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"I just wanted to let you know that I love you," The crackly radio repeated. The voice's owner was nobody familiar to Scott. He frowned.
"Donnor!" He called, a bit of fear in his voice."Aye, lad?" The Scotsman replied."Come check this out!" The younger man answered."Ach, I'll be on my way, give me a second." Donnor sighed. He swore it made no sense for the two to split up- especially if the younger called him back over this much.Once he'd taken care of the matters at hand (disabling a few timed bombs and collecting them and the parts), he returned to Scott, who was holding an outdated, grimy radio. Donnor opened his mouth, preparing to ask why the fuck the younger deemed it important to ask him about this kind of thing."I just wanted to let you know that I love you," The box provided, the rough growl he just knew was Jayne, but- there was sadness."Ach, fuck- Scott, did you find anything else around here?""Uh, yeah, um-" Scott grabbed a bloody yellow helmet off of the desk.Donnor took it hesitantly, rotating it so that he could peer inside."Dell Conaugher," It red in a messy scrawl.Donnor gritted his teeth. "Where'd you find this one?"Scott gestured towards a door that was boarded up. Donnor went over, noticing the blood streaks that connected the door and where the helmet must have lain minutes before. He gulped, before leaning his head against the door to listen.There wasn't any noise, but that wasn't good enough. "Scott, get boards, nails, anything to block this up." Donnor ordered, pulling out the blueprints of the RED base.After an hour of securing and marking the area Donnor was finally more content. He'd scrapped the batterires, but preserved the radio, and Dell's helmet remained near him. Scott sat beside Donnor, sighing."So you knew him?" Scott asked.Donnor grunted in response."Were you two close?""Not so much with dell, but Jayne and I- we used to be partners in crime." The older sighted, pain plauging everything about him."I'm real sorry about that, Donnor." Scott frowned, biting his lip."Ain't yer fault, lad." The other replied softly."I know that, but you look like you're hurting too. Donnor... I'm just here for you." Scott murmured, glancing at the other's face."Mmh," Donnor sighed, curling up a bit. "I know we aren't exactly best friends with these men, lad but... nonetheless. I didn't think... Scott, what if we're down the same road?""Donnor, you know we can't think like that- not if we want to survive." Scott sighed, wrapping the other in a hug."I know, lad. It's just... Jayne was the best- and Dell- he wasn't too shabby either. If they didn't make it-""We don't know that yet, Donnor. Besides, you know how big 'a role luck plays in this kinda thing. They coulda just been in the wrong place at the wrong time." Scott assured. Donnor sighed. "If you think so, lad... Thank ye- I appreciate it." Donnor murmured, hugging the other man closer.Scott could feel their heartbeats. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his, but having the other warm, attractive, funny, protective, sexy- damn it. Having the other man this close to him was enough as is to make his heart thump quicker in his chest. Scott sighed, rubbing the taller's back. "You feeling better?" He whispered."Aye, thank you." Donnor smiled, letting go of Scott.Scott reluctantly let go. "Of course" He mumbled, flashing the other a crooked smile.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Clement, shouldn’t they be back by now?” Alexander asked through his “gas mask”. It wasn’t functional right now and it muffled his voice, but he just seemed to love the thing. In fact, he was rarely seen without it.
“Mm,” The “engineer” mused, looking at his rusty old tablet. Engraved with the general terrain of the ten mile radius around him (though it would change its appearance for every one mile traveled in another direction) it stood out as a grimy, but impressive piece of technology that Clement had only improved upon over time. Flicking the silver switches on the side that activated magnets underneath the tablet, Clement managed to get Scott and Donnor’s location via the GPS they had on them at all times. As the signal, which was sent by subtle radio waves, communicated to the tablet, Clement grabbed out two iron marbles and placed them on the board. Immediately the two indicators began rolling into position, travelling over the miniature “mountains” and “valleys” at the magnets’ pull. Eventually the marbles settled near the old RED base, however slight motion suggested that the two were heading back.
