A/N- I know that it has been over a month since the last update but there is a reason and that is that this is the chapter. The one for which I wrote the whole Pressing Onwards sequel for. I had this one scene on my head since chapter 2 of MAL and I had to get it perfect.
I am not usually given to begging but PLEASE please please please please review and tell me what you think of this chapter. Even one word "bad/good" would suffice. There are 181 people who have this series marked as a fave—so please?
That said. Rating of an "need calming breaths" variety here.
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Chapter 11- Dark Sarcasm.
Ben reached into the freezer and plucked out two iced boxes, he flipped them over checking the use-by date.
"Pizza okay with you?"
"Sure!" Drew called back.
He had left her going over street maps trying to uncover the best place to start a search for her lost siblings. His stomach had started grumbling loudly which interrupted them and Drew had started to giggle.
She had stopped quickly and looked at him in disgust. "I don't giggle…I must be hungry, too."
"I'll make dinner." He'd offered and gone in search of sustenance. Drew had finally given up on the idea of finding somewhere else to live and had settled into his house like she had always been there. For someone like Ben who had been used to having the place to himself it had taken some adjustment but at the same time he had never felt more alive. Drew was funny and smart, she was sassy and she was strong.
It was almost like having Max around and he didn't want to give the girl up, so he had done everything in his power to ensure that she stayed.
Although he had stopped seeing the Blue Lady after talking to Max last time, he had needed something to lean on and so had gone back to talking to her. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that he had felt the need to start sacrificing to her again and this time he was determined not to get caught, to be discreet and to be selective and sparing in his choice of offers.
He had made several offerings to the Blue Lady to thank her for his new friend even though Drew had been suspicious of where he had slipped out to in the middle of the night. He had joked that he didn't think she could, genetically, be his mother and she had let it go with a laugh. He'd have to be more careful as she was as sharp as a knife and he didn't want her to find out what he had been up to.
Despite all that they had in common he suspected that she wouldn't appreciate the…necessity of his actions.
The Blue Lady needed to be appeased or she'd take Drew away. Luckily he had found a penitentiary not too far away and the blue lady had ensured that he was there just as one man tried to escape. Ben had found him more challenging that the last—it always seemed that doomed men were more apt to fight for their freedom, even when it was an illusion.
Ben loved that last look of betrayal on their faces as he slit their throat, in a world that had given them nothing but the bottom rung, it was the last indignity and they showed that they were going out as bitter as they had come in. He had barely had time to wash the blood off his hands before Drew had come in asking him if he was okay, looking oddly at him.
He'd have to be more careful from here on if he was to hide that from her.
As he shut the oven the phone shrilled near his ear. Ben reached for it without thinking. "Yeah?"
"Is that any way to answer the phone?"
Shit! Ben cursed as he recognised his older brother, Zack, on the other end.
"It's how I deter unwanted callers." Like you, he added silently.
"Yeah, listen up, bro, I have news for ya."
"Gee and I thought you'd called to make sure I was okay," Ben added sarcastically.
"I assumed you'd tell me if you were in trouble again, Ben." Came the icy reply to that and Ben felt his temper rise, something that was a regular occurrence when dealing with Zack.
"When was I ever in trouble, Zack?" he snapped, leaning against the kitchen door and drawing it closed.
"I didn't call to fight," was the tight reply.
"So what did I do this time?" Ben sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"It's not about you. I wanted to tell you that we've found some fellow Manticore escapees."
Ben froze. "What?"
"We blew the place to high heaven, right up the blue lady's ass!"
"Don't blaspheme," Ben admonished absently. "So, you found some?"
"Yeah, stumbled right onto them in Seattle. And get this; they were in Max's squad!"
"Oh."
Max's squad? That meant that they were in Drew's squad too. Including that "Dek" guy that she talked so wistfully about. He stared at the intersecting door between him and Drew. If he told her about them… about Zack and her squad, she'd want to leave.
"Didn't you hear me? Ben?"
I heard you, you aggravating asshole, Ben thought. That was so like Zack, to just come along and take anything good away from Ben's life. It was like he couldn't relax for one moment without his big brother coming along to stick a spoke in things.
"Do they know where she is?" he asked hollowly.
"No," Zack admitted, "but it's only a matter of time until they do! Isn't that great?"
"Fabulous," Ben's voice was as flat as his pizza. Just great, he'd tell Drew and Drew would leave; Zack would make sure that he separated for 'security' reasons and he'd be alone. Again.
"Gee, I'm sorry for interrupting you." Zack's voice sneered at the lack of enthusiasm on Ben's part.
"And I'm sorry you're breathing."
Ben slammed the phone down with a crack of plastic and gripped the counter, his knuckles white with the effort.
Just who the hell did Zack think he was trying to run and ruin Ben's life like this? It wasn't enough that he made sure than he was alone, now he had to take one of the best things in Ben's life away too? It wasn't that he was in love with Drew. Far from it. But she represented everything that he had never had. Companionship, friendship, understanding, loyalty and he'd be double damned to hell and back before he let her go.
There was nothing for it; he'd have to sacrifice to the Blue Lady again to ensure that Drew got to stay with him. He'd go tonight.
The door swung open and Drew peered in.
"I thought I heard the phone," Drew said "Who was it?"
He wasn't losing her; he couldn't stand to be alone again. Not again. He'd have tonight with her and go tomorrow. He'd go in the morning to find his victim and prepare the scene, it'd take a day but after that he could relax. Not tonight though, tonight they'd stay in.
"No one," Ben shrugged and pushed past her, leaving her staring at the contraption crooked and cracked in its cradle.
>>>>>>
The sun was shining, the birds were singing… and it was really annoying Isacar who simply wanted them to shut up so he could read his book. He had found a fascinating volume in the school library on classical mythology and he was reading up on the etymology of his sibling's names.
It was fascinating, the way that they had chosen names that suited them so well, Nyx being a case in point.
She really was born form the chaos of Manticore's destruction and had come to life when Flex and Skye brought her out to live with them.
Of course, she was just as mad about having to go to this school as he was only he was hiding it better.
He glanced up from his tome to check out the playground. It was full to the brim with juvenile delinquents, all intent on wasting their youth through idle play and social interaction. It was as if they were mindless drones, going through the motions of a childhood without any real comprehension of the world around them. Isacar shuddered as he watched two girls aimlessly jump over a rope whilst chanting about some citrus fruit, exactly why did bells owe people money, and weren't the girl fiscally aware that shillings and farthings were defunct currency?
His eyes drifted over to where Nyx stood glaring at a particularly offensive patch of sunlight. Several of her classmates were close by watching her but were put off approaching her because of the huge invisible sign above her head, which proclaimed; 'disturb me and die'.
Icarus, of course, had taken to school like a duck to water and was surrounded by friends who cooed over her hair and personality and made meaningless conversation, all sounding ominously like 'he-said-she's-dead' to Isacar, even with his preternatural hearing.
Zephyr was doing a wonderful impression of a monkey and racing through the obstacle course like he was on speed. He, too, had made friends as if they were going out of fashion and was currently hanging upside down on the climbing frame demonstrating that it was actually possible to eat potato chips upside down.
A highly underrated skill.
Isacar yawned and went back to his book, trying to forget the humiliating lessons with his supposed "teachers" this morning. All they actually taught him was to despair for the future of humankind. Of what possible use was listing verbatim facts and figures of historical figures that had ceased to have meaning in his life?
