A/N: Well... that was an interesting chapter. Sorry for taking so long (school shit), so here's the new chapter!
Also, don't you find it a bit ironic that, just like in the movie, Caleb and Ben died within minutes of each other?
Gracepunk
When Andrew woke up, it was already bright out. He was dizzy and disoriented, and his side was killing him.
It took him a moment to realize that he was being carried. Dizzily turning his head, he saw that Josh was carrying him. The group was still moving.
Slowly, he looked down at his side, trying to recall what had happened. He couldn't remember very clearly, but the sight of the hideous wound on his side stirred some memories. He remembered being stabbed, and he remembered losing a lot of blood, but he didn't remember burning himself. At least, he assumed it was a burn, judging by the blisters on his ribs and stomach that showed where the bandages and his open jacket didn't cover.
Josh must have noticed him moving, because he looked down at him.
"You okay?" he asked, his deep voice laced with sympathy.
"What happened?" Andrew asked him in return, his voice hoarse.
"Some Gracebeasts attacked you," said Josh. "They got Ben."
Andrew's eyes widened, and he looked around. However, just like the giant had said, Ben wasn't with the group.
"Why don't I remember what happened...?" asked Andrew quietly.
Josh shrugged a bit. "You lost a lot of blood," he said simply.
Andrew frowned. He tried to focus his mind on what had happened, but he simply couldn't remember clearly. He remembered two dark shapes grabbing Ben and trying to kill him, but the rest was lost to the blood loss and trauma.
"W-where are we going...?" asked Andrew.
Again, Josh shrugged. "Christopher hasn't said yet, but I think we're close. We should get there by nightfall."
Andrew nodded a bit. His side was still hurting him, and the pain made him feel sick. He closed his eyes, but the movement of Josh walking started to make him feel tired. After several minutes, he fell into a restless fevered sleep.
By the time Andrew woke up again, it was dark and much colder. The freezing air hurt his lungs and made it hard for him to breathe.
Suddenly, Christopher's voice rang out through the haze.
"We're here," he said, his voice revealing no emotion.
Andrew looked up and saw that they had arrived at a large dilapidated building. The windows were grimy and nearly opaque, but intact. It looked like it had been standing for a hundred years, and it had a large stone courtyard that they were now standing in. The courtyard was dark and dusty, housing several large yet broken statues.
The twins were romping about, looking extremely happy. They ran around and sat up the statues and ceramics that had fallen over, then they dashed over to the large 20 foot tall door and pulled it open. Then they dashed inside, disappearing into the darkness.
That was when Andrew realized that the building was a library.
They walked inside and were instantly engulfed in the shadows. The smell of musty books and mildew was overpowering, but in a strange way, comforting. The air was warm, and moonlight streamed in through the grimy skylight, cutting through the shadows with thin beams of blue light.
Suddenly, Jen appeared by Andrew and Josh.
"Hey," she said to Andrew, smiling at him. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," muttered Andrew tiredly, trying to look like he wasn't in pain.
Jen smiled sadly and looked up at Josh. "Set him down over here."
Josh followed her over to the wall and set Andrew down, propping him up against the cool stone wall. Jen knelt down in front of him and looked over her shoulder at Josh. "Will you go find the twins and make sure they aren't getting into trouble?"
Josh nodded, and he turned and went off in the direction the twins had gone.
Jen turned back to Andrew and pulled a roll of bandages out of her pocket. "Take off your jacket," she said.
Andrew nodded, and he attempted to sit away from the wall, but the pain in his side rendered him motionless. Jen saw this and helped him take his jacket off. Andrew couldn't help but notice how close she was to him, and how warm she was. It made his heart flutter.
She undid the bandages, and he looked down at the wound, even though his common sense told him not to. It was raw and red, covered in blisters and puss, and his entire side was bruised, purple and black from the internal bleeding. The thing that was the most shocking was that the blisters and burns formed the shape of a hand. He could see each individual finger.
"I have to say, I'm impressed," said Jen, tossing aside the bloody bandages and cleaning the wound. "I don't know anybody else who would have done what you did."
"What, you mean cauterize my stab wound with my own fire?" asked Andrew, smiling a bit.
Jen nodded, beginning to bandage the wound again. "Let's just hope this doesn't get infected."
