Joseph sighed quietly as he checked the bullets in his gun for what might've been the tenth time that hour. It was comforting to know he had a full magazine for whatever might be coming for them next…
Then again, most of those creatures, those Haunted, took several bullets to knock down- while others just seemed bullet proof. So it wasn't like a full magazine would really get them far... but for now it was something to hold on to.
He kept ejecting and reloading the magazine over and over again, almost as a nervous habit now. And he stopped only after he actively caught himself doing it and forced himself to tuck the gun away into his holster- fairly comfortable that they were safe for the time being.
Fingers slowly brushed his loose bangs aside, maybe a little too annoyed that his hair was falling out of place, before he looked up at the sound of a brief groan that came from the next room.
After the whole bus crashing incident, they managed an early regroup and, because of their deteriorating conditions, quickly realized that they needed to rest while the moment was theirs. At the very least, they doubted Ruvik would be coming after them so soon- of course, they could've made the wrong call with that. But, as dangerous as it was to stop moving, they all had their limits and after the last couple of hours, they were close to physically and mentally crashing themselves.
Sebastian had been the initial one who pushed for it- insisting that the bus crash alone had torn his bullet wound open. And after ten minutes of puking from the pain and nearly passing out, he agreed they didn't have any other choice. The two of them had been flung from the bus in mid-crash and God knows how many things they hit on the way out. And that wasn't even counting how fast they were going when they initially crashed. It was a miracle they were alive and hadn't been crudely paralyzed in some way or form.
The bus had been thrown into a hotel building, which was dangerously lucky for them- although most of the hotel rooms had been ruined from the city shifting over and over. Somehow, they still managed to find a room that was in decent shape; it had a working door that could be locked, and the only wall that was partly broken just lead outside to a five-story drop.
So for now… they were safe.
The room itself was in reasonable condition, or at least the back portion of it was the only part that had collapsed. For the most part, the furniture was still intact and decent enough- a few pieces just had to be picked up and placed back in proper order. In fact, Sebastian had dragged him into this room and dropped him into one of the surviving chairs before he went back for Kidman. And so far, he had yet to get back up.
So in the end, despite insisting on getting rest for his benefit, Sebastian ended up being the one to pass out in the mostly intact bed. He knew the older man hadn't planned on it- in fact Sebastian had insisted on taking first watch. He made a brief complaint about back pain and sat down in an attempt to ease his troubling vertebra- and ended up falling asleep instead.
Regardless, it was well deserved rest for the Detective.
He and Kidman had all been relying on him pretty heavily throughout this ordeal- he deserved a break.
The pain from both his bullet wound and his crackling ribs kept him from comfortably sitting and despite nearly passing out before, he couldn't even fathom closing his eyes now. So he waited and prayed for the pain to eventually pass- distracting himself with looking at whatever was sitting around the outdated hotel room. Which wasn't much asides from a broken dresser, a crushed TV and a framed picture that had fallen down and shattered.
Eventually, he settled with looking at how Sebastian's right arm and a portion of his back had been torn open in several long, gruesome cuts. The entirety of his right bicep had been turned bloody and it was surprising that his sleeve was still intact- or even his arm for that matter. Based on how the gashes lined up with the ones his back, they had to have come from one creature and it must've been one hell of a fight that created them.
Even Sebastian's neck was darkened with heavy bruises and he had a cluster of small cuts that lined up over his throat.
... Then again those bruises could've partly been from him as well.
Sebastian had briefly mentioned some four-armed creature and something about a door or an elevator. They had been in the midst of driving like hell on a half-torn apart bus, so he had yet to question the subject completely. Although he wasn't entirely sure if he even wanted to know the full story of it.
And yet, despite those injuries, Sebastian had still gone head-to-head with that spider creature that had chased them and then immediately went against the mounted chain gun that ambushed him at the ambulance.
In spite of all of that, Sebastian had insisted that he would only be closing his eyes for a few minutes when he sat down.
That had been almost thirty minutes ago.
And while he knew Sebastian would be expecting him to wake him up soon, he decided to let the Detective get as much rest as he could. The older man would hate him for it later, but he was the one who needed it the most- even if he was reluctant to admit that.
Joseph moved one hand to rest against his right side and winced heavily at the raw again wound. He was lucky the bullet was a through and through and that it had avoided hitting any major organs; asides from some minor blood loss and extensive pain now and again, he would be fine.
If the shooter had been more accurate, or had aimed just a few inches over, he would've been a dead man. No amount of bandages or curses would be able to fix internal bleeding or organ damage.
