A Lawless Land

Memories Of Times Past

Two years earlier...

"So, when's the big day?"

Blythe looked across the table at her best friend, Peyton, and shrugged, "we're going to talk about it when he gets back from Texas. I just can't believe it's already been this long. It seems like just yesterday that I met him in basic training. Time sure flies."

"I can't believe he's finally settling down. I still wish you had a more romantic story about how you two met. It would make for a much nicer wedding toast," Peyton laughed.

"Come on, it could be romantic, you just have to word it right," Blythe protested.

"Okay, let's see," Peyton spoke in a low voice, trying to sound masculine, "I remember, to this day, the first moment I laid eyes on Blythe, our fingers touched as we reached for the same toilet brush."

They burst into fits of laughter, Blythe dabbed the tears from her eyes with a napkin, "okay, you've made your point. There's nothing romantic about latrine duty. But we've had plenty of other sweet moments to make up for that."

"I just hope Raleigh realizes how lucky he is. No other woman would be as patient and light-hearted about it as you have been," Peyton smirked.

"Well it's not about how we met anyway. Dustin is a wonderful man who I'm thrilled I'll get to spend the rest of my life with," she beamed.

>>>Stop worrying about me babe, I'll get better, and stronger. As long as I've got you, nothing is impossible" he smiled affectionately, half of his face was wrapped in bandages.

Blythe gently touched his cheek, trying to hold back the tears, "is that a promise?"

"I'm Dustin Raleigh, I'm unstoppable. You have my word Blythe" he kissed her hand then started to doze off.

He seemed so sure he was going to make it, but not many soldiers survived a mine field. Dustin already lost some limbs and a lot of blood, she wanted to believe him, but she couldn't.

She sat up with a start as she heard a click. Someone had another gun pointed at her. Duke was already on his feet, growling at the man. Queen kicked the gun out of his hand and pressed a knife to his throat.

"So the stories are true?" He laughed awkwardly.

She recognized him as one of Leo's men and rolled her eyes, "this again? When will you people leave me in peace?" She put her knife away and picked up his gun, "Brent, is it?"

"Yeah, Pauline is my sister. Do you actually have a scar on your forehead? What's it from?" He persisted.

Queen handed his gun back to him and refused to answer his questions, "why'd you put your gun on me?"

"Because I wanted to see for myself if you really had lightning quick reflexes. I wasn't really going to use it on you," Brent assured her.

"Normally I wouldn't have waited to find out, you could be dead right now, you should be more careful," Queen warned ominously.

"Wow, you really are scary, that's awesome," he beamed.

Queen gave him an irritable expression, "how old are you?"

"21, why?"

"Because you sound like a 12 year old. Go away" she leaned over the lake's edge and splashed some water onto her face.

Brent still stood there and watched her. She was getting more annoyed by the second. She used a bandana to pat dry her face, then turned to Brent again.

"I said go away, leave me alone," she snapped.

Brent was like a puppy, a big, annoying, yappy puppy. He just tilted his head at her and started asking more questions. Queen wasn't going to put up with it.

"Brent, go away now, or I'll be gone by the morning. I will choose one question to answer, and I will only give it to you while everyone, including myself, are doing something productive. Will that suffice?" Queen said through clenched teeth, trying not to lose her temper.

Brent finally got the hint, "oh, okay. Sorry I bothered you."

He took off and she was alone again, much to her relief. She wanted to keep to herself as much as possible, but she would be around these people for a while and they were bound to learn some things about her anyway.

Queen didn't sleep much that night, but she was accustomed to it. The next morning, Leo gave her the names of people who could help fix the wall. She gathered them together while she left Leo to be cared for by Pauline.

While they were pulling off the burnt, crumbling sections of the wall, Brent looked over at her expectantly. Queen saw it and sighed.

"You asked if I really had a scar on my forehead..." She turned to face him and swept her hair away from her face, revealing a round scar on her forehead. "There's your answer, now get back to work."

Brent nodded and went back to his task of moving the damaged wood. After a few days, they finally finished taking out the bad sections and went on to the woods to chop down some trees.

Leo came out to see how it was coming along. Pauline was always on his heels, and answered his every beck and call, hoping it would be enough to finally make him see how she felt about him.

He could see the burns on Queen's arms more clearly in the daylight, but she swung an axe without delay and was able to keep up with the men, and sometimes was even faster. He could picture her in a military uniform and knew that had to be where she came from.

"Very impressive Queen, you were able to get them all on the same page. Perhaps you were once a commanding officer?" He grinned.

