After serving his country overseas for a decade, being in Iraq and Afghanistan during active war, 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐬. Staff Sergeant Nathan Grimes finds himself on the front lines yet again. This time however, was diff...
Under the cover of darkness, thousands of stars gleamed brightly overhead. His heart calmed at the unpolluted, refreshing air that consumed his lungs. The beautiful thing about this instance was that Danny could always sit, gaze up at the night sky, and rediscover his humanity. It didn't matter where he was in this life; the blanket of stars never disappeared.
He turned from his spot on the deck's landing at the sound of the door gently opening. Karen spoke just after the door closed behind her. "You can't sleep either, huh?"
"Never really can." His body relaxed once she settled on the third step below him. "It's not your first time joining me out here, though. You okay?"
"Honestly, I feel bad for complaining to you about my problems." She stretched her legs wide, laying them across the stairs. Her back was against the railing across from him, allowing her to raise her head and meet his gaze. "It's been nearly two months. I would've figured that by now you'd be comfortable with me. On account of you moving in with me and all." His expression went from serene to mischievous over time. She averted her gaze from him, trying to conceal her smirking. "First of all, we moved in with each other."
"Sure, sure." Danny acknowledged her point sarcastically and chuckled in the same breath. Since their time together on the road, he has had fun teasing her. "Secondly, our mutual friend as well as your best friend and his daughter also moved in with us." His brows raised at her wording. "Oh right, I nearly forgot that minor detail since you just spoke as if we were a couple." She felt her face heating up, and regardless, she turned to him in amazement. "Wow, you don't look totally against the thought."
It was Danny who ended up shying away from his own giddiness. Once he gathered himself, he spoke. "All right, what's going on?" Her expression calmed from his usual charms. She pulled the silenced pistol they gave her to keep to admit her night terror had her by the ropes. "I feel like he's still standing behind me when I lay down. He's just waiting to see me flinch or to hear a sound so he can shoot me too."
"Sometimes at night, I hear you whimper in your sleep. I figured it was something like that." Danny shifted in his seat to lean forward. "Oh great." She cast her eyes to her lap. Sympathetic eyes matched a grin as he spoke. "Believe me, it's not anything to be ashamed of." With hesitation, she bit her tongue, but she carried on when he gave her a stumped expression. "Because of the episodes you have?" He nodded. "How're you so nice to me? I attacked your home."
"A cut is a cut. It doesn't matter how you get it; it still bleeds. You didn't know the truth, and when you did, you did the right thing. Don't blame yourself." He said.
"When will it heal?" Danny studied the sleep-deprived woman longer than usual. "I'll let you know when mine does." Not the answer she hoped for, but clearing up her confusion about his feelings towards her made up for it. "So what is making you bleed tonight?" A delay in response was followed by a deep sigh. "Maggie, the girl that was taken by the Governor, and I got close over the past year. Other than Nate, she's the person I'm closest to." Karen's nodded. "The girl I heard you tell Nate invited you guys to a ceremony a couple weeks ago?"
"Yeah." He looked down, conflicted. "Her and our other friend, Glenn, were supposed to exchange wedding vows. But the other day, when Daryl tracked us down, he came to tell me they put it on hold."
"You know, I was a teacher in my past life. If I had to guess, I'd say it had something to do with her best friend not being there?" When he didn't answer, she took it as being correct. "So, why didn't you?"
"Trying to protect me, she ended up hurting me pretty badly." He admitted the truth vaguely. She wanted to respond, but growls came within earshot. Danny was already nearly down the steps when Karen followed behind. There were a pair of walkers stumbling towards them, but they didn't make it much closer to the house when Danny pierced the skull of one. Karen took the other one out within seconds. Her heart sank when the body dropped to the ground, exposing the view behind him. "Danny." She gasped. "We're too far from the house to make it."
A small horde must've broken away from a larger one. There had to be something along the lines of thirty or so. "Shit." He threw his arms up behind his head while turning in angered panic. Her eyes were barely started to widen when he took her by the forearm. "Give me your gun." He muttered, reaching for the firearm when she obeyed his command. "Please don't be up, brother." The sniper took aim while drawing a deep breath. Directly after exhaling just as deeply, his finger pulled the trigger.
