Defect

[chapter 15]

"Who's there?" he repeated, more vehemently this time.

"It's me, Xander. Violet. We've met before... do you remember? I was with your sister, Maddie."

The light faded and he stood before us, quivering and clearly exhausted. I couldn't help but look at him and realize that he wasn't even ten years old.

We lived in a world where eight-year old little boys lived in fear and pain, because if they were caught by the monsters that had come out from under the bed, they'd be branded and sold off into slavery.

I barely had time for the thought to cross my mind before Xander had catapulted himself towards me, wrapping his tiny arms around my waist.

"Hey, kid," Jax hissed, looking uncomfortable, "Mind keeping it down? We don't want any Evos to come looking."

Xander ignored her, shaking and crying as he clung to me. I tried to summon frustration with him, or anger at Jax for not being more sympathetic, but it wouldn't come. They both had every right to act how they were, cramped in this tiny, dark corridor. All I could really feel was pity--pity for us, pity for the emotionless Evos, pity for the world that had turned corrupted so quickly.

"I was so scared..." Xander cried, his muffled by my shirt, "There was an explosion... and then everyone was gone... and Maddie told me to hide, but she hasn't come back, and she's never stayed away for so long..."

"It's okay, Xander, it's okay. There was an accident, but everyone's fine, I promise."

The lie slipped out before I even realized what I was saying, but I kept going.

"The Evos came and tried to stop us, but I promise, your sister is fine. We're going to meet up with her soon."

"Can I come?" he asked, staring up at me with wide eyes, his glasses slightly crooked, a single crack running through one of the lenses.

"Sure," I said, smiling.

"No one got hurt, right?" he asked.

There was a moment of utter silence as his words hung in the air, unanswered. Jax and I exchanged glances, trying to figure out how to respond. He deserves the truth, she mouthed, the darkness making it nearly impossible to read her expression. He deserves our respect.

"Xander? That's your name, right?" she said.

"Yeah. Were people hurt?" he asked, anxious.

"Look, I'm sorry to tell you this, but yeah, some people were. The Evos got a tip from someone inside, and they came and tried to hurt us all. We're going to try and make that better, though. We're going to try and stop the Evos. Will you help us?"

He nodded, his face pale but features set in determination.

"Jax," I hissed, "Don't ask him to do that. He's just a kid."

"Yeah? Well, so was my kid sister when she was beaten to death. So was my brother when he was sent to the Mines. Hell, so are we."

I blinked, stunned by her announcement. "Jax..."

"People underestimate just how much kids can do, and how much they can go through and come out of alright. The Evos are evil, but they know that. Why do you think they start us so young? Besides, he's going to be an adult one day. Now is when he learns to be brave."

I thought about arguing, but something in her voice stopped me. Now wasn't the time for petty arguments.

"So what can I do to help?"

"Well," I said, hesitating for only a second. "You've been living in these passageways for a long time, right? Can you lead us to the old headquarters? There are some papers I want a closer look at."

"Yeah," he said, surprisingly happy. "Follow me."

***

The place was in ruins.

I had been worried, as we trekked up and down forgotten staircases, rotted wood creaking beneath our feet, that the Evos had set up a guard on the room--watching to see if anyone attempted to get in, retrieve old information.

As it turned out, I didn't need to be worried. In the days--or was it weeks now?--of my absence, the Evos must've frightened everyone enough that they felt confident in its abandon. Looking around, I had to agree with them.

Dust was already collecting on everything, but it was still clear to see the destruction that had occurred that night.

Shattered wooden fragments--the remains of chairs and tables--covered everything. The once-neat records and papers, records of everything that was, were scattered across everything, while what little technology they had had was, from the looks of it, scorched into little pools of plastic and metal. There were holes and dents in the walls, where things--or people--had been thrown.

Xander looked close to tears, and I couldn't help but remember that for him, this had been home. This had been a place where he had hot chocolate, where he hugged his sister, played board games... it was more than just a room. It was part of his life.

"Come on, guys. Let's find what we need and get out of here."

We spent the next hour sifting through everything, grabbing what could be useful, shoving aside what wasn't. Finally, after what felt like a brief eternity of stressful, nearly-silent activity, Jax waved me over.

"I think I found it," she said, shifting some debris aside to reveal a fallen, hidden stack of papers.

"This is it," I murmured, in awe of what this could mean. "Good job."

"Thanks," she said, grinning. I smiled back, happy to be healing the rift between us, but focused on the words in bold hanging at the top of the page:

"In case of extreme measures, there is a highly effective chemical substance that has been transformed into a chemical bomb by Dr. Vanaheim."

I flipped through the pages that came after it, stacks and stacks of diagrams, blueprints, and drawings labeled 'strategic deployment zones'.

My smile grew.  

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Look! I updated!

I'm sorry it took me so long, guys. I know I suck, but I'm hoping this chapter makes up for it--kinda. I do have some good news, though! It probably won't be for another long while, since i still have to finish this and I've got some other things I need to focus on, but there's a sequel somewhere in the future.

I can't tell you everything it's going to be about--spoilers--but I'm looking for titles. It will be in the same universe, but years in the future, with a new set of main characters (though the team may make a few cameos :) ). Just thought you guys should know. 

Anyways, thanks for reading! Comment, vote, follow, as usual. And if you know of any really great fanfictions I can check out, that'd be great--I'm actually starting to run low on reading material. :,(

See you later (hopefully soon)!

--Earthstone