After the Storm (5)
http://poppetawoppet.livejournal.com/3062.html
http://poppetawoppet.livejournal.com/3119.html
http://poppetawoppet.livejournal.com/3583.html
http://poppetawoppet.livejournal.com/3592.html
From AP new report, New Mexico- Strange songs in the night? Residents of a sleepy village outside of New Mexico insist they heard snippets of songs last night, all of them agreeing on the exact songs and the exact lines. While many are calling it a collective hoax, psychic Sylvia Brown has been quoted as saying that a ghost from the military’s secret past (after all this is Roswell) is trying to lead them to Area 51 so we can finally find out the truth. However, local sheriffs are dismissing it as teens driving around with their car radio turned up too loud. For full story…
Adam finally lay down in the early hours in the morning, too tired and worried to think of what people would say if they found him lying next to Kris, watching him sleep, watching for any sign. Seeing him fall to the ground, seeing the pain etched on his face: Adam tried not to hold on too tightly. He had no claim, but for now, he had blocked anyone from coming in, had lain next to Kris without hesitation, his worry keeping him up all night, or what was left of the night.
“Adam?”
He looked down. Kris was blinking, his voice barely a whisper.
“Yeah?”
“How long have I been out?”
“About most of the day. I think it’s just past one.”
“You think?”
“Haven’t been out much.”
Kris finally looked at him, saw where he was, and gave him a small grin. “I see.”
Adam blushed, didn’t move. “How’s your head?”
“Still hurts. But then again the last time I did that much, it hurt for about a week and a half. Can I have some water?”
Adam nodded, grabbed a bottle from the stash he had brought here. Kris lay still, carefully drinking while still lying down. He sat on the edge of the bed, was ready to go when Kris grabbed his hand.
“Tell me what happened.”
“Kris.”
“Can’t read you, too tired. Please. I need to know.”
Adam swallowed, put his other hand on top of Kris’. “Well right now, team members are getting the soldiers settled into the new housing. Apparently that was to be Base One, a place for those people whose talents were still in flux but not read to move elsewhere. Haven’t gotten around to interviews yet, really not sure where to start.”
“Campbell. She’s the key.”
“Yeah I know. Anyway, the rest of the refugees are still in shock, but we’re thinking of going down to the bunker again to sort records.”
“Again? What happened the first time?”
Adam shut his eyes, wishing he could erase the memory, so that Kris wouldn’t see it, wishing it hadn’t happened at all.
“Well, we went looking for others. We found three alive. Guess anyone who was left in the bunker was too volatile, too weak, basically not necessary anymore.”
Kris swore softly. “Damn it. Shit. Fuck.”
“I know. It was real hard to keep people away from the guards then, but I’m not sure who ordered what, and frankly, even though they don’t deserve it, I’m thinking a public trial sounds great.”
“All right tell me what happened last night. After.”
Adam swallowed again. “Kris.”
“You’re going to end up telling me one way or another, might as well get it done with now.”
Adam nodded. “Besides the fifty-two dead in the bunker? We lost six others in the fight, two guards. Emily….”
“Emily? Don’t tell me…”
Adam nodded, “Don’t you dare blame yourself.”
“Too late.”
“Matt’s fairly inconsolable over the people in the bunker. He was told they were going to be moved. Danny’s a wreck because he couldn’t save any of them, even though he probably saved more than his fair share of lives last night. Allison’s pissed about how we took her out of it. But we promised to include her tomorrow, so she’s just pouty now.”
Kris nodded. “Tomorrow?”
“We can wait if you want to come.”
“No. I’m not going back.”
The mix of anger and fear took Adam aback. He had no good memories of the bunker, but whatever had happened to Kris…
“How’s Scotty?”
Adam shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s having a good day. Maybe once we get him home, once he sees his family…”
Kris laughed bitterly. “Well, we’ll see about that.”
Adam tilted his head. “What now?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow. After you’ve been down there. It won’t be as bad then.”
Adam nodded, worried that even now, when they had won, Kris still was bitter, angry. He began to rise, to let Kris sleep.
“Don’t go. Please. Can you stay again? Except maybe this time you’ll actually sleep?”
Adam grinned. Nodded. “Well maybe if a certain someone hadn’t almost gotten himself killed.”
