The drive to the Moonlit Wonder was silent. Bea still couldn't think of anything to comfort Mae. She just hoped that spending time with her would be enough.
"Why are you being so useless right now?"
"I don't know what to do!"
"Of course, you don't. You've never known what to do. You've always just stood by and let things happen. You never offered any solutions to any of your or anyone else's problems."
"Because there were no solutions! There was nothing I could do about my mom dying, my dad breaking down, my future being taken from me!"
"That's just what you tell yourself to-"
"No! I can't get wrapped up in this conversation again. I need to focus on Mae. I need to make sure she's okay. Just say something, anything."
"Mae? Are you okay?"
It took Mae a moment to answer, "Not really."
"I'm sorry all of that had to happen."
"Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
After saying that, Mae was suddenly reminded of aunt Molly. She had said those words to her. 'All it takes is being in the wrong place at the wrong time.' She realized just how right she was.
"Is there anything I can do for you?", asked Bea.
"Just… be here."
Bea simply nodded. They were now at the bar, right behind Gregg and Angus. The two got out and followed them inside. Gregg checked in while Mae, Bea, and Angus made their way over to the bar, sitting down next to each other.
The noise and flashing colors of the bar were comforting in a way to Mae. They drowned out the fact that she had just witnessed a bunch of people die.
Soon, Gregg came to the bar and went to the others.
"So, what would you like?", asked Gregg.
"Just water.", said Mae.
"Are you sure? We've got some pretty good non-alcoholic options here. I hear the punch is pretty good, as long as no one's spiked it or anything.", offered Gregg, trying to lighten the mood.
"No, just water, thanks."
"Alright, suit yourself." Gregg was back in a few seconds with a glass of water, sliding it in front of Mae.
"Would you two like anything?", asked Gregg to Bea and Angus.
"No, I'm good.", replied Angus.
"Yeah, I'll wait on the drinks for a bit.", agreed Bea.
"Okay. I'm gonna go serve these guys real quick. Be right back." Gregg went over to two other guys who were at the bar to take their orders.
"Alright, Mae.", started Angus, "I want you to tell me everything about what happened earlier. Don't spare any of the details."
"What? Why?", questioned Mae.
"I think it's best that we get everything laid out in the open where we can talk about it freely."
"Alright, I guess."
Mae explained everything in as much detail as she could. It had happened so fast for her that she had trouble remembering parts of it, but she did her best to fill in any holes in the story.
"…And then we left."
Angus contemplated for a moment. Gregg had returned soon after Mae started, so he didn't miss out on too much of the story.
"That really is a lot. The first step is talking about it, though. Do you feel better?", asked Angus.
"… A little bit."
"That's good. We're already making progress then."
Bea looked on at Angus' talk with Mae. She was jealous that he was already making an impact when she couldn't do anything, but she was also glad that Mae was starting to get a bit better.
Angus was about to say something else when yells rang out throughout the bar. Everyone looked over and saw two people, one noticeably more drunk than the other, but not to the point of not being able to function properly.
"What the hell did I tell you?! You were supposed to have that money today!", yelled the one guy.
"I'm sorry! Things just haven't been working out lately! I promise I'll pay you back!", pleaded the other.
"That's what you said three months ago!"
Gregg sighed, "Why can't these people keep their shit out of here? If you're going to argue about money, at least have the decency to do it outside."
"I said I'm sorry! There's nothing I can do!"
"If you can't pay in money, you're going to pay with your goddamn blood!" The aggressor threw a right hook into the other's jaw.
"Son of a bitch. I guess I have to deal with this now.", muttered Gregg, walking out to intervene.
"Bug, wait.", Angus protested.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine. We're trained to deal with situations like this.", assured Gregg. He went up to the two people, one of which was now on the floor.
"Hey, you two, stop fighting, or I'll have to have you thrown out.", warned Gregg.
"This isn't any of your goddamn business, asshole. You're probably just like the rest of the gay ass people in here. No sense of when to stay out of other people's business."
"I'm giving you one last chance to apologize and end the fight, or I'm calling security."
