A/N: well guy's last chapter got 4 reviews! That's one more then I asked for and I want to thank you all for your great advice! I know that I didn't really keep my promise to update so fast it makes your heads spin and I'm super sorry but I hope the chapter makes up for the wait.
I hope this chapter okay. I know it's a bit slow but I promise it's just building towards the next chapter so please bear with me.
Once again please let me know if …
1: If this is jumpy
2: and if I need to get to the point a bit faster
Please and thank you!
Like I said this chapter is a little slow and probably will seem mostly pointless but I hope you like it any way. It suppose to show the beginnings of a relationship building so that why it's so dull. Well please R&R! If only to give advice on what I need to change to make it better.
Oh and if anyone knows what italics is best to use on stories please please please please tell me!
HERE'S HOPING YOU'LL ENJOY IT!
Chapter 4
My name is Tom Leighton and according to J.T. I am 10 years 9 months and 3 days old.
And if you thought that the worst of our troubles where over your dead wrong.
"Tommy, J.T. say's you need to wake up now. We have to move," Kelsey voice broke through the empty blackness that had been my dreams.
With a reluctant groan I opened my eye and, for a second, was confused as to why there was open sky above my head.
Sadly the blessed oblivion to what was going on didn't stay with me very long and I was once again smacked brutally in the face by reality.
For a moment I considered the benefits of just closing my eyes and going back to sleep if only to be as far from this cursed reality as possible. But as Kelsey leaned into my new limited sight I knew I couldn't do that. No matter how much I wanted to escape I would never leave Kelsey alone.
So I gave a nodded and slowly set up my arms shaking under my weight. As soon as I had fully set up I found another can of tuna shoved under my nose.
"Eat up. You're going to need your strength." J.T. surprisingly cheerful voice sounded.
I glanced up at him only to be met with a bright grin. Despite the trouble we where in couldn't help but return it. Giving a small nodded of thanks to J.T. I took the can he offered and turned towards Kelsey.
"Are you alright Kelly?" I asked trying to ignore the rasp of my voice.
"I'm fine Tommy," Kelsey whispered with a small smile that didn't quit manage to reach her eyes.
"Are you sure? Do you need to eat?" I rasped ignore the pain it inflicted on my throat.
"No," Kelsey shook her head; "J.T.'s already stuffed me with two cans of tuna." She said nose wrinkling in distaste even as she sent an adoring gaze over to where J.T. had moved to pack a couple of cans of various nonperishable foods into a small back pack.
At the sound of his name J.T. turned around and gave a large grin.
"Of course, we got to put a little meat on those bones so there's more of you for me to tickle." J.T. grin making it self-known in his voice.
Almost as if that was a signal Kelsey yelped and started to scramble away just as J.T. lunged. I watched in surprise as J.T. suddenly pulled Kelsey close with one arm using the other to run his fingers quickly over Kelsey rib cage.
Kelsey let out a strange kind of strangled yelp and collapsed against the ground in a fit of laughter. The familiar sound soothed my fried nerves and seemed to relieve some of the seemingly endless pain. For a second I almost forgot that we where even in the middle of a crises. I could almost pretend I was just out camping with my sister and Dad like we use to do in the old days.
But the key word there was almost. Because back then it would have taken longer for Kelsey to start to gasp for breath. It would have taken longer for her body to start shaking so much it looked more painful the enjoyable. And Dad didn't have blinding bright blonde hair and striking blue eyes.
But it was almost like it had been and when J.T. finally pulled back and I was able to see Kelsey bright eyes sparkling in a way that was almost forgotten and that million watt smile she was famous for on her face I thought 'maybe for now almost is ok'
That thought lasted for all but 10 seconds.
Because when J.T. bent down and planted a fatherly kiss on Kelsey's dirt streaked for head I was reminded again in sharp detail what was going on. Kelsey and J.T. we both covered in dirt and soot. Kelsey long black hair tangled in a wild mess. Her face and body painfully thin.
And she was wearing the same baggy clothing she had been 5 days before. Only now at the bottom of her jeans and most shoes where covered in blood. J.T wasn't in any better of shape and I knew if I had a mirror I would see I looked just the same. With an aching pain in my chest I turned away from where the two where still giggling.
