Chapter 44: Midnight Run

"Guide! Guide, wake up, we're going back to Terraria!"

Nicholas's heavy, aching eyelids forced themselves to open incredibly slowly. The dim white lights of the hospital room felt like miniature suns shining in his unadjusted pupils. He promptly shut his eyes again, fully intent on going back to sleep.

"C'mon, Guide, time to wake up," Leo muttered, shaking Nicholas by the shoulder. Nicholas winced as he felt the uncomfortable force yanking at his eerily numb, stitched up wound.

"Die in a— a dark abyss!" Nicholas snapped, trying to shake Leo away. Much to his horror, Nicholas found his arm to be utterly unresponsive.

"Think you can stand up?" Leo asked, ignoring Nicholas's kind suggestion. Nicholas squinted angrily at the position he presumed Leo to be in.

"It is not a matter of can, but, but will— which I won't!" Nicholas stammered, trying to sound authoritative. Leo smirked. "Oh, shut up! I— I can hear you smiling! This isn't funny in the slightest! Why, why won't my— why can't my anything work?"

"You're on super strong pain medicine right now, and they have your whole left arm numbed. Not to mention that the cut in your shoulder hit an artery and just about killed you— you've lost so much blood that you're probably feeling a little anemic," Leo replied. Nicholas groaned, and put his functional hand over his face.

"I know Leo. I was there," muttered Nicholas, forcing his palm against his brow. It didn't really do anything to ease the horrible, raging headache he was currently suffering, but at least he felt like he was putting in some effort.

"You wanna know how long you were out for?" Leo asked, casually pouring himself a cup of water in a nearby sink.

"Not long enough. I... I feel as though my head could burst at any moment," Nicholas replied laboriously, now applying pressure to his temples. His eyes had opened enough for him to see the cool, white ceiling and the gently spinning fan which hung above him. Normally, such a strange device would fascinate him, but he was in no mood for marveling.

"Well, I hope you're feeling well enough to listen, because I got a few things to say before we Break out," Leo said, walking back over to Nicholas. He splashed the cup of water over Nick's face, causing his eyes to snap open as he sputtered in anger and surprise.

"Damnations! Why— why do we have to leave? I don't want to move!" Nicholas shouted, though his voice was rather weaker than he intended. Leo smiled amiably.

"I'll take that as a solid "yes." Anyways, while you were out, I was getting interrogated by some secretive bastards called the FBI, and I found out that Atticus has a real world equivalent," said Leo, waving the empty cup of water as if for emphasis. Nicholas snapped to attention.

"Is that why we must leave?" asked Nicholas, already reaching to throw off the covers. The idea of someone like Atticus being alive in the real world was enough to wake anyone up in the morning.

"Hey, come on, sit down. Don't panic just yet," said Leo, motioning for Nicholas to sit. "You see, Atticus is a real douche in this world, but he isn't like the one in Terraria. He hates his Terrarian counterpart so much, in fact, that Atticus cut a deal with me to go and properly destroy the... evil Atticus, so that he never comes back to haunt him- or us, for that matter," Leo said. Nicholas's face became hollow and unreadable.

"You... you cut a deal, with Atticus?" Nicholas asked. Leo smiled nervously.

"Well, uh, yeah, I guess I did. Now, I can see why you'd be a little... averse to that idea, but trust me, we sorted everything out—" Leo started. Immediately, Nicholas threw the covers onto the ground and leapt out of the bed, ripping out several IVs in the process. He toppled to the ground at Leo's feet, thrashing like a wounded animal. His face was twisted with anger.

"I, I frigging hate you! Why, why do you— why do you do anything, you selfish... you..." Nicholas screamed, words tumbling out of his mouth without any sort of thought or consideration. Leo made a loud, irritable shushing noise.

"Keep it down! You're going to get us both in trouble," he hissed, ducking down to Nicholas's level. Nick stared up at Leo with a look of utter rage.

"Keep it down!? I, I can't keep it down! He killed Neptune! My beautiful- my only Neptune! He's pathetic scum, and— I... I, I'd..." Nicholas shouted, choking on his words, "—GODDAMN IT, I'LL KILL HIM RIGHT NOW! He has, he has to die immediately! Don't let him talk, he already has you, like, like a pawn! You're just a pawn! You..." Nicholas trailed off. He let out a deep sigh, and fell limp.

"You done?" Leo asked sternly. Nicholas shuddered on the ground, but did not look up.

"Not until I kill him," Nicholas said, trying to keep his voice stern. He paused for a moment, and Leo could almost feel his soul shattering; something within Nicholas had broken. "Why— why would you do something like that? It's a deal with the devil," he said, feeling more pitiful and powerless than ever before. Leo gently lifted Nicholas by the shoulders, and propped him against the wall. Nicholas made no move to protest.

"Because justice is just a word we use to make revenge feel noble. Unlike you, my brain is running at full capacity, and I realized halfway through my plans to kill him that I'd get more done with an arrangement than with a murder," Leo said, though his voice wavered a bit. Nicholas gazed up at him.

