I apologize for leaving the story where I left it last time and for those
of you who wanted me to continue quickly, here I go. Thanks for the
reviews again.
The storm raged. Samuel took the route of the tunnel that lead to the cave- door entrance where Adam and the others had escaped from earlier. Samuel needed to find Draper and tell him about the developments with Jacob. The flashing lightning and crashing thunder frightened Samuel even though he was inside the caves. There were several cracks in the entrance cave ceiling that allowed light and water to filter through. Samuel approached the cave entrance and moved the door out of the way. He slipped past the tunnel and into the main cave room. His excitement increased as he approached the entrance to the facility. There was blood still on the cave floor where Brennan had been laid down. The red filtered through again in his eyes matching the crimson red that stained the floor. He licked his lips again as he thought about Brennan's pain and his oozing, battered body. He always enjoyed when the others would make the kill and leave him the shredded parts but the thought of having the body as a whole only for him was so exciting and new. He wanted Draper to give him the body all for himself. That is what he would trade his information for: a promise from Draper that he got the whole body.
A clash of thunder shocked Samuel from his trance. He rushed through the facility opening. The door was still hanging from its hinges. Samuel was surprised that Draper did not have it repaired yet - the facility was no longer secure. He assumed, however, that Draper was busy channeling energy like he always did on stormy days. As Samuel thought about Draper, he flashed back to the early days of the project. Samuel hadn't always been like this. He had worked on the electrical project. He had created the dome, had been perfecting it when Draper called him into his lab one day. Samuel knew something had been happening in the lab. People had been cycling in and out all day. They seemed OK when they went in and sick when they went out. Samuel remembered going in and something happening and really not much after that. His life had become so changed. These feelings of rage and lack of control were all subsequent to that day. Storms made him feel different. They made him feel like he did before. Samuel thought that they made everyone feel like they had before. But it was so difficult to know what 'before' was. Sometimes he remembered, but the memories were fleeting and replaced by these new feelings of greed and instinct. Now, all he wanted to do was please Draper for reward. He didn't trust anything anymore and would do everything in his power to make sure that he got what was good for him. That was all he wanted now. It was only good if it was good for him. This was good. Telling Draper about the visitors, Jacob and the injured human was good for him, so it was good - no matter what Jacob said.
Again - a clash of thunder and Samuel startled out of his stupor. All thoughts beyond Samuel's current task-at-hand faded away as did any glint of humanity left in his eyes; traits that were purely animal - purely jackal - filled the void; he was seeing red again - it had filtered through. Samuel disappeared down the dimly lit hallway bound for some distant tunnel where he would surely find Draper. There, he would give him the news.
XXX
Shalimar looked at Emma and Jesse and then at Adam. She was distraught at the thought of leaving Brennan alone. She let her sight drift towards Brennan and submitted to the tears that were now challenging her stoic demeanor.
"But what if he . what if he needs us when we are gone? He will be afraid if he wakes up and doesn't see any of us," Shalimar managed to get out all the while wiping her tears from her cheeks.
Adam walked up to her and placed an arm around her. He drew her into a tight embrace and looked into her eyes as she cowered into him. "Shalimar, I know you are afraid to leave him. We all are." Adam looked over at Brennan and shook his head. "I can't bear the thought of leaving him either, but we have to. He is going to die, Shalimar."
Adam's words stung Shalimar as well as the others. "I thought you said he was going to be alright?" Shalimar exclaimed. "You told him. You told him he was going to be fine! Adam, you had no right to lie to him! Why do you think he is going to die?" Shalimar was crying now. She drew attention from Jacob, who again, had been listening while working on Brennan. "What's wrong with him? I thought you fixed him." Shalimar was babbling incoherently now. She was the alpha omega of this pride and one of her cubs was injured and now she finds out he is in grave danger and there is nothing the alpha can do. That simply wasn't acceptable. She was incredibly angry.
"Shalimar," Emma interjected. "Adam didn't lie to Brennan. He needed to calm him down. We need to get him out of here, Shal. He can't last here. I can't manage all of his pain for him. He is suffering. It isn't right. His infection is getting worse and Jacob doesn't have the antibiotics that Brennan needs to fight it. I agree with Adam. I am not a doctor, Shal, but I know Brennan well enough to know that his immune system sucks! He is going to get worse."
