#brother it is your brain just stop poking it like a bruise you idiot son of a bitch 🙄

[samuelroukin]

my mom's comment on my body has not left my mind in a week and a half.. like i am 30 or 40 years old i don't need this

[magicallygrimmwiccan]

Wander Through The Darkness Part III: (When You) Submit To The Soil Of The Earth

“Hey Logan, Patton, stay here, okay? Virgil and I are going to find food,” Remy murmured, gently nuzzling her head into Logan’s ribcage. They didn’t reply, remaining curled into a ball among roots growing out of their skin. Somehow, there was no blood, something that disturbed both Remy and Virgil to no end. They knew this was the work of the Beast, yet they had no idea how to fix it. The best they could do, they had decided, was to just try and keep Logan alive until they could get them home. They were so close, they knew. All Logan had to do was hold on just a little bit longer.

The cat and the bluebird left, leaving the two humans alone. “Hey, Logan! Want to play a game?” Patton asked, breaking the silence with his soft, sweet voice.

“I’m tired, Patton,” Logan answered, voice flat. They curled up into a tighter ball, pulling their cloak around them. “You can play with Remy and Virgil when they get back.”

“Okay! Do you want me to sing a song?” Patton’s smile was two seconds from crumbling as he desperately tried to think of something to make his big brother smile again. He was not blind. He saw the roots growing from Logan and how they were creeping closer to the ground, growing closer to becoming permanently planted. Patton knew that would kill Logan and was determined to try and do anything to keep his brother alive.

“No, Patton. I’m tired and I just want to sleep,” Logan sighed, their eyes sliding shut. Patton began to panic and wracked his brain, thinking of anything that would keep Logan fighting until Remy and Virgil got back and could fix this.

“Could you tell me some poetry? I want to hear!”

“No you don’t, Patton, you hate poetry.”

Patton’s cheeks puffed out. “That’s not true!” Logan let out a single weak chuckle and fell silent again, cheeks rapidly paling at the same pace as their breath slowed. Patton bit his lip and swiped at his eyes, determined not to cry. He had to save Logan! He couldn’t just sit back and let his big brother die. Dad would cry if that happened, and then Papa would be sad, and then Patton would get blamed and his parents would stop loving him because he let Logan die.

“Oh, hush little one, there’s no need to cry,” a low voice purred from behind him. “Everything is okay.”

Patton turned around to see a tall man with long branch-like antlers extending out from his soft red hair. His grin was filled with fangs and his pink, blue, and yellow eyes glowed unnaturally, but he did not seem to want to hurt Patton. He looked friendly.

“No it’s not okay! Logan is dying and I don’t know how to stop it!” Patton wailed, finally letting a few of his tears slip down his face. “And if I don’t stop him from dying, our parents will hate me!”

The tall red-haired man knelt down and brushed Patton’s tears away. “Hush now. I’m afraid your brother has been claimed by the Beast.”

“What?” Patton sniffed. “So… so he’s going to die?”

“Not necessarily,” the man corrected. “I happen to know how to bargain with the Beast.”

Patton lit up. This nice man could help him save his brother! “I’ll do anything! What do you need!”

He chuckled and stood to his full height, reaching his arm down to offer Patton a hand. “Just come with me and all will be fixed.”

Patton bit his lip, turning to look at Logan. “I can’t just… leave him, though.”

“He will be fine. No one will harm him, I promise.”

Patton debated with himself for another moment before taking the man’s hand. If this would save Logan, he would go with him. “Okay, mister, let’s go.”

He did not notice how the branches retracted from Logan as colour returned to his face. He did not notice how they sat up and rubbed at their eyes, blinking furiously as they tried to get their vision to readjust. He did not notice when they saw him walking off, how they shot to their feet and began to chase him. He did not hear their screaming.

“Would you like me to teleport us to the Beast?” the tall man asked, looking down at Patton. He nodded, and with a snap of his fingers, the man teleported the two of them away, leaving Logan to tumble over the edge of a small cliff and plummet to the ground below, landing on their arm with a sickening crunch. They screamed before falling back into darkness, but Patton did not know this. All Patton knew was that the nice man had brought him to a snow-filled grove before vanishing, leaving Patton cold and alone.

“Mr. Beast, sir?” Patton called. “I’d like you to fix my brother.” A laugh answered him, sinking into Patton’s bones and sending nausea rolling through him.

“Oh, I have. But now, you have to take his place.” Patton shivered harder. “Enjoy the grove. It’s your final resting place, Patton Whelan. There is nowhere to run, not anymore.”

************************************************

“Logan! Come on, I want to go trick or treating!” Patton called, knocking frantically on the door to his older brother’s room. Logan let out a groan at the call, leaning back in their chair to stare at the ceiling. Why did they have to take Patton out? Couldn’t they just stay inside?

Of course not. Both Alfred and Arthur were working tonight and Logan had been stuck with babysitting duties, which also meant being stuck with Patton. Logan did have a costume, but they did not feel like leaving the house tonight.

“Please? Papa told me you’d take me!” Logan gritted their teeth at the news. Of course Alfred had promised Patton something like that without asking Logan first. It was just like the stupid, perpetually happy golden boy to make his son smile at the expense of Logan’s comfort.

“Logan? I… I made a really cool costume and I want to show Ms. Ortiz, at least…” Patton sounded on the verge of tears, and though Logan disliked him, they also refused to let Patton cry. They stood and strode over to the door, picking up the hat and cloak to complete their costume on the way, and flung open the door to face down a sad Patton.

“Give me five minutes and we can go,” they growled before slamming the door again. They let out a sigh and leaned against the door. Logan hated acting like the villain here, hated taking their frustration out on Patton, but they couldn’t help it sometimes. Patton pushed too far too often, and Logan didn’t know how to handle it.

They spent those five minutes adjusting his cloak, making sure it was draped over his shoulders and torso in a way that would disguise his skinniness. They then simply shoved the hat atop their head and strolled out into the hallway, closing the door behind them.

