Roll away your stone, I'll roll away mine
Together we can see what we will find
Don't leave me alone at this time,
For I'm afraid of what I will discover inside
-Lyrics to 'Roll Away Your Stone' performed by Mumford and Sons
Crimson Bonds Part 43
"My God," John breathed just as the sun was beginning to peek over the Virginian horizon. Standing with his arms loosely hanging at his sides, he stared with the same wide-eyed expression as his brother to the cluster of mansions that they had called home.
Just from the outward appearances, from the smashed out windows of every floor to the three estates to the trampled flower beds, they were chilled by the evidence of a massive invasion left behind by the Hunters who were after them. Through a few of the holes that had been sealed by glass, curtains were blowing outside on the gust that had begun to pick up.
Charles shuddered against a cold that was not actually there and rubbed his arm unconsciously. "Might as well see if they left anything behind," he suggested, though there was a bit of hesitation in his tone that was undeniable. Not that his brother was about to blame him for that.
Though they had not been at the residence for terribly long, the boys still held onto the history of their family's legacy within those walls. Perhaps they had stayed in Sweden longer, but this place was still home to them. Now they silently dreaded what was left of it inside.
After a long silence, John took the initial steps towards the mansion at the far right where he and his immediate family had taken up. Swallowing roughly, his dark-haired bother rushed by behind him as they reached for the handholds of their weapons.
When his weight pressed onto the first step of the front porch, the elder brother froze at the eerie creak that the wooden plank made against the silent background. Nearly jumping from the sound himself, Charles stifled the sharp, anxious laugh that threatened to announce their presence to any potential danger.
Pushing down the last of his trepidation, John summoned his courage and moved on with a much steadier pace, his feet settling down with a firmness behind them. Bringing the staff of his club upward, he slowly pushed back the partially opened front door and headed inside.
The boys entered the living room at nearly the same time as their jaws fell at the sight of torn open floorboards, coded message in red spray paint on the walls and torn apart furniture. Not even Carol's artworks had been spared as they lay in broken heaps wherever they had fallen in their being smashed.
What had begun as shock quickly turned into a boiling rage for the Infected that stared into what had not terribly long ago been a warm and welcoming room for their family. Fists balling, their eyes narrowed as they took in every inch of destruction.
Long gone was the heartache over the sentimentality of their home and the belongings that had been ruined. Now there was only a thirst for even more revenge against the people who had desecrated what had been theirs.
Lowering his long sword, Charles hissed, "Those bastards didn't spare anything."
"Probably to cover all of the bases as much as it was out of anger that no one was here for them," the redheaded Vampire growled. "We better search the rest of the house to make sure that we really are alone before we investigate this mess."
Reclaiming their confidence, they spread out to march through the remainder of the estate to assess the rest of the damage and get a clear idea on where to begin sifting through the remains of all they had known.
* * * * * *
Solo had to admit that he was impressed. He had been certain that the 'water treatment' would have done his little brother in.
Completely submerged inside tall tanks filled with water, the Hybrids had been stripped down to their boxers so that pads could be stuck to their chests, legs and arms for readings as they were occasionally jolted with electricity that was only amplified thanks to the liquid surrounding them.
It was one of the more brutal experiments, but apparently very effective in catching their bodies' responses to outward influences. Berg was always particularly giddy whenever these treatments came up. Everything kicked in at the shockwaves- from simple reflexes to the want to breath even though neither half-breed required air to live.
There were a couple of times that took Duo by surprise and the torture had to come to a brief halt until he stopped coughing at his instinct to gulp when it did more harm than good. However, he never showed any fear or asked for the Mad Doc to stop.
Hence why Solo was so impressed. He had expected his braided twin to crumble long before the old man and his Puppet Master finally decided to call an end to the ordeal. Even when they were removed from the tanks and literally tossed into a small room where their clothes and a pile of towels were waiting, Maxwell never so much as flinched.
'Must just be our kind's natural instinct to survive,' the blonde immortal thought to himself. Of course, there was the escape to a much more pleasant place and time, but that would only help through so much of the pain. 'Or maybe he's refusing to give in because he doesn't want me to think I can best him,' his mind snorted.
Whatever the reason might have truly been, there was no denying that there was more to his brother's nerve than what Solo had initially thought to exist.
