Worthless
Hello, everyone. This prompt was suggested by Sliena Natasha. Warning for self-harm, suicidal thoughts, drowning, attempted suicide, and anything of that nature. I tried to be discrete but to the point. Enjoy.
It had been another bad mission and this time, Omega had been severely injured. They rushed her to the medical bay on ABydoa and watched as their sister was taken back into surgery. They were sent to the waiting room to wait. The brothers were obviously in distress and were worried about their little sister. Crosshair angrily walked over to Hunter away from where the others could hear.
"I should have sensed them. Why couldn't I sense them? This is my fault. I should have done better." Hunter whispered.
"You git that right. You failed, again. And this time, Omega paid the price. She's back there in surgery. She's in pain and she hurt because of you. We shouldn't have taken the mission, to begin with. You were wrong, again. How many more times does one of us have to get hurt before you get the picture?" Crosshair snapped. Hunter was shocked but he stood tall and glared at Crosshair.
"And what do you mean by that?"
"You're not fit to lead. You never were. All you do is choose missions that get us hurt. You're stupid and pathetic."
"I've only done what I thought was best. If the others had a problem, they would have said something."
"Well, your best isn't good enough. Not for me or the others. They just don't know how to tell you the truth, but I do."
"We're a family. We should be able to tell each other the truth."
"But we're not because of you." Crosshair snapped. Hunter felt like Crosshair had just stabbed him with his own vibroblade. "We'd be better off without you."
"You don't mean that. You're just worried about Omega. You... don't mean that. I said I was sorry. I try to listen to you and the others. I've tried to be the best I can be." Hunter explained.
"I mean it. The sooner you accept, the sooner we can move on."
Crosshair walked away leaving Hunter stunned and confused. Hunter leaned against the wall and fell to his knees in shock. All he could do was sit there with Crosshair's words running through his head. Echo saw how devastated Hunter looked and he walked over and placed a hand on Hunter's shoulder.
"What's wrong?" Echo wondered.
"Nothing. Just... I just need space right now." Hunter replied.
"Maybe you should go home and lie down. I can have Crosshair...
"No. Let him be."
"Alright, but you really do need to be looked after."
"I don't need anyone to take care of me. I can do that myself. Just let me have some space."
Echo nodded sadly and walked away. Hunter looked around feeling ashamed and angry at his brothers and himself. He could feel these emotions overpowering him so he stood up and walked around the facility aimlessly. It seemed like everywhere he went, people looked at him judging him as if they knew what a horrible person he was. Hunter walked into one of the refreshers and locked the door. He sank to his knees and tried to collect himself, but he couldn't. He was falling apart and he deserved it. He felt tears slide down his cheeks and he punched the wall angrily. He stood up and looked in the mirror and saw that his eyes were already growing red and puffy. He turned on the faucet and cupped his hands under the cold water. He splashed his face washing the tears away, but it only made him numb. He dried his face off and he left the refresher. He walked back to the waiting room and saw his brothers waiting.
"I'm sorry," Hunter whispered quietly. When no one heard him, Hunter felt like he had been stabbed.
All of a sudden, his brothers stood up as a doctor approached.
"Omega will be fine. She's unconscious now, but can see her." The doctor explained. The brothers walked to Omega's room and Hunter stopped them when they reached the door as if he knew what he needed to do.
"Give me a minute alone with her," Hunter asked. The boys didn't understand but they nodded and allowed HUnter to walk into the room alone. Hunter closed the door and sat in the chair beside Omega. He clutched her uninjured right hand and kissed it.
"I'm sorry, Ad'ika. I should have seen it coming. This is all my fault. Although, everything's my fault. I've failed everyone, especially you. All my choices have been wrong and I've hurt all of you and I've made you feel worthless. I...I know my apology isn't good enough and I know that... I that I can never make things right. It's already done. You're all better off without me. AT least you'll be a better family without me. I'm sorry, Omega. I love you always." Hunter whispered tearfully. He kissed Omega's hand again and then laid it back down. He kissed Omega's forehead and opened the door allowing his brothers to rush in and make sure Omega was alright. He smiled softly when Omega opened her eyes and they smiled and asked her questions. Hunter quietly left the room and walked out of the facility. He walked in the cold dark woods as he stripped his armor off piece by piece. He could feel the wind blowing through him and he shivered slightly. He pulled ut his vibroblade and twirled it in his fingers.
Omega looked around the room and was confused. She looked up at her brothers and Echo placed his hand on her shoulder.
"What's wrong? Are you in pain?" Echo wondered.
"No, it's not that. Where's Hunter? I thought he would be here." Omega replied. The brothers looked around and saw that Hunter was missing.
"Where did Hunter go?"