Under what context would he possibly need to know that the Battle of Hastings was in 1066? It wasn't something that cropped up in conversation. King Harold's failure to recognise the fundamental protection of headgear and the safety aspects that it held for bikers today—yes, he could see that as being of use.
Likewise he was unable to fathom why they were required to name all six perpetrators of the post-pulse civil war whilst ignoring the possible parallels of the Post Pulse world to that of twentieth century pop-culture references of the nuclear apocalypse. Surely dissecting Tzu Yung's Art of War was far more advantageous than re-reading Romeo and Juliet?
Isacar shook his head and turned the page of his book. He could understand why Skye and Flex had decided that they need to go to school to maintain cover, but he just wished that it wasn't so mind numbingly boring.
The faint whistle of air was the only thing that clued him in to his current predicament and he swayed left, letting the football fly past his head, not moving his eyes from the text he was absorbed in.
He heard footsteps running towards him and stop not five feet away.
"Hey look, guys, it's the pansy-boy."
Isacar turned the page.
"Wanna play?" the other boy asked.
"No thank you," Isacar said politely. "I wish to expand my mind, not my tendons."
"Okay," he turned to leave but his friend stood there staring at Isacar on disgust.
"Why don't ya wanna play? It's sissy to read a book when you could be kicking a ball, dude."
Isacar resisted the urge to roll his eyes and simply turned a page. "I thank you for your offer but I would rather read."
"You're new, right?"
Isacar nodded, looking up at them curiously between the blond strands.
"What's your name?"
"Isacar."
"Isa-what now?"
"Isacar: it's Greek."
Anyone who knew him would have realised that he was getting annoyed with the line of questioning. His name was something that he was proud of, and he didn't want anyone to disparage the thing that made him more than just another number.
"I thank you for the kind offer to join you in… your pursuits," Isacar looked at the leather ball and grimaced. "However, I am forced to turn you down. I don't do sports."
At least not any more. Hours of enforced drills and endless training flashed through his mind. He'd always been disciplined for not wanting to join in and had been in solitary more often than not, and for what? Sneaking off to finish a book, or head to the library. He'd been punished by endless laps and push ups and chasing a pig's bladder around a field was as close to his own personal hell as he could get.
No, now that he had a chance and a choice he'd rather not.
The dark-haired boy seemed to get annoyed at that. "You're just afraid that we can kick your ass. Hey, Joe, he's obviously a momma's boy, baby. Doesn't wanna mess up his precious hair, that it?"
Isacar swept one long tendril of blond hair out of his eyes, he'd been polite and now he was finished with them. He ran his finger over the page ignoring the boys that stood over him.
Interesting, he hadn't known that Zeus meant shine or sky in Greek. That meant that Skye could, in theory, be another 'Greek'. Flex couldn't, of course, there was no such name.
The boy stared almost bewilderedly at him. "Hey, pansy, I was talking to you."
"Really?" Isacar drawled without looking up, "I assumed you were insulting me to your friends, my participation isn't necessary in that regard."
"Ooh 'in that regard'!" the boy sneered. "You stuck up asshole."
"Unlike yourselves, I do not partake in sodomy."
The boy blinked, not sure if he was being insulted. "You think you're too good to play ball?"
"C'mon Tommy, leave him alone," another boy intervened. "He's not worth it."
"He's nothing but a pansy-ass anyway," Tommy spat.
Isacar knew that he should let the boy go, he knew it. It was coarse to get into an argument with a lower species, it really was. There was no way he'd open his moth and—
"Yes, please vacate my presence, I'd find it hard to conduct a battle of wits with someone who isn't armed. I'd prefer to trade barbs with someone who had more than two brain cells to rub together. Run along and play with your monkey-friend."
The two boys froze and turned to him. "What did you say?"
"Oh, excuse me, did my words of more than two syllables disconcert you? I'd try to dumb down to your level…but even Dante had his limits."
Across the playground Nyx suddenly felt a strange sense of foreboding and looked up from her arithmetic homework. It wasn't that it was hard…or even challenging, but she was trying to see if doing it upside down and backwards made any difference to how long it took to do.
Nyx could feel eyes on her, but that was nothing new. Since she had joined the sixth year class people had stared at her. She assumed that it was because she was new and different and didn't really care about the fashions and their idle gossip. She kept her head down and her mouth shut, which was the best way.
The way that stopped you getting hurt.
Shaking off the memories and melancholy thoughts stretched and scanned the playground ignoring the few teens that kept sending her odd glances. Her heart sank as she spotted one of her brethren and recognised the smirk on Isacar's face, pointing to the fact that he was being his most aggravating.
The two boys that stood in front of him didn't seem to find him amusing and Nyx placed a marker in her work, before standing up and walking across the grounds.
"So, Brad asked me out and I totally said yes, even though I knew he really wanted to go with Stacy, but she was going with Adam, so I was like, so in there!"
Icarus nodded again, keeping the beaming smile on her lips even as she wondered if anyone would mind if Claudia's head suddenly came off her shoulders. It wasn't like there was anything valuable in there.
Would it break their cover if she were to hide the body? Surely Flex wouldn't begrudge her the teeny tiny satisfaction of murder? It wasn't like it was always a crime anyway.
"So, Icarus, who's asked you to the dance?"
Brad, she thought with a grin, and Adam, and Mark and Dave and just about every guy in the year.
"Oh, I don't really know anyone yet, Claudia," she lied smoothly. "I guess I'm not as popular as you."
Claudia visibly preened and Icarus was hard pressed not to laugh. Claudia flicked her hair behind her ear and gave Icarus an approving and patronising smile.
"Well, I think you should go with Graham, because he totally—"
Icarus was no longer listening, or even pretending to. She had just felt a low sinking in her stomach that told her there was trouble ahead. She glanced around to see Nyx striding determinedly across the playground and her eyes found a gang of boys making their way over to Isacar.
Oh, great!
Ignoring her new friend's startled exclamation she turned and followed Nyx.
"Maybe what pretty boy wants is to have his face re-arranged so he can get out of Phys-Ed, is that it?"
"Ignore it, Tommy; the fag is just cruising for some contact."
Isacar let out a long breath as he regarded the growing number of boys surrounding him.
When would he learn that his smart mouth would only get him into more trouble? Still, it wasn't like he could get in much deeper.
"Listen, I hesitate to call you gentlemen, because," he looked Tommy up and down dismissively, "honestly. I have no wish to fight, at all. I prefer my comforts in intellectuality. You obviously have baser needs and on that, we probably need to disagree."
"Well, I might not be as smart as you, but I know that my baser needs need to shut that smart ass mouth of yours." There was obviously one in his audience that had a vocabulary of more than monosyllabic words.
Isacar winced.
"Did he diss us, Angelo?"
"Yeah," the boy, Angelo, nodded with a slight smile. "Wicked well, actually."
"Let's kick his ass!"
Isacar braced himself and felt his shoulders relax into the too familiar fighting stance even as Tommy brought his fist forwards—
— Only to be stopped by another hand catching hold of his in mid-flight.
"Problem?"
Tommy looked up into the dark eyes of Nyx.
Isacar held back a grin at the sight of tall, slender Nyx standing over the figure of his torment.
Tommy's eyes swept over her in a maddened leer and met her eyes. "Nothing that concerns you."
"I beg to differ," she said icily. "You were about to hit him."
Isacar smirked.
"That's my job."
His face dropped.
"He's an arrogant ass and yes, his mouth runs away with him too often for his own good, but he's under my protection which means that you," she motioned to them all, "can't touch him. No matter how annoying he's being."
Isacar let his guard drop slightly.
