Chapter 27 – Hurt

The shrieks and screams of the dying ripped through their minds and overwhelmed their senses. Ryu was fighting on auto pilot now. He had accepted the fact that he was dead and slaughtered his foes on borrowed time. He was proud that his last moments would be next to Bass who chose to come to his aid even though it meant certain death.

He tossed what was a twisted blend of a human arm and a mantis' foreleg to the ground and readied himself for the next attacker. His vision was swimming in a red haze the horizon was tilting as the pale of dawn was creeping into the sky over the hills. But… nothing stepped forward. Puzzled, he turned to look at Bass.

Bass was swaying and breathing heavily. He held a gigantic ant head that had an unsettling human expression of horror frozen across its alien face. He turned to Ryu with a stunned expression as he dropped the head to the ground.

"Ryu… what the – they… they all just dropped – dead..? How does something like that even happ –?"

Then noticing the enormous stinger that had pierced Ryu he rushed over to help lower him to his knees.

"Shit – dude! That's one hell of a splinter you got there. Doesn't look like it hit anything too vital – uh, you want I should pull that out?"

Ryu grabbed Bass' wrist in an iron grip. But his voice was soft and steady.

"No, thank you… my friend. That would be a bad idea. A lot of blood would be lost and there's the small matter of the venom still in the shaft. Besides…"

Ryu pointed to where an injured Bayman was frantically working on Hotaruko, and said gravely,

"…we've got more important things to think about right now…"

"Right, hold tight buddy – I'll check it out…"

As Bass approached he could hear Bayman muttering to himself in Russian and broken English.

"Hotaruko? Why do you do this thing? Я ничего не стоит."

The worst of the wounds on her back and legs had already been bound with strips from his shirt and now Bayman was working furiously, performing CPR.

He would do the compressions counting quietly, then pinching her nose and tilting her head back, he formed a seal with his lips over her small mouth and blew making her chest rise. Once that was complete, Bayman went straight back into compressions. But the damage was too extensive, and she was going into shock. As he worked he kept talking to her, his voice quietly breaking with emotion.

"This is so, so crazy of you to...OH – Why? Why..? You give too much to мне, кто ничего не стоит."

As Bass arrived, Hotaruko's breathing slowed and began to stop. Brad ran up only a few seconds after, having leapt from the deck to slide lightly across the roof of the old van then out to the site of the unfolding tragedy. He had no idea what was happening as he announced the good news about –

"Eliot and Kokoro are gonna be okay! Hey how's our cute little ninja girl doi – oh… no."

Brad crouched along with Bass next to Bayman who didn't answer. He just drew his knife and held the broad, gleaming blade close to Hotaruko's delicate lips. It fogged slightly, then less and less and as her breathing slowed, then stopped. The three could only watch as the condensation silently dissipated.

Bass put his hand on Bayman's shoulder as Bayman let the knife drop and placed his trembling fingers on her pale, blood stained neck and felt for her carotid artery. He looked up through a wall of tears at his friends and with a helpless expression declared,

"Is no pulse… Hotaruko… is – she is… gone?"

Bass only hung his head shaking it slightly.

But Brad was absolutely incensed, and the tremor in his quiet voice drew the attention of the others.

"No – fuck that. We're not losing this kid…"

With a sudden burst of speed, he sprinted back to the van parked in the gravel below the deck and jumped into the driver seat. With no hesitation, Brad flipped the visor where the keys were hidden letting them slide into his hand and started the engine.

Gunning the van mercilessly, he drove like a demon, fish-tailing and shooting a wild spray of gravel and mud behind him. He raced all the way up to where Bayman was holding Hotaruko and skidded to a stop right next to them. Leaving the van running, he jumped out of the cab and ran around to the back as he yelled at Bass.

"Get your ass in the van Armstrong, and when I give you the word - I want you to GAS THAT SUMBITCH to the FLOOR!"

Bass launched to his feet and dashed into the cab, getting ready, as Brad flipped open the back window and pulled out a long set of jumper cables. With single-minded intensity, Brad ripped the cover away from the engine, like it was made of cardboard. Then he clipped the cables to the battery and sprinted with the other ends to Hotaruko.

"GUN IT BASS – DO IT MAN! Give it EVERYTHING YOU GOT!"

Bass stomped the gas like it had never been stomped before, and the engine positively screamed pumping power from the generator to the battery.

Brad dropped to his knees and slid the last fifteen feet through the gore slickened grass to stop next to Hotaruko and Bayman.

"Bayman lay her down flat! Yeah, yeah like that Good."

He tore off the remains of her thin black jacket, undershirt and bra and tossed them away so that her torso was completely free from obstruction. Next he flicked a torn and blood-stained piece of paper aside and yanked off a small silver chain around her neck and tossed it in Bayman's lap.

Tapping the two copper ends of the cables together a shower of sparks erupted as Brad called out, "CLEAR!"

Then he jammed one of the cables ends against her bare chest just under the left collarbone and the second just to the lower right of her sternum. Hotaruko bucked wildly and settled back. Brad put his head to her chest and listened.

"SHIT! Bass FUCKIN' KEEP IT FLOORED, MAN!"

Then he applied the cables again, as Bass continued to redline the shrieking engine.

"CLEAR!"

Brad jammed the cable ends back down and there was loud popping, and a huge, sparking arc of electricity that shot through Hotaruko's body. She convulsed violently and there was a strong smell of ozone.

