This chapter centres around Dani the most. Please review this chapter with opinions of my original character, I would like to know if I am going in the right direction with her. Enjoy:)
Dani opened her eyes slowly and was blinded by the bright lights of the white hospital room. She was in the midst of utter chaos, medics running around trying to save the fading lives of wounded soldiers. The rusty smell of blood filled her nostrils and cold sweat began dripping down her back. In the bed across from her a man had begun screaming at the stop of his lungs, begging the medics to make the pain go away. Machines beeped loudly and medics had to yell at one another to be heard over the sound of the moaning patients. The room was becoming smaller, and sense of claustrophobia crept over her and made her feel as if she was suffocating. She began hyperventilating as she stared at the dirty ceiling of the hospital, attempting to distract herself from the commotion. The machine she was connected to began to beep loudly and caught the attention of an elderly doctor. The doctor came over and observed the monitor and then stared at Dani, making her feel uncomfortable.
"Janson! Patient number 43 is stable enough to be moved to isolation!" he yelled at a nurse before moving onto his next patient who was suffering from gunshot wounds. The nurse quickly came over to Dani's bed, helped her onto her feet and gave her support as her legs shook beneath her.
"Come on, you can do it," the nurse said in a kind voice, "We're just moving you to your own quarters so that someone else can have the bed. You've improved enough that you don't need constant supervision. Plus it will help your social anxiety."
Dani gave the nurse a confused look, before walking with her toward the exit of the hospital. Dani was wearing a hospital gown that made her feel vulnerable and weak. Her breathing had almost gone back to normal and her heart rate had decreased, allowing her to be able to support herself without the aid of the nurse. She wrapped her arms around herself as she followed the nurse toward a wooden door with cracks on it. The door made a loud screeching noise that disturbed the silence of the empty hallway. They both entered the dark room furnished with a large bed, fit for someone who was the size of a gear. There were no windows, just a small lamp that lay on the floor beside the bed acting as the only light source.
"The bathroom is right down the hall to the left. We have some clothes here for you, child's size, but I think they'll fit your physique. Rations have been placed on the bed and you've been ordered to eat as much as possible since malnutrition is believed to be to cause of your collapse. There is an intercom beside the door that links to the hospital that you can use anytime you feel ill. And, I think that's about it!" the nurse said cheerfully waiting for Dani's response, who just nodded weakly. The nurse frowned and turned toward the door, before saying, "Oh I almost forgot, Sergeant Fenix and Colonel Hoffman said they needed to talk to you."
Dani sat down on the rock hard bed and watched as nurse exited the room without so much as looking back. She was used to people doing anything to avoid her, she wasn't a pleasant person to be around. She sat in silence for several minutes, enjoying the rare peace and isolation that she wasn't accustomed to. She thought about everything that had happened before her collapse, the locust fight, the gears taking her back to their base, it all seemed so unreal. As she revisited her memories, the image a muscular tan man with a slight beard appeared before her. His brown eyes stared back at her from her own memories and a warm feeling absorbed her. She couldn't understand what it was about him that made her feel this way. He is a good man, she told her self. Not many Gears would rescue a stranded, especially one that had just stolen from them. But there was something else about him, something that made him stand out from the others. She thought about the look on his face when he was sitting in the Helicopter. It was a mix of stress, anguish and guilt, an expression she had become used to seeing in the mirror. Her jaw began to ache.
In fear that letting her mind wander would cause her to have a mental breakdown, Dani got up from the bed and changed into her civilian clothes. The pants were a close fit, but the shirt hung off of her small chest. She put on a jacket that had the COG emblem above the left breast and her own black boots. She wished she had a headband to push back her shaggy black hair which covered part of her right eye. Once she had finished getting ready, she convinced herself to leave the sanctuary of a room and search for Sergeant Fenix and Colonel Hoffman. She scanned the room looking for anything she could use as a weapon in case things got ugly, but found nothing. She held her breath as she exited the dark room and entered the deserted hallway.