Unable to hold back his tongue, Solo waited for his weakened body to collect itself enough to allow him to command it onto his feet as he commented, "Here I thought that you had to hide behind your precious Vampires for their strength all this time. It kills me to admit this, but you held out a hell of a lot better than I thought you would."
Blinking his own violet-and-silver eyes in surprise at the rare words that had actually woven together to forge a compliment of sorts, Duo raised his soaked head to watch his brother stumble over for the towels. He remained on the floor as his entire being trembled in violent convulsions while he stammered, "D-didn't... t-think... you'ddd... n-notice."
At the difficulty that the other Hybrid was having to speak, the blonde turned around to frown deeply at how bad off his counterpart actually was.
Perhaps Maxwell was able to keep up with him in the tanks, but now his inexperience with such cruelty was showing thanks to his slow recovery. Try as he might, he just couldn't uncurl his body that had all but shut down at the moment.
His head looking away for a moment, Solo cursed under his breath and bent at the waist to scoop up the whole lot of towels. Moving to his twin's side, he tossed a few of the offerings over him, huffing, "I guess I spoke too soon. You're a damned sorry sight right about now."
Duo struggled to push himself up, but only managed to do so after a couple of attempts. Pulling the long terry cloth linens around his waterlogged skin, he shivered as the chill was setting into his numbed senses. "T-thanks," he murmured sincerely between his chattering teeth. "I d-didn't think you c-cared."
Carefully sitting on the edge of the lone chair in the room, Solo began to dry himself off as he shrugged, "Yea, well, we were in those tanks for a long time. About the only thing I could do to occupy myself was think." Wringing out his long, blonde hair, he informed, "And I realized that if there is any shot of us getting out of this mess, we're going to have to use each other."
"You mean work as a team," Maxwell challenged, an eyebrow raising and his body relaxing at last. "It sounds a lot better than us-"
His brother cut him off, insisting, "I don't plan on ever seeing your face again once we're freed. Working as a team implies that we've come to an understanding... an appreciation of one another. I still don't see how the hell that'll ever be possible... not after you chose to side with those blood suckers of yours instead of me."
Slowly getting to his feet, Duo tugged the towel around his shoulders all the tighter as he snapped, "Those blood suckers are our family. Mine as well as yours. And considering the state you were in the last time we were together, there was no getting through to you until the very end when we all thought that you were killed."
Drawing a deep breath, he glared at the other Hybrid and went on, "You have no idea what Anna and Hee-"
He stopped himself short, a hitch in his throat blocking the rest of his husband's name. It was all still too painful for them to have been apart for so long and the memories of the striking Original that had consumed him were too difficult to bear.
But he did find a way to swallow roughly and finish in a shouted, "Heero and the others went through after that... and all for your sake!"
Shaking his head, Maxwell's voice cracked in his shouted, "They all cried for you! Midi wasn't able to stop for over a week! Trowa spoke and presided over the service we had in our back yard by the plaque that Heero made from his own hands to serve as a memorial! Wufei and Anna named one of their sons after you! After all was said and done, they still considered you one of their own!"
Taken aback, Solo blinked widely at his brother as those words set in. For the months that they had spent in those cells together, he had never heard from the Vampire, had no idea that there was such a display of emotions over his assumed death. "Why didn't Anna say anything?" he murmured.
Duo continued to bore down on him with narrowed, shimmering eyes as he answered, "Because she doesn't see the need to. Family respects family. It's just the right and natural thing for them to have acted that way, so she would never go on or brag about what comes so easily."
There was a long silence that fell in the room as the blonde Hybrid absorbed everything in. Anna had already demonstrated time and time again how loyal she was to anyone in her blood ties...
...but Solo determined that he was not obligated to share the warm feelings towards their bond.
Losing the bit of contemplation in his expression, he snorted, "Yea, well that doesn't mean we're all going to be sitting around together at Christmas or birthday parties when this is all over so don't go fooling yourself into thinking that."
Quickly standing up once more, Solo's movements much more fluid as he reached the heap of his clothes. Pulling his red T-shirt shirt over his head, he snorted, "Before long, you're going to realize that you're no better than me when it comes to doing whatever it takes to get out of here when the opportunity comes up. You'll want every last one of these bastards holding us to suffer... to burn and die the same way I made happen to the monsters who held me prisoner for the better part of my existence."
