valentine | the old guard

xi. the waiting game

Val D 'Argent, France 2020

When I wake up I can see the sun rising outside the windows, casting a warm, peachy glow over the sky. A small smile flits across my face. Sunrises with the boys were always magical. 

For a moment, I ponder if they can see the sunrise wherever they are. If they are thinking of me too.

The sound of Booker leaving the car brings me back to the situation at hand. I watch as he walks around the front of the car to the large, corrugated iron gate up ahead. He swings it back with ease, just as he did the last time we were here, and holds it so that Andy can drive through, closing it again behind us. The last thing we need right now is for someone to discover this safehouse.

Andy brakes and he silently climbs back in, the car continuing to follow the long road ahead.

"Where are we going?" Nile asks quietly. I turn to the side and realize that she's talking to me, her eyes following my gaze out of the window. The sky is clear and blue now, the sun climbing higher into the air with each passing minute - the orange hues long forgotten.

"The hideout, my friend," I reply with a small smile. I take a second to remember Booker's reaction when we first brought him here - the child-like excitement and eagerness to explore. "We keep some stuff here. Mostly for rainy days, of which this is one."

Nile nods and Andy keeps on driving, eventually pulling over in a clearing of sorts. We all clamber out of the car and onto the sandy ground.

Andy looks at me then proceeds to turn, moving through the bushes and out of sight. Booker follows her, remembering the path.

"Just follow me, okay?" I say softly. My hand reaches out to Nile's and she takes it, allowing me to lead her through the undergrowth to the entrance of the cave. Up ahead, I can hear the scraping of metal on rock followed by a flood of amber light.

At least the power still works.

We keep moving, following Booker through a narrow passageway. Soon enough, Nile and I appear in the center of the large, stone cavern, coming to a stop beside the other two immortals. There are piles of things all around - some trinkets and mementoes of travels, and others more serious; items with meaning and personal value. Some are covered with dust sheets, mainly the paintings, and there's a stack of ancient, cracked leather trunks in one corner - most of them belonging to Andy or me.

"What is this place?" Nile asks, her eyes wide with awe as they skim over everything.

"An abandoned mine," Andy replies as she bends down next to an old oil lamp on the floor. She lights it with a match. "We stumbled on it during the Baussenque Wars. 1150s maybe?" She pauses and looks to me as I nod in confirmation. "I used to keep my stuff here."

Nile starts to look around the room as Andy and Booker move off to one side, looking for something. Before I can join them, I feel a hand reach out and grab my arm, fingers curling around the loose fabric of Joe's oversized shirt.

I turn to see Nile staring across at me. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes. Of course," I reply, allowing the girl to lead me off to one side. Somehow over the time that I've spent with her, I've grown fond of her questions. In a lot of ways, she reminds me of my own siblings from my mortal life. So, in that sense, I feel an almost sisterly need to protect her.

"Ever since we met back in Afghanistan, I've been meaning to ask you about... well, you. You're always so quiet and mysterious, it's like I know you the least." Nile pauses, exhaling deeply. "And I'd like to know you. You seem like a good person - like someone I can trust."