Part IV: The 59TH
"Maybe you should sit down…," Rob started. Jason waved him off dismissively. "I'm fine, I'm okay," Jason interrupted firmly, running a hand through his hair. His fingers glided across his scalp until he reached the back, his index finger rubbed against the throbbing part of his head. Pain spiked through his skull, he cried out. Everyone jumped in surprise, throwing wary looks in the elder Hawkins' direction.
He ignored them and focused on keeping himself conscious. How hard did he hit his head, or did that thing scratch him? Untangling his fingers from his hair, Jason looked down to find his hand covered in blood. Across from him, Lilly paled at the sight of blood on his hand. "Jason?" Lily and Rob said in unison. Jason glanced away from his hand to regard Lily, no sooner than he did the room blurred.
Rob rushed forward and caught his brother before he hit the ground, only to wind up falling himself. Hud watched the scene from the table and started to get up, but a wave of Lily's hand stayed him. Jason let out a hoarse laugh, his head throbbed at the sound of it. "Think I stood up… a little too fast," He said. "No, I think you've got a concussion," Rob rebuked, struggling to his feet. "Here, let me help," Lily mumbled. Lily grabbed Jason's right arm, aiding both men to their feet. Rob thanked her silently and with little trouble they made it back to the couch with Jason.
Jason adjusted himself on the couch, so that he was leaning against the back. He suffered in silence as Lily checked his head, hissing when her fingers brushed against his injury. Lily bit her lip worriedly; The cut didn't look too bad, though the blood seeping from it said otherwise. "Rob could you get me some napkins and water?" Lily asked. Rob nodded and jumped up from the couch. "Stay awake, Jason, okay? Talk to me," Lily commanded gently, patting him on the face. Jason grunted in affirmative, pressing a hand to his forehead. His head was killing him. "What about?" He asked.
"Anything," Lily answered breathlessly.
Across from them, Marlena watched the scene with concern. "Is -- is he okay?" Marlena asked hesitantly, tossing a bloody napkin to the ground. Rob nodded his quickly, grabbing up a half used bottle of water along with several napkins. "Yeah, he should be," He answered shakily. Marlena watched the younger brother curiously. Should be? She wanted to repeat the phrase but decided to let it be, Rob was high strung and she was in no condition to squabble. "If you say so," She said. Rob didn't acknowledge her response, he walked away from the table.
(Rob):
I'm not sure how long we've been down in this room, it feels like forever. In the short time that passed, I feared for Beth's welfare. I didn't know whether or not she was still alive, or if I would get to her in time if she was. Lily and I spent a good fifteen minutes cleaning up Jason's cut; Combined with the fall, that thing must've got of hold of Jason's head at one point during his struggle. Now that the adrenaline left our systems, we were tired; My brother was having a hard time staying awake, Lily looked ready to burst into tears and Hud -- Hud, despite it all, actually looked the best out of the four of us.
Marlena's skin had turned a ugly shade of gray from the loss of blood and exhaustion, yet there this kind of ease on her face because of Hud; He kept her talking, distracted somewhat from her predicament. I, on the other hand, could feel my feet teetering on the edge of my own breaking point. At first, the tunnels seemed -- and were -- a great idea, but if I knew nightmarish creatures like the ones that attacked us I would've never suggested it.
I don't think I would've anyway. I would do anything to get to Beth, but the fact that I have four other lives I'm putting in danger just makes me feel worse for the decisions I made. Its my fault their in this mess, my fault they were harmed. I didn't try hard enough to convince them to leave and now their stuck with me.
Sighing, I rubbed my face several times to shake the sleep out of my system. The skin of my palm prickled at the stubble on my face, I shifted my gaze toward my left arm when Jason fell against me. Panic gripped me, turning around I grabbed my brother by the shoulders and shook him. "Jason, don't fall asleep," I snapped. Jason jerked in my grasp, his eyes flew open revealing his fatigue and dilated pupils. He pulled himself out of my grasp proceeding to wipe the drool off his face.
"Sorry, man," Jason mumbled, pressing his hand against his forehead again. I watched him wince. Out of pure conversation, I asked, "It still hurts?" Jason's lips pursed in mild irritation when he nodded, he wasn't too keen on being verbal at the moment. "Just stay awake, alright?" Jason opened his eyes long enough to glare daggers into my head, I raised my hands in mock-surrender, rising from the couch.
