The Fallout

Austin's P.O.V

“Oli, bring that bottle over here please!” I called back to the smaller man, who rushed to my side, the plastic in his hand.

“Here ya go…” he muttered, handing it off to me.

“Thank you.” I chimed, dipping the end of the bottle into the water from the stream, testing to see if it was acid or safe to drink. It had been a week since we had arrived at the farm house we were now living in. While our food stock was still monumental, our water supply had dwindled from us having to use enough to wash clothes, and ourselves. Tino has been working like a mad man on securing the house, even going as far as building defense mechanisms for our property, though I told him that was probably unnecessary. Tom was still working on getting Matt rehabilitated, but the drummer was making rapid process. He was now able to speak full sentences, and even carry conversations, though he had to stop at some points due to the sheer pain and exhaustion. I on the other hand, had been feeling extremely depressed. Though I'm sure that was a pretty normal reaction for all that had happened. I had brutally murdered dozens of people…even though it wasn’t entirely my fault. Not to mention, I had lost 3 of my best friends. I often wondered how they were doing, and if I would ever see them again, surely, not.

Alan was head strong with things, but he and I had always been close. He was good friends with Tino and I growing up, and I can always remember him being the loud, opinionated, always smiling kind of guy. Whereas Shayley, our little Shayco, was the quiet one, it was really disheartening to see even him turn his back to leave. Shayley and I were always great friends, I brought him out of his shell just enough to learn everything about him, and know how to brighten his day, it was horrid to know that he now viewed me as a monster. Phil, good ole Phil, was always in between Alan and Shay, his personality was a serious mix of the two, and that was what made him such a unique friend; I wonder what his resolve had boiled down too. If I had been in there shoes, if it was Phil who was this way, not me, would I have ran? Absolutely not. I care about my friends, they are, were, my family…how could they have so easily turned their backs on me?

“Austin…is everything alright?” Oli sat down beside me, leaning over to look at our reflections in the water. It was water, thankfully; I carefully filled the water bottle up, before reaching for reaching into his ruck sack that lay on the ground, grabbing more of the containers.

“Sure.” I muttered, filling up another bottle. Oli and I had started to get a bit closer, which in a way was nice. He was a good listener, and was very beside himself anytime I was upset. He always did his best to make me smile, despite circumstances. You could say he was kind of growing on me, obviously we had become friends over our time together, but he taught me things. Like I had been foolish, I had been naïve to try to ignore the way that things have been as of late. Oli not only made me realize that, he also made me see how inept I had really been with this whole situation. It was a blunder that I had neglected my feelings and emotions for so long, and I realized that now. So why was I so adamantly hiding how I felt from the one man who had started to lead me towards the salvation from my own mind? I was scared. That's why.

“Stop thinking so much…you’re starting to make me worried.” Oli seethed as he began grabbing bottles out of the bag and filling them up.

“I don’t mean to worry you.” I admitted, biting my lip as I filled up the last few, he sighed.

“Well you do…I just don’t like how you’re so hard on yourself, Austin. You need to give yourself more credit. I know right now you’re scared of what you can do, but don’t be…let me put it this way. You saved my life, saved Tom's, Matt's, Tino’s, and saved your own. You’ve been a huge asset to everyone; I can say without a doubt we would all be dead if it wasn’t for you. If you hadn’t gotten us that day when this all started to happen…I don’t know where we would be. I'm so grateful for that, and I can never repay you for all you’ve done. Not to mention the fact that I appreciate your friendship, so It's only natural for me to worry about the ones I care for.” Oli capped the bottles as he placed them back into his bag. I watched him quietly, still not entirely sure how I should reply to that. He was something else, how he was optimistic was odd to me. All I could think of was the dead people around us, the lives I've taken, accident or not, and the friends and family we have all lost. Oli was someone that I truly aspired to be like, so calm, collected and level headed; he was everything I wished I could be.

It was now sunset, the sky burned holes into my eyes as the sun fell from Its glorious spot in the sky, it was almost peaceful. Out here, things didn’t look so bad, there was no smog, no dark hazy clouds, just trees and water; untouched, and untamed nature. It was something I had taken for granted; I had always wanted to live in the bustling concrete jungle, but now that was just another wasteland.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Oli commented, tossing his head back and watching as the pink hues from the sky darkened and blended together.

“It really is.” I added tiredly. I closed my eyes briefly, trying to savor the peaceful moment, but was interrupted by a slight pressure on my shoulder. I peeled my eyes open before glancing down; Oli had his head resting on my shoulder, his eyes peacefully closed.

