Barrage

As Katie’s voice drifts through the darkness, Jason’s fingers suddenly stop on the strings. He can feel the heat in his face and is glad for the dark. He hadn’t intended for anyone to hear him.

But as he feels Katie draw nearer, his embarrassment begins to fade. Her words are soft and soothing. Though their meaning cuts him deep, they also provide a familiar comfort…one that Jason had missed.

He missed her too…he missed their friendship…he missed being able to talk to her about anything…he missed smiling just because she was.

Katie’s insightful message claws at Jason’s walls, her very presence again pulling at him so hard that it almost physically hurt. Her words drove the emotions to the back of his eyes in the form of tears, though he keeps them at bay.

Jason wanted that friendship back…he wanted it so badly, if just to end this horrid battle he had started. They couldn’t go back…they couldn’t fix what had been undone…they couldn’t start up where they had left off…and they could not be more than friends. But just to know there wasn’t a rift there…just to feel any kind of warmth again.

Jason’s guitar is set to the side as Katie speaks, the music forgotten, but the song still being sung through the darkness as the very essence of its meaning hangs in the air.

The arm around Jason’s shoulder drives him further down the path of despair as his soul relentlessly clings to his emotions. Katie’s touch automatically demanded that what he felt be drawn out. He could fight it…he could keep it in if he really wanted to. But that would require allowing his anger to take over. It would require showing hate instead of the sorrow. It would require hardening himself once again, when what he really wanted was to continue feeling this warmth.

Jason’s pulse quickens just a little as he knows what he is about to do. Logic screams at him not to – it will hurt too much. It will just complicate things. But his heart battles back with the yearning to be set free.

Slowly, Jason reaches up and takes Katie’s hand from his shoulder, bringing it back around in front of him. He just holds it…the silence deafening in the large empty room. He stares straight ahead, not daring to turn and look Katie in the eye. His fingers tighten their grip as his hand begins to shake slightly.

Just staring into nothingness, he whispers. “I want to be your friend again too.”

Taking a deep breath, he closes his eyes, slowly, agonizingly pulling away the layers. Like a dam breaking forth with force, so too does a burst of pain with enough pressure that it makes Jason wince, his grasp on Katie’s hand tightening even more.

Gritting his teeth, his heart begins to race, his breath going shallow. Hurt, anger, confusion, frustration…one by one, he painfully releases them. Memories hurl themselves in his direction, intensifying the emotions to a point unbearable. Like water under pressure, it has been building, and now released they have more power than he can easily handle.

For a moment, Jason is almost lost, the feeling so overwhelming, that he can feel himself start to black out. His body’s reflexes kick in, and in an instant his emotions are cut off, hurling him back into a mental realm without the pain.

Gasping, Jason’s eyes fly open and he can feel the bead of sweat run down the side of his face. The darkness of the room envelopes him, comforting him with the knowledge that he could not be seen.

He just sits for several moments, trying to regain his strength. Slowly, his grip on Katie’s hand loosens until he finally lets go. Unable to even think of what he could say, he slips forward off the stage to stands, picking up his guitar to start packing things away.


Carson exits the infirmary, spinning around one last time to throw Misty a wink. Only after the door is shut and he’s out of sight does he lose the mask he’s had on all evening. It takes him several moments to regain the energy to trudge down the hall.

Stopping by his desk he grabs his keys and cell phone before heading out. The evening walk should have been calming, but the cool night breeze seemed to go unfelt.

Reaching his apartment, the stairs seem to take forever to climb. As he enters in the dark, he doesn’t bother turning on the lights. He makes his way into the living room and flops down on the couch. Not really wanting to sleep, his mind creates things for him to do to stay occupied.

Absentmindedly, he flips his cell phone open, cleaning out old messages and cleaning up his contact list. Almost done, he listens to the last message that’s left. He didn’t remember it was there…he didn’t even know when it was from. But Ashlyn’s voice hits him like a kick to the gut. Acting purely on reflex, he flips the phone shut with force and hurls it across the room where it hits the corner of a bookcase, breaking it beyond repair.

