The secondborn

Borealis, July 29487

‘Jason! No! Don’t go that way!’ Her voice was panicky and high-pitched as she yelled to her youngest boy, who was headed in the direction of the massive fight taking place near the grid terminal. The dark haired boy stopped for a moment turning to look at his mother. His eyes both curious and determined. ‘Mom, I just want to look for a moment! I’ll be back soon!’ He turned again and ran off in a hurry, weaving in and out between the people running in all directions; some carrying heavy weapons or preparing devastating nanoprograms, others screaming in panic stumbling over their own legs trying to get away from the fight. A man dressed in white Omni-Pol armor fell down a couple of meters in front of him making Jason stop cold in his tracks. The man was bleeding furiously from a deep wound in his chest and the sound he made could make even the bravest of soldiers shiver. Jason took one look at him and then quickly looked around to see who could have delivered the blow. A woman, wearing a nasty looking goat head as a helmet carrying a shotgun of Kyr’ozch origin, stood there with a proud grin on her blood covered face looking at the dying man. When she noticed Jason looking at her she winked at him. ‘Serves him right!’ She then turned and ran off to join the fight again. Jason stood there frozen in place looking between the man on the ground and the woman running off.

‘Jason! Get back here! Nooooooo!’ His mother’s scream carried over the noise of the fighting, waking him. He turned only to see his mother slump down over his older brother, blood covering her hands and her clothes. He ran as fast as his small legs could take him towards her, not noticing anything else around him. The world grew silent. ‘Jason. I want you to run to Newland! Now! We’ll be there soon!’ His mother’s voice was calm, but strained. He looked at her, and pulled at her arm trying to pull her to her feet. ‘Mom, you have to go with me. Jacob too. Come.. please!! Mom!’

Darkness.

Borealis, only a month earlier.

Jennifer sat on the couch in the living room of their simple backyard apartment her head in her hands, sobbing silently. Next to her lay an official looking letter, and a set of dog tags. She sat like this for a while in the dark. Hearing the door open she composed herself, wiping the tears from her eyes and took the dog tags in her hand. ‘Jacob, Jason. Can you come in here please?’ Her voice was calm, collected, professional. Though she’d given this message before this time it was different. Very different. This time it was personal, not just part of her job.

The boys came running through the door laughing and pushing each other playfully, trying to be the first one to get to their mother. At the sight of their mother’s red eyes they both stopped short. The taller of the boys was the first to speak. ‘Mom, what’s wrong?’ Jacob took a few steps closer, but stopped when he noticed the dog tags in his mother’s hand. He swallowed hard. ‘Is he..?’ His voice sounded insecure, and when he looked at Jennifer who nodded, he covered the short distance between them in two short strides putting his arms around her in a tight hug. She returned the hug caressing his head softly, while looking at the younger of the boys still standing in the doorway. Jason was for all intents and purposes the spitting image of his father. Equally stubborn as well. The boy’s eyes focused on the dog tags in his mother’s hand. ‘Jason, I’m sorry..’ She began softly. He snapped out of his stupor shaking his head slowly. ‘He’s not gone. I know it. You can just send those back to him. He needs them!’ His voice shook slightly, and he turned around and ran out of the apartment.

Borealis, July 29487

Darkness.. Silence.. Pain..

‘We have a live one here! Medic!’ The voice was faint, almost sounded like a whisper to him. A pair of strong hands pulled him carefully out from under the heavy body lying protectively over him. ‘Easy now. Everything is going to be just fine.’ He stirred slightly opening his eyes slowly, blinking to focus in the dim lighting. The face looking at him with a concerned expression wasn’t one he’d seen before. The man smiled grimly at him. ‘Don’t move, the medic is on her way. We’ll get you out to safety, don’t worry.’ Jason turned his head to get a better look around him. But the man reached over and steadied his head, so he couldn’t move it. ‘Mom? Jacob?’ Jason’s eyes begged the man for information. But the man just shook his head. ‘Don’t move, okay? You’ll be okay.’ The boy struggled to move his head searching for evidence of his mother and brother. ‘Mom!’ He cried out and as he did the man’s grip on his head loosened just enough for him to get a glimpse of the heavy body he had been pulled out from. His face paled and he let out a horrified scream.

Then darkness.

Neutral Medical Clinic, a week later

Dr. Thompon rearranged the stack of papers on his desk, and looked up at the lady sitting in his guest chair. ‘Ms. Kenley, I can’t thank you enough for taking Jason in. From the research we’ve done it seems he is the sole survivor of his family.’ The lady nodded. ‘Such a tragedy; that the war is having such terrible consequences for innocent people like Mr. Kim is just unbelievable. He will be safe with us though, I assure you that, Doctor.’ The aged doctor stood from his chair and walked over to the window looking across the hallway into the opposite room, where a dark haired boy sat on a bed staring blankly into the air. He sighed deeply and turned back to Ms. Kenley. ‘He is physically healthy. It seems his mother protected him with her life.’ He paused for a moment. ‘Mentally is a different matter though. He hasn’t said a word since arriving here. However we believe it is only a matter of time. It will be good for him to come home. Be with other children again. Have you dealt with kids with trauma like this before, Ms. Kenley?’ The elderly woman dipped her head smiling sadly. ‘All too often, Doctor. All too often. However we have an excellent volunteer staff, as well as a competent resident doctor who’s experienced in assisting the children in dealing with their grief, giving them a good chance at returning to a life worth living. I am sure even Mr. Kim will benefit from this.’ Her voice was filled with patience and dignity, and quite an undefined charm. The doctor cast a glance at the silent boy through the windows, and returned to his desk. ‘I will make arrangements for you to meet Jason then, and prepare him for the move. How does tomorrow sound?’

