Heyy there! Been a little while. I apologize about the long wait. Thank you for all of your lovely reviews, story alerts etc. I really appreciate it. Thank you!
If you have the time and want to, please do review. I'm here to improve! Thanks
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing at all.
There was a sudden blinding pain in his chest, and then a pair of brown eyes flew open. Everything at first was just a little too bright, causing the brown eyes to close tightly. Upon reopening them, everything appeared better. Still bright but bearable. It was as clear like water, and the light coming in from the window seemed almost unnaturally bright. There was a strangeness about the room. Everything was perfect. This was what was off about the room. After the dream the boy had had, perfection just appeared odd. It was as he noticed that the boy realised that he'd fallen out of bed and was lying on the cold carpeted floor. Confusion began to settle into his mind. It was familiar and yet it had been so long, that he couldn't believe it in the slightest. The last thing he'd been witnessing was a man beating the crap out of him every couple of days. It was an awful feeling and now he was awaking in what appeared to be his bedroom. It felt like a dream. He just needed to figure out which part had been the dream and which was reality. It had felt so real, the pain had been real, the hunger, the emptiness. This did not feel real.
"Alex! You'd better be getting dressed, you don't want to be late" A female voice called from the bottom of the stairs. Alex jumped up at the sound of the voice. He believed he was alone, that in this apparent dream he was alone in the place he truly wanted to be. He took a moment to steady himself, standing up to fast made him incredibly dizzy. The room was set up differently from how he last remembered it. The bed was smaller, and in the corner near the window. His desk was not right beside the door on the side of his window. Alex rubbed his eyes. This room had to be the real part, what he'd imagined before had to be the dream. 'What a dream' His mind said not wanting to admit the terrible truth that it could well be the other way round. The supposed dream had felt long, like an entire year of his life. In that year he had lost almost everything he held dear. Here in his room, he felt at home, comfortable. Like everything was going to be all right. It was safe, something he hadn't felt in his dream at all.
"Alex! Don't make me come up there" The voice sounded again, clearly beginning to get annoyed at the lack of movement from the boy's bedroom. Alex mumbled something incoherent under his breath. He looked down at himself and then looked at his reflection in the mirror at the end of his bed. Normal. He looked normal. No dark bags under his eyes, no scars, nothing. He looked like a completely normal fourteen year old boy. Or was he fifteen. In the dream he'd been fifteen. Right in that moment he couldn't remember. Alex shrugged and began to get dressed. His uniform was the first thing he thought he should be wearing. Figuring that by late, she'd meant for school. He found himself excited about going to school, that was something he hadn't really done in his dream and he was looking forward to that fact. The brown eyed teen had never thought he'd ever be excited for school.
The entire situation of his dream seemed so surreal he'd been a boy spy. A Teen Spy working for MI6 and going on incredibly dangerous missions, risking his life and facing torture. He'd saved the world on countless occasions in the dream, and that was something he would be proud to say. However that had been the only good part of his dream. It was horrible. How alone he had felt during the dream. How real the loneliness had felt. He'd lost everything and no one had batted an eyelid. It had pretty much been a nightmare.
Walking down the stairs Alex swung the already full school bag on to his back and headed where the morning news was playing, the kitchen. Stepping into the kitchen, Alex had to hold himself back from hugging Jack. During his dream Jack had been killed, and as much as he was aware it had been a dream, he wanted to be sure. Sure that he was not imagining it, that she was actually alive and in front of him. Instead he just stood at the entrance staring at the redheaded woman. Smiling like an idiot who'd just found something he'd lost and missed.
"Wow there Alex, You doing okay? I haven't seen you smile that much in a long while." Jack said in a jovial tone looking round at the young boy in the room. Alex shook his head and sat down. He couldn't stop smiling at her, the joy at seeing her smile was so immense. Her death had been one of the worse parts of the dream. They'd fallen out and she'd left, and she'd still died. In the dream, Alex had blamed himself wholly for her death.
