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“There’s someone in there, Reaper.”
“Alive?”
Grimm walked carefully through the dead bodies, and looked at the small monitor above the vault door. The screen was black, except for a few dim glows of light, and sure enough a shape moved across them, highlighting a profile, an arm, a leg.
Certainly something human.
“Should we get’m out of there?”
“I’m sure ‘evacuate all personnel’ doesn’t include people trapped in a safe.” Grimm said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes and approached the vault door, looking at the electric lock panel. He nodded towards the bodies. “One of those will have a key-card...”
“Really?”
Grimm fixed The Kid with a look and the new recruit begrudgingly searched the remains, Grimm banged on the door with the butt of his rifle, then looked up at the screen. The figure turned, and Grimm knocked again.
On the screen they rushed to the door, on Grimm’s side, he could just about hear them thumping on the door, yelling.
“Got one.” The Kid announced and bought over a bloodied lanyard, the simple white plastic card beside an ID tag, a blue stripe down one side.
The Kid swiped the card through the lock pad, the signal light turned green and he turned the lock, heaved the door open, and the two soldiers readied their rifles.
“Slowly now, come on out.”
Two shaking hands raised and the vault’s prisoner took just one step into the room, wincing in the fluorescent lab light.
The man, probably around the same age as Grimm himself, but a little shorter, skinnier, shivered violently and tried to suck in his sobs around his rapid breaths, under the lights his skin was ashen, his face looked clammy, but that could well have been tears. His eyes were wide and he focused on the dead bodies at their feet. There was blood on his overalls and labcoat, yet he seemed unharmed, and the smell of dried vomit lingered around him.
The man was clearly in a severe state of shock.
“Lower your weapon.” Grimm softened his tone, shouldered his rifle and reached out his other hand. “Double-RTS sir, we’re gonna get you out of here, c’mon...”
The guy let out a cry and Grimm had to take a step forward to catch him, his legs seemed to crumple beneath him as he broke down, he tried to speak between frantic tears and heaving sobs but he was unintelligible. The Kid had jumped back at the sudden movement, and fixed his rifle point, if he fired, he would kill them both.
“Goddamn it Kid, lower your weapon.”
The sudden sharpness in Grimm’s voice caused the man to stop and look up in bewilderment at the Kid, and then at John; his sobs lessened, and he simply looked confused as to how he ended up draped in John’s arms.
He pushed against Grimm to stand back on shaky legs, his cheeks slightly darkening in embarrassment. John indicated for the Kid to leave a moment and met the man’s eyes with sympathy as he rested a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. His gaze flicked to the soiled badge pinned to his pocket.
“Dr. Briggs...” he kept his tone soft. “What -” He paused as the Doctor tried to swallow and looked as if he was failing. “You OK?”
“I wanna throw up.”
Grimm nodded. Shock was a bitch. “Guess you’re empty.”
“Are they all dead?”
“How many -”
“10 others.”
He nodded once more, a whimper left Briggs and tears filled his eyes again. Grimm took another step and slid his hand from the Doctor’s shoulder to his back, but Briggs held it in with a breath and rubbed at his face.
“How did you end up in the vault?”
It was a delicate way to ask what happened, and the Doctor appreciated it. He swallowed again, grimacing at the dry, bile-flavoured, lump that wouldn’t budge in his throat.
“I was already in there… then the alarm went up… The thing,” he hoped Grimm wouldn’t ask him to elaborate because he couldn’t even describe it. “Tore through the lab door like it was paper, it attacked anything that moved, it scattered furniture and the samples, there was screaming and blood...” and the Doctor dry-heaved again.
“Take your time...”
“I was logging some samples, it all happened so quickly...”
Grimm turned to look across the room, the lab wasn’t huge, even he could make it to the other side in a few strides.
“And then Terry...” Briggs’ eyes widened and he turned before John could stop him, Grimm simply ended up catching his chest in one arm as he froze at the sight of his friends’ mangled body, he covered his mouth with one shaking hand. “Oh god, Terry...”
The very frail control he had maintained then broke, and he turned, falling to his knees and vomiting on the floor, his body convulsing.
Grimm averted his gaze, grimacing. “Guess you weren’t empty.”
Once Briggs had stopped, John dropped to one knee beside him, he gently lifted the Doctor’s arm and draped it over his shoulder.
“Let’s get you outta here.”
Briggs whined again, but complied, grasped John’s shoulder and got to his feet. He felt dizzy and weak and couldn’t stop his sobs, but took shaky steps with Grimm, until they were safely out of the lab, back with the Kid in the hall.
“Take the lead.” He told the Kid, who, despite his youth, did so effectively.
=
“Olduvai is hell.”
