𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙻𝙳 𝚂𝙾 𝙲𝙾𝙻𝙳

Dead of Night

Victor slowly panned the scope of the rifle along the city lights in the distance. Lying on the earth in the pitch blackness of the forest mountain, he observed how the only sources of light in the town seemed to be the street posts. Almost every building seemed to be shrouded in darkness. As he moved his scope to the other side of the lake, he observed as the streetlights moved further in land, branching out into the forests surrounding the town before disappearing behind the vegetation and land itself. He had noticed the headlights of some cars traveling on some roads but could not definitively see what kind of vehicles were behind them.

By now, snow had begun to fall gently, the wind softly breezing through the hills. Victor, despite wearing his full winter gear, still felt some chill underneath all the layers. Suddenly, he hears the sound of crunching snow underneath boots. He kept his gaze down the scope of the rifle, wondering who was producing the sound.

"Are you keeping warm out here?" The voice of Aiyana softly spoke behind him.

"Yeah. It's a little chilly but I think I can manage." Victor replies, adjusting his grip around the rifle and gently turning his head back around to her.

Just then, he felt something straddling his lower backside. Surprised, he lifts his head and turns it fully around. Aiyanna pressed her chest against his upper back, reaching an arm around his chest as her other arm reached for his face covering. She gently pulls it down and leans into his face, nuzzling his cheek.

"Hey, now." He says suavely, reaching his right hand back and gently places it along the nape of her neck.

Aiyana giggled softly. "Sorry, I couldn't hold myself back anymore."

Victor rubbed the nape of her neck, leaning his head back and rubs his face against the side of her neck. "At least you know the kind of time and place for this sort of thing."

"There is always a tiny window of downtime, Mr. Churchill." Aiyana said with a soft chuckle, wrapping her arms underneath Victor's shoulders and plants her elbows on the earth for leverage. Lying flat on top of him, she then rests her head upon his shoulder. Victor retracts his hand from her nape and smiles to himself, bringing his face covering back up and peers back into the spotting scope.

Aiyana lets out a small sigh of contentment. "So. Have you seen anything special yet?"

"Not much... the only thing I've really seen are headlights coming in and out of the city every now and again." Victor responds. "All the buildings in town are pitch black. Not a single light in town except for some streetlamps."

"Hm... that could be a good thing." Aiyana says, adjusting herself on Victor's back.

"How so?" Victor asked, gently turning his head to her.

"If the town was still operating as usual, downtown should at least have some lights. The fact that there is not could mean that someone or something tampered with the power grid." Aiyana answers, gently placing her head against Victor's.

"I see... it's definitely possible that the population here is still fighting back." Victor said, a spark of optimism in his voice.

Aiyana chuckles softly. "I already told you so." She says with a playful tone, gently tightening her arms around him.

"That you did, that you did." Victor smiles, peering back into the scope. "I just wonder what our next move will be."

Aiyana lets out another soft sigh. "Knowing the captain, he'd want to make a B-line for that base out there."

"I wonder if it'd be possible to try to link up with any possible resistance in the city." Victor says, observing the interstate lights that carved further inland.

"If the fight is still alive, I'm sure we'd find ourselves in the middle of something since we'd have to pass through anyway." Aiyana said, lifting her head and letting out a soft yawn.

"I suppose that is true. And considering the circumstances, getting to the bottom of the US ARMY being involved in all of this is our top priority." Victor says.

"I agree." Aiyanna said, placing her head back down on Victor's shoulder.

The two lied in silence for a minute or two. Eventually, Aiyana unwraps her arms from the man and gently rolls off of his back, lying on her stomach to his side. She then nestled up to his side and interlocks their arms, planting her hand over his own.

"You think you'd be warm enough in a tent by yourself?" She whispered near his ear.

"It'd be hard to stay warm since we aren't allowed to build a fire." Victor responds, looking over to the female.

"Maybe you'd fancy some extra insulation?" She asked, nuzzling his cheek.

Victor lets out a soft chuckle. "Ms. Pershing, you aren't worried that the captain might say something?" He asks.

Aiyana shrugs. "I think it's pretty obvious to everyone at this point anyway. Plus, the captain can just deal with it. I knew I wouldn't be able to contain myself the moment I saw you changing your clothes." Aiyana says with a sultry chuckle.

"Oh, god. You two are so gross." A voice suddenly chimes in.

Both Aiyana and Victor shoot their gaze around to see Daniel standing over them.

"Dammit, Daniel. You nearly gave me a heart attack." Aiyana says, bringing her knees underneath her and lifts her torso off the ground, sitting on her shins.

"It's twenty-two hundred. It's my turn with the shiny toy gun." Daniel says as he stuffed his hands into his jacket.

"Good show, I'm tired as hell." Victor says, setting the stock of the DMR down on the earth and rises to his feet. Aiyana rose to her feet as well and stood by Victor, listening to him explain to Daniel everything he took account of during his shift.

Daniel kept his gaze behind him as he watched the two of them eventually enter Aiyana's tent. Shaking his head, he goes prone on the ground and places the stock of the rifle against his shoulder. "I give it a few weeks, at best."