It's you.
Because no one else
makes sense.
-perry poetry
***
Everybody is screaming.
Ashton doesn't know what the hell is going on. All he knows is that the door was open, and he was able to shove his way through the flood of people running out to get into the place.
He doesn't know why he grabbed the matches. They were on the counter, and at the time they seemed like the closest weapon he could get.
Ashton fetches up against the railings, staring down at the seven floors below. The center of the floor below him is wet and blurry, but the AOSS emblem is still as audible as ever.
"What the hell, Ashton?" Michael's voice rings in the edge of his subconscious, but he doesn't turn around. "It's over, let's get out of here."
He strikes a match.
The flame ignites, crackling on the end of the stick. Hazily, as if in a dream, he flicks it over the edge.
It flutters down below, missing the puddle by a few inches. He lights another.
"Ashton." Michael says again. He throws another.
This one hits home. The medicine ignites, fire shooting to every edge of the bottom floor. He can hear the chairs catch fire, the wooden doors crackle. A loopy smile forms on his lips.
Michael's eyes widen. He grabs Ashton by the arm and hauls him towards the door, the fire spreading down below.
***
My eyelids feel as if they weigh a thousand pounds. When I blink them open, it hurts.
I'm staring up at a bright light. Instinctively my hand comes up to shade my eyes, and I drag something with it. Frowning, I force myself to sit up, and see the I.V in my arm.
I.V.
What the hell?
Luke. Blood. Screaming. Corpses.
Everything comes back to me in flashes, and I throw my legs over the side of the medical cot and rip the tube out of my arm.
Judging by the red floor and walls, I'm in some sort of Asian facility. Just that realization alone speeds my heartbeat up. Maybe they found us, and now we're prisoners again. My eyes dart around the area, but all that surrounds me are curtains. Ruby Red curtains. My stomach churns.
There's a small I.V rack next to the cot, with a half-full bag of fluids hanging from it. The other half must be inside me. There's nothing else. Bracing myself on the metal edge of the rugged bed, I get to my feet.
I still have my clothes and boots on, but my weapons are gone. I search the area for anything that I can possibly use as a weapon, but come up with nothing, so I wretch one of the bars off the edge of the bed and grip it with both hands.
"Alright." I whisper to myself, my steps wobbly as I make my way to the curtain. "Ok."
Taking one last deep breath, I draw them back.
I'm in a hovercraft. That much I know. The whoosh of the thrusters is evident in the air, and the structure alone gives it away. It's on the ground, from what I can tell.
It's clearly a medical one. Tables line the walls uncovered by curtains, tables with various bandages, tools and meds scattered across the top. There's a sink area with a microscope and an X-ray machine, along with several different bottles of medicine and syringes.
I shove my way through the supplies to get to the other side of the room, where a door rests in the wall. Gripping the bar tightly in one hand, I twist the handle, and find it unlocked.
The fresh air that greets me is the first shock.
The second shock is the grass under my feet when I step out.
The island. We're still on the island.
People are everywhere. There's several hovercrafts, and dozens of large tents have been set up. All red. The nearest person is a good ten yards away, dressed in a crimson suit. My heart is hammering. Without taking the time to think it through, I sneak up behind the man and slam the jagged piece of metal up against his throat.
"Where the hell am I?" I demand, swallowing hard. He was standing in a circle of others, and they're all staring at me with wide eyes. All nukes. "What is this? Answer me!"
A couple of them sputter, but none of them get to answer.
"WOAH WOAH WOAH Alex, put the weapon down!" A familiar voice comes out of nowhere, and I whip my head to the side to see a very flustered Michael rushing towards me. "It's ok! Everything is ok?"
"Michael?" I say, exasperated. This is all so confusing. "What.. What the-"
"These are diplomats from Asia. Good guys. They are here to help us." Michael's face is blood red at this point, both of his hands up. "Just let the man go and I'll explain everything."
I hesitate. The adrenaline is still flooding through my veins. My hands shaking, I slowly remove the weapon from the man's neck, and he jerks away from me. I drop it.
"Good." Michael swallows, and eyes the men around us uneasily. "I am so sorry. She's just confused." He gestures for me to follow him. "Come with me."
