They were alive. Wash and Sarge, they were alive. Holy shit, they were alive. Tucker wanted to do a victory lap in one of the jeeps, whooping with joy, but that'd have to wait later. They needed help, a lot of help.
Wash and Sarge were a wreck. Sarge had a broken leg, broken ribs, and his helmet had cracked down the middle. Tucker could see Sarge's bloody eye with shards of glass embedded around it. He was trying something at Grif, trying to shrug them off. Tucker heard Grif say in a weak voice, "Of course we're not real, Sarge." Tucker felt sincerely sorry for the Reds. Sarge was probably the oldest fighting solider in the army. Who knew how much more he could take?
Caboose was helping Wash get to his feet. He didn't have his helmet. It had been cast off into a corner of the cell, so Tucker grabbed it and helped Caboose. Washington groaned as they began to carry him to one of the jeeps. Wash looked like hell. He seemed to be going in and out of consciousness; his eyes kept fluttering open and closed. His nose was broken and he had a split lip. There was blood in his hair too, and it sounded like every breath Wash took in was painful. His armor was cracked in places, and some parts of it threatened to fall off. His foot was bent in a grotesque angle, and Tucker looked away nervously.
"Agent Washington, you're gonna be alright!" Caboose said, his voice rising in pitch. Washington's eyes opened and he looked over to Caboose, giving him a lopsided smile.
"Michael, what are you doing here?" Washington asked, sounding like an old, tired man. Tucker raised an eyebrow and looked at Caboose. Michael? Who the fuck was- Oh. Right.
Caboose didn't say anything for a while. Then he lifted his head and looked at Wash. Even with his helmet on, Tucker could tell that Caboose was smiling. "We're here to save you, Agent Washington! Because you are our friend, right Tucker?" Caboose asked. Tucker couldn't help but grin behind his helmet as they set down Wash in one of the jeeps. Tucker saw the Reds do the same.
"That's right, Caboose. Now let's get him out of here."
"And then Grif took his group of followers and went into the eating room to get more food! Felix got angry though, and Grif didn't steal food anymore. Simmons had a little bit more trouble. He has an all girls squad! I don't think he likes them, he never says anything to them. But I like them! They're nice. Nice ladies."
Caboose looked over to Agent Washington. He was still sleeping with an IV line attached to his arm, just like Sarge, who slept in the other room. Well, it wasn't really a room. The wall was missing, so a curtain had replaced it. The reds had been in before Caboose, and they left to give Caboose some time with Wash.
Caboose looked back at Wash. "We missed you, Agent Washington. It was really boring without you. Well actually, I lied. It was pretty fun, but it would have been more fun with you here, bossing Tucker around, making him do laps. I miss Freckles too... I tried to adopt one of the other robots as my pet, but Kimball and Felix didn't like that." Caboose explained. He looked down at the sleeping agent. "Hey, Agent Washington, do you want to hear another story?" No answer. "Okay!"
There was a dull ache in Wash's chest. He fumbled along the side of his bed for the morphine drip, but couldn't find one. There was only an IV line stuck in his arm. Wash sighed. He guess the rebels only had a certain amount of pain killers.
Wash looked around the room. Tucker was sleeping on a shabby couch, his helmet hanging by his fingertips. Caboose sat slumped in a chair next to Wash's bed as he drooled onto the bed sheets. Through a thin curtain, Wash could see Sarge sleeping in another bed with Grif and Simmons sleeping on another couch.
"You're finally awake." a voice observed. Wash turned to see Felix, hovering by the door. Felix had his helmet tucked under his arm, and there were fresh cuts and bruises on his pale skin. "It's good to have you back."
"Thanks." Wash replied. "How'd you guys find me?"
"Scouting, intercepting encoded messages. And your guys. They helped shape up the soldiers." Felix answered. He looked over to Tucker and Caboose. "You should see what they've done here. Especially Caboose."
Wash smirked as he looked down at Caboose. "I'm sure I'll get around to seeing the destroyed vehicles Caboose has crashed." There was a pause. Then Wash asked, "What's the damage?"
Felix's face fell slightly. "Four dead, eight more wounded." he answered. "The rebels lost a jeep and two of their rocket launchers as well." Wash put his head in his hands, rubbing his fingers up his face and into his hair. He noticed how Felix distanced himself from the rebels, saying the rebels instead of we.
"How are they?" Wash asked. Wash wasn't talking about the rebels, and Felix knew it.
"They're alright. Got out barely unscathed." Felix answered. Caboose mumbled something about a puppy in his sleep, and he slumped even further in his chair. Wash wished he could sleep as soundly as Caboose did. It seemed all he got now were nightmares and unpredictable sleeping patterns. Now he would have more nightmares, thanks to Locus. "You should get some more sleep Wash." Felix told him. "Get as much as you can." And then with that, Felix left, closing the door behind him. Wash closed his eyes and looked around the room once more as Caboose mumbled in his sleep again. This time, Wash heard what he said.
"I missed you Agent Washington." Wash smiled softly.
"Yeah. I missed you too, buddy."