(no subject)
Third and Eighth 2/?
Heroes | Peter, Nathan, Matt, Sylar
PG13 | 1363 words
He was there when the vile broke.
Had witnessed the suffocating dust enter the first set of lungs in the small room. It had swirled in the air, carried by an invisible wind as it wrapped around the nearest victim, seeping its way into every available orifice.
Nathan’s hand flew up reflexively towards his mouth as a light cough echoed from his throat. His brother had become frozen, his brown eyes fixed on the bits of broken glass scattered against the tile floor, its blunt edges softened by an almost orange tinted liquid.
A muffled clatter of footsteps echoed against his eardrums as a strong hand grasped his shoulder and shook him roughly, “Peter!” Nathan’s voice yelled, overpowering the background buzz that had found a home in Peter’s head, “snap out of it.”
He blinked slowly, the hand sending another jolting shake to his body as the empath removed his focus from the ground. Warm brown eyes lifted to lock on a more determined brown, “Nathan, I…”
“I know, Peter,” he said, dropping his gaze to the broken vile before sending a glance towards Matt. “We need to alert the officials.”
Matt nodded hesitantly, his voice traced with a hint of emotion, “I know where the police station is, it’s not far.” His eyes looked back at Peter as he watched him shake his head, the action pulling Nathan’s attention from the mind-reader.
“It’s in the air…” he mumbled, his eyes unfocused.
Another cough bounced off the walls of the small room, it’s origins coming from Matt as Nathan glanced at him momentarily, drawing his gaze back to his younger brother, “Don’t worry about it;” he said, his tone strained as he kept his hand protectively on his shoulder, “if we can alert the officials and get the area quarantined…”
“It won’t work.” Peter cut in, pulling away from him, “how can you possibly fight something that wipes out 93% of the world’s population?!”
His outburst caught both of them off guard. Nathan was the first to recover, his voice no longer filled with strength, “We have to try.” His eyes locked with Peter’s, his head bobbing lightly in a questioning nod, the gesture eliciting a reply as both their heads turned towards Matt.
○○○
The atmosphere of the police station was fairly calm as they moved through the front doors, heading towards the nearest officer in their view.
“We need to quarantine the city immediately.” Nathan stated, causing the officer to turn towards the trio, his eyebrow slightly peaked.
He dropped the clipboard down to the counter, blinking in confusion as he replied in a Texas drawl, “What are you talking about?” Nathan parted his lips to protest but Peter cut in, raising his voice over the entrance of multiple phone rings, “An airborne virus has been released.”
“Is this a joke?” the officer said, his eyes narrowing towards the younger man as he rolled his eyes and turned away from them. Peter bolted forward, his voice more tense, “People are going to die!”
His statement halted the official, his body turning sharply towards the three men in silence as another officer spoke a few feet away, “There have been 3 reports of a multiple car pileup on I-7”
“A pedestrian was just hit by a car after stumbling into the streets, witnesses say he was disoriented.” Another officer yelled.
“Four students at Odessa High have fallen ill, two are unconscious.” A female officer noted, hanging up the phone as another batch of multiple rings echoed around the station.
The official took a deep breath, returning his attention back on the three, his eyes locking on Peter’s annoyed ones, “Do you believe us now?”
The main officer caught a passing employee, setting certain demands, “Set up a quarantine of a 20 mile radius around the city, I need all hazmat teams on site and alert the hospital that they will be doing a mandatory protocol on all patients.”
She nodded, hastily scrawling down the information on her clipboard as she moved off into the backroom. Peter folded his arms across his chest as the man looked back at him, his scrutinizing gaze rigid, “I need to know what you know.”
He nodded as the officer was called to the back of the station, leaving the three alone, though silence wasn’t paired with it. Peter turned towards his brother, the sharp action throwing his balance off and he steadied himself, focusing his eyes on Nathan’s face as he noticed dark circles begin to emerge from beneath his eyes.
“Nathan… are you-“ his question was bluntly cut short as his brother snapped, “I’m fine.”
He backed off, drifting his gaze to Matt as a trail of coughs echoed behind him. The former police officer was staring at his open palm, bits of bright red contrasted against his skin popping into view.
Matt faltered, his eyes locked on his hand as Peter moved forward but stopped when a violent cough exited Nathan’s lungs and a heavy thud echoed against the floor.
○○○
Pushing past the doors of the police station in Odessa, Sylar scanned the moving figures, watching their distracted attentions as he wandered forward. He turned his gaze to the open windows, following the hazmat teams pacing the street.