"Bad dream," Alex attempted to explain to her. It didn't really explain it in the slightest but he couldn't exactly explain that he'd lost her in a dream. Or that her death had been his fault. Instead of actually explaining it, he was just happy being with her, and watching her make breakfast like it was just like any other day.
"It's all those video games, I keep telling your parents that they should just take them off you. I mean clearly they aren't good for you." The redhead joked her american twang playing on her words. However what she said confused him. His parents. How was that possible, he lived with his uncle, his parents died when he'd been young. He couldn't believe it, he didn't. This had to be fake. His parents had been dead in the dream, maybe that had been a tiny detail he'd brushed over. But in his dream the boy hadn't really known his parents and that feeling was playing now. He couldn't believe it. His parents. In the dream he'd missed them, Alex never wanted to feel like that again. "Alex! Alex, you sure you're okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"My parents they're alive? They're here?" Alex asked, his voice quiet, young. Like a small child unsure of himself. The redhead gave Alex an odd look before nodding. She had a look in her eyes that said, well duhh.
"Course they are Alex. They'll be having breakfast soon. Why did you think the table was laid for three?" Jack replied, pointing at the table. It was the first time the boy had noticed the two other plates at the table. As if on cue, an older looking man, who looked fairly like his uncle entered the room. A rush of affection for the man entered Alex's brain. Alex closed his eyes tightly and then reopened them. Now there was another woman in the room, and all three adults were staring at him. Alex could not believe his eyes. This felt completely impossible. That dream had been way too real.
"Mum, dad?" His voice was cautious. To which they both replied with a small nod and shared look of confusion. Alex got up from his seat and rushed to his mother, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tightly. Never wanting to let go, but knowing that if this was reality, it would appear to be an odd action. He could feel his mother running her hand through his hair, while she questioned the housekeeper about what was going on. She muttered bad dream.
"Alex baby, what's wrong? You haven't hugged me this tightly since I left you on your first day of primary school." His mother spoke softly removing herself from Alex's hug and looking to Alex with a smile. She felt his forehead. "Everything appears fine, no temperature."
"I'm fine, just a bad dream, a really bad dream." Alex muttered taking a step back from his parents. "I should get to school" Alex couldn't believe this. He didn't want to, if it wasn't real, if this was the dream, he didn't want to leave. Everything he had lost was here in front of him. He didn't want to leave this world. It was more perfect than anything he could've imagined. Before any adult could say anything, Alex grabbed his bag and quickly left the house.
It was second nature the walk to school he knew it like the back of his hand but everything around him appeared different. The birds were louder, the trees appeared greener, the sky was brighter. Alex could hear a small noise in his ear, like a small amounts of gunshot, yelling and the sound of running feet. He just figured it was the sound of someone else walking fairly close to him. He stopped mid step, but the small noise continued. Alex looked round him, no one. Then as soon as it had started, it began to get softer and softer, until it was nothing. All he could once again hear was everything around him. Nothing like the odd sounds of gunshot, like in his dream. Shaking his head slightly, and calling himself crazy, the boy continued walking to school. As he approached the gates, a familiar face approached him. Smiling brightly and looking pleased about something. This was his reality.
"Alex, Hey!" His closest friend Tom greeted him, even before he got close to him. "So, I have the best type of news, you are seriously not going to believe me." Alex just smiled, at least this was completely normal. He however couldn't help but notice that no one was staring like they had in his dream. Apparently he'd not missed any school. Which was good. Saving the world had trumped school which meant his grades in the dream were terrible and the people knew him as the drug addict boy with parent issues. Alex just smiles and walks along side his friend as he goes into detail about his adventures with a certain girl and a certain test that he knows he's aced. Everything feeling great and normal.
As much as Alex likes listening to his friend talk, very quickly he's almost completely zoned out on what is being said. He can here someone call his name, there's more talking in his ear. It's louder this time. Alex glances down at his wrists, there is a warmth on them. As if someone is feeling for a pulse and bandaging something up. His wrist is however bare and without a bandage wrapped around it. It was odd, shaking his head slightly, the noise in his ears stop and Alex focuses on what his friend is actually saying. Alex followed his friend to the first class of the day. Alex shook his head again and sat down next to his friend as the teacher began the lesson, History.
