Here's Part 2! Just come back from seeing Iron Man 3 for the fourth time and after downloading the soundtrack, I'm in a major writing mood. Next part is almost done too, so hopefully it'll be up within the next few weeks... So sorry for the wait!
Enjoy.
SURVIVAL
DancerInTheDark101
– Part 2 –
- Chapter 1 -
Underestimated
Doctor Anne Glass sighed as she checked and rewrapped the bandages on one of the Second Massachusetts fighter's wounds. The man had been hit by a flying piece of shrapnel that sliced through the top part of his arm. It was healing nicely, but it would be some time before he was able to wield a gun properly and without pain. She was inside the med bus and had been for hours.
They had escaped from the school almost twenty-four hours earlier. It had been hard, due to the sheer amount of people travelling at once and not having Captain Weaver or Tom with them had made it a lot more difficult. Several of the fighters travelling with them had let the power get to their heads and had become almost unbearable to work with. Many times Anne had to go to one of the other fighters and tell them to keep the others in line. The civilians, especially the children, were becoming uneasy in their presence.
But then several hours ago, a car had pulled up near where they were camped out and waiting for the rest of the fighters to arrive. Shouts had alerted the camp immediately and Anne had heard her name being called frantically.
"Doctor Glass! Doctor Glass!" The frantic shouts were coming from the direction of the road. Anne quickly looked to Lourdes and passed her the roll of bandages she was currently wrapping around a soldier's wounds. Nodding as she passed the young girl, the doctor rushed out of the med bus and towards where a large crowd had congregated. Had Weaver and Tom arrived already?
Reaching the crowd Anne quickly realised that it wasn't Tom or Weaver. She could hear Pope yelling for everyone to get out of the way. People started to part as the scraggly-haired man inched through with another fighter. Anthony was strung between them limply, their arms wrapped around him to keep him upright. The darker-skinned man was a mess. His clothes were ripped in places, blood leaking profusely from several wounds scattered all over his body.
Pope wasn't exactly a specimen of health either. He was breathing hard, face dirty and scratched. He looked exhausted.
"What happened?" she asked as she reached them, rapidly taking in where all the wounds were and the condition of the fighter before her. "Quick, bring him to the med bus." Turning Anne saw Matt Mason standing to the side, his face a picture of horror.
"Matt, can you go tell Lourdes we've got a severely injured Anthony that needs to be attended to right away?"
The young boy nodded, his curly blonde hair bouncing at the movement. Taking a deep breath she watched him run off towards the bus before spinning back to the injured men in front of her. "Hurry," she commanded.
They managed to get Anthony into the bus without much more hassle. She instructed Pope to lay him down on the table that Lourdes had placed in the middle of the bus and nodded to the young Latina girl to start removing the shredded clothing.
"Alright Pope, what the hell happened? And where are Weaver and Tom?" She didn't look at the man as she started to work on Anthony. After inserting an IV into the back of his left hand, Anne grabbed her stethoscope and checked her patient's heartbeat. Thankfully it was still strong; a little fast, but strong.
"Well you see…" Pope started in that drawling tone of his. Anne really couldn't be bothered dealing with his dramatized actions.
"Spit it out Pope! I don't have all day."
Even though she wasn't looking at the ex-con, Anne knew exactly what he would have done. Hands would be immediately in the air in a 'whoa, don't shoot the messenger' pose.
"Okay…" Eyes would be rolling right about now. "Mason showed up just after the initial attack." A slight pause. "Which was unsuccessful by the way. As far as I knew then, only me, Anthony and Weaver had survived."
Tom had shown up? Wasn't he supposed to be with the group left at the school? Anne didn't her voice her thoughts, instead letting Pope continue with his commentary.
"So Mason told me to grab Anthony and high-tail it out of there. He was going to find Weaver and see what the hell was going on and what they could do about it. That's the last I saw of Mason. I grabbed Anthony and we left. We didn't meet any of the Skitter dudes on the way back, but we did see the explosions from the city."
"What?" Anne stopped her ministrations on Anthony to turn and stare at Pope. There were explosions in the city?
"Yeah, explosions. It looked like someone dropped a few neutron bombs on Boston. I'd say the whole city was levelled." There was no humour or sarcasm left in Pope's voice as he stated what had happened to the city.
"Skitters?" She asked, afraid of the answer. If Tom and Weaver had been in the city when the Skitters had dropped the bombs…
"Yeah that's what I'd guess. Don't know why, unless someone managed to damage the tower. But that still doesn't explain why the aliens would level a city they had complete control over."
