EVERYTHING TAKES YOU BACK

[gawdamn.livejournal.com]

the song drabble meme

It's pretty simple and fun, folks. This is how this works!
( 01 ) Have a playlist ready! Don't use all your songs--try and narrow it down a little.
( 02 ) Let everyone know how many songs you're working with. Also, which characters you would be willing to write about.
( 03 ) Others tag your post, picking a character or pairing or friendship or familial relationship or whatever, and then choose a number from your list.

( 04 ) Write a drabble related to that song, using that/those character(s)!

<b>Characters:</b> -Name || (<lj user="username"></lj> ) -Name || (<lj user="username"></lj> ) <b>Number of Tracks:</b>

- reference our previous meme if you're still confused

Comments

[howkickassiam.livejournal.com]

oh god this. whatamiwriting.jpg. set way back when thom first joins. 8)

hometown glory, adele

__

"Oh."

Thom's tone is a little uneven, enough where Carter notices, sending him a curious look, watching the other Spartan just stand there, quiet for the longest moment.

"Is there a problem?" Carter asks, not unkindly, more just curious, not understanding what it is that's making Thom stand there like he's not sure what they're supposed to be doing. He moves closer, bumps his shoulder against Thom's, and frowns even more when Thom jerks, like he's been startled. "Lieutenant?"

"I'm good. Sir." The last part is tacked on as an afterthought, and Thom pushes on ahead, stepping over still-steaming rubble, picking his way down the ruined mess of a building while Carter follows, keeping a watch on their surroundings and Thom's back as they make their way through, pushing past the ruins around them. He's frowning behind his helmet, of course, not quite able to figure out what it is that's got Thom so unsettled, but they push through building after building, pushing past bodies and walking over blood-spatter, heading for the target.

It's an inconspicuous computer, and takes just a moment to locate; no security systems on it past the normal ones, which is why Carter has Thom here and not Kat. He's all too aware that the LC is teaching their newest tips and tricks on how to get into things he shouldn't, and while he won't openly call them on it, the look on Kat's face when he'd ordered Thom with him for this part had been well worth it.

The house itself is a mess, though. They secure the area in just a few moments, Thom acquiring what they need just as fast, tucking it away. It's up to Kat to decode what it means, but at least now they have it. "Doesn't make sense, sir," Thom says absently, skimming the living room, finishing up a few things on the computer.

Carter knows exactly what he means, though, without him having to explain. "The bodies have to be elsewhere." Which means a chance for a survivor, at least. He and Thom move effortlessly, sliding through the house, sweeping each room and hallway until Thom stops, jaw clenched.

"Commander."

Carter heads over, frowning at what he sees, silent for the longest time. It's not the Covenant, here, even if parts of the town are demolished by them. No, this is entirely human, the bullet holes in the walls, the lack of plasma anywhere. The Insurrectionists started it, but the Covenant had finished it. They're both silent for a moment, before Thom takes the initiative, pushing open the partially open door. This many dead bodies outside a door means there's something worth protecting in there; he's not sure he wants to know what, not based on the mess out here, but his question gets answered when the door catches hard on something.

He pushes a little harder, to get himself room to see into the barely lit room, only to catch sight of a tiny, pale hand attached to an equally pale arm and tiny body, blocking the door.

Carter makes a soft noise, shaking his head, already moving to pull Thom's arm back so they don't disturb it further. She can't have been more than ten, and they both realize what happened. She'd come to the door, no doubt at the sound of yelling and gunfire, and the sloppy spray of bullets that'd killed her parents in front of her door also burst in through it and the walls, catching her, too.

"We need to go." Carter's voice breaks through the silence; he steps over the bodies, heading back for the main door out of the house, trusting Thom to follow. He's read the other man's file, knows the Covenant wiped out his world, just like Carter's own. It's something else entirely, though, knowing that aliens did one thing to your friends, your family, your world, and seeing this mess, knowing that people did that to each other when they have other things to worry about, like being extinct.

Thom's footsteps echo behind him, quicker as he catches up, and then in step with Carter as they head out, both of them silent, because there's really not much to be said, there.