it about forty feet past the last checkpoint, and Rita got killed.

Reset 105

Kamden died first this time. Rita managed to keep the others with her a hundred feet past the last checkpoint. Her legs were screaming at her, and she could barely think straight, but it didn't matter. A landmine blew them up before they could go any further.

Reset 106

"What's that?" Travis asked, coming into the training room to find her poring over a geographical map. He stopped beside her, arms crossed.

"I need this to help my memory tomorrow," she said, pointing her finger on the map. "I've circled spots where Mimics pop up or there's a landmine. I think if I can get this down pat, I can save everyone."

"Alright," he agreed, scanning it. "How can I help?"

"Memorize it with me."

"Have I mentioned I'm more brawn than brains?" he asked, lifting a brow at her.

"We both know you're lying." She looked at him, and he couldn't help but grin back at her.

"Show me then," he said, gesturing, and Rita began to tell him everything she could remember.

Reset 109

"Left, then right..." Travis was muttering. "Then duck, swivel left again."

"Right," Rita corrected.

"Right, sorry," Travis said with a sigh. "This is going to be really difficult."

"Not really. You just have to memorize it," she reasoned. He scoffed and shook his head. He was leaning his hands on the table as he studied the map in front of him. Rita had marked every spot on there that she could remember. She didn't really like closing her eyes and picturing it all happening again, but she had no choice. She did her best to block out the moments where her team members died.

"I feel like we should be getting the boys involved," Travis said now.

"I don't think they'll believe me."

"Have you tried?"

"Not yet."

"I think you should."

"I'll consider it." Rita didn't know why she was nervous to tell the other men on their team. She guessed she didn't want them to lose respect for her after calling her a crackpot.

"Don't consider it. Do it," he urged.

"The day you agree to let me put this blood in you to see if you can reset will be the day I tell the others and ask for their help," she shot back. He sucked his teeth.

"Alright. Fair enough."

Rita knew he was still not ready for that. She didn't blame him. Who wanted to be shot in the head just to see if they'd come back? She also felt a bit nervous because if she took blood out of her, would she lose the power? She figured she would save it as a last resort type of thing, and she'd enlist Dr. Carter's help for it. She hoped she wouldn't reach that level of desperation, but she knew it was possible.

She just had to be prepared.

Reset 114

Rita was trying to stay calm. Her anxiety was high right now as she tried to fall asleep. Nothing was shutting her mind off, and she didn't want to fall asleep because the last few resets she kept having the same dream where Luke was killed in front of her. She didn't know what it meant, but it was emotionally draining. She gave up after a while and left her cot to go for a walk in the semi-darkness. She shoved her hands in her jacket pockets and listened to the sound of her boots on gravel.

Mummy? What makes the stars shine so bright?

She felt a tear slide down her cheek and reached to wipe it away for fear anyone saw it, not that she was surrounded by people right now anyway. She just didn't want to risk showing her vulnerability. She needed to stay tough.

Mummy? Does Daddy miss me like I miss him? How can you miss someone you never met?

Mummy? Garth has grandparents. How come I don't have any grandparents?

Mummy? You're my bestest friend in the whole world, and I love you forever and ever and ever.

Rita's breathing became ragged and unsteady as her son's childhood voice went through her mind. She'd tried to give him the best life she could. She had a lot of regret, though, for not telling him the truth about why Luke was not in their lives. She wondered if she had, maybe Brendan wouldn't have signed up for the UDF. She couldn't stop picturing him dead somewhere, and that was breaking her heart. She did well to hide this pain and hold a tough exterior to everyone, but inside she was frantic with wondering where Brendan was and images of him crying for her help kept plaguing her. She still didn't know why he'd signed up to the UDF. What had prompted him to do it? The answer came quickly:

Mummy, one day, I wanna be a spy like Daddy.

He'd wanted to be just like Luke. Despite hoping he wouldn't take after his father, he'd gone and joined up to do something that resembled something similar to his father's line of work.

