Fading Light
Rahim's frantic yelling could be heard through the metal of the car as Crane entered the enclosed train yard. The operative rapidly surveyed the compact area and found a small group of biters crowding the very compartment Rahim took cover in.
Without even a second thought he sprinted towards them, ready to take them all by surprise when out of nowhere a toad sprang up on top of the train car. He narrowly avoided getting hit with the acidic phlegm as he ducked behind some crates.
As soon as the spitting ceased, he retreated to a safer distance and readied himself for a different approach.
"Come here you fuckers!" Crane shouted, brandishing his bloody hatchet in a provoking manner.
He had come too far to let Rahim get attacked, and he'd be damned if he was going to let these biters get to him. The infected slowly focused their attention on the newcomer and made their way towards him. With a cry the operative lunged forth and embedded the weapon in the closest infected's skull, a resounding crunch echoing throughout the building. Quickly, he brought his foot up and, with sheer brute force, kicked the limp body off only to drive the hatchet right into another skull.
He effortlessly finished them off one by one with only the toad remaining. Brown eyes narrowed as it gurgled and lobbed a load of blinding mucous right at him. Crane evaded the projectile with ease, running at top speed to the car and clambered on top. The confused infected had little time to react as the hatchet was repeatedly bashed into its head.
Crane only ceased when brain matter clung to his weapon.
He panted heavily as his rage subsided, throwing the weapon to the ground. He followed suit and jumped down to wrestle with the train car's door. A low groan echoed in the yard as he finally slid open the door. His eyes landed on Rahim who cursed while fiddling with something. Looking closer, Crane noticed the device was some kind of makeshift bomb.
"Rahim!" he shouted.
The kid's head snapped up instantly, his fiddling coming to a grinding halt.
Crane narrowed his eyes at him, his anger rising. "What the hell do you think you're doing kid?!" he questioned, snatching the device before Rahim could mess with it any further.
"I-I was just—"
Crane blocked out the other's rambling as he carefully inspected the homemade bomb in his hands. He turned it over and spotted a timer that was currently blinking, like it was about to be set.
The operative clenched his fist around it as he chewed the other out. "No, you completely disregarded your own safety and made everyone worry!" he chided.
Rahim pouted angrily in return but otherwise said nothing else.
Crane took the moment to take in Rahim's appearance. He was a bit ragged but that was to be expected with all the running he did to escape the biters on the overpass. His eyes finally landed on the puddle of blood by his left leg.
"Shit kid, you're bleeding bad." He whispered as he moved to find the wound.
"Don't worry about it, I just cut myself jumping from the overpass." Rahim retorted rashly, pulling his injured leg away from the operative's reach.
An uncomfortable silence brewed between them as they stared each other down. Rahim opened his mouth about to offer an apology when a pained expression swept across his face.
He groaned and curled up as pain wracked his body.
"Kid?" Crane asked cautiously, ire ebbing away as he watched Rahim quiver. His skin was beginning to pale and he was taking unusually shallow breaths that made the operative uneasy.
Concern replaced any remaining anger as the other's shoulders began to heave. "Rahim, you ok?"
When no response other than a pained groan came Crane quickly went ahead and searched the injured leg. Nothing seemed too unusual for a wound, but as he examined closer his eyes caught a series of tears on Rahim's pants. Frowning, he tore the fabric at the spot and blanched at the sight of bite marks.
Fury coursed through his veins as the entire situation dawned on him. "That's a fucking bite wound!" he shouted in disbelief.
The timer made much more sense now. That stupid, fucking kid lied and was going to sacrifice his own life just to blow up that goddamn hive!
Rahim flinched at the voice but couldn't even defend himself as breathing became too difficult.
Crane cursed loudly, punching the metal door a couple times before calming down.
He brought a hand up to his head and squeezed his eyes shut, not allowing the tears that built up to fall. He paced as he tried to think, racking his brain for any ideas. And after a moment his pacing suddenly stopped.
Antizin.
Rahim hadn't turned yet. He just needed a shot of Antizin and he'd be alright.
