Talking with Skie is always a fun time. Her happiness is infectious. I don’t meet with her at the compound. Skie doesn’t like to go there. Instead, I meet with her at her home. She answered the door with a bottle of wine, and a smile so big it made her eyes almost vanish.
She was wearing jeans and a white Harley Davidson t-shirt. Her boots give her an inch or two of extra height, but she’s still pretty tiny. I’m guessing she’s just a bit over five feet without the boots. Her dark hair has grown longer, but the face is the same. The big brown eyes, and the constant smile, make her look as if she’s barely out of her teens.
“We didn’t get to talk the last time I was doing a series of interviews.”
Nope, I didn’t have much to do with whatever went on with all the vampires.
“What do you mean, ‘whatever went on with all the vampires’?”
Wow, you’re good. I didn’t even mean to let that slip out.
“Do you not know what happened with the vampires?”
Skie gave me a warm smile.
Are you married?
“No.”
“Do you have a man in your life?”
“Not currently.”
Have you ever been in love?
“Yes.”
Good, you’ll be able to relate because I’m very much in love with Jaxon. I love him completely. I will love him until the day I die and probably long after. Yet I hate what he does. I’m a wife: I worry. I understand why he does it. I understand what it means when he does it, but I wish it were someone else.
I’ve never made it a secret that I worry about my husband. I’ve never denied I dislike the long periods of time we spend apart, and the danger he places himself in. I don’t nag at him. I don’t hound him to quit. I never let it affect our marriage. I understand he can’t stop. I understand people will die if he turns away from his destiny. I probably love him even more knowing how much he cares about the people that need his help.
Still I have a dream that someday he’ll give it all up. Maybe someone else will come along and take over for him. Maybe the world simply won’t need him anymore. It’s a very fond dream and it means a lot to me. I believe that someday it will come true; I believe it with all my heart.
When the day finally comes that my husband and I are finally free to live our lives in peace and happiness, I will pick up your books. I will read about the deeds of my husband and his friends. I will probably laugh a lot. They tend to crack me up. I’ll probably get angry a few times. My husband is a bit more reckless than I would prefer. Most of all, I’ll cry. I will cry at all the things he’s gone through. I will cry over the pain he’s felt, the betrayals he’s received, and the sacrifices he’s made..
…But not today.
I can’t, and won’t, hear those things now. I don’t want to know what vicious monster is out there waiting for him. I don’t want to know how dangerous his life is. I’ve already seen him fight. I hated it. I never want to see anything like that again. I don’t even want to hear about it.
I mean, don’t get me wrong. I still hear things. The boys are loud, but I try my hardest to avoid hearing too much. I do my best not to ask questions. I know too much already.
“Tell me what you know. Take me back to the night of the awards ceremony.”
Is that where you want me to start?
“Actually no, can you begin when Jaxon got home? I’d like to hear a bit about what life is like for you.”
Well, we were in Ruidoso, New Mexico. Jax came home a few hours late. I figured he had been held up with something zombie related so it was a shock when he started mumbling something about Ivana.
I didn’t ask questions. I was just happy to have him back. I had even rented us a quiet and secluded cabin, well off the beaten path. I didn’t tell anyone where we were, and I confiscated my husband’s phone as soon as he walked in the door.
We had some catching up to do. I didn’t want interruptions. Of course I had brought Merrick with me. Both of them would never have forgiven me if I hadn’t. You see, the team had been climbing a lot of rooftops, and Jax thought things would go easier if she stayed behind.
Merrick was not too happy this.
As soon as Jax walked into the cabin, Merrick jumped right up into his arms. Jaxon laughed and held her with one arm while embracing me with the other. I think we held onto each other for a good five minutes before he stepped away and headed for the shower.
That night Jaxon and I had a few drinks before going to bed. Merrick slept in between us, under the covers, and refused to budge. It would normally have irritated the Hell out of me but I let it go since both of them seemed so damn happy.
Around three in the morning, Jaxon had a nightmare. I felt him shudder. I heard him groan, and saw him suddenly sit straight up in the bed. He was covered in sweat and pale as a ghost. I tried to get up with him. I wanted to make sure he was okay. Instead, he rubbed my back and apologized for waking me. After that, he went into the kitchen and made himself another drink.
“I imagine nightmares are pretty commonplace with all the horrible things he’s seen. If I ever had just one monster try and eat me, I don’t think I’d ever sleep again.”
