The Boy from the Bunker - Season 4

Episode Five, Part 6:

Episode Five, Part 6:
 You'll Always Have a Family

Ares walked into the room, a heavy sigh leaving him, knowing he wasn't about to deliver the best news. Everyone looked around as if to ask where Elara was, or if something had happened again. 

"She's just coming," Ares informed them, gesturing to the hallway behind where Kodiak and Elara would soon appear. 

"She doesn't seem too great. I think it's because of the vision she had last night." 

"How bad was it?" Wynn asked, feeling weighed down with regret - like it was his fault that she had a vision again because he wasn't there. 

"Pretty bad," Ares admitted, "but we have the serum now. Maybe we don't have to worry about it that much." He hoped. 

From the other side of the room, Sol sighed, drawing attention to herself as she began to speak. 

"I know it's not what you guys want to hear, but we think it's best if only one of you are in there," Sol confessed, looking between Ares, Wynn, and Quill. 

"We?" Ares searched, trying to figure out whose suggestion it was. 

"Us," Fenn answered regretfully, nodding to Aeryn who was at his side. "We both need to be there with her, Riverly and Kodiak; any more and it might overwhelm her. Especially because we don't know what will happen, or how she'll react." 

The three brothers sighed, looking around at each other. Of course, they all wanted to be there for their sister, but they couldn't argue with what Fenn had said: they had to put their own feelings aside and prioritise what really mattered, and that was Elara's health. 

Quill and Wynn - who were standing next to each other - shared a knowing look, nodding along with one another. 

"You should be there," Quill said, looking over at Ares. "You're the oldest." 

"You sure?" Ares asked, looking back and forth between his brothers, trying to distinguish the relief in his voice. He knew they wanted to be there just as bad as him. 

"Yeah," Wynn smiled. "But as soon as it's over, come find us." 

Before anything else was said, all eye's drifted to the corridor behind Ares where Elara staggered in, depending on Kodiak for a lot of her strength. It was a shock, to say the least, especially for Wynn and Sol who hadn't been there the previous day to see how rapidly she declined after the vision. 

It broke his heart, seeing his little sister stumble in, her skin a pale, sickly colour with almost no life to it. 

"Hey, Ell," he murmured sadly upon seeing her, trying not to let her see that he was disheartened. 

"Hi," she smiled back, her voice coming out croaky and faint. She coughed a little as if to play it off that she just had something in her throat, but everyone around her knew the truth. 

"You feeling ready?" Quill asked, trying to keep her hopes up. 

Elara could only nod, not trusting her voice enough to convince him otherwise. Fear washed over her - visible to everyone in the room, and as Sol noticed, she did her best to move things on. 

"Right, well, we better get started, then. Time for you to leave if you're not staying." 

Wynn and Quill began to move, turning to follow Dreea out of the room. Confused at where they were going, and why they were leaving, Elara reached out and latched onto Quill's hand, stopping them both from walking any further. 

"Where are you going?" She asked, full of panic. 

The boys struggled for a response, afraid that the truth would only make her more apprehensive about what was going to happen. 

"They'll be right outside," Sol answered on their behalf, smiling over at her. 

"Why can't you be in there with me?" 

"There's too many people already," Wynn said, "but we'll be right beside you when it's finished." 

Elara shook her head. It seemed as though everything she had told herself to focus on to get her through the serum was fading away. How could she get through anything if she didn't have her brothers? 

"I'll be there," Ares said from the other side of her, reaching out and resting his hand on her shoulder. 

Elara looked over, instantly feeling some relief knowing that one of them would be with her. 

"Yeah, and me," Kodiak added, still holding carefully onto her, keeping her standing. 

The young girl exhaled, weighing out the consequences of not following through with the plan. 

"Okay," she nodded, letting go of Quill's hand. 

Slowly, both brothers walked past her, exiting the room and leaving her to face the serum without them. The sound of the door closing echoed around, and Elara gulped, trying to swallow away the fear. 

Ares grabbed onto her arm, assisting Kodiak with leading her over to the medic chair - similar to the one they had used in the labs. Bravely, Elara climbed onto it, immediately screwing her eyes shut so she didn't have to watch. 

Kodiak stood behind her head - the perfect position to talk her through the process, and he held tightly onto her free hand. Sol took hold of the other, pulling it down and beginning to tie it against the arm of the chair. 

"Woah, do you really need to do that?" Ares exclaimed, blocking Sol from continuing. 

Sol was about to answer, but Fenn beat her to it, knowing he would take it best if it came from him. 

"It's just so she doesn't hurt herself if she moves too much. We're just trying to keep her safe." 

Ares looked over at Kodiak, searching to see if he was just wary. He shrugged a little, not keen on the idea, but willing to do it if it would help. 

Reluctantly, he moved his hand away, staring down at his sister who still had her eyes closed. 

"Ell?" He said her name, but she didn't respond to him. He leaned down closer, softening his voice, trying to distract like they were the only two in the room. "Ell, it's okay to be afraid." 

"What if it doesn't work?" She asked, still not looking. 

Everyone in the room momentarily froze, as if they had all been thinking the same thing. 

"It will," Sol answered from the other side of Ares, finished restraining her wrist. 

"Yeah," Aeryn agreed, "and you're only having a tiny bit of the serum because you're having withdrawals. It won't be enough to put you into a phase or The Alteration." 

"You're not alone," Kodiak whispered to her, waiting for her to be ready. 

Elara nodded. "Do it now. Before I change my mind." 

Aeryn and Fenn began prepping the needle, and everyone else either contributed to holding Elara steady, or comforting her. 

Seconds later, Aeryn was injecting the serum into the young girl's veins. Of the entire tube, it might have been 1/5 of what was in there, but it was new to them and there was still a fear that it would cause damage. 

Almost immediately after the needle was pulled out, Elara began wincing, jerking away from the side Ares was standing on - the side the serum had gone in. She struggled against the chair, breathing rapidly, gasping in pain... 

Five // Part Six 
It's okay to be afraid.