The Journey Home, Part Seven: Of Father and Mother

Greetings, Guardians, here's part seven of the Journey Home! Here's [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Post/1371758/223167672/0/0]part six[/url] if you missed it, or, if you're looking for a different part, here's the [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/222615264?showBanned=0&path=0]table of Contents![/url] As usual, if you like it, give it a bump, and I'll get more out soon! Stay classy, Guardians! “What were you thinking!” Alesha winced. “I just - I wanted to -“ “What, get yourself killed?” Aunt Beatrice asked. “Because that’s what wandering outside the village will do to you!” “I just wanted to see what’s beyond the palisade!” she said. “Gustav’s always told us about the ruins, and the Old Days!” She winced painfully as she said the trader’s name. The old trader was probably dead now, just like his father had been. She hadn’t been close to the trader, but she’d liked him. And he’d been as much a part of her life as anyone in the village had been. Knowing that she’d never again see his vehicle ramble into the village hurt like a punch in the gut. “Didn’t he mention how dangerous it was?” Aunt B asked. “How he always had to be on the lookout for Fallen? How there where a lot of times when he almost died?” Alesha hung her head in shame. She hadn’t expected things to get quite so out of hand - if only they hadn’t run into those Fallen! Uncle Tom walked in, sighing. “Well, Sorenson’s boy will be alright,” he said. Sorenson was Michael’s father. “It was only a flesh wound.” “About time we got some good news,” Aunt Beatrice said, staring down at Alesha. Uncle Tom sat down on a nearby stool. “Now, Alesha,” he said. “I want you to tell me exactly what happened today, alright? Don’t lie, it’s very important.” Alesha nodded. “Okay, Uncle Tom,” she said. Uncle Tom nodded. “Let’s hear it then,” he said. Alesha told Tom everything - about how she and Michael had snuck out through the hole in the palisade, about their finding of the metal tube in the woods, about the Fallen around Gustav’s truck. She started crying a little when she got to the part about Gustav’s truck. “And then - and then the Fallen started chasing us, and we had to run! And that’s when those metal men found us!” Uncle Tom nodded. “I see.” He looked at her with an inscrutable gaze. “Go on to your room. Your aunt and I have to talk.” Alesha almost protested, but she closed her mouth. She was in enough trouble as it is. She reluctantly walked off towards her room, and lay down in her bed, waiting for a sleep that she knew would not come. Alesha could hear the sound of Uncle Tom and Aunt Beatrice talking in the kitchen. She couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but the tone told her that they were arguing. Suddenly, their voices rose,and she could hear what they were saying. “She’s just a girl, Tom!” Aunt Bea said. “She shouldn’t be involved in these things!” “There’s a lot of things she shouldn’t be involved in!” Tom replied. “She shouldn’t have to deal with the threat of Fallen every day of her life! She shouldn’t have to worry about dying of hunger if a harvest fails, or coming down with sickness! She shouldn’t have to grow up without a father!” There was a pause. “Besides, the others will want to hear what she has to say; she saw those - Sunbreakers - firsthand! The Sorenson boy’s in no condition to talk.” “I don’t like it, Tom.” “Neither do I, Bea. But we can’t protect her forever.” There as another pause. “I’ll go get her now.” “Alright.” Alesha quickly lay back down in bed, and pretended that she’d been asleep. She heard her door creak open. “Alesha?” Tom said. She sat up. “Yes Uncle Tom?” Tom stared at her with his deep, blue eyes. There was a sadness in his eyes - same as always. Usually, the sadness was obscured by the mirth that Tom seemed to naturally generate. But the sadness ever lurked behind it. “There’s going to be a town meeting tonight,” he said. “And I think that you should come to it; the village should hear what you have to say. Besides, it’s time you started learning about how this place runs; after all, it’ll be up to you and the rest of your generation one day.” Alesha nodded. “Okay,” she said. Tom learned to leave. “Uncle Tom?” she said. “How did my father die?” Tom paused in the doorway. “Dregs,” he said stiffly. “Same as your mother.” “But there’s more to the story,” Alesha said. “Isn’t there?” Tom remained still. Then, he sighed. “Ah, Alesha,” he said. “I suppose it’s your right.” He sat down on her bed, and looked down at her. “Ten years ago it happened; and I still remember that night like it was yesterday. “A crew of Fallen had broken through the wall, and rushed into several houses - one of them was your father’s. It took us a while, but the warriors were able to push them back. For the most part, anyways. “Your father’s house was in flames. I thought for sure he was dead. But he came out holding your mother in his arms. He said that he was going back in to get you - and that there where two dregs still in the house. Before anybody got the sense to stop him, he rushed back in.” “Didn’t anybody go in after him?” Alesha asked. Tom shook his head. “Between the fire and the Fallen, it was too dangerous,” he said. “At least, that’s what we told ourselves. “After several minutes, he didn’t come out, and we feared that you were both dead. But suddenly, lo and behold, he emerged from the flames, a little bundle in his arms - you, Alesha. “He walked up to me real slowly. Then, he hand you to me - unharmed, by some miracle. He looked into my eyes, and put one hand on my shoulder. ‘Take care of her, Tom,’ he said. And then, he fell to the ground, a shock dagger in his back. “We tried to save your mother, but to no avail. She died of her wounds a few days later.” Alesha stared down at her bed. “He died,” she said, “to save me.” “That’s the kind of man he was,” Tom replied. “A good one.” He shook his head. “Aunt Beatrice wouldn’t want me to tell you that story - she always feared that it would do more harm than good to hear it - but he was your father. It’s your birthright to know how he died.” He stared at her. “Get some sleep,” he said. “The meeting will go late tonight, and I want you rested. Besides, you need to recover, after the day you’ve had.” And with that, he walked out of the room, leaving Alesha alone with her thoughts. [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Post/1371758/223478191/0/0]Part Eight[/url]