Hello my Mortem Venators! So this is a quick chapter on...you probably didn't guess it...MITCH! C-Can I have a round of applause? No? Jerks. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. This is based off a quote that spoke out to me in a book. If you cannot handle mature scenes, I do not recommend the book to you. Also, this chapter contains usage of flashbangs. Now, despite my research, I couldn't find something that tells me how to set one off. So, now it's just, "Hey! I pulled the pin! What now?!" Despite that, please enjoy! R&R!
"'I didn't know how...*deep* love ran, how it was in your blood, not your heart, and how that same blood pumped through your veins your whole life. I thought you'd be better off if you could forget her. I should have known that wasn't possible.'" ~ On Mystic Lake by Kristin Hannah
"Tiff, move!" Adam's voice echoed throughout the desert.
Mitch snapped his head over to where Tiff was standing. The pink-haired female was holding off one Alaylith and another was bounding toward her. If she were to move, the Alaylith she was currently holding off would snap at her waist and bash her head into the ground until she went limp before eating her.
Alayliths were ugly and deadly. Standing at the height of ten feet, length of seven feet, and width of five feet, the largest Alaylith ever recorded was four times that size. The Alayliths had grey, wrinkled skin and black holes for eyes. It had spikes for teeth that were stained orange and black, blood on the end of each one. It had three rows of teeth, and if you were to peer inside the mouth, you could smell the rotting corpses of several species being dissolved in stomach acid. The Alayliths were round and had a small, pointed tail, but they were quick. Their only weakness was light, but it was nighttime in the desert.
Mitch flashed one of his LED lights on and threw it into one of the eye sockets. The Alaylith howled loudly and began to burn up from the inside. Mitch raced away from the demon before it exploded and towards the paralyzed female. An LED light was already lit in his hand. He grabbed Tiff from the waist and tugged her with him, throwing a light into the Alaylith she was fending off.
The two Alayliths crashed into each other and was caught in the light shining out of the demon's eye sockets. Both monsters exploded as Mitch pulled the female away.
The duo stopped and Mitch let go, preparing to leave again.
"You okay?" Mitch asked, pulling out another LED stick from his belt.
Tiff nodded slowly. "Yeah. Thanks." She wrinkled her nose. "God, those things smell bad."
Mitch laughed. "Yeah. They do. Be careful, Tiff."
She nodded and smiled, her face turning serious immediately after. "Take care, Mitch."
His face turned grim as he faced the other way. "There's so many more." He watched as Adam turned into a Demon Bird and took to the skies, launching his spear feathers at the horde of Alayliths.
Tiff nodded. "How do we get rid of these things? The LED sticks are taking too long."
Mitch's mouth thinned. "I have an idea, but I'll need to do it alone or else the Alayliths will get distracted."
"Mitch, that's crazy!" She argued, glancing over her shoulder at him.
He continued to look off at the forest not too far away. "Yeah. It is. But it's also effective."
Tiff looked over at the forest, spotting several Alayliths at the border. "Mitch, you're going to head towards that? It's suicide!"
Mitch smirked slightly. "Yeah. It is. But like I said, highly effective."
Before Tiff could argue anymore, he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a smoke grenade.
"Where the hell did you get that?!" Tiff exclaimed.
Mitch turned to her and stared her directly in her eyes. His normally warm mocha eyes were devoid of all emotion. Looking into those brown and serious orbs, Tiff knew something was going to go so wrong. Both of them did.
"I need you to go to Adam," he ordered calmly, handing her a flash grenade. "Adam is a dark demon." Mitch sighed, searching for the best way to explain it. "Do you know Pokémon?" Tiff nodded slowly. "Think about it like this: Adam is a dark demon, he only has dark attacks until someone teaches him light attacks. Therefore, he can't defeat the Alayliths alone. These things spawn over darkness. That's why Adam is only launching his feathers."
Tiff blinked and nodded. "Uh, right. Got it. What is it that you need me to do?"
"What I'm about to pull off is going to only grab most of the Alayliths. The rest of them are most likely going to remain here and attempt to finish off the rest of you guys. I need you to climb on top of Adam and tell him to pull off a dark all the Alayliths gather underneath you, throw the flash grenade with the rest of your LED lights. That should finish them off."
"And if it isn't?" Tiff stressed.
Mitch chuckled. "Tyler, Kyle, and Ty seem to be having fun with their flamethrower." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder and pointed to the trio. Kyle was sitting on Ty's back, holding Tyler's legs to make sure the teen didn't fall off. Tyler was standing on the werewolf's back, holding a flamethrower in his hands. The two friends were laughing as Ty carried them around, exploding Alayliths in their wake.
Tiff smiled despite the terrifying situation that was about to occur. "Yeah. And Ashley seems to be having fun striking them down with her lightning." The duo laughed at the teenage girl backing up quickly, striking down each Alaylith with every lightning bolt.
Mitch's laugh echoed in Tiff's ears and she savored every beat of it. She stared at the handsome and stunning male next to her. This guy was one of her best friends...and she was about to lose him. Her eyes teared up as Mitch glanced at her. His smile vanished and was replaced with concern. He softened as he looked into her eyes.
