Chapter 2: Chapter2: Reflection

Alex awoke more refreshed than he had felt in ages. The sheets of his queen-sized bed were, for once, not soaked in sweat. So instead of stripping the sheets and heading for the washing machine, he made the bed, smoothing the sheets and tucking the corners with military precision. He glanced around the spartan room, furnished with only a dresser, nightstand, and a desk that held his laptop and a picture of his squadmates, grinning as they perched atop an Abrams tank.

On his nightstand sat two pictures, one of his parents, who now lived out their retirement dreams in Tampa, Florida, soaking in the sun and playing shuffleboard in their exclusive retirement community. The other picture was of his older sister, Samantha, who lived in New York and was one of the top reconstructive surgeons in the country. Alex felt a sense of pride, and a twinge of sorrow, as he stared at her countenance. She was smiling in the photo, on the verge of laughter, her merry personality shining through, and Alex knew that somewhere off behind the camera, he had been making funny faces at her, trying to break her composure. They had shared a strong bond before... well, before everything.

Life has a way of eroding even the strongest bonds, in much the same way as a raging river erodes the banks containing it when the storm turns violent. He hadn't expected to wind up estranged from his family when he'd joined the Marines, but fate had rolled the dice and given him snake eyes. He shook his head to banish those melancholy thoughts from his mind and headed into the bathroom to shower and dress. The room was small, with just a small sink, a toilet, and a stand-up shower. Alex was a simple man, and he had built his cabin in the Montana wilderness with those values front and center. The decorations were limited to photos of his squadmates and family, a folded and framed American flag, and a display box with his medals, including the purple heart he received after his last mission.

After his shower, some basic hygiene, and dressing, he walked through the cabin to the front porch. This was probably his second favorite place in the house, besides his workshop. He sat in a large wooden rocker, the same warm stain as the exterior wood of the cabin, and let his mind clear of all thoughts. Meditation had been one of the techniques his therapist had recommended to calm his anxiety, and it was one of the few things he'd been able to actually latch onto and incorporate into his daily life.

His mind went back to the events of four hours ago, the otherworldly summoning, the brief but cathartic battle against the goblin raiders, and his new patron, Olivia. He felt a little warm inside when thinking of her, and wondered if that was an effect of the contract between them, or if he had sincere feelings toward the girl. He hadn't dated seriously after joining the corps, having seen and heard the horror stories of the infidelity that ran rampant with military wives and husbands while their significant others were deployed in third-world hellholes halfway across the planet. And after he got out, well, he wasn't in any shape to care for another human when he could barely hold his own shit together, besides a few meaningless encounters, he'd spent most of his adult life alone. Now, however, he was in a much more complicated relationship with a strange young woman in another world, even though it wasn't necessarily a romantic one.

It baffled him how her spell could have even targeted someone as broken as he was. It made a sort of sense, when he thought about it more, though. She had desperately needed a warrior, and he couldn't see himself as anything other than that. As a person, he was awkward, insular, and cold around others. But as a soldier, he was competent, driven, and focused. He had tried to contract with professional mercenary companies, but his PTSD and that fateful mission had created barriers that no upstanding corporation or their insurance companies wanted any part of traversing. 

Alex sighed and gave up on trying to meditate. He stood up, looking over the small front yard that bordered miles of untouched forest, and sighed. At least he had a reason now, right? He had a job, someone to protect and support when needed. He could definitely work with that. He felt a pull at the back of his mind, and Olivia's voice came through their connection. "The feast is beginning, Alex. I would love it if you joined us. My father especially has not stopped barraging me with questions since you appeared."

"Sure," Alex replied. "I'm on my way now." Alex walked back into the house, down to his workshop, grabbing his rifle, strapping on his handgun and vest, and turned, summoning the portal with a thought. He spent a moment studying the aquamarine, slowly rotating runic structures that made up the portal, hummed a bit to himself, and stepped through it, back into Olivia's world.

 

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