She stopped walking suddenly and strained her eyes to see in the darkness. She'd reached her private spot, a rock not far from the base. She didn't sit on it this time, choosing to stand on it instead and have the wind tug on her clothes and hair. Had she made a mistake in letting Brendan believe his father was off somewhere saving the world and unable to come home? She'd warned him so many times to never talk about his father outside of their home, and he hadn't. He loved hearing stories of Luke, though. He'd beg all the time for her to share everything and anything about his father.

What was his favorite movie?

What was his favorite food?

Where did he grow up?

Does he like cars too?

What was something he found really funny?

How did you meet him?

Do you still love him?

And then one day, he'd stopped asking so many questions, and she didn't know why. She guessed he just started moving on and realized his father wasn't coming back. That hurt her to hurt him, but she couldn't change it now. Rita tried to calm her mind and still her shaking hands, but it was hard. She had to find this Omega. She had to kill it. She had to find her son. She had to figure out what she was going to do after that. She knew it was probably pointless to even dare to think about a future after this war, but she was going to anyway.

It was probably the only thing keeping her moving forward.

Reset 115

Rita was on her stomach on the training room floor trying to catch her breath, images of the last reset and echoes of her team's screams as they died bounced in her head. She found herself thinking on overdrive almost, and she knew it was time.

It was time to bring in General Brigham.

She wasn't getting to the Omega on her own. She needed an army. She needed to convince him to give that to her.

"Rita!" Travis called, startling her. She twisted her head to look at him as he marched towards her. How long had she been there thinking about this? The relief at seeing him was immense, though. If she didn't know she'd get her team back every day, she'd have given up a long time ago.

"What?" she asked.

"You're gonna miss PT, and you know how much that pisses Farell off," Travis stated, stopping next to her head, crossing his arms, and looking down at her. "What the hell are you doing? Taking a nap?" There was a bit of a playful smile on his lips now.

"No," she said curtly, getting to her feet. "Look, there's something I need to tell you."

"Spit it out then," Travis ordered. And she did. She watched his face as she explained it to him, and there was skepticism at first until she went into details about things. He tapped his fingers against his arm.

"You believe me, right? You have so far," she added.

"I'm trying to wrap my head around it," Travis advised. "So, what are we doing then? Going to find this beast?"

"Well, I think I need to tell someone about this," Rita stated. "This could help us win this war. I know where it is. We can gather the troops and put all our energy on heading there and killing it."

"So, you want to tell General Brigham?" Travis inquired. Rita nodded.

"Yes. I think that's a wise decision."

"Really? What if he locks your ass up?"

"He can try," Rita scoffed. She moved past him now, wanting to do PT as a way to help her devise a plan. Sometimes she thought best when she ran.

"How are you getting out of here?"

"I'll borrow a plane or something."

"You know how to fly?"

He had her there. She did her best not to look stumped, but he just laughed.

"Well, lucky for you, I do," he said. "Guess I'm coming with you."

"I'd appreciate it." She wasn't so great with showing feelings to people anymore. The risk of getting hurt was always in the back of her mind, but with Travis, she just knew he wouldn't mock her for it.

"We leave at 0500," he told her. "We'll go from there."

"Okay."

She followed him out to do PT, her brain whirling. If she could convince General Brigham this was real, they could win this war.

She just had to be really damn convincing.

...

Rita barely got any sleep. She kept going over and over in her mind what she was going to say to Brigham. When she wasn't thinking about that, she was thinking about Brendan or Luke. She rested her hand over the place where Luke's name was on her body. She remembered having it done. She remembered when he'd first seen it, the look on his face and the way his fingers had felt when he touched it. She felt warm inside remembering how his lips had felt on it when they'd gotten to that point in their relationship. Brendan had been fascinated by it, and she'd had to warn him off of getting his own until he was an adult. Of course, that made her a hypocrite, but her son didn't need to know how old she'd been when she'd gotten hers.

When it was just before five in the morning, she heard Travis get up.

