024

Two hours have passed since the encounter. After much consideration, I decided to stand up and lean over to the driver's seat and told the two, "Let's stop there." Pointing towards an innocuous area, "Let's cool down the heat, yeah?"

"Yes, sir." Said Neil. We felt the van maneuver, heading right, then stopping, "Cassie." He called out as Cassandra showed a clear view of both sides of the van, it was as if all of us were inside glass. Neil procured minor adjustments to the van's parking, and called it a day. Turning it off and heading out.

I slid open the van door, stretching my hand out to Haya as I pulled her up to her feet, "Thanks, partner." She said as we both hopped down, stretching out upon our newly acquired freedom once more. She went over to Daphne's seat and banged upon the door, shocking Daphne inside and almost dropping her glasses, "Oi! Take out the camping gear."

"Fuck off, Kinth- wait, where are we?" She asked in bewilderment, adjusting her sunglasses a bit before pushing the door open and hopping out of the van.

A slap heard around the area hit the back of Daphne's head, "The camping gear!" Haya yelled out as Daphne rubs her head out of pain. Crawling back into the van and getting the camping gear out of the driver's seat.

"Bitch." She murmurs, heading down to the center and putting down the campfire to set it up. I saw Neil go around the van and sat down next to her and helped her set it up. They set up the stand, followed by the fuel. Then, Daphne snapped her fingers with a spark, and blew it into the wooden fuel as it lit up in a fiery blaze. She smiles at her work, the fire reflecting upon her sunglasses.

"Haya, wake the old man up will you?" I told her as she nodded and went back inside the van. I heard shaking and rumbling, followed by shrieks, all in an attempt to wake up Twain. The noises continued, with Daphne and Neil setting up the rest of the camp. It continued for at least 10 minutes until the both of them went out, "Good morning." I waved at Twain, he waved back, yawning once more. I yawned back, "What about Cassandra?" I asked Haya.

"Eh, I doubt she'll leave the van." She says, "Maybe we should move camp closer to the van?"

"Nah, I'll just move the van closer." Said Neil as he headed back to the driver's seat and started it to maneuver.

"So, what's up?" Asked Twain, walking towards me.

"How long will our rations last?" I questioned him.

"About 2-3 weeks." He replied.

"Tch. That won't last us won't it?"

"Not one bit. Especially at the pace we're going at, how long are we gonna be on camp anyway?"

"Not sure, Haya!" I called her over. She skipped towards us.

"Yeah? What's up?"

"Can you check Canadian border guard records, and well, any other agencies that might be looking for us. I want you to keep checking until they render our case cold. Oh and, can you and Cassandra maintain our anti-radar barrier?"

"Yeah sure, of course." She went back to the van and talked to Daphne.

"So, Twain." I looked at him.

"Yeah?"

"Wanna go hunting?"

He smiles, "Thought you'd never ask."

"Not tonight though." I cleared up, "For now we just set up the camp and get some of the rations out, yeah?"

"Yeah. Yeah, of course." He laughed as we both set up the camp.

"That said, how well did I treat you back then?" I asked him.

"How well? Ain't you a curious lad."

"Curious, yeah. I just want to know, y'know. Maybe apologize for the things I've done in the past."

"Hm, well. Sit down, son." He sat down by the campfire with the others, as I followed with him, "Kinthos! Can you make sure this man doesn't die from our stories again?"

"I'll maintain his status, sure." She yelled back.

"Well, kid. You weren't exactly the best of people."

"How so?"

"You never cared, my boy. You utilized Ambrosia to its greatest benefit, it doesn't help that Vega was pretty much the biggest producer of bodies."

"So, you mean to say that I-"

"Yep, you pretty much used every single people in your team like pieces on a chessboard. Same for me, I couldn't count the amount of times you had me killed, telling me it's for a greater purpose. Almost every single person in this team secretly wished that you can't rest at night. But, perhaps we're disappointed to know you got off scot-free. With a few missing memories here and there. It's been years, but I know Cypress here hasn't forgiven you."

I looked over to Neil, whose eyes are focused upon the fire which cooks our rations. He never sought to look over to me, at least not when we're talking about the past. "I'm sorry." I told him.

"There's no need to apologize, commander." He replied, "As I said, you were just efficient, plus, you won Vega." He glared at me, "That's a good victory, isn't it?"

I fell silent, I never knew about Vega, I never knew about what happened in Vega. Apart from the varied memories of my limited time there in the past, the dreams that I suffer from, the night terrors that haunt me that night. That was my only recollection of Vega.

And perhaps, they're right, perhaps their wishes did come true. That because of a past that I can't even remember, a past that had too many wounds upon the hearts of many, I wasn't able to sleep adequately at night. I laughed, they laughed, they knew. They knew that in the end they got what they wanted. That I suffered for the shit that I've comitted. This is my suffering, to be surrounded by people that I've wronged, people that I've used for a chance at victory, how they seethe, how they pressure me from all sides. This is my own personal hell-hole. And it seems like no amount of suicide will save me from this.

"We can't run now, can we?" Said Twain, holding a spatula and making sure the meat is evenly cooked, "We sizzle, and we die off. Our lives are unnatural, but yet we live. We live and we keep on living, until we're tired, until we can't do it anymore. Until we merge our final memories into the Vaults. But we're here now, and no amount of thinking can send us back into the past. So we live now. In the now. It's done." He smiles, as we chow down upon what he cooked. Even if it was just rations, it tasted really great.