It was in fact about time I wrote something for my latest obsession... So here we are with 1418 words featuring The Lost Boys and some modified Ed Sheeran lyrics... Enjoy!
Keep careful watch of my brothers’ souls, and should the sky be filled with fire and smoke… keep watching over…
Castor sucked in a breath as the air moved around him. Everything seemed to be still, or moving entirely too fast as he tried to get his bearings. His chest ached as he coughed on my smoke. He blinked.
Once. Twice.
The air around him dry and his face burned as his thoughts came together. “Addie!” he screamed, or tried to. His mouth too thick with smoke, with soot, to make much more of a sound than a hoarse whisper. “Addie!” Castor tried again, his thoughts frantic. Right here, he was right here!
If this is to end in fire, then we shall all burn together. Watch the flames climb higher into the night…
Adair had been right beside his older brother when the bomb went off, the two of them and Ewan on a Renegade mission. Castor reached a hand out in the direction his brother should have been. Grunting from the effort to move at all his bloodied hands traced over the rubble until he found a scrap of Adair’s jacket, and from there a hand.
“Addie,” Castor called again, his voice a little stronger as he forced his body to move. The edges of his vision blackened as he shoved a beam off of his chest. Rubble cascaded down around him as he took another breath, an attempt to keep himself alert. “Come on,” he grunted. “Come on, Addie. Wake up. You’re not allowed to die on me. Not you too.”
And if we should die tonight, then we should all die together. Watch the flames burn on and on, desolation comes across the sky…
Castor was still halfway pinned under the rubble, but he’d managed to free himself enough to reach his brother. Scraping soot and debris out of Adair’s whole he checked for whatever injuries he could reach. His mind of course jumping to the worst of conclusions as he took in Adair’s limp form. Blood trickled from a cut on the teens forehead, but from what he could reach… What he could see… there was nothing seriously wrong.
“Addie.”
The younger boy groaned as he came to. His eyes fluttered open, unseeing but he grew more aware of his surroundings as the seconds passed.
“Addie, come on that’s it,” Castor urged, the last of his strength leaving him as he fell back into the rubble. Flames ate at what was left of the building around them, sparks and embers falling down around them as the brothers breathed in the smoke. “Come on—you got to… got to get yourself… out of here. And find Ewan.”
Now I see fire, burning the trees. And I see fire, hollowing souls. And I see fire, blood in the breeze. And I hope that you’ll remember me…
“You’re coming with me, Cas,” Adair said around a series of coughs. His brown eyes held a note of defiant determination as he pushed himself up and faced Castor.
Cas forced his head to turn. Side to side. The movement, barely perceptible. “No, Addie. I’m pinned. We have no idea what condition I’m in under those beams, if we could even get them moved. Or if I’d just bleed out anyways. Go find Ewan and get yourselves out of here.”
His voice was strong. Stronger than it’d been even just a moment ago as he forced his words to come out steady. As he leveled Adair with an unyielding gaze that begged no argument. No question. Cas had known as soon as he’d woken up and been able to assess the situation that it wasn’t likely for him to get out. In those few seconds that he’d urged Adair awake--those few seconds that of themselves had felt like hours--Castor had even come to peace with it. As long as Adair got out… As long as Ewan…
They still had no idea where Ewan was.
Castor could only hope he hadn’t gotten caught in the same blast they had. That he’d been far enough away. And it’d just take Adair a quick search as he made his way out of the rubble. Out of the smoke and the flames.
Oh, should my brothers fall, then surely I’ll do the same. Confined in mountain halls, we got too close to the flame. Calling out… hold fast and we will, watch the flames burn on and on…
Castor had taken the worst of the blast. His body taking the quick second it had had to shield Adair as best he could in the space between the sound of the explosion and the flames and shrapnel reaching them. The smell of burnt flesh met his nose around the smoke, and as the adrenaline wore off he could feel his skin burning. His arm white and hot. His legs--or what he could feel of them--searing beneath the rubble.
“You’re not asking me to leave you,” Adair’s voice cut in and Castor’s eyes flicked to him trying to bring the younger boy into focus.
