Since you guys are being so wonderful with the reviews I'm gonna keep them comin'!

This story has been set upon this particular path since day 1, I know that it will all make sense once the story is complete but just know that this is where the story was going all along.

Cheers eh!

Chapter 21:

I had given Gamelin instructions on how and where to find Bo, as well as what to say to her when he found her. I was studying some of the files I had kept for myself. After parting with Gamelin I had a long way to go from where I was to where Vincent and this so called Soldier was. I had a solid 4 days of travel, which would prove difficult even being 100% healthy, under my condition it would be a challenge for sure. Gamelin had an extraction point to get to and it would take him a solid 2 days travel as well.

Our departure was bittersweet and his face showed me the pain I would show for my brother if I had to leave him behind under circumstances like this. The unit had been together for such a short amount of time but I knew we were now forever connected. We had lost the rest of our brothers and only him and I were left as the orphans we were. I mourned these men more than I had mourned my real life brother.

I stood with the phone up to my ear, my jaw was tight in disbelief and I could feel Vincent holding onto my elbow trying to make sense of the one way conversation.

"I realize you are very sorry for what Mother did to us, I also realize you are trying to atone… Father…" my voice came sharp yet respectful.

The man had been trying, God knows how much, but 20 years was a long time to fuck your children up. Vincent and I had been in the military for a few years now and it seemed like the life that was now on the phone was lightyears and a lifetime away.

"Let me just meet up with you guys." His words were pleading almost and I knew I had to give him that much.

"Coffee house by the base in one hour Father. Don't be late, Vincent and I have to do some drills in about two and a half hours."

Vincent and I took our hats off as we came in. We scoped the coffee house and noticed our Father had been sitting at a small table by himself. His face lit up when he saw us and I bit back the urge to snarl at him. Vincent and I had been through the shitty therapy they offered in the military, to be honest the jail therapist was better and that said a lot about mental health in our field. We had been making leaps and strides according to the psychiatrist on base but one thing was talking about your fucked up childhood and another was reliving it every time you saw the people that tormented you, or did nothing to defend you.

Vincent gave me a small nod and I returned it. I guess if you could spot the differences between us it was often that Vinny was always more outgoing and way more forgiving than I ever was. I observed as Vincent threw his arms around our Father in a stiff and awkward hug, yet I could tell he meant it and that it meant a lot to my father that such gesture was extended to him.

A soft clearing of the throat got my attention and I looked at the pretty server in front of me. She was tanned and her dark curly hair framed her caramel skin perfectly. 'Nadia' her badge read. I smiled noticing she was new. I leaned on the counter trying to look at the specials board around her. In reality I knew the menu up and down.

"Hey there…" I looked at her badge again throwing her a boyish smile "Nadia. Can I get two medium double doubles and a tall black, no sugar, no cream not one thing pretty like you in it."

Her smile was cute and she stammered asking me for the total. I made a note to call the number she had slipped on my sleeve. I sat with the guys waiting for me. I could tell they were making small talk and it was going well. I placed Vinny's coffee in front of him taking a second to pass my Father his.

"I… Hello Lauren, how are you?" he stammered and I smiled.

"I'm good Father, a little busy which is why your visit comes as a surprise." I let out faster than I meant to and Vincent hit me in the elbow.

"Lau... You're being rude." Vincent warned and I raised my arms in defence and innocence.

"No, I just thought we could go to the point so we could then relax and catch up…" honestly, I did!

"No, Lauren is right, I should cut to the chase." He cleared his throat and looked as us both.

"I don't suppose you guys keep in contact with you brother?" his question was foolish, we both answered with a shake of our head.

Our backs were tensed in discomfort.

"I… He had moved back with your Mother after he couldn't follow the rules of my house. I gander you remember that right before you left Vincent." My brother nodded and looked away not wanting to confront talks of why he left my Father's house so abruptly.

"If this has anything to do with him we're not interested Father." I warned and he shook his head.

"Your mother called this morning. Your bother is dead." He raised his arms in defeat and looked out the window like my brother had done before.

"What do you mean?" Vincent asked him wide eyed and we turned to each other in shock.

"Him and Florian had come back from war talking that non-sense and he wasn't like you guys. You guys are strong willed and support each other. You turned into excellent human beings in spite of us. Your brother though, he put a bullet in his mouth this morning." The backhand compliment was overshadowed by disbelief.

