Irvine and Thomas just couldn't believe their eyes. They weren't sure if
their eyes were playing a trick upon them or if what they were seeing was
actually real. "Van?' questioned Irvine as he took a step towards Van but
the figure that was laying on a hard bed made no attempt to even look at
them.
His face was stricken black with filth almost as if it had been burned severely but in reality it was just filth that appeared to have been built up. His clothes were shredded in many areas and by the looks of it there were bloodstains all over his clothes. He was much skinnier than they had ever seen it and it made them wonder if he was even alive. His eyes held a blankness in them that scared Irvine and Thomas greatly.
"I-I just don't believe it. He didn't just disappear he was kidnapped," muttered Thomas in shock as they looked at the mere shell of their old friend who they hadn't seen in years. "I-Is he alive?" asked Thomas as he took a step towards Van who yet again made no response to show that he even knew that they were there.
Irvine took a step towards Van and grabbed his wrist to feel for a pulse. Sure enough, there was one. It was a weak one but it was there nonetheless. "He's alive, but just barely by the looks of it. He must have been tortured pretty badly in order to turn out like this," said Irvine in disbelief. How could they have done this to him and why? By our information they aren't part of Hiltz's or Prozen's group so there has to be some other motives as to why they did this," said Irvine as he took a step away.
"They probably just did this so that they could make a name for themselves for torturing and then at some point trying to kill Van when so many before them have failed. Good thing that we got here when we did," said Thomas as he leaned against a wall to try and think of more reasons.
"Lets try and think about all of this later. Right now we have to get him some medical attention or he may not last much longer. It is a surprise that he is even alive right now with all of the cuts and bruises that he had. He must have lost a lot of blood and by the looks of it they didn't even try to help him even if it meant they could torture him more," said Irvine in disbelief as he moved to Van's side and Thomas moved to the other. They both carefully lifted Van and got out of the door as fast and as carefully as they could.
*****
Moonbay drove through the desert as she sang her usual song. "I am Moonbay, transporter or the wasteland," sang Moonbay but it didn't seem as enthusiastic as she normally did. She was happy for Fiona but she didn't really like who she was marrying he. He just seemed a little too cheerful for his own good. 'Maybe that is a stupid excuse, but I don't like him,' thought Moonbay.
She was brought out of her singing when she heard the console of the gustav beeping meaning that she had an incoming call. "Yeah?" asked Moonbay as a picture of Irvine popped up on the screen and he didn't look too happy. "Hey there Irvine. Why haven't you left already to get to the wedding?" asked Moonbay seeing the hanger of the base behind him.
"Turn back," was Irvine quick greeting without even a hello. He saw Moonbay puzzled look and he decided to elaborate. "Turn around and come back. We have an emergency down here and we need you help a little. I don't have much time to explain my reason but this is more important than the wedding," said Irvine in a hurried voice.
"What's going on?" asked Moonbay with the confused look still on her face. She had no idea what Irvine wanted her back there for when she was about to arrive at where Fiona was getting married.
"I told you I have no time to explain. Just hurry up and get back here as soon as you can. This is too important. Oh, and don't tell Fiona about any of this," said Irvine very annoyed as he shut off the communication leaving the still confused Moonbay behind.
Moonbay had no idea what was going on but she decided to take Irvine's word for it. 'He did sound very urgent when he spoke. Maybe it would be worth my time to go back, but why is it that he didn't want me to tell Fiona about this,' thought Moonbay with a shrug before she turned the gustav around and drove in the opposite direction.
*****
Fiona sat in front of a mirror as she carefully brushed her beautiful blonde hair. She was alone and humming a small tune to herself as she waited for Moonbay's arrival. Moonbay had been a big help for Fiona since Van's disappearance and she was going to be Fiona's maid of honor at the wedding. Moonbay was going to come that day to help Fiona out in getting prepared but she had yet to show up. 'I wonder where she is,' thought Fiona as she set her brush down.
