Chapter Eight

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"No!"

Jen raced forward as an explosion shook the ground she stood on, she lost her balance briefly but pressed on till she reached her fallen comrade. Dropping to her knees she immediately checked for a pulse as the others crowded around; she began CPR frantically.

She looked around anxiously, cringing when she saw her partner kneeling over another, doing the same; it seemed like hours had passed before she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Stop, Jen . . . it's over."

She met his eyes as Sordna's mutant was defeated by the remaining Rangers, her vision was blurred from the hot tears that stung her eyes.

"No . . . no . . . " she sobbed.

Wes wrapped his arms around her as she cried, reaching over to close his friend's wide eyes that stared up into space; then he focused his attention completely on Jen.

"Shhh, it'll be all right," he whispered. "I promise. It will."

--

One Week Later

Jen placed the flowers on their graves and wiped away her tears as she stared at the headstones in disbelief. Was it possible? Were they really gone? One week ago both had been healthy, young adults with a future ahead of them . . . an uncertain one. But at least they were alive. And, then, in the blink of an eye—both were gone.

Jen thought back to the day Alex had given his life trying to re-capture Ransik, he had died in her arms; of course, later, she had learned that Time Force had revived him, but he had still died. He never thought of his own well-being, from a young age he it had been drilled into him that his life wasn't important compared to the safety of the world . . . or the very universe.

"Jen?"

She turned around and saw Wes standing next to his bike, his own face full of sorrow as he watched the woman he loved mourn two of her friends. The flowers placed at the graves of Cara Wisnosky and Lucas Kendall served as memorials for the two who willingly gave their lives for others.

"We need to get help," Wes said. "I sent Eric to get the Wild Force Rangers. They should be arriving soon."

"Good." Jen nodded. "I—I can't believe he's gone . . . "

Wes held her comfortingly, not able to speak, not knowing what to say; Jen had known Lucas since they were children, she—and everyone else—had cared for the quiet man who loved cars . . . and Ransik's daughter, Nadira.

"How am I going to tell her?" she whispered, not realizing she had spoken her thoughts aloud.

"Who?"

"Nadira." She bit her lip, looking back at Lucas' grave. "They were planning on getting married."

Wes sighed, not lessening his grip on her shoulders at all, feeling her leaning against him as if she would fall over without him by her side.

"You need to rest," he said.

"There's so much work—"

"And it can be done while your resting," Wes interrupted. "Come on, Jen, you're smarter than this. You know there's no point in wearing yourself out."

Jen kept her gaze on their graves as Wes spoke to her, only half hearing his soft voice as he pleaded with her to sleep for a while when they got back to the house. Finally, she looked at him and smiled weakly, saying: "Okay. I—I just don't want to let you guys down."

"You won't," Wes said. "You never could. Now let's get out of here."

He sat and felt her arms around his waist, then her head resting on the back of his shoulder, as they drove off, he could feel her fall asleep. She felt perfectly safe with him, completely relaxed; Wes glanced back at her when they stopped at a light, smiling when he saw her closed eyes and felt her deep breaths.

He pulled into the driveway and carefully got off his bike, then lifted Jen and carried her inside; the others were alarmed and jumped to their feet, but he stopped them. "She's okay. Just tired." He carried her up the stairs and gently lay her on his bed, tucking her in and pulling the blankets over her.

"Sleep well," he whispered.

--

"Cole."

Wes smiled as he shook the Red Wild Force Ranger's hand, surprised by the difference shown in him; the last time they had met, Cole Evans was a teenager, extremely naive and full of smiles. That was eight years ago, and their meeting had been brief; now he had grown up, he greeted Wes with a small smile and firm handshake, but there was none of the youthful exuberance Wes remembered.

"How've you been?" Wes asked.

"All right," Cole answered. "I'm glad you got a hold a hold of me."

Wes glanced past Cole's shoulder to see Eric coming in with the Yellow Ranger, Taylor; he smirked. "Yeah, well, Eric was all-too-willing."

Cole looked back at them. "Yeah," he said. "Wonder why they never kept in touch?"

"You know them," Wes said. "Both are too stubborn for that."

They watched as Eric and Taylor flirted, Eric finally cornering her in the other room and placing a kiss on her lips, an almost-shy expression on his handsome face. Wes took Cole's arm and led him into their designated meeting room, where the other Wild Force Rangers had already gathered.

"I want to thank you all for doing this," Wes said. "You don't have to—and I really appreciate it."

"We're happy too," Taylor said, entering with Eric trailing behind her.

Wes smiled, looking at each Ranger in turn and spoke slowly, explaining their situation—Sordna, Alex's capture and brainwashing, and the deaths of Lucas and Wisnosky.

"So," Alyssa spoke up. "You're concentrating on breaking the control Sordna has on Alex?"

"No." Wes shook his head. "Our main concern is defeating Sordna. Not that we've forgotten about Alex—" he added "—but we need to focus on protecting the city, he would want us to."

