Chapter 13

It was amazing the damage one annoying girl could do to a plan. Everything had been going perfectly so far, the kids were even keeping pretty calm and quiet, despite knowing that something was horribly wrong. However, it only took Tessa walking out of the kitchen to turn a quick, quiet evacuation into a disaster.

"Hal?" She cried as he reached the bottom and guided the kids towards the door. "What are you doing?"

Still guiding the younger kids out, Jimmy barely looked back enough to catch the dark look Lourdes and Hal were both throwing the girl. One from another girl making moves on a guy she liked from the beginning and one from betrayal. However, the young fighter decided he could be petty about her later. He was too busy restraining panic and quietly hurrying the kids who'd frozen in place.

"Clayton made a deal with the Skitters. And you knew about it didn't you?" Hal demanded, taking a threatening step towards her while Lourdes came back to her senses and pushed the last, lingering kids out of the room.

"I w-was going to talk to them about you. Fix it so you could stay." She replied nervously, staring hopefully right into Hal's eyes. For a moment, there was a shy, hopeful nervousness to her. Like she was innocent and a bit vulnerable. Staring back at her, Jimmy couldn't help but remember Ben's face. The looks Ben gave him were really similar and the implications made him kind of excited, but unsure at the same time.

However, it was all gone as quickly as it appeared and turning back to Hal, he saw that her look made no change to his livid face whatsoever.

"Hal, keep going." Mike ordered, gently nudging him back as Jimmy followed the last of the kids to the door. Hal's glared grew darker, but he conceded, backing up and starting to follow.

"They'll never let you leave!" Tessa shouted, her expression immediately changing to desperate and panicked as they ignored her. Seeing that her words had no effect at all, her panic only grew and she whipped her head to up the stairs. "DAD! DAD WAKE UP, THEY'RE LEAVING!"

"Shut up you selfish-"

"Hal, there's no time, go!" Mike snapped, grabbing hold of the furious boy struggling to grab and shut the girl up. However, a great deal of thumping was already coming from upstairs and Hal had to concede to Mike's point and ran.

This is just great! The thought was playing over and over again in Jimmy's head as he ran, grabbing one of the smaller kids at the back of the group by the arm and trying desperately to pull him to safety.

"Move it. I want them all the back!"

"Why haven't the guards reported in? Why aren't they stopping them?"

"Shoot Mike and the older ones. The rest will come right back!"

Crap! "Grab the younger ones and move it!" Jimmy shouted, adrenaline kicking in overtime. They weren't even halfway to the trees yet as the door burst open again to reveal six soldiers, all of them armed and taking aim. And to top it off, he had yet to see any sign of Ben and Rick. They were supposed to have joined up with them by now, where were they?

Seeing the problem just as clearly, Hal and Mike whipped around and opened fire, a move that successfully bought them enough time to get the front half of their group into the forest as the enemy ducked behind cars and a tree. It didn't stop them for long though, within a few seconds they were up and around their cover, deafening everyone around with echoing bangs. The bullets barely missed the duo as they dived to the ground and army rolled in opposite directions, leaving the ammo burying itself or ricocheting off the trees that had been right behind them.

BANG! "ARGH!" Jimmy's breathing hitched as the scream met his ears. At the same time, the boy he'd been dragging collapsed to the ground, letting the young fighter know exactly who got hit. Turning around, he found the boy hitting the ground, crying loudly as his free hand moved to cover his bleeding leg.

Red filled his vision as he looked up, searching for the one responsible. How dare they attack a kid! Who the hell did these good for nothing pieces of scum think they were?

It only took him a second to find the guy responsible. The redhead was the only one not trying to load Mike and Hal with lead and was already taking aim for another kid just about to enter the trees. He was ignoring Jimmy, probably because all he saw was a defenceless kid who'd stop to help another. Big mistake. All he had to do was pull out his gun and...

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"BWAH!" Before he even had a chance to touch the handle, three bullets had already struck home, two in his chest and one in his shoulder, and had him dropping to the ground, dead. And judging from the direction he fell, it only took Jimmy a second to figure out it wasn't Hal and Mike who'd done that job.