“Hope you don’t mind.” He stated shyly, his cheeks turned a faint shade of pink. I felt heat rise to my face as I watched him purse his lips,

“Not at all.” I whispered, keeping my eyes trained on him. His small frame was adorned in a black and white plaid shirt, a black v-neck under it, and his dark skinny jeans clung impossibly tight to his legs. His chest rose and fell in a quaint rhythm, as he relaxed into my arm; his long dark hair was dancing slightly in the breeze that seemingly came from nowhere. He was actually quite…breath taking; I had never really appreciated someone’s looks like this. Surely, I had looked at people, but seeing someone like this, in a whole new light, was something surreal. The wind picked up a bit stronger as the sky began to grow a bit darker, and then it hit me. Wind, where did this wind come from? A strange odor wafted around us, Oli scrunched up his nose before covering it with his sleeve.

“Austin…” he breathed out heavily, but I froze. He began shaking slightly, as the odor grew more and more intense, it hit me. The smog. Everyone else was safely nestled in the house out of its reach, but we were a good half of a mile away, deep in the woods. There was no way we would make it back in time. Without much thought I grabbed onto Oli, and pulled him into my lap. Protective instincts were taking over, something inside of my mind had been ignited, it was something I was unable to act against.

“Hold on.” I muttered, gripping him tighter to my chest. I felt his arms encircle my neck,

“I’m scared.” He whispered hoarsely, those words only sealed my resolve. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to him, not now, not ever. As If on cue, a thick fog rolled into the valley, I trained my eyes on the water around me. I stared at it intensely, watching as a smoke like substance rolled off of it, sucking up water droplets with it as well; before the purple haze could surround us, the odd cloud off the water bolted in our direction, forming a dome around us. Oli gasped, squeezing onto me tighter, as I clung to him. My head was starting to spin as I watched the thick acid mist hit the force field like object around us, the poison fog almost instantly dissipated. I felt something harsh rise in my throat as soon as the last trace of smoke was gone, I choked on it, turning my head and spitting the contents out of my mouth. It was blood. I screamed causing the once force field to crash on Oli and I, dousing us in water. I let go of him, and he was out of my lap in an instant; I collapsed back on the ground, writhing as my brain felt like it was harshly hitting my skull.

“Austin!” Oli cried out, grabbing me by the shoulders and laying my head in his lap. He smoothed down my hair, as I twitched violently, the pain in my head was unreal, it felt like I had been hit with a hammer.

“Sh…you’re going to be okay…you’re going to be fine.” He cooed as he wiped the water from my skin, I choked again as I jolted forward, spitting out the liquid that rose to my throat, once again, it was a dark crimson blood.

“Austin…” Oli came up behind me, wrapping his legs around mine, and laying his head and torso on my back; his arms wrapped around me.

“I’m okay.” I managed out, the sharp pain was starting to subside, and was replaced by a dull throbbing. Oli didn’t seem to convinced though, he rubbed my arms and kept a firm grip on me, as if I would simply fall over.

“How did you do that…? The water…it just…” he babbled on about the strange occurrence I had caused but I couldn’t recall how it happened either.

“All I knew was that you were in trouble, and I had to protect you.” I whispered, leaning back into his embrace and closing my eyes.

“You didn’t have to save me though…that’s not your job.” He sighed, squeezing onto me tighter, I shook my head.

“Yes I do. I care about you, so therefore I will protect you with my life. Just like you worry about me, even if I tell you not too…your still going to do it.” I reasoned but he seemed puzzled by this.

“Why did you save us…save me…the day this all started to happen?” he inquired as he rested his head on my shoulder, I shrugged.

“No, give me a reason.” He demanded, clearly a bit agitated that I avoided this question like a plague. I gulped, to be honest; I still wasn’t exactly sure why I had done it.

“I don’t know…something about you all seemed different and I knew I had to do something…so I did. I’m glad I did, really.” I smiled to myself, even after knowing from his current position that he couldn’t see it. I felt him grin into my shoulder,

“Austin?” he questioned, his grip on me loosened and I felt his face come that much closer to mine, my face heated up as I felt his breathe hit my skin.

“Uh…yes?” I answered, feeling my breathe hitch as he leaned in that much closer, until his lips grazed my cheeks. He pecked at my skin, before squeezing me tightly,

“Thank you…” he whispered, I couldn’t help but hear the slight embarrassment in his voice. I wrapped my arms on top of his and brought him flush to my back again, I turned to face him, sending him my best smile.