Nightmares are commonplace for him. Except it’s not the monsters he sees in his dreams. I wish it were that simple. Instead, he sees the faces of all the people he couldn’t save. He sees the lives that were lost. Those lives haunt him at night.
“It must feel terrible to hold yourself responsible for the lives you couldn’t save instead of celebrating all the ones you did.”
I wish I could talk to him about it. I wish he would listen. It’s a subject he touched on just once. He never mentioned it again, and he changes the conversation immediately if I try to bring it up.
The next morning, Jaxon was already cleaning up his weapons and gear by the time I got out of bed. He smiled at me and pointed to the kitchen. The coffee was in the pot, just waiting for me. Jaxon makes the best coffee, by the way.
After both of us had showered, we drove up to Jaxon’s parents’ cabin. His parents and my kids were waiting for us on the front porch. His mom made an incredible breakfast. Jaxon stuffed himself. He always stuffs himself when he can. Sometimes while he’s working, he won’t be able to eat for a few days.
All of us spent the day together. It was a great day. I remember that very much. Jaxon was very relaxed. The kids were enjoying themselves. Zombies were never once mentioned.
Sometime in the late afternoon, I pulled Jaxon upstairs to the room we normally used and I fitted him in his tuxedo. I had picked it out for him myself. I went with Ralph Lauren. I thought it would be able to manage his gigantic shoulders quite nicely, and I wasn’t wrong.
As I was working on the adjustments, Jaxon took a nap on the sofa. This time he wasn’t bothered by nightmares. The entire house became very quite in an effort not to disturb him. It was near sunset when he finally woke up.
He wanted to go to the garage, and work on his motorcycle, but I was having none of that. The limousine would be arriving in under an hour, and we were for damn sure going to be ready for it.
“Where was the rest of the team staying?”
They all had rooms at a place called, “The Inn of The Mountain Gods.” It’s one of the nicer hotels in Ruidoso. I’m not sure how they felt about not staying in the same place as their leader. I mean, Jaxon considers them family, and so do I. I just wanted a slightly less rowdy time with my more immediate family before the awards ceremony.
“They are pretty rowdy when they get together, aren’t they?”
It takes some getting used to. Don’t get me wrong, though, I normally find them hilarious. Each of them is so inventive with the way they harass one another. Except for Nick, he’s not as creative.
The argument started as soon as the rest of the team arrived at the cabin. Dudley kept telling everyone he was James Bond, and then he went around posing in James Bond style.
“Why the Hell are you James Bond?” Jaxon laughed. “I should be James Bond.”
“I’m the one wearing a tuxedo by Tom Ford, dipshit,” Dudley announced.
“So?” Jaxon demanded.
I cringed. I was the one that had picked out everyone’s tuxedos.
“Tom Ford is the maker of James Bonds suits,” Dudley said.
“Is that true?” Jaxon asked me.
“That might be true, sweetie,” I reluctantly answered.
At this point in the argument, the rest of the team began gleefully joining in. It wasn’t long before each of them had chosen a side and added to the chaos. Everyone was talking at the same time. The noise level was deafening. Merrick got so excited from all the commotion she began to bark loudly in a high-pitched sort of bark that was so loud it hurt my ears.
Then Ivana walked in the front door in the dress I had picked out for her. Everyone abruptly became quiet. They weren’t used to her wearing a dress.
“Oh, fuck you guys,” Ivana growled.
“Tell her she looks pretty, you jerks!” I shouted.
Everyone blurted out how hot the two of us looked. I beamed with pride. It’s not easy to get a compliment out of that bunch, and I wasn’t even asking for them to compliment me.
“Hey, Buffy,” Javie said. “How are you going to slay vampires in that outfit?”
I didn’t get the joke. Truth be told, I didn’t really want to get the joke, but the sudden chill in the air made me think that maybe not enough time had passed for that comment to be funny. That is, until Jaxon started laughing, and pointing at Ivana while he laughed.
It didn’t take long before everyone began to snicker. Well, except for Ivana. She was too busy staring at Javie with an arched eyebrow.
“What?” Javie asked. “I got jokes to tell.”
Ivana finally cracked up. As soon as she did, Javie crossed the room, and gave her a big hug. Drinks were passed around immediately after. It was wine for me, and whiskey for everyone else, including Ivana.
I thought the tuxedo drama was over until Dudley began to go around introducing himself to everyone, saying his name was “Bond, James Bond.” That, of course, got my husband riled up all over again.
“Seriously, Skie,” Jax demanded. “Why is he wearing a Tom Ford, and I’m not?”