Kris half-smiled, closed his eyes again. Adam sat there, even skipping dinner; lay down next to him, kissing his forehead softly before drifting off. The next morning he woke to find Kris grinning at him.
“What?”
“You have dirty dreams.”
Adam stared, swallowed. Blushed. Laughed. He laughed hard, probably harder than was needed, but this Kris; this was the Kris he remembered.
“I guess that means you had dirty dreams.”
Kris turned Adam’s favorite shade of pink, just a little mix of embarrassed and chagrined.
“Are you still going today?”
Adam nodded. “You sure about not coming?”
Kris nodded, winced slightly. “Never more sure of anything in my life.”
Adam sighed. “All right. Ummm, if you need anything…”
“I’m well enough to walk around, just as long as I don’t make any sudden moves.”
“Okay. See you later. Maybe when I get back we can discuss these dirty dreams.”
Kris half smiled shook his head. “Trust me, when you come back…” Adam couldn’t read the look that flashed across his face, knew that Kris was holding so much in, that he knew more than he was letting on, that whatever was in the bunker, it was more terrible than he could imagine. But he had to know.
“Kris. I’ll see you.”
Adam forced himself up, walked out the door. The sun was just rising, but the temperature was already too high. He saw the others waiting, twenty of them in all. It was a mix of people he did and didn’t know.
“Kris not coming?”
Adam shook his head. “I get the feeling maybe Kris already knows what’s down there. Or at least some of it.”
“Guess that makes you fearless leader,” Matt nudged him.
“Why is that?”
Most of the group laughed at his confusion. “Seriously? After everything, I mean the two people in this camp who are in charge are you and Kris man. We owe you two everything.”
Adam stared at him. He had never thought of himself as a leader, just someone who was doing what was right. Doing what had to be done. He was pretty sure Kris felt the same way. Well, if they wanted him to be in charge….
“Ok, here are the rules. We’re out of there at the end of the day. Whatever we find, we share. No more secrets. And most importantly, no matter what we find, it’s still us against them. Especially knowing Matty and Danny had to pretend to play both sides. That they did what they had to do to help us.”
Everyone nodded. As the group passed others, Adam realized everyone knew what was happening. They hadn’t come up with any concrete plan, any idea of how to start rejoining the rest of the world. The key to what had happened was in the bunker, so that’s where he was going.
The hallways were all too familiar, slightly darkened, echoing in that sort of horror movie way right before the music ratchets up and the killer is revealed. Adam shivered, remembering the feelings from yesterday, the horror at what people could do, the pain of all the loss. They bypassed most of the upper levels, as they were rooms, labs, observation areas. They split into two when they found the files, Adam turning away as the others began to page through them. He smiled a little; trust the military to have everything neatly filed, and probably in triplicate. Soon enough, after enough rooms, Adam found himself still wandering when he came upon the door marked Surveillance, Clearance Code Gamma Only. He grinned, remembering the stuttering look of horror as Dr. Campbell told him the code. Adam hated himself a little then for forcing it out of her, but compared to what she had done, one code was not the end of the world to him.
The room was full of screens, showing every possible view of camp. Adam remembered the cameras, but still whistled appreciatively at the angles and views of the ones he hadn’t seen, the level of surveillance. He recognized cabins, bathrooms (not the showers themselves), everything. He realized the machines were still recording, shrugged. He wandered into the next room, stopped in his tracks.
He soon realized the depth of the experiment in this room. The room was full of DVD cases, each clearly marked with a date and numbers following. He tilted his head, remembering he had been given a number, remembering Dr. Campbell referring to them by their numbers. He wandered until he saw one with his number… and also Kris’s. And someone else’s. He picked it up, wondering what it was, the date still from his bunker time. He went to put it in the machine when he heard Allison.
“Adam?”
He turned; saw the look on her face. He had known it was a mistake for her to be here, known she shouldn’t have come. Her eyes were full, and she held a file in her hand.
“Alli…what’s wrong?”
“Danny found records from where they… terminated people. And I found this…”
She shoved the paper in his face, and he looked down. Subject 1052 continues to be our most valuable asset as far as categorizing the others and keeping them in line. 1052’s access to their dreams is especially useful. He continues to resist in waking hours, but that is no matter. As we discovered last week, his attachment to fellow subjects, especially 1057 and 1058 can be of use in keeping him in line…
Everything clicked into place. Adam looked into Allison’s eyes and knew she understood too. He looked at the video in his hand, swallowed.
