A/N: Bad news guys. Starting Tuesday, I may not be able to update as often as I usually like to. T___T This is my busy time of year. -le sigh- Anyways, I'll still try to get in at least one a day.

Struggles

Chapter 2: Alone

I smile as I listen to the others laugh. I'm settled on the ground, my back pressed against a rock. Susan's telling stories about the town, this and that about people she's met, things they've said. BOB throws in his lines of "No way!" and "Oh no she didn't!", though I'm not entirely sure he knows some of the things she's talking about.

Susan turns her gaze, catching me watching her. She smiles, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

For a moment, I find myself wishing that BOB hadn't sat between us. However, a second later, I'm effectively distracted from that thought.

"Hey Doc."

"What?" I ask blankly, snapping my gaze to Link.

"Your marshmallow's on fire."

Turning my attention to the marshmallow at the end of my stick, hovering over the fire, I realize he's right. I pull it out quickly, trying to blow out the fire. By the time I manage to get it out, the thing's already burnt to a crisp. I laugh in embarrassment, holding it out. "Would you like this one, Insectosaurus?"

Insectosaurus roars in response and leans forward to take it.

"Wait, Insectosaurus, not the-" Too late. I release the stick before he manages to eat my arm as well. My antennae droop a little in annoyance as the giant butterfly continues munching. "I'll go get another one."

Susan giggles softly as I stand, brushing off my clothing. "Hurry before BOB eats them all."

Shaking my head, I grab one of the radios and start to step away from the others. I poke around the leaves on the ground with my foot, searching for another stick that would be long enough to keep me from burning off my hand and thin enough to hold a marshmallow. Being in the middle of all those trees, one might thing it'd be an easy enough task, but I find myself needing to wander further and further away until I can't hear the others' voices at all.

It's mostly quiet out here,with only faint sounds of crickets or dogs from the town barking at one another. After fifty or so years locked up in a prison cell, the dark doesn't really scare me. It's almost soothing, reminding me that everything needs to rest once in a while.

And then there's a rustle near-by, coming from something definitely bigger than a cricket. For a moment, I freeze, thinking I might be imagining it.

Click.

Nope. Turning my head, I'm face to face with a tranquilizer gun. There's a man dressed in black holding it, and on his tie, I can see the symbol of Area... all those years there and I still don't know the number. Fifty-something... "Well... hello there, good sir."

He takes out a radio, speaking into it, "I've got one, General Monger."

"Excellent, soldier. I'm on my way."

-

"Dr. Cockroach."

"General Monger," I answer simply, standing with my hands folded behind my back. The tranquilizer gun is still pointed at me, but I ignore it. Monger won't give the order to shoot unless I try to escape. And why would I do that? It would only lead him to the others.

"Now you're the last one I thought we'd catch."

He doesn't have to say it directly for me to understand. I should have been smarter. More careful. I know that. I've been on edge ever since we got here, but in the comfort of the moment, I let it slip my mind. "Just lucky, I suppose." He's not particularly excited to have caught me. He would've been perfectly fine if we remained out here, but he had a job to do, and he knew it.

"Where are the others?" he asks, moving to stand in front of me. He's not worried. He's thinking the same thing as me, that if I ran, I'd only lead him to the others. But he doesn't need to know that.

"Somewhere in Canada, I believe," I've thought about this multiple times. What to say if I were captured.

Monger doesn't seem convinced. "You all wouldn't separate."

"Wouldn't we?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "Why not? I need to be near a city, maybe, but the others don't. Why would they stay somewhere where they'd be stuck in one spot if they could go find a big forest?"

"Ginormica needs a city."

I pause for only half a second, but even that little slip-up costs me. I see the tiny smirk on Monger's face that indicates he knows. Damn. I turn sharply, climbing up a tree as quickly as I can. I hear the tranquilizer gun fire, even hear the wind as it whistles by me, but it misses. I scramble to move to the next tree, wishing I had something more solid to climb.

Another shot.

There's a sharp pain in my leg and I slip, falling from the branch and hitting the ground roughly. It knocks the wind out of me and I gasp. Looking down, I can see the tranquilizer dart.

Gritting my teeth, I grab the radio I'd stored in my pocket, holding down the talk button. "Susan! Link! Get out now!" There's only a brief silence.

"Doctor?" I cringe at the sound of panic in Susan's voice. I can feel the effects of the tranquilizer already, making my limbs and eyelids heavy.

"Get out!" I repeat urgently. I force myself to move, struggling to take apart the radio. He can't trace the other one if this one doesn't work.

"Hey Doc, what ha-"

Link's voice cuts out as Monger steps up next to me. It becomes too much of a fight to stay away, and slowly, I close my eyes.