Bang and Burn ~ Dreamnotfound + Skephalo

Chapter 35

By the time Clay and George had pulled up to the scene, the house was surrounded by other agents, police cars, and an ambulance. Clay quickly put his car in park, and the two jumped out, practically tripping over themselves to see what happened. Clay took the lead, grabbing George's hand and pulling him through the ground to where the crowd met the police tape. When they made it to the front, everyone fell silent as they watched two men carry a body bag out of the home.

Clay's grip around George's hand tightened. "We're too late." George grabbed Clay and pulled him into a tight embrace, feeling himself going into shock. Dylan was gone, and it all could've been avoided if they hadn't blocked him. George felt incredibly guilty until he saw Zak, Darryl, and Nick standing beside someone badly beaten on a stretcher.

George gasped and pushed Clay off of him to turn him around. "Clay! Clay, look!" He pointed at the dark-haired teen unconscious on the stretcher. "He's not dead!" George pulled Clay and dashed in between everyone to reach where his friends were standing. When he got to the other side of the crowd, he also saw Jude, Jake, Geo, and Vincent exchanging nervous glances with each other. Tommy and Toby were there, but they stood more off to the side, silently watching everything happening.

As Darryl talked to the paramedic about Dylan, Zak couldn't take his eyes off of Dylan. He wasn't dead yet. When George and Clay approached, he still didn't look away. "You know, Dylan was annoying. He pushed my buttons, and I honestly didn't think I cared much for him." He took a breath. "Turns out, I fucking love him, and I'd die if he died." He looked up from Dylan to meet Clay's eyes. "You did good, Clay."

"What?" Clay was confused by what Zak was trying to say.

"Dylan was an asshole when I first met him," Zak stated. "But now, he's a lovable asshole. He's my lovable asshole."

Darryl walked over and wrapped an arm around Zak. "He's going to be okay, Zak. He survived the attack. The doctors will take care of him, and he'll recover."

"He'll recover physically, you mean," Zak corrected. "I have a feeling none of us will ever recover from this mentally."

"Well, I'm already fucked up," Nick laughed. "I doubt this will make it any worse."

George looked around as he took in the crowd. It looked as if every agent from Forte was there. "Why are there so many people?"

"When an agent sends out an S.O.S., it alerts everyone," Clay explained. "The rule is that every available agent needs to help when an S.O.S. is issued because it is only used when an agent is in terrible danger. This isn't everyone, but it looks like a ton of people weren't working tonight."

As George continued looking at the crowd, he noticed Sprite crying into Feni's arms as she cradled her head. Thundah stood beside them, looking numb. She wasn't crying, but she was still obviously hurting. "So, who died?"

"Agent Ambxon," Darryl responded. "He was one of the rogue agents. According to everyone else who came to rescue Dylan, he sacrificed himself to save him." He closed his eyes. "I can't even imagine how much pain his team must be in."

George looked down at his phone. If he hadn't blocked Dylan, he would've been here sooner. An agent wouldn't have died. Dylan wouldn't be on the brink of death. Things wouldn't be so bad. He angrily unblocked Dylan, vowing never to do something so stupid again. But as he put his phone away, it buzzed. He pulled it back out as he got a text from Dylan that was sent just fifteen minutes earlier.

Dylan
Hey George. I don't know how much time I have to say this. I think I might die, and I want to get to everyone before that happens. I wanted to tell you that changed my life. You taught me how to love someone, even when they are at their worst. You taught me how to see the light in the darkness when the world starts caving in. And lastly, you taught me how to take care of myself. Without you, I don't think I would've made it through all of this shit. Thank you for always being there for me, even when I made it hard. I know I'm not the easiest person in the world to handle, but you never made me feel like I was a burden. One day, I know you will inspire other young agents, just like you inspired me. Thank you, brother. I love you.