Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The Wastes ❯ Chapter Seventeen ( Chapter 17 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

"Reading," Maven said slowly. "It's been a while since I've been able to get my hands on a complete book."

"I spent a lot of years gathering together some of the books that were still together in the city. I wanted Angelia to be able to read something if she wanted to."

"I bet that cost a bit. The two books I have took me forever to get. Had to do a lot of favors for a lot of people."

"In the city, if you find it and no one is around to claim it, it's yours. Not many people around here care about books so the ones I've found usually were discarded."

"The guy that I got mine from was a researcher or something. He was trying to collect as many old world things as he could."

"He and I would have a lot in common. My house is full of old word things."

"I bet. He had something called a radio and a record player. They both had music coming out of them. Then there was a...co-...some sort of machine that had these cans of liquid inside."

Maverick smiled. "A soda machine. Before the war, they held drinks and if you gave it money, it gave you a drink. They also had the same type of machine but it held snacks like cookies or chips."

"Really? You just gave it money and you got a drink or food? Wow...that impressive."

"Yeah. And usually it was only about a dollar."

"Dollar? That's the one with the number one on it. Right?"

Maverick nodded.

Maven smiled. "How do you know so much about old world relics?"

Maverick smiled. "It's a hobby."

"Some hobby. If we get out of this alive... I would like very much to see the items you have."

"You are more than welcome to visit. All of you are.”

Sven smirked and shook his head. "You might want to reconsider that. I'm a terrible house guest," he joked.

"As long as you respect my house and the people in it, you are welcome to come anytime. Bring a present for Angelia."

Sven chuckled, but stopped himself when he realized what he was doing. He reached for a cigarette and cursed when he couldn't find one. "Yeah, yeah. I'll bring her some smokes."

"There is no smoking in my house or around Angelia. If you come in smelling like smoke, you strip. Smoke is bad for children."

"So let me get this straight. You don't want to see Lana naked, but you want me to strip? Are you certain you're straight?"

He smirked. "I'm only thinking about Angelia's lungs. I could care less what you look like under your clothes."

"And now you're imagining me without my clothes on. You perv...."

"Think what you want, Sven. Indulge your imagination all you want."

"Wait, I'm not imagining that!"

Lana and Evana busted into laughter.

"You're the perv! Not me! I mean, I'm a perv, but only about women!"

Maverick shrugged. "You seem to be very persistent on this topic. While I could care less about what you think of me, you seem to care a lot about my opinion in your sexuality."

Sven glared at him with a look that could freeze water. Turning his back to all of them, he just started walking while fantasizing about their deaths.

"That was hilarious. I love you right now, Maverick."

"Poor Sven. Such a ladies’ man, now he's hungry for cock," Sarah teased, earning her a small cut on her cheek where a bullet grazed her face.

Evana flexed her hand. "Watch yourself, cock lover!"

"I do not love cock!" He growled.

"You are pouting like a woman."

"....I am simply rectifying your gross error of judgment."

"Blah blah. Get your panties out of a wad and suck it up."

"I will pretend you didn't say that so that we can continue without losing another member of our team."

She only smirked at him, waving him off.

His eyes narrowed. "I hate you so much..."

"Good."

"Good? That's it? No witty retort? No questioning my sexuality?"

"It's a waste of time, really."

Sven was taken back. "Ow...my pride."

She shrugged.

"Okay you two. Play nice," Sarah smirked, running her hand down to Evana's ass to give it a small squeeze to distract her.

Evana smiled and pulled Sarah to her. Skyla and Maven walked in the back like always. Skyla glanced at Zenith on Maven's shoulder. She held out her hand for Maven's wondering if Zenith would try to attack her.

Zenith looked over at Skyla. Her feathers ruffled, but she jumped over and sat on Skyla's shoulder. Her large eyes were narrowed, but they weren't narrowed at Skyla, they were at Maven.

Skyla stiffened. "What..."

Maven looked over at her, noticing the way Zenith was acting. "What's up?"

Skyla looked at Maven. "She doesn't want you to go to the Xenomorph holocaust site..."

"Huh? Why?"

Skyla shook her head. "I don't know...but she is pressing the fact that if you go, nothing good will come of it..."

"She also said that nothing good would come from me knowing my past. Nothing good came from it, but nothing bad came either," he pointed out.

Skyla jumped and Zenith cawed. "What?!" She cawed again. "I'm really sorry, Maven...but I really don't want her to hurt me." She reached over and smacked him across the face. "Are...are you alright?"

The entire convoy stopped and looked back at them as they heard the slap. "Uh...what did we miss?"

Maven rubbed his face. "My bird is psycho...."

