Chapter 7 - Anticitizen Hikers

"GET UP, YOU VILE, BASTARD MALE."

Anthony DeMartino was fairly certain he had woken up in hell, until his vision cleared and revealed Jane with a mischievous smirk. From a corner he couldn't see without turning is head, Watts' voice rang out.

"Us kids have a few tricks up our sleeves too!"

Half an hour later, Grey Team was gathered outside a shed which passed for the armory. The each held a cup of coffee, wafting up clouds of steam in the early morning cold. Daria had informed the two newcomers they would be tagging along for this mission, if only to carry the supplies.

Secretly, she was happy to finally have a qualified sniper on the team. For the past several years, Grey Team's modus operandi was to observe and avoid. They were armed, but only to defend themselves in the case of an ambush. The silenced MP7's were great for a quiet take-down, and their rapid rate of fire helped in filling the air with lead when it was needed, but it lacked the stopping power to be an effective infantry weapon for such a small team. She had hoped that adding a sniper to the team would allow her more flexibility and the chance to use force more readily.

The problem had always been that the incoming soldiers who were good enough shots to qualify had been universally terrible at stealth. As a result, they had all been assigned to long-range defensive positions.

"Alright," Daria began, taking her last sip of coffee, "long day ahead. Let's get moving, try to get there before nightfall."

The group walked for hours in silence. It was never a good idea to make noise in the marshlands, where the constant threat of zombies and headcrabs was compounded with the water-loving bullsquids. Bullsquids were among the more frightening alien fauna. They walked on two squat legs, using a massive tail to remained balanced. They had no visible head, just a gaping maw surrounded by red tentacles. The tentacles were used to lure in prey when submerged in murky water, but were also extremely good at grabbing larger animals. To make matters even worse, they could spit a highly acidic bile great distances to disable anything they found to be a threat – or food. Humans had turned out to be both.

They had split up into elements of two. For some reason Jane had suggested shaking things up by pairing herself with DeMartino, and Daria with Watts. Daria and Watts took point for the first shift, while DeMartino and Jane trailed behind.

Eventually, Daria felt the muck of the marshland give way to dry soil underneath her feet. Around them, the grass shortened to the point where she could just see above it. She turned around to see Jane and DeMartino's faces behind her, bobbing as they walked through the forest of reeds. They appeared to be talking about something that had them both concerned.

Daria made sure to keep her voice low when she finally spoke. There was still the danger of zombies hiding in the grass, after all.

"Watts, do you know what's wrong with Jane?"

"What makes you think that I'd know?"

Daria used a certain finger to push her glasses up on her nose. "Because the two nights you've been here, neither of you have gotten back to bed until sunrise."

"Maybe we're just nighthawks."

"Don't dance around the question Watts."

Watts sighed. He realized early on in the conversation with Jane that he was getting stuck between a cynical rock and a sarcastic brick wall. "Yes, I know what's wrong."

"And?"

"It's not my place to tell you what it is."

"And why do you think that?" Daria asked, clearly annoyed at his avoidance of the topic.

"Because she told me not to."

"Mr. DeMartino, I..."

DeMartino waited for the rest. Eventually it became apparent that it wasn't coming.

"Yes, Ms. Lane?"

"I... need your help. I think."

"What makes you think that?"

"I've been feeling... guilty about killing Grant. It's been giving me nightmares where I start shooting civilians for no reason at all. Anyway, Watts said that you were in Vietnam and that you could probably give me some advice?"

DeMartino looked over to his former student, whose head was hung low. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You're not evil, Ms. Lane."

Jane shuddered as she tried to hold back her tears.

"Except when you impersonate Janet Barch."

DeMartino's heart skipped a beat as he wondered if the joke was too much. He finally relaxed when Jane let out a choked laugh.

"Sorry, but Watts promised homemade pizza for for the whole team if I did that."

"I take it he didn't tell you that I'm the one who taught him how to make a homemade pizza? Very clever, using my own friends against me."

Jane raised her head, pulling her hair back behind her ears so that she could see ahead. "You two aren't going to end up killing each other over this, are you?"

"Nah, then I'd have no one to talk about the Rolling Stones with."

This elicited more laughing from both soldiers. As it began to die down, DeMartino decided to dive right in with the advice.

"I have killed other people before, and I felt a lot like you do. You need to remember that the man you killed would have easily killed you if given the chance. He would have killed all of us if he thought it would get him what he wanted. Or worse."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"Wait it out. Talk it over with someone, anyone if you need to. You will learn to live with it eventually, but it'll never go away."

Jane breathed out through her teeth, making a sound as though she were wincing.

"Great."

Daria hadn't said a word since learning that Jane had told Watts not to tell her what was going on. She remained quiet even after Watts had delicately tried to explain that Jane was just protecting her from possible repercussions. Watts had quickly given up and concluded to himself that Daria was just an ice queen.

Jane knows she can come to me for this kind of thing if she needs to. So why is she going to the new guy for this, and even telling him not to tell me? What did I do to make her think she can't trust me?

Daria's thoughts were cut short as they arrived at the bank of the canal. Across from them, sitting high above the waterline, was a large red barn with an ancient pier standing in front.

A giant red barn? Our idea of a low key place for refugees to hide on their way out of town is a giant god damned red barn? Who the hell thought that was a good idea?

Outwardly, she merely said, "Ugh."

"My thoughts exactly."

Several seconds later, Jane and DeMartino caught up.

"Well that's stupid."

"Officers are ALWAYS stupid."

Daria nodded in agreement. "That's why I never let them promote me past Sergeant. I was afraid of the lobotomy that they offered as a perk."