Beacon of Hope

She ran….

She ran for cover, she ran for protection from the bullets of BLACKWATCH soldiers and the monsters that prowled this once beautiful city; now reduced to a pile of rubble. Alex Mercer wasn't around as much; he was hunting the Infected as well as any more of…..whatever he was. When she looked in his eyes, he saw only a remnant of the boy that was once her brother; currently she saw carnage, a bloodlust that not even people like Jeffery Dahmer, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, or John Wayne Gacy could match. Now that her tears had dried, she knew what she had to do; fight. She possessed the same bravery and tenacity as her brother, just not the superpowers. She was equally capable of surviving as long as she got to a non-infected area like Queens, or if she made it to another state like Connecticut or Pennsylvania, that was her plan until today….when she heard the scream.

"GO AWAY!"

She turned and saw that a Blackwatch agent was pushing someone around. She couldn't see who it was; but she could hear his screams quite clearly as the Blackwatch agent hit him. Dana watched in horror the soldier kicked him a final time in the ribs and walked away. The boy dropped to his knees in the pile of blood and let out a heart-wrenching sob; wrapping his arms around himself for the sake of having a comforting touch, even if it was from himself. Dana approached and got a closer look at him, he had a black and red, ripped t-shirt, black jeans, dress shoes and a backpack across his back. His hair was long and messy; a shade of dark red. He dropped the gun as he bent buried his head into his hands; trembling as he wept. Her eyes widened as she saw that he was just a little, looking about the age of 12. Dana knew that he might be unstable, maybe a little psychotic, but her motherly side was taking over; his emotional state rendering him powerless to do anything to her. She approached him and calmly put a hand on his back, causing him to jerk his head towards her and growled. His face revealed his bright green eyes which were enhanced by the redness in his scleras from crying. She broke back quickly, which startled him and caused him to jerk back as he muttered a broken apology and dissolved back into crying. She crawled back to him and whispered words of consolation; rubbing his back. "What's your name?" she asked in a soft, gentle voice. He only looked at her with a tilt of the head. "Can you talk?" He shook his head and referred to something on his wrist. It was a Child Identifier Bracelet; the kind they used in hospitals to identify children who are autistic, have Downs-Syndrome or are Non-Verbal. Dana studied the young boy for a second; the boy wasn't non-verbal; limited but not completely. He didn't have the facial characteristics of a person with Downs-Syndrome, so Dana decided he must have a form of autism. She lifted his hand and checked his bracelet; it read this.

"Aaron Connors"

"Your name is Aaron?"

He nodded

"I'm Dana"

The boy looked up at her as Dana asked where his parents were; he stared in her eyes for a few seconds and shook his head. She sighed; she knew that he was trying to get across that his parent's were dead, presumably killed off by the Infected….or Alex. She thought long and hard and knew that she couldn't just leave her here; most of the orphanages in around the city….she knew the military wouldn't take him in. The Marines might of their own accord but Blackwatch sure as hell would not let them; she laughed bitterly at the thought of Gentek; they would probably vivisect him or perform some sort of screwed up experiment on the boy. Aaron apparently couldn't control his anger….hmm; maybe she could help him with that. She helped him to his feet and asked if he would like to come home with her; which he responded too by nodding eagerly. She smiled as the boy put his slightly smaller arm around her waist; she put her arm around his shoulder. She looked down at him and realized that he couldn't live by himself; he needed her more than anything at this moment with this boy. They entered the apartment and Aaron started looking around, memorizing himself with the living room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. He advanced towards the laptop but soon got cut off by a sharp "NO" from Dana, when the outbreak was over he could use it. She sat down on the floor and patted the wood beside her; motioning him to sit down next to her. Aaron complied as Dana switched on the Television, not many channels were on; most of them had an emergency warning permanently fixed onto the screen. The National Geographic channel however, did not; Aaron's eyes and ears perked up as a show about dinosaurs came on; Dana wrote down on her phone that he enjoyed things about dinosaurs and presumably other animals. A very good scene came on with a computer-generated Tyrannosaurus Rex coming out of nowhere and devouring an Edmontosaurus; the scene was so damn realistic that Aaron let out a tiny squeak of fear. Dana sighed and held his hand, softly brushing her thumb over his palm.

"It's ok; baby. It's just a show, not real."

