This story follows after my story "Caveira's Playground". You don't have to read it to read this story, but they are directly connected.
Warnings: mentions of rape, abuse, gross stuff, blood, gore, etc.
This is entirely from Ela's p.o.v.
Characters aren't mine.
Chapter 1:
It was painful to watch the video.
Blitz had been missing for nearly a month. We lost him during our battle at the bank at the neighboring city. We had gone back to search for him shortly after, twice, but didn't find any sign of him there. But we found footage of him there. It was clearly left there for us to easily find. When we came back to our temporary base to view the footage, we… there were no words.
Thatcher is our most seasoned veteran. He said in his life, in his entire career, he had never seen anything so evil and disgusting. Mute remained calm, but excused himself halfway through the footage, as he couldn't watch anymore. We were all sickened. We refused to talk about the contents of the video afterwards. The only thing we focused on was finding Blitz, whether he was dead or alive. The footage was given to us to psych us out. It did… It got to all of us. But we're stronger than that. We're determined. And the enemy is weak.
We were able to track down their last whereabouts fairly easy thanks to the video. But it looks like we were supposed to find him. They hadn't made a mistake. They're fucked up.
We found Blitz in a cold, dark cellar. It was filled with useless junk, dust and dirt everywhere, and one lightbulb in the middle of the room. Yet, the first thing you notice is the smell. It reeked of blood, urine, sex, and smelled like death. Blitz was completely naked, on the lone mattress that was against the wall, with his hands tied tightly to his… his testicles. His penis was mutilated. Over top of him was a bundle of barbed wire.
He was coated in blood. I couldn't see his face at all through the blood. The bed was stained with blood. The floor was black with blood and… whatever else. My heart was in my throat. Before I knew it, my eyes were burning and my cheeks were wet.
"He has a pulse," I heard from behind me. Pulse put his Heartbeat Sensor away and ran up to the bed, where we were all carefully trying to remove the barbed wire. I couldn't believe he was still alive. I almost didn't want him to be, in this horrible condition…
When we got the wire off, and cut the ties from his wrists and testicles, we gently lifted him from the bed. He was lying in so much blood that he was stuck to the cloth. I was so afraid we'd lose him at any moment. We were able to get him back to base alive, but in his condition, he could go at any moment. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was alive now.
Back at base, Blitz had been carefully cleaned up and put in a warm, clean bed. Our new medic was only a rookie but did a damn good job patching him up. After the countless stitches, the multiple surgeries, and all the bandages, Blitz looked like some kind of zombie or mummy. Even his face was completely wrapped up, leaving only his eyes, nose and mouth open with a tube down his throat. The Doc also assured me that he's on painkillers. But, he announced to all of us that Blitz is in critical condition. His chances at survival are slim. Like the rest of us, he said he hopes he will wake from a coma. But if he does, it is not going to be easy for him to live after everything he's endured…
The Doc wouldn't let any of us see Blitz after all the blood was cleaned off. I respect that, but… I can't help but wonder about his face… there was so much blood. I saw what happened in the footage. I know his face was cut up all over, and it was already bloody… I just can't help but want to see his face again, the way it was before he was hurt.
I desperately wished to talk to Blitz. I hope he wakes up really soon.
I'm at his bedside, looking at him, feeling helpless as I see all the bandages and bruises. I know Doc has done what he can, and he's closely watching over him.
Mute comes up to me and puts his hand on my back to comfort me. He stays quiet. For some reason with his presence I feel like I can't hold back anymore and I cry again. Mute pulls me into him and we hug each other. He rubs my back.
Between sobs I start complaining about myself to Mute, "I know I shouldn't cry… I'm an adult…"
"It's okay,"
I clutch onto his uniform, "It's not okay. I'm part of Rainbow, too. We aren't supposed to let our emotions get to us!" My face is buried in his chest.
"You made it to Rainbow because you're strong, smart, and stubborn. A real pain in the ass, really," he says as calm as ever.
"I'm being serious," I look up at him, grumpy. I'm sure my face is very red now.
He looks back at me with his poker face, "I'm being serious as well. You really get on my nerves sometimes,"
I can't help but smile briefly. I know he's joking to get me to stop crying. He's a dick.
"Mute, you need to stop me when I'm about to cry. I can't stand it. I feel stupid," I lay my head back into his chest, looking down at Blitz's slightly heaving chest.
Mute rubs my back again. It's comforting, "You're not alone," he says and goes quiet. Mute was never personal. Did he just admit he cries, too? I don't bother asking, because I know he'd never directly admit to any such thing.
"You should get some sleep," the medic said. I was so exhausted, but I knew there was no way in hell I'd be able to sleep. I wanted to be there to see Blitz wake up. But I know it was his way of kicking us out of the room so he could change Blitz's bandages and whatever else needed to be done. Mute walked me out of the room and we went to our rooms for the night.
