SIW Adam & Bronwille: Ch 08 : Insecurities and Initiations!

SIW : Adam and Bronwille.

Chapter Eight : Insecurities and Initiations!

Calls were made, things were settled and put in place, people moved around. At long last, Adam had to make his appearance. They had agreed that he would appear to take a daily flight home. The flight would return the next day just after noon. They agreed that small window should be enough time to be convincing enough for Adam to help out on the pack issue he was called back for.

In reality, Adam would board the flight, go to the restroom and then Merlin would teleport him out and to John's house. The next day they would do the same so he could come off the flight. All this done just to thwart any possible spies Adam might have picked up.

Once they were all together again and all of the preparations were made, it was time to move to John's house. Through their mental connection, he let Gabriella know he was coming over with a few guests and if she could clear the living room. There was a light shimmer and a second later the party stood in the middle of the room.

John turned around, searching for his Gabriella, wanting to make sure they hadn't surprised her too much.

He smiled as his eyes landed on the tall woman. After all these centuries, it still amazed him how beautiful she was. Without hesitating he walked over and enveloped the dark beauty in his arms, his nose buried in the tiny ringlets of her black hair. He loved the smell of oranges. She was addicted to them and the scent of them was always around her, just as much as if it was part of her persona.

He didn't care for a moment what the others would think but his own lips sought out her lush pink lips and devoured her. Each kiss felt like it was their first and he never got enough of sweeping her off her feet like this. The moan he heard just proved he still had it and he smiled against her lips as he reluctantly let her go. Holding her close he turned towards the others and simply smiled.

"Guys, this is my wonderful mate and wife Gabriella," he introduced her. John turned towards her and started to explain who was who, starting with Adam.

"You might remember someone called Adam from my time in 'Nam. I can finally introduce him to you. This is Adam O'Neill and these two gentlemen are Ed Whelan and Merlin, friends of Adam and here to assist him."

Gabriella extended her hand to all of them and returned the greeting.

"It's a pleasure to get to know you all, though I do wish it were under different circumstances. John told me he has told you partly why he reached out and is offering help. Let us sit and grab a drink. Maybe then I can fill you in as to why we want this solved and why there isn't much that we can do," Gabriella said to them politely.

Her voice seemed to always have a seductive lilt to it and it didn't take much convincing for the men to do as asked. Gabriella sauntered over to a cabinet to the side and put some glasses on a tray.

"A bit of whiskey for all of you or do some of you prefer something else?" she asked, looking over her shoulder.

"I think after all of this a nice glass of whiskey is just the break for us," Merlin replied, nodding politely.

Gabriella laughed, "Oh I'm sure you will appreciate this one. It's from our private stash; I thought tonight needed just the little bit extra."

She came over with the tray and handed each them a small Schott Zwiesel glass with the bottom filled with what smelled like very old whiskey. Merlin smelled his drink and a huge grin appeared on his face; "You sure know how to welcome people. This is luxurious and rare!"

Gabriella just smiled as she handed out the rest of the glasses. More appreciative words were spoken as the men took their sips of the sixty plus year old Glenfiddich presented to them. They enjoyed this rare piece of whiskey for a few moments longer before Gabriella got their attention again.

"It's time I told the rest of how Derrick turned against us and build his private little empire."

****

Let me first start with Jassy and Davinia, our first two children. We met Jassy when she was four years old, which was around the thirteen hundreds. All of her family had died due to the Black Plague. She was huddled between their corpses and the humans didn't want to take her because they were afraid she had the ugly disease too and had left her there to die. We had taken it upon ourselves to scout for any survivors and help them out.

But Jassy touched us. We tried to leave her with the nuns but she wouldn't have any of it. She wouldn't release us and every attempt resulted in a huge tantrum. We talked about that long and hard. We hadn’t really wanted to bring a child into our life style. In a span of three days the little munchkin had wormed her way into our hearts and in the end we decided to raise her ourselves.

We tried to hide as much as we could from our true nature, that actually went pretty well since we can actually walk in the sun. She grew up to be a smart young lady and when she turned twenty-five she confronted us. No matter how well we tried, she had figured out something was a bit off. We had been honest with her about everything else and only a single look told us enough that she would keep our secret.

Once she knew she wanted to tag along a few times, but we discouraged her as much as we could. You see we don't just feed, at least not back in those days. We never killed our dinner, so to speak, but we did like to have some fun. We did everything together, that included feeding. Whoever was lucky enough to be with us was cared for and everything was done with mutual consent. It's most of those people who ended up being our loyal fledglings.

This wasn't a part of our lives we wanted to share with her in much detail; it was John and mine alone. Because we're so old, we only had to feed every few months. Smarty-pants as Jassy was, she figured out about our little get togethers and finally understood our bond and never asked about it anymore.

