Chapter 1: The Boy in the Water

The warm afternoon sun shone brightly, its reflecting light dancing off the clear waters of a small river and giving it the appearance of a sheet of glass. Along the riverbank, several wild berry plants grew, their ripe fruit glimmering like precious rubies in the sunshine. There was an almost foreboding silence lingering on the warm, summer breeze.

The somewhat uncharacteristic silence was broken as a dark-haired teen entered the clearing, followed closely by his blonde companion.

"Of all the things I had to get dragged into,” the dark-haired teen complained, scratching the back of his head in mild irritation. There were plenty of other things he could think of that he would much rather be doing on such a warm afternoon.

His female companion rolled her eyes. It was honestly nothing new for Seth to be objecting when there was work to be done.

“You’ll get over it,” the blonde muttered as she turned her attention to the thick bushes lining the riverbank.

Seth blew out a sigh, flopping onto his back in the soft, green grass. Right now, he would love nothing more than to rid himself of his heavy, armored jacket. However, that was out of the question. To go out without some form of protection was no better than suicide. Finding a blue wildflower, he smiled. Blue just so happened to be his companion’s favorite color. Carefully extracting the flower, he twirled it around in his fingers.

“I would certainly hope so,” he mumbled after a moment. “So why are we really out here?”

The blonde turned to him then, a rather exasperated expression on her face. Her pale lips pulled into a tight frown. Hadn’t he been listening to a word she’d said that morning?

“I told you earlier; we’re collecting berries.”

“Sure you weren’t just looking for an excuse to get us alone together?” Seth inquired with a suggestive grin.

His blonde companion rolled her sapphire eyes yet again in a clear mix of agitation and exasperation.

“Oh, of course. I wanted to hear you complain all day.”

“I’m willing to settle for part of the day,” the boy returned with a grin.

The blonde said nothing as she made her way over to one of the many berry bushes and collected a small handful before returning to her companion’s side.

“Start bagging these,” she instructed, forcing the boy’s hands open before filling them with the tiny fruits.

For some reason, Seth had always seemed to enjoy pushing her buttons, and today was apparently no exception. Was she honestly that amusing to tease? Some part of her was envious of his carefree, childlike nature at times. After all, how long had it been since she’d actually had fun? Then again, it wasn’t like there was all that much time for fun recently. She had responsibilities, after all. There were so many people counting on her. She had a great deal of duties to fulfill.

The blonde gave a soft sigh. Sometimes she wished…

“Yes, Sir!” Seth mocked with a grin as he gave a sarcastic salute.

Once again, the young woman found herself rolling her eyes, pulling a face. “You’re going to get a lashing for that one, soldier,” she murmured, turning her attention to the nearby river.

If there was ever one thing that she’d always had an appreciation for, it was water. The soft, peaceful babble it made always had a way of putting her, usually chaotic, mind at ease. Peace, after all, was a precious commodity that was so rarely enjoyed.

Seth glanced at the young woman before turning his attention to the small, blue flower he’d managed to not drop when she’d placed the berries into his hands. With a sigh, he placed the flower into his pocket before returning his attention to his companion. “Oh, now we’re talking,” he smirked.

The faint ghost of a blush stained the young blonde’s cheeks. No matter how used to his antics she was by now, he always seemed to manage to fluster her. A talent of his that continued to both baffle and infuriate her. “So do you have plans to actually work today, Seth, or do you just want to spend the day flirting shamelessly?” she retorted, rolling her eyes for what had to be the fifth time that morning.

Honestly!

The teen smiled, giving a suggestive wink. “I don’t see why I can’t do both, Alice.”

The girl in question turned to face him then, the beginnings of a deceptive smile pulling at her pale lips. “That IS a good question. Perhaps you should run that one by my father.”

Seth pulled a face. “I’d prefer not to be castrated by the commander, thank you,” he grimaced.

Commander Leo wasn’t exactly the most pleasant of individuals. At least not when you weren’t in his good graces; a predicament Seth often found himself in. It seemed, as of late, the commander wasn’t exactly in the best of moods.

“Then I suggest you focus on the berries,” came the girl’s cool retort.

Seth smiled as he took a moment to admire the beauty in front of him. Her back was currently turned to him, giving him a wondrous view of her shimmering, golden hair.

The brunette frowned. Though her actions gave no indicator, her shoulders appeared tightly drawn into her body in a clear sign of internal stress.

“Whatever you say, good lookin’,” he murmured offhandedly.

He was suddenly jarred from his thoughts as the girl whirled around, a fierce glare etched onto her face.

“Don’t call me that,” she growled in warning.

Seth rolled his eyes. “Alright, already. Chill.”

