Pepper couldn’t help but laugh at Amprage. His familiar was dancing around uncontrollably and had also started spinning in circles due to the sheer excitement. “Where is she? Why isn’t she here yet? It said her plane landed nearly 17 minutes and 34 seconds ago!”

  Pepper cocked his head to the side as he stared down in judgement. “That’s a pretty precise guess you have there, Amp.”

  “I started an internal timer once the display board changed her flight status to arrived.” It wasn’t even ten seconds later that Amprage exclaimed. “There she is!”

  Pepper shifted his gaze up and saw Andrea come into view from around the corner. Her blond hair was draped off to one side and covered her left shoulder. Her neon pink sweatshirt and skin tight blue jeans were exactly what Pepper had guessed she would wear. Their eyes met when Andrea had finished scanning over the group of people waiting for their loved ones and caught his gaze. Her face beamed with a loving smile but grew even larger when the two realized Amprage had taken off in a dead sprint for her.

  The familiar bolted straight across the red security line and a cacophony of alarm bells and red warning lights erupted with life. In the blink of an eye a small explosion set off to the right side of the security corridor. A giant nylon netting had shot out from a concealed launcher and had now wrapped itself around Amprage and pinned the familiar against the far wall.

  The metal dog was flailing about and was so dazed and confused over what had occurred, that it started to shout warnings to Andrea and Pepper to seek safety. Amprage appeared to have been under the impression that there was a surprise demonic attack and continued to yell out reassurances that he would defend them once he escaped from his current predicament.

  Pepper was about to run forward and assist in freeing his familiar, but came to a skidded halt within an inch of the security line. The older security guard stood up from her chair and lifted a single finger up towards him. Her face had a scowl which warned that her patience reservoir was now depleted and the last thing she wanted to deal with was the three of them.

  Though it should have taken them only another minute to wait for Andrea to arrive, Amprage extended that entire ordeal by two hours as they each had to be interviewed by everyone including the security company, law enforcement, homeland security who was also accompanied by a military member, and finally, a janitor. The last individual left Pepper confused when he first entered the room, but the deadpan questions made him realize it was all for safety measures. They had wanted to ensure Amprage wasn’t constructed of any materials that could be hazards or reactive when coming into contact with their cleaning agents.

  Due to the scare of it all, Andrea and Pepper had to be separated during questioning. He couldn’t help but feel his blood boil through him when he received the 415 Flex citation. He was told they had gone easy on him and could have easily written a citation five times more severe. Pepper didn’t even want to look at his familiar, but just imagined powering his familiar down for the next year as punishment. “You are grounded from sleeping on the bed.”

  “How could you enact such an autocracy as that!” Amprage rebutted. “I request representation to defend my-”

  “Do you want me to add the sofa’s also?”

  Amprage face seemed to droop and his eyes lowered down. “…No”

  “Then not another word, or else… you’ll be sleeping outside in the rain until I become a Golem Master, or you turn into a rust bucket!”

  “I don’t want to become a rust bucket.”

  “Shut it, Amp!” Pepper’s hands were balled into fists and he stormed out of the room as soon as they said they could leave.

  He hated the fact that his anger was boiling over and it was certainly not the way he had intended to greet his girlfriend. Andrea was already waiting for them outside the private security questioning area and finally wrapped her arms around him once they were reunited. The two stayed in a close embrace until one of the guards nearby muttered out, ‘get a room.’

  The two slowly made their way outside where Pepper ordered them a Buzz Podz. The anger was slowly subsiding as Andrea kept her arm wrapped around him. The gentleness of her touch left him realizing how much he missed their time together.

  Once they were in the cab and on the way back to the house, Pepper soon discovered that Amprage was back to his old self. He had jumped onto Andrea’s lap and remained there in a cuddled-up ball for the rest of the ride home. Andrea than video called her dad to tell him all about their experience to which Austin started to harass Pepper uncontrollably until Andrea insisted he stop.

  The sympathy Andrea had for Pepper was quickly replaced with frustration once they walked through the door. A disgusted expression came over her and she gagged. “What in the world have y’all been doing in here?”

  Pepper looked down at Amprage, the two seemed to have the same puzzled look. “Umm, what exactly are you-”

  “Oh my gosh Pepper! Not only does it stink in here but look at all those dishes in the sink!” Andrea had not even set her bag down, everywhere she looked her face appeared to grow with a horrified look. “Are you serious? Pepper Walker, you have ants in your kitchen!”

  Andrea power walked over to the far corner and pointed directly at the line of critters moving back and forth. She continued to investigate and soon found the discarded remnants of some donut crumbs. “So we’re just okay with living in a pig pen are we?”

  A cold shiver immediately ran down Pepper’s spine and he had a terrified flashback of his mom ripping into him over a chore he had ignored. “It’s not that bad Andrea.”