“Because your big-ass gorilla shoulders won’t fit in a Tom Ford,” Georgie answered.
“My shoulders aren’t that big,” Jax said gloomily.
“Dude,” Nick said. “Your shoulders are freakish. I’m not even sure my shoulders are that wide.”
It was a bold statement considering how big Nick is.
“How the Hell did Nick get invited to this thing?” Jaxon asked.
“Because I’m on the team, dumbass,” Nick answered testily.
“You’re more like a pledge,” Dudley laughed. “You haven’t really been with us long enough to be a member.”
“Well, you’re more like Q than James Bond,” Nick retorted.
“SURRENDER TO MY AWESOMNESS!” Jaxon shouted at Dudley.
“I’m no Q,” Dudley growled. “I’m a freakin’ badass.”
“Nope,” Georgie said. “The badass title goes to the General.”
“SURRENDER TO MY AWESOMNESS,” Jaxon laughed.
“I’m not saying Jax isn’t a badass,” Dudley explained. “I’m merely saying he’s more like blunt force trauma when he fights. I, on the other hand, am a highly-skilled ninja assassin.”
“Wait,” Jaxon said. “Did you just imply that I have no skill?”
“Not really,” Dudley answered. “I’m saying that you have no style.”
“Those are some bold words,” Nick said. “I think we need to have a grudge match.”
“Two may enter,” Javie said in an ominous tone. “One may leave.”
“All I want is far beyond the Thunderdome,” Georgie sang out in a high-pitched voice.
I didn’t get the movie quote. Javie throws out way too many of them for me to keep up with. Ivana and I made eye contact, and just shrugged it off as one of many things we weren’t going to understand.
“I’m up for a grudge match,” Dudley said.
“Bring it on pretty boy,” Jaxon challenged.
Everyone started hooting and hollering. A wrestling match was about to break out. Even Ivana was pounding her fist in the air. I had had enough. I hiked up my dress, climbed up on the kitchen table, and put up my tiny fists.
“The first one of you that even thinks about ruining their tuxedo is going to have me coming at them like a spider monkey,” I announced to the stunned group. “I’ve spent way too much time and effort picking out everyone’s clothes, which I also paid for with my own money. So, we are all going to this party, immediately. We are going to arrive there in one piece, and we are going to behave ourselves properly. Do not even think about ruining this night for me, and can someone please explain why Javie has only shaved one side of his face?”
Jaxon immediately scooped me off the table. I squealed, and laughed, as he swung me over his shoulder and made his way to the door. The giant limo was waiting for us in the driveway. All of us somehow managed to fit inside of it, and we waved goodbye to the kids, Merrick, and Jaxon’s parents, as we drove off to the awards ceremony.
“I take it the argument was over?”
Oh, Hell no! Not even close. Two minutes after we left, Jax and Dudley were at it again.
“How the Hell can you say I have no style?” Jaxon asked.
“You’re more about beating the living crap out of your opponents,” Dudley answered. “You don’t exactly look like a skilled ninja assassin when you do it.”
“Jax has a beat your ass style,” Georgie added. “It looks pretty impressive to me.”
“I think you’re probably using the wrong word,” Javie told Dudley. “Style would be better used when describing fashion, and perhaps his overall look.”
“What the Hell is wrong with my look?” Jaxon asked.
“Boots, jeans, t-shirt, and a wallet with a chain, aren’t exactly the hallmarks of high fashion,” Georgie added.
Dudley started laughing hysterically.
“Tight jeans and a shirt that’s three sizes too small doesn’t really work either,” Georgie told Dudley, which shut him up immediately.
“If we’re involving fashion,” I said, “the only one of you truly worthy of being called ‘James Bond’ would be Javie.”
Everyone just stared at me.
I realized my mistake immediately. I had joined in on their reindeer games, and become one of them. I had finally been corrupted.
“Damn you,” I shouted. “Damn you all.”
Nick pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. Georgie made a sound as if he was quietly crying. Jaxon called for silence. Georgie pursed his lips, shook his head proudly, and began The Clap.
“What’s the clap?”
Skie laughed mischievously at my mistake.
“Is there an actual definition, or were you just messing with me?”
No, there is. That was just too funny for me not to laugh. The Clap is what they used to do in comedies from the eighties. It’s normally reserved for when the nerd or underdog gives a big speech at the end of the movie and the entire school starts to applaud. It begins with one person. They do a slow, but loud, clap and then everyone slowly joins in.
Ivana was the last to join in. By the time she did, I was looking out the window and pretending I was alone in the car.
