Rise

[LadyMakaze†]

G26, Juliet Petra Mikan, sat down against the grass, rested her elbows on her knees and lowered her forehead against her folded hands with her eyes closed. She rocked back and forth slightly.

This...all of this. Everything that had just happened, all that was happening right now, and the situation she was being placed in...

All of it might have been an act of fate.

She couldn't believe it. For more than a year she had been searching. Nearly a YEAR... All of it had been spent travelling, looking for clues as to where he could be. More specifically, where Danya was currently holding him. All of this time, she had taken part in this battle against the cruel, international phenomenon that was SOTF, and had made her own effort to delve for the truth in hope that someday it will all be known to the world.

The search had turned up fruitless, but still she kept hope....waiting for a sign...waiting for some sort of direction.

She didn't find an opportunity. Rather, opportunity found her.

Julie was truly a part of it now. She was a part of the very thing she had spent more than a year working against...

Her chest tightened as she took in a deep, slightly tremoring breath.

...More importantly...now that she had encountered Danya, and become a part of SOTF.... she was now that much closer to finding that person...

And yet she was afraid. To be honest? To say that she was afraid would be a complete understatement. It would only be a matter of time before she came face to face with peril at the hands of her own classmates. Within the span of less than a day, she could easily end up dead...

....No, she couldn't die. Not yet. Not without seeing this to the end. Not without fulfilling that promise...

Someday, for sure, we'll meet again.

Her steel-green eyes opened, as she realized what she must do. She must survive this, no matter what. If she won this game...she would meet Danya...and from there she'd find out the answers. That was her chance! She had to win this game, at all costs. If it would get her closer to finding him...

...She looked up to direct her eyes at the handgun that lay at her feet.

....Even if it meant...killing?

Julie stared at the firearm, eyes wide and contorted as though repulsed by it. It was a device for killing. It was good for nothing other than to commit the most vile of crimes.

...murder.

She continued to stare with a look of disgust at it. Before, she'd determined that she would never kill...no matter what. No matter how angry or desperate she got, to take the life of another simply wasn't worth anything.

But if she were to survive...then she would have to...

Julie gulped, as her hand reached towards the gun...fingers trembled slightly. Her path was laid out for her. All she needed to do was to walk it. Could she take that first step?

Maybe...just maybe. In this situation...could the losses possibly be offset by the gains?

The calm waters of the lagoon danced before her vision. She shut her eyes tight as she was whisked back into a memory...

...

Going around turns, overtaking death and life
I'm running to fight with the shadow of a lie

"...That gun...do you always carry it around with you?" That was what she asked.

"...Well, what can I say? We live in dangerous times." That was what he said. He laughed abit, musing as he gazed at the handgun he was carrying. He then looked serious and contemplative. "Since I abandoned my superiors, I've sworn never to use it on any civilian, any innocent...ever again. A weapon like this? I reserve it for the true enemy."

She echoed his words. "The...true enemy?"

"Yeah. That's right." She could barely remember his smile. "Hey, if you have time, I could show you how to use something like this. All it takes is practice, someone to show you the basics...A skill like that could come in handy in-"

"-in dangerous times like these?" She finished the sentence for him, laughing a bit.

"....Yeah, you're right about that."

On your feet. Come with me.
We are soldiers, stand or die.

...

Julie ended up never being taught. She should've asked him while she'd still been able.

But I suppose there's no time to kick myself about that now.

Her face suddenly hardened and turned cold with resolution. Affirming herself, she reached out for the gun, feeling the handle against her palm before she gripped it, lifting it up.

It was...a bit heavier than she'd expected. Her hand trembled slightly as she held it, so she gripped it with both hands. She held it steady, lifting it to the air and pointing at a target that existed only in the eye of her mind. Just now, she'd read the manual, and tried her hand at loading it. Now, the rest would be up to her.

Julie ascended, dusting the excess grass off of her trench coat, daypack slung over one arm, handgun in her free hand. She took the first step that would set her off in motion across the island, ready to confront the first person she came across. She'd made her decision by now. She would fight. She would survive.


Time to make the sacrifice
We rise or fall.

Because he was waiting for her...

((Continued at ))The Swinging Bridge