Chapter 23: Come What May

Heaven, an impossibility?

The sight of the brook instilled Kurt with the temptation to recant his disbelief. He found a burst of speed in his body that would’ve put professional runners to shame.

Cold water washed over his face as he took in large gulps. He didn’t care if he felt like a dog frantically lapping up water with its tongue. Dignity perished with the discovery. The hydration quelled his parched throat and renewed his energy.

Not that he was quick to notice, but his companions joined him, they, themselves, eager to quench their thirst.

All they needed now was food. Once they acquired sustenance, they could make it to Segan.

His desire to take on the world left him when he looked over in Vincent’s direction. Alice drank out of his cupped hands. If he would have taken the time to think, he’d have arrived at the conclusion that this kind act was meant to keep her from bending over and sending her ribs into another bout of fresh agony, possibly breaking her stitches in the process.

All he saw was a young woman lapping her tongue along the flesh of a man that fancied her. Kurt had tolerated enough of their amorality. It was disgusting at this point.

“When we get back to the base, I’m going to need to report all this.”

They looked at him. Vincent regarded him with a blank stare, oblivious to his point. Alice, on the other hand, glared at him.

“Go ahead,” she declared. “Spit out your threat. Sooner you get it off your chest, the better I’m sure you’ll feel.”

Kurt’s lips curved in disapproval. “The Genesis Project. I think Leo will be very interested, indeed, to find out how close you are with that thing,” he said, pointing his meaty thumb in Vincent’s direction.

Vincent looked astonished to discover he’d been demoted to a thing.

Alice responded before he could. “I was a part of that experiment too,” she coolly replied. “So, if I were you, I’d choose my next words carefully.”

Kurt crossed his arms in defiance. “Inappropriate relations with a subordinate. Sound familiar, Alice?”

“Don’t you dare.”

“I do, because he’s another Julius. Tall, dark, and handsome for sure, but you can bet he was cut from the same cloth. You know, I’m starting to think-”

Jack whirled towards Kurt with water dripping from his soaked head. “Let me tell you what I think. We’re out here in the wilderness, exposed to our enemies, and the thing you want to prattle on incessantly about is their relationship. About the things you’re going to report.”

“It’s important.”

“The hell it is,” Jack snarled, standing up from the stream. “It’s meant to shame her. All because you don’t like Vincent.”

Kurt scowled. “Leave it to you to defend one of your own.”

Jack snatched the teen by his collar and pulled him to the waters. “Say it again, and you’ll be eating your own teeth.”

“Stop this!” Matthew cried. “Stop fighting! This isn’t doing anything for us.”

Alice’s lip quivered, but she shook her head, composing herself. “The kid is right. This whole thing is stupid. Meaningless. And I’m not just talking your problem with Vincent either.”

“What are-”

“Your report, Kurt. Did it ever occur to you that there may be no place to share that revelation?” she asked. Her features darkened the more she thought about it herself. “You spilled your guts to the general. I trust you remember doing that.”

The teen lowered his head. Jack could’ve dumped in him in the waters. He wouldn’t have bothered emerging from them. She was right. For all they were aware, every person they ever knew could’ve been bombed into the next century. Or worse. With how things had been going, his feelings leaned towards worse.

****

Night descended upon the group much faster than they were prepared for. Alice was astonished how rapidly the last remnants of fading light gave way to eerie shadows and haunting whispers.

The question still remained: Should they build a fire?

Alice sighed as she leaned back against the tree Vincent had placed her under, doing her best to conceal the light shivers beginning to tremble through her battered body. In truth, she wasn’t sure she even wanted to know just how long the horrific mess that comprised her left side would take to resemble anything that could be considered normal.

Matthew sat huddled nearby to her right, looking almost afraid to speak for fear of provoking yet another argument.

The girl sighed. How far they had fallen. Right now, amid the aches and pains invoked by their journey, she couldn’t help but notice the wisps of winter’s chill upon the evening breeze.

Fall.

She chanced a glance in her brother’s direction. He didn’t acknowledge her. She frowned.

I do because he’s another Julius.

The blonde recoiled as his words replayed in her mind like a broken record. Another Julius? Had the boy even ever been in love before? Did he think it was easy?

Yes, Julius hadn’t been what he’d portrayed himself to be. However, she was beginning to see that he hadn’t been a mistake.

Love was never a mistake.

The young lieutenant spared a glance at Vincent. He made her feel things that she had thought for sure that she would never feel again. Things she swore she’d buried deep within herself. He wasn’t mere happenstance. Was it so terribly wrong of her to wish…?

“M-miss Phoenix. Where…where are we going to go if…”

The child trailed off, almost as if he hadn’t really intended for her to hear. He didn’t need to finish his statement. Truth be told, she hadn’t brought herself to even considering it yet.

One step at a time.

After a moment, the young woman decided honesty as the best course of action. “Truthfully, Matthew, we’ll probably end up heading to one of our other bases if that happens,” she murmured.

Timid feet approached her. “Do you think they have food there?” the kid asked.

Alice hugged the boy, albeit carefully. She didn’t want her affections to leave her collapsed in pain. “They have food in all of our facilities. Chicken. Steak. Eggs,” the woman smiled at the thought of those dishes, though her stomach grumbled in protest of her wishful thinking. “It’ll be wonderful when we make it. It’ll be like entering the promised land.”

The Program. Feed training. The constant threat of exposure. Recruits being marched into perilous situations, some of them gunned down like dogs. These were all a far cry from the land of milk and honey. Still, she had to give the boy something to hold onto. Even with all those ugly truths taken into consideration, none of it compared to what awaited them in the wilderness.