"Now, Isacar, apologise to the boys."
"My gravest apologies!" he bowed deeply in mocking amusement, not seeing her other hand come back around and slap the back of his head.
"Properly," she said as though she hadn't just hit him.
"Ow! Sorry," he repeated mutinously.
"Shall we leave it at that?" She dropped his fist and gave a small smile.
"Whatever," Angelo started to walk away.
"Yeah, just a shame that pansy-ass needs a sissy girl to defend him."
"Uh-oh," Isacar said under his breath as he watched Nyx's eyes dilate.
"Excuse me?" she said, her voice creeping past icy and heading into artic territory.
"I mean, you're cute and all, but can't wuss fight his own battles? He needs to get his babysitter to pamper him." Tommy laughed and his friends joined him.
"Yeah, need a girl to stand behind!"
"Wimp!"
"Like she could do anything either."
Nyx's hands slowly made their way to her waist as she grew annoyed.
Cute? Cute! She thought in disgust. That is what you get for appealing to lower life-forms.
"Listen to me, you sad excuse for a species, I have no inclination to get kicked out of this school. However, my overwhelming desire to kick your ass is steadily passing that point. My advice? Shut up; bail out and leave us both alone."
Tommy grinned. "And what if we don't?"
Nyx took a deep breath and let her eyes drift half-closed. "Then we'll—"
"—make you sorry." Isacar wouldn't let Nyx do this for him. It was his fault for being a smart ass.
"Yeah?" Tommy sneered. "You and who's army?"
"That'd be me!"
They all looked down to se a dark-blond haired boy glaring up.
"Oh. Look, it's the shrimp parade!"
Zeph glowered. "The only sea-life around here is the jelly-fish in front of me."
"What do we call a jelly-fish?" Isacar asked. "It's structural composition?"
"Invertebrate," Zeph responded immediately. "Because it has no spine.
"Well done," Isacar said proudly to his little charge.
"Ooooh!" Tommy mocked. "Lookee, guys, the bookworm has a girl and a shrimp in his corner. That's three. There are nine of us."
"I'm almost impressed," Isacar said, "I didn't think you could count that high."
"Think we should let them surrender?" Zeph asked Nyx innocently.
"No pain, no gain," she replied and they slid so that they were standing sidewise on, ready for attack on all fronts.
Zeph raised his fists.
"Losers!" Tommy said dismissively and poked Isacar in the head with a forefinger. Quick as a flash Isacar grabbed his wrist and twisted it up behind his back.
"Hey!" another boy yelled in surprise, seeing their leader incapacitated. He swung out at Isacar, only to be stopped by Nyx's elbow to the stomach.
As if this was a signal, all nine boys attacked the three of them at once.
Zeph's lightning reflexes came in handy as he stomped on the foot of one boy. Another grabbed his hair and attempted to lift him off his feet, only to find an irate Isacar protecting the boy with fast, furious fists.
Nyx swung in a circle, her long dark hair flying behind her as she kicked one boy in the mid-section, whilst karate chopping another on the shoulder, she heard a grunt and knew that she had exerted enough pressure to hurt but not to harm.
She was well aware that Flex would be furious at them for breaking their cover.
She saw Zeph about to use a blow that would have given the opposer a shattered spine.
"Zeph," she hissed as she slapped his wrist away from the boy's back. "Incapacitate but don't injure!"
Zeph nodded quickly, understanding her point and changed the trajectory of his punch to bruise ribs rather than paralyse his opponent.
Icarus stood to one side and watched as Isacar was attacked by three boys at once, she bit her lip and debated joining in. Isacar slipped his way through his attackers like he was quick sand and Icarus had a flashback to fighting at Manticore and suddenly grew annoyed with her team-mates. Hadn't they had enough of always fighting and getting dirty and bloodied? She had seen more broken bones and gushing wounds than any thirteen year old girl had a right to and she was through with it.
So, why did she feel guilty as she watched them?
Zeph slid down to the floor, through the tangle of legs, and scissor-kicked another boy, knocking him down in a tumble of bodies. He then flipped over and bit the nearest ankle, listening to the screams above him with glee.
"ENOUGH!"
The fighting quickly halted as the shrill voice echoed and all nine boys crawled, limped or scampered away leaving the three Greek's standing back to back in fighting stance, awaiting another attack.
They looked up to see a mountain of a woman standing above them.
"This is an OUTRAGE!" she yelled. "There is to be no fighting in the playground!"
Seeing that the danger had passed, Nyx dropped her stance and was followed by Isacar and Zeph.
"Excuse us, ma'am," she said respectfully. "Who are you?"
"I am Miss Lashbury, the duty monitor. You must be the new children."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Well, I don't know where you come from, but fighting is not permitted here!"
"We come from an orphanage, ma'am," Nyx replied coolly. "Fighting for survival was a way of life. We only retaliate in self-defence. I think you'll find that it wasn't us who threw the first punch."
"It's true," Angelo said, walking back over. "Tommy attacked first."
"However he was provoked," Isacar admitted realising, tactically, that it wouldn't do to get the head bully in trouble in his second week. "It was my fault."
"I see," Miss Lashbury frowned down at him and at a heavily breathing Tommy. "Well done for owning up, young man, but I am afraid that I have no choice but to discipline you both."
Discipline you.
Isacar's hands curled into fists as the words echoed in his head; visions of solitary confinement, whips and drowning coming to his head.
There was no way he was going through that again. He'd die first.
"How?" he asked coolly, ready to take flight.
"Both of you will miss Physical Education this afternoon and spend the hour with me in the library."
"Library?" Tommy gasped. "Doing what?"
"Filing, shelving, lines," she said.
Isacar's mouth slowly stretched into a grin. "Oh…oh dear!"
Tommy glared at him, fully aware that this constituted no punishment to the blond.
"I'll expect you both during third period."
"We'll be there!" Isacar said, just managing to hold back a smirk as the woman walked away.
Tommy gave him a scrutinizing look. "What did you own up for? No one else knew you were a smart ass."
"Because I can see that people like you," Isacar said seriously and then grinned. "Besides, I'm a smart ass!"
Tommy grinned despite himself. "You also hit hard, dude. Truce?"
He held out a hand and Isacar was quick to capture it. "Truce."
"Okay, see ya later for book duty," Tommy grimaced in distaste and walked back to his friends.
Nyx and Zephyr made their way over to Isacar.
"Your mouth is going to be the end of you," Nyx prophesised.
"Yeah," Zeph agreed pushing his hair away from his face. "But that was fun!"
Isacar absently leaned down and ruffled his hair. "Thanks for coming to my rescue all the same."
Zeph looked up at him. "Does this mean that we are like family now?"
Isacar shuddered at the sentimentality. "My heart bleeds buttermilk to the sound of the world's smallest violin."
"What?" Zeph wrinkled his nose.
"It's sarcasm, titch," Isacar said. "That statement was so saccharine I was crying on the inside!"
"You'll be crying on the outside if you don't learn to watch your mouth," Nyx warned.
"Pff!" Isacar dismissed rudely.
"I'll tell Flex!" she bit back a small smile at the teasing.
"Ooh, she's going to tell Daddy!" Isacar mocked and then his face fell as he considered that. "You won't, will you?"
"Doofus!" She couldn't prevent a small smile as she walked away.
They watched her walk away Zeph cocked his head at Isacar.
"You didn't answer my question."
Isacar looked down at the small dynamo. "Do you want a family after Manticore? I mean they didn't do us any favours in the sibling stakes."