Putting the bomb away, he frantically ripped a piece of fabric from one of the biter's clothes and wrapped it tightly around Rahim's left leg, cringing when the other cried out. Trying to ignore the guilt of causing Rahim anymore pain, he quickly gathered the kid in his arms to begin the arduous journey to Dr. Zere's trailer.
He peered down at Rahim, who's eyes were screwed shut in agony. 'Hang in there kid.' he thought before opening the door to the outside.
The tower was already far away, but the distance would no doubt double with the addition of the extra weight. Crane then maneuvered Rahim on his back to make travel a bit easier, but being incapacitated like so would only make them a struggling target for large hordes and further mutated infected, especially the virals, much to his displeasure. They would probably need to visit a few safe houses to get the infected off their tails if followed. Knowing there was already one close by, Crane began making his way towards it, hoping they didn't run into too much trouble.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Stealth was the best way to do this he found out.
They hid and waited until openings in the larger hordes revealed themselves before the operative would sprint past them. Smaller groups were easy to run past, only having to leave a wide enough gap when weaving through them since their reactions were tremendously delayed.
The only initial problem arose when they were near the safe house. Rahim had suddenly howled in agony, alerting a horde and three virals of their presence. Crane had cursed and rushed towards the partial hole in the wall that led to their sanctuary.
They narrowly escaped the virals' clutches as they entered the safe house, with Crane falling face forward in the dirt thanks to the added weight. He didn't mind though, Rahim's safety was more important than his bruises. He panted and let out a sigh of relief once he realized they were indeed safe for a brief period of time.
Adrenaline pumped limbs rested for a moment before moving to get up. The operative gently let Rahim slide off his back and once he was free of the weight, Crane rose to his feet to collect the sobbing kid in his arms once again, heading to the enclosed building. He kicked open the door and laid Rahim down before heading back out. Shrieking growls could still be heard, meaning the virals hadn't given up their pursuit just yet.
He smirked as he gripped his weapon. Now he could take care of those fuckers.
The last thing he needed was for the virals to ambush them when they left and attract more. Raising a hand full of firecrackers, he threw them just far enough to go right over the wall. Knowing the virals were distracted by the noise, Crane jumped the wall and hammered away at the backs of their heads. He didn't even bother with the other infected. The horde had since lost interest and were aimlessly wandering around away from them.
With his work done he jumped back into the safe area and set his watch for two minutes. That would give him enough time to rest his aching muscles until the next safe house. He then re-entered the building and kneeled down beside Rahim, who was resting as best he could with the virus spreading throughout his body. His sobbing had ceased, now no more than a few whimpers.
'At least he's not twitching.'
No, once that happened it was a sure sign that he was turning and there would be no stopping it at that point if they were still out here. The operative stayed there, watching...waiting for any change in Rahim's actions that could spell an early doom.
It wasn't long before a soft beeping alerted Crane that his time for rest was up.
Silencing it, he moved to maneuver Rahim on his back again. He walked over to the white van near the broken fence and with one hand climbed on top. He jumped to the broken part of the fence and surveyed the area for an opening. The Hordes here were massive so he couldn't afford to take any chances that were too risky. However, when a decent opening appeared, Crane wasted no time jumping down and darting through to the next safe house.
If he kept running like this he would make it in no time.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Good thing you got to him when you did. Any longer and he would have turned." Dr. Zere noted grimly as he injected Rahim with a dose of Antizin.
Crane said nothing, the breath he didn't even know he was holding in releasing when Rahim's features finally relaxed.
"Alright, take him to the sick bay for some rest, quickly now." Dr. Zere advised, getting back to his research.
Crane muttered a thanks as he collected Rahim's limp body. He huffed in frustration once he climbed to the top of the broken part of the caged fence. Getting Rahim here wasn't easy and now he'd have to traverse through the biter hordes that surrounded the perimeter of the tower carefully.
This time he hoisted Rahim over his shoulder as he prepared himself to jump and sprint all the way there.
Crane held tightly on Rahim's lower back as he ran through the crowded streets, expertly dodging and weaving through the sluggish biters. This was a lot easier then he pegged it to be. 'We'll be fine as long as no virals pop up.' He thought as the flight of stairs that led directly to the tower's entrance came into view.
Once he reached the high ledge inside he looked up and shouted, "Hey! I need some help!"