It was a running joke in the team, the red rock, the firey-orange sky, visually, it could have been hell; but it was a geologists’ dream!
They had dug through miles of brimstone-like rock, volatile dust (which saved them a bunch of explosives, to be fair) and reached a layer of volcanic glass that blunt nearly every tool they hit it with. While it was barren of life; the team had gathered new gemstones, and found the place was rich in new minerals no one had seen on Earth.
They’d found caverns with bones in the walls and promptly had to hand them over to the archaeology team, but it was no loss on their part, the more they dug, the more there was to find.
The Geology team was a small one and they had only needed the one lab and lockable storage for their finds, so Archaeology let them tag along, giving them an unused space beside the entrance to the dig site.
Dr Briggs had heard the commotion and ran out of the vault, he saw Dr. Kim on the floor in a pool of blood, their intern Mel was screaming, something held her legs in it’s mouth and was shaking her like a dog with a rope, someone grabbed him by the waist and he yelled, he was thrown back into the vault, his glasses dislodging in the process, he got to his feet regardless and reached for the entrance, he called to his partner, warning him of the approaching monster.
There was a sudden explosion of blood and Terry was gone. Briggs was knocked back as the monster threw his lab-partner against the door, slamming it as if it weren’t several layers of lead and steel. The lock buzzed and the interior light went out.
He learned that some of the rocks are bioluminescent.
There were muffled screams and heavy thuds, he shook, he cried, he realised the blood on his face was Terry’s and he threw up.
Then he remembered the vault didn’t open from the inside.
=
“I don’t even know how long I’ve been in there.”
They’d taken refuge in a large office which had remained unspoiled by monsters or frenzied staff. Grimm called in their situation and insisted that the Kid continue on to clear the last few rooms back down the corridor.
The Kid reluctantly continued on, Grimm blocked the door and closed the shutter on the small window in it.
After the Doctor had managed to discard his stained overalls and coat, and sit, shivering in his plain tee and tracksuit bottoms, Grimm leaned against the desk in front of him as he explained what had happened. Evidently still in shock, but calmer now, at least.
“They never mentioned a geology department...”
“They didn’t really want us to tag along.” Jacob explained. “Archaeology insisted.”
He gave a soft huff of a laugh, thinking he could guess exactly who would have insisted that much. It was just like his sister to want to share.
“I wish they’d never bothered.” He said, pursing his lip against an onslaught of sobs.
“C’mon...” John said softly as he got to his feet and patted the Doctor's shoulder. “We should get you to the Ark.”
Jacob nodded and sniffed, thankful for something else to focus on. “Is it safe?”
“Haven’t heard any shots.” He moved his blockade and raised his rifle, checking both sides of the corridor. “Clear.”
With the jerk of Grimm’s head, Jacob followed, much steadier on his feet. They walked, in silence for the first few corridors, until Jacob felt the need to look behind him.
“Uh, soldier?”
Grimm huffed a laugh, continuing on. “Grimm will do.”
“Oh! You’re John.”
Grimm paused and turned, a brow raised in question, he opened his mouth to question further but noticed a shape at the end of the corridor. He raised his rifle.
“Run.”
“What?”
“Go. Now.”
Jacob ran, he was about a meter away before he heard giant, heavy footsteps, and the gun firing. There was a great screech and a hissing like a gas pipe had burst.
John ran then, catching him up and then passing to lead down a smaller corridor.
“In here, quick.”
He opened the nearest door and grabbed Jacob’s shoulder.
“No wait that’s a -”
But Grimm had grabbed his shoulder and practically threw the geologist through the door, following and slamming it behind him, finding as soon as he did that he was pressed against the other man.
"Closet."
The items on the shelf behind him rattled as he tried to move back, Grimm held him steady by the shoulders, hissing a reprimand as he tried to listen for the monster. Huffing breaths echoed down the hall, great thumping footsteps were an indeterminate distance away. It was best to wait for silence. But the geologist was shifting against him.
"Please..." he breathed. "stay still."
"Sorry, but can I just- your gun-". He reached to move the offending weapon, only to cause Grimm to tense, an odd, surprised sound leaving him.
"That's not a gun." he said, clipped.
"Shit. Sorry."
The hand moves away, and keeps his gaze aside. Grimm listened intently, the monster was lingering, he sighed and turned his head to face the other man, he was averting his eyes.
Cute.
"I'm sorry." The geologist whispers as quietly as possible. "I did try to tell you."
"Yeah you did." He conceded softly, knowing that if they had run just a moment longer, they'd be holed up in a nice, spacious, lab and his adrenaline-semi could have gone ignored.
Instead, it had got some attention, and adrenaline hadn't much to do with it any more, now fuller and pleasantly aligned with the other man's hip. Now the tight space seemed to be closing in with warmth, and as much as he tried, his breath seemed too loud in the small space, his heart began to race again, but neither in fight nor flight. He heard the geologist stifle a laugh.
