'Need a lift' says the most recent text on the phone in her pocket, and for the first time Halle's grateful rather than guilty that she followed the news reports here rather than the ambulance bearing Matt to the hospital. The church blazes beside her; Mello always said Kira was 'blasphemous as fuck, Halle, a fucking false messiah but he doesn't get it, that takes sacrifice not-'.
She's too exhausted to analyse why he chose here to die, but she's glad he didn't. Die, that is. She'd been worried he'd taken the sacrificial lamb route- trying to cleanse the blood on his own hands, to make up for his own wrongs- until the message told her otherwise.
The place is swarming with police and onlookers alike, Kira himself strutting around looking haughty and disgustingly accomplished. Halle walks like she has somewhere to be until no-one else can see, then runs.
Mello's waiting in the forest, close enough for skin to prickle and eyes to water from the blaze, far away enough that he's shivering, though he hides it well. Halle drapes her jacket around him nevertheless, rubbing his arms briskly in lieu of giving him the hug she wants to.
"How's Matt?" His eyes are wide and worried and a beautiful deep blue in the firelight, and suddenly Halle thinks she knows why he chose to stay.
She tries not to be jealous. Strong as Mello looks, he needs someone to start putting him back together properly, and Halle hopes Matt can do a better job than she managed to. "He's in surgery. I can take you to the hospital now, if you want." Mello nods. "Okay. Head towards the road, and I'll sort a car out."
She's never seen him so obedient- there's not a word spoken, he just turns and walks away. No, hobbles. There's a trail of blood staining the stolen trousers from the lower thigh down. Halle almost runs over to treat it, then realises she has nothing to do that with. Best to get a car, and see what she can do there.
But he's safe now. Halle feels a weight lift from her chest. They're not out of the woods in any sense of the phrase, but her boy is going to be alright. She'll make sure of it.