"Tiff?"
"Don't do it," she pleaded, swallowing thickly. "I can't lose you. We can't lose you. Mitch, it's suicide! Please don't do it!"
Mitch placed his hands on her shoulders, smoke grenade still in his hand. She felt the cold weapon on her shoulder. It wasn't comforting in the slightest. "Tiff, it's going to be okay. Everything will be fine."
She stared into his eyes and searched them for any fear she could use against him. She found none. "Everything won't be fine. Are you coming back?"
Mitch couldn't answer that. In truth, he didn't know. So, as an answer, Mitch closed his eyes and shook his head. "No. I most likely won't come back."
Before Tiff could argue, Mitch yelled to Ty to come over. Ty raced over to the duo and Kyle reached down a hand, Tyler sitting down.
"I need you to take Tiff to Adam. She knows what she has to do," Mitch said grimly. Tiff began to cry.
"No, no, no! Mitch, you can't do this! Mitch, you'll die!" She cried. Kyle hesitated before looking at Mitch. Mitch nodded.
Kyle hopped off Ty and wrapped his arms around Tiff's waist. She fought against him, but to no avail. Kyle was stronger than her. He dragged her over to Ty and handed her to Tyler, who hefted her onto his lap. She fought and screamed, but Tyler held her tight and hugged her, shushing her softly.
"Mitch, what's going on?" Kyle asked Mitch. "What are you going to do that you sent Tiff into hysterics?"
Mitch looked around, watching as the Alayliths around the desert began looking at them, ready to attack. "If we keep lighting these demons up one at a time, this battle will never end."
"So what are you trying to say, Mitch?" Kyle interrogated, waving Ty to go. The werewolf nodded and bounded off.
"I'm going to end it. You can't afford to keep fighting these things for the rest of your lives."
Kyle was about to answer when Mitch's words finally sunk in. "Why do you keep saying 'you' and 'your'? Why aren't you saying 'we' and 'our'?"
Mitch bit his lip. "Because I'm not coming back."
"Mitch, what are you doing?!"
Mitch looked down. "I'm going to stop them from reproducing. I can't stop the dark, but I'm going to take out as much as I can."
Kyle sighed. "I see." He looked up and stared Mitch in the eyes, resting a hand on the teen's shoulder. "Good luck, Mitch."
"It was a pleasure working with you, Kyle," Mitch responded, a slight smile on his face.
"Don't say that. On the off chance you do return, I want to know that you were confident and you tried to come back, that you didn't just give up." 'No...He really thinks he's going to die.'
A chuckle escaped Mitch's lips. "You don't understand, Kyle. I gave up a long time ago." He smiled. "You better get going. I want to know that you'll be safe at least."
Kyle wanted to say something else, but he didn't know what, so he just hugged Mitch and gave him a nod before sprinting off.
Mitch turned around and faced the Alayliths from the forest, walking to a forest edge that was clear of the wretched demons. He felt the smoke grenade in his hand, now warm from clenching it for so long. Mitch took a deep breath before finally setting it off.
Kyle had just reached Ty, Tyler, and Tiff when he heard a loud bang. He whipped around in alarm, only to see a plume of dark smoke in the air by the forest border. He watched as almost every single Alaylith charged towards it, hungry for more darkness. As soon as the demons reached the smoke, it was too late. The smoke had disappeared.
Something changed in the Alayliths though. They spotted something moving deep within the forest and they all charged towards it, disappearing from the desert and never returning.
The Alayliths that stayed behind, however, weren't giving up. There were at least a hundred of them. They were all underneath Adam, jumping high and trying to bite the demon bird.
"What the hell just happened?!" Tyler exclaimed, hopping off of Ty.
Tiff looked away in anger. "You all just killed Mitch." The werewolf and Tyler stared at her, but she and Kyle didn't explain. "Ty, I need you to bring me to Adam now."
Deciding now was not the best time to argue, Ty bounded off, racing fast across the desert. Tyler stayed behind and looked at Kyle, who was staring at the forest in worry.
"Kyle, what did he do?" Tyler questioned, fearing that he didn't want to know the answer.
Kyle took a deep breath before saying, "He committed suicide."
"Wha-?" Tyler cut himself off. Then he realized it. Mitch had killed himself to save them. The Alayliths would have kept spawning more and more for eternity unless he put an end to most of them now. There will be no stopping the Devil's demons, but he could slow them down a few hundred years.
"Oh…" Tyler sighed.
"I can't believe he…" Kyle stopped. "It shouldn't have been him," he growled, closing his eyes.
"How do we tell Jerome?" Tyler whimpered. "How do we tell anyone? How do we live knowing what we did?!"
Kyle shook his head. "We just gotta remember that he died for the greater good. Just like with everyone else."
It was quiet for a moment before Tyler spoke again.
"He wasn't like 'everyone else'. He was Mitch. And now he's gone."
Tiff and Ty landed on top of Adam, startling him.
"What the hell?!"
"Adam, it's just Tiff and I," Ty assured, turning into a human again.
