Title: Wounded
Disclaimer: I own nothing and I am getting no money
Maria and Marve are mine, nothing
else
"Ready?" Angel asked
"Angel, He
fell into my arms bleeding to death, I can take whatever I see in there." They both stepped into the dim room. Despite what she had said her chest hurt
when she saw Doyle laying in the bed, surrounded by machines and wires. He had a bag of dark red blood hanging above
him dripping through a tube and into his arm.
He looked so small. His blue
eyes were open slightly and he smiled weakly at his friends.
"Hey, ya
came t'see me" he sounded incredibly sleepy; it made his accent so heavy it was
had to understand him.
"Yeah, we
did" Cordelia couldn't think of anything to say to him.
"How are
you feeling?" Angel asked
"Like Ima
pint low and a dollar short"
"Are you in
pain?" Cordelia asked
"Na
morphine" he yawned. He did have a dull
ache in his middle, but his friends didn't need to know that. Angel wanted to ask who did this to him, but
he stopped. Doyle was too weak. Doyle leaned into his pillow and closed his
eyes. Those few simple words had
utterly exhausted him. It felt good to lean back into the cool, soft and deep
pillow under his head. Cordelia pulled
an ugly orange plastic chair over to the bed and sat next to the bed and
stroked his head, how could someone be so cruel as to want to kill Doyle. Angel stood at the end of the bed staring
down at the sleeping Irishman.
"He needs
some of his own hybrid blood" she said sadly.
What were the chances of finding another Bracken/human, and get them to
donate their blood, and do it fast. She
pounded her fist against the bed, why were the cards always stacked against
Doyle?
"I'm going
to find one" Angel announced and he swept out of the room.
Angel
stormed into the dark bar. Smoke filled
the air and the establishment was filled with some truly swarthy characters,
most of whom were demons. Angel made it
clear he meant business as he slammed his hand down on the bar and took hold of
the bartender by his collar
"I'm looking
for a half Bracken demon" he asked in his full vamp face
"Your
little friend?"
"No,
another one"
"Well I
don't know any others" Angel gave the greasy little man a shake
"I mean
business, and I better like what you're going tell me, so far, I'm not happy"
the vampire warned
"Marve, I
think he's part Bracken" he stammered
"And where
can I find this Marve?"
"I th-think
he's down on 5th, he has a store there. The Cauldron on the Corner."
Angel dropped the bartender and slapped $5 on the counter. He turned on his heel and left the bar. He used his underground tunnels to walk to
the shop. The sun was still high in the
sky.
Angel threw
his dark duster over his head and surfaced on the street behind the store. He rushed through the back door, nearly
breaking it off its hinges. He slammed
the door shut and lowered his coat. He
squinted at the darkness of the store.
It was a magic shop. The shelves
were filled with all colors of liquids, eyes, wings and all sorts of
herbs. "Marve!" Angel called.
"Depends
who's ask' in" came his reply
Angel found the owner of the voice looking through the
talisman on one of the lower shelves towards the front of the store.
"I've heard
you are half Bracken demon."
"That's not a crime, maybe I am,
maybe not. What's it to you?"
"I have a friend that needs a blood
transfusion"
"And that matters to me because?"
"He's half Bracken, like you."
"What's in it for me if I help this
friend of yours?"
Marve was a tall, thin man with shocking red
hair. Now he wore a scowl that made it
clear that he would only help Doyle for the right price. Angel was also pretty sure that his price
was going to be high.
"A hundred bucks and the sense that
you helped out one of your own kind"
Angel offered.
"No way man.
Sorry, I gotta look out for number one, me. I can't be bothered to stop my life to help to help some dude,
I've never even met." Angel could
barely believe how selfish this guy was.
"There's no danger for you, no one
will no you are anything but human." As he spoke a woman appeared, a demon with
red eyes and pointed ears. She kept her
eyes down and began rummaging under the counter.
"Never bud, you better just go"
"You'd just let him die, when you
could save him by taking a couple of hours out of your day!?!" Angel roared, his face turning demon. Marve wasn't surprised and the woman came
out from behind the counter. She came
forward and stood behind Marve.
"Get back in the back, before
someone sees you, I can handle this blood sucker"
"No" she had a southern accent and
she slapped Marve in the back of his head.
"He can see me, vamps dun't scare easy." As she spoke, Angel noticed tiny fangs "You
are going to help his friend too."
"Stay out of this Marie"
"No, you can keep a man alive, spare people the misery of
losing someone they care about."
"$4,000"
"What! $4,000." Angel growled
"That's my price".
"We don't
have time for this" Marve responded by shaking on his Bracken face.
"Then I suggest that you pay me" Marve sneered. "Or whatever happens to your friend won't be
my fault ."
"Yes
it will Marve." Marie scolded
"I told you to go away, who are you
to tell me what to do?"
" Ah'm the fool who works for yah,
and Ah was hired tah help yah."
"Well, I don't want your opinion, I
don't have to help anyone if I don't want to"
"D' yah memba what kind ah demon Ah
am"
"Come on, you—" Marve didn't
finish. Marie held her middle and fore fingers to her right temple for a moment
Marve stared at her blankly, his Bracken face disappeared.
"You want
tah help…the vampire's friend"
"Doyle"
Angel filled in, curious about what Marie was up to. He shook off the vampire face and watched intently
"tah help
Doyle" and then she snapped with the
fingers of her left hand. Then Marve
got up.
"We better
go" he said leading Angel out. Angel looked back at Marie, she smiled and
waved her fingers
"He'll be
fine" she mouthed
He was glad the sun had gone down while he
was persuading Marve. The demon led
Angel outside to his bright red Toyoda.
"St. Mathew's" Angel
ordered as they got in the car. Marve
nodded and drove off.