Andrew grimaced at the thought and looked away. His eyes wandered up to the dirty skylight. He could see the full moon beyond, hovering large and bright above the forest and the library, suspended in the cold night sky.
"They're going to come back, aren't they?" asked Andrew quietly. "The Gracebeasts, I mean."
Jen was quiet for a minute before nodding. "I think they know where we are now... so we'll just have to be ready when they come."
Andrew nodded, looking around the Library. That was when he saw Christopher silently slipping through the door and going back outside.
Curious, Andrew sat up a bit. Right at that moment, Jen finished bandaging him, and she handed him his jacket.
"Do you think you can stand?" she asked him.
Andrew quickly nodded, and Jen slowly pulled him to his feet. He doubled over as the pain intensified, but Jen kept him standing, and a moment later, it passed and he was able to stand and walk on his own.
"You good?" asked Jen. "You look kind of pale."
Andrew nodded, forcing himself to take deep breaths. Jen was still holding his hands. "I'll be fine," he stammered, thankful that the darkness was hiding his blush. "I just... need a bit of air..."
Jen raised an eyebrow skeptically. "We've been wandering through the forest for a week now."
Andrew nodded, glancing at the door again. "It's kinda stuffy in here. I'll be back in a minute." Then he regretfully pulled his hands from hers and stumbled out the door.
He found himself in the stone courtyard again. He looked around, and it took him a minute, but he spotted the slumped over form of Christopher, sitting on a low stone wall by the edge of the forest.
Andrew slowly walked over to him and sat down on the wall next to him.
"You should really come inside," he said. "It's too cold out here."
"Go back inside before you have an asthma attack," grumbled Christopher, who was slouched over with his elbows on his knees, holding an open bottle of whiskey in his hand.
"You have asthma too, don't you?"
"Shut up, kid." His voice carried no venom.
Andrew frowned. "What's going on? Aren't you happy that we made it here?"
"No," said Christopher. "I'm happy that most of you made it here, yes, but..." He shook his head and took a swig of whiskey. "It was my job to protect you. All of you... this isn't the first time I've failed at my job, and I'm scared that it might not be the last."
Andrew tilted his head, confused. "What do you mean?" he asked.
Christopher glanced sidelong at him with foggy eyes. He offered the bottle to Andrew, who took it and took an experimental sip from it. It tasted disgusting. He handed it back.
"It's my job to protect you," repeated Christopher, returning his gaze to the dark, shifting pines. "The first time I failed was with my nephews. Warren and Aidan. I knew the Gracebeasts were coming for them, but I didn't expect them to come so soon. My sister and I were the only ones there when they broke in.
"It was late at night, and we heard the window break. By the time we got in their room, they were gone. I chased after them – and I was fast eighteen years ago – but I wasn't fast enough. They got my nephews in one of their ships, and it had already taken off by the time I got there.
"There was a second ship, though, and an enormous Gracebeasts was waiting for me. Ironically, he was an old family friend. I think he calls himself the Baron now. He was waiting to kill me."
Andrew's eyes widened. "You were friends with the leader of the Gracebeasts?!"
Christopher glared at Andrew. "Kid, I am a Gracebeast! I was one of the first!"
Andrew's eyes widened with fear, and his jaw dropped.
Christopher rolled his eyes. "Don't act like you didn't suspect it. What with my Grace and the color of my eyes, I'd have thought you'd ask."
"I..." Andrew was at loss for words.
"Calm down," snarled Christopher. "I'm not evil like them. That's why they tried to kill me. That's why they keep trying to kill me. I was the first Gracebeast. That's why I'm number 1." He gestured to his back, where the number 1 was printed largely and now entirely visible due to the loss of his cape. "They tried to kill me because I wasn't like them. I wasn't evil."
"Did you actually fight the Baron?" asked Andrew, his eyes still wide.
Christopher nodded. "All I had with me was a hatchet. He almost killed me, but right before I was about to die, I cut his arm off. He wasn't too happy about that."
"I would assume so..."
"That fight was also how I got this," said Christopher, taking off his hat and revealing a long scar that ran across the length of his head where the hair hadn't grown back.
"Oh..." was all Andrew could say.
Christopher looked at the hat in his hands for a moment before letting it fall to the ground.