"You alright Tom?" J.T.'s laughter suddenly broke off and concern filled every note of his voice.
Turning back I forced a small grin on my face as I found two pairs of concerned eyes gazing at me.
"I'm fine," I reassured. Kelsey seemed except this and before long had pushed to her feet to go and continue where J.T. had left off in packing food.
J.T., however, was not fooled.
"You want to tell me how you really are?" He growled tone leaving no room for augments or lies.
For a while I stayed silent. Just taking time to absorb our surrounding and everything that was going on.
We set at the edge what appeared to be one of the many now dead Tarsus cornfields. The back of our small camp pressed against the thick tree trunks that lead into a dead forest.
We where hidden well even I knew that. But my mind still didn't like this area. Everything in it was dead. Just consent remind of the hell going on. And to me that seem like a bad omen.
I stayed think on this subject for a long while just to avoid J.T.'s question hoping maybe if I didn't say anything he'd get frustrated and just walk off. But eventually it became apparent that just wasn't going to happen.
So sighing I turned my thought away from my surrounding and all it represented to me and answered J.T.'s question.
"How do you think I am?" I growled bitterly.
For a second J.T. was just silent and the he sighed.
"I'm Sorry," J.T. whisper his voice breaking.
And just like that I remember last night and felt horribly guilty for taking my anger out on him. The kid already blamed himself and I wasn't helping him by making it seem like he was responsible for this.
I felt like reminding him of his promise not to blame himself but I felt it better not to.
So I changed the subject.
"Why do we have to leave," I asked feeling more then a little relieved at the prospect.
"Last night when I left after you woke up. I was doing a small patrol around the surrounding area of the clearing. I spotted smoke from a campfire a little ways away from the direction of the city. It a safe bet that it's Kodo's men looking for people that escaped from the square. Probably trying to make sure they don't contact Starfleet and tell them just what Kodo's did." J.T. explained.
I nodded to show I understood then pushed slowly to my feet.
Surprised J.T. scrambled to his feet as well.
"What do you want me to do?" I asked determined to help.
"Nothing," J.T. stated firmly his eyes once again becoming fatherly, " Nothing but sit down and eat. I told you you're going to need your strength that fever you got after you where shot was not a nice one and it's left you week. Regain some of your strength and then well see what we have for you to do."
I was about to protest when all of the sudden I was struck with a wave of dizziness that left me stumbling about.
Thanks to my bleary vision I was just able to make out J.T. lunge forward and a second later two thin arms caught me mid fall. It was like déjà vu and I felt for sure we where going to have a repeat of last night but, to my surprise, J.T. managed to keep his balance this time and lowered me back to the ground.
"Eat. It should help with the dizziness," J.T. ordered when I finally regained my senses.
With the evidence thrown in my face like that I knew I had no choice but to go along with J.T.'s orders. So I reached for the previously forgotten can of tuna, popped the tab, opened, stuck the spun in, dug out a nice sized bite and shoved it pointedly into my mouth to show J.T. he had won.
With a satisfied nod he walked over towards Kelsey who seemed to be taking inventory of how much food we had.
When I finally had finished eating and taken a sip or two out of the canteen some one had, probably purposely, left near me I had to reluctantly agree to the fact that I did feel stronger.
Almost as if sensing my thoughts J.T. turned around and gave me a grin.
When my eyes locked with his I could see something there. Something that seemed like a…DARE. He was daring me to do something but I didn't know what.
A smirk split J.T.
"Hey, Tom think you can come over here and give me a hand with something?" He quietly called.
That's when it clicked.
He was daring me to walk.
With a smirk and a prayer my newfound strength wasn't just mentally. I pushed ever so slowly to my feet. When I reached my full height I waited for the minor dizziness to wear off. And then I took a few experimental steps.
And when I didn't fall I felt a grin begin to tug at the corners of my mouth. I glanced up at J.T. to see him openly grinning and pride shining deep in his blue eyes.