Taking in a shaky breath, Anne closed her eyes as she attempted to get her wayward emotions under control. The doctor gasped as a thought occurred to her and her hand came up to cover her mouth. She pressed her lips to the back of her hand as to not come in contact with the blood staining her skin from Anthony's wounds.
"What about Hal?" Tom's eldest boy had gone with the convoy into the city. He wasn't... He couldn't be…
Lourdes head shot up at Anne's question. Hal?
"The last I heard, Hal's fine. Weaver ordered him back to the school before we even hit the city. Before coming here we stopped off at the school and gave them a quick rundown of what I knew. Hal was okay then."
Anne let out a sigh of relief and she saw Lourdes do the same. It was obvious the young girl held feelings for the eldest Mason boy. What would come of it, Anne didn't know.
"Alright. Thanks Pope. You can leave now. We've got to stabilize Anthony. I'll let you know when we're finished so I can give you a look over."
Wiping the sweat from her face with her arm, Anne turned back to Lourdes and her patient.
Hours later, Anthony had been patched up and moved to one of the bunk beds at the back of the bus. He was awake and talking and barring any infection or complication, he would be fine. Setting away the equipment used to treat the soldier's wounded arm, Anne opened one of the cupboards and pulled out a white bottle filled with pills. Shaking out two of them, she wandered back to where the fighter was seated.
"Here." Anne placed the two pills into his hand. "Take two and don't hesitate to ask for more if you feel the need. I want to keep you in here overnight, just to keep an eye on your injuries."
"Thanks, Doctor," Anthony replied, before being helped to lie back down on the stretcher, a low moan escaping as his injuries made contact with the hard mattress. He then proceeded to turn on his good side and soon after his breathing evened out as he fell into a drugged sleep.
Anne stretched, pulling her arms over her head and rocking her head to the side to alleviate the stiffness in her neck that had been gradually been building since the quick escape from the high school. She sat down on the now vacant seat and looked out the bus's window, quickly seeing the youngest Mason sitting alone by one of the pillars that held up the bridge that ran above them.
"Lourdes?" she called out to her assistant. "I'm heading out for some air. Let me know if you need me." After hearing a mumbled yes in reply, Anne headed out towards where Matt was sitting.
"Hey Matt," she said as she sat down next to him. He looked miserable; head down, hands fiddling with a flower that he was spinning between his fingers. He glanced up at her voice and Anne got a look at his eyes – eyes that were brimming with tears.
"Oh, Matt…" Feeling her heart break for the young boy, Anne gathered him in her arms and hugged him tight. He sobbed a little in her embrace, his small arms coming to wrap around her as well and Anne couldn't help but think about her own little boy and the last time they had shared a moment like this. Sammy had scraped his knee and after patching it all up, he'd pulled her into an embrace. Her husband had walked into the house minutes later and had smiled at the scene.
Her own lost family was one of the reasons she vowed to take care of the Mason's so much. The small family had been through so much; with losing their mom and then with Ben being taken by the Skitters… She was going to do her best to keep the four of them together.
"Don't you worry, Matt. Your dad and brothers are going to be just fine. They'll be here within the day and then you can hug them all you want."
Matt nodded against her neck and before loosening his grip. He looked up at her, a timid smile appearing on his face. "Sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean to cry all over you." His eyes widened in horror as something occurred to him. "You won't tell Hal and Ben will you?"
He looked so scared of his older brothers finding out that Anne had to laugh. Reaching out and ruffling his golden hair, she shook her head. "Of course not. It'll be our little secret." She finished the sentence with a sly wink.
She got a smile out of that and Anne noticed just how much his face changed when he smiled. It was beautiful sight to see a happy child, especially in the dark and dangerous days they were currently part of.
Anne sat there in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the sunshine and Matt's company. It was because of the silence that the dark-haired woman heard the sounds of approaching vehicles; multiple vehicles. Had the others finally arrived? She nudged Matt lightly and nodded her head in the direction of the engine noises.
Matt's eyes widened and his face split into a grin. She had to grab his arm and hold him back from running towards the noises. Yes, it might have been the others, but they still had to be cautious. You never knew who would show up and from previous experiences even if they said they were allies, they could very well be an enemy.
"Captain Weaver's here!" The loud shout echoed throughout the camp and immediately afterwards a huge cheer erupted from the crowd of both civilians and fighters alike. Anne smiled and let go of Matt's arm. As soon as he was released, the young Mason rushed towards where Anne could see several vehicles pulling into the space cleared in the middle of the camp.
