[Ethan}
My head swarmed with unfamiliar faces. I swear I knew these people, but I couldn't think of their names in this state of mind.
I could only think about two.
Gauge and Mary. I remember those names, their faces, the closer memories we started, and that's what kept me alive. I was determined to hold them once again.
Even though I almost forgot my name, the other's would keep reminding me.
The red-head Denton was always a breath away from dying, and it filled me with helplessness that I couldn't help, that these chains held me back. For the small amount of time he was awake, he would murmur a name. Daniel. And then we would start apologising.
Jess was no better. She barely would be able to keep her eyes open without painfully coughing, nor could she speak or take full breaths. Most of the time she would be in the state between awareness and unconsciousness to escape the pain. Sage had been fine, for the most part, but lost feeling to his body. The cuffs bolted to the wall kept his blood from circulating as well as it should be. The silence was a bit easier to deal with since he would fill it with his questions directed to no one in particular.
Terrace groaned a name from time to time, he would clutch his side, whisper something and call out for Hotch. The chains that held him down and his injured side didn't let him stretch out, and now I doubted he could even bring his legs out of the constant fetal position he was in.
We all severed connections to our beast forms some time ago, saving them from the aches we had to endure. That made me feel a bit better, knowing I wasn't causing any more unnecessary pain. However, I could still hear my beast form call out to his mate.
There wasn't anything I could do to help anyone, not even myself. The proof was evident on my cuffed wrists weighed down by my own weakness and thick chains.
There was some speech I didn't bother listening to coming closer to our cell, and my eye ached as I glanced up to meet the men's degrading gaze.
They grinned victoriously as if they won a bet, to see how fast they could break the unbreakable.
I could faintly hear a commotion going outside, and it was my turn to grin.
Their confusion turned to panic as they turned around, each one shot between the eyes. Their hot blood, the only liquid I have felt in who knows how long, splattered on my face. I couldn't keep my eye open for much longer to see our savior, slumping against the wall and accepting the painless sleep in sweet satisfaction.
~*~
I felt weightless as I laid on top of what I could only be described as clouds. There was a constant beeping, but it bothered me none while I kept sleeping.
Or at least I think I am sleeping.
"He's conscious, sir." A quiet voice said from my left.
"Good. When he wakes, tell him he's been honorably discharged." I think this vaguely familiar voice was General Bolt, but I wasn't all too sure.
"Yes sir. May I allow Sergeant Earnest in?" Earnest?
"Yes, if Sergeant Patel is well enough, then of course."
"Sir yes sir."
The door clicked to open, and as one pair of feet left, another entered.
"Oh my goddess, Ethan.... What did they do to you?!" I remembered this voice. Kelly.
Her warm hand touched my forehead, tracing my left brow over the empty socket. I shivered, willing my eye to open, but to no avail. She traced my gashes over my arms and shoulders, then the burn marks, the ones created from the white hot metal bar they would poke me with at times. I'm sure those were scarred over, from what I could feel, though.
"I..." she paused and sighed, deciding to instead tell me something else. "Terrace woke up last week... Hotch is with him right now. They would be here, but Hotch won't let Terrace leave until he reactivates his connection with his wolf. That might take a while, since a lot of energy needs to be gained for that and his side still needs to heal.
"The doc had to cut his wound open and fix it properly so he can have a chance to move normally." Kelly told me while I listened intently, her warm hand stroking my hair soothingly,
"Jessie woke up around the same time Terrace did. She can't talk right now, and can barely take normal breaths," her voice softened and there was sadness. "but she's healing, going to therapy, too. I should've been there... But I had to leave. It took me too long, I should've been faster. I couldn't find the base, but there were patrols-" She kept arguing with herself, and I wished to comfort her.
She didn't say anything for a while. I took her silence as her doubting herself, thinking of all the things she could've done to help, to get there faster and save her own sister from suffering as bad as she had.
"Two years have flown by since we got here...." She begun, speaking quietly and briefly pausing her hand on my hair. "Six months of which, you spent in that... that hell." Kell's voice wavered, her fingers shakily massaging my scalp. "Denton almost died, lost his arm and hasn't woken up. He hasn't even shown signs....
"Sage has to relearn using his limbs, since there was some deterioration and warping of his muscles in that position. You've suffered the most, since you were tied down in a position where you had to see everything they did to the others. Not even Ace or Sage could see the things you could since they were able to turn away...." She choked down a sob and leaned over to give me a slight hug. "But where could you have looked? You would still see, even from the corner of your eye-
"You paid for more food at the price of your sight. Food for me to take to shift to find help-" She paused suddenly and I felt moisture on my shoulder. I forced my limp hand that she was holding to move and squeeze here, trying to show her that I'm fine and still kicking.
