“Obviously I’m not in a facility where u could do everything I’ve been trained to do. Proper care would be, in this situation, something to cover the bone, a way to fill in the missing muscle and skin… you have nerves that aren’t there anymore. Your best bet is to get to the high tech facilities they usually keep on the upper cities. I’m sure they have some new technology that could do wonders. It’s been a bit since I’ve been in practice, since I worked for the government.” Stephan explained, sounding more scattered than the rest of them.
Juniper looked unbothered, shrugging.
“It doesn’t hurt too bad. It’s not bad enough we need to risk finding a government-aided facility for it. I’m not risking Roger and Eddie because I was dumb enough to travel at night.”
Roger contemplated Stephan's response for a few moments before continuing, though he still sounded a bit hesitant about it.
"Dr. Rose has the stuff to treat it in his labs. He's patched me up several times."
Eddie huffed and leaned toward Roger, still a little scruffy from his sleep, but awake enough to scold Roger.
"We are not going back there. I mean you said it yourself, they want your head, and they're gonna brainwash me again, and God knows what they'll do to everyone else."
Roger raises a mischievous eyebrow and finishes Eddie's already completed sentence, "…If we get caught, that is."
Stephan never got the chance to reply as Juniper shook her head violently.
“No! No! We’re not risking that! We’re trying to get away from those people! I’m sure we could find… something out here! Maybe a used one?! You know, there’s bodies everywhere right here-“
“It’s not sanitary.” Stephan interrupted. He looked to Atlas, who looked a little more than disgruntled. Juniper looked to Astrid.
“It’s not worth it! Right Astrid?! We’re trying to keep your brother safe. Which means away from the bad guys who want to wipe his mind! Same with Eddie! I don’t need an arm anyways, I hardly use this one! I’ll be fine!” Juniper cracked a nervous smile, it was obvious she was a little panicked about the whole situation. She usually didn’t show so much emotion but it was rioting across her eyes and expression like a flash flood. In her defense, it had been a long, rough few days. She had been injured by a creature, made two new friends, lost one of them right away, returned to her cousin and his flirty not boyfriend, gained two new acquaintances she hoped would be friends, and was now being told she could heal if they went to a government facility when they were practically wanted criminals already.
This was not going well.
Roger held up two defensive hands, tilting his head forwards and slightly to the left.
"We don't all have to go inside. Juniper, Astrid, and Atlas can stay behind where it's safe while the rest of us go in. Eddie and I can be the distractions and defense while Stephan gathers what he needs."
Eddie stands up to begin pacing, his breathing growing heavy as he tries to find a way to argue with Roger.
Astrid herself was struggling to make sense of the situation. She knew that the people in that wretched building were violent and killed without question, but she didn't want Juniper to suffer from the wound. She wanted to remind herself that Roger appears plenty capable of getting through the building unscathed, but Roger also was kidnapped, brainwashed, and experimented on, so he actually hasn't gone through the building unscathed.
She shook her head in protest of her own internal debate.
Atlas’s eyes narrowed in thought. He stared at Eddie for a moment before he tilted his head and sighed.
“There’s got to be some sort of rebel group or what not that’s collected some of the items we need, right?” He glanced over the wall of rotting flesh and chewed on his lip. He was obviously thinking over something very hard.
Juniper looked grieved. She shook her head again and puffed out her cheeks in frustration.
“We can find some other way. I won’t let you guys risk your freedom and lives for me. It’s not right…” Juniper shook her head, pointing out towards the practical wastelands. “We should just keep going. Maybe we’ll find some supplies or something?! We could try getting past the radioactive pits. I’ve heard there might be plant life. How does that sound instead? I don’t need anything really.”
Stephan ignored her words, looking at Roger in curiosity. “I wonder, did they ever find the technology to regenerate tissue cells in the place they held you and Eddie at? Does Dr Rose have that kind of technology? I haven’t seen it but I’ve heard so much about it. Does it even exist?”
Roger's eyes reached the dusty ground at his feet as he shrugs his shoulders. He wasn't given nearly as many permissions as anyone else, and never got access to any potentially important information.
"I'm not sure, I-"
"They did."
Roger's eyes perked up as he turns in the direction of the voice, Eddie, who looked more than disconcerted as his face tensed up, avoiding any eye contact.
"It's true that Dr. Rose valued me the most. Because I was a subject to more experiments than one."