Shalimar looked up at Adam through her swollen, desperate eyes. She searched his expression for any sign of relief. She wanted to wake up from this nightmare. Adam offered no solace. "Emma is right, Shalimar. He doesn't have that long."
"Well, I don't care what your decisions are," Jesse interjected grabbing his jacket and zipping it up. "I'm going. I am not going to sit by and watch my best friend die because we are waiting on a miracle that is never going to come. He is not getting better and the Helix is his only hope. Now, either you all are with me or you stay. Frankly, I don't care." Jesse was determined and the others knew it.
"OK," Shalimar responded. "OK."
Jacob looked down at Brennan. He was listening to the debate going on in his lab by his former comrade and his constituents. He studied Brennan. His clothing was torn and full of caked, dried blood. The sight and smell of it excited him. But Jacob was strong. He shook off the natural instinct and continued with his task. He was suctioning Brennan's lungs with an aspirator. It wasn't working. Brennan was still producing bloody sputum. His lungs were again filling with fluid. The pneumonia and the damage were wreaking havoc and he was losing the battle. Soon, his oxygen saturation would sink below acceptable levels and acid would build up in his blood stream and cause his breathing to cease altogether. Then, his heart would simply stop.
"How's he doing?" Adam asked as he approached. Jacob jumped at the interruption.
"Oh, you startled me," Jacob responded. "He isn't good, Adam. He isn't good." Jacob replied while shaking his head. He felt defeated. "I'm so sorry Adam. If I would have known Draper had him here, I would have helped. I just didn't know. I didn't," Jacob pleaded with his friend. He felt guilty for the thoughts he had earlier and for not being able to do more.
"Jacob," Adam consoled, "this isn't your fault. You have helped. If it weren't for you, Brennan would be dead already and probably the rest of us as well. You can't think about what you should have done. Let's turn the negative into a positive. You can only think now about what you can do. You can keep him alive and safe until we get back. We are going to try and assess the damage done to the Helix."
"You aren't really considering going out into that storm are you?" Jacob asked, disbelieving.
"We have to, Jacob. We have to get him out of here. You know, yourself that, he is not going to live another 48 hours. I have to get him to Sanctuary, where I can help him. We need the Helix to get there in time and to get us away from this dome. Believe it or not, Jacob, I brought another one of these domes down not too long ago. I believe that this dome is quite similar to that one. But I need the Helix to bring it down."
"Adam, I have contacts within Draper's group. He is using all of you as a test for his feral army. It isn't a joke. He really means to try and turn footage over to Genomex in attempt to get back in with Mason! There are cameras everywhere. I don't believe you will be able to do this, even if you do get back to the Helix. These storms only last for a day or so and then cease. Adam, you won't have time!" Jacob was visibly upset as he countered Adam.
"Do you see an alternative, Jacob?" Jesse interjected. "What would you suggest we do? Wait here, until he dies? Maybe this is all part of the plan, Adam." Jesse was circling the two of them now, quite agitated, and sparking Jacob's sly intuition. He didn't trust the young molecular. "Yeah," Jesse continued, "maybe that was the plan all along. Draper knows that his ferals are all pussies and are afraid of a little lightening, no offense Shal, Shal smiled back with her arms crossed over her chest. Maybe Draper ordered Jacob to find us and keep us here until the storm passed to even up the odds. What do you think, Jake?" Jesse spat the last word of his challenge in Jacob's face.
Adam was visibly disgusted with Jesse's outburst and let him know it. "Jesse! Get ahold of yourself! I know you are upset, now we all are! But I am not going to stand here and let you say these things to Jacob."
"It's alright, Adam," Jacob interrupted.
