Title: Cricket Chirps

Author: Emjen Enla (Fanfiction)/emjen_enla (Wattpad)

Teaser: A pair of clandestine conversations John has on his back porch during Legend. A.K.A. John's little brother is completely insane.

Rating: PG/K+

Word Count: approx. 2,000

Canon: Mainstream (not an AU)

Timeline: during Legend

Dominant Characters: John Wing, Day

Pairings: none

POVs: John

Warnings: none

Notes:

-I'm on summer break! I've survived! I'm working on another Star Wars one shot which I meant to be done with a while ago. However, I was otherwise occupied with time consuming luxuries like inhaling The Wrath & the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh in 24 hours.

-I started this several years ago, but never finished. I was rereading it last night and I realized it was actually pretty good and worth finishing, hopefully you like it.

-It's funny how time changes things. When I first read Legend, John seemed really old, but now I realize he really isn't.

Disclaimer: I don't own Legend.

I have always hated the power plants. Every minute I've ever spent there only made me curse my difficultly reading that much more. However, now that I can't go to work, I find myself aching to go back, if just to get out of the house.

Hopefully Daniel has enough sense to stay away until this whole fiasco blows over. I felt horrible the time he picked up the common stomach flu from us and the plague would be a million times worse.

Eden lies in the bedroom. Mom spends almost all her time in there taking care of him. I've tried to talk her into letting me help but she won't. She's probably going to get sick. We have no idea how this plague spreads. The soldiers who pronounced Eden infected said it was a new strain they'd never seen before. They couldn't tell us how to protect ourselves from it.

Please, Danny, stay away. Don't do anything cracked. We can handle this. Chances are Eden will get better. He's not so sick now.

As much as I'm glad Daniel's not exposed, during these long hours when I sit at the table with nothing to do I half wish he hadn't failed his Trial; that he could be here with me. Granted, he probably couldn't convince Mom to do anything more than I can but at least I'd have a worrying partner.

The air in the house has an unusually thick, heavy feel to it, and not just because Mom's been trying to keep the house warm for Eden. I've been trying to deal with it all day, but I can't anymore. This house is like a tomb. I go to the window and pry it open a crack. Just enough to let in a little fresh air. I lean against the wall next to the window and breathe in the cool air. That's better.

Now that the window's open I can still hear hints of the conversations of the people walking by. I remember when we were kids when Daniel would sit by the window and eavesdrop on passersby despite anything Mom and Dad would say to tell him off.

I guess we should have figured that he'd end up becoming a wanted criminal.

I don't mean to eavesdrop but eventually one says something I can't ignore.

"Yah hear about Day's latest crime?"

I freeze. Day. That's Daniel's street name. That's the name the rest of the world knows him as.

I press my ear against the window so I can hear. I'm nineteen, I'm too old for this, but this is my brother those people are talking about.

"No," Someone—a man—says.

"He broke into Central Hospital." The first man says. My stomach sinks, there's only one reason Daniel would even think about breaking into the hospital.

"Central Hospital? What was he after?"

"I heard plague cures."

"Does he have the plague?"

"He couldn't. No way he'd 've been fast enough to pull it off. Must need 'em for someone else."

"Did he get caught?"

"Of course not, this is Day we're talking about. Sounded like it was close though, maybe not his best thought-out plan..." their voices fade away as they walk down the street.

I lean my head against the window. Daniel, Daniel, how could you be so thoughtless? At this moment I wish I could tell Mom that he's alive so we could curse his foolishness together.

I should have known that once he figured out one of us was sick Daniel would go to insane lengths to find cures. I wonder if he got what he was after.

That's when I hear it. It's almost inaudible under the sound of Eden coughing in the other room. It's the sound of three cricket chirps.

Daniel.

My heart leaps. He's okay! I rush to the back porch anxious to give my little brother a stern talking to.

But Daniel's not there. Instead standing on the porch is the skinny red-headed girl who as far as I know is Daniel's only companion out there on the streets.

"Where's Daniel?" I ask. "Is he okay?"

The girl—Tess, that's her name—blushes. "I take it you heard about his hospital break-in, yeah?"

That goes without saying. "Is he insane?"

Tess shrugs. "Possibly."

"Is he okay?" I press on.

Tess pauses then says, "Your door is marked. Who's sick?"

"Eden." I say. "Is Daniel alright?"

She chews on her lip. "He's in a house I found whose owner isn't going to hand us in—I probably shouldn't say where."

I don't want to know where Daniel is because if I do the urge to go there and strangle him might get too tempting. "Is he hurt?" I ask. "Why didn't he come himself?"

Tess looks awkward. "He's unconscious. I found him lying in an alley after the break-in. We'll probably stay off the streets until he's stronger."

My heart thumps painfully. "Are his injuries that serious?" I ask.

"Nothing he won't recover from," Tess says. "But they are fairly serious. I mean you can't jump out of a third-story window and expect to walk away without a scratch."

My jaw drops. "What?"

Tess winces. "I take it you didn't hear about that part."

I'm floored. I didn't think Daniel would do something that crazy. "Is he going to be okay?"

Tess nods. "He'll be fine. This is Day we're talking about."

Not as reassuring as she meant it to be. "He's insane."

Tess seems to be ready to change the subject. She hands me a bag that was hooked over her shoulder. "This is a bunch of stuff for you. Food. Shoes. And your birthday present," She digs through the bag until she pulls out a pair of goggles.