Roger furrowed a brow, realizing how little he actually knew about Eddie's personal experiences. Eddie stood up, leaning down to grab a piece of scrap metal from the ground, rolling up his sleeve.
"Now I know that if I hadn't withstood the kinds of things he tested on me, he would have easily found someone else to experiment on, and it probably would have been Roger."
Astrid lifted a hand to her mouth as she watches Eddie tear into the skin of his arm with the metal scrap, blood and other liquids dripping out, and mechanical parts revealing themselves as the skin rips away.
"I wasn't doing it to protect Roger, don't try thinking of me as some sort of hero. I didn't want Dr. Rose to favor Roger, so I let him use me to maintain my status."
Just as the flesh began to rip and tear, within seconds, his arm was back to normal as if Eddie hadn't even touched it in the first place.
"I wasn't allowed to say anything because Dr. Rose knew his intentions would be questioned by the general public if he started breeding bulletproof armies, so he did it in secret."
Juniper’s eyes widened at the wound. Would she get something like that? Or would her’s be a one time only thing?
While the rest of the group seemed horrified by the new information, Stephan looked absolutely enchanted.
He made his way over to Eddie to inspect the site; though he didn’t touch Eddie. He didn’t want the other to feel uncomfortable after all.
“That’s incredible…” he muttered, his eyes going wide. “I wasn’t a high-level doctor myself but I was smarter than they thought I was. I could piece together enough to know what they were trying to do but to see it right before my eyes… incredible.” Stephan looked up at Eddie then to Roger. “I worked for a government genetics lab before I learned of what my inventions and findings were going to be used for… so please forgive me for being so fascinated by what they have done to you. I spent my entire career trying to do just this.”
Atlas gave Stephan a warning glare, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Maybe it would be best to not tell others of your past employment. Most people we’ll meet have a lot against the companies you worked for Stephan. Eddie and Roger here have all the right to hate you for working there.” Atlas explained softly, looking up to Eddie and Roger. “But Stephan means no harm. He’s naive, wanted to help the world. He quit the second he realized his research was used in models that kill and harm.”
Stephan shook his head.
“It’s better they know. Best to get it out there. It’ll be worse if I break trust. And as for quitting, it wasn’t all because of that. I did find things I wasn’t supposed to. I was only a K-Level physician and scientist. I worked hands on with the human experiments but I didn’t know what they were being trained for. My job was to doctor them and examine their genetic codes for any abnormalities. They never told me what happened to subjects that moved on from my skill level.”
Roger shook his head as he listened to Stephan and Atlas. He had no idea how many people actually went through the same thing he and his siblings went through, and somehow, it was comforting. Astrid felt the same comfort; now she knew she wasn't crazy for believing that the same people that took Roger are the ones that tore apart her family.
"You have nothing to worry about," Roger began as Eddie smirked at Stephan's amazement. He did appreciate the awe Stephan felt about this particular feature of him, even if it came from something traumatic. Roger continued, "You're in the same boat as our parents; both my mom and dad worked for the organization. They were highly respected and valued, and their contributions were greatly appreciated, but the moment they found out what Dr. Rose's plans were, they opposed the ideas and tried to discourage them from ever happening. The organization took that as a threat, so they-" Roger paused, suddenly feeling the air change as he looked over at Astrid, who was tearing up.
She couldn't help herself as her breath started to quicken, her eyes widening, fixated on nothing in particular, and a panicked expression beginning to show itself.
Roger froze, unable to figure out how he could help what Astrid was going through.
Stephan nodded gently along to the words, his eyes still fixated on the practically healed wound. It was amazing to him. And yet horrific. Such young people were losing their lives and others their sense of identity. Stephan could hardly believe his work had led to this. All the amazing and strange human-machine hybrids he worked with must have all had the same fate. At least his small group of subjects were still aware. They were only missing their memories.
His head snapped up when Roger fell quiet, looking to Astrid with a pained expression. He wasn’t good with the mental wounds…
Juniper sprung to Astrid’s side, taking her hands in her own and cooing softly at her friend. “Hey, focus on me for a moment, breath with me. It’s going to be okay. I’m right here.”
For a few moments, Astrid didn't respond. She repeated the same motions as her eyes darted everywhere. She wasn't sure why now she began getting flashbacks, but they came anyway without warning. Maybe it was the involuntary reminder of her parent's brutal murder, maybe it was the fact that the same people kidnapped and experimented on her older brother, and the same people killed her younger brother. Maybe it was the thought that she's the last person in her family to become a victim to this organization.
