This Is My Future (Jiskastya X LaShana)

Alexander Personne's hands were clasped loosely in his lap as the airplane began its final descent and the comm system crackled into life, thanking its patrons, first in English and then in Russian, for choosing Aeroflot for their flying needs. He let out a small sigh, and watched the plane steadily drift closer to the runway.

He was home, but of all the dangers he had faced in his last six years away, none seemed quite so great as seeing his family again, to have to look them in the eyes and lie, say that he was alright, say that he was glad to be home, subtly shift their probing inquiries over what had happened to him to a more harmless subject. His fists clenched, and the corded muscles in his shoulders and arms stood out in relief under his plain white t-shirt.

He had cut his sandy blonde hair before boarding the plane, chopped it back to a loose, slightly shaggy wave, and had shaved, so that when he disembarked after the thirty hour flight he might almost look like he had when he left them, still young and fresh at 18. Only his deep green eyes would show the changes that had passed, for they held a depth and a sorrow that would stun even the lightest of souls.

But, as the wheels bounced off of the hard runway Lex closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. When his eyes opened again they sparkled, showing nothing more than an all consuming pleasure to be home. It was a mask that he would have to learn to wear comfortably, and have to learn how to put on a lot quicker, as well. He let out a soft laugh. He had made it through his crucible, but that didn't mean his life would be easy now.

At least first class had ensured that he would be one of the first ones out of the plane. He pulled the small pack that he had carried-on out from under the seat in front of him, and stepped out in the aisle, steps brisk and eager. He was the third one out of the gate, and then he paused.

He was about to see his family for the first time in six years. With one last deep breath the mask fixed firmly on his face, and a smile crept across his lips. It was time to go home.

---

When Marylin first got the phone call, she had thought it was some sort of cruel prank. Richard was at work, Jenna at school, so there was no one there to catch her when she fainted. She woke up seconds later to a worried voice over the phone, asking if she was still there. She had replied shakily that she was.

Her son. Her son was alive. For many minutes after she had hung up with the news that Alexander had stumbled his way into a small city in southeast Russia all she could do was stare blankly at the phone. He was alive.

The whole family was gathered in less than an hour, Jenna pulled out of school for the rest of the week, and Richard postponing everything at work, no matter the urgency, something that he had not done since their son had disappeared, been reported MIA, along with the rest of his squad. But none of that mattered anymore. Their son was coming home.

It was an incredibly stressful week as they waited for Alexander to get transportation to Novosibirsk, and then get him put on the first plane to Red Tree that the family could get their hands on. But, eight days, many phone calls, and some sums of money later, Lex was on his way, and everyone was sitting silently in the car, trying to figure out exactly how this was going to work.

He had been dead. There had been little doubt in their minds of that anymore. The army had told them that they hadn't found a body of anyone in the squad, so their best guess was that he had gotten taken as a prisoner of war. But as the years went by and the war came to an end, and Alexander still didn't return home, they had given up. They had held a private and painful funeral, the only way they could find to let go.

Marylin also didn't allow herself to think of something that her psychiatrist had said, when she had gone in for a very short visit to report her son's reappearance. She didn't let herself think about his haunting words. The Alexander they found in the wilderness of Russia will not be the same Alexander that left to fight for his country all those years ago. He was her son. None of that mattered.

The airport hummed with a certain sort of impatient business, but Marylin seemed beyond it all. She moved like a sleepwalker through the crowds, passing through security without a sideways glance. They let her go, but confronted her husband slightly. They let him pass moments later, however, and the tree walked on towards Lex's gate, Marylin leading and seeming to barely recognize where she was going, Richard following along behind, with Jenna close by his side. One of her hands rested lightly on her father's arms, and her eyes darted about, but mostly she focused on the back of her mother's head.