“Looks like they’re on their way now, Alex.” Clement answered, keeping a watchful eye on the marbles.
“Ooh! Lemme see, lemme see!” Alex leaned over the shorter man, peering at the aforementioned device. “They’re pretty far away still. Should we send Daniel and Ivan to go get them?”
“Well ‘s there enough wood to run the truck out?” Clement questioned.
“I think so, and they probably have some good supplies that we won’t want to lose.” Alex answered.
“Mm, I reckon yer right there.” Clement nodded, taking a deep breath. “DANIEL, IVAN!” He called, the words echoing through the base’s dirt caves.
Immediately sounds of boots on the dirt and gravel grew louder as they sped towards Clement’s call. A second later one could hear the heavy footsteps of Ivan in a more relaxed pursuit. Within the minute both men stood in front of the Southerner, prepared to receive their orders.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The dirt bike was almost as big of a problem as the mission Daniel and Ivan were on, not that the mission would be particularly difficult for the two. Coasting along the rough terrain searching for others was not a rare occurrence, however the scrappy vehicle had not yet been perfected by their “engineer”.Through communications over their private radio station, Clement guided the pair towards their vulnerable teammates. Once the pair were in sight they forgot the radio and headed towards them.“Do tiny men need ride?” Ivan grinned, his thick Russian accent distorting the word.“Aw hell yeah we’ll take one,” Scott grinned, loading up the car.“Is that all you two got?” Daniel questioned, glaring at the small pile.“It’s all we could get tonight,” Donnor began, rubbing his hands together nervously. “Thar was a wee situation, and I think the team here may have lost some members. Looked like there’d been an invasion.” He said.“An invasion? I thought this base was at least as secure as ours- if not more,” Daniel nearly growled.“Ach, well, I think we should all explore tomorrow. After all, Scott found-” Donnor pulled out the bloody yellow helmet. “This.”Daniel’s eyes flashed, and he held out his hand for the thing.“Are teeny men ready to go?” The Russian inquired, revving the engine again.Donnor quickly strapped himself in the back towards Daniel. “We’re ready.” He then passed the helmet to the other as Daniel had “requested”.Daniel began inspecting the blood-smeared helmet, tilting it to see the inside. He studied the name, pursing his lips. “So you think they got to Dell?” He asked Donnor.“Mmhm. Weirdly enough we found this right by it- here, I’ll pop the batt’ries in for a second.”“I just wanted to let you know that I love you,” The radio responded. Donnor removed the batteries.“So that’s Jayne then…” Daniel murmured, seeming distracted.“Aye,” The Scotsman nodded.“Well it looks like you were right about him taking a liking to Dell,” Daniel began thoughtfully. “Do ya think he’s dead?” He asked Donnor.“Jayne or Dell?”“Both.”Donnor furrowed his brow and sighed. “It certainly seems that at least Dell is dead, but we cannae be sure. After all, we only know there’s a bloody helmet and a radio.”“We may as well not fret about it now anyways. We’ll probably be in the vicinity of them when we move again,” Scott chimed in, a sympathetic smile on his face.To Daniel, however, the boy seemed too innocent, too naive, and too hopeful. Maybe it was because he was born a year after the carnage, and Daniel had lived through it. Either way, the youngster didn’t seem as disillusioned as the rest of the group- nor was he as tough. He’d humor the boy for now anyways.“Yeah, maybe we’ll find out then,” Daniel “agreed”, holding his questions for a lengthy, tough talk later with the more realistic (and anxious) members of their team.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“So this is all you two got?” Clement asked, the judging tone more than evident in his voice.
“Well, in a way we didn’t just get this,” Scott began, a nervous smile playing on his lips. “We got knowledge- and a mystery too!”