“Adam, they, they used him.”
Adam smiled gently, held her close. “They used us all, honey.”
“Yeah, but, I mean, I mean he-“
Adam nodded, his own eyes burning. His eyes went back to the video. He pressed play, and wished he’d never come down here at all.
A voice is heard on the camera, Adam thinks it is Dr. Ellison, he can’t be sure. “Subject 1052, October 20th, 2009, testing. As you can see, 1052 is in this room here.” The camera pans to a window looking down into a room. There is a small figure curled into a ball, hooked up to all sorts of monitors. Mostly measuring brain waves. “Over in this room,” the camera moves to the left, “we have subject 1057.” Adam recognizes himself. “And also in this room”, the camera pans to the right, “we have subject 1058.” Even without her trademark magenta hair. Allison is immediately recognizable. “Tonight we are trying two subjects at once, to see if 1052 picks up on the closest dreams, or the most intense ones. Both 1057 and 1058 have had intense sessions today, so this should be interesting.”
Adam wants to shove Allison out right then, wants to get her out, but he can’t move. The camera focuses back on Kris’ sleeping form, the doctor making comments from time to time, when there is a spike in one of the monitors. A small groan escapes, “Leave me alone. Please. Don’t hurt me. Please. I'll do whatever you want me to, just don’t-”
Adam begins to cry, feels Allison’s hand on his shoulder. He can’t watch, he can’t take his eyes away. Was every day like this? How could he have stood it? Then Kris begins to yell, very distinctly in Spanish. Adam looks at Alli, who is pale, crying, sobbing silently. “Turn it off, Adam, please.”
Adam turned shut off the screen. He looked back at the videos, gathered Allison close. He wanted to speak words, to say something, but words failed him. He looked at her as she pulled away. “I wanna get out of here.”
Adam nodded, took the video, put it back in its place. It was then he really saw the numbers, saw the whole section. “Alli,” he whispered.
She walked over, looking at the numbers. “Oh my God. How many? I mean, this looks like…”
“Every goddamn night he was here. And then some. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
They leaned against each other as they made their way upstairs. It had only been an hour and half, but Adam was done. He poked his head into one of the rooms, looking for Matt, or Danny or Anoop, a familiar face. Matt was in a corner, intently reading.
“You okay man?”
Adam shook his head. “We need to have a meeting. All of us. The whole fucking camp. And we need to have it today.”
“Okay. Let’s spread the word. After dinner?”
Adam nodded, headed back to the heat and the light. He was sure people talked to him as he made his way back to the cabin with Alli. Kris wasn’t there.
“Where is he?” he asked Sissy, who had been with him.
“He said he had to take a walk. I think he was going to the front gate.”
Adam nodded, headed back into the sun. The front gate wasn’t a terribly bad walk, but Kris still wasn’t one hundred percent. But he had known what was going to be found. He had known, and Adam wasn’t sure what Kris thought that meant, but Adam knew he just wanted to hold him close until it all went away, until everything except the two of them disappeared, until before and after didn’t matter anymore. He found Kris sitting inside, leaning back in a chair, watching the empty road.
“Hey.”
Kris looked up at him. “Well, that was even shorter than I expected.”
Adam shrugged, unable to move from the doorway. “They taped everything.”
Kris nodded. “I know.”
“What don’t you know?’
Kris laughed, short, watery, “Why.”
“See, that’s the only thing I can’t figure.”
“What’s that?” Kris' face was set, eyes focusing on the distance.
“Why.”
“Why what? Why didn’t I tell anyone?”
“No. That one is easy. They threatened you just like everyone else.”
“Okay. Why what?”
“Okay, maybe it’s not a why. Maybe it’s a what,” Adam shrugged as Kris sighed at him, knowing he wanted to be left alone, knowing he shouldn’t be.
“Then what?”
Adam can’t stand this Kris, this angry, exasperated man who was clearly suffering, who refused to give in, to completely lean for once in his life, the one with the strain in his voice and the hardness in his eyes, the one sitting right in front of him. He walked over, sat on the desk. He wanted to be eye to eye with him, but it was not working.