"I can't protect anybody any more..." he mumbled.
Andrew wasn't sure what to say, so he awkwardly put his hand on Christopher's shoulder. "I think we should go back inside..."
Christopher was still for a minute before nodding. He stood up, as did Andrew, with some visible pain. Christopher saw his pain and gave him a hand, pulling him to his feet. Andrew nodded, and they both walked back inside.
As soon as Andrew came through the door, he was ambushed by the twins. They jumped up in front of him and signed frantically for a minute before gesturing for him to follow them.
The twins led him deeper into the library and into a small, book-filled room that was lit by candles. Erika grabbed Andrew's hand and pulled him over to the desk, which was cluttered with books and papers. They found the paper they were looking for and laid it out for him to see.
"What is this...?" asked Andrew, looking at the paper. The writing on the paper was all in Latin; he couldn't read it.
"I don't even know what that says," said Jen, appearing out of nowhere. Andrew jumped a bit at her sudden appearance. "They seem really excited about it, though."
Sam grabbed Andrew's hand and put it on the page, right next to an ink-drawn painting. It was difficult for Andrew to see in the dim flickering light, but after a minute, he could make it out.
It was the three symbols carved into his talisman. The symbols carved into the bottom of the locked box. The symbols that Caleb used to draw.
"Where did you find this?" asked Andrew, picking up the page and holding it closer to his face.
Erika held up a thick red leather-bound book. She handed it to him.
When Andrew saw who had written the book, he almost dropped it.
"Alan Sparks?"
The twins nodded frantically. Erika signed something, and Jen translated.
"She said they thought your name sounded familiar when you told them, and when they saw the symbols on your necklace, they realized that you must be related to whoever wrote the book."
Andrew shook his head. "I don't... I don't know anyone named Alan Sparks... but... he has my last name... what does this mean?" He looked up at the twins, who looked at each other, then looked back at him and shrugged.
Andrew shook his head a bit. Whatever his connection was to the talisman, it had something to do with Alan Sparks, whoever he was.
Outside the room, Christopher was listening in the shadows. His eyes widened when he recognized the name. He just hoped that Andrew wouldn't go looking for answers, because if he did, it would spell death for them all.
Ben woke up in a small, dimly lit room. His head was throbbing, his throat was sore, and his eye was burning.
He didn't know where he was, so he tried to think back to what had happened.
A split second later, he wished he would have just let his mind forget. In his mind's eye, he saw Caleb's bloodstained corpse. He remembered being dragged into a different part of the building – a medical bay. There had been other Gracelings there.
He knew he should have felt afraid. He should have felt sad. He should have felt angry. But he didn't feel anything. Just pain.
Slowly, he sat up. He didn't do anything after that though. Just sat there, thinking of every possible thing he could have done to save Caleb. He could have calmed down. He should have practiced his healing more before this even happened. He should have taken the bullet. Then none of them would have gotten captured. Caleb would still be alive.
Suddenly, the door opened, and the red-headed girl poked her head in.
"Hey," she said quietly, seeing that Ben was awake. "Can I come in?"
Slowly, Ben nodded, turning to face away. He heard the girl come over, and he felt her sit down on the bed next to him.
"I would ask you how you're doing, but I don't think I have to..." she said, her voice sympathetic. "That's how they let you live, if you're a Healer. They kill someone you love and see your reaction. If you don't go on a murder spree, they don't kill you and they make you work here."
Ben glanced sidelong at the girl. "I was weaponless and I have a healing Grace," he said emotionlessly. "How exactly would I go on a murder spree?"
The girl smiled. "You'd be surprised."
Ben went back to staring into space.
The girl thought for a moment before speaking up again. "My name's Ginger," she said. "What's yours?"
"I'm Ben," he said blankly.
Ginger glanced around. "Short for Benjamin?"
"No."
"Oh..." She was running out of stuff to say. The last time she had to do this was two years ago when Duncan got captured.
"Y'know," she said carefully, "if you want to talk about it, my room is right down the hall."
Ben shook his head slowly. "Thanks, but I'd rather just forget about it..." he said emotionlessly.
Ginger smiled sadly and gently put a hand on his shoulder. "If you want, I can introduce you to the other guys," she said. "Get you started working. It'll help take your mind off things..."
