What Day Is It?
#6 of Broken Soul
Leon pushed Effie's now sleeping body off of him and reached around for his pants, "Hah... still like a child on the inside. Not used to a crash yet, but willing to fight a war. How strange." He pulled himself to his feet and walked over to the computer. He quickly logged on and went to his email. He did not like what he saw.
Threre were 2,000 new messages. At first, it was reasonable since he was gone for a long period of time. But as he scrolled through, he saw that most of them were as recent as last night, and all from Mary. He immediately looged out, "Yeah, I need a new account. Hm?" There was a note left on the kitchen counter.
"Hey, Effie, when are we going out shopping? Halloween's right around the corner, and we don't have any costumes yet. If you think that you're just gonna dress up in your military uniform, think again. I will smack you. Give me a call when you get done playing with Leon. In fact, he can come too! I doubt he has much, so bring him! Or I'll smack you. Hell, I'll spank you anyway for not calling me before reading this. Call me!"
Leon was just staring at the letter, unsure of how to react. Or course, after meeting Momo, he didn't expect anything less, "Yeah, that isn't odd in the least bit. Other tahn the parts that were odd, it was perfectly fine. Yeah, fine. Hey! Get up!" He threw the note at Effie, who was mumbling to herself, something about how she had no idea why she was on the floor, "No more caffeine for you, got it?"
"Huh? What? Oh, hey. How are you doing? Why are you awake so early?"
Leon sighed, "It's only noon. You fell asleep after drinking that-"
Effie hopped up to her feet, "Ah! Sorry, I didn't mean too! What did I miss?"
"Well, you tried to rape me, but you passed out almost right away. How do you get my pants off without me noticing? I really can't figure that out." Effie blushed, "Doesn't matter. Here, your sister left you a note." Leon walked over to the refrigerator and checked inside while Effie read the note. She then ran over to the computer and checked the date. "Hey, we don't have any food. We probably should have planned something. I'll order some pizza."
"Yeah, okay."
Leon was concerned, "What's the matter? You don't look so good."
Effie put the note down and rested her hand on the counter, "Yeah, I guess I just lost track of time. I can't believe it's only a week until Halloween. It's your favorite holiday, right?" Leon raised an eyebrow, "Oh come on, of course I looked through your psychological profile. How do you think I was able to predict what you were going to do?" Leon shrugged his shoulders and looked through some takeout menus that Momo was kind enough to leave. Effie read through the letter again, "Damn, I have no idea what I want to be. How about you?"
"Yeah, just the pepperoni and the cheese. Alright, see you then. What was that now? Oh, I haven't put any thought into it. You do realize that we've been in the desert for a long time, right? There wasn't much time to think of a costume choice."
Effie sighed, but she knew it was true. She didn't think of it much either, but at least now she didn't have to go to parties with her sister, who wore something which couldn't technically be called a costume. It was closer to a few pieces of string and tissue paper. Effie tried hard to think of something to say, but she was at a loss for words. Leon sat down on the couch and leaned his head back with his eyes closed. Effie silently sat down beside him and wrapped her arms around him. For everything he had been through over the past two days, he was pretty relaxed. He wasn't tense, and his breathing was very smooth and calm. "Hey, what're you thinking about?"
Leon took a deep breath, "Hmm... nothing, I guess. You should try it sometime, it's very nice."
Effie wasn't sure what he meant by thinking of nothing, but she was too afraid to ask. Even though she knew him since school, Effie was still nervous around him. She had him, and no one could take him away form her, yet she was feeling insecure. She couldn't shake it no matter how hard she tried. "Hey, Leon, why do I feel bad?"
Leon looked down at her as she looked up at him, "That, I can't tell you, since I have no idea. Maybe you just need some time to adjust to the normal world again, maybe you're tired, who knows. Just relax, and I'm sure it will go away. Hey, pizza's here." Leon got up and answered the door. This gave Effie some time to think. She may be afraid that she is moving to fast for Leon, and may end up pushing him away, but he isn't giving any indication that it's happening. Besides, Effie can read him like a book, so she can tell what is going on. Leon came back with the pizzas and set them on the kitchen counter, "You hungry or what?"
"Uh, why did you order so much? There's only two of us."
Leon smiled, "Pizza never goes to waste. We'll eat it, don't worry."
They ate together in silence, but it was okay with Effie. For the most part, at least. With every minute they were together, she became more paranoid. She didn't notice it, but Leon was catching on. He kept a close eye on her as she fidgeted in her seat, moved her eyes quickly, and sometimes even mumbled to herself.
