Battle Scars

Chapter 55: Right Here Waiting

A/N: Lachlan was CraftBattleDuty on youtube (he's changed it to Lachlan now), for any minecraft fans wondering. I'm pretty sure he doesn't actually have a sister called Hannah but in this story he does lol
And this is him in the photo :)
--->

Chapter fifty five: Right Here Waiting
Later that day, Mitch and Vikk cornered me in the hallway leading to the cafeteria, and I remembered I'd promised them an explanation. I might have been a little shaken about having to talk about my dad, if it wasn't for the fact that Mitch and Vikk were actually cooperating on something, even if it was ganging up on me. I swallowed my amusement, knowing if I mentioned it I'd ruin it all, and pulled the two of them outside and up onto the hill, which was the place where I seemed to have all my deep conversations with anyone.
"You said Lachlan looked familiar," said Mitch, frowning critically, as if trying to figure this out himself. "I'm assuming you realise he looks like yourself, you have exactly the same eyes. But who else did he look like?" I sat down on the ground, and they sat beside me. I sighed.
"He looked like my dad," I explained. "We both do." Mitch seemed to suddenly realise why I hadn't wanted to talk about this. Vikk frowned slightly, not understanding.
"Vikk, I never told you that the reason why my dad isn't here at the base with us is because he died when I was fourteen." Vikk's eyes widened.
"How did it happen?" He asked softly.
"I...I don't know," I said. "Whenever I asked mum she just cried, so I stopped asking. One day he just never came home."
"I think I can give you an answer there," said Mitch suddenly. I looked at him, confused.
"How do you know?" I asked.
"Before I jump to conclusions, was your father's first name Sam?" I nodded.
"Abby, there was a Sam Hernandez who worked for this rebellion in the Australian sector," he explained. "He was defending the old base the night The Soviets dropped soldiers in to destroy the rebels and get information about the rebellion. The attack failed, but although he fought bravely he was killed in the process. The base was obviously relocated after that." I stared at him.
"Wait here," I said suddenly. "I'll be right back." I jumped up, and ran all the way down the hill, and into the living quarters to find my mother. I came face to face with her in the corridor. She was evidently heading to the cafeteria, with Varna right beside her.
"Mum!" I yelled. She stopped and looked at me worriedly.
"What's happening?" She asked, and Varna's face also registered alarm.
"Did dad work for the rebellion? Tell me quickly!" A look of pain crossed her face at the mention of this.
"Yes," she sighed. "He did." I stared at her in amazement. "You can understand how I felt when I discovered you were working with Mitch," she continued. "You always looked like your father, I just felt that you'd continue where he left off, and you have. But I couldn't tell you for so long."
There was a long pause as I registered this information.
"Ok," I said finally. "Did dad have any siblings?" She frowned critically.
"Yes, come to think of it, he did," she said. "He had a younger brother named Jared, who moved to Canada when he was twenty because he loved athletics." Everything was now falling into place. I felt a smile creeping over my face.
"Mum, I've found my cousins," I grinned.
"Abby what are you talking about?" She asked, looking confused.
"Don't worry now, I'll tell you later," I grinned. "See ya!" I hugged Varna and kissed my mum, before running excitedly back down the corridor from where I'd come, and all the way back up the hill. I plopped back down in my original spot.
"Someone's excited," chuckled Mitch. "Did you go to your mum?"
"It was him," I smiled. "And he had a brother too, named Jared, who moved to Canada to do athletics. So if Lachlan's dad is called Jared then we'll know that Lachlan and Hannah are my cousins."
"That's great Abby," smiled Vikk. "They seem really nice too." I looked at him with vague interest, that I tried to keep from showing on my face.
"Yeah, they are," I agreed, smiling. I wondered if Hannah wasn't the beginnings of Vikk getting over his feelings for me. I hoped it was.

It turned out that my fairly educated guess had been correct - Lachlan and Hannah's father was called Jared Hernandez. They hadn't yet put two and two together, so once I told them, things began falling into place in their minds in the same way it had for myself earlier that day.
"So that's why you and Lachlan look so alike," Hannah laughed. "Lachlan must look like your dad, he has the same blue eyes as you. I guess it must have come through our grandfather or something."
"Our grandparents died a long time ago though," Lachlan reminded her. "So I'll guess we'll never know unless we can find a photo of him."
"My mum might know," I told them. "You can come meet my sister Emily and my mum of you like. I'd introduce you to dad, but he passed away working for the rebellion in Australia three years ago."
"Oh, that's okay," said Hannah, understandingly.
"We'd love to meet your mum and sister," smiled Lachlan. The two of them went up in my estimation, and it put a smile on my face as I led them across the base complex to the living area. Neither of them had made a big deal about my dad, their uncle, and they seemed to understand that it wasn't something I wanted to talk about.

It wasn't long before, all joking and family reunions aside, Mitch, Jerome, Preston, Vikk, Lachlan, Hannah, and I were waiting for our cue to board the hovercraft and head to the capital of The Soviet. I was busy saying goodbye to my mother, my sister, Varna, Shari, Ivory, and Mitch's siblings. I hadn't had a great deal to do with Shari since he had arrived at the base, but apparently he had been instrumental in designing the outfits that all of the soldiers were wearing into battle. I hugged Mitch's two sisters and brother, and said a few words to them before leaving them so they could say goodbye to Mitch. Later that day, Kyleigh and Marley would be dropped into The Soviet themselves, to work as spies to alert the base of what was going on.
I hugged Emily and Ivory tightly. No words were said, but we all knew that I might not be coming back, and we made the most of the moment. Finally, the two of them went to say goodbye to Preston and Jerome, and I turned to hug my mother tightly. She smiled at me.
"Whatever happens," she said softly, "I know your father would be proud of you. And I am too." I nodded, and buried my face into her shoulder, not wanting to leave her behind again. But it had to be done. I finally released her, and turned to pick up Varna.
"Hey friend," I smiled, poking her nose. She returned the gesture, with a cheeky smile on her face.
"Why do you have to go?" She asked me.
"I have to help my friends fight," I explained.
"Okay, I'll be right here waiting for you to come back," she smiled.
"I'll see you soon," I said, hoping it was true, and set her back on the ground. I gave her a kiss on the forehead, before turning to see Mitch was waiting for me. He took my hand, and squeezed it gently. We'd been in situations like this before, but somehow, this was different. We both sensed it.
As I boarded the hovercraft, I looked back to see my mother and Varna waving to me. I returned the wave, and smiled until they were out of sight. Little did I know, that that was the last time I would ever see them.