I walked across the short distance to the vending machines, Lily watched me over Marlena's head while she continued to apply pressure to her bleeding wound. Hud stood up from the table, fiddling with the camera. "Hey," He said, raising the camera up to meet me. I leaned away from the approaching camera a bit, Hud was a little overzealous with that thing. "Marlena's hurt pretty bad. You know?" Hud trailed off, lowering the camera from his face a bit. I titled my head back a little, I was caught off guard by his question; What were we going to do?
I needed to get to Beth, but I could still hear the chattering from those crab-things outside if I listened hard enough. The chances of going the same way we came in were slim to none. Casting a look over my shoulder I regarded the doorway behind us. It wasn't locked, we hadn't checked it so it was the best chance. "Well, we can wait here for a little while, I guess. Hope those things don't get through the door," I suggested.
"Yeah, okay, what's the next option?" Marlena replied huskily, wincing when Lily pressed against her shoulder. I sighed quietly in half-relief, walking across the room I proceeded toward the vending machine. "Well, we can try and find out what's out this way-- maybe find another tunnel--"
Behind me, I heard my brother cough to cover a response up. "No, no more tunnels," Lily interrupted shortly. I nodded my head understandingly, I turned back to Hud. "Well, I dunno. I guess we try out luck up top," I said, finally, preparing myself for a negative reaction. The room was silent for a time, I watched Lily glance sideways at my brother who was sitting up a little straighter and meeting her gaze. "That sounds good to me," Jason said, rubbing his forehead. Marlena sat quietly, wincing whenever Lily's hands would shift on her shoulder.
"Okay, just to be clear, our options are; die here, die in the tunnels, or die in the streets...," Hud joked dryly, though I could tell he was serious about the stipulations he was presenting. "Is that pretty much the summing up of it?" He looked to us without moving the camera from its original position. I cracked a half-smile while I nodded. "Pretty much," I answered, then added, "But, well, we don't even know where we are. So let's just go up and look around," I used my hands to explain myself, a habit Jason and I inherited from our mother (who couldn't sit still whenever she spoke). "See if we recognize anything." I looked around the small room, everyone nodded slowly in agreement. We had nothing to loose, except our lives, by venturing out through the mystery door.
Lily bent over Marlena's shoulder, asking, "Do you think you'll be able to walk?" Marlena mumbled something as she struggled to stand up, in the dim light of the room her pallor was looking whiter than before. "Hey, let me help you," Hud offered, extending a hand. "I'm fine, I'm fine," Marlena protested weakly, not fighting when Hud positioned himself behind her and gently hoisted her into a standing position by the waist. She moved her leg from beside the chair, slowly making her way from the table, Hud followed her.
Lily left Marlena's side once she was sure Marlena would be looked after by Hud, I watched her approach my brother slowly. Jason opened his eyes again, his face was haggard and contorted with pain. "Come on, Jason," She said softly. Jason nodded his head with a wince, I noticed he wore the same dazed expression on his face that Marlena did. I assumed it was from the blood loss or the concussion. He stood without trouble only taking Lily's offered hand when he needed to steady himself. Exhaling, Jason regarded me with determined blue eyes. "You ready?" He asked me. I nodded my head in affirmative. Without another word, we approached the doorway.
Jason watched his brother place his hands upon the door knob and the surface of the door itself. Slowly he turned the knob opening the door to a crack, light poured through blinding him for a moment. Rob peered outside for a second before opening the door completely, stepping outside the office. Jason followed closely behind, squinting his eyes as he attempted to adjust to the intense light change.
He didn't recognize his surroundings at first; the smudged plastic window protecting the empty booth should've tipped him off. However, as his eyes glided slowly across the tile concrete up towards the metallic booths attached to the wall and metal gates, Jason steadily began to realize where they were. "We…at -- this is the 59TH," Lily and Rob murmured, nearly at the same time.
Jason stood up a little more, unable to believe their luck. To think that they would've overshot their destination (maybe) if weren't attacked by those crab-things was a little bewildering, he looked around the subway entrance in a silent daze. The scene was like something out of waking dream. Hud and Marlena came up from behind him, regarding the station with the same awe as well. "Can you believe it?" He asked, grinning weakly.
