Eren’s body begins to shut itself down despite his efforts to remain conscious. While he figures the stims are packed with some calorie dense substance to prevent instant emaciation from the rapid repair of cells, it still nearly knocks him out.

  Everyone is exhausted, and the barricaded doorway offers just enough security to rest for at least a minute before all hell breaks loose again. It also offers a good opportunity to learn everyone's names.

  Hatchet's real name is Colin, and Squirrel’s real name is Melisa, though he thinks her nickname of squirrel suits her better. The boy who looks like a lifeguard is Arnold, the Haitian is Emmanuel, and the huge teen that tackled Colin to the ground is Jerimiah. Getting the Gymnast, Leslie, to introduce herself is like pulling nails, and Eren is also pretty sure the boy made out of cords and the boy made of stone—Michael and Jacob respectively—had given fake names, but he doesn’t particularly care.

  The only person who’s name he doesn’t know now, is the short haired girl who has yet to say a word the entire time they have been here. Her face never moves from pure apathy, and for a while Eren worries she has simply shut down. That is until she bothers to take one single scan of the room, her eyes assessing everyone with the kind of cold sociopathic apathy of a butcher assessing cuts of meat, before returning to idle nothing.

  Jess and Arnold take a moment bandaging up and cleaning the wounds of those who aren’t injured enough to require stims. There aren’t enough beds for everyone, and most are beyond the point of caring about something as silly as sharing a resting spot.

  Everyone avoids Colin, who opts to sit near their prisoners, twisting the scalpel in his fingers.

  Jerimiah keeps close to the windows with Emmanuel, both insisting on keeping a watch while everyone else tries to gather their breath.

  “You’re doing it wrong,” The girl with the short dark hair and apathetic eyes says, her face never breaking from its mask of indifference, her voice a near perfect monotone.

  Jess looks over to meet her eyes with heavy scowl, Acne scarred Peter’s sprained ankle in one hand, bandage halfway done already.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You’re supporting the ankle incorrectly.”

  Jess sighs, stands, and extends the bandage out to her. “Care to show me then?”

  The monotone girl walks over, and takes the bandage from Jess's hand. She kneels in front of Peter, and quickly shows Jess how to do it correctly, wrapping Peter's ankle snugly.

  She stands without a word, and returns to her spot near the room's center to observe them.

  “T…thanks?” Peter sputters out, eyes shifting from Jess to the monotone girl.

  “Care to share your name?” Jess asks.

  “Chloe.”

  “Any reason you didn’t share when we were all doing introductions?”

  “No one asked me.”

  “It was…implied that everyone should share though,” Jess sighs, and moves on to Hayden

  “No one asked me,” Chloe says again with a shrug.

  “How long has it been, do you think, since all of this started?” Hayden asks, his fingers already picking at the bandage Jess finishes putting around his shoulder.

  She bats his hands away, which makes the small boy lower his head.

  “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry, just don’t pick at it,” Jess huffs, moving on to clean and wrap Tony’s split knuckles and check on his thigh.

  “It’s been exactly 834 seconds, 835, 836...” Eren answers, his mind struggling to keep himself awake as he lays down.

  “Almost fourteen minutes... it doesn’t seem real.” Leslie buries her head in her hands, fingers working through her hair. “How many people do you think died?”

  “Let's not think about that right now,” Cris offers, but Jess snaps, her head turning to face him.

  “Not worry about it? Fuck Cris how can we not worry about it? It could have been any one of us…”

  “But it wasn’t.” Colin shrugs. “No use crying over spilled milk I think.”

  “Spilled— are you fucking serious?” Jess nearly throws herself up from Tony’s bedside, making him wince as she forgets to let go of his hand, though still Tony reaches out to try and calm her, stopping her advance.

  “What the fuck is your problem Colin,” She hisses, batting away Tony, and moving to tend to Cris’s cut up knees.

  “Listen to me, right now we need to focus on finding a way out of this mess,” Tony starts, his voice taking on a very serious tone, one that pulls the attention of the others in the room. “Eren has gotten us this far, I know he can get us out too, but not if we are at each other's throats.”