"I... I can't agree with you. I think that, maybe, we— aren't we supposed to kill evil wherever we find it?" Nicholas stammered, trying hard not to start crying. Leo nodded.

"Yep. Which is why we're going back to Terraria to kill the greater evil in this situation. I'm not sure if you heard me right, but I did say we were going to kill Atticus— we just need to make sure that we get the right one," Leo said. His smile was almost enough to reassure Nicholas that everything was fine.

Suddenly, the door to the room burst open, and Nicholas's nurse stormed in.

"What's going on? The patient's vital signs suddenly stopped reading, almost as if—" the nurse started. Immediately, Leo jumped up, and grabbed a long, plastic tube with a blue cab and orange tip from a dangerous-looking container on the wall.

"Nothing! Everything is fine," Leo said, slowly backing towards Nicholas. As the nurse prepared to say something, Leo flicked the cap off of the tube, and slammed the orange end directly into Nicholas's heart.

Who knew that such a little needle could hurt so damn much? Nicholas screamed in pain as a rush of adrenaline coursed throughout his veins, and his heart began beating painfully fast. The numbness in his body faded, and was replaced by an intense surge of energy. A small drop of blood ran down his chest, under the cover of his loose, baby blue hospital gown.

"Run, Nicholas!" Leo shouted, grabbing him by the arm. Nicholas let out one long, terrified scream as he and Leo dashed clumsily past the startled nurse, who proved no match for the combined weight of the two escapees. She toppled over, and immediately began screaming for help in a painfully shrill, high-pitched voice.

The two dashed through the hall, pushing past multiple doctors, who stared on in utter bewilderment. As Leo rounded a sharp corner, he and Nicholas found themselves hurtling into a small cart of surgical supplies, which flew across the room and all over the floor of the main office as the two crashed into it.

Before Nicholas could properly process what had happened, Leo had pulled him back to his feet. The two continued on their mad dash, careful to avoid the scattered scalpels and knives. They continued into the next hall, and towards the lobby.

By this point, the quickest responders were already calling the police, and several of the doctors had begun to give chase. One bewildered nurse just sat on the ground, casting his bespectacled eyes around the room in confusion.

"What are we doing?!" Guide shouted, glancing bewilderedly over his shoulder. Leo had to pull him aside so he didn't run into a cart of what might have been organs which had recently been pushed around the corner.

"Looking for my dad! I assume he's still in the lobby," said Leo, panting heavily. The two rounded another corner, and ran straight into a large pair of swinging doors, which flew open surprisingly easily as the pair ran into them. The doors slammed noisily against the walls, startling the small group on the other side of the doors.

"OFFICIAL BUSINESS! GET OUT THE WAY!" Leo shouted, pushing past a little group of bewildered residents and med students with short white coats and wide, curious eyes.

As the two dashed down the hall, one of the newer med students coughed, and turned back to his colleagues.

"He... he sure has a long coat. What kind of doctor do you think he is?" The boy asked. One of the more jaded residents offered him a simple shrug.

"Management is weird. They can't really have pissing contests, so they base their authority on the size of their lab coat. It's sort of a tradition," she explained. A few seconds passed, and the strange doctor and his magnificent coat rounded the corner.

"Huh. He must be one hell of a doctor, then," the boy said thoughtfully. The resident smiled.

"Yeah. I guess it's like an incentive: work hard, get a sweet coat," she replied. The two chuckled, and the rest of the group nervously joined them, though most of them still stared over their shoulders as they walked through the two swinging doors. The hospital was a strange place, but one could not accurately claim that it wasn't fascinating.

-Break-

Leo threw open the door to the lobby and stood in the doorway, looking desperately for his father.

"Dad? Dad?!" he shouted, stumbling into the room. Leo was clearly on the verge of collapsing, and Nicholas was beginning to feel the adrenaline shot wearing off; his legs felt like they would give way underneath at any moment, and the stitches in his arm were clearly under significant strain.

Somewhere across the room, a mid-sized man in his early fifties sporting a magnificent beard and a grey bowler hat sprung up out of his chair, staring incredulously at the two. "Leo? What's going on? And why is the librarian with you?" He asked. Leo lurched forward and threw his arms around the man— presumably his father. He sounded almost like he was... crying, now.

"Oh my god, dad... I, we need to get out here, right now. I can't explain, but I promise, I— I have a really good reason!" Leo said, pushing himself out of the embrace and holding his father by the shoulders. Leo was at least half a meter taller than his father, yet there was no question as to who had the authority.

"Leo, I trust your judgement, but this... this is insanity! I'm not letting you back out there when those terrible things could come and attack you again at any moment!" his father said, staring over Leo's shoulder and towards Nicholas. He glared at him. "And, why do we have to bring that old librarian along? You've already risked enough to save him!"

Leo took a deep breath, and stared into his father's eyes. "Dad, I know you're worried but, just... please, if we don't leave now, Bad things are going to happen to me and my Guide. It's about these portals, and the demons— stuff you can't even start to comprehend! You have to listen to me," pleaded Leo, his eyes watering. His father was clearly not impressed.

