Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Shattered

Shattered:

(1913 A.D., The Kinder Beschützer Institute, Pocket Dimension located somewhere off the western coast of England)

The first night at the institute, Watson and Mrs. Darling sat up all night with the children since they all refused to leave Tootles’s medical bed until they were all sure he was through the worst of it and would be okay.

As the leader of the lost boys, Slightly seemed the most affected at the current state of his injured comrade. John held his hand the whole night as they sat in vigil. His action was not entirely selfless as Slightly's hand in his soothed his rattled nerves. However, it also planted a subtle seed of inner shame somewhere deep inside him, a place he dared not look and had, over years, become very adept at ignoring.

The extra nighttime company in the med-bay annoyed Oksana greatly, so she retired to the library to finish her nightly paperwork there. Vincent, Mr. Darling and Sherlock spent their night in the parlour with a pool-table and fine scotch for company. Agent Joan and Agent Mulan retired to their room early after dinner for some much-deserved private time. Despite all the chaos that happened earlier in the day, their first night at their new home away from home was uncommonly peaceful, even pleasant, all things considered.

*****

John stealthily opens a bedroom door and peeks inside. After two days at the Institute, he has finally been able to relax and play with the other boys again. From his position at the door, he can see the foot of a bed, a dresser and a window against the far wall. The window has wall-length curtains which are not completely closed. Observant as ever, he spots them, the bare feet poking out from beneath both sides of the curtains. The Twins. He grins and skulks into the room with exaggerated tip-toe steps.

Floorboards creak despite his light steps, causing the toes behind the curtains to curl. Too little too late, boyos, he thinks triumphantly. He flings open both curtains and clamps a hand over each of the Twins’s mouths. Shushing their surprised squeals, he motions for them to follow. They follow the standard protocol, demanding that the ones who are caught follow silently behind the seeker as he continues his hunt, trying to step exactly where he steps and move exactly as he moves. Feeling a desire to engage in some level of silliness, John looks back over his shoulder and grins at the Twins following him before wiggling out the door back to the hallway with his arms above his head like wacky inflatable arms in the wind. The Twins copy the movement as they all proceed through the hall, stifling their giggles before continuing the search.

Vincent rounds the corner ahead of them accompanied by an unknown boy walking beside him. Or was it a very short man? John straightens his glasses and gestures for the other boys to stop their movement and their laughter. The unknown boy has shoulder-length silver hair pulled back into a ponytail. He is dressed in an immaculate white tailored suit with a shiny sapphire-blue necktie. The boy’s round-lens eyeglasses are tinted the same blue as his tie. Vincent is speaking excitedly with the boy as they proceed down the hallway in the opposite direction as John and the Twins. John tries to catch some of what they are saying but all he gets is something about an Ishakuh finally betting a viral sub-sector. Whatever that means. Just as Vincent is about to pass John and the Twins, he stops, suddenly taking note of their presence.

“Oh, hello, boys. Please allow me to introduce our Grand Minister, Lord Nenious,” proclaims Vincent, smiling gleefully as always as he gestures to the boy beside him.

“Hey! You are a boy like us!” proclaims the Twins excitedly as they start to dance from foot to foot, ogling Nenious as he stands erect before them like a drill sergeant.

“Not quite,” Lord Nenious replies in a very soft yet strangely authoritative voice.

“So tell us, mister, are you gonna be our new Pan? We can go battle the axe guy. He can be our new Hook except we’ll call him Axe…” ask the Twins, growing more excited by the moment.

“Or The Chopper!”

“Oh man, that is a big job. I am flattered you would even consider me. Unfortunately, I have other pressing matters boys...” he leans in towards John and the Twins confidentially.

“Boring adult stuff like meetings with guardians of alternate dimensions and other such terrible dribble,” whispers Nenious, with a cool smile and a wink. Before they can respond, he walks past them and when they turn to say something to him, Lord Nenious is gone.

Vincent dismisses himself politely and proceeds along on his own errands.

The boys find Michael next. They find him hiding under a pile of decorative pillows in one of the larger staterooms. The spot would have been clever, had a brief moment of audible flatulence not given away his position. Their group, having grown to a group of four, makes its way back into the hall. John pauses for a moment to ponder other potential hiding spots that they should check. They are almost at the end of the East wing. There is one more bedroom, a library-sitting room, the laundry-sewing room, and Vincent’s room. John could hear the soft mellow sound of Vincent’s piano playing coming from his room, so obviously, none of John’s prey would be hiding in there. He decides it best to check the laundry room next.