"God...Don't scare me like that…"
"Sorry," Tiff replied coldly. She didn't mean to, but that's how it came out.
There was a pause. "Tiff, are you okay?"
"Perfectly fine," she snarked back. She walked to Adam's shoulder. "I need you to launch an attack that will gather the Alayliths into a tighter group."
Adam didn't like the tone in her voice one bit, but he didn't comment. "You mean a shadow attack?"
"I need you to climb on top of Adam and tell him to pull off a dark attack." Tiff softened as she remembered Mitch's words. "Yeah," she replied quietly. "That."
Adam thought for a moment, still hovering over the desert. 'She's acting really weird. Did I miss something?' "Whatever you say…"
Adam flew higher and opened his beak. Dark energy began to gather and before long, he launched it at the ground directly underneath him. The Alayliths swarmed in a tight bunch, trying to absorb every drop of shadow they could. Jerome, Ashley, Tyler, Jason and Kyle grouped together on the ground, watching as Tiff pulled out the flashbang.
She held it for a moment. Mitch had given this to her. It was an odd souvenir, but, God, she didn't want to let it go.
But she had to.
"Tiff?" Adam asked.
She took a deep breath before walking to the very edge of Adam' shoulder. She glanced down at the wretched demons that she despised below her, fighting over the small shadow left.
Tiff growled loudly, catching Adam and Ty's attention. 'DIE!' She screamed in her mind. Pulling the pin, the flashbang fell from her hand.
The light weapon fell and landed in the middle of the group. The Alayliths didn't even have time to scramble out of the way as the flashbang activated, blinding the team on the ground and destroying the Alayliths. The demons exploded, many of them blowing up at different times depending on their distance from the flashbang.
Having not seen what Tiff had dropped quickly enough, the five blinded members on the ground stumbled backwards to avoid the blasts of monster blood and intestines spraying everywhere by listening.
Adam quickly landed and waited for Tiff and Ty to jump off before turning into a human and tended to the others.
"Are you guys okay?"
"No!" Jason snapped. "I can't effing see!"
Adam chuckled nervously. "Jay, it's just a flashbang."
"Yeah, no shit, Adam! Warn us next time! I'd rather not stumble around like a freaking idiot!"
"Sorry…" Adam knew Jason was aggravated. He was back to a human, but he was a Reaper a few moments ago, and even though Jerome had been with him, being a Reaper drained Jason's energy, especially when he had to kill demons with that heavy scythe of his.
Once everyone's vision was cleared, Jerome asked, "Where's Mitch?"
Adam glanced around. Jerome was right. There was no sign of the teen anywhere. It was like he had just...vanished. "I don't...know…" Adam looked around. No sign of Mitch.
"Did anyone else see that large plume of smoke a little while ago?" Jason questioned. Adam, Jerome, and Jason turned to Ashley, who held up her hands in defense. Tiff, Ty, Kyle, and Tyler stood quietly.
"Hey! It was not me!" Ashley defended.
"You totally blew up Mitch, didn't you?" Adam joked though it was really the time to.
"No!" Ashley exclaimed. She then whispered to herself. "Maybe…" Adam snickered.
"Guys...?" Kyle started. Everyone looked at him. "Mitch told Tiff and I himself…" He trailed off.
"What'd he say?" Jerome questioned, fearing the worst.
"There's a very high chance that Mitch is...dead."
The four members stumbled back in shock and denial.
"N-No…" Jerome whispered. "That-That's not true…"
Tiff looked down. "Yeah. I tried to tell him no, but he told Kyle to come over and take me away to safety. Kyle didn't know until he started questioning him. By then, I was already gone."
Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. He was shaking as though an earthquake was occurring in his own body. He was supposed to protect his team! He was the leader! There was an obvious smoke plume earlier. How did he not notice?! The Alayliths clearly left! Adam felt tears start to form in his eyes. He didn't even bother to blink them away. He let them flow. Mitch was gone. No…
Fear and guilt flooded through them. Mitch was gone? He died to the Alayliths? If that was true, where was his body? Did an Alaylith eat him? If it did, was his body parts scattered around the desert, too, mixed in with the blood and gore? The four friends shuddered in disgust and terror at the thought.
Adam's tears were staining the sand below him. He felt Ty pull him and Jason into a hug. Adam fell into the embrace and cried silently but harshly. No way Mitch was gone! God, he was so tired...
"HAVE YOU EVEN LOOKED FOR HIM?! HIS BODY?! ANYTHING?!" Jerome shouted suddenly, attacking Kyle and knocking the teen to the ground. Ashley moved to take him off, but Jerome unsheathed his claws. Adam, despite his crying, tackled the feral Bacca off and held him down on the ground as Tyler helped Kyle up.
Adam's ragged appearance made him look even more pissed off than he really was, and his tone of voice was even worse. "Enough!" He growled angrily. "We're not getting anywhere if we're turning on each other. Split up! We're going to find Mitch, dead or alive! Regroup here in twenty!" Adam ordered. The team members nodded and ran off, leaving Jerome and Adam.
