Chapter Text
Rain beats down on the soldiers in the field. One of the hundred men collapses into the ground with a painful yelp. Many soldiers attempt to help him up but their captains all yell at them to continue their laps.
“OI, ATTICUS! GET YOUR ASS UP!” One of the captains scream at the top of their lungs.
Atticus, who was lying in the mud, was gasping for air. Today his co-captain decided to punish him with carrying weights while he runs. Which was WAY too much. He was currently in full gear AND has to carry 50 extra pounds? That was wild. The blonde eventually forces himself to his feet and grabs the weights that had sunk into the ground. He goes to take a step forward before lightning strikes right in the field they were training on.
Quickly, everyone responds and starts running for their respectful buildings. Atticus forced himself to run the short distance and dropped the weights in their spots before collapsing into the common area. He’ll clean all the mud up later but for now he just needs a moment.
“Peterson what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” The harsh voice in front of him leans down. It was his co-captain who was clearly pissed. He trembles slightly before his captain comes over and tells the co-captain off. He quietly thanks his captain who sat down next to Atticus. Atticus coughed a lot before finally relaxing.
“Atticus, you really should get that gear off. You’re gonna get sick, bud.” The captain was careful with his words. He knew the moment it was a command for something mundane without reason, Atticus would become annoyed or uninterested. It had happened in the past and their co-captain never understood it but the captain did. He always tried his best to understand Atticus.
“That’s a good idea. May I go to the lockers to put my stuff away, Captain?” Atticus asked, clearly still in his soldier mindset. Where was his civilian mindset? No one knew. He’d randomly go to this robot-like-soldier thought process which everyone said was just his ‘soldier mindset’.
“Outside of the field I’m Simon.” His captain gently reminded him.
Atticus blinked for a couple moments before realizing, “oh. Well uh— i’m gonna… go get out of my gear.”
Simon nods at that and gestures for him to get up. Which Atticus does and walks to the locker room. He quickly strips off his mud covered uniform and gear. He got into pajama pants and a tank-top not caring this one single day everyone will be able to see his scars. He oh so hated them so many years ago because he was the cause of them. He then throws his uniform in the wash bin and his gear in his locker.
He hurries out of the locker room and slid across the floor with his socks, acting like the kid he truly is. He’s only 20. He’s still basically a kid yet everyone expects him to act all “mature”. ‘It’s so stupid!’ He thought to himself. Atticus wanted to be silly, not some idiot who’s a robot. He debated on naming his “robot” personality but before he could do much he slams into his co-captain. He immediately whips around and started yelling AGGRESSIVELY at Atticus who just stood there, frozen.
Soon, Simon came around and yelled at him for yelling at Atticus. “That IS NOT how you speak to him or any of the other soldiers!” The co-captain tried to make up an excuse. “I don’t give a SHIT what he fucking did but I know sure as hell it does not deserve him getting yelled at, David.”
Atticus winces as he slowly scoots away. The argument between David and Simon got louder and more heated as the minutes passed so he thought it’d be best if he went back to his room.
He walked down the hall until he found his room and walked inside. He locked the door by habit. As he turned on the light he took in his sad room: grey walls, window with black curtains, closet, desk, chair, bed with minecraft bedding, and a singular plushie sat on his pillow. It was a black cat with one of its eyes missing. He quickly walked over and hugged the plushie. Atticus’s gaze soon fell onto the window again. He walked over and sat on his desk as he watched world outside.
Quiet thunder rolled and a couple flashes of lightning linger. The rain pelted the windows leaving behind rain-droplet races, he watched for a couple moments. The trees swayed violently in the strong wind, that’s when he saw it. A tall man— no creature. No man would be 10 feet tall. This creature didn’t even have a face. Atticus had been seeing this creature almost every night since he had… He shook his head attempting to forget that horrible memory.
Yet, her gurgled screams echo in his mind. The way the blood gushed out of her neck. He had slit it due to her attempt at an ambush on him. It had sent her group running for the hills not expecting their captain to get killed just like that. Atticus felt an immense guilt. That woman had a family. When he was searching her gear for anything useful he found a photograph of her husband and kids.
Thats where his first ever kill would be his last. He wanted to be a medic. He wanted to save people not kill them.
Simon said he could get it arranged but David said he was born to kill. David had seen how easily Atticus slit her throat when she put a gun to his head. He didn’t hesitate for a second. He truly was made for killing, wasn’t he?
That’s when a piercing static takes over his head and Atticus falls off his desk, writhing in pain. He twitches and kicks attempting to pull at his hair to escape the noise but nothing helps. Soon darkness consumes his mind.
He’s left in an abyss as static still hums in the distance.
His auditory hallucinations—specifically the static—always made him pass out. He was lucky it never happened in field but it could anytime and that’s anything but good.