"At least I wouldn't mind if that one went off in my hand."
"I'm glad you find this so funny." He whispered severely.
"Funny? I'm terrified." Briggs said, tone rising hysterically. "We're going to die."
"We'll be fine, alright, you just gotta keep it together and-"
"Keep it together?!"
"Shh!" He jammed his hand over the geologist’s mouth, he ignored the struggling and listened.
The monster had paused, but he could still hear it breathing, it had passed the closet door, maybe about 7 feet away. The thudding continued, slowly on, slowly away and Grimm's focus was drawn back into the closet, to the body pressed against his, to Jacob who had stopped struggling and whose breath was heavy through his nose, eyes wide, staring up at him.
"Sorry..." Grimm whispered, bringing his hand from Jacob's mouth.
The reply he received was a gentle hand sliding between them, pressing against his arousal and softly squeezing. He let his eyes close and takes a shaking breath, knowing it was just adrenaline, just a fear response - he couldn't let this happen. He hears the Doctor sigh and feels lips press at his own, a wild thought invades his mind; he may as well let this happen, it said, he won't get the chance once this is all over, certainly not if they're both dead.
He pushed that thought aside, then bought his hand down to pull the other man’s away.
"Listen, doc."
"Jacob."
He nodded, but continued. "I know you're overwhelmed, you wanna reach out, feel grounded – but this ain't the time or place.."
"What do you suggest?"
"We get to the ark. We survive this. We go home.”
"But what if we don't?"
Grimm gave an amused, if a little forced, smile.
"Would you want them to find you with a dick in your hand, or a gun?"
"I know which I'd prefer..." Jacob said, then sighed and tried to make a space between them. "But you're right."
Grimm nodded and then removed his real pistol from his belt.
“Take this and follow me.”
Jacob took the weapon and then Grimm turned and carefully opened the door, the corridor was quiet and dark, he lifted his rifle and stepped out, checking each side and then signalling for Jacob to follow. They went quickly through the corridors and Jacob saw the carnage like a slowly developing picture as he walked, there was so much damage, so many dead, his hands shook.
"So Sam talks about me huh?" Grimm asked, a welcome distraction. “What kind of horror stories did she tell you?”
“Horror stories? Oh no, you came off as a dorky – the dorkiest – little brother in the world.”
Grimm turned, an incredulous look on his face. “We’re twins.”
“Yeah, but 4 minutes is a lot of time.” Jacob countered.
Grimm rolled his eyes and muttered as he led along a dark corridor, one light flickering above them. They weren’t far from the Ark now, just two more clicks and they’d be home free.
They stop at a cross section, echoes of something could be heard from one way and the two other corridors were pitch black. Grimm motioned for silence and headed down the immediate corridor, switching the torch on his rifle into life.
Jacob walked along with one hand on Reaper’s back, his heart beginning to race as the corridor grew darker around them, the echoes seeming to follow them. His fingers tensed on Grimm’s shirt, but Grimm continued on until they were clear of the dark. Both men let out relieved sighs once they saw the sign for the ark on the wall.
“So, uh, when you said we were going home…” Jacob said softly. “Is that… my home or yours?”
Grimm looks over his shoulder, eyebrows raised in surprise and question. Jacob looked a little bashful, hand slipping from Grimm’s back.
“Or shall we forget that I asked?”
“Let’s just get you to the Ark...” He said with a sigh. “Then, maybe, when this is over -”
A burst of gunfire interrupted him, someone was yelling over the radio, Grimm rushed ahead, rifle raised and Jacob followed, flinching at the volume, hands shaking around the handle of the pistol.
Grimm disappeared around the corner, there was something there, something that roared and screamed and swiped at the two marines.
He couldn’t bring himself to move any closer.
Soon it’s screams died out, a great wet thud echoed in the hallway and there was silence.
“Jacob.” Grimm’s voice called. “It’s dead, c’mon.”
“Is this the thing you saw?” The Kid asked as Jacob walked slowly around the corner.
He dropped the gun at the sight of it, tremors shaking his entire body. Grimm nudged the Kid to continue on, and walked back to Jacob, blocking the view of the monster.
“C’mon Doc, let’s go.”
He gently guided Jacob away by the arm, it was just three more corridors to go. If they were cautious and quiet, John could get Jacob away before he reports to the Sarge. The situation had changed now there were monsters.
They could hear a chatter of voices, the others in the team leading civilians to the ark.
“John...” Jacob said as John led him to the end of a queue of people and the Sarge began to approach.
“Yeah?”
“Come find me?” He asked softly. “When this is all over?”