“Let’s go, Patton,” they muttered, beginning to stalk down the stairs with their arms wrapped around their torso underneath the thick, navy cloak. Patton cheered and followed, babbling on and on about all the candy he was going to acquire. Logan tuned him out and focused on the ground in front of them, making sure to stop Patton from charging out onto the street.

“Oh, Logan! There’s that kid you like!” Patton chirped. Logan’s head snapped up and whipped around, frantically searching for Joan. Their eyes landed on the cute human only a second later, red rising to their cheeks as they yanked Patton behind a bush.

“Patton! We do not mention the squish where Joan can hear?” Logan hissed, eyes darting around frantically.

“But I’m pretty sure they like you back, so why not just say it?” Logan groaned and dragged a hand down their face, contemplating responses. Most of them involved curse words and as such could not be used. Arthur, despite his own sailer’s mouth, would kill them for swearing in front of Patton.

“Because… because it is not that simple,” Logan sighed, poking their head out to check if Joan was gone. They were. “I have no proof that Joan does, in fact, like me in that manner.”

Patton shook his head and smiled. “Logan, even though you’re my big brother, you are an idiot.”

Logan ignored that and dragged Patton out from behind the bush. “Okay, you wanted to trick or treat, go trick or treat.” Patton pouted but bounded off, visiting multiple doors to gain treats while Logan waited on the sidewalk. Logan watched and waited, simply enjoying the cool night air.

“Oh, what’s this?” Logan froze as they felt Patton grab something from their cloak. They turned around to see what Patton had grabbed and froze. It was… The Mixtape. How had Patton gotten his hands on The Mixtape? Why was The Mixtape even in their cloak?

“Patton! Give it back!” Logan yelped, diving for it. Patton simply laughed and ran away, Logan taking off after him.

“Is it for Joan?” Patton teased, scrambling over the wall separating the cemetery.

“Y-yes it is, but that’s not important!” Logan stammered. “Give it back!”

“Catch me if you can~!” With that, Patton spun around and darted towards the cemetery wall, Logan hot on his heels. Patton scrambled up over the wall and Logan followed, groaning as their stomach pressed into the hard red brick. Patton darted between the gravestones and Logan staggered after, already feeling the bruises covering their body.

“Oof!” Logan uttered as they rounded a corner and crashed into someone.

“Whoa, Logan!” a familiar voice cried. Logan felt hands on their arms, steadying them, and they looked, face draining of blood as they registered their squish, Joan, holding them upright.

“Joan?” Logan choked out.

“Yeah, um… so Patton just gave me a mixtape and said it’s from you?” Logan’s blood chilled and they immediately jerked out of Joan’s arms, darting around them to find Patton. They ignored their cries and grabbed Patton’s arm, not even looking at which direction they were sprinting in. All they knew was that they had to get away, away from Joan, away from judgement, away from embarrassment, away from emotion.

Unfortunately, Logan was so focused on getting away that they did not notice what they were running towards. A large tree root appeared just before they could stop and their foot caught, sending both them and Patton sprawling over the edge of a bank. Logan screamed and pulled Patton close, curling around him just as their bodies began to roll over and over towards the dark pond. Logan gasped as they breached the surface, the cold shocking their muscles, and they made sure to hug Patton close before attempting to paddle upwards. Unfortunately, they strayed too close to the edge and their skull smashed against a rock, sending blackness soaking into their vision instantly and erasing all hope of survival.

**************************************************

Logan gasped and shot upright, immediately checking all their limbs to make sure no bones were broken. They remembered a crunch beforehand and were terrified they would find a mangled limb.

“Oh, no, sweetie, lay down,” a soft voice chirped. “You had quite a scare.”

Logan ignored the voice and sat up, blinking their eyes frantically upon registering their surroundings. They could not possibly be surrounded by bluebirds. It had to be a dream.

“Virgil brought you here,” the same voice continued. She sounded concerned. “It’s the first time we’ve seen him in months.”

Logan pushed themself to their feet. “Where exactly is Virgil?”

“He left as soon as he gave you to us.” Logan nodded and began to crawl towards the exit. “Wait, sweetie, no, there’s a blizzard outside.”

“My brother and my friends are out there,” Logan shot back. “I can’t just leave them.”

She sighed and backed down, feathers ruffled. “At least bring him home, will you?”

“I’ll try my best, ma’am,” Logan replied before sliding out of the nest into the stinging cold of the blizzard. They pulled their cloak around them, shivering, as they began to traipse through the forest, squinting their eyes behind their glasses to be able to see through the horrible snow flying everywhere.

They’d only been walking for a minute or two when something small and warm smacked them in the face. Logan sputtered in shock but managed to catch the object as it fell, squinting down.

“Logan! What are you doing out here?” Virgil yelped, struggling to stand in Logan’s palms. Logan helped the small bluebird to his feet, hugging him close to their chest.

“I have to find Patton,” Logan replied, just a tad bit out of breath. “He was taken by the Beast.”

Virgil shook his head. “Hang on for a second, Remy’s out there too.”

“I need to find him! He’s my brother!” Logan yelled, beginning to trudge through the snow again. They did not hear the sound of soft snow crunching beneath small paws behind them.

“Logan, stop and think! You’re just a human, what chance do you stand against the Beast?” Virgil yelped, squirming around frantically. He couldn’t fly up to Logan’s shoulder, not in this weather.

“It’s my job. I’m the older one,” Logan shot back, smiling slightly as they realized they were only a few feet from the tree line. They screeched as they were dragged to a halt by something grabbing the bottom of their cloak, twisting desperately to see what it was.

A peeved black cat with acidic violet eyes stood there, glaring up at them. “At least listen when Virgil tells you to wait, gurl,” Remy grumbles. “And pick me up.”

Logan bent, allowing Virgil to perch on Remy, before lifting both cat and bird to their shoulders. Remy dug in their claws to stabilize themself atop Logan’s shoulder, and Virgil perched on the other one. Logan kept walking, desperate to get under the cover of the trees and out of this horrid blizzard.