Astrid's eyes, though wide, somehow managed to fixate on Juniper's as she started leaning slightly back and forth, the fear still evident in her eyes, she attempted deeper breaths as she squeezed Juniper's hands. After a few moments, Astrid nodded silently, her breathing beginning to slow as she swallowed the lump in her throat.
She blinked slowly, eyes falling to her boots as she brought her knees up to her chest in an attempt to hide her face.
"I'm-I'm sorry, I'm okay now."
Roger's face appeared hardened as he gazed at Astrid with an ever-growing supply of guilt. He knew he was supposed to help, but he hasn't taken care of Astrid in the way that Jessie and his parents knew how, and now he's the only family she has left, and he can't even help her when she needs it.
Juniper continued her soft coo’s and words. Though she didn’t know how to help, and had troubles before, she tried her best to do something for Astrid. After all, Astrid had given her so much already.
“Don’t apologize.” She murmured once Astrid had calmed, giving her hands a soft squeeze. “You’ve been through a lot. All of us have. We’ll get through this together, panic attacks and all.” She promised, though she hardly believed her own words. Getting through any of it was pretty much a gamble at this point. But they had to try. There was no point if they didn’t try.
Stephan walked over and offered Astrid a water, smiling softly at her. “I’m not good with the mental stuff, so I can’t offer more than just an ear and a water but I can promise you that we won’t let you lose what you do still have: your brother Roger and your life.”
Astrid graciously took the water, still quiet as she nodded, eyes avoiding any sort of contact with anyone. Roger didn't want to cut the situation short, so he stood silent, but Eddie knew they had to keep moving.
"I know where to find the stuff for Juniper's arm. They haven't begun mass production with it yet, so they should have a shit ton in storage. Obviously, we'll only need a little bit."
Roger looks over at Eddie, his own doubts finally creeping up.
"Are you sure you want to do this? Considering the risk we're going to take?" He questioned Eddie, voice a bit hushed.
Eddie nodded firmly, straightening his back to appear slightly taller.
"Of course I am. I'm their strongest asset anyway, so no one could overpower me."
Juniper remained focused on Astrid, sitting quietly next to her as she drank. She didn’t add her own opinion. It was obvious they were going to try regardless if she wanted it or not.
It was Stephan who spoke up, shaking his head slightly. “You might be their strongest asset but you have to remember they don’t see you as an equal. I’m sure they have something that could take down even you, Eddie. They fear what’s stronger than them so they create ways to be more powerful even if it’s not physically or mentally. Be careful.” He murmured, looking to Roger next.
“I don’t want any of us to be harmed or in too much danger. Don’t forget we’re all trying to survive here, that means you both have to make it back with me.”
Eddie nodded slightly at Stephan, blinking slowly and looking to the ground.
"I know, they're relentless." He muttered as Stephan continued at him and Roger.
Roger responded with an affirmative nod as he rolled up the sheet Astrid used to sleep on and stuffed it into the pack.
"Of course, I'm not leaving Astrid alone." Though he realized even if something did happen, Astrid would still have Juniper, Roger would still feel an immense amount of guilt leaving her to be the last family member to survive.
Roger gazed at Eddie, waiting for a response to Stephan. Eddie noticed Roger's glare and nodded half-heartedly.
"Yeah, don't worry," Eddie muttered as he began to step away, only for Roger to grab his wrist and stop him.
"Promise me you won't do anything stupid."
Eddie felt small as Roger, already towering over Eddie, stared him down. Eddie wanted to feel threatened by Roger, but all he could feel was Roger caring about Eddie.
"I promise."
Eddie almost whispered out, his voice suddenly escaping him as Roger nods and lets him go.
Atlas snorted softly as Stephan happily accepted the responses and returned to his side. Stephan tilted his head at his long-time friend and shrugged off the teasing comments of ‘what happened to the Stephan that wouldn’t go outside for anyone?’
Juniper glanced between Roger and Eddie, something nagging at her that something wasn’t quite okay with the way Eddie had responded. She had been around a lot of the hopeless and had even witnessed suicide on multiple occasions but that didn’t mean she was any good at recognizing those type of emotions.
“Jesse would want you to keep going.” She said softly to Eddie, avoiding his eyes. “Thank you. For doing this for me, though. I’ll be in your debt for a bit after.”
