They walked until they came to an opening of Ghost Woods. The trees, only now beginning to yellow, clouded Nathan's mind with color. He plucked a leaf with a very long stem and wound it into Alex's hair.

"What is that?" she asked, touching the accessory.

Nathan stopped her from removing it and caressed her cheek. "You look like Nimueh."

"I thought we were just hanging out," she said.

"Hey. Hanging out's a whole level past talking." Nathan kissed her hand. Like the sun poking out from behind a cloud, she smiled, exuding pure, unadulterated radiance.

"We should talk, Alex."

"We will. But first, let's go deeper in."

"I'll take you to the old hideout."

"That sounds perfect."

A chill rushed through the trees and a bird sent a high-pitched shriek through the canopy above. He took her deep beyond the maze of pines until they reached the hollow beneath the hill. He showed her the barracks hideout there, the dark cavern caged by the exposed roots of an uprooted tree. He huddled over on his cane, reached in and grabbed a stick. When Alex looked ready, he tossed it to her and she caught it mid-air.

"These were our swords," he explained. "We carried these around, smacking the trees like they were battle dummies. Oh, actually, that one you're holding is a mace."

Alex swung the imaginary mace around with smiley enthusiasm. She ducked into the hideout and exchanged it for a gnarled rod that had a top like a claw. Its thorn-shaped fingers clutched a pinecone. She stood there, holding it gently as if it were made of glass.

"Nice choice. That's the healing rod."

"Does it work?" Alex asked.

"Of course," Nathan said. "Originally it was just a wizard staff, but we found this stray whose tail had been cut off. The tail had already healed, but the cat had bad balance and was really skittish. It scoped us out for weeks before it was willing to take any food from us. When it finally came close, Tom started waving the staff over the cat's head to get it to come up on its hind legs and bat at it. Eventually, his balance improved and he was jumping from the tree to tree like a monkey. And from then on, this was the healing rod."

"And which one of you carried this?"

"Neither of us wanted to be healer. So nobody did."

"Well, you're in luck then," she said, wielding the healing rod like a baton. "I happen to be trained in the art of healing." She waved the rod all along his left side and pointed it down at his leg.

Nathan took the rod from her. "It's cold out here," he said. "Do you want my sweater?"

"But then you'll be cold." She turned on her toe, skipping further into the woods. "Show me the witch's noose!" she called back to him. He had forgotten that long ago he told her about the witch's noose. It was really just a rope swing hanging from a bent tree.

"Take the trail North. I'll cover your six."

Sunken branches required them to duck. Sharp edges pulled at Nathan's T-shirt and left thin lines of inflamed flesh on his arms. He followed Alex down the trail, watching the shape of her hips in his dark green sweats. They reminded him almost of woodland fatigues. The fabric hugged her thighs as she stepped over a tree root.

A branch caught in her hair, dislodging the pins that held her braids. One side came loose and hung prettily against her face. Color rose in her cheeks and forehead as she checked her braids with her hand.

"Leave it," said Nathan. "Or better yet, take it down."

He reached for the pins in her hair. She stepped away, giggling. "No."

"I'd give anything for you to take those pins out."

Alex grabbed the chain around her neck and pulled his dog tags from out the front of her dress. "I've already got these."

"Is there something else you want?"

"Well," she said meekly. "Can I have your sweater?"

Nathan laughed at her as he brought the sweater over his head and handed it over. She crawled inside, pulling the sleeves down around her hands and covering her nose with them.

She unraveled a single braid and flaunted a coy smile.

"One sweater gets you one braid."

"What else can I give you?" he asked.

Alex took his hand and led him into a warm patch of light on the forest floor. "Close your eyes."

He did.

"Make me a vow, O valorous knight. To follow your quest, to uphold your the laws of honor and chivalry. To protect those who cannot protect themselves until your servitude is ended by your death."

"I will, my lady." He kissed her and began removing the pins from her plaited hair. The locks unleashed the perfume of her shampoo. He held her close, but as much as he wanted her, the sweet perfume of lavender was too similar to jasmine. The taste turned to death in his mouth and he pulled away.

"I found something of yours beneath the oak tree," he said. Reaching into his pocket, he produced a cloth daisy. "Did you convene with the witches, fair maid?"

Alex took the daisy and tucked it in her dress pocket. "I did. And I have no regrets. For once, I wasn't afraid of the forest. I let it in."

"Was it one of them who took you to that motel?"

"It was."

"And they gave you heroin?"

"I asked for it. I couldn't sleep. The chems I took made me lose my mind."

"Who are they, Alex? I need to know."

"Shh," she whispered. "Did you hear that?"

Nathan stopped to listen. He heard voices just beyond a mess of branches, young people shouting in animal calls like birds and coyotes.

"Nathan?" Alex clung to him. "I'm scared."

There was a loud popping. Alex jumped, gasping. Shots fired.

"Shh. Be like Enide. Don't make a sound," Nathan said.

"Enide?"

The trees rustled like confetti. The enemy was near and Nathan could hear the mechanical hiss from their walkie-talkies.

"Someone there?" a voice asked.

"I could have sworn I heard someone," another answered.

"Yeah, well, they don't call it Ghost Woods for nothing," the first muttered. Nathan felt his chest tighten. He was remembering a moment when he and Steiner got separated from their team and had to crawl past a sniper.  He waited for the footsteps to fade and soon after that, the memory faded as well.

"Was that gunfire? What did you mean by that? Be like Enide?" Alex whispered.

"Erec and Enide is about a knight and his lady who travel through the forest on a great adventure. We're kind of like them, moving through dangerous territory, surrounded by enemies." Nathan took her hand and they headed in a new direction away from the noise of strangers.