They finally managed it what seemed like an hour later, as the wind had kept blowing them back two steps for every one forward they took. Logan let out a sigh of relief and took a moment to brush the snow off, Remy and Virgil hopping off their shoulders to the ground. The wind had mysteriously stopped blowing, but Logan didn’t ponder the implications of that. All they cared about was getting to Patton.

A gasp from Virgil drew their focus back to reality. “Logan… look…” Logan followed the direction of Virgil’s wing and gasped as well, knees beginning to knock together.

In front of them, leaning against a stump, tangled in black roots dripping oil, lay Patton. His skin was far, far too pale and his normally lively eyes were closed. A ways behind him lay the Woodsman Logan and Patton had met at the beginning of this insane adventure, groaning and trying to climb back to his feet. Logan’s anxiety screamed that they had failed and Patton had died because of them, only to be shattered when Patton let out a cough.

“Patton!” Logan screamed, lunging forward, leaving Virgil and Remy behind in their haste. They ignored the calls to wait, the pleas to stop, the requests to halt, and skidded to a stop on their knees. Their hand flailed around, finally colliding with the lantern they had seen the Woodsman carrying earlier, and they raised it to see how Patton was doing.

“Logan… I did it,” Patton mumbled, eyes cracking open a bit. “I won the game…”

“Oh, Patton, no, no, it’s okay,” Logan soothed, setting the lantern in front of them as their hands frantically moved to the roots and began to pull. “I’ll get you out of here and we’ll go home, okay?”

“No, no, Logan, I got him to let you go home,” Patton insisted, smiling weakly up at the taller child. “You can go home and tell Joan how you feel…”

Logan shook their head. “No, no, Patton, no. We’re getting you out of here, you’re going home too.”

“Logan-” Virgil squeaked from behind them.

“What?” Logan snapped, tugging fruitlessly at the roots tying Patton to the trunk.

“Well well, Logan. You’re a rude little thing, aren’t you?” a darkly familiar voice purred in front of them. Logan slowly looked up, eyes widening as they took in the handsome form of the Beast, his grin impossibly wide and displaying far too many sharp fangs.

“L-let him go,” Logan stammered, hand curling around the lantern again. In the worst case, they could use it as a weapon. The Beast simply chuckled and moved around the stump, stalking towards Logan. They scrambled backwards, clutching the lantern to their chest. The Beast paused upon seeing this, eyes narrowing.

“If you wish… I am willing to make a deal.”

“Don’t listen to him, Logan!” Remy and Virgil yelled before being silenced by a wave of the Beast’s hand. Logan didn’t look back, too scared of what they might see, instead forcing themself to meet the Beast’s eyes.

“Oh? What deal?”

“Give me the lantern, and I will place his soul inside it so he may live on forever, instead of dying and wasting away inside the tree he is becoming.”

“No! He lies!” the Woodsman yelled. The Beast spun around, snarling, the shadows lashing as he towered over the Woodsman.

“ShUt Up, WoOdSmAn!” he screeched, voice dark and crackling and far too alien and ancient. Logan screamed, curling into a ball around the lantern and bracing for the inevitable blow. The Woodsman also screamed before falling silent, and Logan could not look at him either, realizing with a cold sinking feeling that they were most likely the last one alive.

“Now, Logan, do we have a deal?” His voice was back to being calm, soothing, and far too convincing to be real. Logan looked up cautiously to see him smiling, extending a hand towards Logan, looking for all the world like a normal human. Logan shakily stood and began to extend a hand towards the Beast before pausing, their mind catching up to their ears.

“No.”

The Beast’s eyes narrowed. “What.” Shadows began to curl behind him, his eyes flickering pink for a brief instant, but Logan stood their ground despite their instincts screaming at them to give in.

“No. I’m not giving you the lantern. That’s dumb.” With that, they stepped back, hand tightening around the iron handle.

“Child, stop this silliness,” the Beast growled. Logan simply shook their head and held it up, the light illuminating the flimsiness of the Beast’s human guise.

“It’s illogical to give you what you want. It is not a good bargaining practice to hand over someone’s soul for a simple lantern. I bet you don’t even place souls in the lantern. Hell, why do you even want this? It’s not important, unless-” Logan’s brain finally connected the dots and they gasped, turning shocked eyes to the lantern. “Unless it’s your soul in here.”

“You do not know what powers you toy with here,” the Beast hissed, hand extended. “If you hand me my lantern now, I will spare you.”

“I have no guarantee of that,” Logan stated, voice flat. “For all I know, the second I hand over this lantern, you will turn me into a tree.”

The Beast exploded, doubling in height to tower over Logan, shadows wreathing him as his eyes burned bright white and large antlers extended across the clearing. “HaNd It OvEr!” he roared. Logan trembled in terror but held firm.

“No.”

“ArE yOu ReAdY tO eXpErIeNcE tRuE dArKnEsS?” the Beast rumbled, taloned hands reaching up to rip into Logan.

Logan simply let out a short chuckle, belying the terror in his soul, as they unlatched the door to the lantern. They brought it right up to their face before turning to stare the Beast right in his cold, dead, empty eyes.

“Are you?” was Logan’s only response before they blew out the flame of the lantern, ignoring the screams of the other three innocents in the clearing.

The Beast staggered back, screaming in agony that cut straight to the core of Logan’s soul, causing so much pain that Logan was forced to drop the lantern and clap hands over their ears in a desperate attempt to drown out the horrible sound. They watched in frozen horror as the Beast staggered back, shedding shadows with every step, until his human form was the only thing left, eyes blows wide in desperate terror. With a final screech, the Beast solidified into a twisted tree, leaving the clearing suddenly silent. Logan let out a shaky breath at the silence, all the tension draining from their frame.

“Logan? Are you… are you okay?” Virgil’s shaky voice asked from behind them. They slowly turned to see the bluebird and the cat carefully walking towards them, concern practically oozing from every fibre of their beings. Logan nodded, turning back to look at the tree they had just created with a simple gust of carbon dioxide.