Clement took a breath, trying to suppress a sigh. “Why don’t you go fill Alex in?” He suggested, hoping to get the naive boy out of the room so the “grown ups” (or at least the mature ones) could talk about the new pressing issue.
Scott narrowed his eyes. Clement and Daniel always tried to keep him from the serious, important stuff. While Alex may have been content with that, Scott just wasn’t. He wanted to be heard and seen as an adult. He wanted to know what was happening and what the situation was. He was only six years younger than Daniel- and seven from Clement. He was just as mature as they were, and he probably understood this world better than they did. After all, he grew up not knowing the previous one.
“I can do that later,” Scott replied in his best “completely certain” voice.
“Well you may as well fill him in now,” Daniel began.
“I want to talk about this with you guys, though. Besides, Daniel, you told me I became a man when I turned eighteen. Let me prove to you that I’m a man. I want to be a part of this,” Scott’s eyes lit up as he argued, fully intent upon winning the right to discuss this stuff with the others.
“Son, being a man ain’t all about age. It’s about mentality. Ya still got too much childish wonder in ya- and trust me- ya’ll wanna keep it while you have it,” Clement responded, a grim frown on his face.
Scott’s face soured into a scowl. “I’m not childish-” he began.
Donnor took a breath, pressing a hand to the other’s shoulder. Being three years older than the other had matured him (though he was only a toddler when the carnage began), but he still had quite a bit of that “childish wonder” to himself as well. Even he was still asked to leave the room when particular topics came up, and now he was glad to do so. Hell, he wished he could forget his current knowledge and abandon the responsibilities he had with it, but that would mean he could no longer go on those lone missions with Scott that he’d grown to have such an affinity for.
“Lad, I promise ye it’s not as good as it seems to be. Yer better off going with Alex. Hell, I’d rather go with ye and Alex if I could,” Donnor said earnestly, hoping to continue to protect the younger as long as he could.
Scott relaxed a little, an impatient groan escaping his throat. “You sure this is all yer makin’ it out to be, Donnie?” He asked.
“I promise ya. It’s better to go fill in Alex- and Scott?”
“Yes?” The younger’s voice answered, an almost hopeful tone to it.
“Be sure to start dinner with him- we’ll want to be fed for tomorrow,” Donnor finished.
Scott sulked.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Dell grunted quietly, trying to hoist himself up out of the muddy “hole” he’d just fallen in. His breath came out in short gasps, and his heart was racing. A low growl sounded from the top of the cavernous hole just as he righted himself.
Dell gritted his teeth, peering up at the giant black wolf...thing. It wasn’t quite a wolf, with its extra pairs of limbs in between the front and back paws. However, Dell forced himself not to think about that- not right now.
He grabbed a miniature bolder, immediately chucking it at the midnight-colored monster, but it didn’t hit. Bits of rock instead crumbled near the opening, creating a loud, striking sound.
The “wolf” snarled, backing up a bit. He seemed to scan the terrain before hopping to another opening to the cavern, which just happened to be right over Dell’s head.
As the beast leapt down, Dell scurried to the side, but within seconds it had tackled Dell’s back, pinning him down.
“Dag nabit damn dog-augh!” Dell growled as the monster’s claws forced their way into Dell’s flesh, tearing bloody paths into wake.
Dell gripped onto a nearby weak old brittle log, growling as the beast sunk its teeth into Dell’s shoulder. He whipped around as quick as he could- escaping the hold- before he smashed the log onto his attacker’s face.
It whimpered, trying to recoil, but Dell wasn’t letting him go that easily. He grabbed the “wolf”’s fur by the neck and punched him straight in the nose. The crack as the nose crumpled crookledly had not ignored by Dell, and he immediately shoved his thumbs into the creature’s eyes, making sure to dig his fingernails in.
The creature whined, trying to scratch Dell’s hands away so he could escape, but now that his newfound prey was weak, Dell knew he’d have to kill it for a meal- possible radiation or whatever be damned. For now, he needed some kind of food to get back to his team.
