I'll take the Garand

“Good choice,” Kevlokk picks one of the rifles from the racks and checks if it is empty before handing it to you. “Familiar with the manual of arms?”

“I’ve been doing work with a Mauser lately, but having something like this might be nice.” You Take the rifle and aim, aligning the sights.

“‘Might be, he says.” Kevlokk walks over to a drawer and picks out an m-block clip full of black-tipped bullets. “No offense to your beloved Mauser rifle, but this is much more practical for combat.”

“We’re not going into combat,” Clova says. “Just making hunting contracts, remember?”

“You don’t know what’s out there,” Kevlokk. “You’re always going into combat for all you know.”

Clova doesn’t have a counter-argument, so she remains silent. You and Kevlokk go over field striping, reloading, and over the basics of the weapon. After leaving Kevlokk’s tent, you and Clova return to the hotel. The first stop is your room. You go there and collect your things before you both go to the top floor. There are a few unique suites there that Clova has been stowed away in. Since the WRP was under operational status… you tried to talk to her about what happened, but she shrugged off your attempts every time.

She goes to the bathroom, so you spend a few minutes exploring the suite. A TV with no channels. A radio with no channels. An empty refrigerator occupies the kitchen, and dusty furniture decorates the room. A wide window overlooks the city, giving you a complete view of the theater, the walls surrounding the town, and the traffic below. The carpet is spongy beneath your feet and smells old, just like the other rooms you went into.

Clova has been living here all alone, and it’s obvious. She must spend all of her free time outside to keep herself from going crazy. You feel kind of bad, but you know you shouldn’t dig into her personal life. So you take your Garand and begin practicing with it before bringing it to the table to field strip and tinker. It takes you a little longer than you would have liked on your own, but before Clova leaves the bathroom to regroup with you, you have your rifle stripped and presented in front of you.

“Ayye,” Clova cheers. “Good job, rook. You’re on top of it!”

Her smile is dull, and her eyes aren’t lively. Everything she just did seemed ****. Finally, she sits beside you and leans back with her eyes closed. “I love the sound of a gun getting stripped and outback together, don’t let my presents stop you from practicing and becoming perfect.”

You lean towards your pieces and try to put it all back together…it’s a process that takes you almost 30 minutes and some cursing. Finally, you do a function check and place it on the table. “Fuck, man.”

A small giggle comes out from your right. It’s Clova. “I thought you were gonna have to bring it back to Kevlokk tomorrow.”

“Never had the chance to explore the platform before,” you look at the rifle on the table. It’s handsome, and you know the history of the gun. You can’t help but appreciate the tool. “Helpfully, we’ll get through the contract before I need to clean it.”

“I wouldn’t worry about the contract,” Clova opened one eye and sized you for a second before closing again. “It isn’t until the 16th of October. That’s more than two weeks away. So relax and get used to it.”

“Why such a long wait?”

“It was just me. No one wants to tire out their last member. Though. Honestly speaking. 2 isn’t much better than 1.”

“It’s a start, though, isn’t it?” You ask.

She groans as she moves her joints. “Weather’s about to shit on us, so don’t expect there ever to be a third.”

Her pale skin, jet black hair, and oddly colored eyes reminded you to have someone, but you couldn’t pin who. You had questions, though they were accompanied by doubt. She might not talk about it, and there's a chance you could make things weird…

“Don’t get personal with me,” she says as if realizing what’s in your mind. “Small talk or bed. Your choice.”