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After Earth Went Dark; Part II Chapter 4
Just as quickly as it had begun, the battle was over. This new terrifying force that had entered the fray was far more than the thugs had bargained for. As they saw their comrades dropping at an alarming rate, they began to turn and run. Some were able to escape into the alleyways, but the trail of bodies stretched halfway down the block.
Elliot still had not recovered. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The speed with which the newcomer moved through combat, like a fish through water, hamstringing a man here, slashing a throat there, left no doubt who it was though.
He couldn't move. The carnage had ended, and the stillness of death fell over the little intersection. Elliot was not affected by it, however. His brain was stuck in quicksand; trying desperately to make sense of the impossible, trying to force himself to move.
A strangled sob escaped his mouth as he finally pushed his limbs to action. He launched himself forward, running, sprinting across the gap between them and throwing his arms around Tyr.
Burying his head in the ragged fabric, titanic sobs shook his whole body and tears flowed like twin rivers down his cheeks. His mind spun in a typhoon of emotion, unrestrained and raw. He gripped Tyr's shirt in fists so tight that his knuckles ached. Finally, he felt a strong hand settle on his back, the weight of it confirming that this was real and not just some dream.
Elliot's legs buckled underneath him, but strong arms kept him on his feet and cradled him gently. His sobbing diminished into trembling sniffles that ran through his entire small form, but even still he could not, would not open his eyes. There was a deep unspeakable fear that when he did, he would be alone again.
"Elliot." Ida's voice cut through the silence and the haze around Elliot's mind. Her tone was serious and commanding. "I need you to stand aside. Please."
Finally, still racked by regular powerful tremors of emotion, Elliot forced his eyes open. To his infinite relief, the stalwart figure that held him close did not evaporate into the night as he had feared. He saw Tyr's face. The face he had dreamt about so many times. The face he had resigned himself to never seeing again. That handsome wonderful face looked down at him now with concern, veiled thinly behind serious grey-blue eyes. Elliot felt fresh tears spring to life as he looked into those familiar eyes.
"Elliot. Now, please." Ida's voice was more insistent this time.
Reluctantly, Elliot turned his gaze away from the miracle standing before him to see what Ida was so concerned about. To his surprise, he saw that she was holding her bow with an arrow knocked and drawn, pointed directly at Tyr.
Tyr easily moved Elliot to one side. The moment he did, Ida released the string and sent the deadly shot hurtling toward Tyr.
Elliot's heart dropped, but before he could cry out, Tyr casually plucked the arrow out of the air mid-flight and tossed it aside. He raised an eyebrow at Ida who already had another arrow on the string.
"That's enough, Iduna." The sound of Tyr's quiet authoritative voice sent a shiver down Elliot's spine. He couldn't count the number of times he had tried to recreate that voice in his mind.
"You will not call me that!" Before, Elliot had been too distracted to notice, but now he heard clearly that Ida's voice was thick with emotion. He saw a slight quiver in her slender frame. "You'll have to kill me. I won't go back. Leave them alone though." She jerked her head in the direction of the camp where Marcel was beginning to tend to the wounded, although clearly still listening to the exchange.
Wordlessly, Tyr turned his right shoulder toward Ida, displaying the tattoo on his powerful arm. Elliot noticed that it was different now though. Two freshly healed scars now formed an `X' through the circle of runes.
"I'm here on my own. Not for him." Tyr spoke softly.
"Ida! Help!" Marcel's urgent tone broke the standoff. Elliot turned to see the tall man kneeling by the wagon. His breath quickened as he saw that Jay was propped up against one of the wheels, covered in blood.
Ida rushed over to inspect the wound. Elliot was no doctor, but the amount of blood covering Jay's clothes was ominous.
"It's beyond my skill." Ida said solemnly. "We've got to see if there's a doctor in town."
Marcel's face was twisted in grief. It was the first time Elliot had seen him anything other than exuberant and charismatic. That alone was enough to pull at his feelings.
Unnoticed by anyone, Tyr had drifted away from Elliot's side. The three of them jumped in alarm when a loud crash broke the stillness. Looking up, Elliot saw that Tyr had kicked in the door of one of the buildings nearby.
"Bring him in here. Carefully." He ordered calmly. "You." He pointed to Marcel. "Find water. Lots of it."
Ida was hesitant, but eventually, she and Elliot picked up Jay gently and brought him into the building. It had once been a storefront but was now abandoned. Tyr swept off a pair of small tables and pushed them together, then indicated for Elliot and Ida to set Jay down. The boy groaned softly as they laid him on the table.
Tyr pointed at Ida. "Alcohol." Then pointed to Elliot. "Fire."
