Present Day...
Main POV
I dressed and made my bed in the early hours, finding it too hard to go back to sleep in my own bed, I headed to Wash's room to see him again. Having him hold me in his arms after my nightmare was just what I'd needed and, him coming to find me after one of his, made me feel a lot better about our friendship. I was worried that, after so much time, he wouldn't trust me anymore, he wouldn't be as close with me anymore. But just like the 7 year gap between childhood and me joining the project, nothing had changed.
He wasn't in his room when I got there but I could hear the shower running in his bathroom. I untangled his sheets and folded them back, letting the bed air while I waited for him to get out of the shower. I perched on his desk chair, knees pulled up to my chest. We were broken, but we had each other. At least we had each other. The bathroom door opened and Wash stepped out, towel wrapped around his waist. He looked up and jumped when he saw me and relaxed once he saw it was me.
"You mind if I stay here with you?" I asked and he shook his head.
"You mind staying here with me?" he replied and I smiled softly.
He walked over to his wardrobe and I saw him pull out a pair of boxers and a t-shirt before I turned away. I turned back and he was pulling on his shirt. He threw his towel in the hamper by the door and reached out to me. I got up from my chair and wrapped my arms around him one last time before we went to bed. He climbed in on his side and pulled the blankets back up. I got the light on my way and then scooted in beside him. His arms were around my waist and I relaxed into the pillow. Maybe York was right. You were meant to sleep beside someone you love, and it wasn't just a ploy to get Carolina into bed with him.
I closed my eyes, enveloped by a warm darkness. It was nice, to feel the nothingness again. I wasn't numb, but I didn't feel what I had when I'd been dreaming, and that was what I'd always wanted. I blinked, sunlight was piecing through the midmorning air. Another night of dreamless sleep thanks to York's theory. I'd shifted, sometime in my sleep and I no longer had my back to him. Instead our legs were in a tangle and his arms were wrapped tightly round my waist. His head rested on my chest and mine was on the warm pillow. I smiled down at his soft, blond hair. He'd let it dry naturally after coming out his shower last night and wasn't styled into the spikes he normally had it up in. I busied myself carding my hands through it, twirling the strands around a finger. He hummed softly in his sleep and I traced his jaw with my hand. He was so cute when he was sleeping, he became a lot less surly and a lot more like the soft sweet David of our childhood. He let out a groan and buried his face further into my chest.
"Why are you awake so early?" he grumbled.
"You're starting to get greys," I replied, ignoring him and tracing the slightly white hairs at the side of his ear.
"Don't tell me that," he muttered, keeping his eyes shut. "Very rude awakening."
"You're getting old," I teased, giggling.
"You're only two years younger, we're both getting old," he replied and I started thinking back to when I'd started the project, it had been over 10 years. And I think I'd spent more time out of it than I had in it.
"I know," I whispered. "I'm almost thirty, you're almost thirty two." He let out a noise of pain. "You know," I said softly, a little pang of sadness settling in my chest. "I'm about the same age my dad was when I was born. How did he have it all figured out?"
"Wizardry," he replied. "No philosophical discussions first thing in the morning. Either go back to sleep or bother someone else if you're bored. And no more telling me I'm old either."
I chuckled, same old Wash. Sweet when asleep, grumpy as soon as he was awake. I slipped out of his arms and off the bed, watching him settle himself amongst the pillows instead. I wandered through to the base's kitchen, it was nearly noon and I hadn't seen or heard from any of the other base's occupants. I walked out of the mess and into the rec-room where Caboose was sitting in front of the coffee table, quietly drawing with cartoons on in the background. Tucker was on the couch lazing about, not paying much attention.
"Morning," I said and he lifted his arm off his head to look up at me.
"Hey," he said gently. "How'd you sleep? I didn't want Caboose to wake you so I brought him through here this morning when I heard him get up. Figured after last night you'd need it."
"Thanks," I nodded. "But you look dead, you stayed out late and then got up early. That can't have been easy."
"I've done the no sleep thing before," he told me. "I was a single dad for a while, you get used to it."
"I.. I didn't know," I stuttered. I didn't know anyone who was a parent, just my dad and he was gone now. Unless you counted the Director, but he was a bad example and we're just going to pretend he doesn't exist in that way. "That must have been difficult. North and I talked about being parents, but things just don't always pan out the way you expect them to."
