New Hope
#2 of Broken Soul
The limo arrived in front of Effie's building and dropped them off. The driver offered to help her take Leon up to her room, but she simply told him no and ran upstairs. She didn't want anyone to see him in his current condition. She pushed Leon to her door and let him inside. He moved like a zombie to the beat up couch and fell on it. Effie hadn't seen him like this in all the time she knew him.
"Hey, try not to think too much about it, eh? You couldn't have known that she would have done this while you were away. And since she did, you should feel better that you got rid of that cheating whore, right?" Her yellow eyes were soft and gentle, but Leon didn't notice.
"Cheating... whore... feel... better" He was so thoroughly destroyed from the inside out that he couldn't form a complete sentence.
Effie had to think on her toes, "Damn, I wish this was just an ambush. At least those were easy. Hold on, my sister who was taking care of my place should've got some beer or something. Just sit tight." she waved her hands because she didn't know how to react. She rushed into the kitchen and opened the fridge. There was her family's traditional five-pack sitting on the barren shelves. She took the entire thing and ran back to Leon, who was slumped over, "Hey, sit up. Here," she ripped a can off of the pack and threw it lightly to him. It landed with a smack on his head. More disturbing, he didn't seem to notice, "sorry, here. let me get that for you."
Effie sat next to him and pulled him into a sitting position. After she opened his beer, she wrapped his hand around it and pushed it to his mouth. It was odd, feeling someone's hand who didn't have fur on it. She read through some medical journals and learned that his body temperature was lower than hers, but it still felt frozen. It was moist, which was caused by the human's ability to sweat. He drank the beer under his own power as she flipped on her TV, "Careful... DVD player on." his warning came too late. Effie stared in horror as she saw a still frame of a porno.
"That little... " she was lost in confusion and anger, "she fucked on my couch?!" Effie shot out of her seat, but Leon didn't move. She sighed as she sat down, putting a throw blanket under her. She turned off the DVD player and went back to cable. They sat watching the Discovery channel for about an hour before, "How do you feel? I mean, do you feel any better?"
Leon sighed, "A poetic person would say that my soul is being pummeled with mallets as it is being dragged forcibly into the dark abyss. My heart is being torn to shreds by my inner demons and my mind is being crushed by the weight of truth. I wouldn't say that. I would say that I need to do something. I need to get away from this life using any means necessary."
Effie was alarmed, "Let's not do anything hasty, now. You've been through worse situations than this. You remember it, don't you? You remember when we almost died and you kept my spirits up, even when you were tortured. Please, tell me you remember." She felt her tears come to her eyes again.
Leon looked up at the ceiling as memories came flooding back.
Flashback ~~~~~~~~~
"This is Phantom 1 reporting in. We are currently placing Ground Sonar Unit at point Echo." Leon told HQ over his radio.
"Copy that, Phantom 1. GSU confirmed and operating at full capacity. Move to point Delta."
Effie was putting the final touches on the GSU, consisting of installing extra braces and the camouflage cover so it would be hard to discover and knock over. She looked up at Leon, who was monitoring the six infantry soldiers escorting them, "I have no idea why we need them, this is a pretty straight forward and safe mission." she said.
Leon smiled, "Yeah, but you remember training right? Hope for the best, plan for the worst. It'd be a shame if a precious Recon girl was shot to bits by enemy units." he laughed as Effie smiled.
"Yeah," she replied with a sinister tone, "but I'm sure they were more worried about their trophy soldier getting a boo boo. Why else would they send me?" They laughed together as she gathered her tools. Leon walked over to her and put two of her bags on his shoulder, "What? Think I can't handle it?"
"Not at all. You are used to temperature control, so by taking away any excess stress you will e less likely to suffer from heat exhaustion." A report came in over the radio.''
"Attention all units in GSU squad. There seems to be a lot of activity 200 yards north-northeast of you're current position. Recommend you find hard cover and dig yourselves in. Do not engage unless absolutely necessary."
"Thanks for the heads up, HQ. Alright! All units, on me. Take cover behind that rock formation and put on camo blankets immediately."
The soldiers ran back towards Leon and Effie, but almost instantly three of them fell. The others spun around to see what happened, but they fell just as fast, "Agh! We need to get out of here now! Leon, where can we hide?!"