"Hey, calm down. You're being paranoid about something, don't think too hard. Just let it come as it comes. Like overseas, remember?"
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"Phantom 1, evacuate from the area immediately. Large enemy mass is heading to your position."
"And what of the Temporary Hospital? There are still ten men inside, we can't just abandon them."
"Listen Leon, I know it sucks, but we have to get out. There's no way that they are going to leave survivors, and we don't need any more losses."
Leon gritted his teeth. He knew that they didn't stand a chance, but he wasn't about to leave anyone behind. He had three men with him, all of them had received the warning. Leon turned off his radio, "Men, I offer you a choice. You can run from this spot, and you will not be seen as a coward. You will just be following orders. Or, you can stay and fight by my side. Choose quickly, because we don't have much time." The soldiers seemed nervous, but didn't budge, "Good. We are going to fight them off, even if it means death. I won't let anyone fall into enemy hands to be tortured. Alright, you three, divide up and take positions by the barricades. I'll take point and draw them in."
The men ran behind some flimsy wooden barricades around the camp and readied their weapons. Leon ran forward and dived headfirst behind the barricade closest to the enemy's entry point. He picked up a discarded M-16 and a spare clip and set it to his side. He aimed his rifle down the vast expanse of desert and waited for the slightest movement. Sweat poured down his face due to the heat, but he was too focused to wipe it away from his eyes. When he saw a dark headband, "Make every shot count, and don't hesitate." With the last word, he pulled the trigger and felled the first enemy.
Suddenly, at least forty black dots appeared on the horizon. Leon just kept firing, taking out one with every shot. In the reload, he heard Effie's voice again, "What the hell do you think you're doing?! I had this spare radio attached to the inside of your belt for this kind of thing. Oh, and don't try and turn it off, it'll shock you. Listen, there are too many for you four to take on, get out while you still can."
Leon shot another, "Yeah, and I'll also shave my beard and put on makeup. I'm gonna do this, so if you want to help, call in reinforcements."
Effie sighed, "I already did. I can see you, ya know. On the satellite." Leon turned around and gave the finger to the sky, "Hey! I saw that! Listen, they are heavily armed, so you can't live through this."
"Silly little cat, all we have to do is let them come and deal with whatever they got. Stop thinking so hard. From what I can see," he shot again, "We have at least two hundred rounds of ammunition, and there are only 35," he shot again, "34 left. Just let us do this."
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"Yeah, I remember. And you were shot four times. But, you still saved the camp, and all of your men. But, I can't just not think, I always have to think. What if you leave me? What if you think my sister is more attractive, or you go back to Mary? What if-"
Leon had leaned in and kissed her gently, "I'm not going to leave you. I'll stay by your side all the time. Also, you taste like pizza. This, of course, makes me want you more. So just sit and stare at the wall. Even better, let's watch a movie or something. I'm bound to have something in one of these boxes."
Effie smiled again, "Yeah. Okay, you look for something, and I'll call Momo."
Leon went to find the box with his movies while Effie dialed Momo's number, "Helloooo~"
"Hey, it's me."
"Oh! Wonderful! Is this about the deal I made to you two yesterday?"
Effie was taken aback, "Uh... no. It's about-"
"Oh! Halloween! Yeah! So what do you want to go as? I already know what I'm going to be, so how about you? Wait, you haven't thought about it, have you? That's okay. Is Leon going to dress up with you? Is he going to be wearing something really tight? Are you coming to the party? Can you bring some drinks? Wait! I already have those. You mind if I show the video that you two didn't know you were making? Huh? Do ya?"
Effie rolled her eyes, "Nice to hear from you too. So, how's it been?"
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahhahaha! You're so funny! Is that why Leon likes you? Wait, I don't wanna know, let's keep it a secret! I know! You can tell me at the party! Come on, when are we going to go shopping? I really want to get some things!"
"I'll go shopping with you," Effie looked at Leon, who had found the right box, "if you decide to shop at a normal costume store, for Halloween costumes, okay? Not Bed, Chain, and Beyond, but something that a kid can go into. Got it?"
"Haaa... fine. We'll do things your way. But seriously, when? I'm running out of patience. It's been like an hour since we last saw each other."
"Not long enough, it seems."
"What was that?
"Nothing. I'll give you a call tomorrow. Bye!" Effie hung up the phone. She never did like to have extended conversations with her sister, they just made her feel... dumber. Leon had pulled something out of the box, "Find something good?"
"Yeah, this'll do for now. Come on, take a seat. If I remember right, it's a horror movie that ends up being hilarious."