Marcel burst in with a canteen of water just as Ida and Elliot were leaving. Elliot quickly grabbed one of the torches from around the camp that hadn't been knocked over in the fight. As he did so, he looked around the camp. It seemed like most of the troupe was on their feet still. The battle had not lasted long enough to do serious harm to most of them. Ida stood nearby holding out a demanding hand to Carlos, who reluctantly pulled a large flask out of his belt and handed it over.
Back inside the building. Tyr had torn Jay's shirt open and used some of the water to clean away the wound in his side. The speed at which fresh blood welled up though was startling to Elliot. The gore he had witnessed at in his time had not prepared him for when it involved someone that he was beginning to consider a friend.
"Take out your knife and heat it until it's red." Tyr instructed him, then held out his hand to Ida for the flask. He poured some of the contents onto the wound, causing Jay to gasp in protest.
"Bring the reigns from one of your horses." Tyr instructed Marcel.
"What!? Why?"
Tyr turned a withering gaze on Marcel, who sighed, already looking close to panic, and dashed off once more.
"It's ready." Elliot announced when the blade of his knife reached a glowing red color. At Tyr's behest he handed the weapon over.
Marcel returned and passed over the sturdy strip of leather used to control the horses. Tyr doubled it up and placed it in Jay's mouth.
"Hold him down." Tyr instructed. Ida immediately pinned both of Jay's arms to the table and Marcel grasped his ankles. Elliot looked on, getting an idea of what Tyr was about to do.
Wiping away the blood once more and dousing the wound in a fresh round of alcohol, Tyr touched the flat of the red-hot blade to the wound and held it there for a short few seconds.
Jay's reaction was immediate. He screamed pitifully and thrashed on the table. One of his legs broke free and he kneed Tyr in the side roughly. Tyr barely flinched but grabbed the boy's ankle with his free hand and forced it down again before fixing Marcel with a glare.
"Hold him down." He repeated more forcefully. Elliot stepped up to help Marcel keep Jay's legs pinned to the table.
Tyr returned to his work, gingerly touching the metal to Jay's skin for only a few seconds at a time, ignoring the boy's tortured cries. Elliot could barely stand to listen to it and he could see that Marcel was crying openly now. It took only about minute for Tyr to finish sealing the wound, but Jay's screams made it one of the longest minutes of Elliot's life.
When it was over, Jay lay on the table, moaning in pain, but no longer bleeding. Marcel stroked the hair from Jay's sweating brow and looked at the ugly-looking burn with uncertainty.
"Will he be alright?" The concern was obvious in his voice.
"He will be at risk of infection now." Tyr stated, setting the blade to one side. "The wound will need to be washed regularly, every few hours, around the clock."
"But he'll be ok?" Marcel demanded.
Tyr shrugged. "You'll know in a few days. If it doesn't get infected, he has a good chance of recovery."
Elliot could tell that Tyr's words brought little comfort. But he knew that was Tyr's way. He delivered harsh truths, often without a thought. He knew though that if anyone could give Jay the best chance of surviving, it was Tyr.
Jay cried out again, still not fully conscious, and Marcel shushed him gently, taking hold of his hand. Ida put a sympathetic hand on her friend's shoulder.
"We'll put him up in town for the night." She said comfortingly. "We'll have a watch to make sure he's alright. Let me make sure no one else is badly hurt, and then find someplace that will take us."
Marcel nodded but said nothing.
"You." Ida snapped at Tyr. "Come with me."
Now that the excitement of the battle and the fear for Jay was beginning to pass, Elliot found that his intense emotions upon first seeing Tyr were being replaced with annoyance. He didn't know how Tyr and Ida knew each other, but he was starting to feel like he was being ignored by the one person he had stayed up nights thinking of. Tyr's apparent resurrection was a miracle that Elliot was still having trouble processing. And yet, aside from their brief embrace, Tyr had barely acknowledged him at all. Indignantly tagging along after the two of them, they left Marcel and Jay to go and inspect the camp.
There were scrapes and bruises aplenty, but mostly the troupe members were just badly shaken. Few of them had seen carnage on that scale before. The townsfolk however did not seem bothered. Several of them were already out looting the corpses. Ida announced that they would be moving to the outskirts of town and setting camp for the next day or two.
She was not as charismatic as Marcel, but the steel in her voice was just as effective at mobilizing the camp. They quickly packed up and began the move, but Ida turned her attention on Tyr. Despite his irritation, Elliot stayed close by Tyr, waiting for a chance to get a word in.