Newland, August 29487

The boy sat leaning against the tree, his arms around his knees looking at the ground in front of him. His eyes dark, blank and unfocussed. A soft breeze blew into the alley softly caressing the boys’ hair, but even the warm summer breeze didn’t seem to affect him. Was he even breathing?

‘Jason?’ A friendly voice said. The boy didn’t react, except his fist clenched even harder on the object in his hand. ‘I want you to come back inside with me now.’ He didn’t react. He didn’t even move a muscle, just continued to stare at the ground with his blank expression. Ms. Kenley walked over and sat down next to the boy carefully, looking at him caringly. She didn’t say anything for a while, just sat there with him.

Ever so slowly the boy’s head leaned against the shoulder of the elderly woman, his eyes closed and his breathing changed to deep calm breaths. His clenched fist relaxed and the dog tags he had been holding fell to the ground with a soft bump.

‘Oh, Jason. Things will be better soon, son.’ She whispered sadly as she noticed the dog tags on the ground. With a soft sigh she picked them up and carefully lifted the sleeping boy from the ground, and carried him home.

When she had tucked him in, she sat down in the chair next to his bed. She hadn’t left him alone since he arrived. Always been there when he woke from his nightmares. Always there to comfort him when he allowed her to. Slowly trying to build trust.

Newland City Orphanage Doctor’s office, Early September 29487

‘Remember what we talked about now, Jason.’ The doctor had a patient tone in his voice as he repeated this sentence to the boy sitting on the couch in the office. The boy had a hard look on his face. It was clear he didn’t want to be there, didn’t want to listen to what the doctor said. He remained silent, just as he had ever since that day in July. ‘Just take your time, it’s okay… Here.’ The doctor smiled and offered Jason a sweet from a jar on his desk. Jason just stared at the hand making no sign of accepting the offer, and after a short while he got up and left the office.

Entering his notes from the session into the growing file he had on this boy, Doctor Frank Thomas looked concerned. The boy simply refused to talk and even listen; he would just sit there staring blankly into the air - an air of hostility surrounding him. There was a definite cause for concern.

After finishing up Frank walked out of his office and set a course towards the Matrons office. He needed to discuss his concern with her, hear her thoughts on his plan.
‘Ms. Kenley, can I have a word with you please?’ The orphanage matron looked up from her desk smiling warmly. ‘Of course Dr. Thomas, come in.’ The doctor closed the door behind him, and sat down opposite Ms. Kenley. ‘What can I do for you, Doctor?’ She asked in a friendly tone. He cleared his throat. ‘It’s about Mr. Kim…’

Newland City, Late September 29487

The children sat on the ground looking at the lady perching on the edge of the wall as she told her story. They all listened with interest, their eyes and ears wide open, completely engulfed in the exciting tale of bravery and adventures. Occasionally the smaller of the boys would jump up excited and ask what would happen next, only to be told with a warm, yet mischievous smile to sit back down and wait it out – much to the amusement of the older children in the small group.

A short distance from the group, with his back against the wall, Jason sat looking into the air in front of him, in his hands an alien looking tool. As the story peaked in action, he glanced up at the lady. It was clear that he had been following it, even if it didn’t look like it at first glance. His eyes were less dark than usual, and he even inched closer to the group to better hear every slimy detail in the story. The Asian woman who was telling the story lifted her eyes as she noticed the dark-haired boy inching closer; she smiled encouragingly to him – inviting him to join the group. This was the first time she’d seen him even attempt to take part in the activities; it was a good sign. Her story took a slight twist, the aliens were suddenly attacking and the hero of the story was fighting them off, single handedly. Jason inched even closer, almost joining the group completely. He tightened the grip on the alien tool in his hands, his eyes not avoiding the others; the interest was visible in his entire body language.

As the story concluded the children scattered and Ms. Chan jumped elegantly off the edge of the wall. She headed back to the orphanage with a satisfied smile on her face; straight for the Matrons office to share the good news.

The autumn sun was shining on a clear blue sky over the lake just outside the city, warm air blowing softly between the trees, caressing what it came in contact with. Underneath one of the taller trees a couple was sitting on a blanket enjoying a nice glass of wine and each other’s company, exchanging affectionate looks and words. Occasionally they would look up at the boy playing ball not far from them; there was an atmosphere of happiness through the whole scene.

It seemed strangely familiar to him, and as he walked closer to the people he recognized them. He wanted to run to them and tell them that he loved them, that he needed them. That he was sorry, and that he would be good from now on, always listen, always go to bed when he was told, and never argue anymore. He would be the good boy they always wanted. If only they would come back. As he opened his mouth to speak to them, he felt his throat tighten, almost strangling him. He couldn’t breathe and fell to his knees, gasping for air. The man, no the soldier, on the blanket looked over at him smiling, almost as if he knew what he had wanted to say. ‘We know, Jason. Keep fighting! You’re going to be okay.’ Slowly Jason felt how his throat loosened and his lungs were filling with the warm air; he stumbled to his feet once more, keeping his eyes fixed on the soldier, his hero, his dad. ‘We love you, Jason. No matter what.’

A loud explosion behind him made Jason flinch and he turned to find its origin, when he didn’t find anything he looked back and was met with the cold stare of a woman in a blood covered goat helmet. He frantically looked around and saw his family, or rather the remnants of it, his mother and brother lying covered in blood, dead and lifeless. The woman sneered at him, ‘Serves you right!’

With a scream he sat up in his bed, tears streaming down his cheeks, pale and sweaty.