Stage One: Hope in Darkness

On a Mission (Lara)

We had set up this secondary base a while back. I never imagined that our paranoia would pay off like this. The ripper had left nothing for us back at the main camp. This little secondary location was not bad though. Once we got there I was immediately taken to our little makeshift sick bay and laid on one of the cots that served as beds. Rose rushed off and came back, she held something out to me. Small white, oval shaped pills. Pain killers, finally. I downed them dry without a single complaint. Most of the damage was to my leg and my ribs. Two broken ribs. With the medication I did not protest Rose poking and prodding at them. Emily even popped her head in and asked how I was. I gave her a sluggish thumbs up. Ryan had vanished the second I had been set down though. An odd feeling tickled at my numbed senses. It was almost like I...missed him? No way that was right, must just be a side effect of the drugs. Yeah. That had to be it.

As the drugs took effect I could no longer keep my eyes open and drifted gratefully off to sleep.

When I woke the place was alive with activity, I could see Rose flitting around. A healing fairy among the sick and injured. Huh, guess the pain killers were still in effect. Sam followed behind her, assisting wherever possible. They came by and checked on me every couple of hours. Rose offered me more pain killers but I declined. Some of the others were a lot more hurt than me. I wanted to keep a clear head for a while anyways. Laying there in the cot gave me time to think.

I pulled the picture out of my pocket. My eyes were drawn to hers. She looked different than the last time I had seen her. Her gaze was hollow on the surface, but I had known her long enough to see into their depths. The tallest, thickest thunderclouds came just before a storm. As the sunset on those clouds the light refracted, changing them to a haunting grey and emerald green. Those clouds that alluded to the coming storm, of hail and tornadoes, that green. That color that is most associated with the calm of a forest, this one didn't bring with it the scent of wild flowers and fresh cool earth. Only the promise of gale force winds, thunder, lighting, hale and destruction.

A smile peeled away at my mouth. Those eyes were definitely hers. No mistaking that look. That was the look that promised hell, Belle just had more patience than me. While I exploded like a atom bomb she stayed calm. Letting the storm inside her build to catastrophic level before unleashing it on the world. A memory pooled behind my eyes.

When we had just moved into our house our neighbors had taken to calling the cops anytime Annabelle played her music. It was at a moderate level, for her, she only played it while she drew. Which was a lot to be honest, but the sound had been barely audible from the outside. The neighbor was the one right next to us, Annabelle had first played her music with the window open for the fresh breeze. all it had taken was that once of the asshole to decide she didn't like us. So every time she heard a murmur from our house she called to complain.

Annabelle had remained calm on the surface. Slowly reaching a boiling point. when she had finally gone off it had been a sight to see. The woman had called the police for the third time that week and Belle had had enough. Hell even the cops were done with her. Belle wasn't doing anything wrong and hadn't broken any laws. She cranked the most profanic music she could find with every window in the house open, then she just made a cup of tea and waited on the porch.

The woman had come out of her house screaming. Her face lobster red as she stomped her way up the stairs to our porch.

"What the hell!! Turn that rachet off!! I already called the cops!! You are not going to disturb the peace anymore you...you hoodlum!" Belle just smiled, holding a cupped hand to her ear before shouting,

"What?! Sorry can't hear you!" The woman's face had gotten even more red, mottled with spots and scrunched up in rage.

"SHUT IT OFF!!!" Belle had smiled, pressing the button on the remote in her hand, silencing the music.