"Yeah but we chose each other and I like you," he said with usual forthright honesty. "Plus it would be cool to be able to call you my big brother." Zeph looked at his feet. "When we were in barracks I always used to pretend that I had an older brother and he was always like you."
Despite himself Isacar was touched. "I… I guess that'd be okay, squirt."
"Thanks, brother!" Zeph beamed.
"Now get out of here!" Isacar said in affectionate embarrassment. "You'll ruin my reputation."
"Gotcha!" Zeph ran away as fast as was allowed by his new family.
"Cute," Icarus said from behind him. "Very cute, I didn't know you did schmaltzy sentimentality, Issy."
Isacar frowned to himself, not turning to look at his real sister. "Yeah well, at least he seems to have some conception of familial loyalty." He turned and pinned her with a cool look. "Unlike some."
"I'm sick of fighting," she spat crossing her arms defensively against her chest. "Excuse me for having had enough bloodshed to last several lifetimes."
Isacar sighed looking disappointedly at her. "You think we're not all sick of it, Cari?"
Icarus' face fell and she looked down knowing that he had been as sick of Manticore as she had. "Sorry."
He stepped forward and placed an arm around her shoulder. "No, I am. I understand wanting to forget, trust me. I think I surpassed a few records for punitive service in old M. But we have to look out for each other, now."
Icarus nodded. "Am I forgiven?"
"Course," Isacar planted a kiss on her forehead before pushing her away, letting her go back to her friends.
He rolled his eyes. "Three months with this bunch and I'm turning into one of the Brady bunch. I make myself sick." He picked up his book. "Any more of the saccharine and I'll register myself a diabetic. Ugh!"
>>>>>
"Drew, I'm going out, I'll be back some time tonight." Ben said as he shrugged on his jacket. Drew looked up from her sector maps at the darkened skies.
"It looks like rain," she said doubtfully. "Are you sure you want to be out in that?"
"I'm only partially kitty cat," Ben said amusedly. "I can take a shower and even get wet without melting, mom."
Drew shrugged one shoulder. "Have it your way then, pal. Just don't come crying to me when your gel gets wet."
"Thanks for the sympathy," Ben leaned over and brushed a kiss against her forehead. "Later."
"Yeah." She turned back to her maps waiting tensely until she heard the front door click shut.
As soon as the echo of his feet faded down the corridor she relaxed, her shoulders slumping as she let out a breath.
Ben had been acting strangely for the last few weeks, watching her intensely and acting shiftily around her. Some days it was all she could do to get out his sight and others days it felt like he watched every move she made. It was unnerving, even for someone who had been accustomed to having their movements traced by an unseen party.
Then one night, a week ago, Ben had come home smelling of blood; fresh blood, and it was strong, heavy and, more importantly, not his.
He had said that he had just been out walking but Drew had noted the tears on his clothes, the scent of stainless steel and the grass on his trousers.
Sometimes it appeared that Ben forgot that he was dealing with another transgenic, one with superior sense of smell and sight that even he had. There was no way that could have masked the fact that he had been out somewhere where there was a lot of blood, or that the serrations on his palm meant that he had been holding a weapon of some sort. Add the two pieces of information together and you got a Drew who was tense enough to bounce quarters off.
She wrung her hands together and stood up, moving slowly towards the door. She leaned against the dark wood and listened intently to make sure that his footsteps had echoed away. She crossed over to the window and stared down at the darkening street. It was only early yet, not even eleven am and yet it was almost as if the night refused to let go of it. She spotted Ben's silhouette walking across the street and she back into the wall next to the window, so he wouldn't see her if he looked back.
Part of her was thinking that it was crazy to hide away from the man who had given her food and shelter free of charge and yet there was a part of her that was screaming to be heard. It was the part that had she had always trusted in and she saw no need to hide from it or disregard it now.
As she watched Ben's shadow move further into the distance, Drew took a deep breath and stared back towards the room that she had never been in: Ben's room.
Did she really have just cause to search his room? Did she really have the nerve to ignore all that he had done for her and ransack his room, betraying his privacy?
Drew worried her bottom lip and thought about doing it. Just walking into Ben's bedroom and rifling through his things. He'd know, of course he would, and maybe that would be the end of their tentative friendship.
Was it worth it? Just to allay her fears and suspicions?
She looked down at his denim jacket lying on the floor by the window. Reaching down to feel the soft blue material she smiled, thinking of him tucking her up when she had fallen asleep on the sofa, making her dinner and tickling her until she cried.
Was it worth it?
Drew bent to put the jacket back on the floor, only to spot a deep rust stain on the sleeve.
She brought it to her nose, her heart pounding and hands shaking.
Blood.
Unmistakably blood.
And it wasn't Ben's.
Drew dropped the coat and stepped back, almost afraid.
Then her gaze swung to Ben's door.
>>>>>>
Anna slowly came to awareness with a heightened sense that someone was hovering over her. Her training too over and she kept perfectly still and waited silently for whoever it was to come closer.
A tiny crack of a twig signalled that the person was almost by her head and Anna's hand shot out, grabbing a slender ankle and yanking hard.
A muffled shriek cleared the last vestiges of sleep away from her and she regarded her fallen companion with bemused frustration. "Ralph."
"Sorry!" squeaked the blonde girl. "I was just seeing if you wanted breakfast."
Anna eyed her. She had been travelling with the annoying child for two weeks now; two whole weeks of the irritating, chirpy little miss and her constant chatter and beaming platitudes.
She couldn't forget the first morning that Ralph had woken her up with a happy "Rise and shine!" only to be informed that, although she might rise, Anna never shone and if Ralph didn't tone down the enthusiasm before her first cup of coffee Ann would hurt her so bad that she'd long for Psy-Ops.
Ralph had realised pretty soon that if she wished to walk without limping for the day then she'd serve morning coffee and keep her mouth shut. Other than a few minor altercations (which including Ralph being thrown into a lake fully dressed and Ralph being bound and gagged for a night) they got along just fine.
Anna sat up and let Ralph crawl to her knees, sitting a few feet away from Anna. She looked up at the dark grey skies and shivered as she realised that today would be another rainy, miserable day in the forest.
"So," Ralph started carefully. "What's today's plan?"
"Coffee!" Anna growled and Ralph scampered off resentfully.
For two weeks Anna had been on the trail of Ames White and finally a few days ago they had received information regarding his whereabouts. They had met a peddler who traded up and down the coast and he had told them of a military base a few miles away that was manned 24 hours a day. Nothing unusual there, but he had also mentioned that he had tried to sell shoe shine to a short man in a suit but had been scared off by the mans demeanour.
A little further digging led to the knowledge that the base had been decommissioned years ago and had actually been an area of scientific research; genetics.
The two things snapped together in Anna's mind like an easy jigsaw and her lips pursed as she thought of the connotations of Ames White being that close to a genetics centre.
It didn't add up to peace of mind and she had been determined, once and for all, to put a stop to this guy.
"Oops!"
She rolled her eyes. She'd save the world, after she rescued her coffee from her walking disaster of an assistant.
>>>>>>
Spending the day searching for a fitting sacrifice was enough to give Ben the worst kind of headache. He hadn't been able to tear himself away from Drew until late morning, it had been almost eleven and now it was well after six. He'd have to give up the search soon if he couldn't find anyone worthy.
It wasn't like he could give the Blue Lady less than what she deserved if he meant to keep Drew.
Ben sagged against the door of the confessional and tapped his forehead on the panelled wood.
"I am in, my son."