  By the time Pepper had countered, Andrea had already made it over to the fridge and was inspecting its contents. A second later, her hand plunged into the appliance and withdrew what looked to be a used sock. “Really? Not that bad, explain how a used and dirty sock got into the refrigerator?”

  Pepper sarcastically clapped his hands together and pointed towards her. “You know… this just goes to show that the sock monster, is in fact, a real thing. Who would have ever guessed it’s not actually the dryer but has been the refrigerator this whole time.”

  Andrea scowled at him and Pepper was sure that he was about to be stabbed to death.

  “Okay… okay… I’ll work to be better at keeping the house clean more oft-”

  “Now… We’re cleaning the house, now.”

  Pepper brought his hands up and rubbed his face. “Now?”

  “Now!” Andrea verbally put her foot down and started to dig into the cupboards to find the cleaning supplies they’d need. To Pepper’s surprise, Wilson’s door cracked open. His roommate had tried to come give a warm greeting to Andrea but was quickly commanded to start dusting the entire area before moving onto vacuuming and then mopping.

  Wilson attempted to protest the instruction but immediately found out that nobody counters the orders of Commander Andrea. She had evolved into a full blown, hell bent, Midwest tornado and the best thing for everyone was to either get out of the way or hunker down and wait it out. The multiple hands, however, did help in getting all the chores done and eventually they were able to comfortably settle into Andrea’s presence.

  It also helped that Pepper insisted he take them out for dinner, that way they wouldn’t have to worry about getting any additional dishes dirty. The group had found a small sandwich shop nearby and decided to give it a try. Pepper was thankful that the fresh, hot and salty French fries did the trick in bringing Andrea’s mood back up and her heated anger towards him had simmered considerably.

  The rest of the night he and Andrea spent watching a movie in the living room. Wilson had gone back to his room to play TCG, or live streaming with his fans. But either way Pepper honestly couldn’t complain. Andrea snuggled up close to him and the two remained embraced for the rest of the night.

  ***

  Pepper sprang up from his bed and was gasping for air. It took him a second to take in his surroundings but the jolt which launched him out of his sleep was enough of a disturbance to waken Andrea. He soon felt her gentle touch arrive on his arm while he covered his face with his hands.

  “What’s wrong?” She asked with weariness still on her voice.

  “It was just a nightmare.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I am now… but…” He didn’t know what to say and choose to ignore telling her the details. He lowered himself back down onto the bed and found her snuggling up close to him. Though he lay there for another hour or so, he knew there was no point in attempting to fall back into a dream state. He chose instead to get up and was happy that Andrea had fallen back asleep.

  He gently made his way to the living room and was happy to find it empty. A quick activation of the holoscreen and soon found an old movie playing. He hoped it would draw his attention enough to erase the blurred memory of what he had encountered in his dreamscape.

  By the time the movie was over, Pepper noticed it was just a little bit earlier than when he would normally get up and start his day. He made his way to the kitchen and started to prepare breakfast. He thought he’d surprise Andrea with a breakfast in bed, but that never came to fruition as she slowly staggered out of their room before he had completed the preparations.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  He had just finished swooshing the eggs around in the pan when he felt her arms wrap around him. She latched onto him like a leech and the two giggled as he struggled to navigate the area. Eventually he turned and the two kissed before she made her way over to one of the stools and took a seat across from him.

  “Is there coffee?” She asked while adjusting her hair.

  Pepper reached up into the cupboard and retrieved a black coffee mug. It was only a moment later that he spun around and produced her morning beverage of choice. “Three parts coffee, two parts milk, and forty-eight parts of sugar. Just the way you like it.”

  She formed a playful smile and slowly winked at him. “You know me all too well Pepper Walker.”

  He had learned the mixture from the months spent together during community service. His mind flashed back to a few of the early mornings they had spent at the ranch, but was certainly grateful he no longer had to serve his sentence. He then made their plates and took a seat next to Andrea.

  “So… anything on the agenda for today? Anything special you want to do?” He asked as they each started to dive into the meal.

  “Besides you taking me to a memorial, just spending time with you.”

  Her statement caught him by surprise. She had never mentioned going to such activities before and he was now curious as to why the change of behavior. “Okay then… is there a special occasion or… did I miss something? What’s with the interest in this said memorial?”

  Andrea finished taking a bite from the crunchy piece of bacon he had served her. “It’s a memorial that honors a few of the military units that fought in the Rift Wars. Apparently there is a part dedicated to my dads unit. There is apparently a really nice museum on sight as well and… I dunno. I just feel like it is something we should do.”

  “Well, that certainly does sound interesting. But… sure! If that’s what you want to do, than I am happy to take you to it.”