Rays of mid-morning sunshine slant in ahead of them through a large square window at the end of the hall. Suddenly, there is a great sound of thunder outside. The world shakes, and the window explodes inward. The shock wave lifts the boys into the air and sends them flying backward several feet. Streaking shards of broken glass spray down the whole hallway. A shard hits one of the Twins, lodging deep into his head between his right cheekbone and temple. The institute lights go out.

John’s ears fill with a deafening ring so loud he cannot focus. A thick haze of dust and fragmented debris fills the hall and clouds his vision. He can just barely make out the left side of one of the Twins through the dust. He suddenly feels the familiar cold-aura of Vincent closing in on him. John looks around, finding Vincent kneeling next to him. Vincent’s mouth is moving, but John can’t hear what he is saying. Icy hands pull him to his feet, and wandering towards them through the haze, he can see his younger brother Michael approaching them.

Where the window was at the end of the hall is now a ragged blown-out hole. The light which had been gentle before now sears the boys’ already blurry vision. Dorian Gray strides through the shattered window holding something in his hands. He brings his hands together and there is a small flicker. When they part, a small flame dangles below a circular device. John isn’t sure what it is.

“Boys! Get up! This way!” demands Vincent, picking up the dazed John in one arm and Michael with the other.

“Ahh, you don’t want to stay and have a bit a’ fun?” inquires Dorian sarcastically.

The gentleman tosses the hand-held explosive towards them. Vincent turns and stares at the incoming device intensely for a moment, summoning forth a thick barrier of ice to block the incoming grenade. After summoning the barrier, he turns and continues his retreat, holding both boys close to his chest. The device hits the barrier and explodes, blowing the remaining hallway doors off their hinges and scorching the walls. As John’s hearing returns, his ears are bombarded by a cacophony of screams and agony coming from the main hall. There is the deafening roar of another nearby explosion.

Through blurred vision, John can see his brother, Michael. Michael pukes over Vincent’s shoulder as he carries them with great haste. John looks behind them over Vincent’s shoulder to get a better look at their pursuer. He watches in horror as Institute Soldiers hack and slash into the man, but instead of drawing forth blood and pain, their attacks draw only plumes of ash and maniacal laughter from their opponent. John screams as Dorian places a grenade in his own mouth and ignites it. The explosion turns his whole upper body into a dark black cloud of ash, killing all the surrounding soldiers at the same time. Did he just kill himself, John wonders. The answer comes in mere moments as the ash-cloud immediately re-condenses back into the form of man as if no damage had been done.

“Well, I must say, these new toys are scintillating. Are you sure you don’t want to play? I have a couple of other tricks you might like to see,” muses Dorian loudly to Vincent as he continues his slow steady pursuit of them.

John hears the rumble of boots coming toward them. Guards sprint past them towards the ever-laughing Dorian. More sounds of explosions and death screams erupt behind them as Vincent continues to run, desperate to keep the boys ahead of the carnage.

Smoke and dust burn John’s eyes more and more with each passing moment. His glasses are lost, left behind with the broken and battered bodies of the Twins. They pass by bloodied hallways littered with the bodies of mutilated fallen soldiers interspersed by the occasional maimed and groaning but still alive ones. Medics move hurriedly all around them, trying to save the ones they can. Vincent dares not stop, the risk is still too great. The boys are his only priority right now. Guards pour out from nearby stairwells. Some shoot foam onto scattered fires here and there while others take up defensive positions at key intersections. Vincent finally comes to a stop by a group of them.

“Any breach from below?” Vincent asks firmly.

“No, sir,” responds a nearby squad leader.

Vincent hands Micheal over to the squad leader and sets down John for a moment.

“Good. Take these boys down to R&D and dig in. I’ll be down with-”

“No!” interrupts John in a stern, loud voice.

The men turn to look at John. He is afraid, but he pulls his slim shoulders back in defiance as best he can.

“I’m coming with you. Wendy and my parents may need me. I am not going to hide like a coward. I’m going to find them,” presses John, clearly not backing down.

John expects Michael to copy him, as is his normal custom during just about any activity. But this time he doesn’t. Michael just stares at the floor, whimpering instead.

Vincent, having never been a father, sees something he has never seen in all his years. He sees a boy grow up right before his very eyes. Now he understands why his adversaries want these children dead. Vincent gestures to the squad leader, who hands John a rapier.

“Alright then, take Michael down. John will come with me. We will meet you in R&D as soon as we can,” Vincent declares and within moments he and John are on their way to look for the others.