Ben started, not expecting anyone to talk to him. He registered that the voice had come from inside the confessional and he stepped inside without hesitating. The Blue Lady would always point the way.
He sat on the tiny little bench and closed the door behind him wondering if everyone who came in here felt claustrophobic.
Maybe that was why these things were so small, to make you feel closed in by their sins and try to absolve yourself by expunging them.
"In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. And how long has it been since your last confession?"
Ben grinned. "I've never been to confession."
"You're not a Catholic?" The priest said almost distrustfully.
"No. But I do have faith in the Lady," Ben replied honestly. He did have faith in her; utmost faith that she would set matters straight and help him out. She had rarely failed him. As long as he kept up his worship.
"Our blessed Lady."
"Yes." Ben agreed, wondering what the man would say next.
"Well, why don't you tell me your sins, then?"
Ben wanted to scoff, 'who are you to forgive me?' 'Who are you to tell me that what I've done is right or wrong?' Suddenly he wanted to shake up this man.
"I've killed," he said with direct bluntness.
He could almost see the priest freeze in his silly wooden chair.
"Go on," he said coolly.
What? "I've taken human life. What more is there to say?" Ben said incredulously.
"Murder is a grave sin, yes. But killing in self-defence, or to prevent an injustice, like when a policeman or soldier –"
"I'm a soldier," Ben qualified.
"I see." Ben heard the relief in the man's voice and felt indebted to add.
"Killing is what I was trained to do."
"You're troubled by it. That's why you're here now."
Troubled in the way that he needed to do it again and quickly. It seemed that he had to do more and more to appease the Blue Lady these days.
"Sometimes I feel the Lady's given up on me." He hadn't realised that he had spoken out loud until the Priest replied.
"No. She never gives up on any of us. We have to have faith in her."
"I try!" Ben was heartfelt. He had tried. He had tried to believe when he was in Manticore surrounded by death and torture. He had tried to believe when he had been forced to escape the only home that he had ever known and been pushed out into the world all by himself; a world that was so scary and hostile to a small boy with above average intelligence and no social skills.
He had tried to believe when he was alone and hurting and there was no one to make him feel better. He had tried when he was bleeding, battered and centimetres away from dying. He had only lapsed when he'd seen Max and she had told him that he didn't need to Blue Lady. He had only gone back to her because he had needed someone so badly and two days after he sacrificed to her, Drew had come into his life.
She had rewarded him with a friend and now he had to do all he could to keep her.
"We have to put our lives in her hands."
He would do anything to keep her.
Anything.
"Is your life in her hands?" he slid back into the comfortable soldier mode, the one that told him that all was well. It was the place he went when he killed, the place he went when he was lonely or tortured. It was the calm place, the high place in his own mind.
"She's always at my side."
The man's faith was touching. Very touching, it almost made him regret.
"She protects you?"
"She's always there to help me."
If she had protected him then she wouldn't have led Ben to him. She would have made him remain silent and then Ben would never have known that he was there. It seemed that the Lady didn't smile on the priest as she did on Ben.
He grinned evilly.
"Then you've got nothing to be afraid of."
Except me. His hand shot forwards, crashing through the wooden slats and touched flesh. His fingers tightened convulsively on the creamy white throat and he squeezed.
>>>>>>
Pix stood on the edge of the roof and stared out at the rooftops that littered the skyline between here and the glowing orange horizon. Two weeks ago he had no other worries than how to stop Chance from spiralling into depression and now he was in charge of an entire nation. How did things get so out of control?
After he had set up the latest security detail he had gone for a walk, just wandering the streets of Terminal City and what he had seen had scared him.
There were children, younger than any he had seen in his life, they had no shoes, they had next to no food, they were dirty and scampered about like little lost souls their hearts broken and trust destroyed and yet… and yet they had looked to him with such hope as he walked by.
It was humbling, it was heartrending, it was… frightening.
The heights of Terminal City had seemed like the perfect place to come to brood and as he stood there he wondered what Anna was doing now. Was this why she had left? Did she too get tired of the expectations of everyone? Did she fear the trust and belief that shone in the faces of those who should know better?
Dammit, he thought that those kind of namby-pamby hope issues were drummed out of you before you were potty trained!
He slumped to the floor and draped his arms over his knees, dropping his head into one hand, his elbow digging into his knee.
What was he doing? What did he know of leading? He had always been a follower, he had followed Max and Alec's lead and he had provided the comic relief. He was no one's idea of salvation.
He was Pix. Named for mischievous sprites and hell-raisers.
He was court jester; he was the laugh-a-minute-never-take-anything-seriously guy. He wasn't Max! He wasn't Alec! Hell, he wasn't even Skye who commanded obedience through sheer cussedness.
What if he couldn't cut it? What if he let everyone down?
A sudden vision overwhelmed him, filling him with horror.
The military had got wind of the base. Some human had noticed strange men going in and out and had called the government. Manticore had decide that they weren't worth the risk and had initiated full denial… and ordered their deaths.
They launched an offence with grenades and gas. It was like the fire at Manticore all over again, but this time, instead of Max and Alec being there to shepherd people out, it had been left to Pix.
Pix let them down. He couldn't speak in time, he could co-ordinate and no one listened to him.
The military rushed the gates, taking out the few guards on security detail, then they swarmed in with guns blazing and the transgenics were caught unaware.
Pix was shot in the stomach and was left to die, his eyes taking in all around him, even though he could do nothing to stop it.
Dix was mowed down in a barrage of bullets, his monocle smashed by his side and Mole was lying face down, his cigar crushed and hole in his back from the blade of a bayonet. Luke was killed by an exploding shell, his limbs no longer together and Chance, his beautiful Chance was left in a pool of blood where she had fallen.
Feen was lying over Techie's body, her arms stretched out to protect him even in death.
The small girl that had looked to him with such trust lay outside in the wreckage of what had once been her shack, her hands still clutching a tattered doll, its hair matted with her blood.
They killed everybody, man, woman and child. They left no one alive and Pix's eyes closed in death.
The vision ended and Pix's shoulders shook in silent sobs; crying his fear and pain to the heavens.
>>>>>
Drew had just about exhausted all avenues. She had gone through Ben's drawers and under the bed. She had slid her fingers over every inch of the mattress and over the bed frame. She had all but dismantled the wooden bedside cabinets and found no hidden compartments. She had rifled through every pocket and zip compartment in all his clothes, felt along the lining and probed his shoes, feeling every inch the voyeur. She had been through every cupboard and knocked every floorboard. She had moved to the kitchen, the bathroom, the linen closet, the dining room. Nothing.
She had been through each and every room like a professional and found nothing more incriminating than a stack of porn and a stash of marshmallows.
She made her way tiredly back to his room, absently noting that it was almost eight o' clock. She had managed to put his room back in some sort of order but there was no lying to a transgenic. He would know that she had been in here, either through her scent or the fact that most of his possessions had moved, and she would have to come up with a pretty good excuse to get out of trouble.
She slumped to the floor, her back against the wall and slammed the back of her head against it in frustration.
This was stupid! Her ridiculous suspicions would drive a wedge between her and Ben for good and it was all her fault.
She sighed and looked up, wondering what she was going to say to him about all this.
She was staring up for a good ten minutes, lost in thought, before she realised what it was that she was staring at.
The ceiling tile above his bed was slightly askew.
Not so much that you'd notice it, unless you were looking intently; but enough so that it registered.
She glanced down. If you stood on the edge of the bed you could reach the ceiling, especially if you were Ben's height.
She slowly stood up, wondering if it was really rats that she had heard scampering about overhead at night.
