More Than Human

Chapter 34: Back to Sleep

Gaz wished they were still in the woods. But then again, he always wished that. He and Soap had that in common, for very different reasons obviously. He would have happily volunteered to stick around at the cabin for the other sergeant, but he understood the subtext of Ghost taking that job. He understood the type of plans that the lieutenant had for his wolf, so he was fine to come back to the city with Laswell and Price.

Laswell set them up in a small apartment until they were able to actually leave the state. She had left them with so much paperwork and intel to go through, they wouldn't have a chance to do much else.

At least they would be doing something to feel useful. And it was helping Gaz keep his mind off of their next target apparently.

Makarov.

Well, great. Now he'd thought about him.

Gaz's pen stopped its writing and he took a deep breath of CO2 through his nose. It had been so long, but the man still lurked amongst his dreams. The hand with the pen in it shook slightly and he fought to steady it by resting it against the table.

"Kyle."

Gaz's head popped up to see Price staring at him, concerned.

"Yessir?"

"You alright, Sprout?"

Gaz quickly nodded, "I'm alright, Captain! Just the city air getting to me, I'm sure."

Price could tell by looking at him that there was more than that. And he suspected he knew the reason. He had hardly been able to get Gaz to talk about what his life had been like before he had found him. He had found the little sapling in a pot on a lab table. But after Price got him, he had remained in his tree form until he was grown. The lab had housed a few other severely traumatized mythical beings. All of them had been tested on like lab rats. According to the documents he had found, the ringleader of the whole affair was a man named Vladimir Makarov.

He had seen Gaz's face when he handed him the picture. His sergeant clearly recognized him. The Captain in him should have asked Kyle about him and grilled him for any possible valuable intel. But the other part of him, the... he shouldn't say parent. He wasn't Gaz's father. He might see the dryad as his son, but he couldn't assume that was reciprocated. Either way, he couldn't bring himself to accidentally upset him.

"Why don't you go get some sleep?" Price suggested, "I can finish up with this for the night."

"Are you sure, Captain?"

"Positive." Pierce confirmed with a smile, "The humidifier's in your room already. Use it."

"Aye, Captain. Will do." Gaz dropped his pen and stood from his seat at the table and wandered down the hall to go to sleep. He entered the room and softly closed the door behind him before crawling under the sheets of the bed.

He struggled to do anything but lie there and stare at the ceiling. He had been able to drive his memories away and into a little box to deal with later for years. But now, it was apparently later, and it wasn't any easier.

He couldn't remember anything before the lab. But he remembered being with his mother in the lab. Their whole life had been one room with a skylight high above. It was sterile and he remembered being sick often. His mother was always fretting over him. She was likely just as bad, but he was far weaker at his young age. She probably knew this and she always did her best to care for him.

The people who worked there would occasionally come in and rip the two of them apart. Poke and prod and perform all kinds of painful tests. There was always one man overseeing it all. Dark hair, pointed features, calculating eyes.

He would later learn his name was Makarov.

They must have started giving his mother some type of drugs regularly. Maybe some sort of pesticide. She slowly grew weaker and more weary. The more his mother weakened and grayed, the more tests they would run on Kyle. Ones that hurt more. Shocks and slices. Maybe they knew his mother didn't have long, and were still eager to continue their testing on a dryad. Giving him some of her tests.

His last day had been extra bad. He returned with hastily stitched up cuts and slices all over his skin. His mother had managed to get enough energy to fret over him one last time. He remembered waking up from fitful dreams that night, his mother had him laid out in a pool of moonlight and was muttering some sort of prayer to her deity over him.

"Mama?"

"Go back to sleep, Kyle. It's better for you this way."

"What are you doing?" He tried to sit up but she pushed him back down.

"You're going to go to sleep and when you wake uo you won't be here anymore. You'll be somewhere better." She told him, but she didn't sound quite sure. Like whatever she was describing to him was some sort of dream she had.

"Are we going somewhere?"

She shook her head and ran a hand across his head, "No. No, you are just going to sleep."

"What about you?"

"When you wake up, I will be gone. I don't have much time left, Kyle. I can't keep you safe any longer."

"I don't want you to go! Where are you going?"

"I'm withering, darling. I'm not going anywhere ever again." She gave him a sad smile and placed her hand over his eyes. He tried to shave her off but she held him firmly, starting her prayer back up. Some sort of chant or spell that he didn't understand.

"Mama stop! I don't wanna go to sleep! Please don't!"

His cries fell on deaf ears. His vision began to darken, and his fighting slowly ceased as he felt himself practically sinking into the crack on the cold cement floor.

She was right. When he woke up, he was somewhere else. With a stranger that felt so very familiar. He had been hearing his voice in his dreams for a while. He spoke comforting words and he continued to do so.

Gaz blinked open his shut eyes in the present again. Apparently he had managed to take Price's advice and slept a bit. But now he realized he had tears rolling down his cheeks, and the familiar face of his Captain staring down at him.

"Hey, hey, hey. You with me, Kyle?" He asked.

"W-what time is it?" Gaz turned to the alarm clock next to him.

"It's still night. I heard you rustling around in here." Price explained, hands raised in a soothing gesture, "Must have been some dream to get you all weepy."

Gaz swallowed. It had been less of a dream and more of a memory. His mother forcing him into dormancy. He hadn't dreamt of it in a while. Price pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and grabbed Gaz's face to carefully wipe away the tear tracks.

"Sorry sir. Didn't mean to bother you." Gaz told him, "You don't need to worry about me."

"I do worry, Kyle. It's my job to worry about you."

There was a pause for a moment that Price hoped conveyed the underlying message of care. He had cared for Gaz ever since the day he had pulled him from dormancy. He would worry and care for him until his dying day.

He could see Gaz struggling to come up with something to say. Trying to come up with some witty remark that would alleviate any embarrassment. He could also see the slightly vacant look in his eyes, and before he could drift further, Price acted on his whims and pulled his sergeant in for a hug. Gaz tensed briefly before relaxing and letting Price wrap him in his arms.

"There we are, Kyle. Wherever you were, you aren't there now." He tried to encourage,

"I know."

Such a simple response. But Price heard a certain note of sadness in it.