The two guards by the edge peered down and immediately dropped their weapons as they crouched down, each offering a hand. With a bit of manipulating, they managed to grab Rahim and lift him up. With the weight gone Crane then pulled himself up with ease.
"Oh shit, what happened to him?" one of them asked.
"It looks like he was bit!" the other commented frantically.
Crane growled, snatching Rahim from the paranoid guards and swiftly made his way to the elevator. As they slowly ascended Crane couldn't help but sweat nervously at the thought of Jade's reaction when she found out what happened to her brother. He really hoped she wouldn't take it all out on him, after all, he also told Rahim not to go anywhere near the volatile nest.
He looked down at Rahim's sleeping face and felt a twinge of guilt for not doing a better job of protecting him.
It felt like an eternity before the elevator stopped on the nineteenth floor. With haste he made for sick bay, ignoring anyone who talked to him. The only person he wanted to talk to right now was Dr. Lena.
Crane entered the open door and scanned for the very doctor he was seeking and found her in the right corner tending to one of the patients' head.
"Lena." he called urgently.
Hearing the operative's strained voice, she turned and gave a weary sigh before moving to a recently emptied bed. "Put him here." She beckoned.
Crane made a beeline for the bed, gingerly placing Rahim's slackened body down. He was gravely quiet as Lena checked his vitals and scribbled away on her board.
The doctor glanced up at Crane, her scribbling ceasing as she took in his appearance. His eyes were glued to Rahim's unconscious form, staring at him like he would suddenly stop breathing or worse…turn.
Lena gave a light chuckle as she playfully wacked his arm with the board. "He'll be alright."
His eyes were suddenly on her now.
"You got to him in time and prevented the worst." She placed her free hand on her hip. "The Antizin has already taken effect but clearing the infection will take some time, so there are a few things I need to monitor such as fever and convulsions, but he should pull through with a couple days of rest." She patted his arm before moving to another patient who was retching violently.
Crane slightly relaxed, letting Lena's words comfort and relieve some of the guilt eating away at him.
Now the only thing left to do was inform Brecken…and Jade. He mentally groaned, he was not looking forward to being the bearer of such news to the eldest sibling.
Psyching himself up, he reluctantly made his way to headquarters down the hall.
Opening the double doors, he was met with the sight of Brecken's back as the man watched the news on the television. Brown eyes swiftly darted around, looking for any trace of the older sibling. He instantly breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that she had stepped out for a bit. Knowing she'd be back any moment he crossed the room and made his presence known.
Brecken was alerted by the heavy footsteps and whipped around see the operative. "Crane!" he abruptly grabbed the runner's upper arms firmly. "Tell me he's alright, tell me that little bastard is all right." He demanded desperately.
Crane placed a reassuring hand on the instructor's shoulder and gave a small smile. "Rahim's gonna make it."
Brecken sank back, leaning on the desk for support as he let out a shaky sigh of relief. "As soon as he's up I'm gonna kick his fucking ass for scaring the living daylights outta me." He said as a matter of fact.
Crane laughed lightly as the tension finally ebbed away, but it was short lived as a someone cleared their throat. Both men turned to see Jade, their relieved looks vanishing as she glared at them.
"What happened to him?"
Both men cringed at the seething anger in her voice. Then Crane turned to her and sighed, "Listen Jade…Rahim got his hands on those explosives and went with Omar to blow up that nest—"
"What?!" she interjected.
"Jade, please." Brecken stood and grabbed her arm in hopes of calming her for the moment.
"I found Omar dead on the overpass." Crane started again. "Rahim managed to get away, but…he was bitten." His voice wavered while Jade sank to her knees with the look of disbelief and utter betrayal splayed on her face. She then clambered to her feet while continuously shaking her head. "No, Jade, he's alright!" he quickly added, but she was already out the door.
"Jade!" he called out.
"It's no use Crane." Brecken's hand came to rest on his shoulder. "Just give her some time to herself. She'll come around eventually." He explained weakly. He knew it would take a while for her to accept that Rahim had been infected.
"But he's okay now." Crane uttered softly.
"Just give her time." Brecken insisted again.
Crane nodded reluctantly, "Alright." He really wanted Jade to understand he'd be ok but he'd avoid her if need be.
