Hal's heart pounded in his chest so hard that he was certain it could be heard from a mile away.
But he soon found that the fear that seemed to consume him was replaced with anger. Boiling, raging anger. His mind flashed with all the things that the aliens had done. Everything they had put him through, put his family through.
Hal heard Tom stirring from somewhere behind him, moaning slightly.
Hal gritted his teeth until he couldn't feel his jaw anymore. The anger inside him began to overwhelm him, and he thrashed against the restraints furiously, ignoring the blinding pain that ripped through his body.
"Gahhhhhhaggh!" Hal roared, the veins in his neck pulsing out furiously as he desperately thrashed against the restraints holding him down. The whole room had fallen silent now, the kind of silent that made your skin crawl.
Hal looked to Maggie quickly, still struggling against his restraints, but he saw that she was frozen, her body frighteningly still. Her neck was craned up, watching Karen's dim figure closely, and her hands were curled into tight, threatening fists at her side.
Tom now seemed to be slightly awake and aware of the situation, and he called out to them. "Hal, Ben?" His voice was frantic, and rushed.
Hal slowly began to settle down, his strength waning significantly. He breathed out heavily and looked back to where Karen stood at the foot of his table. She lifted her hand and rested it gently on Hal's boot. Hal flinched, his eyes flicking with anger.
"Hal, you've been a bad boyfriend, you know that?" Karen said, her voice almost playful. "I mean, here I am, remaining faithful to you, after ALL THIS TIME, but you… You jump into bed with the first cute biker you come across as soon as I'm gone. It's shameful, really."
Karen slowly stepped to the side of Hal's bed, her hand still firmly rested on his boot. He watched her with absolute caution as she took a few short steps closer to him, her hand slowly dragging up his leg.
"I have missed you so much, Hal. All those patrols we ran together, just the two of us. The feeling of your hand in mine, your lips pressed to mine." Karen's voice was almost innocent, but it was slowly rising with each word. Hal cringed as her hand reached his thigh. She hesitated for a moment, her hand tracing circles on the top of his leg.
"All I've wanted is to feel all of that again. I thought we could have that, once I put the bug in you. I thought you would want to help me then, to side with me and help me do what I had to do. I wanted you to give me the information I needed so we could finally be with each other again. But you just keep pulling further and further from me. I only want to be with you, Hal." Karen stopped now, just inches from Hal's sweating head. She raised her hand to his face, stroking his cheek softly, her head cocked to the side as she looked down upon him.
"Get away from him!" Tom yelled, now fully aware of the situation. Hal turned his head from her as best he could, and he caught a glimpse of Pope struggling to break free.
Karen froze as Hal recoiled from her touch. Her jaw tightened and she pulled her hand away quickly. "But we don't always get what we want, now do we, Hal?" Karen finished, the fury evident in her voice.
Hal turned to face her reluctantly, his breathing hard and erratic as the anger inside of him boiled.
Karen smirked at him, then kissed the palm of her hand. She let her tongue run up her hand as she pulled it from her face. She pressed the wet palm to Hal's forehead and rubbed it harshly down to his chin, her hand lingering at his lips for a moment.
Hal ripped his head away quickly, spitting at her as he did so. She smirked again in response, before turning on her heels and stepping slyly to Maggie's table.
Hal immediately thrashed, his body colliding fiercely with the tight straps draped over his body. "Get away from her!" He growled, his voice low and dark. Tom yelled something incoherent from behind them, his table rattling as he struggled against the tight restraints.
Karen ignored Hal and Tom and continued to Maggie's side. Maggie was tense and rigid as she lay defenseless on the cold table, but she showed no emotion on her face as Karen approached her.
Pope growled angrily as he failed yet again to break free of his restraints, and he glanced over at Hal, who was also struggling relentlessly to escape. Even in the dark setting, Pope could see the determination and fury on Hal's face as Karen leaned down to Maggie's face.
Karen leaned in close to Maggie's face, a gnarly grin settled on her twisted features. Maggie struggled angrily to turn away, but Karen grabbed her roughly by the cheeks and forced her to remain where she was.
Maggie met Karen's eyes easily, a scowl on her face. Karen opened her mouth as if to speak, but stopped, cocking her head to the side. She leaned in closer to Maggie, her head hovering just above her chest. She seemed to listen for a moment, and then a devilish smile spread slowly across her face.
"She's scared, Hal." Karen said slowly, sounding cheerful.
Hal stopped struggling, pain glazing over the rage in his eyes for a moment. He swallowed tightly, looking to Maggie quickly. She was glaring straight at Karen, her eyes never faltering.
Karen turned back to Hal, her face beaming. "She's absolutely terrified. Practically shivering with fear." Karen took a step away from Maggie, her eyes still locked with Hal's. "Maggie, Maggie. Not so strong now, is she Hal?" Karen chuckled a little, sounding so unfamiliar to Hal.
"Now…" Karen started slowly, walking around Maggie's table and bending over. When she stood again, she was holding what appeared to be a long stick. She twirled it slightly, turning it over and over in her hands.
"I know what Maggie's afraid of. But what about you, Hal?" She walked over to Hal, almost strutting. She held the stick a little higher, and the tip of it suddenly glowed a fierce blue as it crackled loudly. Hal flinched, but kept his gaze steady on Karen.
Then, Karen thrust the stick into Hal's side harshly, the impact alone painful. He felt an electric shock rush inside of him quickly, and he howled.
"Agghhhgghah!" He felt his chest radiating with a pain so powerful he couldn't breathe. He screamed and growled in pain, his voice cracking and shaking. He could only vaguely make out the pleading screams of Maggie, his father, and even Pope.
