Birthday

I know not too many people would actually care, but it's my birthday! I'm nineteen, a very unimportant year, although if I wanted to, I suppose I could just go to Canada and get some drinks, but I can't even drink any kinds of soda pop, much less liquors. Though some people say I should try fruitier drinks. Not sure if they're trying to just make me look gay or if they just really want me to drink.

Anyway, the point of this update was just to let you guys know that I haven't and may not be updating in awhile due to mine, and five of my other friends having birthdays within the last few days. (Two yesterday, two today, one tomorrow. It's an odd set of coincidences, yes)

New Blog

Because this blog doesn't have a followers widget, I decided to make one exclusively for the story that I have started writing.

You can find it at athanasiacomplexio.blogspot.com

I have copypasta'd the entire story to that blog, please follow. Thanks for your time.

Chapter 2 (Part 5)

      "She's here for the...", Jack hesitated a moment, not sure of how to continue the sentence, "the fireworks."
      "Mommy! Mommmy! Did you hear that! The man said there's going to be fireworks!", a little boy had overheard, "I wanna go! Can we go?"
      Jack's attention was ripped away and looked straight at the screaming little kid. He could feel his heart stopping; he had already botched up the mission. He was hoping that maybe the mother would just ignore her kid and drag him along, but it seemed she got tired of trying to shush him.
      "I'm sorry sir, my son is so persistent", she gave him a small courteous smile that Jack returned, though he felt disgusted inside with himself, "did you say something about a fireworks show later?"
      A nervous grin formed on his face, and he nervously rubbed the back of his neck, quickly trying to think of an explanation, "Um, yeah. My friends and I are looking around the city, taking in the sights, and we're planning on maybe seeing the fireworks that we heard of in the newspaper I think", Jack could tell that he was already rambling on and needed to wrap it up, "but I heard the best view is from the other side of El Matar Lake"
      The woman gave him an odd look, maybe she saw through it, but her son piped in, "Oh can we please go see it? It would look soooo nice over the water!", she decided to take a moment to think about the distance, but seemed to eventually cave in.
       "Alright, alright, we'll see. You have to be a good boy though okay?", as her son grew the biggest smile and jumped in excitement, they began to walk away, "Thanks sir, you're very kind."
      Those last words at away at Jack. He knew inside that he was a monster. Sure, he saved the lives of two, but he was still going to be partly responsible for the deaths of so much more. He had to fight the urge to panic knowing that there was something more important that he had to do.
       Xephyr put his hands on Jack's shoulders, "Don't worry kid, you did good. At least they're gonna get outta here. Every life counts", Jack had completely forgotten about his existence, but his words made him feel a bit better.
      By this time, Skylar was standing by, lightly putting her pack down onto the ground. She looked at the ridiculous cowering form of Jack and Xephyr's foolish attitude and said nothing. No greeting, it'd serve no purpose. Instead, Skylar pulled out one of the few things that had nothing to do with anything of the mission, a stick of gum, popped it in her mouth and slowly started to chew. It was nice to have on hand; it kept her mouth moist. She leaned back and felt her back crack to relieve the pressure that was from the pack and although wasn't eager, Skylar wanted this to be done as soon as possible.
      Xephyr was still confused as to what Jack meant and so asked straight out, "Hey, what's in the pack?"
      Skylar could already tell how this was going to be with Xephyr. She didn't even bother with a reply. She just blew a bubble, picked it up, and revealed the contents of the pack. Even he couldn't be that dense. He should've been listening at the debriefing, but there was no helping that now.
      The words suddenly came back to Xephyr as the realization started to kick in. She's here for the fireworks she's here for the fireworks she's here for the fireworks... The words kept on ringing through all corners of his mind with a terrifying echo. Already he could hear the screams, the terrifying screams. The words reverberated and bounced in every corner of his mind, creating a cacophony of yelling and terror in his head. Xephyr could already see in his mind's eye everything that would unfold. The deafening booms. The fiery plumes of smoke and flames. The bodies of innocents flying around in a sick mix of blood and debris. The acrid taste of death in the air. It would all be his fault. That thought stabbed deep into Xephyr's chest the most. 
       In the small area of time, Xephyr could already start to feel his lungs tighten, all breath exhaled unable to come back to him. His chest felt like it was going to implode inside of his skin. It felt like God had replaced his warm blood with liquid nitrogen. He could feel a could sweat starting to form underneath his clothes. Xephyr's fingers started to twitch and started to rub small circles in the middle of his palm; a tell of anxiety. Though most of all, as he grew tense, his eyes changed. Even though he was losing sense of things for a moment, he could feel the world grow sharper but dimmer. His eyes started to sink into the back of his skull.
