Land Of F.E.A.R
Believe
The serpent's touch has made it clear that evils on it's way
This desert land of broken mirrors, we live another day
I'll become all your blasphemy. A war that's fought with tragedy
The scars we've left along these walls
I swear these words are true.
I believe in you.
Andy walked through the sand, his boots kicking dirt in to the air and he smirked as he looked around-nothing but him and the wide open desert. It was almost four in the morning and he could faintly see the sun beginning to poke its head up over the mountains, but for now he was alone. Nothing but him, his thoughts and the fear that lined his gut. Today would be the big day-in just two hours he and the rest of the Legion would suit up, get their weapons and head off to do battle-to fight the final battle for their freedom.
He was scared-he didn’t know what to expect and to be truthful Andy felt lost without Odessa by his side. She didn’t know much about war, but what she did know was how to deal with Andy himself. She kept him grounded, kept him sane and most of all Odessa knew how to love him. Without her he felt like just a shell of himself-his soul had left this earth when he had watched her plummet to her death.
Andy kept his head down as he walked, his long black hair hanging across his face and Andy smirked as he looked at his left arm. The ink there, he had collected it in his travels over the years and yet he knew that there would be more-there was always more. The wind howled softly as it whipped around him and suddenly Andy noticed that there was a soft tune playing in the air. What was that? Andy looked left and saw nothing-no one. When he looked right, Andy only smiled and shook his head as he happened to glance upwards and caught site of something that warmed his heart.
Persephone, with her face up towards the moon and the stars, was sitting on the roof of the church that they would all be meeting in later that morning. She had something sitting beside her and Andy smiled as he moved to climb up and join her, catching snippets of the music that was playing softly from the player she had on her lap.
Carry on my wayward son,
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man,
Well, it surely means that I don't know
“Whatcha doin’ up here Perry?” Andy asked and then chuckled to himself softly as he watched her jump. The girl was dressed for the day-her pale legs sheathed in black cloth pants and her torso was covered by a thick shirt and of course her father’s leather jacket. That wild red hair was blowing in the wind and Andy smiled as some of it hit him in the face as he sat down beside her.
“Just thinking. I haven’t been up on a roof in I don’t even remember how long.” She said as her blue eyes opened and she looked at him sideways. They shared a smile-they were a lot alike in many ways and sitting out in the middle of the night was something they both loved to do.
“Just think-in a matter of hours you will be free to sit out on the roof any time you want…for as long as you want.” He said, brushing his shoulder against hers but she didn’t smile. Instead Andy could see the fear enter those observant blue eyes of hers and Andy knew-Perry felt F.E.A.R squeezing her heart and her mind.
“Y-yeah. Yeah I guess you’re right.” She said without looking at him and suddenly Andy felt the tears come to his eyes. They had lost so much-so many-and it wasn’t over yet.
Andy knew that he was going to have to go out on to that battle field today and see people fall before him-including his brothers. Could he risk it? Could he risk seeing kids as young as fourteen fight their way through Guards-just so that one of them could reach the Chancellor and end it all? The Chancellor was the end to everything-cut the head off the serpent and everything else follows behind it. Their only problem was that the Chancellor would be heavily guarded and it was probable that only one person would make it in to kill him, once and for all. Andy looked beside him and his heart stopped as he noticed the fat tears rolling down Persephone’s cheeks.
The small girl had been through so much herself-she, like him, had lost everyone in her life. Her parents were gone-taken and killed to prove a point. The only boy she probably would ever love had been murdered in front of her eyes in the middle of the street and then dragged for miles to show people not to try to overturn F.E.A.R. Then there was Maggie-sweet and innocent Maggie-the one girl who still had some faith in F.E.A.R. It was that blind faith in F.E.A.R that led Maggie to trust that they would never hurt her and then Andy had watched as that door slammed right in her face. He felt CC grab on to him, clutching to his arm as they were both dragged down to the floor and then the screaming began.
