Chapter 22 - The Crack

Just as Heero had planned, before the night came, they bypassed the exit on the city beltway and turned into side streets. Similarly to all previous cities they visited, Atlanta was a ghost town. A zone functioned here until the city was conquered by the Fireflies a few years ago. As Dorothy said, the Fireflies eliminated the remnants of the military's administration and tried to purge the city of infected people to create one of the most important strategic centers of the organization. The attempt most likely failed, as the city seemed still full of infected.

The deeper they were getting into the city, the more often Dorothy was taking the lead. Though Heero took all weapons from her as a precaution, she seemed overconfident, walking ahead of their little group through the empty streets. As if she wasn't afraid of anything, as if she was trying to show that this was her city, her territory. Relena studied the woman with interest, trying to find a way to know her better. She tried to keep the ball rolling somehow, but although Dorothy kindly answered all her questions, she wasn't showing much interest in continuing the conversation with Relena.

Instead, she was showing an unhealthy interest in Heero.

Relena wasn't sure when did she realize that Dorothy's presence started to annoy her. Until then, there was only her and Heero, and now Dorothy seemed to stick in between them. Dorothy was repeatedly falling into step with Heero, complimenting him, at one point she began to pat him on the shoulder, then even rub him. She seemed overly excited by his presence as if she wasn't looking for remnants of her lost group but going on a picnic. And at the same time, she was acting as if she was pointedly ignoring Relena's presence.

Dorothy was talking about various things: about her past, how she survived to this day, about the Fireflies. She claimed that the Fireflies were like a family to her. She fled the Boston zone to join them. Since then, Dorothy traveled with them, carrying out various missions and tasks that the organization set for them. She considered this group and its goals as her own, seemed to love this military organization, seemed to enjoy fighting in general. Something in the way she was talking about fighting, killing the soldiers of the military, and infected seemed disturbing to Relena.

Observing the way Dorothy was behaving towards Heero, Relena felt an unpleasant sensation sprouting in her heart, but she didn't want to fully realize its presence. She wasn't convinced that she had any right to feel that uncomfortable when Dorothy was hanging around Heero. That one kiss Relena and Heero shared in Charlotte seemed now like a distant memory of a gesture of relief that happened to soothe their hearts after two horrific days of uncertainness. It didn't turn out to be a declaration of any kind, as Relena still didn't tell Heero about her true feelings for him. Waiting for the right moment, not sure about Heero's feelings towards herself, confused by his distance, Relena couldn't find enough courage to say it directly. It was apparent that Heero cared about her, and she cared about him too, but Relena didn't have any grounds to suppose that from his side, it was more than that. That's why feeling jealous for Heero seemed stupid and childish.

At the same time, during that day, Heero became more inaccessible than usual. He spoke even less and seemed insensitive to what was happening around him, impervious to Relena's glances or Dorothy's dalliance, concentrating on the road ahead of him. Relena began to torment herself over that maybe she had unnecessarily opposed his decision earlier. After all, it wasn't what they agreed on at the beginning of their journey. But didn't everything they agreed upon changed already? Did anything remain unchanged, except for Houston as their distant destination?

Thinking all this over and over again made her feel blue. Therefore, when Heero finally chose an abandoned police station as their shelter for the rest of the night, Relena felt much more exhausted than usual, more psychically than physically. Almost immediately after the arrival, she turned to the next room, which once served as a cell.

"Relena?"

Hearing his voice, she turned back, looking at Heero's unreadable face. "Everything's ok?" he asked her.

"Yhm," she nodded, then made a sigh. "I'm wiped out. I think I'm going to sleep." She glanced at the tall blonde standing next to Heero, sending her a knowing look. "Dorothy, aren't you tired too? There's enough space on the bunk beds back there for both of us."

"Oh, that's so kind of you," Dorothy smirked but didn't move from her spot right beside Heero. "I'll join you in a while. I'm not that sleepy yet. Feel free to go."

Relena certainly didn't like the way it was going. She looked up at Heero, searching for any support in him, but all she saw was his standard, indifferent expression. Then he let his eyes go downcast and walked away, sitting down by a wide gap in the wall, leaning with his back against a wooden bench. Relena bit her lip. There was nothing else to do but to do what she just announced. Which meant that she was leaving and they were staying.

"Well, then. Goodnight."

When Relena walked the tiny corridor between the rooms, her mind started racing over all the possible reasons why she should have stayed with them, or rather, why she shouldn't leave them alone, but she couldn't think of any reliable one. Defeated, she entered her cell, taking a bed on the left. It felt hard and uncomfortable when she sat on it. It surprised her that she even noticed it; before that, she slept even on the floor, and she didn't mind. But now it was different. She laid herself down, curled on her side, and made a sigh. Then she closed her eyes for a moment, then lazily opened them, staring unconsciously at the dusty floor, waiting for her sleep to come.

And suddenly she realized she just heard a conversation.

Relena held her breath, straining her hearing; she didn't mishear. From behind her back, a little above her head came out the scraps of human voices.