A knock came upon Fiona's door and Fiona stood up and walked over to it. Upon opening the door, Fiona saw a woman with a smile on her face. "Excuse me miss Fiona, but there was a call that came in for you," said the woman as she turned around and signaled for Fiona to follow her.
The two walked down a few of the halls until they came across a small room that held a few computers all around it. Fiona walked into the room and the woman walked away. Fiona sat down in a chair and pressed a button and Moonbay's face popped up. "Oh hello Moonbay. What is taking you so long to get here?" asked Fiona in a calm voice.
"I'm afraid not. Something important has come up and I won't be able to make for a few more days. I am sorry but this has to be done," said Moonbay in a sorry voice. Moonbay did as Irvine said and decided not to tell Fiona that it was Irvine and Thomas that needed her at that moment. "I promise you that I will be there for you wedding though. Like I said, I am terribly sorry," said Moonbay hoping that Fiona would understand.
"I understand," said Fiona in a disappointed tone. "You do what you have to do and get back here quickly," said Fiona but at this point she was getting really nervous and she could really have used Moonbay's support.
"Thanks Fiona, I really appreciate it. I will go as fast as I can and then get there as fast as I can. I will see you later," said Moonbay before the screen shut off leaving Fiona alone again.
*****
Moonbay angrily pulled into the bases hanger bay and jumped out. She was seriously annoyed that she drove all that way and then had to come back. She looked around quickly and tried to catch a glimpse of either Irvine or Moonbay but for some strange reason the entire hanger was close to empty with there being only a few people around. 'What the,' thought Moonbay because the place was usual pretty full.
"Moonbay," came Irvine's voice, which made Moonbay jump up into the air since she wasn't expecting it. "You did keep your mouth shut about this when it comes to Fiona right?" was the first question that Irvine ask instead of a hello.
"Well hello to you too," said an annoyed Moonbay. "No, I just told her that I had some important business that I needed to take care of and she didn't ask any questions about it," said Moonbay as the two started to walk out of the hanger bay. "So what is so urgent that you had to call me back over that large distance? It had better be a good reason to drag me all the way back here," said Moonbay trying to get to the point as fast as she could.
"This is very important like I said. We found something very important on our last mission that we felt that you had the right to know, it is also the main reason that we didn't want Fiona to know since we knew she would start worrying too much," said Irvine as the walked through on of the halls.
"What is this important thing that you found? Was it something like Van?" asked Moonbay but she was only joking around. She realized that Irvine wasn't beside her and was being awfully quiet. "It is him, isn't it? Alright let me at him I am so going to hurt him for what he did to Fiona," said Moonbay as she rolled up her sleeve and balled her hand into a tight fist.
"No Moonbay," said Irvine only to be met with Moonbay's confused face. "While it is true that we did find Van, there was something very wrong with how we found him," said Irvine as he started to walk again.
"What do you mean by that? Was he working with the enemy?" asked Moonbay only to get a no from Irvine. "Then what is it that makes it so wrong about finding him?" asked Moonbay not realizing that they were walking through the medical wing.
Irvine suddenly stopped in front of a door and Moonbay stopped right next to him. She looked form the door to Irvine asking for an explanation as to what he had been getting at.
Irvine opened the door and walked into the room without a noise and Moonbay soon followed him. She now realized their location and was shocked. "Irvine, does this mean what I think it means?" asked Moonbay but Irvine didn't answer and just walked in front of one of the beds and Moonbay followed. As soon as she laid her eyes on Van, her hands shot up to her mouth in shock.
"He was tortured. For the past four years, these men had him captured and tortured for their own pleasure. I don't think it had anything to do with what he has done in the past because these guys weren't with Hiltz or Prozen and they hated the deathsaurer and deathstinger as well. It is a wonder that he was even alive when we found him," said Irvine in a quiet tone.
All of Moonbay's anger and hatred that was building up because of what Van had done disappeared so fast that it surprised her. "This is why you didn't want Fiona to know. Despite what he had done, Fiona stilled cared for him and then if she was to see him in this shape it would completely devastate her. I can't believe that someone would even do anything like this," said an extremely shocked Moonbay.
