Expendables- Devil's Ax

Chapter 19

Gunner slowly placed Rose down on her bed and watched as she curled up into a tight ball. Her body was still shaking from the sounds of the fireworks going off outside. Although they were loud, she managed to covered her ears and hum to herself to drown out the noise.
Gunner walked over to the corner of her room and selected her favorite vinyl and placed it on the record player. He tured the dial and 'Heartbreak Tonight' by the Eagles began to play softly throughout the room. He turned up the music and walked back over to the bed and sat down on the edge of the matress. He looked over his shoulder at Rose, who had her eyes squeezed shut as she trembled. He placed a hand on her back and felt her heartbeat racing through her shirt and closed his eyes with a sigh. He had figured that something like this would happen. It was never easy to hear loud explosions around you, even when you know you're safe. Not after the hell she had been through.
Gunner leaned back on his hands and looked up at the ceiling. The sound of fireworks were drained out by the music, but he could still feel the vibrations of the explosions in the room. They even shook the matress he was on. He fell back and rested his head on Rose's hip and folded his hands on his stomach. He smiled when Rose began to squirm around a little.
"Gunner?" Rose asked in a whisper. "Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me," he said. She must have come too.
"Where are we?"
"Your room," his voice was soft.
"My... Room?"
Gunner lifted himself up and crawled into the bed with her. He shoved one arm under her pillow and head, and the other wrapped around her torso tightly. He pulled her in close and whispered into her ear.
"Your room, back in the states. Remember?"
Rose was silent for a few minutes before she moved her body around to face Gunner. She breathed in the faint smell of smoke and sweat that lingered on his skin. She dug her fingers into his shirt and didn't let go.
"Is that you Gunner?" She asked a few moments later. Her body tensing up.
"Yeah."
"Are they coming back? Are they coming for me?"
"No."
"Where are we? I'm scared. Where are we Gunner? Are they coming back?"
Rose buried her face into his chest and took a deep, shaking breath. Gunner tightened his grip on her and rested his chin on the top of her head. He glaced over at the clock and saw that it was 9 pm. Normally he would still be awake. But within mintues, he felt Rose go limp and knew she had drifted off. With a reluctant sigh, he too drifted off into sleep.

The next day was filled with questions that Rose didn't want to answer. She had been doing so well, that a sudden attack like that left her and everyone else speechless. However, there were only two people that didn't ask her how she was doing, and 'what happened yesterday?'. Gunner and Lee were the only people who could understand why she didn't want to talk about. Rose didn't even know what had happened. It wasn't until she asked Gunner did she find out she had episode in front of everyone. She had decided to go downstairs and train for a bit to clear her mind, but when she arrived in the garage, she saw Barney and Lee talking to one another.
"She isn't ready," Lee said in a low voice.
"I know. That's why she isn't going on this one," Barney said placing a wrentch down on the work bench. He had been doing something ot the engine of his truck.
"She won't like that either," Lee said with a chuckle.
"I know, but it is what it is. After what happened yesterday, I don't want her going. We don't need an accident."
"When are you going to tell her?" Lee asked.
"I was going to tell her yesterday. I'll do it tomorrow."
"You should do it sooner than that, you idot. We leave in two days."
Rose walked out of the garage unseen and made her way back up to her room. Everything Barney said was true. It it pissed her off. She was angry with herself. She was still in no shape to go with them. But everything nerve in her body said to fight back and make him take her. Even if she had sneak onto the plane, but then again, how would she handle the explosions. What about getting fired at? What would she do if she someone get hurt? What if she was the cause of someone getting hurt?
Rose felt her heartrate go up and took a seat on the couch. She grabbed her chest and took in deep breathes. Although it was painful to think about all of that, it was more painful to think about how she wouldn't be there. How she wouldn't be able to help them. How she would have to sit on the side lines again, and worry about if they would come home in one piece, or in a body bag.
Leaning back, Rose stared up at the ceiling. She sighed and closed her eyes.
Why did they have to be right? Why did she have to be weak?

Rose opened her eyes to the sound of a knock at her door. She looked around for a moment in daze. When did she fall asleep?
She shook her head and walked over to the door. Barney stood in the doorway when she opened it. She welcomed her in but he shook his head.
"I was hoping you'd come downstairs wih me," he said leaning against the frame.
"Sure..."
Rose slipped her shoes on and walked out into the hallway. She followed Barney downstairs and into the garage. She leaned against the truck and crossed her arms. Was he going to tell her?
"I wanted to give you something," Barney finally spoke up as he looked over at her. He grinned and picked up a long black metal box. There dents and scratches here and there and parts seemed to be rusted. He handed the box to Rose. When he let go, she felt it's actual weight. It had to weigh at least ten pounds, was at least five feet in length.
She looked up at Barney confused.
"Open it."
She placed the box down on the work bench and undid the clasps. She lifted the lid and looked inside. Laying on it's side was a four foot, silver colored axe, with two matching hatchets, all three with the word 'Devil' written on the metal handle. It took a moment before what they actually were set in. These were the weapons that her father used when he was an Expendable.
"Everyone called him Dare Devil," Barney said as he walked over and stood next to Rose. "We went out and made these for him, carved the name in it too. Tool did that."
Rose stared down at the axe and slowly brushed her fingers over the handle. There were nicks in the metal, and stratches on the blade. The handle was worn where her father had held the axe. In the center of the handle was a deep groove that was worn and had a scratches lining the inside of it.
"Go on, pick it up."
Rose looked over at Barney. He nodded and smiled. Slwoly, Rose picked up the axe from the box and held it in her hands. The weight of the axe didn't seem like much. It was all in the blade head. Without think, she began to twirl the axe around and around. An image of her father doing the same thing when she wa a kid shot through her mind. Rose caught a climps of Barney smiling at her and she stopped. Gripping the axe tightly, she looked over at him.
"Thank you," she said in a low voice.
"That's no all."
Brney picked up the hatchets and lifted the casing from underneith. He then pulled out a harness and some kind of cloth. He handed the harness to Rose and helped her put it on. It wrapped around her waist and then a strap attached to the front and back went over her left shoulder. Barney took the axe from her and slipped it through a loop in the back. The groove in the center of the handle latched onto the loop and kept the axe from sliding further. Near Rose's left hip was a another loop, this one wrapped around the bottom of the handle and kept it from swinging back and forth. Two other loops, placed directly on her hips, held the hatchets, their blades keeping them from falling out.
Barney then held out the black cloth that he pulled out of the bottom of the box. Rose grabbed it and unfolded it. It was a mask. It was made of wicking material and had the pattern of a skeleton smile on the front. Rose pulled the mask down over her face, there was only enough material to cover her bridge of the nose and down to her neck.
"You look just like him," Barney said. "When you get better, you'll be just like him."
Rose looked up at barney.
"You really think so?" She asked looking down at the floor.
"Of course. You're the Devil's child afterall."