Adam got off of Jerome and stood, offering a hand. Jerome scoffed at the motion and stood on his own. The vampire raised in hands in a surrendering motion before cleaning his eyes free of tears and watching as Jerome paced back and forth.
Jerome knew Adam was full of mixed emotions, he was, too, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Mitch? Gone? Dead? Those words didn't belong in a sentence together. It sounded wrong...Impossible. Mitch. Death defying. Now that would be a sentence Jerome would believe. But Mitch dead? It seemed ridiculous. Jerome knew Mitch for years...it couldn't be true! It was stupid that anyone would say that!
"Jerome." The word was said calm but stern. Adam was mad, but he understood the pain. He didn't think Jaq would die, it seemed impossible to him, but it happened. He understood Jerome. It was a horrible thing to lose someone you loved. Mitch was Jerome's brother. Knowing each other for years and to lose each other so easily was like a knife to the heart. It was so painful. It couldn't be explained.
"I'm sorry," Jerome finally apologized. He was reaching that stage of depression and guilt. The stage where there was no black and white, just grey. The world was monotone. The Bacca didn't want to hear anything. He didn't want to confront the fact that Mitch was gone. Mitch was gone...It still didn't sound right.
Adam bowed his head and toed the sand underneath him. "It's hard being the leader of a team, ya know?"
'No...Adam, don't do this to me. Please don't make me talk. You do this and it always works. Why does it always work? This is the last thing I want to talk about!' Jerome silently pleaded. "Adam, no...please…" He whispered desperately.
It hurt Adam to hear Jerome like that, but it needed to be said. Jerome needed to calm down before they too went to look for Mitch. "I always feared this. Nothing lives forever, and as much as I try to ignore it, I can never forget it. I look upon the team that General James Grey has created and I can't think of a more reliable and amazing group. But there's that irritating thought still there.
"Every morning, I lay in bed for a while and think what life would be like without you guys. Then that thought comes back: 'There's no use thinking about that, Adam. One day, it'll be a reality.' Do you know how much that scares me? To lose the people I love dearly? To just watch them go one by one? It's terrifying as a thought, but to happen for real? It's traumatizing. Then I have to think that they must be in a better place. We've done so much good in our lives, it must make up for the bad! If Mitch really is gone, we have to remember that he died thinking he was doing something right and where he is now is a lot better than being trapped here with demons."
Jerome, albeit angry with Adam for pulling this tactic, visibly relaxed. Adam smiled. That tactic always worked.
Jerome hated yet loved Adam's plan. He always managed to calm people down by sharing his experiences by remembering that grey is just a combination of white and black. Although grey just seems lonely, white is still there. Even if everything seemed bad, something good was always there, no matter how dark the situation.
Jerome took a deep breath and looked at Adam, smiling back. Adam hugged the Bacca and Jerome hugged back. They held the embrace for a moment before releasing each other. They stood and enjoyed the other's company as they waited the few remaining minutes when the rest of the team would return.
Ty and Jason returned first, the rest of the team not too far behind. Adam watched as each member appeared, all very unhappy. Ty sighed and shook his head. Adam took a deep breath and nodded.
Ty walked up next to Adam and whispered in his ear. "There was nothing. We searched almost everywhere. Not a thing."
Adam whispered back. "So is it safe to assume he was eaten?" The thought was crazy, but it needed to be said.
Ty winced. "I wouldn't say that, Adam. We could've missed him."
"Ty, what are the chances of you missing Mitch and a horde of demons?"
"I dunno, Adam. I just don't want to believe that he…" Ty pinched the bridge of his nose. "Adam…"
Adam looked away. He was about to say something in return when a loud bang went off in the forest. What was left of the team spun in the north direction and watched as a bright light filled a part of the forest. There wasn't a moment's hesitation as the team raced off towards the forest.
Mitch hopped from tree to tree as fast as he could, gasping for air. He would be so much faster on foot, but he didn't want to risk one of the Alayliths grabbing him or him tripping over a tree root. He was already exhausted.
He could hear the growling and yowling behind him. The adrenaline was going away, but his heart was pumping fast.
...He was terrified…
He was going to die.
Mitch swallowed harshly and continued panting as he looked straight ahead. Darkness was everywhere under the shadows of the trees and night sky. He jumped to another branch to his left. He continued the pattern of branch switching. Straight, right, straight, straight, left, right again…
He was several yards away from the Alayliths, but he was nowhere near safe. The Alayliths were fat, but they were quick as hell. Mitch was fast, too, but unlike the Alayliths, he didn't have eternal energy from the darkness. He was getting tired quickly. His legs were starting to ache from the strain of pushing off branches. He felt his eyes tear up from the burning of his sneakers grinding against his socks and feet. The backs of his knees were sore from his legs bending down as he landed on each branch. It was even worse when he was trying to move faster than the quick demons behind him.
Mitch heard a loud shriek of an Alaylith very close behind him. As he was used to the small yowling, the shriek pierced his ears and it sounded like the Alaylith was right behind him. Startled, he hopped to another branch...a dangerous branch.