"He was in dream last night." Alex whispered leaning into his friend. Tom looked to him with a look of clear surprise. Clearly finding it weird and funny that Alex had dreamt of a teacher.
"For real? Mr. Loup?" Tom whispered half laughing, attempting to stifle the laughter that threatened to erupt. He took a deep breath, calmed himself and leaned in towards his friend. "Was it a kinky dream?" Tom asked raising an eyebrow before breaking out into silent laughter. Alex looked utterly horrified. As much as his life had been pretty terrible before, this kind of conversation had never appeared. Alex then realised that he was not in his dream where he was a teen spy with the weight of the world on his shoulders, here he was just a teenager. With an immature best friend. It felt perfect.
"You are telling me about this dream" Tom's voice was once again growing distant. He could hear the talking again. Instructions as whispers in his ears. Alex glancing around him, trying to find the source, but the class appeared silent. There was a sharp pain in his head. One like he'd felt in his dream.
"Alex. Alex? Hey Alex!" Tom was calling his name, clearly noticing the change in Alex. Alex put his hands on his head and willed for the pain to go away. He closed his eyes, and each time he did there were voices, commanding him, they were moving, he was lying on something flat. Alex reopened his eyes and stood up, completely unsteady on his feet. Straight away all eyes were upon him. Tom was by his side in seconds, the teacher was telling the class to leave as he made his way to the pupil. Alex was trying his hardest to focus, but he couldn't. There was another sharp pain and with that Alex collapsed onto the floor of the classroom.
The next thing the boy felt was pain. He was looking upwards to the face of someone he didn't recognize. It was no longer the strange reality, this was his dream world that only he'd dreamt about that night. Where he had no one and nothing. There was a man in his line of vision, he was clearly some form of paramedic. He was asking him to stay with him. Alex just wanted to sleep, but the paramedic told him to focus, so he kept his eyes on him. The man asked his name. Alex was pretty sure that he wouldn't be able to reply but didn't see the harm in trying.
"A...Al...Alex. Alex" Alex found himself saying, in a quiet voice. He didn't know where he was, or why he was no longer in the safe classroom with his friends, where his parents and Jack were alive. There wasn't much time to keep thinking about it, as a new wave of the most unimaginable pain hit him, Alex heard himself cry out in pain. He didn't want to be awake for this. Alex closed his eyes, as soon as he did, he heard a mixture of voices. Tom calling his name, the paramedic asking him to stay with them. Alex opened his eyes hoping the nightmare would be over, but it wasn't, he wasn't back in the classroom, he was with the paramedic. Who appeared pretty desparate for Alex to stay awake.
Hearing something about nodding and pain, Alex nodded. The pain was too much, he didn't want to be able to feel anything. He didn't just want it to be over, he needed it to be over. The blissful state he'd been in when he'd awoken in his bedroom was something he wanted more than anything. All of a sudden there was a sharp turn, and an even sharper pain in his chest. Alex couldn't help but cry out and then everything went black.
"Alex!" Tom's voice sounded. "Alex, come on, wake up." There was a tinge of worry in the voice, which was why, Alex began to really work to open his eyes. There was no more pain, but he was still lying on a cold ground. He flexed his fingers and felt his friend and someone else sigh in relief. However, Alex still did not open his eyes. He took a deep breath. He no longer knew which reality was the real one. The one with Tom, and his friends, or the one with the pain, where he had no one.
"Breathe for me Alex, come on. Breathe for me" At this Alex opened his eyes he was sure he was breathing. He looked at the two faces staring down at him. He didn't know if what had just been said was real or fake. Which life it had been from. It didn't make sense. Nothing about this situation made sense to Alex. Alex blinked rapidly several times before begin to sit up.