  Cris nods along, and several others start to agree, looking to Eren for confirmation.

  He wishes he has the strength to tell them it would all be alright. But as much as they want to lift him up as the one who saved their lives, he is also the one responsible for all those deaths.

  The reality of that comes crashing down on him like a lead weight, his stomach drops from under him and he can feel bile begin to rise.

  “Hey... I am sorry I didn’t mean to put that much pressure on you.” Tony's face drops as well, body shifting to try and get to him.

  Eren puts his hands up, stopping him.

  “It’s fine… we knew this might happen. I knew this might happen. I guess… knowing it and seeing it are two different things." He forces the sick back down his throat, and lets his eyes follow Jess as she cleans out a nasty looking scrape running down Leslie’s leg.

  Obviously trying to escape was dangerous, but he never could have guessed they would be slaughtered like animals. The truth is, he wants to cry. He wants to curl up into a ball and disappear and pretend all of this isn’t happening.

  But it is, and now he has people relying on him, people who need something to believe in. It doesn’t matter how hopelessly underqualified Eren feels, his own emotions are the furthest thing from being important when it comes to the survival of the people in this room. He needs to pull himself together, even if it breaks him.

  “I didn’t— I didn’t mean to bring that up, not to hurt you,” Jess offers, her voice pulling his eyes up and catching them in hers.

  “Dude, we would have all died eventually in this fucking hole, you are giving us a shot we wouldn’t have had otherwise,” Cris adds.

  “Oh please,” Colin rolls his eyes, “What are we all just going to coddle him and inflate his fucking ego till it gets large enough to kill us all?”

  “Colin what the fuck is your problem.” Jess drops the bandage box next to the boy built out of cords and storms over to Colin, her fists balled tight, her nose inches away from his.

  For a second Eren panics, the glint of the scalpel in Colin’s hand drawing Eren’s eye but he sets it down and raises his hands up defensively instead.

  “I’m just saying, let's not sit around and say the shit people wanna hear. I'm sure he’s smart, he got us this far. But what, Eren is too fuckin stupid to realize you are all just telling him pleasant lies so he can feel better? What is he the main fucking character of this little drama? As if we all didn’t see the same shit, suffer the same fate? Its survivors guilt through and through, identify it, then box it away. You don’t see anyone else getting all worked up about a few dead kids.”

  “You got a mouth on you dude.” Cris stands, which in turn causes Tony to stand as well, though Tony places himself between Cris and Colin, forcing Jess to back off slightly.

  “Tony, what are you doing? Please for the love of god don’t tell me you agree with him.” Cris nods to Colin, who gives a little wave.

  “I think he's partially right,” Tony admits with a scowl.

  “What?” Jess gapes.

  “Listen… this whole situation is one walking nightmare but pretending like it will all be okay won’t help anyone. We have to be realistic, we have to assess things as they are. But like I said before this isn’t a time to be fighting one another.”

  “He literally almost killed you. Minutes ago.” Jess counters, jamming a finger into Colin’s chest.

  “Sorry about that bud.” Colin pats Tony on the arm.

  In a blur of smearing movement, Tony grabs hold of Colin's wrist and throws the boy through the air, arcing him over his shoulder to come crashing down onto the solid ground in less than the blink of an eye.

  Colin grunts and wheezes as all of the air is driven from his lungs as Tony pins him, planting his face hard into the linoleum floor with an insane amount of strength.

  The room shifts uncomfortably.

  “Tony we don’t have any more stims,” Eren quickly notes, worried about the direction this might go.

  “Colin, I will tell you this once, don’t you for a fucking second mistake my desire for cooperating for weakness. I have half the mind to break your arms for cutting my leg open, but I won’t. Not because I can’t, because you are useful. That doesn’t mean I will stand here and take whatever you dish out. Am I clear?”

