Prompt(s) Filled: 8. Everything Hurts and I'm Dying, 14. Desperate Measures
Gordon woke with a start, his chest pounding as the remnants of the nightmare faded away. The room was still dark, but Gordon wasn't sure if he could sleep any more. He couldn't remember what the nightmare had been about, but the fear still lingered.
He reached down to trace his fingers along the makeshift bandages, wincing as even the light contact made the wound sting.
It had been a couple of days and his leg had eventually stopped bleeding, but now heat radiated off of it, and Gordon's worries were coming true.
He slumped back against the mattress. It wasn't a surprise. This place probably hadn't seen a mop in decades, who knew what bacteria was all over these dusty floors. Not to mention the lack of medical attention they got here. He was honestly shocked an infection hadn't happened sooner.
He was going to need to do something about this. He couldn't just leave it and it would only get worse, but there was nothing he could do. His only hope was that these people would help him, but he didn't think he could count on that.
This was bad.
Really bad.
He hurt all over. He was both hot and cold. He felt nauseous, but was never actually sick.
Gordon knew what was happening, but any energy he'd felt to try and do something about it was gone. He was now left to endure this fate.
Fuse kept pacing the floor, and Gordon tracked him with his eyes. He felt too tired to move his head.
"You're making me dizzy," Gordon murmured, then coughed.
"We need to do something." Fuse paused in his tracks, but then he quickly marched over to the door. "Hey! We need help!"
He pounded on the door, which reverberated through Gordon's skull. He squeezed his eyes shut to try and block it out.
"You've already tried that. Didn't work."
These people didn't care. That was evident in how just the day before, when Gordon had started to feel this horrible wave wash over him, he had been forced to endure another beating, this time with bats instead of fists. It seemed they no longer cared enough to keep him alive, and were just enjoying the pleasure whilst they still had him.
"What do we do then?" Fuse spun around as he yelled, but Gordon knew he was just worried, not angry at him. "You're going to die!"
"Thanks for the sugarcoat," Gordon grunted as he tried to push himself up from the wall he'd been leaning against. He winced as the movement pulled at all his aches and wounds, and Fuse came to crouch in front of him, concern deep in his eyes. "There is one last thing we haven't tried yet."
Gordon knew it was immensely risky, and would hang on a combination of these men's stupidity and the idea that they really did not care if he died. If this didn't go to plan, they would be in huge trouble, but Fuse was right. Gordon was going to die if something wasn't done soon, and then he wouldn't be worrying about whatever punishment came for him for getting caught, because his fate would be much, much worse.
This was all they had left to do.
"I have a plan."
Fuse chewed his lip as he stared at the door. This was their one chance to put this to an end, but it was also something so risky that could end up with them both dead.
There were so many ways this could go wrong. Even now, someone could come into the room and see what they were doing.
Fuse glanced down at the still, unmoving body of his friend, and quickly fell to his knees.
He put his fingers to his wrist, but there was no pulse. He put his hand under his nose, but there was no breath.
He shot to his feet and hurried to the door.
"He's dead!" Fuse pounded his fists against the metal with all his strength. "I need help! He's dead!"
Gordon's plan was extremely risky indeed.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Fuse had asked him just a short while ago. "If we're caught… these people are not to be messed with."
"We have no choice." Gordon paused in the middle of splashing cold water on his face. "I have no choice."
He turned away from the sink to face Fuse, who was leaning in the doorway to the tiny bathroom.
"I'm sorry for dragging you into this. You don't have to help. I won't be upset with you if you don't."
His face was pale, and Fuse knew the grip he had on the edge of the sink was all that was keeping him on his feet. If he was willing to try something as drastic as this, he must be desperate.
Fuse had told him a while ago they were in this together, and he meant it.
"No, we're doing this together. You need to get out of here." He straightened. "And who knows, we may actually pull it off."
Gordon smiled in relief, and then turned back to the cold water. He was trying to reduce the heat of his fever. It wouldn't last long, but hopefully would be enough to disguise the warmth of someone still alive.
When Gordon was done, Fuse helped him limp back to his bed. The way he clung to Fuse just to walk showed the man just how much this was needed.
"I need you to tie these around my arms, high enough so they're covered by the sleeves."
As he sat down on the mattress, he picked up the two strips of fabric that he had been tearing a short while ago whilst he explained his plan to Fuse. Fuse had wondered what they were for, although he still wasn't fully clear.
"What are they for?" He asked, but still did as Gordon asked. He sat down next to the other man and rolled up one of his sleeves.
"There's an artery that runs from the shoulder to your arm," he explained as Fuse looped one piece of fabric around his armpit and began to tie a knot. "If you cut off the blood flow, then it will stop the pulse in your wrist."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Fuse paused in his movements, wondering if Gordon was going delirious as well as feverish. "Can't you like, lose your arms that way?"
"Hopefully I won't have to keep them on for long, just make sure they're tight enough. But not too tight that I can't get them off."
Fuse watched him sceptically, but if Gordon seemed fine with this, then Fuse supposed he knew what he was doing. Or he really was delirious, and Fuse was doing the complete opposite of helping him and was actually going to make this worse.
