Uranium ➵ The Old Guard

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The hunk of metal that sat tauntingly on Kenny's desk was perfectly still. If you looked at it carefully enough and kept your breath very still, you could see the fine layer of dust that had settled on top of it.

Kenny didn't spare it a glance as he grabbed a piece of paper and pen to quickly scribble something down. He slapped it down in frustration once he was done, making the whole desk shake. Fear raced its way onto Kenny's face as he stabilized the piece of metal, letting out a satisfied breath once it had balanced out.

He turned his back to the metal, tapping his pen to his chin and muttering, "Uranium," over and over in search of its answer.

–

Aleandra was tired and scared. She didn't know where she was, how long she had been there, or who she was with. Her fingers felt heavy on her hands, her hands heavy on her arms, and her arms heavy on her body.

This was better than being blasted off a tank, but it still sucked.

The man was staring at her intently, gripping the gun in his hands. A small click came from his left hand.

"One minute," he said, looking down into the timer in his hands. Aleandra had no idea what he was talking about as he looked down on her. She couldn't believe her luck, how many times did she evade death? 

She was shot in the face! There is no way she could have survived that. She had no charm she carried around, no blessing, no protection—her luck was impossible.

Her body healed considerably faster after her first scrape with death, but she had just thought it a side-effect to the radiation she was exposed to. Now it seemed she was coming back to life. 

Did radiation make you immortal?

"How do you it?" Aleandra was knocked out of her thoughts by her captor.

"What?"

"How do you not die?"

"I die," she answered.

"But you came back."

Aleandra was very unimpressed and her face showed every bit of it. "I wish I didn't," she answered.

Her captor was not surprised at her answer but grumbled in annoyance nonetheless. He stood up, setting the gun down on a chair nearby and hobbling out of the room. Aleandra sighed and leaned her head back to look up at the ceiling.

She waited there for around thirty minutes, tapping her foot against the ground in anticipation. When he hadn't come back, she made quick work of the ties around her hands and stood up, massaging her wrists.

–

Andy had no idea where she was but she couldn't care any less. She had wandered alone for centuries, she knew she'd be fine.

The clearing she had ended up in was small and the ground was softer than where she was before. So Andy sat down, zipping her coat up.

She leaned against the tree looking up at the sky and pulled out her waterskin, sipping it generously. Her mind wandered to Quynh and she sighed, hoping that Aleandra wouldn't end up like her.

She let her eyes close and she drifted into sleep.

The image was blurry, but Andy could see Aleandra perfectly fine. She walked out of a house with a gun and into a forest. Andy could feel her determination and fear as she held the shotgun like a vice.

Even though she had been alive for eons, Andy still thought most forests looked the same. So she didn't notice the familiar rocks and trees Aleandra was passing. In fact, she didn't realize where Aleandra was until she saw herself.

Aleandra raised the weapon once she saw Andy, creeping slowly and quietly, but Andy had other plans. She opened her eyes and made direct eye contact with Aleandra. The terror on Aleandra's face was easily read and Andy completely understood why.

"You're Aleandra Dimitrov," she said. Probably not the best greeting, but they had plenty of time to smooth things over. "I'm Andromache of Scythia."

Aleandra stood frozen, pointing the gun at Andy. It shook slightly as Andy regarded it coolly. She let Aleandra stand there for a minute—she didn't want to scare her too much. Cocking her head to the side, she let her eyes meet Aleandra's. She would let her decide what to do.

Aleandra let her trembling finger off of the trigger and lowered the shotgun. Andy pushed the smirk that had grown on her face away and looked up to the twenty-something woman standing above her.

"Who—what are you?"

"The same thing you are," Andy responded. Aleandra scoffed then paused before outright laughing.

"Are you a damned soul?" She was still smiling.

Andy only sighed. "If that's what you want to be, then yes." Aleandra's brows rose and she repositioned the gun to point back at Andy.

"Why do I see you every time I close my eyes?"