AN: Because of my Dairy Queen fetish that caused the last chapter to be shorter, this one is longer. :) And no I wasn't on anything when I wrote this chapter, just in case you ask while you're reading!
Disclaimer: Blah blah blah don't own blah blah blah Mission Impossible blah blah blah
45 minutes since injection.
It had taken Ethan only a few minutes to drive to the hospital, albeit at insane speeds. The car was barely even parked before Benji was out of the car, Brandt in his arms, carrying him much like Ethan did to the vehicle.
The man himself was still trying to get out of Benji's arms, as he had the entire ride, but kept having to stop every time it bumped his leg. Once in the hospital all Benji had to say was "IMF" to the only 'in the know' doctor at the hospital and Brandt was on a gurney.
He was rushed into an operating room because his foot needed surgery right then. Now his three teammates were waiting outside of the theater, each sitting in those horrible plastic chairs.
Benji was tapping his foot and then was making a beat with his fingers on the arm rest as nervous ticks took over. Jane was chewing on the side of her lip and resisting the urge to pick her nails.
Ethan, however, just was sitting still, not even moving. On the inside he was also resisting an urge, but pacing would have to wait. Hardy wasn't in the warehouse, he could be anywhere.
But what if Brandt told him something? His paranoid cynical side whispered.
He wouldn't have talked, Ethan shot back in his head, fighting off the negativity.
He was drugged with who knows what, it could have been a truth serum for all we know, the negative argued and it was beginning to win Ethan over.
Jane was experiencing similar thoughts.
What could he have told them? Where did Hardy go?
Both were going into depth on what repercussions could be caused and the messes they were going to have to clean up. Only Benji was actually thinking and worrying about their injured teammate.
What if the drug causes amnesia? What if he can't return to the force? His foot was smashed pretty bad.
Just like Brandt, Benji was battling between the positive and the negative, but the positive was starting to win.
His foot will heal and the drug will go out of his system. He'll be back to normal in no time. It's Brandt, nothing can take him down.
And with that in mind, he got up from his chair, stretched, and then glanced at his two teammates.
"I'm going to the snack machine, do you guys want anything?"
Benji's cheerful tone slightly annoyed Jane.
How can he be so happy and carefree while our friend, who may or may not have given away IMF secrets, is in surgery with a severely injured foot and has his system pumped with drugs?
But Benji continued to be optimistic. Neither Ethan or Jane wanted anything so he went alone. When he got to the machine he picked a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and thought sadly, for just a second, about how Brandt loved Nacho Cheese Doritos better.
In a split second, Benji had bought a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos for Brandt.
When he gets out of surgery and is hungry, he'll want these, Benji justified, although he would have preferred Will to be eating them with Benji right now.
When he got back to where Ethan and Jane were waiting the former had given up and was pacing.
57 minutes since injection.
The operating doors opened and a doctor in scrubs walked out. Ethan got to her first.
"How is he?"
She looked at him gravely.
"We weren't able to do a full surgery, just a patch up for now until the drug is flushed from his system. We could only give a little bit of pain relievers but they didn't do much. He was awake for the entire operation. Agent Brandt will be moved into ICU and will stay there until he is ready for another surgery."
She was turning to walk away but Benji wanted a little more information.
"What about his other injuries?"
She sighed. "We reset his shoulder and his ribs have been wrapped. We can't do anything about the ear, again, until the drug is-"
"-out of his system. I got it." Benji said.
The doctor gave him a look and then walked briskly away. Jane got up and stood next to Ethan and Benji.
"Let's go find out which room he's in so we can visit." She said, only smiling slightly.
"Righto!" Benji said, and practically skipped down the hall towards the nurse's desk. The head nurse eyed him and did not look impressed.
Benji just smiled and asked sweetly, "Do you know which room William Brandt is in?"
Still giving him the evil eye, the lady looked at the computer screen and then at the files on the table.
"He should be in room 213, which is this floor, right down that hallway." The nurse said in a monotone voice.