She could hear the agonizing screams of the man that was in the bed across from her from the hallway. His screeches echoed through the empty corridor, creating an eerie atmosphere. As she walked passed the windows of the hospital she saw her reflection in the glass. From far away she didn't look like a twenty three year old, she looked like a teenager, a boy even. She didn't have any voluptuous curves to make her appear more feminine or luscious long locks. She was unnaturally skinny because food was so hard to come by during times like these and her hair had fallen out years ago because of stress. Her only feature that she was remotely proud of were her warm hazel eyes that had traces of blue on the outside of the iris. Every time she saw her reflection, she saw the ghost of a once attractive person who was destroyed by war.
A medic on the other side of the window looked back at her with confusion, reminding her that she wasn't looking at a mirror. Feeling slightly embarrassed, she turned her heel and walked down the hallway and went through a large door. After five hallways and 3 doors, she had come to the conclusion that she was lost. Dani stopped in her tracks and tried to remember how to get back to her room when a familiar voice called her name.
"Dani?" Dom said watching the young woman jump at the sound of her name. She turned toward him and looked at him with a wide eyed expression. No words escaped her mouth as she stared at the soldier.
"They want you at the main building. I can show you the way," he said smiling at her.
Dani's face show no traces of emotion as she said, "Okay." She and Dom began walking together, Dom taking the lead. Dani desperately wanted to be able talk to him, not just to connect with him, but to learn about him. She found him utterly fascinating, yet mysterious. But after spending so many years alone, her social skills weren't exactly the best.
"What's your name?" she asked using all of her courage.
"Dom," he replied happy to get something out of her. She wasn't sure how to continue the conversation, so they endured an awkward silence for a minute.
"It's short for Dominic," he said, giving conversation another attempt, "Is Dani short for anything?"
She quickly glanced at Dom before saying, "Danielle. But please don't call me that."
"How did you learn to shoot like that?" he asked changing the subject.
"My brother. He was a Gear. Well, he was training to be one," she said with a slight voice crack. Dom looked down at the young woman, noticing her tone of voice, and felt a pang of sympathy. So many people had been affected by the war that it became a natural part of life to exchange tragic stories of loved ones, but Dani wasn't natural. From her anti social personality to the haunting scars on her back it was obvious she was containing her own monsters in her past. The mystery that came with this girl was enticing, and oddly enchanting. As they walked he noticed that she had begun walking closer to him, their arms touching as they walked in sync.
When they arrived at the Control Room, Hoffman, Marcus, Cole and Baird were stood up and watched them enter the room. Dani looked around at the high tech equipment that surrounded them and did her best to contain her amazement. Having lived in destruction for a large part of her life she wasn't used to seeing technology like this. She was brought back to reality when Baird coughed loudly in her direction.
"Well boys, first thing is that your transport back to Vectes will be arriving tomorrow at 1600 hours so don't be late or else you'll have to see if them locust will let you borrow reavers again," Hoffman said while Cole laughed.
"Man you shoulda seen the look on the them locust bitches faces..."
"Cole," Hoffman said
"Didn't see the Cole Train coming! Baby if we could do that again..."
"COLE!" Hoffman yelled sternly as the Thrashball played shut his mouth, "Anyways as I was saying the first thing was transport to Vectes, the second thing was the source of the transmission."
Each member of the squad turned to look at Dani, and Marcus asked, "Was it you?"
"Yes," she replied, feeling slightly more confident with Dom beside her. Realizing she wouldn't be free without an explanation she said, "I needed food so I sent out a transmission knowing someone would have to come investigate." She felt guilty and refused to look any of them in the eye.
"Well, I'm glad we have everything cleared up. Oh wait, there was this little detail you forgot to include. The uh, what are they called? Oh yeah! The Locust," Baird said.
Dani stared at the ground while she tried to find words, "The locu-, they, they.." she stuttered feeling intense pressure from the squad.
"What, were you guys having a party? It's okay, I'm sure all of our invitations got lost in the mail," Baird giving her an exaggerated wink.
"Knock it off Baird," Marcus ordered before turning toward the young girl, "We saw your scars.
We know you were a locust prisoner."
The scars on her back had begun to itch at the mention of them and she clenched her fists. All of the soldiers stared at her intently waiting for an answer, knowing that beneath the cloth on her back lay the markings of the monsters that she would never be able to get rid of.
"They were looking for me."