"I can smell the smoke from your brain working overtime from over here," he joked. "Let's go then."

Rita lurched out of bed, not having even bothered to change out of her clothes before bed. She noticed he hadn't either. They walked quickly to where the aircraft were stored.

"How are we going to do this?" he asked her. "If we are in Heathrow convincing Brigham to send troops to get the Omega, we won't be involved since we're not there."

"It's under a two hour flight," she said. "We can head back and join our team once it's a go."

"I guess, yea."

"I'm feeling like you don't have faith in this plan," Rita joked, but her smile faded as she took in his serious expression.

"I'm worried what they're gonna do to you if they don't believe you," he replied. They were approaching an aircraft now.

"Well, Travis," she said as he got the door opened and walked up the steps with her following. "They're gonna have to catch me first." She didn't admit that it scared her a little bit too. She was relying on her knowledge of escaping bonds that Luke had drilled into her years ago. She hadn't been shown how to get out of a straitjacket, though.

"And what if they get you? Huh? You're locked up in a psych ward somewhere and lose the power...how is that gonna help us?"

"Travis, it'll be okay," Rita promised, reaching to put a hand on his shoulder now. "I can be very convincing. He'll believe me, and we'll win this war."

"Alright. If you say so."

"I do say so. Now, show me how to fly this thing," she said, examining all the controls. Travis sat down and began to explain it all to her; she lapped it up eagerly. It still hurt her a little to know her father had a plane and never taught her how to do this. Then there was her neighbor back in Illinois who would take Brendan up often, but she hadn't thought she'd need to know how to fly a plane then. Brendan had loved it and had gone every chance he could. Rita wondered suddenly if he'd ended up being a pilot for the UDF and not a soldier. She wasn't sure which was better.

"Where do you want me when we're in there?" he asked after a bit.

"Close by. You might have to take me out if it goes south."

"Alright."

She thought about what things would look like if Luke was with her doing this. She knew he'd be just as worried and trying to figure out how to help. At least both he and Travis knew better than to treat Rita like she couldn't handle herself. This caused her mind to wander off into other memories for a while.

"Why are you smiling?" Travis asked, and Rita caught herself. She cleared her throat.

"I was just, uh...thinking about someone," she answered.

"Do tell. I could use something to smile about," he encouraged. She pursed her lips slightly before sucking her teeth.

"An old friend of mine...Luke...he had this dog, Copper. Actually, I got him the dog," she corrected. "Anyway, if I was sad or down, he would wait for me to come into the room and have it that Copper's head was in front of his face so only his eyes showed, and somehow the dog and Luke would have the exact same surprised look."

"Ha, that's cute," Travis agreed. "You got him a dog? Must have been a close friend."

"He was," Rita confirmed quietly.

"Now I'm getting the feeling there's more to it than that."

"There is, but I don't feel like getting into it this time."

"Fair enough."

They were quiet for a moment again until Rita felt emotion rise in her throat as she pictured Luke lying on his side with his fingers intertwined with hers, a smile on his face. It was almost as if all other sounds disappeared...like it was just the two of them in that moment, his eyes looking into her soul.

"I love him," she whispered. She felt Travis's hand on her arm a few seconds later, and she turned to look at him, surprised he'd even heard her over the noise of the aircraft, which had all came crashing back the moment he'd touched her. She felt a tear slide down her cheek, much to her dismay. He didn't say anything, though. He simply patted her arm and gave a small smile before looking forward again.

And Rita forced herself to stop thinking about Luke.

...

No one stopped them as they walked into the Ministry of Defense. Rita took in everything. Her plan was to convince Brigham by knowing all the things that go on and repeating them to him to make him see she wasn't mental. Her first try was a long shot, she knew that, but the more she did this, the more material she'd have to give to him.

She found Brigham in his office at his desk. His face was dark and serious, his brow furrowed. He looked up when they entered and Travis shut the door.

"Excuse me?" he said. "What're you doing here?"

"General, I have something to tell you," Rita started, stepping forward while Travis hung back. She took in everything in this office as she went.

