Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The Wastes ❯ Chapter Eighteen ( Chapter 18 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: destiny dreamer 
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Supernatural / Sci-fi / Hentai / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.28.2010 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 129 | Status: Completed
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Supernatural / Sci-fi / Hentai / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.28.2010 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 129 | Status: Completed
When she got to her bag, the horse was waiting. Skyla petted it as it ushered her on. "Thank you...for coming all this way for me."
Sven sat down at the camp, watching as Maven tossed and turned. Randomly objects would go flying as he twitched. "It's going to be a long night," he muttered.
Slowly Skyla walked up to Maven. Sitting on her knees, she pulled his head in her lap and stroked his head.
Sven smirked as he saw her come back and the horse running off in the distance. Grabbing his gun, he nodded to crumbling building to the east of them. "I'll be up there keeping watch. Radio me if you guys need anything."
Skyla said nothing. Everyone laid back in their sleeping bags while she watched over Maven. Quickly she wiped her eyes before tears could fall down. Why couldn't she go? She could have easily just rode back home and gone back to the way things were. But as she looked down at Maven, she knew why it wasn't so easy. Her fingers lightly brushed his lips. "Once you've tasted something so perfect...nothing else will do."
Zenith perched onto her shoulder and stared down at Maven. She chirped sadly and shook her head.
"This is what you were scared of...what aren't you telling me, Zenith? And why can't I see it in your past?"
Zenith looked at her and shook her head, her feathers ruffling. She hopped down and landed on Maven's chest, laying in the bundles of his shirt.
"Keep your secrets. But know that I can't help if I don't know anything."
She seemed to nod as she laid her head down, as if she was a dog protecting her master.
Eventually Skyla nodded off sitting with Maven's head in her lap. Her mind was plagued with Maven's past. She subconsciously ran over it again and again trying to find something she missed. Then, while in deep sleep, she saw him standing watching the holoscreen. A girl ran across the screen and Skyla's eyes shot open. "Farrah."
Zenith looked at her and shook her head, her feathers ruffling. She hopped down and landed on Maven's chest, laying in the bundles of his shirt.
"Keep your secrets. But know that I can't help if I don't know anything."
She seemed to nod as she laid her head down, as if she was a dog protecting her master.
Eventually Skyla nodded off sitting with Maven's head in her lap. Her mind was plagued with Maven's past. She subconsciously ran over it again and again trying to find something she missed. Then, while in deep sleep, she saw him standing watching the holoscreen. A girl ran across the screen and Skyla's eyes shot open. "Farrah."
Maven jerked up as she moved. His eyes shot open. "What?" He was obviously disoriented as he looked around. "What's going?"
"Shhh," Skyla said and stroked his cheek. "Go back to sleep," she whispered. She looked off in the horizon at the ruins. It was defiantly Farrah's face she saw on the screen. But...why?"
He groaned and rubbed his throat. "I feel like I swallowed sand," he muttered softly.
"You've had a bad night. And you need your rest."
He nodded and nuzzled her lap. "I had nightmares," he whispered as he started to fall back asleep.
"Yeah...me too," she whispered. After he was asleep, she walked back to that same holoscreen. She stood there watching it until the girl ran across the screen. Her hands went to it and it paused right on the girls face. Her heart raced and her eyes felt like they were being tricked. "Farrah..."
"You shouldn't go wandering off by yourself," Borris said as he poked his head in the door.
Skyla jumped. Her hand went over her heart. "Oh...yes, I'm sorry..."
"It's alright. What are you looking at in here?" He smiled, even as he was forced to hunker down to get inside past the rubble.
Skyla turned to the screen. "A part of Maven..." she said softly.
He looked at her curiously. "What do you mean by that?"
She pointed to the girl. "Farrah...his love. I'm thinking it's why he acted out like he did."
"Farrah?" He looked at the screen and mused softly to himself. "That was tragic what happened. It was what...six years ago when that massacre took place. So many lives lost...."
"I wouldn't know...Living in a forest shelters you," she said.