"Tell Daniel I say thank you," I say, neither of us point out that I don't need the goggles now that I can't go to work.

I expect her to make her excuses and leave. The plague infected sectors make Tess nervous, I know because Daniel's mentioned it on occasion. However, she reaches into her shirt and pulls out another smaller package. She hands it to me. I open it and find a bunch of medicine vials with small official writing on them. I narrow my eyes at the words trying to make out their meaning. Curse this reading trouble.

Tess sees my frustration. "They're plague suppressants," She says. "Day was looking for cures but since he brought those back I assume he couldn't find any," She pauses then continues, "I don't know how much you'll need. Day grabbed a lot more but that right there is all that survived his fall."

"That's great, Tess," I say. "We're really thankful."

Tess nods. "We haven't given up yet. I'm sure Day will come up with another plan to get the cures once he wakes up. Is there anything else we should look for?"

I think about it. "Mom's ripped up a couple of her shirts to make cool cloths for Eden. If you can find some clothes that'll fit her..."

Tess nods again. "Consider it done."

We talk for a couple more minutes. I tell her some things about how Eden's fairing because I know Daniel will pump her for information as soon as he wakes up and figures out she was here. I try to focus on the more upbeat news; it won't pay to make Day more worried than he already is. However, after a few minutes I can tell she wants to get out of the sector and back to Daniel.

"Thank you, Tess," I tell her. "You're great."

She smiles and starts to the leave the porch. "Bye, John."

"Make sure you send Daniel over here once he gets better." I call after her. "He's going to get an earful about that break-in."

"I will!" she calls back and disappears into the night.

A few days pass. Even with the plague suppressants Eden gets worse. I'm almost afraid to wonder how quickly the virus would be progressing if Daniel hadn't broken into the hospital.

Mom is still spending almost all her time with Eden. I spend my time helping out when she lets me and pacing the floor when she doesn't.

I'm pacing the next time I hear the cricket chirps.

The instant I hear them I rush to the back porch. Is it Tess or is it Daniel?

My fifteen-year-old criminal of a younger brother stands on the porch looking just a little sheepish. He's standing more stiffly than usual, but aside from that he looks fine. The fact that he's up and walking is good enough for me. I want to wrap him in a huge bear hug and never let go, but we still don't know how the plague spreads so physical contact might not be a good idea. Instead we just stand on the porch looking at each other.

Daniel shifts from foot to foot awkwardly. "How's Eden?" he finally asks.

You'd think that with all the pacing I've been doing recently, I'd have thought of how to answer that inevitable question, but I haven't.

"He's…" I don't know what to say. I don't want to tell Daniel its bad, but I know he already knows it is. "He's hanging in there."

Daniel nods, his eyes are old beyond their years. Granted, his eyes have been old ever since his ordeal with the Trials, but they're somehow more so now. "Are the suppressants helping?"

"Yeah," I say, not wanting to admit how quickly the illness is progressing even with them. "I had a really hard time getting Mom not to ask questions about where they came from," I say instead.

Daniel sighs and looks away for a minute. We both know that eventually Mom's going to get too suspicious and we'll have to let her in on the secret. Neither of us want to, though. The fewer people who know Daniel's alive, the better.

"I was looking for cures," Daniel changes the subject. "But I couldn't find any."

"About that," I press my lips together.

"John…" Daniel breathes, he knows what's coming.

"You're insane," I snap. "Breaking into that hospital it was—it was nuts! It doesn't matter how sick Eden is, you could have been arrested! You could have been killed!"

"I couldn't just sit by and do nothing!" Daniel argues, his too-grown-up eyes flashing with fury. "He's my brother too! I love him too!"

"I never said you didn't," I answer, trying to sound calmer than I feel; if we get into a shouting match Mom might hear, or Daniel might just stalk away. "But you don't have to show it by attempting foolhardy, half-thought-out plans. What do you think it would do to me if I lost both Eden and you?"

That's a low blow, but it cuts through Daniel's temper. He stares at me, eyes cutting into my soul. "Eden's not going to die, John. We're not going to let him."

He's so certain. I sigh. "You scared me, Daniel."

His shoulders sink, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean too, I just…" he looks away and bites his lip. "I didn't know what else to do."

You and me both. I think, but don't say anything aloud.

Daniel looks back at me, all trace of uncertainty gone from his gaze. "I'm going to get a cure for him, John," he says. "I'm not giving up. I have some other ideas…Not as crazy as the hospital break-in!" he rushes on when he sees my face change. "But they're good ideas. One of them will work."

"Just…" I shake my head. "Be careful."

"I will be," Daniel promises.

We stand in silence, then I hear a door inside the house creak, and turn around. "John?" I hear Mom's voice call.

I look back to Daniel. "I need to go."

He nods, a strand of white blonde hair falling out from under his cap. "I'll be back," he says, "Soon. If not with cures than with food and those shirts you asked Tess for."

"I love you," I say.

"I love you too," he answers. "It'll be okay. I promise."

"John!" Mom sounds worried now.

"I'll see you later," Daniel says, then he leaps off the porch and darts off with all the silence the criminal Day is known for.

I stand on the porch and try to convince myself that he's right. He'll get the cure, Eden will be fine. Someday it will be safe to tell Mom and Eden that Daniel's still alive. When that happens, we'll be a family again, and everything will be okay.

I force myself to believe that, then turn and head back into the house.

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Emjen