A/N: Well here's chapter 7! and yes i had to put a nickleback song in it! sorry guys but any time i'm writing this story i always have some nickleback song play as kind of an insperation, so it kind of fit to put it in the story. don't worry though this is the last song you'll see in this story :) i just know some parents sing to calm their kids down and since i'm kind of trying to build both a friend and father child relationship between J.T. and his kids i thought it would work.

As always let me know your thoughts on this chapter and i look foward to reading your reviews!

CHAPTER 7

My name is Tom Leighton and I'm 10 years 9 months 3 weeks and 2 days old.

It's been almost three full weeks since J.T. rescued nearly eighty kids from their basement prison where they had been awaiting a death sentence they had done nothing to deserve.

Three weeks since eighty kids became orphans… four weeks since Kelsey and I had become orphans.

Three weeks, and for the first time in months things are, if not good, then at least okay.

J.T. was a master of sneaking around and in the first night had managed to break into seven houses before they had so much that not even their stolen wheel barrels could carry it all.

J.T. had even managed to grab along with a good amount of food, eight first aid kits, - three of which had fully charged dermal regenerators in them – twelve blankets, five pillows, and even six board games!

With careful portioning, J.T. made sure that for the next few days all of us went to bed with, while not full stomachs, at least not complaining.

Unfortunately, after the first night when everyone had found out about the robberies, it became too dangerous to sneak into town. So dangerous that for the next four trips, J.T. went by himself. That in turn meant that not as much was gathered and our food supply soon began to dwindle.

That also meant that J.T. stepped up and started teaching us a few things…like how to slink through the shadows with out being noticed.

He taught that to even the younger kids.

He also began to teach most of the older ones a few fighting skills and, using the stolen phaser, he also taught some of us how to shoot.

For some reason he always included me in the fight lessons.

And that had NOT gone over very well.

After the first lesson in which I got my butt handed to me because my opponent - a boy about a year younger then me, with pale skin, long pale blonde hair tied up in a low pony tail and very light pink eyes named Jackson - came at me from my blind spot and all but broke my ribs with a kick J.T. had been teaching us, it dawned on me that I wouldn't be much help in trying to provide for our group and that I'd probably only be a hindrance on missions.

My feelings weren't helped any when I overheard one of the older kids, an eleven year old boy named Ashton, whisper that he "didn't understand why J.T. was even bothering to train a one eyed klutz that would probably get them all killed first mission that he ever went on."

After that, I tried my hardest to avoid the fight lessons and got angry when J.T. tried to force me to join them.

I successfully avoided the next two lessons by purposefully taking too long to fetch water from a nearby stream, but after that J.T. ordered me to join the group.

I blew up. "You're not my father, you have no right to order me about!" I shouted, to everyone's surprise. "What, you think just because you brought us here, where we're just going to die slowly, that you can order us around like a bunch of performing monkeys? Did it ever occur to you that I just can't learn to fight?" By now I was in J.T.'s face, the feeling of inadequacy coming to a head and forcing me to get angry at the one person that was pressuring me to do something I knew I couldn't. "I mean, seriously, have you not noticed that I'm just no good at it? Take a good long look, J.T. Do you not see the missing eye? You know full well that I won't be any help in a fight, so how about you just stop bugging me and making me feel worse about myself by pressuring me to do something that I can't!"

"Tom!" A voice whispered from the gathering crowd around us and a small hand touched my arm.

"Get off me!" I shouted forcefully, ripping my arm from the person's light grip.

A small body collided with my back before bouncing off, the force of my pull having dragged the person clean off their feet.

I turned around quickly to see Kelsey sitting where she'd fallen at the front of the gathered kids. Her green eyes widened and sparkled with tears, her lips trembling.

"Kelsey…" I trailed off taking a couple steps towards my baby sister, my hand instinctively coming up to reach out for her.

She got up quickly turned and ran.