Swallowing hard Drew stood on the bed and balanced on the frame, reaching high above her head to shift the white ceiling tile.
The rough panel moved under her hand and she dropped it carelessly onto the bed, looking up into the dark space above her head. Drew reached up, grasping the edge with her hands and pulled herself up into the ceiling.
She had never realised that there was still an attic up here as the other entrance had been painted over years ago and she had ensured that the paint hadn't been disturbed.
Clever Ben had found another entrance.
What are you hiding, Ben?
She reached above her head and touched a rough wooden beam and felt her fingers touch smooth glass.
It was an old fashioned metal lantern with a turn key. Drew twisted the cold metal and a faint glow illuminated the room.
She stepped onto the hardwood beams and they creaked as her weight pushed on the fragile support.
A shiny surface reflected on the far wall and she stepped forwards, her mouth dry as she entered the darkness beyond the shadows.
As her eyes came accustomed to the lack of light, she could see what it was that had captured her interest.
There was a statue in one corner on a table, surrounded by photographs and pictures. Drew inched closer, her mind screaming at her to move away, to leave, to run.
As far and as fast as she could.
She moved the last few inches and the light cleared to reveal the face of the statue. It was a lady, a lady in blue robes with a golden halo surrounding her face. She stood tall and strong but with her head bowed in humility. The pictures and photo's of the same statue in different poses and mediums scattered the walls behind her along with others.
Drew touched the pictures behind the lady's head; pictures of boys and girls that she didn't know but whose stern demeanour and shaven heads clued her in to their identity; pictures of herself that she hadn't realised had been taken, her laughing, her looking elsewhere, her walking across the street.
It was strange that the apparent violation of her privacy didn't bother her much, but the pictures of shaven headed-children and the newspaper clippings proclaiming that this one had gone missing and that this one was wanted for shop lifting, moved her—unnerved her.
Her eyes fell on one picture and she reached up to pluck it from the wall, staring at it with dawning horror. It was of her asleep, in her room.
Ben had been watching her in her sleep. He had been in her room and he had thought enough of her to place her on this wall along wit the others that he seemingly revered. It was eerie, it was creepy.
It was bloodcurdling as hell.
As if the word had conjured something else, something tugged her attention.
She looked back up and took a step back realising that the shininess she had noted wasn't the pictures reflecting in the gloom. There was something written on the wall in… shiny red ink.
It was shiny red ink.
There was no way that Ben was sick enough to write on the walls in blood.
It wasn't possible.
He had made her toffee and cooked Pizza. He got out movies for her to watch and took her shopping.
Ben couldn't have written on the walls in blood.
Mission.
It wasn't him!
Duty.
No.
Discipline.
It was someone else.
War is art.
Oh god!
She felt sick. She felt dizzy and Drew felt herself shake.
Her hands dropped the photo on the table and in her disorientation her fingers grazed the table and she touched scratchy material. Her gaze flew down to see a cloth covered bowl.
She didn't want to peel back that piece of cloth, she didn't!
In fact it was top of her list of things to not do
Even as her brain rebelled, her fingers touched the warm scrap and started to tug. A sob caught in her throat as her arm moved against her wishes and pulled the cloth off the bowl.
Her hand flew to her mouth but didn't manage to smother her gasp of horror at the contents of the gilded bowl that lay beneath.
A bowl of red-stained, blood-soaked teeth lay in front of her, almost mocking her with its deceptive simplicity.
It was only teeth.
Only teeth! A hysterical gurgle threatened to erupt as she took several steps back, stumbling in her revulsion.
"Let me guess, you don't like art?"
Drew spun to see Ben leaning against the support beam, his head down, face obscured by shadows and his arms folded over his chest.
"Hello Drew."
"Ben," her hand dropped from her mouth but her word was a strangled whisper.
He lowly raised his head, the shadows sliding down his face, illuminating his angled cheeks and then his green eyes like cats eyes, slight and thin in the near darkness.
He looked evil in the lanterns thin glow, his normally handsome face twisted like a visage from hell.
He pushed his body nonchalantly away from the beam and stepped forward like a panther leisurely stalking its prey.
Drew unwittingly moved back.
"Tut, tut," he shook his head, a derisive smirk on his face. "That's not very friendly."
"Excuse me for being a little rattled," she bit back, here eyes wide.
"Rattled?" Ben laughed scornfully. "Drew, honey, I thought you'd understand."
"Understand what?"
"The power we have, the delicious scent of fear as you—"
"Explore orthodontistry?"
Ben smiled, his sweet baby face a mockery of the horrific tableau behind her.
"No. You understand me, Drew."
"I really don't think I do," she said and edged away again as he moved closer. Her gaze drifted back to the bloody altar. Sacrifices to a statue, worship of faces he had known as a child and as an adult. It wasn't understandable!
"This… this isn't what we are, Ben."
"Soldiers? Killers? It's what we were made to do, Drew." Ben chuckled darkly. "You know you've felt that primal thrill as you snuff out a life."
Drew's head shook frantically. "No."
"Yes."
"No! It's not like that. The-the thrill is in the power, yeah. But not to…" she trailed off as he licked his lips. "You're crazy."
"Crazy?" He cocked his head and slid to the left, even as she backed away. "Maybe. But you're the one staying here with me."
"Something that's going to change," she vowed as she avoided his pursuit.
"Who says I'm going to let you?"
The air charged with sudden tension as Ben changed from a friend to a cold-blooded killer.
Drew was no longer safe.
Ben brought a hand up to his mouth and bit seductively on his thumb as he regarded her with hooded eyes. "I had to sacrifice to the Blue Lady, Drew, so that I could keep you. I did it for you."
"I'm flattered." She stepped to the right and Ben followed her movement with one to the left.
"You should be. I don't want you to leave. I'd do anything to make you stay."
Drew's gaze dropped to the hand that he kept pressed against the beam and the glint of steel clued her in to the knife that he held in his palm. Crimson rust still stained the blade.
Blood.
He followed her gaze. "Anything."
Drew met his eyes, his green gaze, clear of guilt, clear of pain. There was an odd sort of clarity in them and it spurred her to action.
She threw herself forward and darted just under his arm. She dived for the hole in the floor and caught the rough edge with her fingers, flinging herself down and out of the room like an Olympic gymnast.
She landed just outside the bedroom door in a crouch and, without glancing behind her, leaped to her feet as if her life depended on it.
The apartment had never seemed so huge as she raced through it, taking precious seconds to slam doors behind her to halt Ben's progress.
The front door was shut and locked and would have cost Drew too much time to fiddle with the lock, so, with a kick that wouldn't have been out of place in a Cheerleaders convention, she kicked at the lock. The door burst outward with the pressure and wood splintered as it shattered against the far wall. But Drew didn't stop to think of the poor portal as she leapt over the balcony and propelled herself up the steep stone steps.
In Manticore they had been taught that most offensives started on the ground and, so, if they were caught and cornered, to head upwards.
So up she raced, up to the safety door which purported to stop thieves coming in from the roof.
It didn't stand up to Drew's robust round-kick and suffered the same fate as Ben's front door. It buckled with the force of her thrust and Drew was through the door and racing over the concrete tiles before she could think.
The night had truly fallen and the pitch black was only halted by the dirty grey of the torrential rainfall as the storm that had threatened all day finally manifested.
It had been brewing for days and it was just pure irony that it fell tonight. Within seconds Drew was soaked to the skin and her slick jeans grew heavy as she sped over the concrete.
