Mama They Try and Break Me - scifi_muses
Character: Malcolm Reynolds
Fandom: Firefly/Serenity
Rating: PG
Word Count: 563
Prompt: Hero of the Day scifi_muses, Alcohol #25 for joss100 59/100
Setting: Before the series, during the war. Continued from HERE
Mama they try and break me
A curtain of red fell over my eyes. Don’t remember what I did next. Don’t remember anything until I woke up in an alley covered in garbage, stinking of piss and with my knuckles cracked and stained with blood. I wasn’t angry anymore. I was just drained.
They’d destroyed Shadow. My mother was gone. The ranch I’d grown up on was gone. My girl was gone, and they’d killed my son too. Nothing would make Shadow livable again; none of the miraculous terra-forming machines could make a dent in that abyss of death. I limped back to my barracks. It was late. A pair of guards stood at their posts, their rifles at the ready.
One of them nodded at me. His eyes were rimmed red and bloodshot. “Mal,” he said, as he let down the force field. “Guess you saw the news.”
“That obvious, huh?” I was tired. Felt like my soul had been torn away.
“They’re havin’ all of us from Shadow in for counselin’ in the mornin’.”
“Well hope they don’t mind me pukin’ on their social worker.” I ambled on past. My head was pounding, and I needed another drink more than I needed air to breathe. “’Cause I ain’t goin’ to be in any shape to listen to no bullshit.”
###
“Dad?” Little fingers patted at my cheek to wake me up. The sun was so bright that I had to close my eyes right up. My son poked at me again, and then climbed up onto the bed between me and Emma. “Dad. You have to get up. You gotta take me ridin’ today. You promised.”
“I know. I know.” I rolled over. I could see Emma’s eyes flicker while she held in a laugh. “I know you ain’t asleep. Come on, you can come with us.”
“Oh no,” she laughed. “You’re the hero of the day. I’m just his mother. You two go be manly men. I’ve got work to do of my own. My ship’s still got a powerful need for some repairs, so I can get back into the Black.”
“Well,” I said, climbing out of the bed, dumping Ethan onto his mother along the way. “If y’all would get somethin’ to fly other than that piece of gos se Firefly…”
“Dad!” Ethan pointed out the window. “What’s wrong with the sun?” A brilliant wave of light roared towards us. I dashed to look outside as the world was incinerated in a churning storm of destruction around us.
###
“Reynolds!” A solid boot to my bunk broke me from my dream. “Get your lazy ass out of bed. You’ve got work to do. You hear me mister?”
“Yes sir,” I said, blinking while I tried to get my bearings. “I was just dreamin’.”
“We’re cutting you slack because of what happened to Shadow, Malcolm.” The officer said as he folded his arms across his chest. “But we’ve still got work to do if we want to win this war. We need to make sure nothing like Shadow ever happens again. So get cleaned up, get your gear and get ready. Unless you want to quit?”
“No.” I swallowed hard. The taste of my own tongue almost making me gag. Too much whiskey and not enough tooth brushing. “I ain’t ready to give up. I got people need me to fight for ‘em now more than ever.”
Fandom: Firefly/Serenity
Rating: PG
Word Count: 563
Prompt: Hero of the Day scifi_muses, Alcohol #25 for joss100 59/100
Setting: Before the series, during the war. Continued from HERE
Mama they try and break me
A curtain of red fell over my eyes. Don’t remember what I did next. Don’t remember anything until I woke up in an alley covered in garbage, stinking of piss and with my knuckles cracked and stained with blood. I wasn’t angry anymore. I was just drained.
They’d destroyed Shadow. My mother was gone. The ranch I’d grown up on was gone. My girl was gone, and they’d killed my son too. Nothing would make Shadow livable again; none of the miraculous terra-forming machines could make a dent in that abyss of death. I limped back to my barracks. It was late. A pair of guards stood at their posts, their rifles at the ready.
One of them nodded at me. His eyes were rimmed red and bloodshot. “Mal,” he said, as he let down the force field. “Guess you saw the news.”
“That obvious, huh?” I was tired. Felt like my soul had been torn away.
“They’re havin’ all of us from Shadow in for counselin’ in the mornin’.”
“Well hope they don’t mind me pukin’ on their social worker.” I ambled on past. My head was pounding, and I needed another drink more than I needed air to breathe. “’Cause I ain’t goin’ to be in any shape to listen to no bullshit.”
###
“Dad?” Little fingers patted at my cheek to wake me up. The sun was so bright that I had to close my eyes right up. My son poked at me again, and then climbed up onto the bed between me and Emma. “Dad. You have to get up. You gotta take me ridin’ today. You promised.”
“I know. I know.” I rolled over. I could see Emma’s eyes flicker while she held in a laugh. “I know you ain’t asleep. Come on, you can come with us.”
“Oh no,” she laughed. “You’re the hero of the day. I’m just his mother. You two go be manly men. I’ve got work to do of my own. My ship’s still got a powerful need for some repairs, so I can get back into the Black.”
“Well,” I said, climbing out of the bed, dumping Ethan onto his mother along the way. “If y’all would get somethin’ to fly other than that piece of gos se Firefly…”
“Dad!” Ethan pointed out the window. “What’s wrong with the sun?” A brilliant wave of light roared towards us. I dashed to look outside as the world was incinerated in a churning storm of destruction around us.
###
“Reynolds!” A solid boot to my bunk broke me from my dream. “Get your lazy ass out of bed. You’ve got work to do. You hear me mister?”
“Yes sir,” I said, blinking while I tried to get my bearings. “I was just dreamin’.”
“We’re cutting you slack because of what happened to Shadow, Malcolm.” The officer said as he folded his arms across his chest. “But we’ve still got work to do if we want to win this war. We need to make sure nothing like Shadow ever happens again. So get cleaned up, get your gear and get ready. Unless you want to quit?”
“No.” I swallowed hard. The taste of my own tongue almost making me gag. Too much whiskey and not enough tooth brushing. “I ain’t ready to give up. I got people need me to fight for ‘em now more than ever.”