They arrived at the gate half an hour before disembark, and they waited with the same sort of pent up energy that comes only under extreme stress. Marylin tried to sit, but less than five minutes later she was up again, pacing back and forth. Richard almost tried to get her to sit down again, but he left her be, realizing that his wife was coping with the wait in the only way she would be able.

He was the third person out of the gate, and there was no mistaking him. He was darker, thinner, his face drawn, but Marylin knew that she would have recognized him no matter how many years had passed. She glided towards him, tears spilling from her eyes in waves, and then she was running. She threw her arms around him, bawling, hugging his lean, corded form tight into her small body. He tensed for a moment, then relaxed, allowing his arms to come up and wrap around her shoulders. It took Marylin several minutes to finally be able to release her son, to be certain that he wasn't going to disappear as soon as she let him go. She pulled back a little, sniffling, eyes red and tears still cursing down her cheeks.

"I'm so glad that you are home." she whispered.

"Me too, mom. Me too."

The last week had been a complete hell for Jenna. Yes, it was wonderful that her brother was alive and on his way home, but the fact that her mother had pulled her out of school a week before he would be back was like torture for the young girl. All week long she had walked around the house, listening to her parents talking about her brothers arrival and how these last six years had been a fate worth than death for them. Jenna would have rather been at school, keeping her mind busy with studies and her friends, than be locked up in the house and simply wait.

The first year when they had gotten the news that Lex had been MIA in the war had been the worst year of her life. The siblings had always had a strong relationship throughout their childhood and long into their teens, even while Lex was in the army they had been keeping contact as often as they could. The news of the death of her brother had almost broken Jenna completely. She had stopped eating, sleeping and cut herself off from pretty much anyone she knew. Her parents hadn't really made the situation easier either. Of course, the grief they felt was completely different from Jenna's, but during these six years a tall and thick wall had been built up between her and her parents. They had focused so much on the loss of their son that it had taken them months to even realize that she had lost her brother. Once they had noticed how bad things had gotten for Jenna, the damage was already done and no matter how much they had tried to fix it, they all knew things wouldn't be the same.

Not even two years had passed since Lex had "died" when Jenna noticed something was wrong. Throughout all of her life she had been pretty much perfect - she had the looks, the right personality... everything. But as headaches came more often and only grew more and more painful, Richard had finally taken her to a hospital. The headaches had been so bad that Jenna at time wouldn't be able to focus on anything, only laying in her bed, curled up with her pillows wrapped around her head as if to try and stop the sledgehammer from hitting her. Once at the hospital, the doctors were all in agreement that her headaches were the results of Jenna straining her eyes too much, and therefore they decided it would be best for the girl to get contacts.

For a time the headaches wasn't as bad as they had been, but when they returned with a vengeance it was time to take a trip to a different hospital. A hospital with special care and educated doctors. It hadn't taken these doctors too long before they were able to conclude the reason for her headaches. It wasn't her eyes that were the problem, rather a small brain tumor. It wasn't fatal and hadn't done much damage to her brain. Though it was placed in a very difficult spot where it would be difficult to remove it, attached to the nerves controlling her sight.

The surgery to remove the tumor had been long, and once the tumor had been removed the doctors was able to see the full damage it had done. The tumor had left Jenna blind on both eyes to 80%. Even with these devastating news her parents were unable to break the wall that already had been built between them, and even though they did all they could for her, they were still acting differently towards her.

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Finally the day of her brothers arrival had come, and as they all drove to the airport to meet him, Jenna felt an ache in her heart. He had been dead for almost six years and now he had come back from the dead. She was afraid what ever experiences he had gone through might have changed him too much, especially how he would see her. Her relationship with her parents was almost none existing, and she didn't want her relationship with her brother to follow in the same footsteps.

Walking through the airport with her hand resting against her fathers arm, her eyes flickered around. She would always get confused when there were a lot of people she didn't know around, always on her guard if she would bump into someone. Once, her eyes had been a beautiful blue, but after the surgery and the damage the tumor had done, the color of her eyes had turned to a grey-ish white.