She never followed us, but more and more started to express her need to be truly ours in every way. Not in the way of lovers, but after being raised by us she really wanted to be connected to us. We did have the odd fledgling, people who had always been loyal to us, who served us well.

It's then we told her our own heritage. Again we never lied about it, we just never told her. John is 2130 years old. I'm just over 2500. Gabriella is the name I've used for the last few centuries. My real name and title would shock you a little. So would John's. But that is a story for another time. Back to our children.

We wanted to grace Jassy the best way we saw fit and after presenting the option to her, together with the vow of secrecy around it, she agreed to be sired by both of us. This meant she would get both our memories and both our powers. Since she got both, she never had to go through the phase our other fledglings have too. Learn to control their hunger, adapt to a nocturnal life at first. Walking in daylight is not something that just is; you have to be old to do that. At least a thousand years old.

Jassy could walk in daylight from the day we sired her, she never had to fight the hunger and just like us she only needed to feed every few months. Over time we took on many identities and traveled the world. Some centuries later we came across Davinia, or rather Jassy did.

During the Revolution we lived in Paris, France. We kept a low profile and just enjoyed the entertainment of those times. That didn't last long as you can gather. We were packed and ready to go, the carriage was waiting up front when Jassy stumbled inside with a tiny bundle held close to her chest.

As it turned out her parents were killed. The babe was clutching to her mother when Jassy heard her cries. The mother was breathing slowly and as she felt the babe being taken away she just whispered her name with her last breath. We all fell in love with her instantly and we never doubted we were going to raise her. We left and moved to a remote area. Only this time we never hid our true nature, thinking it would be futile, we just taught her never to tell a soul about it.

She grew up to be a beautiful and smart woman, just like our Jassy. We loved her just as much. When she turned thirty things took a turn for the worst. She got sick. In this day and age we would have found out it was a rare case of ovary cancer. It had spread throughout her body and she weakened every day. It tore us all apart. We didn't want to lose her. We talked to her, explained everything and gave her the choice. We could ease her suffering or sire her as her own, just like Jassy.

She didn't want to leave us behind and the rest, as they say, is history. We gained a second true child. We were happy with our little family and quickly got back to our "normal" routine.

Again, we kept moving around from place to place. We ended up in Europe around the 1920's. The First World War had ended and we hoped it would help us stay hidden amongst all the rebuilding going on. John and I did our thing and Jassy and Davinia did theirs. They ran into a young boy, Derrick. Barely dry behind his ears but he worshipped the ground they walked on.

He followed them around like a puppy. At first it was quite sweet and he had us all fooled. He weaseled his way into all of our hearts. After a while it became clear he suspected we were more than we let on and Davinia slipped. We cursed at her for that but as I said, Derrick had us all fooled. He promised not to tell and so far he still hasn't, not even up to today.

He first lived on his own, but after a few months we were all so smitten with him that we offered him to live with us. We were sure, since he knew, that he wouldn't have issues with the way we lived. Time went by and he seemed the perfect son. We got him the best education money could buy. John taught him how to fight and defend himself.

When he turned twenty-eight things started to change. One night he came home beaten and bloody. He didn't want to go to the hospital so I healed him with my blood. The month after the same thing happened, than John healed him. It was our turn to follow him and that is when we found out he was gambling and losing a lot. Money never was and will be an issue for us. He had a large monthly allowance provided by us, but as it turned out, the second it was deposited, he would spend it in two to three days and the rest of the month he gathered debt upon debt.

Little did we know, but he was doing this on purpose. We thought the gambling was his problem. We were totally wrong. Once he knew we found out about the gambling, he started playing us like a true addict. Promising he'd quit and whatever excuse he could come up with. I still don't know how he managed to do it, but he managed to sneak away from us on numerous occasions.

Than he was dropped on our doorstep, more dead than alive and we were lost as to what to do. We cared for him despite everything that had happened.

What an actor he is!

That night we made our biggest mistake ever. If I could turn back time I would, and let the little creep rot in hell.

The life was literally pouring out of him and after some discussion, the girls convinced us to make him their true brother. So, in turn, we presented him with the same choice. We cleaned him up best we could and then we sired him. The next few months after that, he appeared to be the same sweet little boy he was when we first met him. He was let in on more of our secret lives.

That's when things really started going from bad to worse. He started gambling again, only now he rarely lost anymore and his personal fortune grew weekly, if not daily. Then he started bringing home a different girl every time. We called him on that and said that even we didn't bring our guests here, so neither would he.

Reading the papers I noticed the death of some Jane Doe's. I recognized a few of them as some of the girls he had brought home. Doom scenario's erupted in my mind and I confronted him. That's when he turned on us. Claimed we held him back, didn't show him our true potential and that he could feed and have a good time however he saw fit.