I think the driver was glad to be rid of us when we reached the banquet hall. I can’t say I blamed him either. The drinks hadn’t stopped pouring. For the most part, they were mixing whiskey with soft drinks, but every now and then, they downed a few straight shots just for the heck of it. It was crazy. I try and limit myself to two glasses of wine, due to low tolerance, but even I was on my third glass. At one point I was even joining everyone in fist pumps while Jax and Dudley did a row of shots.
Secret Service agents were all over the property of the banquet hall, and probably in the woods beyond as well. I had forgotten all about the important people on the guest list. The thought of being in the same room with the President of the United States had a somewhat sobering effect on me. I stopped drinking immediately. His first impression of me wasn’t going to be that of an immature alcoholic.
There were a lot of eyes upon us as we made our way to the entrance. Even more turned to look in our direction when a shoving match broke out between Jaxon and a couple Secret Service agents.
The agents apparently didn’t want the boys to enter the banquet hall with firearms.
“Jaxon, are you carrying a gun?” I asked. It was news to me.
“Possibly,” he answered.
“Hand it over, please,” I pleaded. “I’m sure we will be well protected while we celebrate. Look at all the agents that have shown up just to make sure everyone stays safe.”
“I’m not giving up my knife,” Jaxon grumbled as he pulled a snub-nosed revolver from the back of his jacket and handed it to the agent.
“Would you please check in and see if my husband and his team can keep their knives?” I politely asked the agent nearest me while simultaneously giving him my prettiest smile.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the agent said. “The orders are firm. No weapons allowed inside the banquet hall.”
I was not to be deterred.
“Dudley,” I said. “Would you mind calling Mr. Hardin? Perhaps he can help us get past this roadblock”
We waited patiently. I say we, but I think Ivana and I are the only patient ones. The team was ready to pack it all up and head home. With nothing else to do, I began to take in the beautiful countryside. The forest was thick behind the banquet hall, but across the street, and to the sides, was all rolling grasslands. I even got to see some wild horses running in the distance.
The police arrived during our wait and began directing the traffic, which was rapidly becoming congested. I found it odd that so many people were showing up to an invitation-only event, but I assumed they only wanted to get a look at my husband or the President.
The agent blocking our entrance began talking into a microphone on his sleeve. I doubt it was Mr. Hardin who he was speaking with, but the results were the same. The boys were allowed to bring in their sharp, pointy, things.
As I said before, Jaxon had already given up his gun. Nick handed over two large .357 magnums. Dudley handed over a very battered .45, and warned the agents not to scratch it. Javie handed over a 9mm. Georgie handed over two pristine-looking .45’s from his belt. Then he leaned over, and pulled out two more snub nosed revolvers from his ankle holsters.
I had no idea the boys were even carrying weapons. I was pretty shocked. Ivana was laughing.
“Georgie needs a lot of guns,” Dudley whispered loudly. “He tends to empty them rather quickly due to his shitty aim.”
That got everyone laughing. The mood was instantly restored as we walked inside the building. On our way to the hall, we were beset by many well-wishers, and hand-shakers. Some of them were politicians. I follow politics very closely, by the way. I have since I was a teenager. Jax, on the other hand, had no idea who anybody was, so I needed to whisper the names of most of the people into his ear.
“Does Jaxon not follow politics?”
Not at all. He has zero interest in anything political. To him, it’s just a bunch of stuffy men and women having boring conversations that put him to sleep. The man doesn’t even vote.
Once inside the gigantic hall, the boys made their way straight to the bar, while a nervous hostess tried desperately to usher our group to our seats. I felt sorry for the girl as she repeated over and over that our waiter would take our drink orders.
Finally, after Jaxon liberated a bottle of Jack from the bartender, we grabbed our seats. We were at the front of the room. Before us was an empty expanse of wooden floor, beyond that was a raised podium. I was really finding it hard to believe that the President was going to speak on behalf of my husband and his friends.
The hundred or so tables behind us began to fill up slowly. By the time the boys opened their second bottle of Jack; the room was filled. Shortly after that, everyone became silent as a man walked to the podium, and introduced the President. Everyone watched as he calmly walked to the podium, shook his announcer’s hand, and then smiled directly at our table.
“I understand the man of the hour isn’t big on speeches,” the President said. “So, taking that into consideration, I will make this as short and sweet as I possibly can while still maintaining the honor I wish to bestow.”
Jaxon squirmed in his seat.