That's when it dawned on me what I had just done… everything I had just said. I didn't think…I didn't run after my sister… I didn't look at the glaring faces of all the people around me…. I didn't glance to where J.T. stood his face a mask of disapproval…I just ran.

I turned on my heel and sprinted for the mouth of the cave, trying to ignore the way the kids around me parted like I had some kind of vile disease, and if I touched them they would be infected as well. I ran for what felt like forever.

And soon found myself sitting at the edge of the creek, that we had been getting water from, sobbing into my knees.

The ragged sobs shook my thin frame so much that it hurt, and my chest clinched as it tried to pull in and hold a decent breath.

Hurting inside and out…. it felt like everything hit me just then. The tears I'd been holding back for my sister's sake about our parent's death, the grief of no longer having one of my eyes and becoming basically useless… it hadn't left my mind that I had been the one to almost get us caught the night we broke everyone out, the fear of everything that was going on…. the worry of how long we would have to live like this… everything chose that moment to come rushing back.

I didn't hear the footsteps approach, and barely even noticed when two arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a thin chest and holding me close. Never did the quieting shushes make their way to my ears.

It was a song that finally brought a bit of calm to me.

"How the hell did we wind up like this
Why weren't we able
Too see the signs that we missed
And try to turn the tables"

I didn't know this song…

"I wish you'd unclench your fists
And unpack your suitcase
Lately there's been too much of this
Don't think its too late

"Nothin's wrong
just as long as
you know that someday I will

"Someday, somehow
gonna make it all right but not right now
I know you're wondering when
(You're the only one who knows that)
Someday, somehow
gonna make it all right but not right now
I know you're wondering when"

And if I was honest, the voice singing wasn't the best right now – cracking with a prepubescent squeak. But at the same time, it carried the melody as if it had been born to do it, and left little doubt that when older it would be a nice voice. And by some miracle, listening to it whisper the fitting lyrics, I began to feel myself calm down.

"Well I hoped that since we're here anyway
We could end up saying
Things we've always needed to say
So we could end up stringing
Now the story's played out like this
Just like a paperback novel
Lets rewrite an ending that fits
Instead of a Hollywood horror"

A Hollywood horror…. didn't that just fit what we are going through to a T. Any other time, I would have snorted at the irony of that sentence; as it was now, I just buried my head into his shoulder, and tried my hardest not to start crying again.

"Nothin's wrong
just as long as
you know that someday I will

Someday, somehow
gonna make it all right but not right now
I know you're wondering when
(You're the only one who knows that)
Someday, somehow
gonna make it all right but not right now
I know you're wondering when
(You're the only one who knows that)"

Impossibly, the voice softened until it was just the barest of whispers, and I became convinced that only I could hear it and nothing in the world was able to share the comfort of this melody…. this was my song… my comfort… and the only thing I had left to call mine besides my sister and the clothes on my back…nobody could hear it because it was mine and only mine to hear.

That also meant that I was the only one to hear the melody turn sorrowful and the voice become filled with all the emotions that just minutes before had been strangling the life out me.

"How the hell did we wind up like this"

How did it come to this? I asked myself that same question. How did my life go from happy with two wonderful parents and a bouncy little sister, to being orphans and wondering whether or not we would live to see the next day?

"Why weren't we able
Too see the signs that we missed
And try to turn the tables"

Why didn't I take heed of dad's warning that people grew violent and desperate when their lives were on the line? I remembered dad's nervousness that day at the square… I had noticed the unnecessary amount of guards; why didn't I get them out of there? Why didn't I do what J.T. had that night, breaking the children out of the basement? Why hadn't I turned the tables and stolen a phaser and taken the guards down instead of running?

"Now the stories played out like this"

Yeah, this was how the story had played out: me alone, trying to take care of my little sister. Only me… left half blind and tripping over my own feet on the best of days.

"Just like a paperback novel
Lets rewrite an ending that fits
Instead of a Hollywood horror"

Rewrite an ending that fits? Boy, did that sound good. If I could rewrite the ending, my dad would have been the one to find a cure for the fungus.