"I don't know that one," Alex confessed.

"Ah, well, they say Enide was more beautiful than Guenevere herself. Erec rescued her from poverty after defeating the knight Yder. After they married, Enide worried that Erec had lost his sense of adventure. She felt guilty and became depressed. Finally Erec told her to prepare for travel, and together they traversed a dangerous forest to go to distant lands. During the journey, Erec commanded Enide to be silent throughout and to follow his orders, because he was afraid they would be attacked. Enide tried her best, but she couldn't help but speak on a few accounts."

"We should be quiet now," said Alex.

"You're so like Enide. The only reason she talked was to warn Erec and keep him safe."

"Then let's be quiet and get out of here."

Nathan held a branch back for her, going on with his story. "Erec was upset with her, but he got over it because he knew she was only trying to help." They walked for a while, and he continued the tale of Erec and Enide.

"Then this evil count saw Enide and fell in love with her. He killed Erec, abducted Enide, and forced her to marry him."

"Hey Nathan," Alex said, looking around at their surroundings. "I think we walked in a circle."

A bullet whizzed past their heads, accompanied by laughter. Alex screamed. Nathan turned and saw her frozen like a statue, the front of her sweater stained red. She leaned back against a tree, gasping. Her red fingertips trembled in front of her eyes.

"It's paint," she said, but her voice was muffled by the automatic weapons firing in Nathan's head. Nathan dropped his cane.

Another shot came out of the brush. Voices chanted in the distance. A bullet bit Nathan's shoulder, dripping green puss down his arm. He followed the sound of fire to a group of young people wearing ski masks and holding guns. They dispersed at the sight of him, but he managed to catch one by his collar and shove him up against a tree.

"You think that's funny?" Nathan shouted. The kid scratched at Nathan's arms and writhed in his grip. "You think shooting civilians is fucking funny?"

The kid wheezed and smacked Nathan's wrist with the flats of his hands, his eyes wide and feral.

Nathan squished the boy's windpipe under his vice grip as he lifted him an inch off the ground. The boy kicked his feet, but as the air went out of his throat, he fell limp.

Alex's scream filled Nathan's head. A white flash descended on him and he could hear the men crying 'God is Greater' in Arabic. The smoke cleared just in time to see Bright beside him, blood sputtering out the holes in his chest. He was drowning in his own blood and making the same awful noise as this kid. Desert wind blew through the Humvee. The memory rang so strongly in Nathan's mind he could feel the sand in his teeth.

"Get back!" he roared and launched Alex into a tree. His frenzy burned red hot in his gums and with an open mouth he squeezed the life from the enemy. The boy's eyes were practically popping out of his head.

Alex hit Nathan over the back with his own cane to no avail. Finally she delivered a swift kick into the back of his leg. The prosthesis slipped out of position and Nathan crumbled into the dirt. His prosthetic fell out the bottom of his pants leg. Alex screamed.

The boy collapsed beside him, struggling for breath. He ripped off his ski mask, spilling a man of long chestnut brown hair. It was a girl, a teenager.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked her. The girl reached into her pocket and pulled out an inhaler. After taking a puff, she ran.

Alex's nose was bleeding and her lip was split down the middle. She looked at Nathan with a face of terror and outrage. "You lost your leg?" She scoffed, pacing in a circle. "You..." She trailed off, watching him in amazement as he broke his prosthesis into its basic parts. Nathan rolled up his pants leg and began replacing his silicon sock around his stump.

"Why didn't you tell me they had to amputate?" She cast her eyes down at the ground, waiting as Nathan finished fitting the socket to his residual limb. "Nathan."

"Just shut up!" he yelled. He held both sides of his head and screamed. "My hand twitches; my face twitches; my foot that isn't there twitches and cramps... Sometimes in the middle of the night, I get out of bed to take a piss and I fall on my fucking face!" He covered his eyes with his hands, hyperventilating and shaking with grief. "My leg is in a mass grave all mixed up with the parts of other dead and dismembered men. So I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I'm sorry you're so fucking shocked."

Alex broke the chain around her neck and handed him his tags. "I don't deserve these."

"I want you to have them."

"I don't want them."

This unleashed his rage. He wanted to hurt her, wanted to feel her heart break in his hands. He grabbed her arm and yanked her toward him. She screamed and writhed to get away, but he squeezed her against him, crushing her ribs as he raided the pockets of her dress.

"Don't!" she cried.

He found a small handful of pink pills and threw them into the dirt. "This is all you want anymore, right? God damn junkie. You're right. You don't deserve shit." He pushed her forward. She faltered, landing on her knees. There was no truth in anything he believed about her. The delusions of her virtue had been stripped away.

She ran from him, and as she disappeared into the trees, he gathered his pills out of the dirt.

"So Mr. and Mrs. Pacman are getting marriage counseling—" The day of the accident exploded through Nathan's brain like a shotgun blast.

He was blinking through darkness, a ringing sound in his ears. That ringing was accompanied by the sound of Christian's screams coming into focus.

"Steiner? Steiner?!"

Bright choked on blood as he gasped and wriggled his finger stubs in front of him. The image of blood spread through Nathan's mind like paint spilling across a map. For his men, it wasn't just paint. And there was no end to the torment and brutality overseas. Nathan pocketed his dog tags and propelled himself forward with his cane.

_________________________________

Music: Muse "Reapers"

"Home is a killing field"

Oof. Another long chapter. All right spark noters. Here's the synopsis. Nathan and Alex head in to ghost woods where they run into kids playing paintball. It triggers a flashback and Nathan almost chokes out a hapless paintballer. Alex tries to stop him and he knocks her into a tree. He confirms his suspicions that she stole pain pills from his room.