Chapter VI

  The remainder of the first day of travel for the convoy went by like clockwork and without incident. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and no attacks from the Marauders came. Scott should've felt at ease by the lack of hostile activity, but he was instead rather bored. He did have a few exchanges with Fitz, usually involving his overall health, but Scott was still bored. He still kept his composure for the most part, if only not to worry either Fitz or Terry. Scott also periodically looked out the window at the sky as it gradually developed a red-orange hue and grew darker with each hour that passed.

  By 10:13 pm, the convoy was stopped for the night in the ruins of an unknown town. Various structures that were likely once houses were spread around them convoy. The variously teams of soldiers, Terry's team being among them, started setting up temporary shelters. Scott roamed around seemingly aimlessly as if he was looking for something to do. He opted to help the team set up the shelters, whatever he could to avoid feeling like a third wheel. Fitz briefing advised against any strenuous activity, but Terry overruled him. It at least felt somewhat relieving for Scott to know that Terry was on his side.

  By the 10:34 pm mark, all the shelters were set up. A parameter was also put in place that consisted of the various ruined structures. Terry started assigning pairs for each shelter due to the small to medium size of them. Scott found himself paired with Fitz for the obvious health reasons. Sam and Pete were assigned to a shelter as were Johansson and Michelle. Terry assigned himself to one of the remaining shelters with a random soldier.

  "Okay, everyone has their assigned barracks, correct?" Terry asked.

  "Yeah, but how come you get the VIP treatment, Captain?" Sam joked, earning a playful chuckle from the rest of the team minus Johansson.

  "I know, and I thought Scott was the VIP here." Pete added and earned a second chuckle.

  "Alright, you guys, knock it off. Anyway, everyone go get some rest. We're back on the road first thing tomorrow morning." Terry said, and the team members went about their business of getting to rest.

  Scott was still trying to wipe away the sly grin from his face as the team member separated. Johansson suddenly walked right by Scott with an indifferent look on her face. Scott met Johansson's gaze and for a brief moment, there was a measure of tension. Then Johansson continued on her way. Scott breathed a sigh of relief before turning his attention to the night sky. Trillions upon Trillions of stars filled the near pitch-black imagery before Scott's eyes centered on a particularly bright star. At first, he had to assume that this star might have actually been the planets Mercury or Venus, maybe even Mars. But it seemed doubtful and Scott wasn't exactly a renowned astronomer of any kind. He did hear footsteps approaching from behind and a moment later, Michelle stood beside him.

  "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Michelle asked.

  Scott sighed and nodded. "Yeah, probably the first beautiful sight I've seen since waking up." What's that star up there?"

  Michelle looked to where Scott was pointing, quickly finding the brightest of the stars above. "That's Sky Haven. That's our destination."

  "Have you been up there before, I mean, with the others? What's it like?" Scott asked.

  Michelle shrugged and implied, "I wouldn't exactly call it special, but it's safe. You're thinking about your brother?"

  "I've got to hold out some hope, however small it is, that Matt's alive. Maybe he went to sleep like me or maybe he's an old man now. But I've got to know, Michelle."

  "Maybe you're right, Scott. But it won't do you any good worrying about it all night long. You should get some sleep while you can." Michelle said with a smile.

  Scott chuckled, "I've got to admit, that some pretty sage advice."

  "I have my moments. You have a good night, Scott."

  Then Michelle walked off toward the shelter she was set to share with Johansson. Scott found himself feeling a little better given his situation. It seemed as though he'd found a kindred spirit in Michelle. Maybe he was trying to latch onto some small semblance of normalcy. It was so difficult to determine. But Michelle seemed to offer Scott some a glimmer of hope. At the same time, Scott couldn't shake the feeling that Michelle might have actually taken a liking to him. That idea made him laugh to himself and he wasn't someone who believed in Love at First Sight. It was highly likely that Michelle was simply being friendly. The entire team seemed friendly for that matter, with the obvious exception Johansson, who often seemed colder than the farthest planet from the Sun. Scott brushed it off entirely once he felt his eyes getting heavy, and he decided that now was the time to get some sleep.