“He’s really gone,” the Woodsman gasped, sitting up. The scar on his face had vanished, leaving only a weary, middle-aged man on the verge of tears. Logan nodded again, letting all the trapped air out of their lungs.

“What about Patton?” Virgil whispered.

“Patton! Oh stars no!” Logan gasped, diving back towards the stump. The branches retracted the second they touched them, sending Patton tumbling into Logan’s arms. Colour had returned to his face and his breathing was deep and steady. He was alive.

Logan sobbed in joy and hugged their brother close. “Patton you’re alive, oh gosh.”

“Mm… Logan?” Patton mumbled. “Can we go home now?”

“Yes, yes of course we can,” Logan answered, standing and cradling Patton in their arms. “Let’s get you home.”

“I… I guess this is goodbye, then,” Virgil mumbled, landing in front of Logan. Logan smiled softly and knelt down, gently setting Patton down in order to give Virgil a hug.

“Yeah… you should go back to your parents, they miss you.”

“I have to tell them that it’s my fault we’re all bluebirds, don’t I?” Virgil chuckled, wiping tears away from his eyes. Logan cleared their throat and reached into their cloak, pulling out the scissors they had stolen from Talyn.

Virgil’s eyes widened. “Where did you get those?”

“I took them on the way out of Talyn’s house. I figured they might be important.”

“Well, you figured right,” Virgil said, smiling softly. “Thank you so much.”

Logan nodded and gave the bluebird a small hug. “Stay safe, Virgil.”

“I’ll try, and you better promise too,” Virgil shot back, grinning before hopping back.

Remy stepped forward, head cocked to the side. “So… I don’t really have a home here. I just wander. Do you two mind if I come with you?”

“Yay, kitty!” Patton cheered.

“Patton you are allergic to cats!” Logan shot back.

“Oh yeah… but I’ve been fine this entire time!” Patton answered, sitting up and beaming at Logan. “Please?”

Logan sighed. “Fine, Remy can come with. But we really should be going home now.” Patton nodded and pushed himself up, grabbing Logan’s hand. Remy jumped onto Logan’s shoulders while they were still crouched down. Logan stood to their full height and began to walk towards the doorway home, allowing Patton’s chatter to wash over them, just happy their brother was alive and still able to talk their ear off about something Logan knew nothing about.

Virgil was left with the Woodsman, the two of them watching the three vanish into the fog of the woods. Virgil slowly turned to the Woodsman, feathers still puffed up with anxiety.

“Am I the only one who thinks this won’t be the last time we see those three?”

“No, you are absolutely correct in thinking that,” the Woodsman rumbled. “Now that the Beast is dead, the forest needs a new Caretaker.”

Virgil shivered. “Well, they better be nicer than the last one.”

The Woodsman simply smiled at Virgil. “Oh, I believe they will be.” Virgil blinked, confused, but the Woodsman laughed. “Never mind the strange ramblings of an old man. Now, let’s get you back to normal. Hand over the scissors.”

********************************************

Logan blinked awake to see bright white lights searing into their eyes. They groaned, throwing an arm over them to block out the light, waiting for the rest of their senses to adjust. They heard soft beeping in the background, felt soft sheets beneath their back, and heard soft breathing on their left.

“Logan?” Joan’s voice called softly. “Are you awake? Are you okay?”

“Where am I?” Logan mumbled, tongue thick in their mouth.

“Hospital. Do you remember what happened?” Logan frowned, thinking, and pulled a blank. They shook their head, giving Joan the signal to continue. “So, you bumped into me in the cemetery, then grabbed Patton and ran. You accidentally tripped over a root and the two of you tumbled down the bank and crashed into the pond. I expected you to come back up in a minute, but you didn’t, and… well… I called 911. Just before I dove in to get you two, you broke the surface, dragged yourself, Patton, and this black cat to the shore, and then promptly passed out.”

“Oh.” Logan frowned. They remembered being in a strange forest with Patton and this bluebird who could talk… was that real?

“Logan, you were underwater for 5 minutes. No one knows how you’re still alive,” Joan murmured, tears clogging their voice. “I thought we had lost you.”

“I’m right here, Joan,” Logan answered. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know, I know, but… ah shit, it doesn’t matter.” Joan laughed and gently pulled Logan’s arm away from their eyes. “Now… what was on that mixtape?”

Logan coughed. “Oh, that… just some poetry and clarinet. Nothing important.”

“Well, I’d still like to listen to it,” Joan said. “But I don’t have a mixtape player.”

“I- I do,” Logan whispered. Joan smiled and squeezed their hand.

“Would you mind if I came over next week and we could listen to it together?” Logan nodded, Joan nodded back, and after a few moments of silently gazing at each other, they burst into giggles. Everything would be okay, Logan knew. Everything was right with the world. Patton was safe. Joan didn’t hate them. Logan was home safely, and all was right with the world for now.

Later, Arthur and Alfred would burst into Logan’s room and pull them into a hug that involved far too many tears for Logan’s taste. Then, they would guide them to Patton’s room, where the tearful hugs would continue. Arthur would disapprove of Remy the cat at first (Logan realized that the Unknown had been real the second they saw Remy. There was no other way that cat could be here, winking at them while smirking atop Patton’s chest), but then would ultimately relent at Patton’s proof that he was not allergic to this particular cat. They will gather the two siblings and take them and their new cat home at the baffled approval of the staff and settle them back into normal life, the small family just happy to be alive and together.

But at this moment, Logan lays in a hospital bed with their best friend at their side. In another world, a boy who used to be a bluebird enters the clearing where he had almost died, flanked by a tall woodsman and the son who had finally come home. The bird boy kneels and checks the pulse of a red-haired man who lays on the ground in front of the tree in the middle of the clearing. He finds him alive and asks the woodsman to help him carry the man back to his house. There is something rotten going on in this forest, he knows, and he is determined to discover it. The small group shuffles back to a cabin, leaving the tree standing alone, a lantern empty at its roots. The lantern whispers, calling out for the one who had last extinguished it to come and light it again. The Unknown needs the Caretaker, it whispers. You must come fulfill your right, it calls. We will be waiting, it sings, in a song only able to be heard by one.

