We leave no man behind, sir! SIR!
Ethan Carter III winces as Rockstar Spud's desperate, scared voice echoes throughout his mind, leaving him a little shaky and more than a lot worried. Spud had been someone he'd overlooked for quite awhile, thinking him to be just another of Auntie Dixie's henchmen, easy to manipulate and cower with their power and influence... but that had changed when Dixie had been fired from day to day operations thanks to MVP, and Spud had still remained steadfast to the Carters, loyal no matter how much pain and humiliation it caused him.
Like this, now, chasing after Willow in the woods with an injured ankle and so much fear that EC3 could feel it coming off of the short man in waves whenever they were standing side by side, trying to see through the thick foliage. And now Willow has him. He grits his teeth and picks up Spud's abandoned walking stick, staring down at it. "Dammit...!" Throwing it into the bushes, he listens as it whips through the leaves and branches before turning in the opposite direction and racing towards where he thinks Willow might be at. "I'm going to find you, Spud. Just hang on."
It feels like it takes hours to locate the shack once more, but he manages it, trying to scope the area out, but unable to wait too long. He fears for Spud, especially in Willow's clutches, uncertain what exactly the madman would do to him. He breaks inside and sees Spud tied up on a cot, desperate and horrified, but before he can rescue him, Willow appears and beats him down, leaving him sprawled out not far from Spud, the assistant whimpering and mumbling next to him. "Spud," he grunts, slowly fighting through the pain to roll over and touch him once Willow disappears, his maddening laugh echoing through the woods. "I'm here, you're- you're gonna be ok, we just gotta get outta here."
The first thing he does is ungag Spud, listening to him pant and mumble. "Sir," he finally keens, watching with wide, terrified eyes as Ethan struggles to untie his arms. "My leg... ah, bloody hell..."
"I know," Ethan mumbles, distracted. "Just a little..." He tugs a little harder and finally succeeds, the slightly rotted ropes falling away from his wrists. "I'm going to try to be careful but I have to move your leg to get the ropes off. Just... hang in there, alright?" Spud nods, his fingers digging into the dirty fabrics of the cot, his breathing rough and loud as Ethan works hurriedly at untying him, slowly keening as it takes longer and longer to do so, EC3 realizing anew just how swollen Spud's ankle is after everything he'd been through the last couple of weeks, not to mention the hours he had forced him to stomp through the woods this afternoon. "God," he mumbles, suddenly understanding why Spud was complaining so much, his aggravation towards the other man slowly fading away to be replaced by guilt and even more appreciation.
"Sir? Are you alright?" Spud suddenly asks, the fear and worry in his voice breaking Ethan's concentration.
EC3 stares up at him and nods, his touch gentling against Spud's bad ankle as he rests it back on the cot. "Yeah, Spud, I'm not the one with the busted up ankle." He moves to untie his good ankle, relieved when these ropes are gummy to the touch, already rotting into little pieces just at the minimal force he'd put behind freeing Spud's other ankle. "Come on, let's get out of here," he says, throwing the ropes aside and shifting to stand. Spud nods, struggling to sit up enough to swing his feet out to the ground, but Ethan ignores this, lifting Spud up and carrying him out of the shack, throwing the man into speechless wonder as he walks carefully, keeping an eye out for holes or anything that would send him off balanced. "I've got you, you're safe now."
It's a long walk out of the woods and eventually Ethan looks down to find Spud asleep in his arms, head lulling against his shoulder. His eyes soften, his own aches and pains mattering a little less as Spud grimaces in his sleep, clearly still in agony himself. Ethan sighs and looks up, the sudden sight of his car in the now-visible clearing leaving him almost limp with relief as he walks the last few feet over to it, shifting his grip on Spud and finding his keys, tugging them out of his pocket and pressing Spud to his side long enough to unlock the door, pulling it open before shifting to the backseat doors. He rests Spud on the seats before moving to the other side of the car, pulling the door open and leaning in close to his bad leg. He presses his hand against Spud's ankle, feeling how swollen it still is, and slowly removes the flimsy wrap that was around it, beginning to lightly massage the abused flesh.
Spud stirs and scrambles, kicking out. "No, no, please- sir, help-"
Ethan's breath seizes in his throat as he grips his legs and holds on. "Hey, hey, relax- Spud, calm down! It's me!" His sharp words finally break through Spud's frantic struggles and their eyes lock. "See, it's just me, man. Take a breath."
"Ah. Sorry, Sir," he mutters, trying to relax. "Where are we? What happened?"
"Do you remember I came to rescue you from Willow?" Spud thinks for a minute, slowly nodding as his lips part in amazement. "Yeah... So I carried you out of there, and here we are."
Spud swallows, staring at where Ethan's fingers are resting on his leg. "You- are you massaging my... my ankle? Sir?"
"Yes, Spud, I am," he says simply, returning to kneading his foot. When he looks up and catches the shock on Spud's face, he sighs. "It was my fault, I shouldn't have dragged you out here when I knew you were injured."
"I was happy to try to help you, Sir."
"I know," Ethan says tiredly. "I know you were. But... I also know you were scared and reluctant to do this because of your leg. And then I made you walk across uneven ground all day long, and now your leg's in even worse shape than it was before..." Spud winces and hisses as Ethan's grip tightens on him accidentally. "Sorry, sorry," he mutters, gentling his hold once more as he rubs circles against his ankle bone. After a few minutes of this, he shrugs his jacket off and lifts Spud's ankle up, shifting the fabric under his leg to elevate it. "Let's get back to the house, you can take some time to rest." He moves so he can get into the driver's seat and get them out of there when thin fingers grip his hand and holds on, surprising him.
He looks back down, locking eyes with Spud. "Thank you, sir. For rescuing me, and bringing me here... trying to make my ankle feel better. I appreciate it."
Ethan sighs and squeezes his fingers. "You're welcome, Spud. Now come on. Let's go home."
"Yessir."
Ethan slumps behind the steering wheel and sighs softly, his lips twitching up into a smile as Spud tries to recite the path back to the house, his words slowly slurring as exhaustion and pain overwhelms him. When he quiets entirely, Ethan glances over his shoulder at the first red light, not surprised to find Spud fast asleep, his face turned towards where Ethan's sitting. Ignoring when the light changes and people begin honking behind him, he finds a blanket in the glove compartment- something Spud had insisted on in case they got stuck in the car, since nights were chilly out here and he didn't want the youngest Carter to suffer- and drapes it over Spud's body, tucking it in as best as he can before he takes back his seat and accelerates, eager to get them both far away from the woods, to safety.