Wolves of the Pacific

by greenpeach20

In 1902, Renesmee Cullen grew tired of the tedious life of moving around with her family and decided to make the journey west as a mail order bride. Yet a chance encounter with a reddish brown wolf would change her life forever.

91. Chapter 91

Chapter 91

Following the end of December, the peace they'd experienced didn't last long into January. The 17th of that month saw the first Allied attack of Cassino, Italy. They were already preparing to leave, packing their things up. Before then, Kyle stepped outside for a bit and was shocked when a bird landed beside him on the ground. He saw the letter on the bird's back and was extremely confused. He was content to ignore the bird until it started pecking at his shoe. He finally got the hint and took the letter from the bird and untied it. He was so happy when he realized it was Evalina's letter. She explained who the bird was and explained he would be their carrier pigeon more or less for their letters.

"So your name's Karenin?" Kyle said after looking at the bird. He felt silly talking to a bird, but Karenin purred in response and hopped two times. "I'll take that as a yes," Kyle chuckled and returned his attention to the letter.

Kyle was able to write a response to Evalina before the first attack on Cassino and made sure it was secured to Karenin's back before sending the bird on his way. Then in January 22, Allied forces forced their way to Anzio, just an hour south of Rome, meeting little resistance and took 200 German prisoners of war. Kyle was delighted with that last bit of news if only for the sake of being able to speak with one of them. He was sent up North around the same time so help with the treatment of any soldiers injured in the battle. One of the men, among the captured Germans, that Kyle was asked to treat happened to be a higher ranked soldier he found out spoke English. So when Kyle was alone with the man, Sgt. Kruger was his name, Kyle took the opportunity to speak with the man outside of his injuries.

"I would like to ask you a few questions if I may," Kyle said.

"I will speak with your commanders," the man said in his thick German accent. "You can go fuck yourself."

"I wouldn't say that to the hand that heals you," Kyle said. "I'm just curious if you would know anything about a family called the Dymeks."

"The name isn't familiar," Sgt. Kruger said. Kyle sighed and reached into his pocket for his copy of the picture of Amber with her parents. He showed the picture to the soldier.

"Perhaps they look familiar?" To his relief, the sergeant looked at the picture carefully.

"They look vaguely familiar," he finally said. "I recall seeing them when I was in France. They were Jews in hiding. My superior found them with other Jews hiding under a French farmer's floorboards."

"After they were found there, where were they taken?" Kyle asked.

"A camp, but I don't know which one," the sergeant answered.

"A camp?"

"Yes," the man said. "They're sent there to work for the Reich."

"But you don't know where the Dymeks were sent?" Kyle asked and the man shook his head. Kyle opened his mind just to be sure and, just as he said, he didn't know any more than what he told him. "Alright," he sighed. "Well, thank you for your honesty." Kyle finished dressing the man's leg and was about to walk away.

"So what'll happen to us?" the man asked. It was a question that killed the man to ask. Kyle couldn't help but feel horrible for the man. He was a 'Hitler Youth'. A man brainwashed towards something that, deep down, he wasn't.

"I'm not at liberty to say," Kyle said. "But I'll tell you what. Whatever our superiors decide to do, I will put in a good word for you. Maybe you can be sent back home to your wife and son." Sgt. Kruger went wide eyed and looked right at Kyle.

"How did you…"

"Don't worry about how I know, Sgt. Kruger," Kyle said. "Just rest assured I'll put in a good word for you."

Sgt. Kruger was silent a moment, still shocked. And then he sighed and laid back. "Thank you, Doctor," he finally said.

Kyle smiled reassuringly at the man and walked away to check on some other prisoners of war. Shortly thereafter, in February, the Germans sent reinforcements to Anzio to fight the allies. Kyle treated the men as they came in alongside his peers and the nurses. Evalina's bird apparently memorized Kyle's scent, because now he knew to come to Anzio with Evalina's letters. Typically, Karenin would find Kyle's bed and drop the letter onto his pillow while perched on the steel headboard, especially once the fighting had started and Kyle was frequently not going to bed at all. Karenin would wait there until he finally returned to his bed, finished his letter and gave it to the bird before flying away to return to Volterra. In those days, when Evalina would receive Kyle's letters, he often confided in her the hardships of the men he treated and the ever growing shock fear. She did he best to console him and bolster him to keep going and to keep fighting and keep being the best doctor he could be. Evalina's letters turned out to be a saving grace for Kyle.

Further inland, attacks on Germany were reserved mostly for air raids by the Allies. For how long they'd been in London, Kevin often thought he was in the wrong branch of the military. The men were training hard, some were assigned to build an artificial harbor, equipment was shipped in and English theater actors were called in to set up a fake military in the Dover Beach region in an effort to falsify their planned entry point. By March, the Soviets were assisting with the air raids in Germany and the Allies in Italy made a second attempt to capture Cassino, Italy. Regardless, Kevin's dreams were not going away. They remained blurry, at times indecipherable, and a ringing need for thirst screaming in his head. Any pain that Kevin could feel was always dulled and, to him, rather odd in application. He wasn't sleeping well.

"We'll get into the mainland soon, Kevin," Embry reassured as he frequently did. "We're already making preparations for it." Kevin didn't answer as he poked at his food. "Kevin, please, you're scaring me. You need to eat properly and you need to get some sleep. You can't save Amber if you're the walking dead yourself." Kevin, once again, did not answer.

"Can you really blame him?" Peta asked.

"I'm only saying he needs to be in top condition," Embry said and patted Kevin's back. "If nothing else, Kevin, just finish what you're eating for Amber's sake." Kevin finally looked at Embry and then looked at his food which he finally began to eat. "Thanks, Kevin," Embry smiled and returned to his food.

"How can we even be sure of finding her?"

"Shut up, Peta," Embry said pointedly at his little brother. Getting Kevin to finally eat something had been difficult enough without Peta voicing the chilling reminder of the reality of the situation.

"We will find her," Jae said to Kevin reassuringly. "No matter what."

"When are we landing in the mainland?" Travis asked.

"We don't know yet," Nathan said. "Soon, though. The sooner the better. It'll be a hard fight, though. Even if we're coming from a place they aren't expecting us, they'll still have people there defending the beach." Nathan looked at Kevin. He looked around the mess hall to make sure no one else was listening and returned his attention to Kevin. "You and I can both change before the fighting starts. Make sure the others are okay." Kevin just nodded. Nathan counted besides himself and Kevin four in their group. "I'll look out for Jae and Travis. You look out for Peta and Embry."

"Agreed," Kevin finally said.

The men all left the mess hall afterwards to return to their work from before. Travis was assigned to help assemble to new guns that had shipped in and went straight to that warehouse to get to work. He was one of the first to arrive and took a seat towards the back where boxes of parts had already been laid down. He'd done this so many times now, it seemed as though he could build a gun in his sleep.

"Reid!" Travis heard someone call his name and he immediately stood to attention, standing straight, one hand behind his back while the other rose in salute as he was approached by Lt. Davis.

"Yes, sir!" Travis said.

"I'm seating a recruit with you that just shipped in. I need you to train him. Can't speak English worth a shit, but apparently he's an Indian so I figure you'll communicate just fine."

"Did he say what tribe he's from, Sir?" Travis asked. "With all due respect, not every Native American tribe speaks the same language, sir."

"Well, I'm counting on you to figure it out," Lt. Davis said. "His name's Pvt. Barker." Lt. Davis turned to leave, but looked right at someone. "Well, speak of the Red Devil." Travis looked where Lt. Davis did and went wide eyed.

The man approaching them wore the uniform well. He was muscular and, dare he think it, taller than Travis. Maybe one or two inches taller. He was a beast of a man with deep tan russet skin. Clearly from years in the sun. He belonged to a southern tribe almost certainly. His hair was buzzed like everyone else, but the deep black of his hair was visible from the tiny hairs left alone on his head. He had a very strong face. Even intimidating. His eyes were a penetrating black and they caught Travis' eyes. The man didn't change his expression or his overwhelming stature when their eyes met and Travis made a point to do the same, but he realized it wasn't blind attraction he felt for the man walking over to him and Lt. Davis. This couldn't be possible Travis thought.

"There you are Pvt. Barker," Lt. Davis said and the man finished approaching them. "This is Corporal Travis Reid. Corporal, this is Pvt. Oscar Barker. Make sure he understands the ropes around here. Like I said, he'd gone through basic training like everyone else, but he can't speak English to save his God damn life. Just try to be patient with him. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Travis answered, still a little wonderstruck by the man before him.

"Excellent! Understood, Pvt. Barker?" The man looked at Lt. Davis and remained dead silent. "Christ almighty," Lt. Davis groaned. "If nothing else, he'll be a good meat shield." Lt. Davis finally walked away. Travis smiled weakly at him.

"So…you don't speak English?" The man said nothing. "Can you say what tribe you're from?" When Oscar stayed silent again, Travis took a deep breath. The language barrier already added to what he was certain was already an insurmountable obstacle to imprinting on Pvt. Oscar Barker. Rather than speak again, Travis pointed at the chair beside him indicating for Oscar to sit, which he did. Once seated, Travis pulled out a few pieces from both their boxes so he could walk Oscar through the process. He contented himself with just pointing at the pieces and where they need to go. Once Oscar had completed his first gun, Travis smiled. "That looks great, Pvt. Barker," he said. Oscar didn't say anything but he didn't seem to respond the Travis' smile either. So Travis just took out more parts and walked him through another gun.