Pulse woke me up. I sat up, tiredly, running my fingers down through my hair. I fell asleep in my clothes. I felt excited. He didn't ever bother me, so he must have good news about Blitz.
"What's happening, Pulse?" My sleepy eyes finally focus on him in my doorway.
"Just come to the kitchen," he said and left.
I patted my hair down more as I came out to the kitchen. For some reason I expected Blitz to be at the table eating with us. But he wasn't. Everyone was at the table except for him. Thatcher, Mute, and Pulse were drinking tea and eating French toast. Doc was drinking coffee, but took it with him to Blitz's room before I was able to sit down.
"I think he's shy around you, Ela," Thatcher said, having watched Doc practically run off when I entered the room.
"I think he doesn't like me," I sat down where someone had set up a plate of French toast and coffee for me. I lifted my coffee up and smelled it. It always smells so amazing.
"Pulse, why'd you wake me up?"
He shrugged.
"Thought you'd like some breakfast before we ate it all,"
"This is kind of fancy for us. Thank you," I took a bite. I lit up. It was amazing!
"Don't thank me," Pulse said between bites, "Thank Doc when you see him,"
"Hm," was my only reply as I thought to myself and continued eating. Our new doctor is strange. Nice, but strange. He really hates talking to me. At least he takes care of us.
After I finished breakfast and talking to the others, I went on my way to the room Blitz was staying in. Before I got there I ran into the doctor in the hallway. He smiled at me briefly, but quickly looked away and tried to walk past me. I turned to him, "Hey, Doc?" He stopped and looked at me. His eyes were dark brown, like my coffee was.
"Thanks for breakfast. It was amazing,"
He flashed another brief and awkward smile, "Yeah. I'm getting more coffee. You can go see Blitz if you want," and then he quickly left. I watched him walk away with haste. I shrugged it off and went to visit Blitz.
I walked in carefully, feeling like somehow I might wake him up from a sleep he really needs. I looked over his body. His heartbeat was still weak. He needed a machine to breathe. The back of my fingers stroked over his bandaged hand. I think of all the things I might say to him when he wakes up. I really wouldn't know what to say. Now I'm gently holding his hand. At least it's warm, unlike when we found him in that cellar. I keep my gaze on his eyes, just hoping they open.
I jumped as I heard someone speak suddenly from behind me. It was Doc.
"Sorry I scared you," he walked up to Blitz's bed, on the opposite side of me. "I was asking if you were done with breakfast. Pulse put everything away, so there are leftovers in the fridge,"
I was just now noticing his French accent, "I'm fine. Thanks, though,"
"Mhm," He sipped his coffee quietly.
"Doc?" He was sitting in a chair just off to the side of the bed, with his coffee in his lap. He looked at me, "Hm?"
"What do you think his chances are of waking up?" I ask.
He looked down at his coffee and yawned. He seems so tired lately.
"Well, it's hard to say. We're not in a hospital, which would be able to give us a better idea…" He was taking his time answering and it was driving me nuts. But he continued, "I don't know,"
"You don't know? You don't have any idea?" I probably sounded too angry. I do that a lot.
"I'm not gonna take a guess. The fact is, he's severely injured. He can't breathe on his own. He's lost a lot of blood. It doesn't look good. But, like you and the others, I hope his outcome is good,"
I can't help but feel like he's so unprofessional. I compare him to our previous doctor. I shouldn't, but I do. Our previous medic was older and… friendlier.
"Our previous doctor would have some idea of his chances," I glared at him.
He glared back at me, "Did he tell you the truth or just what you wanted to hear?"
"He always told the truth. He knew what he was doing,"
"You don't think I know what I'm doing?" He stood up. "I will tell you the truth: he has died twice since I bandaged him up, but I successfully revived him both times,"
I looked at him, shocked. He continued,
"You know what else is the truth? I don't know if he will wake up. I don't know if he'll live or die,"
We stared at each other for a quiet moment before he broke eye contact. It was only now I realized how tired and stressed out he was. He was drinking so much coffee to stay awake and help Blitz.
"He means a lot to me," I admitted softly.
"Do you love him?" he asked abruptly, looking back at me, into my eyes. The question surprised me.
"Yes, he's like a brother to me,"
His face changed immediately from upset and serious, to calm and thoughtful. "I see," was all he said. I was puzzled.
"Why do you ask?"
He responded by shaking his head and saying, "I'm not sure," He looked down at his coffee mug, "I'm getting more coffee. Sorry for getting upset," and he left the room.
I looked back down at Blitz, still holding his hand, confused at the doctor's weird behavior. He gets on my nerves, but then he's so polite. His accent gets heavier when he's upset. I think about that for the rest of the day.