"The reports were that a Xenomorph battle group went through D.C. murdering everyone. This city was a ghost town when they finished. Seven hundred dead in all, but that's a combination of military personnel to. A lot of people blamed the military for creating them and unleashing them like wild dogs."
She looked at the screen. Farrah seemed to be one of those that were killing...but why? And why wasn't this in Maven's memory? Wouldn't he know that she was part of it? They were to be married and grew up together...how could he not know? They were never apart.
"Morning will come quickly. You might want to rest while you have the chance."
She only nodded though she doubted she would get any sleep. Grabbing a rock, she destroyed the holoscreen, not wanting Maven to come back to it and have another episode. If that really happened six years ago, then Maven would have been sixteen. But that year was the best of his life. It was the year he promised to marry Farrah. They spent most of the year traveling around and making future plans. She could see nearly every day of that year in her head and none of it involved Farrah missing and being at a massacre.
When the morning came, Sven came down from his perch and nudged Boris with his foot. "Wake up Hailey," he said with a yawn. "I need a favor."
Skyla hadn't moved from the holoscreen for the rest of the night even after she had destroyed it. She sat there trying to put the pieces together but nothing seemed to fit. It just all seemed impossible.
Boris nodded and judged Hailey gently. "Hailey doll. Sven needs to talk to you."
Hailey yawned and sat up. Her eyes didn't open. "What?" she whined.
"I've gone two nights without sleep. Do you have an adrenaline shot in that bag of yours?"
Her eyes opened. "Sleep is good for the body. You should sleep," she said but even so she reached for her bag. After a lot of digging, she filled a needle and stabbed him in the leg.
He hissed as she did it quickly. "You could have warned me," he muttered sourly. He shuddered as the drug began to take effect. "But thanks..."
She yawned and nodded then fell back into the sleeping bag.
"I don't get it. When we're at Xavier's she's always running and playing. When we actually need her to move she's lethargic..."
Boris just smiled and got up to let her sleep. "That's just how little girls are."
"They are use to nap times and sleeping from sun down to sun up, not before or after," Maverick said as he yawned and packed his things. He looked around. "Did...Skyla leave?"
Lana looked up from her bag. "What? Without saying goodbye?"
"No. She's probably still in the memorial hall," Boris informed them. "That was where I left her last night."
"All night? Why?"
"I don't know. She said it had something to do with Maven. Maybe you can get more out of her."
Lana gathered her things and put her bag on her back. She walked down to the memorial and sat next to Skyla. She followed Skyla's eyes to the broken holoscreen. "Skyla?" She didn't move. Lana reached out and touched her shoulder. Skyla swayed then snapped her head to Lana. She blinked her eyes a few times and Lana looked her over. "Where you...just sleeping with your eyes open?"
"Was I?"
"Okay. Today is the fun day," Sven muttered as he checked his guns. "Knife boy, you okay taking point with me? It will be better if we scout ahead then move the entire team at once."
Maverick nodded.
"Sarah and Evana can lead the group in behind us."
Evana nodded as she helped Sarah get her bag on. Lana looked Skyla in the eyes. "Are you sure that's safe?"
"No...I've never done it before, but something doesn't add up," she said. "His past isn't...right..."
"But how do you know you can dive in his head?"
Skyla shrugged. "I don't know. I figured I would just ask him to let me see if I could help pull his memories out. Then I'll just do what I did with you, get close and try to find out if there is a wall he's put up in his head to block certain memories..."
"Hey, girls it's time to go. Skyla, wake your boyfriend up. He's still out like a light," Sven called out.
"You think we should stay behind? We are like dead weight anyways..."
"No. I don't want to come back and stumble upon your corpses."
She nodded. Standing she walked back to the camp and lightly shook Maven. "It's time to go."
Maven stirred at her touch. "What...it's...morning already?"
She nodded down at him. "Come on, the other are packed. You have to hurry." He nodded and stood slowly. His body felt heavier than he remembered it. He put away his stuff and quickly got ready to leave. Skyla took his hand as they started to walk. Looking up at Zenith, she stopped and let the others go ahead. "Maven...I want to try and pull your memories out."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I want to see if I can reach in your head, and help you remember. I don't know how far my powers can go, but I want to try."