"What are you doing?" She demanded. "If you're not here to take me in then why are you looking for me? And how do you two know each other?" Ida gestured at Elliot.
Tyr sighed heavily. "You were right, Iduna."
"It's Ida." She cut him off icily.
Tyr's mouth twisted but he did not comment. "Ida." He corrected eventually. "You were right, all along. It took me longer to see it."
To Elliot's surprise, he saw tears start to form in Ida's eyes. One rolled down her cheek. "I tried to tell you M... Tyr... I wanted you to come with me."
"I still believed in the cause." Tyr said flatly. "Even then."
"Well, you never were very bright." Ida's voice carried a note of bitter humor and she sniffed once and dabbed her eyes.
Whatever was going on between the two of them, Elliot decided that he did not like it very much. They seemed too familiar. He decided it was time to draw some attention.
"Were you in project Aesir as well?" He asked Ida bluntly.
His tactic got the desired response. Ida's head snapped in his direction and then looked several times between him and Tyr. Then, unexpectedly, she laughed.
"It looks like the three of us have some talking to do. I need to find a room for Jay. Afterwards, we'll have a chat." Ida quickly composed herself and broke away from the camp.
At last Elliot found himself alone with Tyr. Relatively alone. The other troupe members continued about their business striking the camp, but none of them paid any attention to either of them.
Even though only minutes ago he had been irritated that he had not had a chance to talk to Tyr, now that they were alone, he didn't know what to say. He looked up into Tyr's eyes again and couldn't help but smile despite his frustration. His vision blurred slightly, and he had to blink to keep himself from crying again.
"I missed you..." Elliot eventually choked out, hugging Tyr around the middle.
Tyr laid a hand gently on the back of Elliot's head. He said nothing for a long time before eventually admitting, "I missed you too." Elliot could feel Tyr's deep voice in his chest as he laid his head against it.
"I..." Elliot sniffled, "I thought you were dead..." The tears began to flow, and Tyr put his other arm around Elliot, offering his strength.
Elliot was content to stand there are cry quietly into Tyr's shirt for a time. The strong hands on his back and his neck comforted him.
"I went back." Elliot said when he had recovered somewhat. "I found the clearing again. I found the grave and I thought..." He shivered violently.
Tyr bent down to eye level. "I'm here, now." He said comfortingly. "I have business that needs to be settled, but I had planned to find you when it was done. What happened with your family?"
In between sniffles and tremors, Elliot explained his time at Uncle Mark's and how tedious it had been. He told about his decision to leave, all the way up to finding the grave.
Tyr sighed and touched the back of his hand gently to Elliot's cheek. "I am sorry. That was not for you to see. Hermod was... He deserved a proper burial..." Elliot saw the first look of genuine remorse cross Tyr's stoic face, but only for a split second.
"But..." Elliot picked his pack, Tyr's pack, up off the ground. "Then why leave this on it?" He pulled out the axe head, but suddenly felt embarrassed, as though he might have desecrated something sacred to Tyr.
If it bothered him, Tyr didn't show it. He took hold of the axe head and held it next to its twin. "I thought his grave should have a marker, although... I've since missed having it."
Elliot smiled and hugged Tyr again. "I put stones over it." He informed him. "In the shape of this." He laid a hand on Tyr's upper arm where the tattoo was that now had the scars through it.
Tyr squeezed his shoulder. "Fitting." He gave Elliot a soft half-smile. "You've gotten taller."
Elliot blushed. He of course hadn't noticed, but if Tyr said it was true then he believed him. Elliot was reluctant to break away from the embrace. The depth of his feelings for Tyr were even clearer to him now that he was back.
The wagon lurched and began to rumble forward, breaking Elliot out of the spell. The troupe began to make its way to the outskirts of town. Elliot and Tyr follow just behind. They didn't talk. Elliot's mind was racing too fast to try to think clearly. He was worried about Jay, but the elation he felt at being reunited with Tyr made everything else hard to focus on. There was still something nagging him though. Something about the way that Tyr and Ida had been with each other. It sat like an itch in his mind as they walked.
His mind wandered also to other things. Tyr was back, and his family was no longer with them. Elliot began to wonder what that might mean for him and Tyr. Would Tyr still want to be secretive about their affection? Elliot didn't even know how he felt about it himself. They had hidden it away for all that time, it almost seemed like it would be unnatural to do otherwise. The thought of Marcel and Jay messing around together the night before entered his mind, and he realized he and Jay were now in similar situations. He wished Jay a speedy recovery. Even though he didn't know him that well yet, he had been the first one in the group besides Ida and Marcel to be openly friendly toward him. There had been some brief conversations and chats with other members, but that had left quite an impression.