"Wow" Vincent said with a whistle and out of nowhere we laughed. Just like that we busted out laughing in what I could only describe as relief.

My father shook his head slightly and mumbled something about everybody mourning differently.

"I need you guys to come to the funeral." The second it came off his mouth the second we shook our heads in unison. There was no way in hell.

"I can't face the world alone. Your Mother blames it all on me and I know… I know with him it wasn't my fault. You guys, yous I can understand and admit I hurt without wanting to. Your brother was vile and evil and I have not the slightest idea how he turned out in this manner."

Our eyes connected and I could see the pain and tears in his as he looked at me. In that moment I realized he regretted what had happened to me after the split.

My Father had not re-married like my Mother had and I was certain that to some degree he didn't realise things had gotten so damaged until they were beyond repair. I still felt a deep anger and rage when thinking of my Mother but my Father now brought more sorrow than anger.

I could hear the knot in his voice and instinctively for the first time since I was perhaps three years old I grabbed for his hand and squeezed it. His tears fell and I worked hard to conceal mine.

"I… Please Father." He shook his head and smiled.

"No, of course, after everything it was wrong of me to come ask such a thing." I gave him a sad smile and like that we parted ways. Relief was the only thing I could feel as Vincent and I walked fearlessly back into war. He was no longer able to torture us…

I traveled by night which would keep me in a relatively safe cover. My night-vision goggles would make sure I saw anyone who wanted to see me first. I had been walking for hours, my mind being my only companion had started to become torturous. At first I couldn't stop going through the plan in my head but then it turned to thoughts of Vincent, Frankie and Bo and the danger they were in. I kept alert however, I knew I had to keep checking the sky sporadically to avoid being caught in the open with light out. As the first hint of a change registered in my mind I grabbed at the small shovel in the bottom of my back pack. I dropped my bag and started digging furiously. I felt like I would faint at any time but I knew I had to keep pushing. I had to be smarter than my opponents for now.

I dug deep into the earth, the small hole was about 7ft long and 4ft wide. I had dug fast and efficiently for a solid hour my arms burning in deep exhaustion and my head pounding from the pain. I could tell that the light would come soon and I knew I had to hurry up. I threw in a small square box and clicked a button. After a few minutes a small tent barely the size of the hole had sprung up. I jumped inside and added the steel reinforcements I had fastened to my boots and then I hoisted myself above ground again. I covered the tent and the hole pretty fast, the only crevice left for me to jump in was the top of the tent. I had jimmy rigged a small bush with a string so I could pull it atop the tent while I slept as a form of cover. This was a technique called burrowing and it was used in cases of extreme stealth. It was uncomfortable and you definitely had to give up the claustrophobia but it had saved Vincent and my life alike a couple of times.

I had left little space for me to move in here but it was more than I needed to move my hands. I reached into my breast pocket and held the closed envelope in my hand. A parting gift from Gamelin.

"I was about to do a mail call for you when all hell broke lose." He smiled at me before we parted.

He squeezed the envelope into my hand. It was addressed to me in Frankie's messy chicken scratch. I smiled knowing it was from them. My eyes conveyed all the gratitude I held for Gamelin knowing that he would reach Bo and Frankie on time to save the Fae.

I stared at the envelope a second longer before moving slightly and opening it up. I held it close to my face with the limited space and vision.

Hey !

DON'T LOSE THAT STICK! Technically it's not even mine so if you could bring it home…

The Serum seems to be working well but I don't really have a stable or permanent equation to follow for complete and full results. I'll keep on searching, just stay safe. I miss you and so does Mum.

Love you,

Frankie.

Tears rolled down my eyes and I placed the envelope where my final letter should be. I had given it to Gamelin. 'just in case' I had told myself as he frowned. I leaned my head back and before I knew it I was out.

"Don't you dare leave me Lauren Lewis!" Bo screamed as she held my head on her lap. Her eyes intensely blue and menacing. Where was I? What was I doing?...

I woke up with a startle as my watch vibrated me awake. I was confused and disoriented for a long while. I regained focus slowly and I was quite honestly surprised I was still even alive. I stayed still for a while trying to hear my surroundings. I realized that I was more than likely alone and unzipped my tent. I pulled myself up slightly and looked around with my goggles. I was alone for miles upon miles.

I quickly pulled up my tent and tapped the reinforcements into my boots. I packed up my small camp, covered the hole and left munching on a less than fresh apple. I felt the twig in my pocket and chuckled at Frankie 'what did you do this time with this tiwg?'