His foot got caught between two thick branches protruding out of the original one, pain shooting up his ankle. The force of the push and his weight caused the already weak branch to snap, and he fell ten feet in the air. He landed hard on his back, his head hitting a root that was sticking up. For a moment, his whole world went dark, but when he regained his vision, the first thing he saw was a large Alaylith in the air, the front claws slamming onto his chest. The rest of the Alaylith was off of Mitch, thank God, but it didn't stop the pain of the front claws crashing onto his chest.
Mitch heard something snap, and pain shot through his abdomen. His world went dark again, but he regained his vision once more a second later.
But that second had been precious time wasted.
He could've fended off the Alaylith by using his strength to hold back the open jaw about to grab him.
But he didn't.
The Alaylith picked Mitch up in its teeth by the teen's abdomen and began to shake him around. After all this bad luck, Mitch knew this must be the end. He had a plan, but it failed. He was supposed to get to a clearing and destroy these things. He only had two flashbangs, and he gave one to Tiff. Now he only had one for himself, and he couldn't have used it back at the desert since it was so open and the Alayliths were spread out.
But the forest...The forest was very narrow and very dark at night. There was no doubt in Mitch's mind that the demons would follow him. And they did.
Now he was going to die.
Time seemed to go by slow as the Alaylith held him in his jaw, shaking him like a ragdoll. Mitch would die any second. It was inevitable.
But Mitch's luck turned around.
As the Alaylith shook him around, the flashbang fell out of his jacket. The pin caught on one of the Alaylith's teeth, yanking it out of the flash grenade. The sound of the flashbang and the pin hitting the ground echoed pleasantly in Mitch's ears, and he braced himself for the explosion.
Sure enough, light filled Mitch's eyes and he was dropped from the Alaylith's jaws, landing hard on his back once more. His hearing and vision left him, but he could feel the vibrations through the ground as the horde of Alayliths blew up.
When his vision and hearing returned, he looked around to see that no Alaylith had escaped as there would be evidence. He felt joy spread through him, but that happiness was short lived.
He felt numb for a moment before pain settled in quickly. He groaned in agony as he felt the broken ribs, a sprained ankle, and the bites from three rows of teeth on each side. When he slowly lifted his hand to his head, he felt a warm sticky substance beginning to clot on his scalp.
'Well shit,' he thought. He moved his arm back down to his side.
He could barely see the stars above him, the branches of the trees looming over him like Alaylith claws ready to grab him. It was stupid to be scared of branches like that, but he was still shaken up from the fact that he almost died a painful death...well, more painful than the one he was suffering from now.
The demons he once thought of as low class now terrified him. Having the firsthand experience of almost being eaten by one of those monsters had traumatized him, and that wasn't a good thing in his line of work.
He tried hard to block out the pain by thinking. The more he tried to do that, the more he realized he really screwed up.
'I didn't even get to tell everyone I'm sorry. I didn't say goodbye. Jerome...You didn't deserve this. I'm sorry. Adam, I never told you how much I appreciated and respected you as a friend and a leader. Ashley, you were an amazing friend, despite your insecurities a beautiful girl like you should never have. Jason, sure you can be a smartass and a little bit too serious sometimes, but I never knew someone as understanding and patient and awesome as you. Kyle, I know things are hard and that the world doesn't understand your clothing style, trying to second guess your sexuality, but the team understands and loves you for who you are. Tyler, I never really understood you. You're a mystery to all of us, but what I do know is that despite your hardest days, you never once hesitated to help, and that's what I admire about you. Just keep being you. Ty, you were the first one to turn supernatural. I remember that day as clear as my own origin story, but never once did I think you were a monster. Despite the teasing and hate, you stood strong, and you don't have to be ashamed of what you are. Don't be ashamed to ask for help because I was, and look where I am now.' He took a shuddering breath, wincing at the pain of it.
'And Tiff, I'm sorry I left like that. It wasn't fair to you. You didn't deserve what I did. This may very well be my last night alive, and the last time I saw you was with your tears streaming down your face, being forced to leave. I apologize. It's fair to you. It's not fair to anyone. I screwed up, Tiff. I know I did. Don't make the same mistake I did. Don't be afraid to ask for help. We all need it, especially in the darkest of times. Tiff, you and Ashley are beautiful females who don't deserve the life you're living now. You deserve so much better. I'm sorry you and the rest of the team have to live this way. I'm sorry…'
He lay there for a while, thinking, just resting as the blood poured out from his deep wounds. It was weird, but as every blood cell dripped onto the green grass, it felt as though he was losing something. Oh, right. His blood and his life. But it was more than that. As his eyes began to get heavier, he realized he was starting to care less.
Images of the team, his friends, flashed through his mind, but he couldn't bring himself to smile anymore. It was like all the goodness in his heart was washed out with every heartbeat, pumping out the blood cells that had been pumping through his blood for years.
The blood that had circulated through him since he was born, duplicating and dying within, was leaving him, and it felt like all the lessons and the love he had gathered over the years was slowly going away. Maybe it was just death talking, but that's what it felt like.
Mitch watched as unconsciousness slowly tugged at the corners of his eyes. He wanted to sleep, what was he waiting for? But he could just barely see the moon, and he wanted to stare at it as long as he could before he passed on because he'll never see it again.
