Chapter Two:
"What in the world were you thinking?" Meryl Strife shouted pacing up and down the room in front of her daughter. She wore a sensible white shirt and pair of black trousers. Normally Meryl would have worn a skirt but a skirt was hardly suitable wear for traveling in a sandstorm. Her feet were booted with heavy set boots, made for walking. And on her hands were a pair of leather gloves. Both were now in the dining hall. Eliana was rather pleased to see her mother, but on he other slightly annoyed that she hadn't seen her mother for nearly two years at within five minutes of seeing her she was being ranted at.
"Going for a walk." Eliana replied dryly crossing her arms.
"Going for a walk? Going for a walk in the middle of a raging sandstorm. Oh that's a marvelous idea isn't it?" Meryl stopped pacing and threw her hands in the air. "I thought I raised you with more sense than that."
"Well maybe I changed since you left me here." The younger Stryfe uttered under her breath. Despite her best attempts to keep it quite her mother still heard. She could have sworn sometimes that her mother had a bats hearing.
"Don't you talk back to me young lady." Meryl shot back.
"Young lady! I'm eighteen mom. I'm not the sixteen year old you left here a year an half ago." Eliana pleaded.
"Oh well forgive for thinking otherwise. but you seem to acting like a ten year old."
"Oh that's an original insult if I ever heard one." Eliana rolled her eyes.
"See that's my point entirely, I was hoping you might have matured a little since you chose to stay here."
"Forced more like."
"It was a joint decision." Meryl replied stoically.
"No I was a forced decision, and I did to get away from you. Because I figured if you weren't going to spend all day working and when you got home, any questions I asked about me, your past, or anything that is important to me is just fobbed me off. Or when I tired to show you anything I'd done in school or in my spare time. Y'know what Aunt Millie has actually been a better mom to me than you have? At least she takes an interest." Eliana shouted back at Meryl standing bolt upright in a flash. Her eyes began to well up during as she spoke the angry words. Meryl stood slightly taken aback this was the first time her daughter had ever shouted at her.
"I did take an interest." Meryl pleaded.
"No you didn't mom, for example, do you know when I started taking art classes, do you know when I learned to shoot, and do you even know who my best friend is." Eliana begged hoping for some kind of answer that she could except as right and then the whole argument would be behind them.
"No." Meryl answered remorsefully. Eliana momentarily stared at Meryl before turning on her heel and walking out of the room.
"Eliana come back here, I haven't finished." Meryl cried out.
"Yeah well I have." Meryl heard Eliana's footsteps increase in speed as she down the corridor to Sophie's room. Meryl stood there for a moment, salty tears running down her face and dropping onto the floor, before slumping to the floor.
Thirty iles out of town a rather rickety bus speed across the sand dunes. It had once been a dull yellow color but now several hundred bullet holes covered it. In addition to the bullet holes huge scratches from collisions and scorch marks from explosions covered the sides of the bus. The windows of the bus had been boarded up and several modifications had been made to it. Large plates of metal had been welded to the side, front and rear to create amour plating. The front windows had also been bored over and now had metal grill over the driver's side. The engine had also been supped up to handle the extra weight of the amour. However even with the improvements the bus was close to being a moving death-trap. And unfortunately for the occupants said bus was being pursued by around thirty bandits, all riding some form of motorized transport, many using motorbikes, as well as those there were a few flatbed trucks and one armored vehicle. And all after one thing. The small town that was ahead of them. The bus was making a desperate attempt to beat the bandits to the town, hoping to give the town time to prepare or to take cover. Every few seconds the bandits would fire upon the bus, and then a quick exchange of return fire would occur from the back window of the bus. As the desperate race continued.
"Meryl." Millie asked curiously poked her head around the door, looking from the church hall, where she had taken refuge during the argument. Meryl didn't answer so Millie gently tip toed towards her former boss. Even after all the years Millie had known Meryl she was still slightly fearful of her furious temper.
"I'm okay Millie." Meryl said sniffing and wiping her eyes.
"It's okay to cry Meryl. She said some mean things, I'm gonna scold her good for that." Millie said proudly. Meryl stood up and turned to Millie.
"That's the point Millie she'll listen to you if you scold her not me. And she's grown so much since I last saw her." Meryl said somberly.
"Meryl. You aren't a bad mother, you did the best you could for you child." Millie said placing a hand of on her shoulder.