I had been examining my files under a discreet cover inside some ruins while I took a break. I was fatigued and my vision kept blurring but I had to keep on reading and discovering what was I up against. I was perplexed these files had been gravy. It seemed that in the end the plan had been to infiltrate the Light Compound and to steal my research. With my files and knowledge, which Poussey had been entrusted with acquiring, they would move into 'FAESE 2'. I shuddered at the casualness the reports would throw the term of this species around when the people who did their dirty work thought of them as Demons. The more I read the more I was convinced Gamelin had intercepted Poussey's reintegration convoy who had happened to stumble into us.

I searched within the papers for what 'FAESE 2' was but all I found was relatively vague. I could tell Vincent was a big part of it and their research since it mentioned him extensively. In the files I found a lot of interest in Vincent's genetics and how they would react to a certain serum they were now developing. I didn't have any information or mention of what this serum did or had, apparently all that was even more confidential than all this. I had found Hera was being held 'neutralized' in a containment chamber. Not only did these humans know about the Fae, they were actively experimenting on them.

I put my research away mulling it over. How had they gotten Vincent? Why?

Shaking my head I set off into the dessert again. My body had nothing else to give and yet I pushed. Medically I knew I should've already been dead a long time ago, how was I crossing through the dessert like this? Who knew? I rubbed the twig for good luck and stuck it close to my heart in my underwear. Such a trivial motion so foreign over here. And in the insanity of it all I laughed in the silent sand dunes terrified I'd never laugh again.

Frankie's laughter filled the air. I loved tickling his small stomach. I held him close as he tried to squirm away and whispered in his ear in a monstrous voice.

"I'm gonna get all them tickles off you." I laughed ridiculously and tried to tickle him faster.

"Don't make him throw-up babe, that's your mess to deal with." Bo pointed out putting the bags of take out in front of us urging us to dig in.

We were in the warehouse waiting for the other's to show up. When it was the three of us we could forget what was happening for a few minutes. Frankie had busied himself with the plate Bo had fixed him and I shook my head at her offering and stretched my arms for her to come to me. I was happy to see her sit on my lap and kiss my lips gently which I returned. She interlaced her fingers with mine and Frankie shoved her slightly with a huge smile on his face.

"Ha-ha you love Lauren" he sang out and giggled.

"What if I do? What-chu gonna do about it punk?" she said shoving him back gently and blowing a raspberry at him.

My heart skipped a beat. I love you too. Both of you.

It was the last night of my trek when I rose my head to make sure the coast was clear. Before I knew it, I was being pulled out of my burrow. I glared at the men who had thrown me on the floor. I needed to calculate my movements now, I could be lucky and these be pawns or I could be fucked, but I didn't know yet. They exchanged a look and one of them smiled at the other.

"Praise the Soldier… it seems we have a gift for the boss."

Before I knew it the butt of a gun had met my head and I was out like a light.

My arms were above my head, I could tell they had been like this for a while because of the soreness of them. I opened my eyes to be met by a harsh white washed light. I could see a man standing in front of me. Rather the silhouette of a man and I wondered if this had been who I was looking for all this time.

Before I knew it a punch had crossed my face stunning me and making my head fall limply forward from the angle I was tied up in. I caught myself assessing that all these hits to the head couldn't be any safe with a bullet in your head. I flexed my jaw in response looked up to see his face.

I felt my eyes turn into slits and the snarl that crossed my face could've been Dyson's. I stared at his long slender form. He had always looked like the rat he was. His cruel smile resided on his face and I spat at his shoes is disgust.

"Lauren! I see you have met the boys." His voice was booming in this small confined space.

"What do you want Florian?! Are you behind all this bullshit?" I was so angry at this point.

"You know…" he creeped closer to me and my body involuntarily shuddered. His breath was on my skin as he whispered in my ear. "I had always wanted to- -"

His fingers traced down my arm and I pulled back in disgust kicking at him. He pulled back with a sadistic smile and pulled back before swiftly kicking me in the stomach. The wind had been knocked out of me and I was unsure if it was worse than I expected. I could hear the laughter fade away as they retreated and I was left to just hang there by my lonesome. As cliché as it was, I could hear a facet dripping somewhere in the distance. I concentrated on it like a lifeline. It was keeping me sane in the darkness and I knew they would try to break me one way or another.