He would have become famous and we all would have been moved to the second biggest house in the eastern district of town. And then later, without even running, my dad would have been elected Governor of Tarsus IV by a landslide. We would then be moved into the biggest house of the eastern distract… the Governor's mansion! And my mom and sister would be draped in pearls and diamonds, and treated like the queen and princess they always were. And there would never have been a famine or a bloody massacre… and then one day on my way to school in my big white stretch hover limo, I would look out the window dressed in the latest fashion and see her walking along the sidewalk.

Her long, beautiful, brownish red hair would shimmer in bright sun light of a late winters day, naturally tight curls cascading down her back.

She'd be shivering and holding her books tight to her chest… I would ask the hover limo driver to pull over.

I would ask her if she wanted a ride and because it's cold outside, she would naturally say yes in a heartbeat, and I would get out in the cold just to hold the door for her like a perfect gentlemen.

We would ride to school laughing and talking and getting to know each other…I would finally have the best friend I always wanted. And then in time, I would grow up and follow in my dad's footsteps to become a scientist. I'd already be famous for my dad's work with the fungus, but I would make a name for myself by creating the next biggest thing in space travel. Maybe a compacted oxygen pill. You'd just take it, and then you could go in to space without the burden of a heavy space suit and be able to breath for long periods of time.

That was the ending that fit, not this harsh reality.

"Nothing's wrong."

Everything was wrong.

"Just as long as
you know that someday I will

"Someday, somehow
gonna make it all right but not right now"

Why not right now?

"I know you're wondering when,"

For the first time, I glanced up to see who belonged to that voice that was fast becoming my only comfort.

I wasn't shocked to find myself looking into a pair of the deepest and brightest blue eyes I had ever seen.

J.T. was looking down at me with a sad and understanding gaze as he briefly tightened his hold on me again in a gesture of comfort.

Guilt struck me.

"(You're the only one who knows that)
Someday, somehow
gonna make it all right but not right now
I know you're wondering when
(You're the only one who knows that)
I know you're wondering when
(You're the only one who knows that)
I know you're wondering when"

I wasn't in this alone. Hadn't this blue-eyed boy been with me every step of the way? Hadn't he done more for both my sister and me then he should be capable of? Two years wasn't a big gap and yet that small age difference had never seemed so insurmountable.

And this boy…this man in front of me was doing something that no other twelve year old had ever done before.

He was protecting eighty kids by putting his life on the line every other night to get as much food as possible just to feed them. He was the thinnest of all of us, but he rarely ate anything himself unless he believed some could be spared.

And in the three weeks since all this had happened, I'd only seen the kid sleep maybe four times. And I'm not talking an hour power nap; I mean, he had honestly only fallen into a good deep and solid sleep four times in the past three weeks, and I was pretty sure that was just because he'd simply passed out from exhaustion.

Two years: not that big of a gap, and yet here I was blubbering like a baby into his shoulder and thinking of the way things should have been. It also didn't take long for me to remember that in my fantasy of what should have been…. there had been no J.T.

Guilt struck further into my heart. This kid had done everything imaginable for me, and I hadn't even given him his own happy ending in my fantasy…and I still had the nerve to ask him why he wouldn't make it all right, right now. What was wrong with me?

"Tom." J.T.'s voice broke the silence that had settled around us since he'd stopped singing. "You want to tell me what that was all about back there?"

I felt tears once again burn in my eyes, but pushed them back. I had had enough of wallowing in self-pity.

"J.T., I'm sorry about what I said back there, everything just caught up with me all of a sudden. I know that's no excuse for what I said…or what I did to Kelly. But with everything that's happened and then on top of that realizing I won't be any help whatsoever in trying to get us out of this mess, I just felt overwhelmed," I whispered shamefully, staring down at the barren soil we sat on.