I looked down, thinking of my now ex, fiancé. I kept hoping while I was searching that if I kept trying, I'd find him. I was trying all this time to get back to him. But it was all in vain, as Wash had told me. They were all gone. I frowned, why had it turned out like this? I thought back over my life, all the choices I'd made, could it have gone any differently? Was my fate really my own making?
"What are you thinking about over there?" Tucker asked, pushing himself up off the couch.
"This just wasn't where I saw my life going," I replied. He snorted.
"Dude same," he said, "Come on, let's get some food going. I made Caboose breakfast but that was a few hours ago now and you need to eat too."
Washington POV
The spot in the bed beside me was empty now, I vaguely remembered telling Dee to either go back to sleep or to leave, but I hadn't really meant it. It was warmer now, indicating that it was later in the day. I pushed myself up out of the bed, unable to ignore the pressure on my bladder anymore even if I wanted anymore sleep. I staggered through to the bathroom, feeling much needed relief. I stared at myself in the mirror as I brushed my teeth. I wasn't getting greys. I leaned in closer and fingered my sideburns. These were simply lighter blond hairs. Damn that woman.
I spat the green foam into the sink and rinsed it away, headed for the mess. I was surprised I'd been able to sleep this long. Usually I'd have heard Caboose by now. Maybe Newbie was entertaining him. She seemed to like him for some reason. I could hear giggling, that was a promising sign. I walked through the hallway to the mess and paused in the doorway. Newbie was perched on the kitchen counter, Tucker stood beside her. She was laughing at something someone had said, and he was laughing too, looking at her the same way North used to. Damn him.
"You know, that was my shirt," I said, trying to make light conversation despite how angry I felt.
"Was," Newbie chuckled. "I've had it this long, you really think you're getting it back anytime soon?"
"Maybe it was all a part of my plan," I told her. "Fake my own death, lure you here, take my shirt back."
"Very cunning," she giggled. "Not going to work though."
She handed me a ready activated MRE and I groaned in appreciation, I was suddenly so hungry. I dipped my fingers in, tossing the heating pouch into the trash and pouring the contents straight into my mouth. She giggled lightly and I turned to grin at her before faltering, oh, she was laughing at something else. Something Tucker was doing. Damn him.
Main POV
"Hey you guys," I heard a guy whine and looked up. It was the fat guy who'd asked who I was a few days ago. He was stood there in bright orange armour with his helmet under his arm, panting and sweaty.
"Hey," I replied and Tucker turned to me, grinning.
"Come with us," Tucker told me and pulled me off the kitchen counter. He led me outside where there was a thinner guy in maroon armour ordering around a guy in bright pink armour and another wearing purple. They were all stood around a wooden bed frame with a mattress on top, still made. I raised an eyebrow.
"What?" I asked.
"Told you I was good at poker," Tucker taunted and I started laughing.
"You know I wasn't serious, right? I was just messing with you," I said and he laughed.
"You mean we carried this across the canyon for nothing?" the orange one groaned, sounding incredibly pissed off.
"No I'll still take it," I said laughing. "How come you brought it across canyon like this anyway?"
"Sarge likes to punish Grif when he loses at poker," the maroon one explained. "It wasn't this neat when we got here but Donut decided to make the bed every time we put it down for a break."
"Presentation is everything Simmons, especially when giving gifts," the pink one told me. "Alright everyone, let's bend over and get to work."
There was a collective groan and I started giggling again, these guys were ridiculous. I followed the guys and Tucker through the base as they tilted the frame every which way was necessary to get it into my bedroom. Tucker ducked in first to pull out the old, smaller bedding and shoved it down the hallway out of the way.
"What the hell is going on?" I head and jumped over bits of blankets and pillows, headed for the door.
"I may have bet with Tucker he wasn't this good at poker and this was the prize," I explained to Wash who was standing looking unimpressed in the hallway.
"What?" he asked, looking amused.
"He was bragging last night when I went for a walk that he was amazing at poker and that if there was anything I wanted I should let him know," I explained. "And I thought he was an idiot and named Sarge's bed thinking there was no possible way he'd be able to pull it off."
"Yeah," Wash sighed. "You'll learn it about these guys. They might be a ragtag team of idiots, they're always capable of pulling off the impossible."
"Kind of impressive, isn't it," I smiled and him and he groaned.