"Don't speak the pale devil's language and suddenly they think you're stupid,"Oscar muttered under his breath and instantly, Travis stopped what he was doing. He spoke Quileute! Or…..something very similar. It reminded him of the way Caevia spoke whenever she spoke Quileute. It was an odd accent and several words were different at times, but most of the time, everyone could understand her. Oscar seemed to have a very similar accent as well. Dare he say…..more…..polished? Travis wasn't sure how to describe the accent.

"You speak Quileute?" Travis said to Oscar and he seemed just as surprised that Travis could understand him. He eventually recollected himself and cleared his throat.

"I speak Tistilal,"he corrected rather harshly. Travis instantly recognized the name.

"You mean the Tistilal tribe of the Mojave desert?"

"The Sonoran Desert," Oscar corrected in an agitated tone. "You know of us?"

"Yes,"Travis said. "We have a member of the tribe who originates from the Tistilal tribe. She said she belonged to the slave class but her father was one of the flock."

"Not possible,"Oscar answered harshly and adamantly. "Unwanted offspring are thrown off the pedestal. She would have seen the same fate were she what she claims."

"She is what she claims,"Travis defended. "She said her mother had been forced upon by one of the flock and fell pregnant, but blamed her husband for the pregnancy. And she's lived a long time and has remained young. Her son, Embry, also inherited the gift to become a thunderbird." Oscar dropped what he was doing and looked right at Travis and seemed to stare daggers at him.

"What did you just say?"

Travis hesitated only a moment before finally answering, "Caevia used to tell him about the Thunderbirds when he was little and he wanted to see if he could become a Thunderbird himself. One night, he managed to do it." Oscar appeared as though he were a deer in headlights. A very angry deer in headlights.

"So you not only have a bastard that survived the pedestal, but she has children that can become birds?" Travis nodded. "Hm…father will find that interesting I'm sure."

"I would think it's a moot point by now,"Travis said. "It's not as though the Quileute have used the gift against you."

"It's a curse,"Oscar corrected. "If she did survive, she is lucky she got away before a tribal elder caught on. She would have met her death one way or another. And if she produced another bastard, the boy would have met the same fate." Travis didn't answer. "Is that woman the reason you speak Tistilal?"

"I speak Quileute,"Travis said. "We seem to understand each other just fine. I'm actually from the Hou tribe. My mom is daughter to the chief of the Quileutes and when they discovered I had the power to become a wolf, I was asked to live with the Quileutes."

"So the legends of your people are true then?" Oscar asked and Travis nodded.

"So it's true your people become birds?"

"Falcons,"Oscar corrected again. "Only descendants of the Chief Ye Keti can become birds and those that were not his descendants died centuries ago. His descendants are the only members to remain alive."

"For us, it's only descendants of the Chief Taha Aki that can become wolves,"Travis said. "Caevia said that you gained the power of the Falcon because twin brothers fought over who was the rightful chief and they fought. The losing brother took over the body of a falcon, changed back to human and killed his brother."

"Not before his brother cursed the lot of us,"Oscar said.

"She also said it's not uncommon to have disputed monarchs in the tribe because no one died. Before she'd left, she said a chief was in power that had murdered his whole family save his sisters and became chief then."

"My father,"Oscar said and Travis was stunned.

"Your father is chief?"

"Yes, Chief Barka is my father,"Oscar said. "He's been chief since the Night of Red Feathers. I've no desire to be chief, so he's heard no complaints of the matter from me and Oliver would hardly put up a fight to be chief. He's not qualified regardless. He's too weak."

"So what made you join the army?" Travis asked, eager to change the subject.

"Several things,"Oscar said and finished the gun Travis hadn't realized he'd continued to work on. "Good enough?"

"Yeah,"Travis managed. "That looks perfect."

"Well, now, I'm glad to see you speak the same language after all," Lt. Davis said, coming upon them. "Looks like you got him crafting a mighty fine gun. Keep up the good work, Corporal. I'll have the man shadow you for a while. First order of business is teaching this man to speak English."

"Yes, sir," Travis managed before Lt. Davis walked away. "How did you join the military if you can't speak English? I assume you can't read or write English either?"

"I entered some building, put an X next to something and before I knew it I was being ushered into a train being sent to fight. One of the recruits was Navajo, so I was able to speak with them. I know that language enough to get by."

"I take it they're an ally?"

"It's a language a portion of the slaves speak,"Oscar answered bluntly as he got to work on another gun. Travis returned to working but was eager to try talking about something else. It occurred to him that, were Oscar not his imprint, he'd hate the man instantly if only for how mean he seemed to be. Though, in all fairness, the man was in a strange situation in a strange place and probably hadn't been able to speak to anyone in months. Travis realized he just needed to be patient just as Lt. Davis said.

"Lt. Davis said you'd be shadowing me for a while. So tell me about yourself?"

"I already did, wouldn't you say?" Oscar answered flippantly.

"I meant tell me more about you that doesn't involve the tribe. How old are you?"

"I don't know,"Oscar said. "Older than you."

"That's a broad answer,"Travis sighed. "Well, I guess I'll start by saying I'm 36."

"Yes, I'm older than you,"Oscar affirmed.

"But you don't know for sure how old you are?"

"Over forty,"Oscar said. "Of that much I'm certain."

"Well, that's not so much older than me,"Travis smiled. Oscar looked up at Travis strangely a moment as though he were contemplating something. Eventually, he stopped staring and returned to his task. "So you said you have a little brother. Do you have any other siblings? I come from a rather big family myself."

"I have five older sisters,"Oscar said. "Oliver and I are my father's only sons."

"I have two older brothers and an older sister. I'm actually the youngest of them,"Travis said. "My uncle is Chief of the Hou tribe and he has four sons. Do you have a lot of cousins? Your father has living sisters doesn't he?"

"I have an innumerable amount of cousins,"Oscar said. "Part of never aging or dying is too many people. I don't even know all my cousin's names."

"Sounds dizzying,"Travis said. "All my brothers, sister, and cousins are married with kids now. I always got to see them when I was home, but I haven't seen them since leaving for basic training a few years ago. I admit I miss them all. I'm the only one that's still not married with kids." Oscar was silent. After the silence continued longer than Travis would like, he finally got to an inevitable question. "So are you married?"

"Yes,"Oscar answered and Travis felt himself deflate instantly.

"Kids?"

"A daughter,"Oscar said and, for the first time since the two of them started talking, the man smiled. "Genevieve."

"Is she grown or still young?"

"She's twelve give or take,"Oscar said.

"She's the only child you have? I was under the impression everyone in your tribe had lots of kids."

"Most do,"Oscar said. "But Wisteria and I have an understanding."

"That's your wife's name? Wisteria?" Oscar nodded. "Did you and her not want kids or something?"

"No, Wisteria wanted children,"Oscar said. When he didn't elaborate, Travis decided to just drop it.

"Do you have a means to send things to your tribe? I can show you this little shop in town where you can get toys and such. Maybe you can get something for Genevieve."

"I would appreciate that,"Oscar answered.

It was quite a chore getting Oscar to talk about himself. Travis would ask him questions and his answers were always brief and, at times, even avoidant. Given the nature of the questions Travis had sometimes asked, he hoped the avoidant answers were due to hiding that, maybe by some miracle, Oscar was homosexual. Yet by the end of the day of Travis trying to teach Oscar some English little by little while they worked, he had no firm, concrete affirmation that was the case. Though he did find out by the end of the day that Oscar wasn't completely helpless with regards to the English language. He knew some English, but it was just poor and he needed practice. If only for the sake of getting to know the man, Travis was up for the task.

"Who's that guy that was following you around all day?" Jae asked Travis when they all sat down for dinner in the mess hall that night. Travis had hoped Oscar would sit down with them, but he'd wandered off once they reached the mess hall and Travis couldn't see him.

"He's a new recruit," Travis said and then looked at Embry.

"What?" Embry asked.

"He's Tistilal," Travis said.

"Wait, what?" Peta said.

"Are you sure?" Embry asked.

"Positive," Travis said. "He has that weird accent your mom has….or more appropriately, something similar to it."

"Is he one of the Thunderbirds?" Embry asked.

"Yeah," Travis said. "I wouldn't get too excited, though. He was…..hostile, for lack of a better word, when I'd mentioned your mom's dad was a Thunderbird. He'd basically accused me of lying."

"You mean because they're supposed to be tossed off some pedestal?" Embry said. "Well, they didn't get to mom."

"They did get to at least three of our half-sisters, though," Peta answered a little sadly. "That still haunts mom, you know," Peta said in a pointed tone at no one in particular.

"He was surprised to find out you could turn into a bird," Travis said as quietly as possible so only the group would hear him.

"You bet your ass I can," Embry said. "And to think I'm only a 3rd Tistilal and I managed it."

"There's something else I should mention," Travis said, feeling a little guilty now given the man was already not well liked for heritage and family crimes alone. "I….may have, you know…..imprinted on him." Everyone gawked at him, shocked. Embry even dropped his fork full of food.

"Huh?" Embry uttered.

"Is that even possible?" Nathan asked, just as stunned.

"Apparently," Travis said. "Problem is I have no way of really finding out if he's a…you know," Travis didn't dare utter the 'H' word, even if he could whisper it. "I know he's married with a daughter, but he alluded to he and his wife having an 'understanding', though what that means I'm sure I don't know."

