It has been so long. Sorry guys, I've had this story sitting on my flash drive for months now but I had to get at least the begining of the last chapter written before posting this. But ow that I do here is Chapter 9. Next chapter will be the last with the sequel following probably two weeks after that. Whenever that is.
(although reviews do help me type faster, some of the reviews I got these past few weeks helped me to post sooner rather than later.)
Anyway as I have said before they are not going to die. And in the sequel they are going to get all the love and care they deserve to make a (not necessarily full) recovery so stay tuned.
Enjoy
Fox sat against the wall with his knees drawn to his chest and his head resting on them. The look on his face was pure hopelessness.
Snake gently lay Eagle on the crummy little bench and pulled his bloody hand away to try and apply pressure to the stomach wound himself. Eventually Fox joined him by Eagle's side. He felt the young man's forehead and found that he was already becoming feverish, the beginning sign of infection. No doubt the filthy conditions they had been forced to live were to blame. Eagle opened his eyes slightly at the touch. "Where are they?" he asked in a wheezy voice
"Where else could they be Jake? They're lying on the filthy ground by that dripping wall and I don't think either one of them is waking up again." Fox answered in a downhearted voice as he returned to his spot. "I don't see anyway out of this anymore. Even if we found a way out, the stress of escaping alone could kill them." Fox sighed again heavily.
Snake gave him a harsh look "So you're just giving up?"
Fox looked at him blankly "Yes Sky, I am; I give up. If you can show me some reason why I shouldn't, be my guest. But this is too #$% much."
Snake's expression softened somewhat. He was aware of the fact that each of the men dealt with stress differently. Fox was not as hardcore as the rest of them especially since he was a dad as well. No doubt watching Alex's torture like that had affected him in a bad way.
"You wanna talk about it?" Snake asked quietly
"Talk about what?" Fox asked sarcastically with out lifting his head "We're all going through the same thing, there's nothing to talk about."
"But something specific is eating at you." Snake offered
"Thanks Snake, but no." And with that Fox turned away and lay down by his own wall. But he did not sleep, he simply stared at it. The images and screams continued chasing each other in his head. He couldn;t get rid of the sound and he was afraid that if he closed his eyes he would see that boiling water drench Alex as their wicked captor had intended.
He was afraid to go to sleep for fear of seeing that in all its goriness. But even though he had not closed his eyes the thought of it alone had begun to conjure up the pictures. Fox turned from the wall so he could see Alex in reality trying to shake the thoughts of piercing screams, curled dripping skin. It didn't work, Fox sat up suddenly, shaking slightly. He was sweating.
Snake looked over at him. "You okay Kyle?"
But Fox didn't answer him at first. Snake came over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder but Fox jerked away. "I'm fine." he snapped
"No you're not." Snake scoffed." You should see yourself."
Instead of confiding Fox moved over to just next to Alex and checked his pulse again. It seemed to be a little stronger than before but Fox was sure that it was his imagination.
He went over to Wolf who was definitely worse. His breathing was very light and shallow not to mention slow. He could easily stop breathing altogether at any moment and just slip away out of the land of the living without a sound.
Fox sat back thinking about the irony of the fact that the next day would be October 25; Wolf's birthday. If he died tonight he would die on the eve of his 28th birthday.
It was always somehow sadder when someone died on his birthday; having fulfilled another year yet not a day past it.
"Do you know how long we've been here?" Fox suddenly asked
Snake thought about it for a moment. "I really don't know. I haven't kept track but it seems like a month.
Fox chuckled mirthlessly "We haven't even been here for two weeks, I've been counting the days; but you're right; it does seem like a month if not more." He sat back against the wall between Alex and Wolf.
"I wonder if this is how we're going to die or if anybody even knows that we're missing." He sighed again leaning his head back, closing his eyes for a second feeling drained and weak. Instantly the sickening images came to life in his mind once again.
He sat up straight again peeling his eyes open to find Snake staring at him with a concerned look.
"Something is gnawing at you." Snaked stated instead of asked "I saw it just now; you turned pale a moment after you closed your eyes. Then you jumped up like you saw a nightmare."
Fox ran his hands through his hair warily. "I did." is all he said for a while. After he checked over Alex once again, trying to convince himself that the boy had not been mutilated beyond repair, he ruffled the boy's hair with a regretful look. He finally looked up at Snake with a slightly haunted look. "Every time I close my eyes, I see him as though he had been burned by that pot of water."
