Fallocaust (The Fallocaust Series) (21 page)

I got him back, I have him. I kept telling myself this, and I was relieved but my mind was fried and running on the adrenaline I had been feeding on all morning. My ears were still ringing and I was having trouble thinking. I knew the facts, I knew Killian was okay but the blast had temporarily head fucked me, I felt like every wire in my brain had exploded into a frayed rat’s nest.

I pushed myself and pushed myself, trying to stay on the road as much as possible, the way was smoother. There were a few times I hit a badly uneven section of pavement but I managed to slow down enough that we didn’t get jolted out of our seats. I started to feel even worse as we carefully passed over highway 11 and by the time we had been on the level road for ten or so minutes I had to pull over to throw up.
Though it wasn’t that easy, as soon as I put pressure on my foot my equilibrium fucked its self, I stumped forward and fell onto the ground.

I groaned and puked onto the asphalt. The world was spinning and I started to feel the heat rise to every tip of my body, I tried to find any hidden reserve of energy but I was drained. With one last struggle I managed to partially rise myself, enough to lean against the quad for support. I squinted as the world started to get shiny around the edges.
Killian’s head had been lowered, unable to support its own weight; but as I stumbled he managed to look at me.
“They blew your ear off,” his weak voice whispered, he reached out to touch my head before rolling off of the quad. With a horrible thunk he landed on the pavement, I was too weak and dazed to even jerk my body towards him.
Leaning on the quad, trying to find my balance, I walked over to Killian and knelt down beside him. My head didn’t feel right, I was starting to forget just what the fuck was going on.
I reached to my side and picked up my handheld radio. Not taking my eyes off of the boy, he looked up at me with glassy eyes, swimming in a blue ocean but my ears couldn’t make sense of what he was saying.
“Grey?” I pressed the talk button. I knelt down beside Killian and started to put the lab coat on him. Poor kid was naked and it was cold outside. He never dressed right for the weather, no wonder I always had to follow him.

What was he doing outside naked... I could never make sense of that kid going out unarmed.
“Reaver? Fuck, it’s so good to hear you. Where are you
?” Greyson’s urgent voice answered back.
I looked around, did I even know? My mind felt like it was swimming in toxic soup, I started to feel confused and bogged down. I kept getting grasps of what the fuck I was suppose to do but they kept leaving me.
“Hey am I working tonight? Am I on the way, on the... did, aren’t you working in the trunk?” I said my words slurred. I looked around again. “What’s brought this... I need, no I really can’t see anything in this direction. It’s all cleared. Nu... nucleared.”
There was a pause, when he answered back I could tell he was running.
“Reaver, do you see any landmarks? Please, concentrate and tell me what you see. This is important.”
“Red,” I said looking at my shimmering blood stained hands, I waved them in front of my face. “Hey am I... working...?” I took one last look at the radio, before I put it onto my belt clip.
“Reaver? Where are you, are you on the road?”
“Yep,” I said as I picked a limp Killian up. It didn’t even occur to me to press the talk button on it at that moment. He sounded like he was busy anyways, it wasn’t easy running a block. I still didn’t fucking know if I was working or not. I had to get Killian home first, get him some clothes, maybe a gun.
I stared ahead, putting one foot in front of the other. I could feel a something bumping up against the side of my face. I wondered if it was my ear but if I moved an arm away to check, I knew Killian would fall.
One foot in front of the other. Keep walking, get Killian to Aras, get Killian back safe to Aras. Killian needs clothes and some food, I could toss him in the air he was as light as a feather. A cold little ghost in my arms. I kept expecting him to fall through my fingers like water.
“Reaver,” Killian’s weak voice croaked, he partially opened his bruised eyes and looked up at me. I smiled and glanced down.
“Hey kitty cat,” I whispered back, trying not to bring attention to my obvious slurring words. “Kitty cat.” I don’t know why, he just looked like a kitty cat today. Maybe it was because he was so light, or perhaps because his voice was high pitch and squeaky right now, like a kitten’s mew.

“Killi Cat more like it, hey Killi Cat.”
Killian didn’t smile, he looked at me with his face creased in concern, I could see blood droplets start to fall on the white Dek’ko coat. I think it was coming from my head, I wasn’t sure. Didn’t care much in that moment.