It was rough sounding, starting loudly but then dying off as the air was being sucked from their lungs until finally there was nothing but a small bit of wheezing. Silence, followed by a sickening thump noise and then the faint soft sound of bodies hitting one another. Andy had been dazed as he moved to grab for Persephone, who just cried out silently, scratching and clawing so that he would let her go. Finally she passed out-either from sorrow or from exhaustion-and Andy was able to carry her back to camp in peace. He remembered laying her in bed, the one that was below he and Dess’ and then he locked himself behind a double bolted door. His moonshine stash kept him company for a few days, until finally he couldn’t numb the pain any longer.
Then someone had knocked at the door and Andy knew who it was-at least he thought he did. He was pretty sure it was Jinxx, coming in to bother him again, but Andy had been shocked when he had looked up and saw that it was actually Perry. Her red hair was sticking up in the back and it was pretty obvious that she had also just gotten out of bed-good for her. Andy had planned on telling her to go away, but then when she had spoken to him-telling him what Jake had told her-Andy knew he couldn’t let her leave. They had always gotten along, but it was in the moment in the planning room with her, that Andy knew he and Persephone were almost one and the same. They had both loved and lost and now they had no one.
Except one another.
“Persephone, I know you and I know there’s something wrong…” He said and the young girl looked at him and almost smiled. Her eyes quickly scanned up to the sky and Andy could see the stars reflected in her light blue orbs.
“I’m a failure Andy.” She said softly as her nose and mouth were buried in her folded arms. Andy only furrowed his brow, grabbed her around the shoulders and pulled Perry as close to him as possible.
“No. No you are not Persephone.” Andy said his voice strong and filled with determination. Persephone refused to look at him and Andy only sighed as he followed her example and looked up at the sky. The stars were bright this morning and Andy wondered silently if it was a sign.
“I am. I’ve failed everyone. Reese. My parents. Maggie…you. I’ve failed the Legion and I know-I just know that today I’m going to die.” She was crying now, her head resting against his shoulder and Andy could feel her tears running across his skin.
“Me? You haven’t failed me Persephone. If anything I have failed you as a leader. I never should have let you, Maggie or Odessa go on that raid. Not-not after what happened to Moira…” Now he was the one who sounded like he was crying and Andy knew that he could only hide his tears from Perry for so long.
“It was an accident Andy…you couldn’t have known what was going to happen to any of us.” Perry said as she sat up and looked at him. Andy knew she could see that he was crying and for once he didn’t care. He didn’t need to look like the Prophet in front of Persephone-he could just be himself.
“I let you down Persephone…I let you all down.” His shoulders were shaking and Andy tried to hide his face. He wasn’t just crying now-he was sobbing.
“No Andy. You haven’t let anyone down. I guess we’re both kind of feeling sorry for ourselves right now…” There was a bit of laughter in her voice and Andy only smiled as he sniffed away his tears and they both looked at one another.
They both sat in silence for a while, both of them looking up at the sky. It was so massive-there was so much to it and yet they both knew that there were still things out there that they didn’t know about. Andy began to hum softly to himself, smiling as he realized what it was that he was humming. It had been a song that he and Odessa had made up after Moira had passed away. He had sung it to her in the night when she couldn’t sleep because she was so sad. It spoke of remembering someone, even after they were gone because even though someone passes away, their soul and their memory still remain. Andy smiled as he looked towards Perry and then nudged her softly. She looked to him, her blue eyes red, but he could see that there was a small bit of hope that shined through.
“What do you think happens when we die Andy?” She asked him and at first he didn’t know how to answer her.
“I don’t know actually. Is there a Heaven? I would like to think so, but lately its felt like we’re living on Hell on Earth. What else could there be?” He mused and Persephone only chuckled as she leaned back on her hands and closed her eyes for a moment. They were both tired-tired of running, tired of fighting…they just needed things to end.
“Do you think they’re up there right now-looking down on us?” Her eyes were still closed, but Andy could see the small tears that were leaking out from beneath her lids.