The operative then headed downstairs to the elevator but not before stopping by the sick bay to check on Rahim again. As he entered the room he saw Jade sitting at Rahim's bedside talking to Lena. Deciding not to impose, Crane made a mental note to come back later when Jade was elsewhere and resumed his trek to the elevator. Instead he'd venture off and make himself useful.
Back outside he fished out the bloody hatchet and made for the rooftops. What could he bring back? He decided he would explore the other side of the overpass. There were a few safe houses that needed to be cleaned out. No doubt he'd also find some more supplies as well and the tower's occupants could always use more.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Crane's hatchet sank into the biter's skull with a sickening crack, blood gushing out as it severed various blood vessels. The body slumped to the ground, blood pooling around the fatal wound as Crane yanked the weapon free.
"Alright let's see what you've got." He mumbled as he bent down to search the body. He smirked in victory as he found a couple packs of cigarettes. What luck.
They were like currency in the tower, favors and wagers revolved around these things.
With that he made for the fuse box and pried it open. Switches were thrown before the safe house lit up, ensuring its future residents' safety. He then walked back outside to see the sun beginning to set. His eyes snapped to the watch on his wrist.
'19:28.' Crane weighed his options.
He could either stay here or make a run for the tower. He looked back at the sleeping bag on the worn-out mattress and frowned. He'd hoped to get back to the tower and check on Rahim, plus there was all the supplies he looted on the way, but he was exhausted and feared the supplies would only slow him down. He raised his hand and tried to make a fist only to find his grip was weakened drastically. He shook his head, there was no way he could fight the biters off if they managed to tackle him, let alone the volatiles.
Reluctantly, he made his way into the makeshift house and plopped himself on the springy mattress. He stared at the ceiling, watching as the light flickered every now and then. The operative sighed when his eyes grew too heavy then turned on his side. He instantly thought of how Rahim was doing before he let sleep claim him.
It was early when crane woke up.
Having slept before nightfall he was fully rested at the crack of dawn. Limbs stretched out, drawing a sigh from the operative. He then packed up all the supplies and got ready to head back to the tower.
Crane liked travelling in the mornings, the biters were a tad more sluggish so it made things a lot easier when his hands were full.
He reached the tower with ease and turned in the supplies to the quartermaster. He also made sure to stop by the shop on the upper levels then jogged to the sick bay in hopes of catching Rahim alone.
Upon entering he noticed the only ones in were a few patients and Lena. His legs automatically moved to Rahim's bedside, all while grinning at how much better Rahim was looking. Though Crane's smile faltered slightly when he got closer.
Rahim's skin had returned to its natural shade of tan, but his brows were knit together. A hand absentmindedly reached out to brush against the other's forehead, retracting when Rahim moved. He mumbled something incoherently before turning his head to the side and panting slightly. Crane stared down at his hand that was now covered in sweat.
"There's been signs of a fever, but so far his temperature hasn't risen to worrying levels." Lena said as she changed a patient's bandaged arm.
"Will he be alright?" Crane's head swiveled towards the doctor.
"Of course, but due to the antibiotics being administered a little later than I would have liked his body is merely fighting a small infection from the bite." Crane returned his gaze to the bandaged leg and noticed it had been cleaned and wrapped up nicely. "The fever should fade in a few hours or so, depending on the amount of infection remaining after the antibiotics wear off." She concluded, never taking her eyes off her current patient.
"Does that mean he'll wake up sooner?" he asked hopefully.
A smirk played on her lips. "It's possible. The chances are better the longer he stays asleep. If I had to guess…I'd say give it until tomorrow morning at the latest." she surmised.
Crane nodded and turned back to Rahim's sleeping form, frowning. 'He looks restless.' With a pat to the kid's intact leg he whispered for him to get better soon before sauntering out the room.
He was going to see what could be done around the tower when a hand grabbed his arm.
"Crane."
Said man turned around to see Jade and immediately tensed. "Yeah?"
He felt her hand release its grip on him as he anxiously waited for her to continue. His eyes lowered to her clenched fists and mentally prepared himself for a wallop of a beating. In a split-second Jade's fist was only a few millimeters away from making contact with the operative's nose.
