Eldon wakes up to find that Areth's sacrifice has made him impervious to death, but not pain. Still hurt by what he sees as Gloria's betrayal, he must fight past his anger if he is to escape the burning White House.
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Chapter 15
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Going Ogre-board
Someone groaned nearby, but the sound reached Eldon's ears as a distorted and hollow moan. Light flickered from the other side of his eyelids, making it difficult for him to get some rest. The groan sounded again, annoying him. He was getting some good sleep in, until that moaner decided to be rude and not stay quiet.
"Would you knock that off? I'm trying... to..." he trailed off as he opened his eyes and looked around. Smoke billowed up from a couple of fires. The fires were all that was giving him light to see by, but it was obscured from all the smoke and dust in the air. It looked like a bomb had gone off, and pieces of timber and support beams were scattered everywhere. Eldon realized that it
had
been a bomb that did this. Areth's sacrifice could be the only reason he was still alive.
Eldon coughed, and pain seared his stomach from the movement. Looking down, he saw a large metal pipe pinning him to the floor, and protruding from his abdomen. Blood soaked what little remained of his clothes, marring his exposed skin. He couldn't see past his waist because of a large metal beam holding him also holding him down. He couldn't feel his legs, and hoped that his lower body was still attached.
"Who—who's there?" a man's voice called weakly to him. Whoever it was sounded pained and out of breath. Eldon suspected it was the person who'd woken him with his groaning.
"Eldon Lance," he replied, then added, "I'm Ambassador Snow's son."
"Fuck! It's one of the freaks," Eldon heard the other man mutter before raising his voice. "Do you know what happened? I was escorting one of the senators when, shit, I don't know what happened."
Anger boiled up in Eldon at the other man's words. "Gee, I don't know. Let me use my freak abilities to know everything. I'll just call on all the mystical powers I have at my beck and call to answer all your questions. Tell you what. Since I have a couple brain cells to rub together, I'll use them to guess an explosion went off."
"No one likes a smartass, kid," the man responded, then broke into a fit of coughing.
"No one likes a bigot," Eldon said back when the man finished coughing. "And don't call me kid. I'm twenty-four, not fourteen. I've probably seen more action than you have."
"Who pissed in your Cheerios?" the other man asked between coughs. "I'll have you know I fought in two American wars, and saw shit that requires above a Top Secret clearance just to mention."
Eldon felt anger burn hotter through him. Who was this man to mock him? He had no idea what Eldon had been through in the past few hours. He had no idea what kind of pain and loss he'd suffered. How dare he treat Eldon like a child!
"Have you even taken on three ogres with only a sword in your hands?" Eldon demanded. "Or watched an entire city pillage, rape, and kill itself because it had no choice but to reveal what it truly was? Everyone baring their deepest darkest secrets to one another, destroying lives and loved ones?"
"Relax, would ya?" the other man tried to chuckle, but it turned into hacks and coughs. "No, I haven't fought ogres since they're not allowed to come here. We've both been through some shit. Can't say I'm happy having one of your kind in here with me, but at least you're a soldier and patriot. I've heard how hard you've worked to protect the president. I might not like what you are, but I can still respect what you've done."
Eldon almost told the man that he was no patriot, but just following his sense of duty. He held back at the last moment. The pain in his stomach from the pipe sticking out of him stealing his breath might have had a little to do with his self-control as well. He gripped the pipe, and gasped as he yanked it out, hard and fast. Blood spurted up from the wound for a brief moment, before the wound shrunk, sealed, and healed. He filled his chest with air slowly, testing the spot with his fingers. The skin was smooth and slick with blood, but no pain. He chucked the pipe with his other hand, and propped himself up to look at his lower body.
"Shit, man! Careful where you're throwing stuff. Sorry I offended you," the other man grunted and Eldon heard some shuffling from the direction where he'd chucked the pipe. "I didn't think you were that touchy."
Eldon ignored him as he looked at the beam crossing his hips. He couldn't sit all the way up, but could see that his pelvis was crushed. There were perhaps a few inches between the floor and bottom of the heavy object. No wonder he couldn't feel his legs. He wasn't worried about permanent injury. If he could get out from under it, his body should return to normal. On the other hand, he was afraid of the amount of pain he would feel until his body recovered.
"Say, any chance you can help me out over here? My arm doesn't seem to be working right."
Eldon continued to ignore the other man, instead pushing his weight against the beam. It shifted slightly, but hit something else and refused to move.
"You still with me, buddy?" the other voice nagged at him. Eldon was his buddy now? What a prick. "I can hear you moving around over there. Listen, I don't mean to press you, and I'm sorry for my choice of words earlier, but there's a fire over here that's getting awfully close. I would rather not become extra crispy."
Eldon closed his eyes for a couple seconds, gathering his courage and blocking out the other man's groans and coughs. He was really getting annoying. For a split second he debated on telling the man that he preferred his secret service agents to be medium rare, and he would be there in a bit.
Discretion is the better part of valor,
he told himself and kept his mouth shut.
Taking a deep breath, he shoved hard against the metal beam. Even with his enhanced strength, it lifted up a couple inches, then struck something else and refused to move any more. He held it there, his arms straining, muscles bulging. Sweat dripped from his head as he looked down to see his pelvis inflate and expand, taking up the space he'd just freed. Realizing his opportunity, he slid his lower body out, until the beam slipped in his sweat-slickened hands and crushed his shins.
