The Brave

Chapter Three: Pt. 2

“To get supplies,” I lie, trying to avoid the question.

Old Man Seely chuckles. “Now tell me the real reason.”

My eyes shift to the ground. Old Man Seely seems genuine and trustworthy. In fact, I really like the guy. But this matter is too dangerous to share with near strangers.

So I reply, “To look for a long-time friend.” The sentence is mostly true, so I don't feel too guilty for saying it...but the truth is I hate lying to the old man. So, I open up more.

“You see I've been tracking this friend for years but I haven't found him. Sometimes I feel like he's watching me from a distance but he won't come out into the open. I really need his help but when I get close, he makes it so that I lose his trail. It's frustrating. In fact it's sort of...”

“Haunting?” Old Man Seely's eyes glance up at me with a wise look, then they go back to his burned hand.

I stop. He is right. It's haunting. When I think I get close, they dissapear into thin air. I feel like they're watching, but they stay away. When I need help the most, they leave me on my own although their shadow looms over me in my thoughts. Why am I even looking anymore? They've done nothing for me. In fact, they've chosen not to do anything for me. And what of that “dream” I had after I killed Ryce? Now that I think of it, that was real. It was The Brave trying to save my life. But why save it? They've never cared before. That makes me angry. They could be saving my siblings from starvation, but no. They choose to stay in the shadows and simply watch. Realizing they've been their the whole time, angers me more than me never finding them.

“Exactly.” I practically spit the words.

“You know,” the old man starts, reading my facial features. “Sometimes things happen for reasons unexplainable. Archer, when you're up close to something and you can't understand why it's happening; everything looks blurry. That's when you have to take a step back and let the image come into focus. In situations like these, you can't blame your friend for his actions. I garuntee he has a reason. What if he's trying to protect you from something? Archer, take a step back, review the whole picture. Let the images clear up. I promise you things will get better.”

Old Man Seely sets the bandanna down on the floor at his feet. The once ice-filled bandanna is now a soaking wet bandanna.

“You know, I have a similar story,” the old man starts. “When the Advisors and Darce took over North America, I got seperated from my family. I was stuck halfway across the country. During that time I was in a special military force, deployed to The Communist Powers. My team and I were keeping a watchful eye on Vlaad Pachnev and his supervisors and supporters...”

“Wait!” I interrupt, curiosity hitting me. “You were watching Pachnev? You were a before-time soldier? Why are you a Healer now?”

Old Man Seely guffaws. “Patience, Archer. Yes, my special force team was assigned to watching Pachnev. I enlisted in the before-time army when I was 23. That was 59 years ago; all the way back in 1966! How the world has changed...I am a Healer now because that's what I was back then. I was a Sniper and an Army Medic. Back then, the term 'medic' wasn't the same as it is now. I used traditional methods to heal: herbs, vitamins, homemade remedies and salves, tylennol, and lots and lots of prayer.”

Old Man Seely stands and opens a jar of udder cream. He grabs a wad on his hand and walks over to me, applying the cream to my face. “Anyways, I was seperated from my wife and two children. They were living in Sector 10, what used to be Virginia. So while I was in The Communist Powers, they were alone during the takeovers. To make things worse, the former country Russia had a lockdown in place. No foreigner could leave the country. My team and I had to stay well-hidden just so we could stay alive. If Pachnev knew the old American government was keeping a close eye on him, who knows what he would've done. He might even have sent one of his nuclear weapons to destroy part of our nation. The main thing really bothering our team was Pachnev's swift rise to power. And right under our noses, he took over. We did not realize that Pachnev's take-over would be so soon, and so violent. The bloodshed in his own country was horrendous. And what could my team do? Our government already thought we were MIA, and plus, there was only six of us. We could fight a battle, but not the whole war. We felt like it was our fault a mad-man had taken control. We knew if we could even get back to America, our government would blame us and say we abandoned our mission by doing nothing. So, the six of us made a pact; we would dissapear and never tell a soul about our mission. We would become totally different people. The only people we were allowed to tell was our immediate families. That evening we split up. I haven't heard from any of those guys since.”

I stare at Old Man Seely, my mouth gaping open. “Well you can't stop there! What happened next?”

“Get your lazy self out of that cot and rebuild that fire! While you're doing that, I'll tell you,” Old Man Seely says to me smiling. Even though he smiles, the light has gone out of his eyes as he recounts the story. Silently, I wonder if I should stop pressing him for the rest of the tale. But because I'm an awful person, and very curious, I do as he says. I start coaxing the fire back to life and the old man continues.