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One - A Change in Routine
"Hey? Can you pass me that?"
I blinked, looking up at the familiar figure as the feminine voiced reached my ears. It wasn't for another few more seconds until I processed what she had said. Looking down at the lighter clutched within my grasp I nodded and tossed it to the dark-haired woman before toying with something in my pocket instead.
She rose a brow and smirked at my obvious discomfort before producing a cigarette and lighting the end of it as she held the other end between her teeth. The flame ignited and she took a whiff before blowing some smoke in the direction away from me (which I was grateful for; I wasn't a smoker) before tossing me the lighter again. I caught it, only fumbling with it slightly before pocketing it and just returning both hands to the rifle slung over my shoulder and poised at my chest.
"So?" she said, brow still lofted. "What's on your mind?"
I hesitated, eyes casting out on the city of Solstice before I shrugged nonchalantly, eyes still not meeting hers. "Nothing," I lied quite obviously, watching as a civilian crossed the street rather quickly, my suspicions aroused slightly. Solstice was known for its Insurrectionist activity. In fact, that's why Madison (the woman I'd been talking with) and I had our exciting, everyday job of patrolling the city's perimeters and reporting anything out of the ordinary.
She nudged me. "You're such an easy liar," she scolded with a chuckle, looking toward me expectantly, assuming I'd join her. I didn't. Madison frowned and sighed, voice a little more serious and a lot more softer than usual. "Seriously," she prodded as we turned a street corner, a family of four smiling politely as we made our way past them, the children staring.
Of course I could only return the smile before facing Madison finally and shrugging again. "Take a guess," I said gruffly, not wanting to approach the situation.
A few moments of silence passed and I listened to the sounds of the city--voices, birds, cars, anything to distract myself. Finally, Madison disrupted the quiet and nodded absently. "The Covenant, huh?" she asked, voice almost a whisper. It was best not to alert the public or instigate any ideas that Tribute may be in danger from the alien foes.
I nodded. To be honest, I wasn't sure how everyone did it. Lived like they did. The truth of the Covenant threat wasn't commonly known amongst the civilian populace. They were led to believe that the United Nations Space Command had it under control. Which they didn't. Though they'd never said that openly, the proof was written all over their faces. Expressions of fear and worry labeled them as liars. Humanity was more than likely going to become extinct within the decade.
"You read me like a book," I finally replied, stopping to let a man and a woman exit a building and be off on their way. They nodded their thanks and I nodded my head in return before continuing my patrol route with Madison once more.
She scoffed playfully, nudging me again in a futile attempt to lighten the mood. "You're not that hard to read," she claimed, taking another whiff of her cigarette before blowing it in an opposite direction again. It didn't work, but I smiled anyways, half-appreciating the effort.
The patrol progressed as it often did, making our usual rounds, sharing the occasional joke or innuendo, stopping the usual civilian for suspicious behavior before sending him off on his way. However, something about that day did make it interesting.
Something about that day changed my life forever.
Madison and I were quiet as we passed a hospital ward, the tall building stretching up for nearly thirty stories, I figured. "Hold up," Madison spoke, signaling for me to stop.
I turned to her, raising a brow expectantly. "What is it?"
She patted herself down, frowning. "I think I'm out of smokes," she said quietly, as if embarrassed.
I stared at her unbelievably before rolling my eyes and glancing around. Looking further down the narrowed, busy street I spotted the convenient store we'd stopped by more than once on our regular patrol before nodding in its direction. "Wanna go ahead and grab a pack?" I offered, smiling weakly. "I'll wait."
She returned the smile and winked before walking briskly in that direction. "I'll right back, Paul--don't you move an inch!" I chuckled and gave her a small wave, though she couldn't see it, her back having been facing me. Standing in front of the hospital, I glanced about in bored habit, noting a man wrapped in a brown long-coat heading in my direction. He smiled politely and nodded, even offering a nice, "How are you doing, officer?" before making his way by. A common mistake--I wasn't an officer, I was a marine, but the same context applied, I supposed.
I smiled back and hesitated before answering him. "Fine. You have a good day," I replied politely.
He chuckled at the small talk and continued on inside. "Oh, I will," he assured, turning to face me, his tone growing slightly more serious. "I most definitely will." And then he was off, inside of the hospital.
I furrowed my brow in confusion at the odd response but shrugged it off, figuring it to be nothing. As the minutes rolled by I sighed and wiped a hand over my face, looking toward that damned convenient store. What was taking her so long? We had to be off and finish our patrol, and we weren't supposed to stay separated for too long, else we'd be breaking direct orders. My thoughts were cut off by an approaching family of two, consisting of a mother in her mid to late twenties, I figured, holding a little girl no more than probably four years old within her arms.
She smiled as she approached and pointed in my direction, looking toward whom I presumed to be her daughter. "See that man, Emily? He's a soldier, just like your father used to be," she whispered to the child, who smiled shyly and placed a finger into her mouth as she giggled at me. For whatever reason, the child's face stuck in my head. Blonde, blue eyes, slightly chubby, pigtails, freckles, a gap between her small teeth. Something so innocent, yet in so much danger.
I had learned that the positive thing about patrolling Solstice's streets was that the civilians were truly thankful. And it felt good to know that I was contributing to that. I smiled in both of their directions, like I had done so many times to unfamiliar faces almost everyday. Without so much as a word, the mother and daughter both made their way inside the hospital, their apparent grins holding on their faces the entire way. Again, my attention was returned to the convenient store. Still no Madison.
I had been about to radio her in over the COM. But then it happened. The convenient store further down the street suddenly exploded into an orange blossom of flames and my heart skipped a beat. Before I could cry, a loud ringing erupted from behind me, an unknown force and an unbearable heat causing me to fly a couple of meters forward. Debris and shrapnel tore through my body-armor and into my back, forcing me to cry in pain as I landed sharply on my side, hitting my head hard on the stone sidewalk.
And, with the taste of copper in my mouth--darkness.
[Edited on 10.04.2010 4:54 PM PDT]