Blinded - Tumblr Posts

Whumptober Day 1: "How Many Fingers Am I Holding Up?"

Fandom: The Bad Batch

Summary: Crosshair is blinded by an explosion.

Boom. Explosions come with fire and fire comes with bright lights. Bright lights are blinding, expectantly to someone with strengthened eyes.

Suddenly Crosshair couldn't see. The world just went black. He fell to the ground, grabbing his face. He felt around trying to find his gun.

The clone's eyes burned. They were watery and sore, and now he had a headache. It was the first time he really realized just how loud a battle field could be. Having no sight made Crosshair pay more attention to his other senses.

He felt the strangely warm ground under him and how it shook when the bombs went off. He felt the sweat and grim on his skin. The terrible smell of iron and smoke filled his nostrils and feld into his lungs. The battle was loud. Far louder then he had ever noticed before. Yelling, explosions, blaster fire, droids, and the screams of the regs he swore not to care about.

Hunter looked around him. No one was there. There was no one to cover him.

But that didn't matter. Regardless, he rushed over to Crosshair to retrieve him from the field.

"Crosshair! Can you stand." He knelt beside him. "Are you okay?"

"I can't see!" He yelled.

Hunter's blood ran cold as panic flowed through his veins. "It's okay!" He grabbed his and took him behind a nearby rock.

He placed him carefully behind the rock and grabbed his blaster with his right hand.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" The sergeant held up 4 fingers.

"Hunter I can't fucking see! I don't know!"

"Okay. It's alright."

"Why the hell would you ask that?! I told you I can't see!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't know what kind of 'can't see'!"

Crosshair was shaking. What was he if not his sight? It was the reason he was created, his one use in the war was to be a soldier; to be a sniper.

"Is it getting any better?"

"No." Crosshair just about whispered.

"It's alright." Hunter looked around. He peaked behind the rock to see how far the droids had advanced. It was more than he would have liked. He shot a few then turned back to Crosshair. Now he just needed to figure out how to get out of there alive.

"What's going on?" Crosshair asked.

"It's okay. We just need to move."

"And where?"

"I'm working on that."

The woods weren't too far away. Maybe he could pull them there? Hunter could hear the air support flying in. He grabbed his brother's hand and pulled him to his feet. "Come on."

Hunter started running. Crosshair has no idea where they were going. But even so, he trusted his brother to get him to safely. Then Cross heard the air support. Moving made more sense now. Had they been behind the rock, they likely would have been blown up by there own team.

As the bombs were released Hunter pulled his brother to the ground, covering him. As his ears rang, he pulled him back to his feet and got them into the woods.

Crosshair didn't know what was happening. "Hunter! Hunter what is going on?!"

A few trees deep into the woods, Hunter pulled them to the ground. "It's okay."

"Where are we?"

"The woods. We'll wait here until reinforcements get here. It's okay." He pulled his arm up and as he went to comm his brothers, Wreckers voice came over the device.

"Where are you?" His voice shook with a sense of uncertainty that neither had heard his a while.

"The woods. Cross and I got pushed back."

"We will be there shortly." Tech chimed in.

"Crosshair can't see. I don't know if it's permanent or not."

"Alright. We will get it sorted out."

"Thanks Tech." Hunter turned off the device and looked at Crosshair. He looked unsure, almost like he was scared. Because he was.

Crosshair was terrified. "What happens if it's permanent?"

The question took Hunter off guard. "I'm not sure. But it'll be okay. Is it getting any better?"

"A little."

"See, it'll be okay."

"Yeah, it'll be okay."

Soon the rest of the batch would be there. They would take a half blind sniper back to a medic and keep fighting until the battle was won. And when they returned to see how their brother was, Crosshair had never been so happy to see them