Her, Heero, and Dorothy were undoubtedly the only beings within a range of a few hundred meters that could have night chats with each other. Relena suddenly remembered an event from her childhood, when she had eavesdropped her father's conversation with Milliardo and had been discovered by her mother. She had been scolded for this and had learned that it isn't polite to eavesdrop other people's conversations...

But she hadn't been a little girl for a long time. And nobody cared about Savoir Vivre anymore.

…this fast… I'd say it would…

Relena swiftly and soundlessly rolled over and moved closer to the wall. The voices became more transparent, but they were still dimmed. Relena looked up and noticed that the brick wall separating the two rooms had a relatively large crack in the place where once was a window, which got apparently walled up before the outbreak. Now the dim moonlight from the other room was coming in through that crack. Absorbed by curiosity, Relena waved off the recollection of her mother's scolding face again and quietly kneeled on the bed, reaching up to the crack in the wall.

For a moment, it seemed to her that the gap would not be wide enough for her to see anything, but she closed one eye and pressed her face against the wall. Then, in the twilight filing the neighboring room, she noticed Heero's silhouette. He sat on the floor with his back to her, propped on a wooden bench, just a few meters from the wall - in the same spot she had left him. Relena didn't see Dorothy yet, but she could hear her voice; confident and vibrant:

…every one of them dead. Nevertheless, I have to find them.

The sound of Dorothy's steps woven into her voice, and after a moment, the slender figure of the blond woman appeared in the gap. Her bright hair seemed almost white in the moonlight. Dorothy stood in front of the window, next to Heero, as if she was looking at the sky.

Thank you for everything so far. First of all, that you didn't shoot me back then.

That's nothing to thank me for.

Dorothy whipped her head at Heero's words. Relena backed out instinctively, fearing she could somehow be spotted.

Was it actually just because of her that you didn't shoot me?

There was a pause; Heero didn't answer anything at those words, still sitting and frowning outside. Soon Dorothy walked over to Heero, standing right in front of him as if she was trying to get his attention. Relena held her breath, realizing they were talking about her.

I've sensed from the beginning that you two are a strange couple. You don't match. She has manners of a noblewoman preserved her whole life in a safe zone while your life has made you robust and sturdy, taught you to deal with death. Yet, though you seem to babysit her, she's not letting you have the upper hand.

Then the blonde woman crouched right in front of Heero. Her face disappeared behind the shape of Heero's head, it was challenging to say what she was exactly doing. Relena could only see her shadow on the floor. There was something disturbingly seductive in her movements; realizing that and Dorothy's bold words, Relena swallowed nervously, realizing at the same time, that she couldn't do anything about this.

I know this is not your true nature. You are much more like me. Wild. Uncontrollable. Solitary. You follow the instincts that never let you down. Why you agree to that? She's domesticating you, emasculating you. You'll start wearing a dog collar before you know it.

Relena felt her left hand unconsciously grasp the spot on her chest at the stinging feeling of pain. She felt unjustness, she wanted to cry out just how much what this woman was saying wasn't true. How much she admired that wild part of Heero: his independence and self-sufficiency, his will to survive...

In the meantime, Dorothy's shadow started to lurk near Heero's as if she was crawling to him.

Holy shit, your eyes are murderous. Full of hunger… And I don't mean craving for food. Just why she didn't give it to you yet?

She was getting closer to him with each second until their shadows on the floor melted into one. Her movements indicated that Dorothy moved her hands towards Heero, mounting him, while Heero didn't stop her.

Being unable to do anything to stop them, or even see Heero's face, and because of a pain that tormented her heart at this view, Relena almost couldn't breathe, yet she couldn't turn her gaze away either…

Come with me, join the Fireflies. With me, you won't have to hold back anymore. I will give you what she doesn't want to give to you. Whatever binds you to this high-born chick, leave her...

And at that second, all of a sudden, everything was interrupted when Heero's hand shot up and grabbed one Dorothy's wrist, pushing it away from his shoulders. Relena could hear Dorothy's surprised gasp at this gesture.

Hey…!

"Relena."

Relena almost jumped in the air, realizing that Heero actually spoke out her name. His voice was calm but confident, as always, he didn't turn his face away from Dorothy.

What…?

She has a name. Don't speak like that of her again.

Heero let go of Dorothy's hand, but the woman didn't back up nor move off him. Relena drew breath into her lungs, feeling a pleasant warmth flooding her heart. She realized that she didn't expect to hear these words from Heero's mouth even more than Dorothy herself. At the same time, she made a mental note to slap Dorothy in the face at the earliest opportunity for sticking her nose into their private matters.

That's so chivalrous of you. All right... Relena, that is. The offer still stands as a whole.

What makes you think that I would even consider this? came Heero's exasperated voice.

That's simple. Because you hate the world of today. You detest the disease that took everything from you. You despise people for not taking any significant action for this long, until you have lost everything, saw the death of all those that were close to you. Am I wrong?

As Heero's answer was silence, Dorothy apparently took as consent for her to continue.