Finally.
She stood up slowly, stretching a little before heading towards the horde of people. The throaty sound of motorbikes penetrated the air soon after, the source of the sound appearing around the corner. At seeing Hal Mason in the lead, Anne let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. One Mason down, two to go.
"Hal!" Matt's young voice carried over the elated crowd. Hal's head snapped up at hearing his name and quickly scanned the mass of people to spot his brother racing towards him, a huge smile on his face.
"Hey Matty!" Hal swung his leg over the bike and stretched a little before being thrown back slightly as his little brother wrapped his arms around him.
"Hey jerk." Matt looked up from hugging his brother to see Ben standing nearby, a battered backpack slung over one shoulder.
"Ben!" The youngest Mason quickly ran over and gave his other brother a hug too. "Where's Dad?" he asked, staring up at the two of them. He didn't miss the look they shared, or the way Ben bit his bottom lip.
Matt let go of Ben and stood back. "What's going on? What happened? Where's Dad?" Neither of his brothers answered with words but their silence said everything. Hal looked worried, his dark eyes narrowing and he wouldn't look at him; whereas Ben looked guilty, his eyes downcast, unable to look at anything except the ground.
The smile instantly slipped off his face. "What aren't you telling me? Dad's not…" he trailed off, unable to even finish thinking the thought.
Hal sighed, eyes closing briefly before opening and locking with his youngest brother's. "Come on, Matt. Captain Weaver's going to brief everyone so we'll go somewhere and we'll tell you everything, okay?" He shot a glare to Ben who looked like he would rather be dipping his hands in scalding water than dealing with it. Hal knew why too; he still blamed himself and didn't want to see the non-existent blame that would be evident in Matt's eyes when he found out.
It was scary just how much he still knew his younger brother.
Grabbing Matt's shoulders, Hal started to steer the young boy away from the copious amounts of people milling around the returned soldiers. He met Anne's eyes and shook his head at her inquisitive glance. 'He's not dead' he mouthed to her, hoping that the doctor was able to lip read. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, hands clasped together in front of her. Hal knew that she'd gotten the message.
"Go wait for me over by that tent," Hal ordered his younger brother.
Matt broke out of his hold and ran ahead, his face contorted into a mixture between anger and grief. Hal waited for Ben to slowly catch up, glancing at his brother before reaching out and gripping his arm. "Hey," he said. Ben ignored him, turning his head away. "Hey! Listen…" Hal grabbed the younger boy's chin and forced his gaze to him. "Matt's not going to blame you. He'll understand Ben. You've gotta understand that this wasn't your fault!"
Ben glared. "Whatever." He jerked his head out of Hal's grip and walked on ahead, towards where the youngest brother was now waiting.
Hal sighed. He wasn't going to be able to get through to Ben anytime soon… The dark-haired teen didn't know when Ben had acquired the attitude, but it was starting to grate on his nerves. Hal mentally noted that he was going to have to try and figure out what the hell was up with his brother – barring the obvious. Now, he had to tell his eight-year-old brother that his father was missing…
"Where is he, Hal?" Matt whispered, his lower lip trembling and tears forming in his eyes. "Is Dad… is he d-d-dea—?" Hal closed his hands into fists as his brother's stuttering. The boy couldn't even speak the word.
"Hey," Hal murmured and knelt down, bring himself level with Matt. He reached forward and placed his hands on Matt's shoulders, peering at his brother's face as it turned away from him. "Hey," he repeated. "Matt, look at me. C'mon kiddo, look at me."
It took a while, but eventually Matt turned his head to the front. Hal could see tears tracing down his brother's tanned cheeks, slowly dripping off his chin and wetting the collar of his shirt. The eldest Mason brother lifted a hand off Matt's shoulder and flicked away the tears.
"No tears. There's no need for them, okay?" Matt nodded in response, sniffing slightly. "Dad's not dead," Hal revealed, watching in anticipation as the grief disappeared and was quickly replaced by shock, surprise and relief before settling in happiness.
"Dad's… Dad's not d-dead?"
Hal shook his head. "No, he's not." Hearing a quiet snort come from his left, Hal flicked his gaze over and saw Ben folding his arms over his chest, looking away from them. Hal didn't have the heart to tell Matt that it was most likely that even though their father had been alive when he got on the spaceship, there was no guarantee that he was now.
"Then where is he?" Matt asked, his brows furrowing as he tried to figure out what was going on. Hal opened his mouth as he attempted to answer, but was cut out as Ben spoke up.
