The Great War. The Last Of Us

III. And With The Rain Came Your Past, Violent And Bloody

The rain came fast, so sudden that Kate hadn't had the time to put on her coat as she left her apartment. Her bangs clung to her forehead and droplets of water slipped off the bridge of her nose over her lips. No matter how many times she wiped her face with the back of her hand, the water never faltered. It created rivers on her nose and forehead, little streams billowing down as she stomped through the mud.

     With excessive force, she pulled her sopping coat over her shirt, the rain protective fabric grated against her skin, unwilling to go on easily. She moved closer to the gate, nodding briskly to the guards in the tower, who quickly turned to open the gate for their General. One of the younger soldiers in her ranks, Lee, had been ordered to patrol with her. Unbeknownst to him, she was the one giving the order.

Lee was arrogant and pathetic, a young man who held himself to a higher standard than he deserved. In her eyes, he was one of the weaker men in her army, one who would turn and tuck his tail between his legs rather than fight. She blamed it partially on his drug use, which he believed was completely unknown by the General. She couldn't wait until he found out she was the General. God, would that be satisfying.

Kate waited for the gate to roll closed behind her, locking loudly as it clanged back into place. Once she'd heard those sounds, she descended further into the barrens around the Boston QZ. Even here she couldn't escape the smoke. It stained the rocks and the abandoned cars, leaving gray everywhere it went, a reminder that death is always there, always waiting.

     Lee perched against one of the cars of the outskirts, picking at his teeth as he waited nonchalantly for her to meet him. His relaxed position was enough to make her teeth clench, wishing that an Infected had slid up behind him and bit him. That, at least, would give her an excuse to shoot him. He couldn't hear her over the intense rain battering down overhead and she wondered if she could get away with shooting him. No, the watch tower was too close.

     "Bored, Lee?" Her cold voice called out, startling the man as he straightened up.

     "No." He said quickly, clearing his throat. "No, no— I was just waiting."

     "Next time, keep your eyes on the area around you not your teeth. If you couldn't even hear me coming you sure as shit aren't going to hear an Infected coming up behind you." Kate told him shortly, unholstering her gun and switching off the safety. While her soldiers carried rifles, she worked only with a handgun, based purely off preference.

     Lee nodded, his shoulders relaxing as he followed her lead, "Yeah, right."

     Clicking on the beam of her flashlight, she scanned it over the land surrounding them. "Do you know why you're out here with me, Lee? Because you're lazy and stupid. I'm one of the best shooters in this fucking squadron and you're... just some drug addict who couldn't shoot an Infected at fifty paces. You think you're invincible now, but you won't when there's one of those things on top of you. You've never been faced with a real threat, Lee, and when you do..." She turned her face back to him, her expression hard as she meet his gaze through the rain, "I think you're gonna piss your fucking pants. You're here with me, so I can help you grow a pair of balls, fresh meat."

Rather than waiting for him to answer, she flicked her wrist and started off into the dark. The boy trotted dutifully at her back, his jaw set with irritation and apprehension. The others in the squadron had made slight comments on how scary Kate was, but he just brushed them off. No way she could be as intimidating as they said; they just wanted to rile him up. But now as he marched behind her, watching as she strode fearlessly (actually, she was being reckless in hopes to see him piss his pants) across the parameter, he realized that she was just that fucking scary.