"Okay, thank you." Benji said, turning to tell the newly arrived Ethan and Jane.
As they walked down the hall a commotion could be heard coming from Brandt's room. They raced down the hallway and into the hospital room.
63 minutes since injection.
~MI:GP(Flashback, 35 minutes)~
Hands were grabbing at him and trying to lift him up. They were succeeding in jarring his ribs and bumping his leg.
Stay away from me. Please, Brandt pleaded in his mind.
He was helpless to their wishes with his body being in its weak state and two of his five senses being out of commission.
Someone was holding him now and running with him, he could tell. He expected to be thrown down onto the ground or in the trunk of some sort of vehicle, so it was a surprise when he was gently laid on some seats. His head was propped up on one of his captor's laps.
Why are they being so nice? Brandt mused but his thoughts were interrupted by what felt like radical driving.
The entire ride was a blur of nausea and pain. When the vehicle jerked to a stop, Brandt himself, although it wasn't harshly done, was jerked out of his comfortable position and into another person's arms.
They were running again, Brandt figured this was his chance. He started trying to squirm out of his captor's hold, but when his foot would move and hit the guy, Will was forced to stop all movement and let the pain pass.
Got to get away, he continued to chant, but when he was put on a a soft cot, he stopped struggling for a few seconds.
Brandt felt like he was moving, or the cot was being moved. The bugs, who had been scared away by his intensely painful car ride, returned. They were crawling all over him and he really wanted to smack them. It seems that his captors had somehow managed to restrain all his limbs, making crushing any bugs impossible.
Must have been when I calmed down for a second, a rational thought slipped through the veil of fuzziness that had been present in Will's brain since injection.
He wriggled in the bed, braving through the pain in his ribs and dislocated shoulder. He stiffened when he felt a needle enter into his arm and inject something else into him.
No, not again. He panicked and tried to shy away from the needle, but it did no good, he was completely immobile.
What does this mean? Brandt's mind screamed.
The uncomfortable feeling of the bugs and the irritating skin were driving Will crazy. That was when the pain came, although a tiny bit muffled, and Brandt completely lost all human thought and went straight into animal instinct.
Something was cutting into his broken-no-smashed to smithereens leg. Limbs tried to flail but only managed to fight against the straps that held them in place.
Even his injured foot was trying to get away, which was a problem for his captors apparently. Several pairs of hands grabbed his leg to hold it in place as the surgeon continued to cut into the swollen and bruised skin.
They needed to at least line the shattered bones up so that the bones would start healing in the right spots. They couldn't put any pins or screws in at the moment, but it was soon to come.
In the mean time, Brandt was still fighting off the doctors. They did a quick line up before sewing the skin back up and splinting the leg. Once the splint was on it was wrapped and then strapped into place.
Then hands touched his dislocated shoulder and others were holding the rest of his torso down. Brandt couldn't even prepare himself for what happened next.
With a jerk and a twist that felt like fire Will was plunged into more pain, although his shoulder felt somewhat better. Then something was being twisted tightly around his chest and ribs, putting pressure that naturally hurt.
By the end of the torture 30 minutes had passed, give or take. Will felt like he had been in tormented for a lifetime. His thoughts were still jumbled from the pain as he felt the same sense of movement as before.
It finally stopped and Brandt was at a loss for where he was, without eyes or ears, no pun intended about the ear. Of course the bugs were still with him. His captors hadn't removed the restraints, yet.
Hands removed the strap from his right arm, big mistake. Brandt grabbed the arm of someone and jerked it, throwing the person over the bed and onto the other side's floor.
All of the sudden his vision cleared and his hearing returned instantly, for some odd reason, but Will didn't have time to care about its sudden return, he had bigger problems. There were three zombies in the room with him.
Brandt's heart clenched with terror and his mind froze. One zombie was on the floor and the other two were helping it up. Brandt's eyes widened in fear. Survival instinct now took hold, and unlike animal instinct, there was some rational thought, just none that would remind him that zombies don't exist.
