Entrance for John House

[semper_fi_house]

John House stood, feet planted shoulder-width apart, his golf club held firmly between both hands as he eyed the sloping expanse of the golf course before him, peering at the distant flag at the 13th hole

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[teenguerrilla]

Ellie hadn't been in the hotel long herself, though long enough for her to start looking healthier. Her first dinner, she practically dived for the greens and of course the steak. She'd changed her clothes but was still wearing her trusty old boots that she'd had since the beginning of the War.

This hotel was huge and nothing like she'd ever seen in her life growing up in the town of Wirrawee. She was still rather uncomfortable around the other patrons and did her best to avoid them. Even Alice who seemed nice enough but Ellie wasn't used to trusting anyone except her friends.

She'd been crossing the lobby for the dining room again, a year living on meager rations and now she was faced with as much food as she could stomach? Well, she had to admit this place had something going for it. She was craving vegetables again, something she'd never done before the invasion.

Her instincts informed her that someone was watching, a year's worth of hiding in the shadows brought habits that she had trouble getting rid of. One of which was sleeping during the day, another was wanting to hide at the sight of someone unfamiliar. She was out in the open, with nowhere to hide.

It took her a moment before she remembered she wasn't back on the road to Simmon's Reef, that she was in a hotel hundreds of K's away from the War. She calmed down a little, though a wary and scared look on her face as she stared at the man.

[semper_fi_house]

John hadn't been standing, looking back through the doors of the hotel very long, when he heard someone walk past him through the lobby. He turned to find a young woman with dark hair, who stopped almost immediately and looked back at him.

"Uh, excuse me, miss," he began, walking closer. "Are you a guest here?"

[teenguerrilla]

Ellie took a hesitant step backwards, something about this man screamed military, something that Ellie wasn't very fond of. She had been beginning to think she'd left all that behind her.

He sounded American, one of the good guys...but that didn't stop the instinctual reactions.

"Yeah, rather accidentally." Her words clipped in an Australian accent.

[semper_fi_house]

John nodded, and then paused, his head cocked.

"Accidentally?" he echoed. What on Earth did that mean? He squinted at her thoughtfully. By the sound of her accent, she wasn't from around here. Perhaps something had gone wrong with her flight and she'd gotten temporarily stranded here?

He looked at her expectantly, hoping for an explanation.

[teenguerrilla]

Ellie wondered how much she should tell the man. After all, in her mind she should still be a wanted guerrilla in the middle of a war zone. "I'm meant to be on the road to Simmon's Reef. Needed to meet someone there, took my attention away from the road and ended up here." Not exactly a lie but then again, it wasn't anywhere near the complete truth either.

[semper_fi_house]

"Huh." John nodded. "I see. Well, I was just..." He gestured back toward the hotel entrance. "Out golfing, and..." He shook his head, confused. How had he gotten from there to here? How could he explain what just happened in a way that wouldn't make him sound insane? He settled for saying, "I didn't, uh, know this place was here," and gave an uneasy chuckle. "Thought I'd just come in and check it out."

John glanced around the lobby and rocked on the balls of his feet restlessly. "How long you been here?"

[teenguerrilla]

"My mind wandered...dangerous thing to do where I'm from. I ended up out of cover and near this place. It-I thought I'd been shot again...perhaps finally dead." Ellie shrugged, a haunted look in her eyes and hands in her pockets. Once again she felt like a caged animal. "Only a few days."

[semper_fi_house]

John's somewhat forced friendly smile dropped. So her arrival here had also been... strange.

John chose to focus instead on the other part of her story which caught his attention: "You thought you'd been shot?" His brow furrowed. "What do you do that would make your mind jump to that? Where are you from exactly?"

[teenguerrilla]

"Hurts like hell I know, but then I thought it could have been a fatal one." Ellie's mind went to Corrie, who'd been shot in the back early in the War. "Ellie Linton, most wanted in the Wirrawee, Cobbler's and Stratton areas." Despite that, a rather proud look on Ellie's face.

[semper_fi_house]

John wished he'd heard of those places; maybe if he had some idea of what was happening there, he could gather what it was this girl was involved with. She didn't look to ashamed of her pronouncement, he thought. If anything, she looked proud. Frowning, he pressed, "Wanted for what, exactly?"

[teenguerrilla]

"Guerrilla warfare. My country was invaded last year. My friends and I were the only ones in our area who weren't caught." Her face fell slightly, "I'm the only one left now...and stuck here." A few months ago Ellie would have rather preferred being stuck here, but the War was almost over and she wanted to be there when the ceasefire was called.

[semper_fi_house]

John frowned, alarmed. "I'm... I'm sorry." He didn't know anything about this invasion. He chewed his lip, slightly uncomfortable. What had he gotten himself into? "What do you mean... 'stuck?'"

[teenguerrilla]

Ellie shook her head, "it's fine. It's kind of our fault...we didn't like the idea of giving ourselves up or sitting around twiddling our thumbs. We knew the risks."

"We can't leave. From what I've heard, everyone's tried everything they can think of."

[semper_fi_house]

John nodded. "Sounds like you did the right thing, then. 'S'what I woulda done." Of course, he didn't know the specifics of her situation, so he was reluctant to entirely condone her group's actions, but... She seemed like a decent person, and from what she'd said, it sounded like she'd chosen admirably.

But what she said next... "What?" His eyebrows shot upward. "Can't leave? That's... That's absurd." He whirled back toward the doors. "I can't stay here."

[teenguerrilla]

"I just wish...they'd come through as well." Well, survived blowing up that petrol station anyway. "Or we'd stayed in New Zealand when Colonel Finley asked us if we'd return." Angela, her therapist had been a godsend.

"Try, I'll be here when you return." Ellie quoted what Alice said to her when she arrived, half starved and travel stained.

[semper_fi_house]

John frowned, not understanding. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip, glancing once again at the doors, and then back to the girl. He cleared his throat.

"I, ah, suppose I should introduce myself," he said. He held out his hand. "Colonel John House."