Primeval fic: Broken Wings (2/17)
Jan. 3rd, 2012 09:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
knitekatTitle: Broken Wings (2/17)
Author: knitekat
Word Count: ~1840 (of ~27300)
Characters: Tom Ryan, James Lester, team and OC soldiers.
Pairing: James Lester/Tom Ryan, various.
Rating: 18
Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures. Certainly not me. Writing for fun and will replace. The OCs belong to Fred and Luka. 'Broken Wings' is a song by Mr Mister.
A/N: For Fred and her prompt of Lester/Ryan and Technical Hitch. Thanks go to Luka for looking at it and to the wonderful Fifi for the beta. Any remaining mistakes are my own.
A/N2: Continues from Part 1 and continues in Part 3.
Warning (for all parts): Timey-wimey AU: death!fic, dark!fic, dub!con, hurt/comfort, angst, slash, het, OOC-ness.
Ryan paced impatiently as he waited for Blade and Finn to return, he didn't need Lyle's thumbs to tell him something was wrong. He felt torn between his instincts and his duty, every part of his heart demanding he found James and found him now, every bit of military training telling him to wait for intelligence.
His tension grew when Blade and Finn returned a few moments later with the news that the gatehouse was unmanned, but there was no sign of a struggle. It was just deserted; as if the guards had just stepped out for a moment and had expected to return. Ryan swore softly and shot Lyle a glance, he felt a cold shiver down his back as his second was still itching his thumbs. Ryan turned to the civilian members of the team. “Professor, I want you and the rest of your team to go to...” Ryan trailed off as he tried to think of somewhere the civilians could go, who knew if their safe-houses were still safe? Ah, that might be an possibility, at least it was public and hopefully who ever had done this to the ARC wouldn't try anything there, maybe. “Go to the Fox and Hound and stay there.” When the professor looked as if he wanted to disagree, Ryan added, “Please, sir. We'll need to move fast.”
The professor glanced at Stephen before he turned back to Ryan and nodded. “Ach, lad. Go find Lester, we'll be good.” He turned to his team, “Right, you heard Ryan.” Cutter paused just before he climbed into the Hilux. “Good luck, Ryan.”
Ryan nodded thanks and waited impatiently for his team to finish reloading their weapons and assemble in front of him. “Gentleman. Treat this as a potential hostage situation. Verify your targets before engaging. Ready?” Once every man had confirmed his readiness, Ryan took a deep calming breath. “Entry team, go.”
The lobby of the ARC was as silent and empty as the gatehouse had been. The soldiers fanned out to cover all approaches as they waited for Ryan's orders. “We'll make for the atrium. Full alert, lads.” Ryan wanted, needed to be there now, but it wasn't good tactics to rush into what might very well be a trap. He had to take this slowly, no matter how much his heart clenched in fear. If there were terrorists (Helen, his mind helpfully supplied) involved, charging in might get the hostages (James) killed.
The emergency lighting flickered on and off, throwing threatening shadows and transforming the familiar into the alien. It was making the soldiers edgy and Lyle's constant itching of his thumbs wasn't helping. They were jumping at the slightest hint of danger and only their years of training kept their fingers off the trigger until they had a verified target.
Kermit swung around to cover a side corridor to allow the rest of the team to safely move past. When he suddenly dropped into a crouch, the soldiers halted and covered every direction for hostiles. Kermit slowly crept down the corridor with his finger tugging lightly on the trigger of his rifle. Everyone held his breath as Kermit's cautious advance stopped and he crouched down to check something on the floor. He shook his head and returned to his fellow soldiers, his face paler than usual.
“Kermit?” Ryan whispered.
Kermit shook his head. “He's dead, sir.”
Ditzy looked up, his voice pitched low as he reached for his medical kit, “Are you sure?”
Kermit nodded. “He's bled out. Whatever did it gutted him. Looks like a creature attack, boss.”