"Why aren't you in Verdun? What is the meaning of this?" Brigham demanded. Rita bristled inside slightly. He was going to be a hard ass, she could just tell.

"Sir, with all due respect, I'm here because something has happened to me that is pertinent to winning this war," she surged on. He blinked as she held her breath, waiting.

"Well go on then," he said impatiently.

The door opened, and his secretary walked in. Rita paid attention to everything she said, every motion and gesture she made. She waited until they were alone again before talking once more.

"Sir..."

"What is your name again?"

"Corporal Rita Vrataski, sir."

"And you?" Brigham asked Travis, looking at him.

"Corporal Travis Hendricks, sir."

"So what is it that you have to tell me that is more important than attending battle in Verdun?" Brigham inquired, looking at Rita squarely again.

"As you know, we are fighting an alien race," Rita began. She resisted pacing, and her fingers twitched with wanting to touch her chain for reassurance. She held off, trying not to look like a nervous wreck. That wouldn't help her case for not appearing mental at all.

"I'm very much aware," Brigham said in almost a sneer.

"Well, I came into close contact with one of the soldiers," Rita explained. "An Alpha. I was covered in its blood, and now I have the power to reset the day when I die, just like they do. That's how they've been winning so far. They have the advantage of knowing what to change in order to avoid defeat. They start the day over with that knowledge and get ahead."

The look on his face made her falter. He thought she was crazy. She could just tell. She carried on anyway.

"With this power, I have been given a vision of where the Omega...the leader...is. It's in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Verdun, sir. If we send all our troops there right now, we can kill it and end this war. I just need you to believe what I'm telling you is true because it is." She held her breath after finishing. Brigham continued to stare at her before blinking.

"Soldier," he said. "I can see that the effects of this war have impacted your mental functioning."

"No," she started.

"Let me finish," he cut her off, glaring at her, and she shut her mouth. "You clearly are having delusions from the PTSD or stress or whatever it is you've got, and as such, you need to be removed from the field and spend some time recovering in our mental health facilities."

A.K.A. psych ward. Rita couldn't believe he'd gone there so quickly. She really had put too much faith into him.

"Sir, I'm not crazy. I haven't lost my mind. This is happening..."

Brigham picked up his phone to call security, and Rita turned to face Travis, who had an apologetic look on his face.

"Sorry, Rita," he said.

"Then I guess we try again," she replied, gesturing with her hand. Brigham started to shout when Travis aimed his gun at her head.

"Just what in the devil do you think you're do-?!"

His sentence was cut off by the gun going off and everything turning to black.

Reset 123

"You really are stubborn," Travis said as he leaned back in his seat. Rita was full out flying the plane now, having learned how to within the first few times and practising ever since. Travis only had to make minor suggestions here and there now, and she felt proud that she'd learned how to do this.

"I can be," she agreed. She wasn't giving up on Brigham, not yet. She needed him to believe her. She needed him to help her win this. She couldn't face the Omega alone.

"I don't think he's going to believe you," Travis went on, pressing a hand to his face briefly. "I think your luck is gonna run out and he's gonna have his way and lock you up."

"He won't."

"Maybe we are wasting our time with him. Maybe we should be convincing everyone at the base to do this."

"If I can't get one man to believe me, how can I get a whole slew of them to?" she challenged.

"I believe you," Travis reminded her.

"Yes, but you're special."

"I hope you mean that as a compliment."

"I do."

"Good." He moved in his seat, trying to get comfortable. They were almost there, and it was getting dark. Rita had switched to meeting Brigham in the evening before the battle after learning he stayed there late for a meeting. She figured the more time they had after convincing him the better. It was just getting him to believe her that was the problem. In thinking about talking to him yet again, Rita tried to feel more confidence than she actually had.

You have to do the thing to feel confident, not wait to feel confident to do the thing.

Another Luke Lesson. Rita could almost feel him hovering behind her with his face close to hers as she aimed a rifle for the first time. She'd loved those moments with him when it was just the two of them. He always seemed to know what to say to help her feel better or do better.

