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The Aftermath of Ghosts

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LOGAN

As Kick and I walk around, fingers on the triggers of our guns, I glance over at him.

“So how far do we have to go? This patrol is taking a while. We should start heading back.” I say, and Kick nods.

“Yeah. We've gone far enough. Let's head back and get some food.” He agrees. Turning around, we start back towards my house, walking along the cliff edge that leads precariously down into the deep ravine created when ODIN struck. The home and town that David and I had known was now a wasteland, dangerous and unpredictable.

As we walk down the road, I hear a shout ahead of us.

I instinctively raise my gun, glancing to the side slightly at Kick, who does the same. I stare ahead, then I see someone jump down from one of the walls, and look up and down the street.

Then their gaze falls on me, and our eyes lock. My eyes widen.

“Hesh?!” I shout, and he runs over to me.

“LOGAN!” He embraces me tightly, and I jolt in surprise, then hug him back.

“Hesh, are you okay?” I ask as he steps back, and he nods, staring into my eyes.

“We need to go, Logan. Now!” He says, and I tilt my head in confusion.

“What? Why?” I ask, and he shakes his head.

“We just-”

Kick steps up behind Hesh.

“Hey, you can't leave. We need to stick together.” He says, putting his hand on Hesh’s shoulder.

Hesh’s eyes widen, then he grabs Kick's hand and spins him around, holding his arm behind his back and forcing his head down. My eyes widen, and I grab Hesh.

“What are you doing?! It's just Kick!!” I shout, as Kick struggles against Hesh. Hesh looks up at me, and there's something different about his eyes.

Something that I've never seen before; true fear, and pure rage and anger.

He lets Kick go, dropping him to the ground, then he grabs my wrist, and drags me along.

“Logan, we have to leave. Rorke is still alive. I know it. I can feel it! We can't let him live!” He shouts, and I shake my head.

“I feel like he's still alive too, Hesh, but we can't just leave the Ghosts-”

Hesh groans, shaking his head.

“They'll just slow us down!!” He shouts, and I lean back with wide eyes, my usually calm and collected brother replaced with an angered, irrational young man.

I can hear Kick groan behind us, and I glance over my shoulder to see him stand up, look at Hesh, then put his finger to his ear.

“Merrick, Keegan. I found Hesh, and there's something about him. He's...not him. I need you to come down to our position. We're one click southeast of you, on the-”

Hesh glares at Kick, then walks over and grabs him, holding him in a choke hold. My eyes widen, and I start to run over. I can hear Merrick’s voice crackle through the comlink.

“...Kick?.....Kick, are you there?....”

Hesh hits him over the head with the butt of his gun, dropping an unconscious Kick to the ground.

I stop in my tracks, and stare at my brother with wide eyes. He looks up, and his expression of anger changes to fear.

“Logan, we have to leave!” He shouts, grabbing my arm as he runs past me. Dragging me towards the ravine, he jumps down onto a lower road that still somewhat spans it. Running across it to the other side, taking me along with him, he shoves me up onto the ledge.

“Get going!” He says harshly, and I scramble up, then turn around as he lifts himself up. He reaches for my hand again, but I stop him.

“Hesh, hold it. What's going on? What's wrong with you?!” I ask, and Hesh sighs, then falls to his knees, looking down at the ground.

“I can't lose you, Logan. And Rorke almost took you away from me.” His fists clench, and he slowly looks up, the anger present again in his eyes.

“I WON'T lose you. And I WON'T let the bastard who killed our father live.” He says, and my eyes widen. He grabs his gun from his belt, and lifts me to my feet. He stares into my eyes, the light brown of them now seeming to have a different coloring around the edges.

“Let's go.” He says roughly, and I feel a pit in my stomach as he turns away.

There's more to this. More to what is making Hesh act like this.

And yet….somehow….I feel like I've somehow been through what’s happening to him…… In some strange, odd way, I remember feeling that way before. I just don't know when, or how.

But I know.