Slowly, Ben nodded. Ginger stood up and offered her hand, and Ben took it. She pulled him into a standing position. She was a few inches shorter than him, and that was when Ben noticed that she looked about his age as well.
Ginger led him out of the room and down a short hall with several other closed doors. Ben assumed they led to other sleeping areas like the one he had woken up in. Ginger opened the door at the end of the hallway, which led to what looked like a small back room. There were two people in the room, and they both looked shocked to see Ben.
"Guys," said Ginger, "this is Ben, the new wound healer. Ben, this is Frankie and Duncan."
"Hello," said Frankie politely. Duncan awkwardly waved and took a step back.
Ginger rolled her eyes. "Ugh, you boys are so sociable..." she muttered sarcastically. "Frankie heals broken bones, and Duncan heals burns and fevers. He's not very good at it though." She sent a glare Duncan's way, and he took another step back, avoiding eye contact.
Before Ginger could break the ice even further, however, there was a beeping noise, and a blinking red light appeared on the bulky watch she was wearing. She took a step away from Ben and looked at something on the watch.
"Okay, I have to go run down to the Cold Room," she said. "Rogue is trying out a new poison, and the kid he's torturing had a bad reaction to it."
She turned and walked to a door on the opposite side of the room from where they had come out. She grabbed the smallest of the three lab coats hanging next to the door and left, but before she closed the door, she poked her head back in.
"Frankie, get him a lab coat. Duncan, at least say something." Then she left.
"Well, you heard the boss," said Frankie, standing from where he had been leaning against a table. "I'll go get you a coat. Duncan, calm down a bit. He's not going to murder you." Then he walked through the door, leaving Ben and Duncan alone.
"J-just to be clear..." said Duncan nervously, "you aren't going to try and rip my throat out?"
Ben cracked a small smile. "I think you're fine."
Duncan nodded. Ben noticed that he was rubbing his hands together nervously. He also noticed that the taller Healer was wearing fingerless gloves.
"Out of curiosity, how old are you?" asked Ben, noticing how young he looked.
"I'm 19," said Duncan, starting to look less nervous. "I was 17 when they caught me. What about you?"
"I'm 17," mumbled Ben.
Duncan took a few steps closer to him, moving like a timid puppy. Ben noticed that he was limping. A moment later, he realized it was because he had a prosthetic right leg.
"Not to be rude," said Ben, "but how did you lose your leg?"
Duncan glanced down at his leg, as if he had forgotten about it. "Oh, uh, it went gangrenous a few years ago, and they had to cut it off. I'm still not really used to the prosthetic. How did you lose your eye?"
"A bomb exploded in my face," said Ben.
Duncan nodded, and he glanced at his watch.
"Hey," said Ben, after a minute, "I... I had a friend come through here a few days ago..." He wasn't sure he could finish.
"What was his name?" asked Duncan, tilting his head to the side a bit.
"James Flint," said Ben.
Duncan squinted at him. "Did he have a shattered knee?"
Ben's eyes widened and he quickly nodded.
"He's fine," said Duncan reassuringly, seeing Ben's reaction. "They took him to work with the other techies."
Ben was so relieved that he collapsed in the chair he was standing next to. Duncan wasn't sure what to say, so he simply stood there for a second until Frankie came back, carrying a fresh white lab coat. He walked over and handed it to Ben.
"Hope this fits," he said. "We only had a few left."
Ben took the lab coat and put it on. It was a perfect fit.
"Great," exclaimed Frankie, seeing that it fit. He turned to Duncan, who was looking at his watch again. "Duncan, do you want to go show him around?"
Duncan looked between Frankie and his watch. "But..." he mumbled.
"You've got time," said Frankie quietly.
Duncan nodded and turned to Ben. "Okay, follow me," he said. He led Ben out the door and into the large area with all the curtains and beds.
Duncan directed him over to one side of the area that didn't have any curtains. There were counters and shelves and sinks and various other containers filled with medicines and bandages and splints and anything one would find in a hospital.
As Duncan started to explain where everything was, Ben heard footsteps. He glanced over his shoulder and saw someone quietly leaving the ward.
It was the Gracebeast that had been hunting them for years. The one Andrew half blinded.
The Gracebeast walked out without noticing him, but Ben was stunned... and terrified. However, he was also curious. What had he been doing here...?
