Breachers

(OsiriumWrites) Breachers -I- Path of Steel - Chapter 12 (Reunion)

Breachers – Path of Steel

12

I

Reunion

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Day 1

Marcus

In his hospital bed, Marcus's gaze was on the nurse as she carefully flushed out his IV. He watched as she connected a syringe to the IV line, pushing a clear liquid into the tube, snaking its way towards his arm. The young man could almost feel the coolness of the liquid as it entered his vein. It was a peculiar sensation, both calming and weird at the same time. The sterile smell of the hospital room enveloped him, a mix of antiseptic and disinfectant, subtly mingling with the faint scent of old sweat.

When he once again looked at the sight of his frail arms and lack of muscles, it nearly broke him. Marcus strained against the heaviness that weighed down his arm, desperately willing it to obey his command. His muscles burned with effort, but all he achieved was a faint flicker in his fingers, like a dying spark struggling to ignite. In that moment, nothing made sense to him. His memory was a jumbled mess—the only clear bits he remembered were heading to the Tech expo with his friends and then suddenly waking up in the hospital as he someone stabbed him. Beyond that, his head buzzed with fragmented dreams that refused to align into a coherent picture. Panic and confusion threatened to consume him, but suddenly, a sense of calm washed over him as he felt a sudden pressure. Struggling to turn his head, he spotted his brother and sister seated by his side. His sister was gripping his hand tightly, her face smudged with dirt and streaked with tears, yet radiating an enormous smile. It struck him how much they had changed.

He studied his sister further, seeing the shaved sides of her head, and the intricate web of scars and mysterious greenish marks etched into her skin there. She had grown up into a mature woman, a stark contrast to the girl he once knew. He could barely recognize her, covered in blood and grime, but her infectious smile and the familiar glimmer in her green eyes were still the same. Just looking at her brought back memories of their mother. As he observed her athletic frame and lean muscles, he couldn't help but think, 'She looks healthy... strong even.' Joline had transformed since the last time they were together, no longer immersed in her phone and showing disdain for physical activity. Faint memories resurfaced of their last conversation, the lingering irritation and the sharpness of their exchange. He suddenly felt a strong yearning to take back the hurtful things he had said back then.

His brother, once a scrawny 11-year-old, now stood before him as a grown man. Just seeing the change was enough to terrify Marcus, realizing how much time might have passed. Martin looked healthy, even sporting a neatly trimmed beard and a crumpled suit, as if he had slept in his clothes. His once unkempt black hair was now neatly styled. Marcus tried to smile at his brother, but his facial muscles could only manage a crooked twitch, which went unnoticed by his younger brother. Still, a surge of relief washed over Marcus at the sight of his brother's maturation. His gaze lingered on the crutches in Martin's hand, as well as the absence of the man's lower right leg. 'He's okay... Joline as well,' he assured himself, vaguely recalling the devastation of the Tech expo and the people crushed by meteors and falling debris. The weirdest part was the fragmented memory of something monstrous tearing into something. 'They are alive. That's all that matters.' Marcus strained to catch the murmur of conversation between his uncle and the doctor near the foot of his bed. Determined, he forced his head to turn again, fixing his gaze on his uncle, Laurens. He could see the fine lines now etched deep into his uncle's face, with grey hairs in his beard and sporting a slight paunch that had replaced the once chiseled physique that had always defined his uncle. The man's beard had also grown out, adding to the noticeable changes. A subtle vulnerability seemed to shadow the man, a quality that Marcus couldn't quite place.