"Uh...okay?" He didn't understand what the point of this was, but he was more than willing to let her try.
Of course she knew that she couldn't help drag his memories out, but if she told him that she thought he had a false past, he wouldn't understand or believe her. She needed to try and see if she could figure out why she couldn't see his real past and what was keeping her from it. As the others walked ahead, she faced him. She pulled his arms around her. "I...think we should try to get as close as possible," she whispered and pressed her lips to his.
That wasn't what he was expecting. He looked at the others who were unaware of what was going on. Closing his eyes, he held her against him so that she could work her voodoo magic to try and give him his memories back. Skyla moved her hands to the side of his head. She pushed her mind into his, seeing his childhood so perfectly. She could see him laughing and playing with Farrah. She could see his love for Farrah and watch it grow. But as she reached his teen years, the past became harder to see. She press and pushed, as if trying to break a barrier that she knew was there. Her lips deepened the kiss. Her mind pressed on. Just when she thought she was getting ahead, her eyes snapped open and she flew back from Maven. It was as if an invisible force had thrown her back. Her body flew in the air and landed on the ground as she screamed and slid.
The group stopped again, Sven looked back, wondering if he'd made a mistake. "What the hell just happened now?"
Maven hurried to her side. "Are you alright? What happened?"
Skyla held her arm then turned from him and coughed up blood. Lana was at her side and Evana was over her in seconds. "What did you do to her?" she asked. "Hold on, Skyla. This is going to hurt." She grabbed Skyla's shoulder and pushed at it. Skyla cried out as her shoulder was popped back into place.
"I didn't do anything! She tried to help with my memories and then she just flew back!"
"Skyla...I told you not to do it..." Lana said.
"Can you walk?"
Skyla took a deep breath. "I'm ok...just really sore. Just...go on...Maven and I will catch up."
Evana looked at Maven then at Skyla. "If he's hurting-"
"It's not like that. It was my fault. Please, I need to speak with him." Evana and Lana looked at each other then slowly walked off. Skyla sat up while holding her arm and ribs. "I'm sorry, Maven...I wasn't completely honest with you."
"What do you mean?" His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. He didn't like what Evana had insinuated, but that was for another time.
She took a deep breath and watched his eyes as he sat there and listened to the real reason why she wanted to reach into his head and her reasoning behind wanting to do it.
"You what!?" He shook his head, unable to believe it. "I don't even know what you're talking about. You're the one who told me my past!"
"Yes, but that was before I saw Farrah standing in this very site! And if she was here, Maven...you were not far."
"I don't understand. Are you saying that girl on the holo tape was Farrah?" She nodded. "That's impossible. You saw my life. She wasn't anywhere near here. I've never even been to D.C. before. It must have just been someone who looks like her."
"Maven, I'm not mistaken," she said with narrow eyes. "It was her!"
"She couldn't have been there. End of story."
"Are you calling me a liar?"
"No. I just.... I don't know. It doesn't make sense."
"Maven...when I was exploring your memories...something pushed me out. Literally. Something forced me from seeing the truth...you are not who I thought you were before. All of it could be a big lie."
He shook his head. "Does it really matter? I've already come to terms with the fact that I probably won't regain my memories. So what does it matter?"
"It matters if you helped kill hundreds of people!"
"What? You think...that I was part of the massacre?"
"If she was there...I just know...you couldn't have been far...not with the way you two felt for each other. If she jumped, you jumped."
"I couldn't kill anyone! You know that!"
She cupped his face. "Maven..." She sighed. Her forehead pressed to him. "You are right. It doesn't matter. We won't bring it up again."
He nodded slowly, his heart beat racing. He couldn't believe what she had accused him of. It’s preposterous! Still...his heart hurt to think of the way she looked at him when she said that. Apart of Skyla hoped her curiosity would never get the better of her and plague her thoughts and that same part of her hoped that he would never get his memories back. If he remembered Farrah, he would remember his love and if he did that....Skyla would be nothing.