"That's not uncommon though, isn't it?" Peta asked. "Men who are –" Peta was about to say, but he caught himself and reworded it. "Men like you get married all the time don't they? I mean…..what other choice do they have? Isn't that what happened with the Pastor's son?"

"Sure, it's not uncommon, but men…..like myself aren't exactly in ready supply or easy to find. It's far more likely I've imprinted on a…..man of standard preferences and am just shit out of luck now."

"I'm…hell, I'm sure it'll be fine," Jae attempted to reassure. "You're a handsome, charming young man. I'm sure you'll have…your imprint eating out of your hands in no time."

"I appreciate the encouragement, Jae, but somehow I doubt it. Even if he's…..like me, he's proving to be a rather cranky individual to say the least. I like to think it's mostly due to him being largely un-proficient with English and being stuck in an environment he's not comfortable or familiar with."

"Well, join the fucking club," Peta said unsympathetically and the remainder of the group was inclined to agree. Travis sighed and looked at his food a moment having suddenly lost his appetite. Eventually, he looked at Kevin who, though he was eating as Embry had practically begged him to, was still eerily quiet most times.

"Has anything changed?" Travis asked, referring to Kevin's dreams.

"No," Kevin answered flatly.

"That mean's she's still alive, Kevin," Embry eagerly encouraged. "Just remember that." Although hesitantly, Kevin eventually nodded and returned to his food.

Travis didn't see Oscar again until the following day after breakfast. While going about their tasks for the day, Travis continued his efforts to teach Oscar a better proficiency in English while also trying to get to know the man better in as subtle a manner as was possible. Though their conversations were much the same as they had been yesterday. Oscar wasn't terribly eager to talk about himself and if Travis asked anything the man decided he didn't want to answer he would either say so or be overly brief. He managed to get the man to talk about his father a little and Travis decided he'd never ask again.

"So what's your father like?" Travis had asked.

"A tyrant,"Oscar answered bluntly but did not elaborate.

"I take it he's not a very good Chief?" Travis asked.

"He's not unusual,"Oscar said.

"Why do you say that?"

"Since Chief Ye Keti, every chief after that has come to the throne because they'd murdered their predecessor. My father is no different. You can imagine it takes a special kind of person to murder their own father. My father is different in that he didn't stop with just my grandfather. He killed my grandfather, my grandmother, all his father's other wives and all his brothers and any sons and wives those brothers had. It's the reason it's called the Night of Red Feathers."

"Sounds like a massacre,"Travis winced a little.

"That was the general idea,"Oscar said.

"By that logic, I would think your father wouldn't want sons,"Travis said.

"No, he did,"Oscar said. "After mother got pregnant with me, father had told her if I were another girl, he'd kill my mother, effectively accusing her of treason, and would find a wife that would give him a son. Obviously, she had me. Afterwards was my little brother."

"If the only way anyone in your family ascends the throne is through murder, why would your dad want sons?"

"I don't know,"Oscar said. "My father's strange I suppose."

"I'm not sure 'strange' is the word,"Travis said quietly more so to himself before finally getting off the topic of Oscar's father.

He attempted to speak of Oscar's siblings but he either didn't think much of them at all or, in the case of his little brother, had an opinion of the individual that delved to the pits of hell. It was another moment in which Travis couldn't help but realize, were it not for the fact that the man was his imprint, he'd intensely dislike the man under any normal circumstances. Oscar left Travis alone once they'd reached the mess hall for lunch that day and didn't appear by him again until after roll call was called and completed. Then it was time for dinner hour before the men would be told to retreat to bed. Oscar was about to leave Travis again when he stopped him.

"Why don't you sit with me and my cousins for dinner?" Travis asked, stopping Oscar and making him look at Travis. "The rest of them speak Quileute too, so you wouldn't be left out. Where do you normally sit?"

"Alone,"Oscar answered and was content to leave the conversation at that, but Travis persisted.

"Perhaps tonight you can make an exception?" Travis offered. Oscar didn't appear as though he'd agree. "Come on. It can't be enjoyable sitting by yourself in some corner somewhere."

"I don't do it for enjoyment,"Oscar said bitterly. He started to walk away again and, rather than argue, Travis just followed after him so they were in line together for their food. Oscar didn't question it at first, but he certainly did when Travis started following him to a table off in the corner. "What are you doing?"

"Since you aren't really comfortable sitting with me and my cousins, I thought I'd join you,"Travis explained.

"I didn't ask you to."

"I know, but I feel bad letting you sit all by yourself."

"Don't,"Oscar said bluntly and walked away to the lone table in the corner far away from anyone else that sat there. Travis debated momentarily whether to leave the man alone or not when he noticed something strange about him. Oscar suddenly appeared really sad. It was strange. He'd never seen the man appear any less than grumpy in the best of moods. Eventually, Travis decided to take a deep breath and walk over to the table, sitting across the table from Oscar. That sad look instantly went away and was replaced by the usual grimace. "What part of my request was unclear?"

"You were very clear,"Travis said. "I just happened to notice you looked really sad when you sat down here. After that, I didn't have the heart to make you sit alone."

"What possessed you to think I appeared 'sad'?" Oscar asked defensively.

"Look, Oscar, you don't have to tell me what's wrong. I just wanted to give you some company." Oscar didn't appear to appreciate the sentiment. He stood to look around the room and was instantly irritable again when he realized there was nowhere else to sit that would allow him to be alone. So he sat back down and just ate his dinner, ignoring Travis. "So all things considered, how have you liked being in the Army?"

"Easy compared to home,"Oscar answered. That sentiment made Travis' skin crawl and what that implied.

"I suppose when you said your father was a tyrant you weren't exaggerating?" Travis attempted to joke, but Oscar remained dead serious.

"Not in the slightest,"Oscar said.

"Maybe you should take over as chief,"Travis suggested. "When you get back home I mean. I'll bet you'd be a better chief."

"I can't kill my father,"Oscar said. "Nice as it might be, I won't do it."

"So you and your dad don't really get along?"

"No,"Oscar answered bluntly.

"Makes me appreciate my parents,"Travis said, trying to joke again. It didn't work and Oscar just glared at him. "Do you have a hobby?"

"Excuse me?" Oscar asked.

"Hobbies. Activities you enjoy."

"I like hunting,"Oscar finally answered.

"What is there to hunt in the desert?"

"Rattle Snakes,"Oscar said.

"Rattle snakes?" Travis asked, not familiar with the word in Quileute.

"The snakes who's tails shake and rattle."

"Oh,"Travis said. "Rattle Snakes."

"Yes,"Oscar said.

"I didn't realize you could eat rattle snakes. Aren't they poisonous?"

"You have to cut off the head,"Oscar said. "We have special arrows for that. Same thing with the scorpions, but you cut off the stingers."

"Scorpions?" Travis asked.

"Black poisonous bugs that live in the desert,"Oscar said.

"Scorpions?" he asked in English.

"I'm told that's the pale face name for it,"Oscar said.

"How do you cook a Scorpion and rattle snakes?"

"Scorpions are easy,"Oscar said. "You use a rock to crush it before throwing it into a hot pot to cook and it takes no time. The center has to be soft and warm and the exoskeleton is crunchy."Travis scrunched his nose at the prospect but Oscar continued. "Rattle snakes are different. You need to remove the bones and organs before cooking and it has to be completely cooked or you get sick. Other options include making a soup and using the snake's organs to flavor the water. You just have to be careful which organs you use."

"That sounds vile,"Travis admitted.

"Rattle snake soup's a personal favorite of mine,"Oscar said.

"To each their own I guess,"Travis said. "What do you do with the snake's skeleton."

"We pound it into dust and use it for medicine and rituals."

"Do you do anything with the heads?"

"We extract the poison for other things,"Oscar said. "Something called the Rattler's Death. If a member of the flock suffers an injury that will cripple him or that he can't heal from, we give them the Rattler's Death. It's used for executions of members of the family sometimes depending on their standing. A Chief's wife for example would get the Rattler's Death. Otherwise, slaves or really love tier family members are thrown off the pedestal."

"Are you serious?" Travis asked.

"Of course I'm serious,"Oscar said. "My father's even used it to fake a 'plague'. No one's supposed to know about that, though."

"A 'plague'?"

"We suffered a crises in which there were more women in the tribe than men. It's an unfortunate consequence of a culmination of never aging and young men falling to their deaths if they couldn't awake to their bird spirit. Father made the Medicine Man administer a dose of the Rattler's Death to a number of older women in the tribe that had been around a very long time. That's how my mother died."

"Your father really committed mass genocide to control the population?"

"You sound surprised he'd do such a thing,"Oscar said flippantly.

"No wonder you hate your father."

"That's not the reason I hate my father,"Oscar said. "I have my own reason for hating the man and they have nothing to do with his dispatching of some older women in the tribe."

"Why do you hate him then? I'm gathering it's not on pure principle. You seem too much of a monster yourself for that." Oscar stopped poking at his food and looked up at Travis harshly. He didn't speak right away, though. Travis swore he saw that flash of sorrow cross Oscar's eyes. It broke his heart to see it. He looked as though he were trying with all his might to remain hard and cold, but that sorrow in his eyes had nowhere to hide.

"You sound like Zakra,"Oscar muttered, his tone nowhere near as harsh as he wanted it to be.

"Who's Zakra?" Travis asked.