Ryan cursed quietly. If reasoning with terrorists was hard, with creatures it was impossible. He took a deep calming breath, he needed to think clearly if he was to be any help to James. He nodded to his men and they cautiously continued their advance down the corridor in the same leap-frog manner – the ones at the front covering those who pushed further down the corridor. The process repeated as they penetrated deeper into the ARC. An ARC that was much too silent and deserted for Ryan's peace of mind. How the hell had creatures penetrated ARC security? Where was everyone? Where was James?
The silence was shattered by a burst of gunfire which had every soldier tightening his grip on his weapon and speeding up his careful progress towards the atrium. A sudden cut-off scream filled the air and they all paused for a heartbeat, listening intently for another sound but only silence reached their ears. Then Ryan was off. He raced down the corridor, fear and adrenaline giving him the extra speed to outpace his men. He didn't bother to check if the door to the atrium was locked, he just kicked it open and charged inside.
Ryan skidded to a stop, his eyes wide as he took in the scene instantly. Blood splattered everything. The remains of a once white lab-coat covered what was left of some poor member of staff. The dark alien-form of a Future Predator lay sprawled over a table, its blood slowly dripping to form a congealing pool beneath its taloned hand. The chitters of others of its kind filled the air. Ryan swung his weapon up but couldn't locate a target, the sounds seemed to be coming from everywhere.
A dark shape detached itself from a gantry and leapt at Ryan. He felt its claws snag on his tac-vest as he threw himself to the floor, sliding on his back with his legs akimbo as he fired into the face of the snarling creature. He kept firing until it fell, its head a bloodied mess.
Ryan scanned the room for immediate threats as he slowly regained his feet. He could hear the heavily booted feet of his men pound into the room behind him and then the harsh bark of gunfire as they engaged the enemy. His world narrowed and his heart skipped a beat as he spotted the dark suit-clad leg sticking out from behind the anomaly detector Connor was building. The form didn't move, even with the sounds of combat echoing around the atrium. He slowly approached the machine, almost afraid to see what might lie behind it, but he had to see, he had to know.
Ryan edged around the detector and swallowed hard, he let his gun drop from nerveless fingers to swing from its strap. His eyes glued to the tableau in front of him, Ryan didn't notice the discarded and bent rifle and stumbled over it. Everything was painted in red. There was too much blood. His lover's once pristine shirt was ripped and torn, flashes of what a horrified Ryan recognised as blood-smeared bone showing through. The pale blue shirt of only this morning now stained red. The thought that James would never be able to wear it again shot through Ryan's mind as his legs buckled and his knees slammed painfully into the cold, hard floor. He reached out a tentative hand and gently stroked James' blood-matted hair out of his eyes, his voice cracking as he begged, “James? Please, James. Open your eyes. Please, love.”
Ryan swallowed hard and managed what he hoped was a confident smile when James barely opened his pain-glazed eyes. Ryan's heart clenched in fear when James moaned and grimaced in pain as blood dribbled from his mouth. He found himself breathing in time with each ragged inhale and exhale James managed, the gap between each slowly lengthening as more blood trickled and bubbled out of James' mouth.
Ryan carefully pulled James as gently as he could into his arms, apologising softly when James gasped in pain. He pressed a kiss against his lover's hair, ignoring both the taste of blood on his lips and the blood that soaked his combats. Too much blood. He was barely even aware that the shooting had stopped or that Ditzy now knelt beside him. He watched almost in a daze as Ditzy pressed two fingers against James' neck, feeling for his pulse, but Ryan refused to meet Ditzy's gaze before the medic turned to his kit. He knew what he'd see in the medic's eyes and he wanted to deny the inevitable for as long as possible. He merely held James tight in his arms and rocked him gently as he whispered soothing nonsense in his ear.
James bit back a cry of pain as he reached a shaky bloody-splattered hand out to caress Ryan's face. His voice was a pained gasp.“Tom.”