“I want to know, after all of that,” Adam waved in the vague direction of the bunker, “After everything they did to you, what made you break the other day? What could possibly be worse than that?”
Kris closed his eyes, his face fixed in pain. “I guess you’ll find out anyway. I bet they kept records in triplicate.”
Adam nodded. “There was a video, of you. And me, and Allison. Dreaming.”
Kris opened his eyes, tears on his cheeks. “I believe that may have been the time I shattered all the glass on one floor.”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t watch it.”
Kris looked down. Adam wanted to pick him up right then, his heart aching to stop the hurt, to leave the wound alone. But if it festered much longer, Kris would be as broken as Scott, and Adam knew he would break too.
“I ran out that night, had to get away, to think, just for a minute.” Adam watched him play with his hands, caught his gaze as it came to him, stayed steady. “I literally ran into one of the gate guards. I don’t remember his name. I don’t want to. He looked at me, said he remembered the day I came in. Remembered us when we were on TV. And then he picked me up off the ground. He remembered another day. The day certain subjects were released.”
Adam tilted his head. “Lil. Todd. You mean those people who ended up with no abilities.”
Kris nodded, his chest heaving as he tried to hold back. Adam got off the desk, knelt in front of him. “What did the guard remember?”
“They’re dead.”
“What?”
“Doctor Campbell’s orders. I mean they saw what was going on here. And they weren’t any use to her anymore.” Kris looked at the road again. “I can tell you where they are buried if you like.”
“Kris…”
“They used me. They got me to get to you, and they let me know. They knew the guilt would tear me up. But that. That made me sick. I mean this is the United States of America, and because they were inconvenient, they were gone. Just like those poor souls left in the bunker. Just like they were going to do with Scott. “
“Kris. You can’t control everything.”
“I know. But how can I look anyone in the face when I’m the reason they suffered so much? How can I do it? How can I face anyone knowing I lived and the… they died… they died for no fucking reason at all…”
Adam watched, terrified as Kris finally collapsed. He gently lifted him off the chair and onto the floor, holding him tightly. Not saying a word. What could he say? He waited until the worst had subsided, looked down, gathered Kris’ chin into one of his hands.
“Now listen here. They would have found a way to hurt us with or without you. But without you, without you Kris, I’d be sitting in some remote place, doing more tests, testing until I died or they killed me. All of us would. So maybe that’s the balance I don’t know. But without you, I don’t know what I would have done.”
He leaned down, kissed each of Kris’ eyes closed, then gently on the mouth. He pulled away, waited. Kris laid his head against his chest, twined his fingers through Adam’s.
“Adam?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t know everything you know.”
“That so?” Adam tilted his head.
Kris looked at him. “I don’t know what’s going to happen next. I don’t know how the hell we’re going to go back to anything resembling a real life. I don’t know how I’m going to face people ever again. I don’t know…I don’t know how I feel about you.”
Adam swallowed, reading the confusion on Kris’ face. “Well, then. I don’t know how to answer that.”
He stared into Kris’ eyes, squeezed his hand. He leaned forward again. Turned when the pounding on the door began.
“Everyone’s ready for the meeting guys!”
“Remind me to talk to Alli about timing later,” Adam whispered.
Kris smiled. “I don’t know about this.”
“Trust me, if this morning was any indication, you’ll be surprised at how people feel about you.”
“Ok. Let’s do this.”
Adam kept his arm around Kris as they walked toward the cafeteria, unsure of what was happening next, unsure of what was happening now. When Kris stiffened in his arms as they approached the hall, he knew Kris felt it. Knew that Kris finally realized just how people really saw him. Just as Adam did.
Perhaps we went too far in certain cases. However, science cannot grow without some sacrifice. After we are finished, if we are ever finished, perhaps people will hate me, perhaps my actions will be hailed as harsh but necessary. But the unintended consequences of Project Storm unleash so many possibilities, we must find out how to harness the power. We must find out how to use it to our advantage. I feel especially that subjects 1052 and 1056 demonstrate how we could proceed with Project Storm in the future. If we choose the right candidates, people strong of mind, we can mold them as we wish. Unfortunately in the case of 1056, we suffered an unfortunate series of events. In the future we must proceed carefully, and we can create subjects who are perfect for any need. I highly recommend the continuation of Project Storm. General Peyton Campbell, U. S. Army
Excerpt from transcript of People v. General Peyton Scott:
“So you are saying that torturing, killing citizens of the United Sates of America was right?”
