Chapter Title: Torrid

Series Title: Unlikely Brothers

POV: Dashen

Ages in this chapter: Tanner (11) and Dashen (17)

Chapter Summary: Dashen struggles to remember where he is, who he is and why he's so damned hot.


Hot. It was hot here. Too damned hot. How anyone lived in this place was beyond me. Of course it didn't help that I was burning up with fever at the same time.

I felt cool touches to my face and neck. Couldn't know who it was, someone I knew? No, I was alone last I recalled...Or maybe not. There was no one with me when I succumbed to this virus or flu or whatever the hell had taken me out. Came on so sudden.

I was in a hospital somewhere and wanted out. Or maybe not a hospital? A room? Metal all around. I was on a bed, I knew that much. Swinging my legs over to stand, I flopped onto my face as as my feet hit the floor. The floor was cold. Wonderful. I wanted to stay here and never leave.

Didn't last long. Hands grabbed me and pushed me back onto the bed. Not friendly. Were they? Those hands felt hot. Everyone and everything felt hot, except that floor. I struggled to get back off the bed and down again. The angry hands pinned me back and I felt intense pain on my wrists and ankles. Who was doing this...someone didn't much like me apparently.

If only this fever would break. If only I could get off this bed, out of this place, away from these annoyed hands. Why did they keep forcing me down and why were they not friendly? Why were they not those of someone who gave a damn about me? Did anyone give a damn about me? And why the hell was it so damned hot in here? Damn damn damn.

Falling to the side, my head did, knowing the cool floor was there somewhere. This time I started rolling my body in that direction but was stopped when my right arm and leg wouldn't move. They were...stuck. Rolling the other direction my other side was also stuck. Something was stopping me from moving. My hands. Feet. Strapped down. Strapped to the bed. What the hell? This had to be bad, right? This was definitely bad.

Arms and legs were covered in damp. The thin whatever I wore was plastered to my body. So hot. My head hurt. My chest hurt. I ached all over. And still my arms and legs didn't...couldn't move...

Voices then. Arguing. Combative. Someone angry. Flaring red-hot anger. Heard it. Felt it. Felt hot. Torrid. Made the room hotter than it was. Was that possible?

A body flew across the room. Crashed into something glass. A window? I was just glad it wasn't me. Though I waited for my turn. There was more struggle then. Blaster fire? Was that what just buzzed by my head? A crack then and what felt like pieces of hard metal that bounced off my chest. My guess? So much for the blaster.

What was happening...

Hot. Still so hot. Stuck. Pinned down.

More angry voices. Another crash. Fighting. Yelling. Promises of bad things to come. I was a bad thing right now. I couldn't see anything through through my blurry eyes. I felt my hair in my face, but no, my eyes...something was in them, stinging. White-hot. I remembered the angry hands putting liquid in them before I got so hot. Then they felt like fire. Now they were useless.

Was a good thing I was too confused to be scared to death, because I had a feeling this entire situation was terrifying. All I knew was that I was so blasted hot.

The angriest voice of those I heard was threatening now. Menacing. They were behind me. Two voices. One with murder in his tone. The other with defiance.

"I make no promise I cannot keep, Kysen."

"The kid was stealing from me. I only defended my property."

"By strapping him to a bed and injecting him with gods know what and burning the hell out of his eyes?"

"I make no apologies for my actions. Thieves. Both of you - I know your reputation on Terra."

"And you're a sick bastard who gets his kicks torturing children. Release him now or you end up next to your friends, only in a condition that cannot be fixed."

I knew that voice. Familiar. But why? Another someone entered the room then, I heard it and knew it. That new sound. Dark. Deep.

"All contained, Boss. We'll be having no difficulty leaving."

That sounded so much like someone I knew. Someone who didn't really like me, but still. What...who...damn my useless eyes.

I grunted something completely unhelpful and felt enraged hands at my arms and feet. Freedom then. I could move. The floor awaited. So cold. Would feel so good.

No such luck. Another body thrown across the room. This one hitting harder than the rest. Grunting and breaking when it hit. Then a warm body moved me off the bed and carried me away. The warm body had a voice. The angry voice from before. One of the familiar ones. It wasn't angry anymore - well, it was, but not at me.

"Hang on, Dashen. Will get you help soon."

Dashen. My name. He knew me. Called me by name.

Then the other darker voice. "Boss, I'll get us home, if you want to stay with Lesedi in the back."

Lesedi. Someone called me that. A lot. That deep voice. So dark. It was annoyed much of the time, with me. So familiar.