Ryan pressed his fingers to James' lips. “Shh, love. Don't try to speak. Save your strength.”
James' attempt at a chuckle sent more blood dribbling down his chin. His voice was hoarse as he spoke haltingly, every word forced out accompanied by yet more blood. “Don't.” He stroked a finger across Ryan's face, leaving a sticky trail of blood. “I... know... I'm... dying.”
Ryan shivered. There was no hiding from the truth now. He wanted to make every one of these last few moments count, to tell James he loved him, but he couldn't force the words from his mouth. His heart was still clinging to hope even though his mind told him there was none.
James smiled softly even though he was now fighting for every breath. “Waited... for... you...” James' voice was faint and Ryan had to lean closer to hear his words. “Wanted... tell... you...” Blood sprayed with each word as James forced the words out. “Love... you... Tom...” Every word was a tremendous effort for James and left him lying exhausted in Ryan's arms as he stared into his eyes, seeming to look deep into Ryan's soul as if to sear those words there for all time.
A harsh, wracking cough had Ryan tighten his hold on James as his lover choked and sprayed bright red blood over all of them. He nodded gratefully to Ditzy as the medic pressed a morphine auto-injector against James' arm, hearing his lover sigh as the pain eased from his face, although every breath was still a struggle for him.
Ryan found himself gazing deep into James' eyes, adding every bit of will he could to that look of love and need. “I love you too, James.” Ryan felt helpless as he listened to the rattle in James' chest grow and watched his lover struggle harder and harder to breathe. “I always will, James. To the end of time.” He watched as James' eyes glazed and dulled. He listened as the gap between each torturous gasp grew longer and longer and... he heard the rattle in James' chest and then... silence.
Ditzy reached over to check James' pulse and bowed his head. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.” He reached out and clasped Ryan's shoulder. “Ryan.”
Ryan pulled James tight against his chest as he rocked. He raised his tear-streaked face to the sky and screamed. This couldn't be.
Author: knitekat
Word Count: ~1840 (of ~27300)
Characters: Tom Ryan, James Lester, team and OC soldiers.
Pairing: James Lester/Tom Ryan, various.
Rating: 18
Disclaimer: Primeval belongs to Impossible Pictures. Certainly not me. Writing for fun and will replace. The OCs belong to Fred and Luka. 'Broken Wings' is a song by Mr Mister.
A/N: For Fred and her prompt of Lester/Ryan and Technical Hitch. Thanks go to Luka for looking at it and to the wonderful Fifi for the beta. Any remaining mistakes are my own.
A/N2: Continues from Part 1 and continues in Part 3.
Warning (for all parts): Timey-wimey AU: death!fic, dark!fic, dub!con, hurt/comfort, angst, slash, het, OOC-ness.
Ryan paced impatiently as he waited for Blade and Finn to return, he didn't need Lyle's thumbs to tell him something was wrong. He felt torn between his instincts and his duty, every part of his heart demanding he found James and found him now, every bit of military training telling him to wait for intelligence.
His tension grew when Blade and Finn returned a few moments later with the news that the gatehouse was unmanned, but there was no sign of a struggle. It was just deserted; as if the guards had just stepped out for a moment and had expected to return. Ryan swore softly and shot Lyle a glance, he felt a cold shiver down his back as his second was still itching his thumbs. Ryan turned to the civilian members of the team. “Professor, I want you and the rest of your team to go to...” Ryan trailed off as he tried to think of somewhere the civilians could go, who knew if their safe-houses were still safe? Ah, that might be an possibility, at least it was public and hopefully who ever had done this to the ARC wouldn't try anything there, maybe. “Go to the Fox and Hound and stay there.” When the professor looked as if he wanted to disagree, Ryan added, “Please, sir. We'll need to move fast.”
The professor glanced at Stephen before he turned back to Ryan and nodded. “Ach, lad. Go find Lester, we'll be good.” He turned to his team, “Right, you heard Ryan.” Cutter paused just before he climbed into the Hilux. “Good luck, Ryan.”