"No, it isn't!" Adam yelled. He was at his wits end and Jesse knew it. Jesse retreated back by Brennan and continued to get ready to leave. He assessed Brennan and wondered if he could somehow make him able to travel. Adam put his head down and rubbed the bridge of his nose trying to calm himself down. He exhaled loudly and looked up with a hand out towards Jesse but kept his eyes closed for the first couple of words. He was trying to stave off his tears. "Look," he continued in a much softer voice. He walked across the floor of the cave towards Jesse and Brannan. Jesse actually took a protective stance separating Brennan from Adam. Adam paused, surprised at the action, but continued anyway. "Jesse, do you think I want Brennan to die? Any of you to die? I created you! You are my children! I love you! Now I know I have made mistakes in the past. Do I have to keep explaining myself to all of you? Do I have to keep apologizing? For God's sake I am sorry! I am sorry for everything! But if I stand here and let Brennan die, that will be it for me. I mean it, guys. I will be done. I cannot stand the thought of losing any of you especially to the project. Do you understand me?"
Adam was pleading with them. Jesse stood down and felt a bit sheepish. Emma was in tears and rushed to Adam's side. Shalimar pouted her lips and slowly sauntered to Jesse's side. Jesse looked at the group and at Emma, who assured Jesse that all intentions were true with a slight nod of her head. Jesse had somewhat become the leader of the group in Brennan's incapacitation. He spoke for all of them. "We're sorry, Adam."
"I don't need your apology, nor do I want it. I want and need your forgiveness. But I also need your trust. Kids, trust me on this one," Adam pleaded to his team. He also pleaded with Jacob who knew that he was not going to be able to talk any sense into his old friend.
"Jacob," Jesse spoke. "Will you watch Brennan?"
Jacob looked at Adam with a surprised look in his eyes. Adam exhaled and smiled. Jacob responded, "Of course I will. You can trust me. I too am sorry about the projects. We never meant to cause harm to any of you. We really didn't. It's just that a few of us went sort of nuts or were nuts the whole time. I am certain Draper was. But, you need to take one of us with you to protect you. I will go find Samuel. He should go with you."
With that, Jacob left the room and Adam, Shal and Emma all cast eyes at one another and then down at Brennan. "We should tell him," Shalimar said.
"Brennan," Adam whispered into Brennan's ear. "Brennan, can you hear me?"
Brennan stirred and winced as he opened his eyes. Emma immediately connected her eyes with his. There was such pain and fear in his eyes. He had a desperate look but one also that seemed ready to concede to anything. He was about to stop fighting to live; he was about to give up and Emma knew. A tear trailed down her face and one trailed down Brennan's almost at the exact same time. The two were in sync. Just as they had always been since the first day they looked into each other's eyes. "Yeah?" Brennan rasped. It was followed by a coughing bout that drew looks of concern from all of them. Tiny, airborne, invisible to the naked eye drops of blood misted the air that separated the four of them. Shalimar was the only one who could see them, her eyes feral yellow with panic.
"Stay calm now Brennan. Listen to me," Adam was going to try and explain to Brennan that he had to leave him again. Even though he had promised him that he would never leave him again, he had to tell him that he was going to, even if it was only for a little while. "Brennan, the three of us need to go back to the Helix to get some supplies to help you."
Brennan looked up at him with slight panic in his eyes. He darted his blurred vision from Adam to Shalimar to Jesse and then to Emma. Adam read the question.
"Yes, Brennan, all of us have to go. We have to stay together. Now, don't be scared. Jacob here is going to look after you. He is an old friend of mine, and yes, he looks like a monster, but he is a friend." Adam escorted Jacob over to Brennan and showed him to him. Brennan's eyes widened knowing he was one of the monsters he had seen earlier. Only then, his eyes were red. He began to cough uncontrollably again. This time the bloody sputum was not only visible to Shal; they all saw it, it was streaking from the side of his mouth. He closed his eyes and slightly shifted his body, curling his right arm into him and raising his knees into a fetal-like position only he realized, one of his legs didn't move. He exhaled sharply and swallowed his gorge. Tears ran sideways from his closed eyes and dripped off of his ears to the floor. He shook his head up and down in defeat acknowledging their need to go, giving his permission. He doubted that he would see any of them again anyway. He just hoped the end would be quick and that they would get out safely. All he cared about anymore was them. He knew he was finished.