“You’re right, I’m not asking,” he said, his own words sounding like he was underwater. Barely there in his mind as his thoughts swirled in smoke and embers.
“No, I’m not. You’re not. You’re not having me do that. Cas. You’re not having me lose more family. You’re not.”
And if the night is burning, I will cover my eyes. For if the dark returns then my brothers will die. And as the sky’s falling down, it crashed into this lonely town… I hear my brothers screaming out…
“Addie! Cas!”
“Castor, come on.”
“Over here! We’re here!”
“I’ll lift, you pull him out.”
Scattered words filtered in and out, each own without a voice or a body as Castor tried to force his eyes to stay open. Stars danced as arms gripped his shoulders. One shove. Two. And the weight was lifted from the lower half of his body. But with his release came a string of curses from one of the twins, and a flood of searing pain. Needles seemed to prick every inch of his skin.
“C’mon Cas. Dùisg.”
“Fuirich còmhla rium.”
“They’re not going to be able to save his leg--”
“We have to get him back to base first before we worry with that.”
Now I see fire, burning the trees. And I see fire, hollowing souls. And I see fire, blood in the breeze.
He drifted in and out. Voices and gentle hands seemed to float around him in the moments he spent where everything wasn’t faded to black. In the moments where everything wasn’t dark and the only thing he could hear was a ringing in his ear.
Castor came to most when they lifted him, one arm swung around each boy's shoulders as the twins both bore his weight. His feet slid useless against the rocks as he tried to move them. Tried to take some of the burden off. But he tripped and slid leaving a trail of blood in his wake. And a series of groans as his limbs hung uselessly. Everything out of his control as he was pulled from the rubble.
I see fire, oh you know I saw a city burning. And I see fire, feel the heat upon my skin. And I see fire…
He didn’t register the coughing. Or the jarring of his ribs and his lungs when one of the brothers tripped. Their own feet barely making the path to safety. Each of them with injuries of their own. A ringing in their ears as they struggled beneath the weight of the fallen.
Castor couldn’t even muster the strength to tell them to leave him. As the building shifted around them the order did not leave his lips. Nothing did but the laboured breaths, or the occasional groan as he found a brief moment of awareness. It would have been a waste of breath, even if it had.
Keep careful watch of my brothers’ souls… And should the sky be filled with fire and gold…
Hands lifted him into the back of a vehicle. Reassurances were whispered as a weight tightened around his leg, and a hand held pressure on his stomach. And Castor felt the last of himself leave him. Eyes fluttering closed as an engine was started, and he was urged to stay awake. To keep his eyes open.
Castor wished he could, as he fell away from himself. From the world.
Wait lemme make a quick list because this is my new obsession
Merpunk: water, sea life, tropical fruits/flowers, Palm trees, glitter, iridescent, holographic, sheer clothing, seashells, sea monsters, Greek mythology/statues, pastel hair, blue/purple/green/pink/turquoise hair, gold, fish scales, sushi, wavy/curly hair, mermaids, self luv and confidence..
1) I have no discipline. I never have. If I don't want to do something, I won't do it, and there is almost nothing you can say or do to convince my otherwise.
The Navy will discipline me, and motivate me to make positive choices in my life.
2) I have no career goals.
The Navy will train me in language, and provide me a unique opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself. If I choose to leave the Navy I could do nearly anything I wanted.
3) The money.
4) Loan repayment.
I still owe nearly $2000 in student loans from the 1 month I was in cosmetology school.
5) GI Bill will pay for college if I decide to take a different path.
I'll probably decide to pursue something else... Either pastry arts, or early childhood education. The GI Bill will cover the cost of my schooling.
6) Travel.
I'll get to see the world.
7) I can do anything I want.
Really...to the rest of the world I may be just an average girl, but in the eyes of the Navy, I am a smart, able bodied individual who is capable of many things. I chose to be a CTI based on my ability to study languages, and my thirst for adventure. To get this rate you have to pass a difficult test called the DLAB. 80% of people fail to score above a 90. To pass you must get a 100 or above. I passed. I'm special.
