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Zac sat staring into Will's eyes under a cliff edge about a mile away from Camp E so they could stay undetected. Isaac and Will had been quietly arguing for the past hour about who should be rescued and how they could manage to get two people out of the camp. The three men knew they couldn't get all five prisoners out, but they'd try for the ones they knew best, they had to. "How're we gonna get em both out without getting ourselves killed?" Zac asked, desolation creeping into his voice. "Shut up for a sec Zac, we're talking." Isaac waved him off. Zac's face clouded over in anger and frustration that nobody would notice him or how scared he was feeling. "Ya know, just because I've lived here for this long and seen all the shit I've seen doesn't mean I'm numb to it all. I'm still the same person I was back on Terra!" Zac shouted after a minute of attempting to hold it back. Will and Isaac stared at him in shock. Both of them treated him as an equal, a man already though he was only fifteen. Zac experienced more in his fifteen years of life then anybody on Terra could in a hundred, but that didn't mean he'd be able to handle it. Isaac suddenly realized he'd been distancing himself from Zac in his desperate search Taylor, he'd been acting like a total jerk and he hoped he could fix all that.... after they found Taylor. He bent near Zac and hugged him close, but Zac only reacted by shoving Isaac away from him in pure anger and instinct. He wanted the closeness, but he was also mad. "Just.leave me alone, make a plan so we can get Tay back." He grumbled. "Are ya sure buddy?" Will asked gently, rubbing Zac's back. "Yeah, just do it." He sniffled slightly with a grin and went into a dazed mode, staring at nothing and everything at the same time. Will turned back to Isaac, "Ike, didja see the other side of the camp? That side wasn't watched at all. We could slip in there and sneak through, they have a whole buncha junk laying around." Isaac rubbed the stubble on his chin and looked thoughtful, "I dunno, what if Tay and Angie are in different areas when we go in?" "Then we take who we can get." "Hell no, that leaves one of em to get kicked around. No way, no. We gotta get em both." Isaac told him. Will sighed heavily, "You know we can't do that, Tay's in no shape to run if we get caught." "And that's just why we gotta get him outta there! Angie's in perfect health, I mean she didn't look bad at all. Tay....oh god, were you blind when we watched him? Did you see what he looked like!?" Isaac exploded, causing Zac to jump. Will held his hands up in unneeded defense, "No Ike, I wasn't blind. You're right, but that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. We gotta take what we can get." Zac butted in, "Why don't you go after Angie," Zac pointed to Will, "And let me and Ike get Tay. Wouldn't that be easier to hide? I mean three people would be hard enough, but this way you and Angie got a good chance of getting away. If Ike and me get caught, at least we'll be with Tay." Isaac smiled at last, "As dumb as that sounds, I like it." "Ok, but what if me and Angie are caught?" Zac smiled, "Houston we have a problem. Well, if Ike, Tay, and I got away we'll go back to H and get some more people to help us out. If we're all caught, we're one big happy slave family." Ike shook his head along with Will, who pulled his hands through his hair and said, "Why not? Let's revise this a little and try it tonight, late tonight when people should be asleep." "But what about what outs or sentinels and what have you?" Zac looked at Isaac who asked the question. "They weren't there before were they?" Will answered Isaac's inquiry with a question of his own. "Not that I noticed....but maybe they have em moving around or something while we were there." Zac stated. "No, we were there for a few hours at least." Isaac fingered his lips. "Yeah, so we're set. Let's keep lookin for loop holes then shall we?" Will invited the young man. "Alrighty then." Zac snapped his head to the side to help punctuate his Ace Ventura impression. *Two Hours Later* "Zac, knock it off!" Isaac hissed at his younger brother. Zac giggled and smeared more mud on his face for the added effect of camouflage and would have started on his neck and arms if Will hadn't stopped him. "Listen Zac man, when you're darting around a camp trying to look inconspicuous, dried mud all over your face isn't exactly gonna help ya out, get me?" "Yes Mam." Zac took the hint and waded into the nearby stream and started washing his face off, making sure splashing was the only noise you could hear. "Zac!!!! Quit it!" Isaac whined. "FINE!" Zac shouted back. Will grit his teeth at the bickering brothers and went back to studying the enemy camp's fires from a safe distance. He hoped they couldn't hear the two Hanson brothers. **************** "Boy, get over here now!" Jonathon screamed. He felt mildly concerned at how slow the young man was moving, and the glazed over look his eyes had made him look on the verge of death though his body was healthy. The boy's ankles were looking pretty bad at the moment too, they were getting infected badly and the young man was now refusing to eat the meager meals he was served. "Yes master, how may I serve you?" Taylor's dull voice rang out. "You're not to do any work until this time tomorrow night. Go to bed. Now." He added nastily. Taylor shook his head in confusion and blinked his eyes rapidly as his lips pursed, "Wha.no, you'll beat me. It's too early to go to bed." He whimpered, staggering to his knees. Jonathon sneered at him and knelt down to pick him up, but Taylor only moved away each time, "Get up boy! NOW!" H screamed. "Please..please don't beat me! I'll work. I'll work!" He started sobbing incoherently, his body going limp in Jonathon's strong arms slipping around like he was covered in oil. Jonathon was confused by how he was acting, so he assumed a quiet gentle voice, "Listen, I'm not going to beat you. Just go on to bed now. You worked more then you need to for awhile, go on to bed son." Jonathon felt Taylor tense in his arm and he knew he said something wrong. "I'M NOT YOUR SON! Lemme go, I'm not your son! I want my mom and dad! Lemme go, now! IKE, ZAC! Please lemme go, please!!" Taylor screamed desperately, twisting around violently in the larger man's arms. Jonathon struggled to hold onto the boy who's strength seemed to have grown ten fold as he, through much embarrassment, yelled for help to quell the screaming young man in his arms. "Hold on to him Jon, we're comin!" A man screamed across the cavern. Jonathon could only nod as Taylor bit into his arm and he retaliated by slamming Taylor's body against a wall in hopes of getting the temporarily insane boy to stop biting him. The scratching he could take. He heard the young man's breath explode from his chest as he connected with the rock of the cave wall and felt him let go of his arm just as help arrived. "Take him....just take him to his bed. I'll be there in a few minutes." Jonathon wheezed as he made his way to the camp's medic, "Damn kid." He muttered. << Previous Page of Story>> << Back to Story Page>> << Back To Index Of Chapters Page>> Back To Main Page>> |