Biting the inside of my cheek, I do. Michael shakes his head as I catch up to him, headed for a large red tent a good hundred yards away.
"Jesus Christ, Alex." He mutters. "These people already don't like us."
"What's going on? Where the hell is Luke? My father?"
"Luke's in surgery. Same hovercraft you were in." He points to the large red vehicle with a white cross painted on the side, and relief floods through me. "He's alive, Alex. As long as he pulls through, everything will be ok."
I put my hand on my chest, letting out a long breath I didn't know I was holding. Thank. God.
"You'll see your father in a minute."
"And the bombs?"
"Disengaged. The explosion was a result of all that pressure being released into the atmosphere. According to the new guy in charge of Asia, it was felt around the world."
We've reached the massive tent. Michael looks over at me.
"Don't freak out." He says, and pulls back the cloth.
The inside of the tent looks even bigger than the outside, as impossible as it sounds. Strings of lights hang from the ceiling, and tables line the edges of the red cloth walls. Chairs are set up everywhere and most are full of people, looking towards the large man and his entourage at the end of the chamber.
My father is talking idly with said man, but turns around when we enter. His eyes widen, and he takes five long strides across the room and engulfs me in a hug.
"Alexandra." He whispers, and I cling to him. "I am so proud of you."
"Thanks Dad." I reply, pulling back and giving his hand a squeeze.
I've barely let go before another body crashes into me, but it only takes me a few seconds to realize it's Jess. I hug her back tightly, relief spreading steadily through my body. She's alive. Thank God.
"Oh my God, Jess-?" I ramble, pulling back to get a good look at her face. She seems virtually uninjured, save for a scabbed-over cut on her right eyebrow. "You did it."
"We did it." She gushes, pulling me in for another hug. "Definitely had some obstacles, but we did it."
"What happened?"
"They caught me. After I disengaged the firewall. Threw me in some huge room full of the farmers from the islands, said they were gonna 'harvest' me when necessary."
"Harvest you?" I say, goosebumps surfacing all over my arms. That doesn't sound good.
"Use her for medical purposes. Blood transfusions, organ transplants. Those psychos would've been in that bunker for a few years if they succeeded. They would have needed the resources." Michael says grimly. "Luckily, we managed to get them all out."
"Thank God." I sigh, running a hand through my hair. I shift my eyes back to the large man at the end of the room, and raise an eyebrow questioningly.
"Oh, of course." My dad suddenly gushes, grabbing my hand and dragging me forward. Michael follows. "Alexandra, this is Li Wei. Nasim Kieran's second, and the new Superior of Asia. Mr Wei, this is my daughter."
The man in front of me is at least 6' 6", with high cheekbones and arched eyebrows. His long black hair is pulled back in a sleek bun, and he nods his head at me.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Blake." He says, a twinge of amusement in his tone. "I understand you are the one that.. relieved Miss Kieran from her position?"
I swallow hard. My eyes dart to Michael, who nods encouragingly.
"Yes sir." I reply slowly. "I did."
"Do not worry child, no charges will be placed against you. We all understand the importance of what you did here. What you all did here." Mr Wei gestures to the rest of the room, but despite his words there's still a bit of distaste in his expression. "We would like to offer you all citizenship to our beautiful country until yours is repaired."
I wrap my arms around myself. "Thank you?"
"We have sent many hovercrafts out to look for any survivors. Including the bunker that you were abducted from. We've been informed by one of your soldiers that there may be a mother and her two children there."
Georgia. Oh my God.
Just the mention of the bunker brings up memories I don't want to think about right now. I've lost too many people. If I were to reflect on it all, I'd lose my mind as well.
"Ok, that's great. I can get the details later." I turn to Michael, lowering my voice. "Where's the others?"
"Ivy is with Luke. Ashton's also in medical." He shakes his head. "Bastard burned up the whole bunker. Smart move, if he would've warned us first."
"Damn." I mutter, already heading for the door again. My father clears his throat, and I stop dead in my tracks.
"Right. Nice to meet you Mr. Wei!" I say sheepishly, giving a little wave, before heading to and out the door.