He flicked his knife out of his pocket and slit the beast’s throat, still holding it up so it couldn’t squirm away or attack him. After a few rough minutes of it gargling and choking on his own blood, the creature died.
Dell dropped it, taking deep breaths as he slumped over. He groaned as his back’s fresh new wounds stretched. He sat up again slowly, hissing, before glaring at the wolf.
“Ya know if ya din’t try ta mess with me, nona’us woulda been caught in this situation,” Dell grumbled, making his way over to the dead monster. He sighed, sitting by it, before he pulled it closer and began the job of skinning it.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Have you seen anything yet, bushman?!” The soldier yelled up to their only trained sniper. Ever since what the RED team had dubbed “the incident”, Jayne had sent Lucas out to scan for Dell. It was more than depressing to lose the Southerner he’d begun to grow fond of. It was
embarrassing
. He couldn’t comprehend how he, Jayne Doe, fearless warrior and army leader, could manage to screw up so badly he lost a teammate. His only hope was that when Dell came back the shame would subside with the knowledge that he’d trained such a tough man.
“No dice, Yankee,” The other man replied, biting back a tone of inner annoyance. It was already clear that Dell, bless his soul, was dead. A head wound won’t lie- and his inability to report back only proved the point further. He knew Jayne was having a rough time accepting it, but dead is dead and too much wasted time could cost them their lives eventually. For now, however, he wouldn’t fight him. Give it two more days, three days of Dell’s loss in total, and he’d tell it to Jayne straight. The team decided the best way to go about this was to tell him when it was undeniable.
“Keep looking, soldier!” Jayne yelled, quickly following it with a stiff salute before he walked back to his post.
Mikhail frowned, looking over to Josef. “Jayne seems very upset…” He murmured.
“He just lost a friend,” Josef began.
“Is there anything we can do?” The Russian interrupted.
“Vell, ve can’t bring zhe man back to life, liebling,” Josef sighed.
“Da, I know that,” Mikhail frowned.
“I know it’s hard to remember, Mikhail, but when we’re surviving out here- it’s not all easy. There’s still danger, and men can still die. Maybe… maybe this is a wake-up call for Jayne.”
Mikhail bit his lip, ducking his head. “I know…” It was still hard to remember, though. These men had become his family, and he didn’t want to think about this, nor the pain.
“Oh, Mikhail,” Josef frowned, hugging the tender-hearted man.
The Russian blushed, shrinking in on himself. He was never comfortable with looking weak- he’d always learned to hide it and protect the others, but with Josef’s steady work in encouraging him to express his emotions in front of the shorter man, he’d gotten better.
Reluctantly, he wrapped his arms around the other, nervous if another would walk in and catch them, but nonetheless trying his best to help the “doctor” out in whatever quest he had with Mikhail’s emotions.
Finally Josef pulled away, and the taller gave him an awkward smile in response, scratching the back of his neck.
“We’ll wait two more days, Mikhail,” Josef told him, patting his back. “Now you should shoo, I have medicine to prepare.” The “doctor” ordered, and the other man left.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Pauling,” The elder woman said, holding out a file so the woman, or rather teenage girl she’d “adopted” could take care of it for her.
“Yes m’am,” The younger answered, her slim fingers taking hold of the file. She immediately moved to deposit it. As she did so she wondered about the contents of the new files the Madame had… “acquired”. They were quite a sight, black on the outside with white chalk lettering. It was certainly a change from the cream colored norm. Before she let herself get too distracted, however, she deposited “W1” back into its place.
“Pauling,” The elder addressed again.
The younger refrained from rolling her eyes.
“I need you to pick up the next file, but bring the boys,” She ordered, referring to Pauling’s personal “bodyguards” (whom the younger had already beaten in hand-to-hand combat).
“Yes m’am,” Pauling left the room, obediently going to carry out her mission.
