REVENGE (2nd book of FEAR)

- chapter five -

"Bella!"

The little girl collided into his arms, her sobs exploding into his eardrum. Locus wrapped his arms around her, trying not to squeeze her too hard. It was in the middle of the day, and he had just gotten back from his patrol.

"Bella, what happened?" He pulled apart from her, his hands cupping the side of her tiny face. Tears flooded from her eyes, and her shoulders shook from her cries. She tried to answer him but ended up just balling all over again.

Locus hugged her tighter, trying to calm the poor girl down. People had started to glance over at them. Their eyebrows were raised in question and concern. The mercenary ignored them.

Once he saw the bloodied body being carried by two of his fellow patrollers, he knew why Bella was having a breakdown. It was a women, judging by the long hair and frail shaped body. Blood coated her skin. She looked unconscious, but not dead.

"Jesus," he muttered, stroking the little girl's matted hair. "Hey, look at me," Locus kept his voice stern but soft as he pulled away from her. She was a blubbering mess. "Everything's okay. Someone just spilled a plate of spaghetti," he smiled like a fool.

Locus knew that she didn't believe him. Hell, the girl had witnessed her parents getting shot. Of course she knew what was going on. Bella still managed to show him a weak smile.

"I want you to stay in the tent until I get back, okay?" He wiped the trail of tears from her face, showing her another reassuring grin. She nodded, then retreated back to the place they shared.

Locus marched towards the infirmary, ignoring the stares he got when he barged in. "Excuse me, sir. You can't be in h-" One of the doctor's assistants held out a hand to stop him, but he quickly brushed past him.

"Locus," Sheryl's eyes lit up in surprise when she spotted him. She was in all white scrubs, stained brown from old blood. "What the hell happened?" He stormed up to her, but his heart seemed to stop when he looked at the patient.

Sheryl began explaining to him what was going on, but all of the noises surrounding him cut out. It was like he was underwater. Time seemed to stop, and his heart didn't beat for what felt like an eternity.

It was her.

Through all of the gore caking her body and face, it was her. Her hair wasn't red. Through the crimson blood, it was black. And, her curls weren't there. It was as straight as a board. When the doctors lifted her eyelids to shine a flashlight into her eyes, they weren't green. They were brown.

But, it was her.

He was so sure of it.

"Locus?" Sheryl put a hand on his shoulder, and he instinctively jerked away. The leader showed him a confused look, "Are you alright?" She then glanced at the patient, "Do you know this woman?"

Locus tried to swallow, but a lump in his throat stopped him from doing so. "I-I," he stammered, "I... don't. No, I don't." Sheryl nodded slowly, then started to push him out of the tent. "Alright, well you must leave. We have to take care of this."

The mercenary let her push him out, and he almost stumbled backwards into the crowd that formed in front of the infirmary. He was numb, staring at the tent for what seemed like hours until something tugged on his hand.

Locus looked down, relieved to see Bella holding on to his finger. He didn't even think to scold her for leaving the tent; in fact, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. It was almost as if she knew what had happened, because she started to pull him away from the scene. He didn't refute and allowed himself to be led away from the tent.

For the rest of the day, he was numb. Bella tried to speak to him, but he didn't even grunt in respond. During dinner time, when they ate their day's rations together... he didn't speak. Locus didn't even make eye contact with the girl as she pleaded with him to say something.

He simply stared at the wall of the tent, trying to convince himself that it wasn't her. Her hair was all wrong. Her cheeks were too hollow. Her eyes were too dull. Her body was too frail. It couldn't be her. It shouldn't be her.

His gaze drifted over to her helmet that laid tucked in a corner buried behind a mountain of his things. It had been three months since he had last seen her. It was too soon. Way too soon. The note was still scrunched inside of the compartment in his armor, the writing now faded.

Once Bella practically herded him into his cot, he lay awake for hours staring at the ceiling. He kept wondering how she was here. Wondering why she was here. After he had just begun to push the thoughts of her out of his mind, she shows up. She ruined everything. Just like before.

But, he would be damned if he let something like that happen again...