"No one of your concern,"Oscar said and picked up his tray of barely touched food and walked away. He was yelled at by a commanding officer for attempting to leave the mess hall without permission and for wasting his food, so Oscar relented and scarfed down the remainder of his food and was finally given permission to return to the bunks. The following day, Travis attempted to smooth over that he'd clearly offended Oscar but he wasn't having it. He just focused on his work and ignored Travis.

Back home in Washington, Raphael and Yaretzi finally left to return to South America. In truth, the only reason for their long visit was due to Raphael's persistent attempt to convince Ada María to allow him and Yaretzi to take him back to South America with them. She refused and at points did so rather colorfully. It was a fight that would erupt to proportions even Yaretzi couldn't cool. When the refusal was finally accepted, more or less, by Raphael, they finally left. In the meantime, Ariel had managed to get to know his Grandpa Raphael very well. He'd likely never be able to make others understand, but Raphael wasn't so bad deep, deep, deep, deep down. Tamara had send word that she and Ivory would be arriving in Port Angeles by early June. Even if it was still early, Renesmee was already preparing Kyle's old room so Tamara could stay with her and Jacob, getting Natalie's old crib out for Ivory to use.

"I hate to be so mean," Natalie said to Ada María while the two were making dinner for everyone, "but I'm relieved your father's gone. Your mother was lovely, but your father isn't pleasant to be around."

"I'm aware," Ada María sighed. "I'm sorry about him. I'd say he's just irritated with the situation, but frankly he's had ample time to get over it by now."

"He seemed a little less grumpy by the time he left at least," Natalie reassured.

"He's still mad that I didn't let him take Ariel back to Brazil with him. I'm just relieved Ariel didn't beg to go."

"Of course not," Natalie said. "He wants to do that with Nathan."

"Thank God for that," Ada María sighed. She kept chopping and put the onions in a pot while Natalie finished the other veggies. "I've been meaning to ask," Ada María started, "Nathan had told me you ate differently for lack of a better word. When he described it, I didn't believe him at first but now that I've seen it firsthand.."

"Yes, I'm told the way I eat is rather eccentric," Natalie said.

"I'm curious what made you start doing that. It's not unusual for a group of people to eat very little meat, but most often it has to do with meat being a luxury rather than choosing not to eat it."

"Truthfully, I just never liked it," Natalie said. "My food allergies don't help I suppose, but knowing what meat is…..I just can't eat it. I watched daddy skin and clean animals growing up and it always made my skin crawl. I'm allergic to shell fish, so I can't eat those anyway. Dairy makes me really sick and it does the same thing to Nathan. I just prefer eating the way I do."

"So you're just finicky?" Ada María said.

"I guess if you wish to refer to it as such, yes, I'm finicky," Natalie said with a heavy sigh as she rinsed of the beans she'd been soaking and added them to the pot.

"Does Jae eat like you? I know your children usually do but they seem more open to eating meat when among other family members."

"Jae is very supportive," Natalie said. "He hasn't eaten meat since we've been together. He won't eat peanuts or shell fish because he doesn't want to risk kissing me and getting me sick and I can count the number of times he's eaten dairy since we've been together on one hand."

"He sounds like a wonderful husband to you," Ada María said. "Nathan always spoke glowingly of Jae. He said he's his best friend. One of them anyway."

"Yes, they're close," Natalie smiled. "We were all close growing up. Rae and Sharisa are like sisters to me."

"Is it safe to claim Jae's the favorite of Caevia's children?" Ada María said, meaning to joke.

"He is," Natalie giggled. "She'd never say it. She loves all her children. She's truly a mother to be envied. I hope I'm managing to be half the mother she is. But yes, Jae's her favorite and we all know it."

"That's not true!" Caevia said when she entered the kitchen. "I love all of my children equally."

"Of course you do, mom," Grae teased, patting his other's shoulder from his high vantage point. At 22 now, the boy really was as tall as his father.

"I do!" Caevia insisted.

"Mom, we're not mad," Aiya giggled. "It's okay for you to love Jae the most. We all do."

"I'll not hear another word out of any of you about me having a favorite," Caevia argued with a sigh.

"Me thinks the Lady doth protest too much," Taraq and Bayaq said together and started laughing. Zephyr shuddered.

"Still creeps me out when you two do that," Zephyr said.

"What is he complaining about?" Bayaq asked.

"He doesn't like it when we speak in unison," Taraq said.

"Bayaq, stop teasing your brother," Embry Sr. said.

"I'm Taraq, dad," Taraq said.

"That's what I meant," Embry Sr. sighed.

Marcus Sr. was, thankfully, doing much better. His injuries had healed rather nicely save for the remaining discoloration of his skin from the burns for which he was still rather self-conscious, but he no longer suffered the same pain as before. Naevia and Marcus Jr. had proved to be remarkable nurses, hugging Marcus every time he wasn't feeling well or even felt depressed when he saw the discoloration. Somehow, that was better than any doctor's treatment. Marcus Jr. barely remembered the bombing. He really only remembered loud noises and sitting in the basement hiding. Naevia, on the other hand, remembered it vividly. Nothing broke Marcus' heart more than his little girl asking if something like that would happen again. What was worse was the truth that he had no way to promise her it wouldn't. All he could do was tell her he loved her, her little brother and her mommy very much and he'd protect them no matter what. That tended to appease Naevia even if only briefly. It was a long time before they all finally met Ada María, but when they did, they found her pleasant. They were well aware of what occurred between her and Nathan, but did their part to be respectful of her.

"You're really pretty," Naevia said to Ada María when they first met.

"Thank you," she answered, though awkwardly. While she loved and adored her son, she still didn't particularly care for other kids.

"I want hair just like you," Naevia said and then put her hands in her thick, tight curled black hair that was painstakingly braided the other day courtesy of Grandma Ruth. "Mine doesn't flow."

"Now, baby, don't be silly; you have beautiful hair," Marcus Sr. said to Naevia and patted her head. Ariel walked about then to introduce himself. When Marcus saw the boy, he was a little surprised. "Wait…..how old's this kid?"

"He's turning three this year," Ada María said.

"He's turning what now?" Marcus asked and looked at the boy again then looked at Aidetzi. "Is she being serious?"

"It's….just one of those things, Marcus, that it a little weird and better left alone," Aidetzi struggled to explain.

"Uh-huh," Marcus muttered under his breath skeptically and looked at Ariel again. He looked at least twice the age they all said he was supposed to be. As far as he could tell, there was no way the boy was younger than 6 or 7. But, much like with the Cullens and the other family seeming ageless for lack of a better word, he held his tongue and agreed to refer to it as 'weird'.

Things continued to progress in Italy with Allied Forces fighting the Germans in Anzio and, eventually making it to the German line approaching Rome while, in London, Allied Forces continued to prepare for their landing into the mainland. In that time of preparation, Pvt. Barker was ordered to remain with Travis and, in such, Travis did everything in his power to improve the relationship with Oscar. He'd still not found out who Zakra was, but he'd at least managed to get the man to speak to him again, albeit as briefly as he'd done before. There was also an unfortunate development back home in that Sara was falling ill rather often. She'd frequently feel poorly and most often remained in the teepee she and William shared. He remained by her side always and Renesmee frequently checked on her. While William would demand an explanation, all the more Renesmee or Carlisle could ever give was she was getting older. Jacob frequently stayed with his parents in their teepee for long stretches of time, often not bothering to come home at all. One day when he did, however, he didn't appear to be in high spirits. He'd walked into the house through the back just as Renesmee was sending off a little girl she'd treated for a cut and she could see he looked upset.

"My mother's going to die, isn't she?" Jacob asked, though it was more a statement than a question.

Unable to say anything else, Renesmee nodded and said, "I'm afraid it's likely. I mean…she's lived a very long life. And she's otherwise healthy. I think…..it might just be her time." Though she hated to give such an answer, she knew it was the only one she could offer. Jacob sighed and nodded weakly.

"You realize what this means, right?" Jacob asked and Renesmee shook her head. "My dad imprinted on mom. Once she's gone….dad will follow before long." There was a silence between them as Jacob seemed as though he was holding back tears. "I'm not ready to lose them both." While he took deep breaths to remain composed, Renesmee walked over and held him. Jacob took her in his arms and rested his head on her shoulder. She felt the tears begin, but he remained quiet.

"I know it hurts, Jacob," Renesmee managed. "I wish I could offer better, but try to take comfort in knowing they both lived very long, productive lives. They got to meet their grandchildren and watch them grow up. They even got to meet their great grandchildren. Some of them, anyway. And I know Sara is happy for it." Jacob shuddered a little and hugged Renesmee tighter.

"I envy you a little," Jacob said. "You'll never have to suffer this with Edward and Bella."

"That doesn't mean I won't miss Sara and William with all my heart," Renesmee said and kissed his head. "Sara is still living. So use this time to be with her and make sure she knows how much you love her."

Hesitantly, Jacob nodded and lifted his head to kiss Renesmee. "Thank you," he finally said. "I love you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I don't either," Renesmee teased and finally got Jacob to smile just a little. "I love you too, Jacob. And if it's worth anything: when the time comes, you will be a wonderful chief."

"I learned from the best one I've ever known," Jacob said and they smiled at each other once again and shared another kiss. Then Renesmee encouraged Jacob to return to his parents and be with his mother.