Skyla went to caress his cheek but Zenith snapped at her and she quickly pulled back. "Um...she said...if you go...you will be making a huge mistake." Skyla paled. "I'm sorry!" she yelled and slapped him again.

Sarah looked at the others. "I'm so confused right now...."

Maven rubbed his cheek and pointed at Zenith who flew off of Skyla's shoulder. "Zenith, calm down!"

"Skyla's got balls."

"Are you ok? I hope I didn't hit you too hard." She covered her eyes as Zenith cawed over and over. "She's really mad! She really doesn't want you to go!"

"She doesn't want him to go where?" Sven muttered, wanting the screeching to stop.

"To the Xenomorph thingy," he replied.

"Well too bad. We're going."

"Oh God! Duck!" Skyla screamed. She ran for Sven and tackled him just as Zenith was heading to claw his face. "Stop it! You'll get shot!" Skyla pleaded as she sat on top of Sven.

"Damn straight she'll get shot! I'll unload into that bitch. We'll have roasted bird for dinner," he said as he grabbed his revolver.

Skyla grabbed his wrist. "Don't!"

"Why not!? Clearly that bird has gone crazy!"

Maven reached out and pulled Zenith down from the sky. "Zenith, don't do this."

"Maven, if you can't control your pet I'll put her down."

Skyla pinned his hands on the dirt. "No! I won't allow it!"

"Get off me girlie. If that bird doesn't shut up we'll have every Raider, Merc, Mutant, and Skag on us within a hundred miles."

Skyla glared at Zenith. "Shut it or I'll tie your beak together!"

Zenith cawed once more.

"Zenith," Maven said softly. "Please...."

The bird looked at him, finally she seemed to settle down. Taking a deep breath, Skyla finally got off Sven. She reached down to offer him her hand.

As Sven got up, he dusted himself off. "Next mission, both of you are staying back at Xavier's. You can't fight. You can't protect yourselves. You clearly can't stay out of trouble. So I think it's for the best if you just stay out of our way."

Skyla pushed him back down in the dirt. "You are such a jerk."

"You may not like what I say sweet heart...but it's the truth," he growled. Looking at the others, he stood and fixed himself. "What do you guys say?"

"Maven saved us when the Raiders came that one time," Lana pointed out.

"Yeah, after he let them get close enough because he fell asleep."

"It was an innocent mistake."

"It was a mistake that could have cost us all."

"I hate to say it, but I agree with Sven. Eventually they will killed or get us killed."

"I agree with him as well," Sarah said softly. "War is no place for kids. I don't even think that Hailey should be here, but she's the only one of us that knows first aid."

"Boris?"

Boris looked at them and sighed. "No, I do not think that they should be here. Not because I don't want them here, but because I don't want them to waste their lives for this."

"But we were brought here together for a reason! Xavier wouldn't have called them if he didn't want them around!"

"Xavier has never been out in the field. He doesn't know what it's like to live with bullets flying over your head."

Skyla listened to them talk. What really has she done to help other than scream and become an extra mouth to feed? She wanted to help, but her help wasn't needed. She had made a mistake in coming. She should have stayed in her forest.

"It's settled. When we get through with this mission you're staying at camp," Sven muttered as he started walking again.

"I'll...be going home," Skyla said. "There is no reason for me to wait in a house and do nothing when I can do that in the forest."

"That's your choice."

She nodded. "If I find a ride before then, I'll take my leave."

"Sounds good to me."Maven was silent, but Zenith seemed happy. If they went back home they could return to their normal way of life. She was looking forward to it, but he wasn't.

It got quiet after that. Skyla stared at the sky waiting for a bird. She had hoped that one would fly by and she could send it to find a horse to take her home. The quicker she was gone, the better off. Of course, her heart felt heavy and sore. She wasn't going to complete the quest she started on and...she would never see Maven again.

The rest of the group was quiet, each absorbed by their thoughts. Due to their distractions, it was nearly nightfall by the time they reached the Xeno memorial. "We'll sleep here tonight. Get up early, cut through the memorial, and push on into D.C."

As everyone laid down for the night, Skyla went to explore. Finally, she found a bird perched on a rock. "Hello...I need your help," she said softly and held out her hand. The little bird hopped on her hand. She brought it close to her and started whispering small words to it. After a few moments, the bird flew off, carrying her message. Zenith was on edge being so close to the site. She flew around aimlessly before landing on Skyla's shoulder. Skyla looked at her with a sigh. "So you finally get what you want. Maven is all yours," she said and sat down on the rock. Reaching in her bag, she handed Zenith a cookie. Zenith leaned down and took the cookie happily. After she'd eaten it, she nuzzled Skyla and began to preen her hair. "I think...I have a broken heart..." she said softly. "By morning, I'll be on my way home and yet I feel so empty."

