2 Strange Instincts

He felt safe.

The plane was a comfortable, vintage private plane that his father had hired for their trip to a small country home up north where they had spent their holidays. Time and time again, both he and Alex had pushed their father, Christopher to take them up in the plane and fly through the air, watching the birds pass by, the clouds surround them and the ground pass by beneath them.

To Scott, it had been the best holiday he ever had, better than all those that came before it. The country home was peaceful and secluded, with a small, nice town a few miles out in the midst of a festival. There had always been something to do, but the plane had always been the best part about it.

They had possibly gone up into the air hundreds of times over the week, just them in the air, uninterrupted and watching the world around them go by. The return journey though was a sombre moment for the family, even though his mother, Katherine had said they would come to do this again, it didn't change the fact that they were going home and would have to wait for the next chance to repeat this holiday.

But despite the sombre feeling, Scott stood up beside his parents, looking excitedly out the windows to the world around them as it passed by, Christopher at the controls and Katherine at his side, his younger brother, Alex upon her lap.

Yet as Scott looked out to the world, a strange feeling overcame him, a pounding of his head that made him grunt in discomfort, a sound that went unnoticed due to the hum of the engine. It became impossible to ignore though for Katherine and Christopher went Scott fell back, crying out in pain as he was assaulted by a splitting headache that led to him clutching his head in agony, writhing upon the floor in an attempt to quell the pain that ravaged his body.

"Scott!" Vaguely, he could hear his mother calling his name urgently, but the pain began to overwhelm him completely, vision becoming blurry and dark around the edges. Scott wished it hadn't because then he was struck by images, they moved fast, too fast for him to pick out much as to what was going on, just a blur of images that left him feeling queasy and unwell.

Yet amongst the blur of images, some things stood out to him.

An X-symbol emblazoned upon a uniform.

A group, led by a man with a visor marching towards an unseen threat.

The very same man, cradling the body of a woman with red hair as she died in his arms.

A woman with blonde hair next, the bodies of men and women, each emblazoned with the X-symbol, all dead around him.

The man marching forwards alone.

His final moments.

Those images were impossible to ignore and Scott felt the emotions within him swell.

The rage and the anger. The hatred and the loathing. The fear and the horror. The sadness and the guilt. The loneliness and the yearning. So many negative emotions that it pushed him to the brink, except for those few fleeting moments of happiness. They kept him strong, no, they kept the figure in those visions strong.

If it hadn't been for those small moments, the figure in his visions would have broken long ago.

But he hadn't and he kept moving forwards, even as everything around him crumbled away into nothing till he stood alone. Yet even then, he kept moving forwards till he gave the final thing he had left, his own life and he did so without fear or hesitation.

'Who was that man?' Scott wondered, the pain subsiding his eyes beginning to flicker open, his vision still blurred but clearing slowly. Only to be greeted by a sight that filled him with fear, for there, looking out from where he was resting on one of the chairs, he had a clear view out through the cockpit windows. There, moving towards them through the sky, towards their small plane, was a large alien ship that had its turrets aimed directly at them.

"Get Scott and Alex, Katherine!" Christopher shouted, being careful to not make harsh turns as he tried to turn away from the oncoming ship, not wanting to hurt his family from the sudden movement. "Get the parachute and jump!"

"Alex, come with me!" Katherine called urgently, Scott becoming more and more aware of his surroundings, Alex leaving his side to run towards their mother who was coming towards him, a single parachute in her arms.

"Mommy, what's happening?" Alex wondered, his voice trembling.

"Everything's going to be okay, sweetheart." She told him, Scott pushing himself up off the chair, Katherine helping him up with one hand, throwing the parachute bag over him. "You know what to do, Scott, don't you? Your father showed you which string to pull, didn't he?"

Scott nodded his head, still not fully conscious of what was going on, the images in his mind still dominating his thoughts. But he felt him being brought in close, Alex, attached to the front of the parachute, Katherine placing kisses upon both their foreheads, smiling tearfully.

"We love you both, be safe." She told them, pulling them towards the door. "Now you need to jump."

"But what about you?!" Alex asked, panicking upon seeing his mother cry, he too joins her. "Aren't you coming with us?!"

Katherine smiled. "Of course we are." She placated, though Scott for some reason, did not believe her, he felt it within his gut, that this would be the last time he would see her and he grabbed her hand.