"We have yet to find their leader yet because he disappeared before we even got in," said Irvine in a disappointed tone. "He doesn't even respond to anything we do. His body is badly beaten; he lost a lot of blood. Like I said before, it was a wonder how he could have even survived all of this time. The doctors that have looked him over think it is a slim chance that he will survive but that is enough for me. at least he has a chance," said Irvine with his tone full of sadness and anger at the same time.
"I feel so bad. All this time we thought that he had just run away from all of us and left a hurt Fiona. We should have known much better that he wouldn't intentionally have hurt Fiona the way that he did," said Moonbay as she placed her face into her hands out of the grief that she held within her at that moment.
"I feel the same way as you. We shouldn't have jumped to conclusions about what Van had done. We should have known that something was up when he disappeared and didn't even send a letter or anything along those lines," said Irvine feeling the grief that Moonbay was also feeling.
"Look at him. He has all of those wounds and yet it doesn't even look like he is in an ounce of pain," said Moonbay as she looked over the unconscious yet calm looking Van as he laid in the bed with all sorts of machines hooked up to him.
"I am guessing that he is in pain but over the years he just shut himself off from showing emotions while he is in the presence of others. It is a good idea because as long as they don't see that you are in pain then they wouldn't get as much satisfaction in torturing him. I looks like they didn't care and still continued to torture him," said Irvine as he sat down in a chair and then Moonbay sat down right next to him.
"What are we going to do about Fiona? While it is a good idea not to tell her at this moment, sooner or later we will have to tell her," said Moonbay dreading the thought of what her reaction would be.
"I think that we should tell her before her wedding. I think this because if Fiona still loves Van like before than she shouldn't get married to Matt. We all know that she had much stronger feeling for Van than she has with her current fiancé," said Irvine as he leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
"No," said Moonbay making Irvine look at her with a questioning glance. "I think that it should be Van that talks to her. That is if we can help him survive and get better before the wedding," said Moonbay and Irvine also thought it was a good idea. "Then I guess we will have to do our best to just keep him alive for now. I just hope that we can make him better in time for the wedding," said Moonbay in a worried tone.
His face was stricken black with filth almost as if it had been burned severely but in reality it was just filth that appeared to have been built up. His clothes were shredded in many areas and by the looks of it there were bloodstains all over his clothes. He was much skinnier than they had ever seen it and it made them wonder if he was even alive. His eyes held a blankness in them that scared Irvine and Thomas greatly.
"I-I just don't believe it. He didn't just disappear he was kidnapped," muttered Thomas in shock as they looked at the mere shell of their old friend who they hadn't seen in years. "I-Is he alive?" asked Thomas as he took a step towards Van who yet again made no response to show that he even knew that they were there.
Irvine took a step towards Van and grabbed his wrist to feel for a pulse. Sure enough, there was one. It was a weak one but it was there nonetheless. "He's alive, but just barely by the looks of it. He must have been tortured pretty badly in order to turn out like this," said Irvine in disbelief. How could they have done this to him and why? By our information they aren't part of Hiltz's or Prozen's group so there has to be some other motives as to why they did this," said Irvine as he took a step away.
"They probably just did this so that they could make a name for themselves for torturing and then at some point trying to kill Van when so many before them have failed. Good thing that we got here when we did," said Thomas as he leaned against a wall to try and think of more reasons.
"Lets try and think about all of this later. Right now we have to get him some medical attention or he may not last much longer. It is a surprise that he is even alive right now with all of the cuts and bruises that he had. He must have lost a lot of blood and by the looks of it they didn't even try to help him even if it meant they could torture him more," said Irvine in disbelief as he moved to Van's side and Thomas moved to the other. They both carefully lifted Van and got out of the door as fast and as carefully as they could.
*****
Moonbay drove through the desert as she sang her usual song. "I am Moonbay, transporter or the wasteland," sang Moonbay but it didn't seem as enthusiastic as she normally did. She was happy for Fiona but she didn't really like who she was marrying he. He just seemed a little too cheerful for his own good. 'Maybe that is a stupid excuse, but I don't like him,' thought Moonbay.
