216A/N: Hey y'all :) Thanks so very much for all the reviews/favorites/follows! You guys are epically awesome! I hope I don't disappoint! I decided to give Caleb a POV simply because I might need to switch between characters later in the story, so might as well start off with that too ;)
Chapter length: 2887
Song listening to: November Rain by Guns N' Roses
Onward!
Chapter Four: Paint It Black
Caleb didn't come back.
Alec bandaged himself as well as he could, and felt a flare of anger for the other man. He just left him there while he was still hurt – anything could have happened! For a guy who pretended to give a damn about him, he sure wasn't doing a very nice job of it.
Then again, Alec begrudgingly realized, he was pretty harsh on the guy. Caleb was only trying to help. Alec snapped his head off. A part in the back of his mind whispered he should have been thanking Caleb for the help he'd provided, for trying to warn him in the first place, and for attempting to bandage his wounds.
Another part of him argued that Caleb was purely selfish in his intention of helping. He simply wanted someone to travel with him. If he thought Alec would go anywhere with him, he was sadly mistaken. He didn't need anyone. So he got hurt – big deal. It happened before and it would happen again. It was nothing new.
Still, though…
Caleb saved his life – twice.
He still couldn't believe he let that zephro get the drop on him in that house, or back at the gas station. Perhaps the duration of peace had him getting too content. For a while, he saw absolutely nothing – no danger, and no help. He relaxed too much and messed up, and would have died if it hadn't been for Caleb.
Of course, there was absolutely no way he would ever say that to the man.
Then again, he probably would never see him again. He didn't want to. Maybe it was good Caleb left him as he had, because it was just a complication Alec didn't need.
Once he felt satisfied with his bandaging, he got to his feet and looked around the dimly lit room. There were no windows, of course, so he had no real sense of time. It was probably mid-afternoon or early evening. If the sun was setting, he knew he would have to stay here for the night. When it was dark, the mutations had the advantage.
Humans, no matter how highly they sometimes thought of themselves, did not have the gift of night vision.
He scrubbed a hand over his face and released a slow sigh, grimacing when he shifted to the side too much. Pain stabbed down his side and he sat back down on the last step again. Briefly, he glanced toward the door at the top of them, but it remained closed, and the stairwell remained dark.
Caleb wasn't coming back.
Thunder clapped outside, startling him so much he flinched and groaned as it pulled at his side. He absolutely hated the rainy season. Hated storms – the rain, the wind, everything.
Exhaustion weighed down on him, mixing with the pain, and all he wanted to do at the moment was sleep.
Carefully, he leaned back into the stairs, head resting on the one two above the one he sat on, and allowed his eyes to close.
Within minutes, he was asleep.
To be completely honest, Caleb wasn't sure what possessed him to turn around. He really had no reason to go back, other than to make sure that idiot didn't screw up and die, but that was really none of his business, was it? He offered help but Alec refused it, therefore it wasn't his problem.
Except it was.
"Once you save someone, they become your responsibility," his cousin said after saving Caleb from the fire which killed his friend. Left with no one but his cousin, he was left in his savior's care. At the time it made sense.
Now, it was different. Alec didn't want help. Caleb had craved it after all the devastation, but that was a long time ago. Seven years, to be exact. Seven years ago, life was better. Seven years ago, he had help. But of course, life was cruel, and despite how hard he tried, despite how much medical knowledge he struggled to remember, he couldn't keep his cousin, Adam, from bleeding out all over the floor in some disgusting bathroom, the scent of blood thick in the air.
Part of him wanted to keep going. Wanted to forget Alec and forget the fact he saved the man's life not only once, but twice.
But the rational part of his mind won in the end, because he couldn't in good conscious just walk away while Alec could very likely be hurting himself further.
Never saving anyone again. Remember that. Not my problem.
With that in mind, he turned on his heel and walked back in the direction he came.
"Please, 'lec."
"No, don't. Don't ask me that. Not again, Si." Frantically, Alec eyed his friend, who lay panting on the ground, eyes glassy and face far too pale.
"Just do it."
"Si – no."
"Please, 'lec."
"Damn it – don't-"
"For me."
The knife moved quickly, stabbing into Silas' chest-
"Alec?"
-severing arteries, and Silas looked up at him one last time-
"Alec."
-and smiled, fucking smiled, before-
"Alec!"
Alec came awake with a pained gasp, instantly trying to sit up, disorientated, but was shoved back down before he managed to even really lift his head. For a moment, his blurry vision settled on the figure hovering over him, and it took all he had not to try to sit up again. "Silas?" he whispered, mouth barely forming the word, not daring to hope, to-
"No, sorry, babe. Just me," came a somewhat-familiar voice, and his vision focused to watch as Caleb frowned down at him, and green – not brown – eyes watched him carefully. "You've got a bit of a fever, and it looked like you were having a nightmare."
