Aer II

27

'Stand down,' Charlie says into his radio before opening the door to the second floor.
Charlie's people all stand around, heavily armed, in the same uniform as Charlie, it's impossible to make out what they look like.
Daisy eyes Nix and Arawn coming out of a storefront. She races towards them and holds Arawn tightly.

'Who are these people?' Nix asks.
'We're the Imramm,' a man says.
'We were told this was a nest'.
'Yeah well the Ifreann are stupid,' the man says, he takes off his mask. He's around their age with light hair and green eyes 'but ye aren't Ifreann'.

'No,' Nix says 'we're just passing through'.
'To where?' Charlie asks them, he's the only one that hasn't taken off his balaclava.
'A town not far from here,' Daisy watches as Nix gives her a disapproving look, but she continues 'my brother is a part of a big, secure town, we need to get this boy to safety'.
'From?'.
'The cult'.

'You have the cult on your back?' The man frowns.
'We don't know anymore,' Daisy says 'they were ahead of us not so long ago'.

'You think they know your plan?' Charlie asks.
'I don't know'.
'Look I get ye don't like the Ifreann and all but we have to go back there,' Nix steps forward 'easiest way to the town is through there'.

'You're not going back there,' the man says 'ye are the only three that survived, we need fighters like ye. Plus it's not gonna look good that ye are the only survivors. My name's Rob'.
'This boy isn't a fighter,' Daisy says.
'Come back with us to get some rest'.
Daisy looks at Charlie who nods 'okay'.

'Come in,' Daisy answers the knock on her door.
Charlie opens the door and shuts it behind him 'it's a nice room, Rob put the others in their own rooms too'.
  'I know, I've been to see them'.
'Daisy...'.
'You were alive all this time,' Daisy says 'I have been searching for you, I've given four years training to avenge your death and you were alive'.

'Daisy these men found me, they took me in I couldn't leave,' he says.
'So you're a hostage?' She frowns 'take off that mask, or are you stuck in that uniform?'.

He slowly takes off the mask. Daisy gets up from her seat and walks towards him. The left side of his face is completely burned, he has no hair and no ear, the left part of his nose is the owning remaining part of his face that is left. He has a glass eye that mirrors the blue of his right eye.

'These men took me in, men I knew at the start of everything, they saved me,' he says 'my life is here now'.

Daisy shakes her head 'I lost everything because I thought I lost you and this is what you say'.

'Daisy I wanted to find you but not until my work here was done, what good would it all be to take you and my child here in the middle of war?' He frowns.
Daisy looks at him, and shakes her head. He looks away 'I'm sorry'.
'There is nothing to be sorry about, your life is better here,' she says.
'Daisy, I love you, I always have for the past four years, whether you've been with me or not,' he says 'I wanted to create a good life for us, I wanted us to be better'.

'Are you just saying this because I'm standing in front of you?' She says.
He cups her face 'I have never stopped loving you'.
She looks away.

She's never stopped loving him, she accepted his death and felt like she could move on but now that she's seeing him again her past is coming back. For the last few days, even weeks, she's felt better like she could start again, but not now, not looking at him.

'Look...I'll speak to you tomorrow, get some rest,' he gets up and leaves.