"Momma! Momma!" A young girl cried out, a river of tears gushing down her face.
"Look what Jason did to me!" She shrieked. The girl looked to be about five years old, and was a spitting image of her mother, who was standing beside her.

A boy, who looked around nine, ran around the side of the house towards her. "Mom!" He cried before sighing exasperated, "I didn't do nothing wrong. Hazel's fibbing again."

"What!? No," Hazel shrieked, glaring at him angrily. "He lies, Momma, lies!"

Rose didn't respond, instead, she silently walked away, ignoring her children's cries.
"Mom?" The young boy called, but he didn't receive an answer.

"Come," She breathed, and like the obedient children they were, they followed her.
She sat them down so that they were tucked under her arms. She leaned against a tree, beginning to whistle softly. She rubbed soothing circles in both of her children's heads.

"Are you, are you, coming to the tree? They strung up a man, they say who murdered three," She sang softly. Hazel's cries slowly quieted as her mother continued to sing. Hazel felt her eyes slide shut...

/ ~ / ~ / ~ /

"Oi you, wake up. We're here," A rough voice demanded. My eyes instantly snapped open in surprise. For a few moments, I was extremely disoriented, before I remembered where I was. Shaking the last bit of sleep from my eyes, I sighed softly, knowing that would probably be the last drop of sleep that I would be getting in a while.

I leaned my head back against the cool metal of the inside of the cargo hold. I felt the coolness oddly comforting. The continuous, loud hum of the engine was like a sickly sweet lullaby. But instead of lulling me asleep, it urged me to stay awake. Every few moments, the serenity of the plane would be disturbed by shaking turbulence, but it would always pass as quick as it had came. It always returned to the same, comforting peace.

"Where ya headed?" Another voice grit out from the other side of the hold. I glanced over towards them, even though I couldn't see them. The only thing illuminating the entire hold was one, rickety, old lightbulb that just happened to be situated above my head. Even then, it was hardly bright enough to keep me awake.

"Qatar, you?" I responded, trying to strike up conversation. There was a pregnant pause before he answered. He was obviously trying to choose his words carefully.

This was probably because I was on a plane filled with people who have done many horrible things. The only reason why I had chosen to take this flight was because it was cheap, and also because I could get into the country undetected, just like everybody else on this plane was trying to do.

"Saudi Arabia. You headed for the near or the far side?" He finally replied, and I narrowed my eyes at where I heard his voice coming from. I didn't really feel comfortable telling him, especially since I couldn't even see him. Thankfully, one of the overseers recognized this.

"You, with the questions, shut up," He snapped, a hint of hostility in his tone. Immediately, the man fell silent. The entire hold did, aside from the whimpers of a small child from towards the front end.

I could tell there were quite a few people on this plane. I had heard most of them cry, cough, sneeze and mutter throughout the flight. Thankfully, my time on this jet was almost over. It was difficult to be sandwiched next to two extremely sweaty and hot people for as long as I had.

I was glad that I wasn't the poor, terrified woman sitting to the right of me, however. Earlier on in the flight, the woman had alerted me to the fact that the old man sitting next to her had bled to death all over her. The overseers didn't even care. They told her to stop her whining and to put up with it. The woman was mortified, and I had to whisper soothing words to her until she fell asleep.

Just like my mother used to when Jason or I were sad.

I heard the sound of the landing gears going down, and I stretched my legs out. I knew that soon, I would be running to catch the first van out of here and into Qatar. Part way through the flight, the overseers had informed us of what was going to happen.

We would land secretly in UAE at midnight, before quickly being shoved into vans and carted to our destinations, hopefully before being discovered. The first vans to leave were the most likely to get through safely. And, there were only a limited number of vans going. Not nearly enough for the amount of people on this plane.

We hit the runway hard, and we were thrown upwards slightly. Thankfully, I managed to hold on, but the woman next to me screamed as the body beside her landed on her lap. She continued to scream as the plane slowed down, only shutting up when one of the overseers smacked her. I grimaced, feeling my anger beginning to boil.