“No need to thank me. You would do the same for me.” I commented, noting how my skin heated under his touch. Oli was starting to get rather affectionate towards me, and what was even odder than that, I didn’t mind. It had been a really long time since anyone had taken an interest in me, the last being 3 years ago, Gielle. My at one time, wife, she had meant the world to me, but that’s when she got sick. 2 short months after we were married she lost her battle with cancer, you could say I never fully recovered. She had made me promise to move on though, and to find someone new, but given the current state of the world; that wasn’t much of an option. But there was Oli…and he was something else, I couldn’t help but admire him. I was had never taken a second look at a man, no, that was way out of my comfort zone, but for some reason; I looked at him more than I had ever had any one, even Gielle. He was special for some reason, and I had an undying urge to protect him and do whatever I could to help him…and he was beautiful. That’s a word I had never used to describe a guy, but that’s what he was. Everything about him was intriguing, from the way he handled himself around others, to the way he ate his food one thing at a time. You could say I had been taking note of things, but more or less I may have had a minor fascination with him.

Oli and I sat in silence, a strange demeanor was emitting from him, almost like he was letting the reality of what had just occurred sink in. Which only made me think, what did happen? Not only can I obliterate people, I seem to have control over elements? No, that’s not sane…well yet again, none of this was.

“Austin…its dark.” Oli commented after some time, sure enough, the sky was pitch black.

“Damn, we need to head back…matches? We need a torch since we left the lantern.” I felt him move away from me, which came as a slight disappointment.

“Yeah…here they are.” I turned to see him with his bag open, he was kneeled on the ground holding the small book between his hands. I stood up from my spot, looking around in the dark for something that resembled wood. Night vision would be pretty nice considering I'm already a mutated freak.

“Ugh I can't find wood!” my voice was disgruntled, as were my emotions. How hard could it be to find dead tree limbs in a forest? Apparently, it’s quite difficult. Oli struck up a match, using its dim glow to have a look for himself. He was so busy he didn’t seem to notice that the flame was starting to lick at his skin. I felt that unnerving urge pit itself in my stomach again, my head started to spin as time seemed to stand still, all that I could focus on was the fire.

“Austin…?” Oli’s concerned voice called to me, stirring me from my revere. I blinked, turning to face him; shock coming over me as I did so. The flame that once lit the match stick was free floating above his head, lighting up the area. His eyes were wide, as he watched the fire nervously.

“You’re eyes are red again…” he murmured as he crawled out from under the flame. He rose to his feet, eying me warily before coming forward and wrapping his arms around my torso. I looked down at him, watching as he buried his head in the nape of my neck and held me tight.

“I can tell you’re scared…but don’t be. I’m not…no matter what odd powers you possess it’s obvious your intentions are good. Don’t let this become you Austin, you can control it…we just have to work at it, okay? I’ll protect you too.” the words rolled off his tongue thick, like he was somewhat doubtful himself, but his faith seeped its way as an underlying tone. I shook my head, wrapping one arm around him and holding him firm for a few moments. My heart rate thudded quickly into my chest, which was abnormal considering the heart condition I had.

“Let’s go home.” He breathed out, letting go of me and taking my hand in his.

“Right.” I said, squeezing his hand as he started off towards the house, the flame never once faltered; instead it followed us patiently all the way to the house. As we arrived, I stared at it, as did Oli. I found myself willing it away, and was dumbfounded when it actually disappeared.

“See? You have control of this.” He assured me, as he knocked on the door 3 times fast then 3 times slow, our new secret knock. Matt opened the door, gun in his free hand. He raised an eyebrow at us,

“Password?” he smirked through the word, Oli giggled.

“Get the fuck out of my way, Pickles.” He chimed, pushing his friend out of the way and strolling inside, dragging me in behind him. We made our way to the living room where Tino and Tom were playing a hand of poker, guess that left Matt on guard duty.

“Hey lads,” Oli waved awkwardly as he laid his back pack on the ground before walking towards the couch and taking me with him. We sunk into the large black sofa, the exhaustion of the day was finally waving over me.

“Anything interesting happen out there?” Tom inquired. Before I could say anything Oli grunted,

“No it was uneventful, thankfully.” He stated nonchalantly, almost as if he was telling the truth. Why was he lying? Why didn’t he want to say anything about the smog? The water? The fire? It wasn’t like they would be as freaked out about that as they were my other ability. That’s when his words from earlier sunk in, ‘I’ll protect you too.’ Not only did he mean he would protect me from myself but he had also meant he would do the same from everyone else. Oliver Scott Sykes…do you know something that I don't?

Notes

So so so sorry for the holidays making me exhausted and unable to post :/ have a long chapter as an apology. <3 love you all :)

Please leave some feedback!

xoxo
Siren