Antumbra - A Lost Cause

Long Walk Home - Chapter Fifty Two

Arva hadn't said a word since the fight ended, not that Kyodai knew what to say. He had pulled her out of Antumbra so suddenly, against all safety regulations, and it left her in a daze. She was largely unresponsive, and when she did react it was sluggish and almost delayed. It wasn't clear which trauma left her this way, but he thought it best to give her space. Even when Boomer came back Arva hadn't even so much as looked at him, and so the two men were contemplating their next move. They had made it to a small town on foot after hiding their machines, and were lucky enough to find a doctor who could help Boomer. After that they tried to search for Arva, but a snowstorm kept them stuck in town, though they had acquired supplies and parts to patch their suits, and found a dock yard where worker mechs were used. After some persuasion and a transfer of funds using the emergency account Eclipse supplied them for situations such as these, they procured construction tools to use with their suits. The only problem was mounting an assault with just two units on the IRT base to go after Arva, but when they heard sounds of a fight in the dead of night they were reasonably certain it was her. Kyodai had thought they were lucky, though now not so much.

"She okay?" Boomer asked as he approached Kyodai, standing in the wake of Malamute as it knelt with its impromptu sniper rifle in hand. Said rifle was actually a heavy duty riveter for the massive ships that crossed the freezing oceans, but with Malamute's enhanced vision and Boomer's own marksmanship, it made a decent long-range support weapon. Until it jammed, of course.

"No," Kyodai said bluntly. He felt some pity for the girl. She just sat, wrapped in her coat, leaning into Rottweiler's palm with its other hand cupped over her for shelter from the winds. They didn't dare let her get back in Antumbra, not after what Kyodai had witnessed.

"I, uh, had a talk with the family," Boomer said, "the old lady said she'd been their guest for the last two days. She was pretty close to the girl who died."

"That's why we have training," Kyodai sighed. Arva wasn't cut out for this, but it wasn't all her fault. Still, unless she snapped out of it, they weren't going anywhere.

"Give her a break," Boomer breathed into his hands to warm them, "she's just a kid. Let her grieve."

"We can grieve when we're back at base," Kyodai said. They had managed to squeeze out a brief message to Eclipse via telephone, but apparently things weren't going much better on the homefront. Even if they were, extraction would be difficult this far behind enemy lines. They were on their own, and if they didn't leave soon enemy reinforcements would come and finish them off. For their own sake, and the sake of the family who lived here, they needed to get moving.

"So what are we going to do, then?" Boomer asked, "drag it back home? She's in no condition to pilot that thing."

"I know," Kyodai sighed, "we'll head back into town, see if we can buy a transport that'll fit our suits. Maybe sneak them on board a ship. If we can make it across the Atlantic we can call for friendly forces to pick us up. Our suit radios only reach so far."

"And the kid?" Boomer asked, "shouldn't you talk to her?"

"No," Kyodai said.

"Fine," said Boomer, "I will. Somebody has to remind her that she still has friends out here." Kyodai grimaced as Boomer made his way towards Arva. It wasn't his job to be a friend, it was his job to be a teammate, to cover her back in battle. He sighed with exasperation and followed, standing just within earshot as Boomer crawled into Rottweiler's hands.

"How'ya doin', kid?" Boomer asked, and predictably got no response. Arva simply sat, knees tucked up to her chin with her coat done over them.

"Yeah, I hear ya," Boomer continued, "I'm really sorry about what happened. It sucks, but life sucks. It sucks for way too long and then just kinda stops whenever." Arva didn't respond at first, but after a moment she began to weep, until she was outright crying once more. Boomer got flustered, and left her as she sobbed.