Florian had been my brother's best friend. He was equally sadistic and cruel and I couldn't find another person other than my brother himself to have orchestrated all of this. It made so much sense now that looking back on it I should've known. I should've known as soon as I knew Bo.

I was sorting out mail when it happened. It was the most bizarre memory I had of either of my siblings.

"Lauren, you've gotta help me!" his voice made the hair stand on the back of my neck and I turned on the balls of my feet to see my eldest brother in front of me.

"They're coming to get me, us… all of us! They know who I am and they know I know about them Lauren." His tone was frantic and I stared at him wide eyed in disbelief. "I… I… There was thousands- -no- - millions of them, I could see it. HE MADE ME SEE IT."

I grabbed at his shoulders and shook him before slapping him across the face. My neighbors were looking at the scene and I was more than terrified of seeing him at my doorstep.

" . ." I snarled and he looked at me in disbelief.

"You have to help me Lauren, we have to kill them. I am your brother- -" he insisted and the rage in me boiled over.

"You are no brother of mine! Where were you when Florian had his hands all up in my skirt? Oh yeah I forgot, you were the one pinning me down." The low warning hiss in my voice was thick and he recoiled from it. "I don't know what your non-sense is this time asshole, but I think you just got hit by a bully bigger than you and now you can't stop pissing your pants. I rather enjoy watching you squirm as a matter of fact."

His hurt and horrified expression met my unwielding one and something in his eyes changed.

"Now get off my property before I shoot you mother'fucker." I warned and he turned to leave.

"You'll be sorry about this Lauren. When they come. You will run to me, begging me to protect you." He warned and hurried off.

It seemed I had drifted off because when I came to it was like looking into a mirror, yet it was not. I looked across from me in chains as well Vincent's chest moved laboriously and I could tell he was injured badly. I cried out and felt helpless cause I couldn't tend to him. I watched him closely the rest of the day. A few times his breathing had hiccupped or stopped and I feared the worse. I had thought that perhaps Florian had put Vincent to die in front of me. He knew it would kill me and that was something I was sure of. I heard him mumble and suddenly his head had snapped up. His face was badly bruised and beaten almost unrecognizable. His eyes met mine and instantly he wept.

"Why are you here Lauren?" he cried like a small child in fear and lament.

"I had to find you Vincent… I… I had to find answers to help Bo." I looked down as I spoke gently to him.

"I should've seen this coming a mile away…" Vincent lamented with himself "You are in grave danger Lauren, you have to go."

"Vincent I am as tied as you are. We're getting out together, we just have to think." I needed him to get in the optimistic side. I had a bullet in my head for fucks sakes, he needed to get it together.

"No Lauren, there's no thinking yourself out of this one." He slumped his head. "Why you?"

"Vincent, The Soldier, Florian- -"

"No." He cut me off and his eyes met mine. His eyes looked soulless almost and it petrified me. "Florian is not the Soldier, it's much more worse than that."

"That's enough." I heard the voice from behind us before I blacked out once more.

I looked up and the clear blue sky. It was different shades of blue hues that went from deep to almost crystal clear. A few translucent clouds came through adding to my delight and I could hear the water from down the creek beckoning my soul. Vincent's voice broke through my sky gazing and I looked up to see him skipping rocks not too far from me. His face was dirty like mine and our clothes were full of mud from frog catching. He turned and looked at me with shinning caramel eyes, his golden blond hair dancing in the wind with the breeze and his feet bare, toes wiggling in the mud. I could tell skipping Sunday School was his best idea yet. I returned the smile and blew a dandelion fluff in his direction watching carefully as it danced away. I plucked another one and laid on my back blowing into the sky with delight. I could hear Vincent's whistle come to an abrupt stop. I turned to see why he had stopped and it was then when my eyes met his. I scurried back and mouthed his name, the one I feared in my heart. My brother Isaac had been sent to find us.

As my eyes opened his smile widened cynically and I involuntarily scurried away from him in fear like I had just done in my memory, in my subconscious. I was five again and terrified.

"Oh good. You remember me. This will make this much more easier." He exclaimed laughing at my reluctance.

I had to snap out of this and focus fast. This was my brother standing before me after years of being dead. The utmost sadistic smile spread on his lips and as he did I could see all the times he tormented Vincent and I, all the torture and pain that he had brought into our lives and now how he had brought it once again.