This seemed to pacify her ire as her pale, furrowed brows then smoothed out, and she turned her attention back toward the tranquil scenery.

Unfortunately, if there was one quality of Seth’s that never failed to get him into trouble, it was his inability to keep his mouth shut at appropriate times.

“I didn’t realize you’d taken your bitch pill this morning,” he quipped.

Realizing the mistake he’d made a little too late, the teen quickly threw his hands up in a submissive gesture when she whirled on him again.

The girl blew out a sigh, clearly exasperated by his antics. And the day has only begun. “Maybe because I knew I was getting stuck with you today.”

When he realized that he wasn’t going to meet his untimely end, the boy smiled. “Aw, you always say the sweetest things, Alice.”

The blonde felt her cheeks flush as she turned away again. Why did he always insist on doing this to her? “S-shut up,” she managed to mutter.

She was jarred from her thoughts when the distant sound of splashing reached her ears.

Feeling a distinct sense of dread creep up her spine, she slowly turned to her companion once more. “D-Did you hear that?” she murmured, quickly glancing back to the river as her sapphire eyes scanned their surroundings for any movement.

“Huh?” Seth murmured, straining his hearing for any detectable audio. The teen sighed. Only the occasional chirping of birds greeted his ears. “Probably a fish.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the teen jumped as a loud splash sounded, causing the nearby birds to give startled squawks as they fled from their perches in the nearby branches.

“That’s no fish,” Alice murmured, her eyes narrowing as she reached for the handgun at her hip. She heard Seth quickly shuffle closer to her as he reached for his own weapon.

Both teens held in a breath when the noise grew in volume, their eyes trained on the river’s current.

Time seemed to freeze as the body of a young man gradually came into view, floating and bobbing in some morbid dance.

“H-Holy shit!”

Paying little mind to Seth’s breathless outburst, the blonde sprang into action, rushing to the water’s edge. Placing her gun back into its holster and tossing it onto the ground, she jumped from the embankment.

A sharp hiss left her pale lips as the chilly water invaded her senses, her pink skirt soaking through within seconds. She quickly waded over to the unconscious, male figure before the current could carry him away.

Turning him over, the girl failed to hold in the ragged gasp that escaped her throat.

“H-He’s been shot!” she called, beginning the arduous task of pulling the injured stranger back to dry land.

Seth returned his weapon to its previous resting place at his hip before reaching down from his position on the riverbank to grasp the stranger’s shoulders. Giving a tug, he managed to assist in removing the boy from the crisp water. Placing a hand to his throat, he breathed a sigh of relief. So he wasn’t dead…yet. Grimacing, he tore his eyes away from the large, bloody stain on the boy’s, once clean, gray shirt. “We have to find a way to stop his bleeding.”

Alice bit her lip, her sapphire eyes darting as she quickly digested the situation. Removing her, now damp, black jacket, she quickly tied it around the boy’s torso. “We can use this for now.” Placing her middle and index fingers to the boy’s throat herself, she frowned. “His pulse is faint. We’re gonna have to get him to the lab right away, or he’s going to die. Kurt will know what to do.” Retrieving her gun, she fastened the holster back in place at her hip.

Seth’s eyes widened. “B-but, Alice-”

“I won’t leave him here to die,” the blonde cut him off. Ignoring the numbness of her bare legs for the time being, the teen attempted to lift the boy.

Sighing, Seth reached down and hauled one of the stranger’s arms around his neck. “Y-You realize what they’ll do…”

Alice grimaced, pulling the unconscious teen’s opposite arm around her shoulders and assisting in standing him on his feet. “I know… but we don’t have a choice. Would you rather just leave him?” she asked, sending the teen a glance out of the corner of her eye. The knowing smile on her face informed him that she already knew the answer.

“I just hope we don’t live to regret this,” he murmured as they slowly began to drag the wounded stranger back toward the way they’d came.

****

The brunette huffed angrily, wiping the bangs from his face for what had to have been the tenth time that morning. Staring intently at the computer screen in front of him, he silently willed the connection error to cease.

One of the boosters must be down again, he mused, quickly clicking a series of keys on his keyboard. Sighing, he clicked the command to re-scan and waited.

The teen was jolted out of his concentration as the door suddenly flew open. Jumping out of his chair, the boy turned to see his father looming in the doorway, his blond eyebrows furrowed in a clear mix of confusion and apprehension.

“You’re going to want to take a look at this.”

Kurt Landon’s dark eyes narrowed briefly in both apprehension and confusion. “What’s the matter now, Leo? Sorry, but this isn’t the best time. One of our boosters is apparently down, and I-”

“Forget about that for now,” came the sharp retort.