“On a summer morning, in the not so distant past, this great country had its entire sense of reality shattered. A nightmare crawled out from the darkest part of our imaginations. It was a nightmare that the government was powerless against. We could not render aid. We could not evacuate our citizens from danger. We had no choice but to close our doors. Too many of the people of this great nation were left out in the cold.”
Jaxon squirmed some more.
“It’s a sad thing to be a leader of this country and not be able to help the people that call this land home. I was powerless. We were, all of us, powerless, and our people were frightened. Our people were without hope.”
I put a hand on Jaxon’s leg to stop him from squirming.
“That is, until one man stood strong against the nightmare. He braved the shadows, and he brought hope to an entire country with his courage, and his deeds. Tonight we celebrate the man known to most of America as the ‘General.’ Tonight we celebrate the fearless men that follow him. You are all true American Heroes.”
The applause was deafening. I sort of expected that. I didn’t expect the standing ovation. All those men and women cheering for my husband brought tears to my eyes.
Jaxon looked extremely uncomfortable at the attention, and he sort of stared at the floor in an effort to ignore what was going on. I expected that as well. Javie was pretty cool about everything; he simply smiled proudly, and nodded his head. Dudley, Nick, and Georgie, had the very best reaction. Each of them raised their arms in the air as if they were conquering barbarians.
A man quietly approached our table amidst the applause and escorted the boys to the podium. The President himself shook each of their hands, and placed a golden medal on a red, white, and blue ribbon over their heads.
He ushered Jaxon to the podium to say a few words. It was a good thing he didn’t know this was coming. He would have never shown up. I watched as he looked around shyly before clearing his throat.
“Thank you,” Jaxon said. “Thank you for your support. I don’t…I don’t really know what to say. I guess…I guess I’m just glad I could be some sort of help. I’ve done what I can. I’ll continue to do everything I can…”
“WE LOVE YOU, JAXON!” Ivana shouted out when his words began to falter.
Jaxon smiled.
“I’m just…I’m just not sure how much of this I deserve. I was given a responsibility. I’ve tried my damnedest to make a difference. I wouldn’t have achieved anything without my team watching my back. Each and every day they put themselves in mortal danger. Each and every day they follow my orders.”
The applause came again.
“What I’m saying is,” Jaxon continued. “I make mistakes. I’ve lost people. I wish…I wish I could have saved more lives. I wish I could have been there for all the people that didn’t make it.”
The crowd became still. I was worried for my husband. I was so worried I was biting my lower lip. I knew he was having problems. I knew he had nightmares. I didn’t want him to unravel in front of all these strangers. I wanted to whisk him away to somewhere safe, someplace quiet, and hold him until he felt better. No matter how long that might be.
Jaxon was just standing there with a blank look on his face. I don’t know what dark corners of his memory his mind had wandered off to, but he was no longer in the here and now. I was about to go to him. I was about to lead him away. The President got there before me.
“Son,” the President told him. “You’ve done more than any man could ever be expected to do. You have accomplished more than any man could ever be expected to accomplish. We thank you. We support you. We believe in you. Every war has its losses. I wish things were easier on you. I know what you’ve been through. I know the challenges you’ve faced. Perhaps you’ve thought of yourselves as alone in this. I can assure you, you are not alone.”
The applause was back louder than ever, and just like that, my husband was back. He nodded his head in understanding. When he saw what must have been a very worried look on my face he even managed to give me a small smile.
“I’m not sure if you’re aware of this or not,” the President continued. “But you’ve made quite a few friends throughout your journey. Perhaps it’s time for you to get reacquainted.”
The lights in the ceiling dimmed, and the hall grew dark. After a brief pause, a single spotlight blazed down from the ceiling onto a little girl sitting on a stool with a large guitar in her lap. There was a microphone in front of her, and when the audience had quieted down she began to sing.
“That’s Mona,” Ivana whispered.
I nodded my head that I understood. I had never met the little girl before but I had certainly heard about her. I’m not sure if you know this or not but that brave girl stood up and sang Jaxon a song before some sort of fight.
“Yes. I’ve heard about her. What song did she sing for him at the banquet?”
She sang “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper, and my God, she did it justice. That little girl can belt out a tune. Her voice was just so pure, and far, far, beyond her years. It reached out and caressed each and every person in the room. I struggled to hold back the tears. I really did, but then I saw Ivana. She was wiping her eyes, and her bottom lip was quivering.
I began bawling right along with her.
I looked at the stage. Jaxon’s eyes were wet, but he had somehow maintained his composure. The same can’t be said for the rest of the team. They were just as bad as Ivana. Nick was even worse.