"I can comprehend it just fine! Some bastard from another world is after my son, and he's sending some particularly cliched demons to kill him! That's why the FBI is protecting you, isn't it? Haven't you read enough books to know what happens when the hero when he goes off on his own?" shouted Leo's father. Nicholas was starting to realize where Leo got his attitude from.

"Yeah, I have, and the hero is always just fine because they're the hero, i.e. me!" Leo retorted, dropping his injured pretense. His father rolled his eyes.

"Well, life is a dark sci-fi novel with 7 billion protagonists. You think God is going to cut your expendable little ass some slack because you stand out a bit? Hell no!" Leo's father shot back, his tone dangerously irritable. Nicholas just stood a few feet back, trying not to fall over; this was probably going to take a while.

"Life isn't a story, there is no God, and I'm going to have to hurt someone if you don't drive us out of here this instant!" Leo snapped. His father laughed loudly and humorlessly, slapping his knee for effect.

"Oh, that's a good one! Oh, boy, who are you going to hurt— my damn feelings? Get a hold of yourself, you stupid little heathen!"

Suddenly, the door to the lobby flew open, banging against the rubber stopper and hanging ajar. Two FBI men stormed in, glancing around the room. Leo looked pleadingly at his father.

"Oh, fine," he muttered. In an instant, Leo's father had pushed Leo aside and drawn a massive, six shot revolver. He pointed it in the direction of the two FBI men.

"Hands behind your head, on the ground!" he shouted, with practiced ease.. The two FBI men sank to the floor, expressionless. Leo's father smiled. "Good. Stay there, don't make a Goddamn move!"

Slowly, Leo's father began backing out the front door. Nicholas flinched as Leo brushed past him, and walked over to the two FBI men. He performed a cursory search of each of them, then quickly removed their pistols and radios. Neither of the men made any move to stop him.

"Alright, now, stay there, don't try to call for help— everything is gonna be fine!" Leo warned, grabbing Nicholas and backing up. He pointed one of the FBI nine-millimeter pistols he had gathered directly at Nicholas's skull, acting as though he were taking a hostage. Nicholas contrived to look terrified, though it was hard to focus on the act over the sudden, incredibly nauseating headache he was receiving as the epinephrine faded from his system. It was the sort of headache that leaves one feeling as though their brain is gently sizzling in a frying pan.

The next minute passed in a blur as the now-fugitives backed out of the hospital and into the night, before making a dead sprint to Leo's car. Nicholas could barely move on his own at this point, but something about the hostage situation gave him just enough energy to make it to the vehicle, a large pickup truck with too many tires and a silver sheen. The doors flew open, and Nicholas felt himself being pushed into the back seats.

"Holy crap, start the car, dad, start the car!" Leo shouted. His father didn't physically turn around, but he was obviously glaring at Leo in the rear view mirror.

"Shut the hell up, you stupid little garbage-person! I can't see crap in this dark!" Suddenly, the key clicked into place, and the car jumped to life before Nicholas's eyes. The lights flashed on, and the seats began to vibrate with the telltale buzz of the engine. The car made a pleasant little chirping sound as the doors locked, and it began backing out of its parking space.

"LIGHTS OFF!" screamed Leo. Immediately, his father dedicated one hand to turning off the front seat and headlights, while Leo frantically reached over Nick's aching head to turn off the back seat lights. In a matter of seconds, the car was completely dark.

"Where do we go?" Leo's father asked urgently, turning the car around. Nicholas's stomach lurched with the sudden motion.

"The woods near our house. There's a portal there that I need to get to," Leo said, glancing over his shoulder. The two FBI men had walked out of the hospital, and now had reinforcements. They appeared to be shouting and pointing at the car. "Come on, hurry up! They've spotted us!"

The stress was nauseating, and Nicholas found something rising fast in his stomach...

"I'm going as fast as I can without crashing the car!" Leo's father snapped, taking the car out of the dark parking lot and onto the open road. Nicholas felt like vomiting as the car accelerated, blowing past several others in the opposite lane and straight through a red light. The sudden blaring of horns from fifteen or so angry drivers was incredibly jarring to Leo and his father, but Nicholas found that the loud noises of the last few days had left his hearing pleasantly defunct. The honking horns sounded no louder than trumpet blasts to his damaged eardrums, and his headache was already far too painful for it to be worsened by a few loud noises.

Nicholas was oddly surprised to find that the car continued to shoot forward at the same speed, even after the initial acceleration. They passed several more cars in the tense seconds which followed, before merging into the right lane and heading for the exit onto the highway. The hospital gradually disappeared behind them, and Nicholas found his energy finally running dry. Everyone in the car was panting or crying a bit, and the motion was so strange and alien, and the whole world seemed to be conspiring against him...

Thus, Leo was almost able to forgive Nicholas when he threw up all over his lap, before consequently fainting into the puddle of vomit. It was going to be that kind of night.