As they arrived at the gate where Lex would walk through withing the hour, Jenna sat down on the bench. There weren't anything she could do at the moment, and she felt more secure on the bench where she would be out of everyone's way.

About half an hour passed before her mother ran off to meet Lex as he arrived through the gate. Swallowing hard, Jenna stood up but stayed by the bench. With all of the people exiting the gate, she wasn't able to see who was who. Turning her head against her father as she heard his voice, she nodded a little as he asked her to wait there, he would bring Lex to her.

Walking over to Lex and Marilyn, Richard smiled at his son. "Alexander." he said before embracing his son lovingly. "Now all is how it should, you are home." he said, looking at his son. Richard had always been hard to read, keeping his emotions to himself and rarely letting them show to the rest of the world. Following his eyes, Richard looked over at Jenna where she stood. They had decided it would be best not to tell Lex about what had happened to Jenna over the phone, and it pained Richard to have to tell him like this. "Lex..." he said, looking at his son again "...before you go over there, I want you not to judge your sister. She is as happy as any of us that you are back, but she doesn't know where you are." he said, looking over at Jenna again. "She can hardly see anymore due to a brain tumor she had about four years ago." he said, looking at Lex again.

Only the slightest tremor passed across Lex’s face as he looked at the figure of his sister. And then, suddenly and completely unexpectedly, Lex felt tears coursing along his cheeks. His first step was slow, almost hesitant, and then he was walking over to his sister as quickly as he could without breaking into a run.

He wrapped his arms around her, resting the top of his head on her cheek. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered quietly.

When he had last seen her, Jenna had barely been twelve, still trying to figure herself out. More often than not she had been a complete mess. But she had grown into herself with the grace of royalty, and Lex honestly believed at that moment that he had never seen a more beautiful person.

He pulled her close to his chest, hugging her almost as tightly as his mom had squeezed him. But he let go after a few seconds, sudden worry coursing through his mind. What did his sister think of him right now? He had vanished without a trace six years ago, she had likely believed that he was dead. They had been as close as siblings of such an age difference could be, but that had been when he had left.

Did she hate him for leaving? For having gotten himself into a situation where he could be taken away from her? Did she hate him for dying?

Right then, Lex feared her rejection more than anything he had feared in the past six years. He loved his sister so much, and he didn’t want there to be a wall between them.

And then, suddenly, almost as suddenly as the tears had come to his face, his heart hardened. No matter if she accepted him, there would be a wall between them. He would not tell her what had happened to him during the six years, or, nothing more than the cover story he had created to explain the massive wounds across his body, the hardness of his face and body. there was no change in expression on his face or body, but he silently scolded himself for having gotten in so close so quickly.

But, she was his sister, and he loved her so dearly that, no matter what he wanted to believe, her rejection would hurt.

Richard watched Lex and he almost ran over to his sister. Placing his arm around his wife's shoulders, he pulled her close to him as he watched his two children reunite for the first time in six years. He hoped they would be able to connect and regain the relationship they had had before Lex had gone away to join the army, but at the same time he feared that too much time had passed. He knew his daughter had changed a lot during these six years, especially with the tumor, but he had no idea how much Lex would have changed. He simply didn't want there to be even more and higher walls between their family than there already were.

Standing by the benches where her father had left her, Jenna was fidgeting with her tunic as her nerves were riding a roller coaster. How would Lex react to seeing her? How would she react to him? Would too much time be lost between them? Would he see her as a complete stranger? She didn't seem to be able to do anything but worry that the man that came back from the dead wouldn't be her older brother anymore. She knew that a lot of things must have changed about him, but she hoped with all of her heart that he would still be the brother she lost.

