lights.
She whispered urgently, 'Hurry, Trevor. Please. Hide. We have to hide.'
A new sound reached his ears, the sound of heavy boots marching along-no, jogging along-with a metallic clank-clank.
He finished his climb down and moved away from the ladder. Nina slid down and landed with a heavy thump next to him. She grabbed his arm again and pulled him into an even smaller and darker passage.
After several seconds, a line of heavy boots marched overhead. When they did not stop, Nina let out a long sigh and slid to the floor, her back against the wall in a seated position.
Trevor waited with his hands over his head. He fought to comprehend the enormity of the revelation, beyond his personal role.
'Listen, Trevor I can explain everything. I can.' The quiver in her voice suggested that might not be true.
Nina stood and turned as if to lead him in a new direction, saying, 'If we can make it back to the Operations Center, I know most of the soldiers will follow you instead of Snowe. If we can get out of here alive we can-'
Trevor leapt to her and placed a firm finger over her lips.
'Shhh…shhh.'
She stopped talking. He grabbed her shoulders and shoved her against the wall.
'What brought you here? Who brought you here? Why are you here? Why are you invading this world?'
She shook her head. 'I don’t know. I’m just a soldier.'
'Don’t lie to me. Don’t lie anymore to me!'
His hands shook but he found enough control to pull one of her silver pistols from its harness and shove the barrel to her nose. She tried to turn away but he grabbed her hair with his free hand and ordered, 'Answer me.'
'I-we followed Trevor. We followed you…you brought us here…'
She sobbed. Nina Forest sobbed. 'Don’t…don’t kill me… please…'
Trevor felt his entire body burn with anger. He gripped the pistol so tight it was a wonder the handle did not squish in his palm. He wanted to push the barrel straight through her head. He wanted to hurt her for lying to him, for being a conqueror for He stopped. He stopped and shuddered at the feelings flowing through him. Feelings of rage and anger and the desire to do harm. To do harm to Nina Forest.
What have I become?
Trevor loosened his grip and pulled the barrel away, holding it aloft in the dark corridor and glaring at the weapon as if it were a rattlesnake in his grasp.
Nina slumped to the floor caressing the red mark on her face.
'My…my God…' he stumbled.'Look…look at who I am. Look at what I am.'
He dropped the pistol. It hit the metal-grated floor below with a reverberating clang.
He turned to her. She sobbed with her face in her hands. As he spoke, his body shook with fear, fear of himself.
'You took me from my world to save you. That was the truth, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it?'
The Major wiped the sleeve of her battle suit across her nose to clean off some of the mess. As she did, she answered in a contrite, soft voice, 'Yes.'
'But you didn’t tell me that you were-you ar e-invaders here.'
She could not look him in the eye. Instead, she faced the wall and answered, 'No. Everyone knew we couldn’t do that.'
'Snowe? The Committee? All of Thebes?'
'Snowe, The Committee, the top Generals, and most of the squad leaders in Third Legion. I told you, Third L had been Snowe's outfit. As things changed, we briefed more people. Just told them to be quiet, mainly.'
'You controlled access to me and you never wanted me thinking about supplies and industry or manufacturing or any of this stuff. You didn’t want me to see this place. You didn’t want me to see…' his voice grew louder, 'you didn’t want me to see your gateway. Did you think you could hide it forever? Did you?'
She answered only with a sniffle.
He seethed, 'You knew I'd find out sooner or later. Did you think I’d just accept it? You thought I’d just…' his voice trailed and he found the answer himself. 'Christ, you thought you could make me like it here. All the things you — we- did. Oh sweet Lord. And I almost…I was becoming…I was becoming him.'
No, no, Trevor. You were finding the part of him inside of you. She couldn’t make you into a monster; no one can do that to a man. But she didn’t have to, did she? She just had to find the monster in you. Ask the people of New Winnabow. They know.
Stone took a long look at the strong Major Forest curled in a ball against the floor wiping tears from her face. Tears he had scared from her. After all, monsters can be scary.
Trevor turned and marched away.
Cautiously, she raised her eyes and watched him move off in a wobbling gait, glancing down the side passages in search of an escape route. Nina stood and staggered behind him warily, like a storm chaser pursuing an erratic tornado.
She pleaded, 'If we can get to Ops we can convince the army to side with you.'
Trevor shot her a nasty glance and said, 'I don’t care about victory for your people. I'm not an invader. You and everyone else in Thebes are conquerors. Why are you here?'
She answered, 'I will tell you everything I know but first, we have to get out of here.'
He left the dark passage for a wider, better lit corridor lined with lockers. Nina still followed but fidgeted, anxiously, like a rabbit leaving behind the safety of its hole for a dangerous, wide-open plain.
'You belong here,' he told her with a suppressed fury underlying his tone. 'This is your city, Nina. You built this…this base. Stay here. Rot here. Die here. I don’t give a shit.'
He stopped at an intersection to get his bearings. One dark, dirty hallway led down a ramp. A second cleaner, brightly-lit passage went in the other direction. He chose the former. She followed a few steps behind, afraid to get too close.
'Trevor, wait. I…I told you when you first came over I’d help you get home. I promised you. If you’ll let me, I’ll help you.'
Stone stopped, turned, and bound to her. She staggered backwards, stumbled, and actually fell straight on her ass like a child knocked over by a bully.
'You're lying. You would say anything to keep me from leaving.'
His hands shook as he spoke. She turned her head and cringed, expecting a blow.
'You showed me how bad I can be. Well I reject it. I reject you! I will not be your tyrant. I fight for my people. You are nothing to me.'
He stormed off two steps but stopped when she said, 'We had help.'
Nina stood and walked to him, her steps as measured as if she traversed a mine field but lacking any confidence, any sense of control. She had changed from manipulator to beggar.
'We had help bringing you here. We couldn’t have done it ourselves. Snowe had contacts like my Trevor did. I’m not supposed to know, but I think I do.'
Trevor turned and looked her in the eyes. He saw defeat there, but a defeated enemy with one last card to play. He quickly understood that this was no longer about keeping him; it was about her personal survival.
'And you’ll tell me,' he said. 'You’ll tell me everything if I take you with me. Is that it?'
Her lips quivered. 'Snowe is going to kill me, too. And without you-' she stopped as embarrassment flooded over her but she was in far too deep to let shame interfere. 'I mean, without you, there’s nothing here for me. No one. I have no life in Thebes.'
From far away came the sound of soldiers searching the maze of corridors.
'Nothing for you here? Snowe will kill you? I suppose he knows I won’t play along now that I know the truth.'
A new thought occurred to Stone. He cocked an eye and said, 'Maybe he wanted me back for other reasons, like getting The Committee out of the way. He can make up a story and take over now, can’t he? All without being the bad guy.'
She nodded.
Trevor said, 'I’m going, Nina. Goodbye.'