His last words to us were that we were all so gullible and too good of nature to understand that this is what he wanted all these years. He played us and when he gained more respect, he took over the gambling gang and created his own "Genus Gang".

Over time he gained more followers of our kind, even managed to get a few other beings amongst his gang. I know right now there are a few werewolves, numerous vamps and a few other werepeople, though I am not sure which kind. His gang grew and so did his operations. We tried to stop him on several occasions, but he outmaneuvers us each and every time. It's like he knows what we're up too and we're always too late.

****

Gabriella stood up and poured another drink. She turned back and looked at the three men, then locked eyes with John. She couldn't help the tear that cascaded down her cheek. She had ruled millions and then got fooled by a young boy. John was at her side in an instant, enveloping her in his strong arms, soothing her.

"That is quite some tale. John, I would assume with you keeping tabs on Adam it means you also found out more of what Derrick is up to these days?" Merlin asked.

"Yeah and I'm not liking it one bit," came the bitter reply.

"All I know is he has got to be stopped and the one that has laid his hands on Bronwille will pay for it dearly!" Adam chipped in.

"The plan has been set in motion. Let’s just see now if he takes the bait. If he does, maybe I can get a bit of fun out of this," Ed gave his two cents.

"Ed, this isn't a party," Merlin scolded him.

"Oh I know it isn't, but that doesn't mean I can't have my fun. I was cut short when we dealt with those fake rogues. I'm just dying to scratch that itch."

Gabriella watched the men converse as she gathered herself. She felt so at home in John's arms and as always she found it hard to pry herself away from them. She was sure they all would be going to bed soon and then John was hers alone again.

Merlin observed her, his head tilted slightly. "One day you're going to have to tell me your tale, sweet Nubian princess."

She smiled, she didn't question his words and silently thanked John for informing her that Merlin was exactly who he said he was. Gabriella was also convinced he was a lot older than most would think he was, maybe even rival her own age.

"That is a promise, once this is settled it would be my honor to tell my own tale just this once," she answered his unspoken question.

John tightened his arms around her. He had picked up on her feeling the need to be alone with him.

"I'm sure it's been a stressful evening for us all. What do you say we retrieve for the night and reconvene early in the morning to work on more details?"

His offer was welcomed and one by one he showed their guests their rooms for the time being. Once in their own room he didn't hesitate to capture her lips and kiss away her sorrow. Only seconds later their clothes lay scattered on the ground.

Not much later content sighs and grunts were heard as the two lovers discovered each other once more. Not a part of her was left untouched. He either stroked, kissed or licked his way around her body and she was more than willing to return the loving touches. A few orgasms later, John finally let her have the upper hand and let her be on top riding him for all she was worth.

"That's it my queen, ride your prince," he grunted, their flesh slapping together each time they met.

His hands traveled her lush forms, cupping her breasts and toying with her nipples. He waited and waited until he felt the tiny tremors telling him his queen was close to falling apart on top of him. Swiftly he pulled her down and instinctively she knew what he was going to do as she bared her neck to him.

Without stopping her movements, he licked her neck a few times, waiting those few precious seconds. He felt his fangs drop and he bit her. John felt the shock going through her as her sweet blood pooled in his mouth. Slowly he drank from her, intensifying her pleasure, prolonging her orgasm, teasing and tormenting her, knowing she would return the same. Just the idea alone had him loose his composure.

In a blink of an eye, he had her buried under him, her wounds sealed and his pumping doubled. He had moved his focus to her full pink lips as he devoured them. His hands were buried in a waterfall of tiny black ringlets. John loved the feel of her hair as it slipped between his fingers. Faster and faster he moved until he felt her hands tilting his head and he followed willingly, baring his neck in turn.

"Come for me, my prince," she whispered a moment before he felt her long fangs penetrating him and he could feel her pull on his blood. With each sip she took of him, he got closer to his rapidly closing in eruption.

He swore and grunted as he finally tensed up and could feel his seed coating her warm insides. Breathing heavily, it kept amazing him they never grew tired of each other, even after all these centuries.

Both sated, their need and hunger for each other and once they were satisfied, they snuggled up close to get a bit of sleep. The recent events told them both they wouldn't get a time for this for a while.

+ + + +

Adam cursed as he heard the ring tone.  Who in his right mind would call me at this hour!

He checked the time. Two hours of sleep, not close enough to provide for enough rest time. Without really checking who was calling, he picked up.

"I hope whoever this is, you have a death wish. It's the middle of the night!" he grumbled.

"I'm not sure who the one with a death wish is, but I'm pretty sure it's not me mate," came the swift reply.