“I’d love that,” Matthew whispered. “Sounds wonderful. Like a dream even.”

A frown threatened to seize her lips. Alice did her best to maintain her smile, even if felt hollow to her. She rubbed the boy’s back in reassurance.

Alice glanced in Jack’s direction. He remained still, set like a statue in the same location he’d been an hour ago. His eyes searched beyond the tree-lines, seeking any sign of the monsters pursuing them from the shadows.

There’d be no fire. Too risky.

She looked over to Vincent. He made his way to her. The sticks snapped beneath the weight of his prison slippers.

“Room for one more?”

As cold as it was, she would’ve considered inviting her sibling over there, abrasive as he’d been. The woman accepted the invitation. In turn, her companion sat next to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

Alice closed her eyes to the sound of the man’s heartbeat.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

The gentle rhythm set her mind at ease; its only disturbance came in the form of a ravenous tummy. Their food situation would be a problem. One they’d need to solve fast. Committing to the marathon without a resolution would be a march straight into the grave, a place she’d honestly envisioned herself being by now if it weren’t for him.

She looked up at Vincent. He watched her in turn with soft eyes.

It was detestable Kurt had referred to such a kind soul as a thing. She couldn’t help but wonder if Kurt might have now held a similar view of her. Wasn’t she also a part of the same experiment at the end of the day? Born from the perverse intrigue of a deranged individual desperate to manufacture human weapons.

She knew what she could do if she desired. It was nothing for her to burn men alive or create a desolate wasteland in her wake.

The greatest mystery was Vincent. Cain insisted his own brother was the monster between the two of them. She still had trouble believing that such a gentle soul could be capable of murder. Yet had she not seen the evidence herself? Evidence that had covered the young man head to toe.

Even then, he was no stone-cold killer. Remorse from his actions tore at him relentlessly. Still, she didn’t blame him. The place had forced him to do what he did. The man he killed had said things. He never elaborated on the what, and she didn’t want to upset him with questions concerning the exchange that led him to be stained in another person’s blood.

“I wouldn’t mind if we remained like this for a while longer, but I must insist you sleep,” Vincent spoke, breaking her from gory imaginings.

She stammered before she averted her eyes. “Uh, ri-right.”

He hummed under his breath. She didn’t have to raise her head to know she was being watched by her inquisitive guardian.

“Aren’t you going to get some sleep too?”

“Sleeping together, are we?” he questioned with a wry smile.

Crimson hued her cheeks. Though Vincent could be sweet like candy, he possessed a decadent quality in some of his choice words. She now wondered if underneath his shy demeanor lurked a debonair playboy that could’ve given Seth a run for his money.

Come on, get a grip. This is the same man who didn’t know what a period was.

Funny as that may have been, she wasn’t so sure he was as ignorant as he portrayed himself. Not if his stunt from earlier that morning was anything to go by.

I didn’t say I had a problem with it.

She bet he didn’t. Not with the way he shamelessly used her own words against her. Words said from a dying woman eager to reclaim one last bit of pleasure before leaving this world. One who, through their pain, may have been a few inches off the mark from their lips’ intended target.

Beside them, Matthew gave a giggle, along with a resounding “Yuck.”

The three shared a laugh, almost forgetting their dire situation in their momentary respite. Even despite the pain that the outburst brought, Alice couldn’t help but feel a sense of peace wash over her.

“Get some sleep, okay?”

Matthew smiled, closing his eyes.

Alice smiled, brushing a hand through the boy’s blond hair. Such a sweet child. She could only hope he would remain that way.

A yawn escaped the blonde. Her battle against sleep wasn’t going so well for her. Amid fractured ribs, sore feet, and the dangers she’d overcome until now, she felt prepared to surrender to it.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

She concentrated on the heartbeat connected to the broad chest she rested her tired head upon. The young man behind her brushed a finger through her hair.

Oh, if only such moments could last forever.

****

Vincent’s eyes shot open as he jolted awake from his slumber. Something had hit his foot.

No. Someone.

He glared at Kurt, unimpressed by the brunette’s rude conduct. He found it troubling that the young man was eager to provoke him even during the earliest hours of the morning where the sun had barely had a chance to peek over the eastern sky.

“You and I need to talk.”

A polite way of saying we have a problem.

Alice stirred in her sleep from Vincent’s movement. Her head had migrated from his chest down to the front of his pants. The woman let out a groan before she resumed her rest.

Once he felt confident that hurdle had been avoided, he looked back to his uninvited guest who was now scowling at the sight. “Okay, what about?”

“How things need to be from now on.”

Vincent narrowed his eyes at him. He didn’t like being woken up first thing, especially when the person doing the waking came with demands that would likely be hostile based off the terse statements and irritable tone.

“I’m not sure I follow.”

Kurt peered down at him in contempt. “What you’re doing with her needs to stop.”

“What specifically?”

“All of it. The theatrics,” he said, allowing his eyes to fall to Alice. His face twisted when his gaze came back to Vincent. “The way you talk to her. It’s nauseating.”

Taking care to move her head gently, Vincent relocated her to the ground before he stood. His joints protested the early rise, but he ignored it in favor of the irritation lecturing him.

“Kurt, it’s too early for this.”

“Not early enough,” the brunette retorted. “You’re going to hurt her.”

Vincent stared him down. “Says you.”

“Says me. And you know what? I’m not going to let it happen again. I refuse. Watching you all pretend to be a happy family. Come on, it’s delusional.”

Vincent bit back his irritation. The happiness and contentment he felt from the prior night was not the result of some fantasy he’d conjured up. The moment was real, and this loudmouth standing in front of him seemed intent on denying that fact. That was delusion.