The thought of that terrified him...
And he was glad for that.
It meant that the thought of death was no longer some sick, twisted fantasy dream to him anymore. Just remembering how he put that gun to his head outside the church made him sick to his stomach… The weight of a gun in his hands meant he could protect everyone now, rather than become obsessed with putting a bullet in his head.
Maybe he had finally beat this thing… whatever it had been.
Although he was still worried that he would turn again and try to put his hands around Sebastian's neck while he slept. But maybe this shitty condition he was in would make him easy to put down if needed be. It felt like just a single hit to the side would be enough to knock him out- or a punch to the ribs.
The sound of approaching footsteps coming down the hallway outside caught his attention and he slowly wrapped his fingers around his gun once more. Drawing the weapon free, he slowly pushed himself to his feet as the footsteps quickened until they were just outside the door. His hands were shaking as he pulled the slide back and waited, half-expecting the footsteps to simply walk by. They had done nothing to draw attention to themselves... asides from the bus crashing through the building.
He wasn't sure if his hands were shaking from the pain or his nerves at the prospect of something being just outside the door.
He kept his gun trained on it and held his breath as the door was slowly pushed open.
The sight of a torn, white shirt and equally poised gun convinced him not to pull the trigger.
He sighed and slipped his gun back into his holster. "Sorry."
"It's understandable." Kidman spoke, making sure to match his low voice. Pushing the door closed behind her, she slipped her gun into her holster and glanced briefly to where Sebastian was in the next room. "He's still out cold?"
"Yeah." Joseph nodded as he slowly eased himself back into the chair he had been resting in. He kept one hand lightly pressed to his wounded side as he moved- mostly in hopes to keep it from tearing any further. The slow movement caused his ribs to crack lightly and he swore he could feel them shifting in and out of place. He didn't think they were completely broken, maybe just cracked at the worst. "He's going to be pissed I didn't wake him sooner."
"He really needs the rest." She replied, tucking aside a lock of hair before she glanced over to him- immediately noticing how he catered to one side. "How's the bullet wound?"
"As good as it's going to get." He answered. "That crash didn't help it, but it's far from fatal- at worst, it's going to slow me down."
She didn't say much as she remained by the door, as though convinced that she needed to be the one to keep watch. Out of the three of them, she was the least injured. "I took a quick look around and there doesn't seem to be much movement in the city. I thought that crash would've brought them all here, but..."
"We should be glad it hasn't- at least, not yet." Joseph spoke. "That doesn't mean we're not being watched though."
"I'm sure if he was watching us, we would already be dead." She assured. "Maybe he's still enjoying that trick with the bus."
Neither of them even wanted to say his name- and that was just fine with him.
He watched as she rolled her neck slightly before she gradually made her way over to where a second chair was seated across from him and sat down. It was amazing she had managed to survive the crash and pull herself from the wreckage without any major injuries. She had a few more cuts and gashes, as well as some minor burns, but it could've been a lot worse.
The fact that she didn't die upon impact was impressive.
And if she had been physically able to walk the entirety of the hallway and any other following corridors, then she was in far better shape than he could've imagined.
"Will he be alright?" Kidman suddenly asked, as she gestured once more towards Sebastian. She seemed oddly cautious of him now. "… He briefly turned earlier and he mentioned something about you becoming one of those things as well."
Joseph felt himself cringe at the reminder and felt a sinking feeling in his chest as he realized she knew about it. Not that he could do anything about it now... at least it was behind him. Briefly clearing his throat, he pushed up on his glasses as a means to recompose himself. "He'll be fine. He's gone through hell twice... If I can fight this, so can he."
She seemed reluctant to respond, but forced herself to anyways.
"Are you still…"
He hesitated with an answer.
"No, I don't think so." He started. "I'm not sure how, but I don't feel the same way I had before. I haven't had any reoccurring nosebleeds or headaches… I certainly haven't turned again and… I'm no longer crippled by the thought of living. For now, I'll say I'm okay."
She didn't quite seem convinced by his answer, but she didn't say anything further.
There was something off about her- something he was certain Sebastian already knew about.
She was definitely more than what she had told them… more than what they thought she was. But they were all stuck in this together; it would only be logical for them to continue that way.
She had gotten them away from that spider monstrosity after all.
If she was really against them, if she really wanted them dead… she could've easily killed the both of them before. She could've shot him on the bus and she could've driven off without Sebastian and left him for the Haunted to get.