"You…" It took a minute to find his voice, to find the words gliding across the front of his mind, words he probably wouldn't have said had his head not been throbbing and his mind still somewhat focused on the dream. "You…came back?"
Now Caleb scowled, the green orbs flashing momentarily, but by the time Alec blinked, the gaze had cooled. "I'm not completely heartless," Caleb said. "If you died in my basement, that's bad karma."
Alec snorted. "I'm fine."
"Sure, babe. Now."
"Was fine before, and stop calling me that," Alec said, scowling as the haze created by the dream slowly faded away, allowing him proper thought. He realized why everything was so stiff and sore and tried sitting up again. Caleb scowled but shifted somewhat, letting him. "Your stairs suck."
Caleb cracked a small grin. "Gee, sorry, didn't know they had to be up to pillow standards. I take it you're feeling better."
"Never felt bad."
The blonde shrugged and sat back on his heels. "If you say so. Did you have a nice nap?"
"Fuck off."
Caleb frowned and then shook his head, getting to his feet. "Get up, babe – I got breakfast."
"Stop calling me – breakfast?" Alec blinked slowly. "It's morning?"
"Yup," Caleb replied, fishing out a can of peaches from the duffel at his feet. He also pulled out a can opener and pried the top open. He held the can out to Alec, who stared at it.
"How old are those?"
"Oh, dinosaur age," Caleb said, rolling his eyes. "It's this or nothing, tough guy. What's it gonna be?"
Sighing, Alec reached out and grabbed the can. A few minutes later, the peaches were gone and he got to his feet, stretching and popping sore muscles and joints. This only caused his side to flare with pain, though, and he collapsed back onto the step.
Caleb tossed him a slightly irritated look but said nothing. Instead, he scavenged through his bag, his back to Alec. After going through some kind of mental checklist, the blonde got to his feet and slung his bag over his shoulder.
"I'm leaving," he said, watching Alec. Alec simply blinked back at him. "You can come with me, if you want."
Alec shook his head and opened his mouth to reply, but Caleb cut him off by holding up a hand.
"Right, got it. Tough guy, you don't need help, blah, blah, blah. Take care of those scratches – hate to have wasted my medical supplies on you."
With that, he stepped on the side of the step and bypassed Alec. A second later, the door opened and closed, and Alec was alone again.
Days passed in a blur, as they often did. Alec ran into a few zephroes but thankfully not neutrohales, and his side healed rather nicely. He passed through towns and kept walking, unsure as to his destination but determined to get there anyway. Anywhere was better than the spot he stood in just a second before. He had to keep moving.
There was nowhere to stop – not really. He stopped at night to sleep and eat, but other than that, he kept going. There was no reason to stop, because nowhere was safe. Nowhere was safe since M-Day, despite how long it took for the general public to realize this.
Silas used to think it would be okay again, one day.
"One day we'll wake up and everything will be great! You'll see."
"Yeah, maybe when hell freezes over."
"You're totally putting a damper on my positive attitude."
"Stop pouting, it looks silly."
"I'm not pouting, damn it!"
"Then what you call it, Si? Huh?"
"You know what? I hate you. I hate you so much."
"Hate you too."
"Well, good. Hate for this to be one-sided."
Alec closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. His fingers curled automatically around the hilt of his knife, a jagged hunting knife he kept with him at all times. This knife was all he had left. All he had left of his friend, of the life he once had when things weren't okay, but were far better than they were now.
I'm sorry, Si. I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't want…
He forced that thought away quickly, snapping his eyes open. Dwelling in the past wouldn't help him. He killed Silas. Murdered his best friend. Maybe Silas asked for it, and maybe he was right, but Alec still ended his life. He hadn't been strong enough to say no, not when…
"Please, lec."
Stop. Don't. Stop thinking, he practically begged his mind.
Silas' death was not something he wanted to think about. He didn't want to think about death at all – not Silas' and not his family's. He lost everyone, everything he held dear, everyone who made things even the slightest bit okay even if the midst of disaster. At least after his family died, he still had Silas. Silas was always there, until suddenly, he wasn't.
Because Alec killed him.
Stop. Don't think. Just walk.
And for a while, that was exactly what he did. Lost in a sea of stark nothingness in his mind, his body on autopilot, he just walked and walked as though he could leave those thoughts, those memories, behind.
But he knew all-too-well that he would never, could never, forget…or forgive himself for killing the last person who meant anything to him.