The West Wing itself is not as structurally damaged as the East Wing but the amount of gore is staggering. Inside the first hall, they pass about a dozen or so bodies left sprawled out and hacked to pieces. Decapitated heads with slit-mouthed smiles and severed limbs litter the floor in a bloody mess. John tries not to look directly at the bodies. He retches at one point but holds it in.

****(15 minutes earlier in another part of the Institute)****

Mr. and Mrs. Darling sit cosily on a magnificently comfortable chair wrapped up warmly in each other’s tender embrace as they watch Oksana, Joan and Mulan engaging in a very spirited game of billiards. Wendy sits nearby, wrapped up snuggly in a nice blanket with a good book as her companion. The warm spirit and joviality of the room is enriched by the effect of pleasant drink and good company. The happy music of friendly banter and a crackling fire fills the room until suddenly the moment is shattered by the euruption of a thunderous boom. The lights go dark as the sound of heavy boots and screams fill the institute.

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Joan and Mulan spring into action as they ready their weapons and take flanking positions at the door of the room.

“Report! Can anyone hear me? Report!” barks Joan into her communicator only to be greeted by the sound of static.

“Fuck! Something must be jamming the comms system somehow,” she continues.

Wendy moves close to her parents as Oksana moves to a defensive position in front of them.

“We need to get them to someplace more secure,” chimes in Mulan as she casts a concerned look to Wendy and her parents.

“The R&D Level of the facility is the safest place we can take them, but we have to reach the elevators to get there,” replies Oksana.

Joan and Mulan both nod in agreement.

“Okay, we need the three of you to stay close to us and together we will make our way to the elevators as quickly as we can. Got it?” explains Joan as Oksana grabs a nearby finely-crafted rapier off the wall and hands it to Mr. Darling.

Mr. Darling takes the blade and readies himself for what the group is about to do. Everybody takes a deep breath and the procession towards the elevators begins.

Joan and Mulan burst through the door, taking point as Oksana positions the Darlings in the centre of the formation with herself guarding the rear of the group.

They proceed quickly around a corner joining up the Main Hall. The hall is littered with fallen soldiers and spilled blood. The group proceeds northward up the Main-Hall and round another corner when suddenly an explosion rips through the upper floor of the institute above them. The roof caves in, creating a blockade and splitting the group with Oksana and Wendy on one side and her parents, Joan and Mulan on the other.

“Shit. We have to take separate routes. Mulan and I will get the Darling Parents to the elevators along the main route. You take Wendy and meet us there through whatever quickest route you can find,” orders Joan to Oksana who nods firmly, pulling Wendy in close to her.

The situation goes from bad to worse as four soldiers come up the Main-Hall fleeing toward Oksana and Wendy’s current position as a rapidly surging wisp of mist pursues them. Seeing Wendy and Oksana, the men stop and turn towards the mist, readying their weapons as their leader shouts to ‘HOLD THE LINE!’.

“WE HAVE TO GO NOW!” barks Oksana, pulling Wendy away from the battle unfolding nearby.

“KEEP HER SAFE!” shouts Mrs. Darling as her daughter disappears out of view.

Mulan rips out her left eye and holds it out through a gap in the fallen debris. The gaze of the eye locks in on the battle between the four soldiers and mist just in time to see them all be cut down like wheat.

“It’s the Woodsman. We need to keep moving,” presses Mulan as she pulls her hand back and reinserts her eye back into her skull.

The group turns to continue their way towards the elevators only to have the mist streak fast as lightning into the centre group. The wisp resolidifies, landing a brutal bone-shattering kick into Mulan’s chest and launching her backward hard against the massive blockade of fallen debris. Her body collides hard with some protruding rebar, impaling her. Ashen-black bile bleeds from Mulan’s torso and mouth as her attacker turns his attention to Joan who quickly places herself between the Woodsman and Mr. and Mrs. Darling.

Joan lunges forth with her shimmering sword unleashing a fearsome volley of slashes only to hit nothing but air against her elusive target. The Woodsman slides past her defences, delivering a brutalising downward swing and driving the blade of his axe deep into Joan’s thigh. Joan accepts the hit without even wincing and drives her blade deep into the Woodsman’s chest, causing him to turn back into mist and disappear down the Main Hall in pursuit of Wendy and Oksana.

“Come on. We can’t stay here,” barks Joan as she reaches down and helps Mulan off of the impaling rebar.

Joan and Mulan gather the Darling parents close to them as they speed off as quickly as they can in hopes of regrouping with Oksana and Wendy at the elevators.