The one its song calls to will not notice it right away. They will deny it for a time. “The Beast is dead”, they will protest. “There is nothing in that other world for me.” They will be wonderful at protesting, at ignoring, at simply going about their daily human life, until one day the lantern’s song becomes too much. On that day, they will exit a shower, refreshed and reborn, and wipe steam off a mirror, only to see the truth of their true nature. They will scream, yet no one will hear. No one but them can see the truth, not yet. No one but they can see the antlers twisting from their skull, reaching for the heavens, denoting the role of Caretaker of the Unknown.

[avalindin]

Second Chance

Future Tom fic

Chapter 7: Numb

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Previous Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6

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Evelyn looked down to her eggs. They were beautiful and fluffy. She was sure the minute they hit her stomach, she would get sick and it would anger Dom. She used her shaky hand to grab the fork to shovel the food down her throat. She flinched as Dom appeared with more food and kissed her on the side of the brow.

“Why do you always jump,” he laughed.

Evelyn glared at him, disgusted at him as she swallowed.

Please let me throw up again…

It was a whole day or so she thought since she was brought to her room, to where Dom was keeping her. There were too many things running through her head to focus on Dom taking her hand into his as he rubbed his thumb to her knuckle.

“Perhaps we can walk about later.”

“You said I would die if I went outside this room.”

“The rest of this floor is clear. I had some help from the druggies to fix up this space. It’s not much but they’ll do anything for another hit. I know it’s too soon but I want to choose a color for the rooms that’ll belong to the kids.”

“I’m not giving you shit.”

Evelyn got up from the table and sat by herself on the single seated couch near the wall as Dom ignored her.

“You need to get over that muck and look forward to a bright future. There is always time to grieve later.”

“I think you need to get over my foot in your ass.”

“I was thinking how back before everything happened how boys were color coated as blue and the girls were pink. I think it will be a marvelous idea, there is so much space here and they can have their own playroom…”

Evelyn moaned as the pain in her hip was nearly tolerable.

“Justine?”

“Use my name.”

“How’s your hip?”

“Are you really asking me that right now,” she snapped.

If she had the strength, she would have gotten to her feet and broken on the flower filled vases over his head and sliced his throat with the leftover pieces. Dom grabbed his medical supplies and hurried to Evelyn as her head started to spin. She didn’t fight him as she suddenly slumped over the side of the couch.

Dom was quick to pull the side of her pants down as he lifted the bandage and curse to himself. Evelyn was weak, looking to her heavily bruised hip as a dark liquid that wasn’t blood flow from the cut.

“Justine?”

Her vision started to blur as she saw her mother rush to her side and lift her from the couch. Over the years in the three hospitals she worked, her mother was the best out of all the nurses, a regular Nurse Jackie without the addiction.

“Stay with me, Justine!”

Her skin had grown clammy in a matter of minutes as she lurched over in his arms in pain. Dom ran from the room to find a same doctor in the mix of the colony. Bribing was the best way to find what he was looking for. He armed himself with a weapon, a simple necessity as he pulled on a jacket and headed to one of the lower floors of the buildings of the cluster colony that was now his and his Justine’s new home. He had stolen a great amount of medicine for himself and more for a lone floor all to himself from the habitants of the colony in a matter of hours but he figured the Ovan wouldn’t need it now that she was dead.

The doors to the elevator opened as he stepped inside and prayed that he didn’t cause anything internal to happen to her.

-

Thomas woke looking around the room as the curtain shielded him from the voices.

“Evel…”

He couched, trying to find air as he sat up and moaned. His head pounded as he pushed off the blanket to the bed. Emma flung back the curtains and rushed to his side.

“Stop it, Thomas. You need to lay back down.”

“No!”

“Yes,” said Marren as she appeared donning a pair of gloves.

She looked so different from what she normally looked like. Her jacket was off and her sleeves were rolled up her arms. Her long hair was twisted up into a bun and her steady hands injected Tom with a sedative to ease him as he fell back to the bed.

“Ple…”

He groaned as he did everything he could to fight the sedative.

“I’m sorry, Tom…”

Her strong voice hummed and echoed in the back of his mind. He took a breath in and tried not to see his mother into her place as she smoothed back his sweating blonde curls.

“Just rest for now,” she turned up as her blonde hair darkened completely with a smile but look of worry to her eye, “He’s going into cardiac arrest. Get the next available chemist!”

“Not him, not him…”

“You’ll get off your ass if you want another hit. NOW MOVE!”

Dom grabbed the collar of one of the runaway doctors that fled to the Echo colony when he tried to traffic drugs for extra units. When he was caught, he took everything he could and fled to the untouchable patch of land a day’s ride from any of the colonies. Now Dom was like him but he knew he’d never be strung out on drugs. He would never do that to Justine.

If she would live through the night, she would need a few days to heal properly and then… Then she would be his. He wouldn’t think of it as forcing her if she had nothing else to lose. He tapped his foot impatiently as the elevator went higher up into the buildings. He swiped his card and punched in the code only he knew for his floor.

The cab shifted sideways as it sped faster to its destination.

“Come on. Come on.”

“Look, mate. You may as well tell me what you did now.”

“Too late, we’re here.”

Dom rushed from the hall and into the furnished foyer to Justine’s room. He scanned his card again to Justine’s room as he was jerked to a stop. The door had only opened part of the way as a bit of brown hair with blonde streaks showed.

“Shit…”

He heaved the door in, sending Justine’s unconscious body down to the floor hard. There was blood mixing in with the dark matter drenching the side of her white pant leg. The doctor rushed inside with his jaw to the floor as he dropped his things and punched Dom in the jaw.