Either way, even if she was working for someone else or working against them… she didn't come into this with the purpose to have them killed. If anything, she didn't actually want them to die. So at the very least, she was still on their side.
And for now, that was all he wanted.
He caught the way she briefly glanced over towards Sebastian again; her face lit with a look of concern this time.
"Are you alright?" Joseph asked, watching as she looked to him with a brief sense of surprise. "I'm not entirely sure how you survived that crash."
Kidman gave a brief shrug and he swore he caught her smile for a few short seconds. "I jumped out at the last minute- barely though. I'm lucky I didn't break anything and that there was something for me to catch myself on when I jumped. I earned a few new bumps, but that's it. I would've been a goner if you hadn't pulled me up though."
"Well, Sebastian did most of the pulling." He admitted as he shifted briefly in his chair to try and relieve the ongoing pressure pushing on his side. He moved to press his hand against the wound once more, slightly squeezing his side as he did it. It was definitely throbbing now- although it had gone from excruciating to painful numbness, so that was an improvement.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Kidman pressed, looking more concerned now as she noticed the grimacing expression on his face. "You did lose quite a bit of blood on the bus and that crash certainly didn't help…"
"I'm fine." Joseph answered as he slowly, and painfully, pushed himself to his feet. "I'm just going to step into the next room and readjust these bandages."
"It'd be safer if you stayed in here." She objected.
Yes, it would be safer, but… he would feel more comfortable having his own sense of privacy. The world may be going to hell and all sorts of things may be going on, but he didn't want that to change.
"I'll only be gone for a few minutes." He assured, trying to sound as comforting, or maybe as convincing, as he could. "Just keep an eye on Sebastian for me."
He waited until she reluctantly nodded before he slowly stepped into the next room- very well aware of his injury at this point. The pain had moved around to his lower back now and was continuously throbbing against his spine.
He quietly pulled the door closed behind him and looked around to make sure that the room was still empty; there were no openings to the outside, so it would be okay for a few minutes. He wouldn't take that long anyways...
Slowly removing his holster, he hung it on a loose wall hook behind him and worked to unbutton his vest next. He stilled briefly as he heard the door groan before he realized that she had moved after him after all and was currently leaning against it to keep the space between them to a minimal.
"It'll be easier to keep an eye on the both of you this way." Kidman spoke through the door, as though understanding his thoughts. "Talk to me so I know you're still there."
Apparently she was a little more protective than he thought.
"I don't know what you want me to talk about." He started as he slowly removed his vest and hung it next to his holster before he pulled his shirt loose from where it had been tucked in. There was a fairly large blood stain that had already set in the thin material and there was a clear hole where the bullet had gone in. Sighing, he began unbuttoning it from the bottom.
"… Where did Sebastian get those cuts?" she asked.
He chuckled briefly at the question. "Not entirely sure, he said something about some four armed creature who attacked him. He said she chased him down a hallway and her hand got him when he was trying to close a door between them. She must've had a hell of a reach though."
"They're terrible looking." Kidman noted. "If we ever get the supplies, we should clean them out before they get worse." She sighed briefly and it sounded as though she switched her leaning position based on how the door briefly rattling against its frame. "I can't believe he jumped into that water with those cuts. No wonder those creatures were going after him."
He pinned the unbuttoned portion of his shirt aside just enough to see where the bandages had been taped over his midsection. The thicker portion of the medical pad had been placed over the actual gunshot wound itself- and unfortunately there was already blood showing through it. Then again, after the bus lifting off the ground and crashing in through the side of a building… he wasn't surprised.
Trying to keep his hand as steady as he could, he picked the bandage off and slowly pulled it away from the wound. He winced when the material briefly stuck and pulled at his skin, but pushed through it until it had been mostly peeled away. The entry point itself looked as though it had been torn open further and there was immediate swelling and bruising already settling in. It did not look good...
And it didn't help that he had both an entry and exit wound, so his back would be looking just as equally bad. Possibly worse since he landed hard on it when the bus crashed.
There wasn't anything he could do about it, but try to keep from stressing it further. Which he doubted would work out.
And as if on cue with that thought, the building shook with something like an aftershock as it seemingly shifted out of place once more. It wasn't too severe, thankfully, but he lost just enough of his balance that he had to fall back against the wall behind him to keep his footing. His body twisted just enough with the action that his legs went weak from the hot pain that suddenly tore through his body.
He groaned a little louder than he intended as he tried to straighten himself back up, holding tightly to his bleeding side now. It seemed useless as any sort of upper body movement struck him with a strong sense of nausea all over again. Hastily taping the bandage back down, he kept one hand pressed tightly to the injury while the other held on to the wall behind him to keep his balance.