      Skylar grew a bit uneasy-even more annoyed if anything. That dreadful look in Xephyr's eyes and the way Jack looked at her; both of them looking at her as if she was going to enjoy this. She didn't want to do this anymore than they did for sure, but she was not naive enough to fret about it. They looked at her almost with bewilderment as if they could not understand how she could be so calm. Skylar just tried to be a bit more detached, it was a job after all.
       At the basest of all things, Skylar loved to blow stuff up. The force it took for the destruction was magnificent, something that was actually able to get her excited. She loved blowing things and whoever deserved it to bits. However, she was not heartless enough to feel indifferent about the killing of innocents and civilians as she was other things. In a battle, the warriors participating should have some idea, some preparation that they were going to die. These people had not the slightest idea. Some of them probably weren't even planning on coming here today, maybe didn't even want to. Yet, Skylar had to remain cool in spite of these facts.
      Her ability to keep calm despite the surroundings are probably what allowed her to be such a skilled demolitions expert, the explosive soul. You can't just get trigger happy when it comes to her area of weaponry. It would get you and your comrades killed without even hitting your target. You won't even have time to regret it.
      Xephyr stayed in his own state of mind, a voice festering in the back of his head. It began it's mumbling and instantly he knew he had to get back to the moment. Xephyr took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His lungs expanded normally, blood became warm, and his body was no longer as tense. He knew that in order to successfully carry out the mission, whatever it might be, he had to remain cool and collected. He couldn't succumb to those voices yet. He took one last deep breath and felt the tension roll off his fingertips like streams of sand.
      Jack noticed the tension in Xephyr which was highly unusual for him. Maybe he wasn't as carefree as he thought. Jack gave a small smile, which Xephyr instantly returned. He knew that Jack would buy it, his code was 'The Innocent' after all. He was already aware of the fragility of the human mind and body.      
       It then dawned on him that something had to be done. It was going to be something complex, but something he had to figure out fast. He couldn't let all these people die. He pushed his shades up the bridge of his nose and took a quick scan of all those around. All these lives, extinguished before they could even start. All these innocent lives he'd be claiming. It was sickening.
      I was given this body for a reason. I have to do something, I cannot waste the gift I was given. I can't let more innocents die for the name of someone else's 'justice' or 'peace'. But if I turn against my own troop, I'll have nobody with me and even more against me. What...do I do? What can I do?
       "Hey guys!", a voice took them all by surprise and snapped Xephyr back to his senses. Anya had finally managed to catch up with the group. She was surprised that she was the second to last one there, but was at least happy that she got there before Damian did. She already knew of the back lashing she'd get if that happened.
      "He-hey there", Jack was startled a bit from the sudden appearance of a new member.
      "Hi there gurly", Xephyr was a bit overzealous.
      Skylar, of course, was silent, but this is how she expected all of them to react to her arrival for the most part. She wondered if they had all just gotten there or if they were waiting long, but her eyes dropped down on the pack sitting at Skylar's feet. So that must be where the bombs are... She thought grimly, but tried to push it out of her mind for a moment.
       Skylar regretted not getting their later. She wished she might have been the last one to arrive. Instead, she had to deal with each of them giving her unnecessary glances and glares at her. It was irritating the way they looked at her, as if it was her fault that this was all going down. If they wanted to glare at someone, they should've glared at their leader who was putting them in this compromising position. He was the one that assigned this. Did she want to blow up this place? No. Did she really have a choice in the matter? Hardly.
      Jack and Xephyr instinctively took a second look at Anya. Jack could see that she was quite pretty, but she also looked like she tried to hide it. She didn't seem like a bad person, or at least like she wouldn't be hard to get along with like it would with their other female member. Xephyr was just relieved that there was at least one person who seemed upbeat here.
       "So...was the trip up here pleasant for you?" Jack asked, wanting to make small talk until their leader got here, hoping to pass the time quicker.
      Anya immediately let out a groan, "Not really", she gave a bit of a frown, "Nobody seemed to willing to give a friendly girl in distress a ride", she waved her hand indiscriminately, "but luckily a kind local pulled over willing to give me a ride."
       Anya's mind immediately went to that guy. D...D something. She dismissed almost sequentially. He was a boring human without any interesting qualities or stories. She knew the chances of her meeting him again anytime soon, if ever, was slim to none. She also knew that he might be one of the many humans that might die today, and she really didn't want to start dwelling on that and stopped her mind from lingering on that thought about that any longer. Instead she turned her attention to Xephyr.
      He didn't seem as cheery as he usually did. Something about the older male made him seem troubled. Then Anya decided what her side job was going to be, the unofficial Rogue spirit lifter. She looped her arm around her blue haired ally and smiled up at him.