"I've been saving this for when I ran into you again yesterday but…Brecken insisted that I refrain from pummeling you until I talked to Lena."
Crane swallowed the lump in his throat and kept still as the boxer's fist remained in place, knowing full well the strength she possessed could leave him bed-ridden for a few days.
"I humored him, though kicking your ass did not leave my mind at all, and instead went to visit my brother. Then—" Her hand lowered. "Lena told me how upset you were with yourself and how you worried about Rahim. Just hearing that made me…rethink things." She shook her head. "Thank you for saving him, for not letting him turn… and for bringing him back in one piece." She faltered, quickly bringing a hand to cover her eyes.
Crane fumbled with his hands, not knowing whether it would be best to comfort or refrain from touching her. Instead he settled for shifting his gaze to the sick bay.
As Jade tried to regain her composure, the operative looked back and forth between her and Rahim. He slowly pulled out the explosive device he took from Rahim and stared at the vibrant red timer that was still blinking, just begging to be set. The building where Rahim mentioned the volatile hive resided pestered his mind. It wasn't far from the train yard that he told Rahim to take cover in.
Immediately images of Rahim flooded his memory from before and up until now. As more recent memories surged forward, he began to feel his chest tighten, and when the most current memory lingered, plaguing him with guilt and anxiety, he felt his chest constrict tightly. Teeth clenched as he once again gazed at the timer, and in that moment a scowl was fixated on his features. He knew what needed to be done, the tower would have to wait.
"Don't thank me just yet." He murmured.
Mind made up, Crane strode towards the elevator, device in hand, all while ignoring Jade's calls.
"Crane! Would you just wait a minute!?" she blocked his path with her body, making him stop just in time to avoid crashing into her.
He kept quiet as he simply held up the device.
Finally noticing the bomb in his hand, her eyes widened and she went numb. Those was the explosives they had found in the school.
"Rahim will be in danger as long as that building still stands." he uttered adamantly.
Now knowing what he intended to do Jade stood silently as Crane stepped around her, resuming his path.
He could only glare at the bright zeros as he impatiently waited for the elevator to descend to the last floor. Once he stepped out he ran right passed everyone and dropped from the safety ledge that severed as a final barrier from the horrors of outside. He continued to run out of the tower back into the dangerous streets towards the volatile hive.
He didn't bother with rooftops this time. The adrenaline feeding into his legs gave him all the agility and speed needed to dodge and meander through the zombie infested streets without any of them laying a single hand on him.
The operative eventually came across the very train yard he was searching for and entered. He boldly walked around the train car to find an open sewer pipe. Swiftly and without hesitation he bravely dropped into the murky water and swam towards the next opening.
It didn't take long for Crane to scale the metal ladder or to walk through the enormous pipe that served as the entrance to his destination.
Crane stood before the very building that housed many of the infected including volatiles with utter hatred coursing through his veins. He quickly pressed the timer's set button and sprinted for the nest. He would not give Rahim another chance to get himself turned or killed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The first thing Rahim noticed when he finally regained consciousness was all the medical equipment.
Green eyes blinked as they took in their surroundings. Light was shining through the windows, yet the few people in the room with him were still sleeping, though some seemed more restless than others. He slowly brought a hand up to his face and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He then moved to sit up and hissed as pain shot up his left leg.
He gripped the blanket with a shaky hand and removed it to discover that his once mutilated leg was all patched up. As he admired his mended leg, he heard a soft shuffling to his right. His head whipped around to see Crane sitting on an overturned trashcan, arms crossed with his head slumped to the right as he slept.
Rahim gawked at the runner with wide eyes. Just how long had he been there?
His eyes raked over Crane's appearance. There was blood all over him, although that wasn't uncommon. The runners were almost always covered in blood. What was strange, however, was the amount of bandages covering his body. It puzzled him, Crane ordinarily did not need to be patched up like this. He wondered what could have happened to leave the other man in such a state.
"Well good morning."
Rahim was pulled from his observations as he now stared at the smiling doctor.
"Lena." He murmured quietly as her hand came to rest on his forehead.