"Tom, we're all overwhelmed by what's happening. Every single one of us. But what on earth makes you feel like you can't be of any help in trying to survive?" J.T. whispered back reaching over to hook his finger under my chin and tilting my head up until I was looking him in the eye. It was so reminiscent of what my dad use to do when I was this upset that I had to shove more tears away.

"J.T. I'm partially blind now; I can't see a thing from my left side. That means if anyone wants to over power me they just have to come at me from that side and I'll never even see them. You saw how Jackson almost broke my ribs when you first tried teaching me. I never saw that kick coming because it wasn't in my view. And… I'm not you; J.T., I'm not graceful enough to slink through the shadows like you do, because I'm blind completely in the dark… I was even before I got shot. I'm also by far the clumsiest person you'll ever meet, which means that I can't do all that dancing around to keep them in view that you do," I groaned, feeling the emotions welling back up. "And it's bad enough knowing that myself, but to hear someone confirming it was more then I could handle."

"What?" J.T. all but growled.

I jumped in surprise and fear; I had never heard J.T. make a sound like that. It reminded me of a wild animal. My eye locked with his, I could almost see sparks flying

"What do you mean what?" I squeaked in shock.

It took a second, but J.T. took a shuddering breath and finally his flaming blue eyes returned to their normal calm depth.

"Who confirmed your thoughts about not being good enough to help out?" J.T. asked, tone a little more clipped then normal.

I hesitated, feeling like a little kid about to rat out someone to their parents.

"No one J.T.," I glanced away again to stare at the gentle flowing water beneath us, "They didn't mean anything by it."

There was a tense silence for the next several minutes before J.T. let out a deep sigh of someone giving up.

"All right if you don't want to say who, I won't pressure you," he stated, "However… Tom, you got to have a bit of confidence…that was your first lesson. None of you were perfect, and yes I'll admit you have a few more obstacles to overcome then the other kids…"

At this I winced, but at J.T.'s sharp look, I managed to keep myself from feeling even more dejected then I already did.

"But with time you'll get better…a couple of lessons and you will start to notice a little less clumsiness. And moving through the dark isn't only a sight thing: sound plays a big part in it as well… but if it helps, you can get used to moving through the dark as easily as if you had born into it. And I'll be right there beside you the entire time Tom, you won't get us caught as long as I'm around, and in a few months, you won't get us caught whether I'm there or not. But for now, I need you to trust that I'm going to teach you what you need to know. Okay?'

I felt myself choke up again, so all I could do was nod.

"Good," J.T. sighed, "now lets get back to the cave. Because mister, you have some major apologizing to do to your sister, and I need to set up the team that's going with me tonight. We're too low on food, so we need to try and score more then I can get myself. Thankfully it's a new moon tonight, which means it will be a little easier to get into town."

I nodded again, and when J.T. stood up, I took his outstretched hand; he pulled me up and we began to make our way back to our temporary shelter.

It was almost sunset by the time we walked back in, and the first thing my eye landed on was Kelsey curled up next to Kevin, whose head was buried in the shoulder of a girl about a year older then me. The girl was actually one of the few I knew in this group. Her name was Raine, a half human, half Empathrainian, a race that can sense the emotion in other beings, and empathize with them. She had long, dark purple hair – in most of her race, it was normally straight, but she had inherited her father's wavy and thick bodied hair – moonlight pale skin, human shaped eyes that had the Empathrainian color changing ability that changed depending on the person closet to them's emotions, or who ever was feeling the strongest emotions. On normal days, her eyes were a deep maroon color that indicated neutrality, or that nobody around her was really feeling any strong emotion at that moment, but right now they shimmered a glistening orange color that meant someone near her was feeling deeply upset. It didn't take much to guess who that someone was.

Seeing that color was a sign of someone who was truly miserable. I found myself at Kelsey's side before the meaning had even settled into my brain.

"Kelsey," I groaned pulling her out of Raine's grasp and into a tight hug, "Kelsey, I am so, so sorry. I didn't mean to do what I did. I'm so sorry."