After an uncountable amount of time, she leaned back into her chair, sniffing quietly. "S-sorry I cried on your shoulder...." She laughed dryly. Again, I squeezed her hand for assurance. "You don't know who saved you guys, do you?" I couldn't answer, but I was sure she knew the answer already. "Hotch's squad was patrolling and he was the first one I ran into. Coincidence or fate? He was thrown into a frenzy and after doing all the necessary, his squad and the Back Rat squad nearby went to the base. Hotch looked so... devastated, scared and angry, the Rats were intimidated by him. You know they don't get like that." She giggled a little and kissed my cheek, continuing to tell me about what else had happened. I'll have to make a mental note to thank Hotch's and the Back Rat's squad soon.
~*~
I felt tired as I stood up in the plane. As soon as we could've, we hopped into the next plane back home. However, we were staying at Kell's and Jess's pack for a while. They had a resident witch coven that they said would help us out.
Of course, we had to wait until the rest of our squad was able to move enough, which took almost a month. Denton had woken up a week after I was able to get up. He didn't even seem to be alive even with his heart monitor beeping and his eyes staring emptily past me.
In the time that we had to wait for Denton to be able to move, I had thanked the Back Rat squad. They were thankful we were all alive, and after saying that they were always welcome in our stretch of the state, they went off back on patrol. Afterwards, Hotch had gone and finally took care of his contract issues. He was drafted, just like us, and even then, his contract had expired a month prior to our rescue.
So here we were. I now had a cool eye patch, though most of my wounds were still exposed. I got some disgusted looks but I didn't really care.
Sage got a wheelchair, and despite his protests, sat his ass on it. Terrace had a cane, and unlike Sage, embraced it. He said it made him look posh and that he needed a monacle. Jess needed an oxygen tank at her side now, and had been using sign language. Out of it, I learned a few words. Who knew she was mute when she was younger?
Hotch helped push Sage around, which only made the poor boy even more embarrassed. Kell and I helped Denton around.
He had a bandaged stub of an arm, a few bandages wrapped around his other arm to hide the burn marks that the men had done. His eyes were still empty and though I brought attention to it, he said mine wasn't any better and if anything, my eye was worse than both of his.
When we walked out of the plane and into the lobby, we received one of a few responses: some were disgusted by our wounds, some would whisper about us, some would smile, and others would thank us for our service. Either way, we were thankful to be back in a non-combat land.
We were led to a row of trucks, unfamiliar pack wolves at the driver seats. Kell and Jess were eagerly greeted, then the unfamiliar wolves came to us. They seemed thankful that we had been a squad with their beloved Jessie and Kelly. One of them went as far as hugging us and crying, thanking us over and over again for protecting our squad. Kell and Jess had both blushed, then Kell separated us and we were off to see the witches, the wonderful witches of not-Oz.
~*~
"Hello and welcome, young soldiers." An older witch bellowed, ushering us into a huge hut.
All around us, witches and mages of all ages came to stare and whisper. I didn't mind too much, since the whispers I had caught were those wondering how to help. Some even came to poke at us, and somehow, they would land the precise origin of pain.
"Enough! We will get our turn later. These wolves must rest for tomorrow's tests." The old woman shot the younger disciples away with a hand motion, letting us settle into the hut. It was very spacious with room for another squadron. "Now rest, for tomorrow we will work to help you gain momentum in life." And with that, the witch left.
"That's Grand Witch Yashka. She's the best, and of course she'll do everything she can to help." Kell informed us as she and I helped Denton into a bed. He groaned and I could see the pain flicker in his otherwise neutral gaze.
"She seems nice." Hotch mumbled loud enough for us to hear.
Sage pulled himself into a cot, and not even three seconds later, he was snoring against the pillow. I didn't blame him. With what happened, a cot seemed like a cloud now. Jess coughed quietly as she lied down, wincing and sighing.
'it is too soft I can not sleep.' she signed. Kell went to her side, helping her get comfortable. I got used to sleeping in one position too, but I was able to find a little comfort in the cot.
As I scanned the room again, Terrace and Hotch were sleeping together already after joining their cots, Sage was snoring quietly, and Jess and Kell were sleeping together. Denton was the only one still awake next to me, his blank eyes turned up to the ceiling of the hut.
"You think they are still waiting?" It was the first time Denton had said anything since we were tossed in the cell back overseas. Even though his voice was a bit rough with misuse, the tone was soft and wanting.
"Of course. I'm sure they will be happy to see us soon enough." I sunk more into the cot, pulling the warm blanket closer to my chest. Denton didn't respond but I could see the edges of a smile on his lips. "Goodnight Denny." I closed my eye, seeing the last of the moonlight fade from the gaps of the branch roof of the hut.
"Goodnight, Indie."