      "How 'bout you X? You get here alright?"
      The question was lost on him for the briefest of seconds. Xephyr almost jumped out of his skin at the contact with his fellow teammate. This was admittedly the first flesh to flesh (well, even though he was wearing his jacket, he still counted it the same in his mind) that a female has intentionally made with him in years. It was relaxing, but nerve wracking at the same time to feel warm skin pressed up against him. It was almost nostalgic. He felt the contrast between his tightened muscles and her smooth ones and realized how much he needed to really loosen up. He looked down into her lavender eyes, trying to gauge what she could be thinking.
      "Well, yeah, some guy came and picked me up. We chatted. It was a nice little...talk...if you could even call it that."
       Xephyr broke eye contact, a bit embarrassed. He felt his face grow warmer and silently prayed that it was due to the Egyptian sun. He made a mental note to talk to more girls. This was ridiculous on his part.
      "Well, it's good to see you all made it alright", a firm voice spoke.
      Their leader finally made it to the catacombs, though he did not seem happy that they had all made it promptly on time. He noticed their lounging around the entrance and was instantly disappointed by Xephyr and that huge jacket, not that either was anything new. Damian was going to make sure to yell at him for that later. His vanity was making them obvious, him and that 'signature' jacket of his.
       Not only that, but Jack's anxiety as well as Skylars overall coldness was making them just as suspicious. Unfortunately, none of that could be helped. Damian pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled a bit and released his breath trying to relax. It wasn't going to help if he was going to be mentally dissecting every flaw, he would just have to work with it. Later on, he would have to tell this rag tag bunch of Rogues what blending in means.





(I'm stopping here for now, I'm going to get something to eat. I'm not sure how this one flows due to the abundance of characters and I've usually only written from First person perspective and not third person omniscient or whatever perspective I'm writing in. As usual, comments, criticisms and suggestions below. Thanks for taking the time to read.)

Chapter Two (Part 4, Edit Three)

     While everyone else on the team had their own ordeals with finding transport, Jack had an easy time getting here. He figured the easiest was to find a truck stop, find out where it was going and climb on top. Chances are, there would be plentiful, or at least a few, truckers heading over to Alexandria. It is the biggest city in Egypt after all. Jack didn't expect the whipping of the wind to be so fierce however, so it was a good thing he at least brought a backpack to shield his face. That and his genetic tampering to help the recovery process.
     Jack wasn't too stealthy about getting off the top of the truck, he was starting to feel sick and wanted to get down as fast as possible. The look on the truckers face was something he had not expected nor wanted. The trucker had an odd mix of fury, worry, and confusion. Most of all, the man was speechless, just making slight sounds with his mouth, completely shocked a thinly built boy just withstood being on top of a semi-truck's cargo for a few hours.
     "Um...Well, I guess it's sa-safer than hitchhiking", the trucker seemed to demand an explanation and that was at least some form of truth. With that, he walked off.
     Jack was hesitant to ask anyone for directions and so just wandered around the town taking in the various sights, engaging himself with the city. With the little pocket cash he had on him, he grabbed a small snack, sweet and salty trail mix, and found a map only to find he was walking in the complete opposite direction of his intended goal. Jack was just glad that he had more than enough time to make it.
     When Jack arrived at the catacombs, the way they lumbered over him was a bit intimidating. He couldn't believe that he'd be partly responsible for demolishing part of this. It caused his pulse to quicken and deepen in guilt. He looked down at his watch; about a half hour till someone else showed up. Jack took his time surveying the surroundings, looking at various exits, but as he did so, it only did more to increase his level of guilt. As Jack traversed the perimeter, he saw parents with smaller kids. Locals most likely trying to get their kids to appreciate this rich piece of history. There were older college kids, people who were just as young as Jack was that had dreams of their own, like Jack once did.
     It was actually quite a coincidence. A year ago, this very day, it was Jack's own birthday. It was one of the few things that he started to remember ever since his memory stopped being so fuzzy. It came in bits and pieces, but whether it was due to the moment, the stress, or just an overwhelming coincidence, it was a very vivid memory today.
  