Marlena regarded the eldest Hawkins brother with half-mass eyes, she shook her head slowly. No, not really, she wanted to say, but the inkling of bile rising in her throat prohibited her from doing so. Turning away from the silent brunette, Jason's gaze was drawn to the path before them. Behind a pair of glass doors, a strange luminescent beam shinned through onto the floor. If he hadn't double checked, Jason almost would've believed daylight had arrived already. Rob cast a confused glance over his shoulder. "That's weird," He murmured.
"What?" Hud blurted, oblivious as always. No one bothered to answer him, with another verbal agreement concerning the light from Lily, they followed Rob over to the door. Jason picked up his pace joining his brother at the door. The light was so intense close-up that he was staring through his eyelashes. Raising a hand up to block the light he tried to get a better look inside, but the light was so intense that he could see nothing beyond the glare. That is weird. Who would put a spotlight inside mall? He thought.
"What do you think it means?" Rob inquired. Jason shrugged stepping away from the door. "A signal, maybe? For Help?" Jason suggested, grabbing the handle. The brothers locked gazes for a second, thinking the other could answer the question, then proceeded to open the doors. Rob entered first, shielding his eyes from the light as he ventured inside; Jason held the door while Marlena and Lily entered next. "Hey, dude, you go next," Hud said, coming up to Jason.
"What is this a democracy, Hud? Get inside already," Jason snapped irritably. "Okay, okay, jeez," Hud said quickly. Hud let the camera fall to his side, he walked through the doorway. Jason cast a wary glance behind him before following passing through the doors as well. The silent atmosphere of the mall set the group on edge; They were so used to the noise of various conversations spread throughout and area being crowded with people, that the overturned mannequins, discarded clothing and a single Slusho! cup lying on a pile clothes looked like something out of a ghost town. Turning away from the light, Jason eyed a blue dress-shirt hanging idly on a mannequin a few feet away from him, rubbing his arms. "Hello!" Rob called.
His voice echoed through the room, Jason looked around, startled out of his stupor. "A little louder why don't you?" He complained softly, moving across the room. "Jason, what are you doing?" Lily hissed. Jason gestured to the mannequin, grabbing the collar of the shirt he pulled it off the mannequin leaving him only with his grey shirt. Jason tore the tags from the shirt, slipping the soft cotton over his sore arms, stepping back onto the path. "I can't believe you did that," Lily gave him a disapproving look, Jason ignored it rubbing his chilled arms. "I was cold, sue me," He said, his irritation getting the better of him.
Lily chose not to respond to his biting comment, turning she moved to catch up with Rob. They left the men's section of the store continuing through the women and children section's of the store, catching trails of yellow-greenish liquid and blood on the floor. Jason regarded the mixing fluids with wary eyes. This place looked and felt like it had been attacked by the looks of things, meaning it was not as safe as he hoped it was. Behind him, Hud continued to document the ruined surroundings of the mall, keeping his fears to himself -- when Marlena dropped out of his line of sight.
"Marlena?" He said, turning the camera's eye onto her. Marlena didn't hear him, she was lost in her world of pain, hand pressed against abdomen, fighting back the sudden pressure that pressed against her ribs. "Are you okay?" A voice asked. She glanced up into the light, brown eyes wide open, her head swam causing her vision to blur. A figure stepped into the light, Marlena recognized Lily's wavy hair immediately.
Turning to the right, she spotted Jason beside her, watching her with concern. "I'm… I'm really dizzy," She answered, swallowing roughly. "Do you need to sit down?" Rob asked. Marlena considered the offer as best as her throbbing head would allow; Rest sounded so nice right now, then she thought of Beth stuck in her apartment, needing help, and reconsidered. "No," She answered, raising her chin. Her vision wavered in and out of focus, she ignored it to an extent.
"Are you sure? 'Cause we can--"
"No, I'm fine," Marlena replied again, cutting Hud off. "She needs a doctor," Lily met Jason's pensive gaze as Marlena fought to recompose herself. Jason agreed, but he doubted there any of them were going to get any medical attention any time soon. Marlena ignored Lily's concern and started to move forward. "No, I'm fine. I'm totally fine," Marlena continued protest. Hud, Lily, and Jason started to converge on her following her stumbling movement, read to catch her at a moments notice.
