Work Text:
Courtland came home from his part-time job with his heart in his throat. It always happened whenever he worked nights. He tried telling his job that he needed nights to himself (without mentioning the reason), but apparently someone called out and they needed him to stay for the night shift, too. So Courtland's planned four hour morning turned into an eight hour workday.
The entire four hours he stayed, he was itching to go home. His skin was crawling, images of his brothers hurt flashing in his mind. Their father had been on a bender lately, even more so than usual. It was fine for the first half of the day when he was still recovering from the night before, sleeping away the alcohol's effects on the couch, finally leaving the kids alone.
Then the monster came back out at night. Shouting, grabbing shirts and throwing children half his size around.
He clocked out as soon as he was told he could go, tossing his backpack over his shoulder and running out the back door. Courtland couldn't shake the gut feeling that something was wrong. He'd been feeling it since seven o'clock, and it was nearing eight fifteen. Call him paranoid or in tune with his brothers or whatever, but he needed to get home. He couldn't fail his brothers who trusted him with their lives like it was nothing.
Each time his foot slammed into the pavement, he saw his brothers' smiles. He saw Colt swinging from a low hanging tree branch, giggling and scrunching his nose. He saw Ryland scowling at his twin as they played yet another heated match of Uno. He saw his brothers running to him when they woke up to their father's yelling down the hall, little hands digging into his shirt and pant legs as he stood in front of them.
Courtland turned the corner, lungs and legs begging him to stop and catch his breath but he couldn't. He kept going, pushing himself past his limit and speeding up. He saw the house at the end of the street, the front porch lights still on. He couldn't tell if that was a good sign or not. It meant someone was still awake, whether it be the twins or their father. He could only hope the latter was asleep.
He finally reached the front porch, digging in his pocket for his keys. He slid the key into the lock when he heard it.
A muffled shout, a grown man's, followed by a thump. A scream.
Courtland shoved the door open, barely thinking to kick it shut behind him before he was running up the stairs, his brothers' names on his lips. He glanced to the left. Their father's door was open. Looked to the right. The twins' bedroom door was open, same as Courtland's. Their bathroom was open, yellow light spilling into the hallway.
Where were they? Where were his brothers?
Why was it so quiet?
There it was again, the thump. From their father's room.
Courtland shoved his backpack off and let it fall somewhere in the hall, too focused on getting to his brothers before it was too late. He entered his father's room, his gut twisting. It was right to churn at work all night.
Their father had both twins in his grasp, his meaty claws squeezing their tiny throats. The twins were scratching him, hitting him with their little fists, their pudgy boyish faces beetroot red and tears pouring down their cheeks. Ryland's glasses were skewed on his face. Colt had a new band-aid across his nose that was falling off as his skin grew wet with fallen tears.
Courtland had never felt so angry in his life. He'd never seen red like that before. It was like he retreated back into his head, letting some other person take over. He rushed forward, grabbing the lamp off his father's desk, the plug ripping out of the wall as he swung it over his head and hit the man with it. The base of the lamp collided with his skull, making his grip on the twins falter. Courtland shoved his father and the lamp aside to grab the front of the twins' shirts and pull them behind him. His blood boiled listening to them splutter and cough, trying to fill their little lungs with precious oxygen.
He started walking backwards, his eyes never leaving his father as the man tried to recover. The man stumbled about as he pushed himself to his feet. Courtland could smell the alcohol from the doorway. Didn't take a genius to understand what happened.
One thing was for certain—he needed to get out of there. There was no safe space in the house for the night. He needed to protect his brothers. Maybe Mrs. Kirby next door would let them stay the night. She'd let them before, giving them pitying looks as she gave Courtland blankets for them to use. Shit, if they were on the street for the night, he didn't care. He just needed to remove his brothers from the equation.
"Come on, guys, hang on to me," he said shakily as he grasped his brothers' wrists, hurrying down the stairs.
"Court—" Ryland rasped, coughing again.