Watching the shape that quickly came towards her, Jenna backed away until she felt the bench against the back of her legs. Not being able to see as she once had been able to had made her cautious to sudden movements and people she didn't recognize. However, as she felt Lex's arm wrap around her and his voice whispering in her ear, she was unable to stop the tears from create a waterfall down her cheeks. "Lex...?" she asked with a slightly trembling voice before threw her arms around his neck, embracing him as close as she could. "Oh my God, Lex...!" she cried against his shoulder.

Stepping back a little as he let her go, she tried to dry her eyes from the tears. Lifting her head up and facing him, she tried to fixate her eyes to where she thought his eyes were. Moving her hands up to his face, her let her fingertips gently play over his face, feeling him instead of seeing him clearly. "It really is you...? Isn't it?" She smiled a little, tears still flowing down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around his neck again, pulling him close once more. "I have missed you so much. There hasn't been a day I haven't thought of you, wishing you would magically come back to life. And now you have!"

"I have," he replied softly, a tender expression flitting across his face. He couldn't help but feel sorrow as he fixed his gaze on her sightless eyes, but he pushed it away. She wouldn't want the sympathy. She was strong, and would want him to simply react as he had always done. "I'm home, Jenna. I'm really here."

He carefully shifted his neck, the movement almost unnoticeable, trying to ensure that Jenna's sensitive fingers would not find the raised scar that ran along the back of his neck. He was confident enough that the ones under his clothing would be concealed, but there was nothing he could do to hide that one without coming off even more suspicious.

After another minute, allowing himself the luxury to forget about everything but the young woman before him, Lex slowly extracted himself from her embrace. "Lets go home, sister." he said softly, slowly, before turning back to his parents. There were still tears running down his mother's face, but his father looked on with pride. Lex offered his arm to his little sister, carefully and easily guiding her fingers to his elbow.

"Oh, Lexie," his mother hiccuped. This all seemed like a dream to her. A perfect dream. Her son was finally home. Somehow, everything was going to be alright again.

Smiling softly at her brother, she placed her hand against his elbow to let him lead her outside. Though, as she heard her mothers voice, there was a shift in her sightless eyes. She might have become almost completely blind, but that didn't mean she couldn't express her emotions through them. Turning towards her mother, her smile disappeared from her face and the looked in her eyes were that of deep depression and rejection. This was more emotions than she had ever gotten during these six years. Of course, she was just as happy as anyone that her brother was back, but it would have been nice if her mother hadn't stopped being just that after Lex disappeared.

"Come on..." she said, turning to Lex again and as she did, her smile returned on her face. "The car's out here." she said as she started walking around the benches, pulling him with her. Just as long as she had a faint feeling of where furniture was, she was able to handle herself quite well. It was moving people and unexpected obstacles that was her biggest enemy. Walking in silence, she didn't really know what she would or could say and ask. She didn't want to ask about something he didn't want to talk about, but at the same time she wanted to know everything that had happened to him while he was gone.

Walking outside of the airport they both stopped while waiting for the car to pull up to them. Turning towards him again, she smiled once more as she had calmed down a little from the first shock. "I'm really happy you're back." she said, taking his hand and squeezing it tightly. "And I know there's a lot of other people that are just excited to see you as I am." she said, turning her head towards the car as she heard the doors open for them and their driver asking them to step inside, to get out of the cold weather.

The whole family got into the car, the doors were closed and the driver soon left the airport. Sitting next to her brother, Jenna leaned back against the seat but at the time leaning slightly on her brothers shoulder. She might be considered clingy, but she couldn't help it. Her brother had been lost for six years and just gotten back into her life - she couldn't do anything but to want to be near him, making sure it wasn't a dream and that he might suddenly disappear again.

Their silence was that somewhat awkward happy silence that came when people who dearly loved eac other no longer knew exactly what to say. There as that certain general revel that pervaded the silence, letting everyone know that they were back together, but there was also that awkward silence that came when people no longer knew what exactly they could say to each other.