Ryan nodded thanks and waited impatiently for his team to finish reloading their weapons and assemble in front of him. “Gentleman. Treat this as a potential hostage situation. Verify your targets before engaging. Ready?” Once every man had confirmed his readiness, Ryan took a deep calming breath. “Entry team, go.”
The lobby of the ARC was as silent and empty as the gatehouse had been. The soldiers fanned out to cover all approaches as they waited for Ryan's orders. “We'll make for the atrium. Full alert, lads.” Ryan wanted, needed to be there now, but it wasn't good tactics to rush into what might very well be a trap. He had to take this slowly, no matter how much his heart clenched in fear. If there were terrorists (Helen, his mind helpfully supplied) involved, charging in might get the hostages (James) killed.
The emergency lighting flickered on and off, throwing threatening shadows and transforming the familiar into the alien. It was making the soldiers edgy and Lyle's constant itching of his thumbs wasn't helping. They were jumping at the slightest hint of danger and only their years of training kept their fingers off the trigger until they had a verified target.
Kermit swung around to cover a side corridor to allow the rest of the team to safely move past. When he suddenly dropped into a crouch, the soldiers halted and covered every direction for hostiles. Kermit slowly crept down the corridor with his finger tugging lightly on the trigger of his rifle. Everyone held his breath as Kermit's cautious advance stopped and he crouched down to check something on the floor. He shook his head and returned to his fellow soldiers, his face paler than usual.
“Kermit?” Ryan whispered.
Kermit shook his head. “He's dead, sir.”
Ditzy looked up, his voice pitched low as he reached for his medical kit, “Are you sure?”
Kermit nodded. “He's bled out. Whatever did it gutted him. Looks like a creature attack, boss.”
Ryan cursed quietly. If reasoning with terrorists was hard, with creatures it was impossible. He took a deep calming breath, he needed to think clearly if he was to be any help to James. He nodded to his men and they cautiously continued their advance down the corridor in the same leap-frog manner – the ones at the front covering those who pushed further down the corridor. The process repeated as they penetrated deeper into the ARC. An ARC that was much too silent and deserted for Ryan's peace of mind. How the hell had creatures penetrated ARC security? Where was everyone? Where was James?
The silence was shattered by a burst of gunfire which had every soldier tightening his grip on his weapon and speeding up his careful progress towards the atrium. A sudden cut-off scream filled the air and they all paused for a heartbeat, listening intently for another sound but only silence reached their ears. Then Ryan was off. He raced down the corridor, fear and adrenaline giving him the extra speed to outpace his men. He didn't bother to check if the door to the atrium was locked, he just kicked it open and charged inside.
Ryan skidded to a stop, his eyes wide as he took in the scene instantly. Blood splattered everything. The remains of a once white lab-coat covered what was left of some poor member of staff. The dark alien-form of a Future Predator lay sprawled over a table, its blood slowly dripping to form a congealing pool beneath its taloned hand. The chitters of others of its kind filled the air. Ryan swung his weapon up but couldn't locate a target, the sounds seemed to be coming from everywhere.
A dark shape detached itself from a gantry and leapt at Ryan. He felt its claws snag on his tac-vest as he threw himself to the floor, sliding on his back with his legs akimbo as he fired into the face of the snarling creature. He kept firing until it fell, its head a bloodied mess.
Ryan scanned the room for immediate threats as he slowly regained his feet. He could hear the heavily booted feet of his men pound into the room behind him and then the harsh bark of gunfire as they engaged the enemy. His world narrowed and his heart skipped a beat as he spotted the dark suit-clad leg sticking out from behind the anomaly detector Connor was building. The form didn't move, even with the sounds of combat echoing around the atrium. He slowly approached the machine, almost afraid to see what might lie behind it, but he had to see, he had to know.
