The Bangor Buzz

Posted on Tue Mar 19th, 2024 @ 9:23pm by Hale Stratton [Major, United States Army] & Alonzo Blazevic

1,391 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Bangor or Bust
Location: Alonzo and Hale's Quarters
Timeline: 4 September 2010 - 8:40 p.m.

Everything was going a certain way whether that be according to plan or not was debatable. There was part of Alonzo that was eager for the prospect of having everyone back together, one messed up family, but safety in numbers and all the jazz. He still harbored some resentment towards the French teen, but Alonzo would have to push that resentment aside and learn to forgive the whole Walmart parking lot debacle if they were going to be traveling together again. Hale certainly seemed on board with that from what Alonzo could tell. Together again, the band was getting back together. Alonzo had his doubts. Some part of him thought it best that Hale, Ethan, and himself shrug off the others.

As he waited for Hale to walk through the door, Alonzo prepped the living area of their cabin. Ethan was off in his room undoubtedly enjoying the little bit that Alonzo had let him have as a treat. Ethan had after all assisted Alonzo. He knew Ethan was fast, but the boy had some agility and nimbleness to his his arsenal. That was something that Alonzo would not forget. Usefulness was key to surviving around here.

When he heard Hale arrive, Alonzo snatched up the two bottles and went to to meet him. "Welcome back," he said greeting Hale. "Ethan and I had a bit of an adventure" prefaced Alonzo Blazevic. That may have been a bit of an understatement.

"Oh," Hale said as he closed the door and came forward and reached for the bottle that Alonzo offered him. "Trouble?"

"Not really," Alonzo replied with a bit of a smirk. "I taught him a little bit about lock picking. He's a quick learner, and a good student" added Alonzo. "We broke into one of the officers' home, snagged ourselves a case of beer" explained Alonzo.

The bottle Hale had reached for, an amber lager from the Saranac company. "I poured Ethan a glass, but don't worry. I watered it down a bit. I figured I should reward him with something. He carried the case back anyways."

"Watered down beer," Hale said with a delicate shudder, "not much of a reward for learning such an important life skill." He took a sip of the beer and sighed. "We found Vienna's mother. She's at the hospital … not going to make it, I'm afraid."

Alonzo had been drinking from a bottle only to stop at the news, setting the bottle aside and hanging his head momentarily. "Damn it," he muttered softly and fought back the emotions that were hitting him harder than he was prepared for. He gripped the neck of the bottle tighter. Impulse would have been to throw the bottle and have it smash against the wall, but Alonzo could not afford Hale seeing him like that.

He looked up at Hale and choked it all down. "How is she?" he asked concerned for another one of these kids. Really that was what they used to be. Kids one day, survivors the next. "What happened to her mother, Hale?"

"Got lured out to one of the stash houses," Hale said as he sat the beer down on the nearest surface. "They were using the not-actually-dead as an alarm system. Had them chained near the front and back doors. Guess she got bit when she tried to enter. We found her upstairs in one of the bedrooms."

"That's awful," a simple but accurate response from Alonzo who instantly thought of the girl and of Ethan, and even Rene. They were close in age and undoubtedly going to become closer if this group remained together. "Ethan has been through a lot with his own loss. I imagine he's going to want to be there for her."

Alonzo stepped closer to Hale and kissed him gently on the lips. It was a quick but much needed thank you gesture for Hale coming home.

Hale returned the kiss, equally gentle, as his arms encircled Alonzo. "You might not have noticed but Ethan's been keeping his distance from all of the teens."

"We have that in common then," Alonzo said. "Why do you think that is?" He was curious what Hale thought about the whole thing. "He's a teenager. They are teenagers. Shouldn't they be doing teenager things?"

"Nothing normal about all of this, is there," Hale said as he led Alonzo over to the sofa, the beer in one hand, Alonzo's hand in the other. "Honestly, I'm not sure. If I had to guess …" Hale shrugged lightly as he sat down and drew Alonzo down with him. "... I'd say that there isn't enough room in Rene and Vienna's lives for a friend. Now whether Ethan is perceptive enough to get that, I don't know. But I do think that's part of it."

Alonzo felt bad for the kid..in a way, Alonzo had been trying to compensate for what Ethan had lost, but how does one compensate for losing the whole damn world? "No, there isn't really a normal anymore. There are others out there around his age. We may run into them, they could become part of our traveling circus, but you know what the real tragedy is, Hale?"

Alonzo looked at Hale and it was with worry. "He can make friends, he can open up and even give himself o money, but the more this goes on? The less likelihood those friends or special people he meets will be part of his life. I live with that ever day now. Who's it going to be next...are you coming home? Do I lose Ethan?"

Hale nodded. "Not safe what I do," he said. "As strange as it might sound, in a way, its easier for me than it is for anyone waiting at home." He looked around their living room and smiled sheepishly. "How this went from a place to sleep to home, I don't know. Anyway." He brushed a lock of Alonzo's hair back off of his forehead. "Short answer is, you don't know. Same as I don't know. You could step outside to grab an armful of firewood and run into the wrong person. So, what we need, I think, is a plan."

"I plan to be cautious and smart, to trust nobody without making them earn it from me," said Alonzo. "I plan to hold this place and these moments with me until my last breath and don't you ever leave me to become one of those things. I won't put Ethan or you at risk."

"Good plan," Hale said with a tenderness he showed to no one else, "but I was thinking more along the lines of what we said earlier. Always have a backup plan. A place to meet if things go sideways. And I'll teach you both everything I know if it keeps you safe on minute longer in this new reality of ours. I can't lose you. Either of you."

Alonzo liked the feeling that came over him. That Hale said he couldn't lose either of them. "What did you have in mind for a backup plan?" asked Alonzo.

"It will be different, depending on where we are, but the basic idea is this," Hale said softly. "Before we separate, for whatever reason, we agree on a place to wait if everything goes sideways. And wherever that is, we hold that ground and we wait." He pulled Alonzo close and whispered into his hair. "I can't lose you two."

Alonzo nodded. "I'll wait. I promise" he said and the noise from Ethan stirring drew his attention and with that an unfamiliar voice signing. "That's...yeah that's Ethan. I didn't know he sang." Then it dawned on Alonzo that maybe he hadn't watered down Ethan's beer enough.

"It's nice, you know, a kid being a kid," Hale said. "Is it weird that I want to rock a little air guitar with him?"

Alonzo smiled. "He hardly has any family left alive, possibly even less now. It's us. That's what he has now. I think he deserves to hold onto being a kid as long as he can these days."

"We'll have to do what we can," Hale said, unwilling for the moment to move away from him, "to make sure that Ethan has more of those moments. Just a chance to be young and enjoy it."

 

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