"Fine. Have it your way. I'll end this right now." The man pulled out a knife. Gregg was horrified, and so were Angus and the others. Some of the other guests had started to notice the commotion as well.
"Sir, put the knife down. Don't do anything you'll regret.", pleaded Gregg, slowly inching his way closer.
"You said to stop the fighting, and I'm stopping it right now!"
In only a second, so much happened. Gregg's legs sprang toward them, and his hand reached into his jacket for the knife Mae had given him. The man on the ground attempted to shield himself with his arm. The other lunged forward, ready to bring his knife down on the defenseless guy on the ground.
Mae and Angus both sprang up, beginning to run toward the conflict. Bea sat in abject horror as all of these things happened at once.
The next second brought with it a living nightmare. Gregg landed in front of the man on the ground. His knife had just exited his jacket when the knife of the assailant plunged straight through his leather jacket and into his torso. Angus and Mae were stopped in their tracks as the man pulled the knife out, his face filled with sudden shock and regret, as Gregg clutched the wound. He took a step back before toppling over, his knife clattering as it hit the ground. The crowd began to panic and run in all different directions.
Mae's thoughts were torn asunder.
"No, this isn't happening. This isn't happening."
"Why is this happening?"
"Gregg, no."
"He's going to die."
"That man doesn't even know us."
"Please don't die."
Angus screamed, "Gregg!" He ran to his side, kneeling down to meet his husband.
"Gregg, please, answer me!", pleaded Angus.
"Angus?", replied Gregg weakly.
"Oh, my god, you're alive!"
"A-Angus, I don't w-wanna die." Gregg's breath was shaky. He was terrified.
"You're not dying! Somebody call an ambulance!"
The man with the knife finally made a move. He ran for the exit.
Mae saw this and yelled, "You motherfucker! Don't you dare run away!" Mae gave chase.
"Mae, stop, get back here!", Bea called as Mae ran. She got up and ran after her, picking up the knife Gregg dropped as she went. That man still had his knife. Why did Mae think it was a good idea to chase after him? All Bea knew was that she couldn't afford to lose her, so she ran as fast as her legs could take her.
"Bug, you're going to be fine. Help is coming, just stay with me."
Then, somebody familiar came next to Angus. It was Andy Cullen, and he brought a first aid kit.
"Andy?"
"Yep, it's me. I went and got the first aid kit. Could you undo his jacket for me?", requested Andy as he went to find a gauze pad.
Angus nodded, unzipping Gregg's jacket and sliding it down. When he saw how much red had already seeped into his shirt, his heart was crushed. It hadn't even been 30 seconds, and he was already losing way too much blood. At this rate, Angus wasn't sure how much longer Gregg would last.
"Here, I'll apply pressure to the wound. You just focus on keeping Gregg calm. The lower we can get his heart rate, the slower he'll lose blood." Andy took the gauze pad, put it on the wound and placed all of his weight on it.
"H-how bad is it?", asked Gregg. He tried to lift his head up, but Angus pushed it back down.
"Don't move. It's fine. You're going to be fine. I'm here for you." Angus held onto Gregg's hand. He could tell Gregg was already beginning to fade. He grew more tired-looking by the second.
"Angus, I'm c-cold." If Angus' heart hadn't completely broken already, it certainly had now. He was cold, and Angus could feel it, too. That meant they were almost out of time. Angus began to tear up.
"Please, no, this can't be happening! I can't lose him! I need him!"
All Angus could think to do now was bring Gregg close and wrap his arms around him. He cradled his head in one arm and placed the other over his chest. He held on as tight as he could, as if through sheer willpower, he could somehow manage to keep Gregg with him.
"Thank you. That feels better.", said Gregg, barely audible. With the sound of music blasting through the club and the cries of panicked people, Angus was forced to read Gregg's lips to know what he was saying.
Angus still couldn't hear an ambulance. He had to start facing the possibility that Gregg could die here.
"G-Gregg, I love you!", Angus was crying fully now.
"I love you, too." Gregg's voice wasn't even a whisper anymore.
"Please don't leave me.", Angus begged, closing his eyes and bringing Gregg as close to him as he could. He received no answer. The sound of an ambulance could just be heard on its way.