She struggled for a second to get out of my grasp but then the fight left her and she began sobbing into my shoulder. Probably the exact picture of what I must have looked like earlier crying into J.T.'s shoulder.

With out thinking, I began to hum the few lines of the song that I could remember.

It took a while but eventually, her sobs began to subside into soft sniffles.

"Tommy, you hurt me," Kelsey whimpered and a pain unlike anything I had felt before pierced my heart.

What have I done, I thought to myself, my grip unconsciously tightening on my sister.

"I know Kelsey, and I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to, and I swear I will never do it again. Oh goodness, Kelsey I'm so sorry," I choked holding her as close to me as I could.

How could I have ever done that to her…how? I'm supposed to be protecting her.

Tears burned in my eye for what must have been the hundredth time that day.

"Kelsey I'm so sorry. I'm a horrible big brother and I'm sorry; please Kelly, please forgive me," I whispered.

For a beat there was nothing but silence.

I could feel the eyes of every one in the cave watching us, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

"You're not a horrible bother Tommy…you're the best big brother in the world, and I do forgive you," Kelsey whispered, and suddenly she was hugging me back.

Relief flooded through me and I squeezed her as tight as I possibly could.

"Thank you Kelly, that means more to me then you'll ever know, and I promise, it won't happen again," I whispered into her ear.

We stayed like that for a few minutes, not noticing that J.T. sent everyone back to what they where doing with one sharp look.

When we did finally pull back, I gave Kelsey a small smile and ruffled her hair. She grinned back and swatted my hand away, before moving off to join a game of apples to apples with a few other kids.

Unconsciously, I glanced back over to Raine, and was surprised to see her looking at me. Her eyes had gone from their glistening orange color to a pale blue that if I remembered right meant contentment was in the air.

She met my gaze and gave a small nod as if telling me my hunch was right and a look of approval crossed her face before she turned and went to talk to someone else.

"Hey everyone, listen up! Can I get your attention for a second please," J.T.'s voice suddenly sounded through the cave.

Almost immediately, the chatter died down and the games stopped.

This wasn't unusual as J.T. often made announcements before going off on a mission.

"It recently came to my attention that there has been some bad mouthing of other kids in this group." J.T.'s stern voice echoed through the cave and I felt myself stiffen at his words…he was seriously bringing this up now?

"To whomever is bad mouthing someone: - you know who you are and I only have one thing to say to you: grow up. We're not in school anymore and as much as we all would like to pretend otherwise, we are in a dangerous situation that we're only going to get through safely by depending on each other. We need to trust each other and get along. I know it's impossible for us to like everyone in a group this big, but guess what: you're going to have to learn to tolerate each other real fast, or you're going to get us all killed. And yeah, I'm telling you this to scare you a bit, but that doesn't make it any less true. Work together; if you see someone that needs help in some areas, you bring it to me and I'll worry about it…. you do not go gossiping about it like you're on some lousy soup opera. Do you understand?"

J.T. glanced around with a harsh gaze, taking in every nodding head, not missing a single detail.

"Good… everyone in this cave, from the youngest to the oldest, is important. We are all in this together and we are all going to be useful, despite what some may think, in getting out of this mess. So if you have looked at any one in this room and thought that they're only going to get us killed, they're so young, so clumsy, so small, so different… well then, you're wrong, and one day your life may very well depend on that person. Respect each other if nothing else. That's all I ask." J.T.'s authoritative voice left no room for argument, and once again everyone nodded.

I gulped and glanced around; almost immediately my eyes fell upon Ashton. He was looking at me, his gaze contemplative and…apologetic. He didn't notice I had seen him looking but that was all right, because for the first time in and long time I felt the urge to smile.

"All right, now on to other matters," J.T. said, glancing around at everyone. "I need the following people to meet me at the front of the cave in five minutes. We need to get food tonight, and I can't carry it all. Bring the wheelbarrows. Raine, T'Entreia, Joe, Spencer, and Tom. You guys are with me tonight." He waited for us to nod and walk towards the back of the cave where we kept the wheel barrels before continuing on.