"You have no idea the shit they've put me through," he said and I giggled.
Once the bed was in my room the Red team went to our rec room to hang out with Tucker and Caboose, and Wash went off god knows where. I was shoving my old bed further down the hallway, trying to figure out where to put it. With the stories I'd heard about injuries, this base could really use an infirmary or something, maybe I could make one with one of the disused rooms.
I heard someone clear their throat. I turned to the sound of the noise. It was one of the Red guys. The purple one sidled up to me and I raised an eyebrow at him. If I remembered correctly, purple were the red and blue medics. Great. What did he want?
"Hey, I'm Medical Officer Frank DuFresne, but the others just call me Doc," he introduced cheerily. "I thought I'd come and say hi since you'll be staying in the canyon for the foreseeable future."
"Right," I nodded. "I'm New Hampshire."
"You uh, got another name, like a nickname or something, something I can call you if we're familiar?" he asked.
"Newbie is fine," I sighed. I hated that nickname, I know I'm New Hampshire, but I always thought people used it because I was the new person on the team. I only let my friends call me that. And I didn't want random medics calling me that. But I also didn't want to tell him my real name either.
"Was that all you wanted, to introduce yourself?" I asked as we stood in awkward silence. He looked like he wanted to ask me something but was worried about me flying off the handle and beating the shit out of him. "What's you're deal, you're acting like I'm gonna bite your head off."
"We've been warned not to piss you off," he answered honestly. "And I've also dealt with Freelancers before. You guys.. well, you've always shown up, scared the shit out of us, and either tried to kill us or taken us off on scary missions where other people try to kill us."
"Well," I shrugged. "The project's over now, so I doubt I'll be leading any missions any time soon. But I will murder you if you piss me off."
"Good to know," he said. I was only joking but he seemed like the type that couldn't cope with that. Oh well.
"So, what do you want?" I asked again, losing my patience. I wanted to be in my room, rearranging the furniture or writing in my journal or something. Anything other than this.
"Well," he paused. "You're the new resident in the canyon and I thought it was probably time now you've settled someone gave you a physical. Make sure you're fit and healthy and you know, we don't know you, you don't know us, gotta make sure no one's carrying anything or has any sort of ailment you know.."
"No," I replied simply. No physicals. I don't do physicals. Not anymore. I saw the medical team at the project only when absolutely necessary. I wasn't going to voluntarily let some strange man fondle me in a backwater base in the middle of buttfuck nowhere.
"Well I just think that.."
"No," I said again more firmly.
"Why don't you want to.."
"I SAID NO," I yelled at him and stormed into my bedroom closing and locking the door behind me.
I put the lid on my pen, feeling a little better now I'd written about the last few days in my journal. I didn't know why but for some reason writing everything down made everything seem a bit clearer, a little easier to deal with. Even if I never looked at the pages again, it was out of my head. I fingered the fresh pages, thinking about how many pages I'd filled over the years.
I walked over to the bookshelf, running my hands over all the older copies, I took them everywhere with me. I had ever journal entry I'd ever written since I'd started writing them. I wonder what people would think if future archaeologists or historians found them and read through them all. I wonder if they would think child me was a dumb asshole, or if teenage me should have cut Dad more slack. Would they think I should be over this by now? Back to the old me? Who even was the old me? I don't think I could ever go back. I missed the hope I used to hold. I wondered if I'd find it, flicking through the pages of my old journals.
I turned around and caught myself in the mirror attached to the wardrobe door across the room. I walked up to it and looked at myself. I wasn't so upset about the scars on my face anymore, the replaced teeth that weren't quite the same as my real ones. I ran my thumb over the tips of my fingers, the nails had grown back in years ago but I still remember the feeling of them being ripped out. The burn when dirt would get into the holes left behind.
I turned to the side, spying more scars creeping up my back. I frowned, I barely had an untouched patch of skin now. I turned back around, facing the mirror and running my hands over the fading bullet scar on my lower left side. Even my hands had little silver scars across them. I should stop messing around and get dressed, instead of standing naked in front of someone else's mirror.
Warm arms slipped around my waist, and a breathy kiss was pressed to my neck. I looked up in the mirror, away from my war wounds and up at the blonde who was resting his head on my shoulder. I reached up to ruffle the slightly wet strands as my man stood behind me with just a towel wrapped around his waist. I leaned back into him and hummed contently. I never felt safer than when I was in his arms.