And it's definitely not anything good.


KEEGAN

I grab my gun from the table, and start to walk out the door.

“Where the hell do you think you're going?” Merrick asks from behind me, and I spin around.

“Didn't you hear Kick? They found Hesh, and he noticed the difference, too. I just want to get there, and make sure he's okay. His line went dead, and I just have this bad feeling.” I say, and Merrick nods, then looks around. His gaze falls on the bench where we had initially laid Hesh, and the blood spotted cloths that cover it. He stares at them for a moment, then looks back up at me.

“Go. Find Kick. But keep me posted as to where you are.” He says, and I nod. Running out the door, I check the mag of my gun to make sure it's fully loaded. Sprinting down the street, I look around, finding my way to where Kick last reported from.

Jumping down from a ledge, I look up and down the street, then my gaze falls on something.

Down the street.

A body fallen on the ground.

Tan jacket, camo cargo pants tucked into tan boots.

Brown, scruffy hair.

My eyes widen.

“Kick…” I say softly, and I sprint down to him.

“Kick!” I skid next to him, and roll him over. Blood drips down the side of his face from a cut at the edge of his hairline, bruised around it, almost like he had been hit really hard. I hold him, then lift up the man that's an older brother to me.

“Come on, Kick... wake up!” I shout, then he groans, his eyes fluttering open.

“K..Keegan?” He looks up at me, and I nod.

“Yeah. You okay?” I ask, and he sits up, putting a hand to his head, groaning, then taking it away upon feeling the wet touch of his blood. He lifts his head up, eyes wide.

“Keegan, we have a serious problem.” He says, and I frown.

“What?” I ask, knowing in my head what he's about to say.

“Hesh is different. It's...it's like he changed….One second he was scared, trying to take Logan somewhere saying ‘they needed to go.’ Then the next second, after I had just contacted you, he had me in a chokehold, and hit me with the end of his gun.”

My eyes widen.

Hesh knocked you out?!” I say in disbelief, and Kick nods.

“Yeah. He must have taken Logan. I don't know where, but he seemed pretty desperate to get away from here.” He says, and I sigh, then stand up, lifting him to his feet. I bend down and pick up his gun, handing it to him. He takes it, and looks me in the eye.

“What do you think it could be?” He asks as we start to jog back towards the house. I shrug.

“Well, Merrick and I thought it was maybe some sort of PTSD, from seeing Logan again the way he was after all that time, being taken by Rorke, Logan getting hurt, then just the injuries from the attack at the fort. I don't know. But now, it seems like it could be much bigger than that.” I say, and Kick nods.

“Yeah….”

A crackling on the radio comes through, and Kick and I both put our fingers to our ears.

“Keegan, Kick, you better get back here. I might have something.” Merrick says, and I turn my gaze to Kick, with raised eyebrows.

“We'll be right there.” I say, as Kick and I run down the road. Jumping over the wall of the courtyard, I run into the house, and Merrick looks up as Kick and I enter the room.

“What is it?” I ask, but Merrick stares at Kick.

“What happened to you?” He asks, pointing to the cut on his forehead. Kick and I look at each other, then Kick takes a deep breath.

“Hesh...he sort of attacked me….put me in a chokehold, then knocked me out with his gun.” He says, referring to the cut on his forehead. Merrick’s eyes widen.

Hesh did that?” He asks, and I nod.

“Yeah. I know. Anyway, what was it you wanted to show us?” I ask, and Merrick nods.

“I might have figured out what made Hesh so...different.” He says, and my eyes widen.

“What?” I ask, and he beckons us over to the table. He picks up one of the bandages from when I was cleaning Hesh’s wound, blood soaking it. He glances at both of us.

“I had a thought when I went over in my head what happened. Hesh’s personna completely changed. Only after he had been shot, though. He wasn't like that before Rorke shot him, not even when he had him captured. So I thought maybe, just maybe, Rorke did something to him.”

Kick scoffs.

