Demons Within Pt. 01: 'Blondie'

Over the several days it took to transport Blondie's small collection of possessions to what was now technically Niki's home, the quiet young girl had opened up a little, telling Blondie how the reavers had rushed the house while her parents were out in the garden. Blondie could picture the scene only too well, homesteaders grown complacent suddenly face to face with savage killers. Silently she had placed her hand on Niki's shoulder trying to express the sympathy that was locked away deep inside her. That was when the brown eyes filled with tears as the youngster told of how she had rushed out of the house brandishing the shotgun, managing to kill one of the reavers as they beat her parents to death. An image of rough wooden walls splattered with the blood of her first kills jumped in to Blondie's mind. Nightmare scenes she hoped would one day leave her in peace, but currently still haunted her.

The last section of the journey was spent in silence, each dealing with their own personal demons.

There hadn't been a great deal to move, a few changes of clothing, tinned food, spare weapons mostly in need of repair, and a few boxes of ammunition that had been very carefully hidden away. Settling in was taken care of in a short space of time. At first, it had been strange for Blondie to sleep in a house, the last structure she had slept in was the wooden hut that had been the central base for the reaver group that had kept her captive. She had been shocked when Niki showed her the part of the house called the bathroom. Niki's father had been very good at building things and had rigged up a water tank on the roof that collected rain water, and when run though a filtration system it could produce rain inside the house, something Niki had called a shower. Blondie just knew it had felt fantastic to let the water run over her grimy skin, far nicer than bathing in a river or fetid lake.

As well as the wonders of indoor plumbing, Blondie also learned that Niki had inherited her father's skill at making or repairing things. Under the house was a basement, a solid construction lined with thick concrete. Which was how the family unit had survived the initial disaster, well stocked with various tools and many other things, most of which Blondie didn't recognise. Blondie had shown Niki how the unserviceable firearms were dismantled then explained what each part did and the issues with each weapon, the sharply intelligent girl had busied herself making replacement parts and soon they had built a half-decent arsenal.

When Blondie was satisfied that the only accessible path in to the hollow was rigged with alarms, she began to train Niki, showing her how to read spoor and follow her prey, be it animal for food or human to kill. Then teaching her how to fight with her bare hands, knives, staves and finally firearms.

Now, several years later the teenager had blossomed in to full womanhood, her body sculpted by Blondie's rigorous training routine in to lean, hard muscle. Unlike Blondie, who was comfortable in loose fitting clothing that allowed full free movement, Niki had made herself figure hugging attire that emphasised her figure. She wore her jet-black hair trimmed short around her angular face in a way that accented her looks. Blondie often frowned upon Niki's choice of attire, worrying that the younger women would draw too much attention to the fact she was a very attractive female and therefore open to unwanted attention. In response, Niki would get angry and swear that she wasn't going to behave differently just because there were people out in the world who deserved a bullet in the head more than the air they breathed. Now, Blondie still disapproved of how Niki dressed and acted but unsure of what she could do to change her mind, settled for frowning but keeping her opinion to herself. Things were less tense that way.

For reasons only know to herself, Niki had become attached to the shotgun that she had used to defend her father and mother. It was now heavily modified by having the barrel and stock cut down, making it easier to handle whilst remaining lethal at short range. She now carried the weapon in a hand tooled holster strapped to her right thigh. It wasn't going to be a quick draw weapon, but it would ruin the day of anyone in front of her when she fired it. Whatever her reason, Niki kept the weapon always to hand and possibly kept it in her bed when she slept, or so Blondie thought. Since then they had progressed to longer range weapons, assault rifles first, then finally sniper rifles.

"You aren't going to shoot at the target," Blondie instructed, her voice still soft and even, "You're going to reach out and touch it, the bullet an extension of your fingers." She took a second to glance away from the powerful binoculars that were focused on the intended target, to check on Niki's demeanour. The dark-haired woman looked relaxed and casual behind the large rifle. The weapon had been a very valuable find. They had been scavenging a site that was thought to have been a military establishment in the hope of picking up a few unnoticed items. Once again Niki's skills had paid dividends when she had managed to breach a thick steel door they had uncovered. The small room beyond must have been a store or maybe a supply cache as it contained the M82a and a few other weapons along with a decent amount of ammunition. Even though the anti-material rifle was nearly as long as Niki was tall, she had fallen in love with the heavy weapon and had spent hours stripping it down and carefully cleaning every part until it looked and worked as good as new.

The boom of the fifty-calibre rifle firing echoed across the plain, the sound travelling far too slowly to keep up with the heavy slug as it punched a fist sized hole in the oil drum they had chosen as a target.

