Big, BIG thanks to Animegirl1129 for betaing this for me.
Chapter Ten
Early morning light finally shone through the small room's window and Paxton's eyes opened shortly afterwards. The grubby room was slowly starting to fill with light and Pax gently stretched his cramped limbs.
The second he moved his left hand, tremendous pain shot up his arm from his fingers and a choked yelp tore from his dry mouth. He tried to sit up but he was held to the spot by what felt like a pair of arms so he just rolled onto his side and held his hand tightly to his chest with a pained whimper.
Tears were gathering at the edges of his closed eyes as the pain stretched from seconds into minutes and he was forced to ride through it until it dimmed enough for him to think straight. A ringing sound filled his ears afterwards that was only broken by the sound of a few pained sobs coming from his own mouth.
Something large and warm was pressed tightly against his back and without really knowing why, Pax found himself leaning into it, letting it wrap around him and letting it take his mind off the pain. Within seconds, he felt his body calm down and the room stopped spinning under his closed eyelids and the throbbing pain in his head lessened greatly.
When he found the strength too, he slowly opened his eyes waited for them to focus on his surroundings. His eyes instantly darted down to his hand, eyeing the tiny stumps of his ring and pinky finger that had been sawed off.
(The painkillers must've worn off. Damn.)
Cradling his hand to his chest, Pax tried to sit up but found he was unable to. He felt himself panic slightly from the fear of being held down again but he managed to calm himself enough to glance at what was pinning him to the bed. A pair of arms where loosely wrapped around his waist and the heavy warmth was still held against his back.
He glanced over his shoulder and found Josh still curled in the same spot Pax laid him down in with his eyes lightly closed. Being as gentle and silent as he could, Pax untangled Josh's arms and scooted the edge of the bed once he was free.
His eyes immediately went to the night stand and he reached for the small container of pills the nurse gave him for his hand, swearing loudly when he couldn't unscrew the lid. Growing frustrated, he threw the bottle to the floor and used his foot to hold it still and used his good hand to twist the top off.
After fishing out two pills he swallowed them dry and held his hand against his chest until the drug took effect and the pain went away. The thickness in his head faded several minutes later and Pax was able to sit upright and think clearly. His hand never hurt that much, well it did when his fingers were first cut off but other then that none of the other feelings came close.
(Must've been the way it was stitched up or something. Should've stolen some damn morphine.)
His gaze was drawn towards the window as more light begin to fill the room and saw some movement along the street. Some of the shop owners were opening their doors and small groups of people begin to line the street.
He eyed the shops near the inn and upon seeing the clothing tailor and grocery where open he felt himself reach for the wallet on the night stand and counted the remaining bills. He was starving and more then likely Josh was too and they needed some new clothes because there was no way he was gonna tolerate wearing the ones he found at the hospital any longer because they were seriously starting to stink.
Just as he was about to close the wallet his eyes caught a glimpse at something tucked away in one of the leather folds and his fingers were quick to investigate, pulling out two small, white business cards a moment later.
Elite Hunting
The sight of the black lettering made his blood run cold but he honestly didn't feel surprised, after all he lifted the wallet from one of those fuckers. He eyed the lettering for another moment before he noticed some writing on the other end and turned the card over. As he read the scratchy handwriting, he felt his heart move up into his throat and he almost dropped the card.
Joshua Patrick Ryan
$30,000
(What the fuck?)
Fearfully he turned the other card over and swallowed painfully.
Brandon Robert Paxton
$50,000
(Holy shit.)
His heart now felt like it was moving into his stomach and Pax instantly started feeling sick. They knew their names, those fuckers knew exactly who him and Josh were and what was worse, they now had a price on their heads; a large one.
(Fuck no wonder those assholes were tracking us. How many more are gonna show up?)
A soft groan pulled his mind back into the present and Pax jumped from the sound and quickly tucked the cards into his pocket and out of sight. Behind him, Josh was slowly stirring and Pax turned just in time to see the blonde's eyes sleepily open.
"Pax?"
"Hey, mornin'." Paxton said softly, trying to keep the fear out of his voice when he spoke.
Josh blinked a few times and groaned loudly as he tried to sit up. The sound was small and pained; it tore right into Pax's heart and almost instantly he knew the morphine had worn off on Josh as well. He didn't even want to imagine the pain and discomfort that tore through the blonde's body.
Josh curled back into a ball a moment later and closed his eyes with a small whimper. The sight was more then Pax could take at the moment so he reached down and picked the small bottle of pills off the floor.
"Here, I don't know if these will help but it's all we've got." He mumbled softly and held two white pills near Josh's hand.