"Are you stupid, woman? You'll get us discovered!" He spat, before turning and walking away. I glared darkly at his back as he continued to walk, before turning to the woman beside me. She was cradling her now bright red cheek.

"Shh now, it's alright," I cooed, hugging her softly. She cried softly as the plane taxied slowly down the runway. I realized that we were probably heading into a hangar of sorts.

"T-Thank you." She cried, and I rubbed her hair soothingly. "My name is Tahzir. I am headed for Qatar also." She whispered. I leaned down so that my mouth was close to her ear.

"I'm Hazel. Now listen to me, when we get off this plane, I want you to grab my hand and not let go. We have to get to the van first, okay?" I whispered, and I felt her nod.
The plane lurched to a squeaky stop. I leapt up immediately, dragging Tahzir to her feet as well.

The cargo door fell open, and everybody surged forward, trying to get to the vans. I desperately clung on to Tahzir's hand as the crowd pushed us further away from the plane. At the last minute, her hand slipped from my grasp, but it was already too late for me to go back.

"Hazel!" She screamed, but I couldn't get to her. I was trapped in a sea of people.
"Head forward Tahzir! Keep coming." I yelled, hoping that she would hear me. My heart sunk, I prayed that she would get to the vans. Before I even had a chance to think about it, I found myself on a van. I let out the breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.

"The vans are full! Too late! Go back." An overseer yelled, forcing the crowd back. I glanced out the window as the van started, its engine barely spluttering to life. As we began to drive away, my heart lurched.

For there, standing on the edge of the curb, was a sobbing Tahzir. My eyes wrenched themselves from her figure and focused themselves to the outside, allowing my mind to wander.

/ ~ / ~ / ~ /

Hazel was cold. She was wet and she was tired. This was not how she was planning to spend her eighteenth birthday. Jason smiled sadly down at her, causing tears to pool in her eyes.

"Why are you leaving me?" Hazel cried, not being able to hold her tears back any longer. Jason's bulky body covered her smaller frame in a hug.

"Everybody's gotta do something with their life, Haze. This is mine. I wanna protect our country. I've got a reason to fight." Twenty-three year old Jason explained.

"A reason to fight?" Hazel squeaked, half in anger and half in pain. Jason nodded, still holding her tight.

"To keep you safe." He murmured, causing Hazel's heart to swell. And for her to bawl even harder. He quieted her, trying desperately to soothe her.

"Do you remember Mom's lullaby?" He asked, causing her to nod. "Can you sing it for me Haze?" She took a deep breath.

'Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be. If we met at midnight, in the hanging tree.'

/ ~ / ~ / ~ /

"Hey Miss, are you alright?" A small voice called, causing me to snap out of it. I glanced upwards, only to meet the eyes of a young boy. Slightly dazed, I found myself nodding.
The boy looked unconvinced, instead asking "Then why are you crying?"

Huh? I thought before bringing a hand to my cheeks. Sure enough, my cheeks were sticky with tears.

"Didn't feel them right? That always happens when I fly. Dad says it's because the air makes my skin go raw, whatever that means," He stated, giving me a wide, toothy grin. I noted how his teeth were yellow, and how a few of them were missing.

"Don't worry, it goes away soon. Or you can rub your hands on your cheek to warm it up like this," He stated, before rubbing his hands vigorously on his cheeks. He nodded slightly, encouraging me to do it. I did. Sure enough, it worked.

"That's better, isn't it? I heard that happens when you fly in a chopper too. Depends on how fast you go and if the doors open or not, I say," He rambled. I froze when he said helicopter. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. I chanted over and over, squeezing the tears that threatened to spill with my eyelids. It was silent for a moment.

"You look funny when you squint your eyes up like that. Are you scared?" He asked inquisitively. I breathed in.

"Yes, I'm very scared. I've never done this before in my life," I answered truthfully, and he regarded me with innocent eyes. Suddenly, he beamed at me.

"Don't worry Miss, do you wanna know a secret?" He whispered the last part, leaning further over the seat so that he could speak more quietly. I nodded, leaning more forward so that he didn't have to stretch too far over the seat.

