“Ha. My brother would be chewing me out if he saw me in a mess like this. He was always the one telling me to stop dreaming pilot fantasies when I was younger. Mom and dad ended up saying the same. I had to rebel, I guess.” She then started to feel tears start to well up. A subtle sniffle ensued, getting more of Sebastian’s attention. “I still need to be properly thankful you and everyone. I can’t believe this day passed and I am still here able to talk like this. Everyone else didn’t get to say the same. I barely got to know any of them. They’re all gone, now, and I feel… bad… like…”
“Sorry, I don’t know what to say in these situations, either” Sebastian replied with a look off in the same direction beyond the fences. “You are from a very different world. But you don’t have to thank me because this is my job. I don’t like seeing people hurt or put in a bad situation for bad reasons. I am glad you get to go home where you can be safe.”
“And that’s kind of why I feel like shit saying ‘yeah’ to that. What about you all?”
“Oh, me?” Sebastian attempted to cover his feelings with awkward laughter. “I don’t think about that. If I chose to stay away from it all, I would be like the people in those apartments over there. Life would be much safer. But I wouldn’t make a difference. I would just look to these compound walls and think ‘what are they doing and what are they trying to protect?’ but that’s not my life. This is my life. I chose it. You choose yours, and that’s OK,” he continued with a smile towards her.
“You aren’t like your brothers and your sister,” Sam said as she rubbed her eyes, sniffling again. “I felt… so scared, when I got here. I was marching with eleven others in armor and I still felt the most terrified I have ever felt my entire life. I feel bad, now. I feel stupid. I had reason to fear the attackers in the end, but at first, before all that, and then afterwards, I feel like I was scared of the wrong things and that was what kept me from doing what I felt I do best. I learned a lot from today, I think.”
“Well, I don’t know,” Sebastian said as he stood up and walked to the balcony edge. “You said you still don’t know what you want to do. You just went through the same feelings all foreigners go through when they come to Bogota and aren’t in the big city lights of downtown or the nice neighborhoods of Usaquen. Talking about what you are scared of and not scared of anymore? Yeah, so that’s all normal. I expect to hear that. But you don’t know what you really want to do, and maybe you should focus on that. I would feel better if you left tomorrow or Friday with an answer.”
Sam took some time to think again on the different perspective she didn’t expect to get. “Do you know of the term Harbinger?”
“I heard you mention that earlier. Of course. Anybody would know.”
“So, yeah, my father and brother are. Especially my father, who fought with some of the strongest of them last war… even fought alongside Lance Vrey to the very end. They accomplished so much. You talk of making a difference. That’s what all the Harbingers I know of personally did. Made differences. Even today. My counselor, and kind of like an aunt to me, is a Harbinger, too. You see? I am surrounded by people who made differences like you speak of doing yourself. My brother was even in the last war for half a year when Eden started running out of pilots. All I ever did was go to school. And go to parties. And get drunk.”
“But here you are.”
“Yeah, and hopefully, home I go. Once again,” she said with a more depressed tone.
“You just need to find a new way. This is not for you. You can’t make yourself be who you aren’t.”
“That’s the problem. Who am I supposed to be?” she said with a long sigh. She then turned to him with a sudden change of mood. “Hey, Sebastian, can I ask one last favor?”
“Um, sure?”
“Take me across town tomorrow so I can get me out of these clothes into something clean, eat something decent, and just… reset my mind while I wait. Could you do that for me?”
“I can ask Dani. I don’t do that kind of stuff.”
Awkward, uncomfortable memories from their earlier encounter and truck ride flashed back as she winced. “No, not her, please, she’s too overbearing for me. Please Sebastian, just for those few things. It’s not anything like what you are maybe thinking. I can’t just walk around town unguided or with no one to keep me safe, you know.”
Sebastian wasn’t buying the approach as expressed with the glance he returned. “I can even order things to be brought here for you. Dani or place an order. I don’t do those things.”
“What’s the big deal,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “I’m not asking you on a date. What do you mean you don’t do those things?”
“You are very… what’s the word, how do you say…”
“Persistent? Stubborn? A complete pain in the ass? Yes, that’s me. You asked who I am well damn it that’s who I am,” she said with a joking smile, leaning towards him.