Jess follows me. Now that I'm not distracted by the shock of it all, I notice the massive clouds of smoke billowing into the sky off in the distance. Ashton Irwin. At least he's ok.
"How long has Luke been in surgery?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest. The medical hovercraft feels like a million miles away. "Will he pull through?"
"Since we could drag his body out of the chaos." Jess replies, expression grim. "Several hours. I don't know much. All I know is that if anybody can survive being shot like that, it's Luke."
I nod, but don't say anything else. I love you.
God, what if those are the last words he'll ever say?
I'm torn from my thoughts by a loud whirring sound in the distance, and when I look up I see yet another red hovercraft, coming towards us. I stop in my tracks, watching it land a good hundred yards away.
"The survivors." Jess breathes. I take off running.
I don't know why I'm so eager to see what comes out of that hovercraft. It could be nothing. Hell, it probably is. Georgia has more of a chance of being dead than alive at this point. But I keep running, my chest burning, until I skid to a stop in front of the now opening door.
First, a tall Pakistani-an man steps out. He's wearing a red vest, with a radio in one hand. He raises an eyebrow when he sees me, but doesn't comment. He just moves out of the way for the survivors to start flooding out.
There's more of them then I expected. Dozens of men and woman step out, battered, bruised and skinny, but alive. I even spot a few children in the mix, and some people my age. My heart sinks more and more until the last few people trickle out, and my breath catches in my throat.
Georgia's bright eyes look around questioningly as she steps out of the hovercraft, her baby in one hand and her son grasping the other. She's in clothes that we're probably found in the bunker closets, her children as well. All three look healthy. The relief is so strong I can barely stand it.
"Oh my God." I ramble, and shamble forward to throw my arms around her. She stumbles back a few feet, caught off guard, before hesitantly hugging me back.
"Alex?" She mutters, pulling back to look at my face. I nod, a hand over my mouth. "You're alive?"
"I'm alive?" I sputter, letting out a slightly hysterical laugh. "Oh my God. Everyone thought you were dead. I'm so glad-"
I trail off. I trail off, because the person who steps out behind her renders me unable to speak.
Xavier.
Xavier.
He's still pale. Still only has one arm. His eyes are a faded green, his lips white, but he's alive.
There's no way. I'm hallucinating.
My eyes flick to his neck, expecting to see blood pouring from an open wound, but there's only a thick white scar. It's healed over. But how? What?
I just stand here like an idiot, tears welling up in my eyes and streaming down my cheeks as I move my lips but no words come out. Xavier looks around, squinting, before his eyes eventually land on me and he slaps his hand over his mouth.
"You're dead." I finally manage to get out, taking a few steps closer to him. "You're fucking dead. I watched you die."
Zay finally shakes himself out of what I guess is shock, and slowly shrugs. "X man powers, you know?"
I throw myself forward and hug him, disbelief and total hope welling up inside of me. He smells just like he did when I saw him alive, and his arm is a familiar weight around my back. I can hardly breathe. My best friend is alive. My best friend is alive.
"Zay." I breathe, gripping the back of the white shirt he has on. I never want to let go of him. I feel like I'm in a dream. I can feel his heart beating, steady and sure. He is alive.
"Hey, Bindy." He whispers, squeezing me just as tight.
"Xavier?"
Jess's voice rings out from behind me, and I pull away from him. Jess squints, shaking her head, before letting out a breathless laugh and throwing her arms around him as well.
My heart is beating a million miles an hour. I didn't even think about the whole mutant thing, how his arm healed over so fast. Apparently, it works on necks too.
"I thought I was dead too." Xavier says, scratching the back of his neck. "Really. Everything was black for so long. But then I woke up in a pool of blood and-" He runs his fingers over the scar around his throat. "It was healed."
"Scared the shit out of me, I'll tell you that." Georgia chimes in. "Walked in the bunker a day later covered in blood and walking like a damn zombie. I almost hit him with a frying pan."
Xavier nods. "She really did."
I shake my head, laughing breathlessly. "I never thought you getting bit by a mutant would save your damn life."
"X man." Zay says, smiling a little. "Where's Ivy?"
Ivy. Of course.
