The Vet's Life After...

The Next Journey - Part Three

Alex stared in shock as his hearing faded, replaced with a soft ringing sound and static. "No.... no!" Alex clenched his eyes and jaw tightly, his whole body tense as his breathing became shaky. "I'm not in New Mombasa.... I'm not in New Mombasa.... I'm not in New Mombasa..... I'm not in New Mombasa- I'M NOT!" Alex screamed the words as he opened his eyes, now welcomed by the bloody walls and corpses of the transport ship.

Alex leaned against the metal wall as he controlled his breathing to calm his nerves, still hearing the static in the background. "I'm not...."

Taking a minute to breathe, Alex finally composed himself enough to raise his pseudo-gun and walk towards the last gunshots he heard. The flashes between past and present discombobulated the former O.D.S.T., destroying any trains of thought he may have had.

Slowly making his way down the hallway, towards the medical clinic, Alex tried to ignore the brutality of the scene around him. 'They must have used suppressed weaponry, maybe that's why I only heard a few shots while in the pod....'

     The hum of the engines, the creaking of the hull, the dripping of blood.... Alex listened to the quiet sounds, almost calming if not for the reality of his situation. He quickly looked over every corpse he came across, looking for any identification that may link them together; Alex needed to know if the killings were targeted or at random. 'Nothing on these three.... unfortunately it seems to be at random; no one's safe.'

Alex continued down the hallway, but movement in the corner if his eye caused him to train his sights on a young girl. The girl was staring at him fearfully as she hugged the arm of a dead woman next to her. "Hey," Alex lowered his firearm, talking softly the girl as he looked down the hall to make sure he wasn't being watched. "is that your mom?" Alex didn't want to sound insensitive, but he knew the urgency of the situation.

The little girl nodded, staring at her mother's corpse with tear filled eyes. "Yes...." Her voice was a little raspy, likely from crying, but still soft and full of innocence. Alex couldn't help but feel a knot form in his chest, knowing the pain of loss and how it could affect the young child.

     "Okay...." Alex exhaled slowly, trying to put on a calm smile. "Hey, why don't you come with me? I know somewhere that safe, and there's more people too." Alex knew the girl's mental state would be fragile, anything could cause her to fall over the edge. A child's mind can be the most wonderful of places, but once scarred and frightened the child could become trapped in endless darkness.

     The girl looked at Alex, silently sobbing as the tears fell down her cheek. "N-no.... I want to stay with mommy!" Alex slowly approached the girl, setting the gun on the ground before crouching next to her.

     "Hey hey hey, it's okay; it may not look like it now, but everything will be okay." Alex slowly reached out to her, not wanting to scare her any further. "Come with me, you'll be safe." Alex held his hand out for her, watching as she looked between him and her mother.

     The girl wrapped her arms around the corpse, making Alex sigh. "If you don't want to come with me, please hide in-"

     "I want to come with you!" The girl held on to her mother, but said it with force. "I'm just saying goodbye...." The girl's voice softened, making Alex nod; the veteran didn't know what to say, so he said nothing.

     Once a few moments passed the girl let go of her mother's corpse, standing up and facing Alex. "Alright.... where do I go?" Alex could tell she was hesitant, but understood why.

     "Alright, I'm going to take you to the pod a friend of mine is hiding in; she's going to look different, so don't be scared of her. She's actually a really big softy." Alex grabbed his pseudo-gun, checking to make sure there wasn't anyone else around. "Alright, follow me."

     Alex quickly escorted the young girl to his pod, trying to keep the girl's attention on him by talking to her. Her favorite colors, animals, her name, anything he could think of that might distract her from the chaos around them.

     Alex quickly knocked twice on the pod door, waiting for a moment to knock two more times. He turned to the girl, quickly kneeling in front of her. "My friend will take you inside, you'll be safe with her." He looked at her with a smile, trying to keep her spirits up.

     The pod door opened a few moments later, revealing Suso. Alex stood up and turned to Suso as she quickly enveloped him in a hug, momentarily surprising the male. "Alex! I was so worried!" She stepped back quickly, still holding him by the shoulders. "I know you can take care of yourself, but it's terrifying just waiting in silence!"

     Alex smiled and grabbed Suso's wrists, rubbing his thumb along her smooth skin. He took a shaky breath as he relaxed, only now aware of his tense muscles and stress. "I'm alright, but I have another young one for you to watch over." He turned his head to look at the young girl, who was busy staring at Suso in shock. 'Shit! I forgot to ask if she is used to Sangheili or not!'

     Suso let go of Alex and stepped towards the girl, kneeling down and loweringher head as much as she could. "Hello there, young one." She spoke softly, slowly reaching her hand out towards the girl. "I'm Suso, what's your name?"

     Alex looked down the hall, watching and listening for any signs of someone heading their way.

     The girl stared at Suso for a few moments before reaching our and grabbing her hand, stepping closer to the Sangheili. "Lysha...." Lysha's voice was soft, almost too quiet to hear.

     "Alright, Lysha, let's hide in here. There is someone else I'd like you to meet." Suso guided the girl into the pod, motioning for Alex to wait.

     Alex did as asked, constantly watching and listening for anything of note as he waited. A few moments later Suso returned, wrapping Alex in a tight embrace. "Alex, please- please, be careful. I don't want to lose you...."

     Alex shook involuntarily, shivers creeping up his spine as he thought of leaving her behind. "I'll be okay, I promise." He slowly squirmed his way into turning around and wrapped his arms around the female Sangheili, holding her tightly. "I won't lose you or anyone else, and I won't put you through what I've experienced; I will be back, and we'll go home safely."

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     Okay, so short chapter; trust me, I keep track of how long each one is and unfortunately they've been getting shorter....

     But! If things go to plan I'll be moving soon and I'll have a lot more time to put into each chapter due to less stress.

     Are they going to be more frequent? No. If I do that it'll only replace what stress I'm removing, but they will be longer and hopefully better edited to feel more coherent.

     Enough bad news, how about some good news? I know where everything is going, I know (for the most part) how it'll come about, and I know how to end the story.... the catch? I'm running out of name ideas, and I feel very anxious about reusing names or feeling like I chose a name that doesn't at all fit the character.

     I've asked before, and I'll ask again in the future, but does anyone have name ideas? I'll even take character descriptions.... OCs (Original Characters*, for those who don't know) will also be an option if you guys want; credit will be given as well as my thanks.

     With that said: thank you for reading, sorry for the short chapter, and have a nice day!

     -Mr_Miscellanious