With a grunt, Adam dropped back in his bed. "What do you want, Chris?"

"It's not about what I want but about what you forgot to do before skipping town. Do enlighten me why you checked on Bronwille so often and now that you leave she's in a state of distress because she didn't know?"

There was an awkward silence before Adam erupted in more cursing, this time aimed at himself. He told her as Atlas he'd be gone a while and in all the midst of arranging his departure, he forgot to warn the one person that needed to be warned. He cursed some more at his foolish thoughtless behavior. How did he solve this one?

"Adam?"

"Yeah, I'm still here. Dammit, you have no idea how much of a fool I think I am now. How could I have forgotten about that?"

"You could start by leaving a message. Bron invited Mia for breakfast. I give you one guess where she went in the hopes of finding a certain cook? Then imagine her reaction and her hopes crushed."

More curses followed.

"Adam, get a grip, there are more words in the dictionary then those two syllable ones and they are getting old to listen too, my friend. I'm just calling you so you can do some damage control. I'd hate to see the little progress she's made being crushed by some bonehead."

"I get the message loud and clear. It's the middle of the night here, but I'll see what I can come up with in the morning and give her some sign that I haven't forgotten her."

"Good. Now I'll let you go back to your beauty sleep."

"Shut up already."

"For you? Never. Anyways just think about your lady and make her feel at ease, then mine will do the same."

"I bet! Well good night, I'm gonna try and salvage a few hours more of sleep and I'll think of something for Bronwille."

"Good night mate, hope you won't be gone too long."

"I'll try not to."

With those words both men hung up. Adam tossed and turned but couldn't find more sleep. He got up, grabbed his laptop and sat back against the headboard. His fingers flew over the keyboard, line after line appeared on his screen. A lot were deleted, others stayed. Come morning he'd constructed another poem, one he hoped would let her understand just how he felt about her.

Now his issue was how would he get the first part to her?

+ + + +

She stretched her limbs as she yawned. She would prefer to crawl back under her warm and cozy duvet but her alarm had decided otherwise. Barely awake she stumbled out of bed and took a shower, hoping that would help wake her up. Two cups of coffee later, she still felt like crawling back to bed. Placing her dirty dishes in the dishwasher, she finished tidying up her little kitchen before installing herself on her couch.

She barely sat down when there was a knock on her door. Rolling her eyes she got up and went to see who it was. Looking down the corridor she didn't see a single soul. Frowning she checked again. Just as she started to close the door again, she noticed the little note with a rose on top. Curiously she picked it up, looking around once more, making sure she hadn't missed anybody.

The sweet fragrance of the rose invaded her senses and fed her curiosity even more. It was just a single page, folded in two. A surprised gasp left her mouth as she read the first lines.

  I need you to be happy, safe, and loved

Before I met you, my life was an empty shell

Tinted so those who tried to see what it contained could not

 I'm sorry I didn't let you know I was going away for a little while. I'm hoping to be back in a week, two at the most. It would please me a great deal if we could meet up for dinner when I'm back so I can properly apologize for my mistake.

It seems we both are blessed with caring friends, at least now I was able to get this message to your doorstep.

Yours

Adam

Bronwille stared at the page in front of her then looked at the rose. She held it closer and inhaled the sweet aroma of the delicate flower. It was the same as the one he gave in his tavern. The note did make her feel better, she did matter to him.

She got up and checked her hallway, puzzled at how fast the note was left there and the knock on her door, yet nobody had been there. Slightly confused, she closed the door, sat back down on the couch, and reread the note.

The first three lines were special, the words touching her emotions on so many levels and she was convinced it also showed a lot of him. Maybe a large part of his bubbly persona was all an act. Thinking back she had to admit he'd seemed more in a joking mood when everyone else was around, but when it was just the two of them he put her needs first. He listened to her, let her talk.

Even when she woke again, he didn't put up a fight, he listened to her pleading and left. He left but he kept checking in on her. Bronwille sighed. All the signs were there yet she wouldn't allow herself to recognize them. Then when she did, she found him gone and there were all her doubts again. The note this mystery person, who could only be Mia or Chris, left on her doorstep changed it all again and her new found strength returned. She just needed to be a little patient.

Her moral boosted, it helped her start the day in a better mood then the previous one ended. She checked for messages on her laptop, to find her inbox in a rare state of emptiness. Smiling to herself she took it as a sign to spend a day just focusing on herself. Maybe she could even venture out and have a mani and maybe even a pedi done. Or she could stop by her favorite hairdresser and see if they had a spot to battle with her wavy red locks.

All of a sudden she felt freed and unrestricted. She shook her head thinking how an impact just a few words can have, words coming forth from the right person.

+ + + +

It was nearing noon and after having made more arrangements for their back story, the sat together for an early lunch.