In hindsight, maybe Caleb shouldn't have wasted those bandages on Alec, he contemplated as he pressed a hand to the giant gash on his arm. Blood squished through his fingers and he sighed, glancing at his duffel bag, but he only had a few bandages left. The wound looked worse than it was.
In his previous life, before all hell broke loose, he used to trail behind his mom when she went to work. She was a nurse in the trauma unit. Most days he sat in her office, but sometimes he got to follow her around if things weren't too serious. Of course, after M-Day, everything became serious. Hospitals were no longer safe. In the end, it was the death of his mom.
He picked up a few things, though, and managed to patch himself up when needed. Rarely did he stop to patch other people up, which was why he couldn't believe he actually helped Alec. Then again, as he said before, he wasn't heartless – he couldn't just stand by and watch someone die, not when he could do something about it.
"When I grow up, I want to be like you, Mommy."
"We'll see, baby. I bet you make a great doctor."
A faint smile twitched to life on his face before he managed to swallow it down. He missed those conversations. He missed talking to her – talking to anyone, really. People didn't talk anymore. They grunted, and threatened, demanded, but never just talked. Sometimes the mutations seemed more vocal than the humans he came across.
Sighing, he began humming to himself to break the silence around him. Everything was just so quiet these days. He missed the noise – the sound of other people nearby, the sound of things being okay.
And damn it, he missed music.
He could only hum 'Paint it Black' so many times before he started to forget what the song actually sounded like, when it wasn't being hummed.
Sometimes, it felt like that was what the world became after M-Day – something which used to shine brightly, but someone went and stole all the paint except black, until there was nothing left except a startling lack of color.
I see a red door and I want it painted black…
No colors anymore, I want them to turn black…
That was all it was these days. Black. Cold.
Empty.
"We have got to stop meeting like this."
The voice startled Alec, leaving him staring as he turned to face the owner of that voice. A scowl crossed his face as he watched Caleb stroll toward him. "Are you stalking me or something?"
"Or something," Caleb said with a smirk, before he shook his head. "I left before you, remember? Maybe you're the one following me."
"Why would I do a stupid thing like that?"
Caleb shrugged and cocked his head to the side. "I'm going that way."
Alec sighed and watched as Caleb began to walk off – again. For a guy who claimed to want to travel together, he sure walked off a lot. Not that Alec cared, of course.
He was just turning to walk in the opposite direction when he heard the crack of a gun, and spun back around to find Caleb on his knees, watching as a group of people moved toward him, circling him. For a minute, all Alec did was watch, confused, but then one of the guys moved toward the blonde and grabbed a handful of his hair, yanking his head up.
What the hell?
He took a step forward and stopped. He had no desire to get caught up in this…whatever it was. It didn't concern him. He didn't owe the blonde anything. The guy left him there to patch himself up and then just left again.
Of course, Alec wanted him to go.
Scrubbing a hand across his face, he was just about to move toward the group when he found about three guys already moving toward him, guns aimed at him. He stared at them for a minute, gaping, before he snapped his mouth shut and glared.
"To your knees," said the tallest of the three men.
Alec shook his head. "Sorry, but, you know, these are new pants, and-"
A bullet shot out of the gun with a quiet bang! and Alec flinched as the bullet whizzed by his ear.
"Not going to say it again, kid."
"What do you want? I don't have anything of value."
This was true – he didn't. Everything was gone.
He craned his neck around the men in front of him and caught sight of Caleb standing in the middle of the rest of the group, hands bound behind his back, gun held in the firm grip of a man who aimed it at the blonde's face.
What do these people want? This is crazy!
"To your knees."
The butt of the gun slammed into his head, leaving him gasping as he sank to his knees, black spots darting across his vision. He brought a hand up and touched it to his head, thankful when he pulled it away to find it clean of blood. Next, his wrists were grabbed and yanked forcefully behind his back, despite how much he struggled. Handcuffs slid onto his wrists, the cool touch of metal leaving him shivering.
"What do you want?" he asked again.
The tallest guy sneered down at him and nodded at the other two. "Bring him."
With that, he turned on his heel and moved back toward the rest of the group. The other two men each grabbed one of Alec's arms and forced him to follow after the guy.
"What's going on?" he whispered to Caleb when he was forced to walk next to him. Unlike him, Caleb's hands were bound by a thick, prickly rope. It had to be more than a little uncomfortable.
Caleb's lips formed a thin white line and he shook his head, not even glancing at him.
That bad, huh? he thought, a knot forming in his stomach.
And there's that :) Hope it sounds okay! Had a bad headache for 2 days now :( So yeah. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!
~Averick~