Brad put his ear to her chest again as he threw the cables aside. He quickly grabbed her arm and felt for the brachial artery. After a few tense moments, his shoulders sagged and he signaled for Bass to stop the engine. Brad smiled to himself as he tenderly stroked the hair out of Hotaruko's fluttering eyes.

"You did it… Welcome back."

He patted her cheek and sighed in relief, looking over at Bayman.

"She's stable now, but we need to get her to an ICU pronto. It ought to be the one in Tokyo – Kitahara International – I've got friends there. She'll be safe."

As Bayman moved over to be close to Hotaruko, he was still visibly shaken wracked with guilt and torn with regret as he continued muttering to himself.

"She risks to much for one who is worth of nothing. I… do not deserve to be – it should be me who is…"

Noticing this, Brad grabbed his collar, stopping him abruptly.

"Hold up a second."

Bayman's eyes widened with surprise. With an uncharacteristically sober, and riveting stare, Brad spoke quietly.

"That's one brave kid, who obviously loves you man… That kind of devotion only comes once in a lifetime… IF you're really… REALLY lucky. So get with it – YOU may not think you're worth a shit... I may not think you're worth a shit... but she - she was ready to sacrifice everything for you. Hurt yourself - crap on yourself and you do it to her... Get it?... Bayman - don't fuck this up."

He locked eyes with Bayman one more time then roughly released him. As he stood, he looked down and opened his mouth like he was going to say something, then just gently shook his head and wearily walked over to where Ryu was kneeling in the grass. Bayman just stared thoughtfully for a moment watching Brad walk away... He had heard him, and when he turned to look at Hotaruko - as he moved to be at her side - it was with the seeds of a new appreciation and understanding that had begun to take root in his mind.

Ryu was on his knees gently swaying in the grass keeping the stinger in his body steady. He had been watching everything with wide eyes. Brad knelt beside him and began to expertly examine the stinger's entry and exit wounds.

"Let me look at that for you bud."

Ryu was astonished and in spite of his terrible pain had to ask…

"Brad – what – what are you? Some kind of – doc… ah doctor?"

Brad continued to check the wound, then broke the barbed tip off of the end of the stinger. As he spoke in a matter of fact tone to Ryu, he ripped the sleeve off of his shirt and wadded the cloth in the hollow tip, plugging it to keep the poison in the shaft.

"Surgeon actually – I used to be a fairly decent cardiothoracic surgeon… Promising career and all the accolades and bullshit that go with it – hold still… yeah, good just like that – But that was before everything went to shit in my totally fucked up life… okay – good. Now get ready – this'll hurt like hell, but I think we can get this thing out of you now…"

Ayane had just finished binding GenFu's wounds as the old battle master sat with his broken leg in a splint and gazed in wonder at all the dead and rapidly decomposing creatures around them. Ayane looked down at GenFu and patted his shoulder with a smile.

"I think that's everything. You were fortunate to – "

"…fortunate that you had the foresight to go to that van and find a way to stop them all at once." GenFu interrupted, " I was being overrun. I'm not sure how the others were doi –"

"AHK!"

Ayane's head snapped up. It was a short sharp shout of pain from…

Ryu! He doesn't cry out unless it's really really…

"Go to him! I'm fine, thanks to you… Go quickly now!"

Ryu was losing consciousness from the pain, but tried to stay present as he talked to Brad.

"Shit… Brad – that wasn't so bad… whoof. I thought you said it was going to huh – hurt!"

Then through his fading vision he saw Ayane kneeling and reaching for him.

"Wow… Brad, you're not half bad looking either…"

Then he collapsed into Ayane's arms as she looked searchingly at Brad who reassured her.

"He'll be okay. It's the pain, there's only so much a person – even a person like Ryu – can take."

Then he stood up to head back over to Eliot and Kokoro as he walked off Ayane called out –

"Brad - ! Thank you."

He stopped but didn't look back. Then nodded and continued on to the deck.

Hotaruko's vision swam together and coalesced finally to focus on Bayman who was looking down on her with a calm steady expression. Only his red-rimmed eyes betrayed the deep emotion he felt.

Seeing him caused her tired eyes to brighten and shine. The dimples deepened in her cheeks as she smiled. The radiance from her look touched Bayman's stone heart, warming it, making it glow. She spoke weakly, barely above a whisper. Her body still wracked with pain from the wounds and venom... she was shaking.

"Bayman..! It's you... you're safe! I'm so hap…"

Bayman scooped up her hand in his and held it tight.

"Shh. No talk – rest. You please be still now."

Bass arrived with a mysterious brown bottle and an eyedropper.

"Magical Morphine – it'll knock you out and stop that pain. Open wide now, 'cuz here comes the sleepy-time express train – Doctor Wong's orders!"

Hotaruko opened her mouth as Bass administered the drug. She winced from the harsh taste, but slowly, blissfully she felt the intense pain diminish and her shaking began to stop. With each passing second, she began to relax more and more. Resting her head on Bayman's lap her breathing became deeper and less labored. As he covered her with his vest to keep her warm, his huge hand continued to stroke her cheek as he spoke quietly to himself,

"Maybe... maybe I am worth of something."

"Bass!" Ayane called, "Help me get Ryu to the Van, we need to get out of here, we're too vulnerable in the open like this."

"On it!"

Scooping up Ryu, Bass carried him to the van where Bayman was already depositing Hotaruko. Although she was wounded and bandaged herself, Kokoro had made beds up on the floor of the van for the more seriously injured and helped get them secured for the trip to the hospital.

Once everyone was aboard, Ayane put the van in gear and pulled out of the driveway and down the winding mountain road to Nirasaki. It would be the first stop on their way back to Tokyo.