“Be honest with me: Were you always so unhappy?”

Kurt snorted. “Don’t change the subject. You ain’t no psychoanalyst, I can tell you that now.”

“You’re correct on that, but if you think I need a sheet of paper to diagnose you-”

“She can’t have children, Vincent,” the teen interrupted, desperate to avoid the subject getting derailed. “She’s damaged goods. You have no future with her anyway.”

Vincent crossed his arms. “Is that what you think? That the only value a woman has is birthing babies?”

“I’m telling you to move on.”

“And I’m telling you that none of that matters to me, Kurt. So what? What if she can’t have babies?”

The technician’s nostrils flared as his composure diminished with their exchange. The volume of his voice raised with each utterance. “It means no heirs; no family!”

“Then I’ll just have to love her all the more.”

Vincent paused as his eyes raised in tandem with his brows. He said it. He loved her.

Kurt did not take to the news well. His face reddened. Deeper. Deeper. If he were a balloon being inflated, he might’ve popped from all the pressure.

“You don’t…” the words were forced out. Once he found a more tenable position, he continued. “You don’t have the right, Jul…er, Vincent.”

Vincent took a step forward, his face now inches away from the trembling youth. The boy took a reflexive step away from him. “About this Julius character: You seem awfully keen on comparing me to him.”

“That’s because you’re-”

“A different person. One who is getting awfully sick of hearing about him. All I know is the mere mention of him upsets Alice.”

Kurt nodded. “That’s right.”

“Good,” Vincent said calmly. His voice had fallen to a faint whisper dripping with ice. “Then you should know better.”

The teen’s lip quivered. “You…for her own good-”

“For your sake, the petty antics better come to an end. Before you hurt her,” Vincent replied. Fury boiled deep within his veins as he stared down at the boy. “Before I hurt you.”

Kurt took another step back. This one a stride causing him to stumble over his own feet. The look prominently displayed on his face felt all too familiar to Vincent: Fear.

Flashes of trembling fingers reached out to him. Faces suffocating in despair. Pleading.

He shook his head, disgusted by thoughts of his other self.

“What in the world is going on over here?”

Both males shot a nervous glance toward Jack. He looked concerned, given Kurt appeared seconds away from pissing himself.

Vincent forced a smile toward the soldier. It was the cheery kind that could’ve been molded from plastic. Fake. He held out a hand to Kurt.

The teen flinched at the spontaneity of the gesture. Then defiance rolled back onto his features before he smacked the hand away from him. He stood onto his feet, glaring holes into Vincent all the while as he spoke.

“Ask him,” Kurt spat. “We were just talking.”

Don’t make me kill you.

Vincent closed his eyes. He really was running out of options with him, wasn’t he? As much as Kurt prided himself in being a man of rationality, he seemed hysterical. Unhinged. That type of individual could be a danger to everyone; a ticking time bomb. He didn’t know when this bomb would go off either.

“We were just finishing too,” he finally replied to Jack before he turned to gently nudge Alice awake.

They would need to leave soon. He was starting to feel woozy from the lack of food in his system. If they didn’t get moving soon, he couldn’t say with certainty he’d be able to make it far. And Segan was still miles away.

****

The group traveled in a weary silence, exhausted from hunger.

The dismal atmosphere hanging over the group felt palpable to Alice, who found herself presently nestled safely within the arms of Vincent, an arrangement she found comfort in despite the occasional bout of pain coming from her ribs. She wasn’t entirely sure why a dark cloud hung over them during their travels. Still, she’d started to puzzle the pieces of the picture together. She couldn’t say she particularly liked the looks of the emerging image.

Take Jack, for instance. He seemed feverish in his efforts to rush them along, desperate even. He’d started telling them it wouldn’t be much further. Segan was close now. Not much further had been five miles ago. Close may have been three miles back. Alice started to fear Kurt’s assessment from the other day, that they were lost, might have held more truth to it than she cared to admit.

And Kurt; what an ill-tempered specimen he made. His sullen countenance appeared permanently plastered onto his face. Moodier than usual too. Anytime she attempted conversation with him when he drifted close by them, he either answered in grunts or short sentences. As if every word expended only served to drain him. His brain might’ve started to be reduced into mush from the hunger.

Vincent, her personal carrier, seemed distracted by something. Probably from the same, ravenous sensation gnawing inside his stomach. He still looked at her with kind words and sweeter smiles. He seemed almost normal compared to the others. Almost. On other occasions, he sounded exhausted when he spoke. She didn’t hold that against him. They all were.

The road had been a cruel mistress, toying with their desperation. Even Matthew couldn’t adjust to it. His face soured, a far cry from his earlier demeanor when he possessed a spring in his step to start the day. That motion now dissipated into a reluctant trudge.

A pitiful sight they all must have made. Perhaps it would’ve been better for her to have died after having escaped the prison.

Alice spared a glance to Vincent, admiring the soft features of the man carrying her.

No. She wanted to stick around. Personally, she’d been through too much to roll over onto the ground and die. Besides, there was so much more for her to experience. Futures to consider. Affections to tend.

Alice sighed. She knew well enough that having feelings for a subordinate was inappropriate. Kurt certainly didn’t hesitate in reminding her at every opportunity.

Still, such rules were irrelevant now. She didn’t have a squad under her beck and call. No hierarchy to adhere to in the wild. She was just Alice Lynheart. They’d have to find the lieutenant sharing that name elsewhere. Yes. Right now, she was Alice Lynheart; an ordinary, young woman. A young woman with wants and desires of her own. Ones she refused to apologize for.

“Thank God,” Jack murmured, snapping Alice, along with all the others to attention at the promise of salvation. The sergeant pointed toward the west.