"Ashton, you're in charge while we're gone. I showed you yesterday how to portion out the remaining food: feed every one by ten, younger ones go to bed as soon as they're done eating, and the older ones can go to bed later if they wish, but assign no less then four people to keep watch. I'd prefer it be people ten or over, but nobody younger then nine sits watch and they have to have someone older with them at all times. Got it?"

"Understood, J.T.," Ashton nodded with a small smile. "Be careful out there tonight."

"We will be. Thanks," J.T. smiled back.

By this time, we had all gathered at the mouth of the cave. Joe, Spencer, T'Entreia, and I handled the wheelbarrows as Raine shifted uncomfortably, once again asking us if any of us needed help.

She had always been like this, hating when she didn't have something to do while everyone else was working.

"Relax Raine," Spencer whispered, a small fond smile pulling at the corner of his lips, "has anyone ever told you you're too nice? I think Joe, Tom, and I are strong enough guys to handle an empty wheelbarrow and T'Entreia is a Vulcan so she could probably pick all four of these things up fully load in one hand."

T'Entreia's voice echoed around us in a monotone from where she stood at the far end of the group, back against the wall and eyes on J.T. as he made his way over. "That would be a logical assumption if I was fully grown and in the best of health. However, because I am still only a child and severally malnourished, I believe I would only be able to hold two wheelbarrows, and I would very much have to use both arms, and only one could be full."

A grin pulled at J.T.'s lips as he overheard that last comment.

"Don't sell yourself short, T'Entreia," J.T. joked as he reached over to take the wheelbarrow from her.

"What an illogical comment J.T.; I do not believe I understand it, how can one 'sell themselves short', and indeed why would they wish to sell themselves at all?" She asked, her gaze locked with J.T.'s, and her head slightly cocked inquisitively – and probably unconsciously – to one side. The Vulcan picture of confusion though the rest of her face and body language remained as stiff and neutral as normal.

J.T. grinned and winked.

"I'll explain it to you later; right now, it's time to get down to business," he said, straightening and becoming the picture of seriousness.

"Let's get going," he whispered, moving out of the cave and almost immediately disappearing into the shadows.

One by one we all did the same: Raine following first, then Spencer, and Joe.

I was just about to follow when I turned around in time to catch something that stopped me in my tracks. It had been brief and out of the corner of my eye, but I knew what I had seen: the lightest hint of green coloring T'Entreia cheeks.

I didn't have time to ponder on this though, as I fell into the shadows, trying my hardest to keep up and not trip or get lost, since I couldn't see anything.

It was a lost cause from the start though, and before long Raine, sensing my fear of getting separated, dropped back to stand beside me. She traded a glance with T'Entreia, and with a silent nod, T'Entreia took the wheelbarrow from me, and Raine grabbed my hand to guide me through the shadows.

We stayed like that, quietly moving through the shadows, for what must have been two hours, Raine holding onto my hand and guiding me around things in my path that I couldn't see. J.T. determinedly led us forward, glancing back every couple of minutes to make sure everyone was still doing well. He, Spencer, Joe, and T'Entreia pushed their wheelbarrows as quietly as they could around trees and other obstacles. But soon, the glow of street lamps became visible and J.T. stopped.

"Leave three of the wheelbarrow here," he whispered,. "If we get caught, they'll only slow us down, and if we have to leave quickly, at least we can still sneak back here and pick them up again. When the first wheelbarrow gets full, we'll send someone back with it to pick up another one. Everyone is to be completely silent: there will be no talking from this point on. Don't get too excited, and try and grab only the necessities. We don't want to have too much weighting us down. Do you understand?"

Tension began to fill the air as each of us stared J.T. in the eyes and nodded.

"Good then. Let's get to work," he whispered, and turned to walk towards the town, his hands grasped tightly on the wheelbarrow.

End Chapter 7