"Please, come with us." He begged her, tears forming in her eyes and Katherine smiled.

"I will." She then pulled open the door and before Scott knew what to do, he was falling, plummeting towards the ground as he and Alex looked to see the plane being struck by some kind of blast that caused it to erupt into flames, exploding outwards. Vaguely, Scott was aware of Alex crying out, Scott was just numb as he looked at the debris that rained down upon him, the happy memories contained within them burned away in the fires that engulfed the plane.

However, that same feeling began to overcome him, the one that he had felt when looking at his mother. There was something about to happen, except this time, instincts that he did not know he possessed took over, Scott moved without conscious thought and he turned, pulling the chord roughly, he and Alex suddenly jerked back as the parachute unfurled out above them, catching the wind and slowing their descent. He then gripped the handles and began pulling to the left, managing to move around a few bits of flaming debris, then turning it right.

The two of them spun in the air, Alex crying out in fear as Scott moved without even knowing what he was doing, in shock at the way his body moved, debris raining down around them. His heart pounded in his ears, could feel the blood pumping quickly throughout his body, yet his body did not tremble, nor did it sweat.

While his mind whirled, his body was calm.

Miraculously, they avoided much of the debris that rained down, though perhaps it was not a miracle. The way his body moved was intentional and purposeful. Avoiding the debris was not luck, it was by design.

Even when he wasn't able to pull the parachute to one side quick enough, his strength not able to fight fully against the wind, a bit of debris clipped the side of the parachute, causing it to erupt into flames, as Scott's mind panicked, his body did not. It moved, wrapping both arms around Alex, holding him tightly as they fell to the ground, bursting through the trees, Scott curling up in a ball, protecting Alex as best as he could.

As they broke through the tops of the leaves, the ground rushing up rapidly to meet them, Scott felt a tingling in his eyes.

The forest erupted with a blinding red light, overshadowing the burning flames.

-X- Line Break -X-

The hospital of the small town was abuzz with activity as people on a nearby hiking trip were rushed into the ER. A large group had been going up to the nearby mountains, a common route for many which had always brought many tourists to their town. Yet, one that today, had resulted in disaster as a plane fell out of the sky, the debris causing a large forest fire and causing many injures.

Amongst the group of patients who were wheeled around on stretchers and doctors who rushed to help those in need, a single man moved through the hospital with a calm gait. He was tall and handsome, possessing long, slicked black hair, and a well-trimmed, stylish beard. His skin was pale white, an odd skin colour that made the darkness of his hair stand out even more. But amongst the bustle and chaos that had gripped the hospital, the oddity of his features went unnoticed as he approached the reception, the receptionist behind it busy at work answering phone calls and dealing with the families who demanded questions.

"Hello." He greeted, his voice possessing a thick, southern British accent that only added to the oddity of the man, his smile revealing perfect white teeth. "I'm here to inquire about the Summer's brothers, Scott and Alex. I am aware that they were transported here upon being discovered in the mountains."

The receptionist who had just finished answering a call, frowned, frustrated with being bombarded by more questions. "Yes, they were." She replied shortly, never once raising her gaze from the paperwork on her desk. "Can I know the reason for your visit and your name?"

"We are aware that the Summer's brothers have just lost their parents, and with no extended family, they are now orphans with no one able to be their legal guardians." He explained, voice expressing the necessary amount of sympathy that would be afforded to young children who had lost their parents and were now alone in the world. I am from the State Home for Foundlings, an orphanage, I have a legal document here that says that the Summer's brothers are to be transferred over into my care. I was wondering if they are free to travel or require more medical treatment."

"Alex is fine, just a few cuts and bruises, but Scott is suffering from a broken arm and numerous broken ribs. So, they won't be allowed to leave for a few days." The receptionist said, moving aside a few bits of paperwork and pulling out another, one in which she began to write down bits of the information she had been told. "Can I have your name, a form of identification for both yourself and your position as a worker at the State Home for Foundlings?"

"Of course, my name is Michael Milbury." He then reached into his pocket, pulling a driver's licence and a business card, handing them over to the receptionist who took them. She did a cursory check of the photo, glancing up at him out of the corner of her eye, before filling out the rest of the form and handing them back over to him.

"We'll contact you when they can be picked up, but you'll need to bring the document that shows you have legal precedent to take the children." She said shortly.

"Of course, I shall find a place to stay until then."