Dell knew exactly when daybreak hit. With no one else available to take shifts with him, he’d resigned himself to sleeping lightly- and waking up about every ten minutes to keep it that way. He groaned, reluctantly standing up to go check on the fur he’d set to dry.
After a brief check up, Dell heaved the warm fur off of the impromptu rack he’d constructed from sticks and some expert balancing skills. Wrapping the fur around himself, he returned to collect the few supplies he managed to bring with. Once he gathered everything he needed, he began climbing out of the cavern, keeping a watchful eye out for any predators.
With that, he set out to find his team.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Y’all heading out now?” Clement asked, looking over to the group positioned at the exit.
“Yeah, we’re, ah, heading out,” Daniel answered, scratching the back of his neck.
“Ya fellas got everything?” The Southerner asked a moment later, his eyes fixated on Daniel.
“We’ll be fine,” Scout called, itchy to get going before the team could change their decision on letting him go.
“Well, uh,” Clement glanced at the rest of the team before settling his gaze back on Daniel. “Be safe, alright?”
“I’ll do my best, Clement,” Daniel smiled, his own gaze lingering on Clement.
Scott coughed awkwardly. “Are we heading out?” He asked, uncomfortable with the tension in the air.
“Oh, yeah. Be safe, Clement,” Daniel said tenderly, before turning back to the others. “Let’s go, maggots!”
“So zhis is zhe area?” The Frenchman, Florence, asked. He inspected the area thoroughly, being used to snooping around for the team. He was just someone who naturally excelled at getting the essential information, and more importantly, he was someone who could disappear right in front of you with just how unnoticeable he truly was.
“So should we split up?” Scott asked, peering around the room in boredom.
“Yes! But we should go in groups,” Daniel piped in.
“Okay, what groups?” Austin, the tall, lanky Australian asked. He specialized in various long range weapons, and was a superb hunter for the team.
The “leader”, Daniel, narrowed his eyes in thought. “Florence and Austin, Ivan, Gilbert, and me, and Donnor and Scott.”
The group shared glances with their partners before nodding.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Are you sure ve’re going in the right direction, Daniel?” Gilbert asked, trying to restrain his testy tone.“I am positive!” Replied the American, contrary to his complete lack of knowledge“Alright, vell, ve just passed the safe about thirty seconds ag-”“Gilbert! Why did you not report this to me! Do you think we are here to put our thumbs up our asses, Maggot!”The German narrowed his eyes. “Just follow me.”“You have a very keen eye, Врач,” Ivan noted.“Zank you. Now, Daniel,” The “medic” addressed.“Yes, Maggot!”“Firstly, be quiet- secondly, ve are here.”The American glanced around the room, searching for any immediate threats. Deeming nothing would explode or jump out at him, he grabbed the safe, placing it on the boxes that served as a table. Once that was settled, Daniel typed in the code and opened it.It was cleared out- which was a good sign. It was confusing why they didn’t bring the safe, though, and it didn’t make sense that it was re-locked either. However, Daniel was a simple man, so he ignored the questions and grabbed the safe to scavenge it.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Austin,” The Frenchman whispered, his voice barely distinguishable from the silence.
“Yeah, mate?” Austin asked, trying to be quiet as well.
“I can’t push zhis,” Florence replied, trying to shove a large cabinet away from the window to let more light in.
“Alright, steady there, let me just… get in there…” Austin slipped in, trying not to brush up against the prissy Frenchman as much as he could. Once he was in a better position he readied his stance. “Alright, Florence, on three.One, two, three, puuuush!” The Aussie whispered, pushing the cabinet with all of his might. Once they shoved the cabinet far enough to illuminate the work room, they stopped.
There was… a
lot
of blood to say the least. Not pools of blood, no, but spatterings against the furniture and documents.
And what looked like a cocoon. But it was large, armored, and crackling.
Fear pulsated through the men.
“Austin, you grab what you can- I’m getting the documents,” Florence whispered, swiftly going to collect what various papers he could.