John meets his eyes, there’s relief in Jacobs, but fear in his own. He nods, knowing he may not be able to keep that promise and turns away to meet his commanding officer.
=
After everything, John feels exhausted, it's daytime on the surface, and there are still teams of medics, someone leads him to an ambulance and he rests Sam on a gurney.
He stays with Sam and the EMT checks him over on the way to the hospital. His vitals are perfect, he is unharmed and complains only of feeling tired.
Sam is wheeled away to be taken care of and he insists he doesn't need to be admitted, he lingers by the reception desk, realises he had a promise to keep.
"Ma'am, has Doctor Jacob Briggs been admitted here?"
He looked at the grime and blood staining the lines in his hands as the receptionist checked the admissions.
“Seems so, he’s waiting to be discharged, are you here to collect him?” He nods, and she smiles. “Second floor, ward 3. The Doctor shouldn’t be too long.”
He took the stairs and ignored the looks he received as he reached the second floor and wandered through the corridor to find ward 3.
Each ward he passed was full, busy as any incident like this would be, nurses, Doctors and orderlies were back and forth, chatter, cries and hospital machinery filled the air. Ward 3 was quieter, the people inside were still, muttering, softly sobbing, they were in shock.
He saw Jacob at the last bed, a Doctor at the foot of the bed, chart tucked under his arm as they chatted quietly, amiably. The Doctor noticed John and Jacob smiled brightly.
“John!”
“Oh, this is the Marine, huh?” The Doctor said. “Jacob tells me you’re a hero.”
“Have you discharged Dr Briggs? I’m here to take him home.” Grimm says with a sigh.
“Oh, yeah.” The Doctor looked at the chart. “Barely a scratch on him, lucky really, looking at some of these others.”
Jacob slipped from the bed and Grimm rested his hand on his arm.
“What happened up there?”
“You don’t wanna know.”
Grimm ignored the official-looking black car parked in an ambulance bay at the front of the hospital and opted for a cab, he bundled Jacob inside and followed, ordering the driver where to go.
He listened to the engine’s noise, he opened the window and didn’t mind the light rain that came in, the air smelled wet and clear, the wind was cool. His apartment came into sight, Jacob said something complimentary but he wasn’t listening. He paid the driver too much and didn’t care about the change.
He led Jacob inside, they both avoided the elevator, and Grimm watched the sky brighten, red behind the clouds as they climbed the stairs. It made him feel uneasy and he quickened his pace.
His apartment filled with the orange morning light and it felt unfamiliar, he grabbed Jacob's hand, the Doctor squeezed it gently and Grimm felt the slide of congealed blood between their fingers.
Jacob slipped from him to find the bathroom, he was chatting then, asking questions that he didn’t hear, he removed his bloody gloves and crossed to the kitchen to dispose of them, his jacket and shirt followed, his boots went into the sink.
He looked up, the bathroom door was open and the bright light seemed to be a beacon against the orange light, easing Olduvai away from his mind. He followed it and saw that Jacob had familiarised himself with his shower, and now stood, relishing the hot spray of water.
He stepped in, noticing one of his spare toothbrushes on the side of the sink, toothpaste tube squeezed from the middle, he smirked and removed his final items of clothing, dumping them in the wash basket.
He stepped into the shower, his hands finding Jacob’s waist, turning the Doctor around then sighing as the water ran over them both, resting his head against Jacob’s shoulder.
"You're filthy.”
He chuckled against Jacob’s skin, and the geologist gently ran soap over his body. Grimm pressed small, grateful, kisses along his shoulder until he met Jacob’s lips.
The kiss was slow and soft, when it deepened it was cool and fresh, tasting of mint. Jacob moaned softly as Grimm's hands pulled his hips closer, their wet bodies slipping together pleasantly.
Softly, Jacob’s cleaning hands slipped between them, pressing a palm against Grimm's cock, fingers squeezing, and John opened his eyes, meeting Jacobs, just as before, only different.
Now they were in a bright room and the air wasn’t rife with the smell of blood and sweat, now John let out a breath and kissed him as he had wanted to in that closet, deeply, urgently, with the desperation of a man wanting one last rush of living before he died.
Through kisses, they managed to turn off the shower, step out of the cubicle and stumble into John’s bedroom.
The curtains were still open, the sky outside no longer a reminder of their shared hell, but clear and blue, and when they fell to the bed, they appreciated it for a moment. Jacob looked at John then, taking in the details that were obstructed by blood, or hidden in the emergency lights of the compound.
In this light, in this context, Grimm was soft. The intensity in his eyes had faded, the command in his voice had dulled, he muttered soft encouragements and kissed wherever he could, he wasn’t in charge here, through kisses and touches, gasps and sighs, Jacob led them.