“What the hell did you do to her?!”

“I took out the implant.”

“How long since she had it?”

“Just a few days.”

“You fucking idiot.”

The doctor scooped up Evelyn and laid her out on the dinner table. Dom dropped the stolen supplies he procured and stepped back before he got hit again. He was not a doctor and didn’t want to do anything to further the jeopardy of Evelyn’s health. The doctor injected her with an IV of his own blood. He was careful not to step over the lines between him and the lines keeping Evelyn alive.

“You stupid fucking moron. She’s one of the ones that woke, isn’t she?”

“Why?”

“You are obviously your own brother and you chose a fighter. I heard she walked outside without a mask. I don’t know why she is still alive.”

“Well. This one is 100%,” he boasted.

“Maybe not now.”

“What?”

“You taking out the implant may have fucked up her genetic coding. Good job on waiting, you fucking gearhead.”

“But you can fix this, right?”

The Doctor looked up with his twitching eyes obviously strung out from all the drugs in his system.

“There is a wonderful possibility, a Russian roulette of a chance that she’ll be able to have a child now that you were too stupid to get a doctor.”

“No…”

“Act like a bitch, get slapped like a bitch!”

There were so many needles sterilized, filled and poked into Evelyn’s skin as she moaned in pain. There was so much pain.

“Tom…”

None of this could be happening. If she was asleep in his arms, she would wake up to find him there. If she was back at the apartment, she would welcome little Henry with open arms and let Tom know how she felt the minute he returned. Even if she was still under, waiting to wake up still naked and hooked up to feeding tubes, she would be there to seeing him again for the first time.

Evelyn…

She turned to the sound of Tom’s voice as he sank to his knees gasping for air. She ran to him, doing everything in her power to reach him before she woke. Tom could feel his head spinning as he looked up to Evelyn running for her life.

Thomas!

He tried to stand to his feet, unable from the pain in his chest as he felt a prick in the side of his chest. There was a trickle of blood running down his side as it glistened. He looked up as her shape began to disappear but not before he saw the side of her hip dripping with blood.

Clear!

Tom’s whole body thumped against the bed as he was brought back to life. He flailed, coughing and calling out for Evelyn as Marren held him down to the bed.

“Breathe, Hiddleston, breathe! You’re no good to me dead.”

He steadied his breathing as he looked down to the blood draining from the straw that was placed in his chest.

“He should be fine now.”

Tom turned to the old man at the side of his bed as he was injected with a mild sedative to make the pain in him go away.

“Father?”

The man was silent as he checked the machine that Tom was hooked up to.

“He’ll be fine after some rest,” the man stated, ignoring Tom, “Tubes can be taken out tomorrow.”

He looked down with sadness in his eyes as he smoothed his son’s hair back.

“What happens now?”

“Nothing, Edward. Echo colony is way out of my jurisdiction. Evelyn is gone and she’s not coming back. We’re limited as it is and more abductions happen every day. Perhaps we should have screened your wife’s workers. No one ever comes back from Echo.”

“Perhaps you shouldn’t be insulting her in her memory. It was your dog that killed her in the first place.”

“If you leave, if any of you leave this colony, I will make your lives hell as you rot on the outskirts!”

Marren snapped off her gloves and tossed them into the nearest bin. The man sat next to Tom’s bed as Tom tried to speak.

“Look, boy. I know it’s been 15 years but you need someone with you right now. Your sister’s are handling matters of your mum. She can’t be a donor as she wanted. Her organs were too damaged.”

“H-How?”

His voice wasn’t close to understandable but it was enough.

“There was a wound on the back of her head. He must have knocked her out and reset the windows manually. There was a fair amount of clotting in her brain. She wouldn’t have woken up even if she could. I’m sorry.”

Tom kept his eyes to the ceiling as his father smoothed back the hair on his grown son’s hair. He could feel something tucked under his pillow as he met his father’s eyes.

“Come find me tomorrow when you are better, boy.”

Tom rolled his eyes, not ready to make nice with his father after all this time. His father lowered himself to his ear to make sure that he was heard.

“You man up and find me tomorrow, Thomas. You are going to fight like hell for Evelyn, understand me?”

He kept his sinking eyes to the wall as his father walked from the room and left him to his silence.

-

“One foot in front of the other.”

Tom attempted to sleep but was woken at the chime of his mother’s screen. It was strange for her to not be alive anymore. No more. He turned his head into his pillow, moaning as he willed his lungs to strengthen. He curled up into a ball, trying to come up with a plan to try and save Evelyn from Dom and how he was going to kill him. Bringing him back alive was no longer an option to Tom.

Eye for an eye but it would never justify for the death of his mother…

Tom ran his hand under his pillow, feeling a temporary security badge. He sat up, looking to the plastic, knowing his side of the colony didn’t use the badges. Tom’s brow frowned in confusion as he carefully got to his feet and found his lab coat with his own badge missing.

“This is a bloody mistake,” he whispered to himself.

He dressed as quickly as he could and left the trashed lab behind him before the first set of nurses arrived for him. If he hadn’t left, Marren would have him under 24 hour lock down with no chance to find Evelyn. He hurried down the back corridors of the science buildings, keeping his face down to the floor so that no one and no cameras could identify him.

Tom stopped at the set of doors he promised never to enter since the day his father left his mother. He took a deep breath and clutched the temp badge in his hand, pressing it to the panel and giving him access inside. A hand shot out from the shadowed corridors, startling Tom as he nearly stumbled over his feet.

“Calm down, boy, follow me.”

Tom was confused, hurrying behind his father as he was led through the dimly lit labs and testing areas.

“Where are we going?”

His father grabbed him by the front of his shirt and yanked him along as his anger filled his every vein. Tom swatted at his father, failing to stop him as he was pulled along to hidden doors of one of the dock out of commission for simple matters. Tom stopped as he looked to the group of men loading a few duffle bags worth of supplies and guns loaded with ammunition. The strong hand at his shoulder made him turn to his father as tears fell down his wrinkled face.

