Alright well I was at pumpkin carving party (which I suck at carving I found out) and I kept getting alerts telling me about the reviews and follows and so forth on this story. To say the least I was inspired to give you a second chapter. I hope you enjoy it.
To ARoseWithThorns: Might I say that I've read everything you have wrote in this fandom and I LOVE it! So I am more than honored to have you reading this. Thanks for the constructive criticism.
Alright guys please let me know what you think! REVIEWS make my world go around and help me write.
I was listening to the same music again except I had This Place Is A Shelter on repeat for most of the end.
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By the time he stops rolling the severity of the situation has fully set it. He is now an outcast. What many would consider an enemy to the Militia. He's lost his family and his security. What is he going to do?
He slowly stands up to look at how far away Charlie is and if she is alright. What he sees is her marching up to him, tears on her face and with the expression of complete fury.
"You've killed him! Don't you understand?!" She cries out pointing to the damn train and everything he's left behind. She gets closer and slams her hands into him with all her strength. "You've killed him!"
"You would be dead right now, Charlie. Is that what you want?" He blocks her attack and holds her hands in front of her.
"You know what? Maybe that is what I want if that means he would be safe. Or…or if all the people I loved stopped dying!" She rips her hands away from him and turns around to sob.
He wants to go and comfort her, but somehow is incapable at the moment. His loss is felt just as deeply as hers.
Instead he says, "They aren't going to kill him. They need him for something."
She whips around, "You're a son of a bitch! You could have helped!"
"No, I couldn't have. He had your brother by gunpoint, what was I supposed to do?" He yells back at her getting frustrated with the verbal beating. Hadn't he had enough of that today?
"What the hell are you even doing off the train? If it's to make sure I'm okay don't worry, because you did a swell job back the-"
"I got kicked off the train for doing that Charlie!" He screams on the top of his lungs. He doesn't know why he's yelling at her.
It wasn't her fault that he saved her. It wasn't her fault that his father lost his patience finally. But then somehow it was. If she had just let things go, maybe she wouldn't have had to be in danger at all.
He doesn't realize how close he is to her before Miles is pulling him back.
"Alright, cut it out with the lover's quarrel." Miles says half jesting.
Jason is seeing red, and he knows that all he has to do is pick a fight with Miles and that would be that. Maybe he could blow off some steam. But somehow he is too exhausted, too lost to be a warrior today.
"Let's just figure out what's going on here." Jason looks at Miles and his effort to be the voice of reason, but really Jason wants to be left alone. Or he wants someone to say everything will be okay. Or he wants to fight Miles still. He's really not sure.
He looks at Charlie and she is looking down as if she's ashamed and pensive. He wants to know what she's thinking, but at the same time wish she'd do that someplace else. He didn't really want to be reminded of the reason he's basically a pariah at the moment.
"Why do you keep saving her, man? You've already grown on her like fungus, and you're in danger of making me kinda respect you. Not like though. Never like."
"Shut up, Miles." Charlie suddenly says. "If anyone is going to ask the question, it's me. And to be honest at the moment I could care less."
She approaches him close enough that he can smell the sweat on her. Somehow it's sweet and alluring, and normally he would find it arousing, but not right now. She looks down gathering her thoughts he theorizes. It doesn't take long, and he's thankful. Her proximity is doing that crazy thing it always does to him.
"Thanks. For saving me…again." She says this glancing away to anything but his face. She still has an angry expression on her face. "What happened that you got kicked off?"
"I don't really want to talk about it right now." He grits his teeth still remembering the gun being held against him.
"Well, not saying that I wanted them to, but why didn't they just kill you? I mean you clearly disobeyed their sick orders." Charlie is starting to annoy him.
"What does 'I don't want to talk about it' mean to you?" He fires back.
"It means I want to know why the hell you are standing in front of me instead of being held by them or lying on that train dead. What makes you so special?" She is onto something he realizes, and so does she. She knows there is a reason why. Unbeknownst to her that reason being is that Neville might be deranged in some ways, but he would not have been able to kill his own son.