She was brought out of her singing when she heard the console of the gustav beeping meaning that she had an incoming call. "Yeah?" asked Moonbay as a picture of Irvine popped up on the screen and he didn't look too happy. "Hey there Irvine. Why haven't you left already to get to the wedding?" asked Moonbay seeing the hanger of the base behind him.
"Turn back," was Irvine quick greeting without even a hello. He saw Moonbay puzzled look and he decided to elaborate. "Turn around and come back. We have an emergency down here and we need you help a little. I don't have much time to explain my reason but this is more important than the wedding," said Irvine in a hurried voice.
"What's going on?" asked Moonbay with the confused look still on her face. She had no idea what Irvine wanted her back there for when she was about to arrive at where Fiona was getting married.
"I told you I have no time to explain. Just hurry up and get back here as soon as you can. This is too important. Oh, and don't tell Fiona about any of this," said Irvine very annoyed as he shut off the communication leaving the still confused Moonbay behind.
Moonbay had no idea what was going on but she decided to take Irvine's word for it. 'He did sound very urgent when he spoke. Maybe it would be worth my time to go back, but why is it that he didn't want me to tell Fiona about this,' thought Moonbay with a shrug before she turned the gustav around and drove in the opposite direction.
*****
Fiona sat in front of a mirror as she carefully brushed her beautiful blonde hair. She was alone and humming a small tune to herself as she waited for Moonbay's arrival. Moonbay had been a big help for Fiona since Van's disappearance and she was going to be Fiona's maid of honor at the wedding. Moonbay was going to come that day to help Fiona out in getting prepared but she had yet to show up. 'I wonder where she is,' thought Fiona as she set her brush down.
A knock came upon Fiona's door and Fiona stood up and walked over to it. Upon opening the door, Fiona saw a woman with a smile on her face. "Excuse me miss Fiona, but there was a call that came in for you," said the woman as she turned around and signaled for Fiona to follow her.
The two walked down a few of the halls until they came across a small room that held a few computers all around it. Fiona walked into the room and the woman walked away. Fiona sat down in a chair and pressed a button and Moonbay's face popped up. "Oh hello Moonbay. What is taking you so long to get here?" asked Fiona in a calm voice.
"I'm afraid not. Something important has come up and I won't be able to make for a few more days. I am sorry but this has to be done," said Moonbay in a sorry voice. Moonbay did as Irvine said and decided not to tell Fiona that it was Irvine and Thomas that needed her at that moment. "I promise you that I will be there for you wedding though. Like I said, I am terribly sorry," said Moonbay hoping that Fiona would understand.
"I understand," said Fiona in a disappointed tone. "You do what you have to do and get back here quickly," said Fiona but at this point she was getting really nervous and she could really have used Moonbay's support.
"Thanks Fiona, I really appreciate it. I will go as fast as I can and then get there as fast as I can. I will see you later," said Moonbay before the screen shut off leaving Fiona alone again.
*****
Moonbay angrily pulled into the bases hanger bay and jumped out. She was seriously annoyed that she drove all that way and then had to come back. She looked around quickly and tried to catch a glimpse of either Irvine or Moonbay but for some strange reason the entire hanger was close to empty with there being only a few people around. 'What the,' thought Moonbay because the place was usual pretty full.
"Moonbay," came Irvine's voice, which made Moonbay jump up into the air since she wasn't expecting it. "You did keep your mouth shut about this when it comes to Fiona right?" was the first question that Irvine ask instead of a hello.
"Well hello to you too," said an annoyed Moonbay. "No, I just told her that I had some important business that I needed to take care of and she didn't ask any questions about it," said Moonbay as the two started to walk out of the hanger bay. "So what is so urgent that you had to call me back over that large distance? It had better be a good reason to drag me all the way back here," said Moonbay trying to get to the point as fast as she could.