"You look beautiful today," he murmured, kissing down my neck and across my shoulder.
"Shut up," I shook my head.
"I'm serious," he told me, nibbling a spot he knew I liked, making me gasp. His hands slipped away from my waist and down to my legs. He gripped the skin my my thighs and continued his one man assult across my neck. He sucked a spot behind my ear, making me moan before he continued speaking. "If you need some extra convincing cutie," he pulled me closer to his hips and I could feel the rock hard erection pressing into my ass. "I'll be happy to help." he let out a growl and I giggled, trying to tug away from him as he pulled me back, peppering my face with kisses.
"We have time," I agreed easily. I spun around in his arms, reaching for the towel. "Feel free to start that convincing any time."
"Hey listen I know you said.." I jumped out of my flashback to see Doc standing in the doorway and I growled in frustration.
"No," I told him. "No medicals now fuck off before I lock that door again."
"What's your problem with medicals?" he asked. "Is it the no clothes thing or... because we can work around that."
"I don't have a problem with exposed skin," I told him. "I just don't like medicals, now leave me alone."
I pulled some sneakers on and headed out of the base, that is, once I was sure I wasn't going to run into the Purple People Eater anytime soon. Another thing I learned from York 'the great therapist' was running when I was emotional. If I was ever upset or angry I ran, and kept running until I felt better. He always used to talk about runner's high. You might feel like shit after you run but if you give it a bit, you feel really good after. Our bodies are designed to reward us for good practices, we get more energy from foods that are good for us, we get a rush of endorphins after sex and when we exercise, our bodies like it so they give us a boost. Or so he said anyway.
I could feel beads of sweat running down my neck, my hair swishing around me in the pony tail I'd tied it up in. My lungs burned, but it didn't feel quite enough. I decided on another lap of the bases. I knew the sun was setting and it must be pretty late, the others must be wondering where I was. I'd been ignoring them all since Doc had visited yesterday and then again today. Seemed like he was determined to get my clothes off one way or another. Maybe I could ask Wash to come with me, explain that I wasn't getting a physical, that I didn't need one. He knew my aversion and would have my back without asking questions.
I ran back to base, feeling the sweat soaking through my clothes more. I felt gross and needed a shower. I hated being this sweaty, it always made me remember being unable to get the grime off my skin. Made me think about them touching me, never being able to feel clean again. I shuddered as the sun finally set and I ran back through the base doors. I tore past whatever figure was in the shadows there, not caring who I ran past and went straight for the bathroom. I felt gross.
I threw myself inside, closing the door quickly behind me and started taking off my clothes. I kicked off my shoes and all my clothes were in a pool on the floor. I headed for the shower and turned it on quickly, heating it up to scalding temperatures and climbing in. My golden skin went red and steam filled the room, I let out a shaky breath. I'm okay.
"You're okay," I told myself as I leaned towards the shower wall, facing the grimy tiles. "Calm down. You're okay. Calm down."
There was a knock and the door and I jumped. I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I am okay. I pushed off the shower wall and turned down the water's temperature. I'm okay. The knock sounded again.
"Yeah?" I called, trying to keep my voice steady.
"You okay Newbie?" I heard Tucker yell.
"Yeah," I said, not particularly convincingly.
"Listen, it's not my business. I know that. But I'm here," he told me.
"Well I'm in here, so if you want to talk about it, it's going to have to be later," I yelled and I heard him chuckling.
"Could always join you in there," he said. "But I'll see you when you come out, we can chat if you want."
I didn't. I wanted to not feel like this. I wanted this chapter of my life over. I wanted to live my life free from fear. Free from these memories. Maybe I did want to talk about it. I sighed and turned the water off, grabbing a towed and drying myself off a little before heading back to my room to get dressed. I pulled on some clothes, not paying much attention to what I was throwing on.
I wandered around the base, looking for Tucker. He'd never actually told me where he'd be if I wanted to talk to him. I padded across the floor in my bare feet, the cold ground calming. I reached his bedroom door and knocked softly. It opened a few moments later and Tucker stared down at me. His dreads were loose around his face instead of pulled up out of the way like they usually were.
"I didn't think you'd actually come," he told me honestly.
"Neither did I," I told him.
"You uh... wanna come in?" he asked and I shook my head.