Vincent placed Alice’s feet onto the forest floor. “It’s wonderful,” she heard him whisper.

Now she had to know what sight they’d seen. An all-you-can-eat buffet? Shelter with a complimentary masseuse? Hot springs to soak tired bones and wash away unpleasant odors?

Her eyes followed Jack’s finger. The direction it led her was to a tree. Nothing special about those. Nothing they hadn’t seen countless times during their march through the forest trail. Brown erections of bark and leaves. The greenery on many of them had begun to turn orange from the change in seasons.

There was something special about this one. Alice all but expected some holy light to shine down from the heavens to the accompaniment of a choir of angels. The green in the leaves appeared vibrant in their coloration, like the last vestige of summer. Bright orbs of red attached themselves onto the greenery.

It was an apple tree.

At this precise moment, the young woman felt humbled. Not enough to fall to her knees. She’d already had a painful lesson on what sudden motions did to her, but she could still feel the tears well within her eyes. She silently thanked the Lord for his blessing. For what amazing sight such as this could’ve resulted from mere happenstance?

The sight before her, and the wonders it entailed, could have only been crafted by divine hands; hands that weaved together a creation made from an almighty love that desired only their deliverance from this inhospitable world. It was a mercy; a wondrous thing that filled her heart with jubilation.

Matthew laughed at the sight. Alice couldn’t resist the widening smile on her face. When was the last time she’d heard genuine laughter within these past several months? It felt human to her.

The boy bounded forward; the prospect of food renewed his spirits. Jack lifted the lad high into the air. Tiny hands eagerly reached for branches, gripping onto them, and climbing past them in their pursuit of sustenance.

Matthew plucked one of the apples and bit down on it. He closed his eyes from the ecstasy the fruit delivered to his taste buds.

Alice pressed her palm against the trunk of the tree, the bark of it nipped her hand. “Well? How’s it taste?”

The boy plucked another apple. He wordlessly tossed it down to her. She caught the red fruit in her hands. She sank her teeth into it without hesitation. The answer the taste provided conveyed itself better than any words could ever hope to do. All the woman could say for certain was that she never knew an apple could taste so sweet.

Branches trembled from the young boy’s hand that shook them. The resulting quake led to more of the heavenly fruit dropping onto the ground, rustling the blanket of leaves below with the impact of their landing.

Foliage scattered with the many hands that snatched for the apples. Everyone filled their bellies. For all they knew, they might never get another meal again. Better to make it count while there was a score to be tallied than to skip such an opportunity.

They ate for a while. Jack squirreled away his apple, occasionally biting on it with jealousy before he eventually scouted ahead of them. The man didn’t allow tranquility to take away his guard.

It was easy to take things for granted. Alice had noticed there’d been no drones. Come to think of it, they hadn’t heard any overhead since yesterday. Still, she wouldn’t become complacent. Hunger, if anything, had heightened her senses when she was awake.

She needed to stay vigilant.

After all, serpents slithered into even the most glorious reaches of paradise.

****

“I found something.”

Everyone looked towards the rustling bushes that announced Jack’s return. Hearts pounded with anticipation of the promise of finding out what something precisely was.

The sergeant flicked the bristles from his hair. “Another water source,” he said. “Not too far from where we are now.”

It must’ve been Christmas-time during the fall season with the way everyone’s faces lit up at the news. The apples helped with the thirst, but nothing conquered a dry throat like a proper helping of water.

“That’s great,” Kurt said, standing by the base of the apple tree. “I know I could use a bath too.”

“We all could,” Vincent acknowledged with a grin. “From the smell of things, it’s long overdue.”

The group laughed; everybody kept their volume down as they did. Joyful or not, attention was the worst thing they could garner. Especially with crawling shadows creeping upon them, inching closer with every minute elapsed.

“We’ll need to set up camp soon. It’s a risk, but we’ll need to make a fire tonight. A low one.”

An owl hooted off in the distance.

Jack’s words made sense. While the night hadn’t proven to be as bitterly cold as the prior one, if they got themselves soaking wet from a bath, they’d need a heat source to keep from developing pneumonia. Where safety seemed a dubious prospect as of late, they’d likely catch their death well before they would a cold if they were to forgo building a fire.

They followed the sergeant for several minutes, the silence of their hike disturbed by the trill of crickets and the occasional twig snapping underfoot. A chilly wind blew through the path they walked upon; their steps, undeterred by the cold, raised forward with every movement made along the hill.

When they reached the top, they saw the waters of a small lake below them. The moon reflected off the surface in pale, white fragments, shimmering on it like thousands of tiny glass shards.

Their descent to the body of water came quick, the path down far easier to traverse than their initial climb. When they made it, Vincent closed his eyes, taking in the clean aroma of the lake mixed with the crisp air of the forest.

“Hey.”

Vincent looked up from his stupor to notice Jack looking at him. No, past him. That revelation was confirmed as he brushed by him and walked up to Kurt.

“What is it?” the teen asked him.

“It’ll go quicker if you help me gather wood for the fire.”

For a few seconds, Kurt looked like he had something to say; another objection waiting to be hurled like a spear from his tongue. When his pointed words failed to launch, he merely settled for a nod and proceeded to go after the sergeant.

“You too, Matthew,” Jack said. He didn’t spare the boy a glance. With the task he had planned, he needed to complete it sooner rather than later.

The child slurped another gulp of water and bounded after the pair of young men, eager to be of use to them.

And then there were two, Vincent thought.

The young man allowed his eyes to linger in the young woman’s direction. Alice’s golden hair appeared a pale silver underneath the glow of the moon.