Jen came in as Wes explained the mutants Sordna was sending, and her soldiers, harder to defeat than the cyclobots; she took his hand and squeezed it.

"You're up already," Wes commented. "Guys, this is Jen."

"Nice to meet you," Danny said.

"You all must be the Wild Force Rangers then," Jen said.

"Yes," Cole said.

Jen sat on the sofa between Trip and Katie as Donavan Sherrin hurried in and spoke quickly. "Sordna is attacking the Industrial Center."

"Let's go," Wes said. "You guys ready?"

"Always," Max cried

They ran out of the house as Alan Collins pulled in the driveway in his limo, he was getting out just as Wes ran by, but the young man stopped long enough to say, "We'll be back later, Dad."

"Be careful," Alan said.

Wes nodded sharply and ran to catch up with the others, they all morphed as they got to their vehicles, then headed off to the site of the attack. Jumping out of the SUV, Eric pulled his defender and aimed it at one of the three mutants.

"Freeze!" he shouted. "You're under arrest!"

"Don't force us to shoot!" Wes yelled.

Both of them secretly wondered why they even bothered giving them a warning, the mutants always attacked anyway; and this time was no different, the mutant straightened it's arm and shot at them. Eric and Wes ducked, avoiding injury; then, as one, they got to their feet and fired. The mutant crumbled to the ground, groaning painfully, but a moment later it stood again; by now, however, Eric and Wes were upon it and knocked it back to the ground.

"You got him?" Wes asked.

"Yeah," Eric replied. "Go on."

Wes turned to go to the others, but was met by an iron fist to his stomach, doubling him over long for his attacker to give him a vicious backhammer. Wes fell to the ground, letting out a small cry and getting Eric's attention; the Quantum Ranger kicked Alex in the chest, sending him to the ground and knocking the breath out of him.

Wes shook his head, stiffly trying to stand but finding his legs shaky from Alex's blow; not until Eric grabbed his arm did he manage to get up. Eric pressed his boot to Alex's chest, holding him down; Alex struggled to free himself, glaring up at Eric with eyes that had a white glow to them.

"Alex!" Wes carefully knelt by him. "Listen to me—this isn't you! You've got to remember!"

Alex shook his head fiercely and brought his leg up too quickly for Eric to see, he kicked him hard and sent the Quantum Ranger staggering backward, giving Alex enough time to leap up. He delivered a roundhouse kick to Wes, hitting him in the side of his head; Wes fell, his head throbbing painfully. Alex kicked him in his side, rolling him onto his back; Wes gasped at the pain, but managed to put it out of his mind as he struggled to get back up.

"Alex, you've got to snap out of it," Wes said.

"Shut the hell up and fight!"

Dodging another kick, Wes kneed Alex in the stomach, then swept his leg along the ground, swiping Alex's legs out from under him. Alex grunted painfully when his back hit a cement block, for a second his eyes changed and he looked up at Wes almost pleadingly . . . hopefully . . . his voice was almost inaudible: "Wes?"

"Alex!?" Wes took a step forward, but in that same instant the glow came back and Alex pulled his blaster, shooting Wes square in the chest.

Wes froze, blinking rapidly as darkness closed in from both sides . . . he opened his mouth but no sound came, he tried to breath but it felt as if his lungs were closed. His knees buckled and he fell straight to the ground, hitting his head against the concrete with a sickening thud; he looked over at Alex as the former Red Time Force Ranger stood.

"Eric . . . ?" Wes said as loudly as he could, a whisper.

A moment later, he felt two strong arms lift him and a deep voice saying something comforting, then all went black . . .

--

. . . Jen sat by Wes and gently pressed a cool cloth to his sweaty forehead, wincing when he moaned softly as Eric led Alan in, who asked anxiously: "Will he be all right?"

"He took a bad hit," Jen said. "It's hard to tell."

"Jen?"

Jen turned her attention back to Wes as he slowly opened his eyes, he opened his mouth, but Alan hushed him. "Don't talk, son. Just rest."

"Who . . . ?" Wes asked. "What was it?"

"What do you mean?" Eric crinkled his brow.

Jen knew. "The man who rescued you?" she assumed.

"It wasn't Eric . . . " Wes breathed. "Not his . . . voice."

"No, it wasn't," Jen said.

As she spoke, a man stepped into the room. "How're you doing in here?"

Wes looked by Jen and at the man in the doorway, he wasn't tall, but had broad shoulders and a large build; dark hair, dark eyes, and vaguely familiar, but it was impossible to tell due to Wes' blurred vision. He felt the fatigue setting in a growing stronger as the stranger drew nearer, then rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks . . . " Wes murmured.

"Anytime, kid."

As Wes lost consciousness again, Jen stood and shook hands with the newcomer. "Thank you so much for your help. Without you, Wes wouldn't be here now."

"Who are you anyway?" Alan asked.

"Sorry," Jen said. "This is Alan Collins, Wes' father. Mr. Collins, this Jason Scott."

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