"GET THAT KID OUT OF HERE BOY!" Pope's yell echoed throughout the entire area, quickly drawing the attention of the Sanctuary fighters. Another five rounds from the convict had them all moving at once, four men trying desperately to shield themselves from attackers in two directions, an act only made harder when they weren't entirely sure where Pope was. "HOW'S THAT SKITTER DEAL WORKIN FOR YA NOW CLAYTON?" He called snidely, the smirk on his face obvious to all who heard him.

With his would-be victim already taken care of, Jimmy was quick to do as Pope said and scooped the kid into his arms, thankful for the lapse in fire as he continued to run and finally getting safely into the trees and following the trail of kids right to Lourdes.

"I've got one with a bullet wound." He gasped as he came up beside her, puffing heavily. The adrenaline was wearing off now that he couldn't see the farm behind them and with a kid in his arms, he was quickly tiring.

"Place a clean cloth and apply pressure." Lourdes said quickly, digging a handkerchief out of her pocket and placing it in the kid's hand. It wasn't like Jimmy had any to spare. "You have to slow the blood flow. I'll look at the wound as soon as we can stop."

Shakily, the boy placed the scrunched up fabric to the wound and sobbed louder at the pain. However, though he winced at the sound, Jimmy didn't pay any of that much attention at all, opting to watch the thirty odd kids running all around them, making sure they didn't separate from the group. He took special care to watch Matt particularly carefully, considering he was lingering at the back and kept turning back for a sign of his brothers. The brunette had a feeling he might turn and run back at any time. Actually, he was sure of it. After all, he wanted to go back too, for the same reason.

Ben and Rick still hadn't caught up. That could only mean that something went wrong. The two had a quick job and were by far the fastest runners in the entire Second Mass. They should have joined them long ago.

The guards didn't make a sound. Maybe they did their job and ran ahead. Maybe they got a little delayed and had to run around the barn or something, it's possible. There's no reason to assume they got caught in the gun fight. He kept telling himself that over and over again, adding a new, unharmed delay possibility every time he could think of one, but the longer the blond boy was absent, the less his reasoning comforted him.

"Please be ok." He muttered under his breath as he repeated his list of possibilities again only to falter halfway through. He couldn't deny it anymore. Ben had either gotten forced into the fight or had been killed. And both possibilities terrified him. The idea that he'd been taken from them after only just getting him back, that he'd never get to learn more about that shy, gentle, innocent mind of his, possibly the only truly innocent mind left above the age of two...his heart hurt at just the thought of it. He needed Ben.

"Please be ok." He muttered again, this time more desperate, as he slowed down and looked back the way he came. The sounds of gun fire and the screams had only grown fainter, leaving him confident that no one was following them right now, so it was relatively safe to slow down. A good thing for everyone, considering the kids were already running out of steam. But there was still no sign of any of the others either and it only had Jimmy's breathing increase and the pain in his chest growing, a sentiment he seemed to share with Matt and Lourdes. He'd be confused and a little freaked out just how much Ben's absence was hurting him later, but at that moment, he couldn't care less. All he cared about was seeing Ben's face coming out of the bushes, preferably with one of his shy or bright smiles on his face. And when he did finally show up...well, Jimmy was never letting him out of his sight again. At least until they got back to the safety of the school.

Then maybe he'd tie a loud bell to the boy's neck. Just so he could always find him.

...

"What are they still doing up there?" Hal grunted through clenched teeth as he ducked behind another tree and fired blindly at the enemy. He'd had to move a number of times, the altering movements of their four opponents always leaving him vulnerable, and while he'd been reassessing the situation after what had to have been his fifth roll across the ground, he'd found both Ben and Rick still on the balcony, stiff as statues. And as much as he loathed to admit it, there was nothing he could do about it. If he did anything, he'd draw attention to them and have them targeted not only by the Sanctuary fighters, but also possibly Pope. The psychotic convict was no more likely to leave them alone than he was to kneel and declare his undying love to a Skitter.

Not far from him, Mike shot up from behind a car and fired five shots before ducking back down, narrowly avoiding losing his head. He'd seen the boys too. It was the only reason why they hadn't backed into the forest where they could use the terrain to their advantage.

They'd both tried getting the boys' attention, but they were firmly locked on each other and anything longer than a split second risked a bullet between the eyes. And to make it worse, Hal was on his last mag. If this went on much longer...