"Oh" it was a very heavy syllable
Fox pulled Alex's head into his lap and continued his description. "I… its gross really, sickeningly gross." He paused "It's horrible, the mutilation, his skin was…" He dragged his hands over his face "His face was terrible…it's…it's like his features had merged or something." He hugged Alex close to him for a second and whispered: "And his skin was all over the floor. But the screams are the worse. Goddamn it, I can't….I can't get over his screams."
"We're all going to need counseling after this." Snake answered finally, thoroughly troubled himself "Really deep counseling."
Fox silently agreed.
He gently returned Alex to his makeshift bed nodding. "I'll take first watch." he announced after a while
"I'm not really tired right now." Snake answered
There was silence for a long time. The sound of their friends labored breathing filled the room.
"You know," Fox suddenly announced "He's in a coma now; it's only a matter of time before he stops breathing altogether."
Snake heaved a long sigh "Tell me something I don't know Fox. Tell me something good would you? Tell me you found a way out or something. Not any more goddamn bad news!"
He looked around at his fallen comrades "Before I go fucking insane."
"I don't even know if they can save him even if we do get out of here soon." He continued, looking at Fox questioningly "Can they?"
Fox shrugged gloomily. "It all depends on how soon."
Then the two of them became suddenly aware of a dripping sound at the same time. Fox looked up at Eagle on the bench. His makeshift bandage was soaked through and dripping on the floor.
"Damn it." Snake hissed as he got up and went to him. "DAMN IT! I can't take it! I can't hold this team together. Not when everyone is 'bout dead or close to it."
He ripped off his own filthy shirt, balled up the whole thing and pressed it over the wound firmly.
Eagle squirmed under the sudden pressure but said nothing.
"We have to escape this place. We just have to." Snake suddenly whispered in a hard voice.
"It's times like this that I could use some of Eagle's annoying optimism. God knows we need something besides death to think about." He continued more loudly
"So it's only when I'm dying that you appreciate my talents." Eagle whispered suddenly. His voice was just as raspy as before but with more strength behind his words.
"Don't make things worse now by killing yourself." Snake retorted but it was obvious that he was glad to hear the voice.
"I'm young and strong." Eagle shot back trying to get up on an elbow. "I'll make it." He gave up trying to get up and lay back down with a pale pinched expression. He closed his eyes for a bit.
"Don't be so sure." Fox answered darkly
Eagle groaned loudly and squirmed again under Snakes continued pressure on his wound.
"Not so hard Snake; you're pushing it in there." he ground out
"I have to; you're losing too much blood."
Eagle growled, propping up himself on one elbow. He tried pushing Snake's arm away.
"Come on Eagle it's not that bad. It can't be worse than bleeding to death." Snake pushing him back down.
Eagle flopped back onto the bench and whispered a curse word. "You don't have to shove the damn thing in further though." He hissed but Snake mostly ignored him.
Fox ignored the exchange
Eagle was silent for a while longer before addressing Fox's mood. "Why exactly are you giving up?"
Fox didn't bother to answer.
"You know better than that Fox."
Fox looked as though he wanted to say something but he kept his mouth shut.
Eagle suddenly lifted his good foot to kick Snake away. "Lean off damn it!"
"What the fuck is up with you. Your bleeding onto the fucking floor! You want me to leave you that way?"
"Yes! Leave it alone."
"I'm having a strong sense of deja-vu." Fox interrupted hiding his troubled thoughts behind a blank mask.
The other two ignore him.
Snake and Eagle glared at each other fiercely until Snake abruptly stood back.
"Fine," He moved off. Eagle winced at the sudden release in pressure but said nothing.
"I can't believe you two can act so fucking immature right now." Fox admonished sharply "You sound like a whining hypocrite Eagle, by your own standards you're 'soft' right? We're just trying to help you, if you can't fucking deal with it then you're on your own."
Neither man's expression changed.
Fox got up and glanced from Eagle to Snake with a rarely seen glare. "You know spite is something ugly; why don't we save up what we have for the dicks actually responsible for this." He snapped
The two men avoided his eyes. Surely neither harbored any malice towards the other but tensions were mounting and were being released in the wrong places. Fox understood this and his eyes softened as well but the dullness was momentarily gone.
"We can't let the pressure turn us into less than we are." He said more quietly and his expression told that he knew that's exactly what was happening to them all.