“I have always been one for protocol all of my life. Evelyn is the reason I met your mother. She was as strong as I’d ever imagined and I wager that she is too.”

“I-I don’t understand. What have you done?”

“I have known that Dom wasn’t right in the head for the longest. Him and his brother are monsters and need to be stopped. He is not here anymore. He’s smuggled himself and Evelyn to the Echo colony.”

Tom’s blood ran completely cold as the words of the lone, wretched colony met his ears. If Evelyn was there, she wouldn’t be able to survive there long.

“I have to get her!”

“I know, my boy. Your mother was the one to talk to me after all this time and tell me of her. At first, I didn’t believe her but I saw Evelyn myself. I know you love her as I once loved your mother. She is a miracle. You get her back. There is much that we have lost in these dark times and now we must fight like hell.”

The old man reached up and cupped his aged hands around his youngest kid’s face as tears spilled through his fingers.

“You get her back. I will deal with Marren and keep her off your trail for as long as I can. You fight like hell and bring Evelyn home!”

“I-I will.”

A loud bang made everyone in earshot jump as Edward pushed his son toward the two transporters that were rushed to being loaded with what could be brought. Tom watched his father pulled a switch from his pocket as he backed towards the doors. His instinct made him reach for the edge of the closing transport doors as the men around him pulled him back. Edward pulled a mask over his face as light flooded the dock.

Tom banged both of his hands on the transport doors, yelling for his father as he saw the charging explosives plastered around the walls. He opened his mouth and roared, letting the severity of the situation ahead of him as the lights on the explosives beeped faster. The last thing he remembered was his father taking shelter and closing his eyes as his thumb pressed on his trigger. The doors to the lab areas opened a fraction as the transporter sped clear of the blast.

Tom was numbed as his eyes followed the flow of dark smoke as it rose to the sky. He could feel the small prick of the sedative one of the men injected him with.

Good thing, he thought to himself.

If he hadn’t been put down, he would have turned back for his father and ruined his chance to save the woman he loved, if she was still alive. His eyes sank shut as he forced himself to see her smiling face and listen to the strong note of the violin as they danced.

-

Dom sat by himself, feeling his longing for Evelyn hurt him. She was out for a greater part of the night and now he was to blame if he could not have a child with her. He was there spying on all of Evelyn’s charts. She was healthy and fully able to reproduce. That was top prize in the world that he knew and far more than valuable to the world below his feet.

He ignored the shrieks and the smashing pots in the bedroom behind him as he ran his fingers through his hair. He was disappointed to not taking the approach that he wanted with Evelyn. He gave up calling her Justine but she would still be treated as such, though it was time that she learned her place. Dom pushed through the pain in his cock as he clothed himself and attached his weapon to his belt and turned for the bedroom.

Evelyn turned with fury in her eyes as the door opened. Dom smiled and pressed his watch as her polished silver wrists shot behind her back. Her surprise let him overtake her as he tied a chain around her neck. Evelyn fought and kicked with all her might, feeling a sharp but dull pain shoot through her body as she stopped flailing for a moment. She crashed against Dom’s chest as his strong arm drug her to the doors.

“You know, Evelyn, you need to understand this a little better.”

Her head hung as he picked her up before the voltage in her wrists lessened. As she found her footing, he laced his fingers into her streaked hair and pushed her out of the apartment altogether and into the narrow hall leading straight to an elevator. She looked down to the pad that required his fingerprint to access. The sliding doors opened as he pushed them both into the cramped elevator as Evelyn crashed her hip into the metal railing. She cried out in pain as her entire pelvis pulsed in pain.

Dom only smiled as he pushed a button and crossed his arms.

“What am I not understanding?”

“I am trying. I am really trying but you are not making this any easier. So I’m showing you why I’m doing what I do.”

“Go straight to hell,” she hissed through her teeth.

The ding above her head haunted her ears as a smile crossed Dom’s face.

“Wish granted.”

He wrapped his chain around his hand and guided Evelyn forward to the stench of the top ground floor as voices filled her ears.

“I’ll let you think about it but if you do not wish to stay with me then we’ll find someone else to take care of you.”

Dom brought his boot up and kicked open a set of doors as they were greeted with the smell of natural flesh and moans. Evelyn was paralyzed as her eyes surfed over the naked and clothed bodies that writhed and spanned out as far as she could see. Her feet stumbled underneath her as she tried not to get sick on herself. Men and women were everywhere, clawing at one another as Dom pulled her along.

There were a few that turned and looked her in the eye as they smiled toothlessly and licked their lips to her. Dom showed his weapon making them turn for the nearest woman bent over a flat surface. She screamed at the feel of a woman’s hand on her waist, wanting to pull her down to the pit of others they passed. Dom kicked his foot across her face as the rest of the pit laughed and groped at the woman moaning in pain.

Evelyn was lifted from her feet and pulled up into a set of seats easily unreachable by anyone else underneath her. A new set of laughter and moans made her turn to men sitting in leather seats as they pawed their women. Her dark eyes looked to each of the women, obviously drugged and in a stupor as they turned back and grinded themselves harder. Dom pulled her chains back as she choked and crashed to his lap.

His hand yanked her hair back as his other forced its way down the front of her pants. He pinched her healing side as the pain got worse.

“Which one do you want inside of you,” he mockingly whispered into her ear, “I’m sure they’ll try and be gentle with you but they may change when I tell them all who you are.”

He smiled as she tried to fight him through the pain. Both turned to the cheers and the sudden movement of the crowd below.

“Look,” shouted one of the men next to them, “That one’s made it.”

Evelyn felt tears falling from the sides of her face as she saw a heavily pregnant woman being led away by a group of aged women as her clothes and a clear puddle was left behind. The warehouse around them filled with cheers as Dom pulled her higher on his lap. Everything, her hip, her neck, her wrists hurt worse than she could imagine as she fought less. There was no more waking up, this was now an unrealistic nightmare made real.