"Yes, but not as good as you am I Millie. You look after, what fifteen kids at this orphanage. As well as two teenager girls."
"Sixteen actually. " Millie corrected her. "And you're just as good a mother as me. Meryl I know Eliana
had a rough time growing up and turned out fine, because of you, you helped her through that and you let her stay here because you thought it was best for her." Meryl wiped her eyes again and stared at Millie.
"You think so."
"I know so."
Meryl nodded a thank you to Millie. Who began to walk out of the room and Meryl followed.
"I'm gonna make some tea would you like some Meryl."
"Sure Millie I'd love some." Meryl followed Millie out of the room and past the church door into a small room at the end of the hall leading to the main door. Millie opened the door and was just about to step in when they both heard a heavy knock at the front door.
"I'll just go see who that is then make the tea." Millie said starting for the door.
"Don't worry Millie I'll go you start making the tea." Her companion offered overtaking her.
"Okay Meryl." The brunette replied. Meryl overtook Millie and headed for the door while Millie entered the small room. As the speed and loudness of the knocking increased Meryl sped up.
"Okay quit it. I'm coming." she shouted. Meryl was almost jogging now. When she reached the cloak rack Meryl pulled a pair of sand goggles off the rack and pulled them down over her eyes. Even though the sand storm was dying down it was still a good idea to cover your eyes. With either goggles or sunglasses. Meryl grasped the doorknob and turned it. Pulling the door open with a mild amount of effort she was buffeted by a gust of wind. Her hands shot up defensively and covered her face. When the gust subsided a few seconds later Meryl lowered her hands and looked at the person who stood in the doorway. Upon seeing the man she froze. Her breath left her and almost silently she whispered.
"No….No……It can't be……….It can't be you."
"Eliana. It'll be okay." Sophie said soothingly trying to comfort her friend. They were both in Sophie's room. It was the same size as Eliana's but totally different in furniture. A large bed was placed under the window. As Sophie like her mother was exceptionally tall and unusually strong for a woman of her figure. Covering the bed were white sheets with pink flowers embroidered onto them.
Next to bed, bolted to the wall, and propped up with metal posts was a large work bench. On top of it were several objects including a small welding torch. Hammer and tong, a chisel and several other metal working tools. As well as the tools a small former kitchen sink used for cooling metal was at one of the work bench. Near to the tools were several objects in the process of construction. One was a large metal box that was roughly a meter long and half a meter wide. Next to the large box, were the beginnings of a weapon of some kind. It was at such a level of construction that it couldn't really be determined what the weapon actually was as currently it only consisted of a long barrel and a stock.
Also like Eliana's room Sophie had a desk. It was placed next to the door and was piled high with so much paper that the desk could barely be seen, a few magazines could also been seen poking out from the . Mostly all to do with weapon construction. Also mounted on the wall above the desk was a key tidy that held the keys to Sophie's metalwork shop. Housed in an old outbuilding near the orphanage, the keys to her room, a set of beautiful rosary beads and a small cross on a chain. Her mother had raised her as a devout Christian.
Currently Eliana lay face up on Sophie's bed. Looking up at the ceiling not that she could see much as tears distorted her vision and steamed down her checks. Sophie sat perched on the edge of the bed. Looking down at Eliana and handing her a tissue ever so often.
"But what I said was awful, and the worst part is most of it was true." Eliana wept. Sophie looked down at her best friend sadly then handed her a tissue.
"Look Eli, I'll admit your mom hasn't done the best job she could. But she raised you well. You turned out okay. You're a good friend, a good shot and damn scary when you're angry. All of those things you got from your mother." Sophie reassured her.
"Yeah I guess. But I just wish she'd tell me what I want to know. Anything my dad's name, what happened to him, why I'm a freak."
"Eliana you are not a freak." Sophie interjected sternly.
"Yes I am, when I was ten I wore size eleven boots. What normal ten year old wears size eleven boots? And when I was eleven I got wolf whistles. What normal eleven year old gets wolf whistles from men?" Eliana said somberly rolling onto her side to break eye contact with her.
"You just grew fast that's all." Sophie said trying to find a logical reason for her friend's growth.
"I've lost count of the number of times I've told myself that Soph."
"Oh I can guess. But who helped you through that. Your mother I bet."
"Yeah that's true." Eliana replied sheepishly.
"Then that means she loves you, and she'll always be there for you no matter what." Sophie added smiling. Eliana looked at her and smiled to. She had the smile of her mother.