"Dad got on a spaceship." Wow, Hal thought as he blinked at Ben. That was blunt.
"What!?" Matt exploded, knocking Hal's hands off his shoulders and glaring at his brothers. "Dad got on a what!?"
Hal glared darkly at Ben, who, with his arms crossed over his chest, looked every bit the rebellious teenager. Thanks a lot, Ben, Hal thought. Ben's personality seemed to have done a one-eighty in the last five minutes. It made Hal a little wary, as Ben had never been one for violent mood swings before, but this wasn't the time to dwell on those thoughts. He filed away the thoughts for another time.
"Matt!" Hal shouted as the youngest of the three launched himself at Ben, blonde curls flying around his face as struggled to get past Hal. "Calm down!" When that didn't seem to work, Hal sucked in a deep breath and resorted to drastic measures. The last thing he needed (or wanted) was for the commotion to reach the Second Mass's populace.
"Shit, Matt! Stop!" Hal wrapped his arms around Matt's waist and without a pause, planted the boy on his ass on the dirty ground. A cry shot out of the blonde boy's mouth as he was forcefully forced down, his brother's arms tight around his body.
It was only then that Hal realised that through the anger and struggles, Matt was actually crying. Muffled sobs wracked his small frame as the boy trembled in his arms. Hal pressed his lips together as he brought Matt to rest against his chest, lifting his head to stare at the sky, before closing his eyes; his emotions were all over the place.
"Why?"
The dark-haired teen blinked. What?
"Why?" Oh, it was Matt. "Why would he do that? Why would Dad leave us?" The words were barely above a whisper, the happiness that had stemmed from the news that their father wasn't dead gone. That joy had been replaced by a much uglier emotion – grief.
"It was to protect me."
"Ben…" Hal breathed. Ben looked miserable. His green eyes dark and filled with an emotion he couldn't quite place. He made to intervene, but was stopped by the dark look flung his way. Blinking, he pulled Matt closer to his chest, hugging the distraught boy.
"The aliens said that I wasn't free from the harness and the only way they'd leave me alone was if he got on the ship. So he did." That said, Ben turned on his heel and strode off, leaving behind his brothers sitting on the ground, one shocked into silence, the other crying.
Walking away from his brothers was hard, Ben found as he left. He could hear Matt's muffled sobs and Hal trying to comfort the youngest Mason son and Ben clenched his hands into fists to fight down the rage that had suddenly appeared, erasing the grief from a moment ago. It wasn't that he was angry at Hal or Matt; no, he was angry at himself. He was angry that his father had been such an ass to even think of leaving them; he was angry at himself, for not being strong enough to resist the harness and whatever the aliens were doing to him; he was angry that he was still being treated as a child, unable to make his own decisions.
He quickly strode over to a secluded area of trees and slumped down against one of them, before leaning forward and bringing his hands up to cover his face. What was he doing? Why was he so eager to join the fight and most likely end up getting himself killed? Did he even have the guts to go through with it? He knew he'd told Hal that he wanted to fight, and Ben knew that whatever the Skitters had done to him was going to help, but… did he have the mental strength to pick up a gun and fire it? He was just a fifteen-year-old math geek after all…
Sighing, Ben dropped his hands and leaned back, resting his head against the bark. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander.
Should he do it?
Yes.
Would he do it?
Yes.
Could he do it?
Maybe…
There was only one way to find out.
Eyes snapping open, Ben pushed himself off the ground, determination running through his alien-enhanced body. First off, he had to find Weaver.
Once upon a time he had been a fifteen-year-old weak math geek, always reading and learning, never popular and preferred staying inside on his computer than outside doing sports and socializing.
Now, he was a fifteen-year-old survivor; an ex-prisoner of war, an experiment to a band of aliens. He was stronger than he'd ever been; he was stronger in both mind and body. He'd endured pain, a lot more than his family would ever know; he'd had aliens poking around in his head, telling him what to do, controlling his body while his own consciousness was captive in a caged corner of his mind. He'd almost been broken.
And he lived to be set free. He may not have the knowledge of a soldier, but he was willing to learn so that he could destroy the very things that almost destroyed him from the inside out.
He wanted to fight.
Sorry not much happens in this chapter… Next chapter sees Ben have that conversation with Weaver and his training begins :) Most of it is already written and I've written a few more scenes for down the track – WICKED action scenes. You can think the Iron Man 3 soundtrack for the inspiration lol.
Pretty please review!