Was ten minutes really too much to ask for?
The door was pulled open in such a haste, he was almost certain it had simply broken loose during the aftershock. He didn't even see her come in, he just heard the clicking of her heels on the floor before he felt her arms around him.
"I'm okay." Joseph started, as his legs nearly gave out again, causing him to drop some of his weight onto her. She held tight to him though and helped guide him slowly to the floor. It probably wasn't the most ideal place, but he highly doubted he would be able to get back up any time soon. There was this tingling numbness that burned throughout his body, and it caused his limbs to tremble and suddenly feel weak.
He leaned into her and pressed his forehead against her shoulder, taking in several long breaths to try and control the stumbling pain. He felt her cup her hand over the back of his neck as she gently held him to her. The smell of sweat and smoke lingered on her- practically embedded in her clothing and on her skin.
His fingers loosely held on to her sleeve while hers lightly toyed with his hair in a comforting attempt.
He felt the way she subtly rested her cheek against him and moved just enough so she could kneel more comfortably in front of him.
She didn't say anything, but he took in the quiet comfort she had to offer; she was always good at that. Never was a talker.
He didn't know how long they stayed like that, at least long enough for the pain to die down into a dim throbbing- something that he could at least deal with. But even then, he was reluctant to move away from her. He had to force himself to slowly lean away and rest against the wall instead, feeling the motion at least take the pain out of his upper back. "Was Sebastian okay?" his voice sounded like it stammered when he spoke.
She seemed either confused or annoyed that he would suddenly decide to ask that now.
"He didn't even wake up when I checked on him." she answered. "He's out cold- it's like he's in a different world right now."
How creepy.
He felt her hands lightly move to cup his jaw.
"You're pale." Kidman remarked, taking note of the whiteness in his lips. "You've lost more blood than I thought."
"It's not serious." he assured. "Blood loss is the worst I have to worry about, and even now, it's not enough to be worrisome- or fatal. It's mostly the pain that's making this difficult."
"It should still be taken seriously." She insisted, casting him one of those looks she gave whenever she knew she was right. "We still need you."
He smiled briefly and moved to place his hands on her slender jaw, which seemed to offer her some reassurance for his condition. Then he slowly drew her in and brushed his lips over hers. "Thank you."
She scoffed lightly as her fingers moved to push his glasses up before she gave in and kissed him in return. He didn't know why she insisted on moving his glasses every time, but she always had and he eventually learned not to question it. It was a small relief from the chaotic world that was breaking apart around them.
His hands moved to the wrinkled collar of her shirt and lightly smoothed it down before he pulled away from her.
"The last thing we need is Sebastian waking up and finding us like this." Joseph started- although it certainly wouldn't be the first time. "You go check on him and I'll get redressed."
"Are you sure? Can you stand?" Kidman asked.
"I should be able to." he nodded- or at least he hoped.
Regardless, she got to her feet first and slowly helped him to his own. Between the two of them, they managed to avoid causing any more tearing or any other pain spikes, so that was lucky. He watched her step into the next room and slowly began the process of refitting his uniform. With the pain down to an odd sense of numbness again, he was able to fix his shirt and pull his vest on again with little incident. He was in the midst of slipping his holster back on when he heard a familiar, deep voice just on the other side of the wall.
It was a relief to hear Sebastian again.
He made sure his gun was still tucked away in his holster before he walked into the other room, just in time to see the older man getting to his feet. Somehow, he looked worse than he did before he laid down.
Which... he couldn't really say anything about either.
"How long was I out?" Sebastian questioned as he ran a heavy hand through his unruly hair; his voice sounded just a little rougher now. It seemed like every bruise and every little cut was clearly evident on his skin now- draining away at his once, strong composure.
"Ten minutes." Joseph answered, catching the way she glanced towards him. He didn't have to say anything to ask her to keep quiet about it. "You hardly slept."
"No time to." Sebastian replied. He touched briefly at his arm, as though he had overheard their previous conversation about it, but hardly seemed bothered by the lingering wounds. Instead, he looked back to the two of them with a brief glimpse of concern. "Are the two of you okay to continue?"
"We're fine." Kidman nodded.
"As good as we're going to get." He added. "We're just waiting for you, old man."
Sebastian shook his head as he went through the quick process of checking his weapons. For a moment, it didn't seem like he was going to respond, but then he turned back to look at him. "Five years." he reminded.
"Five years is still five years."