“Yeah. He shot him.” I elbow him, and he flinches a little.

“Hey…” He says, and I glare at him.

“What, Merrick?”

Merrick points to the bandage.

“I examined the blood on his bandage, and I found traces of something.” He holds it up, showing us some dark spots on it, almost black, not like blood at all. My eyebrow raises.

“What the f-”

Kick shakes his head.

“What the hell is that?” He asks, and Merrick sighs, setting the cloth back on the table, then wiping his hands.

“Poison. It's some kind of poison, I’m sure of that. Something Roke said made me realize it. When he had me and Hesh captive. He said he wanted me to see Hesh suffer, as he ‘tore him apart’.” He looks up at us.

“What if he meant like what he did to Logan?”

My eyes widen.

“What, you mean turn him against the Ghosts?” I ask disbelievingly. Merrick nods, sighing.

“Rorke wanted Hesh dead, but he may have realized that doing what he did to Logan to Hesh would be far worse and more painful. I just hope that Hesh doesn't hurt Logan. Whatever was in those bullets, and whatever Rorke did to Hesh, it's sure working a hell of a lot faster than putting Logan in that pit.” Merrick meets both Kick’s and my eyes, and we stand silent for a moment.

Kick shifts nervously to one side.

“So….what do we do?” He asks, and another silence follows. Merrick shakes his head.

“I have no idea…..”


HESH

I run through the burning compound, with Logan at my heels.

“Come on! Dad’s place is down the next street!” I yell, then look ahead to see our dog.

“There's Riley!” I shout, turning down the road. My eyes widen when I see our forces shooting at more Federation soldiers.

“Enemies, at the end of the street!” I shout, and Logan nods. We both crouch behind two cement road blocks, firing over them. The enemy’s numbers on the streets dwindle down to none, and I motion to Logan.

“Let's go!” I sprint down the street, as Logan jumps over the block. Sliding on my knee to next to the metal door to the garage, I lift it up, holding it open for Logan.

“Get inside! More enemies coming!” I shout as both Riley and Logan duck under. Closing it, I turn around, looking at the flames jumping over the walls and creeping along the fallen beams on the floor.

“Elias! Dad!” I yell through the house. I turn to Logan.

“Come on! Up the stairs!” I shout, and he nods. Sprinting upstairs, we find the command center is now destroyed, flames engulfing the whole room.

“We gotta make sure dad got out!” I shout, looking around. I look at a piece of wood blocking us from another area, then run to it. I lift it up, trying to avoid some of the places where flames dance over it.

“Logan, see if you can move under this thing!” I say, and he nods, dropping to crawl underneath it.

“Hurry!” I hear it cracking, then my grip loses it.

“Shit! Look out!” I shout as it collapses right behind him. He spins to look at me with wide eyes, and I point.

“Go upstairs! Find dad! I'll look for another way around!” I shout, and he nods, grabbing his gun and jumping to his feet. He runs upstairs, and I look around.

There's a table that avoids the flames that I can jump over to get to Logan. I run over, and Riley follows, jumping over in one leap, then runs upstairs. I get across, then start to run up the stairs, gun ready.

I reach the top of the stairs to find a bit of flames, and I jump over them. I see a hole in the wall, as I run around to the doorway.

As I walk into the room, my eyes fall to the floor, where Logan lays pinned under a Federation soldier. The soldier has a knife stuck in Logan’s chest, and my eyes widen.

“LOGAN!” I scream, then I loose all my bullets into the soldier as he turns around to see me. He falls to the side, and I run to Logan’s side.

He stares up at me, eyes wide, breath shaky. Blood drips from the side of his mouth, and I shake my head.

“No...you're gonna be okay, Logan...” I say quickly, hiding my fear, then his eyes close, and I feel my heart stop.

“Logan?” I say, shaking him gently. His head falls to the side, and my eyes widen.

“No...nonononono!” I shout, as tears start to drip down my cheeks.

“I was supposed to protect you!” I yell, as my soul shatters.