With a sigh, he pulled the strip of fabric tight and tied a knot that would hold, but wouldn't be too difficult to undo.
As he worked, he wondered how Gordon knew this kind of stuff. After he'd helped Fuse with his shoulder, he had his suspicions that Gordon probably came from some sort of medical background. That still seemed likely now, but didn't make much sense as to how someone like him could end up here. Maybe there was still more to him than Fuse realised.
Once Fuse had tied one piece of fabric around Gordon's upper arm, high enough to be hidden by the sleeve of his shirt, he moved onto the next one. Gordon flexed his hand, presumably feeling the loss of blood flow to the limb.
"This better succeed," Fuse mumbled as he worked. If Gordon was caught, then Fuse doubted he was going to see the light of day again, which was ironic as even if he stayed here, he still would not see daylight.
"Look, if this goes all wrong, I'll try my best to make them believe you had nothing to do with it. Only I should get punished."
"No, I'm not worried about myself." Fuse shook his head. "I'm worried about you getting killed."
Fuse stilled, his hands lingering on the edges of the fabric as his words caught up to him. When did he start to care so much about Gordon? He shouldn't have been so surprised, but when it came down to it, he still barely knew the man. It felt like he had only just shown up, full of an eagerness to find a way out, whilst Fuse discouraged his hope and told him to give up.
He supposed not much had changed there. Except now he was helping him, not stopping him.
He shook himself out of his thoughts, and tied the last knot.
"All done." He pulled Gordon's shirt sleeve down to cover the fabric. "But is splashing your face with cold water and cutting off your circulation going to be enough to fake your death?"
"I'm a swimmer, I can hold my breath for a while as well," Gordon added, then paused as his face fell and he slumped. "This is not a good plan at all."
Fuse snorted. "Well, it's not like we have much to work with. Let's just have everything crossed."
He stood from the mattress and looked down at his friend. Pale skin with dark bags and sunken cheeks, he already looked on the brink of death. They just had to fake the rest.
"You ready?" He asked, and after a long moment Gordon nodded. "See you on the other side."
Gordon laid down and got himself into position. As he did so, Fuse sent a nervous glance towards the door. This would be an awful time for them to find out there were cameras in their room this whole time.
He bit his lip nervously, and then moved down to check on Gordon. He couldn't feel his pulse or his breath, so he hoped that no one else could either.
He rushed over to the door and pounded on it as hard as he could.
"He's dead!"
No one came, and he had to yell some more. They had no way to know if their room was soundproof, but hopefully his thumping on the door was loud enough to come through.
It took a couple of minutes, and Fuse worried that in that time all their prep would go out the window. But they didn't have time to fix anything, as suddenly Fuse was met with the sound of the door unlocking.
He took a step back as the door swung open, and a man came charging in.
"What is it?" He had a hand on the gun in his holster as he looked at Fuse furiously, clearly displeased at him making such a ruckus.
"He's dead!" Fuse tried to act more distressed than he was actually feeling. He knew that Gordon was alright, for now at least, but he tapped into his fear of what would happen if this man knew they were lying.
The man glanced down at Gordon, who laid on the mattress looking like he had passed in his sleep. He stood there for a long moment, just watching him like he was trying to catch them out.
"How?" He eventually said, still not rushing to Gordon's side like Fuse thought he would.
"He had an infection. I called for help and no one listened."
The man sent another look to Fuse, and then slowly stepped forward and crouched down. He placed two fingers against Gordon's outstretched wrist, and Fuse held his breath.
After a moment, he moved his hand beneath Gordon's nose, and then dropped it a second later. He stayed crouched next to him for a long while, tracking his eyes over Gordon before he was ready to believe their ploy. His eyes lingered over the infected wound, and then reached out a hand.
"You could have stopped this if you just listened to me," Fuse spoke up, voicing the first thing he could think of to distract the man and draw his attention away from Gordon.
It worked, as the man froze, and then withdrew his hand. He stood up and turned to Fuse.
Fuse steeled himself for what the man would say in response, but all he did was send him a look before he headed out the door.
Fuse watched him go, and the door slammed shut behind him.
He didn't want to move from his spot in case the man came back, but he didn't know where he went. Gordon was silent as he stayed where he was too, but when Fuse sent him a glance, he saw him peek one eye open.
Did the man not believe them? Now Fuse was worried he was going to come back with some form of punishment for them, and he felt his hands start to shake. He clasped them together. He couldn't let them see him worry.
Eventually, the door burst open again, and this time the man had brought another grunt. He did all the same checks as the other had done before, and then nodded.
Whether that nod was good or bad for them, Fuse didn't know, but whatever it meant, it was enough for one of the men to step forward and grab Gordon.
He was thrown over their shoulder in a fireman's carry, and then just as swiftly as the men came in, they left, now with Gordon's limp body in tow.
Fuse watched them go, and as the door swung shut and Gordon disappeared, he hoped it wouldn't be the last time he saw the man.
pls ignore any unrealistic aspects of this I took some inspiration from sherlock XD