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Jack’s very bones hurt and he felt weariness deep in his spirit. He was tired, so very tired. He was tired of the fighting, of war, of losing friends. He leaned against the wall in what remained of the small, rundown house. He checked the ammo left for his weapon, checked how many supplies he had left. Not very many. He’d have to make a last stand, make sure he went out firing. He leaned against the wall, lifting his eyes skyward. His vision was too bad for him to make anything out; the visor over his eyes was only for aiding him in combat situations. It made his head hurt too much otherwise.
He heard footsteps outside, soldiers being given orders. He reached up, pushing the button to activate the visor’s infrared. He counted three soldiers close enough to be picked up and stood, exhaling slowly to prevent from groaning at the pain in his joints. If Angela were here, she’d box his ears for letting himself get this bad without stopping for medication or assistance.
Jack moved behind the cover he had made, crouching slightly to make himself a smaller target. He was going to go out shooting, that much was sure. He heard the door open, banging loudly against the wall behind it, but he didn’t hear the tell-tale sounds of soldiers entering. Instead, he just heard the heavy footsteps of one person. He didn’t peek out from behind his cover, but his visor confirmed that it was only one person.
“You going to hide all day, Soldier, or are you coming out?” The voice was familiar, but he wasn’t sure how. He didn’t move, despite how he didn’t really have any reason not to. The other person was silent for a long moment, then spoke again. “Jack.”
He froze at the use of his given name, standing, pulse rifle aimed at the figure. Blue armor covered the woman, accented in gold. Some tired part of his brain recognized it as Raptora armor, armor of some security company or another, but it was the face exposed that made him pause, his arms falling slack for the first time in years, since before the SEP program. The skin, the eyes, the mark under her eye.
“Ana?”
“No,” she said, chuckling softly. “It has been a while since we last saw one another, so I understand the confusion. It’s-”
“Fareeha… I haven’t… You grew up,” Jack finished lamely, looking at her. She looked very amused and nodded.
“Come on. Let’s get you out of here and cleaned up, maybe even restocked.” Jack moved with her, a little reluctant before he picked up speed and fell in step beside her outside of the shack. She lifted the hand not holding her helmet and rounded up her soldiers easily. He watched them move, shooting into the air and leaving the two of them to walk together. A fond smile crossed his face despite himself. Maybe he wouldn’t have to die today.