"He didn't say anything to us." Wrecker answered.
"He has been acting unusual lately. Especially after his talk with Crosshair." Tech stated. Echo looked at Crosshair in confusion.
"What did you say to him?" Echo questioned as he walked over.
"I told him the truth. That this was his fault. He should have seen this coming. Every choice he's made since order 66 has been wrong. He's not fit to lead us. That we're afraid to speak against him. That we're better off without him." Crosshair sneered.
"But none of that's true. Maybe it is for you, but not for us." Wrecker answered. "We need him and I'd rather him lead than anyone else."
"He's done his best to lead this squad, this family. With the Republic, he just did as he was told and we followed him. Now... we're on our own. We were soldiers. What we needed was provided for us, but now... we have to earn money and pay for it ourselves with a target on our back. Hunter's had to live with every little issue we have. He constantly worries about us not having enough to buy what we need. I have watched it tear him apart. Do you think we can't talk to him? It's the other way around. He can't talk to us. He's the leader. He's not supposed to feel any of what he feels. He's a failure in his own eyes. Now, you've made him think he's a failure in our own eyes when he's not. Besides, what happened to Omega was not his fault. You may not have heard the noises, but I did and Tech picked it up on his scanner. They knew it was us so they overloaded Hunter's senses. Before he knew what was happening, it was too late. None of us could have known." Echo stated.
"He's probably just somewhere moping. Not like he's going to do anything." Crosshair scoffed.
"You're wrong about that. If I am correct, Hunter was already on the threshold of a mental breakdown. After what you said, there's a risk that he could hurt himself." Tech explained. "He's outside, but I have a feeling, he threw away his tracker. His suit is damaged, he will not survive out there for long. It's one of the coldest nights of the year on ABydoa."
"What if he removed his armor?" Echo wondered.
"I hate to think what would happen. Let us hope all he's done is walk home without his tracker."
"Wrecker, Tech, and I will look for Hunter. Crosshair, you will stay here. You've done enough harm."Echo stated as he shoved past Crosshair.
Crosshair watched his brothers leave the room and he realized that he had hurt Hunter more than Hunter had ever hurt him and he was wrong for that.
The brothers rushed outside and looked around. They found Hunter's tracker and looked around.
"He has to be here somewhere," Tech said.
"I see something in the snow," Echo exclaimed as he rushed over. He picked up a piece of Hunter's armor. Wrecker rushed past him and found another piece. They followed the trail till it ended.
"His blaster is here, but not his vibroblade." Wrecker stated. "Do you think he..."
"Let's not assume anything, Wrecker. There's a lake nearby. He might be there." Echo replied.
They rushed to the lake and saw Hunter's vibroblade and blood on the ground near the banks. They looked out and saw Hunter disappear under the water.
"I've got him." Wrecker exclaimed as he jumped in and swam to Hunter. He grabbed Hunter and swam to the surface. He took a breath of air but noticed that Hunter wasn't breathing. "Come on, Hunter." Wrecker shivered as he carried Hunter to shore. "He's not breathing."
"Lay him down," Tech ordered. Wrecker laid Hunter on the ground and Tech examined him. "He's swallowed a lot of water, but he's alive."
Tech and Wrecker went to work clearing Hunter's lungs and after a few moments, Hunter started coughing and choking on water. Echo pulled HUnter close and Hunter rested his head on Echo's shoulder. Tech looked at Hunter's cuts and looked at Wrecker.
"He needs medical care now. He's far too cold and he's lost a lot of blood." Tech said. Echo grabbed Hunter's hands and looked into Hunter's eyes.
"Hunter, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand." Echo stated. Hunter squeezed Echo's hand weakly. "Look at me." HUnter looked at Echo only for his eyes to flutter shut. "No, come on, Hunter."
"He's shutting down."
Wrecker picked Hunter up and carried him to the medical facility.
"We need a little help here!" Wrecker exclaimed as he rushed into the building. A team of nurses and a doctor rushed over with a gurney and Wrecker laid Hunter down.
"What happened?" The doctor questioned.
"He was attacked. He was drowning in the lake nearby." Echo stated as he walked over.
"That lake is known for being ice cold year-round and full of bacteria. We need to get him into treatment now."
Hunter was rushed back and a nurse came over with towels and warm food and drinks for the brothers. After telling the nurse where they'd be, they walked back to Omega's room. Crosshair stood up when he saw his brothers walk in. When he saw Hunter's armor and blood on Hunter's knife, he felt as though he had ripped his own heart out.
"What have I done?" Crosshair gasped. Wrecker took the blade and washed it off sadly.