"Hey, easier there." The second voice, not Tom. Alex looked round to him. The man who looked familiar was smiling warmly, clearly glad that Alex was awake. "Welcome back Alex. You gave us quite a scare" The man said. Alex just nodded. Continuing to sit up, not sure what had happened. Spotting this his friend looked to the teacher before looking back to Alex.
"Are you feeling okay?" Tom asked, clearly nervous. Alex nodded before beginning to get to his feet. He noticed that they were the only people left in the classroom. Alex looked round. It was quiet. There was a distance yelling, but it was faint. Alex couldn't make out what was being said. He looked round to the two left in the room. They were smiling weirdly at him. All knowing smiles. As if they knew some big secret he was not privy to.
"What's going on?" It was the first time during this entire experience that Alex felt like maybe this was the wrong reality. That in fact the one with the pain and the loss was the right one. Alex did not want to believe it, but there was no denying that in all of this it seemed more plausible. This world that he was in. It was too perfect, everything was too of much of something. The lights were bright, everything was more colourful. It was what he wanted, his dream, a perfect normal life without pain or suffering.
"Maybe you should sit down Alex, it was quite a fall." Tom said encouragingly. Motioning to a chair directly behind Alex.
"What exactly happened?" Alex asked, sitting down on the chair closest to him. It didn't answer his questions about where everyone had gone, what they were talking about, why he was seeing two realities. Why he'd felt such pain. More or less what was going on was a mystery. He just wanted some form of answers and the only ones he would actually get were the simple ones, like what had happened from when his head had had started hurting to when he'd woken up on the floor.
"I don't know, one minute were talking the next you go completely pale, and scrunch your eyes closed. You moaned in pain and grabbed your head. I didn't know what to do, so I flagged over Mr. Loup, and then you stood up, and start walking towards the door. I was just about to support you, guide you to sit down you know, and you cried out then collapsed." Tom said, clearly not happy about having to remember what had happened. It was not something he wanted it to happen ever again. Tom took a seat in front of Alex, looking to the teacher hoping he'd say something. "It was scary"
"I got everyone out, and then we tried to wake you. Which you did." Mr. Loup said. Alex looked down at the floor, trying to piece everything together, there was more yelling in the background, the words losing and him were the only ones he could actually make out. It was difficult to make anything out. It wasn't impossible, but that was all. Alex tried to focus on the room in front of him. He closed his eyes and rubbed them. This was a weird day. There was no denying that. He reopened his eyes, and noticed that the room was no longer just the three of them. Jack, and his parents, and three other men that he recognised but didn't know the name of were standing in front of him.
"What's going on?" Alex asked, his voice above a whisper. He was fairly sure that he knew what was going on, but there was no way that he could be certain. In his dream the last thing he remembered was someone punching him hard in his ribs and then in the side of the head. Then everything had gone dark, and he'd awoken on the floor of his bedroom in this strange world. He had the strangest thought in that moment, 'am I dead' his mind asked. He didn't know which was better, being dead, or being alive. He was sure that before when he'd been in the van that had been real, and he'd been alive, so what did this make what he was feeling in the classroom.
"Cub, I think you know" One of the men asked, Alex looked to him. His mind ran through a whole bunch of names, trying to come up with the right one, Snake. Snake, and beside him were Eagle and Fox. Alex felt odd, these men had been terrible towards him when he had met them, but here they were. All smiling. Wolf, Mr. Loup, included.
"We're going to go. You hang in there Alex. You hear me, you hang in there" The man Alex remembered as Fox said. He turned to leave, followed by Snake, Eagle and Mr. Loup. It left Tom, Jack and his parents in the room. Alex was about to speak when Tom just walked up to him patted him on the shoulder and followed the men out the room. Alex was about to tell him to not go, that he needed his friend. He stared at the three adults left in the room, his family.