At first, Josh's eyes didn't open so Pax set his hand on Josh's shoulder and rubbed it gently, hoping the small gesture helped sooth his friend. He was relieved to feel the warmth back in Josh's skin and felt a tiny flutter in his stomach as he remembered feeling Josh's warmth pressed against him when he first woke up and he remembered the comfort he felt from it.
Sure enough, Josh his eyes and stared the pills in Pax's hand before he gently took them. Pax slid off the bed and quietly padded into the bathroom, looking for something that would hold a small amount of water for Josh to take the pills with. He found an old, cracked cup near the sink and even though it's sight disgusted him, he filled it halfway with water from the tap and moved back into the main room.
Josh was right where he left him curled on the bed with one of his hands gripping the bedding under him tightly while the other clutched the two pills he was giving. His eyes were squeezed shut once again but they opened when he heard Pax's footsteps.
"This was all I could find, don't put your mouth it." Pax said softly as he sat down on the edge of the bed once again, holding the mug in Josh's eye sight.
The blonde stared at it silently for a while and then started inching towards it. He needed Pax's help to sit upright enough to get the pills and water down his throat, even though he needed his friend's help with that as well.
When the dead was done Pax pulled the cup away and set it on the night stand before turning back towards Josh who was now hugging his knees tightly to his chest.
"They should start working in a bit. Other then all that you feeling okay?"
Josh nodded blankly but didn't say anything as he stared down at the rumpled bedding under him. Pax watched him and sighed mentally, hating the thick silence that settled between them. While he wasn't a hundred percent sure what caused Josh's silence he did have a pretty good guess.
"Josh listen, about last night–"
"I'm sorry."
Pax frowned. "What?"
"I'm sorry for saying those – for talking about it. I know you didn't want to hear about it." Josh said numbly.
Pax felt himself grow numb for a few moments. That last statement hurt him much more then any part of Josh's tearful rambling from the during previous night. If he was honest with himself he would've preferred it if Josh hadn't said anything at all about what happened to him during his captivity because he felt he'd witnessed enough when he charged into that damned room after hearing Josh's screams to piece together what had happened. But now that he heard his friend's confession he couldn't stop his brain from coming up with scenarios to match Josh's words and most of them sickened him greatly.
"It's fine, Josh. Don't worry about it." He lied and moved his gaze back towards the window once again. "We should leave soon."
Once again, Josh nodded silently; his eyes never left the bedding, not even when Pax rose from the bed and moved towards the night stand.
"Still sore?" The darker haired American asked over his shoulder as he shoved both guns and the small bottle of pills into his back pocket.
"A little." Came the tiny answer.
Paxton glanced at him as he turned and headed towards the bathroom once again, this time to retrieve the knife from where he left it during the night.
"Think you'll be able to move about?"
"Think so."
He returned to the main room a moment later with the knife contained in his front pocket. "Good because we need to do a few things before we find a train station."
Josh finally raised his head. "Like what?"
Pax approached the bed again and held out his hand, motioning for Josh to take it. "One, we need some new clothes because I'm not wearing these damn things for much longer. And two, I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
"M'kay." Josh mumbled as he allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.
His fingers touched the skin of Pax's left arm and then slowly slid down towards his hand as the blonde tried to curl his thin fingers around the two remaining digits on the hand. Pax startled when he felt it and instantly moved Josh's fingers to his normal one.
He didn't want Josh to fully see the damage done to his left hand, after all, he'd been through enough already. After grabbing the key for the room and pulling the desk back in it's original place they left the room and descended down the stairs. The lobby was empty and still dark because the window shades were still down and the desk clerk was no where to be seen. Pax tossed the key on the front desk and eyed the empty space warily before he pulled Josh towards the front door.
(Where the hell is everyone, it's not that early.)
He shook his head and pushed the front door open, ignoring the jingle the bell above the door made and stepped out into the bright morning sun. The street looked much different in the day light, the cobble stones were a deep brown color and the many shops where lined with the same color bricks.
(First thing's first...)
He tugged lightly on Josh's hand and directed him over towards the small clothing store a few short yards away. The door was propped open and the air inside the shop was cool as they stepped inside. Almost instantly, Pax started tearing through the racks looking for anything that would fit the two of them.
Josh stayed by his side the entire time, hardly leaving Pax's side as he was drug throughout the length of the shop. It only took a few minutes before Pax had a decent sized armload of clothing and as he made his way towards the front counter he spotted a few backpacks lining the back wall and he stopped to grab one.
Josh lingered near the shelf for a moment, eyeing the items on display and Pax felt a chuckle rise in his throat when he saw what the blonde was looking at.