Suddenly, he noticed Duncan was talking to him.
"You okay?" asked the skinny Graceling.
"I'm fine..." muttered Ben. However, before he could ask what the Gracebeast had been doing, Duncan suddenly went pale and leaned against one of the counters as if he had lost all strength to stand.
"Are you okay?" asked Ben, worried.
Duncan nodded and looked at his watch. "I'm f-f-fine," he stammered quickly, breathing rapidly. "Just... a f-f-few m-minutes late... I'll b-b-be r-right b-b-back..." Then he turned and quickly stumbled into the back room.
Ben was shocked. He had no idea what had just happened. He simply stood there for a moment before the Gracebeast resurfaced in his mind. His curiosity compelled him to go find out why he had been here.
Silently walking down the isle the Gracebeast had come from, he found the curtain that had been left slightly open as if the last person who closed it had been in a hurry. Slowly, he pulled the curtain back and looked inside.
He was shocked to see the Gracebeast that had attacked them at Emerald Valley. His initial shock was over the fact that he was still alive after the fall he took.
Cautiously, Ben went inside and closed the curtain behind him. The Gracebeast didn't look so good. He was pale and thin, and there was a gaping wound on his side. Ben carefully peeled away the bandage and saw that his entire side had been skinned completely. The wound was so deep he could see his ribs.
Ben paused. He was about to start healing the wound, but then he remembered that this was the Gracebeast that had shot Caleb and James. He was the one who had burned down the Cathedral. This was all his fault.
Suddenly, before he could do anything, he heard a quiet voice in his head.
Save him. He isn't evil.
Ben staggered backwards a bit. A flash of green shot across his eyes.
He could have sworn the voice had belonged to Caleb.
He waited for a minute, but there was nothing else. Shaking his head a bit, he stepped back up and began to heal the Gracebeast.
Slowly, as the flesh started to reform over the raw wound and bleeding muscles, the Gracebeast woke up. He blinked his eyes open and looked at Ben, confused.
"W-what are y-you d-d-doing...?" he stammered weakly.
"I'm healing you," said Ben simply. "That's my job, isn't it?"
The Gracebeast shook his head a bit. "B-but... I was the one who s-shot your friends... I-it's my f-fault they got c-captured..."
"You're Warren, right?" asked Ben, quickly changing the subject.
Warren looked confused. Slowly, he nodded. "How do you know my name...?"
"I know your uncle," said Ben. "He thinks you're dead."
Warren was quiet for a long time. "I... I didn't know I had any family left..."
Ben didn't respond. A few minutes later, Warren's side and back were healed. Before Warren could even begin to thank him, he left.
Quietly, he made his way back to the back room. Only Frankie was in there. Duncan was nowhere to be found.
"Hey," said Ben, "what happened to Duncan? Is he okay?"
Frankie nodded. "He's fine. He was just a few minutes late to take his medicine, so he passed out. I dragged him to his room; he should wake up in a few hours."
"Medicine?"
Frankie bit his lip. "He has a disease, but it would be rude for me to tell you about it without his permission."
"If he's sick, can't you guys heal him?"
"It's a genetic disease. Nothing we can do about it."
"Oh..."
They lapsed into silence, but it didn't last long. The door opened and Ginger walked in, looking tired.
"How'd it go?" asked Frankie.
Ginger shook her head. "The kid's in a coma. He should wake up when all the poison clears out of his system. Oh, and speaking of kids in comas, remind me to go check on Warren later and see if he's woken up yet."
Ben glanced around shiftily.
That was when Ginger turned to him. Her expression was sad.
"I don't know if this is too soon," she said quietly, walking up to him, "but I found these outside the Cold Room..."
She put a pair of bloodstained ink nib gloves in Ben's hands. Caleb's gloves.
He had written on the gloves in blood. On the back of one had was the word Our, and on the back of the other was the word Last.
"Our last what...?" whispered Ben under his breath.
Ginger saw his pained expression and led him over to the side of the room.
"Listen," she whispered to him, "it's late. Why don't you get some sleep."
Ben nodded, his expression dead. Ginger led him back through the long hallway, pointing out which room was hers and which room was his.