Leon spun his head around frantically looking for a better hiding spot. At the base of the rock formation, there was a little hole covered by some desert grasses. He grabbed Effie's arm and pulled her towards it. When he got close, he threw her in then dove in right after her. It was cramped, barely enough room for the two of them. Leon had knee pads, so he rested on his knees while Effie sat down and put her legs around his body. Their bodies were touching, but since Leon was taller than Effie she rested her head in his chest. He gazed out and saw about twenty enemies coming over the small sand dune. Some of them were carrying tents, others were carrying high powered weaponry. This was a very bad situation.
"Leon," Effie voice was shaking, "I don't want to die. I don't want to die like this. I don't want to die at all. Please, don't let them get me."
He could see her tears reflecting the bright sunlight from the outside. He smiled as he gently wiped them from her eyes. She looked up as best she could, "I won't let you did. I promise, I will do anything to keep you alive." He reached for his radio and turned the volume down and switched to an emergency channel, "Emergency, I need any available units to respond. 75% of GSU squad wiped out, massive enemy unit pinning us down, no chance for escape. Anyone, report in." There was an awkward silence as the two sat in the 120 degree cave in close quarters waiting for a response.
Luckily, HQ was also on this channel, "This is HQ. GSU squad, who is remaining and how many hostiles are there."
Leon had to speak quickly, Effie was beginning to shake and her mental state was quickly breaking down, "Just Phantom 1 and Recon Commander Effie. There are at least twenty hostiles, all armed with high powered weapons. They appear to be roaming through the desert, they also have camping equipment. Request immediate assistance."
"That's a negative, Phantom 1. The area you are currently in has been marked as a hot zone, no air units can be sent in. Nearest ground force is two days away. They are being redirected to point Echo. Recommend you stay hidden."
Leon was pissed, "All offense intended, but we need something here now pencil pusher! Recon Commander Effie is in a deteriorating mental state and most of our supplies are on the units that were killed where the enemy is setting up camp. Now get your useless ass up and do something about it of I'll find you and punish you myself!"
The voice in HQ was terrified, "O-okay, Phantom 1. Trying to get permission. Sit tight. Please?"
Leon was angry, but he knew that nothing could be done. They had enough water for one person to last two days, not two. Even so, if he didn't act, they would be discovered by nightfall. He could take out a few, but during the reload they would annihilate both of them. His options were gone, and he knew what he had to do. He would act at night, when he could move a distance from the cave to draw their attention. It wasn't ideal, but it was all he could do.
So they sat in the cave, slowly cooking from the inside. Dark came faster than he had anticipated, and when all of the enemy units were in his sight, he saw an opening. He set his water and rifle to Effie's side and ran out. He dove behind a sand dune, then waited to hear any alarms. When he heard none, he stood up and put his hands behind his head. Leon shut his eyes as he walked towards the enemies, ready to surrender.
When they spotted him, they all raised their weapons and shouted in a foreign language. Five of them walked up to him, then kicked him in the stomach. When he bent over trying to recover from the pain, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, then darkness.
When he woke up, he was tied to a wooded chair in a tent. Pain rushed through his body as he became more aware of the situation. "Well, it seems our little captive is awake. For a ranger, you aren't very good at sneaking into an enemy camp. Where did you come from, where is your base?"
Leon smiled, "Tell you what, go shove a rifle up your ass, pull the trigger, then I'll tell you what you want to know." The man punched him in the jaw, followed by the taste of blood in his mouth. "My dead grandmother hits harder than you. Come on, bring it." One of the soldiers on his side smacked the side of his head with the butt of his rifle. The man who spoke English raised his hand to stop any further attacks.
"We wouldn't want your little brain to be damaged before you tell us what we want. If you won't tell us anything, we will use are unique methods to get you to talk." He pulled out a knife as two of the soldiers lifted his shirt. He placed the blade flat on his stomach and waited for Leon to say something. When he didn't, he flayed his skin for about eight inches before tearing off the skin. Leon had to grit his teeth to dull the pain, but it wasn't working out that well.
The man smiled up at him, "Are you ready to speak your mind?" Leon smiled and spat blood in his eye, "Dammit!" the man rubbed his eyes vigorously with a towel.
