Tom - A Backstory

Trigger Warnings:

~~~~~

There was no sign that today was anything but a normal day. But when Erik sprinted past Tom, grabbing his shirt and pulling him along, he knew something was wrong. Especially as Erik had his sword in one hand, and flanking them were Chris and Fliss, weapons also raised. They were at the border in less than a minute and Tom saw why they had come. Charles was desperately fending off a hydra as Seb scrambled up from where he had been knocked to the ground. Chris immediately threw his hammer at the monster, severing a head.
"No!" Fliss yelled, but it was too late and two more heads sprouted from the wriggling stump. Tom swore under his breath. He'd be pretty much useless in this situation. As if she had read his mind, Fliss tossed him a large pack. Explosives. Great. Now he just had to figure out how to arm them.

He dropped back as the others ran forward, ripping open the pack, keeping half an eye on the battle as he worked feverishly, but despite their numbers, the six demigods were outmatched. Badly.

Chris was caught and flung by one of the monster's heads, crumpling into the trunk of a tree, falling forwards, unconscious. Five.

Not ten seconds later, Seb let out a harsh, piercing scream of pain as he, too, was lifted off the ground in the monster's jaws. His flimsy t-shirt swelled with blood as the sharp teeth sank into the boy's flesh. Tired of its now unmoving toy, the beast tossed Seb to the floor and Tom raced over, but he was too late and Seb's eyes dulled as he watched. He sat back, scrubbing a hand across his face as he gently picked up the boy and brought him out of harm's way. He tried not to see the way Seb's head lolled from side to side, and how his thin arms flopped, fists still clenched, though the claws were torn out or broken, leaving bloody gouges in the young skin, and focused on his task. Four.

Tom returned to his job, working feverishly as the monster roared behind him at the others. He had it sorted quickly and turned, ready. Erik was swinging at the hydra, but lost concentration as Charles, fighting next to him, slumped with a cry, and received a savage pair of jaws to the upper arm for the concern he showed for his boyfriend. The taller scooped Charles into his arms, ignoring the blood running freely down his arm and the obvious pain he was experiencing, hurrying behind a tree, anxiously checking Charles over. Two.

Fliss was not doing so well; her hair was flying in the wind as she alternated between stabbing at the creature with her dagger when it got too close, and firing arrows to keep it at bay. Tom called out to her and she fired a smoke arrow to give herself some time. He tossed her the explosive, noticing as she caught it that the timer was loose. She ignored his shouts and slammed her hand down on the button, the ten second delay that there should have been non-existent thanks to the loose timer. The fiery explosion blew the demigod back and engulfed the monster, burning it to a crisp. But Tom wasn't celebrating. He skidded to a stop at Fliss' side to find her still alive, but with an obvious crater in her chest. The breaths she drew were rattly and filled with fluid as she coughed. Her blue eyes filled with tears as she weakly grabbed Tom's hand and pressed her dagger into it with a rasped plea.

Tom did as she asked, bowing his head and letting the tears fall. He worked alone to carry the two fallen demigods up the Hill, and his tears still hadn't stopped by the time the daughter of Athena and the son of Hermes were nothing but ash. A warm hand materialised on his shoulder and he looked to the right to see Charles giving him a comforting smile, weak though it was thanks to the pain of losing the use of his legs. He gave a soft squeeze before Erik wheeled him away, nodding sharply once to Tom before turning the 'chair away. Chris was still in the Infirmary, still unconscious; the only reason Charles had been let out was because there was nothing anyone could do.
He watched the embers die, then grabbed his duffel bag and, wiping his cheeks one last time, turned and walked away.

One.

They're dead.

Yup. Well observed. Oh, and congrats on your new position on Rise, by the way...

Thank you. I'm running that site now. How did you know about it?

I sidle over every now and then. It was only my account that was blocked, not my IP.

ELLI!!!! -tackle hugs-

*falls over* oof

I feel like we haven't talked in ages.

Probably because we haven't?