"Harper, come on. We gotta get out of here," Jason urged as he took off his helmet and went over to his friend.
Roy was laying on the ground, one hand over his stomach as he gave a weak and sloppy grin.
They had just finished a certain job. Things got hairy, the job went sour and both men were forced to improvise. It was a bit more difficult. More people, and weapons that were much more powerful. They somehow managed to kill all the others.
"Arsenal, let's go, man," Jason went over to help his friend stand.
Roy yelled out just as soon as Jason brought him up on his feet. He held onto his friends shoulder while Jason winced along with him. Roy was hurt. He must've been hurt bad.
He then quickly put him back down. Roy was slightly relieved and his face began to sweat even more, his breath was now shaky as he tried to compose himself.
"Roy, I need you to show me where you're hurt," Jason explained.
The other man nodded. He put his bow down and pulled off his outer armor, letting his stomach and chest be exposed. It was a large gash, a thick burn right on his side. Blood was oozing quickly and it didn't seem as though it would be slowing down.
"Here," Jason said urgently as he removed and bundled up his own jacket and pulled off his gun holsters from his own body.
Jason was able to use his jacket to cover the wound and used the belt from his holster to keep it tight around Roy's abdomen. It hurt like hell. Roy let out a loud cry when he tightened the buckle. He bit into his fist while his friend did his work.
"We need to get you to a doctor," he told the red head before hooking Roy's arm over his neck to help him walk.
Roy whimpered and clutched his side once Jason helped him stand. The walk to the entrance of the building seemed like an eternity. Dull, cement colored walls that dragged on for miles as they walked through the halls.
The archer kept dosing in and out of consciousness as he let his friend carrry most of his weight. He began to mumble incoherently, and humming for mere seconds before going silent once more.
God no. Please no. Don't let this happen. Roy was Jason's best friend. Practically his brother. They'd fought together, won together.
Jason wiped his eyes before speaking to his friend, trying to keep him awake, "Talk to me, bud. How are we doing?"
He hoped and prayed that Roy wouldn't catch the shakiness to his voice. The hoarseness.
"When this is over...," he spoke weakly, his mouth dry, "I need a nice cold drink."
Jason chuckled to himself, it helped lift his spirit even if just slightly as they kept walking through the maze of hallways, "You got it, pal."
The stench was unbelievable. The smell of copper filled his nostrils and they had to keep stopping for Roy to vomit out what little he had in his stomach. His wound was a deep cut mixed with a very bad burn on the edges.
If Jason remembered well from trying to put pressure on his wound, he recalled seeing just a hint of melted skin right around his friends injury. It made him sick to his stomach.
"Jason, no-"
"Come on, man," his voice was soft yet firm, "We're almost out of here."
Roy shook his head. His face was pale and his body weak. He whimpered and held back the tears from all the pain coming from his side. The archer let go of Jason's shoulders, dropping himself to the ground.
"Roy," Jason rushed to help him ease down on the floor and lean back against the cold gray wall.
"No more," Roy spoke with a hoarse, weak voice and shook his head, "I can't take it anymore."
The walking took an unbelievable toll on him. Each step sent a jolt of pain toward his abdomen. Even with Jason's help, Roy just couldn't keep walking with that much pain. No. He refused.
His face held no color, his limbs were tired and weak. Roy slumped down and Jason simply kneeled down in front of his friend, his helmet long forgotten and now tossed to the ground along with their weapons.
Roy took long slow breaths. His breathing was loud yet incredibly weak. His body just couldn't function anymore.
"Harper," Jason whispered as he put his hand on the mans shoulder.
The archer was suddenly awoken from his dose. He looked up, figured out his surroundings before noticing his friend just a few inches away from him. He smiled weakly.
"You can't do this to me, man. We're a team," Jason whispered, trying to keep his voice from breaking.
Roy looked up at his friend, his eyes were weak and seemed so lost. He blinked slowly before sighing, "I'm sorry, Jaybird. I'm sorry for... for being such a pain in the ass."