“Who?” He asked, but Andy already knew the answer. Dess came to him in his dreams almost every night and even though he knew it was crazy, Andy felt like she really was there for him.
“Everyone who we’ve lost. Odessa. Moira. Your parents. My parents.Maggie. Reese-all of them. Could they be looking down on us right now…wondering if they’ll see us again soon?” She mused and Andy could see that Perry was no longer crying. Instead she was smiling at the thought of her loved ones and them always being there for her.
“I don’t know Persephone. I don’t know if we’ll ever know.” Andy said as he moved to stand up and slide himself off of the church roof. Perry only nodded as she followed behind him and soon enough they were both standing in the desert sand.
The sun was finally starting to rise and off in the distance Andy could hear the sounds of kids laughing and giggling. If they only knew what was about to happen-if only they knew who they were about to lose. Any one of them could die today. Him. Persephone. CC. Jake. Jinxx. Ashley. Any one member of Legion could never come back and yet they would still suit up and fight for what they believed in. As the two stood there beside one another silently, something passed between them. They had both lost the people they had loved, but in the end it was for a good cause.
In the end.
Andy’s smile grew as he thought of that song once again and then he reached down and grabbed for Perry’s hand. There was nothing but a sister-brother love between the two, but sometimes that’s all that there needed to be. Together they began to walk towards the front of the church, the closer they got the louder the sounds of kids became. Before entering the abandoned building for what could possibly be his final speech as the Prophet, Andy turned to Perry and smiled.
“You ready for this?” He asked, his grip on her hand tightening as they stood there.
“I am. Are you?” She smirked at him, squeezing back.
“I think so. Persephone?”
“Yeah Andy?”
“I have a song that Dess and I used to sing. D-do you want me to teach it to you before we leave?” He asked and Perry only smiled and nodded before pushing open the large wooden doors to the church.
“Sure. What’s it called?”
“I think I’ll call it In The End…”
This desert land of broken mirrors, we live another day
I'll become all your blasphemy. A war that's fought with tragedy
The scars we've left along these walls
I swear these words are true.
I believe in you.
Andy walked through the sand, his boots kicking dirt in to the air and he smirked as he looked around-nothing but him and the wide open desert. It was almost four in the morning and he could faintly see the sun beginning to poke its head up over the mountains, but for now he was alone. Nothing but him, his thoughts and the fear that lined his gut. Today would be the big day-in just two hours he and the rest of the Legion would suit up, get their weapons and head off to do battle-to fight the final battle for their freedom.
He was scared-he didn’t know what to expect and to be truthful Andy felt lost without Odessa by his side. She didn’t know much about war, but what she did know was how to deal with Andy himself. She kept him grounded, kept him sane and most of all Odessa knew how to love him. Without her he felt like just a shell of himself-his soul had left this earth when he had watched her plummet to her death.
Andy kept his head down as he walked, his long black hair hanging across his face and Andy smirked as he looked at his left arm. The ink there, he had collected it in his travels over the years and yet he knew that there would be more-there was always more. The wind howled softly as it whipped around him and suddenly Andy noticed that there was a soft tune playing in the air. What was that? Andy looked left and saw nothing-no one. When he looked right, Andy only smiled and shook his head as he happened to glance upwards and caught site of something that warmed his heart.
Persephone, with her face up towards the moon and the stars, was sitting on the roof of the church that they would all be meeting in later that morning. She had something sitting beside her and Andy smiled as he moved to climb up and join her, catching snippets of the music that was playing softly from the player she had on her lap.
Carry on my wayward son,
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man,
Well, it surely means that I don't know
“Whatcha doin’ up here Perry?” Andy asked and then chuckled to himself softly as he watched her jump. The girl was dressed for the day-her pale legs sheathed in black cloth pants and her torso was covered by a thick shirt and of course her father’s leather jacket. That wild red hair was blowing in the wind and Andy smiled as some of it hit him in the face as he sat down beside her.