"Let's catch up with the others," he said softly.
She nodded. Slowly, she started to stand while she winced.
"What all hurts?"
"My ribs and my shoulder. I feel like I fell out of a tree."
"Hailey should have a look at you."
"I've had worst happen. I'm ok," she said. Taking his hand she smiled and kissed it.
He looked down at his hand and nodded. "Okay. If you say so."
The others seemed to be walking slow because they caught up with them in a shorter time than Skyla thought they would. Lana and Evana looked back at them and Lana smiled while Evana huffed.
It wasn't long before they were going through the memorial. Maven looked around, trying to find anything like last night, but all the other reports and videos were destroyed or useless. He sighed and looked at the list of names where all the dead were listed. There was no way he could be a part of that. Skyla gave his hand a soft squeeze when she felt him tense. She moved his arm around him and hugged herself to him to get his mind off things.
"I wish I had been there during this," Sarah said as she stopped at a picture. "Damn Shephard probably knew that this was going to happen.... A lot of good people died because of the military's lust for power."
"What's done is done."
"I know, but that doesn't make it right. I was still too young to realize what was going on. I lost my eye to a damn Xeno that went bezerk during training. Sheperd just laughed it off as his pet project. God I hate that man."
"Sounds like a bastard."
"He is. I'm going to enjoy putting a bullet in his head when I find him."
"Can't wait to see that."
"Violence makes you hot, huh?" She smirked.
"Hell yes."
"Kinky. I like it."
"Of course you do."
"Okay ladies. Before this turns into a hot porno let's get out of here. Bird boy isn't looking so hot," Sven said as he continued to push through.
Skyla opened her mouth to say something, but she decided against it and closed her mouth.
"Yes. I'd rather like some space to breath," Boris chuckled as he pushed past the rubble with his massive frame. They continued past halls of memorials, finding skeletons of long forgotten drunks and Raiders piled along hallways. Each new picture or news source made Maven's stomach churn. He held his head, feeling as if someone was pounding on it with a mallet.
"All these people..." Skyla said softly. "I've never seen so much death..."
Sven sat down at the camp, watching as Maven tossed and turned. Randomly objects would go flying as he twitched. "It's going to be a long night," he muttered.
Slowly Skyla walked up to Maven. Sitting on her knees, she pulled his head in her lap and stroked his head.
Sven smirked as he saw her come back and the horse running off in the distance. Grabbing his gun, he nodded to crumbling building to the east of them. "I'll be up there keeping watch. Radio me if you guys need anything."
Skyla said nothing. Everyone laid back in their sleeping bags while she watched over Maven. Quickly she wiped her eyes before tears could fall down. Why couldn't she go? She could have easily just rode back home and gone back to the way things were. But as she looked down at Maven, she knew why it wasn't so easy. Her fingers lightly brushed his lips. "Once you've tasted something so perfect...nothing else will do."
Zenith perched onto her shoulder and stared down at Maven. She chirped sadly and shook her head.
"This is what you were scared of...what aren't you telling me, Zenith? And why can't I see it in your past?"
Zenith looked at her and shook her head, her feathers ruffling. She hopped down and landed on Maven's chest, laying in the bundles of his shirt.
"Keep your secrets. But know that I can't help if I don't know anything."
She seemed to nod as she laid her head down, as if she was a dog protecting her master.
Eventually Skyla nodded off sitting with Maven's head in her lap. Her mind was plagued with Maven's past. She subconsciously ran over it again and again trying to find something she missed. Then, while in deep sleep, she saw him standing watching the holoscreen. A girl ran across the screen and Skyla's eyes shot open. "Farrah."
Zenith looked at her and shook her head, her feathers ruffling. She hopped down and landed on Maven's chest, laying in the bundles of his shirt.
"Keep your secrets. But know that I can't help if I don't know anything."
She seemed to nod as she laid her head down, as if she was a dog protecting her master.