"I'm really scared too, but I'm trying to be tough for her," He whispered, before pointing a finger at a snoring baby who was resting in a carrier. He's a big brother, I realized, causing my heart to lurch for the third time that night. I saw how proud of his status he was, it was just like how Jason used to be with me.

Stop thinking about it, Hazel! I chastised myself, shaking the thought away as fast as it had come.

"My Mom used to sing me a lullaby when I was scared," I told him, before asking if he would like for me to sing it to him. He nodded eagerly, settling in his seat. I leaned forward, close to the window, before starting.

'Are you, are you, coming to the tree? Where the dead man called out, for his love to flee.'

Once the boy was sound asleep, earning me a thankful smile from his mother, I allowed my mind to wander back to that fateful day...

/ ~ / ~ / ~ /

Hazel flopped down onto the couch with a sigh. She was absolutely knackered. Work had been taking its toll on her, but she had to do the extra hours in order to afford Jason's welcome home party. It would be his first time home in almost a year, and she was super excited to see him again.

Hazel and her older brother were best friends, they always had been. Even if he was five years her senior and loved to annoy the crap out of her, she adored him with all her heart.

Hazel had hated it when he had joined the air force, but he had kept his promise. He skyped her every Friday. Even if it was only for thirty minutes, it was enough to keep them super close.

Jason loved to regale her with stories of his prank-pulling ways, and also introduced her to his flying partner, Royce. They fly a USAF MH-53 Pave Low helicopter together. Hazel even got a tour of it, as Jason practically loved the helicopter like it was his firstborn child. Heck, Jason even called the helicopter a he.

She giggled at that, before going to turn the TV on. Three sharp knocks on the door stopped her in her tracks.

Hazel lazily stood up from the couch, moving towards the door slowly. Another three sharp knocks came from the other side of the door, causing Hazel to quicken her pace. She threw the door open, and horror immediately filled her as she took in the sight before her eyes.

The man came dressed in full military uniform. A variety of medals were attached in a neat line on his chest. His hat wasn't on his head, instead it was in his hand, pressed tightly against his stomach. He held out a small envelope towards her. He opened his mouth to say something before thinking better of it. Instead he nodded once, bowed slightly and left.

Hazel opened the note and began to read it slowly.

Miss Brooks

The secretary of the Air Force has asked me to express his deep regret that your brother,
Airman First Class Jason L. Brooks died in Afghanistan on 17 February 2007, after being shot down by an unknown aircraft in USAF MH-53 Pave Low helicopter 4500X.
Please accept my deepest sympathies.

/ ~ / ~ / ~ /

In that one, simple moment, my entire world had come crashing down. I had no other family beside from him, and he was gone. That was two and a half months ago.
I spent every, waking second I had trying to find answers.

Why did my brother die? Who killed him? How can I save others? Why wasn't anybody else flying with them?

I had just about given up about two weeks ago, until a friend of mine managed to get some encrypted files about the 'accident'. I had read through them, and I was shocked at what I found.

According to the reports, no other aircraft had been reported in the area. No radars detected anything. There had been nothing, aside from a last minute transmission from my brother. A really, really long transmission too. It had been three minutes in length.
I had desperately tried to find it, but I couldn't source it anywhere. Until my friend traced the files back to the original source.

That's how I ended up in Qatar. The military base in Qatar has a huge network of files in it. Every single file relating towards the accident and my brother are kept there. Now, all I need to do, is figure out a way to get access to that computer. Then I will finally have the answers that I needed.

Sighing, I leaned back and placed a hand on my forehead, breathing in deeply. I turned my full attention to the sunrise, trying not to think about what might happen next.

'Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be. If we met at midnight, in the hanging tree.'

Reposting cause all of my stories got deleted! URGHH

Some things you need to know 3

~ BLACKOUT x OC STORY.

~ OC CENTRIC

~REASONABLE AMOUNTS OF AUTOBOT BASHING

~SOME STUFF WONT BE CANON

~SOME CHARACTERS MAY BE OOC