Frowning deeply as he had to go about dressing a bit slower than his twin, Duo shuddered.
Vivid images of the base in Antarctica... what had been left of it after the other Hybrid's attack came flooding back.
From the skeletal remains of the hundreds that had worked there to the strewn about framework of the structure that had been cut through without any effort, the memories of those sights remained as chilling as they would have been were he back in their presence.
It was what Maxwell had feared the most, realizing that he could be capable of that level of disregard for life.
Regardless of what he was currently going through, such a consideration could not have been further from his mind. But then, Solo had not started out wishing to kill. He was only a baby, completely innocent of any wrongs until he was pushed too far.
Was there a breaking point that would make him snap? Duo wasn't sure. And that not knowing, that not having a definite 'no' to respond to it, terrified him.
"Anna and those babies of yours are going to be in real danger when she delivers them," Solo pressed, stalking towards his brother when he finished pulling his sneakers as the last piece of his outfit. "What are you going to do when your dear big sister is taken away to be exterminated? Then there's whatever they have planned for the triplets-"
Gritting his teeth, Duo's fangs grew in as he growled, "Stop it. I'm not like you."
A pleased smirk tugging the corner of his mouth, the blonde folded his arms across his chest as he laughed bitterly, "Ha! There it is! You're not like me how? You're suggesting I'm a monster?"
Closing the distance between them until their noses were nearly touching, he sneered, "I have news for you, brother. You are every bit like me. And that other side of you, that Shinigami, that's just a glimpse into how you're every bit the monster I am when you're pushed. You'll see just how far you're willing to take care of yourself and anyone important to you."
Solo stepped back a couple of paces, commenting, "That was what I did in Antarctica. No one was coming for me, so I did what I had to if I wanted to survive. If that makes me a monster, so be it." Glaring back at his stricken twin, he huffed, "I always knew you thought you were better than me."
That last sentiment struck Maxwell hard in the gut. Just when the two seemed to be rolling back the walls a bit, he had gone and potentially ruined any progress by speaking before thinking.
What was the worst of it though was that there was a bit of truth behind it... in the back of his mind, he did consider himself better than Solo in the sense of controlling his powers from lashing out without feeling for what that might do to those on the receiving end of his rage.
But what if he wasn't? What if they were still trapped by the time Anna gave birth to the babies?'
'No!' the braided Hybrid's mind yelled out, breaking him of that train of thought. They would be rescued before that would ever happen. Heero and Wufei were in the process of moving Heaven and Earth to find them at that very moment.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to make some kind of response of the sort, Duo held his tongue at the opening of the door. A tall guard, brandishing his pistol at his side, ordered, "Alright, freaks. Hurry it up, already. Some of us don't have a miserable eternity to just stand around and talk all day."
Thankful that he was at least decent before the interruption, Duo carefully bent down to take up his sneakers and socks. Rather than press his luck and risk having their usher get a happy trigger finger with the collars around their necks, he headed for the door barefoot with Solo right behind.
Flanked by four other Hunters, the brothers walked back to their cells in silence. Obediently returning to their prisons and watching the soldiers leave the holding area, they remained quiet...
...too quiet for Anna's concern as she watched Duo lace up his shoes with a somber expression. Biting her lip, the Infected peered over to her cell block mate to find him equally distracted.
Punching the access code that she had been shown into the wall that separated them, the redhead slipped her arm through the round opening just wide enough for the appendage that appeared. "You should drink, brother," she urged quietly. "The two of you were away for... a pretty long time. Days at least."
Solo hesitated at first, his initial instinct to not deplete an expectant creature of any blood. When he didn't budge from the edge of his bed that he was occupying, the Siren smiled, "It'll be fine. I trust you to only take what you need, which does not look like a lot for you."
Her grin slipping away, Anna turned away to watch Maxwell already in the process of drinking from Celeste's wrist that had been presented to him. Just from the couple of long gulps he had to make, it was evident that whatever had happened to him had taken quite a toll on his body. But he only allowed few eager swallows before retracting his fangs and muttering his appreciation to the Companion.
Much as he wanted to keep his pride in tact by not rushing for any help, Solo climbed back to his feet and loosely held onto the wrist poking into his cell to raise it to his mouth.
