After Infinity War

Part 30

PETER Q

'So how're we getting out of this place then?' Rocket asks, staying close to Groot.
'I am Groot.'
'Oh thats real nice.' He says in response.
'I am Groot.'
'He is brainstorming. You better be brainstorming. I don't want to have said some fancy ass word like brainstorming to find that you're not brainstorming.' Rocket says to me.
'Maybe there is no exit. It doesn't matter.' I say, lying on the grass and staring at the sky.
'Get over yourself Quill. You know what I went through when you all left? Not only did Gamora die, no, my whole god damn family left and I was all alone. You got to realise how much worse this could be.' He says, storming off down the bank.
'I am Groot.' Groot says, standing up and following him.
I sit up a while after they left and look around. I can't see them and I panic, what if they've gone, what if they've found the way out. And I realise that Rocket was right. Losing Gamora destroyed me, but I've still got the rest of them.
'Rocket? Groot?' I shout, standing up and walking in the direction where they wandered off to. I walk for a while, shouting for them, when I come across a house.
It's not exactly a modern one or an old fashioned one but shares odd qualities from both. Thatched roofs with big glass windows. Odd things.
'Hello?' I shout warily. 'Rocket you guys in there?'
'Quill!' A voice shouts from the garden round the back. Suddenly I am on the floor, tackled by Drax, 'You have returned! The others told me you would! Come you need to meet my family!'
'You're family? What are you...' I trail off as I'm pulled round to the garden and find Rocket and Groot sitting with a woman and a child who look to be of Drax's race. 'Your family.' I say under my breathe, completely in shock. I catch eyes with Rocket and he shrugs, surprised as me.
'Drax has told us a lot about you.' His wife says, standing up and putting her hand on my shoulder, 'You are good.'
'Thank you, this is...I'm so glad to meet you.' I say, overwhelmed by how happy I am for Drax. 'This is incredible.'
'Rocket has told me everything of what has happened on Earth and it is terrible. Thanos cannot have won.'
'I hadn't actually finished telling everything.' Rocket says from just behind, fiddling with the grass.
'I am Groot.'
'Yeah, there's kind of...we need to find the way out of here. To get back to Earth. You're stuck in the stone, we need to get you out.'
'Well then let's go!' Drax says, standing high and making his daughter giggle. 'I won't need revenge, but I will fight anyway.'
'That's the thing.' Rocket says, staring at me, 'I don't think you're family can come.'
Drax turns round to stare at Rocket, 'How do you know?'
'Carol told us that these things would mess with us, make it hard for us to leave, potentially. This is going to be hard.'
'I will stay here.' Drax says, holding his daughter to his side, 'You go without me.'
'We can't.' Rocket says, 'we're tied in your world now. We can't go if you don't go.'
'I cannot leave them again.' He says, for the first time in my life I hear fear in his voice.
'Drax, you must go with your friends.' His wife says, moving towards him, 'you will join us one day, but not today. Fight for us.'
'But I can't.' He says, kneeling down to face his daughter.
'It's okay Daddy.' His daughter says, taking his hand, 'I can wait a little longer.'
'So how do we get out?' I ask after a moment.
'The back door. When Thanos came, we were outside and I ran in to get weapons. When I came out Roman stood above their dead bodies. I was gone for seconds. If we go in and come out again, we'll be back.'
'Are you ready?' I ask.
'No. But we must go now.' He let's go of his daughters hand and looks at his wife, 'I will see you again, soon.' He says, and turns to walk through the door. Rocket, Groot and I follow behind him and we all huddle in the hallway of the house, before Drax opens the door again and I fall into an abyss.

I wake gasping, looking round manically, 'Where am...what is...' I see Groot to one side of me and Drax emerging behind me.
'I am Groot?'
'I'm right here, you big idiot.' Rocket says jumping off a table and standing, smiling at us, 'welcome back to Earth.'
'So this is Earth?' I say, looking round.
'Peter?' A woman asks hesitantly, 'Sorry are you Peter?'
'Depends who's asking.' I say, looking her up and down.
'My husband told me about you. Tony. Welcome back.'
'You mean the Iron guy?'
'That's him. Did you...did you see him in the stone?' She asks, concerned.
'No. I'm sorry.'
'It's early days yet.' A woman says from behind her, 'He'll come back.'
'My arm hurts.' Drax says, inspecting it, 'Does it look different to you?'
'It looks fine to me.' I say, watching as Rocket stands, still smiling, and I can't help but smile too.