Jacob did everything to make her think of all the good times, reminding her of the times Jacob and the others got in trouble, William reminded her of the days of their youth when they'd fallen in love and about all the wonderful times with all their grandchildren and great grandchildren. The latter made her smile widely, thinking she got to see at least some of her great grandchildren. She didn't seem bothered really by the knowledge she was going to pass away soon. If anything, she seemed contented because she'd done all she wanted to do and reminded William how happy he'd made her and how wonderful a husband he'd been. That made Jacob and William cry a little, but Sara soothed them both with hugs and kissed and told them she loved them. Jacob wanted, more than anything, for her to at least live through to the end of the war when their grandsons would return, but he couldn't pretend it was likely in the least.

And then, finally, after weeks of hard fighting and men coming in wounded that Kyle and the others did everything in their power to assist, Allied Forces finally made it into Rome on June 5, 1944. Yet days before that victory was the set up to another attack. Kevin and the others had, at long last, finally received the order that they were leaving for the beaches of France. They'd successfully fooled the Germans into thinking the allies would be attacking the beach of Calais on the French shore. It had taken months of painstaking preparation, of intercepting the German intelligence with a large machine that was known as Colossus, of British actors and theatre members filling the beaches of Dover and other parts of shoreline Canterbury with fake equipment, numerous shipments of war equipment and lethal machines of American engineering, and months, no, years of training, but they were finally ready for the long awaited invasion of the beaches of France. That, of course, left no one under any delusion this would be easy despite their hard work and preparation. In the days leading up to the attack, the men were restless. As to whether that restlessness was due to eagerness, to fear (the admittedly far more likely of the three), or relief to finally move in depended entirely on whom one spoke to.

Priests and other holy men were made available for the soldiers to pray. Kevin was among them. If there was ever a time for Kevin to pray, it was now. Some men even went to confession as though they were sure they would die. In truth, they were probably right. That weighed heavily on everyone's minds. Kevin grabbed the opportunity to go to confession, desperate for someone to talk to that was objective. Embry, though Kevin would never be any less than eternally grateful for all Embry's support, was his best friend. He'd go to any lengths to ensure Kevin never lost hope, even if it meant blatantly lying. Kevin wasn't mad at him for it, though. If anything, Embry had been invaluable to Kevin's barely held sanity. But he needed to speak to a priest. When he got in the makeshift confessional with the priest, he made no effort for formalities or traditional prayer.

"I'm in desperate need to speak to someone, Father."

"What is it you wish to discuss, my son," the priest asked. "You and the others are facing a great trial. Please, say anything you need so that you go into battle prepared for the embrace of God and his angels should it come to that."

"I can't die, Father," Kevin said. "I have someone I need to save."

"Someone to save, my son?"

"Yes, Father," Kevin said. "I've been having dreams. Terrible dreams."

"Of what, my son?"

"I'm engaged to a woman named Amber Dymek. We've been engaged for too long. Far too long. Since the twenties. Since 1929. That's when we were officially engaged. After I'd obtained her father's blessing."

"Congratulations, my son. I wish you both a happy marriage should you come home safely."

"She's the one I need to save," Kevin said. "I'd saved her once before. Years ago during the Great War."

"You fought in the Great War my son? You appear so young."

"I was just a boy then," Kevin said truthfully. "Just 14 or 15. I'd become a Sergeant, earned the Medal of Honor. That time in my life shaped my future and made me the man I am today. But that's when I met Amber."

"Tell me about her, my son. How did you and she meet?"

"She was a child at the time," Kevin said. "I'd found her crying in a closet in Chateau Thierry when the Germans had pressed through and attacked. It had been a hard day of fighting. That was the day I'd earned my Medal of Honor in fact. I'd saved the lives of two of my commanding officers."

"You've truly proven yourself an American Hero then, my son," the priest praised.

"My friend Embry and I found Amber after the battle, crying in a closet as I said. I knew I couldn't just leave her. And something about the girl drew me to her. Made me very protective of her," Kevin said, muddying the full details just a little, omitting what he needed to. "Her mother was dead, but I saw her Star of David and remembered seeing such a symbol of a building outside town, so I took Amber there to be safe where she was looked after by a woman named Mrs. Lavoie. She found Amber a good family that loved her deeply. I couldn't have picked a better family myself and they promised they'd allow me and her to keep in touch. So we did."

"That was very good of them," the priest said.

"I'll be forever grateful to them for it," Kevin said. "Especially since Amber and I fell in love. I'd come to Germany for her Bot Mitzvah years later and had been able to visit after that from time to time when I had some money. I was going to school then for Law. Yale."

"You've much to be proud of my son, but always remember that Pride has its place. It can lead a man to his ruin."

"Yes, Father," Kevin said. "I'd spoken with her father and he'd given us his blessing for us to marry, so I proposed. The day she said yes was the happiest day of my life. We pictured our future, and children, her coming to America to be with me, her parents coming with. But then the Stock Markets crashed. It threw all our plans towards the back burner. There's not a day that goes by that I don't kick myself for it. Now I don't know where she is. I have to find her but I'm scared. I keep dreaming of her."

"Tell me about these dreams, my son. You'd not explained them when first mentioned."

"I….." Kevin started, barely able to articulate what he'd seen. He wanted desperately to just push his memories to the priest, but he dared not. He had to say it. "My first dream came shortly after we got here. I saw Amber and her mother. The skies were gray and there were fences and barbed wire. They wore a star on their clothes and Amber's mother, Anna, looked so ill. As though she hadn't been eating."

"These are quite vivid dreams, my son," the priest said, sensing Kevin's mounting terror.

"Anna was sick. She kept coughing. I saw Amber take her mother's hat and cough louder to draw the guard's attention to her instead. But Anna had argued and they were both reprimanded." Kevin stopped a moment and shivered.

"What else, my son," the priest encouraged.

"They…they were taken to a room. It was…..it was so dark. It was stone and there were pipes atop the wall. They were told it was a shower. But Amber knew it wasn't and she broke down the door."

"She broke down the door?" the priest asked.

"Yes," Kevin shivered again. "She'd gotten out and was reprimanded. When the guard took her, she hit him and tried running, but she was shot in the shoulder. That's when I woke up. I felt the pain of that bullet as if I'd been the one shot." Kevin trembled, his voice following suit. "Since then, the dreams have persisted, but…..they're worse. Oh God," Kevin said.

"Breath, my son," the priest said soothingly, trying to get Kevin to breath and calm down. "How have they become worse?"

"She's….I can't explain it. She's not herself anymore. I can't feel her pain or her fear anymore. All I feel is…..thirst. I don't know what they're doing, but those fucks are doing something….and I can't help her."

"My child," the priest said and Kevin looked up at the man through the mesh. Kevin managed to see the priest's sympathetic eyes. "Are you sure she's still alive, my son?"

"I'm positive," Kevin said. "As sure as my own heart beats, I know she's alive…I just don't know for how long. She's suffering. I need to find her, Father."

"My son, listen to me and listen well," the priest said and a sterner tone, yet it still held sympathy. Even determination. "You're no good to the poor girl dead. If she is still alive as you're certain she is, then you need to be strong and you need to be ready. You're in for a hard fight. If anyone should know how hard that fight will be, it's you. You eat well and you sleep well and you harden yourself as steel. If you can do that, you will be able to save her. Are we clear, my son?"

"Yes, Father," Kevin said.

"Now," the priest said and changed his position so he was kneeling. "Pray with me." Kevin got on his knees with the priest and followed along in a long, almost desperate prayer. Later as Kevin stepped out of the confessional, the priest stepped out too. "My son," the priest said and Kevin turned to face the man. He walked over and took off his rosary, putting it over Kevin's neck. "You keep this with you, my son. Pray again before bed and pray before you go and while you're on that boat to the beach. Keep God at your side."

"Thank you Father," Kevin said. Finally, Kevin walked away and clutched the Rosary. He didn't care if he was just what one might call a stormy weather Catholic. He was willing to pray to anyone or anything at this point.

"This is it, Kevin," Embry said that night before they were to ship out. "We're finally getting in."

"Took fucking long enough," Kevin muttered, rubbing the cross of the rosary between his fingers. But then he moved his hand up to another necklace. Amber's Star of David. He dared not break it, but the way he rubbed it desperately he feared he just might. "The sooner we find Amber and her parents, the better."

"You do realize this'll be like looking for a needle in a haystack, right?" Peta foolishly stated out loud and regretted it when Kevin slammed his open palm on the table making everything in the mess hall jump in surprise.

"I will find her," Kevin said with a seething, furious tone of determination. "I don't care if I have to burn down all of Europe; I WILL find her."

"And we'll help you do it," Embry said. "Isn't that right, Peta?" Embry said to his little brother sternly and Peta nodded nervously. "Good."

"Can I make a request?" Travis said suddenly to Nathan and, technically, Kevin.

"What?" Nathan said.

"I know….I know he's a little rough around the edges and all…but help me look out for Oscar."

"You mean Pvt. Barker?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah, him," Travis said solemnly. "He's still not warming up to me and I'm not sure why…..but I don't want-"

"He'll be in the same boat as us," Kevin said. "I'll be able to keep an eye on him like I'll do for all of you and I'll tell all of you when and where to dodge if needed. I'll do the same for all the men in our boat. But he needs to do his part. He needs to listen. I can't very well tell him to dodge and have him shot anyway because he wasn't paying attention. That goes for all of you," Kevin looked at everyone at that table. "We're going to face a blanket of bullets. This won't be an easy task. The key to ALL of us getting off that beach alive will count on all of us outrunning those bullets. And I know you can."