Sebastian returned the look with his own eye roll. “Fine, OK, just for the morning. But I am only doing this because my time for patrol isn’t until eleven and after. Now go get some sleep or I will forget about it and do my own thing in the morning.” He then grabbed his mobile and his drink and headed inside. “Good night.”
“Night,” she said with a grin, then turned back to the neighborhood view with a sigh. To think this was how my first trip to Earth since preschool would go. She then reached for her pocket out of habit, coming back empty handed. Right, no mobile. Damn, I wish I could post all of this, maybe have someone help reset my mind.
“Close the doors behind you” she heard Sebastian say from inside. “You let too many mosquitos in.”
Sebastian walked past Renzo in the hallway just past the break room who was surprised to see still awake. [Is something wrong?]
[So, what’s up with the girl?]
[She’s ready to go home. Why?]
[Boss said put her out if she’s not picked up by Friday night. Don’t get attached. Don’t forget our every-day focus.]
[You know me, I don’t do attachments. And there’s nothing to get attached to. She is a lost girl who wants her mother and father. Am I wrong to help? What would you do? See you in the morning.] He continued walking past him to his quarters where five other guys were sleeping in their bunk beds. [What a day, what a day] he said to himself under his breath, taking his shirt off, tossing it onto his bunk, then turned for the bathroom to wash up.
Renzo was still standing outside the room against the wall. He waited until he saw Sam make her way back across the break room, pausing near the table as if to observe something. He entered the room, slightly startling her. He knew of the language barrier but tried to communicate anyway. “Hello.”
“Hi,” Sam feebly responded. “You’re Sebastian’s brother, right?”
“Si, somos hermanos. Ah, you… ahh… go home… pasado mañana. You are... OK?”
“Um,” Sam started to conjure a response. “Wait,” she said as she sat down, attempting to recall some Spanish grammar she learned in school. Well, crap, I did take Spanish for about eight years. “Let’s see, um, yo quiero... volver... mi casa.”
“Sí, Hexa te va a llevar a casa. Pero- but… ah… no hasta al viernes... ahh... not to Friday.”
Sam was trying to compute the response passed by her far too quickly but was thrown off by the smell of that same strange miniature pot and straw next to her from earlier.
“Ah, esa mate... quieres probarla? Ahn... do you try?”
Sam broke down in subdued laughter. “Sorry, sorry I just I can’t, I don’t remember enough.”
Renzo shrugged his shoulders, ready to give up as well. He then heard footsteps behind him, seeing Sebastian in the hallway. [Weren’t you going to sleep?]
[You know me, thought I could but...] He then saw Sam at the table looking up in what has become a trend for her lost expression, hand by the mate cup. “Why are you sitting by Rodrigo’s mate? You want to try?”
Sam pulled her hand back instinctively, shaking her head after realizing the situation. “Oh, no, it’s... wait, what? It’s called mate?”
Renzo tried once more to communicate. “That... that uhn... Es porque la mamá de eso rolo es de Argentina.”
[Shut up], Sebastian told Renzo before looking back at Sam. “He’s half Argentine, Renzo always jokes on him. Anyway, they drink those. We prefer our coffee. You want to try? You will never go to sleep if you do. I think it’s too much cafeína for you.”
Sam found herself laughing again, partly from the awkwardness of the conversation and the other half from mental exhaustion. “I think I need to go to sleep.” She then looked up at Renzo with a smile to say “Thanks, um, I mean, gracias,” then looked to Sebastian to say “Sorry I think I kept everyone awake. I will go now. Good night, er… buenos noches,” she said in departure, taking a subconscious second check at the still-shirtless Sebastian.
“Buenas noches,” Renzo and Sebastian said with a nod as she disappeared into the hallway.
[Well? Maybe Cruella isn’t so bad? And hey, I think she likes you,] Renzo quipped with a grin.
[So, what made you change your mind?] Sebastian deflected.
[About what?]
[I never thought you would try to talk to her. So, you see? She’s just a human, like anyone else. Maybe now you can see it’s not a big deal putting up with her for a day or two.]
[I still respect you, little brother. You’ve been that way since we were little kids. I always see you trying so hard for things I don’t see as much value in. Maybe I need to try harder sometimes, too.] He then patted him on the shoulder as he passed him, headed for the hallway. [Let’s get some sleep for real. It’s past midnight.]