"Can we go to the roof?" I asked and he nodded. He stepped around me and closed the door behind him, walking in front of me as we made our way to the roof ramp. I perched on the edge by a large piece of wall and sighed, staring up at the night sky. It wasn't fair.
"I'm not going to give it to you, you might as well give up now. I'd never sell out like that," I said, licking the blood off my newly split lip. Not that it did much, fresh blood dropped down to the spot I'd just wiped clean.
"You really think you still have a choice, little princess?" he asked, head cocked to the side. He held my jaw in his hands, holding my head up to look at him as I no longer had the strength to hold it up myself. He smirked while I winced as he thumbed the cut, calloused fingertip rough on the soft skin. "If you wanna get cut up so unnecessarily, have it your way."
"You know I don't," I turned my head to the side to spit out some blood. "I know I don't have a choice. I have to keep my mouth shut."
"You seem to be running it just fine," he told me. He gestured to the armed guards either side of me who released the chains holding me up by my shackles. I dropped to the dusty ground, dirt getting into the fresh cuts. I let out a cry of pain as the drop bruised my naked knees. He grabbed me by my shoulder, dragging me over to the centre of the room.
"But I think I can figure out a better use for it," he told me.
I heard the noise of a zipper as I tried to push myself up out of the dirt. I looked up in shock as he was standing in front of me, fisting his cock with a smirk. My lower lip trembled. Don't cry. My upper lip curled up around my teeth. No. He wasn't going to do this. If he puts it in my mouth, I'm gonna bite it off. He smirked, as if knowing what I was going to do, he made another gesture to the guards and then I heard the clicking of the safety being removed from two handguns.
"You bite down, it'll be the last thing you ever do," he told me. "Now be a good girl, and relax that mouth of yours. We can stop for two reasons, one, I'm done or two, you decide to tell me that password. Got it?"
I stared at him. He frowned, looking at me expectantly. I wasn't going to play along, I wasn't his little play thing. And I was seriously thinking about biting down. They'd never get the password then. But if I did, I'd never see my friends again, and I knew they were coming. My head snapped to the side. I felt the ache in my neck from the pain of being pushed so quickly before I felt the sting on my cheek. He'd just smacked me.
"I said, got it?" he demanded. My jaw wobbled for a moment. I looked back at him, unable to reach up to the spot of impact or I'd fall on my face, my arms shaking and barely supporting me. "Never mind, you'll soon learn."
He grabbed me by my hair and yanked me forward. I felt it hit the back of my throat and I choked, trying not to puke. I could barely breath, tears welled up in my eyes and I tried not to panic. I couldn't breath. I shook on my arms, barely able to stay upright. My knees burned as I was being jerked back and forwards across the concrete. I gasped, trying to figure out what to do. Don't bite down. I wanted to scream but no sound came out. I wanted to demand he stop, to throw him away from me, but I couldn't.
"It's been years," I told Tucker eventually. I reached a hand up to my throat, I could still feel him there. I looked up at the purple sky, thousands of stars and I didn't recognise a single one. I rolled my shoulders. "Just over a decade. And I still can't forget."
"Maybe you shouldn't," Tucker told me. "I know it's painful and you'd rather forget it, whatever happened to you. But maybe you need to let go, not forget. Find a way you can accept what happened to you, and find a way to get past it."
"I know," I nodded. "And I wish I could get past this. But I still feel like I'm choking. I can't do anything without remembering what happened. I think I was close once, I was almost free. My team worked really hard with me to help me. But one by one they dropped out of my life. Some left the project, some died and then I was marooned in the fucking desert."
"Why do you think it's all coming back now?" Tucker asked. I shook my head. I didn't now.
"Wash," I said. And then I thought about it a little more. "I guess it's because I finally stopped. I've been consumed by finding them, trying to get back to my family. And then after years of searching, and finally finding Wash. I think either stopping and finally thinking about something else did it. Or being back with someone who was there."
"You feel like you're right back at square one?" he asked and I shook my head. I was doing okay. I was scared, I was broken, but I was doing just fine.
"I think I'm doing okay," I told him. He smiled softly at me.
"I think so too," he told me.
Eventually, he walked me back to my room and I looked at the large empty bed. I hadn't slept too well since I'd been in bed beside Wash. Maybe it wasn't York's theory, maybe I just needed to sleep knowing someone had my back. I turned to Tucker, he smiled softly at me, waiting as if he knew I had something else to say.