"Wow, I really hope that AIDs test comes back negative. Otherwise you won't have mush time out here." Leon smiled as the man seemed alarmed.
"Ahh... you are trying to get me to leave you alone. But I know that they wouldn't send out some as sick as that for dangerous missions." Leon smiled as the man's confident attitude quickly changed into one of fear.
"Well, I did walk into an enemy camp unarmed. Also, military attendance is down, so they would've taken me if I had late stage cancer. I suppose it's your call in the end. Now, hit me with all you got." The man left the room and said something to one of the soldiers. He left, then came back with what appeared to be a car battery and jumper cables, "Ooo... kinky. Who's gonna pull out the dildoes (?)?"
The man sneered as he tore off Leon's jacket and shirt. He put on protective gloves then put the cables over his nipples. The shock was almost too much to bear. His muscles contracted and expanded uncontrollably while his ones seemed to vibrate inside of his body. His instincts told his body to get out of the situation as quickly as possible, but the thought of telling them where Effie was located kept him in place. The man pulled the cables away and waited for him to say something. Leon was dazed and close to death, because apparently they shot him a few times in the legs while he was unconscious and he was bleeding out the whole time.
"Fuck you." he said as they repeated the torture. This time it lasted for about a minute. His body was now on the edge of death, but he woke up when he heard, "What do you mean, there was eight members in this squad? Find the other one, go in the direction he came from. What? Enemies approaching from the south? Take defensive positions, bring the hostage."
Two men came into the room and untied Leon, but he didn't feel any better. He knew what was coming next. He saw the apparently two English speaking individuals, and one of them had a serrated knife usually by a butcher. Unfortunately, Leon was in no position to fight back. They threw him onto his knees as the soldiers took positions all around the encampment. Leon felt the warm edge of the knife press against his throat. In his dazed state, the distant figures were nothing more than gray blobs. He couldn't quite hear what one of the men said, but he saw flashes come from the enemy's weapons. The knife pressed harder against his neck as the skin broke. Suddenly, the knife fell and the man went limp as he collapsed on top of Leon. He saw four more fall, and the flashes came from the tiny cave.
It wasn't long before the area was cleared by his people and Effie ran out of the cave, pulling the dead man off of him. Tears flooded her eyes as she saw his body. There were all kinds of cuts, bullet holes, a chunk of missing flesh, and the burnt flesh caused by electricity. He smiled as he once again faded to black.
End Flashback ~~~~~~~~~
"I know I didn't say anything, but you being that brave kept me alive. If it wasn't for you, I might have killed myself. I owe you, so I won't let you do the same thing to yourself. I'll make sure you feel better even if it kills me. And besides... I-" A knocking at the door interrupted her. "Now that is bad timing." she said as she went to answer it. She was about to confess her love to him, even though it was weird for a anthro to love a human.
When she unlocked the door, it came bursting open. A human rushed in to Leon and fell to her knees as she began to beg. It was Mary. "Please, you don't understand! I didn't mean to, he just took advantage of me! I was lonely without you, and my body ached for attention. You must know what it feels like, right?"
Effie was angry, and grabbed Mary by the shirt collar and pulled her to her feet, "Get out of my home. You have no right to be in here."
Mary smacked her arm away, "Yes I do, he's my boyfriend and I'm trying to make things right. Leave us be and go back to licking yourself or something, anthro."
"Yeah, that's what I was going to do tonight. You cheated on him, and now you're trying to lie to get him back. I'll bet he wasn't half as big as Leon is."
Mary was hit with realization, "See! I knew it! He did have sex behind my back! So we're even-"
"Uh uh, we never had sex. We were in the same base, and when we showered I saw him naked a few times, but he never saw me. It was the military, not a day spa. Now get out before I make you leave, bitch."
Mary knew she was outmatched, "Fine, but I will be back. I'll make things right and we can start a family just like we wanted, Leon." she left, and Effie slammed the door behind her and made sure it was locked.
"Start a family... not with her." Leon was becoming more understandable. Effie sat down beside him and hugged him tightly, "Not with her... then who?"
Effie saw her chance, "Well, how about me?" Leon looked at her as she kissed him softly.