"If you so much as touch that fany pack I'll smack you."
Josh's head snapped up and for a moment, Pax feared he startled him, but his fears were quickly dashed away when Josh's lower lip curved into a slight smile.
"Shut up."
The grin increased and for a moment, Pax swore he felt his heart stop from the sight and all of the fear and pain from the past few days seamed to disappear for the moment. With the except of the small tingles of pain coming from his left hand, things almost felt like they did a week ago when the two of them were in Amsterdam... almost.
He shook his head a moment later and made his way towards the front of the shop. A small elderly woman sat behind the main counter, her sharp eyes watching the two Americans closely as they moved throughout her store. She straightened up as they neared the counter and started folding the items Pax tossed on the counter.
She mumbled the total in German and Pax fished out the amount in bills and set them on the counter as he gathered his purchases up. He motioned for Josh to follow him as he moved towards the exit and the blonde's footsteps echoed behind him as they left the store.
Pax immediately pulled Josh off to a corner and started shoving the clothing in the backpack, along with his guns and medication; he decided to keep the knife on him, just in case. He kept a single pair of gloves out and slid them over his hands, puffing up the ring and pinky finger of the left one in order to conceal his hand. When he was finished, he slung the straps around his shoulders and reached for Josh's hand again.
"Come on, let's get some food and then we'll find a way out of this fucked up place."
Josh was about to nod but his eyes darted towards something over Pax's shoulder and his face instantly paled. "Pax."
Paxton turned and fallowed Josh's gaze back towards the inn and his entire body froze. Standing near the front door of the small hotel was the dirty desk clerk that gave them their room along with two large men dressed in black leather. Almost immediately after recognizing the typical uniform of the Elite Hunting members, Pax grabbed Josh's arm and pulled them into the grimly ally behind the clothing store; hoping the men didn't see them.
"I think we've been here long enough." Pax whispered and looked the alleyway up and down and upon seeing that it joined the street once again a short ways down, pulled Josh towards it.
Halfway down the pathway, he could see cars moving up and down the street and as they stepped into the street from the shadows he could see several cabs lining the side of the street.
(Thank god, that'll make things much easier.)
He moved towards the closest green car and tapped against the side window to get the driver's attention.
"Ja!" The man sitting the driver's seat barked.
His voice was rough and scratchy and his appearance was ragged and when he leaned closer to the passenger's side window Pax got a clear look at his face and felt his shoulders tighten greatly; it was the same guy that drove the three of them to the Hostel when they first arrived here.
(Will the fucking Twilight Zone moments ever stop? God.)
"Train station. Now." Pax replied as he pulled the back door open and shoved Josh inside the car's cabin.
The driver spun his head around. "Are you yanks blind, I'm not working yet."
"You are now." Pax firmly stated and pulled out a large bill from the wallet and held it up for the driver to see clearly.
The man's eyes lit at the sight of the bill and he turned back around in his seat. "Yes, sir. Train station."
He started the car a quick second later and slowly pulled away from the curb. Pax eyed the street behind them through the window and sighed relieved when he didn't see anyone fitting the E. H. Member appearance fallowing them. His relieve was gone the moment he turned his head and saw the cab driver staring at him through the rearview mirror.
"Where's your friend, the tall one?"
Pax felt his blood run cold inside his body and tried to think of something to say.
"He went home."
"Home, really?" Came the answer from the front of the car.
"Yeah, haven't seen him since."
"That's a shame."
The car turned violent around a corner and the movement through Josh right against Pax, his elbow painfully colliding with his stomach.
"Sorry." The blonde whispered.
Pax signaled he was fine and helped Josh slid back over to his seat.
"Did you boys enjoy your stay at Hostel?"
Pax eyed the driver coldly and cautiously moved his hand towards the backpack; he really didn't like where the conversation was going.
"It was fine." He replied numbly as his fingers pulled the bag's zipper down.
He could see one of the guns out of the corner of his eye and his fingers slowly crept towards it. Josh was watching him the entire time but much to Pax's amazement he didn't show any signs of his growing fear on his face.
"Well it must've have been enjoyable. There's lot of girls there."
His fingers wrapped around the gun's handle. "It was fine."
The scenery passed by them and soon a large building lined with bricks next to a set of rail tracks and Pax willed himself to keep calm; they were almost there.
"Really? Well that's good to hear."
The car turned off towards the station and pulled to a stop a moment later.
"Here we are." The driver said as he held his hand out.
Pax handed him the money as slung the bag's strap over his shoulder and opened the door, gently pulled Josh out with him.