She ignored him, but could feel everyone's eyes on her. She cringed inside.

"Lord, are you people nosy. We need to stay on track here" she stated aggressively, as she swung the axe into the tree trunk again.

Pauline could see the admiration in his eyes and felt the sting deep in her soul. As she helped him back to his house, she made up her mind to do something about it.

She helped him lie down on his sofa and smiled sweetly at him, "Leo, are you comfortable?"

He closed his eyes and nodded, "yes, thank you Pauline."

She leaned over his head and ran her fingers through his hair, then she kissed his forehead. Leo opened his eyes and grabbed her hands.

"What are you trying to do Pauline?" He furrowed his brows, trying to read her face.

"You haven't acknowledged any of my advances, so I'm just going to be direct. I love you, Leo," Pauline's lip started to quiver, "could you love me?"

Leo sighed, "you're a wonderful young woman, but no, I couldn't. I just don't have those type of feelings for you, I'm sorry. Maybe if things were different, another time, another place, but they're not."

Pauline's eyes welled up, "but why not? What's wrong with me?"

He sat up and put a hand on her shoulder, "absolutely nothing. You shouldn't want to be with someone like me. I'll never be able to commit to you."

"What does that mean? I'm so confused" she cried.

He sighed again, "listen, plain and simple, I don't love you, I can't love you. That's all there is to it."

Pauline stood up angrily and ran out of the house with her face buried in her hands. She almost ran into Queen as she was making her way up to Leo's house.

She knocked on the door as she entered, walking in on Leo trying to remove his shirt, "what's going on? Pauline is supposed to be taking care of you."

"I don't think that's such a good idea anymore... Do you mind?" He said as he was trying to untangle himself from his shirt.

Queen shook her head and reached out to help him, "and why isn't it a good idea?"

"She admitted to loving me, it completely caught me by surprise. I may have been a bit more harsh than I intended to be" he tried to joke it off, but failed at it.

"This is the type of ridiculous drama I warned her about," Queen muttered.

"She told you?"

"Yeah, the other night. I'm trying to stay out of it, but she's not making it easy. I suppose I'll have to have a talk with her. I'll find you someone else though," Queen threw the soiled shirt to the side and grabbed his clean one.

Leo observed her as she helped him put his shirt on, "you're really good at this, couldn't you just do it?"

She felt her face heat up, "no, someone has to keep these people on task. As soon as that wall is fixed, and I find a capable person to look after you, I need to go."

"Why is it so important for you to go? Aren't you tired of always being on the move? We could really use someone like you," he insisted.

"I can't stay, I have my own plan to follow. I've been hindered here long enough" she finished buttoning his shirt and took a step back, "do you need anything else right now?"

"No. Did you come here for a reason?"

She put her hands on her hips, "I always have a reason. I came here to check on you, then let you know that we're done for the day. We accomplished a lot and we'll get right back at it first thing in the morning. Now if there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

She was about to leave when he stopped her, "wait, have you eaten anything? Pauline made some soup, would you like some?"

She shook her head, "no, thank you. Goodnight Officer Sheffield."

The internal bleeding had started again. The doctor and nurses came running in, pushing Blythe out of the way.

"Doctor! His heart rate!" It was dropping rapidly.

They kicked her out of the room as they tried to revive him. Time froze, all of their memories came pouring into her each time they tried shocking him back to life. Tears streamed down her face as she remembered his last words, then a flat line. He was gone.

A week later, she stood at his grave. A part of her had died with him. She didn't know how she could go on without him.

Peyton put an arm around her and gave her a squeeze, "if you ever need anything, Blythe, please, don't hesitate to call me. Once again, I'm so sorry."

Several weeks later, Peyton was deployed to help with medical efforts overseas. Shortly after, Blythe received news that her best friend had been killed. The hospital she was assigned to had been blown up by a terrorist attack. She was completely numb inside as she sat with Peyton's family at her memorial service. It was a cruel, merciless world to live in. She hated it. What was the point in living if there was no longer anything to live for?

Queen was still in the grass where she was lying down. Wide awake, yet again. She turned onto her side and looked over at Duke. He must've been having a nightmare, judging by the way he was whimpering in his sleep. She reached over and rested a hand on his head, instantly calming him.

She couldn't understand why so many people kept depending on her, expecting her to do the right thing. She didn't want to be the one who always saved and protected them. She had been that way before, and it left her with nothing. She couldn't stop herself though, as much as she wished she could.