'I bet if Jason were here, he'd say something about moonlight being reflected sunlight or that stars are exploding balls of gas or something. Adam and Ty would just look at him and shake their heads, make some kind of joke. The girls would fawn over the three of them being a 'ship' or whatever. Kyle and Tyler would just poke Jerome and I and say some stupid comment that would make the two of us laugh. Then, after that, we would all smile at each other before looking back up at the night sky again. I wonder if they'll still do that without me. It'd be awesome if they did. How would it be knowing someone is absent from the group? I hope they don't change.'
Mitch smiled at the thought of his friends. He sighed. He was going to miss their voices, their smiles, their laughs. It was already hard for Mitch to pass on and thinking about Team Unknown was making it even harder.
Mitch closed his eyes. Maybe if he focused on his friends, he could make the memories into some sort of a pleasant dream, and he can pass on in a painless, blissful slumber…
Team Unknown raced through the forest, some in the trees, some on the ground. They all had one goal in mind.
Find Mitch now.
As the team sprinted among the trees and darkness, they began to worry about how they would find him when they got there. Would he be dead? Would he be alive? If he was alive, how would they find him? Would they meet him halfway? Would he be walking towards them with a smile on his face and an apology at the tip of his tongue?
How would they find him?
Jerome took a deep breath as he pushed off another tree. Adam looked over to him from behind and was about to ask him what was wrong when Jerome stopped. The team stopped as well.
Jerome's nose twitched continuously as he sniffed the air. "Ty, can you smell that?"
The werewolf stuck his nose in the air and began to sniff. He nodded before smelling the ground, slowly moving up the trunk of the tree in front of Jerome. "Yeah. I smell blood and Mitch's scent is definitely here. I know for fact he passed by."
"Wait...blood?" Ashley asked, alarmed.
Ty nodded. "Yeah, and a lot of it, but I do hear a slow and faint heartbeat."
Adam climbed to the top of the tree he was on and began to look over the forest. "I hear a heartbeat, too, but where is he?" Adam muttered to himself.
The branches were too packed together. It was like a blanket of wood covering the ground below. Even with Adam's enhanced sight, it was hard to see between small openings.
"Adam! Do you see him?" Kyle called up.
"No!" Adam answered. "The trees are too close together!" He climbed back down onto the branch he was on before and sighed. "We gotta move quickly." The team nodded and raced off once more. There was no way they were going to let Mitch die, not when they were so close. To Hell with that.
::::TIME LAPSE::::
"Guys, his scent turns this way," Ty said, leading the team to the left. The teammates that were in the trees came down and began to run beside their friends on the ground.
"How far, Ty?" Adam asked.
Ty put his nose in the air once more before saying, "A few hundred yards at least."
"Then let's move."
The team began to sprint faster through the forest, trying to keep up with the werewolf leading them.
As they ran, the sun began to rise, and light started to shine into the forest. Jerome swallowed thickly.
'What if the heartbeat stopped now? Mitch would have never seen the sunlight again. He would've died alone, in the dark...Oh God, Mitch! Please be alive!'
Suddenly, Ty came to a halt, almost causing the people behind him to crash into him.
"Ty, what the hell?" Tyler asked.
Ty's voice was steady and calm, but there was a slightly panicked edge to it. "We're here…"
The team peered around the werewolf and their breaths left them completely.
Mitch was there, lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. His left ankle looked swollen and the team figured he sprained it. What concerned them the most was how much his torso was bleeding. Several holes were pierced into his clothing, and when Ashley took off the jacket and shirt, there were clearly infected bite marks across his abdomen.
Gathering her courage, Ashley stated clearly and calmly, "If we want him alive, we have to get moving now."
Adam nodded and moved next to her. "Right."
"I'm going to have to use the jacket to stop the bleeding. Adam, help me rip it up."
Once the jacket shreds were pinned together by sharp sticks Ashley had Jerome chew to points, the Techno had Adam carry Mitch to Ty, holding him steady on the werewolf's back.
"All of you, hop on. I'll get us to the general faster than all of us on foot."
Once everyone was situated on the werewolf's back, Ty shot off, determined to get Mitch to General Grey's temporary base alive. They were so close. They weren't going to lose him now.
::::TWENTY-EIGHT HOURS LATER::::
Kyle and Tyler walked into the temporary base's medical wing waiting room, bags of fast food and drinks in their hands.
"Any word on Mitch?" Kyle asked, placing the bags on the small glass coffee table in the middle of the white room. He began to sort out the food with Tyler, handing everyone their meals besides Jason.
"Nothing," Adam sighed, taking the cheeseburger Tyler handed him.
"What about Jason?" Tyler questioned, nodding towards the teen that was spread out across Ty and Adam on the couch.
"Still tired," Ty answered.
"No shit. He's been sleeping for over a day."
"I know…" Ty replied. "He's never slept for this long."
"Besides the time after the Snarks when Mitch gave him that heavy sleeping pill on purpose," Jerome snickered.