There’s a part in the song that goes, “If this world makes you crazy, and you’ve taken all you can bear. You call me up, because you know I’ll be there.” Well, when Mona hit that part she stood up from her stool, and really kicked it in. Her voice suddenly became a thousand times more powerful, and what sounded like hundreds of other voices joined in with hers.
The doors at the back of the room opened widely and Father Monarez strode proudly through it with a candle in his hands. He was followed by many, many, others…at least three hundred people. They had candles as well, and the light bathed the room in a soft glow. The crowd of people flowed between the tables until the room was full.
All of them were singing.
I saw Jaxon wipe his eye. When the song ended the people began to hum softly as Mona continued to strum her guitar.
“We weren’t really expecting such a turnout,” the President said into the microphone on the podium. “In the beginning, we asked just a few people to come and say a few things. Word, however, began to grow. The White House was flooded with calls. These are the people whose lives you have touched. Some of them have traveled very far to honor you. The least we could do was to make it possible.”
Mona began to sing again. I can’t remember if she started the song over, or repeated the second verse. I’m not sure. Everyone in the banquet hall joined in with her, and it was no longer only the people holding candles that were singing. We all stood up and sang along.
My voice was cracking, but I didn’t care. I wanted to honor my husband and the team. It was the first time that I truly began to understand the scope of what he did. All of the people in the hall had been touched by him, in some way, shape, or form.
If he saved the life of one little girl, well, that little girl has parents. She has grandparents, brothers, and sisters; she has cousins, aunts, and uncles. Someday she would have children, and she’d tell them how the General saved her. It was a sobering experience for me.
When the song ended, Jaxon and the boys walked outside, where an entire area had been prepared for the party. There were heat lamps, tables, a bar, a dance floor, and a band that was ready to play.
“Who planned all this?” I asked Ivana.
She shook her head and raised her arms to let me know she had no idea. Imagine my surprise when the First Lady gently touched my arm, and offered her hand.
“My husband planned a lot of it,” she said. “He wanted to honor your husband without the usual ceremony. I hope its okay?”
“It’s more than okay,” I grinned. “It’s incredible.”
Everyone grew quiet and began to gather around the General. He looked out over the crowd for a long while. I could tell he recognized more than a few faces. He struggled to say something, but couldn’t find the words. The crowd of people saved him the effort as, one by one; they all crossed their right arms across their chests and held a fist over their heart.
It was the standard salute people gave him. Jaxon acknowledged it, and returned the gesture. Then the crowd erupted into cheers.
“Let’s dance!” Javie shouted with glee when the cheers had begun to die down. The band heard their cue, and began playing immediately.
“All those people must have been a nightmare for the President’s security detail.”
I’m sure they were, but the President hung in there rather courageously. Eventually, something important came up, and his people rushed him out of the building. An hour or so before that happened, however, he managed to pull Jax aside and have a talk with him.
“I’ve talked to my advisors,” the President said. “They want to blow El Paso off the map. At this point, I very much agree with them, but I’ve also talked to Mr. Hardin. He believes that’s the worst possible thing that could be done. What do you think? Can the city be saved?”
“Yes,” Jaxon answered calmly. “I’ll clear the city.”
“Do you think you can do it before those things try to escape?”
“I don’t have much choice in the matter,” Jaxon said.
“Okay son,” the President said. “I’ll take that under advisement. When do you go back?”
“The day after tomorrow,” Jaxon answered.
“Be safe,” the President said before returning to his wife.
Jaxon merely smiled in response.
“So Jaxon advised the President?”
I doubt my husband would see it that way. In his mind, he simply answered a question.
“There must have been a lot of pressure on Jaxon. How did he handle it?”
Actually, it didn’t seem to bother him at all. He just went back to the party. Remember, the Regulators know how to party.
Shortly after the President left, the massive crowd began to thin out. They had come to honor the General, and perhaps shake the hand of the man that saved their son or daughter. Some of them just wanted to wish him well. Everyone gave him words of encouragement. All of them were very kind. After enough backs were patted, and kind words shared, many of them departed.
Around one or two in the morning, the remaining partiers moved back into the hall, along with the band, which was taking requests, and having as much fun as everyone else.
“How many people would you estimate were still there?”
I guess there were probably one hundred and fifty to two hundred people left. We were having a good night. I remember dancing with Jax. I was glad to be inside finally, the night had gotten a bit too chilly for the heating lamps. I was looking up at him, and he was smiling at me.