Lex loved every moment of it, for, in his worst fears he had always imagined coming home and finding that they had moved on, that they no longer cared, that they would reject him. And then there was the second fear, the one that was based around questions. He had his cover story set, parts of it were even true, and they wouldn't be able to find a hole in it. But if they kept digging, kept trying to figure out exactly what had happened. It wouldn't be impossible to get them out of his business, but it would involve the kind of cold, harsh reactions that would only build walls between the newly unified family. There would be walls, Lex knew that, but that didn't mean the rest of the family had to see it.

There were enough walls already. He could see the almost resentment between Jenna and Marylin, and he knew that things had gone horribly wrong between them while he was gone. And he doubted that he would be able to help breach that gap.

And then there would be the matter of his scars. There was no way he would be able to keep that hidden. His mom was going to want to take him to the doctors almost as soon as they got home, and a physical examination would be the first thing on that list. And he knew that his family would not be able to bear the sight. Any more, his back didn't have any skin on it, but was simply one big mass of jagged scar tissue. It was mostly the same with his chest and belly. And he could only hope that the doctors wouldn't try and drug him, because there would be even more questions when it didn't work. He had a plan for that, as well, but he didn't want to have to do that, mainly because it was humiliating.

And then there was the question of what exactly he planned to do with himself anymore. He couldn't imagine settling back into the life of excess that he had lived before. The thought almost disgusted him now. There was no question that his time away had changed him, and more than just physically. He knew there was a coldness in him, and a part of him that longed for blood. It had been almost hardwired into his mind, and only after a year alone in the Russian wilderness had he been able to overcome that particular dark passenger. And he knew that he would have to find some outlet for that restless energy, or risk it exploding at the wrong moment.

They slipped into the vehicle, Lex carefully storing his carry-on underneath the front seat. He wrapped a light arm around Jenna's shoulder and pulled her into his side.

"I'm not going anywhere," he murmured, pulling her closer at the same time so that she would know he wasn't trying to push her away. "Not this time. I promise."

---

Their house was big and beautiful, a sweeping mansion that had the grace of an old Victorian mansion, while maintaining the practicality of a modern home. Lex felt a small sigh slipping from between his lips as he looked at the building. How long had he dreamed of this place, dreamed that he would be able to walk up the curving front steps, run his hands lightly over the pillars that supported the balcony, the ivy slowly working its way up the side. See the sunsets from the western living room window, sleep in his own bed.

But something in the real house seemed to be missing. A sense of... home. Why did he almost feel like he was looking at a prison? A luxurious prison, but one that he would never be able to escape.

"Home," he said, voice warm. The word felt foreign in his mouth.

Stepping out of the car, Jenna took a deep breath of the cold air. She pulled a hand through her blonde hair as she listened to the rest of the family get out of the car. Turning her head a little, she heard her mother almost take her place on the side of Lex. "Come now." she said, taking his arm as she started to lead him towards the house. "We left your room just as you left it, so I hope you feel comfortable in there. There are so much we need to talk about, now that you are back with us." she said as she smiled at her son.

A slight sigh left Jenna's throat as she listened to her mother. Yes, she was so grateful that her brother was back, but now it would be even more difficult between her and their mother. Turning her head towards her father as he placed a hand on her shoulder, she listened as he started talking to her. "Don't blame your mother. Her son has just returned from the death. It is what she has been dreaming about for six years." he said. Jenna just shook her head a little. "Of course... her son. But what about my brother? That doesn't matter to either of you?" she asked before shaking his hand off of her shoulder. Crossing her arms over her chest, she started walking towards the house on her own, knowing exactly where she was going to get right.

