Last Ones Standing

Chapter One - Corbin

!!TRIGGER WARNING!! BLOOD, KIDNAPPING, DEATH

There was an eerie silence hanging over the basement, the only noise was the quiet splash as water leaked through the wooden ceiling and fell into a puddle in the corner ever few seconds. The air was cold as it nipped at the three sleeping children as they subconsciously brought their blankets up to their chins to keep warm. In the corner, there was Lilith; sleeping against the large pile of rubbish that had been there for years, probably even before Seth took over the school. She was a lot skinnier than she had been when she was thrown into this room alongside her two fathers, but then again, everyone was skinnier. A little to the left of her, there was Corbin and Aiden.

Corbin didn't have a blanket, instead he had given it to his nephew, who had two blankets. Aiden was curled up on the floor, his knees to his chest and his arms around his legs while Corbin had his arms around the younger boy's torso. The two usually slept with this amount of closeness although it was mainly for Corbin's sake; they each lost everyone close to them except for each other. Aiden had been kidnapped from his mother – Elektra – at birth by one of Seth's supporters, but they didn't know that Elektra was having twins, and Leilani was born half an hour later. For the first two years of his life, Aiden had been trapped in this basement and been taken care of by one of Seth's supporters until he was two years old. It was at that point that everyone but Corbin escaped the island, unintentionally leaving Aiden behind because they hadn't even known he existed.

The loud silence was disturbed when the metal door swung open and crashed against the outside wall, and a terrifying thud echoed inside the room before the guard retreated back to the house. The disturbance of peace shook Lilith from her slumber and she immediately sat up to see what was going on. She grabbed the torch that her dad had found in the pile of rubbish on the second day of being here and shone the light at the floor near the door. Her sea green eyes widened as they caught sight of two lumps on the floor. Her fathers were back from the dining hall.

Arnie was lying on his back as he gasped for breath, his dark brown curls were spread behind him as he tried to talk. Oakley – Lilith calls him Papa – was panting, his breaths coming out in puffs as he held a blood-covered hand to his forehead. The girl looked at the two men, debating whether or not she should wake Corbin up so that he could help them, when Corbin suddenly woke up and looked at the two men on the floor curiously. Oakley put one hand on the floor to balance, interlocking his fingers with Arnie's as he shakily stood up and looked at the now-awake children.

"Hey, kids..." he whispered as coaxed his husband off the floor and over to the mossy wall, both men slumping their backs against it and sitting down. Corbin crawled over to them cautiously when he noticed that Arnie's jade eyes were glassy and unfocused as he whimpered. Sweat was coating the man's face as he tucked his knees to his chest and pulled his long brown curls, resting the back of his head against the wall behind him. Oakley bit his lip as he tried not to cry at the sight of his husband looking so helpless and upset. Corbin looked at the two of them with worry written all over his features, and Oakley just sighed and kept his hand on his forehead.

"Papa, what happened to Arnie?" Lilith asked without hesitation, Corbin wanted to warn the girl that he might not want to say, but Oakley just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. The only noises in the quiet room were Arnie's desperate whimpers and shaky breaths, and Aiden's quiet snores as Oakley nodded towards Corbin as if to say it was okay to ask, and Corbin understood. Lilith bit her lip to contain her tears as she placed a hand on Arnie's knee and he didn't even acknowledge her, but Corbin could swear he saw some kind of emotion flash in the man's unfocused eyes, but it was gone as soon as he saw it.

"Arnie just got scared, he'll be okay, Lillie. Seth's son just reminded him of someone in our past," Oakley smiled at the children weakly, but Corbin could tell by Oakley's sapphire eyes that not even he was sure if the man was going to be okay. Oakley reached a hand out and stroked Arnie's hair, and the man's shoulders relaxed at the touch so Oakley brought Arnie's head down to his shoulder, making Arnie's breath shudder. "A very brave man in our past." Arnie seemed to be calming down as he gradually cuddled up and linked Oakley's arm with his own, still shaking and eyes glazed over.