Kelsey stood beside him beaming happily as if I had just roped her the moon. I felt my own grin grow and I was about walk closer when movement behind them caught my eye.
A shadow was moving slowly towards J.T. and Kelsey. It's shape and length signaling that it was in adult and the slow approach probably was so that they wouldn't hear the person coming. I could almost feel myself pale and I was sure my eyes where three times their normal size.
Fear grip every single part of my body. We hadn't moved camp fast enough… we had been found!
"J.T., KELSEY, BEHIND YOU!" The words where out of my throat before my thoughts had even caught up to me
J.T. flipped around to face the shadow person, pushing Kelsey behind him his stance defensive his chin raised and his fist held at his side ready to swing should guards come at us.
I tensed ready to pull Kelsey out of the way should a fight break out. (Cause J.T. looked bent on starting one.) After a second though the figure appeared in full view.
A loud piercing scream ripped through the air and I didn't have to look to know it had been Kelsey. If I hadn't been so shocked I probably would have screamed to.
Out of the woods came a limping young woman at the most only 30 years old.
Her long reddish brown hair was in a tangled mess with leaves and twigs poking out. Her clothing town to almost literal shreds. Her dark brown eyes wild and blood shot from a fever. In her arms was a small boy probably no more then 5 years of age.
But what had caused Kelsey to scream was the most horrifying. Half the ladies leg had been shot off! Muscle and tissue was hanging in shred off of clearly visual bone. For a second both groups just stared at each other.
Then….
"Please, Please help," The women gasped holding out the young boy, "Please help the other and please take him and take him please?"
J.T. moved closer and took hold of the boy who immediately started crying and reaching for his mother.
The young women gave a small sad smile before toppling over.
"TOM, KELSEY HELP ME OUT HERE!" Shouted J.T. as he shifted the kid quickly into my arms.
I watch holding screaming boy as J.T. crouched down next to the woman and turned her over.
Her eyes where still opened but to me there seemed to be almost sightless and glassy looking.
"Kelsey there's a stream just behind those trees over there get some water. Tom start a fire we need to heat the water if we plan on sanitizing the wound. Hand me that jacket I got to rip it up to start making bandages," J.T. ordered franticly.
To me it seem like a lost cause but as Kelsey ran to do what she had been told I could only follow and try to help the best I could. But as I moved away I was stopped by a voice.
"Don't bother," The women lying on the ground whispered, "It's to late for me."
J.T. eyes where a stormy gray right now but seeing as he hadn't ordered me to go finish my task I figured he had concluded the same as the women.
"You said something about helping the other?" J.T. whispered, "What did you mean? Are there other children? Other sick people?"
"Yes," the women rasped, "Yes others. Kodo's he's behind this. He is keeping them locked in the courthouse. Over half the population of Tarsus. They are waiting to die in there. Men, Women, Children. Two hundred every day from today on forward till only the "more valued members of the colony are alive" will be killed. 4,000 people are to be brutally murdered. You must help them please you must! Most the children have been spared. To be used as guard I hear. To become murders so that they can have the one thing everyone on this Retched planet want. Food! Kodo's plans to hang food over their heads and to get it all they have to do is kill their own families. Please you must save the children from that fate please!"
"Well save them Ma'am I promise. We'll save them," J.T. soothed.
"Thank you," the women choked out.
Was it just me or did it seem like she was breathing a bit slower? And her eye lids where slowly dropping shut. That couldn't be a good thing.
"Mommy," the boy I held whimpered.
The women eyelids popped back open. And she turned her head to look at the little boy. And for a second I was sure her vision cleared of all glassiness and sickness. But the moment last just that long before clouding back over.
"Kevin it's okay, honey. These nice people will take care of you now, sweetheart," She whispered now cause it seems like that's all she could manage.
Turning her eyes back to J.T. she murmured, "His name is Kevin Thomas Riley. He's 5 years old. Please take care of him. Even if you can not help the other please just take care of him please."
For a long while a J.T. and the woman just stared at each other as if in silent communication and then a look that I was becoming increasing familiar with entered J.T.'s eye.
The look of promise.
