Take Me Home

Infinity

Every moment we are together we are in mortal peril.

She wants us apart, Nick. She wants to keep us apart as long as she can.

Nick sat thinking as he watched Brian at the controls, his brow furrowed. He knew Brian was lying to him about a lot of things. Rather, hiding information from him. There was so many questions he had but all Brian did was tiptoe around them and avoid answering.

We are in danger.

The words echoed and left as fast as they came, making his head throb each time they appeared. In danger from what? Nick knew he and Brian had powers but didn't understand them at all. Brian was supposed to teach him but all they'd done since he woke up was run away. All he wanted to do was go home and it made him anxious. Would they ever get home?

Where was home? What did Sienna want with him?

Brian was acting funny. Someone was obviously trying to find them. That night, Brian landed the ship in a forest away from the spaceport. He said they'd continue in the morning but Nick couldn't get himself to sleep for some reason. Something bothered him. There were two things he knew.. Earth had been attacked and Brian had taken him away, but was Brian safe? Nick didn't know who to believe.  

He wanted to go home and would do anything to make this happen. Even if it meant on his own.

Brian woke up the next morning, feeling refreshed but uneasy. Uneasy because he knew something was off.. He felt no connection to Nick which was his first clue.

“Nick?” he called out to an empty ship, wandering to the sleeping quarters. He couldn't believe it but Nick was nowhere to be found.

Goddamn him… he couldn't leave well enough alone.

Well, it's your fault he left. You shouldn't have held information from him.

Brian silently cursed at himself, wondering how Nick could be so stupid and careless knowing that they were in danger. Not as much danger as he had told him, but danger nonetheless. Nick was out there on his own with no idea how much trouble he was currently in. He had to find him.

Time was running out.

Nick wandered through the dense forest, wiping sweat off his face and sighing. He'd been walking for what seemed like hours and the sun was beginning to come up. He knew they were on Earth, but exactly where he hadn't a clue. Everything was so strange to him. After another half hour of walking, he was surprised to see concrete under his feet. It was as if they hadn't been in a forest, just an abandoned area that was overgrown.

Taking a few steps, he was met with a few buildings that were either knocked over or crumbling, had been overtaken by plants over time. The place was deserted with the exception of some animal sounds. It was eerily quiet.

“What is this place?”

Nick hadn't meant to speak out loud but as he walked there was more evidence of human life that had at one time lived here. Broken toys, empty food containers littered the ground. Papers covered in dirt and plants growing from under them.

The further he walked, the more disconnected and alone he felt, he hadn't been alone since the coma. It was a odd feeling and he wasn't sure he liked it because he had no memories of Earth at all, the last thing he remembered was running away and Brian grabbing him to pull him into the ship to escape. What were they running from? It looked like the war certainly had left its mark on this place, wherever it was. Decrepit buildings surrounded him, and Nick wasn't sure how some of them were still standing. Uneasiness washed over him as he trudged forward, hoping to God that he wasn't the only human being around.

“Nick!!!” Brian screamed, at the door of the ship. A bird call answered him in reply and he growled, heading back inside. The first morning light was reaching where he had landed the ship in the forest clearing. Now that it was a bit lighter he could begin his search. Nick was definitely gone and not coming back….and Brian felt a complete disconnect. For the first time in two days, he did not feel sick. He hadn't noticed until he was alone what it felt like to be himself again. He could think clearly. Stepping out of the ship, he began to walk east towards the rising sun.

“He is a fucking idiot.” he whispered, annoyed when Nick didn't answer his voice. Brian knew where they were and wondered how long Nick had been walking. He hoped that Kevin gave up trying to communicate with the ship and he would find Nick before his cousin did….because that situation would not be good.

Brian hurriedly threw things into a bag as he prepared for leaving the base where he and Nick were currently. Everyone was running around because there had been rumors of an attack coming any time and Brian knew he had to get out. Sienna would stop at nothing, they'd already been in hiding for a while since the war started. This base was no longer safe.

“Will you be okay where you're going?” Kevin asked in the doorway. Nick was in another room gathering what little belongings he had.

“I know exactly where I'm taking him. We will be fine.”

Kevin stared in surprise.

“You have to keep him safe, it doesn't matter about anything else. But Nick is in the most danger. You have to teach him about his powers…I really don't think running is the best solution.”

“Kevin, I said that we will be fine. I will protect him!” Brian shouted.

“I worry about you. Please look after yourself. Your mind is dangerous when you are like this….if you could just control it-”

“I don't need you to lecture me.”

Brian took the bag and threw it against the wall, growling. His head hurt and he couldn't hear his own thoughts at all. He was feeling everything Kevin felt. The fear of everyone nearby, Nick’s fear….he just wanted to go somewhere he and Nick could be happy. A place where there was not a war. A place that was peaceful and carefree. Where they could live together. Brian hated being an empath. It was physically draining him to the point it was making him sick. Anger was the worst thing for him. Fear and anxiety paralyzed him.

“Brian, please listen to me….”

“I don't need this. We are going away. Far, far away….where nobody can find us.”

Brian just wanted to keep running. Running was better than facing the truth -  the truth that their home was gone. That things would never be the way they were again as long as Sienna looked for them. He had to find Nick before the others did.

Nick took a few more steps into the abandoned street, in awe of what laid out before him. Some sort of civilization used to live here….he could tell because it looked like they'd just left in a hurry and abandoned their belongings.

“Nick?”

Nick’s breath caught in his throat when he heard his name.

“Why did you follow me when you-” he started to say angrily, but when he turned around it wasn't Brian at all. A pair of green eyes stared back. Nick didn't recognize him, but it couldn't mean anything good.

He just hoped he could get out of this.