Shattered

Chapter 16

Chapter XVI

Alex was sitting on a bench at a park outside the building. All around him families strolled through the park. Pups running rampant in front like a skirmishing screen of cavalry, being held in check by the parents. It was peaceful. That was not taking into account the occasional staring, but by now he was used to it. Staring off into space, he though back to that mission. He had almost forgotten about Briggs, Jonathan, and Daniel. He scolded himself, how could he have? They were his friends!

They had died following his orders, he was responsible for them. The least he could have done was remembered them and their sacrifice. What kind of man was he, if he could erase the memories of his brothers in arms? Alex knew that it was in some small part due to the fact that he was no longer in his old reality.

It was all so surreal. There were times when he questioned his sanity. Maybe this was all some elaborate hallucination caused by the markers. Perhaps he was still on the station and had not activated the explosive. Was this all a fever dream?

"Usually the lecturer doesn't walk away, during the lecture." A vaguely familiar feminine voice said jokingly.

He looked to see who had interrupted his crack pot theories. It was Fara, the russet furred vixen who had temporarily joined Starfox, she was standing next to the bench and clasping her arms together. Her long and graceful ears were lopsided, he thought it gave her a roguish appearance. Green jewels stared at him, eyes holding a remarkable similarity to Krystal's.

"Can I help you?" He grunted. Usually he wouldn't have been so rude, but old memories resurfaced made for a grumpy human.

She seemed a little put off by his dismissive tone, her arms almost imperceptibly tightening to herself, ears flopping down submissively, and tail going flaccid. Immediately he began to feel like an ass. "Forgive my harsh remark, I am not feeling myself today." He sighed sadly.

She loosened up and responded. "That's okay, I understand."

He noticed that she was still standing so he scooted over and bid her to sit. With a thankful smile she sat next to him. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing for the moment, I just thought that we should talk. Seeing as your not..." She trailed off looking for the right words, arms gesturing in the frigid air.

"Not from around here?" He supplied with a grin.

She nodded and smiled thinly. "I suppose that's how you could phrase it."

"So, what would you like to know?"

They spent over an hour talking on that bench. She surprised him, she was amazingly witty and yet, so fragile. Something had hurt her along time ago, Alex decided to do his best to help. She was curious, so he answered the many questions she had truthfully, all but one anyways.

"So what do you think your people are doing right now?" She asked.

"Uh, pardon?"

"You know, are they still fighting the necromorphs? Or did they win?"

Pepper had not told most people of what happened, and frankly he liked that. "I like to think that they won." He told her. He knew the truth but, a minuscule part of himself hoped, beyond hope, that if he told the lie long enough he could convince himself. That somewhere out there, his people still lived.

"That's good." Fara said.

"Yes...yes it is." Alex stood up slowly. "We should get going back huh?"

"Yeah, they are probably waiting for us." Fara agreed reluctantly. She was beginning to enjoy spending time with this man. He was so unlike Fox, mature and kind. Fox wasn't bad, he was just not the kind of guy for her. (And it didn't help that she still carried a grudge.) Alex on the other hand, was an engaging speaker and his sense of humor was funny to witness. Not to mention he was easy on the eyes. His muscular physique, and robust features lent him a strong bearing.