Brandt used his free arm to undo the bindings and he jumped out of the bed. The adrenaline rush masked the pain in his arm and ribs but not so much his leg.
As soon as it touched the floor it collapsed under Will's weight, and with it went the rest of him.
Move! Get up! Do something! His panicked thoughts demanded but all he could do was scoot back when the zombies began walking towards him.
"Stay back!" Brandt shouted at them.
He was hyperventilating now and grasping for any sort of weapon he could use against the creatures. There wasn't anything.
Plan B: hand-to-hand, Brandt's mind supplied and he made a mental note not to get bitten or scratched. When the closest zombie bent down right in front of the agent, Brandt did the first thing that came to mind, he punched it right in the face with all his adrenaline boosted strength.
It fell back into the other two zombies bodies, who failed at catching their buddy.
Why me? Brandt asked himself. That was when three other zombies ran into the room.
I'm so dead.
They each started moaning and growling to each other, like they were talking.
"Stay away from me or I will break you necks," Brandt threatened, hoping the zombies, if they couldn't understand him, would at least take a hint.
One of the zombies who had just arrived looked at Will and walked determinedly straight at him, more like a fast stumble in zombie translation. Brandt tried to scoot further away but his back hit the wall.
His eyes were the size of saucers now. When the monster crouched down in front of him, much like the other, Brandt responded in the same manner but this one was smarter. It dodged the fist and took hold of his arm.
It's going to bite me! Brandt silently freaked out.
Not today you undead creep! The determined thought was all Will needed.
He launched the rest of his body at the zombie and slammed into it hard. Now they were both sprawled on the floor but the human had the upper hand, he was on top.
In its momentary surprise the zombie had released Brandt's arm and Will now was holding its head with both his hands and was just about to break its neck and fulfill his threat. Too bad the two zombies the one he had pinned came in with chose to pull him off before he could complete the job.
Now was not the time for pain or caring about it so Brandt's combat training came into use. He elbowed one in the stomach with his good arm and hit the other in the nose with his injured arm.
They, like the other zombies, released him and he limped across the room towards the door. The original zombies tried to stop him but failed when he opted to dive over the hospital bed instead of running through them.
Brandt landed in a perfect roll and continued to limp-run out of the room. Once in the hallway, however, he completely froze. There were zombies everywhere, wearing doctors outfits, nurses uniforms, normal clothing, and they were everywhere.
Brandt's moment of hesitation cost him, the zombies had followed him out of the room and were moaning extremely loud. It was as if a spotlight was placed on Brandt because all the zombies stopped what they were doing and stared at him.
Get out now! His mind implored him and his eyes caught the sight of a window in the room opposite of the one he was just in.
Now or never, he thought and ran with all he had in him at his means of freedom.
More loud growls and moans were heard but all Will could register was escape. His body hit the window and broke the glass. They were on the first floor, thankfully, but the impact still hurt.
Brandt didn't make a graceful landing and black dots formed in his vision when his leg hit the grassy ground. They were ignored as he scrambled to his feet and tried to run but the adrenaline rush was over and he collapsed again.
The zombies were at the window now and three jumped out. One was moaning softly and quietly as if trying to soothe Brandt in a zombie way.
"No nonononono. Stay back! Please, I don't want to die." Brandt felt himself say but a single tear trickled down his face.
I don't want to become like you, he pleaded in his mind, praying to every deity he knew of to save him.
Somehow it worked. The three stopped and they looked at him oddly. Seemingly to talk amongst themselves, the mini-horde began moaning to each other.
Very slowly so as not to attract their attention, Will began to move away from the flesh-eating monsters. But of course more had to show up and one had a syringe in its hand.
Oh no. this cannot be happening.
Brandt's slow get away became a fast crawl within a split second of seeing the zombie with the syringe. Too bad it was faster. It chased him and in one fluid movement, or as fluid as a zombie can get, stabbed Brandt with the needle and sent a new drug into his body.
"No please don't," Brandt managed to mumble before his eyes fell shut and he was out.