Oksana and Wendy proceed with haste down the Main Hall and then down an adjacent corridor only to come face to face with the Woodsman who resolidifies, blocking the path ahead of them and sending a shot from his rifle whizzing past Oksana’s head.

“Quickly, the medbay is close and its doors are thick,” orders Oksana, turning and dragging Wendy back towards the Main Hall as the Woodsman gives chase.

Oksana and Wendy rush into the medbay, sealing the giant doors behind them. Oksana makes her way over to a nearby terminal and attempts to call for help only to be met by continued static.

“What do we do if he gets in?” whimpers Wendy, terrified.

Oksana moves over to Wendy and pulls her into a powerful and reassuring embrace. Oksana stands and releases Wendy as the abstracted black silhouette of the Woodsman comes to a stop just outside the semi-transparent medbay doors.

“Take cover behind me,” demands Oksana as she breathes in deep, readying herself for combat.

Wendy’s spine quivers with fear as the sound of the Woodsman gently rapping against the heavy doors reverberates through the medbay.

“May the Motherland give me strength,” mutters Oksana under her breath as the form of the Woodsman suddenly vanishes into a misty wisp and begins bleeding its way into the ventilation system. Realising his plan, Oksana moves back to the nearby terminal to close the vents, but it is too late. The Woodsman reforms right behind her, axe already in swing aiming for her spine. Oksana, sensing the danger, slides low and allows his ax to fly past her, barely missing her head. Mid-slide, she rotates towards her attacker, catching him square in the chest with a rising sidekick and knocking him off-guard. Seizing her opportunity, she surges towards him, planting two bone-breakingly powerful uppercut strikes straight into his ribs followed by a mighty sideways elbow strike into his face. The blow knocks the Woodsman to the floor and shatters his mask. He growls furiously as he climbs back to his feet, sawed-off shotgun at the ready.

Wendy continues to hide behind a nearby medical bed, she dares not look at the battle unfolding just a few feet away as the Woodsman’s growls fills her heart with terror.

The Woodsman unloads his sawed-off shotgun towards Oksana who uses her enhanced reflexes to dive behind cover as her opponent switches back to his primary axe-weapon. Oksana leaps over the cover and lands a fearsome double jump-kick into the Woodsman’s chest, sending him flying backward into some nearby terminals and lab equipment. Before Oksana can follow up her attack, the Woodsman unleashes a dazzling flashbang, stunning her. Using his mist-form, he manoeuvres behind her before she can recover.

Unable to defend herself, the Woodsman lifts her up from behind and slams her down hard against a nearby metal counter, causing her spine to erupt with a disgusting bone-shattering crack as her body goes limp. Before her now paralyzed body can even hit the ground he grabs her by the back of the head and rams her face as hard as he can into a nearby wall. More sounds of smashing bones echo through the medbay. The Woodsman tosses her broken and bloodied body to the ground like a ragdoll.

Oksana watches in horror through blurred vision as the Woodsman closes in on Wendy.

Wendy cries and begs until at last her eyes lock with those of her attacker as he lifts her off the ground by her throat. Confusion and shock silence her as she realises whose eyes it is that are staring back at her. Only one word escapes her lips as she writhes in his fearsome hold, ‘Hook’.

“Interesting,’ hisses the Woodsman in response as he pulls a tiny strange brew from his cloak and dumps it down Wendy’s throat before tossing her headfirst into a nearby medical bed.

Oksana screams internally as the Woodsman vanishes into smoke once again and disappears from the room.

Vincent and the Darling Brothers pass by busted-open and battle-scarred rooms as they make their way to the medbay. After a few more minutes of running, they finally reach the heavy doors of their destination. Vincent bangs on the medbay doors shouting his identity to anyone seeking refuge inside. A woman’s voice answers in a Russian accent.

“Oh my god, Vincent! Is it over? Are they gone?” asks Oksana.

“There is still fighting in other parts of the facility. This section is currently calm, but the fighting could move back this way at any moment,” replies Vincent.

Oksana unlocks and opens the medbay security doors. She looks bruised and beaten. Blood covers her hands and a weeping gash marks the upper left side of her head.

“I’m so glad you're here,” sighs Oksana with momentary relief, gesturing for John to follow her as quickly as possible.

Vincent follows her into the room. He examines the savagely beaten doctor as he follows her to their destination.

“How are you still moving?” blurts out Vincent in surprise.

“With a little Superhuman-Fortitude and a combination of reptile and starfish DNA, you can survive almost anything. Now shut the fuck up and help me. We have to move her now before it’s too late,” barks Oksana frantically.