"Enjoy the rest of your trip boys." The man called out as the door closed.
Pax glared at the car as it pulled away and waited until it was out of sight before he grabbed Josh's arm and pulled him towards the building's entrance. The air inside was cool and the sounds of voices quickly filled Pax's ears. His eyes roamed across the area and immediately spotted a ticket counter a few yards away.
With a gentle yank, he motioned for Josh to fallow him as he moved into the short line of people near the counter but a painful tightening of his stomach forced him to a halt. He was starving and beginning to feel lightheaded from the lack of energy in his body.
Concern light up Josh's face. "What's wrong?"
Pax raised his head and looked around the station's lobby and spied a small concession stand across the way from the ticket booth.
"Josh can you go over there and get us some food? I'm fucking starving."
The blonde blinked. "Um, okay. Like what?"
"I don't care, anything. Here." He handed Josh a few dollars and directed him towards the food stand.
"But what if something hap–"
"I'm right here Josh, you'll be in my sight the whole time."
The blonde looked reluctant for a moment but nodded. "Okay."
Pax gave him a grateful nod and watched as Josh walked across the lobby before he departed for the ticket line. Luckily there was only a few people in front of him and the line seamed to be moving quickly. He squinted his eyes as he tried to read the board on the wall hoping something would be departing soon. His only choices at the moment were Prague and Vienna.
(Prague's not far away enough so Vienna it is then.)
There was a set of footsteps behind him and over his shoulder Pax saw someone get in line behind him. The first thing Pax eyed was the man's clothing which turned out to be a long dark jacket with a loose pair of jeans with no black leather in sight and he relaxed somewhat.
The man shuffled impatiently behind him and Pax jumped when he cleared his throat loudly.
"Excuse me, do you have the time?" He asked, with voice holding a soft British ring to it. "Wissen Sie wie viel Uhr, das es ist?
Pax his turned his head in order to see the man's features more clearly. His face was framed with short, dirty blonde hair that was dark enough to be brown with a pair of green eyes that froze the American to the spot for a few moment.
"I'm not wearing a watch. Sorry."
The man stared at him, his eyes lingering on Pax's face for a few moments before he smiled politely. "Well thank you anyway. Sorry to trouble you."
Pax's eyes remained on the man's face for a half second before he turned his head away. He could've sworn he'd seen him before but where?
"Next in line please. Nächst."
He was quickly drawn out of his thoughts when he realized the teller was speaking to him and stepped forwards.
"Two for Vienna." He stated clearly, first in English then in German.
The teller, a girl who looked no older then sixteen, rang up the amount and took the many Pax held out as she handed him his tickets.
"Vielen Dank." Pax mumbled as he slid away from the counter.
He felt the man's eyes fallow him as he left and Pax resisted the urge to look back as he crossed the open lobby in search of Josh. He found the blonde a quick moment later, standing off the side of the food stand waiting him.
"They didn't have much so I just got these." He mumbled softly as he held out two wrapped sandwiches.
"Terrific, give me one."
The second Josh extended his arm, Pax snatched one of the sandwiches and tore the wrapper off, swallowing down a good portion of it before the blonde could blink. Josh watched his friend with a blank look on his face before he started nibbling on his own.
"So where are we going?"
Pax swallowed and cleared his throat. "Vienna, it's leaving soon and it puts some distance between them and us."
The blonde nodded and lowered his eyes slightly. "What about Oli?"
Pax was about to take another bit but froze.
"What about him?"
"It's not right leaving him here, what if they–"
"Josh, Oli's probably dead."
"You don't know that, what if he's just wandering around somewhere?"
"Because he's not Josh. He's dead, he ran off with that cunt that runs the front desk. Everyone at that fucking place works for those people."
"What about Natalia and Svetlana?"
Pax growled darkly when he heard the names. "Natalia was the reason I ended up in that fucking place."
Josh went silent and lowered his head and Pax swore he heard the blonde whimper slightly.
"She was the one that drugged me then."
Pax almost choked on the food in his mouth. "What?"
"That night when we were at the disco, the reason I left was because I started feeling sick right after she gave me a drink. She must've put something in it."
The blood ran cold inside of his body and Pax swallowed hard.
(This shit just keeps getting better and better.)
There was a large clock hanging over the lobby and Pax checked the time on it's face and the numbers written on the tickets.
"We should get moving, it's almost time for our train to arrive."
The blonde nodded numbly. "Okay."
They gathered up their things and headed towards the gates. Josh's hand reached for Pax's on the way and the dark haired boy allowed his thin fingers to wrap around his good hand as they climbed down the step stairs into the lower levels of the train station.