Broken Past, Good Path

You Can Start Where You Are And Change The Ending

    Noah Walstead turned his head from one side to the other but it was useless. All he could see was black. Even if he looked down at himself, he could not make out a single body part. Beyond the suffocation blackness of his surroundings were the unending thoughts running through his mind. Where was Morgan? Why hadn’t she helped him? Was she in danger? Why wasn’t he able to see anything? Noah frowned, wondering if he had gone blind. He tried to lift a hand to his face to feel his eyes but the effort was too draining for him. He gave up almost instantly. Was it possible that he was wearing a blindfold? Had he been captured? He shook the thought away. It wasn’t possible…

                “Hey, Noah…” The high-pitched, feminine voice shook him. It wasn’t Morgan’s but it did sound familiar to him. A big part of him hoped that the voice would continue to speak to him. “It’s me again…” The voice sounded fragile and on the verge of cracking. He wished he could comfort the owner. “You are so strong. I know you will survive… Don’t you know how sad and how scarred I would be if you don’t? If you weren’t trying to protect me in that car…” The voice continued to talk at a slow, melodious pace but Noah wasn’t listening anymore. His mind stuck on the words ‘protect me in that car’. At first, he was confused. He couldn’t recall protecting anyone in a car in any recent event. He pushed his mind to go back and remember. A small light appeared at the far end of his vision, bringing with it an image of Morgan from when they first met. Shortly after, it was joined by another pinpoint of light, bringing another image. Soon, his whole line of vision was full of little balls of light, new and old images flying past him. Just as the lights were beginning to fade again, a light at the far end of the blackness grew and enlarged into the headlights of a high-end, expensive black car being chased by another. The headlights swerved this way and that until they finally turned in his direction, blinding him momentarily with an image of himself being tossed inside the car, doing his best to protect the girl at his side. “Thank you so much for saving my life…” The pitiful voice returned. A pit formed in his heart filled with the need to see the owner of the voice. He will for the light to return, and inch by inch the light did come back, so brilliantly that it hurt. He had to shut away from the light a few times before he could fully open himself up to it. “Noah, can you hear me?” The feminine voice called his name again and long blond hair fell into his face. Olivia…

                Noah made a minuscule motion in form of a nod. A face full of tears brushed past his vision. He could feel the pressure of a body on his, sobbing and wetting whatever clothing he had on.

                “Thank you for waking up.”

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                Bradley Thomas remained motionless, too afraid to move. He was too caught up in the arms that embraced him and too worried that this was just a dream he would wake up from.

“Thank you for saving Noah!” Morgan whispered with a shuddered breath. He could feel hot tears land on his shoulders. “I’m so sorry for saying those awful words to you! I was just too caught up in my own grief that I didn’t see how much you had done to save him… then you still have him your blood… I’m beyond grateful,” Morgan spoke into his ear, composing herself as she stifled her tears. Her body reverberated against his own. Bradley gritted his teeth, forcing himself back to reality. He gently grabbed Morgan’s arms and pushed her an arm’s length away.

                “You do not need to thank or apologize to me…” Bradley lowered his arms to his side, turning away from her.

                “But…”

                “Who told you?”

                “I…uh… prefer not to say…”

                “No matter. I will find out myself,” Bradley crossed his arms, agitation creeping into his voice. He heard the stomping feet and Morgan appeared before him once again.

                “What is wrong with you? If you really must know it was Olivia and she only told me because I begged her. You could have told me yourself before I accused you of being the worst human being in the world and I said words that I would regret!” Morgan seethed, steam rising from the top of her head.

                “I tried! I struggled to do just that! You would not listen!” Bradley spat back. The room went silent for a moment as they both took a few deep breaths.

                “You could also take better care of yourself…. So, others won’t have to worry about you!” Morgan added, crossing past him towards the door.

                “I did not know you cared!” Bradley responded, the door banging open just in front of Morgan. Jax stood in the doorway with wide, anxious eyes.