"You can't let anything get to you," Embry stepped in with his words of wisdom. "I wish this weren't true, but you WILL see men die before your eyes and it WILL be gruesome. If you allow yourself even a moment of terror, it WILL cost you. Kevin will do his part to warn you to dodge, but it'll depend on your ability to adapt and adjust. I won't let any of you learn that the hard way."

Kevin looked at Travis, "I'll do the best I can to help Pvt. Barker. But I can't make promises. You'll have to stay by him and help him too. You're father than him, so drag him into that beach if you need to. This'll largely depend of us getting under cover first and foremost. We can worry about a counter attack once we're under cover. Is that clear?" Everyone at that table nodded, but he zeroed in on Jae and Peta who instantly appeared nervous. More so than they'd already been. "Is that clear?" Kevin asked them both.

"Yes," Jae and Peta answered in unison.

"Don't you make a widow of my sister, Jae," Nathan said, both deadly serious yet trying to be light hearted. "Remember Natalie, JJ, Salem and Nesia. They're all eager for you to come home."

"I know," Jae said, now shaking a little. Then he put his face in his palms, suddenly feeling an overwhelming emptiness from missing them so much. "I miss them so much."

"We all do," Nathan said, rubbing Jae's back. "Stick by me and I'll make sure not a single bullet hits either of you. When this war is finally over, we're all going to step off that train fucking heroes."

"I'd say that calls for a toast," Embry suggested but Kevin shook his head.

"It's too early to celebrate," Kevin said darkly. "Let's take the beach and then we'll celebrate." Kevin looked at Travis. "If you plan to have us looking out for Barker, I suggest you make our intent clear."

"I'll tell him," Travis nodded. Once he'd finished his dinner, he went right about finding Oscar who was sitting off to the corner as always having barely touched his food. The men were eating like kings that night. A sort of 'Last Meal' for many of them, but most refused to think of it as so. Of course, it didn't make it any less true for a lot of them. A number of them would die tomorrow and they knew it. Travis was just determined Oscar wouldn't be one of them. "Oscar," Travis said and he looked up, surprised to hear his first name.

"What?" he asked and Travis sat across from him at the table.

"We're being deployed tomorrow,"he said.

"And?" Oscar asked.

"You'll be in the same boat. I wanted to fill you in on something."

"And that is?"

"My cousin Kevin has a gift. He can push his thoughts into a person's head. He'll be doing that for every man on the boat. Most will think it's him yelling at them. It's usually how it sounds most of the time. But, anyway, I wanted to let you know. He'll warn you and make sure you know when to dodge and where. I'll be looking out for you too."

"Such an unfair advantage to only share with the men in the boat,"Oscar said.

"He'll do the best he can for all the men, but the fact remains he'll only be able to warn so many. I've asked him, though, to make sure you're one of the people he makes a point to warn."

"Why?" Oscar asked.

Travis took a moment to carefully think how to properly answer Oscar before speaking. "Because despite everything, I'm rather fond of you. I don't want anything to happen to you." Oscar rose a brow at those words and Travis wondered a moment what it meant. He didn't speak, however, so Travis breathed out and stood. "Finish your dinner and get some rest tonight. We'll all need it."

Travis was about to walk away when he heard Oscar stand from the table and grab his shoulder. "Meet me in the utility room in an hour,"Oscar said, not as a request but an order, before walking away with his tray of barely touched food.

Travis walked back to the bunks in a daze of confusion. He wasn't sure what to think at the moment. He'd run the risk of getting in trouble for sneaking out assuming he were caught, but he knew better. He and the others had quite the talent for sneaking around when it was needed. He was more concerned about why Oscar wanted to meet. Though regardless of any nerves or concerns, Travis snuck away to the utility room ten minutes before Oscar had told him to meet there. He waited five before the door to the utility room opened and he turned to see Oscar step in. He locked the door behind him which made Travis nervous.

"What did you want to meet here for?" Travis finally asked. Oscar approached him without speaking, but Travis held his ground if only to ensure Oscar knew he wouldn't be intimidated if that was his intent. When he was closer, perhaps closer than he'd thought the man would come, he finally spoke.

"You seem rather curious about me,"Oscar said. "More than I might consider normal quite frankly."

"Is there something wrong with caring about my brother in arms?"

"Depends on the intent,"Oscar said. He continued to approach Travis and he backed away but found himself up against a wall. When he was, Oscar placed his hand on that wall right beside Travis' face. "I'm curious what yours is."

"I might ask you the same question right about now,"Travis said.

"Rest assured, my intentions at this moment depend entirely on you,"Oscar said and, finally, the man smiled, but it was a dark, mischievous smile.

"How about you give me my options and I'll tell you what my intent is,"Travis snapped back. "If you're trying to intimidate me, I'd like to know why."

"Calm down,"Oscar said, "Though I'm glad to know I'm as intimidating as ever. Zakra used to complain I too often came off as mean."

"Who's Zakra?"

"He was my lover,"Oscar said and, finally, Travis got one bit of reassurance that he'd needed.

"Was?"

"My father executed him,"Oscar said. "My little brother found out about the affair and revealed it to my father and had Zakra executed. It's the reason I left. Still only a fraction of the reason I hate my father and little brother so intensely, though it's a large percentage regardless."

"I'm…I'm so sorry,"Travis managed. "I suppose that explains your….attitude."

"I would certainly say so,"Oscar said. "You seem unalarmed that a man was my lover."

"I'm no one to talk,"Travis said and Oscar seemed to chuckle.

"So you are a lover of men,"Oscar said. "I had a feeling you were."

"I was just hoping you were,"Travis admitted. "I take it this is what you meant when you'd said you and your wife have an understanding?"

"Wisteria is very aware of my preferences. She's a good woman. She doesn't argue or kick up a fuss about it. She's been a good mother, too. I'm happy to call my wife a good friend at least, but she's not my lover. Never was. That was always Zakra."

"Did you love him?"

"Yes,"Oscar said.

"How long were you two together?"

"Years. Long before my daughter was born, long before Wisteria and I married. We became intimate when I was still a very young man. I dare say he was more my wife than Wisteria ever was. The only reason I married Wisteria at all was due to my mother's demands to do so."

"I guess any advances on my part aren't wanted then?" Travis said, keeping his tone even but finding it hard not to be crushed.

"I never said that,"Oscar said. "If I meant to tell you that, why would I waste our time and sleep dragging you to a private place? It's not as though anyone understands us. Except your cousins of course, but they're easy enough to avoid."

"They know I'm a lover of men,"Travis said. "They've always known."

"And they accept it?"

"They're exceptionally supportive of me and place no judgment on me,"Travis said.

"What an envious relationship,"Oscar said. "Though I suppose Wisteria did that for me. I only regret leaving her to have to ensure my daughter doesn't think less of me for it."

"I would think leaving would be more a concern of hers than your preferences."

"Probably,"Oscar said. "I hope with time Genevieve will understand. I know, at least, I can rely on Wisteria to remind Genevieve that I love her. The only woman I've ever loved in my life is my daughter." Oscar unbuttoned his uniform and pulled his wife beater underneath up and over his head, though still on his shoulders under the uniform jacket. On his chest was an eagle in flight. It clasped in its talons an American flag who's ends had twirled into roses. In one of the white strips read the name Genevieve in bold letters. "The Navajo I spoke with taught me how to spell my daughter's name. He and a few others were getting tattoos and he helped me construct this for the artist to give me."

"Genevieve's a lucky little girl to have a father that loves her as you do,"Travis said. Oscar didn't mother to readjust his clothes after showing the tattoo though.

Instead, he leaned down so their noses nearly touched. "Now then, I'd say we've wasted enough time talking. Like you said: we should get some rest."

Before Travis could question him or ask what he was talking about, Oscar crushed his lips against Travis' in a kiss that sent shivers up his spine. Travis wasn't sure if it was because the man was his imprint by some bizarre miracle or if it was just Oscar, but his kiss felt better than any before. After so many months thus far of receiving the cold shoulder from the man and seeming to get nowhere, he eagerly embraced the now and grabbed a hold of the back of Oscar's neck, forcing him closer. At bare minimum, he'd know his imprint's touch at least once. That seemed to bolster Oscar towards being more aggressive and he near slammed into Travis, pressing him against the wall that Travis feared the very real possibility he might be suffocated. While Travis started running his fingers through the slightly grown out but still very short black hair of Oscar's head, Oscar's hands traveled more daringly. He was no one to waste time with foreplay it seemed as he trailed his hand directly over Travis' growing erection and took a firm hold through the pants of his uniform. Perhaps moments later, Oscar undid the pants Travis wore and slipped his hand under his clothes, grabbing Travis' erection in his hand and stroking it. Travis shivered from the feel of Oscar's hand and attempted to tug at his hair, but it was too short to do so. Oscar grinned, seeming pleased with what he held.

"It's a shame we don't have any balm,"he said. "Wouldn't mind taking this for a ride." Oscar bit Travis by the ear and made him shiver again. Travis reached a hand down over Oscar's muscular chest and did the same thing to Oscar as he'd done to Travis, undoing the pants of Oscar's uniform and shoving his hand down past the fabric to grab Oscar's erection. Oscar nearly growled and pushed Travis just a little further back.

"Likewise,"Travis responded seductively.