Austin nodded, grabbing some spare scrap metal and what looked to be half-finished devices.
When they had their arms full, they ran, slipping through dumping the stuff on the floor, and locking the door behind them. When that was done the pair pushed another cabinet in front of the door they just left.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“What the Hell did you two do?” Scott asked, being the first between he and Donnor to return. They’d heard the sound of the door, luckily.
“We just went in to check for stuff-” Austin began.
“And?” Scott asked, Donnor joining them. He grabbed the other’s shoulder.
“And, for your information, zhere was a monster or but or somezhing!” Florence exclaimed contentiously, a bit pissed off. Where did Scott get that air of superiority?
“Really?” Donnor asked, and Austin nodded. “Fuck.”
All of the sudden Austin paled. “Florence- the window.”
“What about zhe- merde.”
“Are we gonna have a fight pretty soon?” Donnor asked gravely.
“Probably,” Austin nodded.
“Fuck, Scott- you stay by me.”
“Donnor, I ca-”
“Scott.” He locked his eye with the other’s, his fear translating to an order with even more certainty than he had before.
Scott knit his eyebrows together angrily. Even Donnor didn’t trust him!?
“What about zhe ozhers?” Florence butted in.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Do you hear… buzzing?” Gilbert asked, a waver in his voice.
Daniel went dead silent, listening. Yes, he did. It was suspicious for how loud it was. “Let’s return to the group, men! HUrry up, maggots!” He ordered, checking the rear. He started jogging towards where they came back.
“Vait- Daniel, vhere are ve going?” Gilbert called, chasing behind him. Ivan was right on his tail, looking around tensely. The buzzing got louder.
“C’mon men!” Daniel pushed on, before a shower of glass cascaded down on the trio. He skidded to a stop in front of the- well, man-sized moth?
He growled. “Oh you overgrown piece of shit! I will make you
bleed
for America! You’re on my time now!” He yelled, pulling out the rusty shovel he insisted on carrying.
“Scheiße,” Gilbert grabbed out a pistol, drawing it. He unclicked the safety-.
Ivan growled ferally, charging forward and tackling a wing. He grabbed hold and tugged down, using his weight and strength, and with a rough swing he managed to rip the sinew and wing clear off.
The beast screeched, falling to the ground due to the imbalance.
Daniel slammed the shovel down, decapitating the dying monster. Its limbs twitched and fell after a few moments, losing their fight in the pool of blood. The trio stared at it, recovering from their shock. Gilbert inched closer. Ivan stiffened.
“Are you sure you should go near that, doctor?” The Russian asked nervously, getting a dismissive shrug.
“I vant to take a sample for zhe information,” he explained, pulling out a knife. He began cutting into an oversized limb.
Daniel averted his eyes at the action, though Ivan was unfazed. He was used to the doctor’s experiments at least, and he wanted to be sure with his own eyes that his doctor was okay.
The padding of running footsteps caught the soldier’s attention just moments later. Daniel tensed up, whipping around with the shovel in hand only to find Scott and Donnor at the other end. His shoulders slumped back down.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Donnor surveyed the scene. “Ach, ‘t didn’t take you any time at all, huh?” He said plainly, staring at the beast in particular.
“Of course not,” Daniel said plainly, staring back evenly. He had just done his duty, even if it was with a little help. They were trained to kill.
Florence came up next. He had more reason to run daily than Austin. Afterall, he had to escape on the regular, and not all were as clean as he would’ve wished. He took his breaths, surprisingly quiet, as he gazed at the scene.
“It’s dead,” he breathed.
“No shit, Sherlock,” Scout huffed, crossing his arms.
Florence’s hands curled into fists as he took an even breath. Scott was starting to get on his nerves. What made him think he knew anything? He was a baby! A baby! Just 18 years old, and he thought that made him a man. He thought that since he was so old he could just start talking to Florence like that? He oughta show him he couldn’t with a little corporal punishment… But he couldn’t. And he wouldn’t. He wasn’t undignified, and he wasn’t interested in playing a father role.