     "Happy birthday Dear Ja-ack...", his mom barely managed to choke out over her sobs.
     "Happy birthday to you...", his dad tried to finish off strong, but it was still quiet.
     Jack remembered the pungent smell of the matches his dad used to light the nineteen candles on his modestly sized cake. It was more than enough for Jack, he was almost in tears himself, though it wasn't out of sadness. It was an odd feeling. He was happy that he lived another year, a naive hope filled his heart that maybe he could keep on 'just living another year'.
     The dark room was only dimly illuminated by the flickering candles. It caused Jack to smirk the tiniest bit. He just know understood the dark humor with whoever decided to start placing candles on cakes. The tiny wavering flames was something he found he know had plenty in common with.
      "C-c'mon hun...blow out your candles....make a wish."
     Jack was almost positive that she wanted him to wish for a longer life. His only wish was that his mom and dad wouldn't miss him too much and they could move on.
     With a small gust of breath, he extinguished the candles. His mom gave a small clap and his dad started removing the candles and brandishing the knife. Jack turned on the light and wiped the couple of tears sliding down his face. He was just glad his roommate wasn't there to see the ridiculous mess he was. Jack had previously talked his roommate out of the room and to go along for the night and they would 'party it up' the next night. Although Jack knew all it would be is them hanging out at some local club, his roommate trying to get him drunk, Jack refusing, then his roommate 'getting drunk enough for the both of them'.
     Jack had not realized how great he had it.
   