"I don't know who cooked this, but I am very tempted to lure this person away from you and change my VIP rooms into a tiny restaurant," Ed said licking his lips, "This is just divine!"

Gabriella laughed, "You can try, but I can assure you, she doesn't want to leave us. She just loves to cook and now that she actually has guests to cook for she's going full out."

"Do pass on my compliments and tell her if she ever gets tired here, I'm more than willing to provide her a job," Ed said.

Gabriella just kept smiling; a little wink towards John had him smiling in turn.

The rest of the lunchtime was spent with general chit chat until it was time to play out the rest of their little charade. Merlin and Adam ported to the airport where Merlin checked for the right arrival time. Once Adam was on board of the right plane and could get off, Merlin ported to Adam's hotel room, waiting there for Adam to get back. Then it was more waiting for them for when Adam would go to that club that evening.

Ed was staying behind and Merlin would follow Adam as back up. The plus in his case was that he could give himself any scent he wanted or he could cloak himself completely. With not much else to do, they gathered in one of the many living rooms and shared many anecdotes about their past. It helped them getting to know each other a bit better and that afternoon nice friendships were formed.

Midafternoon, Adam did separate from them and locked himself away in his bed room. He was ticking away on his laptop, immersing himself in his own past. Meeting John again brought back more memories than he cared to have at this moment. Bronwille's alter ego challenge popped back up and he thought that now was just as good as a time to start with her challenge.

He had stared at his screen for minutes, not sure where to start, what to write about and how to tell it. He wanted to stay truthful to his past, yet not give away, at least not right away, who the story was really about. More minutes past and finally he found the words he wanted to type. Completely focused he wrote about his past, the times he'd rather forget, the things he did, the pain and anguish he saw. He wrote it all down, not leaving out the gritty details.

Adam went over what he wrote once more, pruning out some typo's, changing a few words here and there, adding a bit more detail. After a final once over he found he had a solid piece he could present to Bronwille. A quick check of her profile gave him her e-mail address. The feedback he had sent previously was sent as an auto reply and never required an input of her e-mail addy. He typed up a quick polite addendum and hit send. Feeling anxious, he hoped she would understand what he had sent her.

Checking the time he realized he had spent almost the rest of the afternoon on his own, but he didn't mind that. Adam hoped it was time well spent. He grabbed a quick shower and put on a fresh set of clothes. When he joined the others, he noticed they were all in a relaxed mood. For how much longer he didn't know.

"Ah, there you are," John addressed Adam. "Almost wanted to send out a search and rescue party, mate. You all set for tonight?"

"As ready as I can be. I would prefer another method but I'm realistic enough to know this is our best shot at getting close to the core as fast as possible. But what if I get close to Derrick? What do you want done regarding him? Knowing you sired him both I'm sure he's stronger than a mere vampire?" Adam asked.

"He is. From the moment we realized he almost could predict our every move towards him, we started looking for an alternative to bind his powers so we could get close enough to him to take him out."

You could see the regret cross on both John and Gabriella's faces.

"It's not what we like, but it is what is needed. He's a danger to other vampires and he's a danger to society. We've been spending a lot of time in laboratories to come with something that would at least prevent him from using his full potential. It took a while, but we found something. Jassy and Davinia willingly were our guinea-pigs and so we found out that once the serum was injected their powers were dormant for at least two hours. It's not a huge window, but it's better than nothing," John told them.

"It's a short period indeed. We need to make sure he trusts me well enough to be alone with him and we need that trust ASAP. The less time spent around them the better. On top of that, I have to find the one that kidnapped Bronwille that time. He's mine and he's gonna pay dearly for what he's done!"

"John, do you have a place here where we could take them too? Once Derrick is out of the picture I'm quite sure you can dissolve the rest of his gang. But we have to get them out of there pretty fast and it would be handy to know a location. That way once Adam tells me he's done what needed to be done, I can port them all to the location you provided. You can deal with Derrick and we'll take care of the rest," Merlin added.

"We got a few caves, but they're hard to reach. Guessing for someone of your stature, that won't be much of an issue. I'll show you where they are tomorrow. Adam will need a few days to get closer to Derrick and not rouse his suspicion."

"That's another thing settled then," John said.

"We only got a little bit of time left before Adam has to leave, so let's have a drink and concentrate on other things. The next few days will be hard enough on all of us," Gabriella suggested sweetly.

She wasn't influencing them in any way, but just the sweet low timbre of her low seductive voice had a hypnotic effect on them. All just smiled and followed her willingly, agreeing with her words or relaxing a last few minutes before everything was set in motion.

+ + + +

With a smile on her face, she left the small spa. She felt like a new woman. Her nails were done, her feet pampered, her face peeled. What more could a girl want? Feeling this great, she went over to Adam's tavern, just having a small hope he might have let them know something too, maybe telling her where he disappeared of too.