“Excuse me, sir?” a soft feminine voice sounded amid the chaos of the room. Sylar turned, dropping his chin down to look at the petite officer standing behind him. He shifted his gaze instantaneously down the hall before bringing his eyes back on the woman, “Yes?”
She was hurried as she replied, absently guiding him out of the large room and closer to the street, “We’re quarantining the entire area,” her small hand wrapped around his lower arm as she tugged him towards the doors and the nurse a few feet away, “You need to go across the street to the hospital and get examined for any symptoms.”
Sylar was cautious, reigning in his discomfort in the situation as he allowed himself to be guided out of the building and across the street.
The nurse had been a little less hands-on in her approach, having him sit down in a cold, metal chair in the midst of crowded hallway as she checked his vitals.
“I’m fine.” He insisted as she wrapped the blood pressure cuff around his upper arm, tugging back a bit for emphasis. “It’s just protocol, sir.” She replied, pulling the stethoscope from around her neck.
A hand flew up and grasped the olive-toned arm of the nurse, halting her movement as an almost inaudible growl rumbled from Sylar’s throat, “I’m fine.” The anger in his tone stopped her, her hazel eyes locked on his in confusion and fear as he released his grip and got up from the chair.
Her startled gaze followed him as he pushed pass the crowds, weaving around a large pillar towards the front door when he stopped. His head tilted as he picked up the muted conversation of a couple of nurses in the opposite room, veering his direction towards the voices.
A smile graced his lips as he walked up to the small station, catching the attention of the younger of the two nurses, a matching smile reflected back through a gritted, fear-laden jaw. The other nurse acknowledged him with a curt nod as she strode back into the mass.
“Can I help you?” the raven-haired woman asked, her tone faltering as if she was trying to mask her true feelings. The smiled widened only slightly, his eyes narrowing in faked memory recall, “We’re you two mentioning “Petrelli”?”
The woman’s face dropped a fraction as she stared at him, “Yes, we have a Petrelli under our care, do you know him?” She looked up to find his gaze directed on the folder of papers on the desk. The silence between the two cut through the overwhelming chaos behind them as he took notice and pulled his attention up and shook his head, “It’s probably not the same person but thank you.”
Sylar’s smile faded, his eyes no longer narrowed in mocked gestures as he drifted back from the nurse’s station, turning abruptly towards the nearest hallway.
Heroes | Peter, Nathan, Matt, Sylar
PG13 | 1363 words
He was there when the vile broke.
Had witnessed the suffocating dust enter the first set of lungs in the small room. It had swirled in the air, carried by an invisible wind as it wrapped around the nearest victim, seeping its way into every available orifice.
Nathan’s hand flew up reflexively towards his mouth as a light cough echoed from his throat. His brother had become frozen, his brown eyes fixed on the bits of broken glass scattered against the tile floor, its blunt edges softened by an almost orange tinted liquid.
A muffled clatter of footsteps echoed against his eardrums as a strong hand grasped his shoulder and shook him roughly, “Peter!” Nathan’s voice yelled, overpowering the background buzz that had found a home in Peter’s head, “snap out of it.”
He blinked slowly, the hand sending another jolting shake to his body as the empath removed his focus from the ground. Warm brown eyes lifted to lock on a more determined brown, “Nathan, I…”
“I know, Peter,” he said, dropping his gaze to the broken vile before sending a glance towards Matt. “We need to alert the officials.”
Matt nodded hesitantly, his voice traced with a hint of emotion, “I know where the police station is, it’s not far.” His eyes looked back at Peter as he watched him shake his head, the action pulling Nathan’s attention from the mind-reader.
“It’s in the air…” he mumbled, his eyes unfocused.
Another cough bounced off the walls of the small room, it’s origins coming from Matt as Nathan glanced at him momentarily, drawing his gaze back to his younger brother, “Don’t worry about it;” he said, his tone strained as he kept his hand protectively on his shoulder, “if we can alert the officials and get the area quarantined…”
“It won’t work.” Peter cut in, pulling away from him, “how can you possibly fight something that wipes out 93% of the world’s population?!”
His outburst caught both of them off guard. Nathan was the first to recover, his voice no longer filled with strength, “We have to try.” His eyes locked with Peter’s, his head bobbing lightly in a questioning nod, the gesture eliciting a reply as both their heads turned towards Matt.
○○○
The atmosphere of the police station was fairly calm as they moved through the front doors, heading towards the nearest officer in their view.
“We need to quarantine the city immediately.” Nathan stated, causing the officer to turn towards the trio, his eyebrow slightly peaked.
