Hello everyone and welcome back to HellFall!
Firstly, sorry about the late chapter. I got home from my sailing trip a little after eleven last night and wasn't really thinking about HellFall. Turns out though, I'm not even tired. I ended up staying up until three in the morning watching Gravity Falls and now uploading this chapter, after which I will attempt sleep again.
Sailing was fun though, after six days you get used to the motion sickness and then the limitation of space is what sucks more. Either way, I had a lovely time.
This chapter's pretty short, but it's informative, so let's get on with it!
We landed back in the outskirts of Atlas, just outside the wall. A gate opened and we headed inside, changing out of our armor and getting something to eat.
"Can we expect your help again anytime soon?" Bole asked me as we ate.
"The tournaments' still going," I replied, "so yes. I'll be here a while"
"Can you come for the next expedition today?" He asked.
"No," I replied, checking my scroll. It was already midday, "I have my friend to get back to, remember?"
"Right" He replied, going back to his food.
After the meal I stood to leave, but was stopped at the door by Elwood. "I've inserted the Lien into your account." He said, "Thanks for the help again Nicole"
"Anytime" I replied.
"Why don't you join us?" He asked, "You get paid more"
"I know." I replied, "But remember that I don't live here"
"You live in both Atlas and Vale." He replied, "You could settle in either place if you wanted to"
"I know, Elwood." I replied, "But I'm fine" I turned and started to leave. "If I change my mind I'll tell you though" I called over my shoulder.
I arrived home shortly afterwards to find Grizzly in the kitchen, making lunch.
"Hello" I said.
He turned, "'Morning" He replied before turning back to the kitchen stove. It wasn't morning, but to him it certainly felt that way.
"Whatchya making?" I asked.
"Sausages." He replied, "Big ones. Hope you don't mind"
"It's fine." I replied "Smells good. Did you get my message?"
"Yep." He replied, "About an hour ago"
"Sleep a while?"
"Oh yes"
There was a pause.
"I wonder what was up with last night" I said, breaking the silence.
"Which one?" Grizzly asked, "Rocco or Lagoon?"
"Rocco." I replied, "Although I do wonder if there was something wrong with Lagoon"
"Yeah." He replied, "I don't know what was up with Rocco. He was all deformed and weird"
"But what was he trying to accomplish by kidnapping us?" I asked.
"Beats me." He replied, "We should probably report it to the police. You lost Sherry and Candace too, which isn't good"
"Right" I replied.
"But for now," Grizzly started, turning off the stove and lifting the pan up, "you've got some explaining to do" He set the pan down on a potholder on the table, then turned and grabbed a couple plates, forks, and knives.
"Right" I replied, remembering that now I'd have to tell him everything. Or at least almost everything.
I went and retrieved two glasses of water and set them down next to the plates. Grizzly and I sat down and each took a sausage.
"So where do you want me to start?" I asked, starting to cut into my sausage.
"The beginning preferably" he replied, severing his sausage on his fork and lifting it to his mouth.
I took a bite of sausage, nodding in agreement. "This is good." I said before going and cutting off another piece.
"Well," I started, "you remember that man you killed last night?" I asked.
Grizzly nodded, "I removed the body while you were away" He said.
"Thanks." I replied, "Bodies are such a hassle"
He frowned, clearly unimpressed with my idea of humor.
"In relation to that, I killed at a much earlier age. When I was younger my mother was cheating on my father, and that made him very mad. When my father was mad, he was violent. He abused my mother. One night, I witnessed one of these times." I felt myself tearing up, but I kept going, "My father had a gun, but he lost it. As it often went, my mother did resist. The gun was in front of me, so I picked it up. For almost my whole life I'd been taught by my father that cheating was evil, and that made my mother evil. So I felt almost nothing at shooting my mom in the head."
I wiped my eyes, "My father even encouraged me to shoot her afterwards, and I did. As the years progressed and I got older, I realized how much I missed my mother, but I kept her murder a secret.
"When I was seventeen I got into some trouble and ended up pregnant. I had twins, but they were quickly taken from me and sent away, as I was unable to properly care for them. I'd already turned to the razor years before, but after this my cutting habit increased, thus the permanent scars across my wrists, waist, and face.
"A year later I ran away. After that everything changed. I changed my look, my name, everything, and went to attend Haven and learn to hunt. I thought it'd redeem the murder of my mother to hunt the true evil in the world"
I paused to cry for a second, then looked up, my make-up smudging, "So yeah," I said, "I became a huntress and here I am today"
Grizzly had stopped eating and had half his sausage lying on his plate. "I'm so sorry." He said, "I didn't realize-"
I shook my head, "You had the right to know." I said, "Besides, someone needed to know, and I needed to tell someone anyways"
"So," he started, "what is, or was, your name?"
I looked up, forcing a smile, "Thanks, but I'm still that same person." I said, "My name is Cleome Alonso-Garcia"
Grizzly didn't reply, he just nodded. "So is your hair dyed then?" He asked. "Sorry"
"For what?" I asked.
"All the petty questions"
"It's perfectly fine for you to be curious." I replied, "And no, it's not dyed"
We sat in silence for a while, then Grizzly picked his sausage back up and started eating again. "Thank you for speaking, Cleome. Or should I stick with Nicole?"
"Stick with Nicole." I replied, "I know it's not good for me, but I prefer to bury my old self for now. When I'm willing she'll come back though. And thank you for listening"
He smiled, munching on his sausage. "Glad to be of help." He replied, "I'm probably not the best person for this, but if you need to talk I'll be here"
I smiled, "Thanks" I said, watching him for a moment before turning back to my own sausage.
When I finished I went upstairs to my room to reapply my make-up. Once I had I went to my closet to get changed and shower. I pushed through my clothing, then stopped and sighed, remembering the years before Haven, wearing thick scarves around my head to hide the scars on my face as much as possible, then wearing wristbands during the hotter months to cover my wrist scars.
I fell backwards on my bed, staring up at the ceiling and sighing. I reached up and undid my ponytails, strewing my hair across my bed and closing my eyes.
So there you have it. Nicole's dark past. I think her past, of all eight characters, was definitely the darkest. Although you haven't heard everyone's yet, so you don't have all the comparison ability that I do. Oh well, all in due time.
What'd you guys think of her backstory though? A bit more mature, maybe. Nothing a teen like yourselves can't handle (unless you ignored the rating and just went through with reading it).
Anyways, getting a little drowsy, looking forward to finally being home again after seven weeks of camp and six days on a cramped boat. Probably just watch movies and try to beat Dark Souls, but we'll see.
And as usual, favorite, follow, review, tell your friends, tell your enemies, or don't if you don't want to, and I'll see you all in the next chapter.