Terminal

Chapter 7

I was fiddling with my necklace when I walked into his office.

"How are you doing Akira?"

"I'm doing just fine. You needed something Commander?"

"Not particularly. Sometimes I do get lonely, it's nice to talk with people once in a while." There he stood, gazing out the window like he normally does. He turns around, sighing, and my necklace catches his eye. It was a bad habit of mine to rub my thumb over it, it always helped me calm down.

"What's that?"

"Huh?" I glance up at him.

"The thing you have in your hand."

"Oh, it's just a necklace. It was a birthday gift from my parents."

"May I see it?" I hesitate, but I eventually give it to him. He holds it up to the light, the metal glinting as he looks at the symbol etched in it. He lets out a small chuckle, and smiles, handing it back to me. "It fits you well." I put the necklace back around my neck.

"Eh."

"Do you know what it means? The engraving." I shake my head no. He smiles again. "It means determination." I look at it again, a new meaning finally taking hold on it. He walks over to me. "Akira."

"Yeah?" He places a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm asking as a friend here, but promise me that you never give up on yourself. You're a smart woman with a strong mind, and I know that you can push through hard times when others can't." He squeezes my shoulder as I look up at him.

"I promise, Orion."

My thumb rubs over the metal disc of my necklace again. I was back at my hideout: an abandoned factory. I hid the remaining weapons I could salvage from bases here, along with my food supply. Food wasn't an issue, I could get it easily from the cities I ransacked. The plane was well hidden too, somehow managing to fit inside. It'll be of good use until it runs out of fuel. I grab a radio off the ground, and lay on a hammock. I stare at the ceiling as static fills the silence. Adjusting the radio, words start to become audible, then eventually eligible.

"...and back to Hannah."

"Thanks Tom. Last night, another city had to be evacuated, the plague once again sighted. No one was hurt, although a notorious murderer escaped custody while in the process of evacuation. Authorities say that she goes by the name of Itari..." I can't help but laugh, "...have been ordered a kill order. If you spot her at all, call the authorities immediately and remain in your homes." I shut the radio off, rain replacing the voices. Kill on sight. That's what they plan to get rid of me? They'll soon find it a mistake, more people for me to kill, and for once it'll be a challenge. Sort of. They never do prove to be as threatening as I hope. I've always liked challenges, but life has failed to supply me them for now.

I roll off the hammock, setting the radio on the ground, and grab a sheet of newspaper from a pile I'd gathered. Today was the beginning of a new month. I walk to the corner of the factory, and kneel down next to a pile of rocks. On top of the rocks was a flower I folded, and from top down it appeared almost like an eye. I take a lighter out from a pocket, and close my eyes for a few seconds.

"Sit vobiscum deos," I mutter, and I light the center of the flower. I sit back, hugging my knees as I watch the flower burn. I was never one for rituals, but this was the one exception. The paper burns, the ashes falling onto the rocks as the flames finally dissipate in the air, running out of material to burn. I turn, grabbing the newspaper, and my hands go on autopilot, quickly folding a new flower. I've done it so many times that it's just become instinct. I make the last crease, and set the newly made flower on top of the rocks, where the old flower was. I don't grieve as much as I used to, but my heart still has a hole in it. Sitting on my knees, a few tears slide down my face as I pull out a photo, being careful not to let it get wet. On it were three people, one of them including me. I stood confidently, my long, wavy, black hair covering my shoulders. The man standing to the right of me had his arms crossed, his metal arm glinting in the sunlight and an amused smile on his face. He stared directly at the camera, pride showing in the one eye he had.

"Omono," I whisper, and my gaze shifts to the other person, who was none other than Commander Orion himself, an arm wrapped around me casually as he smiled at the camera. It was the day that I finally got accepted into the Chrono Brotherhood, probably one of my proudest moments I've ever had. My hand starts to tremble as I weep for the two people I loved most, both whom I would never see again.