He dropped the clipboard down to the counter, blinking in confusion as he replied in a Texas drawl, “What are you talking about?” Nathan parted his lips to protest but Peter cut in, raising his voice over the entrance of multiple phone rings, “An airborne virus has been released.”
“Is this a joke?” the officer said, his eyes narrowing towards the younger man as he rolled his eyes and turned away from them. Peter bolted forward, his voice more tense, “People are going to die!”
His statement halted the official, his body turning sharply towards the three men in silence as another officer spoke a few feet away, “There have been 3 reports of a multiple car pileup on I-7”
“A pedestrian was just hit by a car after stumbling into the streets, witnesses say he was disoriented.” Another officer yelled.
“Four students at Odessa High have fallen ill, two are unconscious.” A female officer noted, hanging up the phone as another batch of multiple rings echoed around the station.
The official took a deep breath, returning his attention back on the three, his eyes locking on Peter’s annoyed ones, “Do you believe us now?”
The main officer caught a passing employee, setting certain demands, “Set up a quarantine of a 20 mile radius around the city, I need all hazmat teams on site and alert the hospital that they will be doing a mandatory protocol on all patients.”
She nodded, hastily scrawling down the information on her clipboard as she moved off into the backroom. Peter folded his arms across his chest as the man looked back at him, his scrutinizing gaze rigid, “I need to know what you know.”
He nodded as the officer was called to the back of the station, leaving the three alone, though silence wasn’t paired with it. Peter turned towards his brother, the sharp action throwing his balance off and he steadied himself, focusing his eyes on Nathan’s face as he noticed dark circles begin to emerge from beneath his eyes.
“Nathan… are you-“ his question was bluntly cut short as his brother snapped, “I’m fine.”
He backed off, drifting his gaze to Matt as a trail of coughs echoed behind him. The former police officer was staring at his open palm, bits of bright red contrasted against his skin popping into view.
Matt faltered, his eyes locked on his hand as Peter moved forward but stopped when a violent cough exited Nathan’s lungs and a heavy thud echoed against the floor.
○○○
Pushing past the doors of the police station in Odessa, Sylar scanned the moving figures, watching their distracted attentions as he wandered forward. He turned his gaze to the open windows, following the hazmat teams pacing the street.
“Excuse me, sir?” a soft feminine voice sounded amid the chaos of the room. Sylar turned, dropping his chin down to look at the petite officer standing behind him. He shifted his gaze instantaneously down the hall before bringing his eyes back on the woman, “Yes?”
She was hurried as she replied, absently guiding him out of the large room and closer to the street, “We’re quarantining the entire area,” her small hand wrapped around his lower arm as she tugged him towards the doors and the nurse a few feet away, “You need to go across the street to the hospital and get examined for any symptoms.”
Sylar was cautious, reigning in his discomfort in the situation as he allowed himself to be guided out of the building and across the street.
The nurse had been a little less hands-on in her approach, having him sit down in a cold, metal chair in the midst of crowded hallway as she checked his vitals.
“I’m fine.” He insisted as she wrapped the blood pressure cuff around his upper arm, tugging back a bit for emphasis. “It’s just protocol, sir.” She replied, pulling the stethoscope from around her neck.
A hand flew up and grasped the olive-toned arm of the nurse, halting her movement as an almost inaudible growl rumbled from Sylar’s throat, “I’m fine.” The anger in his tone stopped her, her hazel eyes locked on his in confusion and fear as he released his grip and got up from the chair.
Her startled gaze followed him as he pushed pass the crowds, weaving around a large pillar towards the front door when he stopped. His head tilted as he picked up the muted conversation of a couple of nurses in the opposite room, veering his direction towards the voices.
A smile graced his lips as he walked up to the small station, catching the attention of the younger of the two nurses, a matching smile reflected back through a gritted, fear-laden jaw. The other nurse acknowledged him with a curt nod as she strode back into the mass.
“Can I help you?” the raven-haired woman asked, her tone faltering as if she was trying to mask her true feelings. The smiled widened only slightly, his eyes narrowing in faked memory recall, “We’re you two mentioning “Petrelli”?”
The woman’s face dropped a fraction as she stared at him, “Yes, we have a Petrelli under our care, do you know him?” She looked up to find his gaze directed on the folder of papers on the desk. The silence between the two cut through the overwhelming chaos behind them as he took notice and pulled his attention up and shook his head, “It’s probably not the same person but thank you.”
Sylar’s smile faded, his eyes no longer narrowed in mocked gestures as he drifted back from the nurse’s station, turning abruptly towards the nearest hallway.