They came to a halt in a small field just outside town and began to set up the camp once more. Morale was very low, and Elliot couldn't help feeling almost guilty about being happy. These people were scared, and some were injured, Jay was still in great danger. But they didn't know what Elliot knew. He knew that with Tyr there, they were perfectly safe.
The quiet walk and the somber mood caused Elliot to realized just how tired he was. The night was getting late, and it had been quite the day. He leaned gently against Tyr, who put an arm around his shoulders.
"Get some rest." Tyr offered. "I'll be here when you wake up."
That statement made Elliot's heart swell. It was almost as if Tyr had read his mind and seen his deepest fear. "Promise?" Elliot asked, looking up at his friend.
Tyr nodded once. "I promise." He ran a hand slowly through Elliot's hair before giving him a gentle nudge toward the center of camp where a low fire had been lit.
Elliot had thought that he might be too excited to sleep, but seeing Tyr sitting against the wagon, watchful eyes staring out into the night calmed him. He faded away quickly listening to the soft crackle of the fire behind him.
It was very late, or perhaps very early, when Elliot awoke. The sound of crickets chirping rang softly all around. The fire had all but died, leaving behind a glowing pit. Most of the camp was asleep, but small groups stayed awake, talking in low voices. Elliot saw that, as promised, Tyr was still there, sitting by the wagon. Ida was there now too, seated close by. Too close, in Elliot's estimation. They were speaking softly, and Elliot couldn't quite make out the conversation.
He tried to ignore it, but his curiosity wouldn't let him go back to sleep. He wanted to know what was being said. As soon as he shifted however, Tyr's eyes drifted to him, noticing that he was awake. Slipping out of his bedroll, Elliot moved to sit closer to Tyr and Ida. They had paused their conversation when he stirred, and that bothered him too.
"Having trouble sleeping?" Ida asked sympathetically. Suddenly Elliot wasn't sure he appreciated her almost mothering tone.
"I guess." He mumbled, looking between the two of them. "So... what were you talking about?"
Ida raised an eyebrow at the change in Elliot's demeanor but didn't mention it. "Tyr was telling me what he's been up to and how you two met up. Seems like you've got quite the history."
Elliot couldn't help wondering just how much Tyr had told her. He didn't want to say more than he should. "Yeah, he saved me a lot. How do you know him?" Elliot thought he caught Tyr giving him a curious look, but he ignored it.
"Well..." Ida sighed. "You were partly right. I was part of the early stages of Project Aesir. Did Tyr explain what that was?"
Tyr flinched. "Maybe it's best not to..."
"We're free from them, Tyr." Ida cut him off. "We don't have to be afraid."
Opening his mouth to argue, Tyr stopped abruptly when Ida placed a gentle hand on his forearm. Elliot unconsciously ground his teeth as he glared at the hand. He felt his face heating.
Before he could form a coherent response, Ida continued. "Project Aesir was a part of a program created by very powerful people. The goal of Aesir was to create... for lack of a better word, super-soldiers." She gestured to Tyr.
Despite his irrational emotional reaction, the information piqued his curiosity too much to not be interested. He remembered Tyr's inhuman display of speed and accuracy back at the hotel they had stayed in during the Tournament. He had shot four men, all standing apart from one another, straight between the eyes, in the span of less than a second. Super-soldier felt like an understatement.
"So... it was like the army?" Elliot asked, grateful that Ida had drawn her hand away from Tyr's arm.
Tyr shook his head. "We had military funding, but it was never a sanctioned project."
"Aesir was... above all that." Ida explained. "Even most of the government, back before the flare, didn't know what they were doing."
"But what were they doing?" Elliot pressed. "And what was the flare really?"
Ida pursed her lips and Tyr gave her a `told you so' look. Obviously, she hadn't planned to elaborate much further.
"Well, they were training soldiers. Like Tyr." Ida finally replied.
"And like you." Elliot put in.
Ida shrugged. "Not exactly. I was only a part of Aesir briefly. Long enough to know that I didn't want anything to do with it."
"And the flare?" Elliot reminded.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Ida looked to Tyr. "Maybe you were right, I feel like this could go on a while."
Elliot scowled. "I want to know." He demanded. After all this time, the answers were finally sitting right in front of him. He felt like Tyr owed him some explanation at least after all the grief and stress he had been through.
Tyr cleared his throat before answering, and when he did, he looked past Elliot toward the smoldering remains of the fire. "The flare was an attack. An electromagnetic pulse created by strategic detonation of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, all across the globe."
Even though Tyr's journal had hinted at something like that, the revelation of it still hit Elliot as quite a shock. "But by who? Why?"