Tiff looked at him in shock. "Wow. That was the most light hearted thing you've said in a day."
Jerome raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's the first thing I've heard you say since we got here."
"Alright, you two," Ashley interrupted. "Let's just enjoy the food Tyler and Kyle brought us."
Jerome leaned over and picked up the receipt laying on the table. "Speaking of which, how much was this?" When Jerome looked at the price, his eyes widened. "Holy hell! Who paid for this?!"
"Adam," Tyler joked, biting into his own chicken sandwich. Jerome started laughing.
"What?!" Adam exclaimed. "How much was it?!"
"One hundred and seven and seventy-two cents," Jerome answered, grinning.
"Are you kidding me?! How much did you guys buy?!"
"We bought the eight of us and General Grey breakfast, lunch, and dinner for today and tomorrow. How much did you expect it to be?" Kyle questioned.
Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. "My God…"
"Relax, Adam," Tyler laughed. "We were joking. It came out of my pocket."
"Yours alone?" Ashley asked.
"Well, yeah. Duh."
"What the heck, Tyler?! I told you to split it between the both of us!" Kyle said.
"Why? That's stupid."
"We could just split the money now and pay back Tyler," Ty suggested.
"We could," Adam started. "But we don't have our phones, a calculator, or paper to split it right now and Jason's sleeping."
"True."
Tyler was about to respond when General Grey walked into the room.
"Morning," the old general greeted.
"Hey, James," the team replied.
Tyler handed the old man his breakfast, getting a thanks in return.
"Hey, general?" Tiff asked. James looked over at her. "Do you have your phone?"
James nodded. "Of course. Why?"
"Can we use the calculator?"
James nodded and tossed her his phone. She caught it and began to split the bill.
"Any word on Mitch?" Ty asked, running his fingers through Jason's hair as he ate his hamburger with the other hand.
"They said he should be waking soon. Within the next few hours," Grey answered. "But he will be slightly confused, you understand? So don't attack him with questions immediately."
The team nodded in response.
Grey sighed. "From what you all have told me, as much as I hate to say it, I have to tell you that Mitch will be very confused."
"What do you mean?" Kyle asked worriedly.
"Remember, he was supposed to die. He had accepted that the moment he ran into the forest, and even more so when he fell unconscious. He thinks he should be dead, not alive. Try to go easy on him."
The team didn't say a word after that for a while. Mitch really had accepted the fact when he took the responsibility of destroying the Alayliths.
Now that Ty thought about it, he realized something. "Mitch had accepted death before we even reached the battlefield."
Adam looked at him. "What?"
"You guys really don't see it? When Ashley took off his jacket, there was nothing inside it, but there used to be two flashbangs. Do you really think that was a coincidence? He purposely had one for whoever was with him before he ran off into the forest, and one for when he left to die." Ty let that all sink in before dealing the next cold blow. "Mitch is also the one who put together the plan of who would be where when he was explaining the Alayliths to us. I don't know why he chose Tiff to be with, I don't know if it was intentional, but he did have her. Somehow, he knew she would get to Adam like he told her and kill the Alayliths."
"He...planned this…?" Tiff asked, stunned at the sheer brilliance yet angry at the stupidity of it,
"I'm not sure whether to congratulate him for being so brilliant on a Jason level or to scream at him for playing us on an Adam level…" Tyler said slowly.
Adam was too shocked to even take notice on the fact that he was used to describe a high leveled deceiver. "I can't even…"
A nurse walked into the waiting room. "General Grey, sir? Patient 1301B is awake."
General Grey nodded. "Thank you. We'll be there in a moment. How is he?"
The team began to listen as the nurse answered. "He's stable, but he is unable to comprehend his surroundings. We think that having him with people he knows will help him register what is going on. He sustained large bruising on his middle and lower back. The bite marks were thoroughly cleaned and are now on their way to healing. He has a minor concussion, but he should be fine with plenty of rest. He sustained two broken ribs as well, but, like the concussion, the best medicine is rest." She walked away with James' nod.
"Well, go and see him. Room 1301B," James ordered.
Adam and Ty regretfully shook Jason awake before leading the groggy teen to the room with their friends.
::::ROOM 1301B::::
Mitch heard that annoying beeping sound from the heart monitor beside him. How the hell did he get here? He was supposed to be dead. How-?
"Mitch?"
He didn't even move his head. He just closed his eyes and tried to avoid eye contact with Jerome. He didn't want to face his team members. It hurt too much to realize how quickly he had let them go.
"Mitch, look at me."
He didn't want to look at his best friend. Nope. No. He didn't want to.
"Mitch...please?"
Aw, hell. Mitch slowly opened his eyes again and tried to sit up, but pain shot through his back and chest. A furry paw pushed him gently back down.
He saw the team slowly move around the bed so he could see them all. They weren't trying to guilt trip him, but that was exactly what they were doing right now. He glanced at Jason, who was pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to wake up. He raised an eyebrow.
"He was tired," Adam explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Mitch nodded.
There was silence in the room as everyone tried to figure out a way to address the elephant in the room.
