Don't fear the reaper - Captain John Price

VII

Heavy drops of water mixed with soapy bubbles were falling onto the cold floor. A brunette kept her eyes closed as the water was washing off the tiredness of the whole week off her body. The weekends always felt like a glimpse into the past, reminding many people at the base what the days usually looked like in ordinary life. But, it always passed as fast as a blink of an eye, making everyone come back into the harsh, but pleasable reality.

The shower room was quiet. Not even a word was in the air, as a few shower stalls on the other side of the room were occupied. The cold air of the room met the body of a woman, sending the shivers on the porcelain skin. There was nothing Amelia could wish for other than the temporary warm feeling of the bed. For a moment, her mind brought her back home to the bed her body knew too well. But, the bed at the base wasn't bad, as long as it served its purpose. Splashes of the cold water brought Knight's attention back to reality from daydreaming about the days that were long gone. Look of the brown eyes was traveling over her face, trying to see if there were any changes to the expression or even the feature of her own face. Just when she was ready to say farewell to the long day, the loud noise filled the room coming from the corridor, as the fire alarm decided to disturb the peace of everyone at the base. Endless questions started to appear in her head. Was it an attack? Or maybe a drill? Or an accident? However, those questions were left unanswered for a long time. Her legs took her out of the shower room at the very same moment, just to start to wander along the dark, but still deserted corridors. Amelia was almost convinced that the base was under attack before a couple of bright lights appeared on the other end of the corridor

"Kyle! What is even happening?" A familiar face of a man was seen in the dim light of the flashlight as the distance between them got shorter. There was a sign of relive in Amelia's voice, as the understanding that she wasn't alone in the labyrinths of corridors finally settled into her mind.

"A fire drill should be over anytime now. Just get to the nearest assembly point," The dim lights at the top of the ceiling were not doing much to lighten up the way of the people in the corridors. Gaz reached for another flashlight in the back pocket of his cargo pants before heading it to a brunette.

"And I was wondering if the kitchen is on fire," At one moment, all of the questions that were running around inside of a woman's head were answered. Not an attack, just a drill. The flashlight was finally in her hands, ready to move to the nearest assembly point that Knight had to remember where it was in the first place.

"Smoky dinner with fiery sauce," A quick, but sincere smile appeared on Garrick's face before the other pair of steps joined the two. Right at the place where the two corridors met, the captain was directing people to the nearest place and checking the rooms to get everyone where they were supposed to be.

The base commander wanted to know how prepared the soldiers at the base would be for an accident. As one room after another was getting emptier, time was running out on the counter clock in the hands of the man on the other side of the base.

"Check the other corridor Gaz. I will help Miss Knight find the assembly point," Serious voice of the man ruled out any possibility for the questions to fly in the air, as the three glanced at each other for a quick moment. A soft nod was seen from the sergeant's side. Before Amelia could even realize it, Kyle's steps were disappearing into the second corridor, leaving the two behind. 

One step after another, Price was walking forward to the other side of the base, remembering every corner that was drawn on the escape plan. The narrow pathway seemed to be closing in around them. The noise of the fire alarm was still running around, just like bad news from one ear to another. It's been up for too long to raise the suspicion of anyone, but the radio sitting in the captain's pocket was still quiet.

"Thank you for the flowers, Captain. But you didn't have to do that," Amelia's voice ended the comforting silence when the ray of light coming from her flashlight made sure there was no other pair of ears to hear their conversation.

"An old man's way of saying thank you, dove," Price turned around, to see the relaxed face of the woman. Suspicion was raised in his mind when there were no signs of movement from anywhere they were passing by. The rooms were empty as well as the corridor. It seemed as if the whole base was elsewhere, or if it wasn't a drill at all.

"Looks like you will remember it for a long time, Price," Wave of embarrassment was written over her face, as Knight's cheeks were covered with blush. After the incident, her eyes caught a glimpse of the captain's medical card in files before curiosity caught a brunette off guard. Something inside her wished her tongue was choosing the words that afternoon. He wasn't old, but rather experienced.

"It is John, love," The captain decided the check the radio as the silence was the only thing surrounding them in the corridor. It's been over twenty minutes since the drill started, and something didn't sit right at the back of Price's head. As one channel was changing into another, nothing was coming from anyone else on the base. Nothing except for the complete radio silence.

"Alright, John," Amelia let the cold surface of the concrete wall meet with the skin of her back, as the gaze of the brown eyes was fixed on the captain. For a moment, a brunette could swear she still could taste the man's name on the tip of her tongue. 

There was something magnetic yet charming about the captain in the dim light of a flashlight. Knight caught herself staring at the Price's facial features for the first time, letting her eyes learn the wrinkles on John's forehead that were a hint of the man's age and long years of service. A beanie was sitting on the top of his head, hiding the dark hair from anyone else around. It was hard not to notice how perfectly the beard of the man was trimmed even in the poor darkness of the corridor. Every time his fingers were running from one radio channel to another, weins on the strong hands of the men were seen in the places where the uniform did not cover it. And when the man finally caught her, the gaze of the brown eyes couldn't take themselves off the blues.

"May I?" a whisper from the captain reached the only set of ears it was meant for. The rough skin of his fingers placed the messy dark hair behind the woman's ear, not breaking eye contact between the two even for a moment. 

Amelia couldn't help herself but let human nature take over the common sense in her mind. A soft nod was the only thing she could do before the distance between the faces of the two became non-existent. Suddenly, nothing else in the past mattered as the captain's lips covered hers. John couldn't help but let his body move forward, almost pushing a woman against the wall as their tongues were exploring the mouths of each other. For the first time, her fingertips were running over Price's body not looking for places that hurt. Slowly, almost fearfully, Knight allowed her arms to fall on his strong shoulders, pressing the man closer to her body, leaving almost no space between them. All the fears about the situation at the base were suddenly at the back of their minds, as nothing but the warm feeling was in the air mixed with the loud noise of the fire alarm. But, even the sweetest memory has to end. Unwantigly, the two broke the kiss when the room around them felt suffocating.

The gaze of the brown eyes fell into a trap of the blue, but there was no regret in either of them. The silence felt painful for a moment, as a woman could swear she could still feel the taste of the captain on her lips. Price kept eye contact between them before the darkness turned into the brightest light shining from the ceiling as the noise of the fire alarm disappeared momentarily.

And the sudden realization appeared in both minds as fast as the bright light in the endless corridor. It was a point of no return.