      Now, he stood at the front of the overwhelmingly large catacombs towering over him. His mission was to blow up this historic landmark in one of - if not the most- important cities in Egypt. Kill the lives of civilians, of innocents. He never imagined this is what would become of his 'life'. Jack wasn't even sure if all of this was worth being brought back to life by Revenant anymore. He was grateful for his new existence, but not at the costs it brought. Being robbed of his humanity by becoming a Ghost for Revenant then having to do something so foul as this.
     Of course, this was due to Jack's own naivete. Jack had figured this was a war between ghosts, all he had to do was at the very least lay support for his own comrades as a conscientious objector or at most fight other ghosts. Instead, winding up here at a place where he was going to take part in killing innocent humans. Humans that he was no different from just a short year ago. Humans that had no idea him, the ghosts, or the organization even existed.
      This won't be in vain though....right? Jack thought to himself. He tried to reason to himself, to convince himself that this wasn't as terrible as it was, but no matter how many times he tried to figure it out in his head, everything else just screamed that it was so terribly wrong. Yet, how many humans would end up like Jack? Refused the right to die in peace. Deprived of a peaceful afterlife. Perhaps the human casualties might end up saving many in the future. It could possibly be outweighed by a more peaceful future. That was the end of it.
     At the very least, this is what Jack had to tried to believe for himself. He did not want to go down the road of uncertainty and freak out before the mission started. Looking around, he saw that maybe, just maybe, there wasn't as many as there could be. It wasn't a time of the year many visited Alexandria; not too many tourists lurked around. He knew that among the few in attendance, the Rogues would not stand out very much from the humans. Jack himself was very plain looking. Wearing a very loose fitting shirt that said "Make Believe Not War", which considering all things seemed a bit ironic, tan cargo shorts, and a pair of dull black boots. All that, and of course, his lucky hat, though that was something that he rarely was without.
      Other than the low key aesthetics, Jack had chosen the outfit for good reason. The shirt was loose enough to fit the small, yet very uncomfortable, gun holstered underneath. His pants had large pockets that were large enough that were able to hold the makeshift medical supplies inside. Bandaids, a small amount of rubbing alcohol, Neosporin, Gauze, thread, needle. Everyone knew, even when he was a ghost, that he lacked the physical capabilities of being a soldier. His steady hands and knowledge of medics in general is what caused him to be recruited as a medic. Jack was in charge of making sure everyone got back in one piece, more or less. He may not have looked like the most enthusiastic, but when it came to helping others, Jack tried to be consistent.
      Jack's hands remained almost inseparable from the inside of his pockets, rarely lifting them out unless to change the angle of his hat from the sun glaring down upon his face. Walking around the entire perimeter and observing all of the people who were at the Catacombs, Jack didn't see anyone else part of his group. This came as no surprise, Jack was always one to over prepare out of anxiety, however, this day he preferred it. He was but an acquaintance to everyone. Sure, he had met some of them briefly, but he never really spoke. Now, he was going to be in contact with them all.
      Everyone was very imposing in their own ways; Anya was so overly perky, Skylar always seemed threatening, Xephyr was a bit too obnoxious, and Damian was just a scary person in Jack's eyes. Jack wanted to look tougher to at least seem like he wasn't useless, but it was a bit hard to do so for someone so small. Jack felt more like a pet, ready to lick everyone's wounds rather than any real help.
       Jack waited around fifteen more minutes before he finally saw one more person; Xephyr. Out of all of them, Xephyr was probably the only he didn't mind being alone with, even if a bit over zealous about things. X spoke rather loud, but at least he was a pleasant person otherwise.
       Jack was going to wave to greet him, but he didn't think X had seen him yet. After all, Xephyr's large black jacket made him stick out quite well compared to Jack's commonplace appearance. It was almost unfathomable how Xephyr even made it here without heat stroke. Although his smile had seemed genuine and that is what Jack was grateful for. Xephyr was always nice to be around. That attitude, even from afar, put Jack's mind at ease a bit.
      Xephyr walked towards the Catacombs, looking for at least one familiar face. Walking around provided him with the faces of a diverse group of people. Everyone was of different sizes, ages, hues (although everyone was shaded with a tinge of purple due to his glasses), gender. There were people there possibly alone, taking pictures for their own reasons. Teenagers with backpacks. Parents or grandparents with children. Couples holding hands, None of them realize how lucky their lives must have been up until now... Xephyr thought to himself with a hint of melancholy.
       As Xephyr strolled through, he caught small awkward glances from people, no doubt questioning the out of place attire. Most people might have been a bit self-conscious; possibly insulted. He on the other hand looked back with a small grin. One out of courteousness, pinnacle of humility. Xephyr even got a smile back from a cute girl. Too bad this wasn't another life.
      Finally, Xephyr noticed the cross upon the hat that was the signature of another Rogue, one named Jack, labeled the innocent officially, but labeled a conundrum in his mind. Jack seemed to be innocent, and even after undergoing the training and augmentation of Ghost, considerably weak. It must have been a miracle for him to even get through regardless of his status as a medical support. Such a gentle soul Jack must have been, anxiety was shining from behind a painted smile.
       Jack had already seen Xephyr and already started walking over. Xephyr decided to at least try and meet him halfway, gliding through the small crowd like water through cracks.
      Jack was content with a small wave when they finally met each other. Alternatively, Xephyr threw his arm around Jack's shoulders, "Hey there Jack! It's great to see you! I'm surprised to even see you at all."
       "Yeah...well...I'm here", Jack managed as best as he could. Even though Xephyr's grip was very light, he still seized up, muscles tightening. His tone was forcibly light, and he forced himself to relax. X was an ally after all, he had to start trusting them all. Although, Jack was at least happy to have someone there with him.
       Xephyr saw Jack turn a bit red and give a sheepish smile from underneath the cap and so decided to at least give the kid some space. Jack was the shy one after all. Regardless, Xephyr was not the one to shut his trap.
      "You and me the only ones here so far?", Xephyr poked his head above the crowd, scanning to see if there was any of his other teammates around.
       "So far...yeah, I thin-oh, wait! I think I see Skylar!", Jack attempted to raise his hand to wave, but when Skylar locked eyes with him and didn't even so much as twitch in recognition, he grew discouraged and decided to make it appear as if maybe he was just running his hand through his hair.
      His eyes stopped on the icy beauty Skylar approaching. The face had only been seen a couple of times, but those piercing stares she gave was enough memory to match the name to it. Skylar slowly sauntered through the people, though most people just had that innate sense that she was not one to be so much as touched and gave her adequate space. Even for someone like X, there was something about her that made him uneasy, but a comrade is a comrade. Xephyr then regretted falling asleep during briefing and whispered to Jack with a tone of caution, "What's she doing here?"
       Jack was a bit confused. They were all at the meeting, was Xephyr really that empty headed? Jack wondered if X had any knowledge that they were here for anything aside from the fact that they were here to make some kind of stand against Revenant. He had thought that X's carefree attitude was possibly just an act, but now he had his doubts about that.
      