  “Damn right you are.” She replied with a playful smile. She then reached over and gently rubbed his back with her free hand. “I was reading about it online. It’s actually a very popular attraction and the advice on the forums says to get their early. Sometimes the lines can make you wait for hours to see certain part of it. I want us to get there right at opening so we can see as much of it as possible.”

  “Yes ma’am. Just let me throw on some pants, do my makeup, and do my hair to make me public ready and we can head out.”

  “Oh, whatever Pep… you doing your hair is literally just wearing your baseball cap.”

  “Don’t be giving my secrets out now.” He countered defensively. “I got a legit good system going on here and the last thing I need is for people to know how simple it is to keep this look red carpet ready.”

  “Red carpet? The only pose you know is to cross your arms and grin.”

  “And yet it still won you over, now didn’t it!”

  Andrea rolled her eyes, and she turned and started to gag. The two-play fought for a few minutes before she finally urged them to get ready to head out for the day. To Pepper’s surprise, Andrea’s source of information had been accurate.

  There was already a line of people waiting at the ticket counter by the time they had arrived. There’s already a couple hundred people here. He mentally thought while taking a silent rough count. They didn’t have to wait long as the ticket booth soon opened and started processing the visitors through.

  Their tickets eventually in hand and they walked through a large metal gate. There was a wide stone pathway which weaved through a large garden area. A few rolling green hills were scattered in amongst the multiple garden beds which billowed with multiple-colored flowers and bushes.

  It was clear to Pepper that the statues were the true focal points within the garden though. Every hundred feet and scattered all throughout the area were metal statues shaped in the likeness of soldiers from the rift wars. Many of which had metal name plates and placards, some dedicated to a specific soldier, whereas others were to a specific military unit, or a particular battle.

  Pepper couldn’t help but appreciate the fine craftsmanship which captured the emotions within the facial expressions. The majority of which were of a sorrow and fear he had not experienced, where as some clearly displayed a sense of courage and resilience. He did his best to read over the names on as many placards as possible.

  Airman First Class – Elizabeth N. Jacobson. 341st Global Defense Force. Killed in action when her military convoy was attacked by a demonic force. She was 21 years old. “I also believe in love and here is my quote: ‘We’re only on earth for a little while, so live life to the fullest and carry a smile.”

  Pepper let his fingers gently glide across the name plate. He felt every edge of the lettering underneath while he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Andrea lingered behind and appeared almost fixated on Elizabeth’s statue. He turned back to see that Andrea looked to be gazing back into the statues eyes, as if words we’re be shared but only in spirit.

  He could see just enough to know that her eyes were tearing up and he continued on to give her time to reflect by herself. The next set of statues were of two men. One was standing looking forward, his rifle up and nestled into his shoulder, while the other statue was turned and appeared to be looking back and calling for aid.

  Technical Sergeant - Jason L. Norton and Staff Sergeant - Brian S. McElroy. 741st Global Defense Force. TSgt Norton and SSgt McElroy were on combat patrol when their vehicle was hit by a demonic attack. TSgt Norton was an advocate for utilizing K9 units to help detect demonic threats, and his death brough about significant changes to tactics and procedures in the months following his death. TSgt Norton was 32 years old and SSgt McElroy was 28 years old.

  Pepper couldn’t help but notice that his feet were shuffling against the ground. It was as if his body said we need to keep walking, but his heart said, ‘no… stop and take it all in.’ By the time he turned a corner in the garden he found a statue of a man holding a flag staff. A brilliant smile was formed on the statues face and he couldn’t help but feel the life still embedded within the pores of the metal.

  Airman First Class – LeeBernard E. Chavis. 732nd Global Security Force. A1C Chavis did not start his military career in a positive light. After a short stint of trouble, his military leadership challenged him to rise up to the challenge presented before him. A1C Chavis accepted the challenge and was eventually awarded the honor of being the ‘Guide Bearer’. A privileged position bestowed to the units greatest member and considered the units highest honor. A1C Chavis became a shining example for all and inspired countless military members he came into contact with. A1C Chavis was killed in action while out on combat patrol, serving in the turret of a mobile battle system. His death, felt so great throughout the military force, that it caused the Chavis turret system to be implemented. The newly designed turret is still being utilized to this day. We will never forget Chavis, for now his light shines the brightest from the heavens above.

  Pepper couldn’t help but see a resemblance of Chavis smile when compared to his older brother, Travis. He took a deep breath and slowly pulled himself away and onto the next statue.

  Staff Sergeant - John T. Self. 11th Global Security Force. SSgt Self was deployed to a forward combat zone in West Virgina. He was scheduled to return home and was assisting his fiancé in making wedding preparations. He had only been home for a month when another member of his unit was wounded and evacuated to a safe medical facility. SSgt Self immediately volunteered to return to his unit and end his leave early. On 14 May, while on his 79th combat patrol, SSgt Self would be killed in action from a demonic attack. He and three others taken that day.