"Don't try and talk, okay? We're gonna be fine."
Footsteps thundered behind him.
"Where are you going?!" the drunken man boomed.
Courtland pushed his brothers in front of him just in time to feel his father's fingers grasp the back of his shirt. He heard Colt shout for him as his father's fist slammed into his cheek. Ringing filled Courtland's ears as he stumbled, the only thing keeping him upright being his father's grip on his shirt. Throbbing pain filled his skull, his cheek, and it only got worse when his father hit him again.
"Think you're so fuckin' strong? Huh?" the man shouted, shaking Courtland.
"Court!" Colt screamed.
"I provide for you little shits and this is the thanks I get?!"
Courtland blinked, baring his teeth and shoving the man with all his might. It didn't do much but force him to take a step back. His fingers still dug into Courtland's shirt.
"Think you can take my wife away and not pay for it?!"
"You did that to yourself, you fucking bitch!" Courtland exploded. Blood dripped from his nose.
He felt little hands grasping at the back of his shirt. His heartbeat thrummed loud in his ears.
"Court," the twins sobbed.
The drunken man scowled, raising his fist.
Courtland closed his eyes, reaching back to keep his brothers behind him.
He waited. And waited. The hit never came.
Thump!
He peeled his eyes open as agonized shouts filled the room. Courtland's eyes quickly landed on—
What the fuck is that?!
There was some sort of… some sort of animal on top of their dad. Five legs, large main body, a light shade of brown with some sort of clear geometric layer over its body. It raised two of its legs and repeatedly hit their father. The noises that filled the room were straight out of Courtland's nightmares. Skin and bone being broken, screaming, some sort of loud humming that seemed to be coming from the animal.
"Court? W-What's happening?" Colt asked, voice shaky.
"It's…"
How did he explain this to them? The fact that this animal was beating their father to death. The fact that blood was staining the floor, the image of their father's broken skull burning into his eyelids. He closed his eyes after hearing the first squelch of the creature's leg hitting brain matter.
A few more thumps and the screaming stopped, leaving the room in tense silence as Courtland slowly opened his eyes again. The threat of their father may have been gone, but there was a new one on the horizon.
He took stuttering breaths and slowly backed away so as to not alert the creature of their movements. His eyes didn't leave the creature, studying its five legs and the main body attached to them. Under the thin geometric suit, the creature looked to be made of rocks.
"Court?" Ryland whispered. "W-What's going on?"
"Shh," he hushed them. Trying to contain the fear flooding his body.
Their whispering caught the attention of the creature. It turned quickly, the "face" of its body looking right at them. The creature didn't have a face. A somewhat flat or curved surface, maybe, but no human features. No eyes, nose, mouth. What the fuck was that thing?
It raised one of its bloody arms, the bottom of it breaking into three. Like a hand. Hums filled the room again.
"Hi Grace! Hi Grace hatchlings!"
Courtland jumped at the sound of a chipper voice dubbing over the hums. He gripped his brothers tight, keeping them close and backing up. He felt them peeking out form his sides, gasps escaping them as they caught sight of the rock monster. The creature took two steps forward.
Also, Grace? Their mother's maiden name. How did the creature know that? How could it talk if it didn't have a face? More importantly, how was he hearing a voice when all the creature could produce were hums?
"Rocky come to save Grace and hatchlings! Rocky protect Rocky protect," the alien said as it moved its body from side to side.
"Who… who are you? What're you talking about? Who's Grace?" Courtland questioned once he found his tongue.
The creature—Rocky?—perked up. Jumping up and down.
"Oh! Grace mention you! Big brother, always protect. Court was his name, yes. Rocky remember."
Courtland stilled. The creature knew his name. It just kept getting weirder and weirder, making him forget for a moment that their father was lying a few feet away, dead.
"It knows your name," Colt whispered in awe, though he still hid behind Court and clutched his sleeve like a lifeline.