Hud, Rob, and Lily continued to express their concerns and questions over her condition, Marlena soldiered on ignoring their voices. "Guys, c'mon, leave her alone --" Jason started to say. As the group started down the corridor, several bodies emerged quickly from the shadowed parts of the store, armed to the teeth. "Freeze! Don't Move!" The voices cried, surrounding them.
Automatically, the eldest Hawkins placed himself in front of the group, dodging a grabbing hand of a soldier. Jason nearly swallowed his tongue, he raised hands up in sync with the others, praying they wouldn't be gunned down by a bunch of overzealous soldiers. That was a stupid movie, don't do that again, He chided himself, biting the inside of his mouth.
"How many are you?" One man demanded, jerking the nose of the gun in Rob's direction. "It's just us -- just the five of us," Lily and Rob responded shakily. Sergeant Pryce's eyes darted over the group of five young men and women cautiously before raising his hand to the radio attached his vest. "We got five civilians here," He spoke into the radio. There was a brief silence after the burst of static. The five nervous, awaiting their judgment.
"Alright, bring 'em in," Came the monotone response. Without hesitation the soldiers moved forward, separating the tight group. "Come, on. Move, move," Pryce demanded. He grabbed Lily and pulled her forward, Marlena wrapped her arm around Lily's to support herself; Her legs were loosing strength fast. "Okay! Okay," Lily murmured, picking up the pace. Jason moved away from the soldier attempting to grab him by the arm and jogged over to Lily, Rob followed his brother's lead.
Hud remained behind the group, the unfortunate victim of pushy soldiers unhappy with his pace. They moved quickly through the mall, past the blinding spotlights towards a tent. Rob moved up a little further to match the pace of Sergeant Pryce's pace. "Sir, sir. Please, need your help. We're trying to get to our friend, she's hurt. She lives right by here, at Columbus Circle," Rob explained. Pryce shot the boy a look, was he was crazy? Anyone outside was good as dead. "That is not where you wanna be right now," He said, lifting the tarp out of his way. Jason caught the tarp before it fell, allowing the others to go through.
He waited until Hud was a couple inches away then proceeded after the others, careful not to stretch his arms too far. "Do you guys know what that thing is? Out there, do you know what it is?" Lily asked hastily, balancing Marlena's weight against her. "If they know what it is, they ain't telling' me. Whatever it is, its winning," Pryce answered without hesitation. The open declaration of defeat shocked Jason, the full meaning of the soldier's words didn't hit him, however, until he and the others entered the makeshift triage center.
The smell of blood and disinfectant filled the air, creating a disorienting environment alongside the chaos of medical machines and screaming. A pair of men walked by him, carrying an injured soldier -- his face and head wrapped in gauze stained by blood. Bodies laid on beds or tables, IV lines hung up next to them or sheets covering their bodies. "Watch out. Got another bite here," Came a man's voice. Jason and Hud stepped out of the way, watching as two men in huge blue Hazmat suits rolled a dead man's body away on a stretcher.
He was no older than 20 by the looks of him, dry blood ran down his face from his eyes, nose, and ears, giving his pale skin a ghostly appearance. The most noticeable thing about his body was his stomach. It was blown outward, flaps of skin spread out on his lower half revealing his intestines, which hung over the stretcher, and empty insides. Jason choked back a gag, his senses were overwhelmed. "Oh, don't look at that. Gross," Hud muttered, grimacing at the smell. Jason proceeded to breathe slowly, in and out, walking toward Lily. Her hand taking a hold of his own, shook him out of his daze. "C'mon, babe," Jason rasped, pulling her and Marlena along with him. Hud followed after Pryce and the others. Rob came up to Pryce when he stopped next to a desk. "…Please, we can't stay here," Rob tried once again. "We have.."
"Hey, not now," The Sergeant interrupted, only looking briefly at Rob. Rob's body shook with frustration as he was ignored and Pryce focused his attention on the approaching soldier. "Sir we have two, F-18s on route from Selfridge. Four more are arming up, maybe, 30 minutes out," The soldier rattled off, with the occasional nod of his head. Pryce grunted in the affirmative.
The group stood in silence observing the command center, overcrowded by paperwork, computers, and people alike. Soldiers moved from place to place, shouting orders or responses. It was truly a surreal experience. The room suddenly stilled when a middle aged man entered the crowded space, his expression was hard as he scanned the room. "Listen up people! Rack 'em and pack 'em," He said. "We're phantoms in fifteen."