From where they lay, nearly nine hundred meters away, Blondie watched the steel drum rock as the round struck it, dead centre of the white painted cross. A very rare smile graced Blondie's pale lips. She glanced over to Niki again, the younger woman's deep brown eyes shining with joy at her achievement while her dark lips formed a grin that showed her white teeth.

"We'd better head back." Blondie smiled again then nodded towards the gathering dark clouds on the horizon. "Looks like there's a bad storm heading in."

With Niki's light artillery rifle packed away and slung across her back, the pair made their walk back towards the homestead, ensuring they kept to the varied route, so they left as little evidence of their passing as possible. Blondie preferred to walk in silence, relying on all her senses to warn her of imminent danger, but while she walked her mind began to wander, crossing over the same ground she had covered many times before in the last few years.

Niki.

More importantly, the deeply disturbing feelings she had about her. It wasn't as if she was attracted to her, but the way Niki acted sometimes raised feelings that she struggled to interpret and left her feeling confused and angry. An anger that often bubbled over and resulted in her lashing out at Niki for minor mistakes. Those actions just made her angrier with herself and resulted in her withdrawing further in to her shell.

Blondie had begun to fear that Niki was her weakness.

Forked lightening was splitting the sky and banks of angry grey black clouds rolled overhead. Blondie as always checked the tripwires that would indicate if anyone had passed in to the hollow while they were away. Once satisfied no one had, they scrambled down in to the hollow as the first drops of rain began to fall. Niki squealing as the cold heavy rain bounced off the exposed skin of her shoulders.

Pulling the younger woman closer, Blondie draped her rain poncho over Niki's back to afford her a little shelter, then they tucked their heads down and the pair ran to the door of the house and under the shelter of the overhanging porch. Niki was giggling as the taller Blondie fumbled with the locks then opened the door to let them enter.

"We timed that just right." Niki said as the door closed behind them, her dark hair plastered to her head and a broad grin on her face.

Managing her own stiff smile in return, Blondie slipped the G36 off her shoulder and laid it on the long table that dominated the large square hallway before shrugging her poncho over her head and hanging it to dry.

"Thanks for today Bea," Niki beamed again, "You're a great instructor."

In reply Blondie forced a smile to her lips. "I knew you could do it, you just had to believe you could."

A tiny frown crease Niki's brow, then she grinned again as she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around Blondie's waist. "You're a grumpy bear, but I do like you."

The proximity of Niki's body to her own caused Blondie to tense up, her entire frame going rigid. Her heart pounded in her chest and a disturbing sensation made her stomach flip over and over. More in panic than logical thought she pushed the smaller woman away.

The frown across Niki's brow returned, its furrows deeper than before. "When will you tell me what your problem is Bea?" Her voice edged with confusion and hurt.

As before the feelings of anger and resentment, mixed in with the defence mechanism she had carried for too many years, boiled deep in her soul. "Just don't touch me," she replied, her voice hardly above a whisper.

"Why wont you let me in?" Niki asked, her tone one of concern as she reached out a hand.

Vivid flashbacks flitted through Blondie's mind, too numerous and too rapid to comprehend, but jumbling Blondie's already dazed and confused head. Her heart thumped against her ribcage as the demon that resided inside her fought to be free.

She felt Niki's hand touched her chest and the demon snarled, begging to be allowed to strike out. Blondie thrust the hand away, but immediately regretting her harsh action. "Sorry," She mumbled, "Just not good company right now."

The expression of hurt and confusion was replaced with one of sadness as Niki nodded. "That's okay Bea, why don't you go and rest, I'll make coffee."

Nodding thanks, Blondie removed herself from the room, her fists clenching and unclenching, her breathing ragged and uneven.

Once inside her own room, Blondie closed the door slipping the bolt to secure it. With that done she hastily stripped off her jacket, then tugged her tee-shirt over her head. With her upper body exposed, Blondie dropped to her knees, the blackened steel combat knife slipping in to her hand as if it belonged there. Her jaw clenched tightly, teeth grinding against each other as she placed the razor-sharp edge against the flesh over her ribs. Her hand moved slowly, drawing a thin red line in the blades wake.

The physical pain gave Blondie something real to focus on. Closing her eyes Blondie turned her energy inwards, mentally quenching the fire that burned inside her. She could feel blood seeping down her flank, and she relished the sensation until the demon retreated, defeated once more. Slowly Blondie breathed out, expelling the held breath, releasing the tension that had built inside her. With her self-control restored, Blondie placed a clean cloth against the self-inflicted cut to staunch the flow of blood, knowing that it would heal leaving a slight scar. One more scar that would sit in place with the multitude that covered her torso, arms and thighs.

Better her flesh than Niki's she thought.