The women's lips twitched up in just the slightest hint of a smile like she too understood the look in his eye and then with one last glance at her son who had frozen in my arms she turned looked up at the purple sky closed her eyes and exhaled the words "Thank you."
And just like that her eyes never flickered open again, her mouth never muttered another word, her chest never rose again, she was dead.
I felt cold all over and when the little boy struggled out of my arms I barley noticed. All I noticed now was the dead body of the young women who not even a full minute ago had been alive and talking.
Like so many other her life had been cut short. How much more of this could happen?
"MOMMY!" The shrill horrified cry of the little boy bought me back to the fact that other people where here.
"Mommy, come on you have to wake up mommy. Those mean boys are coming soon we have to go now is not that time for a nap." The kid whined shaking his mother's shoulder in a desperate attempt to rouse her.
I felt my heart break for the little kid. So young and innocent that 'dead' was a word that only applied to goldfish when they where flushed down the toilet. He knew his mother wasn't just napping you could see it in face but he didn't know what else to call it.
Sudden movement caught my eye and I had to tear my gaze from the heart-wrenching scene.
"Tom go get Kelsey. Tell her never mind with the water. Just get enough for four of us to drink. If what Kevin here says is true then we need to go and go now." J.T. order standing firm and if his eyes weren't so expressive one would think he wasn't effected at all by the happenings around him.
But the look in J.T. eyes was almost as bad as the actual picture of what was going on. With a nodded relieved to get away from all this sadness that was just adding to my own I ran in the direction I had seen Kelsey take.
A few minutes later when Kelsey and me returned holding a canteen full of water everything looked as if we had never been there.
The fire pit had been scattered the place where we had slept where smoothed over to look like a normal pile of dead crops. The only thing indicating any one had been here at all was in the middle of the clearing where J.T. and Kevin where sat a big lump on dead leaves, grass, and rocks and dirt.
Kelsey sent me a question look but I just shook my head and sat down to wait for J.T. and Kevin to come over.
Kelsey continued to look confused until she finally seemed to notice the women wasn't around.
I could practically hear the realization hit her.
I saw a shiver crawl up her spine and after a second she collapsed next to me her eyes tear filled. I wrapped my arms around her and turned her away from the hastily made grave. We sat there for what felt like forever me just holding Kelsey as she cried silently over another death that none of us could fully understand.
Finally however we heard approaching footsteps. I turned around making sure to keep Kelsey from seeing the grave.
J.T. was walking towards us Kevin in his arms his head bared in J.T. neck and from the violent shaking of his shoulder crying. As they drew closer I could hear J.T. voice gently whispering to the young boy.
"We need to go now," J.T. urged as he drew up beside us, "From what Kev here told me his mother and he escaped from the courthouse early last night. The guards spotted them and his mother was shot while they where running away. Kevin said he heard one shout to follow them. She was injured so I doubt she was moving fast enough to put a great deal of length between them. My guess is they aren't to far from here."
I nodded standing up and pulling Kelsey along with.
"Where do we go," I asked.
"I've come out here quite a bit when I need to get away from my aunt and uncle for awhile. There's a secluded cavern not to far from here a Big cavern that can't be found unless you stumble upon it or are looking for it. I suggest we try there. It'll be big enough for us and who ever we rescue tonight." J.T. stated in a very matter of fact tone.
"Sounds goo…wait what?" I asked, " J.T. what do mean who ever we rescue tonight?"
"I'm going to sneak into the courthouse and get as many people as I can out of there. I promised her I would and I'm going to," was J.T.'s cool replied tone once again leaving no room for augment.
"Okay just one thing wrong with that…. ARE YOU FREAKING OUT OF YOU MIND!" I shouted. A second later J.T. hand was covering my mouth.
"Quite, they maybe close enough to hear you and if they are then you'll get us all caught," J.T. Hissed.
I stayed quite long enough for us all to hear whether or not someone was coming. After a couple of minutes of complete silence I ripped J.T. hand of my face.
"Oh I'm the one who's going get as all caught? Who's the psycho with a death wish that wants to break into a high security building full of people just itching to kill us?" I hissed back sarcasm dripping off of every word.