Angus looked at Gregg. He wasn't answering.
"No. No, no, no, not now! The ambulance is almost here!"
Angus desperately checked for a pulse, and when he managed to find one, small as it was, he felt, for an instant, overjoyed, before fear and desperation overwhelmed it. Until the ambulance arrived, Angus simply held Gregg close to him and kept two fingers on where he had found the pulse. Finally, after an eternity, paramedics burst through the door.
Gregg was immediately placed on a stretcher and taken into the ambulance. Despite the protests of the paramedics, Angus forced his way into the back with him. He was told to stand in the corner, so he wouldn't get in the way, and he obliged.
Mae sprinted as fast as she could. She wasn't going to let this man get away. She could hear Bea behind her yelling for her, but she ignored it and kept running. Finally, the man rounded a corner. When Mae rounded the corner, she saw that it had led into an alleyway with a dead end. Gregg's assailant was trapped.
Before the man could say anything, Mae had him pinned to the ground. He struggled to free himself, to attack her with his knife, but Mae wouldn't let him.
Mae growled and extended her claws, "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now!"
"It wasn't supposed to be him, I swear!", pleaded the man.
"That's not an excuse! I'm going to rip your goddamn throat out!" Mae raised a hand, about to kill him, but there was a war going on inside her head.
"Do it! Kill him!"
"I can't! I'll be arrested! My life will be ruined!"
"This guy may have just ended Gregg's life and destroyed Angus'! Are you really going to let him get away with that?!"
"What about Bea? The police will deal with it. I can't kill him."
"Don't you see? This guy, he's taking away one of your only ties to reality! He's just shapes. You don't know him. Why does it matter if he dies?"
Mae's vision became clouded. Everything began to turn into shapes, and the ones she was on were insulting her, threatening her. She needed to get rid of them.
Mae screamed and swung down, but something caught her. She snapped her head back, and Bea was there, holding onto her arm, one of the few things in the world that wasn't just shapes. Then, everything began to return to normal.
"Mae, what are you doing?!"
"I… I…" Mae couldn't answer. Bea looked like she was about to say something when the man jerked his arm out of Mae's grip and raised the knife. He swung for Mae's neck, but Bea managed to pull her back just in time. It only grazed her face.
"Mae, get behind me, now!", demanded Bea. She positioned her knife in front of her. The man stood and lunged at her. With adrenaline coursing through her, she dodged and went for a stab herself. The man tried to evade, but the knife tore through the arm with the knife in it. He screamed and dropped the knife. His arm was now useless. He went to pick it up with his other arm, but Mae pinned him up against the wall. After that, he finally gave up.
The police showed up soon after. They took him away and thanked Mae and Bea for their help before leaving.
Mae was the first to say something, "Bea, I'm so sorry, I-"
"Be quiet. We'll talk about this later. Right now, we need to get to the hospital and make sure Gregg is okay." Bea was definitely angry this time. Bea ran, and Mae followed her. They got back just in time to see the ambulance leave.
"Come on.", said Bea, getting in her car. Mae got in, and Bea began following the ambulance.
Inside the ambulance, the doctors were doing their best to keep Gregg alive long enough to reach the hospital.
Beep
"You. Do you know this man's blood type?", asked one of the paramedics.
Beep
"B negative.", answered Angus anxiously.
Beep
The person that was getting blood took the first pack of it that would work and began preparing to give Gregg a blood transfusion.
Beep
There was only one thing preventing Angus' whole world from shattering, and that was the constant beeping of Gregg's heart monitor.
Beep
Every beep kept Angus afloat in the sea of despair that threatened to drown him.
Beep
If the beeping stopped, Angus knew he would break.
Beep
"Get this hooked into him" The beeping began to speed up.
Beep
"Got it." Gregg's heart was beating extremely rapidly. They were losing him.
Beep
The paramedics had just gotten the blood flowing into Gregg when there was a longer period of silence than normal. Then, a long, unending, high-pitched drone pierced Angus' soul.
The beeping had stopped.
Gregg had flatlined.