“I’m saying that in the case of Project Storm, the ideas of right and wrong had to be suspended. That these ‘people’ as you call them, had to be treated differently because they are different. What you don’t understand prosecutor, is that science demands answers, and we had to get them, no matter what the cost.”
“How many are there?”
“Head count is officially at 942. There were 1198 here to begin with. Not to mention we think they have a separate camp for children...”
Kris nodded. It wasn’t like he hadn’t stood in front of this many people before. But he wasn’t performing. This time he was speaking about the future, about what was going to happen next. He had begged Adam to lead the meeting, but Adam had shaken his head.
“You know more than I do. I hate to put you in this position, but I think you have a better idea of what’s really going on than I do.”
“What in the hell qualifies me to lead this meeting again?”
Adam smiled at him. “Just listen to them for a minute. Trust me.”
Kris nodded. He let go of his filter for a minute, almost fell down. Ignoring briefly the intensity of the glow of feelings next to him, he reached out to the room. He could hear it in everyone’s thoughts. He had never thought of himself as a leader, but the one commonality in the room was that these people felt he was responsible for saving their lives. He felt light headed. For the first time in months he had hope in his heart, and Adam was the reason. He felt for the first time he could leave here, he could possibly have some semblance of a normal life again. He wasn’t sure how, but it was possible.
He raised his hand, called for the room to be quiet.
“All right, here goes. As you know some of us chose to start exploring the bunker, to find out why we were here exactly. Without going down there myself I know this much: one: we have been nothing more than an experiment. Two: the experiment was entering a new phase when we made our move. So I’m going to let Anoop talk for a minute, and then he’s going to give the floor back to me, because there is a plan of sorts, but I think maybe we should vote on it.”
Anoop stood up. “Thanks, man. I’m pretty sure I was roped into this because I’m the college boy, but I’ll do my best not to lecture too much. So, to make a long story short, it seems that there are records of everything that has happened since August. Written records, visual records. There are pages of medical stuff that we might have to have our community doctors look at, but for the most part it’s pretty revealing stuff. I, uh, found some interesting stuff in Dr. Campbell’s office. Seems that she was part of a team testing some sort of weather weapon at the Air Force Base in Ohio- Wright Patterson, I think. Turns out that not only was their aim off, but this so-called Project Storm had unintended consequences. Unfortunately all we have is one side of the story. We found one magazine from outside the camp, but it didn’t tell us much at all. So my suggestion is that we contact the outside. We have to do it sometime. So in a short five minute meeting, Kris had an idea.”
Kris nodded, looking at the crowd again. They had all known that they were a part of some government experiment. Knowing it for sure made everyone mostly angry. Knowing that they were part of an accident, a cover up that made the anger intensify.
“So here’s the deal. As far as we know, the government has told our families that we’re dead, dying, ill, whatever. As far as the government is concerned, or at least the part of the government that put us here is, we are to be swept under the rug. The only solution to that is to go public.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean we find a phone, we call FOX, CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN, MTV, Lifetime, ESPN, Hell, even the CW. We get them all here, and let them have the records. We do interviews. We make sure everyone knows what the hell happened here.”
Kris paused. He knew what was in those rooms, knew that it was mostly terrible, and the thought of everyone knowing what happened terrified him, but at the same time, he couldn’t live knowing that people had done what they had done and gotten away with it.
“And after that?”
“Well, hopefully we get someone’s attention, get them to listen. Then we can give a list of what we want to them. I mean, we’re going to be pretty recognizable if we do this, so I’m thinking Witness Protection, asylum in Switzerland, that sort of thing.”
“What if we don’t want to share?”
“That’s up to you. But let me say this. I know there are terrible things down there.” Kris pointed to his head, nervous laughter passing around the room. “And I don’t want anyone to know. But I’m going to, because what happened to us, what happened here is a crime, and I want it to be known. If you don’t want to share, that’s okay. We can pull your records, pull your videos. But at the end of the day, even though you may all end up hating me at the end of this, I want people to know. So we’re going to take names as far as that is concerned, and then we’re compiling a list of what we want from the government, of how we want to move on. So we’re going to go around, and tomorrow we’ll get this show on the road.”
