DOOM SAGA I - I'll be home tomorrow

Day 194

The Fortress

It was a weird mood filling the Fortress. Things were packed away, cleaned to some extent, and deeper than usual silence hung in the air. Dust was already dancing in the beams of sunlight that endlessly poured through the windows day and night. It felt like going on a longer vacation during summer, and everything was just resting, waiting for everyone to return home. Hopefully, it wouldn't take too long.
Her eyes were fixed on the planet in front of her, awaiting the portal to form as he was pressing buttons on the panels behind her. Her hand were rubbing each other, cracking her knuckles over and over nervously, wiping away the sweat that gathered involuntarily.
Portal unlocked. Ready to open. Do you want to proceed?
Through the noise, he could still hear her shaking breath. The portal swirled and shined, letting them see a hint of what lay on the other side. He put a hand on her shoulder, she turned her head towards him a little but didn't look up at him. He caressed her cheek once and she nodded stiffly. He checked her frame and turned her front to him gently, got down on one knee and re-tied her shoe's laces. One could not even call this a bow since it was nothing but a bundle of knots made by untrained fingers. The sneakers were held by a zipper but he did not want her to trip unnecessarily. She could not stop staring at the world beyond the portal, and only a moment later they were ready to go. He stepped in front, holding out a hand for her to lead her onwards. She had passed enough portals before to know that it was over in a second, yet he could only guess how much effort it took her to take this single step.

Argent d'Nur

The position they landed in was different from the one she had been in before, but she immediately recognized the buildings that scattered the valley. The smell of the freezing air and the hue of the sky brought memories to the surface she had tried to forget about. Her heart was pounding loudly, nearly painfully as the fright threatened to overcome her. She leaned herself against his arm, her hand tightly in his. He waited, stood still, but as the wave crashed into her consciousness and she gasped for air he pulled her close, his hand holding the back of her neck while she buried her face in his shirt. She nearly hiccuped as the panic rocked her body.
It took a little while for her to calm down again, but when, she peeked around from her hideout in his arms. The tower and the platform looked clean, no moss or other plant grew aimlessly on the stone. There were even some torches burning, though it was not even noon. No guards have turned up until now. It must be used regularly, probably connecting the cities on the planet, she thought. A little confused and still anxious she let go of him and he began leading her down the stairs after he had given her an affirmative look. It was less than easy for her, her knees nearly giving way multiple times as she climbed down the high steps behind him. He was down at the bottom and up with her again in a minute, checking the route ahead quicker than she'd moved ten steps. He opened his arms for her invitingly and she let him carry her downstairs.
She noticed the guards and others that stood in their way on the viaducts that led to the heart of the city, and when he sat her down she suddenly shivered from the frosty wind that embraced the path before them. It was even colder than when she'd left, making her believe that it was now mid-winter.

