Kai walked closer to the lab, swinging his passcard and key on the orange lanyard. It had been a few days since Saya had fallen asleep… he missed her so badly. And how she had cried so hard, when Haji had not been there, after the balcony had crumpled on itself and buried him and Amshel…
Kai sighed as he let himself inside the lab, making sure the heavy door shut behind him as he made his way towards the room where Saya slept. His fingers felt strange suddenly, wet- he glanced down, rubbing them together and bringing his hand to his eyes. Blood…
"Shit!" Kai whispered, fumbling around on the wall for the light switch.
The lab was closed; it was pitch black inside, and when Kai finally found the switch and flipped it, fists ready to attack, he gasped. Blood streaked the walls, graced the floor in fat and plentiful drops. He frowned and stared, fear filling him when he realized the blood was headed the same direction he was- towards Saya. He slowly took a step, then started running. His fear grew as the blood kept on track, then he halted when he found a door ajar. Handprints, almost, and Kai felt chilled when he realized the print on the door belonged to a Chiropteran. He eased it open, checking the hall before he dashed out again. God, the monster had made it this close- he was terrified at what he might find when he reach-
Kai stopped so abruptly that he slid in a puddle of blood, catching himself on the wall before he fell. A Chiropteran lay before the open door to Saya's chambers, crimson-splashed and still. He approached cautiously, confused when he saw that the monster was dead. It had been stabbed multiple times, but from the blood on its claws and mouth Kai deduced that it had damaged whoever had engaged with it. A flash of white made him look a little more closely, nervously getting closer. A piece of bloodied, dusty bandage was clutched loosely in a clawed hand.
"Haji?" Kai asked softly, then rushed past the body and into the room quickly.
A man in dusty black lay crumpled before the glass chute Saya was sleeping in. Haji ran to him and fell to his knees, turning the man over with shaking hands. Long hair fell aside and revealed a dust-streaked, bloody, pale face and Kai felt his heart jump into his throat.
"Haji! Holy shit you're alive!"
Kai looked the Chevalier over and his excitement turned into worry. He was in very bad shape… his shoulder was torn, the muscle showing and even bone peeking through, and blood painted most of his clothes and the visible part of his chest that showed from the torn, dirty white shirt. Kai could see that a rib was snapped, jutting from Haji's flesh alarmingly. Kai fumbled through his jacket, finally clutching his cell phone and hurriedly typing in Julia's number.
"Julia! Haji's alive, he's here! I'm in Saya's room, hurry! He's really hurt, but I think he's okay… He fought a freaking Chiropteran like this, he has to be okay!"
Julia's sleepy voice turned excited and loud, making Kai cringe. She shouted a few instructions and then hung up. Kai dropped his phone and did as Julia said, laying Haji flat on his back carefully and rummaging through the lockers on one side of the room until he found a grey, woolen blanket. He covered Haji with it, then thought better and sat next to Haji's head, very gently lifting it into his lap and using a sleeve to wipe blood and dust from his eyes and mouth.
"I can't believe you survived that… And you saved Saya even when you were supposed to be dead! Fighting in this condition, christ… You're a tough little cockroach."
Kai kept up the soft monologue, knowing that what he was saying was stupid and didn't make sense but still knowing that in some way it helped. Plus, though he would never admit to anyone, he was relieved beyond measure that Haji had lived. He had become just like family, in Kai's eyes, and his temporary death had hurt.
"Must have hurt like hell, being buried under all that rock and shit… When you wake up you gotta tell us all that happened, and how you got in here and fought that Chiropteran like this. You gotta tell me if you love Saya, I have to hear it myself because I know it made her so happy and she thought you were dead… Wake up soon, Haji. We all need to see that you're gonna be okay…"