Arc 3 - Chapter 55: Give Em Hope

(Reverence 6, 59 / 7:35PM)

She stood with her hands clutched on her stomach.

Seeing them all sulk, only Miles was one of the few whose despair faded. Having a straight back, and gripping boots, she tried to make herself look imposing… but her height was average, and her throat jumped with each syllable.

“I know you all are scared, but we can’t let fear win over us.”

“I-I’m not afraid.”

“Then why won’t you fight?”

“Because it’s pointless.” Luna didn’t clutch her arms over her knees. Laying her knuckles against the metallic floor, she stared forward, her eyes having no fire within them. “There’s so many guards waiting for us out there. Even if Luke arrives, they’ll overwhelm us again…”

“But our numbers increased. We have more of us, we have each and every one of you.”

“No offense to Hope, but us four ain’t powerful like you guys.” Rising from the ground, Stan laid his back against the wall. Having his fingers be glued to it, Gary, Diego, and Fred still wallowed on the floor.

Fred and Gary had wounds that needed healing, as their fight with Ada took a toll. Jenny and Jumbo also needed healing, but with handcuffs attached to her wrists, healing was unsuitable.

“They have guns, they have manpower. With all of us combined, we’ll be outnumbered.”

“So then what’s your strategy?” Asked Hope.

Stan raised an eyebrow. Feeling her gaze, Stan’s arms slightly shook, as he couldn’t step forward into the evening sunlight that pounced on her.

“S-Strategy?”

“Let’s say that Luke does reach here, and what then? Imagine the look on his face that all his hard work will be for not.”

Even now, they continued to hear the thumps of gunshots from afar. As if Luke was still fighting, still trying to reach toward them, both of her hands balled into fists. Pushing her fingers deep into her palms, she growled silently with a throttling throat, before reddening her eyes in a glare.

“So the last thing I want is for all of you to sulk like drug addicts.”

Hearing her voice dip in a bit of venom, a lot of them raised their heads.

Taking a step toward Luna, Hope stared her down with a mean look in her eyes. Like she was staring at a jobless loser, Luna bit down on her teeth, and strained her gums in strain. Feeling her whole body shudder, Hope lifted her right foot an inch high.

“Out of everyone, he’s waiting for you and me the most. You know that right?”

“Shut up…”

“So are you going to fight, are you going to wallow there lifelessly like a plastic bag? No. Plastic bags have value.”

“What are you saying…?” Luna felt her legs seize in blood. Flowing through her thighs, and down her shins, it was a sudden warmth that brought with it pins and needles, while her eyes darted into Hope’s.

“You know exactly what I mean. But knowing how lazy you are, you won’t hurt me. Not with those cuffs on your wrists.”

“B-B-Bullshit!”

She jumped from the ground, and immediately grounded the floor with her boots. Still having those handcuffs dig into her wrists, she growled, while Hope stared back with that same anger.

Neither of them took a step back, and neither of them even flinched. Hope furrowed her brow, and clicked her tongue. “So what are you going to do now? Be some pet for the Zirardges, instead of Luke.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know anything about us!”

“Then who are you to him? What do you see him as?”

Luna’s whole throat relaxed, and she softened that glare. Her whole face resting in a chilling coldness, it was an anger that not even Hope achieved to get out of. Everyone else kept their eyes peeled on the two of them, but mostly at Luna.

“I’m a swordswoman… I’m the strongest one here…”

“Yet you’re here marinating in despair. No. You’ve been marinating it ever since that raid on the ranch. You can’t fool me, nor anyone. Especially not—”

A gust of air escaped from her mouth.

Saliva marinating down her chin, Hope hunched her body forward, but Luna didn’t give her time. Ramming her with her shoulder, she pinned Hope against the wall, keeping her there.

Miles, Stan, Benn, and Jack rose from the ground. Fast walking toward them, Miles especially snickered through the skin of his—

“I got this!” Even when her stomach wallowed in pain, she still had her footing firm. Hope didn’t fight back, but rather looked into Luna’s red-veined eyes. “You could kick me again and again, but you won’t make me kneel.”

“Luke isn’t here to stop me. What makes you think I won’t slam your face into this wall.”

“I know you won’t.”