Kris watched as the room began to hum in excitement. He let out a breath. He grabbed one of the clipboards on the tables, began to write.
“So how many did we get?”
The group was about fifteen. Kris grinned as Danny tried to help Joey into a seat, got slapped away as she told him she could do just fine for herself. He had his own personal bets at how that was going to end up. He leafed through the papers again, waiting for someone to start naming names.
“I don’t have anyone.”
Around the table, everyone echoed the sentiment.
“Are you freaking kidding me? Everyone?”
“You painted a convincing argument. The best way to repay the bastards is to let it go public.”
Kris nodded. “So I guess we better start compiling demands, deciding how to contact the media.”
“Oh the media is easy,” Adam grinned.
“How is that?”
“We send someone to 19 with Joey.”
Everyone turned. Kris smiled. It was perfect. It would be a great way to get attention, to get everyone here. “Except once we go there how do we get everyone back here?”
“That’s easy. Joey and whoever drive out of here until they reach the nearest town. Once she finds out where you are, you go to 19, and tell them where to come.”
“You’ve obviously been thinking about this for awhile.”
“Ever since you suggested the media, that’s what I’ve been thinking.”
“So who do we send?”
Kris was surprised when everyone turned to him. “Really? Why me?”
“You are the American Idol, after all,” Adam said.
“Plus you totally organized our escape,” Allis smiled.
“And you already have free cheese dip for life, what other demands could you have?”
Kris stared at Matt, burst into laughter. It was as close to old times as they were going to get, and he knew it. He smiled. “All right, I guess I just got drafted. Do I have to go now, or is tomorrow better?”
“I don’t know whenever you want.”
Owen hates when his secretary spazzes at the people who come through his office. It wasn’t as if celebrities didn’t come here every day. He had been getting ready to leave, but obviously this was important, at least on the level of her spazzing. Owen put it about at a 12 on a scale of ten. He sighed, told her to let them in. It took him a moment to recognize the man in dusty gray. It had been so long, and he was supposed to be dead.
“You’re dead.”
The man gives a familiar half-grin; his eyes however, are not the same. “No. But there are days.”
Owen carefully sits down. “All right, I want to know everything.”
“Everything? There isn’t time enough for that. However I can give you the basics.”
Owen nodded, and as Kris Allen began to talk, the whole world shifted.
It was about two in the morning when they returned to camp. Joey stumbled off to a cabin. Kris stood in the night, staring at the stars. He leaned against the gate, wondered if he could put off sleep again. Although the dreams had gotten better, last night had been a revelation. Kris smiled. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about those dreams, about his own feelings. He had been avoiding them, trying to concentrate on the next day, the next step. But now that it looked like it was ending, like everything was moving on, all the time he had spent in planning he could spend overanalyzing his emotions. It had never been this complicated when it was Katy. But then again Katy had been the easiest decision of his life.
Kris knew he had to see her again, knew it was going to be hard. But he also knew too much had changed, too much had happened that he could not burden her with. Also knowing that to her, he had been dead, that changed everything as well. He never wanted to cause her pain, but he also knew that going back to her was more painful than not.
He woke the next day, deciding maybe the guardhouse was the best place to sleep: no dreams but his own. He spent most of it organizing how they were going to handle the incoming media, the government, the prisoners. Adam was with the prisoners right now, making sure they understood what was to happen. The others were in the bunker, trying to sort out material, how it was to be handed out. He wasn’t sure where Scott was, knew he had been having a hard day, especially knowing Todd was dead. Kris had debated telling him, but in the end, Scott had to know.
He heard the first gunshot when he was on his way to the hospital to try and find Megan and check on her progress. He stepped into a run, heard the yelling, heard four more shots, heard someone (he thought it might be Megan) scream for a doctor.
He stopped; saw the former guards standing back, Dr. Campbell with a speculative look on her face. Kris knew that one; it was where she was filing away information for analyzation. He clawed his way through the cluster, stopped when he saw Scott cradled in Adam’s arms, a bloody cloth over his eyes. Adam was murmuring quietly to Scott, telling him to hold still, to hold on, help was coming. He also saw three others off to the side, being attended to by others. DANNY WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING I NEED YOU BY THE HOSPITAL
“What happened?”