Eventually Skyla nodded off sitting with Maven's head in her lap. Her mind was plagued with Maven's past. She subconsciously ran over it again and again trying to find something she missed. Then, while in deep sleep, she saw him standing watching the holoscreen. A girl ran across the screen and Skyla's eyes shot open. "Farrah."
Maven jerked up as she moved. His eyes shot open. "What?" He was obviously disoriented as he looked around. "What's going?"
"Shhh," Skyla said and stroked his cheek. "Go back to sleep," she whispered. She looked off in the horizon at the ruins. It was defiantly Farrah's face she saw on the screen. But...why?"
He groaned and rubbed his throat. "I feel like I swallowed sand," he muttered softly.
"You've had a bad night. And you need your rest."
He nodded and nuzzled her lap. "I had nightmares," he whispered as he started to fall back asleep.
"Yeah...me too," she whispered. After he was asleep, she walked back to that same holoscreen. She stood there watching it until the girl ran across the screen. Her hands went to it and it paused right on the girls face. Her heart raced and her eyes felt like they were being tricked. "Farrah..."
"You shouldn't go wandering off by yourself," Borris said as he poked his head in the door.
Skyla jumped. Her hand went over her heart. "Oh...yes, I'm sorry..."
"It's alright. What are you looking at in here?" He smiled, even as he was forced to hunker down to get inside past the rubble.
Skyla turned to the screen. "A part of Maven..." she said softly.
He looked at her curiously. "What do you mean by that?"
She pointed to the girl. "Farrah...his love. I'm thinking it's why he acted out like he did."
"Farrah?" He looked at the screen and mused softly to himself. "That was tragic what happened. It was what...six years ago when that massacre took place. So many lives lost...."
"I wouldn't know...Living in a forest shelters you," she said.
"The reports were that a Xenomorph battle group went through D.C. murdering everyone. This city was a ghost town when they finished. Seven hundred dead in all, but that's a combination of military personnel to. A lot of people blamed the military for creating them and unleashing them like wild dogs."
She looked at the screen. Farrah seemed to be one of those that were killing...but why? And why wasn't this in Maven's memory? Wouldn't he know that she was part of it? They were to be married and grew up together...how could he not know? They were never apart.
"Morning will come quickly. You might want to rest while you have the chance."
She only nodded though she doubted she would get any sleep. Grabbing a rock, she destroyed the holoscreen, not wanting Maven to come back to it and have another episode. If that really happened six years ago, then Maven would have been sixteen. But that year was the best of his life. It was the year he promised to marry Farrah. They spent most of the year traveling around and making future plans. She could see nearly every day of that year in her head and none of it involved Farrah missing and being at a massacre.
When the morning came, Sven came down from his perch and nudged Boris with his foot. "Wake up Hailey," he said with a yawn. "I need a favor."
Skyla hadn't moved from the holoscreen for the rest of the night even after she had destroyed it. She sat there trying to put the pieces together but nothing seemed to fit. It just all seemed impossible.
Boris nodded and judged Hailey gently. "Hailey doll. Sven needs to talk to you."
Hailey yawned and sat up. Her eyes didn't open. "What?" she whined.
"I've gone two nights without sleep. Do you have an adrenaline shot in that bag of yours?"
Her eyes opened. "Sleep is good for the body. You should sleep," she said but even so she reached for her bag. After a lot of digging, she filled a needle and stabbed him in the leg.
He hissed as she did it quickly. "You could have warned me," he muttered sourly. He shuddered as the drug began to take effect. "But thanks..."
She yawned and nodded then fell back into the sleeping bag.
"I don't get it. When we're at Xavier's she's always running and playing. When we actually need her to move she's lethargic..."
Boris just smiled and got up to let her sleep. "That's just how little girls are."
"They are use to nap times and sleeping from sun down to sun up, not before or after," Maverick said as he yawned and packed his things. He looked around. "Did...Skyla leave?"
Lana looked up from her bag. "What? Without saying goodbye?"
