The Watchmen Files // File One // Chapter Ten // Part Two

Good day to you, faithful readers!

   It's Darrion, and I've got the rest of chapter ten for you :)


   Oh, and a Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you had a good one :) And Happy New Year, too!

   Right now, I'm writing this on New Years Eve, because I don't know about you, but I'm sleeping in tomorrow. I'm also writing over my little dog Barney who is sitting on my lap and shaking all over! He's terrified of fireworks. He hides behind the computer chair, he's so scared. Poor little thing :(

   But anyway, this chapter is an important one. Not only for Mason, but for Conner and Duke, too.

   And, an important notice to readers: this chapter contains violence. Not like take-out-the-Hydra violence, but I'm-beating-you-up violence. Bullying. Name calling (not bad words, of course). General rudeness and enmity. So, if you are young or sensitive to violence, then please, skip this chapter. Below the chapter I have a recap sort of thing, so I'll tell you what happened. You do not have to read. Please, if you're a kid (and think about what your parents would think) or if you're sensitive, then pass. Read below the chapter, in the recap. Thank you :)

So, without further adieu, this is the rest of chapter ten!

The Watchmen Files

File One

Chapter Ten 

Part Two 

Turning Point

   When lunch was finally called, the squad was dismissed to the cafeteria. Conner breathed a heavy sigh of relief and ran as fast as he could to get his meal. Never the less, he was the last to arrive (after being shoved aside by Duke) and was the last in line. Which meant the cold leftovers. Which wasn't particularly good, but any meal becomes tasty when on an empty stomach, which his was.

   He trotted over to the table farthest from the exits where his comrades were seated.

   "Hey McKee," Duke shouted from the far end of the table at the approaching Conner. "You should seriously lay off the short-cakes, dude!"

   Mason rolled his eyes. "Would you just leave him alone for once?"

   Duke rolled his eyes back. "Why should I do that? It's not my fault he's fat and short-"

   "He's not fat, and you're not even two inches taller than him!"

   Before Duke could shoot back, Graham came up to the group and calmed them down. "Hey boys, what's all the ruckus about?"

   There was a long moment before Conner muttered quietly, "Nothing, sir."

   "Good. Now, Sulavan and McKee, I want you two to the run another simulation for the rookies."

   Glancing at each other, Conner and Hank both nodded and followed the Sargent out of the cafeteria and left the others to finish their meals.

   Soon enough, they were licking their plates clean and, by the clock on the far wall, it was almost time for them to join the Sargent.

   "I'll see you guys there," Jared informed them, with his finished dish in hand.

   "I'll go with you," Gabe followed after him, leaving Chris, Felipe, Jean-Claude, Duke, and Mason who finished shortly after.

   When the intercom sounded, the boys got up to find their way back to training and showing the kids around. Mason, in a rush to get there at a punctual time, got up in a hurry and (by the curses that followed) knocked the invisible Duke over in the process. "Watch it, man! I can't see you when you do that... thing."

   Duke stumbled up from the floor and glared at him. "You watch where you're going, Hydra!"

   "I said stop calling me that," Mason seethed back at him. "I'm not a Hydra, and neither is my dad."

   "Ha!" Duke sneered. "Maybe you should do some research on that statement-"

   "Just leave me alone," Mason pushed past him only to be grabbed on the shoulder and whirled around.

   "Hey, I was talking to you!"

   "You don't know anything about my family."

   Duke looked surprisingly serious. "I know all I need to know. We're connected, Kruger. By what your pops did."

   "Did what?" he fumed back in frustration. "What is it with you and these cryptic conversations?"

   Leaning in, Duke cocked his head to one side and whispered in Mason's ear, "Hurt me with the truth, but never comfort me with a lie."

   Now quite suspicious, Mason didn't know what to think about his rival's 'wise words'. It sounded like it belonged on a bumper-sticker. "What's that suppose to mean?"

   "Did Graham ever tell you what your freak daddy did?"

   A long moment passed as he pondered the badly-worded question. "Not specifically-"

   "That's because he was a murderer!"

   "Stop saying that!" Mason retaliated, noting the crowd of other Watchmen listening in on the fight at hand. He had to stand up for family honor. "He didn't hurt anyone!"

   "Didn't hurt anyone? Didn't hurt anyone?!" Duke shouted. "Hans Kruger was a Nazi kook and a murderer! He killed innocent men with his 'tests' like they were lab rats! Those men had families, kids that would never know their fathers! And the world hasn't forgotten you Krugers, what you did to those families, and one day, I'm gonna have the pleasure of doing justice to him just unlike he did to so many others, and you can watch him hurt-"

   Duke never got to finish his rant because Mason snapped (in every sense of the word). His pulse so high that all he could hear was the pounding of his hear in his ears, Mason attacked Duke full-on. As in a fist-to-fist fight. Duke, taken completely by surprise, could only cover his face with his arms and yell for help as Mason tried to beat the living daylights out of him.