Shalimar gave Brennan a kiss on his forehead and told him to hang, that she would be back. She drifted slowly from his bedside not able to take her eyes off of him. She reassured herself with the rise and fall of his chest. He swallowed again and coughed under his breath. Jesse was next. He squeezed his hand with everything he had which elicited Brennan to open his eyes and look up at him. Jesse read Brennan's look and answered him while staring into his eyes. "Brennan, you are going to live. Do you hear me? I will take care of the girls until you are on your feet again. I promise." Brennan smiled and shook his head and Jesse released his grip to go and join Shal. Adam was next. He had tears in his own eyes now. Brennan looked up at him, having never seen him cry until this day. Brennan needed to tell Adam. "Adam," He gurgled, barely audible, "I love you like a dad. I don't blame you." He began to cough. Adam just squeezed his hand and told him to hang in there. Emma was next. She took Brennan's face in her hands again and stared into his eyes. He tried to speak, but she quieted him. "Brennan, do you want me to sedate you? Just blink your eyes twice if you do." Brennan didn't want to be asleep. If he needed to fight, he needed to be awake. He could handle the pain. He blinked twice. Emma's tears were dripping onto Brennan now and he raised his hand and wiped them away from her beautiful eyes. She smiled at him and sniffled. She leaned down and kissed his nose then his mouth then his forehead. They were wispy kisses, just barely touching the surface of his skin. "I love you," she whispered. Brennan smiled and closed his eyes. Emma let go of his hand and joined the other four. They all looked at one- another now confident in what they had to do. They were Mutant X. They were the strongest most able-bodied team around and if anyone could do this task. They could. Adam looked at each of them and with his hands on his hips he asked, "Ready?" They all looked at each other then at Brennan, then at Adam and shook their head, yes. Adam smiled, "Good, let's go find Jacob and Samuel and get this show on the road."
Well, what do you all think? Will Samuel betray them? Will Eckhart come? Will Brennan be captured by Draper again or maybe by Eckhart? Or will Shalimar kick some feral ass and Adam finally square off against Draper? Tune in later . we just may find out.
The storm raged. Samuel took the route of the tunnel that lead to the cave- door entrance where Adam and the others had escaped from earlier. Samuel needed to find Draper and tell him about the developments with Jacob. The flashing lightning and crashing thunder frightened Samuel even though he was inside the caves. There were several cracks in the entrance cave ceiling that allowed light and water to filter through. Samuel approached the cave entrance and moved the door out of the way. He slipped past the tunnel and into the main cave room. His excitement increased as he approached the entrance to the facility. There was blood still on the cave floor where Brennan had been laid down. The red filtered through again in his eyes matching the crimson red that stained the floor. He licked his lips again as he thought about Brennan's pain and his oozing, battered body. He always enjoyed when the others would make the kill and leave him the shredded parts but the thought of having the body as a whole only for him was so exciting and new. He wanted Draper to give him the body all for himself. That is what he would trade his information for: a promise from Draper that he got the whole body.
A clash of thunder shocked Samuel from his trance. He rushed through the facility opening. The door was still hanging from its hinges. Samuel was surprised that Draper did not have it repaired yet - the facility was no longer secure. He assumed, however, that Draper was busy channeling energy like he always did on stormy days. As Samuel thought about Draper, he flashed back to the early days of the project. Samuel hadn't always been like this. He had worked on the electrical project. He had created the dome, had been perfecting it when Draper called him into his lab one day. Samuel knew something had been happening in the lab. People had been cycling in and out all day. They seemed OK when they went in and sick when they went out. Samuel remembered going in and something happening and really not much after that. His life had become so changed. These feelings of rage and lack of control were all subsequent to that day. Storms made him feel different. They made him feel like he did before. Samuel thought that they made everyone feel like they had before. But it was so difficult to know what 'before' was. Sometimes he remembered, but the memories were fleeting and replaced by these new feelings of greed and instinct. Now, all he wanted to do was please Draper for reward. He didn't trust anything anymore and would do everything in his power to make sure that he got what was good for him. That was all he wanted now. It was only good if it was good for him. This was good. Telling Draper about the visitors, Jacob and the injured human was good for him, so it was good - no matter what Jacob said.