"No. She's probably still in the memorial hall," Boris informed them. "That was where I left her last night."
"All night? Why?"
"I don't know. She said it had something to do with Maven. Maybe you can get more out of her."
Lana gathered her things and put her bag on her back. She walked down to the memorial and sat next to Skyla. She followed Skyla's eyes to the broken holoscreen. "Skyla?" She didn't move. Lana reached out and touched her shoulder. Skyla swayed then snapped her head to Lana. She blinked her eyes a few times and Lana looked her over. "Where you...just sleeping with your eyes open?"
"Was I?"
"Okay. Today is the fun day," Sven muttered as he checked his guns. "Knife boy, you okay taking point with me? It will be better if we scout ahead then move the entire team at once."
Maverick nodded.
"Sarah and Evana can lead the group in behind us."
Evana nodded as she helped Sarah get her bag on. Lana looked Skyla in the eyes. "Are you sure that's safe?"
"No...I've never done it before, but something doesn't add up," she said. "His past isn't...right..."
"But how do you know you can dive in his head?"
Skyla shrugged. "I don't know. I figured I would just ask him to let me see if I could help pull his memories out. Then I'll just do what I did with you, get close and try to find out if there is a wall he's put up in his head to block certain memories..."
"Hey, girls it's time to go. Skyla, wake your boyfriend up. He's still out like a light," Sven called out.
"You think we should stay behind? We are like dead weight anyways..."
"No. I don't want to come back and stumble upon your corpses."
She nodded. Standing she walked back to the camp and lightly shook Maven. "It's time to go."
Maven stirred at her touch. "What...it's...morning already?"
She nodded down at him. "Come on, the other are packed. You have to hurry." He nodded and stood slowly. His body felt heavier than he remembered it. He put away his stuff and quickly got ready to leave. Skyla took his hand as they started to walk. Looking up at Zenith, she stopped and let the others go ahead. "Maven...I want to try and pull your memories out."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I want to see if I can reach in your head, and help you remember. I don't know how far my powers can go, but I want to try."
"Uh...okay?" He didn't understand what the point of this was, but he was more than willing to let her try.
Of course she knew that she couldn't help drag his memories out, but if she told him that she thought he had a false past, he wouldn't understand or believe her. She needed to try and see if she could figure out why she couldn't see his real past and what was keeping her from it. As the others walked ahead, she faced him. She pulled his arms around her. "I...think we should try to get as close as possible," she whispered and pressed her lips to his.
That wasn't what he was expecting. He looked at the others who were unaware of what was going on. Closing his eyes, he held her against him so that she could work her voodoo magic to try and give him his memories back. Skyla moved her hands to the side of his head. She pushed her mind into his, seeing his childhood so perfectly. She could see him laughing and playing with Farrah. She could see his love for Farrah and watch it grow. But as she reached his teen years, the past became harder to see. She press and pushed, as if trying to break a barrier that she knew was there. Her lips deepened the kiss. Her mind pressed on. Just when she thought she was getting ahead, her eyes snapped open and she flew back from Maven. It was as if an invisible force had thrown her back. Her body flew in the air and landed on the ground as she screamed and slid.
The group stopped again, Sven looked back, wondering if he'd made a mistake. "What the hell just happened now?"
Maven hurried to her side. "Are you alright? What happened?"
Skyla held her arm then turned from him and coughed up blood. Lana was at her side and Evana was over her in seconds. "What did you do to her?" she asked. "Hold on, Skyla. This is going to hurt." She grabbed Skyla's shoulder and pushed at it. Skyla cried out as her shoulder was popped back into place.
"I didn't do anything! She tried to help with my memories and then she just flew back!"
"Skyla...I told you not to do it..." Lana said.
"Can you walk?"
Skyla took a deep breath. "I'm ok...just really sore. Just...go on...Maven and I will catch up."
Evana looked at Maven then at Skyla. "If he's hurting-"
"It's not like that. It was my fault. Please, I need to speak with him." Evana and Lana looked at each other then slowly walked off. Skyla sat up while holding her arm and ribs. "I'm sorry, Maven...I wasn't completely honest with you."