Once his fangs grew in to pierce the flesh beneath them, he took a slow sip. At the first drops that filled his mouth, he found himself craving for even more on account of how weakened he actually was.
Fighting his urge for much more than the next two gulps that he allowed, the blonde Hybrid pulled his head back to ensure that he would not be further tempted. His breath coming on in harsh pants, he stared in shock at the redhead. "That's the first time I've ever tasted Vampire blood," he murmured as he caught his breath. Fangs sinking away, he stated, "It's... sweeter than I thought it would be."
Anna slipped her arm back, letting it fall to her side as she shrugged, "Well, mine is a little bit sweeter than usual on account of the hormones, but it's not far off from how it naturally tastes." She tilted her head, adding with a smirk, "You were expecting my kind's blood to be bitter and vile?"
"Something like that," Solo snorted in admission. From the corner of his eye, he noted that Duo was stretched out across his bed and lost to the world of the living. Chewing on the inside of his cheek, the blonde Hybrid met the blue-and-gold eyes set on him as he asked, "Did you really name one of your sons after me?"
Caught by surprise, the Vampire's eyes grew. Recovering, her smile returned as she replied, "Yea. It's about to turn thirteen and he has red hair like mine. He's also full of piss and vinegar..." Laughing at that, she added, "Which I guess is like me, too." [1]
Against his defenses, the corners of the half-breed's lips curled up at that. Clearing his throat that he found to be constricting on him, he shook his head and lost the small grin. "Uh... thanks... for doing that," he all but whispered, not at all sure of the appropriate words to say in response, but expressing gratitude for the honor felt right.
Taking a chance, Anna's smile widened as she reached back into his cell and ruffled the thick locks at the top of his head as their first real contact between them to ever transpire.
It happened so suddenly, so unexpectedly, that Solo actually leaned into her touch for a breath, then realized who was comforting him. Nearly causing his back to audibly snap at his abrupt righting himself, he chided himself for the display of needing some physical reassurance.
"Get some sleep," the Irish Infected suggested, pulling away and sealing off the wall once more. "That blood will only go so far and you look exhausted."
Until she mentioned it, Solo hadn't noticed just how well he had ignored the fatigue that had set in. Whether it was due to the physical strain that he had endured or the emotional turmoil that he had encountered he couldn't tell. But it was most likely a combination of the two.
The time had come to harden himself once again. Like he had told Duo, there would be no family get together or celebrations that he cared to be a part of once the hell that they were in was behind them once again. There was no argument that some agreement would have to be worked out so that the foursome could work together in obtaining their freedom, but that would be the extent of their camaraderie.
Feet dragging along the floor as he returned to his bed, Solo fell onto the mattress and pulled the light blanket over himself as his eyes drifted closed to the world. And he submerged into the cold darkness that had been his only friend for most of his existence.
* * * * * *
Three days and three nights.
It had taken three days and three nights for John and Charles to comb through the mess that the Hunters had left in their wake. But the painfully slow process had paid off. And now they were certain that there was nothing left to be discovered, there was one last grim task they needed to oversee.
Wufei had shown them exactly how to rig the electrical panel of their home to look as though the breakers had failed to work so that it would take the blame for the blaze to follow.
Standing in the middle of the round street of their inlet, the brothers watched as massive tongues of fire spread on the wind to take hold of their Uncles' and Aunt's estates as well... taking with it the destruction that would raise eyebrows.
By law, no one would be able to make an inquiry to the family's whereabouts for another six months, something that Treize and his family were going to make certain to clear with the authorities answering the anonymous tip of the fire. Since the residencies had been paid in full by the Khushrenadas, they would be the ones to make sure that the situation went away without raising any alarms.
Once the roofs of the mansions began to cave, John sniffled as he reached up to rub his misting eyes. Clearing his throat, he urged softly, "Let's go."
Reluctant to turn away, Charles swallowed hard and wiped away a stray tear before following the other Vampire that had reached into the pocket of his jeans for the radio transmitter. Moments later, their father's anxious voice greeted, "Hello?"
Taking a deep breath, the elder son announced quietly, "Dad... we found something."
TBC...
[1] Just in case anyone has not heard the phrase, 'full of piss and vinegar' means full of energy, spirited, rowdy, boisterous.
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