Freedom
Chapter 46
Okay, maybe calling her the White Queen wasn't quite right – but that was the impression I got. She didn't carry herself any differently from the rest of the Velvets, but she was wearing a big white gown, and there's something queenly about that, and the entourage helped sell it. It took me several moments to realize the dress was a wedding gown. It was breathtaking, but I'll spare you the details.
The Velvets in the tent didn't react the way I expected them too. Velvet Fury exploded, demanding to know what she was doing there, and all hell broke loose. GI Velvet and I quickly got out of the way as the others bustled around, shouting at each other.
"No – no, I don't want to hear it, take her back, take her back now, I don't care," Velvet Fury raged. Before anything else could happen, a Velvet in black ninja garb burst into the tent.
"They were spotted. They're coming."
The mass swearing that followed was epic, because though the Velvets were all dressed differently, and some even had different hairstyles – most notably the Princess Leia one – they all spoke exactly the same way, all with Velvet's functional English and heavy Norwegian accent. And to hear a whole chorus of that voice all swearing – unforgettable.
Despite the bizarre nature of the situation, I actually felt like I understood it. At least this part. This Velvet in white was obviously quite the VIP, and enemy scouts must have seen her on her way here. The Dark Velvet forces were mobilizing to strike while she was in the open. I mean, she had to have come from the palace, right? Of course.
The Light Velvets had this theater, which was, in video game terms, clearly the critical control point. Now the Dark Velvets could try to take the point, and at the same time make an attempt on this VIP character in white. It was the obvious move.
I was pretty sure that was what was going on. The entourage, cowed by Velvet Fury's fury, was ushering Bride Velvet toward the entrance. I couldn't help but notice how happy she looked. Not thrilled with the situation, but just good-natured in general. The glow on her face made her almost difficult to recognize as Velvet at all, since you never saw her with a face like that in the real world. She was being guided by her aides, not really moving for herself. She hadn't said anything at all. Maybe she didn't even know where she was. She just beamed at everyone – even me for a moment – as they pushed her out of the tent and led her away.
I watched her go, not because I was concerned with her peculiar state, but because Velvet in a wedding dress is even more lovely to look at than Poison Ivy Velvet, Baywatch Velvet, Harley Quinn Velvet and my other favorite, who I would later learn was Power Girl Velvet. The Bride Velvet had them all beat. I was turning into a bit of a Velvet connoisseur. To answer my own question, yes, it is possible to fall completely in love with someone without admitting it to yourself. But for the record, even if I hadn't been in love with her, she still would've been gorgeous.
I'm getting distracted. Which is appropriate, because the situation was nothing if not distracting – but getting back to things. Velvet Fury was shouting orders. Velvets were hurrying around, getting ready for the attack. GI Velvet was shaking me.
"What?"
"Go with them."
"Why?"
"You don't belong here. They'll figure out what to do with you."
"Are you going to be okay? Can you guys hold this place?"
She shook her head. "But we can buy enough time for her to get back to the palace. You have to go with her."
"No."
"What?"
"No. I'll help." I was in a precarious mental place. One part of me was convinced this was real, but my mind couldn't reconcile itself to that. But just because on some intellectual level I knew this couldn't be real didn't mean I couldn't feel like it mattered – and I felt like it did. I felt like abandoning this Velvet – GI Velvet – would be like abandoning the real one. And that was something I wouldn't do. So what if I'd only known her for like a week? Guys had done dumber stuff based on feelings developed in a lot less time than that.
There was a rack of AKs right by the entrance. I picked one up. "I'll help," I repeated.
Velvet Fury appeared beside us. "I guess I won't get to hear your report," she said breathlessly to GI Velvet.
"You have to protect her," she replied.
Velvet Fury nodded, looking grim. "I know."
"It's been an honor."
"The honor is mine."
At any other time, I would've burst out laughing. But they looked deadly serious. I swallowed as Velvet Fury picked up a rifle and hurried after Bride Velvet and her companions. GI Velvet was leaving the tent, and I went with her. Before she had seemed awkward, even bumbling – but not now. She gave orders, and the other Velvets followed them without question. I saw a Velvet dressed like a Fireman – or Firewoman – herding some unarmed, generic-looking Velvets away. A Velvet in a rubber suit – here was the real Matrix Velvet, there had to be one – was loading a minigun. Jedi Velvet was giving instructions to Ninja Velvet, Samurai Velvet, and assorted other sword or melee-wielding ones. A Velvet in a ghillie suit was getting into position over the Marquis, readying an enormous sniper rifle.
It was very dark now, and snowing more heavily. I followed GI Velvet up and down the line as she marshaled the other Velvets.
Soon the two of us were standing behind the sand bags, right in front of the theater, right in the center of the line. We gazed at the dark streets ahead.
"They came from under the city," she said abruptly.
"What?"
She pointed down. "It used to be we had it all, and they barely ever showed up. Then they started coming more, and we had to fight every day." She looked wistful. "Then one day, they all came. All at once. Before we knew it they had a foothold in the east. We lost more and more of the city. Now there's hardly anything left."
I took that in. "You're not all combatants?"
"We are now. Almost. There aren't many left who don't fight." She shook her head sadly. "You can't have a city of nothing but soldiers. This is the end."
"What do you mean?"
"If we hold the theater, there's hope."
"And if we don't?"
"Then it's finished. We'll never fight our way back this far. We weren't much of an army even before the war," she said, shoulders sagging. She looked around quickly to make sure none of the other Velvets were seeing this. "We were never meant to be an army in the first place. If you want to know the truth, we hate fighting more than anything." A pause. "But now it's all we do."
"Then we just have to hold the line."
She smiled sadly. "Yes."
She didn't think we could do it. And she would know better than I did. I looked down at the AK in my hands. My right hand was normal here. Without it acting up, I got to be reminded what fear felt like. For the first time since I'd touched that anomalous vine, I wasn't looking forward to a fight.
GI Velvet looked a little choked up. She was right – she wasn't cut out for this. Now that she'd mentioned it, and I was thinking back on what I'd seen, I'd seen things to corroborate it. The fear on Wesker Velvet's face when she went around that corner. GI Velvet's incompetence. Her tough act when she executed Prom Dress Velvet. Bride Velvet, the clueless leader.
The fact that none of these Velvets were actually real soldiers – they were all just outfits from movies and comic books.
I did the only thing I could think of, and put my arms around her. She should have protested, but she didn't.
My quiet amusement at all of this had been fading for a while. Now it was gone entirely. This wasn't funny, it was sick. Dangerous thoughts were entering my mind, and the idea that this was hell was becoming increasingly believable. I'd seen the numbers that the Dark Velvets had, and their weapons. This rag-tag little army didn't have any tanks or drones, and just in that one marching column, the Dark Velvets had more soldiers than we did – and that couldn't have been all of them. I held GI Velvet a little tighter.
"Can't we retreat?"
"Can't give up this position no matter what," she said into my chest. I stroked her hair and tried to think of something, but I had nothing. Then I saw something that chilled my blood.
A Velvet was jogging past, one I hadn't seen before. She wore modified motorcycle armor, a mask, and carried an AK-105. Her right hand was gloved. She wasn't Asian, though, she was Velvet. A Velvet dressed up as me.
I didn't get to think about it long though, because that was when the shooting started.