This Broken City Sky

Kat looked around the room wearily as Lieutentant Tremayne closed the door, and walked around her, so they stood facing one another. She crossed her arms over her chest, and he gave a small sigh.

"I'm going to tell you now, it's going to be a lot easier, and take a lot less time if you just undress. We're giving you clean clothes anyway." He said boldly, and crossed his long arms over his chest. Kat scoffed at him, entirely too tired to come up with a clever remark. But the lieutenant just stared at her, and vice versa for a long while.

"Told you it was a bullet...." She muttered as she began to untie the bandana from around her arm with quick, flustered fingers. Then, shrugging out of her leather jacket, she tossed it at him roughly, "This is bullshit, by the way." She added, and tugged up the bottom of her shirt with one jerky movement. She threw that at him as well. He simply placed the clothes on a table laden with rust, and a few stacks of clothes. Kat crossed her arms over her bare stomach, and stared at Tremayne's blank face as he walked over to her.

It obviously didn't take long for him to deem her healthy enough to stay, and then he gave her a pair of apparently US army issue fatigues, and a long-sleeved white shirt. Kat threw those on as quickly as she could, and pulled her jacket back on. Tremayne followed her back to the "barracks" where the others waited tensely under the careful eye of Officer Tyler. Kat immediately went back to sit by Gerard and her brother, looking up at Tremayne and Officer Tyler.

"You," Tremayne pointed to Dylan, who's head shot up from it's place in her hands, to look at him, "Come with me." He jerked his head back, and as Dylan slowly stood up from the cot she sat on with Frank, Officer Tyler smiled.

"Mind if I come watch?" He grinned slyly at Tremayne, who simply looked at him with a blank expression. Dylan came to stand in front of them, her eyes darting between the two as she shifted her weight. Frank watched the three stand idly by the door, wanting to get up, and say that he'd go too. Lily was attempting to comfort Ray, and keep him quiet, but that was hard.

"No. Follow me, please." Tremayne said finally, and turned on his heel to lead Dylan out of the room. Officer Tyler watched as they left, then laughed, raising his eyebrows a little. Frank frowned at him hard, his expression almost angry. When Tyler caught the look, he raised his eyebrows at Frank.

"What?" Tyler asked with a sharp, sarcastic tone, "That yours?" He thrust his thumb over his shoulder, indicating Dylan who had just left. Frank clenched his jaw tight, and shot up from his spot on the bed, and just as he did, Gerard stood up. Officer Tyler grinned, and kept his gaze on Frank.

"Leave it dude..." Gerard said, making his way over to Frank and stepped in front of his friend. With a sigh, Frank sat back down, Gerard doing the same. Tyler smiled over at them for a moment longer, then shook his head and leaned his shoulder against the frame of the doorway. Ray gave a groan, taking their attention away from the officer guarding the door.

One by one the eight had been taken back to the room, searched, and given new clothes. When Dylan returned, she simply told Frank it was nothing she hadn't been through before, and smiled, though it wasn't genuine. They all convened around the beds to discuss things quietly, trying to keep their voices down so the officer on guard wouldn't hear. He stopped them a few times, thinking they were up to something, but they knew otherwise and continued to talk. When everyone had been deemed safe, and put into new clothes, a few unnamed men came in to help Ray out of the room to tend to his wound.

The others waited anxiously for Ray to return, so they all stretched out on a few cots, and tried to sleep for a little while. But they felt a little too anxious to anything of the sort. They were all worried for Ray, but also, the way the soldiers were seeming to order them around so harshly was weighing on their minds. The thought of being treated that way, after all they had gone through, angered each and every one of them.

Eventually, after almost an hour, Ray dragged back in, hardly able to stay on his feet, and lay down on a cot. Frank, Ray, Mikey and Gerard crowded around him immediately, asking how he felt, and things like that. Then, Captain Dean walked into the barracks again, and waved his hand at the group.