     

(Okay, the next progression of the story will be a whole new post, I promise. If there are any people still following along, you know the drill: Comments, criticism, overall critique. Just reading in general is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much, I'll hope to have the next post up soon.)

Chapter Two (Part Three)

(In case you're wondering where part two went, it's been edited in with the last post.)

    Anya kicked up small puffs of dirt as she stepped forward on the side of the road. The empty road. A small sigh was released from her lips as she looked forward in discouragement. At this rate, she was scared of being later than everyone else, if she could even make it that is. She looked ahead with a scrutiny that even the other Ghosts could only dream of and still saw nothing. When Anya turned around, she saw a small blue box rapidly becoming larger. She didn't let her hopes get up too high however, nobody else had stopped beforehand.
     Anya regardless stuck her thumb high up in the air in the hopes that someone would at know what that meant and pull over. This was probably the only time her past life would have been more of a convenience. She always had men tripping over themselves just to say hi at the cost of having any female with decent eye sight green with envy for her gorgeous figure. Anya always hated that, it was so taxing to have to be pulled around by everyone's invisible strings of expectations, but at this time, it would be a lovely surprise.
    The car engine got louder and louder until soon she could tell that it was going well over the speed limit and could be coming straight at her. Whipping her head around, the car was one hundred yards away, which given the speed, it would be at her side in a moment to spray the shrapnel of the ground directly at her if she didn't at least do something. Anya saw nothing to shield herself with and instead jumped more over to the side and hid her face away from the road.
    The car could be heard speeding by and she felt the small pebbles pepper against her legs and the dirt went into her hair. Long and thick, she couldn't do much with it in ways of styling it and so the debris found welcome refuge in her locks. Disgusted with how long it was going to take to clean up later, Anya had to repress the urge to take a gun out of her pack and fire it off.
    That suppression may have been for the best for the car had stopped a ways down, turned around and was now coming back. Maybe luck was finally smiling down upon Anya. Never wanting to look sloppy, she tried to shake out some of the dust from her tresses and pick out what small rocks she could before the car had pulled up.
    Anya didn't know too much about mechanics outside of weaponry, but from the logo, she could tell it was a Hyndai. Regardless of the dust covering the sides, it still appeared to be new. It was a bright red color and although the windows were tinted, she could already predict the type of person who would be rolling down that window.
    As the window slowly slid down, a tanned man in his early nineties with spiked blonde hair with low lights accenting the tips and a huge grin was inside. He had lust in his eyes, Anya had seen it countless times before, especially in men like him. He was the type of guy who was handsome and waelthy, moderately intelligent so as not to look foolish in front of company. Probably sleeps with women for status and vice versa. These were by far the easiest to manipulate.
    "Hey little lady. Whachu doin' all the way out here in the heat? Though I gotta say, things are startin' to feel kinda cold in comparison to how hot you are", and he added in a wink and a smile, no doubt seemingly perfected with all the practice Anya was sure he had. Unfortunately for him, she had perfected her art as well.
    "Well, my boyfriend and I were fighting and like an asshole he dumped me on the side of the road and I've been walking ever since! I called up a friend and she said to meet her at the Catacombs of Kom el....Shakah?", she said sounding as distraught and panicked as she could.
    "Shoqafa."
    "Yeah, that place, and", Anya stepped up to him, put her hands on the door and bent over a bit to put their faces inches apart, "I just can't seem to find anyone that would be nice enough to give me a ride", she hated flirting, but if it got her there on time, she'd suck it up a bit.
    He chuckled a bit, "it looks like it's both of our lucky days cause I'd be willing to give you a ride down and it's just a pleasure to have a tart like you driving along with me."
    "Aren't you just the charmer", it was her turn to wink this time, "just promise me you'll take it nice and slow"
    "Oh don't worry", he popped open the door, what a gentleman, "I wouldn't want to scare a pretty girly like you", she mentally cringed at that. Anya's fingers were twitched, burning to pull out the small Taurus she had on her just to show how scary this 'pretty girly' could be, but she hid that away. Instead, she batted her eyelashes and buckled up.
    "This isn't going out of your way is it?", trying to sound genuinely concerned.
    "Actually, I was planning on meeting some buds over at Alexandria to tour the city. I'd love to have a cute girl like you on my arm and if your friend is even as half as pretty as you are, she's free to come along as well. I know I'd love to show you around."
    The hand he couldn't see was clenched in a tight ball but with her other hand, she lightly grazed his shoulder, "Maybe, we'll have to see", a perfect lie slithered through her teeth, him none the wiser as he started the car and they drove away.
    He's driving just as fast as he was earlier. The liar...