They both didn’t look away. Keeping their irises locked in, Hope didn’t budge out of the concealment. With only a frown that condemned in ice, and a glare that held disgust, Hope didn’t give in, even if the pain gnawed like a relentless illness.

“Luke won’t forgive anyone if something happens to me; even for you.”

Luna loosened her hold on Hope, and averted her eyes to the floor. Her whole body convulsing in anger, in a rage that she tried to keep down, her eyes slowly crumbled that withering darkness. Hope turned toward her comrades.

“Jack. Benn. Miles. Are you going to help Luke and I get out?”

“If you’re putting all your faith in Luke, why can’t I do the same?” Miles relaxed his shoulders, as the salt cuffs continued to dig deep into his wrists. He wanted to take a glance at his hands, at his fingers, but those cuffs did their duty thoroughly. Miles’s face narrowed. “So I’ll go with you.”

“And so will I.”

To Miles’s right, Benn spoke with a voice quelled in coldness. Staring right at Hope, his frown slightly softened upon seeing her strict face. So much confidence for such a little scene, he inhaled air through his nose, before exhaling it out. The Zirardges, Doug, the system itself; there were many ways to exact revenge without killing.

“I don’t care how I’ll settle the score, but an escape is considered payback for me. And I’ll always be loyal to this group, loyal to Gwen…”

Gwen pushed her trust in Luke. Making sure that trust didn’t crumble, his loyalty toward Luke was arguably more so than Luna’s. Both Miles and Benn wishing to go, Hope turned her head toward Jack.

“What about you Jack?”

“I don’t doubt Luke’s luck, but what about—”

“We’re not all lucky Jack.”

“I know that, it’s just, what happens if one of us…” With his eagle eyes, he recalled three tips of a javelin cleave out from Chris. The blood, the pain, Jack’s whole face quelled in a pale whiter than a ghost. Unable to throw away such a memory, he had his eyes to the metallic floor. “You saw what happened to Chris. If that were to happen again, to anyone that is distracted…”

“That won’t happen.”

“How could you be so sure?”

A line of sweat swept down from her nose. Feeling it glisten her skin, her breath slightly shook. Gulping, she straightened her back once more, but she glanced down at her own two boots. Instead of making eye contact with Jack, she analyzed the leather.

“I don’t have evidence to back me up. I’m not good with reasoning, or with logical arguments. I’m not as realistic as you Jack, nor as smart as Luke or Fred… but I have faith.”

Raising her head, Jack’s body felt sluggish once she laid eyes on him. Like she had begun to thaw that frozen heart, a soul stuck well in dark reality, he took a slight step back.

“It’s not bad to be a realist, but it’s okay to imagine once in a while.”

“I… fair point.”

Nodding his head gently, Jack allowed the piece of advice to trickle and sprinkle his brain. As he did so, Hope pushed her eyes onto another group, another man who still wallowed in despair. The four of them continued to stare at her, their cheeks condemned in black.

“Stan. You and your group were there for Luke before I met him. How can you lose faith in him already?”

“It’s not him I’m worried about, it’s us. I mean, look at us.”

Hope walked forward, her footsteps treading the metallic floor calmly, while analyzing the outlines of their clothes. They didn’t wear the Dark Angels attire, nor do they look griseled in muscles. They had plain normal clothing. Gary was a physicist, a calculator for the group. Diego was the mechanic, a man suited to fix any engine. Fred was the inventor, a man whose imagination runs wild. And there was Stan, whose knowledge in metal exceeded more than most men. Although Stan knew how to fight, neither of them stood a chance against those above.

“We’re not Dark Angels material.”

“Then how come Boris continues to keep you all?” Hope stopped a meter away from Stan. Feeling that slight fire, that spark that he long lost, he tried to ignite it again and again. But that adobe, the bullets that rain down on all of them… and the Harvester, the flames that it carried. “Your group has seen more battles than most soldiers. Stan…”

Pushing her right lip up, a sly grin was bestowed on her face. “What would Pacifica think when she sees you like this?”

“Pacifica? Look that’s—”

“Giggles…”

“I—fine. I guess I don’t want her to worry, okay, so f-fine.”

Rising from the ground, he used only his hind legs and wall to support him. Giving her a nod, his height dwarfed her, but she didn’t step back out of sheer fear. No. What she had was hope, a confidence that couldn’t be distinguished by darkness.

