Borderlines

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Fawn huffed as she laid in bed. Travis was beside her in a very sound sleep. Claus had ordered everyone to sleep from early in the morning until noon, after that, they would head out to Section 1, to Washington D.C. Despite this order, Fawn could not sleep. Too many thoughts ran through her head, constantly playing different scenarios. Claus mentioned there was no real way to prepare for this attack and Fawn was feeling the direct effect of his words. She glanced over at Travis, not really sure how he could sleep right now. With a sigh, she pulled herself out of bed and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. The room was warm, but Fawn still found herself wanting to shiver. She walked over to the window that let light trickle into the room. It felt good to give her mind something else to think about. In just a matter of hours she was expected to storm a building and kill anyone that got in the way of their mission. She wished she could speak to Willow right now, but the other overseer was supposed to be trying to sleep too. Fawn turned away from the windowsill when she heard the mattress in her room creak. Travis had rolled over and was blinking. His eyes grew wide and he sat up, Fawn knew he was looking for her.
"Hey." She said softly from the window, drawing his worried gaze towards her. He breathed a sigh of relief, flopping back against the mattress.
"I thought you had left." He said, staring at the ceiling. Fawn shook her head.
"I can't sleep." She said, wrapping the blanket closer around herself. Travis sat upright again and patted the bed. Fawn came over and moved closer to him when he held his arms out.
"You have to stop worrying." He said, kissing the top of her head. Fawn sighed, leaning against him.
"That's easy for you to say." She half grumbled. Travis let out a small laugh.
"I'll stay with you for as long as I can, but if I'm ordered elsewhere, I have to go." He said. Fawn squeezed her eyes shut. That's what she didn't want. It was hard enough already, if Travis wasn't with her, it was likely she might mess up and someone would get hurt. She put a hand on his chest.
"Can you just hold me here?" She asked him. Travis rubbed her back.
"I can do anything you want." He answered her. Fawn looked down.
"Then why don't we just sit out, stay back, instead of throwing ourselves out on the line?" She asked him. Fawn knew very well she was asking the impossible of him.
"Fawn, you know we can't do that. Cowards hide, we fight." He said firmly. Fawn let out another sigh.
"I know, I just wish there was another way." She said. Travis pulled her closer.
"I think everyone does." Travis pulled her into his lap so that her back was resting against his chest. He rubbed her shoulders lightly.
"Try and sleep. You're going to regret it if you don't." Fawn closed her eyes. Sleep was last thing she wanted to do. Fawn wanted to spend the last hours before they left just being with Travis. Despite his reassurances, Fawn knew that deep down he was just as afraid as she was.