She followed her mother and brother inside the house and pulled her coat off. "Nothing has changed here. Not even the wallpaper or paint, you should feel completely comfortable." she said, smiling a little at her brother. "Well, maybe not everything. You might feel the cold in here? And that is not just because the front door is open." "Jenna!" their mother called out at her statement. "Behave yourself!" Turning her head towards her mother she simply raised an eyebrow. "Don't fool yourself, mom. You know very well Lex's room is the only room in this house that hasn't changed. He has the right to know what has changed so he can know what kind of house he's walking into." she said. Her mother was nothing but displeased with what she was talking about, and a deep sigh let Jenna know just how annoyed she was. "Yeah... I'm sure you need your time with your son... I'll be in my room." she said, turning to Lex again. "If you ever wanna get away from her and breath, my room is in the west wing at the moment." she said before walking passed her mother towards the west wing.

Once upon a time, they had all had their bedroom gathered around the center of the house, giving a feeling of a close family. But ever since the tragedy of Lex's "death", slowly the rest of the family had slipped further and further away from each other. Their parents room was now located in the far end of the east wing, while Jenna's room was located on the complete opposite side of the side, in the far end of the west wing.

Walking through the house and up some flights of stairs, Jenna soon reached her room. It was bright, with tall windows and a warm and comfortable feeling to it. She had mostly decorated it herself, only with the use of a decorator for colors and such that she wasn't able to see. Throwing her coat on the chair by her desk, Jenna walked over to her bed and fell down on it. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. Her mother wouldn't let her any time with Lex for an eternity until she was done with him, and she never would be. Even if she would be in the same room, even if she wanted to talk to Lex, her mother would simply interrupt and get Lex's attention back on her.

When Jenna had walked away, Marylin sighed deeply and pulled away a little hair from her forehead. "Don't mind her, Lex. I know she's happy your home again, she just got some attitude problems that she needs to sort out on her own." she said, looking at him before a smile turned up on her face. "Now, come. Let's gather in the living room and we can have a good, long talk now that you're back home. There's a lot you have missed here, and I really need to know what happened to you." she said as she took his arm, lovingly pulling him towards the living room. "Should I go get Jenna?" Richard asked as he stepped into the house and closed the door behind him. "Oh, no... she seems to need some time by herself. It might be best to let her be." Marylin replied.

Lex watched the conversation between Jenna and his mother with more than a little concern. His brow wrinkled, and a small noise, almost unnoticeable escaped his lips. He had known there would be a distance between the family now, but he hadn't expected the gulf to have grown this wide.

And now, he was torn. His mother stood beside him, so eager, so happy, wanting to hear everything. But he had known this would happen. Known that, as soon as things quieted down even a little bit, he would have to start lying to his family. Lying as though it was completely natural.

And the internal debate that had been raging inside of him since the very first second he had entered civilization again, began with a renewed fury. But, in the end, it boiled down to the same simple facts. His parents, his whole family, would not be willing to accept what had happened to him. They would not want to accept how truly broken their son was. It would be hard enough for them just to hear his cover story, explain away his scars. They would not be willing to accept the rest. Perhaps it would come out of a fear, either of him or for him, but he would loose the freedom that was so much a part of the reason that he was glad to be home.

And then there was Jenna. He was perceptive enough to see what had happened. Marylin had forgotten that she was still a mother, that she wasn't allowed to grieve indefinitely. Maybe she had managed to overcome that a little bit as the time went on, but now she was forgetting Jenna again. Forgetting that Jenna was just as happy and worried as she was, that she had just regained a brother as she had regained a son. But Jenna had never been one to pretend. She wouldn't act like one happy family. Not even for a day.

For now, however, his obligations belonged to his mother. But he would not forget Jenna. Somehow, he would make sure that she got a brother back, if not the exact one that she had lost.

He followed her with a half smile on his face, and stepped into the living room. His mask was firmly in place, ready to play any role it needed.

Marylin perched herself lightly on the edge of the sofa, Richard following behind and sitting down beside her. He put a light arm over his wife's shoulder, as though trying to make sure that she wouldn't fly away. Lex looked at them for just a moment, and then took the single seat across from them, feeling more as though he was sitting in the interrogation chair in the police department rather than his own living room.