“Just thinking. I haven’t been up on a roof in I don’t even remember how long.” She said as her blue eyes opened and she looked at him sideways. They shared a smile-they were a lot alike in many ways and sitting out in the middle of the night was something they both loved to do.
“Just think-in a matter of hours you will be free to sit out on the roof any time you want…for as long as you want.” He said, brushing his shoulder against hers but she didn’t smile. Instead Andy could see the fear enter those observant blue eyes of hers and Andy knew-Perry felt F.E.A.R squeezing her heart and her mind.
“Y-yeah. Yeah I guess you’re right.” She said without looking at him and suddenly Andy felt the tears come to his eyes. They had lost so much-so many-and it wasn’t over yet.
Andy knew that he was going to have to go out on to that battle field today and see people fall before him-including his brothers. Could he risk it? Could he risk seeing kids as young as fourteen fight their way through Guards-just so that one of them could reach the Chancellor and end it all? The Chancellor was the end to everything-cut the head off the serpent and everything else follows behind it. Their only problem was that the Chancellor would be heavily guarded and it was probable that only one person would make it in to kill him, once and for all. Andy looked beside him and his heart stopped as he noticed the fat tears rolling down Persephone’s cheeks.
The small girl had been through so much herself-she, like him, had lost everyone in her life. Her parents were gone-taken and killed to prove a point. The only boy she probably would ever love had been murdered in front of her eyes in the middle of the street and then dragged for miles to show people not to try to overturn F.E.A.R. Then there was Maggie-sweet and innocent Maggie-the one girl who still had some faith in F.E.A.R. It was that blind faith in F.E.A.R that led Maggie to trust that they would never hurt her and then Andy had watched as that door slammed right in her face. He felt CC grab on to him, clutching to his arm as they were both dragged down to the floor and then the screaming began.
It was rough sounding, starting loudly but then dying off as the air was being sucked from their lungs until finally there was nothing but a small bit of wheezing. Silence, followed by a sickening thump noise and then the faint soft sound of bodies hitting one another. Andy had been dazed as he moved to grab for Persephone, who just cried out silently, scratching and clawing so that he would let her go. Finally she passed out-either from sorrow or from exhaustion-and Andy was able to carry her back to camp in peace. He remembered laying her in bed, the one that was below he and Dess’ and then he locked himself behind a double bolted door. His moonshine stash kept him company for a few days, until finally he couldn’t numb the pain any longer.
Then someone had knocked at the door and Andy knew who it was-at least he thought he did. He was pretty sure it was Jinxx, coming in to bother him again, but Andy had been shocked when he had looked up and saw that it was actually Perry. Her red hair was sticking up in the back and it was pretty obvious that she had also just gotten out of bed-good for her. Andy had planned on telling her to go away, but then when she had spoken to him-telling him what Jake had told her-Andy knew he couldn’t let her leave. They had always gotten along, but it was in the moment in the planning room with her, that Andy knew he and Persephone were almost one and the same. They had both loved and lost and now they had no one.
Except one another.
“Persephone, I know you and I know there’s something wrong…” He said and the young girl looked at him and almost smiled. Her eyes quickly scanned up to the sky and Andy could see the stars reflected in her light blue orbs.
“I’m a failure Andy.” She said softly as her nose and mouth were buried in her folded arms. Andy only furrowed his brow, grabbed her around the shoulders and pulled Perry as close to him as possible.
“No. No you are not Persephone.” Andy said his voice strong and filled with determination. Persephone refused to look at him and Andy only sighed as he followed her example and looked up at the sky. The stars were bright this morning and Andy wondered silently if it was a sign.
“I am. I’ve failed everyone. Reese. My parents. Maggie…you. I’ve failed the Legion and I know-I just know that today I’m going to die.” She was crying now, her head resting against his shoulder and Andy could feel her tears running across his skin.
“Me? You haven’t failed me Persephone. If anything I have failed you as a leader. I never should have let you, Maggie or Odessa go on that raid. Not-not after what happened to Moira…” Now he was the one who sounded like he was crying and Andy knew that he could only hide his tears from Perry for so long.