Again - a clash of thunder and Samuel startled out of his stupor. All thoughts beyond Samuel's current task-at-hand faded away as did any glint of humanity left in his eyes; traits that were purely animal - purely jackal - filled the void; he was seeing red again - it had filtered through. Samuel disappeared down the dimly lit hallway bound for some distant tunnel where he would surely find Draper. There, he would give him the news.
XXX
Shalimar looked at Emma and Jesse and then at Adam. She was distraught at the thought of leaving Brennan alone. She let her sight drift towards Brennan and submitted to the tears that were now challenging her stoic demeanor.
"But what if he . what if he needs us when we are gone? He will be afraid if he wakes up and doesn't see any of us," Shalimar managed to get out all the while wiping her tears from her cheeks.
Adam walked up to her and placed an arm around her. He drew her into a tight embrace and looked into her eyes as she cowered into him. "Shalimar, I know you are afraid to leave him. We all are." Adam looked over at Brennan and shook his head. "I can't bear the thought of leaving him either, but we have to. He is going to die, Shalimar."
Adam's words stung Shalimar as well as the others. "I thought you said he was going to be alright?" Shalimar exclaimed. "You told him. You told him he was going to be fine! Adam, you had no right to lie to him! Why do you think he is going to die?" Shalimar was crying now. She drew attention from Jacob, who again, had been listening while working on Brennan. "What's wrong with him? I thought you fixed him." Shalimar was babbling incoherently now. She was the alpha omega of this pride and one of her cubs was injured and now she finds out he is in grave danger and there is nothing the alpha can do. That simply wasn't acceptable. She was incredibly angry.
"Shalimar," Emma interjected. "Adam didn't lie to Brennan. He needed to calm him down. We need to get him out of here, Shal. He can't last here. I can't manage all of his pain for him. He is suffering. It isn't right. His infection is getting worse and Jacob doesn't have the antibiotics that Brennan needs to fight it. I agree with Adam. I am not a doctor, Shal, but I know Brennan well enough to know that his immune system sucks! He is going to get worse."
Shalimar looked up at Adam through her swollen, desperate eyes. She searched his expression for any sign of relief. She wanted to wake up from this nightmare. Adam offered no solace. "Emma is right, Shalimar. He doesn't have that long."
"Well, I don't care what your decisions are," Jesse interjected grabbing his jacket and zipping it up. "I'm going. I am not going to sit by and watch my best friend die because we are waiting on a miracle that is never going to come. He is not getting better and the Helix is his only hope. Now, either you all are with me or you stay. Frankly, I don't care." Jesse was determined and the others knew it.
"OK," Shalimar responded. "OK."
Jacob looked down at Brennan. He was listening to the debate going on in his lab by his former comrade and his constituents. He studied Brennan. His clothing was torn and full of caked, dried blood. The sight and smell of it excited him. But Jacob was strong. He shook off the natural instinct and continued with his task. He was suctioning Brennan's lungs with an aspirator. It wasn't working. Brennan was still producing bloody sputum. His lungs were again filling with fluid. The pneumonia and the damage were wreaking havoc and he was losing the battle. Soon, his oxygen saturation would sink below acceptable levels and acid would build up in his blood stream and cause his breathing to cease altogether. Then, his heart would simply stop.
"How's he doing?" Adam asked as he approached. Jacob jumped at the interruption.
"Oh, you startled me," Jacob responded. "He isn't good, Adam. He isn't good." Jacob replied while shaking his head. He felt defeated. "I'm so sorry Adam. If I would have known Draper had him here, I would have helped. I just didn't know. I didn't," Jacob pleaded with his friend. He felt guilty for the thoughts he had earlier and for not being able to do more.
"Jacob," Adam consoled, "this isn't your fault. You have helped. If it weren't for you, Brennan would be dead already and probably the rest of us as well. You can't think about what you should have done. Let's turn the negative into a positive. You can only think now about what you can do. You can keep him alive and safe until we get back. We are going to try and assess the damage done to the Helix."