Megan knelt beside him, her voice strained, “He just came up here, no one was with him, and he held his hands over his face, and he was screaming about wanting to see again. He, he, he had a knife in his hand, and it looked like he had stuck it in his eyes, and….Kris, he went right over to the guards, and he had a gun, and he was shooting, and then he held the gun to his chin, and I think, and then he fell over, and he’s just bleeding everywhere, and I don’t know what to do….”
Kris nodded slowly. How the hell had Scotty gotten a gun? What the hell kind of good did he think it was going to do? He scooted closer, looked briefly at Adam, who was shaking his head. “Kris, I don’t know…”
“Shhh. We have to help him.”
Kris grabbed Scotty’s hand, tried to read him, tried to listen. He let go, shaking his head. In that one moment he again knew more than he wanted to, knew and regret that he hadn’t tried to find out earlier.
Danny came running up then, kneeling down, holding Scott’s hand, closing his eyes. When he looked up again he was crying, his voice barely registering. “I’m sorry, I can’t. It’s too much. I’m sorry.”
He stood walked away. Kris looked back at Adam, still murmuring quietly, then back to Scott. Then he heard what Adam was saying.
“It’s okay Scott. Why don’t you go to sleep now? I bet that would be good. That’s right. Shhhh. Go to sleep. That’s right.”
Kris watched as Scott’s breathing evened. For almost a minute they sat, Scott’s breathing becoming shallow, slowing, stopping. Adam looked up, his eyes full of misery. Kris stood then, ignoring whatever question came his way. He strode over to where the guards stood silently. He didn’t even realize how angry he was until Dr. Campbell slammed into the wall, unable to move.
“I don’t know a lot of things,” Kris growled, “but I know this much. What just happened was your fault. And you were filing it away for your research. I saw what you did and it fucking disgusts me. Of all the human beings I have ever known you are the lowest.”
He hadn’t realized, but with each word, Dr. Campbell began to choke, began to lose her breath. Even so she was smiling.
“You forgot something, though, bitch. I’m not a killer. And I never will be.” Kris stood back, let her go, and walked away. When he reached the front gate, he proceeded to punch the wall.
“Kris?”
“They broke him, in ways I cannot even describe. I should have found out earlier, should have tried to reach him. I knew some of it, but… just now… just now.” Kris swallowed. “I could have stopped it.”
Adam shook his head. “I don’t know about that. But I do know this; we all could have tried harder. But he was broken a long time ago, and I’m not sure anything could have pulled him out.”
Kris looked at Adam, nodded. He leaned against the wall, shifted only slightly as Adam’s arms wrapped around him, held him close. It seemed he was making a habit of crying in Adam’s arms. He felt a kiss against his forehead, looked up.
Adam’s face was red and splotchy and perfect. Kris reached up, brushed a stray hair away, kissed the freckle just above his lips, leaned into him, found himself gently pushed away.
“Kris.”
He stood watching as Adam tried to push back his feelings again. “Don’t”
“Don’t what?”
“Walk away.”
“Kris, you don’t know what you’re doing. There’s too much right now-“
“Just because I don’t know what I’m feeling doesn’t mean I don’t feel at all.”
Adam paused.
“Adam… I… please. Stay. Just for moment. Just so… just…” Kris rubbed his face. “I don’t know.”
Adam walked back, took Kris’ face in his hand, tracing it with his lips. Kris shivered, his hands beginning to work at Adam’s shirt, underneath it, tracing a pattern across his chest. Adam pushed him against the wall, gently nipping at his mouth as he kissed him, his tongue patiently exploring. While removing Adam’s shirt, Kris began to also work on his pants, using his abilities, finally, for good.
Adam gasped. “That’s cheating.”
“So you say.”
“Kris…”
Kris shushed him. “I don’t want to stop.”
Adam looked at him, his eyes dark, his breath heavy. “I know. Neither do I.”
“Then why am I?”
“Because technically, even though you’re dead, you’re still married, and you are a good guy.”
“Why can’t I be the bad one for once?”
Adam laughed. “Never. However, if you let me, I’ll give you some excellent dreams tonight.”
Kris grinned slightly, leaning on Adam as they left the guardhouse, holding Alli close when she came to them, staying up half the night telling Scott stories, weeping silently as Adam held him close, as the dreams took over again.
part 6: poppetawoppet.livejournal.com/4166.html