"She's in medical. Luke was shot. Follow me." Jess says quickly, grabbing my hand and pulling me along with her. She must realize that I'm relatively incapable of moving by myself at the moment. Zay whispers something to Georgia, who moves to be with the other survivors, before following us.
***
The medical hovercraft is huge, one of the biggest ones here, so it's no surprise that I didn't see Luke on my way out. I must have exited through one of the side doors, because when we enter through the main one it's simply a small rooms with about a dozen chairs and a printed diagram of the rooms. Jess walks past all of them, heading straight for the hallway on the opposite side.
There are several open rooms, most with random people or farmers getting treated for electrical burns from the tasers or minor injuries. When we get to the end of the walkway, however, a large sign with an arrow pointing right stages CRITICAL CARE CENTER.
"This is it." Jess says, looking back at me and Xavier. "Ash was in there for a few hours earlier, but they moved him to a room on the opposite end. I'm gonna go see him, you two.." She sighs. "Good luck. Luke was in bad shape the last time I was in there."
I swallow hard. I will not cry.
"And Ivy?" Xavier asks quietly.
"Few cuts and bruises, but nothing too sinister. She should be with him. Now go." Jess waves us off, and is gone.
We only get a few steps down the hallway before I grab Zay's arm and jerk him into another hug, relishing in his smell and the familiar coldness of his skin. I can't help it. For so long I've thought he was dead, and now that I know he's not, I never want to let him go.
He hugs me back even tighter than before, and I pull away, shaking myself back into reality. "You ready?"
"As I'll ever be." He holds out his hand. I take it, and together, we make our way down the hallway.
It's long, with several corners and big windows shining light into dark holding rooms. When we swivel into another hallway the third time, my heart skips a beat.
Ivy is leaned up against the wall, right across from yet another room. This one is obviously being used, the bright fluorescent surgery lights illuminating the warrior girls dark expression. She's still covered in blood, cuts and bruises, her weapons strapped to her back. She must have been refusing treatment. She looks like she never left the battle scene.
Ivy looks up at the sound of our footsteps, and her eyes briefly land on me before shifting to the boy at my side.
Zay jerks to a stop, his hand falling out of mine. His expression is something like shell-shock, mixed with awe.
Ivy has gone tense, her whole body wound as tight as a wire. Her eyes are as wide as saucers. Then, in a flurry of movement and a flash of silver, she's lurching forward and slamming him up against the wall, one of her swords at his throat.
"What is this, some kind of sick joke?" She hisses, tears forming in her eyes and already spilling down her cheeks. "Who cloned you? Who-"
"Ivy, it's me." Zay sputters, his arm flying up over his head. I start to do something, but stop myself. When Ivy's this overwhelmed, any disturbance could set her off. "It's me. It's Zay."
"Ivy." I say, my voice shaky. "Ivy, it really is. He's not a clone."
"Bullshit." She spits, jamming the sword further into Zay's scarred throat. "You're dead. My Xavier is dead. I watched them slit your throat."
"It healed over." Xavier swallows, his Adam's apple barely passing under the blade. "Just like my arm. The blood clotted." He lets out a nervous little laugh. "X-men powers, remember?"
Ivy falters, her sword falling a little bit. Her eyes flash from complete disbelief to total shock. For a split second, I think she's going to kill him. Then her hand shakes and the sword clatters to the ground.
Her eyes shift to the scar on his throat. Slowly, her fingers run over it, and a small sob wretches out of her throat.
"Xavier?" She whispers, her hopeful eyes biting into his. He nods.
"I'm here." He murmurs, sliding his arm around her waist. "I'm here, baby."
Ivy throws her arms around him, hugging him tighter then I would have thought possible, and he buries his head in her neck. They slide to the floor, embracing each other so passionately, and it suddenly feels like I'm intruding on something private. I turn away.
Slowly, I make my way to the window, my hands shaking when they run across the bottom sill. There's several doctors packing things up, throwing scrubs away and taking down surgery equipment. On the bed in the middle, his chest barely rising and falling, is Luke.
I don't care that they're just now finishing up surgery. I don't care that I'm probably not allowed in there. I don't waste any time. I move to the door, wretch it open, and barge inside.