“It was an accident Andy…you couldn’t have known what was going to happen to any of us.” Perry said as she sat up and looked at him. Andy knew she could see that he was crying and for once he didn’t care. He didn’t need to look like the Prophet in front of Persephone-he could just be himself.
“I let you down Persephone…I let you all down.” His shoulders were shaking and Andy tried to hide his face. He wasn’t just crying now-he was sobbing.
“No Andy. You haven’t let anyone down. I guess we’re both kind of feeling sorry for ourselves right now…” There was a bit of laughter in her voice and Andy only smiled as he sniffed away his tears and they both looked at one another.
They both sat in silence for a while, both of them looking up at the sky. It was so massive-there was so much to it and yet they both knew that there were still things out there that they didn’t know about. Andy began to hum softly to himself, smiling as he realized what it was that he was humming. It had been a song that he and Odessa had made up after Moira had passed away. He had sung it to her in the night when she couldn’t sleep because she was so sad. It spoke of remembering someone, even after they were gone because even though someone passes away, their soul and their memory still remain. Andy smiled as he looked towards Perry and then nudged her softly. She looked to him, her blue eyes red, but he could see that there was a small bit of hope that shined through.
“What do you think happens when we die Andy?” She asked him and at first he didn’t know how to answer her.
“I don’t know actually. Is there a Heaven? I would like to think so, but lately its felt like we’re living on Hell on Earth. What else could there be?” He mused and Persephone only chuckled as she leaned back on her hands and closed her eyes for a moment. They were both tired-tired of running, tired of fighting…they just needed things to end.
“Do you think they’re up there right now-looking down on us?” Her eyes were still closed, but Andy could see the small tears that were leaking out from beneath her lids.
“Who?” He asked, but Andy already knew the answer. Dess came to him in his dreams almost every night and even though he knew it was crazy, Andy felt like she really was there for him.
“Everyone who we’ve lost. Odessa. Moira. Your parents. My parents.Maggie. Reese-all of them. Could they be looking down on us right now…wondering if they’ll see us again soon?” She mused and Andy could see that Perry was no longer crying. Instead she was smiling at the thought of her loved ones and them always being there for her.
“I don’t know Persephone. I don’t know if we’ll ever know.” Andy said as he moved to stand up and slide himself off of the church roof. Perry only nodded as she followed behind him and soon enough they were both standing in the desert sand.
The sun was finally starting to rise and off in the distance Andy could hear the sounds of kids laughing and giggling. If they only knew what was about to happen-if only they knew who they were about to lose. Any one of them could die today. Him. Persephone. CC. Jake. Jinxx. Ashley. Any one member of Legion could never come back and yet they would still suit up and fight for what they believed in. As the two stood there beside one another silently, something passed between them. They had both lost the people they had loved, but in the end it was for a good cause.
In the end.
Andy’s smile grew as he thought of that song once again and then he reached down and grabbed for Perry’s hand. There was nothing but a sister-brother love between the two, but sometimes that’s all that there needed to be. Together they began to walk towards the front of the church, the closer they got the louder the sounds of kids became. Before entering the abandoned building for what could possibly be his final speech as the Prophet, Andy turned to Perry and smiled.
“You ready for this?” He asked, his grip on her hand tightening as they stood there.
“I am. Are you?” She smirked at him, squeezing back.
“I think so. Persephone?”
“Yeah Andy?”
“I have a song that Dess and I used to sing. D-do you want me to teach it to you before we leave?” He asked and Perry only smiled and nodded before pushing open the large wooden doors to the church.
“Sure. What’s it called?”
“I think I’ll call it In The End…”
Notes
Sad to say dear hearts that we are coming to the end of this story. Don't worry-my serial story Tales To Make You Jump In The Dark will be released on July 1st and needless to say-things might just get creepy.
Review<3
Love the story Brandie! ;)
7/7/14