He hid his fox’s smile as the girl’s eyes met his. An expression befitting a fawn gazed back at him with an innocence that made the concealment of his vulpine grin a difficult exercise.

“I’d say you’d like a drink?” Vincent invited.

A nod.

He cupped his hands into the lake. With water captured within his palms, he held them out to the woman. She lowered her head and began to drink from them. He bit back a chuckle when he felt her tongue flick in his hands.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to notice his bemused countenance. He knew nothing impure was meant by it. The girl was unable to bend down properly. Using her tongue must’ve been easier, even if the sensation tickled him and spurred his imagination.

She looked up at him with a doe’s eyes. Longingly. Innocently. He bit his lip as he admired the sight of her stare. Vincent couldn’t help but remain acutely aware of his own heartbeat.

“I normally…wouldn’t ask you this.”

His ears raised to attention and listened for every word she had to say.

“But I suppose it’d be more appropriate while the others are gone.”

Something she couldn’t ask in front of the others? The thought of what her request entailed quirked his brow in interest.

“What is it?” he asked after a few seconds of an uneasy silence.

The girl blushed. She looked like she considered fleeing before it was too late. Before she gave voice to the unthinkable. “I can’t get my… It hurts to lift, okay?”

With the broken ribs she had, he could imagine why she might say such a thing. He nodded along in understanding.

“Could you undress me?” She looked meekly into the waters at the utterance of her question. As she awaited an answer, she brought the tip of her foot against the heel of her left prison slipper, effortlessly sliding it off from the motion. Likewise, she did the same with the opposite one.

He’d have been lying if he said he didn’t feel timid. His own cheeks heated as his fingers gently rubbed the base of her neck before they latched onto the collar of her shirt.

Vincent positioned himself behind her before he tugged against the fabric, raising the shirt above her head. He was quick to assist Alice with her arms, taking deliberate care not to raise them beyond a forty-five-degree angle. The article of clothing slipped off easily enough.

He ran a finger along the elegant curve of her exposed back. The girl’s breath hitched from the touch. Once his reach extended to her waist, he pulled down on her pants, collapsing them down at her ankles.

The woman stepped out of her prison garments. After she did, she lowered her head, vocalizing another request. “And my bra?”

His fingers gently trailed along her spine, sending a tremble through the young woman’s body. He took a breath before he began tinkering with the back of it, initially denied the removal of the cotton covering. His fingers eventually fumbled upon their edges. Once discovered, he pushed up on them and the bra came free from her chest.

Though she didn’t ask, he took the liberty of removing her panties. His fingers rubbed along her leg, trailing down to the tops of her feet.

The girl stepped out of them before she made her slow retreat to the lake. The water submerged her body bit by bit. Feet, legs, hips, breasts. Before long, the water came up to her neck, concealing everything below it.

“We-well, aren’t you going to come in?” she asked.

He bit his lip as he looked down to his toes for any suggestions on how to manage the situation. When none came from them, he slipped his feet out of his shoes. He pulled off his shirt, crumbling it into a wad and dumping the garment on top of his slippers. Next, came his pants, followed then by his underwear. Both came off with little effort.

The girl looked away, seeming only now to regard his nude form with the corner of her eye. She didn’t dare speak up at the sight of him. A courtesy to not draw attention to his lack of decency. Indecency, he must advise, that had been requested.

He considered taking a run and jump, but thought better of it. Instead, he dipped his toes into the water. After a nervous second, he took the plunge and waded forward. Within seconds, his chest was submerged.

Come on, Vincent. Get a grip. You’ve seen her like this before in the prison shower.

His mind made for a lackluster coach. This was different. More intimate as he’d personally slid the clothing off naked flesh. They were also alone.

He waded around her; the weight of the water parted between his fingers with every stroke.

“So, how are you feeling?” Vincent asked, desperate to disturb the thick silence that coated the air around the pair.

She looked at him. A flurry of emotions ran along her face. “Troubled. Relieved, but pained.”

Another stroke closed the distance between them. “About us?” he softly asked, shooing aside the multiple choices she’d rattled off.

The girl appeared taken aback by his question; her eyes widened from it.

He wasn’t surprised by the expression. Even he wasn’t entirely sure what they were anymore. Whatever the answer was, subordinate and commanding officer hardly encapsulated it at this juncture.

“I don’t know. A lot of things. It’s, um…co-complicated,” she said while looking lost in her thoughts.

He at least considered that a fair answer.

“Complicated,” he murmured, the sultry gaze lingering within his eyes turned into a mischievous one as he observed their surroundings. Their very empty surroundings. He’d have to thank Jack later for affording the pair some privacy.

“We-well, yeah,” the girl continued. She appeared flustered as she took note of the gleam dancing in his eyes. “And why are you staring at me like that?”

His smile widened before he ducked completely under the waters. A world of blue blackened his vision as he swam past her figure. He emerged behind her, wrapping his arms gently around her waist, pulling himself close to her.

The girl squeaked from the touch.

“Got you,” he whispered, his breath burning hot in the recesses of her ear.

“You, uh…”

His heart skipped a beat as he looked down, his eyes lingering at the nape of her neck. They trailed past it, peering into the water resting below. They were both naked, and he was getting a better feel for her hips than he probably had any right to in hindsight.

Water splashed his face as Alice flicked her hand up. The woman wasn’t so helpless that she couldn’t retaliate against his amorous play.

He chuckled lightly, before hard laughter escaped his lungs, burning them from the exertion. That may have been from the splash of water too, but he was hardly keeping score. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to be either, joining him in his laughter.

In a way, it felt as though the entire world lied hundreds of miles away from the lake. They were the only souls left, kindred spirits clinging together in their quest for solace.