  The authority in Tony's voice sends a wave of anxiety through Eren, a wave that seems to rattle Colin just as much, though he hides it with a smile.

  “You cheap shot me, I cheap shot you, we are even on cheap shots. What about you let go of me and see who’s better than who?”

  “Oh for fucks sake, lets not,” Jess grumbles, crossing her arms

  “Jessica, with all due respect, boys gotta do what boys gotta do.” Cris shrugs.

  “Oh my god, now you're on their side?”

  “There are no sides, only respect.” Jerimiah nods sagely from his spot by the door.

  “Who the hell asked you?” The lifeguard boy, Arnold wheels, and soon the room is a clamor of everyone thinking their opinion matters.

  “Hey, I don’t want to be the one to remind everyone but again we don’t have any more stims and people are dying around us. Maybe we don’t have time for this?” Hayden suggests in a quiet voice.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  So much for rest and recovery… but there is no way out of this without violence, Eren can see that from a mile away. Tony might be one big softie but he is also the only person willing to make a direct move against Colin. Sure the others would dogpile that Hatchet mouthed boy again if he tried anything but that would only build resentment, and someone like Colin having a grudge is dangerous.

  No, Cris is right about this. If there is any chance that this issue gets settled it will be giving Colin a fair shot and Tony, and Tony putting the hatched mouthed asshole in his place.

  “Let them do it,” Eren sighs, testing the pressure on his healed leg, before walking over to guide Tony off of Colin.

  Colin dusts himself off, stands, and brings his fists up.

  “Thank you so very much for your blessing.” He spits, eyes locked to Tony now.

  “Jesus fucking Christ.” Jess covers her eyes and turns away, while Jerimiah, Emmanuel, Arnold, Cris, Michael and Jacob, form a loose circle.

  “I got money on Colin,” Michael chuckles.

  “I guess I'll put money on Tony” Jacob slaps Michael's hand to shake on the bet.

  “Is this really the time guys?” Squirrel squeaks out from her bed.

  “Can it,” Michael shoots back.

  “Everyone just shut the fuck up.” Cris shakes his head. “Ready?”

  Tony nods, Colin brings his fits up, and in one motion Cris brings a hand down to signal the start of the bout.

  In a flash of movement Tony is on Colin, on leg sweeping Colin off the ground, his arm striking against Colin’s throat, throwing the blond boy over and onto his back in a clean sub one second take down that has Colin struggling for air on the floor for the second time in the past minute.

  Colin gasps for air that doesn’t quite make it to his lungs as Tony brings a knee down into his stomach, one fist raised overhead, hard eyes locked to Colin's own.

  “You good now?”

  “Fuck... alright... fair is fair,” Colin grunts under Tony's weight.

  Tony removes himself from the teen, and offers a hand to Colin to take.

  Surprisingly, Colin takes it. Unsurprisingly as he comes to his full height, Colin feints a punch directly at Tony's face.

  Tony doesn’t flinch, instead he eyes the fist left lingering inches from his cheek with a look of a father asking “are you done yet” to his tantrum throwing toddler.

  Colin smiles. “Smug fucker.”

  Tony shrugs. “You good now?”

  “Yea... yea I'm good,” Colin concedes, and Tony offers the boy his hand, which Colin shakes.

  “Was that real?” Hayden asks, dumbfounded at the display.

  Cris nods his head. “Gotta settle shit that way sometimes.”

  “Well, now that it’s all settled, maybe we can talk about what to do next?” Jess asks, dragging Eren to sit down next to her on the hospital bed, shooting him a “you shouldn’t be on that leg yet” kind of look that has him feeling just a little guilty.

  She brings her knees up to her chest and rests her head on it, looking at him sideways.

  “All the pressure really is on me, isn’t it?” Eren chuckles, watching as all the others return to sitting down on their respective beds.

  “You got us this far, just like Tony said.” Cris takes in a deep breath and looks at the wall mounted clock. “Though maybe it’s worth actually trying to rest up for a bit?”

