Anthony DeCosmo - Disintegration

He told her what he feared to be the truth: "You’re getting the better deal."

Nina forcefully answered, "You remember. Do you hear? Remember for both of us. It’ll hurt, but don’t let this…don’t let it mean nothing. Please. For who I am now. Don’t forget."

He took her in his arms one last time and hugged her tight. She squeezed back as hard as her tired muscles allowed.

"I will. I will always remember…"

…Shepherd exited Eagle Two and joined Nina, Trevor, and a K9 escort that included Odin and Tyr. Stonewall led the group into the main building.

The walls that had seemed damp and alive to Trevor last year now felt stale and dead. Whatever pseudo-life they once held, Jon’s raid had exorcised. However, Johnny reported success in finding the enzyme needed to chase away the parasite in Nina’s head.

Grenadiers and soldiers lined the route. Portable lights and generators carved patches of light and dark. Bones and decayed flesh marked where The Order’s defenders fell last year.

Stonewall brought them to a room with a low ceiling. Small compartments lined one wall in front of which stood a table apparently grown from the floor. Trevor recognized the kind.

Reverend Johnny beckoned Nina, "Rest here my dear."

"Do I need to get undressed or something?"

Johnny shook his head ‘no.’

"You will be on unconscious for a few seconds as we apply the counter agent. The devilish thing that has housed itself in your person will dissolve almost instantaneously and evaporate into nothingness."

Trevor helped her ease onto the slab. He held her hand. Reverend Johnny produced a medicine bottle of chloroform.

"This will start your journey," he poured a dab on a cloth and reached toward her. "Breathe deeply."

Trevor grabbed Johnny’s wrist and found Nina’s warm blue eyes one last time.

"Goodbye."

She smiled nervously and squeezed his hand tight.

Trevor released Johnny’s wrist and allowed the doctor to continue his work.

The Rev spoke as Nina breathed the anesthetic. "O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief."

She breathed deeply, her eyes closed, and her body grew still. Her hand went limp in Trevor’s grip. He let go.

Johnny extracted a line-about the size of a garden hose-from one of the compartments. At the end pointed a thin needle, the sight of which sent a shiver along Trevor’s spine.

"What is that?"

"It is The Order’s version of a hypodermic needle. The incision is tiny, almost microscopic. Yet, it will inject the counter enzyme directly into the implant. However, if she were awake she would feel intense pain. I believe it is designed for pain, to be honest. That is the way of The Order; pain and misery."

Trevor swallowed hard and accepted the Rev’s explanation. Still, he hated the idea of such an ugly thing touching his Nina.

Shepherd stepped forward. He would be the only face she knew when the deed finished.

Johnny pressed the needle into the side of her head. Trevor heard a slight sound of liquid running. After a few seconds, he withdrew the vile contraption.

"It is done."

Johnny used a cloth to wipe the tiniest hint of blood from Nina’s scalp. Trevor saw no mark or scar; no wound whatsoever. Nothing left behind; no trace.

The men hovered over her for several minutes until she stirred. Her eyelids flickered, and then opened to see Shepherd standing overhead.

Nina tried to sit but wavered and nearly fell from the table. He steadied her balance.

"Shep? Wh-what? What is happening?"

Nina saw others in the room. Her eyes narrowed as she glanced at them one by one.

Trevor found her blue eyes. Her icy blue eyes.

She returned his stare and asked, "Do I know you?"

He wore a stoic face, shook his head slightly, and answered through clenched teeth.

"No."

"C’mon, easy does it," Shep encouraged her to carefully step off the table. "This way," he said and she followed on wobbling legs.

Trevor stared at the empty space on the table…

…The Eagles’ anti-gravity circuits pushed off the earth and propelled all three ships skyward. The craft merged into formation and flew away from The Order’s empty base.

Once they had cleared the outer walls, the charges placed throughout the dead complex detonated. Explosions ripped one after another after another. Destruction came in a series of blasts. Burning debris spew into the air like a volcanic eruption. Walls crumbled.

Still more detonations followed. They would leave no piece of the place standing. No memory. No tribute. No clue. Nothing would be left of that nest of misery and torment.

The sound of the explosions roared like an angry, forlorn voice shouting toward the heavens. The flames consumed everything. Fireballs rolled skyward. Complete destruction. Total annihilation.

Disintegration.

– Trevor did not fly home. He turned the ship over to another pilot and sat alone in the passenger area with only Tyr for company, curled in a ball by his Master’s side.

He had promised to remember, and remember he did. He remembered seeing her sleeping on the bed in the guestroom…only to have her nearly break his neck. He remembered the furl of her brow the time she had tried to outwit him with hand signals…and the shock on her face when he announced he could fly an Apache.

He remembered changing his morning habits to catch a glimpse of her at breakfast…he remembered her in the rain storm the night she tried to leave and how that scared him…then the overwhelming desire to bare his feelings to her and the joy of seeing those feeling returned.

The disaster of their initial date but she had laughed…the night they made love for the first time…finding comfort in her arms after the disaster at the gateway…the fantasy that was New Year’s Eve as they had stood on the balcony and felt the world belonged to them.

Memories of a dream…

…Trevor marched to the command center and shut the doors.

Nina Forest-the latest newcomer to the estate-had walked off with Shepherd after they landed. Shep had a lot of explaining to do. He had to tell her a lot of things. There were nearly as many things he could not tell her.

As the day went on, he picked at dinner but could not eat. He tried to nap in an empty bed but her scent remained on the pillow. Instead, he stood on the balcony as the sunset behind the mansion bringing the darkness of a new night.

– Shepherd pushed open the door to Nina’s apartment. Odin darted inside and slumped into his favorite corner.

"This is your place; you’ve been living here since last fall."

Nina stepped in to a stranger’s living room with a stranger’s furniture.

"Here, huh? This is too much," she meant all the day’s revelations.

He rested his hands on her shoulders.

"I know. It’s going to take some time. You need to get a good night’s sleep. All your stuff is here. You know how to reach me."

Nina pointed toward the Elkhound.

"This dog is mine?"

"K9," Shep corrected. "He’s not so much yours as he is a friend. You can trust him."

She had so many more questions, even after Shep spent hours telling stories. Yet even she knew her mind could take only so much. The rest would have to wait.

"I ‘reckon I’ll be back in the morning. Everything is okay. You’re safe here. Just…just try and get some sleep."

He smiled one more time, nodded, and then descended the outside stairs toward the driveway. Nina watched him go then closed the door.

She had no idea where to begin or what to do, so she strolled around the living room snooping for signs: signs that this unfamiliar place could possibly be her home.

Nina found weapons and tactical outfits and other clothes in the closet; clothes in her size but she doubted she would ever wear anything like the black party dress hanging there.