Vincent had to confess that he entertained his own set of ideas concerning what they were. And he wanted desperately to share them with the one person on earth who made him feel a multitude of things. Something he could only describe as a raw, powerful emotion that filled the emptiness inside him: Love. He’d said it so freely earlier, only not to her. The prospect of her hearing such an utterance made him vulnerable. In a way, proclaiming those words to her would’ve made him more naked than he was now, stripped beyond flesh down to his very soul.

Call him a coward. He was scared to lose her; the one thing that gave him meaning.

He lowered his voice to a whisper as he studied the woman in front of him. “Can I show you something?”

Curious eyes intrigued by the offer watched him in silence. She slowly gave him acceptance, nodding in approval.

“Close your eyes. Hold your breath.”

The girl bit her lip before she pinched the bridge of her nose. He gently moved her fingers. Alice opened her eyes from the sudden touch.

He smiled at her. “Do you trust me?”

She nodded once more before she closed her eyes in acceptance.

Vincent took a deep breath. His fingers traced down the top of her forearm, grazing her breasts with their descent before he lowered the pair of them underneath the cool waters of the lake.

Before his lips connected with her own.

He felt the gravity of his actions trembling within his arms. The movement became still. The only sound heard was the beating of their hearts. Then, she leaned into him, deepening the kiss.

Do you trust me?

That was a yes. A definitive one.

I choose you.

The way she returned the kiss made his toes curl in elation. Her passion signaled acceptance to such a bold proclamation.

I love you.

He held back the tears as they emerged from the waters. The words lied against the tip of his tongue, ready to provide clarity to what they precisely were. He swallowed as he gazed into her wide, sapphire eyes. Eyes he quickly found himself getting lost in even now.

He had to tell her. He had to. There was no way he was going to be able to simply bottle this up.

Drawing in a deep breath, he prepared himself and steeled his courage.

“A-Alice, I-”

“What the hell is going on here?!”

The pair jumped, and Vincent could have sworn he heard the girl mutter a curse under her breath even as her cheeks darkened with color.

Vincent frowned. Their time alone had come to an end. His eyes narrowed at the brunette glaring daggers at him from the embankment.

Jack quickly ushered a confused Matthew away.

When it appeared as though the couple would deny him answers, Kurt demanded again. “What. The. Hell. Do you think you’re doing?”

Vincent opened his mouth to retort. Alice, however, was quicker.

“I-I was just going to get cleaned up while you guys were gone, is all.”

“With Vincent,” her brother returned, spitting the name out like a nasty curse. It wasn’t a question.

“I-” the girl attempted.

“And naked,” he cut her off.

Vincent glared. How dare the boy make out anything that he shared with this girl to be anything less than pure? “Mind your own business,” he bit. Alice pulled away from his embrace, wrapping her arms around herself.

Kurt ignored him for once, instead choosing to eye the pair carefully before a cat’s grin tugged at his lips, the kind that extended at the sight of a cornered mouse. His eyes narrowed on his sister once more. “Oh, I get it now. You’re so desperate to hop in bed that you’ll take anyone, is that it? Julius was right.”

Alice’s eyes widened in a mix of anger and betrayal. “Julius was a philandering cheater, and a liar!” she spat.

Just as Vincent was about to speak, Kurt interrupted once more.

“And yet you dated him. Claimed you loved him too. Tell me, Alice: What does that make you?”

Vincent felt all the air leave his lungs as the look on the young woman’s face quickly morphed from fiery anger to a type of haunted sorrow that he had never seen displayed on her face before.

The tears came before she even realized. The blonde ground her teeth in an effort to keep the sob that bubbled up in her throat from escaping her lips. A sizzle sounded as the water around her heated with the discharge of her powers.

The sudden heat barely registered with Vincent as he watched the woman, the same one he’d attempted to confess his feelings to, flee from him. She bounded onto the embankment, snatching her clothes from the ground in her haste, before she dashed into the woods, her fleeting form consumed by shadows, and her crying now but a distant sound.

She wasn’t in any condition to run. Her rushing off might’ve undone the stitches yet again. Not that Kurt cared. He seemed more intent on shaming her than doing the right thing. Unless his moral compass was so twisted, he confused humiliation with righteousness.

“You,” Vincent said, spitting as much fire as he could with the utterance of one word. He was too mad to say anything else as he left the water. He strode to Kurt with only one thing on his mind: Retribution.

Kurt’s hateful expression didn’t falter. He braced himself, prepared to give back whatever Vincent planned to hit him with.

“Hey! Hey!” Jack’s voice frantically shouted. He shoved himself between them before they had a chance to start beating on each other. “Enough! For God’s sake, stop it!”

Silence fell over them. The sergeant’s eyes darted back and forth between the two teens. “This is precisely what I was talking about. This is dangerous. Arguing. Yelling. It’s going to get us all killed before much longer. Someone will hear.”

“They were naked,” Kurt said.

Jack glanced over at Vincent’s nude form before he looked back at the other brunette. “Bathing. Having a moment alone, intimate, or otherwise. Given what’s after us, does any of that matter?”

“She’s my sister.”

“That you all but called a whore,” Vincent spat before he stormed off to gather his clothes.

Jack looked at Kurt in disgust, shaking his head. “So that gives you the right to talk to her that way, does it?”

“I don’t have to justify myself to-”

His words were cut short as the soldier slammed him against a tree. He started gagging as the sergeant’s elbow pressed tightly into his throat.

“Listen to me, and you listen well. I’m not asking you to justify a single thing. Not a one. What I am asking is for you to be quiet. Not another word, because every time you open your mouth, things go to shit around here. Tempers flare. You follow?”

The teen nodded frantically.