John leans in to look and sees the doctor gesticulating next to a wheeled table. Following her instructions, Vincent moves to the other side of the gurney.

“Keep pressure on the wound, we’re moving her downstairs to surgery,” demands Oksana.

Vincent obeys in strict accordance with her words. From the current distance and angle, John cannot make out the body on the table.

In seconds, they are back out in the hall. Vincent shouts for John to stay close and keep up. John does his best to do so as they struggle around the corpses of dead guards littering the hall. As they round another corner, Vincent slips and John finally is able to see who is lying on the table. His breathing fails him and his mind stutters for on the table lies the bloodied unconscious body of his sister, a huge crescent wound in her skull. Vincent does his best to keep pressure on the wound.

“Wendy, Wendy!” cries John, trying to grab her arm.

“Stay back, John,” Vincent commands.

Oksana’s simian face strains with panic. Her tail arcs up from under her coat and presses the button for the elevator over and over again.

“I tried to stop him, John. I really did. We ran, but he was so fast. I’m sorry, so very sorry. Fuck… where is the damned elevator?” Oksana’s voice is a boiling brew of failure, regret and desperation.

“It’s not coming. Advanced Security Measures must have been tripped when they cut the primary power,” responds Vincent.

“The terminals and elevators throughout the facility are pre-hooked into the back-up generator automatically upon disruption of the main generator, right?” inquires Oksana.

“That’s the set-up. This elevator must be malfunctioning,” responds Vincent.

“Shit, I am gonna need a minute,” declares Oksana as she busts open the elevator terminal panel and sets to work on fixing it. She works fast through moments of intense stares and muttered cursing until at last, she obtains success. The elevator panel flashes Red, then Blue, then Green and the elevator door slides open.

A group of guards round the corner at the end of the hall to the right coming towards them.

“Mr. Grinko!” yells Vincent to the lead guard. The guards hurry over even faster in response.

“Oksana is going to need your help downstairs in surgery. She will require both of us to assist her in order to save this girl, and I want the rest of your men to escort John down to R&D. They are expecting him,” orders Vincent.

“But, Wendy... I have to…” as he stares transfixed at his sister’s blood on his hands.

“I’m sorry, John, but the doctor is going to need complete focus if your sister is going to survive. Now, I need you to go with them, please?” pleads Vincent.

John nods in surrender and joins the rest of the soldiers as they begin escorting him down to R&D. Vincent steps into the elevator and the doors close behind him.

As John and his escort party reach the Main Hall, they run into Watson and Slightly coming from the rubble of the East Wing in search of the other Lost Boys. Watson and Slightly join John’s escort party. They pass through more shattered doors and ravaged hallways. John is informed that they are finally approaching the elevator that will take them to R&D, to safety, but as they round the final corner, he is brought face to face with his own world’s end. Just ahead of them stands the Woodsman, holding up the limp, lifeless body of his mother, and laying on the ground just off to the right of the Woodsman is the dismembered body of his father. A violent scream of rage and grief erupts from John as he collapses to his knees.

“Take him down,” shouts Watson as he and the rest of the soldiers in their party open fire on the Woodsman, shredding him into nothing but a cloud of blood-red mist. With the Woodsman gone, John rushes over to the dead bodies of his parents. His screams of rage eventually give way to cries of overwhelming grief. His parent’s blood stains his clothing a deep crimson. Watson picks up John and Slightly as he gestures for the others to pick up the bodies of John’s fallen parents, then they all proceed into the elevator. Watson sets the boys down in the elevator and presses the button for the R&D floor. Slightly drags John to the back of the elevator, pulling him into a deep, tender embrace. Slightly runs his hands through John’s hair as the boy’s tears soak his chest.

Not long after reaching R&D. An announcement of All-Clear echoes throughout the institute. K.B.I. Engineers are finally able to get power back up and running for most systems and are able to confirm the enemy’s retreat from each of the defence stations. External and internal sensor readings confirm the report of All-Clear. With the enemy gone, it becomes time for Clean-Up and Recovery as Assessment Teams and Repair Crews are dispersed throughout the institute. Clean-Up Teams are sent out to collect and inventory the dead.

*****

Over the next few days, the full extent of the loss of life and damage from the attack becomes clear. Over 150 soldiers had been killed. Most of the structural damage to the Institute, while widespread, is revealed to be quite minimal in severity. For two young boys, the damage cannot be calculated in such terms. For them, the world they knew ended with the attack, and true recovery may never be possible. You can calculate the cost of repairs and you can calculate the time it will take to train new soldiers, but how do you calculate the value of a dead father, a dead mother or a fallen sister.