  “Doubt it, the guards will be on us soon. We’ve wasted enough time showing off how big everyone's dicks are, we should try and get moving.” Leslie rolls her eyes.

  “We will burn ourselves out if we push too hard too quickly, I think Cris is right. We can’t rest for long but our bodies need a second to actually rest up.” Eren tries

  “Again, actively being hunted?” Leslie looks around as if she is the only sane person left in the world.

  “Hunted by guards who are also exhausted and understaffed, likely trying to collect their injured, secure a perimeter and deal with the more obvious and easy to get stragglers,” Eren explains, pulling the attention of the others. “Us—here—are far from easy targets, and with no cameras in the medical wing they would be having to search the facility room by room starting from all of the cell blocks. They would be securing exits and armories, and then working their way inward from there. By my guess, we’re located somewhere more centralized. It’ll be a while before they get here. It’s a trace of a silver lining in what can only be described as a waking nightmare, but one I'm happy to take and use to the best of my abilities.”

  “And how do you plan on using the fact that we are fish in a barrel, exactly?” Leslie huffs, not satisfied by his response.

  “By giving ourselves a couple of minutes to stop panicking. We need to rest, so we can think straight and ensure we don’t make a stupid decision that gets us all killed.”

  “Easier said than done.” Tony clicks his tongue and rubs at his thigh.

  “It’s worth a shot at least.” Eren closes his eyes and lets his weight drop against the back wall before sliding down into the bed, He watches as Colin keeps a close eye on the prisoners, not moving from his spot on the table.

  Jess settles in next to him, Cris rubs at his eyes, Squirrel balls herself up tight, and the others take that as a queue to try and get at least a little more comfortable.

  Eren knows he needs to rest, but his mind won’t let him, no matter how exhausted his body is. He keeps counting the seconds, running through every possible scenario he can think of, even as he tries to distract himself with anything else.

  After a few tosses and turns for what feels like minutes, he finds himself looking Jess in the eyes, her face only inches from his own.

  “You okay?” Jess asks, evidently unable to rest due to his shifting.

  “Sorry...”

  “Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed?” Jess teases softly.

  He isn’t, at least not until she says something, and he becomes aware of just how close they really are.

  “Shut up.”

  “Oh my god, you are?” Jess chuckles to herself. “I can move if you want?”

  “It’s fine...”

  “Alright.” She makes a show of shrugging and settling back in. She is close enough that the stray strands of hair tickle his nose as the AC blows it around, making him shift.

  Eren listens to the sounds of the others breathing, their bodies shifting, shutting down from the stress and drop of adrenaline in their systems. They will be lucky to manage a nap at most. If Eren has to guess it won’t take too much time for the guards to make their rounds after all.

  His estimations have them here no more than five more minutes, and that will be cutting it close—but it’s critical that they avoid total exhaustion. Even if it’s only for a few minutes, rest will ensure they are fresher, more capable of moving forward, and less likely to make stupid mistakes.

  Eren can’t sleep though. Instead he looks up at the ceiling, and thinks. His mind races a million miles per hour, running through the data, all of the possible outcomes, and each conclusion he comes to ends up making his heart sink further and further.

  “It will be okay, I think,” Jess whispers beside him, her head turning to look at him, but Eren doesn’t look back.

  “I’m not too sure about that...”

  “Well shit neither am I when I hear you say it, it still... I think, at the end of all of this we will be alright though.”

  Eren frowns, he hasn’t found a possible outcome that has him hopeful yet.

  “Even if we aren’t, it's better to have died trying, right?” Cris speaks up, equally unable to sleep.

  “Not helpful!” Jess retorts, her own whisper halfway between a shout.

  “This doesn’t sound like resting,” Tony adds.

  “Honk shoo, honk shoo,” Hayden offers in response, which gets a few chuckles from everyone else.

  No actual sleep will happen, but then again that was always a little too hopeful. Who the fuck could sleep, knowing they were still being hunted.

  “is it better to die trying?” Eren asks, considering it. “At the end of the day... it's about the suffering inflicted before you go. Isn’t it best to try and make sure you suffer as little as possible before that time comes?”

