Title: Fallen
Author: GW Katrina
Rating: PG-15 for language
Beta: Rebecca
Warning: AU.
Feedback: Of course, silly duckies.
Archive: Anyone who wants it. Just tell me so I can go see.
Disclaimer: *sighs* If I owned them, Zeke and Casey would have been
shagging in celebration.
Notes: Just to warn you, this was inspired by the DISC: bad things
thread, starting at mess #164, and the line of Zeke's. As you
read the story, it will become clear which one. This is the first
part, of the first story, of a possible series. I hope you like.

Fallen

Stokely was wrong.

She was still warm as Zeke pressed his fingers against her neck. A
strange half-whine broke from his throat, in a rare display of
distress. With a shaking hand, he closed her black-lined eyes, then
wiped away the blood that was smeared on the side of her face.

"Stokes, you were right," he whispered. "I guess the queen's dead.
You were right."

Standing, Zeke wavered, world spinning wildly. He braced himself
against the mesh wall for a second, then staggered out of the
equipment room. Setting off, he stumbled over debris as he followed
Marybeth's path of destruction.

"Fuck," he grumbled out loud. "I'm thinking in clichés. 'Path of
destruction.' Sounds like something Casey would say."

Just the thought of Casey made Zeke move faster. With Stokely....
With the dried parasite next to her head, Zeke just knew that the
queen was dead as well. And the only one who was still with it
enough to have killed her was Casey.

Zeke really hoped it wasn't one of those final strike deals.

Finally making it to the gym, Zeke could see dark forms in the
corner. It was hard to tell, because of the shadows, but one looked
human. A fallen human.

"No." Zeke hurried for the slumped form. Please, don't let Casey be
dead. Don't be dead, Casey. Don't be dead, don'tbedead. The mantra
ran through Zeke's mind as he moved as fast as he could make his
battered body go.

As he drew near, Zeke saw the silvery shape of Marybeth's alien
body, dry and ready to vanish with just a touch. Before her was
Casey, blood streaming down his face from four cuts, making him look
even paler than normal.

On the floor, around Casey, were four husks, so much like the one
that had killed Stokely. Unable to move, just for a second, Zeke
reached forward once more. Casey was warm, but Stokely had been
warm, too.

Brown eyes closed, and an almost sob racked Zeke's body. Then he
opened his eyes again, and smiled as a pulse pounded rapidly against
his fingers.

"Case, come on, Casey. Time to wake up."

Gently patting Casey's face, Zeke was relieved when large blue eyes
opened. The pair stared at each other for a few moments, then Casey
reached out with shaking hands and touched the blood still sliding
down Zeke's face.

"You okay?"

Zeke snorted, immediately regretting it. "Ow. Yah, I will be. Can
you stand? We need to get the fuck out of here."

"What happened? I killed.... Oooh."

Casey's voice trailed off, and Zeke's hands darted out as Casey
began to slump forward. "Casey! What's wrong?"

"I don't know," mumbled the younger boy. "She did something when she
died. I could feel those... things touch me. In the head, like they
were trying to take over. Then...." Casey lifted his face, and
looked at Zeke. "I don't know. All of this *stuff* just poured into
my head. It hurts like hell."

"Stuff?" Okay, Zeke could honestly admit that he wasn't his best if
that was the most coherent question he could come up with. Still, it
got the message across.

"My face. That much was clear. Connections. Lots of them. All spread
out. Shit!" Casey slammed his fists against the floor. "There's
more, damnit! Why doesn't it make any sense!?"

Grabbing Casey's shaking hands in his own, Zeke attempted to stand
and pull the smaller boy up with him. It turned out more like the
pair of them falling upwards, bouncing off each other, but the end
result was the same. Both were standing on their feet.

"We'll work on it later, Case. We need to get the fuck out of here.
Now."

"But.... Why?" Casey was confused. The queen was dead. Shouldn't
everything be better?

Grimacing, Zeke realized how bad Casey was going to take
this. "Stokely.... Stokes was only half right, Casey."

"Half right?"

"The queen is dead, and so are her little parasite pets." Zeke tried
to pull Casey forward, but the teen had built a wiry strength after
so many years of abuse, just to survive. Mix that with someone as
stubborn as a mule, and one got Casey, who was not going to move
unless Zeke picked him up, and Zeke was not up to that.

"Zeke. What. Happened." Each word was bit off, and Zeke understood.
There was no way in hell Casey was going anywhere until he got the
truth.

Looking at Casey through grey dots, which seemed to be multiplying,
Zeke took a deep breath.

"When you took out the queen, the bastards took their hosts with
them."

There, he'd said it.

Silence. The movement of skin over those strange blue eyes was
audible. Zeke could actually hear the 'blink blink' noise they made.

Then Casey was gone, running past Zeke in a surprisingly graceful
move. Zeke turned, meaning to follow, but found himself on his hands
and knees, trying not to throw up.

After what seemed like forever, strong hands pulled at his
shoulders, and he found himself standing, lost in grey fog. A soft
voice spoke.

"Come on, Zeke. We're leaving."

Dazed, Zeke let himself be led, docile, too sick to care. His arm
was over a convenient shoulder, which was just the right height.
There was a soft click, and he was helped down onto a padded seat.

Zeke's vision cleared, and he saw Casey shutting a car door beside
him. What was Casey doing in the driver's seat? Did the kid even
know how to drive?

"Shut up, Zeke. I'm not a kid."

Fuck. Since when could Casey read minds?

"You're talking out loud, dumbass. No mind reading involved."

Oh. That was good. Then Casey didn't know how pretty Zeke thought he
was.

Once again, there was the 'blink blink' noise, and Casey looked at
Zeke. "Zeke, you think I'm pretty."

Zeke nodded. Was Casey sure he couldn't read minds?

"Zeke, I think you have a concussion. And I think you're pretty,
too. Mind blowing beautiful, actually."

Casey thought he was pretty? That he was 'mind blowing beautiful.'
That was good. Ooh, he felt dizzy.

"Zeke, don't you fucking pass out on me, do you hear...."

Casey's voice seemed to mute, and darkness swirled in, turning
everything black.