It was nice.
I can’t remember how much I drank but I do remember snorting wine out of my nose when the band began playing “Drops of Jupiter”, and Javie launched from his seat, ran across the dance floor, and jumped on the stage. A brief struggle with the singer over the microphone, and the next thing we knew, he was the band’s new lead vocal. Too bad he never had singing lessons, but no one seemed to mind. In fact, we all began to sing along. Javie took that as a sign of encouragement, and proceeded to rip off his own shirt, exposing his very hairy chest.
“Redheads only,” Javie announced through the microphone when all the girls began to scream for him.
Eventually, most of the team ended up on stage. Jaxon stayed with me. I was holding him tightly as we danced to Javie’s horrible singing. It was the most fun I’d had in a very long time.
There was a girl next to me who was yelling and raising her arms in the air. I think she was trying to get Dudley’s attention. The bullet ripped through the back of her head, exploding brain matter and a red spray all over my dress.
I looked down at the mess. I saw and felt the wet stickiness on my skin. I couldn’t understand what was happening. Jaxon was barely touched by the spray. He had no idea what had happened.
I stiffened in his arms. I tried to say something. I tried to form words but I couldn’t. My mouth kept making a gurgling sound, and no words would come forth. Jax pulled away from me gently. He looked down at the splatter of blood and brains on my dress. Confusion twisted his features. Then his eyes went wide, and he began to roughly check me for damage.
This all happened in the span of seconds. At least, I’m thinking it was seconds. We were all very drunk. Still, I was frightened. I mean…I’ve seen violence before. I was there when my husband battled the undead on the border of El Paso and New Mexico. I was there when he fought the former Guardian. It’s just that, I don’t know, maybe I sometimes have trouble processing the ugliness of the world. That poor girl died so horribly.
More gunshots followed.
I heard a rapid succession of cracking thumps that overpowered the music, and forced everyone to scatter about the room. Jaxon was already moving before any of that though. He was holding my head down, and dragging me away from the crowd of people, back towards the heavy tables.
He flipped the very first table we came to on its side, breaking the glasses and plates still upon its surface all over the floor. I watched him pull his knife from his pocket. The blade made an audible click as he snapped it into place.
A masked gunman dressed all in black came around the corner of the table, and fired his rifle at us. A burst of red came from the side of Jaxon’s bicep, but he somehow crossed the distance between them, and plunged his blade into the murderer’s throat.
He stabbed him in the neck several times.
The room was in complete and utter chaos. People were running and screaming. The sound of gunshots reverberated inside the room so loudly I couldn’t gather my thoughts. Jaxon was calm.
“The doors are locked,” he said as he looked around the room. “There are fifteen more gunman and we’re trapped in here with them.”
Suddenly, Ivana was crouching down next to me and behind her was Georgie.
“What the Hell is going on?” Georgie asked.
More and more bodies were falling to the ground as the killers advanced across the room.
“You protect them!” Jaxon shouted. “You keep them safe.”
He gave Georgie the gun that belonged to the man he just killed. Georgie checked out the weapon. He made sure it would fire when he pulled the trigger, and he positioned himself in front of us.
Jaxon grabbed my face, and made me look at him.
“I won’t let them hurt you,” he said. “I won’t let them get anywhere near you.”
I nodded that I understood, and my husband went into action. Georgie fired careful bursts of bullets at the approaching gunmen. They, in turn, fired back at him.
“Skie!” Georgie shouted. “Check his body for more ammo.”
I heard him. I heard him very clearly but I was unable to move. That’s how frightened I was. I couldn’t control my own body, and I was afraid that if I did start to move, I’d start running even though I had nowhere to go.
Across the room, I saw a crowd of people trying to get out through a locked door. I couldn’t understand why they didn’t just break it down. I watched as a gunman approached within twenty feet of them and began to slowly shoot them down, one after another.
I moved.
I crawled to the body. I frantically searched through all his military gear until I found the ammunition Georgie needed. I scooped up five magazines and crawled back to him.
I didn’t want to look back towards the crowd of people at the locked door, but I couldn’t help myself. There were now two gunmen shooting at the screaming group of people. Jaxon and Nick came out of nowhere. They sort of appeared out of the chaos. Each of them came up behind a shooter and slit their throats.
Nick grabbed a rifle and vanished. Jaxon picked up the other weapon, fired two shots into an advancing shooter, and tossed the gun to Javie, who had also appeared out of thin air.