(Jason):
There was about a second of stillness before the soldiers jumped up from their seats, moving frantically around the room like -- forgive the terminology - ants. My brow furrowed in confusion watching them packing things into cases, throwing on their vests and shouting orders out to each other. Okay, they were moving, this was good -- maybe we could get someone to help us get to Beth's apartment. Rob and I shared a hopeful glance.
I stepped out of the way of the guy they lead us inside, my eyes fell upon the oldest soldier. "Where the hell did you fine them?" He asked roughly, adjusting his vest. "They were in the tunnels," The other soldier responded, casting us a brief glance. I raised my eyebrow at his response, wondering how he could've possibly guessed we came out of the tunnels; My memory was fuzzy, but I was sure there was another way inside this building, unless they barricaded them.
"Yeah, we had to walk all the way from spring Street," Hud spoke up, almost sounding proud of our feat. The older man stared my friend down with a dull expression, he honestly didn't care where we came from -- he was in a rush for some reason and our story was the last thing on his mind, I'm betting. "Get them ready for transport, put them on the chopper," The man said, walking away. In that moment, Rob's face fell and I knew they weren't going to help us.
Naturally, from a rational point of view, Beth was a lost cause, we were the ones in need of immediate aid. The grunt nodded and grabbed my arm, I winced as I was pushed forward along with my brother. He let go my arm, pain spiked up my arm without warning, I bit down hard on my lip to conceal my grunt of pain. Lily, and Marlena were pushed ahead of us, while Hud continued to linger in the back (as usual). "Move, move. Come on," The solider said, ushering us forward. Rob started to move against the path they wanted us to follow, I stumbled to a halt, given that I was behind him, trying to keep my abdomen away from his elbows.
"No, wait. Wait!" He cried desperately, raising his arms in protest. "We have to get to her! Our friend is very badly hurt." Rob was trying his hardest to keep his temper in check, his desperation was reaching its breaking point; He was going to crack. The older man continued to march forward, monitoring our progress down the hall. "Sorry, son, can't help you. Get them on the chopper," He said. There was not a hint of remorse in his voice, not one bit. Truth to be told, I was starting to reconsider what I had said to my brother. This guy was douchebag, a desensitized one at that. In the corner of my eye, I noticed several medics and soldiers coming toward us, intent on keeping us from getting to rowdy.
"No, but, please, listen to me," Rob shouted, as the man started to walk away from us. He made a reach for the man, but a medic stepped into his path and grabbed him by the shoulders of shirt. "Let go! Just listen for a second, please!" Rob struggled against the man, while the rest of us were apprehended by soldiers. The military was loosing my respect faster by the second. Frustrated, I lashed out against the man that grabbed my right arm hitting him square in the face. He recoiled violently, his eyes wide with the exact sort of surprise that must've crossed my face. Quicker than I could react, his fist came flying toward, I tried to move but the bodies behind me restricted any sort movement. He fist connected with my stomach, I doubled over instantly, my entire lower body was on fire. Fell to my knees, wrapping my arms around my waist while I pressed face to the filthy ground. Through the chaos of various screams, I heard my brother and Lily call out for me.
"Soldier stand down!" The older man shouted angrily. "Turn that Goddamned camera off, now!" I heard the camera get hit by something followed by Hud's protests against the camera being taken from him. I swayed from side to side, trying to focus on something other than the searing pain in my side; I could feel the warmth of my own blood coming through my shirt and on my fingers. A pair hands slid across my shoulders, for a moment I thought it was Rob but the hair that fell against my face told me it was Lily. "Jason, baby, are you alright?!" She breathed into my ear.