Jack eased his elbow off the teen’s windpipe, allowing the youth to fall to the ground gagging for precious air.

“From now on, if I catch you talking, I’ll punch your teeth out. You understand?”

Kurt gagged a faint yes, prompting the sergeant to kick him in the ribs, provoking a cry from the downed technician.

“What part of ‘not another word’ don’t you understand? You that eager to get beaten?”

He shook his head, much to the soldier’s satisfaction.

“I’m glad we had this conversation. Very fulfilling. Now you go bathe over there. Away from everyone else,” Jack said. As he turned his back, he muttered, “You’ve done enough for one night.”

Vincent had slipped into his pants by the time Jack approached him. The soldier spoke first.

“I don’t care to know what is going on between you and her. It’s none of my business, but I think it’s safe enough to say she’s going to need you right now.”

Vincent nodded as he put his shoes on. “I’ll find her.”

“Please. Bring her back here soon. We don’t need our group splitting up; not when there are people out there gunning for us.”

Vincent agreed. They didn’t need to be splitting up. She didn’t need to be alone out there either. He ran into the forest, his feet guided towards the sobs echoing off in the distance.

****

Alice flung herself back against the trunk of a tree, ignoring the burning pain of protesting ribs and stitchwork.

Why? Why was it that every time her and Vincent attempted to move closer, a new obstacle fell into their path.

The teen sniffed. If she didn’t know any better, she would be apt to say that they were cursed. Her breath hitched at the pain that surged through her chest. Why did life so enjoy dangling in front of her what she knew she couldn’t have? She wasn’t naïve. She knew that their love was against the protocols and rules of their organization. Did any of those really matter at the moment?

The blonde’s eyes widened. Love? Her heart squeezed painfully once more. She had done it again, hadn’t she? It was honestly frightening to her how quickly he’d brought down her defenses.

Somehow, this mysterious stranger had managed to slip through the walls around her heart to completely sweep her away. It was…overwhelming.

Her next sob choked off into a weak hiccup.

Yes, she had cared for Julius, but it wasn’t the same as with Vincent. Vincent managed to find a place in her heart that even she failed to realize was there. Vincent, with his almost childlike naivety and wonderment; so blissfully ignorant, yet so full of raw passion that it nearly made her head spin.

She closed her eyes, choking back another sob. Never in her life had she felt such a way. That kiss had been nothing short of magical. A part of her doubted she would ever forgive Kurt for his attempts at tainting such a memory.

So what if she’d kissed him? Three times… She’d kiss him a fourth time, or even a fifth time if she so desired, damn it!

The blonde raised a trembling finger to her lips. She could still feel him. The way his soft lips had quivered against her own. The way his hands seemed to tremble as he held her…

A somber smile tugged at her lips. In that moment, all she had wanted was to run away with him. Even now, if she could give up her rank and walk away from The Resistance forever, she would. If he’d have her…

Alice shook her head, banishing the thoughts before fantasy could take over once more. That was impossible. Leo would never allow such a thing. She had too many responsibilities.

The young lieutenant felt fresh tears well within her eyes. What about after this whole mess was over? The war surely wouldn’t last forever. What kind of life awaited her then? In some of her darkest hours, the teen feared to know the answer. After all, a soldier was only good for the battlefield, right?

A twig snapped nearby, sending the teen to her feet immediately as she held out a hand in front of herself. If it was a mob of guards from the prison, she was ready for them. Injured as she was, she would probably die from the altercation, but she’d sure as hell take a few with her.

“Hey, hey, easy, Alice. It’s me,” a soft voice soothed. His voice.

The blonde visibly relaxed, even as the last of her tears slid down her pale cheeks.

The sight of it pained Vincent. He reached out to her, wiping the saline away with his finger before he sat next to her.

“Thought I’d lost you for a moment,” he said.

Alice hiccupped in response to the young man’s musing. She felt tempted to say she didn’t want to go back. She couldn’t. Not with Kurt and his judgmental attitude condemning what amounted to a private moment. The special kind that touched her soul and made all the ugly things in the world dissipate with its embrace.

“I just need a little time is all,” she finally responded after some deliberation. Time did little to prevent the ensuing sniff that punctuated her words she’d half sniveled. She must’ve sounded pathetic. Probably looked just about as dignified too.

Soft fingers intertwined with her own. Alice’s eyes met the kind gaze of the young owner of them that sat next to her.

“Take the time you need,” he invited. “I’m here.”

The waterworks building within her threatened to break in the face of such warmth. “I know,” she whimpered. A lump rose in her throat as she spoke. “It still doesn’t make it any easier.”

The young man patted her back. His gentle hands rubbed against exposed flesh. She felt embarrassed upon the realization. Her bra had been so painful to put back on with the pain tearing at her side, she hadn’t the energy to lift her arms to conquer the unyielding sleeves of her shirt.

He didn’t make a show about it. The male teen wordlessly helped her attain decency as he snapped the clips into place. No judgment was verbalized concerning her state. No wild conclusions. Only compassion mired with pity.

The pair of them sat in the woods alone together. Their hearts danced to a gentle rhythm, accompanied by the approval of crickets chirping away. She closed her eyes as she leaned her head against Vincent’s chest. The occasional pat against her back soothed her nerves; it also kept her from losing consciousness when sleep attempted to drift her awareness off to a warm place far away from judgmental men and broken hearts.

“Your stitches-”

“I know,” she remarked. She didn’t need reminders. Her run had torn them loose. The sooner she got back to the camp, the sooner she’d experience sharp jabs and tugged thread. She frowned as she thought of the individual who’d be tasked with administering the care: Kurt ‘Julius was right’ Landon. Pardon her for not feeling particularly keen on getting denounced as a harlot by her own brother.