Immediately a chorus of protest erupts from the doctors around me. "Mam, you can't be in in here-"
"Shh." I wave them off, dragging a chair from the table across the room and slamming it next to Luke's bed. I sit down, eyeing the doctors in a way that basically says try me, and they back off, finishing their duties before leaving the room.
I tried not to focus on Luke's condition when I saw him through the window, but now that I'm next to him, I can't ignore how horrible he looks.
He's ridiculously pale, a cold sweat shining over his forehead. His hair is matted and crazy, and I think there's still blood flecked in the strands. His veins are prominent, too prominent to be normal. He's shirtless. There's a large square bandage covering the bullet wound, and the area around it is bruised black.
I take his hand with both of my own, and his skin is as cold as ice. Tears well up in my eyes but I shove them down.
The sound of a door opening brings me from my quiet despair, and I look up to find that a doctor has entered the room. He's Indian, wearing a lab coat accented with red.
"I'm not leaving." I say, looking back down at Luke's hand. My pinky rests on his wrist, and the faint pulse is the only thing keeping me sane. "You'll have to drug me."
"Not going to happen." The man says, in a heavy accent. "We just finished the surgery. I assumed you would like to know how it went."
"He's gonna die, isn't he?" I ask quietly. My throat is dry.
The man sighs. "We don't know. He lost a lot of blood. We did some transfusions but he was losing it faster than we could give it to him." He puts his hands in his pockets. "The bullet broke up into seven pieces in his lower torso. Grazed his liver and kidneys. It took hours to get them all out, but it's done. Now it's all up to him."
I chew on the inside of my cheek. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, if he wants to live, he'll live. He's in a sort of half coma right now. Wether or not he wakes up is his choice and his effort. There's nothing else we can do."
It takes me a few seconds before I nod. His choice. I don't know if that's good or bad anymore.
"Ok." I mutter. "Thank you."
The doctor gives me one last sympathetic look, before turning around and letting himself out.
I know I told myself I wouldn't cry. But my chest is burning, and the realization that I might lose the boy I love is crashing down on me in the worst way possible. The tears do come, and this time, I don't stop them.
I look around the room, making sure nobody is still here. Zay and Ivy are still in the highway. I close my eyes, shaking.
"Alright, you bastard." I say, gripping his hand hard. "I don't know if you can hear me. I could be talking to a dead man. But I'm going to try anyway."
I sniffle, tears dripping down onto the sheets below him and blossoming wet spots on the fabric. I release one of my hands to feel the side of his face, turn him towards me.
"I don't know what you want. But I know that I love you. God, Luke, I've never loved anybody like I love you, and it scares the hell out of me to think that I might lose that." A sob rips it's way through my throat. "I don't care if that's selfish. But this world, this pathetic little world, it needs you. I need you. Ivy needs you, Michael needs you. Everyone does. Just please..." I run my thumb over the apple of his cheek. "Don't go."
His eyelashes fan out over his cheeks like little pen strokes. I trace the freckles over his nose with the tips of my fingers. The tears keep coming.
"Don't go." I whisper again, and bury my face in our hands.
***
The lights are dim when my eyes open, but they still burn. I don't know what time it is. I don't know how long I've been asleep.
When I look up, Ivy is passed out on Xavier in a chair across the room. They must have come in after I passed out. The clock on the wall reads 3:04 am.
My hands are cramped, my throat sore, and I loosen my hold on Luke's hand. He tightens it. I blink.
Slowly, my eyes travel from our hands, up his destroyed torso, to his face. His eyes are open.
For a moment, we just stare at each other. I can't seem to breathe. It's like all the oxygen has been stolen from my lungs.
Slowly, with a pained expression, Luke smiles.
"Hey, Alexandra."
•••
y'all didn't really think I'd kill off my fav main AGAIN did y'all?? i gotta be unpredictable
sorry this took a few extra days, i was on Christmas vaca with the fam and wanted to focus on that! didn't have much time to write but i tried to make it the best it could be
hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! Jesus loves ya❤️
next update will be on schedule i promise! only one more chapter left and an epilogue
love you all so so much. thanks for the super sweet comments on the last chapter, you're the best <3
see you soon and stay rad
Xoxo
~Camryn