So Florence uncurled his fists and looked on. He just needed to keep his composure, something he had no problem doing. He had always been an actor of sorts.
Austin stumbled into the room, his breathing labored. He was starting to get old for this, and he had enough back problems already. He didn’t need to add more bouncing up and down torturing his lungs… or as it’s normally called, running. He was never a man for it.
There was no commotion, though, and that was a good sign. His eyes glanced for an inkling of trouble, but Florence’s face had smoothed and he was looking as unperturbed and coy as ever. His mask was back on, flawlessly in place, and Austin understood why so many didn’t see him as anything more. It was hard to believe such an aloof character could be anything but.
It wasn’t the truth, though. Just now, he saw Florence scared. He wondered what other emotions looked like, played out on the Frenchman’s face. It was strange that he was so invested.
“It’s dead,” Austin said finally.
“Ding ding ding! Captain Obvious!” Scott mocked.
Annoyance flashed on Austin’s face, but he scoffed. “Are you just mad this wasn’t your big break?”
“What?” Warmth spread on Scott’s face, and Austin snorted.
“You’re crazy! I’m not looking for a break!” He said defensively.
Florence actually laughed. “As if. Scott, I don’t think it’s possible for you to be more obvious. Your emotions are written on your face, and you lay out your hopes and dreams like a book.”
Scott’s ears went red as he tried to contain himself, but that was never something he particularly excelled at. His hands were already fists, and he trembled. His pride had been scorned in front of everybody, and that was all he could focus on.
And Donnor could tell as soon as he looked at him. “Scott, let’s go take a breath.”
Scott hesitated. “It’s fine,” he said, but the anger bubbled up through his words.
Florence opened his mouth to mock him more, but Austin took his shoulder, shaking his head. They didn’t need more drama. They already had enough kids. He needed some adults to keep him sane.
Florence sneered, but backed down. He didn’t really want to be told what to do, but he didn’t want to be pegged as a problem either.
“That’s fine, but let’s just go take a breath anyways,” Donnor suggested, taking his hand.
Scott sneered. “I’m not a little kid! You don’t need to go put me in time-out! You don’t need to hold my hand! I can handle myself! Why don’t you guys see that!”
“Scott, we see that, we know that,” Donnor said quickly, but his mind was stuck when trying to find evidence.
“Oh really, huh? That’s why I have to practically fight Clement to come here! That’s why I have to stay close to you! That’s why I have to hold your hand and go outside like I’m five!? Maybe I am looking for a big break! But you know why? Because you guys never give it to me! You don’t trust me! And I don’t understand why! What did I do? I can handle myself just let me prove it! Let me learn, let me grow up already!”
Donnor blanched, furrowing his brow. “Scott.”
“Don’t just ‘Scott’ me! Give me a reason! I want to grow up already!”
“Scott, I’m just worried about you,” Donnor said.
Scott looked at him, and Florence could only see betrayal written on his face. He was pathetically easy to read.
“I can handle myself, Donnor.” He said curtly, and Florence could tell it looked like anger, but really it was just wrapping paper over the hurt. “I thought you of all people would know that.” He yanked back his hand suddenly. “You know what? If you guys want me to leave, then I’ll leave. You can hang out in here, do all your adult grown up things, and keep me laying at home like a kid! It’ll be only you who’s down a pair of hands. And you know what? If that means the team suffers, I’ll learn at home, on my own, and I’ll leave you assholes!” He started stomping off, but it quickly turned into a run as he bounded out of the base. He closed the door behind him, slamming it, before he broke down and burst into tears.
Donnor stared at the space he was in, paralyzed with shock.
“Wow.” Misha broke the silence for a moment, until it flooded back in and trapped them all in their solitary thoughts.