"Charlie, leave me alone." He looks to Miles hoping oddly enough to get some back up, but he crosses his arms as if he is just as interested to hear why he isn't dead. He's not thinking clearly enough to come up with a false testimony.
"Tell me what's going on, Nate. Damn it, whatever the hell your name is! What is it?"
He starts walking, she follows. "Sure, you can know everything about me, but I can't even get a name."
"I know everything because you told me everything, which was beyond stupid and dangerous." He spits out. He is glad he can't see her face because she is just behind him. He's sure she would be hurt by that, and he's not wrong.
"Oh, that's great. All because I took the chance to trust you and try to be nice, I get this? Tell me your name!"
"Nobody orders me around!" He's so livid that he can't stand it.
"Well, apparently they do because they told you to jump and you did!"
He spins around on her and she practically runs right into him. "Jason, alright! It's Jason!"
Miles is not far behind, but he stops in his tracks and looks sideways at him. Jason watches as it dawns on the older man. That's why he never gave them a true name. He knew Miles would remember from serving with his father. For what do soldiers do but talk about their families back home?
"Jason…as in Jason Neville." He laughs out loud. And then turns serious. "We could hold you prisoner and ask for ransom. The son of a Militia captain." He moves his hands wide as if reading it on a banner.
Jason doesn't deny it, and doesn't know how to make him understand that they would probably not give a damn.
Charlie is suddenly protective, and turns on Miles shielding Jason. "No, we aren't going to do that to him."
He can't help but feel his heart warm a little, but he sobers up to what Miles is saying. He could end up being their prisoner if they decided. He starts mapping out routes of escape immediately, but he wants to wait to see if they would really do it. Because even though he is pissed at her, for some reason he doesn't want to leave her behind. Especially if in some strange way she is the only thing he had now.
"Why not? It might get Danny back." He shrugs as if it's no big deal. Jason is Militia, but he's heard stories of the ruthlessness of Miles Matheson that out does anything he's seen. And in his opinion, most of the time, he thinks he's seen plenty.
"I said no, Miles." She replies with more force. Miles throws his hands up frustrated and starts walking towards the town.
"We'll talk about this later. We have to find Nora." He says over his shoulder.
She turns around to Jason. "Neville is your…father?" It's a question, but also a statement. She waits for him to confirm it.
He nods his head slightly, and turns his face away from the look in her eyes. It looks like disappointment, and he never wanted to see that again.
"Look I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" She starts, but then pauses.
"To what? Make me feel even worse than I already do?"
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She gazes into his eyes, and sees the vulnerability there. She of course sees the anger there and hurt, but the vulnerability almost scares her.
"No, I don't want you to feel bad okay?" She knows it doesn't come out right, not soft enough. She is so wound up, so disappointed that her social skills are almost nonexistent.
He looks away from her and she waits.
"I'm sorry they have your brother, but my priority was to make sure you were okay." He looks back to her. "That was more important than them taking him." He states with even more vehemence.
She can't help it, but she stares at her shoes as they blur up with tears. "But why? Why me?" She feels herself getting worked up again. "Why couldn't it be him? He's the one that needs it."
He amazes her again when he slowly reaches for her. Maybe he was going to comfort her. Maybe assure her. But she doesn't want it, can't handle it at the moment.
"You've picked the wrong person to save." She starts marching away from him, his hand still hanging in the air.
He lowers it and his head hangs low as well.
"Well, what are you going to do now?" She asks when she's a safe distance away.
He turns around to take her in. She stands with her arms open. She can see he wants to stay, but also to run away. She wants him with her, even if she doesn't understand why. Even if she doesn't know what will happen now. What is it that draws him to her? They just found out how much of enemies they were to each other, but still there it is. She sees it on his face as well, the struggle.
"I know you don't have anyone else right now…" She trails off unsure how to say that she could be his someone. She's too afraid and uncertain at the moment to do that.
"So, its pity then?" He smiles a sad and rueful smile.
"I've never pitied you." She tries to give him a small smile, but fails. "Even when I chained you to that pole."
She can tell he wants to laugh, but can't.
"Come on. At least, until we figure out what to do. You can make your decision then." She motions her hand for him to follow. Astonishingly enough, he does.