                “Noah! He’s awake!” Jax announced and ran off. Bradley raised his brows, looking back to Morgan. She had a silly, confused look on her face that spread into a smile. Bradley, noticing her smile, couldn’t help from a smile spreading onto his own face. He crossed the room and pressed his palms down onto her shoulders. He gently pushed her towards the open door.

                “Go,” Bradley said softly, turning back away and preparing to agonize single-handedly over her departure from his sight.

                “You aren’t coming? You have to come!” Morgan’s words rang around the room. He felt a hand envelope his own and tug him in the opposite direction he was going. He could not refuse Morgan’s hand in his own or her order for him to follow so he ran down the halls at her side, his heart thumping in his chest. Only when they reached the medical cube and Morgan dropped his hand did he bite off a protest. He leaned against the glass, taking in the poor form of Noah, his eyelids blinking slowly. Ryland and Jax were close by while Olivia sat on the edge of the bed. The doctor stood not too far away, alternating between checking on Noah’s vitals and the reactions from the others in the room, most notably Olivia’s. Bradley stopped his eyes on Morgan, taking in the now familiar tear-stained face. She approached the bed with hesitance in her step and the apprehension that Bradley felt was almost tangible.

 __________________________________________________________________________

                Morgan Dylan looked through her tears at Noah, relief and a lasting sense of fear coursing through her. Noah’s amber eyes washed over her, a smile spreading onto his lips.

                “Morgan,” Noah mouthed with barely any audible noise. Morgan moved forward with more confidence now, grasping Noah’s hand tightly in her own.

                “Noah! You are going to be ok!” Morgan said, wiping her tears with her free hand. Noah only nodded with a smile. The silence didn’t last much longer before the doctor crossed the room and put one ear plug in each of Noah’s ears, garnering an interesting reaction out of everyone.

                “Now that everyone is here and the door is locked. Would everyone please cover their ears for a brief period of time? I will explain everything afterward,” The doctor turned to them one by one as they covered their ears. He turned to flip a switch, forcing a loud, high-pitched whining to be heard throughout the medical cube. Even with her ears covered, the whining irritated her senses. The beginning of a migraine made her temple throb before the sound was cut off. They all, slowly, removed their hands from their ears, looking at the doctor with mild curiosity.

                “What in the hell’s name was that?” Ryland questioned, apparently too impatient to hear the doctor’s reasoning behind his actions.

                “I was just scanning to see if there were any bugs in the room. Now… The boss has been informed of everything that has been going on recently and has asked me to gather all of you. We need a plan to get Olivia and Noah to safety.” Morgan noticed a stir by the glass. Bradley appeared to be more interested now than previously. “Obviously Noah will have a long road of recovery followed by intense training and no one wants to see him hurt again,” the doctor finished.

                “I suggest that Noah and Olivia choose a new place for their recovery and training. Ryland, Jax, and I will follow in another car.” Bradley insisted.

                “Now wait a minute-,” Morgan turned her body to Bradley, upset that she had been excluded.

                “Doc, as you won’t be needed as much here… I would like it if you went with Noah and Olivia to oversee their well-being.” Bradley continued, ignoring Morgan’s input.

                “Thank you. I appreciate that. However, the boss will have the final say,” The doctor lowered his head.

                “Can we talk about why I’m not included?” Morgan raised a hand to her hop. Bradley rolled his eyes over to hers, the icebergs were large and severe-looking.

                “For several reasons. You are the real target. You are the person they want. Not to mention that you are a risk to everyone on this mission, just like the last,” Bradley tried to remain calm.

                “Like they aren’t going to be targeted with or without me?” Morgan pleaded to Bradley, walking towards him. “All I want is to see my best friend in a safe place.”

                “There are still a few days before Noah will be strong enough to be moved anyway,” The doctor chimed in. “You can wait to make a decision.”

                “I will think about it,” Bradley responded after a moment’s pause.