Carson leans forward to put his face in his hands as his elbows rest on his knees. He couldn’t take this any longer. Over and over and over again his mind insisted on replaying the rooftop scene. The look in Ashlyn’s eyes…her grip to his hand…the blood… A life he’d loathed he had killed, yet the killing he loathed more. But even worse was the sense that he shouldn’t be feeling this way. He shouldn’t have cared that much. There hadn’t been anything there… he had someone in his life now that had filled the hole in his heart. He shouldn’t be pining over any past with someone who had never even known how to love anyone but herself. And yet…the battle was there.

He wasn’t used to this kind of battle…he wasn’t used to this kind of pressure…this different kind of sorrow. Carson didn’t even recognize it as anything like he’d felt before. It wasn’t just Ashlyn…it was seeing Misty at the brink of death as well. He hadn’t voiced his feelings on that to her, but he felt at fault. He’d told her to go down and stay in her position. He’d put her there, thinking she’d be out of harm’s way. Yet she was the one who had been shot. She would be okay…but she was in pain and Carson couldn’t stand knowing that it was a pain he could have prevented.

Standing up, Carson heads to his bedroom. He had made promises…he had been living a commitment… but sometimes… a man could only take so much.


The ride back to Aerith’s is fairly quiet, and before they know it, Wyatt is pulling his jeep up to the curb. Instead of juts temporarily waiting, he puts his vehicle in park and shuts the engine off. Thinking quietly for a few moments, he finally turns to face Aerith.

“I really had a good time tonight, Aerith…thank you.” Honesty shows in his eyes. “I…I’ve been thinking all evening…and seeing you having fun…seeing your heart through your personality… I’ve seen someone I can trust. And…as someone I can trust, I owe you more than just brush-offs and excuses.”

Wyatt looks away for a second or two, contemplating his next move. He liked Aerith…she was nice…sweet…fun… He couldn’t keep the truth from her any longer. If things went sour with the hearing for TJY, he would vanish off the face of the earth and be put into prison. He didn’t want Aerith to not know where he was, or find out and not have the right story.

He finally looks back over to her. “Aerith…I’m a part of an underground corporation of vigilantes who are at war with lawlessness that government and state law enforcement itself either can’t handle or ignores.” He pauses, letting that bit of information sink in.

“There are man of us…including Laura…Nate…Jamie…Jason...Scott…Katie… and Con only recently got out for personal reasons. That’s how we all know each other…that’s why we all interact the way we do.”

Wyatt looks Aerith in the eye, hoping she believed him…hoping she understood. “After some unfortunate events, our corporation was forced to reveal itself to local law. And as a consequence, there is going to be a hearing next week.” He swallows hard. “At that hearing, everyone who has ever been involved in our vigilante work will either be pardoned…or sent to prison because of what we’ve all done aside from the law.”

He pauses again. “Any action we’ve ever taken has been to help the innocent…to protect those who have been wrongly accused, or who have been attacked by criminals. But in the process, people have gotten hurt…people have died…and the law itself would not look kindly upon those acts.”

Wyatt’s not sure if he’s still holding Aerith’s understanding or not, but he continues. “I’m…I’m telling you this now because if things don’t turn out the way we want at this court hearing, then…well, I don’t even really want to think about it. But I couldn’t just leave you in the dark. I wanted you to know so you could understand and…and trust me.”


Laura isn’t surprised by Nate’s embrace or his kiss, but it still takes her breath away. As he hugs her close, she returns it, burying her face in his chest. He was so warm…so comforting…so protective. Had she finally found her place? She didn’t know…maybe she was afraid to even think about it. But for now…in this moment…she could find nothing but joy when realizing that Nate had chosen her to care for.


Con chuckles and nods. “Yeah, your mom especially keeps an eye on me. I think she’s hoping to steal another glance at us kissing.” He grins at Jamie, reaching over to cradle the side of her face in his hand. His palm is worn and rough from his work, but it still holds a warmth, conveying his feelings despite the calloused surface. “Thank you for loving me, Jamie…I couldn’t have asked for more.”