His Unknown Family

Port Farrall wasn't the ideal place anyone had in mind after Jacinto sunk. It might've been nice before Emergence Day but now during Frost it was just an icy hellhole full of Jacinto's remnant, most of what's left of the human race.

It's a hard life; I'm pretty surprised that any of us survived through all these years. The Hammer of Dawn counterattack left many Serans, including me, Stranded. Left for dead. Homeless. I managed to make it to Jacinto, though, along with my 3 year old son, Dolan. But I was still looked down upon as a thief when all I wanted was food for him. We survived on the hospitality of those still humane, who still had that little bit of human in them after losing so much.

But it was the COG's last ditch effort to recruit Stranded that ultimately saved me. Without their Operation Lifeboat program, I wouldn't be here at all. As soon as Dolan was old and able-bodied enough I signed him up for it. He'd be well-fed, and I'd get enough to get by every day.

Now I'm sitting by myself outside of our housing area in Sector Alpha-Two. The two layers of jackets that I'm wearing aren't doing much to protect me from the cold but I'm forcing myself to stay out until I see that Dolan comes back from the patrol in one piece. Twenty minutes ago the ground began to shake, and his squad was the first to respond to the emergence hole. A King Raven was sent right after them and soon some Armadillos followed. How long can they possibly take?

The familiar chakka-chakka-chakka sound of the Raven shakes me awake and aware and the helicopter appears overhead, preparing to land. I stand up, crossing my arms, waiting to see my son come my way. The Gears all look alike with their helmets on but Dolan's always the last one off.

I run towards him and give him a hug but he doesn't return it. I could see a bloodied body behind him and I recognize it as Justin, his last surviving friend from his previous squad.

Dolan takes off his helmet and stares coldly at the ground. He has my brown eyes and my black hair but his personality is totally different from mine. He acts just like his father, and he loves machines just as much. What makes him different is that even if he doesn't show it, he still gives a damn about people. We leave in silence to get dinner, Gears carrying the body out behind us.

We've been here a week, hoping to find his father. He always bothered for his name but I never gave it to him and so he couldn't ask around.

Last I heard from the bastard was the day his parents forced him to join the COG Army in order for him to gain his inheritance. He left me pregnant, and his parents didn't do jackshit to help me.

But somehow I still hope to see Damon Baird. Besides Dolan, I was alone. In one day my whole family and anyone close to being called family was dead. Damon's the only other familiar face that could still be around.

The 'cafeteria' is high school all over again: Stranded at one section, everyone else away from them. Dolan and I take our dinner back to the barracks.

A black Gear is sitting at the table without his helmet, writing something, and doesn't seem to pay attention to us. But I politely ask anyway if he minds us eating here. He looks up and cracks the biggest smile I'd ever seen, shaking his head no. The Gear takes the paper and stuffs it inside of his armor.

I save some room on the bed for Dolan to sit but instead he sets his dinner on the table and drags a chair to the opposite side of the Gear. I can see excitement in his eyes, like he'd already forced himself to forget about Justin's death.

"You're Augustus Cole! The Cole Train, right?" he asks excitedly. His mood has definitely changed.

I'm startled by the booming laughter of Cole. It was the strangest thing, seeing someone so positive after all that's happened. I actually admired it.

"That's right, baby! Number 83 on the field, now a COG soldier kicking grub ass!"

Cole continued talking about his thrashball career through dinner and how he was trying to teach the children how to play it. "I got scared, though, cause they all skin and bones. And the ground's so frozen solid that I thought if they fell they'd just break. If they threw the ball hard enough, they'd bruise. Maybe when it's Bloom…"

He was starting to ask Dolan about us when the door opened and the wind blew in. The three of us turn our attention to another Gear.

"Cole, have you seen my goggles? I swear to God, if you gave them to those little sh-

He stops midsentence. Though a scarf covers the lower part of his face, I could see the same blue eyes from the day I met him staring into mine. After all these years I still don't know what I was suppose to do. Do I walk up to him and hug him? Half of me says to do it, the other wants me to walk up to him and slap him in the face. But I do neither and he backs out the door.

"What was that all about?" Dolan asks. He looks at me as if he has a feeling that the awkward staring was because of me.

Cole waves a hand. "That's Baird. It's normal, he hates people."

I smile, hiding my worry, and Dolan follows my lead. I stand up to bring my plate back to the cafeteria but instead I dump it outside beside the door and look for Damon. He didn't go too far. I find him sitting on the ground with his back against an Armadillo, head in his hands.

I walk up to him, cocking my head to the side to see if I could see his face. I bend down and give him a hug accompanied by a kiss on the cheek but there is no reaction. He only looks up and then back down to the ground.

"I see that you're still an asshole after all this time," I tell him. He remains silent. I set myself on the ground in front of him and continue. "You know that's your son back there? His name's Dolan. Dolan Toles. He's 19 and a COG soldier like his father. He's been wondering where the hell you've been. Have you even tried to find me?"

Damon looks to his side. "Well? Don't you have anything to say?"

I've never seen him this quiet before. His mouth was always going off with witty remarks to everything except what I'm saying now. I stretch my hand out to pat his knee but he pushes it away.

"What the hell do you want me to say? Sorry?" He scoffs when I shrug my shoulders. "Well, sorry! I fucking thought you were dead along with my parents, all right? And now you're here, with him… and…"

He takes a breath and shakes his head. It came to me that I sounded like I was blaming him. "Goddammit, Damon, you're not getting it. I don't want your apology, I want you to look our son in the eyes and tell him everything - where you've been, what the hell happened. I want him to know you. That's all I want from you."

Damon keeps his head down. The snow crunches behind me. I turn around to see Dolan, then back at the blonde. They both stare at each other but it's my son - our son - who breaks the silence.

"Baird, right? I'm Private Dolan Toles," he says with a shy wave.

Damon looks at me expressionless, and after giving him a reassuring nod he stands up, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Not anymore."