"You aren't really considering going out into that storm are you?" Jacob asked, disbelieving.
"We have to, Jacob. We have to get him out of here. You know, yourself that, he is not going to live another 48 hours. I have to get him to Sanctuary, where I can help him. We need the Helix to get there in time and to get us away from this dome. Believe it or not, Jacob, I brought another one of these domes down not too long ago. I believe that this dome is quite similar to that one. But I need the Helix to bring it down."
"Adam, I have contacts within Draper's group. He is using all of you as a test for his feral army. It isn't a joke. He really means to try and turn footage over to Genomex in attempt to get back in with Mason! There are cameras everywhere. I don't believe you will be able to do this, even if you do get back to the Helix. These storms only last for a day or so and then cease. Adam, you won't have time!" Jacob was visibly upset as he countered Adam.
"Do you see an alternative, Jacob?" Jesse interjected. "What would you suggest we do? Wait here, until he dies? Maybe this is all part of the plan, Adam." Jesse was circling the two of them now, quite agitated, and sparking Jacob's sly intuition. He didn't trust the young molecular. "Yeah," Jesse continued, "maybe that was the plan all along. Draper knows that his ferals are all pussies and are afraid of a little lightening, no offense Shal, Shal smiled back with her arms crossed over her chest. Maybe Draper ordered Jacob to find us and keep us here until the storm passed to even up the odds. What do you think, Jake?" Jesse spat the last word of his challenge in Jacob's face.
Adam was visibly disgusted with Jesse's outburst and let him know it. "Jesse! Get ahold of yourself! I know you are upset, now we all are! But I am not going to stand here and let you say these things to Jacob."
"It's alright, Adam," Jacob interrupted.
"No, it isn't!" Adam yelled. He was at his wits end and Jesse knew it. Jesse retreated back by Brennan and continued to get ready to leave. He assessed Brennan and wondered if he could somehow make him able to travel. Adam put his head down and rubbed the bridge of his nose trying to calm himself down. He exhaled loudly and looked up with a hand out towards Jesse but kept his eyes closed for the first couple of words. He was trying to stave off his tears. "Look," he continued in a much softer voice. He walked across the floor of the cave towards Jesse and Brannan. Jesse actually took a protective stance separating Brennan from Adam. Adam paused, surprised at the action, but continued anyway. "Jesse, do you think I want Brennan to die? Any of you to die? I created you! You are my children! I love you! Now I know I have made mistakes in the past. Do I have to keep explaining myself to all of you? Do I have to keep apologizing? For God's sake I am sorry! I am sorry for everything! But if I stand here and let Brennan die, that will be it for me. I mean it, guys. I will be done. I cannot stand the thought of losing any of you especially to the project. Do you understand me?"
Adam was pleading with them. Jesse stood down and felt a bit sheepish. Emma was in tears and rushed to Adam's side. Shalimar pouted her lips and slowly sauntered to Jesse's side. Jesse looked at the group and at Emma, who assured Jesse that all intentions were true with a slight nod of her head. Jesse had somewhat become the leader of the group in Brennan's incapacitation. He spoke for all of them. "We're sorry, Adam."
"I don't need your apology, nor do I want it. I want and need your forgiveness. But I also need your trust. Kids, trust me on this one," Adam pleaded to his team. He also pleaded with Jacob who knew that he was not going to be able to talk any sense into his old friend.
"Jacob," Jesse spoke. "Will you watch Brennan?"
Jacob looked at Adam with a surprised look in his eyes. Adam exhaled and smiled. Jacob responded, "Of course I will. You can trust me. I too am sorry about the projects. We never meant to cause harm to any of you. We really didn't. It's just that a few of us went sort of nuts or were nuts the whole time. I am certain Draper was. But, you need to take one of us with you to protect you. I will go find Samuel. He should go with you."
With that, Jacob left the room and Adam, Shal and Emma all cast eyes at one another and then down at Brennan. "We should tell him," Shalimar said.
"Brennan," Adam whispered into Brennan's ear. "Brennan, can you hear me?"