  There was a slight wailing that happened behind Pepper. He turned around and saw a woman his mothers age, who had practically collapsed at the foot of another statue nearby. Tears were streaming down her face as she clasped onto the metal legs of the statue standing in front of her.

  He quickly looked away, giving the woman a slight amount of privacy as she grieved for her loved one. Andrea had caught up with him in that moment and she wrapped her arms around his and lowered her head onto his shoulder. The slowly made their way to another gathering of statues.

  Senior Airman – Jason D. Nathan and First Lieutenant - Joseph D. Helton. Detachment 3, 732nd Global Defense Force. SrA Nathan and 1st Lt Helton were both slotted to leave their forward combat area and return to Green Zone Whiskey due to the high attrition rate the 732nd sustained during combat operations. However, SrA Nathan and 1st Helton knew the challenges that awaited Detachment 2 upon arrival. They volunteered to remain behind while the rest of Detachment 3 relocated to the safe zone, with the sole purpose of training and aided Detachment 2 in preparing to take on their newly assigned mission. On June 23rd, both were on a combat patrol, escorting Detachment 2 through combat route Red Wing, when their convoy came under demonic attack. Their sacrifice saved an estimated 33 lives that day. 1st Lt Helton’s famous phrase of ‘Don’t Be A Weak Sauce’ is still used to this day in basic military training.

  The next set of statues caught both of their attention. There at the base of two military members was a military working dog, forged into a seated position with its’ ears perked up. Amprage seemed to also notice the detail and trotted over to it.

  It was a few seconds of analysis before his familiar turned his head around and wagged his metal tail. “I like this one.”

  Pepper chuckled, “I bet you do bud.”

  Senior Airman - Nicholas J. Alden and Staff Sergeant – TJ Lobraico. 173rd Global Defense Force. SSgt Lobraico was a devoted member assist military working dog operations. While on combat patrol both SSgt Lobraico and SrA Alden’s patrol came under demonic attack. They immediately responded to the attack by laying down suppressive fire which held the attacking force at bay. Their actions allowed for the safe evacuation of multiple military members and suppressed the attack long enough for a counter offensive to be launched. As their unit was being replenished by the relieving force, SrA Alden and SSgt Lobraico sustained injuries from the demonic attack. Both were killed from the wounds they sustained. SSgt Lobraico is buried alongside military working dog Bolt who was on the mission with him that day.

  Pepper could see Andrea lift her hand up and cover her face. He was sure she had read the final sentence and couldn’t help herself as a tear fell down her cheek. There were no words shared between them as they slowly walked to the next set of statues.

  Senior Airman – Nathan C. Sartain and Airman First Class – Kcey E. Ruiz. 270th Global Security Force. SrA Sartain and A1C Ruiz were assigned as a Fly Away Security Team, “FAST”. Their mission was to provide close security support to high mobility air transport vessels which traveled between forward combat outposts. On October 2nd, their C-44 Super Thor aircraft was hit by a demonic attack as it took off from Blue Ridge Airport in Virgina. There were no survivors.

  There was a small sniffle which came from Andrea. Pepper cleared his throat, for he couldn’t disagree with the emotional tug that was on his heart at the same time. They continued to walk the pathway and he noticed that it appeared to be coming to an end. There were two more statues which looked to stand guard over the exit of the garden portion.

  The statue on the left was of a bigger, more burly mountain man figure. Whereas the statue on the right was a smaller framed man who was taking a knee with his combat rifle draped across his body.

  Technical Sergeant – Joseph G. Lemm and Staff Sergeant – Louis Bonacasa. 381st Global Defense Force. TSgt Lemm and SSgt Bonacasa were assigned to an elite forward reconnaissance unit. Intelligence had been obtained which pointed to a newly discovered Rift Gate that had appeared in the heart of the New York subway system. On December 21st, TSgt Lemm and SSgt Bonacasa’s unit secretly deployed to the location, discovered the Rift Gate where abouts, but their team was compromised in the process. TSgt Lemm ordered the rest of the unit to retreat, but stayed at the Rift Gate along with SSgt Bonacasa, activated their Tactical Fusion Device and destroyed the Rift Gate. To this day, it is the only successful mission to destroy a Rift Gate, and scientists are still working to determine how they accomplished this feat.

  There was a small display which had a framed photo next to the placard. A small boy was propped up on a military man’s shoulders. The child held a salute over a flag draped casket. The small caption informed them that the child was TSgt Lemm’s son.

  A new sniffle came from Andrea, while a wave of tears fell down her face. “I think I made a mistake.”