You can live on this pitiful, meaningless life, or you can become a part of something that matters. You don't have to be alone in your hatred anymore, Heero. You can help us create the new world, built on your conditions; we can crash the military and introduce a new world order.

That's pure hypocrisy. You replace one tyranny with another.

Hearing Heero's remark, Dorothy whipped her long hair behind her back and placed both hands on Heero's shoulders. This caused Relena's fists to clench again.

That's a harsh word. Maybe even unjust. Imagine a new world, Heero. In which you can take a breath without worrying about the Cordyceps flower growing around the corner. In which there are no more infected. Perhaps... in which infected can be treated.

Relena held her breath at these words. Did this mean that Fireflies were also looking for a vaccine? And if so, why did this message cause her subconscious anxiety instead of joy? What about laboratories in Houston? Who did they belong to? Questions multiplied in Relena's head, while Heero remained silent. Then Dorothy lifted her hands, touching his neck and the back of his head.

We believe that this world is within our reach. We will do anything to make it come true. And it's all thanks to genetics, Heero. I will tell you a secret.

Saying this,Dorothy bowed over to his ear, drawing her lips dangerously close to Heero's skin. Relena clung even closer to the wall, holding her breath, trying to hear Dorothy's quiet words…

…During every pandemic, there are always some immune people. They have to exist. It is merely the absolute law of nature. And all we have to do is to find them and use them… even one is enough...

Suddenly Dorothy swiftly pulled back and crawled backward, away from Heero, as if she was scared of him. Relena couldn't see Heero's look, but she didn't even try to picture it in her imagination; it was enough for her to see Dorothy's terrified face as she glanced at the gun that Heero held in his hand, aimed straight towards her. After a short moment, an arrogant smile returned on the blonde's face.

Amazing. You're simply outstanding. I underestimated you again.

Heero got on his feet and stood over Dorothy, still aiming at her forehead with his gun. His slender figure cast shadow on Dorothy's features.

Your group isn't lost, is that right?

He was more stating the fact than asking. Dorothy narrowed her eyes in response.

You figured it out so nicely that it's almost a pleasure for me to confirm it.

Talk. Where are they?

Near.

There came a sound of flicking off the safety of Heero's gun.

I give you one last chance to stay alive. Where-

"Heero…!" Relena gasped and got on her feet, running out of her cell as fast as she possibly could. The situation changed so drastically that she didn't think of any possible explanation of her eavesdropping, but she didn't care about that at the moment. In a split of a second, she ran inside the opposite room. Heero and Dorothy glanced at her, but none of them moved.

"Oh," Dorothy raised her eyebrows with annoyance as if Relena's presence interrupted her in something, rather than surprised. "So we woke you up."

"I heard this whole conversation," Relena informed, avoiding Heero's gaze and frowning straight at Dorothy. "If your group is all right, then why did you bring us here?"

"He already figured that," Dorothy tilted her head in Heero's direction.

Relena turned to Heero, giving him a surprised look.

"It's a trap," Heero muttered after a second, still aiming at Dorothy. He shot a side glance at Relena, their eyes met. "To lure you to the Fireflies' den."

Relena held her breath, but when he didn't continue, she joined her hands nervously, looking at Dorothy. "Why would you do this?"

Dorothy just smiled derisively at her, ignoring Heero's deathly stare.

"Oh, you unbelievably stupid girl. You really thought I wouldn't notice that mark on your neck?"

Hearing her words, Relena reflexively covered the spot on her neck with her hand, noticing something she completely forgot about thorough the day... The plaster. She realized that she didn't wear a plaster anymore. She tore it off her skin this morning…

"Such a deep wound with apparent teeth marks could derive from two things only. First one - unbelievable - you both are having very peculiar sexual practices," Dorothy hung her voice for a moment, looking mockingly at her interlocutors and letting out a soft but scoffing chuckle, "and second, you got bitten by that damn thing, and you still live. Which means that you're immune. The only one I know about so far. Congratulations."

Relena lifted her chin up at those words, sending the woman an unfriendly gaze. "What did you intend to do with me then?"

Dorothy shot a glance at the barrel of Heero's gun aimed at her and hesitated for a moment over the answer. "I don't think there's any reason left for me to reveal anything more."

Relena narrowed her eyes at Dorothy, deciding to play their last card.

"Does it have anything in common with the laboratories in Houston?"

A grave silence fell between them, then Dorothy glanced at both of them, the expression in her eyes gradually darkening and turning hostile. Her face went gray, she scowled at them like a trapped animal.

"Now, you crossed a line, bitch…"

"You better talk-" Heero hissed angrily, making a step in her direction.

"And you better go fuck yourself," Dorothy replied to him with an irritated voice. "You can shoot me if you like, but there's no way in hell I'll-"

She didn't finish her words when the thunder of tens of gunshots cut through the night air around them.

.

TBC

Aww…? A cliffhanger again. I'm addicted to cliffhangers; love them in other stories, and I probably exploit them in my own writing. See you in the next chapter!