Rocky turned to Colt. "Grace twin! Look just like Grace!"
So the "Grace" in this alien's mind was Ryland. He glanced down at his little brother, his skewed glasses and tearful eyes. How the hell did this creature know him?
"Rocky come to take Grace Grace siblings somewhere safe. No more bad man hurting them. Bad bad bad man gone. Rocky fix."
"What makes you think we're going anywhere with you?" Courtland asked in disbelief. "We're not going with you just because you… you killed him and know our names. H-How can we trust you? You're a… rock… spider… thing."
"Grace say same thing about me years ago," the alien said fondly. It seemed to lock onto Ryland, who jumped and hid further behind Courtland. "Hi Grace! This what human pebbles look like… so cute!"
Call Courtland crazy, but he didn't feel any sort of maliciousness coming from the alien. It didn't want to hurt them, just their father. It wanted to take them somewhere safe. It knew Ryland somehow, knew him for years apparently. Courtland was so confused but so intrigued at the same time. And, if the alien was telling the truth, somewhere safe sounded… like heaven. He could finally let his shoulders fall, put down the human-shield act. Maybe he could be a kid again with his brothers and not have to worry about coming home to a bloodbath.
Almost nothing the alien made sense, but Courtland was willing to hear it out.
"Where… where would you be taking us?" Courtland asked.
"What? Court, no! Its gonna take us to the mothership and probe us!" Colt hissed at him fearfully.
"No probe, Rocky promise!"
"H-How can you be sure we can trust it?" Ryland asked quietly, looking up at Court in complete and utter fear. He never did like those Alien films, the xenomorph, whatever it was called. Claimed it was bad juju or something. Courtland knew he was just scared of it.
"I don't know how to explain it, but I can feel it. I think it'll be okay."
Rocky tapped one of his back legs on the wood floors in quick succession. "Grace tell me about bad childhood. Say he missed brothers. Rocky come to fix. Did not mean to scare hatchlings. Apology apology."
Courtland kneeled in front of the alien, his brothers' hands still grasping him and whispering at him to stop, to stay back. He ignored them for once and faced the alien head on. It didn't lash out, didn't hit him like it did to their father. It was calm, tilting its body to the side. Waiting for an answer.
"You know Ry?" he whispered.
"Yes. Rocky know Grace long time."
"How?"
"Rocky explain later. Long long story. Must get Grace family safe first!"
"I uh… think you already did that."
"No no, safe from Earth! Earth bad bad bad, another long story. Come with Rocky! Rocky keep Grace family safe."
Courtland sighed. It wasn't like they had a choice. Their father was a dick, but he's what kept a roof over their heads and food (the limited amount they had) in their stomachs. With him gone, a giant weight was lifted from Courtland and placed back onto him all the same, because Courtland couldn't provide for them all alone. They had no other living family as far as he knew, so they had no home. No one to take them in. Rocky saved them and doomed them at the same time.
"Okay. We'll go with you, just give us a minute, okay? Gotta pack some things," he said.
Rocky raised its two front legs and did a little dance. "Yes! Grace family go pack things, come with Rocky, Rocky safe!"
"Court, I don't know about this," Colt said slowly, his eyes wide and pleading.
"He's gonna take us to his people," Ryland added, "and probably eat us."
"Guys, it'll be okay. Rocky said we can trust him, yeah? He saved us. He doesn't want to hurt us." Courtland turned to kneel in front of the twins, taking their hands in his. "I know this is scary, but we need to leave. If we stick around, I'm scared the cops will pin this on me. And… I'm not going to be separated from you two again. I can't."
The twins shared a look before leaning forward and bringing Courtland into an embrace. He sighed, hugging them back tight. Relieved that they were still alive.
"Come on, lets go back your things."
He led the twins upstairs to their room before retreating to his own to pack his stuff. Nothing much, just his clothes. He didn't have many personal effects. He stuffed his clothes into his duffel bag and checked on the twins, seeing they were ready, too. They headed back downstairs with Courtland covering their eyes as they passed their father, meeting back up with Rocky.
