Chapter 14: Survivor

Phoenix woke up to find herself blinded by sunlight, which she hadn’t felt in years. Shattered City was always smoggy, not allowing the bright sun to shine to it’s full potential. But the sun wasn’t the only thing Phoenix felt. She felt water against her legs, moving in and out. The salty breeze of the ocean running through the air, Phoenix knew it well.

She decided to slowly sit up, taking in her surroundings. She was on a sandy beach, alone, but the beauty of the beach was secreted from her eyes by the wreckage of the ship.

Phoenix stood to her feet, feeling a bit dizzy. But that didn’t stop her from walking around. She needed to find people: her squad, the crew of the ship, and as much as she hated to admit it, she needed to find Leif.

“I guess the current separated us when the ship crashed,” Phoenix pondered, kicking over a few pieces of iron. Phoenix quickly reverted her eyes, nauseous from seeing a deformed body laying in front of her. But she looked back, feeling guilty. How many of the men died when they were attacked?

Phoenix looked over her shoulder, swearing she heard voices in the near distance. She didn’t know whether they were from friends, or enemies. So, Phoenix hid behind some nearby rocks, waiting.

“Nixie!”

Phoenix peeked out from the rocks, knowing Leif was the one shouting. But Leif wasn’t alone, he was with Cyne, Chastel, and another member of GALACTIC.

“Nixie, where are you?” Leif shouted, franticly looking for the brown hair he knew so well.

“Commander,” Chastel said, “I don’t think she’s-”

“She has to be,” Cyne said. “This is the only place we haven’t looked.”

“He’s right,” the new member said, a woman for that matter. “But it’s possible that’s she dead.”

“She’s not dead,” Leif said, looking back at the three operatives. “There’s no way that’s possible.” Leif looked away, not seeing the shocked faces of the soldiers. “Nixie!”

“Quit shouting!” Phoenix said, walking out from her hiding spot.

Leif’s smile slowly grew when he saw her. He ran towards her, but instead of his imagination becoming reality, his worst nightmare had come true. He was about to hug Phoenix, telling her he was glad to see her safe; but instead, he got punched in the face.

“Don’t touch me!” Phoenix shouted, looking down at Leif as he sat on the ground. “And quit shouting, ‘Nixie’! I’m not a bloody dog!”

“Oh, Nixie,” Leif said, rubbing his cheek, “I would never consider you a dog.” Phoenix smirked, but that snapped when Leif continued. “I would consider you more as a sly fox or maybe a cute cat.”

The comment only presented Leif with another punch to the face.

“Commander Volante,” Chastel said, holding up his hands. Phoenix paused before she almost threw another punch at Leif, looking at Chastel and the others. “I’m sure that Commander Wyrick is just glad to see you’re alive, Commander Volante. We all are.”

Phoenix backed off Leif and allowed him to stand to his feet, still rubbing his cheek and jaw.

“Now that we’ve found Commander Volante,” Cyne said, “I think it would be smart to gather any supplies that survived the crash.”

“You’re right, Lockheart,” Leif said.

“Wait,” Phoenix said, stopping everyone from moving, “what about the other survivors? There has to be more then just us.”

Everyone reverted their gaze from Phoenix. She looked at Leif, to see him looking at the ground.

“There are no others, Nixie,” Leif said, looking at her. His eyes showed sympathy, knowing how much Phoenix hated news like this.

“We’re the only survivors of Squads One and Two,” Cyne said.

Leif rested a hand on Phoenix’s shoulder. “Nixie, I’m-” Before Leif even finished, Phoenix had slapped his hand away and walked past them.

“Let’s begin looking for supplies,” Phoenix said as she left.

Cyne crossed his arms. “Shouldn’t we go after her?”

“No,” Leif answered, shifting through the wreckage, “it’s best to leave her alone. The more pity she gets, the angrier she is.” Leif looked back at the operatives, tapping his forehead. “You don’t know your Commander very well, Lockheart.”

Cyne smirked and turned around, beginning to shift through the wreckage with the rest of them.