~MI:GP (Back in time to where we left off with the team)~
Benji was the first in Brandt's room but Jane and Ethan were right behind him. Their teammate was sitting on the floor with a look of pure fear on his face. The three doctors in the room with him were standing a few feet in front of Brandt. Two were holding up the third, who was holding his jaw.
"What happened here?" Ethan asked still staring at Brandt.
"We were removing the straps so I could look for the injection spot of the unknown drug better but he went crazy. He threw me over the bed and unstrapped himself. When he got to his feet he fell and kept trying to stay away from us. Shawn here was going to help him but the guy socked him in the face." One of the doctors replied but Will decided to join the conversation.
"Stay away from me or I will break your necks." He growled out menacingly.
"Maybe he's just confused and needs a familiar face," Benji suggested but it was Ethan who took the initiative.
Walking straight towards Brandt, Ethan bent down and crouched right in front of their friend, who then tried to punch him in the face just like the doctor.
Reflexes honed for years reacted and Ethan moved out of the path of the fist and snatched it. Will's eyes sparked with fear and then determination. He then did something unexpected.
Brandt barreled into Ethan and knocked him onto the ground. Ethan let go of Brandt's arm. That was when he felt hands move to familiar spots on his head and neck, spots where Ethan had put his hands before killing someone.
No! Ethan thought and luckily Benji and Jane had also realized what was about to take place.
They each dashed to their injured friend and pulled him off Ethan. Will reacted with his own honed skills and elbowed Benji in the stomach and Jane in the noise. They too let him go.
While each was recovering they watched Brandt jump across the bed and limp out the door. They had to stop him.
Benji again was in the lead and when they ran out they witnessed Brandt's shock as he scanned over the people in the hospital.
"Don't let him get out!" Benji yelled, causing everyone to look at Will.
Ethan saw Brandt's eyes move over to the window in the opposite room and he just knew he was going to go for it.
"He's going to jump out the window!"
Benji, Ethan, and Jane, who had blood still pouring down her face from the busted nose, chased after their friend, hoping he wouldn't hurt himself any worse than he already was.
The sound of glass breaking came at normal speed but seeing Brandt jump was in slow motion. When the moment passed they wasted no time in jumping out the window themselves. Will was trying to stand and run away but his leg gave out and he toppled over.
Benji figured it was his turn to reach out to his best friend. He started forward slowly.
"Brandt, it's me, Benji. I don't want to hurt you, I just want to help." He said softy but Will wasn't understanding it.
"No nonononono. Stay back. Please, I don't want to die." Will pleaded, and when the tear slid down his face Benji's heart broke.
I will find and kill those bastards who did this to him, he vowed but otherwise stopped moving.
"I don't think he can understand us. I mean, he can hear us and see us, but it's not us." Benji tried to explain but Ethan and Jane just nodded.
"He's freaking out about something, I just wish he would tell us what." Ethan added. Jane had a different idea to approach the subject.
"I'm sure he'll recognize us when I punch him in the face," She said, spitting a bit of the blood that had fallen into her mouth from her bleeding nose out.
That was when some of their fellow IMF agents ran up. One held a syringe in his hand and as Brandt tried to get away he jabbed him with it. It happened so quickly that Ethan and them didn't even have time to protest the agent's methods.
"What did you give him?" Ethan demanded as they walked over to the group of agents who were standing by Brandt's unconscious body.
"We found out which drug he was given and it was important that we gave him the antidote as soon as possible." The agent said gruffly clearly not enjoying Ethan's interrogation.
"Why?" Benji asked, looking worried.
"It was one of the interrogation drugs IMF developed, except it does nothing to said an interrogation. In reality the word 'interrogation' in this case meant torture. The longer the person is under its influence the worse it gets. Of course, some would say the side effects are the real torture."
Brandt's three teammate's worry for him just quadrupled in amount.
Please Review!
Okay, no I wasn't watching some zombie horror film either!
I'm really glad this drug doesn't exist (or does it? Conspiracy theories at work).