Aaron nodded as Dana looked out the window; the dinosaur on the show wasn't real but out there….there were so many real things to be afraid of like real monsters, zombies, government-hired psychopath's with gun and her brother. Her thoughts were distracted by a feeling in her stomach; careful not to make any sudden movements; lest she startle her new friend. "Aaron, I'm just going to go to the bathroom, ok?" Aaron nodded, released her hand and gave his attention back to the giant, computer-generated reptiles on the television screen. A couple of minutes passed of dead silence; saved for the creaking of the front door and the rambling of the narrator which Aaron was listening too.

"DANA!"

Following the cry for help; a loud snarl was heard along with the shifting of biomass. She knew who was here and ran to the hallway to stop him; she gasped as Alex Mercer, her brother, stood there with his teeth bared at Aaron, who was crying out of fear. Alex had his claws bared and probably would have eviscerated Aaron if Dana hadn't gotten in front of him, Aaron approached Dana and hugged her, burying his face into the crook of her neck. "Who is this?" Alex whispered

"I found him; his parents were killed."

"What's your name?" Alex asked; all Aaron did was cling tighter to Dana and shake his head. Dana reached her head up and whispered in Alex's ear.

"He's autistic; he can't really talk that much. His name is Aaron." Alex nodded in understanding; he saw how the boy clung to Dana as if she was her mother and how she stroked his hair and told him that as long as she was around; her brother would not harm him. Alex nodded to confirm that it was okay for Dana to keep this child; he himself could not feel love as far as he knew; but all that mattered that to Alex was his sister. He personally didn't care if the child lived or died: it didn't matter to him….it was a simple human; nothing more. Alex shrugged and walked away to continue his mission; kill and consume as many of the infected as possible. Dana was left alone with Aaron; so she figured the best thing to do would be to resume watching TV with him. She smiled and patted his head when he lay down with his head in her lap; something she noted about Aaron was that he was very affectionate….it was sweet. A look down into the Aaron's face revealed that he was still scared; Dana sighed, stroked his hair and spoke softly and sweetly to him; telling him her brother would not hurt him.

"Monster" Aaron whispered; Dana could tell seeing Alex in his true form really affected him but she had never seen someone be this scared in her life. She then glanced back at the TV to check the time; 11:57 PM, Aaron yawned which prompted Dana to follow suit. She wondered what to do; Alex normally didn't sleep but if he did he slept on the couch while Dana took the bed. Aaron was still hugging her; she and him got up and took turns using the bathroom to change into their nightclothes, brush their teeth, etc. She climbed into bed first; inviting Aaron with open arms to come in next to her. Aaron happily crawled in and began to snuggle in next to her; sleep consumed the two fairly quickly.

A couple of days passed and Dana discovered life with Aaron was in fact….alright. He may be autistic but he was nowhere near stupid; he had no problems getting dressed, showered or going to the bathroom by himself. The only thing he really couldn't do was cook for himself; that was something Dana didn't mind doing. That morning Dana had cooked some bacon and eggs that Alex managed to pick up from a not-as infected area of the city. Dana had given Alex the task of picking up supplies like food, water, medicine, toiletries and other things. Alex may have had some coffee every now and then but he did not need to eat normal food as his body now regulated itself on pure biomass; the food was now for Dana and Aaron alone. Today had been surprisingly peaceful for the pair; the day had gone as usual for them except that Dana had decided to sing for Aaron at some points in the day. She loved his reaction; his eyes brightening and his smile widening all made her day worthwhile.

Several hours later…..

Aaron had gotten used to the habit of sleeping with Dana at night; she not only allowed it, but welcomed the affection and love she received from the child. Dana climbed into bed beside him and scooped his smaller frame in her arms, holding him close as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. She sang to him a little bit like she always did; tonight she sang his favorite song "You'll Be in My Heart" when she sang it to him for the first time he pointed to her and then his chest; as if to validate the song. When she was done with her song he looked up into her eyes. "Yes?" She asked, he appeared to be trying to get her attention. Dana Mercer's eyes widened as she realized he was trying to speak something important...and was brought to tears at what he whispered.

"Love you..."

Dana was brought to tears as she held him tighter. Looking down at the little boy snuggled against her; she realized that this was her baby, her child, and that she loved him probably more than he did her. She realized that if there were more people as innocent, pure and loving as this boy; maybe humanity could survive. Aaron was Dana Mercer's beacon of hope for New York, for humanity and earth as whole. She whispered that he loved him in return as he fell fast asleep. She sang gently one more.

"You'll be in my heart...

No matter what they say

You'll be here in my heart

Always..."

Dana Mercer placed a soft, motherly kiss on the forehead of the sleeping angel in her arms, and muttered the final word as sleep consumed her.

"Always..."