"You know Sophie you really are like your mother." Eliana sat up and hugged her friend. Releasing the hug Eliana wiped away the last of her tears.
"Thanks for...Y'know stopping me from sinking into even more self pity" She said. "I'm gonna go apologize." Eliana quickly walked out of Sophie's room. Just as she crossed the threshold out of the room Eliana heard a scream. Not of pain but of terror. She couldn't quite make out the words but knew recognized the voice.
'MOM'. Was her only thought. Quick as lighting her hand whipped to the derringer concealed above her right hip. Drawing it out Eliana broke into a run. She tore down the hall at full speed, her boots making loud reverberating echoes they slammed into the ground. She cleared the bedroom hall in around six seconds. The dining hall in twenty. Upon entering the hallway leading out of the dining hall and into the rest of the building Eliana saw Millie emerge from the church with a concerned look on her face. However she just barged past Millie and tore down the hall towards the door. Eliana saw her mother back against a wall, screaming. She now heard what her mother was screaming.
"No you can't take her, she's mine. She's my daughter. She's mine. You can't take her away." Meryl repeated, over and over like a woman possessed. She pushed herself back further against the wall as if trying to pass through it her eyes wide with sheer terror, terror that was usually only seen the eyes of the dying. Eliana now saw who she was a screaming as she got closer the person her mother was screaming at came into view, he was cautiously stepping towards Meryl saying something inaudible.. It was a tall blonde man, wearing a long red coat with the left sleeve missing. The exposed left arm was covered in black leather straps, over a barley visible black material that covered the arm, apart from the black gloves on his hands. Resting in the right pocket of his coat was a heavy looking pure silver revolver. In a companion to the red coat was a pair of black trousers and black boots. A pair of odd orange-lensed sunglasses rested upon his nose. They had slid down slightly and his clam azure eyes could be seen behind the glasses Eliana ran he eyes over the man and had a vague feeling of reminiscence, there was something strangely familiar about him. Casting it aside she leveled her Derringer at him her hands shaking. Although she had shot a gun before Eliana had never pointed one at a human before.
"Freeze and step away from my Mother." Eliana said. Her hands visibly shaking. The blonde man turned slowly to face her, his hands rising in the air to show he was unarmed.
"Eliana run!" Meryl screamed out loud. Eliana narrowed her eyes.
"Who the heck are you." Eliana demanded. The man looked slightly over her shoulder. He was not fazed by the fact he had a gun pointed at him. This worried her even more, either this guy had no fear, or thought she wasn't going to shoot him or he was just plain stupid. Eliana didn't want to find out which one it was didn't, she also didn't dare look over her shoulder and see what he was looking at. She heard a person she thought to be Millie approach.
"Mr. Vash." She heard Millie cry. Her eyes almost popped out of her head when she heard the name.
'Mr. Vash. Vash the Stampede.' She thought. A few seconds placed a hand on Eliana's shoulder a gently pushed her arms down lowering the gun away from Vash. Who let out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks Millie, I really thought she was gonna shoot me for a second there." He gasped. Millie smiled at the Blonde haired gunslinger.
"He's a friend Eliana." Millie told her.
"But you heard Mom too." She protested.
"Yes, But Mr. Vash wouldn't hurt Meryl, Right Mr.Vash." Vash nodded smiling widely at Eliana.
"Say Millie, who this incredibly pretty young lady." Vash asked sliding up to Eliana. Taking in her long blonde locks, pretty brown eyes and taut features.
"Oh this is Meryl's daughter. Eliana Stryfe." Millie informed him.
"Oh nice to meet you Eli...What!" He exclaimed loudly.
"Her daughter." Millie reiterated. Vash looked incredibly worried for a second. Before turned to Meryl who was still backed against the wall.
"She inst mine is she." Vash asked his voice quivering slightly. Before Meryl had a chance to answer. A series of loud gunshots sounded from outside and a woman voice shouted.
"Stampede get your big red butt out here now! I cant take out these bandits all by myself." Vash looked between Eliana and Meryl then down at his feet. One hand instantly shot up. Pushing his glasses up his nose so they covered his eyes completely.
"Millie, get everyone down the basement. And lock the door. Don't open it too anyone but me okay." He said drawing his gun. Vash took one final look at Meryl and Eliana before breaking for the door.
"Wait." Eliana cried. "Are you my father." Vash didn't stop. So she gave chase. Her mother's screams to stay where she was falling on deaf ears.