"Grace Grace hatchlings ready?" the alien asked.
"Yup," Courtland said.
Rocky reached up. "Take Rocky hand. Make sure Grace Grace siblings holding on, too."
"Hold my arms, guys. Hold them tight."
The twins obliged, their little fists clenching the fabric of his sleeves. Courtland gently grasped Rocky's hand. It was such an odd sensation feeling the thin geometric layer digging into his skin. The alien radiated warmth, though, which he took as a plus on the chilly night.
"Rocky go now! Hold on!"
Courtland blinked. They were gone.
Ryland wondered where Rocky went. He'd been at the house earlier hanging out, playing board games with him and Armando, and everything seemed fine. Except when Ryland mentioned his brothers again after hearing Rocky talk about his pebbles, Rocky stilled, then left abruptly mid-Uno match. Not a single peep, not when Ryland called after him. Though, Ryland figured, maybe he was just missing his kids and Adrian. It had been a few hours since he saw them.
So he shrugged it off, kept playing with Armando even when the robot cheated, and ended his day watching TV on the couch and eating ramen. Not that bad of a day, in his opinion. He just wished he could've seen Rocky for longer—
A bright flash nearly caused him to drop his ramen. He squeezed his eyes shut, held fast to his bowl, and grunted. What the hell? Did Armando have a flashbang he didn't know about? Ryland blinked a few times, eyes readjusting to the dim lighting.
"What the—"
"Hi Grace!"
His eyes locked onto his best friend standing in the middle of the living room.
"Rocky, what was—Jesus Christ!"
Ryland shot to his feet, hastily putting the ramen down on the coffee table in favor of studying the three boys in front of him. The fifteen year old brother he missed with all his heart staring back at him with wide eyes. A familiar baby face with a band-aid on his nose, eyes bulging from his head as he took in the room. And an all too familiar face, his own, with little glasses and an apprehensive look around, his fingers digging into Courtland's arm.
"Are… what the fu—" Ryland gasped.
"Language, Grace! Is pebbles present!" Rocky stomped.
"Rocky… what did you do?"
"Rocky fix! Save siblings, bring siblings to Grace!"
"How did you do that?"
"Rocky invent time travel!"
"Like Tony Stark? Jesus—"
"Ry?" Courtland asked hesitantly, gazing at Ryland.
God, he hated that he couldn't remember Court's voice very well. Hearing it when he was young, too young for what they'd gone through, made his heart clench. He missed Court so much. He missed Colt every single day. For a moment, he didn't care about the implications of what Rocky did. He just took in the sight of his brothers, alive, right in front of him.
"Y-Yeah. It's me," he said quietly.
"Woah, you look so weird," Colt said bluntly. He pointed at his forehead. "You've got wrinkles. How old are you?"
Ryland couldn't hold back a snicker. "Not as old as you."
"Grace happy, question?" Rocky asked nervously.
"We're… definitely gonna have a talk later," he said pointedly. "You can't just kidnap people from the past, Rock, there's so many things wrong with that."
"But Grace say he miss hatchlings, say parent hurt them every day. Rocky fix!"
He sighed, staring at his brothers as they watched them bicker. Eyes going back and forth like it was a tennis match.
"We're still talking about this."
"Woah! Cool robot," little Grace said in awe, staring at Armando.
"Is that a beach? There's a beach here!" Colt said from the window, smiling wide.
Courtland just kept staring at Ryland with a heavy weight to his eyes. Like he knew something the twins didn't. Knowing him, he did. Or at least he was old enough to comprehend what Ryland was talking about to Rocky.
For now, he would let himself have this moment with his family. His family he missed so dearly, aching every day to be able to hold them again. He smiled at them fondly.
"You guys should see the space ship," he said.
Three pairs of sparkling eyes found him. Ryland and Rocky laughed.