  Scott was still wide awake even though it was likely midnight. He simply laid on his rather uncomfortable cot with a thin blanket covering his lower body and his arms folded over his abdomen. He stared almost blankly at the ceiling of the shelter, which looked about as thin as his blanket. His eyes were still somewhat heavy from fatigue and yet, he couldn't get to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time. The most profound and, frankly, annoying reason was Fitz's unexpectedly loud snoring. For a doctor, Fitz wasn't exactly subtle when it came to a good night's rest.

  Scott was at the point where he mockingly considered shoving his pillow onto Fitz's face just to shut him up. But that wasn't a good idea in the grand scheme of things. Instead, Scott sat up in his cot and brushed his hand though his hair. He looked over at Fitz, whose back was turned toward Scott. No sooner had his attention been on the doctor than Scott briefly noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He thought and even feared at first that those Marauder things found the camp. Against his better judgement, Scott moved toward the exit of the shelter.

  He was now outside amid near darkness, the only sources of light being from a handful of portable fixtures. Scott made his way around the camp, passing by the other shelters as he went along. Somebody was roaming around the site besides just Scott, and it gave him pause to worry that it might actually be the Marauders. They were doing a good job of hiding if it were them. Scott wasn't a trained fighter, so in the event he encountered a Marauder, he'd most like be dead. Relief washed over Scott when he briefly noticed a silhouette that looked human and nothing like the hulking aliens.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Yet against his better judgement for the second time, Scott took to shadowing whoever was walking around after midnight. He couldn't help being curious, but he also knew the old adage curiosity killed the cat. He did not want to be the cat. The silhouette vanished around the corner and into a ruined household. Scott followed but stayed as silent as possible. He found a good spot for hiding and crouched down to avoid detection. There, he waited for a while. Nervousness crept into him. Then he heard muffled sounds. He couldn't tell but it sounded human... and it sounded like it was more than just one. Scott knew he shouldn't have even thought about what he was about to do, but he did it anyway and peered around the corner of his hiding space. His eyes widened.

  He could see what appeared to be two people huddled close together close to a small fire. One was apparently on top of the other. Scott had to squint his eyes just to make the face of one of them. It was Johansson. She looked to be in pain, except that it wasn't that. Her chest was panting ever so slightly, and then a hand appeared around her upper body. Scott watched as the owner of the hand reveal themselves, and it was Pete. Johansson seemed to be enjoying the feeling of Pete's hands all over her. Pete reached over and undid her shirt, exposing her bare breasts. Watching from his hiding spot, Scott couldn't look away. He watched as Pete leaned his head forward and kissed Johansson's neck. Johansson seemed to let out a small sigh as she reached her own hand down into Pete's pants. Then Pete moved Johansson onto her back.

  This time, Scott looked away to gather his thoughts. His mind was suddenly racing faster than it could process the images. It certainly wasn't the first time he'd see two people in the throes of sex, but this was unexpected in that one of the people in the act was Johansson. Johansson; the Doom Queen herself as Scott coined her, seemingly the coldest and most indifferent woman he'd met since coming out of deep freeze, was having sex with one of her teammates. Pete was her partner and somebody whom befriended Scott, even briefly played football with him earlier in the day. The two of them in the middle of a love making session was surprising. Scott felt his heart rate climbing, and it seemed like his heart was about to burst out of his chest. Was he getting jealous... of two people he'd only just met barely a day and half ago? He knew he had to leave while he could, but he stayed and looked back again.

  He froze at what he saw next. It wasn't the image of Pete leaning down and gently kissing around Johansson's face, neck or even down to her chest. Johansson had her face turned in Scott's direction, her eyes still opened wide and nearly vacant. Scott could almost feel Johansson's gaze on him. Did she see him? Was she aware that he was watching while Pete kissed her neck? If so, she didn't say a single word. She just continued to react to every kiss from Pete while Scott was seemingly made to watch. For Scott's part, biology took over and he felt his own pants tightening. He couldn't take anymore and quietly snuck away from the scene. At the same time, Johansson motioned Pete to stop and he did. She looked around using only her eyes. With a second motion, she gently pushed Pete away and the two of them gathered their gear. Then they moved away from each other as the night progressed. Unbeknownst to all parties considered, Michelle had also been watching the moment and, like Scott, biology reared its head. Unlike Scott, Michelle was already in the throes of her own self-gratification with her hand down between her legs. She had to hold back a subtle moan as the night progressed.