When this is over, Ben gets a mouth full. Taking a deep breath, he listened in as Pope's shots had them scattering again and threw himself up to shoot again, only to freeze as another bang went off to his side.

"AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!" Mike's scream made his blood run cold. Ignoring the four jumping around the cars and junk in front of him, he whipped around to Mike to find him laying on his side, blood pouring over a hand pressed to his chest. And just beyond him, hidden in the bushes, was Clayton, already adjusting his gun to finish the job.

"NO!" Without the time needed to aim, Hal merely made sure that he wouldn't hit Mike himself before letting loose a stream of bullets.

"Shit." Hal barely heard it as Clayton jerked back into the trees, but he did make sure to here the telltale sounds of a retreat through the shrubbery. Sparing a glance back at the other four to find them all firing randomly after Pope, he crept his way over to Mike as quickly and quietly as he could. However, Clayton's unknown location meant that he could only move so fast, needing to keep his head down and his gun ready, so it took far too long for his taste.

"What the-LOOK OUT!" Tensing at the scream, sure they'd spotted him, Hal immediately rolled behind a pile of junk, the only cover left to him. However... "ARGH!"

"Take him-ARGH!"

"There's the other one!" A series of loud bangs and thumps rang through his head the whole time they were shouting and it was with great confusion that he realised that none of it was due to him or Mike. However, it only took a second for the shouts and cries to fill him with dread. Pope was on his own and judging from the constant stream of vile language suddenly echoing throughout the area, he'd taken a bullet wound. 'There's the other one.' That could only mean one thing.

And sure enough, as he raised his head over the junk, he found Rick making a beeline for Mike at a speed even a gold medallist would be insanely jealous of. Not far behind him, two of the enemy fighters were groaning on the ground, out wide in the open and far from where they'd been gathered, while a third, who'd been aiming for Rick's head, screamed worse than Mike had as Ben ripped his hand away from the trigger and clenched it so tight that he crushed multiple bones, aiming his shotgun over his shoulder an firing blindly at the last guy as he did.

"Ben!" It took all he had not to jump to his feet and run right into the middle of it all as the final fighter ducked and rolled before returning fire. He felt a strange mix of fear, relief and horror as Ben threw his first opponent at the guy and ducked in response, stopping the bullets, but completely uncaring as they buried themselves in his first opponent's shoulder, dangerously close to his neck. Taking advantage of the reprieve as the airborne guy crashed into the gunslinger, the blond jumped back to his feet and followed Rick right to Mike. Hal doing the same.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"ARGH!" Unfortunately before they could get behind cover, three shots went off from within the trees. Two were definitely Pope's, both of them killing the fallen two fighters. Something that was unnecessary and despicable to Hal, considering that they'd been neutralised already and were defenceless. However, the third one struck Rick right in the shoulder and had him plummeting to the ground.

"Rick!" The look on Ben's face reeked of pain as well as fear as he ducked his head right before another shot was taken and narrowly escaped with his life. Reaching the boy, he effortlessly scooped him up into his arms as he ran by and jumped right over the truck, another two bullets ricocheting against the metal and leaving thick dents. With the last two by the house still down, it only left Pope and Clayton firing and he wouldn't put it past either of them to try and take out Ben and Rick.

"Take it easy." Ben muttered as Hal finally reached them, the blond barely paying him any attention as he ripped some of the fabric from his open button up and pressed it to Rick's wound. The look on his face set Hal off into a panic and had him searching for any holes or blood on his clothing too.

"Ben, are you hurt?" He grunted, moving quickly to check physically only for Ben to gently bat him away. From up close, he finally let himself calm a little bit. Physically, Ben was fine. But still...he looked like he was a great deal of pain. There were even tears pooling in his eyes. "What's..."

"Rick's hurt. I feel it." Was his only response, immediately making Hal pale. A connection thing. There was nothing he could do about that. He never even considered this possibility, though considering Ben passed out when the last Skitter he connected to died, he really should have. But then, that was only because...

"Ben, pull your mind back." He said desperately, slowly shaking Ben's shoulder. "Separate your mind from his. You'll stop hurting."

"I can't. He needs me." Ben shook his head before nodding to Rick, his breathing hitching. "The emotional pain too much for him to handle alone. It's so much worse."