"If you can actually pull this off," Travis said now, breaking into her thoughts, "then there really isn't anything you can't do."

She just pressed her lips together without a sound. She really wanted to win this battle of the minds with Brigham. She needed to win this war so everyone could go home. She wanted this to be over so she could put more focus on finding her son.

She wanted it to be over so she could maybe go find Luke again.

Reset 127

It was forty minutes before she was meeting Travis to fly to Heathrow, and Rita found Harvey leaning against one of the buildings away from everyone else. He had an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips as he stood with his hands in his pockets.

"What're you doing?" she asked, lifting a brow. She had no idea he smoked. He gave a slight start upon hearing her voice, but then he took out his right hand and pulled the cigarette out of his mouth with a sheepish look.

"Just thinking about my pops," he answered. "He smoked, so sometimes I pretend I'm smoking to feel a bit closer to him. Weird, I know."

"What happened to him?" Rita asked, sensing this was the case.

"Work accident," Harvey answered with a sigh. "He got knocked off the scaffolding by accident and died. I was in my mid-20s."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too. He always had a positive outlook that used to drive me insane. Now, I'd give anything to hear his positive spin on what's happening to us now. I can just hear him: 'At least the aliens aren't kidnapping everyone and dissecting them!' Yet, Pops...they haven't yet." He laughed at his own humor.

Rita watched as Harvey tucked the cigarette behind his ear and crossed his arms. He wasn't looking at her, just staring at the ground. She wasn't sure what made her blurt out the next words, but she did.

"I lost my dad at 19."

"Oh?" he said, meeting her eyes finally. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"He was murdered," Rita went on. "By my cousin."

"Shit. That's brutal," Harvey said, wincing.

"I feel like I could have saved him," she said. "I wish we had stayed to fight with him rather than have left him behind to die."

"He probably wanted you to live, though," Harvey reasoned. "I'd do it for my little girl."

"You're a father?" she asked, surprised. He laughed.

"I know. I don't really look like father material, do I?"

"Not exactly..."

"She's eight. I'd do anything for her. She's living with her mother right now." He looked at Rita's curious expression. "I'm divorced. My ex-wife decided she'd rather do one night stands than have a meaningful relationship."

"That's rough," Rita said, wincing a little.

"I get Eliza every other week. Well, I did before I signed up for this," he corrected. "I miss her a lot." Rita didn't know what to say, but she figured he wasn't looking for a response anyway. He eventually gave her a rueful smile and made an excuse to leave. She walked on to her meeting point with Travis, feeling slightly guilty for not paying attention to her team members before this.

But she knew if she did, it would make it that much harder when she lost them.

Reset 130

Rita held on to Brigham's gaze, not even blinking. She was so close, she could feel it. He was going to believe her. She'd predicted way too much for him to not believe her. She watched him pick up the phone, and her heart jumped. He was going to tell the others! They were going to do this!

"Can you come in here?" he said into the phone. "It's an urgent matter."

Urgent! He was finally getting it! Rita turned to flash a grin at Travis when the door burst open and soldiers came in. She shrieked when Travis got tasered and fell down. She lunged for his gun, really regretting not having hers on her because she'd wanted to be less intimidating, but she was too late. Hands grabbed at her and dragged her back. She fought hard, putting everything she'd ever learned into play, but after a fourth soldier got involved, she was taken down.

"Take her to the mental health facility," Brigham instructed. "She's lost her mind from trauma."

"No!" Rita shouted, trying to kick out now and stop from being hauled out. "You're making a huge mistake! This is real! THIS IS REAL!"

Brigham just waved his hand dismissively, and she was yanked into the hallway.

"TRAVIS!" she shrieked. After kicking more, they shoved her to the floor and bound her ankles as well. She felt herself panicking. She was going to the psych ward. How the hell was she going to get out of this?

And if she didn't, well...she really, really didn't want to think about that.