"Will you stay with me for a bit longer?" I asked and he nodded. He followed me inside and I perched on the side of the bed. "I'm tired but I'm a bit, wired, you know?"
"Yeah, I get it," he told me and perched on the other side. "I can stay until you fall asleep if you want."
I nodded with a small smile, sliding under the covers and relaxing into the pillows. Tucker sat beside me, legs stretched out in front of him, shoes hanging off the side. He rested one hand over the other on his lap and relaxed into the blankets. I looked up at him, he seemed relaxed, just as lazy as he did when he was laying on the couch while Caboose coloured. I could feel myself slipping in and out. A warm feeling sitting in the pit of my stomach, rather than the dread I'd felt earlier. Yeah, I just needed someone to watch my back.
I lay in the grass, sun shining on my face as I held my hands behind my head. I sat up again, starting to feel the burn in my muscles as I did. I lay back in the grass again, breathing out easily. I pushed myself up, abs starting to struggle as I did. I rolled onto my side, resting for a second before I lay stomach down on the ground. I spread my arms out and pushed up out of the grass. I lowered myself down, pushed myself up. Over and over and only paused when I saw purple boots in front of me. I faltered for a moment before sighing, resting on my knees and sitting up.
"Somebody better be dying," I grumbled.
"You could be," he replied. "And we'd never know because you won't get a medical."
"I like surprises," I countered and stood up in the grass, heading back towards the base. What did I do to deserve my purple stalker? I was good. Enough...
He didn't follow, thank god and I made my way to the rec-room, slumping down into the sofa. How did Tucker laze around on this all day? It was like laying on a bed of rocks. This thing was worse than the one back at the project and I'm pretty sure there was something growing on that. It was strangely green and glowing but even Wash couldn't identify it with his extensive plant knowledge. Still found myself laying on it after a night of heavy drinking though.
I blinked awake. I had finally lost it. That had to be it. I looked around with my eyes, too scared to move my stiff neck. The ceiling above me was beige and there was harsh fluorescents illuminating it. The walls around me were also beige instead of the dingy brick walls I'd been surrounded by every other time I'd woken up. The room felt warm, I felt warm, I wasn't shivering. My skin didn't sting or feel grimy. I blinked. Was this a dream?
"Hey," I head beside me and jumped at the sound. "Easy baby, it's just me..."
I looked up and couldn't clearly see the face hovering above me. There was a blurry peach face surrounded by a net of gold. Blue eyes stared down at me. She looked familiar, I was comfortable not scared. I knew her, she looked after me.
"Mom," I murmured. I nodded to myself. I was okay, I was safe. I closed my eyes again, I was tired.
Not every time I'd woken up in a hospital bed was bad. I was only so scared of physicals because they reminded me of the capture. All I needed to do was start associating them with the better times rather than the torture.
I felt like I was floating. I remembered I was here for some reason. I'm pretty sure it was a bad reason and I was going to be in trouble, but I felt so soft, so warm. I rolled my head to the side, my dad was sitting in the chair beside me, head resting on his fist, snoring lightly. I smiled at him. My dad was here. I looked around the room, there were a few machines with wires the lights were low. This wasn't any place I'd been before.
"Dad?" I asked and he jerked awake. He looked worried for a second before he saw me staring up at him and he smiled softly.
"Hey sweetie," he greeted. "You okay?"
"Where are we?" I asked.
"The hospital," he told me, sitting forward. "You broke your arm. You got back from surgery a couple of hours ago. You feeling okay?"
"I feel floaty," I told him.
"Floaty?" he smiled.
"And a little sleepy," I admitted, yawning lightly.
"Okay sweetie, you go back to sleep," he told me. "You feel anything other than floaty you wake me, aright?"
I nodded and watched him sit back in his chair, he smiled at me one more time and I smiled back. My eyes felt so heavy. I needed sleep. I closed them and relaxed into the pillow. I would be okay, my arm might hurt tomorrow, but my dad was here.
I opened my eyes from the small nap I was having because I felt like someone was watching me. Looking at the foot of the couch I saw Doc standing there. I jumped, it was like something out of a horror movie.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I demanded and threw myself up off the couch, running out of the room. I headed out of the base and ran up to the roof. I didn't care if I couldn't escape him up here, if he did follow, I'd shove him off.