Behind her she heard the unmistakable roar of Ben and fear prompted her extra speed.
Drew reached the end of the building and, without hesitating, jumped taking the fifteen foot gap like it was a step.
The next rooftop was pure tile and her saturated shoes slid on the smooth tiles, made treacherous with the deluge.
Drew lost her balance for precious seconds before stumbling forwards blindly.
"DREW!"
She didn't even look behind her as she jumped to the next building, and the next, hearing Ben's footsteps come ever closer. The torrent was relentless as she ran and the sounds of the downpour masked even her frantic footsteps and pounding heart as she splashed her way over the skyline.
Suddenly the air charged and crackled as a streak of lightning flashed in front of her, temporarily blinding her. Drew's hand shot up to protect her precious corneas from the back flash and that little distraction caused her to slip.
She landed hard on her hands, grazing and slicing the palms on a smashed glass that had no place on the roof. She tried scampering to her feet, but her slippery soles wouldn't catch purchase on the wet ground and she flailed, like Bambi's first steps.
A roar of thunder shook the building and she almost crawled forward, managing to drag herself to her feet before hurtling herself towards the edge.
Before she could jump, her brain caught her short.
There were no more buildings to jump to.
She had run out of road.
Drew flicked a glance over her shoulder to see Ben walking slowly over the roof, an eerie grin on his face, well aware of what she had just discovered.
Of course, a good soldier was well aware of his exits and entrances. Living there for so long Ben would, undoubtedly, be aware of escape routes.
Drew's glance snapped back. The next building was over the street; a good seventy feet away.
There was no way she could make it.
Or could she?
Narrowing her eyes, Drew ducked her head and braced her body. She'd do it or die trying.
Her legs tensed even as her heart sank. This was it. She took two steps and—
"Drew stop! Stop!" Ben's voice was frantic and she half-turned to see what it was that he wanted.
"Stay back!" she yelled over the hail of rain, shuddering onto the roof.
"Don't be dumb, Drew, you wouldn't make it!"
"Better road kill than a sacrifice!" she spat.
His face dropped. "God, Drew, is that what you think? I wasn't going to kill you!"
The rain sluiced down her face and dragged her hair into her eyes.
"Then what's with the knife, Dr Jekyll?"
Ben looked down as if he had forgotten that he held it. He brought the blade up to his face, seeing the rain wash away the dried blood. He looked up at her face and then thrust the knife away from him. Neither of them heard the clatter of metal on tile above the sound of the rain.
"Dammit, Drew, I wouldn't hurt you?"
"Then what was the threat, Ben? Huh?" She brushed the strands of black hair away from her face.
His hands spread open and he yelled to be heard. "I was joking, I thought you'd realize."
"Realize what? That you're a psycho?"
The word resounded between them.
Psycho.
Hadn't Drew been called that too many times? Now she was labelling Ben too.
That was the rub. She did understand to a degree, it was powerful to hold someone else life in your hand, to know that all you had to do was pinch or flick a finger and they were dead. The difference was that she had never exercised that power.
Because they stopped you echoed a little voice that Drew shook away.
She wasn't crazy.
"I'm not crazy." Drew jumped as she realised that Ben was still talking. He moved closer to her and she edged away from the precipice. He had sounded hurt.
"Those were teeth, Ben. You kill people and rip their goddamn teeth out. That won't put you on the front of Sanity weekly!"
"It makes her stronger."
"Who?" Drew stared.
"The Blue Lady! She takes care of me, she protects me!" he growled as he stalked her. "She's always been there."
"The statue?" Drew was beyond incredulous.
"She's real!" he defended. "She is."
"We protect ourselves," she spat, appalled at his seeming gullibility. "We always have."
"Not me!" He shook his head. "Not anymore. I won't be alone again, Drew. She controls my destiny. If I sacrifice to her you stay."
"I control my own destiny, Ben. Not her. Me."
His head shook so fast that drops sprayed away from his face. "She has, she always has."
The sheer desperation in his voice called tears to her eyes. He was so lost, so damn lost.
And stupid.
"You have to stop this, Ben, its madness."
"It's not crazy! It's faith! What I have is faith."
"What you have is issues!" she yelled, tears mixing with rain. "I… I … can't—!"
"She demands it," he pleaded with her to understand as he stood in front of her.
"She's not real!" Drew whispered, unable to lie to him.
His face fell and Ben frowned, lashing out in his pain. Drew knocked his arm aside and kicked at his midsection, trying to get some space.
"Shit, Drew!" he gasped as he fell forwards. "What was that for?"
Drew gaped incredulously and lost her temper. "You hit me, unless you lost more of the plot! Plot, hell! You never even had the book, did ya?"
"Dammit, I'm not crazy!" he bellowed.
"No?" Drew countered. "Cutting people open? Removing teeth. If you're not crazy then you do a good impression of it."
"I'm not crazy!" he spat and slapped her.
"Then what?" she ducked the punch and snapped her foot at his ankle.
"Lonely, OKAY?" He spread his arms wide, looking every inch the sacrifice that he had performed. "Is that what you wanna hear, Drew? Huh? I'm sick… so sick of being alone."
And just like that all of the fight had gone out of him and his face fell like a little boy denied Christmas.
"Wh—?" She halted herself as his arms dropped.
"I've been on my own for too long."
"Twelve of you escaped."
"Yah, but it wasn't like Zack would let us be together for a '09er reunion." He used the phrase that she had used in conjunction with the escapees. "We were ordered to split up and never be in touch."
"No chance of discovery or betrayal," she whispered.
"See, you get that," he said, dejectedly. "Do you have any idea what its like, Max, day after day for thirteen years without contact? Always being told to move on, to not get too close? You can't make friends in case you endanger them and, let's face it, who wants to be friends with me?" his arms went up again and he spun in a crazy circle. "A scrawny kids who tells tales, has no history and no social skills. My childhood sucked!"
"Drew," she said quietly.
"What?"
"You called me Max."
He sniffed. "Yeah, so?"
"Max wouldn't approve of what you do, Ben," she hazarded. "She has these odd ideas about equal rites for humans."
Ben swallowed and looked down. "She wouldn't?" he sounded like a lost little boy again. "What do I do?"
Drew stepped forward pleading with him. "What if… what if I promised to stay with you? Would you stop then? You wouldn't be alone."
Ben cocked his head and took a menacing step towards her causing her back up almost to the edge again.
"You'd stay?"
"Yes."
"How very… noble."
Her eyes narrowed at him and she stood straighter, her temper taking over. "How else would you get someone to stay? Offer them a good dental plan?"
"Bitch!" Ben punched out at her, contacting with her face.
Stars exploded as the left side of her face went numb. Drew dropped to her knees and kicked out at Ben's feet letting the slippery roof and his own arrogance catch him off guard.
Ben slipped over, banging his head on the ground. Drew took the opportunity to turn and run, back the way she had come. There was a small brick enclosure that led down to the lower levels of this building if she could just get there.
But she knew it was too late as Ben flipped upright and sprang over her head, landing in front to cut off her path of escape. He grinned and the fight was on.
Drew may have had ten years more training but she was still recovering from her near-death injuries and Ben had his demented faith on his side giving him power.
His fist caught her ribs, depriving her of breath and she countered with a head-butt that sent him reeling, splashing through the puddles on the ground.
Gasping hard, she backed up protecting her aching side. She growled and spun out with a kick that brought more up water and grit than force and caught Ben a blow in the stomach leaving him winded.