Ryan edged around the detector and swallowed hard, he let his gun drop from nerveless fingers to swing from its strap. His eyes glued to the tableau in front of him, Ryan didn't notice the discarded and bent rifle and stumbled over it. Everything was painted in red. There was too much blood. His lover's once pristine shirt was ripped and torn, flashes of what a horrified Ryan recognised as blood-smeared bone showing through. The pale blue shirt of only this morning now stained red. The thought that James would never be able to wear it again shot through Ryan's mind as his legs buckled and his knees slammed painfully into the cold, hard floor. He reached out a tentative hand and gently stroked James' blood-matted hair out of his eyes, his voice cracking as he begged, “James? Please, James. Open your eyes. Please, love.”
Ryan swallowed hard and managed what he hoped was a confident smile when James barely opened his pain-glazed eyes. Ryan's heart clenched in fear when James moaned and grimaced in pain as blood dribbled from his mouth. He found himself breathing in time with each ragged inhale and exhale James managed, the gap between each slowly lengthening as more blood trickled and bubbled out of James' mouth.
Ryan carefully pulled James as gently as he could into his arms, apologising softly when James gasped in pain. He pressed a kiss against his lover's hair, ignoring both the taste of blood on his lips and the blood that soaked his combats. Too much blood. He was barely even aware that the shooting had stopped or that Ditzy now knelt beside him. He watched almost in a daze as Ditzy pressed two fingers against James' neck, feeling for his pulse, but Ryan refused to meet Ditzy's gaze before the medic turned to his kit. He knew what he'd see in the medic's eyes and he wanted to deny the inevitable for as long as possible. He merely held James tight in his arms and rocked him gently as he whispered soothing nonsense in his ear.
James bit back a cry of pain as he reached a shaky bloody-splattered hand out to caress Ryan's face. His voice was a pained gasp.“Tom.”
Ryan pressed his fingers to James' lips. “Shh, love. Don't try to speak. Save your strength.”
James' attempt at a chuckle sent more blood dribbling down his chin. His voice was hoarse as he spoke haltingly, every word forced out accompanied by yet more blood. “Don't.” He stroked a finger across Ryan's face, leaving a sticky trail of blood. “I... know... I'm... dying.”
Ryan shivered. There was no hiding from the truth now. He wanted to make every one of these last few moments count, to tell James he loved him, but he couldn't force the words from his mouth. His heart was still clinging to hope even though his mind told him there was none.
James smiled softly even though he was now fighting for every breath. “Waited... for... you...” James' voice was faint and Ryan had to lean closer to hear his words. “Wanted... tell... you...” Blood sprayed with each word as James forced the words out. “Love... you... Tom...” Every word was a tremendous effort for James and left him lying exhausted in Ryan's arms as he stared into his eyes, seeming to look deep into Ryan's soul as if to sear those words there for all time.
A harsh, wracking cough had Ryan tighten his hold on James as his lover choked and sprayed bright red blood over all of them. He nodded gratefully to Ditzy as the medic pressed a morphine auto-injector against James' arm, hearing his lover sigh as the pain eased from his face, although every breath was still a struggle for him.
Ryan found himself gazing deep into James' eyes, adding every bit of will he could to that look of love and need. “I love you too, James.” Ryan felt helpless as he listened to the rattle in James' chest grow and watched his lover struggle harder and harder to breathe. “I always will, James. To the end of time.” He watched as James' eyes glazed and dulled. He listened as the gap between each torturous gasp grew longer and longer and... he heard the rattle in James' chest and then... silence.
Ditzy reached over to check James' pulse and bowed his head. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.” He reached out and clasped Ryan's shoulder. “Ryan.”
Ryan pulled James tight against his chest as he rocked. He raised his tear-streaked face to the sky and screamed. This couldn't be.
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Date: 2012-01-04 06:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-04 06:50 pm (UTC)I haz been mean to poor Lester and left poor Ryan all by himself *bad bunny*
Thanks for reading and the next part is tomorrow.