"I can't do this anymore." Alex heard his voice break as he spoke. Tears rushed to eyes, but Alex quickly wiped them away before any could fall, he hadn't meant to sound so desperate, but the past few months, the past year had been one bad event followed by another, no one could blame for feeling like it was completely hopelss. He looked from each person, he just wanted to apologise to them all for the part he might've played in their death. "I can't"
"Yes you can." His father stated simply. "You have the strength, But you don't actually need to." Alex looked up at his family. Why did have to pick he did good in the world where he was a spy, but he had nothing for him there. He had no one, here he was surrounded by his family and his friends. Why did he give up everything. Why him. He didn't see the fairness.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" Alex found himself saying, he was breaking down fast. He had the choice this world or the one he'd been in. He had to go back, face the world where he had nothing. Since there he was actually needed, and at fifteen he had to admit, he was still pretty afraid of dying. Despite how much he wished for it. "Please, I don't want to. Please"
"Son, the choice is not ours to make. You can come with us, or you can go back. Either way we'll support you. You should consider that there are people who'll miss you in the world." His father stepped forward towards him, lowering himself to Alex's level, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder and smiling at him "Just listen"
"You can't die. You owe us all an explanation. You can get better. Please. You're too young."
"But it hurts. It hurts so much." Alex hated how he sounded like a little boy, young with no knowledge of the world. He also knew that it was hardly his fault, he'd never asked for it and reality it was the biggest factor that wanted him to just go with his parents. At least here, nothing hurt. Back in his world, it hurt. Having nothing and no one.
"It'll get better, it'll get easier" Jack who'd stayed silent up until that point stepped forward she was smiling at him. As if she knew that he'd been fending for himself in the world he was returning to. Alex didn't believe that it would get better. However, he knew while they offered him a choice, he really didn't have one. He couldn't not. There was so much for him to do, he had to keep fighting, so that other people would be safe. His life for the lives of the many. His mother leaned down and kissed him lightly on the top of his head.
Pain erupted from inside his chest. He cried out in pain, but no one made any form of movement. Alex clutched at his chest. He stood up and called to them for help. But no one moved and everything was becoming more and more silent. Alex closed his eyes and felt himself fall, but he hit nothing. There was no hard hit. Nothing. Just silence.
There was a soft beeping. The four army men had set up camp in Alex's room. They were serving as protection and as the people who actually cared that Alex got better. They were in London, but the trip down had been anything but nice. Alex had almost crashed twice. Points where his heart started to give out, Fox had found himself encouraging Alex to stay with them. Telling him that he needed to get better for the sake of the country. That without him there would be no one to stop evil people from trying to destroy the UK or the world. Surprisingly enough for all people that had worked. Now since it was the morning, two days after Alex had been found, the four men had all fallen asleep due to sheer exhaustion. It had been a tough few days.
The young boy could feel his hand was being held by someone. He moved it slightly and as he did this, the hand loosened itself. Wolf had become fairly parental in the past few days. Not wanting anything to happen to Cub. So much so, he'd fallen asleep holding the boy's hand, an attempt to show that they were still there for him. Encouragement. All the army men needed him to wake up. Wolf sat up as soon as he felt the hand move. Alex was waking up. At the thought, Wolf had to stop himself from dancing with joy.
"Alex? Can you wake up for us?" Wolf asked carefully, his voice low so to not wake the others. Though his movement had stirred them slightly. Alex heard the voice and knew he should open his eyes. He did, and felt his eyes hurt as the mass amount of light poured in. He'd been stuck in a dark room for a very long time, this was too much for his eyes. He groaned slightly, and then reopened his eyes. He didn't know where he was. He just knew he was no longer in the room. He looked down at himself. His left arm in a cast. His right badly bruised. He looked around him, and noticed all of K-Unit were sitting, asleep at the side of his bed. This confused Alex, he didn't think they'd care about him. The next thing the boy noticed was the odd contraption that was jammed down his throat making it impossible to speak. He finally noticed Wolf sitting staring at him, clearly pleased to see he was awake. It was all odd for Alex. Nothing made sense, but it felt right. He had the weirdest feeling in side him, like he'd made the right decision. About what he didn't know.
"Thank god." Wolf muttered, smiling happily at the boy before calling the nurse. Cub would get better, he'd make sure of that.