I nodded my head quickly trying to rise to my feet. My stomach muscles protested the more I tried to sit up, through my struggle I did my best to ignore it. "No, no, don't move…" Lily said, trying to hold me down. I never had a chance to response with my usual "I'm fine" lie, one the soldier's grabbed me by the arm hauled me and Lily to our feet (she was still holding onto me when he grabbed me). I bit the inside my mouth, squeezing my eyes shut against the pain. I snatched my arm out of his grasp, pulling my dress shirt over my bleeding side. I stared the soldier down, he regarded me with steely eyes before walking away. Lily stood next to me, her arm hanging lightly around my waist. Rob turned to me, noticing that my bloodied hand. His eyes widened. "Are you --"
"I'm fine, alright, Rob," I deflected his question, with a short reply, moving my hand away from my waist. I didn't want to draw too much attention. Pulling my shirt closer to around myself I folded my arms, tucking my hands out of sight. The eldest soldier walked up to us, his face was contorted with raw irritation. "What the hell is the matter with you people?! You are getting on that chopper whether you like it not!" He roared at us. "Please, we are not trying to cause you problems, but our friend needs our help," Lily stated. She was using her 'telephone' voice, it was low and non-threatening, but maintained the firmness she usually spoke with when dealing callers. "…We've been trying to get to her all night…"
"That is not my problem. Anyone who has not been evacuated with the Military, are more than likely dead by now," The man snapped. "She is not dead!" Rob yelled, moving forward. I grabbed my brother's shirt pulling him backward as soon the men around us started toward us. "Rob calm, down, please!" I hissed, glaring at him. Rob relaxed -- somewhat -- allowing me to turn to meet the embittered douchebag, I dubbed 'the commander'.
Taking a breath I said, "Sir, we have come all this way just to get our friend, alright? If -- If you send us on those helicopters, if you take us out of here, then our entire trip will be for nothing. Okay? Literally for nothing," I said, my hand sweeping across the empty space in front of me. "We have to get to Columbus Circle." The commander stared me down with his steely blue eyes, his frown couldn't have become a straighter line if it tired. Rob came out from behind me, eyeing the surrounding military personnel surrounding us. "All we want to do is to make our way," Rob said, earnestly. "I am not jeopardizing this operation or my men," The commander said, his expression growing sour. "You are getting on that chopper now!"
"I don't want your help," Rob assured him, with a shake of his head. Still, the commander wasn't hearing my brother's words. He was dead set on throwing us on a pair of helicopters. "You have no idea what's out there!" He proclaimed, angrily. Hearing those words leave the commander's mouth almost made me laugh. We didn't have to be soldiers to know what was lurking outside. We'd been caught in the thick of things several times, attacked by them in the subways, we knew what was out there.
"I don't care what's out there, listen to me she's dying!" Rob cried, loosing his temper again. The commander made a rebuke that was lost in translation as my brother continued. "The girl that I love more than anything is dying and its my fault. She should've been with me tonight and I let her go and…" Rob paused, blinking rapidly to clear away his tears. "…and I know you have your hands full, I get that. But we're gonna go after her and if you want to stop me, then your just going to have to shoot me…" The deadly serious expression on my brother's face made me worry, worry that they were actually going to take his--
"Hud," Marlena's drowsy voice surfaced from the background, causing everyone to turn in response. Marlena swayed forward like she couldn't keep her balance, her mouth hung open like she was going to vomit. Her earring fell from her earlobe onto the floor, her eyes opened revealing blood red eyes devoid of emotion. To say I was taken aback was an understatement. It was the first time I actually bothered to look at Marlena since we encountered the soldiers. Her skin was a shade paler than before, blood ran from her nose and eyes, yet she seemed completely unaware of it. The way her fingers were pressed against her stomach reminded me of a vice. She stumbled forward again trying to reach for Hud. "…I don't feel so good," She said, bowing her head.
"Marlena…?" I whispered.
Like an alarm, everything around the five young men and women seemed to go off the moment Hud uttered the words, "Oh Shit." The dread vibrating in his voice reflected in the situation so well, Jason was inclined to agree. "Bite!" A woman screamed shrilly, starting them out of their stupor. Jason watched as a female medic came out of nowhere, colliding with Marlena while she grabbed her by the arm. Marlena was shaken out of her haze immediately, she glanced around the room in confusion as she was pulled upright.
"We got a bite!" A heart monitor went off rapidly from across the room, it was as if the entire room was put on alert by the woman's panic. Marlena watched in bewilderment, the two huge blue blurs reach out and grab her by the arms. She was barely aware of her friend's repeatedly asking if she was alright. Lightheadedness befell her, she fell her knees screaming, pain swelled inside of her stomach pressing against her ribs.