She followed her advantage with a punch to the face that dropped Ben on his back. Ben grinned fiercely as he hit a round-house punch to her face, followed by another and another. She spun back towards the edge of the roof before ducking under his arm and elbowing him in the back.
Ben grunted and slapped out at her, spinning wildly in a circle.
They had managed to fight their way over to the small building that led to the door which went down to the lower levels. It was brick and hurt like hell when slammed into as Ben found out when Drew's fist met his cheek and his head met the wall.
He retaliated but Drew dodged his oncoming fist and grabbed his hair with both hands, yanking his head down to ram against her knee.
On his way back up, Ben grabbed her leg knocking her off balance to land in a splatter amidst the saturated tiles.
Drew grew incensed at his grin as she shoved wet hair from her eyes. "Enjoying yourself?"
"Yeah, actually," he spat out a spatter of blood from his mouth and touched his split lip with the back of his hand. "You are a worthier fight than any I've had. Even the ex-marine was a pushover."
"I'm touched," she said sarcastically. "And so are you, but not in the same way."
"You are a bitch."
"Tell me something I don't know!" she sassed as she clipped his ear with a high kick.
"You make me sane."
Drew paused, her arms upraised. "This is you sane?"
Ben shrugged with a rueful grin and noticing that her defence was down, took advantage and slammed her against the wall, clasping her hands above her head.
"You being here, grounds me. I need you, Drew. I need you."
Drew looked up into desperate eyes, edged with fear and laced with paranoia that she, too, would leave him alone.
"I'll stay," she swore, even as she wriggled to get away from his grip. "But I don't love you, Ben. I love Dek. I'll always love Dek. You can have my company, you can have friendship but that's it. You can't have my love."
Ben smirked wolfishly and looked down at her lips. "Who says I need it?"
Their eyes locked as a flash of lightning illuminated what had been hidden between them and Ben's lips slammed down onto hers as the lightening crashed.
Pushed hard between stone cold wall and hard unrelenting male, Drew was lost in the sensation and her legs twined around Ben's waist. She yanked his head back and joined the assault on his mouth with as much fervour as she could.
They were so close that not even the rain could slide between their hormone heated bodies.
The rain poured, the streets flooded and the shadows on the roof showed two silhouettes lost in a passionate embrace, lost in each other.
The thunder rolled.
----
X5-454— Because BJ's DNA isn't Shark. The basic hodgepodge of mixed animal DNA is such that not all have the same origins. We have established that some are very heavy sleepers but since that didn't mesh with the idea of soldiers needing to be alert at all times, others were made with experimental animal DNA. With the fact that BJ sleeps one night in four meaning that his sleep patterns are based on animals that need to be wary of predators- like Sheep. So the odds are that BJ has sheep DNA—would YOU admit to that?
X5-454 – very dedicated. Yes it takes a while to get into the rhythm of the story. Its possible we will be running into them soon but, as I've said, I only have so much space and those who are off happy doing whatever really don't need the space! The witchy woman at the BBQ is just your average bitch—nothing creepy there.
Aku Neko- My inspiration comes from a variety of places, things people say, things I see, things I read. But once the characters have been established its so very easy for them to just take over and I tend to let them! More about the Greeks here and we do find out what is wrong with Nyx soon as well. I am glad that they appeal to you. They came out of nowhere! Gestation periods always made me wonder how the Manticore bosses stopped their females getting pregnant- especially with the Heat thing (something that we haven't seen the last of!)
Thanks for the uberkudos
L80bug- Cheers pet, I do try to keep up with them all, it's a bind to try to fit them all in. As to that Sunny and Biggs are due to make an appearance in the next chapter. The Ben/Drew thing has hit its peak here. You like Zack/Emma? That makes…one.
Havok- Gee you had to wait a month- how shocking! I wonder which evil author would make you do that? Probably the same one who has to make her own tea!
GivenAlias- With the new changes to they have stopped sending some updates- my advice would be to reregister. I do update as often as I am able.
GuestTypePerson- I'm glad to have rocked your socks. As you can see here, Ben is not taking Drew's leaving well…at all! Emma has a mind of her own (if you recall she's the one that slept with Biggs) so all is a quandary.
Mae- Cheers pet.
Nevan- Gracias, someone else who likes Zack/Emma- yay!
Ganko— Sorry to make you wait so long, hope its worth it! Joshua is adorable isn't he? The Cece thing just brings it out of him! More soon.
SGOU— Who doesn't love Pix, although he isn't always sweetness and light, as we discover here. He has a few issues himself. Anna and Ralph happened quite by accident! I originally intended for Anna to end up with Ash but I have no idea if that will work out again. I am glad that Zack and Emma seems to be a popular pairing- more so than BJ/Jace apparently. No I thought that we had enough incidental meetings between 09ers and Unit 8. I am glad that your violent reaction has abated somewhat as I can imagine that you would be hunting me down a la Ben style for this travesty. The cutesy factor…of course… had to go and voila psycho- Ben!
Joshua has got to be so cute here! That part with his falling on her stomach and yelling for it to get out had my sister in hysterics!
Mrs— Hey sweets. I did deliver and this was even more abrupt that the other. Anna is mean but so much fun to play with—I think she has a soft spot for Ralph too! Jay is in the fold- watch for her.
elle6778—Yup good old Zack and our resident flirt- Emma. It is sweet but at the same time slightly creepy that he was in her room while she slept. If you thought that Anna was scary there, just wait until she meets white again! I'll have to chage it on my site- thanks for letting me know- What do you think of the pictures.
Lotamoxie—Yup I am still updating but as mentioned in the AN this had to be perfect. See Ben Drew interaction here—cool huh? As for Zack and Emma they make such a fun couple.
BR9- Anna as the pied piper just so funny- she has a different reaction to the one that Skye and Flex had that's for such.
Sarah—Thanks pet, glad that it made you laugh.
sweettweety06—Thanks for that. That sweet cutesy chapter was a tad misleading as we see here. Emma I think will be good for Zack and visa versa. Drew and Dek have a special understanding in that neither knows if the other is alive. Bad choices are bound to be made here and there.
meri24—Thank you very much, reviews make my day! Anna is coming into her own very well isn't she? Yes I have no plans to separate Dek and Drew.
Starr Light1- Cheers pet, Glad to make you laugh. I couldn't wait for it to all come together personally. More reconnections soon as.
Tiggi—Some people don't like the addition of newer characters like the Greeks which is fine, I wont dedicate whole chapters to them again, but small bits like this are essential. Dek has made his way over to SF so no more Dek here I'm afraid. Who is your fave character? Cece's breeding partner was Harley and we have no idea whats happened to him since. More Pix…although not exactly what you asked for.
Angel Of Darkness231—Ahh I am so pleased that you like my cutesy chapter! Ready for the angst now? Thank you for the praise, pet and happy reading.
Lynn-50670—I think Joshua would make a good nanny! Thanks for reviewing.
BlueJean452 – Sorry I made you ansty. This chapter needed a lot of work. Hope you found a specific part here that you liked.
Moonlite Star- Yup. Anna and Ralph are like a modern day…uh… Xena and Gabrielle? The Greeks at school will have problems as seen here. More soon, I hope.
Geminangel— Anna is funny sometimes and its almost fun to have the bitch as an avenging angel complete with sidekick. Drew and Ben have come full circle and I love having them in that much of a couple but not kind of way. Emma and Zack will get along well, I think as long as he doesn't bug her too much and visa versa.
Crazy-VampireSlayer—I think people are staring to get together more now and so we should see more and more meetings and interactions and things will come together nicely.