Opposites Attract

Slow Recovery

"My brother... Well, I should start by saying we aren't siblings. He's my... third cousin... I think. His name is Kayden. When I was a kid, I spent more time with his family than with my dad, though, with the recent bombshell, I can't blame my dad for wanting some time away. He's an only child, just like me, but over the years our bond became more like siblings than anything else.

He's seventeen, a year older than me, and he's at least a foot taller. He was brown hair and brown eyes, and he has this kind of shine in his eye, like a little kid. He's a fisherman, like everyone else, but in his spare time he helps out at the school with the kids. He's dating this girl, Sandy, who I also adore, and last time I saw him he was planning to propose. Who knows, maybe they're even married by now.

I doubt he's missing me too much. Kayden is the type to bury things and never let them out again. I think that's how he got through it when his mother left.

I don't know what's happened to him. I hope he's alive. I don't know what I'd do if he wasn't. He's... Probably the most important person in my life."

Molly broke off, not really knowing how to continue. 

"I'm trying... I'm trying not to think about home. About what could be happening to them, and that I'm here, not trying to stop it. I mean, Jynx is dead. Nothing they have now could be as bad as that was. I feel like I should be there, but I can't. I just... I can't right now."

"We need to be stronger," Jax said, more to himself than to her, "fighting with Jynx was an eye-opener, that's for sure. I've never seen someone with that much magical energy. It's incredible."

"Kayden has that much. I've always been able to sense those things a bit, and he was definitely strong. Is. He is strong."

"How do I compare?" Jax asked absently, messing with his hair.

"Jynx was about... twice as strong as you. And Kayden..." she paused, thinking, "Kayden's around three times as strong."

"That's encouraging," Jax said flatly.

"Yep," she replied.

Mick and Sammy crawled out of their beds, making their way over to sit between Jax and Molly, one on each side so they made a sort of misshapen circle. They practically crawled over, and Molly realized that their legs must be weak as well.

"You two need a plan," Mick said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"And some training," Sammy added, "Because from what I can tell, there's a lot of them, and just the two of you."

"That's true," Molly said, crossing her own arms, "So here are my thoughts on it: there's always that training facility we stayed at before. We're still in a huge rush, but I think we can manage a few weeks of training. If they haven't done anything to the prisoners by now, then they're probably waiting for something. We can train as much as possible and then go back to Kurta. Mick, Sammy, I don't want to worry you, but you need to know the risk here. This is life-threatening. It's likely that one or both of us might not come back."

They both nodded, frowning grimly, their expressions identical. 

"We're aware," Mick replied, "But if you are willing to risk that for this, then we're willing to support you. We've talked with Mom. We all know."

Jax sighed, still not really looking at them.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to anything too extreme. We need to find a way to minimalize the casualties and fighting."

"Fire uses up air, right?"

Molly nodded, her eyes lighting up, "We can knock them out!"

"Exactly."

"Jax, you want to contribute?" Sammy asked sarcastically, and his brother looked up.

"Fine. I'm all for the plan I suppose. I don't have much faith, but it's all we have. Can we leave for the training facility in the morning?"

Molly frowned at his tone, but nodded, "Get started packing."

He left the room without answering, and she sighed as he closed the door.

"I've never met anyone so pessimistic."

"He's always been like that."

"I figured."

---

When they left at around sunset, Jax was still in a foul mood, but he seemed glad to get out of the cramped sickroom. Molly's legs still felt weak, but she could walk, and that was all that mattered. The twins were completely healed, and they stood at their mother's side to see the two travelers off. They exchanged goodbyes, and just like that, they were off. They were silent as they walked, and after barely a mile, Molly's legs began to ache.

She stayed silent, biting her lip as every step sent a jolt through her. Two more miles and she felt her eyes brimming with tears, feeling like the soles of her feet were being stabbed. 

Finally, she stumbled, collapsing with a sob. Jax whipped around, dropping to his knees in front of her as the tears came, sudden and violent.

She managed to choke out, "It hurts," and then she had to cover her mouth to keep herself from crying louder.

"Christ Molly, why didn't you say something earlier?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, we have to keep going. Let's go."

She struggled to her feet, managing a step before she dropped again. He caught her, forcing her to sit down.

"Molly. Calm down. We can stop for now, okay?"

"We need to get to the town. We need..."

"Molly, we weren't going to get there tonight, so don't worry about it."

"Jax, Kayden and Sandy need me. My dad needs me. They need us."

He groaned, getting up.

"Get on my back. I'll carry you."

She was in too much pain to argue, so she climbed on his back and let the sway of his steps lull her to sleep.