Lt. Col. Graff lowered his safetied automatic and stepping into the bath of Rob and Jason, followed closely by Pryce. "Get her moving!" He bellowed. "Get her to quarantine!" The woman backed out of the way allowing the hazmat team to drag the young woman down the hall. Hud watched through the lense of the camera in confusion, his heart twisting every time Marlena's screams grew with intensity. Where were they taking her? "What are you guys doing?! Hold a second!" He shouted. Hud tried to move forward, Pryce blocked his path.
The soldiers around them ignored their cries of confusion. Surrounding the foursome, they each grabbed a respective arm and started to pull the group away from Marlena. "Let go of her!" Lily screamed, beating furiously against one of the hazmat garmented men. He turned to throw Lily off of his back, inadvertently throwing Marlena into the path of the Hawkins brothers. "Marlena!" Hud cried, trying to get from behind his friends.
Marlena fell forward heaving up blood from her mouth and nose, Rob and Jason jumped back in surprise, their skin prickled at sensation of blood. "Get them moving, now, Goddamnit!" Graff barked, vanishing in the frenzy of green fatigues running around the room. "Wait stop! Stop! Marlena!" Jason said, trying to pull his arm out of the soldier's grasp. Another pair of hands grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him back. Jason fought against them to no avail.
"Oh my God, wait! Marlena! Marlena!!" Hud continued to scream. The hazmat-men were moving faster away from them while they were dragged in other direction. Marlena watched through the haze of blood as her friends were pull away from her. Scared and in pain, she shouted the first name that came to mind. "Hud! Hud! Hud!" Marlena tried to call for him again, blood bubbled out from her throat, pouring out her mouth. Now she was struggling to breath. Her breathing became loud and ragged, she was choking as the pressure rose and she was pulled behind the tarp.
Rob and Lily were the first ones pulled outside into the service hallway, Jason struggled against them long enough to catch the final moments of his friend. Marlena looked as though she was starting to fight against the hazmat donned men, if only for a second. The next moment, however, was the equivalent of nightmare coming to life. Right before his eyes her body started to expand from the hips and her torso widened as well. her body stilled for a millisecond, and with one last ragged cry of pain, a burst blood splattered across the tarp. Marlena's body jerked violently out of the hands of her captors, falling out of sight as he and Hud were pulled outside. Jason's heart stopped completely.
"Oh, God! Marlena! Wait, what happened to Marlena!?" Hud shouted, to no avail. It all happened so fast, Jason could feel himself fighting against the three men who continued to haul him away from Marlena, could hear Lily, Hud, and Rob (maybe even himself) screaming out their confusion and anger against the army. Either way, whatever edge he'd been teetering on, he had fallen over now. As he was thrown against the wall, across from Lily and the others, Jason allowed himself to fall. He cried, choking his own sobs as he did so.
Lily jerked her arm back and forth trying to get it free, she was pushed about by the three soldiers and Rob trying to break free of one man's grip. "Let go of me!" She managed to say, freeing her wrist. She slapped the offending solider three times on the arm before throwing her hands up against the wall to support herself. Pryce raised a arm in her path, blocking the counter attack from one of the soldiers. "Calm down! It Is over! It is over! There is nothing you can do!" Pryce was shouting over the reaming yelling. "There is nothing you can do for her now. It is over." He repeated the phrase one more time. Rob cracked the very notion of the words, pressing his hand against his face, he folded one arm across his chest and sobbed quietly. With the exception of Hud's quiet murmuring of "What just happened? What just happened?" silence reigned over the hall. Pryce watched the four warily before turning to his comrades. "Rogers, clear out of here," He said.
One man looked uncertain, perhaps suspicious. "You sure?" He asked. Pryce nodded, his expression never faltering. "I'll get them from the choppers from here," Pryce replied. The two men regarded each other briefly then headed back down the hall toward the chaotic triage center.
"Oh my God," Hud panted. "What just happened? What just--" Jason dragged his hand across his face, looking up to regard everyone around him. This wasn't real, none of this was happening to him, to any of them. This was a nightmare. Jason glanced up at his brother the exact moment the younger man glanced down at him. Guilt ridden brown eyes met angry, grief-stricken, blue ones. She isn't worth this. She can't be worth this… Rob. Oh, God. Marlena… Jason broke eye contact first, lowering his gaze the moment his shoulders shook with sobs. Marlena…
(TBC)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the delay. Writers block occured and it took Rob Dougan to cure it. I hope you enjoy this one.