cascade | kotlc

20. Combat: X Crossroads

 "Please drive slower," Fitz muttered to Faye. Clearly she wasn't a particularly experienced driver.

The blonde girl snorted, pushing down harder on the gas pedal, so much so that Fitz nearly got whiplash from his head slamming into the back of the seat. They ran a red light and almost collided with another car.

"We're all going to die," June mumbled from shotgun.

Faye responded with a much too unsettling swerve.

MISSED VOICE MESSAGE FROM ΘΕΡΟΝ ΡΉΕΝΣΚΡΟΦΤ.

You've probably entered the crossroads already, right? You don't have to be scared. June and Faye are excellent marksmen- or markswomen, I should say. And very ingenious. Seriously, they're two of the best girls I'll ever know.

He took in a breath, clinging to the silver square. The chopping of the helicopter above them ricocheted everywhere in his ears.

Guns, guns, more guns. That was all the humans knew. When Faye had done the Niagara mission, there hadn't been any support. In the Sierra Nevadas there had been a fifty car armada. Now?
The literal traffic was composed of armed cars, specifically to accompany the helicopter. Either the Neverseen really didn't want them to intercept that last uranium core, or... there was something more sinister.

I'll let you focus. I don't want to take up any more of your time -- and Θερον doesn't have much time left.

You probably know what time this is now, then.

Assure June I'll be back, please. This is Fitzroy Avery Vacker... signing off.

Delivered, 3 years ago.

The Imparter buzzed and the last remnants of gold faded away on screen, leaving nothing but an empty list of notifications.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he muttered under his breath. "Future me needs to be better at giving instructions."

"Where exactly do we want to shoot down the helicopter?" Faye asked. "There's a crossroads coming up here, and here, and here."

June rolled her eyes. "Just shoot it down somewhere random and impromptu the rest. Preferably with no severe injuries or deaths."

"Mmh." The Ace of Spades twitched slightly in Faye's fingers as she nodded absentmindedly. Her index finger reached over to the car door and she rolled down the window.

I stay alive, Fitz realized silently. If I text myself some time in the future, I must stay alive for at least a while. To tell myself that everything will be okay. He groaned inwardly, wiping his brows. What the fuck does that mean?

June laughed as Faye screeched the tire over a corner and the back tires popped up as they ran over the sidewalk, and Fitz dropped his eyes to his shoes. I won't be telling June about my destiny, I think. It will make her farewell so much harder...

I just want her to live her life with me as happily as she can. At least I won't be around to see her grief...

God, I'm so horribly selfish. His heart thumped like their car down the boulevard. I'm so sorry, June, but I really can't see you despairing...

When they were at Everglen, those three minutes of June's tears had broken him down bit by bit, tearing his soul from his chest. Imagine if he would have to witness her pain, perhaps hidden, perhaps displayed, but it was still pain nonetheless. If he had to bear that for all time, until he died.