"He's alive, but... it's not good. It looks like he took a cold walk through the snow to the lake where he... injured himself many times. He must have heard us coming because... when we got there, we saw his head go underwater." Echo explained cautiously. He knelt beside Crosshair who was ashamed and numb. "I think all of us are afraid right now and worried and we're all hurting deep inside. We've experienced a lot of trauma lately and we've never talked about it as a family. I think all of us... are trying to be strong for each other while struggling to keep our demons locked up. I think they're getting out and they're causing us to lash out and say things we don't really mean. Or feel like failures. I'm not saying it's an excuse for either of you to do what you've done, but... I do think it lead up to what happened tonight."
Crosshair nodded and Echo placed his hand on Crosshair's shoulder.
"He'll be fine, but we can't lash out like this again. It doesn't help anyone." Echo warned. Crosshair nodded and Wrecker grabbed him and picked him up. Crosshair groaned as he realized that he was now wet.
"There should be some dry clothes on the ship. Why don't you two go change and when you come back, we'll go change." Tech suggested. Crosshair and Wrecker went to go change out of their gear and when they returned Tech and Echo left to do the same. They all waited to hear any news about Hunter. Everyone worried for their brother hoping that he would be alright.
Several hours later, a doctor walked in.
"Hunter will be fine, but all his injuries will leave some pretty nasty scars. Was he attacked using a vibroblade?" The doctor questioned.
"Yes, he was." Echo replied.
"Even with bacta, wounds from vibroblades tend to create more severe scars. His lungs collapsed twice and he had several periods of time where he wasn't able to breathe. The bacteria spread quickly and it took us a long time to clear Hunter's lungs of any fluid. He's in a bacta tank right now. His body needs time to heal from the hypothermia and the drowning. We have no idea what kind of damage this has done to his brain." The doctor explained.
"When can we see him?" Tech asked.
"Not till midday at the earliest. You should all get some rest. I'm sure he would not want you all to be exhausted."
The doctor left the room and the batch took his advice.
When it was nearly midday, Omega was well enough to be released. The batch took care of their ship and their gear as they waited to see Hunter. They all waited in the waiting room trying to finish their lunch when a nurse walked out.
"You may see him now. He's sleeping, but I'm sure he'll be very happy to see you when he wakes up." The nurse said. She led Omega and her brothers to Hunter's room and they stopped at the door. Echo looked at Crosshair and nodded.
"You should see him first. You need to make things right." Echo stated. Crosshair nodded and walked in. He saw Hunter in the bed hooked up to some machines. He was ghostly pale and it made his tattoo stand out more, but not in a cool way. Crosshair could see the bacta patches covering Hunter's wounds. He walked over to the bed and sat down in the chair next to it. He placed his hand on Hunter's shoulder and watched Hunter closely.
"I'm sorry. I was wrong, Hunter. I was... so angry and scared. I shouldn't have hurt you. I didn't know this... I'm sorry, ori'vod." Crosshair whispered. Crosshair waited several minutes and soon, Hunter's breathing changed and he started to move. He weakly opened his eyes and shivered. HUnter saw Crosshair beside him. "I'm sorry."
"I heard you." Hunter rasped tearfully. "I'm sorry too. You were right."
"No, I wasn't. You and I know I was wrong. I'm always wrong about people." Crosshair scoffed.
"No, just since..."
"Yeah."
"I... forgive you, Cross."
"But I don't forgive myself."
"I know."
Hunter shivered and whimpered painfully. Crosshair grabbed a blanket and covered HUnter with it.
"I'll get the others." Crosshair said. Crosshair opened the door and Omega and Wrecker rushed in and rushed to Hunter's side. Omega jumped onto the bed and hugged Hunter carefully and he hugged her back.
"You're so warm." Hunter shivered.
"You're still going to feel the effects of the hypothermia and blood loss," Tech warned. Hunter nodded and hugged Omega closer.
"How do you feel? Other than cold." Echo asked.
"Tired. Hurts a little." Hunter replied.
"DO you remember what happened?"
Hunter nodded and looked away shamefully.
"I'm sorry." Hunter apologized.
"We know, Hunter and we forgive you. Next time, tell us when you're hurting. We may be soldiers, but we're family first. Family talks things out and helps each other. We've all been through a lot. We all have demons that we need to talk about. Hiding them only caused us to hurt each other." Echo explained.
"You're right."
"Right now, you should focus on recovering and getting your strength back so we can go home and we won't be taking any missions till each and every one of us is feeling better."
Everyone agreed and when Hunter was well enough to go home, they started the process of talking things out and sharing their demons whether they really wanted to or not.
THE END
As a reminder, I am not currently accepting prompts. Mark your calendars and get your prompts ready because, for the whole month of May, I will be accepting prompts again, but ONLY the month of May.