  “Nah man, if the only thing you think about is some arbitrary amount of suffering before death then fuck, why not end it all fresh out the womb?” Cris counters.

  “Because babies can’t just kill themselves?” Tony offers

  “Oh they absolutely can, babies are notorious for trying to kill themselves, clearly you don’t have any younger siblings.” Jess chuckles.

  “Nope, youngest of three.”

  “It's true, middle child of three” Cris confirms.

  “My sister once got into the pantry, and my mom stopped her from drinking straight white vinegar,” Hayden snickers to himself.

  “Oh my god, did you guys not have any baby locks?” Jess shifts to look at him.

  “Not yet, we didn’t know she could walk! She hid it from us, we only learned because when we caught her she tried to run away.”

  “That's one hell of a way to learn that your sister can walk,” Cris chuckles.

  Eren's memory sinks to his own sister, karate chopping branches even as a little tike. The thought makes him snicker, and then the thought of her laying on her bed being doused in gasoline makes him stop.

  “What about you?” Jess asks, looking over to Eren.

  “Huh? I uh... I am the oldest, only my sister but we are close enough in age that I don't remember some of that stuff,” He admits.

  “I'm sure she was a menace,” Cris teases.

  Was... past tense. Their families all suffered the same fate as his, it was just known that their families were gone...

  “No actually...” He turns around, looking out over the rest of the empty medical wing, save for Colin who sways his legs, pretending not to listen in. “She was probably the only person to have my back. My parents obviously tried their best, and they were great but... yeah, she was there for me.”

  “I wish I had that,” Jess sighs. “My little sister was an asshole. She did all the things you only think they do in movies. Comically evil sometimes.”

  “Same! I wonder if they put it in the movies because that's how it really happens, or the movies give these little devils their ideas,” Cris groans.

  “Both, probably,” Eren chuckles. “But I wouldn't know. Worst thing she ever did to me was accidently throw a snowball at my face that had a rock in it, split my lip open and she cried about it for the whole day, even wrote me an apology card with a little ‘do you hate me now, circle yes or no’ at the bottom.”

  “That is... tragically sweet.” Jess lets out a long breath. “I wish I had that kind of relationship with my sister.”

  “Same.” Cris confirms.

  “Eren’s family sounds more like mine.” Tony sits up on his elbow, looking over the group. “My oldest brother is the one who raised me. I was kind of a surprise from mom and her new boyfriend. He raised me like his own long after they left the picture. I owe him everything.” Tony takes a second to wipe his face. “Always had each other's backs, we fought when we were young—me and the second oldest. But once I could drive, and drive well, it was uphill from there.” He makes a little motion of a car driving up a hill.

  “What about you?” Cris nods to Hayden, who smiles under his blanket.

  “Hard... but for different reasons.”

  “Like what?” Tony gives him his full attention.

  Hayden shrugs, “Just... hard. My dad was good, really good. Everyone else not so much.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Jess offers in condolence.

  “It’s fine.”

  Eren turns back around to the others, evidently having totally given up on sleep, as they sit more upright now,

  “So...” Jess turns, letting her hand rest against Eren's. “How about we get out of here for their sake? You know that old saying a person dies three times? I think it would be nice if we can keep living, for them at least.”

  Colin snorts. “Wishful thinking.”

  “Seriously?” Tony snaps his head around to look at him, and he raises his hands.

  “Not trying to cause a problem, swear it. But I think we need to be realistic. Families or no families, the reality of the situation we are in doesn’t give a fuck. There are two schools of thought, one says we make it out alive, another says we are doomed.”

  “Doomed how? Nothing here has proven that it's a lost cause.”

  “That's where you’re wrong.” Colin picks up the used stim, its cap removed from the rest of the tubing, where text scrawls on the inside.

  Cris sits up more steadily, narrowing his eyes. “What is that?”

  “Property of the US government, apparently.” Colin smiles that Hatchet wound grin.