“I can’t sit here and do nothing.”

“And what about Gary?”

“Me? I know that I’m fat and unable to fight—”

“Hey you’re not fat.”

Still slumped on the floor, his butt cushioned against the metal along with his back. His hands resting on his thighs, he had his eyes stared forward rather than up. But standing in front of him, Hope bent down all the way.

“All of you are strong in your own way. Even you Diego.”

“E-Even me?”

“You all are important. If you have something to work for, something to strive for, then do it… or do it for me.”

Her smile brightened the three of their cheeks. Especially Gary’s.

Looking down at his thighs, he wasn’t skinny nor normal for his weight. Pushing his fingers into his palm, he wrinkled his forehead, and began pushing himself up by force. For a chubby man with tight footing, the muscles that he built over the years, although clouded in fat, helped him rise. Once he was standing, so was Fred and Diego.

“For a shy girl, you sure know how to woo a man. Count me in.”

“Same.”

“Eh, shy girls aren’t really my type. No offense.” Said Diego.

“No one’s asking about your type.” Said Jack.

Chuckling at Diego’s response, she then turned toward three others who looked at her with quivering eyes. The way they still sulked, still sullied their bottom on the ground, her hands slightly shook. Hope exhaled air through her mouth, releasing pent up stress.

“Jenny. I heard of your fight with Kenichi, and what happened.”

“I’m not scared of Kenichi, Hope, it’s just those memories. Our memories… he can’t remember.”

Hope crouched down. Having both Loraine and Jumbo stare at her, she laid her eyes on only Jenny. The tears that wanted to escape, the insecurities, the fear, it all throttled her to her core. But can she slay it away? Cleanse herself from the horrors she tried to hide?

“You could get through it. You’re thirty-two, a decade older than me and Luke. If I can push forward, so can you.”

A tear escaped from her right eye. Riveting down her cheek, it also went down her neck. Pursing her lips, she nodded slowly. “I-I’ll try… I’ll really do…”

“Try to do do, and do to try try.”

“Huh?”

“Little saying I remembered when I was a kid.”

Giggling to herself, Hope moved her eyes toward Loraine and Jumbo. For some reason, Loraine was quiet, her lips sealed off and closed. The darkness still lingering in her eyes, her cheeks were dark, crusted almost. Jumbo looked normal, but he was still hesitant.

“Loraine, do you—”

“Count me in! Including bunny here!”

“Hey I have a name you know?”

“A weird one!”

‘This kid.’

Hope rose from her bent posture, and widened her eyes in surprise. How can such a kid flip that switch that fast? Unable to scratch the back of her head, Hope’s eyebrows shifted. “I thought you were sulking?”

“Nah. Wanted to trick you. You and everyone.”

“Ah Loraine. At least you’re easy to rile up.” Turning around, there was one person that needed seeing, one man that sulked the hardest.

In the darkest corner of the train cart, was a man hiding himself from the world. His forehead pressed onto his knees, he wrapped his legs with his arms.

“Sean…” She was only two meters away, but it was already dark. Like she was stepping into a pool of miasma, the iciness of it all crinkled her brows. But she pushed her toes deep into her boots, her face and smile battling the cold. “You could still redeem yourself.”

The elf still kept his fingers digging into his shins. Unable to let go, to loosen his muscles that were air tight in constraint, he couldn’t even whisper. Getting down on her knees, Hope was a meter away, making her voice and words smell like sweet vanilla.

“I don’t know if it was on purpose, or on accident, but I forgive you.”

The scene of the library played.

Remembering the broken ladder, and reminiscing about the fall, the only thing that cushioned him was Hope. Because of that incident, he was kicked out of the group, and kept under watch by the Pacithiests. All those years of training, all wasted under a single incident. But after everything he went through, from Chris’s death to now this… it made sense.

“I’m sorry.”

Hope could barely hear him. Keeping his forehead firm on his knees, Hope shifted her body closer. Having her knees an inch or two away from his hip, he continued to wallow in his own memories.

“I made a lot of shitty mistakes… I can’t go.”

“Sean.”