~

When Fawn finally woke up again, Travis was walking around her room. He saw her blinking awake.
"Hey, we have twenty minutes to get ready and head downstairs." He told her. Fawn sighed and stretched. Gear had been delivered to her room and Travis was already dressed in his. He must have done that while she was sleeping. What they wore looked exactly like the guards clothing, in fact, Fawn was sure it was. She got up and grabbed the folded clothes, heading into her bathroom to change into them. Putting on the tight fitting clothing reminded her of the time when she and Travis broke into the Archives. That seemed like eons ago compared to now. She put her hair in a ponytail, uncharacteristic for herself, but she figured it would help keep her hair out of the way. Travis was standing by the window when Fawn finally emerged from the bathroom. He smiled at her.
"Did I ever tell you that you look amazing in those clothes?" He asked her. Fawn ducked her head, hiding a blush. Travis came over and grabbed her hand, leading her out of the room and down the corridor. The screens around them were on and Claus's face could be seen, he addressing everyone in the armory. When Fawn and Travis reached the floor level, Claus had just finished speaking. Willow walked over to them. Her raven black hair matched her clothing.
"Claus just finished briefing all the 'generals.'" She told them. Travis gave a slight nod.
"We're all supposed to board the south side train, second car." Fawn looked at everyone shuffling around in the room. All of them were dressed for a battle. Travis pulled on Fawn and she realized he was already heading out for the train. She followed him, feeling somber. They emerged from the building together. Travis knew his way around the train station and Fawn just followed him. Sean was pulling open the train car door when they arrived at the platform. He looked up at them.
"You guys ready for this?" He asked.
"Heck no." Fawn glanced back, seeing Nathan standing there with Leslie smirking. Fawn didn't understand how laid back he was, but she had never known Nathan was so good with a rifle either. Leslie stood beside when with a confident smile, their fingers interlocked. Willow and Claus came around the corner. He actually seemed surprised that they were there before him.
"Alright guys, let's get going." He said. Willow came forward and Sean helped her into the car, hopping in after her. Travis and Fawn followed them, then Leslie and Nathan. Claus came in last. He slid the door closed, it squealed with protest. There were light's hanging in the train car, giving them visibility. It smelled a little musty in the car and they had to sit on a wooden floor unless they wanted to sit on the two crates that were together. Claus leaned against the door.
"We will be making several stops before we reach the capitol, picking up the other recruits that we have. If everything goes as planned, we'll be arriving around midnight just inside the capitals borders. From there we are going to walk to the wall. Someone is stationed ahead of us to make sure we have multiple entryways. Then we wait until dawn. Everyone understand?" Claus asked, looking around at the group. Fawn nodded, as did everyone else around her. The train lurched forward and Fawn would've stumbled if it weren't for Travis grabbing onto her arm.
"Maybe we should sit down." Nathan offered, lowering himself to the floor, Leslie sat down beside him. Travis pulled Fawn down and Willow sat beside Sean. Everyone was tense and unsure. Nathan looked at Sean.
"So how did you end up with the name Sean? It's not very oriental." He asked him. Sean smirked.
"Is that a race joke?" He asked. Nathan put his hands up.
"No, I didn't mean it that way." He stuttered quickly. Sean didn't seem to mind.
"It's fine. My parents wanted a more American name for me so they picked Sean. I would have preferred something more Asian, but I'm okay with it now." Sean said with a shrug of indifference. Everyone continued to talk back and forth, trying to ease the tension in the car. Fawn smiled, despite the fluttering in her stomach. She leaned against Travis's chest, holding his hand. Nathan looked at them.
"So what do you two plan on doing after this is over?" He asked. Fawn narrowed her eyes. She hadn't given much thought to that. Honestly, she hadn't taken any time to slow down and think about the future. She looked at Travis. He was thinking.
"I guess we try to go back to normal. I'm going wherever she's going." He smiled at Fawn. Willow smiled at them. Travis looked at Nathan and Leslie.
"What about you two?" He asked. Nathan leaned forward.
"I'm hoping to go back home. Scrounge up what I can and get a degree in Law." He said before looking at Leslie.
"I think I might try to go back to college and get a degree in something less stressful." She said quietly. Nathan kissed her cheek.
"You'll do good at whatever you want to do, I know it." He smiled. Fawn couldn't contain a smile either. Leslie was so quiet and with Nathan's somewhat outgoing attitude, they made a perfect match. Everyone looked at Willow and Sean. Willow looked at Claus, something like worry crossing her features.
"Actually, that's something we need to address." Claus started. Fawn sat up straighter.
"After we overthrow Garth someone needs to take leadership of this country. I believe it should be someone in this room." Everyone was dead silent, not daring to elect themselves or anyone else.
"I think it should be you." Travis said, looking straight at Claus. The officer didn't move.
"I do too." Nathan agreed. Soon everyone threw their vote in for Claus. He ran a hand through his hair.
"Alright that is decided then." He said, trying not to focus too much on that task. He leaned off the train car wall.
"I want to have two advisors while we try to straighten this whole mess out. With that in mind, I would like Willow and Sean to become the advisors, if that is okay with all of you." Fawn thought for a moment. It made sense for Willow and Sean to be advisors. They were both very smart and shared common sad stories as well as being leaders. She knew she didn't want to be an advisor and they could trust Willow with their lives. Fawn gave her nod of approval and so did everyone else, though Travis seemed slower to consent. Claus seemed to relax if only a little. Fawn was sure he was glad that was all taken care of.
"I still would like all of you to stay around the capital for a while, all of you are still the most knowledgeable people left in government right now, plus you have seen first hand the things a blind government can do." He said, addressing all of them. Fawn sighed. When all of this was over, she just wanted to go home. She wanted to go somewhere quiet and away from society and its troubles, feeling like she had seen more politics in two years than someone saw in a lifetime. Everyone was going to need time to rebuild their lives. Fawn was brought out of her thoughts as the trains halted, stopping at the first pick-up. She didn't really know where they were or how many people were getting on, all she knew was that they were closer to the Capital, which meant they were closer to the fight. She prayed that Claus's plan was going to work. If it didn't, they could all be heading to their graves right this moment. Fawn looked at the Chief of Police. He had been on their side since the beginning and she trusted his judgement, after all, he had kept Travis from experiencing a highly painful death for a crime he didn't commit. She leaned back against Travis as the train pulled forward again. She could feel her eyelids become droopy and knew it must be dark outside. Travis wrapped his arms around her.
"You sleep, I'll wake you when it's time." He whispered in her ear. Fawn felt herself fade out of consciousness, but nothing could prepare her for when Travis did finally wake her.