She hummed with a satisfied look on her face, withdrawing her hand to jot something down on her board. "Your fever must have broken in the early hours of the morning." She explained as she grabbed a pair of sterilized scissors and began cutting away at the bloodied bindings.
Rahim winced as she dribbled a bit of alcohol on his wound. Free of the wraps he took the time to inspect his leg and grimaced. The wound itself was healing rather nicely, but the bite marks had yet to close revealing the grotesquely torn muscle underneath.
Lena caught his disgusted look but continued her examination, gently prodding around the bite and taking careful consideration of the color his skin turned.
"It could have been a lot worse." She pointed out.
Rahim felt himself deflate at the serious tone.
"You are lucky that Crane got to you in time." She pressed on, grabbing a clean gauze pad and applying some kind of ointment on it.
He bit the inside of his cheek to hold his tongue. He knew better than to argue with Lena, she was not a force to be reckoned with when in her domain. He shuddered at the distant memory of trying to leave the bed when she was inspecting gashes. Never underestimate a doctor's authority when they had surgical equipment in their hands.
He was pulled out of his reminiscence when a hand patted his shin.
Green eyes locked with Lena's for a brief moment before hers shifted over to the sleeping operative. "He has not moved from your side since yesterday afternoon." She left it at that and moved on to her next patient on the opposite side of the room before Rahim could even reply.
With her gone, he turned his attention back to Crane who was beginning to stir. Rahim felt himself tense up as the other's eyes slowly opened.
As the runner's vision cleared, he became aware of the fact that Rahim was up.
"Rahim, you're awake." A big smile broke out on his face as he eagerly leaned forward. Rahim felt his face heat up slightly at the close proximity while Crane checked his leg. "You feeling better?" he asked.
"Y-yeah." He smiled sheepishly. "No more pain, well besides the pain in my thigh." He corrected wiggling his left foot.
Crane sighed in relief and moved to envelope the younger man in a tight embrace. Rahim was startled by the unexpected action, making him jump in the operative's arms. Crane only tightened his hold, ignoring the heat creeping up along his neck as he dropped his guard and allowed himself a moment to quell any lingering brooding with the physical contact. He knew he should be angry but the relief was so overwhelming that it shrouded any ire.
Too stunned to move, Rahim just sat there in Crane's hold as his cheeks pinkened.
Once Crane pulled away, Rahim found himself desperately wanting to chase after those warm and comforting arms, but with great reluctance he restrained himself from doing so and watched the runner rise from his seat.
Crane smirked, "I'll be back, Jade wanted to know when you woke up."
Rahim groaned, "I'm in for it now."
The operative chuckled, "I think she'll go easy on you for now." He then turned to retrieve the eldest sibling.
Now alone, Rahim slowly clutched the spot where his pounding heart resided as he tried to calm down. The image of Crane's arms wrapped tightly around him kept replaying over and over in his mind, making the blush on his face darken.
"Shit." He muttered, knowing full well what this feeling was. He's felt like this around the runner ever since he came here.
He leaned his head back down on the mattress and sighed as he tried to get a grip on his feelings. He couldn't let anyone know, not even his sister.
"Rahim!"
He jolted up at the sudden cry and was suddenly engulfed in a bone crushing hug from his older sister. His arms instinctively wound around her, returning the embrace with vigor and closing his eyes to relish in her loving arms.
"I'm so glad you're ok." She sobbed before pulling away and narrowing her teary eyes into a glare "But you better not do anything like that again or I'll make sure you don't do anything in this tower ever again! Do you understand?" she reprimanded sternly.
Rahim pouted, but nodded in agreement, "Okay." He whispered shakily.
Jade was taken aback by Rahim's sudden willing obedience but decided not to question it and pulled him in for another, much longer, hug.
He rested his chin on her shoulder and looked over at Crane, who was smiling while he rested against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Rahim remembered what Lena had said to him earlier and kicked himself mentally for not saying anything when the other was beside him.
"Crane." He called out. When the operative lifted his head to acknowledge him he continued, "Thank you, for saving my life."
Crane's smile widened at the sincerity and replied, "Don't mention it kid."
Rahim's heart skipped a beat. Not wanting the other to notice, he closed his eyes and hugged his sister tighter.
There was no doubt, he would have to ride out this crush just like the others.