We Live Forever

Chapter 30: Mating Season

Crimson's POV:

The screaming continues. The gunfire continues. 

The soldier starts to actually shake a little.

What is going on out there?

It goes on for several minutes.

Several minutes of screams and gunfire.

The door suddenly burst open. The soldier leaped out of his skin and then fired at the door, hitting the door frame. Another soldier - whose uniform was coated in several blood splatters - rushed into the run and grabbed his rifle.

"Jesus, Den you tryin' to take my head off!?"

Den quickly shook his head and the other soldier gave him his gun back. The other soldier gestured toward me and held up an elaborate set of chains. 

"What's the safeword?" I jokingly asked. 

"Code blue," The soldier replied with a surprised laugh.

They started to chain up my arms and legs and attach the two sets of chains together when Den questioned:

"What's all this for Cortes?"

"Trask wants to use Mrs. McCoy to stop the code blue"

"Clever bastard"

"Unethical, but clever"

The two of them grabbed my arms and pulled me out of the room. The walls and floors of the hallways were stained with blood and littered with bodies. The bodies had literally been ripped apart. Limps were removed from bodies. Torn-up organs slipped out of stomachs. It was a brutal, horrific blood bath. 

A sickening thought entered my mind when I looked at the damage. 

"It's my husband isn't it?"

Cortes sighed and for a second I thought he wouldn't answer.

"Yes ma'am. But he's not fully in control. Trask said he thinks your boy has "gone feral". His... ah animal instincts are blinding him and making him-"

"Slaughter an army," Den interjected.

"-protect his "mate". That's why we're bringing you. Maybe if he sees you're safe then he'll calm down"

"No pressure," Den teased.

We finally turned a corner and caught up to everyone else. Dozens of soldiers had fanned out in a semicircle around Hank in his beast form. All of the soldiers had opened fire and thousands of shell casings littered the floor. The area reeked of blood and gunpowder, a combination I was starting to be too familiar with. 

Trask stood behind another group of heavily armed soldiers. He looked between them to watch Hank. He noticed me and pointed to Hank, he said something as well, but it was impossible to hear anything over the gunfire. 

Den and Cortes pulled to the semi-circle of soldiers who shifted to make way for us. Hank suddenly looked at the movement of the soldiers, now seeing me. His eyes got softer and he stopped fighting for just a second.

One second was long enough.

"NOW!"

The soldiers all lunged at Hank, some pulling out syringes of some mysterious substance. Some of them had ropes and chains, one of them had something made of leather. 

To protect me from the commotion Den and Cortes turned and formed a sort of cocoon around me. They were shielding me with their whole bodies. 

When the noise quieted down Den and Cortes moved away and I could see Hank again. He was covered in ropes and chains. His body parts were tied together forcing him essentially into a ball. Someone had even put a muzzle on him. 

"Sorry, mating season's over," Another soldier jested looking between me and Hank.

I didn't respond to him, so he tried again.

"What'd you do to put him in heat? Huh, did you flash him your ti-"

"There's no need for that," Cortes interjected getting right up in the guy's face. 

"What's got you standing up for these freaks? Did that blue bitch hypnotize you with her pussy?"

Cortes pulled out his gun and pressed the tip of it on the crotch of the other guy's pants.

"It's called humanity, ever heard of it?"

"Fuck off Cortes"

Den lunged forward, but Cortes stopped him and took his gun off the guy's dick.

"Don't bother Den he ain't worth it"

Den and Cortes grabbed my chains again and pulled me away from that whole situation. We moved back through the destroyed hallways full of bodies. 

"You okay kid?" Cortes asked me randomly.

"You do know I'm like 200 years old, right?" I replied laughing.

Den started laughing and took a few attempts to respond. Eventually, he managed to ask his question:

"So you're a milf then?"

"DEN!" Cortes said in a state of shock.

"What?" Den replied innocently.

"We just saw her husband kill dozens of heavily armed men and now you wanna hit on her?"

"Dying for a milf would be a very noble way to go out!"

Before Cortes could lose his mind again, I answered the question.

"I have an adoptive son, but he's in his late twenties now. I'm very lucky I got to skip the diaper phase!"

"And the crying!" Cortes chimed in.

"I wouldn't say that! He gets very into it when we watch Boy Meets World!"

"Don't we all!" Den added.

We arrived back at the door to the cell and I was actually kind of disappointed. Although the circumstances were less than ideal, I did enjoy the conversation. I like Den and Cortes and they are certainly a breath of fresh air compared to the other soldiers. 

They led me inside and took off the other set of chains. After a brief second of freedom, they continued on to re-chain me to the wall. They started to leave, but I quickly reached out and grabbed Cortes' hand. Cortes and Den turned around with sad and confused smiles. 

"Why are you supportive? Everyone else here acts like we're monsters and treats us like they want to kill us. You guys treat me like an equal. Why?"

Den looked to Cortes for a moment. Cortes paused to think for a moment before kneeling down in front of me. He still had my hand in his.

"I know what it's like to experience that. To be hated and seen as less because of who you are. People want me dead because of who I love. On that level, we are the same. People shouldn't be hated or treated any differently because of who they are." 

"And I grew up seeing what people would do or say to him just because he liked other guys. I can't hate people for who they are, it's inhumane and kinda doesn't even make sense.  Why do people think they're better because of factors no one has control over? Race, gender, sexuality, mutation or lack of mutation, it doesn't matter. We're all the same on the inside."

Once they had both finished Cortes gave my hand a gentle squeeze and they left the room.

Author's Note:

WE LOVE DEN AND CORTES

I outlined the next 11 chapters yesterday and you guys are really in for some pain later one, so prepare yourselves. 

Not just pain though ;)