For a moment there was dead silence, Marylin staring at the blank face of her son, and trying to get the words she so desperately wanted to say to the front of her mouth. But there was a certain flatness, an almost imperceptible widening of Lex's eyes and tightening of his lips that told her motherly instincts exactly how little he wanted to talk about this. But, he was home now. He had to let the darkness of his past go, and the best way to do that would be to get him to talk about it.

"What happened, Lexie?" she crooned softly.

Lex continued to stare ahead flatly for a minute, and then he began to talk, his voice oddly flat. "I was with my squad in a small village where there had been a rumor flying around for weeks that a leader of the rebellion had been in hiding there. There were ten of us, and I was about mid-way back. We had our guns out, and everyone was looking everywhere. I remember the faces of the villagers looking out at us from the windows. Their faces were so scared, almost like the devil himself had just wandered into the village.

"We started searching the houses in groups of two. I remember trying to be nice, but they wouldn't listen to a word I said. We were almost done with our search, and it was starting to seem like there really wasn't anyone there. I walked out of the last house just behind my partner when something hit the back of my head and I blacked out.

"I don't know how long I was out, but when I woke up I was tied down in a chair, and there was a blindfold over my eyes and a gag in my mouth. I must have sat there for... at least a day, although it felt like years. Maybe it was longer, I don't really know. It all got kind of... blurry." Lex bit his lip and looked away from his parents. The calculating part of his mind, the part that was above this story, watched his parents carefully, trying to judge their reactions.

"And then, later, someone ripped the blindfold off of my face. I couldn't see him, because there was a light behind him. He just looked like a black demon. But he spoke with a Russian accent, and I remember being so confused for a minute, because we weren't fighting with the Russians. They were supposed to be our allies. But then it didn't matter anymore, because he started hitting me. He wasn't even asking me anything, didn't seem to be trying to get any information from me. He just hit me." Lex had looked back, staring into his mother's face with a sort of blank glaze, as though he had shut down in the telling, like his conscious mind wasn't willing to remember. Marylin had settled back into her seat, but now she was pressed close to Richard, a look of horror on her face.

"He must have stayed there for a day, never saying anything. I think he pulled the knife out after I stopped responding to his hits. By the end of the day I couldn't see straight and I had simply stopped screaming. And then that same man, the one who had spent all day torturing me, bent forward and gave me water, small bites of food, and bandaged my wounds. He took care of me, treated me like a friend." Lex paused again, building just a little bit of suspense, but he widened his eyes, trying to convey both a terror and a deep affection in a single look. "Treated me like a lover.

"By the end of the next day I was thanking him, begging him not to go. It didn't matter that he was the one who had done this to me, because it was by his mercy that I wasn't hurting now. He untied me and carried me to a holding cell. The rest of my squad was there, and their bandaging made it clear that they had gone through similar circumstances. He set me down on the cold floor and left me there, and then he walked away. I cried out, begging him not to go, not to leave me alone, but he left and I never saw him again. We spent that night huddled together, trying to find some comfort from each other.

"And then, it must have been a while later because my wounds had healed sufficiently that I could move again, a new person came for me, and the whole process was repeated, over and over and over again."

"And then, one by one, the rest of my squad began to die. They couldn't heal from their wounds. We would curl up at night, and they would still be alive. The next morning they wouldn't open their eyes, and a group of men would come in and haul their corpse away.

"Eventually, I was the only one of my squad left alive. I sat in the cell alone, shivering every night. And then, one day, no one showed up with my food. I didn't think much of it. It simply seemed like one new torture for them to add to the list. Maybe they were tired of me surviving. It took me three days to finally move, because by then I was so hungry that I couldn't think of anything else. And the door was unlocked. And I think they had never locked it. And we all just sat there, waiting for them to come back and hurt us.

"I found them all sitting in a... garage of some sort. Sitting in a circle and laughing. One of them spotted me and he pointed, and I was terrified that they were all going to attack me. But they didn't. Several grinned, one nodded, and another beckoned me over. And I sat down, and became a part of their group.