I kept saying Killi Cat out loud because it sounded funny to say, and it helped me keep my foot steps in sync.

I could hear scraping as my boots skidded on the pavement, like a corpse being dragged across the room. My eyes were unfocused and dazed and I had no idea how I was managing to stand. I just put one foot in front of the other. Counting steps and saying things that only made sense to my pulsing burning brain.

Until I started to hear them yell.

My eyes focused just in time to see Leo start to run up to me, to my confusion as he approached me he slowed down, then stopped all together.
“Fuck,” he whispered, he looked horrified. Another blur came into view and turned into Greyson.

“Give me Killian, son,” he said softly. He held out his arms and took the boy from my grasp.
“He’s safe?” I said wearily. Greyson, not taking his eyes off of me nodded. I nodded too, and went to take a step, but stumbled forwards.
“Take Killian, he’s lighter,” Greyson said, pushing the boy into Leo’s arms. He then grabbed me and to my shock picked me up.
“No, let me go asshole,” I groaned. Then I mumbled Killi Cat a few more times.
“We’ll be home soon, just try and stay awake.” Greyson’s voice sounded, before I felt my head shake, they had started running.

I could feel my body bouncing around in his arms, it was making my back sting a lot. My whole body was starting to succumb to a dull, burning pain. I tried to shift but Greyson’s strong arms held me. They were talking to each other in scared rushed voices, I could hear weak sounds from Killian.

I struggled again but Greyson said something stern to me. I squirmed again and let out a frustrated howl.
“I gotta make my fuckin' entrance!” I exclaimed loudly. I tried to raise my head but I fell back against his arm. To my anger he and Leo started to laugh, I looked up to see tears starting to run down his face. Leo beside him, gripping Killian, also holding back tears.
“Shut up, you delusional idiot,” he said though his emotions. I scoffed and smiled, and tried to keep my head raised. Though it didn’t take long until everything just became a blur.
 

Chapter 13

Reaver

My mind started to come out of its haze when we were in Doc’s clinic. My consciousness edging me forward, only to snatch me away in the same instance. I don’t know how long it was before I finally kept my mental feet on the ground.
In front of me I could see the clinic windows, it was still daylight outside, though I had no idea what time it was. The window was dirty, Josh the grounds keeper wasn’t doing his job I guess. Maybe he needed more soap.
Soap... the smell. Would I ever smell it again.
At the thought of him, my body jerked me into full consciousness, I opened my eyes and started looking around. “Killian? Where’s Killian?” I said loudly.

“He’s getting fluids,” Leo’s calm voice reassured, he was right behind me. I jolted a bit as I felt a painful prick in the side of my head.
“Stay still!” Leo hissed.

I stood up.
“Grey?” Leo said in alarm. I took a step forward, but as I did I jumped up in the air as something stuck my neck. I turned around confused and held my neck, but as I turned it did it again.
“It’s the needle, I’m putting your ear back on,” Leo said exasperated, he got up the second Greyson came into the main area we were in.
“He’s trying to escape, I think he’s waking up.”
Greyson looked at me, and put his hand out reassuringly. He had blood spots all over his faded button down shirt.“Sit down, Reaver, everything is fine, Killian is just fine.” I took a step back and tried to put my hand on the side of my head. It felt like ground burger.
“What the...” My brow furrowed. Greyson turned around and picked up something on one of the metal shelves. It was a mirror. I took it from him and looked.
I didn’t recognise myself at first. No wonder Leo had stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me.

My face was covered in blood and dirt, blood mostly. With nasty burn marks that edged the sides of my face and my nose. I could even see the peeling charred skin on the back of my neck, where the skin had been shredded off to reveal painful red flesh underneath.
I think I was missing some skin on my chin too, though it might have just been blood dried to my stubble. The worst part though, from what I could see at least, was my ear.

It had been split diagonally almost right in half. The skin around it too was just raw and angry. It looked like Leo had gotten two stitches into sewing it back together until I had stopped him. The needle was hanging by the wire thread, dangling right by my neck.
I craned my neck, where the black burn marks were. The wounds had been cleaned, which I didn’t remember, but they hadn’t been bandaged up yet. I had lots of burn and puncture marks in it, some of them pretty open. From how my back was starting to ache and burn, I think that whole area was like that. I could feel cold air on my back, I knew my bullet proof vest had been taken off and I think my shirt underneath was just rags now. Fucking bombs.