“LOGAN!!!”

 

“Hesh!” Someone shakes me awake, and my eyes shoot open.

Logan crouches in front of me, eyes worried. I blink a few times, then my eyes widen.

“Logan!” I say with relief, and he raises his eyebrow.

“Hesh, are you okay?” He asks, and I take a deep breath, then rub my face with my hand.

“Uh..yeah….yeah. I’m okay.” I say, and Logan looks at me with a slight disbelief, then sits back. He leans back against the wall of the narrow hallway we holed up in last night, and stares at me.

“Hesh, I want you to tell me what's going on.” He says, almost like an order. I raise my eyebrow.

“What? What do you mean?” I ask, and he shakes his head.

“Hesh, I think you know what I mean. Why are you acting so different. I mean, you're acting like I did when I was first taken out of the Pit-”

He stops, and my eyes widen.

“You remember that?” I ask, my curiosity matched with concern. Logan sighs, and closes his eyes.

“I wish I didn't.” He says softly, and I hesitate, then ask the question that has been nagging at the back of my mind since Logan first came back.

“What happened?” I ask slowly, and he looks up to meet my eyes, then takes a deep breath.

“When Rorke took me, that day on the beach, he beat me, taking me somewhere. Next thing I knew I was in a plane, and we were headed down to the south. When the plane landed, Rorke had me tied up, and brought to a base deep in the jungle.” My eyes are wide as Logan recounts his story.

“They threw me in this...hole...in the ground, then put bars on top of it, not like I would have been able to reach the top anyway.” He sighs.

“For six months, they left me down there. Whenever they gave me food, it burned and tore at me from the inside out. I could feel my mind breaking. Everything turning to hate, and rage. I was becoming...someone else. Something that Rorke could use against you. But there was one thing that I wouldn't forget. I kept it in the back of my head, not letting anything get to it, or be able to ever wipe it out.” He says, and he looks up to meet my eyes.

“You.”

My eyes widen.

“Me?” I ask, and he nods.

“I could never give up the thought of you. Yes, I came to hate all Ghosts after time, and eventually I did forget my love for you.” He says, turning his head aside.

“But when Rorke took you, and beat you up, then something changed. I felt that bond again, and I couldn't let him hurt you any more. That's why I couldn't shoot. Because I knew I had to save you. Because you saved me.” He says, looking up to meet my wide eyes.

“Logan...I’m so sorry.” I say, and he nods. Then I feel that same buzzing in my head, and I groan, putting my hand to my head.

“Hesh?” Logan asks in concern, and I shake it off.

“I’m fi-” The acheing gets worse, and I hold my head in both hands, tightening up. Logan jumps up and runs over to me.

“Hesh!” He says, a worried tone to his voice.

I feel something tearing at me, pulling me apart. My eyes shoot open, and I stare up at Logan.

“They have to pay.” I say with a deep, vicious tone to my voice. Logan shakes his head in confusion.

“What? Who?” He asks, fear masked behind his eyes, and I clench my fists.

“The Ghosts.”

Logan steps back a little, eyes wide. I blink a little, then my eyes widen when I realize what I just said.

“Wait...What?!” I say in confusion, putting my hand to my head, the buzzing and thunder that echoed not moments ago fading away.

“Wha...NO! I don't….I didn't mean….” I stutter, shaking my head, and Logan puts his hand on my shoulder, holding me steady.

“Hesh! Calm down! It's okay!” He says comfortingly, and I take a deep breath, my chest rising then falling.

I squeeze my eyes shut, and put my head in my hands.

“What's happening to me?!” I ask frantically, and Logan shakes his head.

“I don't know, but we'll figure this out, Hesh.…..David…..” He says, and I raise my head, eyes full of fear.

“Logan….I don't know what's happening…..But...I need your help.” I say quietly, and Logan nods, staring deep into my eyes.

“You're my brother, Hesh. I'll always be there to help you.” He says with a grin. I nod.

“Let's figure this shit out.”