Nuclear Links

Linked

Aleks lurched up from his bed. He was sweaty and pale, shaking. His breathing was uneven. Frigidly cold hands grasped him. In his half-awake state he couldn't see who, but it didn't really matter. Pushing the person away from him, he curled up into a fetal position. He felt like sobbing. Maybe this was all a dream. Maybe this wasn't real. Maybe this was all caused by a bad trip.

"Aleks?" A voice cooed softly. Nope. It definitely was real. "Leave me alone." Aleks's murmured.

He remembered every detail of yesterday. And he couldn't even look at Jake. They went through some safes with their escort's keycard, an stole a fuckton of money. They then proceeded to go back to the front and shoot everyone in sight... Well, at least Jake did. Aleks didn't recall seeing anyone make it out. The thought itself sent shivers up his spine.

The hands grasped at him again. Aleks slapped them away, and tried to get up from the bed- only to have two strong hands push him down. Alarmed, he attempted to kick at Jake. "No! What the fuck, let me go!" He choked. Tears rolled down his face. He felt like vomiting, and his head felt like it was being split in two. Overall, pretty shitty.

It was dark, but he could make out Jake's face above him. More than anything, he looked annoyed. "Look, Aleks, you can bitch about this all you want- but it happened. Get a hold of yourself." The words came out harsher than he meant. Jake loosened his hold and got up, sitting down on the corner of the bed. Aleks scooted back, getting into a fetal position. He recognized the room. They were back in Canada. "Look..." Jake's voice broke. "I was the same way... When I first started stuff like this. You know that..." Only receiving a blank stare, Jake's heart nearly snapped in two. This wasn't the same Aleks. "... Or, you would have known."

That comment received a bitter stare from the Russian.

"... I can't give you back your memories, Aleks. Sorry." Jake muttered. There was silence. Jake meekly turned to the other, and saw him with his head in his hands. Small sniffles were escaping him. "Y-You... You said that I couldn't have my memories back right away. You said I might commit suicide... Well, the way we're going, it's going to have the same outcome." The words practically dripped with venom, bitterly harsh. Jake turned pale. "It... It'll get better. I promise. Just... Wait. Don't do anything stupid. You'll end up-" "Like you, Jake? I'll end up like you?! What if I don't want to end up like you? What if-" Aleks was cut off mid sentence, for Jake's lips were being pressed against his.

And meanwhile, in a dark office, someone was doing paperwork. The paperwork didn't need to be done right away, of course. In fact, he had the next two months to do it. But he was doing it anyway. Why? He wasn't entirely sure... Hell, he was lying. He knew exactly why. He couldn't get his mind of it, which was resulting in low effort work. He needed a distraction... He couldn't get his mind off Aleks. And this person was Kevin.

Head in his hands, Kevin was massaging his temples. He had a headache, which hurt like a bitch. He looked down at the paperwork. His eyes wandered to the corner of the desk. Plans. They completed their nuclear plans. Through a series of negotiations and under-the-table deals (chemicals, metals, structures, land, etc.), they finally finished. And they had much more of a reason to launch it now.

They obviously took Immortal. That was the only viable answer. Well, that wasn't the only thing they took. Scowling, Kevin poked at the white patch over his eye. It was dried out significantly, and now there was an empty socket. It bothered him way too much. Pushing into the fabric, he felt where the skin began to cave in. A warm essence came from it. He clenched his teeth. He looked stupid- he didn't even look that cool in an eyepatch. He would have to improvise. Maybe cover it with metal later? A fake eye? ... That was for another day.

The constant throbbing in his skull made him feel worse than usual. Kevin's bad mood was continuously getting worse, driving him into a deeper hatred for The Creatures. Suddenly, the door leading to the hallway creaked open, and a nervous looking man peeked in. "Hey, I'm looking for Ste-" "Get out, you have the wrong room. Come here again and I'll shoot you in the kneecaps. Even mention him to me again, and I'll make it worse." The man scurried out, slamming the door behind him. The very thought of Steven made his mouth bitter. After Aleks left, Kevin immedietely turned to Steven. Steven attempted to comfort him, but fell out. He was completely silent for a few days, and got no work done. Then he just... left. Of course, Kevin ended up making a complete bullshit excuse, and they all believed he was just out doing something important. But in reality, their relationship was in shambles, and Kevin constantly felt like he'd been kicked in the balls and shot in the heart. It was distressing, to say the least.