"What do you mean?" His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. He didn't like what Evana had insinuated, but that was for another time.
She took a deep breath and watched his eyes as he sat there and listened to the real reason why she wanted to reach into his head and her reasoning behind wanting to do it.
"You what!?" He shook his head, unable to believe it. "I don't even know what you're talking about. You're the one who told me my past!"
"Yes, but that was before I saw Farrah standing in this very site! And if she was here, Maven...you were not far."
"I don't understand. Are you saying that girl on the holo tape was Farrah?" She nodded. "That's impossible. You saw my life. She wasn't anywhere near here. I've never even been to D.C. before. It must have just been someone who looks like her."
"Maven, I'm not mistaken," she said with narrow eyes. "It was her!"
"She couldn't have been there. End of story."
"Are you calling me a liar?"
"No. I just.... I don't know. It doesn't make sense."
"Maven...when I was exploring your memories...something pushed me out. Literally. Something forced me from seeing the truth...you are not who I thought you were before. All of it could be a big lie."
He shook his head. "Does it really matter? I've already come to terms with the fact that I probably won't regain my memories. So what does it matter?"
"It matters if you helped kill hundreds of people!"
"What? You think...that I was part of the massacre?"
"If she was there...I just know...you couldn't have been far...not with the way you two felt for each other. If she jumped, you jumped."
"I couldn't kill anyone! You know that!"
She cupped his face. "Maven..." She sighed. Her forehead pressed to him. "You are right. It doesn't matter. We won't bring it up again."
He nodded slowly, his heart beat racing. He couldn't believe what she had accused him of. It’s preposterous! Still...his heart hurt to think of the way she looked at him when she said that. Apart of Skyla hoped her curiosity would never get the better of her and plague her thoughts and that same part of her hoped that he would never get his memories back. If he remembered Farrah, he would remember his love and if he did that....Skyla would be nothing.
"Let's catch up with the others," he said softly.
She nodded. Slowly, she started to stand while she winced.
"What all hurts?"
"My ribs and my shoulder. I feel like I fell out of a tree."
"Hailey should have a look at you."
"I've had worst happen. I'm ok," she said. Taking his hand she smiled and kissed it.
He looked down at his hand and nodded. "Okay. If you say so."
The others seemed to be walking slow because they caught up with them in a shorter time than Skyla thought they would. Lana and Evana looked back at them and Lana smiled while Evana huffed.
It wasn't long before they were going through the memorial. Maven looked around, trying to find anything like last night, but all the other reports and videos were destroyed or useless. He sighed and looked at the list of names where all the dead were listed. There was no way he could be a part of that. Skyla gave his hand a soft squeeze when she felt him tense. She moved his arm around him and hugged herself to him to get his mind off things.
"I wish I had been there during this," Sarah said as she stopped at a picture. "Damn Shephard probably knew that this was going to happen.... A lot of good people died because of the military's lust for power."
"What's done is done."
"I know, but that doesn't make it right. I was still too young to realize what was going on. I lost my eye to a damn Xeno that went bezerk during training. Sheperd just laughed it off as his pet project. God I hate that man."
"Sounds like a bastard."
"He is. I'm going to enjoy putting a bullet in his head when I find him."
"Can't wait to see that."
"Violence makes you hot, huh?" She smirked.
"Hell yes."
"Kinky. I like it."
"Of course you do."
"Okay ladies. Before this turns into a hot porno let's get out of here. Bird boy isn't looking so hot," Sven said as he continued to push through.
Skyla opened her mouth to say something, but she decided against it and closed her mouth.
"Yes. I'd rather like some space to breath," Boris chuckled as he pushed past the rubble with his massive frame. They continued past halls of memorials, finding skeletons of long forgotten drunks and Raiders piled along hallways. Each new picture or news source made Maven's stomach churn. He held his head, feeling as if someone was pounding on it with a mallet.
"All these people..." Skyla said softly. "I've never seen so much death..."