She sat down in one of the booths in the back and pulled out her laptop, thankful that in the center of town there were many free Wi-Fi spots available. After starting it up, she checked her mail after having ordered dinner. Her personal mailbox was empty but she found a few new ones on her writers account. One of them surprised her seeing Atlas had said in his last message he'd be going away for a while and now he left a new message and it had an attachment to it.

# # #

 From Atlas to RedB

Hi RedB,

You're probably wondering why you already find something in your inbox. So was I when I wrote this. I think your little challenge is just what I needed to confront my own past. Things here are hectic and slow at the same time and I needed to shift my focus for a while. That's when I started thinking about this in detail. Before I knew it I had typed up a few pages. I'm apologizing up front should there be any typo's left; I did go over it a few times.

I'm not going to tell what it's about, just read.

Hope to hear from you soon, and don't be shy with your feedback. I can handle criticism.

Greetings

Atlas

# # #

Fighting back the urge to open the extra file, she decided to wait with reading whatever Atlas has sent until she was back home. That way, any reactions to what he had send would be her own and nobody else would or could accidently snoop around her back and catch a glimpse of it.

Katie, the waitress, came over and quickly noted down her order. As she waited she surfed a bit on the net reading a few online newspapers, not finding anything out of the ordinary. When Katie returned with her plate, she must have had a pleading look in her eyes because the young woman quickly took a seat on the opposite side of the booth.

"I just wanted to let you know none of us have heard from Adam yet. You're becoming a bit of a regular so I just wanted to give a little heads up. Most people that come here are regulars and they have all known Adam for ages. They also know how much of a pain in the ass he has been the last few weeks and they all saw how he treated you," Katie smiled and winked at her as she said this, "Don't panic if some of them try to check you out or give you the once over. They want to see Adam happy just us much as I do."

Bronwille just started at Katie. She wasn't sure if she’d heard this correctly. If she was, then it would mean that Adam was indeed interested in her. She fought the smile that wanted to grace her lips. She didn't want to get ahead of herself. As long as the man in question wasn't around, there wasn't much that could be done.

"Thanks for the fair warning. You're sure it's just checking me out then, right?" Bronwille tried to counter with a small joke.

"Don't worry. The first one that would lay a finger on you would regret the day he was born. We never saw Adam like this, that is enough warning for us at the same time. They'll just be curious. Have to admit a little bit though that you two look a bit like day and night. Adam is, well he is huge and you are so tiny."

Bronwille lost her fight and laughed. Katie was right, they did seem an odd pair but she never questioned his looks.

"It's the inside that counts and from what I've seen so far he's a nice person. But huge as he may be, he still got that little something."

"Hmmm, there once was a time…" Katie said with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"I think you're going in a direction I'm not really interested in."

Katie smiled, "No worries. I just had a teenager’s crush on him ages ago. Right now he's the big brother I never had. He's a chatterbox at times and does come across nosy for most people but deep down he's a good guy. You could do a lot worse."

Bronwille had to gulp down a few good intakes of air. She knew Katie didn't say those last few words on purpose, but they did remind her of her past. However the words spoken were true. Adam had been a gentleman on all of the moments they’d spent together, even when he stole that kiss from her.

"Anyways," Katie interrupted her thoughts, "I'm gonna let you eat. Don't worry about the bill, Adam left instructions that whenever you came in it was on the house, always. Enjoy your meal."

With that said Katie got up and left a surprised Bronwille behind.

The food was good, but it lacked a bit of the flair she had found in the meal Adam had cooked for her the previous time. In silence she finished her meal, once in a while tapping on a key to surf to the next page on her laptop. She read a little bit of everything. She couldn't help rubbing her tummy, she felt stuffed.

Bronwille felt a bit uneasy knowing she wouldn't have to pay for the meal; nonetheless she left a generous tip before packing up her things and getting ready to leave.

She waved at Katie behind the bar and went home.

She was feeling anxious and eager to find out what Atlas had come up with.

Fighting back the urge to open the extra file right away, she picked up her laptop and went to her bedroom. Groomed from head to toe she slid off her clothes and got into her easy fitting PJs. She smiled at the tiny cartoon printed all over it, but it made her smile even more. Something she had found herself doing a lot today, unless she was covered in some kind of mud they claimed would cleanse her skin.

Bronwille wanted to settle down in her bed before she started reading whatever Atlas had sent her. She wanted to give it her undivided attention.

She read the few lines of his message again before she clicked on the attached file and opened the story that he sent her. A few seconds later she started reading.

* * * *

* * * *

 Haunted Legacy.

"Get your ass down Private!" 