There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before Fox cleared his throat and announced that he thought it would be best to relocate Alex's shoulder now rather than wait for a rescue that might not come.
"Can you do that?" Snake asked in concern glad for the change in topic
Fox knelt down next to the unconscious boy examining the injury. "I have the conceptual training and I know two techniques for setting it back but …"
"But what?" Eagle asked
"The way its set means that only one of them will work and… well the Kocher method is … painful; I don't know if he can stand it."
"Oh" Eagle sympathized quietly "Well…then see if you can do it before he wakes up."
"I'm going to try to." He looked up at Snake with a grim expression "Once I start though, I can't stop. If he wakes up during it, he's most likely going to scream and no doubt pull away. If that happens Snake, I'm going to need you to hold him down so I can finish. No matter how much he screams, you can't let him shift. He could lose the whole arm if we mess up."
Snake nodded understanding the gravity of the situation. They gently propped Alex up in a sitting position in front of Snake who then held him close with the child's back against his chest.
Fox's hands shook as he positioned himself to maneuver the arm back into place; Alex's breathing rate had shifted. He was not as non-responsive as he had been ten minutes ago.
Fox cast Snake a nervous glance before he firmly gripped Alex's arm and pressed it against the boy's side. Alex instinctively stiffened and began to moan. Fox gave Snake a look and Snake tightened his grip on the boy in his arms.
Fox closed his eyes for a moment apparently gathering the resolve to continue. He then gripped Alex's wrist and slowly but firmly rotated his arm outward away from his torso and into the grips of extreme pain. Fox knew, as soon as Alex jerked and the resistance appeared, that Alex was fully awake and about to face hell. It wasn't too late to stop now without damage but Fox pursed his lips and pressed on.
Snake held onto Alex firmly as the kid stared back and forth between them in confused anguish. But Fox refused to meet his eyes. He knew that he'd lose all his determination if he saw the look of bewildered betrayal on Alex's face.
Strangely Alex didn't scream at first he just squirmed and tried to buck out of Snake's grasp but his desperation grew more profound when Snake tightened his hold to constricting proportions and Fox began the third step.
With Alex's arm totally rotated outward Fox now had to bring the elbow forward and upward. This elicited a scream from Alex as soon as he began the movement but Fox continued despite the tears that had now sprung into his own eyes.
Alex screamed and screamed struggling against Snake mightily. He failed to understand why they were doing this to him. In his groggy, wounded state he didn't realize that they were helping him. Had he been properly lucid he probably still wouldn't have appreciated it, but at the moment he felt overwhelmed by a sudden sense of all compassing inescapable danger, deceit and pain. In other words, a nightmare of hell that had spread now to everywhere he looked so that there was literally nowhere else to turn.
Intoxicated with these despairing thoughts Alex screamed and sobbed. Fox finally finished off the entire maneuver by pushing the arm back in the direction of Alex's midsection and they all heard and saw the shoulder suddenly shift back into place with a barely audible pop.
Fox sat back on his heels and swiped his forearm across his eyes. He looked at the damage he had caused in the spirit of goodness. As Snake relinquished his strangling hold and instead hugged the child to calm him, Fox got up and went over to the door and just leaned against it wondering why everything had gone so wrong.
Snake tried in vain to calm Alex down whose pain was not only physical now. He was emotionally broken as well. This small yet significant ordeal had twisted and snapped his last hold on sanity.
His confusion, being awoken by the pain, it all distorted the lines between reality and its nightmare, and the small reprieve that the time with his comrades was suppose to be. Consequently the line between friends, his brothers actually, and the wicked had become miserably blurred.
"It's okay Cub. We're only helping you." Snake soothed as he rested his chin on Alex's head, rubbing his back. Alex continued to silently shake; he didn't seem able to stop.
Snake could not bring himself to say the words 'You're safe.' because it was a complete lie. None of them were safe.
"We're still on the same side Alex, we're still the good guys. We only want to help you."
He could tell that Alex was listening but he couldn't tell if he had gotten through to him. Alex was still tense and untrusting in his arms but he had calmed slightly.
"Look at me Alex." He turned Alex to look him in the eye and lifted his chin. "None of us will ever knowingly hurt you, okay? You may not like what we do and it might hurt like hell when we do it but you can always trust us. Do you understand me?"