“D-Don’t forgive me. I don’t deserve it…”

He was the one who led them down that path. From the moment he laid eyes on them, he forced them to do his own interests. Either it was out of pleasure, or out of necessity, the result was none other than their capture. Hope traced his shivering body, as if he was swelled in an icy cold. She didn’t speak, nor did she breathe harshly through her nostrils.

“It was my fault, it was all me. The raid on the ranch, the failed train raid… Chris’s death, and now this. I can’t be forgiven.” He sniffled through a jumping throat. Feeling his vocals clashed, one or two tears dripped on his jacket. Hope couldn’t trace his face, but she did push her lips down to her jaw. “Hope… please—”

Something warm pressed his cheek.

Everyone raised their eyebrows, especially Luna. They didn’t believe it, nor could they imagine such a thing happening. Sean slowly rose his head from his knees. Turning right, his eyes still lingered in red. Salted with tears, his hair was ruffled, and his lips hung down.

“H-Hope?”

“Better?”

“W-Why the kiss on the cheek? I thought you liked Luke?”

“I’m only doing this to get you to fight. D-Don’t take it as a sign.”

Hope’s cheeks blemished a pinkish red, and she growled within her parched throat. Standing up, her own fingers quivered, but she nonetheless returned to her normal facade.

Sean’s own face began to steam red. With a slight tint of pink, it was as if she was curing the darkness around him.

“Come on Sean. To feel guilt is the first step of redemption. You got this.”

Sean’s legs struggled to warmth, and his arms were still glued to his shins. His whole body blanketed in the cold, he tried to bite the insides of his cheeks, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t inflict that much pain to himself, not unless he—

“And besides, you started it, might as well finish it.”

Sean turned toward the direction of the voice. A dark-complected man had his lips form a smile.

“Miles…”

“So are you going to let us clean all of your mess, or are you going to help us?”

A few days prior, Miles remembered the duel of Luke and Sean, and the consequences that followed. It was one of Luke’s lowest points, his inner demons taking full control for a single moment.

But uplifting his spirit was none other than Doug’s son. Making him force a choice, whether it was upholding a moral compass, or the law’s order, Luke followed his instinct.

“As soldiers, we have to help each other at our lowest."

—The door exploded from the other end.—

Propelling the metallic door, it slid through the floor with flying embers. Smoke excreting from the opening, it gifted them all furrowed brows and faces. Last but not least, they all held their breath, but Hope loosened her frown. Once she noticed leather boots below the smoke cloud.

“Sorry if I looked like I abandoned you all, but no worries.” And out of the dust cloud, walked a man with leather clothing.

Dust and grime molded onto his jacket and pants, his uzis were strangled by his own two hands. Sweat squeezing out of every follicle of his skin, he looked exhausted. And yet, his stamina to push forward dwarfed his need to rest.

“I promised myself that we would all go home.”

““““““““““““Luke!””””””””””””

They all ran toward him, or rather circled him with brimming eyes. Their spirits lifted, it doubled to tripled in size once they saw him standing. Amidst his wobbly state, they were relentless with their questions, questions that made him take a step back.

“How the hell did you even make it?!”, “What do you think dumbass?”, “Wait, so he raided the train by himself?”, “Talk about crazy.”, “Talk about pure luck.”, “Luke?”, “Luke?”, “Luke?”, “Luke?”

“Alright alright, one at a time, please!” Pushing one of his uzis into his holster, he used his free hand to express a form of surrender. Giving himself a sly chuckle, they all abided by his wish, but they kept their eyes on him. Luke lowered his hand onto his side, and pushed his other uzi back into his holster. “Yes, I got on the train alone. Yes, I fought half of the guards and agents on this train. But no, we’re not leaving just yet.”

“Wait, we’re not leaving?”

“Even if we escape, Doug will continue to hunt us down. He and the government he funds.”

Hope began to walk toward the large group, but Sean stalled his feet on the floor. Blowing in air through his throat, his vocals rattled, yet he nonetheless felt the pins and needles against his legs.

Feeling that surge of warmth bestow him, he began to rise from the ground. Inch by inch, all of this happened while Luke spoke like a mediator.

“But if we’re going to raid this train, we have to do it hard. Even if we make the greatest of plans, what good is it if we don’t execute it properly? We have to discuss what we gathered over the past couple of days. Oh, and while we do that…” Luke pulled out pliers. “Let’s break off those cuffs.”