I can still hear the Lieutenant's booming voice in my head.  First Lieutenant John Bradley was a hard man to please and quite possibly the loudest human being on the face of the planet.  His voice could be heard above everything, explosions included, and he expected his orders to be followed.

His warning was given just in time for us to duck down behind our bunker, avoiding fire from the enemy hidden in the trees.  It was Vietnam, the war that created thousands of heroes in a foreign land, the war that killed too many men to count, the war that showed you what you were really made of.

If you managed to survive all that, you came back home, not to be embraced by your fellow citizens, but to be hated and despised.

"Cooper, cover Jackson while he radios our position.  O'Neill, Simmons, you're with me.  We're gonna flank 'em from the side."  The Lieutenant was already moving through the muddy path that we'd created when we dug in.  "Hawkes, Literelli, Stevens, Burke, lay down some cover.   Shift positions, keep 'em off our asses!" 

Nods were given in response to his orders and the sounds of our M16s filled the air in response to Charlie's Russian RPDs.

Lt. Bradley glanced over his shoulder to make sure we were keeping up and he must have noticed the look of uncertainty on Simmons' face.  "Double time it, Boots!  You wanna live forever!?"  His eyes were already facing forward before he said the last words.  "Charlie's not gonna wait for your to make up your fucking mind, Son!  He's over there and he needs killing!"

Boots.  The word brought a smile to my face before a frown soon followed.  Boots were new Marines in the United States Marine Corps, who just came out of boot camp.  The Lieutenant's use of the word was his not so gentle reminder to act like a Marine.  It reminded me of the words of Lieutenant General Krulak on the day we left.  "Being ready is not what matters.  What matters is winning after you get there." 

Most of us weren't ready, but we all wanted to win.  Too many Boots were dead and gone.  But there was a code of conduct and these were words we lived by.  Among them, "I will never surrender of my own free will.  If in command, I will never surrender my men if they have the means to resist." 

Every Marine knew these words and we were all willing to make that sacrifice if the time came.  We walked into every mission knowing that it might be our last, and if we were going to die, there'd be a hell of a fight before we gave up the ghost.

In position, we hunkered down just inside the tree line and Lt. Bradley used hand signals to direct us into position.  When he closed his fist, we stopped moving and picked out our targets.  I could see my mark, firing at the men of my platoon.

Young men, not one more than 21 years old, fighting for their lives, protecting a country.  Sons, brothers, nephews, cousins, men too young to have to witness their best friend being blown to pieces when he stepped on a land mine.

Too young to watch the man next to you get his head blown off while his hot blood sprays onto your face.  Too young to have to shrug off that feeling and keep firing.  Too young to know the weight of a dead body as they dragged the fallen from the battlefield.  Too young to have enough blood on you that you couldn't identify who's it was and then seeing that blood run together, never drying in the humidity of hell.

I hated Charlie for that.  I hated what he made us do, what we had to go through.  I hated him for the dirty tricks and the way he played on our honor.  I hated him enough that I didn't wait for the order.  I shouldered my weapon and stood, giving away my position. 

I didn't care, I hated them, I wanted them to see me, to know how much I wanted to kill them.  Before I knew it I was firing and moving forward, ignoring everything else.  "I'm gonna kill all you sons of bitches!"  Sweat stung my eyes and added to my anger as my own voice sounded foreign to my ears.  I needed more than this.   Bullets are too good for them after all they've done.

I slung my M16 over my shoulder and ran for the last guy I'd shot, darting through trees and underbrush.   You'll pay!  You'll all pay!    My fists were in his face more times than I could count before I could hear the Lieutenant's voice. 

"Simmons!  God damn it!"

So few words and yet powerful enough to get my attention.  I could hear Lt. Bradley's weapon firing and that's when I turned away from the bloody pulp that used to be a face.  There were three more hidden in the trees that I couldn't see from where I was, but he could.   God damn it, the ammo carriers!   

Unlike the enemies who carried an AK47, I'd completely forgotten that Charlie used people to carry ammo for the RPD gunners and they were usually armed themselves.  I was too angry to focus and I was about to get us all killed. 

I ran to the nearest tree and shouldered my weapon.  A quick glance showed me Simmons, lying still on the ground, eyes open, staring at nothing.  I didn't know where he was shot, but what I did know was that it was my fault.  I gave away my position, letting them know we were there.   I fucked up, Simmons.  You didn't deserve that.  

I was angry again.  Angry that they'd cut down an eighteen year old before he'd had a chance to really live; angry that I didn't kill them all and I intended to make up for that mistake immediately.

I fired.  I Reloaded and fired even after they were down.  I wasn't satisfied with their deaths.  I wanted their ghosts to catch my bullets before they made their way to the afterlife.