It wasn't until then that he remembered why they'd all gathered there in the first place. In all his worry about Ben, he'd completely forgotten about Mike. Cursing his stupidity, he turned back to the senior fighter and felt his heart clench at the sight. It didn't take a doctor to know that he'd lost too much blood. It was pooling all around his torso. And his breathing was far too strained. Considering where his hand was, Hal guessed that the bullet had at least grazed the side of his lung, probably punctured it. Mike was dying.

"F-father?" Rick choked out fearfully, his breathing heavily laboured and his voice thick with grief. Watching him, Hal was amazed as his scared eyes filled and released rivers of tears and even he could tell that they had nothing to do with his wound. Even now, though he didn't know what to expect, the wasn't even on his list of Rick's possible reactions. At Best Hal thought he'd go into shock and stay quiet. Rick really was still more human than he thought. "Please...please get up. We have to go get you h-h-help."

Forcing his eyes open, an action that seemed to require no small amount of effort, Mike stared up at his son and surprised everyone as he smiled.

"I...I didn't think I'd e...ever here you call m-me that again." He mumbled and sobbed, visibly struggling for every word. "You...have no idea h-how h-happy you've m...made me."

"Quiet. Don't talk. Just breathe." Rick sobbed, reaching a shaky hand for his father's free one. "Don't go. Please." His desperation grew with every word.

"I'm s-sorry R-R-Ricky." Mike smiled sadly, squeezing his hand before forcing it up to his son's head and gently brining Rick's forehead down to his, readjusting his arm around Rick's neck. "I...I love y-you Ricky. Never for...get that."

Rick stunned them all as he wrapped his arms around his father's neck and sobbed. It was a heart wrenching sight see. Something that made the happy, albeit small and pained smile on Mike's face look completely out of place.

"W-watch out for him. Please." He forced out, turning struggling eyes to look at the Mason boys, though they lingered a lot longer on Ben. "Please...be there for him..." With that, his eyes slowly close and the last sigh left his lips, his body going limp. He was gone.

"I promise." Ben said quietly, holding back a sob. Rick on the other hand let it all out and screamed wordlessly, pressing his head to his father's again as he cried.

"Rick, we gotta go!" Hal said firmly, placing a hand on the sobbing boy's shoulder only for it to be completely ignored. Frustrated and definitely not having time for this, Hal turned a demanding look to his brother. Pope had either taken off or was out of ammo, he had stopped firing a while ago, and Clayton was still who knew where! Add that to the two guys stumbling out of their hiding place, one of which was still perfectly capable of fighting the last time Hal checked, they really needed to get out of there now!

Seeming to read his mind, Ben shot up and fired seemingly randomly into a clump of bushes, eliciting a panicked scream from the leader of the Seventh as he scrambled away, the gunshots scaring the other two into ducking down again. Then, not wasting a second the last of his bullets had bought them, he scooped up the crying Razorback again and took off into the forest as fast as he could.

Seeing his brother safe in the trees, Hal followed right after, only stopping the fire what was left of his own ammo to blanket the area again. It didn't take long to catch up to Ben, though he wasn't sure if that was because he was carrying Rick or waiting for him. Either way he pushed it, urging Ben to hurry. They had already lost Mike, Pope wouldn't be of anymore help and Clayton still had what looked like Tessa's father and who knew how many of the other adults at Sanctuary he could convince to come after a bunch of kids. Plus, Clayton knew exactly where they were heading and probably knew the forest terrain pretty damn well, not to mention that Skitters could be hanging around anywhere. The gunfire would of alerted however many that might have been watching Clayton's group that things had gone wrong. They were nowhere near out of the woods yet, figuratively or literally.

They had to get back to the school quickly. Hal refused to let them take anyone else. Losing Mike was too much as it was.

AN: To be honest, I don't really like this chapter too much. No matter what I did, it wouldn't come out the way I originally intended or get everything out right and it just came out less than perfect. This was the best I could do with it. I hadn't really planned for such a human Rick revealing himself yet either, but that's how the story evolves on its own accord.

All well, hopefully I'll like the next one better. Oh yeah, thanks for the reviews to those who, you know, took the time to right some. You made my day