▽ ▽ ▽
Sam woke up to the bright sun beaming down through the window right over her face. She rolled over, feeling every ache she didn’t the night before but twice the pain. She took the next few moments to gather the strength to reach for her mobile out of habit, once again coming back empty handed. To think how much I had in that bag of mine. I’m sure some local got it, hacked it, and is loving life with that thing she thought to herself, still trying to finish rolling over to the edge of her mattress. As she let out a big yawn, she heard the door open. She sat up to find herself in a dingier storage room than she realized with the lack of light the evening before. “Good morning,” she said before being cut off by Sebastian’s flat response.
“It’s ten. You are losing time before I have to report for duty.”
“Shit,” she mumbled as she finally gathered the strength to stand up, still in her pilot suit. “Sorry, forgot without an alarm I wouldn’t be able to wake up.” She saw Sebastian was wearing his loaded tactical vest over his T-shirt and jeans. “What’s with the gear?”
“Just because I am not on patrol doesn’t mean I don’t stay ready for surprises. These are not the most stable times as I explained yesterday. Let’s go.”
“Well, better than nothing,” Sam shrugged, following Sebastian out the hallway and down a set of stairs that led them to a long underground walkway. It led to a garage where Sam got to see the MI-r’s he and Renzo took care of. They walked past them to find a set of pickup trucks like the ones from the day before. They passed several of the men on the crew as each nodded good morning to her. She nodded back with a small wave, then sat down in the passenger side of the smaller of the trucks that Sebastian had started up.
As she buckled up, she suddenly started feeling strongly self-conscious. Damn, I probably reek, and my breath is probably shit, too. Forget my mobile. What I wouldn’t do for a shower and a toothbrush. They drove down towards a ramp that took them out of the garage. With the windows rolled down, it was as hot just as was burned in her memory the prior day. Great, now I get to add on more sweat. The truck pulled up to a gate that opened for them, allowing them to pull out on a public road, merging with light local traffic. “Sorry about oversleeping.”
“It’s nothing. You saved me time. Now I get to make this all quick instead of having to use up many hours with you,” he quipped, holding back a smirk.
“Great, thanks” Sam sarcastically replied. “OK, so, since I have a minute, this is what I thought about last night. You and your brother are the only two LTAC pilots in the whole city?”
“No. We are the only two for our Familia. The Vera Familia has maybe one or two, and the Benitez have one. The Rochas have most of them.”
“And that’s the ones I saw with the funny colors?”
“Yes, those are Rocha, and they might have more than twenty as of this week. Many new ones keep appearing. They are the ones helping cause all of our problems.” He waited for Sam to make a response as a number of silent seconds passed. “But, you know, I learned yesterday that they have new foreigners with them. Powerful ones. Which is what I did want to ask you about, Samantha. You see, this morning, my bosses talked to me and my brother about some very important details they learned and I need you to explain us more about what you saw… yesterday in the last fight, you know? When we are back to the compound, of course.”
She figured he was speaking of the ones that knocked her out, even though she couldn’t imagine having any information worth sharing. “Sure, of course.”
Sebastian pulled them up to a curbside shop that had around a dozen four-person tables to the side. He put it in park, checked his holstered pistol and magazines, then got out and motioned Sam to follow. “Stay close.” He walked them up to the cashier, making their order: [Two *arepas de huevos pericos and two coffees.] He held his watch up to make the payment, then motioned Sam to follow him. They took their seat at the only empty table left.
Sam was back to her bewildered state, studying her environment constantly. The architecture, the colors, the advertisement methods, the noises, the heat, the vegetation, the smells, the music mixing in from all around, it was still too much not to become mesmerized. Her moving gaze brought her back to Sebastian, who was looking impatiently at her. “Oh, sorry, can’t help it.”
“You need to be quiet. Don’t attract more attention than you already do,” he said in a subdued voice.
She looked around, conscious of that, noticing that in fact she did have a number of eyes staring back at her. “Sorry.”
“I ordered something you should find easy to eat. When we finish, we will get you a change of clothes.”
“What did we get?” She then nodded thanks to the waitress who brought them their coffee.
“Arepas are like, well, you will see. It’s got, um, eggs, tomatoes, other things. You do eat eggs, right?”
“Of course, who doesn’t?” Sam replied, still conscious enough of her voice levels as she stirred in some sugar and creamer into her coffee.
(*Arepas de huevos pericos)
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