Invisible Prison

Spoilers for season 3! Hal wakes up and finds that nothing will ever be the same again.

Warnings: SPOILERS (Season 3), dark thoughts, some swearing.

It took some time, but Hal was finally able to pry his eyes open long enough to have a quick gaze around and didn't recognize anything. The room was void of other people and the furnishings were sparse. From what he could gather, the entire room was made of concrete.

What had happened? Why was he here? Where was everyone? The last thing he remembered was being strung up by Karen while she…

Hal's eyes went wide. Karen had kissed him! He must have passed out after that. Oh god… Was everyone okay? Had they got out? Was anyone injured… or worse, dead?

The dark-haired teen moaned as he tried to sit up, only to find his body was beyond cooperation. There was a dull ache reverberating through his body and his arms, legs and – well, everywhere – felt like lead. Why was he so lethargic? Had he been that seriously injured?

Turning his head to the left slightly (he inwardly sighed at the relief knowing he could move his head easily), Hal eyed the empty room once again. He couldn't see any kind of hospital equipment anywhere; there was no IV stand, oxygen machine or monitors. Coming to the conclusion that he wasn't as seriously injured as he had first thought came as both a huge relief and a worry.

If he wasn't seriously injured, why the hell couldn't he move?

Grunting in exertion, Hal pulled his chin to his chest and attempted to look down at his body. It was rather awkward and he couldn't stop the stabs of fear starting to worm their way into his mind at the fact he wasn't able to lift his body past his neck.

He eyed up his right hand, which was just in view and forced his hand to move. His pinky finger twitched and for a moment all fear flew from his mind. It didn't last long. Hal tried again and again to get his hand to move – move his fingers, twitch his pinky again – but to no avail.

Panic set in. His breathing started to speed up as he attempted to make his body move. His legs lay prone, not shifting an inch; his hands lay limp beside him. His chest was heaving as he sucked in deep, gasping breaths, which in his subconscious Hal thought was strange as he couldn't seem to move anything else, so why was his chest moving involuntarily? But that thought was quickly pushed aside due to the mounting panic and fear as it enveloped him.

Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god…. No, no, no, no, no, no!

This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening to him. Why couldn't he move? What had happened to him? Why couldn't he fucking move!?

"Hal?"

Hal heard the voice, but being in the midst of a full-blown panic attack, he didn't register nor recognize the speaker.

"Hal? What's going on? Hal!"

It was then that Hal – through the terror – turned his head and found himself staring into a pair of hazel green eyes, fear written across his face.

Ben.

"Hal?" Ben repeated, softer this time. Hal watched him take a few tentative steps forward and he took this time to get a really good look at his younger brother.

Ben was dressed in his now-typical black clothing, with his Heckler & Koch assault rifle strung across his back. His blonde hair was dirty and stuck up every which way and he was paler than usual. A darkening bruise was dotted across the right side of his jaw, sneaking down the side of this neck before disappearing under his shirt. Hal was relieved to see that the bruise seemed to be the most prominent injury Ben had sustained in the battle with the Skitters, Overlord and Karen.

"Are you okay?"

Hal opened his mouth to answer before snapping it shut, a horrible thought coming to mind. What if he couldn't speak? He couldn't feel anything below his neck. What if...?

"Hal!"

Said teen was snapped out of his thoughts by the fear he heard in his brother's voice. Blinking, Hal locked gazes with Ben before dropping his eyes.

"I…" he croaked out, lips trembling as he heard his own voice. He could still speak…

"I…" Oh god, why was this so hard to say? Why couldn't he just spit it out already?

Because then it becomes reality…

"Ben? What are you—"

Hal felt his fear triple as he heard and saw the newcomer; who had stopped short at seeing him awake.

"Hal?"

"D-dad…" he whispered, before breaking into a small coughing fit. God his throat felt rough. But he didn't seem to mind it too much. He'd take the pain over not being able to feel any day.

His dad's face lit up, a grin settling on his features. Hal was dreading having to break the news and ultimately wipe the smile off Tom's face.

"Dad something's not right," Ben spoke up, his hazel eyes looking in Hal's direction. Hal knew then. He knew that Ben knew. He could pretty much see the wheels turning in Ben's brain as he started to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

And he wasn't wrong when Ben let out a startled gasp and took an involuntary step back.

"Ben? What is it?" his father spoke, looking between the two brothers. "Hal?"

Hal closed his eyes briefly, swallowing the frog that had suddenly appeared in his throat.

"I…" he started. "I can't…" he trailed off, voice weak and turning into nothing more than a whisper.

"He can't move."

Ben.

Curse his little brother, the math geek. Kid was too damn smart for his own good at times.

And three, two, one….explosion.

"WHAT?"

Ben's face was voice of any emotion, Hal saw. His face was pale, but stoic, but Hal could see the fear and worry racing through his hazel eyes. Why did all the shit seem to have to happen to this family – their family?

"Hal?" Tom's voice was soft. "Is that… true?"

The eldest Mason brother didn't know what to say. Of course it was true. But that didn't mean he wanted to say so.

"I… I can't feel…" he inhaled; a deep trembling breath. "I can't feel anything below my neck. I can't move my arms or my legs. I… I can't… I can't move, dad…"

And the floodgates opened. As Hal watched his father's face crumple he felt the first tears slip from his eyes.

Nothing was ever going to be the same again. Here they were, living in a world at war with an alien species, fighting every day just to stay alive, and now… now he was literally a 'sitting duck'. He couldn't protect himself like this; he couldn't protect his brothers, Maggie, Anne, his dad… he couldn't protect anyone…

And as his father came forward and embraced him in a hug that he couldn't feel, Hal wondered if it was even worth living this life anymore.

Thanks for reading! It's a little dark at the end, but I was going for a more realistic approach than a 'happy ever after'. I hope I did the topic justice... I have a cousin who was twelve when she was paralysed from the waist down due to a tragic biking accident and I know it took her a long time to come to grips with what had happened. I feel that Hal would be very similar in his reactions.

I hope you enjoyed this little story. Bring on the rest of season 3!

-DancerInTheDark101