"If you feel like talking in the middle of the night, come wake me up," she said. "But be warned, I sleep with a knife, so stand back a bit when you do wake me up. Don't want to accidentally stab you."
Ben silently nodded and went into his room, closing the door, turning off the lights. He curled up under his blanket, not even bothering to take his lab coat off. He hugged the gloves close to his chest, and for the first time since Caleb died, he let the tears flow freely.
He cried himself to sleep.
The Baron was alone in the most secluded area of the prison that he could reach easily. It was getting late at night, and he had to find his pills before the night terrors returned.
The pills were nowhere to be found. His search was slowly becoming more frantic.
That was when he realized there was someone else in the room with him.
"What, might I ask, possessed you to follow me?" he growled, clenching his mechanical fists.
"The sssuit issss ready," hissed the cold, menacing voice from the shadows.
"You do realize you could have told me this without stealing from me," he said, still not turning around. He hated to look at her. "What do you want?"
"I want permisssssion to ussse the sssuit and find a few more of thossse little bratsss. We know where they are now. Why not ssstrike?"
"Because they're more powerful than you realize," snapped the Baron, whipping around to face her.
"Then let me take sssome backup," she said. "Sssome extra Gracebeassstsss..."
"We don't have any to spare," growled the Baron, rubbing his temple to nurse the headache he was getting. "They're all occupied with the War. All you have to work with are the drones, and the only purpose they serve is to hold people still."
The Seamstress smirked. "I think I can handle a couple of kidsss..."
The Baron growled. "Fine," he said. "Give me my pills back, and I'll let you use the suit. Don't damage it."
The Seamstress grinned a lopsided, mostly toothless grin.
"It would be my pleasssure..."
She placed the bottle of pills in his outstretched hand and turned, slinking away into the shadows.
It was late. The tech lab was about to close. James was still on his feet working, but Simon had fallen asleep at his desk.
Leaning over, James nudged Red in the side. "Would you take Simon to his bed? I'm almost done working."
"Sure thing," said Red, stepping around James and lifting the small child in his arms. He carried him back to the back room.
As soon as the door closed, James heard something. It sounded like a hiss.
Whipping around, James came nearly face to face with the Seamstress. He was so scared that he screamed. Not only was he scared of her sudden and hideous appearance, but he saw the snake around her arm, and his phobia of the hideous reptiles kicked in. He lunged back and ended up on top of his desk, knocking the project he had been working on to the floor.
The Seamstress smiled wickedly. "That'sss all I need..." Then she turned and disappeared into the shadows, leaving James to catch his breath.
Now that she had collected the necessary screams, she made her way down to the previously abandoned aircraft hangar. It had been abandoned after several collapses and deaths, but only a few knew that it was still being used in secrecy.
The Seamstress stepped into the large hangar. There were no lights, but she was accustomed to the dark.
In the center of the space was a suit, unlike any other. It was long and snake-like, with a head that opened like a cobra's hood and a middle that unzipped to hold prisoners. It had long spider-like arms with various weapons at the end. There was a figure at the tail end. It was in the shape of the upper half of a human body with reflective panels in the eyes that she could use to amplify her Grace. The whole thing was covered in a material that looked like burlap, but was much stronger.
The head was open. It was ready for use.
Kneeling down, she held out her arm, and the cobra wrapped around it slithered off.
"Be good, Naja," the Seamstress hissed to her snake. The venomous serpent hissed as if it understood her and then slithered off into the darkness to go terrorize the Gracebeasts and Gracelings in the prisons.
The Seamstress ascended the stairs attached to the framework holding the suit upright. Then she stepped into it and activated it.
The suit became synchronized to her mental functions and nervous system. The head closed and the hood lowered so that the only visible part of her was her terrifying head. Then she closed the hood, using the mechanical devices on the inside of the hood to direct her and let her see in the dark. The half-buried door at the end of the hangar opened, revealing the forest.
The Seamstress slithered out of the door, the suit transforming her into the snake she was inside.
She was going to capture as many Gracepunks as she could. Nothing was going to stop her.
A/N: Well that took a while. So, what do you guys think? That Seamstress is one FREAKY BITCH! Sorry this took so long. Hopefully it won't take two months for the next chapter to come out, especially since this part is drawing to a close and part 3 is going to begin very soon. Mwa. Ha. Ha.