"You remember when I said that Project Aesir was only one part of a larger program?" Ida asked, and Elliot nodded. "Well, that larger program, called Ragnorok, was the brainchild of very wealthy very powerful people who thought they could run the world better. The `flare' was meant to break apart world governments or at least weaken them. The soldiers created by Aesir are meant to be used to reestablish order and take control."
"So..." Elliot started to piece things together. "You were..." He looked to Tyr who said nothing and wouldn't meet his gaze. "You worked for the people that... ruined the world?"
When Tyr finally met his eyes, Elliot was devastated by what he saw. In the time that he had known Tyr, he had become good at reading his moods based on very subtle clues in expression and body language. The only time before that he had seen such raw emotion on Tyr's face had been in the top floor of the Jacksons' hotel. Then it had been unbridled rage. Now, it was the remorse of someone who had done something unspeakable. Someone who lived with that guilt every single day. It tore at Elliot's heart, and yet the look of agony was gone almost instantly.
"We... didn't know." Tyr regained his stoicism within a moment. "When the training was nearly complete, we learned about Ragnorok. By then then, many were so far indoctrinated that it made no difference."
"But you stayed too." Elliot pointed out. The brief but powerful emotions that had flashed across Tyr's face had affected him strongly, but this was too important to let slide. "I read your journal. You stayed for so long after you knew the flare was fake." His tone was more accusatory than he intended it to be.
"It isn't that simple!" Tyr responded heatedly, almost causing Elliot to physically recoil. Tyr had never spoken to him like that before. Elliot's eyes began to water.
Immediately Tyr reached out and touched Elliot's shoulder by way of an apology. Elliot knew that he had touched a nerve with his questioning, but the combination of Tyr and Ida's closeness with Tyr suddenly snapping at him like that was too much for him. He scooted away a few feet and hid his face, unsuccessfully trying to disguise the tears.
"Elliot." Ida broke in before Tyr could speak again. "You can't blame him for that. A project like Aesir doesn't let people just leave. That's why Hermod came after Tyr. That's why I was afraid Tyr had come after me." Elliot hid his face in his knees but listened, nonetheless. "Even for me, in the very early stages, I had to plan for months in order to escape. After they earned security clearance, I can only imagine how hard it must have been."
Sniffling, Elliot looked up and met Tyr's eyes. To a stranger, they might have looked cold and emotionless; but Elliot could see the concern and remorse hidden there. He shut his eyes tight before wiping them clean once more. There had been enough crying for that day. He didn't like the way Ida interacted with Tyr. He didn't like the way that something still didn't add up in their story about Aesir and Ragnork. But those were just hunches, intuition. Two basic facts formed a solid foundation in his mind. Tyr was back. Tyr cared about him. Those things were clear, and that was enough for now.
Silence reigned for a while as Elliot composed himself. Eventually, he moved himself back next to Tyr, allowing for Tyr to put a comforting hand on his upper arm, though only briefly. Changing the subject, Elliot looked to Ida. "How is Jay?" He blinked several times to eliminate all evidence of tears in his eyes.
Ida sighed. "Resting at an inn. Marcel is with him along with two of the boys. He's not in as much pain anymore, but we won't know for a bit yet if we're out of the woods."
Tyr nodded affirmation of this. "The wound was bad, and he lost a lot of blood. But with careful tending and cleaning, and a little luck, he should pull through."
"What happens if it gets infected?" Elliot almost dreaded to ask.
Mouth twisting in a frown, Ida took a moment to reply. "Then... we make him comfortable and we stay strong for Marcel. A town like this won't have the antibiotics necessary to beat something like that."
This was pretty much the answer Elliot had expected, but it still stung. He inched closer to Tyr, seeking the comfort of his companion. Tyr gently rubbed his hand between Elliot's shoulders, offering reassurance. Ida's eyes flicked back and forth between them with a spark of curiosity, but she said nothing. Tyr removed his hand, but Elliot felt a sense of smug satisfaction at the fact that Ida had obviously noticed the contact.
"Why not try to get some more sleep." Tyr suggested. "The sun will be rising before you know it."
"What about you two?" Elliot asked.
Tyr's ghost of a smile appeared. "Worry about yourself first." He instructed, giving Elliot a good-natured push.
Elliot moved away, but not as far this time. Close enough that he could eavesdrop on the conversation if he decided to. That plan deteriorated quickly. When he had curled up in his bedroll once more, his eyelids suddenly began to feel quite heavy. Within a few minutes he had once more dropped off to sleep before the first glow of the sun began to peer over the horizon.