    His attempt at making small talk was abysmal though his ego was monumental. Anya had a fun time trying to gauge how much money he must've had to talk this highly of himself with such large confidence. She feigned interest, trying to remain transfixed on his every word like she was sure countless girls had done times before, albeit for obviously different reasons. It almost scared her to think she could have been like one of those kinds of girls.
    Anya played her part well; laughing, nodding, touching, responding at all the right times. Acting like this made her stomach a bit queasy. Fortunately for Anya, she did not have to have this burden on her nerves very much longer. With his speed, they made it quicker than she had originally anticipated and Anya was more than grateful for his haste. Deliberately getting out of the car with sloth, she stretched her stiff muscles. Having been up at Revenant HQ for so long when this life started, Anya started to resent any kind of smaller spaces.
    Anya stood up on her tip toes and extended her arms upward. The cold steel of the various guns on her stomach, sides, and pelvis were embraced her skin. It was a feeling that made her body flutter. Anya could only relax when she had a firearm somewhere on her person or within arms length. Her clothing perfectly reflected the ability to hold everything she needed. Her underwear, men's boxers, and a tight fitting shirt were sown with holsters in them. Tan cargo pants were quite baggy, probably more than necessary, but luck favors the prepared. Inside each pocket was more magazines with ammunition for each gun she carried on her person. Anya wore another shirt, black, over her first one and a light vest to carry more ammo and to better conceal her weapons. To top it all off, she wore a pair of black, calf high boots.
    All was meant to look like a tourist, or at least a civilian, and from Dylan's (the driver) reaction, she had done just that. Anya had her doubts however, Dylan didn't seem to be the most intelligent guy on earth, then again, it had been awhile since she had been, so that may have been what it was like now. Anya hoped that that was not the case. She could only press on, what was done was done.
    "So Mandy, I don't see your friend anywhere...you comin' along or what?", somebody was impatient.
    "I'm so sorry, but I have an obligation to my friends. I gotta go look for her. Thanks for the ride though.", she turned and ran out into the crowd before he could protest. Anya heard something shouted behind her. Whether it was a good-bye or something else, she barely even cared to know.
    Anya wandered around for a couple minutes, completely enamored with the size of the Catacombs and the crowd of the tourists themselves. It was a popular place indeed. She was almost discouraged and didn't think she'd find anyone until she saw Xephyr's tall black coat. Anya's face met her palm. She almost laughed at this guys sheer indifference. Everyone knew to show up inconspicuous, and she may have been wearing some black clothing, but he had a thick trench coat. Just looking at it made Anya sweat. On the bright side however, she quickly found the group and migrated over.



(I tried to make the dialog more real and I'm trying to be less redundant. Please point out places that can be done better and suggestions for what I should write. I find myself losing more sleep lately, so I'm sure I need the help. Or the sleep. Whichever comes first. Like always, thank you very much for reading.)