Soldier in Blood Splattered Uniform
Chapter 5
A loud bark in her ear awoke Skye instantaneously. She gruffly dragged herself to the gate where Walter was waiting for her, finding that the shoddy beds are great for incapacitating limbs.
"Skye, you're awake. Good, now, grab your things and we'll be on our way to Bowerstone," Walter said.
She did as he said, albeit with a slow languid movements caused by a rough nights sleep. Upon spotting her bird's nest hair she thought it best to leave that for a later time as she had no energy to wrestle with the knots.
She attempted to quicken the pace as she realised how long she'd kept Walter waiting. To her surprise, Ben Finn was also waiting. Why would she be surprised, of course Ben would be here. Where else was he going to be, hanging out with the Hollowmen?
"I'll be seeing you in Bowerstone," Ben smirked and leaned against the gate.
Skye stopped and turned her head abruptly. "What?"
After last night's conversation with Ben, she realised she may have been harsh on him at first; he really wasn't as self-obsessed as she'd thought. In fact he's incredibly charming - which is part of the problem. Even from one night's stay in the camp she'd heard about the Captain's reputation with women, and she certainly did not want to get involved with that. As she went to sleep last night Skye decided it would be easier to distance herself from him, for her own sake.
"In a few days I'll be in Bowerstone," Ben chuckled as he glimpsed the slightest fall in her face. "Thought you'd get rid of me that easily."
"No-no, I-, I just..." Skye stuttered.
Ben laughed again. "I want to meet this 'Page'. From what I heard she's strong-willed AND strong thighed. My type of woman."
The precise reason she felt the need to stay away. Skye was on the verge of becoming a deep shade of scarlet, when Walter stepped in.
"Ben, you don't want to cross Page. You'd have a fight on your hands if you did."
Ben raised his eyebrows, "Ooh, feisty! Even better."
Walter opened his mouth to intervene but Skye jumped in first. "Right, we better be off then."
"Yes, thank you Major Swift for letting us stay, and we'll see you in Bowerstone," Walter waved as he stepped through the gate.
Grotty, rat infested and slimy, the sewers weren't the place for a pleasant stroll, that's for sure. But, if it got them to their destination, then it's a step they'd have to take. A filthy step, and you've got to be careful where you put your foot down, but a step nevertheless.
Skye breather a heavy sigh of relief as her and Walter stepped out into the fresh air. Well, it wasn't exactly fresh, but it was an upgrade from the sewers.
So this was Bowerstone. Her brother actually let people live like this. The thick smog of pollution choking her as she walked through the squalid streets. Beggars pleading for spare change. Sickly looking children in factories being scolded by greedy money-hungry bosses. It was horrifying.
"Your brother must have been mad when he gave control of Industrial over to Reaver," she heard Walter say with contempt in his voice.
This was Reaver's doing. She didn't know whether to be pleased that this was directly not her brother's fault, or disappointed that Logan had just sat back and watched this happen. This needed to be stopped.
Walter announced that they were almost near 'Rebel Headquaters'. He said that they hid underground, and that it was actually a smart idea. She verbally agreed with him, but silently wondered how they put up with the smell. Some things you must just get used to after a while.
Upon entering the hideout they began down a winding, underground tunnel. Dodging some slimy puddles of who-knows-what, she gathered that it didn't smell too bad. The place was quiet, a bit too quiet. Seemingly empty.
"Maybe we've got the wrong place, we should go-"
"Don't move!" A voice shouted.
Not responding too well to sudden orders from a frantic voice in a hostile environment, Skye panicked, and did the opposite of what the voice said. She pulled out her weapons, but didn't swing, just held them in the air.
"We won't do anything," Walter promised, the fire in his torch crackled wildly as his hand trembled.
"Tell that to your friend," the man said, eyeing Skye and aiming his rifle at her head.
"Don't do anything," Walter half pleaded, half demanded her. Now she assessed the situation, she realised that was a smart idea.
"I still say we shoot," the man growled, cocking his gun.
"I thought I gave the orders around here, Kidd?" A voice called out. So this was Page. And her antagonistic friend was Kidd. Sounds about right, she thought, he has the brain of a kid, that's for sure.
"Sorry," he grumbled.
"You better follow me," Page gestured for them to follow her.
Walter glanced at the outraged look on Skye's face and instinctively knew tension was going to be rife. "Look Skye, just try to make a good first impression. We are going to need these people on our side."
"Good first impressions! Has it slipped your mind that these people tried to kill us less than five minutes ago?" she hissed.
Walter chose to ignore her, turning to Page instead. They were in a room with sparse furniture, mainly just boxes scattered around, and a large map of Albion placed on a circular table.
"Sorry about my men, but we weren't exactly expecting you."
"Yeah well, if you can't control a few men, then I don't know why we want you to join our revolution," Skye said, under her breath.
Sometimes she pushes things too far. She didn't actually mean for Page to hear.
Page's head snapped towards her. "What?"
Page heard.
"I said-"
"She said that you're forgiven," Walter said quickly, before Skye could finish her sentence.
Page tore her gaze away from Skye and turned to Walter. "You know better than to bring the princess in here."
Ouch.
"She's a hero, like her father," Walter said.
Skye bristled at the mention of the former hero. She hated the comparisons. Hated them more that anything else.
"Really? Well that doesn't change anything, you'll have to gain the trust of the people before we'll join your cause."
She exited the room, leaving Skye speechless.
"You'll have to collect 100 guild seals from helping people, go to the Sanctuary and have a look on the map."
"Skye, we need allies, and however much you don't like her, we can't do this without her," Walter said.
"Who said I didn't like her? She's not the friendliest of people, and she kinda scares me, but I admire her revolutionary spirit."
Walter was dumbfounded. "What- then why were you trying to stir up trouble a minute ago?"
"You know me, Walter," she grinned.
She accompanied a huffing Walter back to the dingy streets of Bowerstone Industrial, still with the constant comparisons to her father weighing down on her. Skye would show them. She'd show them what a real hero was.