“Just think. That could be you.”

Evelyn shook her head, unable to speak from the pain as Dom pulled her head back harder.

“I’m sorry. I was wrong. That will be you.”

“Fuck you!”

Her hair slipped from his fingers as she headbutted his face with the back of her head. Dom howled in pain as Evelyn launched herself into the sea of people below her. She was lucky and only lucky when she was pulled to her feet. Hands grabbed at her, pulling her in every direction. She could only ram into the nearest person and pray that they were distracted with one another which did work until a shot was fired into the crowd.

She looked over her shoulder to Dom jumping into the crowd behind her and gave chase. Evelyn ran as fast as her feet would allow her as she ventured deeper and deeper into the warehouse. She found cover the farther she went. A hand wrapped around her chain as she was yanked to the floor and surrounded by the cleanest looking men apart from everyone else.

“Lookie, boys! We got us a fresh fish. Let’s put her with the others.”

She was pulled along as she turned her head up to the rows of women, all whom she knew didn’t belong as they hung naked from the ceiling with various men between their legs as they fought the best they could, begging for them to stop and to be let free. Her feet stomped into the concrete floor to try and stop herself from being pulled forward and hung like a piece of fresh meat. Something popped beside her ear made her head spin as she felt blood on the side of her face.

Dom shot the men that touched her with stray bullets killing a few of the women and pulled Evelyn over his shoulders. The aching pain of her body blurred her vision as Dom fought his way back to the elevators. He fired more, killing his way back with none of the others caring as they continued with one another. Sweat poured from his head as the doors closed behind him. His fingers dug into Evelyn’s leg as he braced himself on the back wall.

His thumb flew for the pad and sent them upward to the safety of their floor. Dom carried her back to the apartment, locking each of the deadbolts behind him. His heart pumped from his chest as he hurled Evelyn into the nearest table as it creaked underneath her. He crashed over her, burying his face into her neck with the images of the warehouse fueling his veins with lust and possession. They had touched her, the men that subdued the women that were brought in daily all with hopes of making babies. That’s all they wanted.

Evelyn failed at trying to turn away as Dom tore the side of her pants and shoved his hand down the front. She was unable to close her legs in time as Dom pressed his fingers to her clit. Everything hurt worse. His teeth dug into her neck and his fingers pushed their way into her as she sobbed.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen. They weren’t supposed to touch you like that. I never would have let that happen.”

He slowed his hand for her, trying to make her calm as he dragged his tongue up her neck. Evelyn could only drown him out and pray for Tom.

“I was wrong about what I said,” he panted, “That will be you. No matter what you choose. You are 100% and will earn your keep. I think I’ll keep you though. You won’t be like them. You’ll be taken care of. No drugs. No reps. No one else but me and the doctors to make sure you carry properly. You’ll carry clean and not like that.”

He slowed his hand, feeling his fingers wet as he looked down to her. Her face was dotted red from the tears she’d shed and he’d let her continue as she stopped kicking. Her whole body was trembling and it was all because of him, giving him some confidence that she wouldn’t try to run.

“All I want is a boy,” he admitted as he began to pull his hand back, “but have all the ti…”

He spotted at the sight and smell of her blood on his fingertips. His eyes saw the obvious stain of her menstruation as she tried to catch her breath. His demeanor changed as he gathered Evelyn in his arms and headed for the bathroom. He turned at the old knobs to let the rusted water run clean. She felt her restraints let go as her arms fell weak to her side. She had no more strength to fight as Dom pulled off her clothes and held her under the water as the blood fell down the drain. He was generous to wrap and rough towel around her for her decency as he rocked her back and forth through her pain.

“Hush now, Justine. Just let me take care of you.”

She ignored his words as she felt the sting of whatever sedative he used to make her unconscious. The only thing she could count as luck was that her bleeding would give her a few days to try and find a way to escape or kill Dom before she would be used like any of the women floors below her, willing or not.

It wasn’t what she and Tom had. It wasn’t what they felt for one another. He would never be Dom. She could feel in her bones that Tom was alive and out looking for her in the apocalyptic shit storm. He was coming for her and she would be waiting.

-

Tom opened his eyes, feeling stiff but restful as the group of men around him were kept busy. His head hurt as one of the men helped him up.

“Morning, drama queen.”

The rather large man held out a bit of rations for Tom. His teeth dug into the dull bar and eat until he licked at the wrapper. Water was set into his lap as he emptied it in seconds, fighting to not get sick in the same moment.

“Hey, hey. Take it slow, son.”

“What happened?”

“Your daddy is fine. The charges were his idea. He’s safe. He only wanted to make sure that Marren wasn’t after us.”

“W-Who are all of you?”

“We were on the same squad on Dom. We’re helping you get Evelyn home.”

“Why?”

“You don’t understand, lad. Evelyn is like that Guadalupe. She’s a beacon for us, special that one is.”

“She is to me, more than you know.”

“We know, son. That’s why we’re here. That and to clear our status from that horseshit. Your daddy brought us up to speed. When the time comes,” he said placing a loaded gun into Tom’s hand, “we won’t stand in your way.”

Tom calmly handed the weapon, checking the magazine like he was taught when he was younger.

“Good.”

“We’re a few days out. The blast damaged one of the thrusters so we got to stay on the ground for the time being. When we get close, we’ll have to make it quick. Don’t touch any supplies marked. We gotta trade ‘em for parts but we’ll be as quick as we can.”

“Is that as far of the plan that you got?”

“For now, but is I said, we have a day or two.”

Tom felt the timid doctor he was raised to be disappear as the transport drove nearer to their destination. The blast would have put the colony for at least two days to make sure everything was sealed off for efficiency sake. His mother was gone, his family mourning and his father stepping up for the first time in his life. His heavy eyes looked up to the willing men at his disposal. He was going to get Evelyn back and put Dom down like the dog that he was.

“Good,” he said with the cock of his gun, “what have you got so far?”

-

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