"We left the base two days later, and went to a new place. And there they tried to teach me how to fight, how to torture, how to kill, how to heal. How to become one of them. For that was how they recruited new members. They stole a group of people, and found out who could survive. And that one person became a part of their group.

"At first it was so wonderful. I was a part of group, I was taken care of, I had friendship and plenty. And then, one day I realized that if I stayed there I was going to become one of them completely. And one day it would be my duty to torture people to death.

"I almost left then, figuring it would be better to take my chances with the Russian wilderness than surround myself with these men. But that night a snowstorm blew in and I was trapped. It had been three years since they had taken me, and it was another three before I was finally able to slip away. I made it to a small city, and you know the story from there.

"I never found out who they were, and they never knew who I was."

As the story continued, the look on his parents faces changed from curiosity to complete horror. To hear what their son told them, what he had experienced since he disappeared, seemed to much for his mother to bare. She placed her hand over her mouth, breath trembling and tears flowing down her eyes. "Og my god..." she whimpered from time to time as she listened to his story, not seeming to notice the blank look in his eyes. Of course, that could have meant that it was simply too painful for him to talk about, or that he was lying, but his mother didn't notice and neither did his father. They were too captivated with his story to notice anything but his words.

As he had finished his story, Marylin stood from her seat before walking over to him, wrapping her arms around him again. "It must have been so horrible for you." she said, pulling him close to her chest. "But you are home now, and everything is alright. Nothing will ever happen to you again! I promise! I won't allow it!" she cried out, treating him as a child that had fallen and scraped his knee.

His father's reactions had been more suddle, of course horror was shown on his face, but he was more calm than his wife. He was quiet so far, watching his son and his wife on the other side of the table. To be honest, he didn't know what to say or how to react. He hadn't ever been good with emotions or dealing with things in their childrens lives that had been hard - it was usually his wife, friends or staff that dealt with it. "Your mother is right..." he said as he stood himself, walking over to Lex and placing a hand on his shoulder. "The important thing is you're back home."

Jenna had been laying on her bed for a while, trying to gather her thoughts before she heard the "be-pling" from her computer. She tried to ignore it for a while, but the silence and emptyness was about to drive her crazy. Finally, she got up from the bed and walked over to her computer, moving the mouse to get it to activate. Using her fingers over the keyboard, she soon found the right keys to commande the computer to speak out what the instant message had been about.

It was from Tyler, Ryan younger brother. He was about a year older than her, but they had been friends for a long time. He had been pretty much the only one that stood by her during these six years, helping her go though the loss of her sight, how to deal with her parents and mainly how to deal with the "death" of her brother.

You there?

Jenna sighed a little before pulling her hair away from her forehead. She placed her fingertips against the keyboard and started typing. Yeah... unfortunatly... Lex has come back, safe and sound... almost... but of course Marylin has dug her claws straight into him... I almost feel sorry for him, having to spend time with her... but at the same time I don't want the relationship I have with her affect his judgement of her... he just has to find out by himself what a backstabbing, selfcentered bitch she really is...

Good plan. Hopefully he will take your side, or at least see it. Hope he hasn't changed too much, even though that might be a bit of an understatement. Has he told you anything yet?

No... I'm sure Marylin is downstairs grilling him right now. Poor thing... I also want to know what happened, how he managed to survive and all that... but to force him to tell her what happened... Can you imagine how hard it must be for him? Why not just leave him be for a while, let him settle in again? It's not like he can just go back to his life that he had before everything happened... *sigh*

Well, your mother is how she is... nothing much to do about it, right? Want me to come over?

No... at least not now... I don't think it would be a good idea at the moment. Maybe later tonight though, unless Marylin has loosen her grip of Lex and I could steal him for a few seconds, try to reconnect with him. I apritiate your offer though. :)