"If you're hungry, I suggest you follow me." He said harshly, his chilly blue eyes darting around at the eight quickly. Gerard stood up with a sigh, from Ray's bedside, and looked at Kat, wondering if she wanted to go. She sighed, her eyes glancing to Johnny, Dylan and Lily, who stood to her right. Lily shrugged, and stepped forward. Though they were weary, the others followed. Frank wove through his friends, to stand next to Dylan as they followed Captain Dean.

He lead them back down to the first floor of the warehouse, that housed the factory's machines, long dormant from a time even before the world had seemingly collapsed. The eight gazed at the conveyor belts, giant metal tubs probably used for mixing one thing or another. A very subtle smell of dank metal and rust lingered in the air around them as they neared a windowed room at the end of the factory floor. Captain Dean walked briskly toward the door of the room that spanned the width of the floor, and pushed it back easily. It fell back against Lily, who scoffed as she held it opened for the others as she entered. Immediately the activity in the room stopped to look back at the eight who entered the room.

"Alright, tables there," Dean stretched an arm out to his left, to which the eight strangers looked, and found a table, "Sit." He didn't snap at them, but still it sounded harsh. Kat sighed as she pulled out one of the unreliable looking chairs, and flopped down in it. Gerard did the same on one side of her, and Johnny on the other.

"I don't like this," Gerard whispered, looking over his shoulder as some of the men, including the four who's names they did know, busied themselves at an old stove, with old pots and pans, "This shit is too sketchy for me..." He glanced at Kat quickly, before resting his elbows on the table, and focusing on his friends across the table. Frank just shook his head tiredly, and blinked.

"I just...I'm so tired....I don't even.....Just..." He sighed, and folded his arms on the metal table, then rested his forehead on them. Dylan's eyes slid side long to look at Frank. He turned his head to face her, though he kept it rested on his arms. They held each others' gaze until Tyler and Dean appeared behind Kat and Gerard, reaching over them to place the pots on the table. They then took their seats at the table; Dean at the head, and Tyler between him and Lily. Dean drummed his fingers against the edge of the table lightly, as a few of the other men brought over bowls for those who would be sitting at the table, as well as silverware.

In moments, lieutenants Tremayne and Dewitt were pulling out chairs next at the opposite end of the table as bowls and spoons were passed around. Dylan wrinkled her nose at the clearly over-used state of them, and raised her eyebrows.

"God I wish I remembered the last time I had a Tetnis shot..." She sighed, and Frank scoffed a laugh. Kat spared her a little smile, as Lily just stared at her cousin, afraid the comment would anger one of the men. Lieutenant Dewitt just gave a snort, and a strange looking half-smile. The Captain grit his teeth, and sat forward in his chair, clasping his hands together as he leaned them on the table.

"Feel free to leave, if this place doesn't suite your tastess...." He drew the word out a little, commanding Dylan to tell him her name. She sighed heavily, and pursed her lips.

"Dylan Westerveldt." She said in a bland tone, cocking her head toward the Captain. He narrowed his eyes at her. Silence settled over the table tensely. Frank was too ready to shoot up from his seat, should the Captain or any of them, for that matter, say something he didn't like. Not that there was much he could do, but he'd try. Suddenly, Tyler slammed his hand, palm down, on the table causing all of the flatware to rattle a bit.

"I fucking knew it, I told you, you bastard-" He turned to Dewitt very quickly, but he was quickly stopped.

"Shut up," The Captain nearly shouted, pointing his hand at Tyler, who was jarred out of his momentary outburst, "Fuckin interrupt me again...Anyhow, Dylan," He turned his gaze back to her in a strange, calm way, "If you don't like it here, leave. We're not here to provide you with five star quality living, you're lucky we're letting you stay. That goes for all of you." The Captain's eyes circled the new-comers at their table with a menacing stare. Mikey narrowed his eyes just slightly behind his scratched glasses, then looked down at his beat up bowl. Frank opened his mouth, then closed it as if he were chewing, to relieve the stress put on his jaw from clenching it so hard.