Adoptive brother, she mentally corrected. Anything to put distance between them, given his repulsive conduct as of late. Pulling a knife on Vincent, threatening his safety with the alleged report he’d share with their father, the commander: It was all too much. Insane she’d even dare say.

Mustering her courage, she stood to her feet. Vincent helped her part of the way. She blushed as his hand ran across her chest. The experience they shared at the lake made her more aware of his every move. She chose not to say anything about it. Nothing lascivious had been intended.

Being honest, she didn’t know what to say to him. She knew he was going to tell her something when they were in the water. Something monumental.

It began with the stutter of her name. Once the first vowel had been conquered, Vincent referred to himself as I. There were few avenues such a declaration could’ve gone, especially when the preceding statements asked for her trust and offered to show her something special.

She blushed, harkening back to the bold lips that pressed themselves against her own pair that pushed into the kiss in answer to his query.

He was going to tell her that he loved her. She was certain of it. That’d be a reassuring sentiment to hear, given the coming operation that awaited her at camp.

Still, the hour wasn’t marked yet. She’d have to consider punching the young man if he chose now to try to reclaim the magic of their earlier scene. There was little time to entertain fairy tales. Even if he resembled a knight in shining armor in the water after he’d kissed her.

The trip back was made in a relatively comfortable silence, Vincent stopping to wait on her every time the pain got to be too much for her to continue.

Alice ground her teeth. She was almost beginning to regret her decision in running off.

Almost…

The blonde gave a faint smile as the eerie glow of a small fire came into view. Being cold, wet, and terribly sore, she could hardly wait to plop herself down in front of it.

Another jab of pain coursed through her side. Right. She had to get that taken care of first.

Kurt sat off to the left of the fire, his knees drawn to his chest. He looked up as the pair approached him. His eyes scanned his sister only a moment before he rolled his eyes. When it looked as though he would say something, a stern look from Jack seemed to keep the boy quiet.

The sergeant observed the others. He nodded his head at Kurt, giving the teen permission to speak to his patient, the only thing keeping him in business. His ill-tempered nature had generated him work.

Sighing, the teen scientist stood to his feet. “Lay her down here,” he instructed, reaching into his pocket to retrieve his supplies. He paused, cursing under his breath once he saw the knife was missing among his set of tools.

Alice groaned at the shift in equilibrium. She was only glad that Matthew seemed to be passed out next to the fire a few feet away.

“Look, I know this is going to hurt, but draw your knees to your chest, Alice,” Kurt instructed as he kneeled next to her.

The girl did as she was bid, gritting her teeth against the pain. She wasn’t sure just what had occurred to change his demeanor, but she was grateful that he seemed to be displaying at least some form of compassion this time around. Perhaps it was an attempt at atonement.

Jack frowned but said nothing. At least the boy was limiting the conversation to the task at hand. Perhaps his talk had finally gotten through to him.

Kurt cast a nervous glance at their fire, then at Matthew, Jack, then Vincent. He plucked the girl’s shirt from the brunette’s hands before clarifying. “She can’t scream. With the fire, we’ll be spotted for sure.”

Jack looked as though he’d protest before he thought better of it. The boy was right. The fire was already enough of a risk. He spared a glance at the sleeping child. Also, this was an affair that the boy definitely didn’t need to watch for a second time.

Vincent frowned, quirking a brow. He’d been stitched up before, and he knew all too well the pain that came from such business. How on earth did he expect her not to scream?

Kurt wadded up the corner of the girl’s shirt in a makeshift gag before leaning down.

Vincent’s eyes widened in realization. Barbaric!

Catching the boy’s eye, Kurt’s eyes narrowed. “It’s the only way. Remember last time?”

Vincent gave an agitated sigh before turning his attention to lovingly brushing his fingers through the girl’s damp hair. The poor woman…

Satisfied that the other boy now understood, Kurt turned to Alice once more. “Here. Sorry, but you’re gonna have to open your mouth.”

The blonde whimpered in protest as the cloth was placed into her mouth. God, she could already feel her tears begin. Vincent sat down next to her, drawing her head into his lap in his offering of small respite.

Plucking yet another strand of hair from the girl’s head, Kurt then set to work. In the faint glow of the fire, he was certain of one thing: He definitely didn’t like the look of the angry red edges her wound was beginning to show. He placed a hand to the girl’s forehead, frowning at the heat. Alice had always carried a warmer body temperature due to the virus, but it seemed even more elevated.

“She’s getting an infection.” Sparing a glance at the worried looks he received in response, the boy shook his head. “I’ll…be as quick as I can.”

He went to work. The result came close enough to what she’d pictured. The cloth crammed inside her mouth was the only thing preventing her from vocalizing her pained discontent to the entire world. Then again, that was the intended function behind the gag. Damn Kurt for even suggesting it.

Exhaustion. Soreness. Sharp pain. Pick from the choices. Any one of those, or perhaps all three, brought about her body’s impending collapse. Still, if she had to crumble, at least she got to do it inside a pair of affectionate arms belonging to the one man who had made her feel like her feet had landed on cloud nine. Before she’d been shoved off it, anyhow.

Vincent regarded her with sympathy but remained quiet. The situation was what it was. Words wouldn’t smooth it over. A night’s rest wouldn’t either, but at least she’d have time to collect herself by morning. Supposing she could even get sleep as the phantom kiss all but sent electricity from her head down to the tips of her toes. She closed her eyes, mentally hitting the replay button on their encounter at the lake.

For all the shit she’d endured in what nearly amounted to three months worth of hell, at least she had that moment to savor.