   The crowd just stared in horror as the fight went to the ground with Mason on top and the helpless Duke below him, unable to get up or do anything but be smashed by Mason's fists.

    Meanwhile, Conner, who was following the Sargent alongside the teens to the next training ground noticed someone running at top speed up to Graham.

    It was Felipe, and he was puffing and was quite pale by the time he reached them. "Sargent! Vous avez à l'aider!" he rambled breathlessly in rapid French.

   "English, boy!" Graham instructed as the now quite concerned Jason listened in.

   "I-it is Mason," Felipe chocked. "He has gone fou!"

   Conner, who spoke some French, gasped and took hold of Felipe's shoulders. "Where is he now? Tell me!"

   "In... in the cafeteria."

   Conner took off in that direction and, after a slight hesitation, Graham, Jason, and the teens followed as fast as they could. Surprisingly, Conner got to the cafeteria first and rushed in to find a crowd of Watchmen standing around something, or someone. They were too tall to see over, but by the sound of it, Mason had gotten to Duke.
   "Let me through! Please!" Pushing past them, he found Mason on top of someone, hitting him with his fists as that someone cried out. "Mason!" Conner shrieked in horror at the sight.
   Immediately, he moved in and grabbed Mason's arms (still yelling at him to take control of himself), trying to pull him off, but to no avail. Then, getting down on his knees, he forced himself in between Mason and Duke as he had done before.

   Mason, so blinded by rage and the pulsing red covering most of his sight, delivered another blow to his opponent.
   Except he didn't hit who he thought.

   A shrill, sharp yelp like that of a puppy dog rang in his ears, immediately clearing his sight.
   Conner.

   Everything stopped. The blinding anger, the noise of the crowd, the shouts of his Sargent, and the gasps of the teens were canceled out and all he could hear was that yelp, and all he could see was Conner pulling back, grabbing his face with his hands in pain and whimpering.

   "Conner... I-I..." Mason's eyes welled up with tears as Graham shoved him aside to get to the wounded, whimpering Conner. The crowds of Watchmen stared and shook their heads at him, not believing that someone could do such a thing. "Conner...?" Mason gasped and looked down at his hands and back up to his wounded friend in horror. "I... I'm so sorry..." A cold tear dripped down his cheek as he gazed upon what he had done.
   Mason turned away, frightened by himself, by what he had done, and one of the kids, the tall skinny one, stared at him in terror. "Stay away from me!"
   More tears followed in small streams as he ran away from the scene of confusion and hurt. He had to get away from there, hide somewhere, anywhere. But he couldn't hide, not from himself.

   "Mr. Jason!" the teen pulled on Jason Grey's sleeve persistently. "He's getting away!"

   "Should we shut it down, sir?" a Watchmen asked worriedly.

   "No, let him go. Just don't let him leave the facilities grounds." Rushing over to Graham who was kneeling next to Conner as the medics checked him and Duke, he put a hand on the Sergent's arm. "What do we do?"

   "Take them to the hospital, of course," Graham answered sharply.

   "No, what about Mason?"

   "Well..."

   A shaky groan interrupted them, "... M-Mason...?"

   "It's okay, Conner. Just lie still," he patted the young man gently.

   "Is... is he okay?"

   Jason couldn't help but crack a smile of relief, then he shook his head. "I don't know, Conner, I don't know." Looking over his shoulder after where he had ran out, he breathed deeply. "What's happened to you, Mason Kruger?"

To be continued in Chapter Eleven: What Have I Done?

And that's it, folks! Chapter ten! I hope it wasn't too much for you. This just had to happen for the rest of the story.

Oh, and here's the recap!

So, basically, Duke accused Mason's dad (Dr. Kruger) of murdering innocent people and said that he wished him dead. Mean, I know. What a jerk. But anyway, Mason, losing control of himself, attacks Duke (punches him) and Conner tries to intervene. But Mason accidentally hit Conner and snapped out of it, but hurt him a bit. Then, suddenly afraid and scared, Mason runs off. So that's where the chapter is left off till next time.

And I changed Jason's rank to Junior Directer of Recruitment Divisions (instead of Special Forces).

So, anyway, I think that's just about it... oh, I forgot about announcements :)

So Willow is going to try to write her chapter for this Friday. And also, she's going to attempt to write a bit about the sequel to Friends and Enemies, called Forgotten.

And Ammelia wrote chapter four of Without Cause. This was a very exciting one, and I liked it a lot! I think Ethan is really cool, and he and Mason act a bit alike in a protective sense. It would be interesting to see how they would act if they ever met each other.

Well, have a good day, everyone! :)

Always Watching,

Darrion