Kurt winced. “B-but I thought you said-”

“I know what I said! That was earlier this morning. Keep up, boy! Just get your ass out here… and bring the wheelchair.”

The teen gulped and nodded. Not good…

Hurriedly making his way over to the far corner of the small room, he retrieved the requested object before following his father out into the hallway.

Much to his surprise, the narrow hall was nearly vacant. Then he glanced to his right, and he was positive he could feel the lurch of his heart into his mouth.

Sitting propped up against the wall was a brunette boy that appeared to be around his age. He wore a torn, black leather jacket and blue jeans.

Taking note of the stranger’s bloody, gray shirt, Kurt grimaced. He’s lost that much blood and he’s still alive?

“Seth and I found him floating in the river. He’s gone to get you some extra towels and linens from storage.”

Kurt scratched his head as he turned to glance at the young woman now standing beside him. “I’ll, uh, do what I can. He seems in pretty bad shape, though, Alice.”

Both teens watched as Leo then hoisted the boy up into the wheelchair Kurt had brought. “You know the protocol.”

Kurt nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I got it.” Turning to Alice, he offered her a reassuring smile before taking the wheelchair from Leo and pushing the boy into the room from which he’d came. This is going to be a long day…

****

Alice glanced at her watch as she shifted in her chair. 8:00 p.m. With a heavy sigh, she stood and stretched, causing a satisfied moan to escape her lips.

She frowned. She had been in her office nearly all day and still had yet to receive any word about the mysterious boy. Giving a small yawn, she glanced around the small, plain room that served as her office. Plain white walls with no windows took little time to grow tiresome upon the eyes.

Turning her attention to the paperwork scattered about her wooden desk, she scowled before arranging it neatly back into one pile in the center.

It would all wait until tomorrow.

Catching sight of the small, blue flower that sat off to the side, a smile graced her lips. She had no idea where it had come from, but it was beautiful. She had found it taped to her door when she had returned from retrieving a cup of coffee earlier. Picking it up, she twirled it around in her fingers.

Making her way to the door, she locked it before continuing down the small hall. Reaching the metal, twin doors at the end, she heaved a sigh before pushing. She was then greeted by the brightly lit training room.

The teen smiled. Though vacant, it still held a somewhat deceptively cheerful atmosphere. Somehow, the thought caused a twinge of pain in the young woman’s heart.

What would a normal life even feel like anymore?

Shaking her head to banish the negativity from her thoughts, she continued on. After all, tomorrow would be a new day…

****

This is absurd! I’m a technician, not a physician! Kurt mused to himself in irritation as he brushed his long, black bangs from his eyes again. He frowned as he spared his patient a glance over his shoulder.

The damage had been quite severe.

The teen silently placed a small jar containing 3 bloody bullets on the small table next to him as he continued his work. He winced at the rather loud squeak his black boots made against the hard, tile floor as he turned around to face his computer once again. He heaved a sigh. The large monitor was still blinking as it continued its task of compiling the results of the test it was running. Glancing down at his left hand, he frowned at the military dog tag he held. “This may be even worse than we thought,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his head with his free hand.

“Having problems, are we?”

Kurt nearly hit the ceiling as he whirled around to see Leo standing in the doorway. “Geez, Leo! Are you trying to kill me?”

The blond gave no answer, instead taking a large pull on the cigarette he held. “So how goes it?” he finally muttered, paying little mind to his sudden interruption to the boy’s work.

Kurt sighed. “I don’t know about this one, Leo. I removed the bullets, but he’s lost a lot of blood.” The teen then paused, biting his lip. “Then there’s…this,” he murmured finally, raising his hand to reveal the dog tag he held.

Leo’s icy-blue eyes narrowed.

“He had it around his neck,” Kurt continued, sparing the unconscious boy another glance.

“Well, isn’t that interesting?” Leo mused, taking another drag of his cigarette.

Kurt stared. When it was clear that Leo had no intention of elaborating, he sighed again. “So…what do you want me to do?”

Leo finished his cigarette and rolled his eyes. Honestly! Not that the boy was stupid by any means, but there were times he really questioned his intellect. “For now, we wait on those results.”

“And if he doesn’t pass?”

Leo gave no reply and walked over to the small bed in the left corner of the room. Carefully pulling the blanket up around the sleeping boy’s shoulders, he brushed his black bangs back. “We’ll cross that bridge if we get to it. For now, let him rest.”

Kurt lightly bit his lip in apprehension, a sickening feeling of dread settling deep within his stomach as Leo walked by him to exit the room without another word. Left alone with the strange boy once more, he made his way back to his chair with a sour frown etched onto his thin face. Something about the boy made him uneasy, and, hopefully, tomorrow would bring the answers to his questions.