"This is very important like I said. We found something very important on our last mission that we felt that you had the right to know, it is also the main reason that we didn't want Fiona to know since we knew she would start worrying too much," said Irvine as the walked through on of the halls.
"What is this important thing that you found? Was it something like Van?" asked Moonbay but she was only joking around. She realized that Irvine wasn't beside her and was being awfully quiet. "It is him, isn't it? Alright let me at him I am so going to hurt him for what he did to Fiona," said Moonbay as she rolled up her sleeve and balled her hand into a tight fist.
"No Moonbay," said Irvine only to be met with Moonbay's confused face. "While it is true that we did find Van, there was something very wrong with how we found him," said Irvine as he started to walk again.
"What do you mean by that? Was he working with the enemy?" asked Moonbay only to get a no from Irvine. "Then what is it that makes it so wrong about finding him?" asked Moonbay not realizing that they were walking through the medical wing.
Irvine suddenly stopped in front of a door and Moonbay stopped right next to him. She looked form the door to Irvine asking for an explanation as to what he had been getting at.
Irvine opened the door and walked into the room without a noise and Moonbay soon followed him. She now realized their location and was shocked. "Irvine, does this mean what I think it means?" asked Moonbay but Irvine didn't answer and just walked in front of one of the beds and Moonbay followed. As soon as she laid her eyes on Van, her hands shot up to her mouth in shock.
"He was tortured. For the past four years, these men had him captured and tortured for their own pleasure. I don't think it had anything to do with what he has done in the past because these guys weren't with Hiltz or Prozen and they hated the deathsaurer and deathstinger as well. It is a wonder that he was even alive when we found him," said Irvine in a quiet tone.
All of Moonbay's anger and hatred that was building up because of what Van had done disappeared so fast that it surprised her. "This is why you didn't want Fiona to know. Despite what he had done, Fiona stilled cared for him and then if she was to see him in this shape it would completely devastate her. I can't believe that someone would even do anything like this," said an extremely shocked Moonbay.
"We have yet to find their leader yet because he disappeared before we even got in," said Irvine in a disappointed tone. "He doesn't even respond to anything we do. His body is badly beaten; he lost a lot of blood. Like I said before, it was a wonder how he could have even survived all of this time. The doctors that have looked him over think it is a slim chance that he will survive but that is enough for me. at least he has a chance," said Irvine with his tone full of sadness and anger at the same time.
"I feel so bad. All this time we thought that he had just run away from all of us and left a hurt Fiona. We should have known much better that he wouldn't intentionally have hurt Fiona the way that he did," said Moonbay as she placed her face into her hands out of the grief that she held within her at that moment.
"I feel the same way as you. We shouldn't have jumped to conclusions about what Van had done. We should have known that something was up when he disappeared and didn't even send a letter or anything along those lines," said Irvine feeling the grief that Moonbay was also feeling.
"Look at him. He has all of those wounds and yet it doesn't even look like he is in an ounce of pain," said Moonbay as she looked over the unconscious yet calm looking Van as he laid in the bed with all sorts of machines hooked up to him.
"I am guessing that he is in pain but over the years he just shut himself off from showing emotions while he is in the presence of others. It is a good idea because as long as they don't see that you are in pain then they wouldn't get as much satisfaction in torturing him. I looks like they didn't care and still continued to torture him," said Irvine as he sat down in a chair and then Moonbay sat down right next to him.
"What are we going to do about Fiona? While it is a good idea not to tell her at this moment, sooner or later we will have to tell her," said Moonbay dreading the thought of what her reaction would be.
"I think that we should tell her before her wedding. I think this because if Fiona still loves Van like before than she shouldn't get married to Matt. We all know that she had much stronger feeling for Van than she has with her current fiancé," said Irvine as he leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
"No," said Moonbay making Irvine look at her with a questioning glance. "I think that it should be Van that talks to her. That is if we can help him survive and get better before the wedding," said Moonbay and Irvine also thought it was a good idea. "Then I guess we will have to do our best to just keep him alive for now. I just hope that we can make him better in time for the wedding," said Moonbay in a worried tone.