His voice rumbled deeply as he spoke through dry lips. His eyes began to droop more and more. Roy now had all the color drained from his sweaty, bloodstained face.
Jason shook his head, "No. Don't you dare. You're gonna be okay, Harper."
They had to get him to a doctor. That's all they needed, Jason kept reminding himself. They were just going to take a short break for the moment and then Jason could get his friend to the nearest city and Roy would be just fine.
"There's no hospital nearby," Roy said with his raspy voice, he was losing energy, "Just let me die, Jay."
This got to him. Jason sat beside his friend. He grabbed a hold of his shoulders and whispered harshly, "Roy, you're gonna be fine!", Jason almost begged, "You're going to be just fine."
This just couldn't be happening. It couldn't be the end.
Jason felt the knot in his throat, he bit his lip from letting his cry from bursting out. His eyes were now red, trying to keep the tears at bay. Roy seemed to notice this. He put his stronger hand on his friends shoulder.
Roy was cold to the touch. Like a corpse. His fingers loosing their own color, turning blue much like his lips, "It's alright, man. I'm okay with this," he gave a week smile.
Jason gasped for a breath before looking at his friend, his eyes now pooling yet his face was both angry and sad, "Yeah, well I'm not," he growled, "We're supposed to stick together."
They were like brothers. They'd been through so much together already. God, Jason regretted it so much. Being such a prick to his best friend. He never really meant it. He just didn't want to seem weak. And now here he was, sobbing like a baby.
"You're not leaving me like this, Roy," he pleaded, "You can't."
Roy heard his friends words and it hit him. Got to his emotions. He felt at peace in a certain way. He smiled a weak, bloody smile and Roy began to hum to himself.
They sat together for what seemed like an eternity. Just enjoying their companionship. Roy leaning against his friends shoulder as the life was being drained from him.
"Do you remember that concert we went to?", Roy's voice was barely above a whisper. His throat making his voice deeper and much rougher as he spoke.
Jason took a breath, trying to remember what his friend was speaking about before answering him, "When they brought the fire hose?"
His own voice was weak. Lazy and tired. Exhausted and wanting nothing more than to simply rest.
The archer nodded his head slightly, the movement causing him to become dizzy once he stopped. He and Jason had gone to a concert together once. One that Roy had dragged them both to. They'd had a good time. Of course, they got drunk, sprayed and drenched by the fire hose. But they'd done it together.
They were much more than just partners or friends. They were brothers. Brothers who kicked ass together, sung like lunatics together. Never judged one another. Roy was thankful for every bit of it.
"No, there's no sun shining through..."
"Roy," Jason said calmly, making the other man stop in the middle of his song, "Don't do this to me, man."
But the archer used every bit of energy he had left, "I went out with a bang, Jay," he chuckled lightly before coughing from the blood he had in his mouth.
He most certainly did.
"Because you're unforgiven, too..."
"Harper, stop," Jason told him all the while trying to keep his voice strong. This lunatic just didn't seem to know when to stop joking around. Even with death standing right around the corner. Waiting.
"You've been a good friend, Jason," the archer said as his eyelids began to droop and he leaned his head on his friends shoulder.
Jason shook his head, "Stop. Don't say that," his voice rumbled and Jason wiped the tears now beginning to roll down his face.
They were hot and stung his cheeks. Jason felt as his body shook slightly. Light tremors as he tried to pull back a sob. He couldn't hold it anymore. Jason burst. His friend. His brother. He couldn't just leave him like this.
He sobbed. His shoulders shaking uncontrollably while clutching his friend close to him. Jason just couldn't help it. How could such a world allow this to happen? What had he done wrong? Maybe if he'd been just a little bit faster. He could have prevented all this pain.
Even though Jason would treat him like garbage sometimes, Roy still stayed by his side. Fought alongside him and never complained. Always worked with whatever he was given. Jason was more than just thankful for his friend.
"Until next time, Jaybird."