Brennan stirred and winced as he opened his eyes. Emma immediately connected her eyes with his. There was such pain and fear in his eyes. He had a desperate look but one also that seemed ready to concede to anything. He was about to stop fighting to live; he was about to give up and Emma knew. A tear trailed down her face and one trailed down Brennan's almost at the exact same time. The two were in sync. Just as they had always been since the first day they looked into each other's eyes. "Yeah?" Brennan rasped. It was followed by a coughing bout that drew looks of concern from all of them. Tiny, airborne, invisible to the naked eye drops of blood misted the air that separated the four of them. Shalimar was the only one who could see them, her eyes feral yellow with panic.
"Stay calm now Brennan. Listen to me," Adam was going to try and explain to Brennan that he had to leave him again. Even though he had promised him that he would never leave him again, he had to tell him that he was going to, even if it was only for a little while. "Brennan, the three of us need to go back to the Helix to get some supplies to help you."
Brennan looked up at him with slight panic in his eyes. He darted his blurred vision from Adam to Shalimar to Jesse and then to Emma. Adam read the question.
"Yes, Brennan, all of us have to go. We have to stay together. Now, don't be scared. Jacob here is going to look after you. He is an old friend of mine, and yes, he looks like a monster, but he is a friend." Adam escorted Jacob over to Brennan and showed him to him. Brennan's eyes widened knowing he was one of the monsters he had seen earlier. Only then, his eyes were red. He began to cough uncontrollably again. This time the bloody sputum was not only visible to Shal; they all saw it, it was streaking from the side of his mouth. He closed his eyes and slightly shifted his body, curling his right arm into him and raising his knees into a fetal-like position only he realized, one of his legs didn't move. He exhaled sharply and swallowed his gorge. Tears ran sideways from his closed eyes and dripped off of his ears to the floor. He shook his head up and down in defeat acknowledging their need to go, giving his permission. He doubted that he would see any of them again anyway. He just hoped the end would be quick and that they would get out safely. All he cared about anymore was them. He knew he was finished.
Shalimar gave Brennan a kiss on his forehead and told him to hang, that she would be back. She drifted slowly from his bedside not able to take her eyes off of him. She reassured herself with the rise and fall of his chest. He swallowed again and coughed under his breath. Jesse was next. He squeezed his hand with everything he had which elicited Brennan to open his eyes and look up at him. Jesse read Brennan's look and answered him while staring into his eyes. "Brennan, you are going to live. Do you hear me? I will take care of the girls until you are on your feet again. I promise." Brennan smiled and shook his head and Jesse released his grip to go and join Shal. Adam was next. He had tears in his own eyes now. Brennan looked up at him, having never seen him cry until this day. Brennan needed to tell Adam. "Adam," He gurgled, barely audible, "I love you like a dad. I don't blame you." He began to cough. Adam just squeezed his hand and told him to hang in there. Emma was next. She took Brennan's face in her hands again and stared into his eyes. He tried to speak, but she quieted him. "Brennan, do you want me to sedate you? Just blink your eyes twice if you do." Brennan didn't want to be asleep. If he needed to fight, he needed to be awake. He could handle the pain. He blinked twice. Emma's tears were dripping onto Brennan now and he raised his hand and wiped them away from her beautiful eyes. She smiled at him and sniffled. She leaned down and kissed his nose then his mouth then his forehead. They were wispy kisses, just barely touching the surface of his skin. "I love you," she whispered. Brennan smiled and closed his eyes. Emma let go of his hand and joined the other four. They all looked at one- another now confident in what they had to do. They were Mutant X. They were the strongest most able-bodied team around and if anyone could do this task. They could. Adam looked at each of them and with his hands on his hips he asked, "Ready?" They all looked at each other then at Brennan, then at Adam and shook their head, yes. Adam smiled, "Good, let's go find Jacob and Samuel and get this show on the road."
Well, what do you all think? Will Samuel betray them? Will Eckhart come? Will Brennan be captured by Draper again or maybe by Eckhart? Or will Shalimar kick some feral ass and Adam finally square off against Draper? Tune in later . we just may find out.