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Turn Wounds into Wisdom 11b/?
Date: 2014-10-02 06:37 am (UTC)x-x-x-x-x-x
Tara was clinging to a tiny straw of hope, of being able to make it away from here, and didn’t even waste time upon wondering if or how or if she would survive the journey back in her state and with her whole body one painful sore. But with the presence of that tiny straw , her survival instincts had kicked in again too, and when she heard a scratching sound from behind her she spun around to see the bottom of the back tent wall being lifted a bit. She crawled over to the back of the tent as silently as she could and peeked through the gap.
“Quick”, Vincent whispered to her and shoved a large bundle into the tent. “Put this on, and be silent. Hurry.”
Tara recognised the bundle as a set of Legion armour, recruit armour, to be precise, and with trembling hands she took it and undressed, staying close to the back wall, the darkest corner of the tent. The hard and rough leather chafed on the bruises where her skin was still tender, the boots were a little too large, and with her unsteady fingers and her shoulders still stiff with lingering pain she couldn’t properly fasten all the buckles. But with her head spinning and a strange feeling of detachment she crawled out under the gap as Vincent lifted the tent wall for her.
As she got up Vincent looked her over and adjusted the buckles and the belt.
“Where did you get that?”, Tara asked in a whisper.
“Discipline in this camp is a mess.” Vincent picked up a bag and slung it on, then strapped a gun onto his back. “And now be silent. Not one word, no matter what I say to you, both our lives depend on it.”
Tara took the spear Vincent held out to her and, after a deep, heaving breath, forced herself to walk in a forceful stride, Vincent walking at her back. Her legs and shoulders hurt, the inside of her thighs were chafed and burned with every step and her heart was beating so hard as if it was trying to jump out of her throat. She was walking right through the Legion camp, right under everyone’s nose, and Vincent, of all people, was walking right behind her.
“Keep yourself upright, recruit”, he suddenly snapped in a voice cracking with authority, and added something in Latin, his voice harsh and cruel. Tara had never heard him talk like that and sprang to attention, her belly clenching in fear as they passed a few legionaries who sat dicing around a fire. “You have ignored your duties long enough.”
The young recruits around the fire snickered, but instantly looked away and wiped the grins off their faces when Vincent snapped his head around to stare them down. It seemed to work despite the closed helmet. “Careful”, he said. “Or you will be next.”
None of them said another word, and Tara stumbled a step forward as Vincent roughly gave her a push between the shoulder blades.
“We haven’t got all night”, he snapped.
They reached the gates, and the two guards leaning against the wall gave them an inquisitive, but more or less bored look. Remembering Caesar’s fort on Fortification Hill, Tara began to understand what Vincent had said about discipline in the camp.
“Out for a lesson?”, one of the guards asked, an unmistakable trace of schadenfreude in his voice.
“Everyone has to learn to stay alert when on duty”, Vincent replied in the same voice he had used on the recruits and the two guards suddenly stood to attention.
Turn Wounds into Wisdom 11c/?
Date: 2014-10-02 06:39 am (UTC)“Cogi qui potest nescit mori.”
“Very well. You can pass.”
“We won’t be back before daybreak”, Vincent said, and to Tara, he went on: “And now get moving. If you stop running before I tell you to you will carry your bowels around your neck on the way back.”
Tara nodded and set off in a jog, the pain jolting through her body with every step. But somehow, with focussing on what she was leaving behind and not on where she was about to go, she managed to summon the strength to continue jogging down the rise towards the I 93 that would lead them back to Hoover Dam. She could hear Vincent behind her but didn’t turn around, just jogged down the path, past some old houses and farms, keeping to the road. Here, Vincent caught up with her.
“Vincent”, Tara wheezed.
“Keep running.” He seemed no more out of breath as if he had walked the whole distance from the fort at a leisurely pace. “Save your breath.”
Tara gritted her teeth and continued, but eventually she had to succumb to exhaustion. Lack of food, water and sleep caught up with her, together with the pain from being raped, beaten and tortured. She stumbled with every other step, and suddenly would have lost her balance completely if Vincent hadn’t caught her elbow.
“Forgive me”, he said, his voice gentler now. “But do not stop. Walk, and keep breathing slowly.” He didn’t let go of her arm and Tara followed his advice, even though her vision began to swim. Her breathing began to calm down, and despite her trembling legs, walking became easier as the stitch from running began to subside.
“I guess I don’t have to tell you that we need to be well away with daybreak when they will discover you gone”, Vincent said after a while.
Tara mutely shook her head.
“Keep walking. But at one point, we’ll have to run again. We need to reach Golden Valley before daybreak, the sand will cover our tracks.”
“Golden Valley?”
Vincent pointed west. “We can cross the Colorado at Laughlin and follow the river up north to Boulder City.”
“Aren’t we going up Highway 93?”
Vincent shook his head, still staring west. “I gather that is too obvious, as it is the fastest route to Vegas. Going west through Golden Valley is more dangerous, but they could catch up with us too easily on the highway.”
Tara nodded and followed his gaze. “I heard Golden Valley was a deathclaw breeding ground.”
“I know.” Vincent shrugged his pack into place. “I made it through on the way down here, however. Once we reach the Valley floor we’ll find a spot to hide and continue travelling at night.”
With a sigh, Tara hefted the spear, but Vincent, upon seeing this, took it from her hand and shoved it into a holster on her back.
“Can you walk again?”
“I will have to, won’t I?”
“Yes”, was the simple reply, and with another sigh, Tara followed Vincent who set a brisk pace.
As Tara looked back at one point and realised that behind her, on the eastern horizon, the first grey line of dawn was showing, she shuddered, imagining a flood of crimson pour down the hills. She hastily turned around again.
“Vince?”
“Yes?”
“How... how on earth did you find me?”
Vincent shrugged his pack into place again without breaking his pace. “We found Cobra.”
Something in his voice told Tara that her flimsy hopes for him had been in vain. “He’s dead.”
“Yes. I am sorry.”
Tara fruitlessly fought her tears and sighed. “I had somehow hoped someone would find him in time.”
“He died way too fast for that. The spear pierced his breastbone and went right into lung and heart. He died within moments. No one could have saved him.”
Since she didn’t know what to reply, Tara kept focussing on setting one foot in front of the other. She could only hope he would remain the only one to die for her foolishness. Tears forced their way out of her eyes again and even though she tried to stop them she couldn’t quite suppress a sob.
Turn Wounds into Wisdom 11d/?
Date: 2014-10-02 06:40 am (UTC)“I know.” Tara was kind of glad for the helmet that hid her eyes and face. “Home... I had already given up hopes of...”She shook her head, suppressing another sob.
She felt his hand rest on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Hold on”, he said simply. “I know from what you have gone through before that you can do it.”
Tara swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “It hurts so much.”
“I know.”
Then he gave her a gentle pat between the shoulder blades and set off, and Tara limped on after him for a few steps before her muscles would obey her. They made their way onward in a trot, past empty skeletons of houses and rusting corpses of cars, and when their shadows appeared before them as long, dark streaks in the sand they had reached the valley floor. The wind carried endless amounts of fine, grainy sand that it kept showering them with. Going got harder in the soft, ever-shifting sands.
But after another hour they had reached an outcrop of rocks, and between them, Tara realised, a small cave of sorts, just big enough for the two of them squeeze in. She let her head drop back against the rock and was overcome by exhaustion before Vincent even had had a chance to offer her water.
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Re: Turn Wounds into Wisdom 11d/?
Date: 2014-10-02 07:14 pm (UTC)