Mitch removed the oxygen mask, even though Jerome tried to fight with him to get it back on. "You guys want to know why I did what I did," he stated bluntly after a few minutes, trying to rub away the pounding headache.
"Yeah…" Tiff whispered.
"Did you guys figure out that I had it planned beforehand?"
The team nodded while Jason stood there, confused. Adam explained it with just "He had only two flashbangs" and Jason immediately understood.
"Why did you plan it out so soon?" Kyle asked. "Did you think we couldn't handle them?"
Mitch sighed. "I always have a backup plan, suicide or not. This was one of them. After Griffin and the battle with the Snarks, I started to plan ahead more, making strategies that are more efficient if a battle is raging on too long or is seemingly endless."
"What do you mean?" Adam questioned. "We were fine!"
"How long did Jason sleep for, guys?" Mitch asked quietly. Jason pursed his lips.
"...Twenty-eight hours," Tyler reluctantly answered.
"How long do you think he would've slept if we had to keep battling the rest of the night and maybe even countless nights after that? How tired and drained do you think he would be?"
"I probably wouldn't be able to stay awake," Jason sighed quietly.
"No, you wouldn't." Mitch sighed. "Jason, I don't want to pry into you or put you on the spot like this but...what else would happen? What would happen if you fight endlessly like that?"
Jason stared at Mitch in shock before remembering that Mitch was expert with supernaturals. He took a deep breath. "Adam, you remember after the Snarks when you found that heavily scarred area on my side?"
"Yeah…" Adam said slowly. "Why?"
"That's caused from me battling. The more things I kill, the heavier and larger the scarring. The pain makes me fall asleep, but sleeping also helps heal it. Those twenty-eight hours I was sleeping healed my scarring a lot, but it's not gone."
"What?!"
"If Jason fights forever at night, and only sleeps in the morning before having to fight again, the scarring will soon grow larger and heavier before causing permanent damage to his body. Then...he dies," Mitch finished.
The team just stood quietly. All of it was so much to process.
Ty took a deep breath. "So what you're saying is that you made backup plans for every battle, willing to sacrifice yourself, because you know that sooner or later, we all will push our limits and fall?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying."
It was hard. It hurt knowing that Mitch will sacrifice himself because he knows that no matter how hard they try, they will soon succumb to their inescapable weakness. That really sucked knowing they would be the ones to kill Mitch.
"When I was dying, I started thinking about you guys and how it would be when I was gone," Mitch started. The team looked up in curiosity. "I thought about you guys for a while and for a moment, it kept me wanting to stay alive. Then, it all of a sudden got worse. I don't know why, and I really, really hate saying this, but...the images of this team helped me try to pass on."
Jerome stared at him. "Are you saying that we caused you to want to die?"
Mitch looked at him in shock. "What?! No! What the hell?! That was the last thing I was implying!"
Despite the seriousness of the situation, the rest of the team couldn't help but chuckle at the small banter. It shouldn't have happened, but it did, and for some reason, it made Mitch smile.
"You guys are...something else," Mitch sighed.
Adam hid a smile. "I'm sorry but that sounded like that was what you were implying."
"No! If you guys made me feel that way then why would I stay with you?"
Jason raised his eyebrows. "He's got a point."
"He's got Jason," Ty whispered to Adam.
"I know. The little backstabber," Adam muttered back.
"I heard you two," Jason growled.
"Ty, abort mission! Abort mission!"
"Adam! Get off me!"
Mitch began to chuckle even though it hurt him, but he was willing to endure the pain for them, even if it lasted for a while.
::::THREE WEEKS LATER::::
"I WANNA GO!"
"NO, MITCH! GET BACK IN BED!"
"JEROME, LET ME GO!"
"MITCH, NO! STOP IT!"
"I AM NOT YOUR DOG! MUEVETE!"
Adam sighed from his seat in the Lounge. "Here they go again…"
"When did Mitch learn Spanish…?" Tiff asked in awe.
"What did he say?" Kyle asked.
"Move."
"Oh."
"This is like the seventh time in two weeks!" Tyler complained.
"You can't say you didn't expect Mitch to get tired of being in bed," Jason sighed from his spot on the loveseat.
"About that…"
"Wow, Tyler. I shouldn't even be surprised."
"I bet twenty bucks Jerome is going to kill Mitch by the end of next week," Adam joked from the couch.
"I'll give it to the middle of the next week," Ty said by the fireplace.
"I'd say by the end of this week," Jason replied.
"MITCH, I'M GOING TO MURDER. YOUR. FACE!"
The Reaper, werewolf, and Demon Bird looked at each other. At the same time, they asked, "Can I change my bet to the end of today?"
OKAY EVERYONE! That was the end of this chapter, but the beginning of Updating Week! Yep! It's back again! If you're new here or you forgot what it was, Updating Week is where I upload a chapter every day for a random story, leading up to the day where I first began writing which will be three full years. That's right! Three full years of writing on here! Man, time flies by fast.
I hope you all enjoyed! If you did, please leave a review. Until then, stay safe, take care, love you, God bless, and...DARKSOMEONE41 SIGNING OUT! SEE YA!