"Where the hell were you staying before this anyway, princess? Must've been real fucking nice if you all still look...the way you do." Dewitt crossed his arms over his chest, and tipped his chair back so it balanced on its back legs. Kat stared across the table at Dylan, her expression falling into one of unease. The women glanced away from their silent understanding, Dylan opening her mouth to answer.

"A hotel in New Jersey." Frank spoke up first, though, and glared at Dewitt who simply smiled back. At the end of the table, the Captain was passing around one of the pots, after having dished some of the canned beans out onto his own flattened bowl. Lily took it tentatively, but did not let him see it, and simply served herself some. Across from her, Tremayne frowned at Frank.

"New Jersey?" He asked, causing the others to look at him. Kat nodded this time, ready to take this conversation somewhere else. She didn't want the soldiers to establish a firm hold over them so quickly by intimidating the group. She needed to let them know that wasn't going to be happening.

"How the hell did you get here?" Tyler asked, as he picked up his spoon. Johnny took the warm pot from Dewitt, and scraped some of the unappetizing food onto his plate. He'd eat just about anything at that point though, as long as it wasn't Pringles or Oreos. Gerard took the dish from Johnny.

"We took the ferry." Dylan narrowed his eyes at him just a little, and the corners of her mouth twitching with a little smile. Frank bit his bottom lip hard at the little joke that he remembered, as the Captain set his spoon down. Though no one really noticed, he reached down to his belt, and the next thing they new, he had set a .50 Desert Eagle on the table next to his bowl. Without looking at any of them, he picked up his spoon again then continued to eat, silent and reserved. Dylan stared at him, her eyes a little wider, and her heart beating a little faster. Under the table, Frank grabbed her hand desperately, for what it was worth.

Other than the murmurs and occasional chuckles from any of the four soliders at the table, everyone was quiet. After Dean's silent threat, none of them were in the mood to even remotely test his patience the slightest bit. Kat ate resentfully, her hand shaking just the slightest bit with anger when she picked up her spoon to eat. She would not stand to be intimidated like a dog nor would she let it happen to Gerard, or Johnny, or any of the others if she could help it.

When the dinner of anxiety was finished, Tyler and Dewitt escorted the group back upstairs to the now darkened barracks. All were thankful for the food, however tasteless it was, it filled their bellies anyway. And even though they were being watched, they were thankful for a place to sleep safely. Dylan toed off her sneakers as she sat down on the edge of her bed, and sighed deeply at the relief of having those shoes off after wearing them for two straight days.

"Is Ray alright?" Lily said softly from behind Dylan as she walked up next to Ray's bed. Frank was standing beside her, gazing at his sleeping friend.

"Looks like it." He shrugged, running a hand over his messy hair, then turned to walk around to where Dylan sat on the edge of her bed. He looked down at her before lowering himself onto the thin mattress as well. She yawned, and leaned her chin in her palm as she focused on him.

"You should get some sleep." She said softly, and reached her free hand up to run her fingertips through his hair lightly, then let it fall back against her knee agian. Frank nodded, and blinked slowly. Then he turned his face to look at Dylan.

"Kinda don't want to, y'know, I don't like these guys." He threw a glance over his shoulder furtively, to find Tyler and Dewitt talking yet again at the doorway. Dylan nodded in understanding, then leaned over quickly to press her lips against his cheek. Frank sighed a little, and couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips.

"I know," She kept her face close to his, but they weren't touching, "But at least we're safe. At least we don't have to carry all the responsibility around here, you know?" She muttered, and raised her eyebrows slightly. Frank nodded again, and yawned, "And at least you're still in the bed next to me." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dylan smile a little, and with that, he turned his head just enough so their lips brushed against each other. It was a little relieving to kiss her again, for some reason, and Frank found that he was much more ready for bed than he thought.

"Goodnight." He said lowly, when they parted, and he looked down at the cot between them.

"Goodnight." Dylan said, and watched as Frank stood up.