Oscar's low, erotic laugh filled Travis' ear and he felt Oscar start to kiss the skin of his neck while continuing to stroke Travis in oblivion. Travis made a point to do the same to Oscar, sucking on his shoulder and stroking his erection. It wasn't enough. Not nearly enough. But they had to make due for now. Oscar and Travis returned their lips to meet one another mimicking with their tongues what they wished they had the means to do to one another. They were both getting closer. At least Travis knew he was getting closer. Oscar pulled his lips away and pushed Travis harshly against the wall and began to kneel down on one knee. Travis shivered in anticipation.

"Now I'm about to do something awfully nice for you,"Oscar said. "I'll expect you to return the favor."

"I can't wait,"Travis said. Oscar laughed a little before taking Travis into his mouth. He nearly collapsed as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. "I can count the number of times a man's done this for me on one hand."

"Well then,"Oscar said between sucks. "How about we see if we can't raise that to two hands?"

Travis laughed a little, but it died down when Oscar proceeded as before and that laugh released as a moan. Perhaps a louder moan than he should have permitted, but he couldn't help himself. Travis ran his fingers through Oscar's short hair but did nothing to guide the man in any particular fashion. He didn't want to disrupt his rhythm. Oscar had one hand on Travis' erection while the other hand massaged his balls before delving down to a spot between and pressing upwards. This time, Travis very nearly fell but didn't courtesy of grabbing a nearby table and Oscar keeping him upright. Oscar laughed with Travis still deep in his mouth, the vibrations adding to the pleasure, before he pulled away a moment continuing to stroke Travis' erection.

"You're certainly responsive,"Oscar said. "I love a man that tells me he likes how I suck him."

"You fucking tease," Travis groaned with his head back. Oscar seemed to understand that and chuckled.

"You love it, though. I can tell." Oscar sucked again up and down as Travis felt a shiver up his leg with his orgasm looming. "You're just desperate for me to tease you more."

"The longer you tease me, the longer you'll have to wait for your turn,"Travis joked and Oscar grinned cruelly and licked the tip.

"You present a fair point,"he said before taking all of Travis in his mouth to the back of his throat. Travis fought the moan, but he couldn't hold back the smallest whimper and he felt Oscar smile. This time, he didn't stop. He sucked and bobbed his head up and down for another few minutes before Travis finally reached his peak.

"Oscar," Travis said about to warn Oscar, but while the man was throat deep, Travis reached his released and shook from the strength of it. Oscar stayed put at first, but then started gently going up and down easing Travis down. Travis wasn't sure how he'd managed to not collapse from it after Oscar finally came up for air.

"Were you trying to warn me? How sweet,"Oscar teased and stood back up while stroking his own erection. "Now, I believe it's my turn."

"Just give me a moment to recover,"Travis said but still went down to his knees. He needed to anyway. He could barely stand.

"Don't take too long,"Oscar smiled and put his hand on Travis' head. He didn't force him forward but it was definitely an encouraging hand. Travis wondered, briefly, if Oscar wouldn't just force him were he to refuse. Not that he intended to. Oscar seemed the type not to take 'no' without argument.

When Travis finally felt enough in his right mind again, he did as promised and returned the favor. Just seeing Oscar's erection was enough to make Travis drool. Whether that was actually due to the connection they shared and his attraction to him or the fact that it had been years since he'd had sex, he had no clue. He took Oscar into his mouth and tried his best to copy exactly what he'd done to him. He felt a sense of satisfaction when Oscar groaned and leaned forward, his hand against the wall to keep himself upright, while Travis sucked him. Travis very tentatively and gently used his teeth to scrape the tip of Oscar's erection and sucked deep when Oscar shook almost violently from the feel of it. Travis sucked hard as he pulled his head upward before releasing Oscar but continuing to stroke him.

"You're certainly responsive,"Travis said in the same tone Oscar had used before. "I love a man that tells me he likes how I suck him."

"Oh, you think you're funny do you?" Oscar laughed.

"I'm just agreeing with you is all,"Travis said and then took Oscar in his mouth again. Travis kept it up until he felt Oscar shiver, getting closer to his release. He'd never done it before, but with Oscar he was willing to try. He kept his mouth on Oscar's erection, going up and down until he took him deep in the back of his throat and suddenly felt something warm. He'd been prepared, so he didn't start coughing, but it required effort as Oscar held Travis in place with an almost steel grip and an almost vicious groan of pleasure. When Oscar finally released his grip, Travis pulled his mouth away and gave Oscar one last lick before standing up. The two started to readjust their clothes.

"I needed that,"Oscar said blissfully.

"Me too,"Travis sighed. "I can't even remember the last time I had sex."

"I'm just happy for some great sex before I die,"Oscar said almost indifferently, but it caught Travis' attention.

"I already told you,"Travis said. "My cousin and I will look out for you. Just stay close to me, listen to Kevin if he orders you to dodge, and you'll be alright."

Oscar looked at Travis and the two stared at one another a moment. "You'd really go to all that trouble for me?" Travis nodded. "Why?"

"I have my reasons,"Travis said. "I'm not ready to tell them to you, but know that I do."

"Listen, kid,"Oscar said. "You were great but don't assume this is anything really meaningful. If we both live through the invasion, you bet there'll be another time to have sex. But that's what this is. Sex. No more, no less. Are we clear?"

"Fine,"Travis said. "I'll still look out for you, though." They looked at each other once again for a moment in a now deafening silence that never broke.

Oscar just left the utility room and Travis stood there in a state of anger and being dumbfounded all at once. Eventually, he left the utility room and returned to the bunks for bed. Several hours prior, Kevin and the others went into the woods, sneaking away long enough with the hopes they could catch the pack. They did. They could only talk for so long, but they told Jacob and the others they were invading the mainland soon and to tell Renesmee and Caevia and Natalie and everyone else that they loved them. They were, of course, notified of the news of Sara, but they at least had the knowledge of Renesmee's previous words of comfort. Nathan and Jae were the only one to stay behind and asked to see their sons and daughters and Natalie. He'd been lucky enough that Tamara had arrived the previous morning with Ivory. Jacob returned to the house to wake Renesmee so she could retrieve Ivory and then went up to Nathan's house to get Ada María, Ariel and Scarlet. Then he went to wake Natalie, JJ, Salem and Nesia.

Ada María stayed by the wayside while the children all spoke to their fathers through Jacob. Natalie stayed to the side initially, wanting for the children to get a chance to speak with their dad. It'd been so long since they'd gotten anything but letters and a present here and there. JJ had been excited at first about being named the man of the house and proud of Jae for being a hero, but it wasn't long before he missed his dad. While Salem and Nesia missed their father, JJ was the most affected. Eventually, Jae requested at least five minutes to be alone with Natalie, so she changed, Jae remained a wolf and everyone else either left or changed back, then left.

So you're landing into France tomorrow? Natalie whimpered.

Yeah, Jae said. But don't worry. I'll be alright, I swear it. If nothing else, Nathan will ensure nothing happens to me.

Do you still like the pictures I gave you?

I look at them every night, Jae admitted. I miss all of you so much.

Will this be over after this? Once you've invaded France, will it be over?

Not right away, Jae said reluctantly. I don't know how much longer the fight will be once we get into France, but I'm confident we'll have the battle won within the year. We've been assaulting the Germans with bombings and attaching from the south and the Soviets are depleting German resources from the East. There's no way they can last much longer. Jae could hear she'd hoped for a more definite answer, but she knew too well he just couldn't give her one. So rather, she took a deep breath and starting thinking of all their time together. She remembered when they were kids, when they'd fallen in love, the first time they'd made love, the day Jae proposed, their wedding, her pregnancies, the birth of each of their children and all the time they'd shared with their children.

You have a lot to come home to. All of you do.

I know, Jae answered with a loving smile. Don't worry, Natalie, we'll be home soon. And when I get back, you and I can make another baby.

Natalie laughed and even blushed a little. We'll see, she finally said, though the prospect was rather appealing at the moment.

I love you, Natalie, Jae said.

I love you too, Jae, Natalie said. Fight hard tomorrow, okay?

I will.

The two finally fazed back to normal and Jae returned to the bunks to get the sleep they all desperately needed. They were awoken bright at early before the sun and loaded on their boats. Equipment had been glided into the mainland discreetly by British and American gliders, so there were some ground forces on hand, but it was very little. The goal with the 'Flying Coffins' as they had been nicknamed and the British gliders was to get equipment onto the mainland. The rest would be shipped and the artificial harbor would finally be put to use. Planes dropped dummies into the unintended channels to throw off the Germans and make them think the Allies would land in Calais, but they were, instead, heading for the beaches of Normandy between Le Havre and Cherbourg. They were by no means unguarded, but they at least had the advantage of surprise and numbers.

Kevin and the others, Pvt. Barker included, were on the boat together in the wee hours of the morning heading for Omaha beach. It immediately became very, brutally real. There were medics on another boat and priests on another. Kevin and the others were in one of the many boats that would be the first wave. They were, consequently, bound to get the brunt. But Kevin was determined no matter those around him shivering in terror, kissing their crosses, throwing up from their huge meal the night before combined with the uncomfortable rocking of the boat. His heart was pounding in his ears and he felt terror. Yet it was still non-comparable to the terror of not finding Amber. He pushed his fear to his toes. He didn't have time for fear. He needed to fight. He wouldn't let himself feel fear. They got closer and closer to the beach and, as they got closer and they began to hear the firing of guns and bombs go off, Kevin kept his eyes forward but yelled at the men.