Karen slowly pulled the stick back, leaving Hal choking for air, his face contorted into one of agony. Karen watched him, curiosity filling her demented eyes.
Hal choked and gagged with each breath he took, but he managed to smile spitefully at Karen.
"Is that… The... Best you… Got...?" He panted out, laughing weakly.
Maggie felt her heart soar at Hal's resistance to give Karen what she wanted: his fear. Even when he was in so much pain, and when he had to be terribly frightened, he still managed to put on a brave face and fight back.
Tom watched his son, a mixture of pride and pain filling his sad eyes. He was so proud of his son for having the strength to fight back, after everything that had happened. But he was screaming on the inside, his heart breaking as he watched the excruciating pain his boy was forced to endure.
Karen's face remained cool, but in her eyes there was a flicker of doubt and fear. She gritted her teeth and turned so fast Hal could barely track her movement. Without any hesitation, Karen jabbed the stick into Maggie. Maggie released a heartbreaking shriek of agony, her body shaking as the angry bolts jolted through her.
Hal jerked against the restraints with all the force he had, screaming furiously. He felt the straps dig roughly into his chest and arms as he tried to force his way through, and he felt small streams of warm blood roll down his sides and wrists as they dug deeper and deeper into the skin.
"Maggie! Maggie, it's okay! Just listen to my voice, Maggie! Hear my voice!" Hal screamed, his voice strong and reassuring. He kept thrashing about, ignoring the ropes that continued to rip into his flesh, and he heard Tom and Pope yelling out to Maggie as well. He felt the ropes loosening slightly, and this motivated him even more.
Maggie's screams began to fade off slowly, despite Karen still thrusting the stick into her body.
"Maggie, stay with my voice!" Hal yelled, finally managing to break one of his arms loose. He payed no mind to the heavy flow of blood that pulsed from the thick wound in his wrist.
Karen seemed lost in her own little world of destruction and malice. She had a wild, evil grin on her face as she watched Maggie shaking violently with each bolt.
Hal had never had so much adrenaline flow into his veins at one time. He felt no pain, no weakness. All he felt was an overwhelming need to get to Maggie at that exact moment.
He wasn't sure how, but with the one hand he had to use, he managed to free himself. He made no hesitant moves. As soon as he was completely free of the bonds, in one swift movement, he jumped from the table and rushed Karen.
He grabbed her ratty ponytail and jerked her back quickly, causing the stick to fall from her hands. Maggie lay unconscious on the table, her body dreadfully still.
Hal yanked Karen back enough that he was able to reach her throat, and he grabbed it roughly, lifting her slightly before slamming her powerfully into the ground.
Karen choked, her eyes fluttering weakly. Hal lifted his foot to slam on her head, but he stopped suddenly as his eyes caught sight of what he had previously failed to see: a Skitter lurking in the shadows.
Hal had no time to react, no time to move or duck. He was defenseless.
The Skitter jumped through the air at Hal, releasing a low hissing screech. It slammed into Hal, and he felt a sharp, agonizing pain spread through his shoulder and into his chest. He choked, slightly, a small pained sigh escaping his lips. He glanced down and saw that the Skitter's claw was wedged deeply into the upper part of his chest, just below his left shoulder.
"Hal!" Tom screamed, his voice shaking with fear and rage.
Hal coughed weakly, feeling a small amount of blood rise from his throat and seep into his dry mouth.
The Skitter pulled its claw out quickly, backing away from Hal.
Hal fell to his knees weakly. His vision was becoming blurry, and he felt numb everywhere. The only thing he truly felt was the fast, heavy flow of blood that swam down his body, soaking his shirt immediately.
He didn't fall over, he didn't pass out. Instead, Hal rested on his knees, his arms dangling weakly at his sides.
Time seemed to stop. He didn't notice the Skitter pulling Karen's limp body from the room, leaving them alone momentarily. He didn't notice that Pope had also managed to free himself, and that he was now kneeling down in front of Hal, uncharacteristically concerned. He didn't notice him leaving his side to free Tom of his bonds, or when they both returned to his side. He didn't notice the tears flowing down Tom's cheeks, didn't hear his frantic questions.
He didn't notice Pope pulling off his over-shirt and wadding it up tightly, attempting to stop the bleeding in Hal's chest. He didn't notice Tom pulling him gently back into his chest, holding him tightly. Hal felt disconnected from his body. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.
Hal felt himself fading into the darkness too quickly. He struggled to keep his eyes open, and he couldn't hear Tom and Pope urging him to stay awake. He blinked his heavy eyes towards where Maggie still lay, resting his tired gaze on her hand.
Hal struggled to do something as simple as lift his hand from his lap, but he found enough strength to reach out to her now.
His hand scraped against the back of hers weakly before he found her fingers and laced his own through them. He felt so tired. He couldn't help but let his eyes close.
"Hey, Prince Charming, stay with us." Pope said firmly. He felt a twinge of something in his chest, sadness maybe, as he saw Hal weakly reach for Maggie's hand and hold it as his eyes closed.
Hal was a mess, Pope knew it. He wasn't sure how long he would last with a wound like this. Judging from the small amount of blood Hal had coughed up, Pope figured his lung was slowly filling with blood. Pope was fairly certain he could stop the bleeding on the outside, or at least slow it down, which would buy him some time. Depending on how fast his lung was filling up would be the major determining factor in Hal's survival.
"Hal, stay with me. Stay with me, son. Keep your eyes open." Tom murmured softly into his son's hair. But Hal didn't hear him.
Hal squeezed Maggie's hand softly before he managed to speak. "I… love you." He breathed. Then his hand slowly fell to the ground, and he let himself drift off into the blissful quietness of the dark.