ALICE

Chapter 37: OSTRICH

Chapter 37: OSTRICH

 Alice woke up in the helicopter, which had landed in the base. The celebration had just begun, and Taco was overtop of her.

 "Wake up Alice." He grinned. "Wouldn't want to miss the party, would you?"

 Alice couldn't recall falling asleep, but she picked herself up, to see this clearing in the base filled with people, cheering, and clapping. Alice walked out of the helicopters, leaving her gun on the seat. Jacob Glass was there, in his wheelchair, clapping and making eye-contact with the team as they walked down the ramp. Krew was being taken down on a stretcher, but Redd had woken up at some point. Angel was supporting him with Redd's arm over his shoulder. They walked through, sifting through the crowd, the team headed for an area where they could de-brief. Alice kept going, deciding to deal with everything else afterwords. But before she could get there, she saw George, standing there. His hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched.

 "Hi Alice."

 Alice intended to smile, but she felt nothing. No joy to see him. She wanted to... But she was... Numb.

 "Hi George."

 George came closer, walking towards there with a small smile on his face. He wrapped his arms around her, and he brought his lips in to her face to kiss her.

 "Stop." Alice said, not wanting to say it, but it came out of her mouth, the source nowhere to be found.

 "Alice... I was..." He said as he continued to move in.

 "George, don-" Again, no reason she said this.

 "Alice... I" He said, putting his lips onto hers.

 She kicked out at him, and he went down like cards, hitting the ground on his back with a shocked look. Alice didn't control that, her legs just went. Her feet felt like they were asleep, and they kicked at him.

 "Alice what... What was..."

 Alice was crying, she didn't want this, but she couldn't control her own body, her voice. Just her tears.

 And then the words came out without her consent. Full sentences, words, in her own voice.

 "George, I saw a lot of death, and I caused a lot of death, less then an hour ago, I saw Anton's head explode. I just need to get my head."

 George looked startled, but he replied calmly. "So... We'll still be... Together?"

 "George, I... It wasn't real, with us. We were just sleeping with eachother."

 Alice couldn't just say, 'No! I LOVE YOU!' It was like a nightmare, where you can't speak.

 George got a little bit mad,

 "No! Alice, it was..." He quieted his voice a little. "It was more real then goddamn Nine."

 "George, it's been fun."

 And this time, of her own accord, she walked away, heading to the tent.

 (Break)

 In the open-sided tent, close to one side of the base, the team was debriefed. Redd was there, with blood being pumped into his arm. He was doing better, but still not doing so great. Krew was in the med-tent in the center of the HQ, with his life on the line with a few medics. Alice tried to not think about that.

 Kendo was there, listening to Taco recall the mission. He was at the point when the rest of the team was outside of the OPSCOM, and Alice with Redd. The team hadn't mentioned her with the man she shot in the brains in the trenches, nor the man in the harness.

 "I tossed Alice a grenade to use," He said, stripped down to sweatpants and a beater, with bandages all over his arms and head. "Then I blew the back of the bulding out, and went to get into the helicopter. We had to get Krew to the base."

 "And you just left Alice and Redd there?"

 "Redd volunteered, but he was shot, and Alice said she'd stay with Redd."

 "Alice, what happened?" Kendo said.

 "Everything was fine, Redd had picked up an M16, and we were firing through the door. Then the wall was hit by an RPG. I was pinned under a piece of the wall, and I think he'd been hit in the head with one. I was almost dead, he managed to pull it off of me. By this time, he was losing a lot of blood. We were running out of ammo, under heavy fire. Then the team came in a helicopter. It got hit by a rocket. We were running to the forest edge... Anton got shot in the head. He was killed instantly."

 "Then we were exfilled." Redd said grumpily as he picked at his arm bandage with a knife. "Can I go to bed?"

 "Yeah. Dismissed."

 Alice walked to the armoury, and dropped her weapons back in. She strolled to her lean-to, stripped down to a t-shirt and sweats, and slept like the dead.

 She prayed that George wouldn't come to her... But he did.