Snake knew that Alex had heard him but the kid's hurtfully blank expression suggested that he didn't care in the least. He seemed not to care about anything actually, just his own pain and foreseeable death. Nothing else had any value any more; it just didn't matter.
"Alex do you hear me?"
Alex continued to stare at him for a second longer and then turned away. He closed his eyes tiredly and took a shuddering labored breath before lying down again against Snake's chest. It was not the response that Snake had been looking for but it could suffice. The kid just needed some comfort now. Just some reprieve from the pain. He could give him that. He looked up at Fox who stood by the door watching the exchange.
Fox slid down the wall to rest against the door. "I'm sorry Alex; believe me I didn't mean to hurt or frighten you. But I had to fix your arm and I'm glad I was able to set it back, just not at the expense of your trust."
Alex glanced at him as well but did not move. He wasn't crying anymore but he wasn't what you could call thankful either.
Fox deflated further at Alex's silence, but let him be. Instead he went to check on Eagle again.
"Hey Jake, you still hanging in there?"
Eagle was staring up at the ceiling in a dazed fashion with eyes feverishly bright. His only reply was a slight nod. Fox knelt down next to the bench and went about assessing Eagle's overall status knowing it couldn't be good. His fever had escalated and his breathing rate was alarmingly rapid. Fox laid his head on Eagle's chest just over his heart to get an accurate idea of his heart rate. It was fierce and rapid like that of a young baby. Way too fast for a grown man.
Fox stood up and checked the injuries themselves. Eagle's left knee was painfully mangled underneath the loose bandage Snake had wrapped around it. Fox feared that the kneecap might have to be replaced with an artificial one if they survived.
He gently removed the saturated bandage completely and took a fresh one he had just prepared to rewrap it. As he did, Eagle gasped. Fox didn't blame him, his knee was on fire no doubt, but he was also losing blood fast. The floor around him was staining red and the tiny room stank of the filthiness of sickness and imminent death.
Fox laid a hand on Eagle's forehead for a moment quietly apologizing before continuing. The other injury was not bleeding as badly thanks to Snake's rather rough ministrations but it was obviously the entry point for the bacteria that were now sending Eagle into the fatal grips of sepsis. The area was swollen and tender.
He carefully replaced the bandage, loathing to cover the already infected area with the dirty cloth, but he had no other.
When he was finish, Fox stood up and studied Eagle's face for a little while. He stared trying to remember what his face had looked like before the gaunt haunted look had overshadowed it. Although they hadn't been imprisoned long, the lack of food and the anguish was bare upon there faces.
Eagle continued to stare fixedly at the ceiling with a pinched expression. He looked like a soldier who had been wounded on the battle field, who knew he would not be saved, but was determined to die like a man.
Fox wondered if that's what they were now; wounded abandoned soldiers.
He laid his hand on Eagle's head again. "Rest Jake, you need it. Just try and sleep or something." he swiped the excess sweat from his comrade's brow before sighing and turning away. He hoped this was not going to be the last time he saw him awake.
Then he walked past Snake who still held Alex, to sit beside Wolf. He knew Snake was watching him, worried that he might break, but he didn't care.
Now he studied Wolf's face. He seemed to be trying to etch\the picture of Wolf's peaceful expression into his mind before his friend died. For the tenth time since being back in the cell, Fox felt Wolf's neck for the weak throb that proved that the man had not yet passed.
He had often made a point of getting on Wolf's nerves. Wolf was so easy to irritate but he could always take it. He'd usually bounce back with a witty comment of his own when he realized that Fox was just poking fun.
Wolf also had this fearless attitude that had always given Fox the impression that he thought he was too strong to die.
He just had this overwhelming confidence, like he knew that he could overcome anything. Sometimes Fox had found that attitude annoying, especially when it came to making decisions for the team. That's where he and Wolf often disagreed. Surprisingly though, Wolf was often right in the decisions he'd made.
Maybe if he'd had a say in how they'd went about this particular mission things would have went differently. But it wasn't to be. Instead Wolf had been given strict orders; Orders that had ultimately led to their doom.
Fox continued to examine the bruised face and nearly non-existent rise and fall of his leader's chest.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you Ry." Fox paused and glanced at the door for a moment. He pulled his hands down over his eyes and stood up again.
"I'm afraid we just weren't strong enough."
As expected Wolf did not answer.
Tell me what you think and I will personally see to it that Not one of them dies. ;)
Till next time