In the distance, he saw yellowish and silver clouds coming down between the mountains, the kind that brought deep snow. It wasn't as cold as he'd expected it to be during this season, and he could still feel the warmth of the sunlight shining through the milky layer of ice in the air. The frost had already thawed where the light had hit it and for a brief moment, he enjoyed the fresh air. A breeze ran over the path and through the stairway of the tower, and he watched her tug her jacket closer while shivering throughout. They should hurry, he had forgotten about it. Her thin layer of clothes was no protection against such weather. He stroked her back and pushed her forwards. She wanted to walk herself, that was the terms she had given him. He did not begrudge her for earning the awe of the men that had not believed in her, and he kept close behind her, a triumph being brought home.
With arms crossed she walked down the bridge, the guards gave their usual salute as they recognized him although their heads followed as she went past, whispers blown away in his back. She did her best to look unbothered, but she had to press her eyes shut every time a gust bit her skin, pushing her sideways a little. He could feel the cold creep into his bones, and though he knew he himself had no reason to fear this feeling he worried. Her walk stiffened as they'd reached the mid of the distance and when she slowed further he closed the gap and quickly grabbed her. She was sitting on his right arm, her knees to his chest and her head even taller now than he was. A small relieved breath showed him that it was the right decision. A clap of thunder rumbled through the clouds that were stuck on the hills at the horizon, brewing a bitter snowstorm that might fall out in the afternoon.
On the other end, he was greeted by two higher-ranked guards and a handful of servants near the main entrance. They looked put together in a hurry as nobody had awaited him without prior warning. The girl's eyes wandered all the way up to the fabulous carvings in the stone that framed the entrance of the open hallway. She had never seen it before, though she had spent months around here.
"Great Slayer, we are delighted to see you are alive and back with us. Do you need your chambers prepared for tonight?", the man asked and stepped aside to let them pass. In all their formal manners they could barely keep from staring at her upon his arm. He ignored their confused looks, nodded with a grunt and went on. She noticed two of the women pace away, probably to notify everybody needed to get their work done post-haste. The guards didn't seem to waste their effort to escort him, knowing he would shoo them away with a single glance.
Out of the wind, it was already warmer and the further they went the lesser she shivered. As they reached a crossing and he wanted to go straight she tugged on him and pointed to the right.
"Can we get something I left behind?", she asked and without hesitation, he turned down the way she had shown. They had to stop and look for the right direction multiple times, but in the end, she found their way down into the broken housing at the ground level.
The narrow stone steps led them down in a circling motion like the stairway in an old castle. Everything seemed older than the buildings on the higher level, or rather neglected. It smelled mouldy and the scent of the earth it was dug into at the side of the cliff filled the room. The path ended on a raised step, maybe two metres higher than the floor of the room. To each side were little holes that one could not even call a room. It was very dim, only some light managed through the cracks of the wide wooden doors that led to the little balcony and mixed with the shine of the torches of the staircase. She stepped down from the raised end and walked to one of the bunks, her feet finding their way easily, over the bumpy cobbled ground and around the holes where stones were missing, even in the dark.
As he stood in the doorframe he had to duck a little to look inside, his shoulders as wide as the entrance. The bed was small, even for her, as she kneeled on it and loosened one of the bricks in the wall. She pulled a tiny but thick bundle of folded papers out of it and a pencil case and packed it away into her backpack before she grabbed a thin scarf from under the pillow. When she stood before him ready to leave she looked into his sorrowful eyes. She smiled half-heartedly.
"Well... I hope your bed will be big enough for both of us.", she said and giggled shyly, before she slipped out through the gap he made for her. She stood on the lower steps, waiting, as she saw him duck inside.
His head would hit the ceiling if he didn't bend low a little and he felt like a giant all of a sudden. It was wet in here, and cold as well, and the bed seemed to be made from straw that was already rotting and dark. Everything looked like it was made of scraps or failed attempts in carpentry. He crouched down, feeling the wall to his back already, he laid a hand on the rough fabric that was the blanket and let his fingers feel the small, darkened stains of blood. He shut his eyes in anger.
WHACK
A high pitched scream ripped him out of his thoughts. He heard furious barks coming from a man.
THUMP
Clutter hit the ground as he darted towards the stairs just to watch a hulky general pull her up the stairs, his fingers grabbing her hair firmly. She whined and kicked and tried to hold onto his arms.
"I will bring you where you belong! You will be punished, no mercy for you this time!", he bellowed, yanking her up behind him. The Slayer jumped over her emptied backpack on the floor, its meagre inventory was strewn across the floor from lashing out at the strange man. Only now did the guy notice the other big man coming at him.
"YOU. Of course! You cannot stop me from bringing a criminal to their punishment! The judges decided once she had betrayed us. But her... no... YOUR corruption will last no longer!"
She was between them, shielding him involuntarily, as the Slayer's grim eyes burned into the general from the bottom of the winding staircase. His deep growl made her blood freeze.
"Oh... you want her?", he asked with an acted politeness. "I see.", he grinned and tossed her downwards. The Slayer jumped forward and caught her, but only after she'd already tumbled down some of the steps. She mewled in his arms and held her ribs and back as he sat her down at the bottom, the bastard-general following relaxed.
"What do you want to do now, Great Slayer?", he said, mocking him with a dirty laugh. Then for one second, she could see his eyes lock onto his target.
BANG
The general was pressed into the wall behind her, stone cracking along his bones. His body fell to the floor, coughing blood and gasping for air in shock, but he was grabbed by his boot and pulled to the other end of the corridor. With a kick the doors flung open and the struggling man hung upside down over the chasm below.
"Come on! Do it!", the man spit.
"Kill me and you will be banished from this planet!"
The Slayer still glared at him in silent rage, letting him slip just a little bit farther down in his grasp. The bastard laughed amused.
"You will be banished since we can't kill you! Both of you will never be able to return! Hahaha!"
For a moment he froze. He hurled the other back over the balustrade and let him hit the floor hard. The Slayer still panted angrily as he set his foot on the man's chest, slowly raising the pressure.
"You are no longer welcome! My people... don't need you any longer, now that the war is over! You bring nothing but... danger to-argh-us!"
More bones were crackling under his weight as the Slayer grunted at his words. He let go and turned inside and back to her.
"They... just... fear you... too much....", the man wheezed out of air. Ignoring him he knelt down at her side, scanning her for wounds, and when his fingertips carefully parted her hair he saw the tiniest drops of blood had formed where her hair had been ripped out. She was still calmly sobbing from the shock and the pain, relieved as he finally embraced her.
He had turned away for a minute and she had already gotten hurt, only a couple of metres away from him. If a general dared to do this in his presence, he could only imagine what they would do when she was by herself. He hugged her even tighter, snuggling his head against hers cautiously before he whispered.
"Forgive me."
He breathed it so quietly that only she could hear it. She sobbed harder, rubbing her face into his shoulder as she nodded wildly.
"It's... It's not y-your f-fault...! He's an Arschloch! A big stinky Arschloch! And his men are the same!"
His men. How many more were like him. It couldn't be everyone. It couldn't. He let go of her, gathered the few belongings from the floor and began walking them back. He knew the general was only the tip of the iceberg, but now he was alerted, his eyes looking for anyone who brought more problems. Her soft palm suddenly held his cheek, and her cooling blue eyes looked at him lovingly. Her touch eased some of the heat that had risen inside, and he sighed, the stiffness releasing. He had other things to do first.