"Look I made a promise to never again go against my gut instinct. And it's my gut instinct telling me we have to go and rescue those people." J.T. seethed.
"Is it your gut instinct telling you to do this or some crazy belief that your responsible for 200 hundred death and need to make it up by rescuing everyone else that drives you to do something so insane?" I fired back.
For a long time there was only silence. J.T. staring at me with wide eyes, Kelsey staring at both of us with even wider eyes and Kevin just staring emotionless at everything. Then J.T. let out a deep sigh,
"We need to move. We've wasted enough time,"
I just nodded, to frustrated to do any thing else, put my arm around Kelsey and guided her in the path that J.T. lead us.
It took us a little less then two hours to find the cave.
When we got there J.T. laid the now sleeping Kevin on the softest piece of ground he could and covered the boy with the jacket. Once that was done he went to work on a fire since it was getting dark and a chill was setting in. After a couple of seconds I moved to help him.
"Look," I whispered trying not to speak to loud and create an echo that would disturb the sleeping boy, " I'm sorry about earlier. It just that one I don't think Kelsey or I could survive with out you. Two even if we did rescue all those people we would just be prolonging their death. How would we be able to get food for so many with out being suspicious? Third and most importantly…. J.T. you're my friend I've already lost my 75% of my immediate family not including myself, over 10% of face, all my friends, and 100% of my innocents. Don't you thing I've lost enough without losing you too?"
J.T. hands, which had been working fiercely at rubbing two of tarsus natural flame making rocks, slipped in surprise creating a shower of sparks that luckily caught the dry branches piled in the fire pit. A second later J.T. was pushing me back as a flame bursted into life just barley missing singing the tip of my nose.
I landed on my butt a good three inches from where I had been crouching by the pit.
"You have indeed lost much in this short period of time," J.T. whispered back giving me a small-amused smile as I gave him a sheepish but grateful look for saving my hide.
(Honestly I should have remembered that those kinds of stones had a chemical in them that caused the flames they created to expand on first contact with wood.)
"However, you won't lose me that easily. And if it you did you would probably be safer I'm bad luck." J.T. muttered the last part bitterly.
"You are not," I snorted.
"My mom goes into early labor second before the starship she's on is attacked. Seconds after I'm born my dad dies. The day I turned five my mom meets a Mr. Step dad. I come here two months later this happens. Trust me I'm unlucky." J.T. insisted.
I sighed but dropped the subject.
"I'm sorry we can't help those people," I whispered..
Beside me J.T. stiffened.
"Who says we can't?" He grunted
I looked at him shocked about to responded when he interrupted.
"You where wrong it wasn't that's driving me. It's my gut and if you excuse me I have two promise to carry out tonight." He said climbing to his feet and walking towards the entrance of the cave.
I watched him walk away scared to death of what was going to happen.
"J.T.," I hollered.
He turned to look at me his eyes telling me that there was no use in trying to talk him out of it.
"Are you one hundred and ten percent sure this cave is safe?" I sighed
J.T. looked confused but nodded.
With another deep tired sigh I resigned myself to fate and turned my gaze towards Kelsey, who was watching over the little sleeping boy like a hawk.
"Kelly," I whispered drawing her attention to me for a second, " I need you to stay here with Kevin. J.T. and I should be back in a couple of hours. Under no circumstances are you to leave the cave you got it?" At her nodded of understanding I pushed to my feet and walked over to where J.T. stood gapping at me.
"J.T. so help me we had better come back. If we don't well I hope I get the chance to punch you before we die," I growled as I walked by.
That seemed to snap him out of his trance.
A bright grin spread across J.T. 's face.
"We will," He said his grin face practically glowing, "I feel it in my gut."
I rolled my eyes but allowed myself my own small grin. But when we stepped out into the cold darkness and headed in the direction that J.T. said the town was in I just sent up a small silent prayer begging…
that J.T. gut was brain dead.
End chapter 4
A/NWell guys let me once again Apologize for the slowness of this chapter. I hope it wasn't to slow but if it was please let me know. And I honestly hope, that even if it was a bit long winded, that you enjoyed it.