Eddie turned toward Juniper when she said Jesse's name. For a few moments, everything inside Eddie froze. He became so stiff it looked like he forgot to breathe but after a short moment, he finally looked away, rubbing his face roughly as he sniffed.
"No need to thank me. I'm doing this for my sake."
Astrid blinked as she listened to Eddie.
"He would want you to accept who you really are, too." She called to him, causing him to look over at her, "Accept the gratitude, Eddie. Don't pretend to be selfish. You're allowed to be a good person."
Juniper nodded fervently along with Astrid, watching him with careful eyes.
“It’s true. There’s really no benefit to helping me. I don’t contribute much to this group. I can’t fight, I’m not smart, I don’t know any medical stuff. I’ve just been a survivor. You’re allowed to do things just to do them, or to be selfless or a good person for once. You do deserve it. Nothing that has happened to you was your fault.”
Atlas turned his eyes in Juniper, giving her a warning glare that went ignored.
“You can do what you’d like.”
(ᵒᵐᵍ ᶦ ʰᵃᵛᵉⁿ'ᵗ ʳᵉˢᵖᵒⁿᵈᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵗʰᶦˢ ʳᵖ ˢᶦⁿᶜᵉ ˡᵃˢᵗ ʸᵉᵃʳ ʰᵃʰᵃ)
Eddie closed his eyes, hoping to stop the tears as he clenched his fist and jaw, furrowing his brow. A clear sense of overwhelmed emotion came over him as he exhaled like he had been holding his breath.
"I will do what's necessary to bring them down. They deserve to pay for what they did to Jesse."
Roger vaguely shook his head as he looked away from the rest of the group, taking a few steps to calm down.
Astrid, inherently choosing to ignore the tension in the air, turned back to Juniper.
"We will get your arm fixed up, I'm sure of it."
( 😂 😂 😂 Long time no see, huh? Since December of last year XD oh lord)
Stephan gently moved to place a hand on Eddie’s arm, trying to soothe the complex emotions that tried to show all at once.
“Let’s make sure we have everything before we keep going, yeah?” Stephan murmured. Hopefully a distraction would help lesson the tension a little bit.
Juniper looked to Astrid and smiled. She dropped her head, unsure of how to respond exactly. It felt… strange to be with a group that would go a little beyond safety to help her.
“Thank you…”
Eddie nodded shakily as he followed Stephan, chewing the inside of his cheek. He could tell everyone was reading him like a book, and it bothered him, being so used to having no emotions to read, with everyone around him being able to understand him was unfamiliar and slightly uncomfortable.
Astrid smiled as she stood up to walk circles around their camp. It wasn't exactly a morning walk, but there was no way she'd go too far from her friends, especially when she's not familiar with the area, and with how absentminded she often becomes, she wouldn't be able to remember where she came from. Walking in a small circle should be fine for now.
Roger assisted Stephan and Eddie in gathering their things as he began mapping out the plan.
"Eddie hasn't done anything directly against the organization that they know of yet, so they'll let him in no problem. He can bring Stephan and me in and act like he's going to take us in as captives, but we'll make a detour and head to storage which is right next to the holding rooms."
"How am I supposed to walk you guys back out?" Eddie interrupted, furrowing a brow.
Roger grinned at Eddie, clear cockiness in his response.
"There's a back door that leads outside in the storage room. I used it a lot when you told me to get lost."
"Oh," Eddie began, unable to finish.
"Anyway, once we find the stuff, we'll head out through the back door. It's basically considered obsolete so it's not monitored."
Juniper smiled as Astrid walked around the camp, watching her with a soft sigh. It took her a moment to stand, the dull ache set in her burns made it hard to get the motivation to move around.
She pulled herself up to a standing position and stretched herself out. She listened in on the plan, tilting her head curiously.
“That does seem like it would work. But what if they insist someone else take them to the holding cell? Do they trust you a lot, Eddie?” Juniper asked softly, looking to her cousin before back at Roger and Eddie.
(Sorry for my short response! Getting ready for school and hopefully a new job.)
( omg new job:OOO nICE also babe dont even worry! ur response isnt even short it's just that my response was extra long LOL i just needed to get to plannin some stuff ya know)
Roger chuckled a bit at Juniper's question, earning an elbow to the back from Eddie.
"They rely on me. I built up a huge reputation with them. Seeing me walk in with Roger, about to snitch on him was just a normal day for them."
Roger nods with a shit-eating grin on his face, knowing he often did bad things just to make Eddie feel better about himself, but he'd never tell Eddie that.