***
Sunlight gently hits Atticus’s face as he sits up. ‘It’s Sunday which means lazy cleaning day,’ he thinks to himself. He forced himself to his feet and set his plushie back on his bed. Atticus then walks over to his closet and grabbed some sweatpants and a hoodie. He stripped off his pajama pants and pulled on his hoodie and sweatpants. Then he walks out of the room. He didn’t see anyone in the halls yet so he thought about possibly taking a shower.
He definitely needed one. He could feel the mud in his hair from yesterday. So, he walks off to the shower rooms. He heard someone else’s shower on but didn’t pay much attention as he walked to his locker and stripped of all his clothes and grabbed his towel. He wrapped it around his waist as he walked to one of the showers and closed the curtain. He put the towel on the curtain rod before turning on the shower. The cold water struck his body and he sighed of relief.
He stood there for what felt like hours, just enjoying the feeling of running water. That’s when he heard the curtain move. Atticus’s head immediately snapped towards the noise and saw David.
“David… what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Atticus nervously asked. David gives him a lazy—or possibly drunk—smirk. He attempts to back away as David took a step closer. Atticus started panicking and attempts to push David away but he only grabs his neck and squeezes hard.
“Aww.. jussst havinngg fun… after that littttttle stunt you pulleeed I thhhinkk… youuu… should be punishedd.” David’s words were slurred as he gets right in Atticus’s face. Booze. The rancid smell of booze hits his nose and he tries to pull away. Atticus let out a short lived scream as David kisses and shoved his tongue into his mouth. Atticus felt tears starting to fall from his cheeks.
‘No no no no no no no.’ Atticus thought. ‘Please no. What do I do!?’
David grabs at his hip and Atticus finally gets the balls to punch him. David took a single step back and Atticus went to hit him again but he quickly grabbed him by his longer hair and David slams Atticus’s head into the wall. Stars consume Atticus’s vision as he sees blood on the tiles. David quickly pushes Atticus’s front against the tile and gropes his ass. Atticus whimpers but then he starts hearing static.
‘Not now. Please—‘ Atticus begs in his head but thats when he hears a static filled voice.
“K1LL h¡m.”
Atticus blinks for a couple seconds before he gets his shit together. He grabs the shower head before whipping around and hitting David in the head. David let out a scream as Atticus tore the shower head from the wall and started beating the shit out of David with it.
“|<1L|_ H¡M. K!|_L |-|1M. |<:|_|_ |-|;/\/\.” The words repeated in his head, over. And over. And over. And over.
Thats when he heard yelling and someone pulled them apart. Atticus was held tightly by someone with messy ginger hair. His eyes burn as he leans into who ever has him. The static cleared from his head and he was walked over to his locker. The ginger-haired guy helped Atticus get dressed and then he was walked to the infirmary where a nurse patched his head up.
A couple of beds over David lay in the bed, cursing a storm away. Atticus looks away and trembles. His eyes burn more and more by the second. He wipes his tears away as he saw Simon enter the room. His dark eyes burn into Atticus’s grey ones. He couldn’t tell what he was thinking but it definitely wasn’t anything good.
He sat on the chair next to Atticus’s bed and sighs. Watching him quietly.
“So, you wanna tell me what happened?” Simon questioned softly.
“He tried to sexually assault me. And this voice in my head told me to kill him. Listen I didn’t know what else to do I—“ Atticus stammered out his words but before he could finish Simon interrupted him.
“He tried to sexually assault you? There is no way. Did you even say no?” Simon countered.
“What.”
“Did you say no?”
“No, I—“
“Then he didn’t sexually assault you.” He concluded.
“He literally groped me and was rubbing his dick against my—“ Atticus cried out as tears started to fall again.
“I highly doubt that. So why the hell did you beat my second-command basically to death!?” Simon demanded.
Atticus just sat there silent. This was so out of character for Simon. Was he trying to gaslight him…? He knew what happened. He knew that’d stick with him forever. How could Simon just suddenly take David’s side…?
“Well?” Simon challenged.
“He… shoved his tongue down my throat and when i struggled he slammed my head into the fucking tile and groped me. What else do you expect me to say? I’m telling you EXACTLY WHAT FUCKING HAPPENED.” Atticus screamed at him as the static started in his head again. This time tears roll down his cheeks. How could no one believe him?
Simon shook his head. He growled out his words, “David would do no such thing. Also hearing things? You know you have to be removed from the team because of this and that.”
Atticus just blinked at him before he went still and stared at the floor. He’s given up. Why try to convince people that won’t believe you…?
“So when will I be leaving?” Atticus mumbles out.
“Tonight. I already called for someone to drive you back to Michigan.” Simon said so dully. How did 2 almost 3 years just go down the drain? Atticus gets sexually assaulted and suddenly he’s the one in the wrong. Of course this is how it goes. This is how everything in Atticus’s life goes. Everything is fine until he tries to defend himself. Then everything he does is wrong.
It’s fine though. He’ll get to go home to his mom. He hasn’t seen her since his 18th birthday so this will be a nice surprise.