𝙵𝙻𝙴𝚂𝙷 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙱𝙾𝙽𝙴 | 𝚃. 𝙾𝚃𝚃𝙾 𐂃

- James & Madison -

It was deep in the night by the time Madison and James jumped into the truck. James climbed behind the wheel. Madison took the passenger seat. Her leg bounced with light worry and anxiety of what they would find. Across the thick darkness, only the lights of the truck illuminated the sandy and rocky road. Luckily, the dead were cleared around her meticulously by the militia for them to go back to the Ranch tomorrow. "You think he'll do something rash?" Madison finally asked, minutes after James pushed the gas pedal and the gravitational force of the uneven road shook them from side to side. She looked at James, the elder man focused on the path. The way he squeezed the wheel, body taut and severe face gave Madison part of his answer

James licked his cracked lips and started, "when you feel betrayed, it makes you do irrational things. You don't think... you just act. During the war... a lot of the men in my team lost it... did the worst thing possible to people. We didn't think about them being innocent or guilty, just an enemy we had to kill because they could kill us... put us in danger when we had our own people back home to think of. I can understand where he comes from... he wants answers."

"James... even for Troy this is-" Madison furrowed her brows, a faint chill made her shift in her seat and touch the gun at the side of her hip. She thought back when she watched Troy talk to his men like a leader. She'd often saw how the militia followed him. How they were drawn to him and his cause. That person was an asset. The unpredictable Troy right now, was either a liability in the long-run for them or someone still useful if controlled and contained.

"Too far? I agree, but I don't see how that is any different from what I did," James remarked and grimaced. "Cristine can't even look at me anymore. You know how you try to protect your kids, lie to them? They see through you. It's hard, but knowing that my daughters and my wife are safe makes everything worth it. Even if they hate me for what I've always have been."

Madison agreed, "you spend your whole life lying to your kids because you think you can protect them. Somehow, someway, they know. They know who you are, they know what you did. They know you. It's in the blood. What you tried to do, it didn't go exactly as planned, but from what you told me and I've seen; Cristine is strong. She reminds me of Alicia. Always the responsible one no matter what."

"My children and I... your daughter, we've been out and we understand why we sometimes have to do the things that we do. The things you've done. Lie and use what you can to your advantage to keep your family safe. Cause that's all you have left in this world now. What we've done so far, we will have to do again, for all our survival." Madison finished before looking back at the road with chilled eyes.

James nodded faintly and sighed, "whatever we end up finding... we'll need to be prepared for the worse."