"Stop wasting the fucking ammo O'Neill!  Jesus fucking Christ!  Do you think bullets grow on trees out here?  I'm of half a mind to send you over there to take them back out of the damned bodies!"

"Sir!  Yes Sir!"  Hearing his voice, I knew they were all dead.   It won't bring you back Simmons, but I'm glad I could give you this much.   

The Lieutenant moved quickly to my position and looked me in the eye.  "You ever pull that bullshit again and you won't have to worry about Charlie, Son!"

I read him loud and clear.  He knew I'd fucked up and he looked about three seconds away from putting a bullet in me himself.  "Yes Sir!"  I looked back over to Simmons feeling bile racing to the back of my throat.  The pain that I felt for being responsible for his life was beyond the anger that I'd just lost myself in.

Seeing Simmons like that ate me up inside.   He was still breathing ten minutes ago.    His eyes seemed to call out, "why?"  It was a look that I had no answer for.  I couldn't explain why I was so completely consumed with such strong hatred, lost to the point that I didn't think and I completely ignored all of my training.

I fell into a dark place in a dark time and I was comfortable there.  I would have stayed in that place if it wasn't for the Lieutenant's loud voice jerking me back to reality.  Reality?  What did that actually mean for those whose lives were the stuff of nightmares?  For those who killed or sought to kill every waking moment?

What's our reality?  What's real when you see a man beat a woman into unconsciousness and then rape her?  What's real when children are sent to you as living weapons?  What reality finds you shooting women and children on sight as potential threats?   Fucking Charlie!  

"We're moving back to the bunker.  Help me with Simmons."  Lt. Bradley was already trudging through the thick underbrush toward his body.  He kept his eyes moving, actively searching for any additional threat.

"Sir, let me take him.  I owe him."  There was a lump forming in my throat when I pictured Simmons' folks when they came to claim his body.  It was too much to think about at the time and I tried to push it down.

The Lieutenant could see my emotions even with my focus on hiding them and moving on.  He watched me pick up Simmons with as much honor and dignity as I could.  "Son, Marines don't die, they just regroup in hell."

I nodded and a smile crossed my face.  "Then we'll make sure to send him plenty of company for target practice, Sir."

It was a rare sound but when it was heard, everyone took notice.  Lt. Bradley let out a hearty laugh as we walked back to the bunker.  He was covering my rear, making sure no one got the jump on us while I was carrying Simmons.  With so many losses, the Lieutenant had to take on the role of every officer to make sure we survived and got the job done, and he did that and more.

"Damn right, Son!  To err is human, to forgive divine.  However, neither one of those is Marine Corps. policy."

Only Lt. Bradley could make a joke while dressing you down at the same time.   God damn you Bradley!  They don't make 'em like you anymore.    He was right.  Marines didn't forgive and I wouldn't.  I'd kill every last one of 'em if I had to for what they'd done.  But damn it if he didn't hit the nail on the head with the first part.

 I'm a Marine.  I'm not supposed to fuck up.  Fucking up is for politicians and civilians.   The guilt of not being there when Simmons needed me was going to haunt me forever.  If I'd stayed where I was, I would have been able to cover him.  I wouldn't have been carrying him; he'd be walking beside me.   I can't fail anyone else.  I have to be there to protect my brothers or anyone else who needs me.  

I made two promises to myself on that day, promises that I thought I'd never break.  I promised to never let my anger overrun my judgment again; one I knew would be hard to keep.  Any injustice, any suffering, any senseless violence would have the power to bring me back to that dark place.

I knew that I would fight that demon until the day I died because it had worked its way into my heart like a tumor, embedding itself until it was as much a part of me as anything else.  I could fight against it, but I couldn't get rid of it without leaving a hole that couldn't be filled.   Would I even be whole if I let it go?  Could anything fill that void without making me lose my mind?  

I also promised to never leave anyone I was responsible for unprotected.  I wouldn't repeat that mistake ever again.  If my anger got the best of me, then I'd just have to drag someone else along through the fight, but I wouldn't turn my back on them and I wouldn't leave them behind.

So I did my best to live the words of those promises.  Promises I made because of a life I wasted.  Promises that helped keep me sane.  Promises that were supposed to be indelible.  I'd given my word to Simmons' body on that day to keep those words in his honor. 

I always thought I'd be able to keep those promises.  Sadly, I was wrong.

* * * *

* * * *

Bronwille had a hard time breathing. Her hands went to her cheeks, finding them covered in tears. No wonder he had sounded so tormented in the poem he had shared with her. Their stories were as different as day and night could be different, but their inner turmoil could compete on so many levels. She felt too drained to respond to this and closed everything and shut down her laptop. Coming up with a fitting reply would have to wait till morning.

To be continued…