  The following morning, everyone was getting ready to resume the trip across the country. Scott stumbled around after a restless night, still struggling to process what he witnessed. He also had a brief interaction with Pete, who seemed oblivious to the previous night. He gave Scott a hearty salute which was returned in kind but without the same vigor. After that, Scott continued to move around waiting for the call to get back on the road. Then he saw Johansson approaching him and she was approaching him quickly. Scott tried to brush it off as mere haste to get going, but that was quashed when Johansson grabbed by the shoulder and pulled him behind one of the trucks.

  Out of sight, Johansson pinned Scott against the side of the vehicle and asked him, "How much did you see?"

  Scott instantly knew what Johansson asking and replied, "Enough. How long have you and Pete been…"?

  "That isn't any of your business." Johansson said.

  "Then why are we whispering?" Scott questioned Johansson, who released her grip on him.

  "Forget whatever you saw last night." Johansson said before leaving in a haste, leaving Scott wondering if she was furious or embarrassed. Or both.

  A few hours later, the convoy was on the move with very few obstructions ahead. Scott was riding Terry and Fitz once again. Sam was along for the ride this time and tried to humor Scott from time to time. Even though he managed to out a few chuckles here and there, Scott spent much of the ride staring out the window. He was deep in thought how Johansson told him to forget what he saw the night before. Hell, she demanded it. Scott tried to forget but it was more of a chore than he expected. He looked over at Terry as he was handling the driving. Terry glanced back at Scott but said nothing out of the ordinary. Scott's boredom finally got Terry's attention enough for Terry to address the situation directly.

  "Something bothering you, Scott?"

  Scott looked at Terry, and for a split second, he considered telling the Captain about Johansson and Pete's private moment. "I just got some things on my mind." he said.

  "We've still got a long drive ahead of us. That's plenty of time to talk." Terry claimed.

  Scott thought about it before asking, "Is there anything about Johansson you haven't told me?"

  Terry looked at Scott with a surprised gazed and replied, "I doubt there's much I can tell you without angering her. She's a very private girl. Why?"

  Scott struggles to find the best response and simply said, "I just… find her interesting is all."

  Sam overheard Scott speaking with Terry, and he stated, "Yeah, that's not a road you want to travel, lad. Trust us on that."

  "It's just… I always get the sense that Johansson's got something against me." Scott replied.

  "She doesn't hate you, lad. She doesn't hate anyone outside of the Marauders," Sam explained. "That's all we'd say on the matter, so it's best to leave it at that for now."

  Scott used that explanation, however vague it sounded, to put the pieces together. Johansson lost someone, he concluded. The assumption was already there from the first time they met, but it was only an assumption at the end of the day. Now, Scott was absolutely sure of it but he wasn't inclined to ask Johansson about it. Granted, everyone on the team had to have lost someone to the Marauders or the Seraphim Virus. But it had to have been especially hard on Johansson for her to act so cold. The issue was that she was taking it out on Scott, and he did nothing to her beyond inadvertently spying on her and Pete. All that Scott could do at the moment in time was plant his chin onto his knuckles and go back to staring out the window.

  He was deep in thought once again, this time thinking about Matt and wondering if he was alive or not. Scott was hoping for the former as he continued to look around the nearly barren landscape. He saw something out of the corner of his eye but thought nothing of it at first. He looked again and this time, his attention was drawn through the windshield and toward the sky. Scott leaned in further and get a better idea of what was outside. It looked like an object of some kind, and it seemed to be getter larger with each second that passed. The blood started to drain away from Scott's face and he even gulped.

  "Uh, Terry?"

  "What is it, Scott?"

  Scott pointed up through the windshield at the object and asked, "Is that one of ours?"

  Terry briefly glanced at Scott and then through the windshield at the rapidly approaching object, which was also revealed to be enflamed. "INCOMING!"