Primal Gambit

Chapter 11: The Final Walk

The ash never settled. When the fall had stopped and the clouds finally parted in the sky, civvies flooded the streets like tidal waves. Valerie and Doerrman kicked up the soot with each landed step as they moved through the crowds lithely. The warrior held onto the girl's hand, leading her as they maneuvered between the lifeless walkers. Valerie looked to the ground, enveloped in her thoughts. She had already made her decision, her premonitions proven true. When the activist group had met in her apartment to discuss the plan to free Professor Arthur Shuke from his life in shackles, she knew before Darwin mentioned anything that he would inquire about Doerrman.

It was all beginning to make sense. The fact that Darwin was covertly terrified of Doerrman proved to be the incentive to utilize his talent. For Darwin saw himself as a strong-willed individual; a man who stood up to fear, looking it in the eyes for just enough time to see a bit of himself. Without saying it, Darwin saw the strength in Doerrman that he did not see in himself. When he finally inquired to Valerie about the soldier, her heart sank deep into the pit of her core. The timing was so poor that the girl was beginning to think poorly of herself – a driven individual, but an insensitive one. Doerrman would never find his paradise; Valerie would not let him.

She wanted so badly to pull back on Doerrman's hand and lead him away from the city, away from what life had become. The girl knew that her hands were tied. She had already agreed to the mission and Darwin was not one to take excuses well, especially when the opportunity for gain was so high.

They were approaching their destination rapidly, the tall nexus beginning to shroud the sun. Time was pinching, Valerie's window to pull back quickly constricting. She was in too deep, reneging no longer an option. The cost of this selfless act became heavy; the girl was about to destroy the only real relationship in her life along with the wellbeing of multiple people. Were it a decision she could not live with she would have opposed to the mission altogether, but she finally began to see that all decisions, no matter how selfless, came with consequence.

The two arrived at the building doors. Doerrman turned to Valerie – she could see a forged smile begin to form beneath his mask. She did the same.

"See you when I get out? Shouldn't be more than a few hours." He released with a mechanical sigh. Unbeknownst to him, Valerie was going to wait in that one spot, watching life pass her by – spring the question as soon as his evaluations were finished.

"Sounds good." She returned. He hugged her then, the weight of her decisions nearly forcing her to collapse in his arms. As he turned and began to filter into the building she called to him:

"Doerr," he turned back to her, "Don't let them take everything away."

With a nod, he continued inside. Valerie looked to the ground and then to the sky. She waited.