"Juniper's right, though. If they question it for even a second, you have to be good at lying. You have to manipulate the people that have manipulated you for years. Can you do that?"
(I get that!! You did really good! I love your responses. I’m just getting a little busy is all. Its a new semester and all. It’ll calm down hopefully.)
Juniper nodded along as she listened, smiling softly at the playful words they spoke to each other.
They got along better than they probably even knew.
“I see. That’s perfect for our plan then. We could probably get more than just medical items from the storage while we’re there. Especially if the back door isn’t monitored. Astrid, Atlas and I can wait by the back door and pack things into whatever bag we can find. Weapons, if kept there, would be good.
( I believe in you ! Don't forget to take breaks haha)
"Sounds good," Roger began, looking around at everyone and landing on Eddie. "Eddie, I need you to lie to me. Convince me that you're telling the truth."
With that, Eddie's eyes darkened, a sly smirk spread across his face as he reeled back and punched Roger clean in the jaw, sending Roger tumbling a few steps away. Astrid cried out to Roger as he barely caught himself on his knees.
"I've been waiting for so long to do that." He murmurs, his voice drastically different; it sounded cold. "Now that I've got footage of you conspiring against us, I'll be showing this to Captain to finally have you executed."
Roger managed to pick himself back up as he looked at Eddie, genuine shock in his face.
"I always knew you were stupid, but I didn't think you'd actually believe that I'd team up with you? Against Dr. Rose?"
Roger was silent as he stared at Eddie, trying to read him.
"Okay, that was pretty good, but was the punch really necessary?"
Eddie's face suddenly reverted back to normal as he grinned, eyes soft and voice warmer.
"I figured it would help play into the fact that I'm supposed to turn you in. You wouldn't go down without a fight."
(Thank you!!! I’m trying my best!)
Juniper instantly went into defense mode the second she saw the punch. It felt like every nerve in her body was suddenly activated all at once, leaving her looking like a frightened and vicious animal. Atlas hurried over to take a hold of Juniper’s arms.
“Relax, it’s all an act.” He murmured to her. Stephan only watched in awe at the stunt, grinning stupidly.
“Holy hell Eddie! You’ll have us in for sure!” Stephan brightened up considerably, gently tugging on Roger’s sleeve to get him to show him the place he had been punched. “The punch was probably necessary, but once we get what we need and are away from the compound, I’ll give you something for the bruise. And don’t tell me not to. As long as we are out of city and safety bounds, you all will be treated. We can’t afford injuries in our company. So nothing reckless, you got it?” He chastised, looking from Roger to Eddie to Juniper.
Eddie gave Stephan a nervous smile as he straightened up his back, feeling a sense of pride. He started looking much better from earlier as they began to set off toward the building. Though excited, Eddie still felt a sense of nervousness.
"Don't worry, Eddie." Roger could tell that Eddie was still unsure from Eddie's silence, "You said it yourself, those people rely on you. It's their strongest asset that'll be their downfall. It's what they deserve."
Eddie nodded as Roger gazed at Stephan, making sure he was prepared for what's about to happen as well.
“It is what they deserve. They all deserve a downfall.” Juniper growled, moving to the edge of the wall and glancing over it.
As far as she could see it was all broken and rundown buildings for a few blocks before it turned into wasteland and continued like that for miles.
“We still have a bit to go, though. Where is this place you guys are talking about?” She asked softly, looking over at Stephan for a moment before her eyes drifted to Roger.
Roger returned Juniper's gaze with slow blinks before reverting back to his shifty eyes as they walked.
"It's one of the taller buildings, but the storage and holding cells are just on the first floor. The rest of the floors are used for experiments, training, offices, and some sort of dorms for the guards. Since their memories were wiped, they didn't have a home to go to, so we all just lived in the building."
Eddie nodded as if Roger's explanation needed second confirmation. "There's a basement too, but I've never been down there. I think it's just a parking garage."
“Parking garage huh…?” Juniper bit her lip, her brain whirring over a few ideas. She hadn’t really hotwired anything too complicated but she had been able to get an old van started up.
Maybe a car or vehicle would be easy to attain. Maybe not. It was hard to keep safe in a vehicle at night. Even harder to keep good storage safe from the creatures and wild dogs in one.
“Let’s focus on the storage room. It’s our best bet, right?”
Atlas huffed lightly, poking at one of the bodies with a disgusted expression.
“It’s the only bet we got at the moment. Best to take it.”