"They're going to shoot at us the moment we open these doors," Kevin said. "We need to duck immediately and try to get into the water first thing. If you stay under water, it'll protect you from the bullets until you get onto the beach. When you get in the water, you swim as hard as you fucking can and don't stop until you reach land. Then get to cover and gradually work your way up the beach." He didn't get an answer so he looked back at his men, his cousin, brother and childhood friends among that group. "When I give an order I expect an answer!"

"Yes sir!" everyone finally managed. He looked at Nathan and the two shared a look, a nod, and finally Kevin looked forward again and changed to a vampire. Nathan did the same.

"Be aware of my voice," Kevin said. "We're getting closer to the beach. Hold onto your equipment but if a man falls, take the bullets if you can. The medics will help the fallen. Everyone focus on claiming the beach."

"Yes sir!" the men answered.

As they approached, Kevin took a brief moment to hold the rosary he'd been given and Amber's Star of David. He doubted very seriously it would work. Regardless, he closed his eyes a brief moment and thought as hard as he could, "I'm coming, Amber." Afterwards, he opened his eyes and they very nearly hit the beach. He reiterated his orders to the men and one man began to open the doors. The instant the lock was released, Kevin screamed his first order.

"Into the water!" Kevin screamed at the top of his lungs and they all hit against the door and got into the water as fast as they could.

Their equipment was heavy. Really heavy. Some couldn't handle the weight and swim and some of the men were lost to drowning. Some men, despite Kevin's efforts, were shot before they could get off the boat. Other boats suffered s similar fate of being shot down the moment the doors of the boats unlatched. Kevin and the others swam as hard as they could for the beach and immediately ran for some form of cover. It was as Embry and Kevin warned it would be. Men dropped all around them be it from gunshots or blasts from a bomb. Men hit with bombs would fly into the air having lost a leg, an arm, both or more. Jae and Peta were shaken and sent into a state of panic, desperately running for cover, following after Kevin and Embry. They managed to get behind a large steel pipe on the beach.

"How are we supposed to get up there?!" Embry yelled to Kevin.

"Our only option is to outrun the bullets!" Kevin said. He looked around at the carnage already before him. Men dead or dying. Screaming in pain, crying for home. The medics couldn't get to the beaches soon enough. "A few of the men have fallen!" Kevin yelled. "While we're on the way up the beach, take some bullets and other equipment!"

When he received the nod from everyone, Kevin returned into the line of fire. He felt a bullet or two hit his chest and his leg, but his marble hard vampire's skin withstood it. He dared look back at the others and watched them follow. He ordered for Nathan to come up from with him so the two of them could take the brunt of the bullets hoping they wouldn't hit the others. The strategy worked and they managed by some miracle to reach the mounds up the beach where they immediately took cover. Of course, the problem was once they got there, they weren't sure what to do. Kevin took his gun and looked up trying to locate one of the Gatling guns. He needed to get rid of the one shooting it if they wanted hope of getting meaningful numbers of reinforcement.

"Stay down!" Kevin ordered before unwrapping his gun from the plastic protective covering and aiming for the holder of the Gatling gun. Kevin took a moment, aimed accordingly, and shot. He hit his target and at least a small portion of the beach received relief.

While they waited or tried to think what to do next, they saw the beach again, reinforcements, medics and priests coming onto the beach. Some were shot down, but with the now relieved Gatling gun, fewer men were shot down. But then Kevin heard the gun move and looked in that direction again. Another German had taken the gun and was about to shoot, so he aimed for the man's head and hit the mark again.

"Do we have explosives?!" Kevin screamed.

"Here!" Peta yelled and tossed something over to Kevin. Other men reached the fronts of the beach alongside them and long projectiles were obtained. Once set up, explosives were implemented and put a relief on the men.

The explosives were launched into the stronghold and they didn't stop until they had a clear path. Kevin ordered the men to move and, as they moved, Oscar went ahead of Travis. But then Travis saw a gunman that was aiming in their direction. When he saw it, he dived for Oscar and got them both out of the line of fire. Once reoriented, Oscar aimed his gun at the one that had shot at them and shot the man in the chest. Afterwards, Travis and Oscar followed after the group to another point of cover. Kevin told his group as well and the men from his boat that had survived the initial onslaught to stay back while he carefully looked around their cover. There was another Gatling gunman in the distance. So Kevin aimed and shot the gunman in the head.

The sounds of the explosives rang in all their ears as well as the heavy gunfire and screams of the wounded on both sides. Kevin grabbed one of their grenades and threw it at the Gatling gun post. It went off, causing the massive gun to fall from its perch and land on one of the Germans, or so Kevin thought he heard. Even in his state, there were too many noises surrounding him to be sure. Once they were able, they all flooded the stronghold shooting down any enemy soldiers they came across. At this point in the battle, they shot down anything that moved, threw grenades into the underground sections and proceeded to clear them out like putting smoke to an ant hill and making them swarm. Some surrendered and those that did, that hadn't been shot first, were reprimanded. Kevin noticed immediately that some of the men that surrendered didn't speak German. He wasn't positive what language it was, but it was Eastern European from what he could tell. Jae had shot one of them in panic, but the other lived after desperately pleading, presumably, to be spared. So they captured him among many others.

After hours of brutal fighting, they finally took the beach of Normandy in a resounding yet bitter sweet victory with numerous prisoners on hand that Kevin intended to question. But first they needed to do the hardest part of battle: sorting through the dead to collect their dog tags so families could be notified. Some men returned to the beach to perform the task alongside the medics that were still treating some men that could survive their injuries. When things calmed down, the first thing Kevin did was survey the group to see who survived. Peta, Jae, Travis and Oscar were banged up and covered in blood, but they were not seriously injured. Nathan was bloodied but not injured and so was Embry. Kevin knew he was bloodied, perhaps more than any of them. He could smell the blood on himself. When he received the desperately needed reassurance that everyone was safe, he changed back to normal as did Nathan.

"Jae," Kevin said. "Come help me question some of the prisoners. See if any of them might know where we can find Amber." Jae nodded and followed after Kevin to where the prisoners were being amassed. Embry released a sigh of relief for the day being over and the knowledge they were all okay. For now at least.

"We fought hard today," Embry said. "I'd say we've earned a fucking break for a bit."

"What's going to happen after this?" Peta asked.

"Don't know yet," Embry said. "We were told to take Normandy. We've done that. Once the higher ups know we were successful, they'll tell us what to do next. Just take this time to relax before we're thrown further into the lion's den."

Embry walked away to find a place to rest and Peta and Nathan followed behind. When Travis and Oscar were alone more or less, Travis looked at Oscar with a worried stare.

"You're not injured, right?" Travis asked.

"Don't worry yourself over me, pup. I'm just fine," Oscar said and was preparing to walk away.

"I saved your life today!" Travis barked. "Don't you think that warrants at least a word of appreciation from you?"

Oscar sighed and looked over his shoulder at Travis. "Thanks, kid. I live to die another day."

Travis felt his eye twitch in frustration as Oscar walked away. Indeed. Were the man not his imprint, Travis would despise the man like no other. He eventually followed the company muttering under his breath about Oscar being an ungrateful cunt and so on. Kevin and Jae proceeded further up the beach and finally found where the prisoners were being kept. Kevin made sure Travis had his copy of the picture of Amber and asked him to start his own line of questioning from one end while Kevin went from the other. However, his search produced little fruit. The best he got was one man that said he'd recognized her, but it was from years ago before the war when he was a boy. The others didn't recognize Amber by name or face. He got aggressive with a number of them, but the answer was always the same. Once he met back up with Jae, he looked at him desperately.

"Please tell me you found out something," Kevin pleaded.

"No one recognized her," Jae said. "I explained she's Jewish and they told me all the Jews were sent away to work."

"Where?"

"I got several answers," Jae said. "Most were either in Germany or Poland. I found one man that said he'd been stationed at one in Buchenwald but he didn't recognize Amber. He said it was a labor camp."

"And you're sure none of them were lying?"

"None of them recognized her," Jae repeated remorsefully. "But you were saying these images in your dreams held a lot of German soldiers and barb wire fences. So maybe Amber's at one of these camps. If we can find out where all these camps are, maybe we can check each one until we find her."

"What camps did they tell you about?"

"Auschwitz was one of the bigger ones I was told. That was is in Poland according to the man I spoke to. Buchenwald is one in Germany. The others I was told about in Germany were Ravensbruck and Sachsenhausen. Another one in Poland I was told about was Majdanek. And there was one in France called Natzweiler-Struthof. But I'm being told there are several more."

"Okay," Kevin finally said. "At least now we have an idea where to look. Whenever we can, we'll try to find out if there are any other camps and where they're located. The sooner we find which one Amber and her parents are being kept, the better."

"Agreed," Jae said.

It wasn't as much as Kevin had hoped for, but it was more information than he'd had before. He'd finally gotten into Europe and he would make good on his promise from the other day. He'd find Amber even if he had to burn all of Europe to the ground. He just hoped she would still be alive when he finally found her. Of course, if she didn't, he'd know right away and, in truth, he'd want nothing less than death for himself after that. Later in the night when he got a chance to get away, he changed to a wolf and told Jacob the good news that they'd successfully taken the beaches of Normandy and they'd made it into France. Now that they'd landed, they'd be able to look for Amber and continue the fight to end the war. A prospect that everyone was overjoyed with.