“I just want to see him,” I said, putting the mirror down. I started looking around the open medical area. I saw some light coming from the back room, the private room. I walked towards it.
“Reaver...” Leo sighed. “You’re worse off than you think.”
I walked towards the room, just as Doc was coming out.
“Hey, it’s the hero,” Doc smiled, I looked behind him.
“I want to see him.”
Doc motioned in, he was wiping blood off of his hands. “Marley is sitting with him.”
I stepped in. Doc’s daughter Marley was trying to wipe the dirt off of one of his facial wounds. She was a nice girl, not as shrill and loud as the other ones.

“Okay, get out,” I said to her.
Marley got up and handed me the cloth. “We tranqed him when he came in so we could flush his stomach. He’ll probably be up soon.”

Marley left the room, I took a step away from the door and let her go, before I shut it behind her. I didn’t want to have an audience.
I took a deep breath and tried to gather my self. I grabbed the cloth and exhaled, before I knelt down beside him.
The little blond boy looked even smaller under his mountain of blankets. A small little bruised face in a sea of grey wool folds.

I pulled the blanket back to take a better look at his body, feeling my mouth purse as I was reminded just how skinny he had let himself get. It looked like they had dressed him in some of his clothes, but still looked like a skeleton.

A sewn up skeleton. The corners of his mouth were stitched up, five stitches in each corner. It reminded me of one of those cloth rag dolls the old women made the children sometimes.
I watched his chest rise and fall, his breathing was normal as was his heartbeat, that filled me with relief. I was really worried something would be wrong with his breathing after all the toxic smoke he’s inhaled; but he seemed okay.

I felt my hand raise, I was still holding the cleaning cloth Marley had given me. Before I could convince myself not too, I raised the cloth and started to dab the sweat on his forehead. His skin looked so pale and clammy, it was almost transparent. I could see every vein underneath his paper thin skin, snaking along his face like lightning strikes. I looked at his chest, which was even worse. His skin was grey, see through and discoloured as red blotches and veins shone through.

My heart started to beat faster, fueling the flares of nervousness in my chest. All these emotions drowning out my own searing pain. I pushed it down and stayed in the moment. Gently brushing away the sweat and bits of blood. I had never been so careful with someone, his skin looked like it would tare away with just my touch.

I let out a slow breath, my gaze fixed on his face. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.

Inside me was a pit of churning emotions. Sad he looked so weak, bruised and frail but so fucking happy he was still breathing. We were safe, anyone who came to get him now would have to deal with the scourge of the greywastes. He was mine now, I wouldn’t take him being alive for granted, ever. I wasn’t going to only realize how much he meant to me when I thought he was dead.
I made a sullen oath in that moment. I decision I knew would affect me for the rest of my life. I would... take care of him from now on, he was mine to guard and mine to protect. I didn’t know if he was interested in me but if he was, maybe I would try out this love thing. If not I would follow him for the rest of my life, and make sure he was safe from harm.
I put the cloth down, trying to ignore how cut up my hands looked. I rested my hand beside his face, and felt his warm breath against it. It brought me back to when he had those night terrors. When I was too chicken shit to touch him, to comfort him. Would I have the balls to comfort him next time?
I moved my hand and hovered it over his head. Like I had just a few days before, I took a deep breath.
I brushed his golden hair off of his face, and put my hand on his head.
I held it there, and just stared at him. I moved my hand and started to gently stroke his hair back. It was dirty and mussed up, but perfect.
I rested my hand there for a few moments, just feeling the warmth of his head go through my cold fingers. I wanted to keep it there forever, but I didn’t want to risk him waking up.
It was one thing to have the nerve to do it when he was asleep... when he was awake might give me a heart attack.

I took my hand away, and let out a long shaky breath. I hadn’t even realized I had held it.
I stood up and walked towards the rusted metal door. I looked back, just to check if he was still sleeping. I couldn’t help but notice the droplets of blood beside him, where I had been kneeling. I hadn’t even noticed I hadn’t stopped bleeding.