Beyond The Sea Blue Light

You Gotta Hurt Sometimes To Learn To Heal

I swing my legs back and forth, trying—and failing to come up with something to occupy my mind with. There isn't really anything, every time I try to think of something, my thoughts always end up wandering back to Vic. By this point, I know that even if I try to go and look for him, he's long gone. We moved again last night, to a third safe house. This house faces a lake at the edge of the sprawling forest. With every new place we move, the farther and farther away I feel from the Facility and from Vic.

The crunch of tires on gravel startles me as I spring to my feet. Gerard must be back—he left last night to find someone—an information source, he said. Downstairs, a door slams, and I hear someone yell. I instantly freeze, but it's not a yell of fear, but more of one of surprise.

"Rian?" I hear Jack exclaim. At the sound of that, I rush to the edge of the stairs. No, there's no doubt. It's the guard from the Facility, the one that helped Jack, Vic, and Alex plan the escape.

"How did you find us?" Alex asks.

"I did." Gerard follows him in. "He's been looking for us too."

"Where's Vic?" Rian asks, scanning the living room. I see Alex swallow.

"It's complicated," he says. "He didn't make it out with us."

"What?" Rian looks horrified. "Is he—"

"No," Alex covers quickly. "He's alive." He says the word with a strange expression, like it has just dawned on him "Let's just say he's not the same person he was."

Rian visibly relaxes. "Did they do something to him?"

Alex nods. "We think so at least. He's not with us right now—he, uh, went back to them. "

"Went back to them?" Rian echoes. "Why?"

Both of them look up to see me standing on the stairwell, guilt flashing quickly over Alex's face.

"That's why I went to find you," Gerard cuts in. "We think we know why he went back to them and we need to get him back."

"Who is this?" Frank says, coming in from the other room. I glance around, looking for Oli, then realize he must be keeping watch.

"This is Rian," Gerard explains. "He's a friend."

"Can we trust him?" Craig asks. He's leaning against the door frame, eyeing Rian. I wonder if Craig remembers him from the time at the Facility.

"If I wanted the guards to find you, I wouldn't have left the Facility in the first place," Rian snaps. "Not to mention, I wouldn't have helped them plan the escape."

Craig shrugs. "Just wondering," he says. "We can never be too careful. After all, the entire world is after us."

"I mean, he has a point," Frank says, grinning. "But if Gerard trusts him, I think the rest of us can. You know, being a mind reader and all."

"So you can help?" Alex asks eagerly, his eyes lighting up.

Rian nods. "I'll try to at least."

"How would he help?" Craig asks. "What does he know? No offense, but he was just a guard, right?"

"Yes," Gerard says. "But he might know where they've been keeping Vic's family."

---

"After I left the Facility, I wasn't fully able to leave the system," Rian explains. "They moved me around to a few different places, just other places they needed guards or watchmen."

"So do you have any idea where they might be keeping him?" Jack asks. "What about the Facility?"

"Completely destroyed still," Rian responds. "Whatever Vic did worked, it's burned to the ground."

Alex nods, looking thoughtful. "Where else could they be?" he wonders.

"There must be other facilities," Rian says, frustrated. "I looked for them and asked around, but either no one knows, or no one will tell me."

"They must have safe houses, right? What if they are being kept off the radar, not at a facility?"I interject.

"Maybe," Rian looks thoughtful. "That's possible. I'd have to check though." He exchanges a glance with Gerard, who nods.

"Possibly," Gerard muses. "If we left now, we could get to them and back tonight." He looks over at Frank. "Would that work?"

Frank nods, reaching over and squeezing Gerard's hand. "Yeah, let me just check on the supplies."

"You got it." Gerard leans over, pecking his boyfriend on the cheek. "Let's get rolling."

It's nighttime by the time Gerard and Rian get back. I jolt awake from where I've been dozing off on the couch, resting my head against my arms. I blink rapidly, trying to clear the remnants of sleep from my eyes as my vision slowly adjusts to the now-dark room. Alex is lying half-sprawled over the arm of the couch, his head on his boyfriend's lap as he sleeps, snoring quietly. Jack's still awake, resting his head on his hand. He gives me a little smile from where he's sitting, one that I quickly return. He's playing with Alex's hair with one hand, curling the brown strands around his fingers, but I'm not certain if he's fully aware that he's doing it. I hear the beep as Gerard locks the car and the jangle of keys before the door creaks open and a tired-looking Gerard comes in, followed by Rian.

Somehow, they manage to wake Alex who springs up, rubbing his eyes. "Did you find anything?" he asks eagerly.

Frank comes in from the other room, flicking on the light. "How did it go?" he asks, going straight to his boyfriend's side.

Gerard waves him off, sitting down on the couch. "Good," he sighs. "We found the location."

"What?" I jump up from where I've been sitting, my heart pounding.

"We have to go get them," Alex exclaims.

"They're being kept about a three hour drive from here," Rian says. "And trust me when I say this, it won't be an easy task."