My head whacked against a metal something as the warm body holding me ducked into a hole and sat me down on a seat, leaning toward him. Hair. He had hair. Long. I couldn't see it, but felt it. Smell too. I recognized it. A scent that he used. I squirmed to try and sit up, away from him. He kept me low.

"Stay down, Dashen. Until we are away from danger. Can't have you getting shot in the head, you idiot."

Idiot. That was definitely familiar. A name. Nickname. I hated it. I loved it. Only one person ever called me that. Was this him? What was his name? And damn it, why did I still feel like I was on fire?

I did what the familiar voice said though. He was helping me. No one else had helped me. Just pain and fire and hot.

The ride was long. Bumpy. Jerky. I was tossed forward and back several times, with apologies coming from the pilot each time.

"Sorry, Boss. Not a friendly place and I think Kysen has the local authorities in his pocket. Spaceport is ahead. Our flight is secured. Follow behind me once we go. Not more than two steps. I will protect you."

"You always do, my friend." The voice holding me talked to the deep voice. The pilot. I think. Then the closer voice said to me, "Almost, Dash. Will get you off this planet and home. Your little brother's been worried sick."

Little brother. I had a brother? And he was worried. And I was burning up with fever. I hoped I could make it home to him without spontaneously combusting.

I trusted the one holding me. No other choice. Still couldn't remember his name. Or the little brother. Or the deep pilot voice.

My confused thoughts were interrupted by me being elevated again by the warm body. We ran this time. Well, he ran, I just bounced around in his arms. It hurt. A lot.

And then it was over. The warm body set me on a small bed. Hands wandered across my body to look for injury or wounds. I had a few, but mostly I was hot. And my useless eyes burned. My brain moved words to my lips and I mumbled some stuff hoping that this guy would hear and understand me.

"Wharyou? Hot. Help..."

"We're heading home, Dashen. Help will be there."

"Wharyou?" I pointlessly repeated. "Hot."

"I know you're hot. I'll try and cool you down. Your eyes are covered in some type of black goo. Can you see anything?"

"Uh...eyez 'urt. Wharyou?" Damn it, the man kept avoiding my main question. Who the hell was he?

"It's Colton, Dash. You remember me?"

Colton. Colt...Virgil. Yes...I think...I knew him. Helped me. Saved me. Uncle. Boss. Family. Colton.

My body breathed out a sigh of relief so loud that it seemed to echo around the ship.

"Yeah, you remember now. It's all right, kid. We'll get you fixed up soon. Sydenious is making sure the pilot he paid off takes no detours. We had a time finding you. Tannerlin kept insisting you were on Ando. Said you told him you'd be stopping there on your trip home from Falleen. Sydenious and his team could find no trace of you on Falleen. The boy was right. You were on Ando. You need to tell me, you idiot, when you mix two jobs at once. I sent you to Falleen. You picked up a run from Grunley on Ando. Gotta tell me these things, kid. I don't mind you running for both of us on a single trip when you go off-planet, but damn it, you tell me. Thank the gods you told Tannerlin."

He was talking. So much. Too many words. I didn't catch them all. Or understand. Lots of telling me what to do or something and then another word that I knew. Tannerlin. My brother. Little brother. I remembered it. Remembered him.

"See Tanner...". I managed to spit out.

"All those things I just said and your only focus is for the boy, huh?" The voice smiled at me. "You'll see him soon. Healer Quin is ready for you at the hospital. Tannerlin will be there."

"Tanner...home soon."

"Soon. Here." The voice...Colton...set a cold towel on my forehead. It didn't feel as good as the cold floor, but it helped the hot. So damned hot.

The warm body of Colton carried me again. And then I was put onto another bed. So many beds. This time though, when hands touched me they were caring and soft, not angry and rough. Healer Quin. I knew her. I liked her.

Smaller hands found me too. Those had a desperate voice attached to them. Tanner.

"Dash." He didn't say anything else before he tucked his face in next to mine. I felt hot tears on my torrid face. I didn't mind. I was home now. Safe. Loved. Soon to feel better.

Tanner held my hand as Healer Quin worked on me. My eyes burned as she worked to remove the black goo from around them. That hurt like mad, whatever that stuff was. My fever still burned. My body still ached. Head still felt like exploding. I could see a little now though. Not perfect, but some.

I saw them.

Tanner.

Colton.

My face tried for a smile. Whether or not it was successful, not a clue. Felt like it, but that meant nothing right now. Didn't matter. They where there.

Tanner.

Colton.

My burning eyes focused on them both before finally closing. Healer Quin had given me something to reduce the pain. Reduce the hot. To rest. To sleep.

Tanner.

Colton.

They were the last thing I saw as I drifted off...finally...into a blissful, pain free and hot free sleep.


END