Zenith looked up at her curiously. Finally she softly pecked at Skyla's nose.

The others were laying down as Maven began to stroll around toward the memorial site. Maverick was on guard for now. He was thankful for that. If it had been Sven he would have been tormented relentlessly. His hand brushed against a stone slab, one of many which held the names of victims. Why didn't Zenith want him to come here? Because he was a Xenomorph?

Skyla shooed Zenith away. "Go away already. Haven't you tormented me enough?"

Zenith shook her head and cawed innocently.

Maven's fingers danced across the names. Slowly he pushed past the crumbled barrier and started to walk through the memorial as if he was drawn to it.

Skyla smiled and pulled Zenith to her. "For what it's worth...I will miss you."

Zenith nuzzled her, cawing softly.

His eyes traveled over the holo images which flickered slowly. Their circuits were heavily damaged, but a few still remained. Most of which were news reports about the atrocity. He watched as several black suited soldiers unleashed their powers on the civilians and the military.

"Alright. Go find Maven. You should watch him closely for now on. You don't want any other girl taking his heart do you?" she joked. Kissing Zenith on the head, she picked up her bag. Off in the distance she could hear a horse running hard to meet her. "Goodbye, Zenith."

Maven's nose was just inches from the holoscreen as he saw the Xenomorphs slowly getting taken down. One had powers similar to him, though they were far superior to anything that he could do. Bodies went flying out of his way, weapons floated around him from fallen corpses, firing as if ghosts controlled them. Soldiers and civilians ran and were slaughtered. The holovid flickered and faded as a girl ran across the screen.

Maven's eyes narrowed as he saw the girl. He held his head, a throbbing pain echoing through it. Before he realized what was happening, he was on the ground screaming, the building around him shaking as objects crushed and went flying all about.

Skyla dropped her bag. "Maven!" she cried out. Running she ran pass the camp site as everyone was getting up and heading the same way. She ran pass object and trying to dodge them. "Maven!" she cried for him. She ducked as a rock headed for her head. Finally she could see him. A rock hit her in the back, throwing her forward. She cried out and slid to the ground. Blood dripped from her mouth as she tried to get to her feet. Biting back pain, she grabbed Maven and hugged him to her, cradling his head.

Maven looked at her, but not with his eyes. No, the eyes he looked at her with were black as night, and his screams echoed in the memorial hall.

"What the fuck!" Sven ducked beneath flying rubble as he glared down at Maven. "Get him to shut the hell up or we're all dead!"

Skyla cupped Maven's face. Tears streaked down her face. What could she do? Scanning him over, she pressed her lips to his.

Maven's screams were stopped only because his lips were covered. Slowly his breathing slowed and his body relaxed. His eyes closed, and to him the world went black."What the hell just happened?"

Skyla held him close. "I don't know...I don't know..."

Zenith was making a ruckus outside, trying to get in to Maven. "Boris, get him back to camp," Sven muttered. "I'll stay up with Maverick to make certain no one heard him."

Boris nodded and tried to get Maven from Skyla so he could carry him.

Skyla slowly let him go. She watched as Boris picked him up and carried him off. Standing she held out her hand for Zenith. "Please...take care of him..." she whispered. She let Zenith fly off after Boris and Maven then she slowly started back to her bag and the horse.

"Where are you going?" Sven asked.

"Home."

Sven looked back at Maven's unconscious body and then at her. "So you're really going to leave with him like that?"

"It's not like I can do anything for you. You said so yourself, I'm of no use. My presence won't be missed," she said softly.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Okay. Here's the deal. Stay for this mission then you can go home. I don't want to have to deal with Maven if he goes all psycho."

"No one 'deals' with him. He can't help the way he is. Me being around isn't going to change that."

"No, but you're the only one out of us that actually likes him."

"Everyone likes him, just not all of you want him around."

"Same thing in my book. Look, I'm asking you to stay just a while longer. You don't want to I'm certainly not going to cry about it."

"You told me this morning you didn't want me around and now you are saying you do?" She shook her head. "You are very confusing. Why should I stay?"

Sven stiffened and glared at her. "The reason I'm about to tell you stays between us. You tell another soul and I'll put a bullet in your head. Got it?"

"We both know you wouldn't do that, but I'll play your game."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Listen, for some reason you like bird boy. You leave now without saying goodbye and you know you're going to regret it. Just think about that before you leave."

She turned from him and started walking back to her bag.

"You'll also want to know if he's alright," Sven said, lighting up a cigarette and going back to camp.