Then I understood. People were running around everywhere. They were crisscrossing the room over and over again in an attempt to avoid the gunmen. The crowd was so thick that the team easily got lost in them.
I watched Jaxon pick up a chair and hurl it across the room. I saw a shooter drop to the ground on impact, and then I saw Dudley jump upon the man’s back as he attempted to rise. Dudley plunged his knife into the killer’s ear over and over again.
It was horrible. We were all having so much fun. We were all enjoying a bit of what life used to be like before Jaxon became the Guardian. Somehow, the ugliness and violence of his new life had found us.
There was blood on the floor. I watched as people began to slip and slide. I saw a wounded young woman by the stage. She had a white dress that was covered in blood. She was calling for help. She was reaching out to the frantic people running all around her. Nobody would stop and help.
I wanted to go to her. I wanted to save her. I waited until I saw that Georgie was shooting again, and I got my feet under me, so I could run to the stage. The young girl was dead when I looked back at her. I had only taken my eyes off of her for a brief moment, one brief moment, and she died. Half her face was laying in a pool of blood. Her eyes were staring blankly away from her, waiting for help that would never arrive.
“Why couldn’t she wait for me,” I cried. “Why couldn’t she wait a few more seconds?”
Ivana grabbed a hold of me. Apparently, I had stood up, and she was dragging me back down.
“Why did she have to die alone?” I asked.
“Sweetheart,” Ivana cried out. “Get a hold of yourself. We need to stay under cover.”
She was holding me down. I could feel her straining against me as I attempted to push myself up. I don’t know what I was planning on doing. I don’t know where I was going to go. I only wanted to help someone. I couldn’t stand to see so much suffering.
“Why are they doing this?” I cried out. “They aren’t even monsters. They’re humans. Why are they doing this?”
Ivana was yanked away from me. Another killer dressed in black had appeared. He slammed his pistol into the side of her head, and she dropped to the floor like a ragdoll. He then turned his pistol on me.
I knew I was going to die. I wasn’t sure what my reaction should be. I was crying but I had been crying for a while at that point. I didn’t know what to do. So I ended up looking into the man’s eyes. I saw nothing there. Maybe it was the ski mask hiding his face. I don’t know, but I couldn’t find any humanity.
I closed my eyes.
Three gunshots joined in on the cacophony of the room. I noticed them because they were so close to my ear. I opened my eyes and realized that I hadn’t been shot. The gunman had.
Georgie had finally noticed what was going on right behind him. Not that it was his fault, mind you. He had been busy fighting multiple gunmen in the other direction. Until the very last moment he had no idea one of them had snuck up behind him.
“Thank you,” I told Georgie.
“No problem,” Georgie replied just before he arched his back wickedly, and collapsed to the floor.
He’d been shot in the back. I watched as he frantically thrashed against the floor while reaching behind his back as if he could stop the pain of the wound with his hands. It wasn’t very long of a struggle, and slowly Georgie became quite still except for the involuntary twitching in his legs.
His eyes remained fixed upon his fallen rifle.
Our attackers must have realized they finally shot him. Two of the men began to move closer to us. I reacted. I dove forward, gathered up Georgie’s weapon and pulled the trigger just as the two killers came around the table.
I killed two men.
Ivana was screaming behind me. She was trying to help Georgie. Poor, poor Georgie who had been so brave, now just a limp mass in a pool of blood. Ivana had her hands over his wound. She was trying to prevent the pool from growing.
She was also yelling something at me. I couldn’t focus on her words. I couldn’t stop staring at the two bodies in front of me. I was barely paying any attention to Ivana. Georgie was going to die. Perhaps he was dead already. Ivana kept yelling at me.
Someone punched me in the chest.
At least that’s what it felt like. Everything sort of slowed down as I fell straight back onto my butt. All the noise in the room sort of became a loud throb, and I finally understood what Ivana had been yelling. She wanted me to get down. In my shock, I was standing straight up in a room full of gunfire.
I wanted to laugh. I wanted to tell her I was fine; I had only lost my breath for a moment. When I tried to turn in her direction, I lost control of the upper half of my body. She screamed as I finished my fall, and landed with my head upon Georgie’s shoulder.
There was a small rosebud in the center of my chest. It was odd that a beautiful rosebud ended up right where I had been punched. My legs wouldn’t move, neither would my arms. The room had grown terribly cold, and the rosebud began to blossom and spread.
The last thing I remember seeing was Ivana’s face above mine. She was crying. She was screaming. I felt her hands pressing down upon my chest and then I was gone.