The Doctor was the first to blink, ripping his gaze from the place where the shaman had been, and returning it to the man lying on the ground. His senses returned to him in a rush as he noted the shivering in the body before him. Worried, he pulled off his jacket and placed it over the naked flesh, concealing his friend's nudity and protecting him from the chill rain.
His abrupt movement seemed to jerk the others out of their passivity, and in moments they had lifted the unconscious man and were carrying him back to the house. Quatremain's home had been destroyed in a bomb blast, but there had been other buildings nearby; guest houses, and servants' quarters, though the people had deserted them not long ago.
The darkened skies continued to release an onslaught of rain, the clouds thundering and lightning flashing. Yet the storm was muted, almost gentle; nothing like the air-tearing crashes and blinding flashes of light that had accompanied Alan's . . . revival.
But he was still unconscious.
His friends gently cared for him, trying at the same time to regain control. Tom, having belatedly accepted his mentor's death, and actually having witnessed Quatremain's last breath, was locked in a tumult of feelings. Jekyll didn't need to know the boy well to read the shaky denial of hope in his every movement.
Skinner, whose presence was for once silent, was mostly untroubled with the strange turn of events. He'd processed it all with the swift but wary acceptance necessary for survival as a thief. It did not necessarily follow that acceptance preceded trust, however. The invisible resolved to bide his time; to discover if Alan had truly returned, or if this was just some farce. But more and more he was finding himself believing that when the man woke up, they would discover Alan within him. Though he barely knew what the word meant, he'd sensed something almost. . . miraculous, in the strange events they had witnessed.
Nemo's patience was vast as the oceans he claimed as home. Waiting was nothing new to him. So he would bide his time as the thief did, wait and see if the man who was now younger than him in all appearances would turn out to be the friend they all remembered. He had sought out solitude to pray to Kali, the goddess of death. He was yet waiting to see if it was actually his friend who had returned before thanking her for his reappearance in life.
As for Jekyll - once they had returned to the house, and he and Harker had taken the man into their charge. They had no time to wonder about what had happened. The two doctors were too busy, at first, caring for him. As Jekyll dried him down and dressed him, Harker carefully examined him. After half an hour, they had him clothed and in bed, and had determined that his unconsciousness was simply a deep sleep, from which he could wake at any time. It was best to let him do so on his own; which meant the League would continue to wait. There were no scars on his body, and as far as she could tell, Harker knew him to be hale. Jekyll also believed that they had gotten him inside and cared for before he could contract an illness, and his relief was almost palpable.
But now there was nothing for it but to wait.
The knife, flipping over and over in the corner of the room, was starting to get on his nerves.
"Would you stop that?" came an irritated voice. Tom was glaring at the direction of the invisible man, hand resting not-so-subtly near the pistol at his hip.
A snort greeted him. "No." The bladed edge caught light from the storm, flashing it into the room.
"It is less than wise to irritate one's companions in a time of stress."
Skinner backed off, wary of inciting Nemo's ire. The Captain had been remarkably calm, but Jekyll noted that the pages of the book in his lap had gone unturned for quite some time.
The silence lasted for only a moment.
"Do you think it's really him?"
A raspberry erupted from Skinner's corner. "Don't be daft. Who else could it be?" Jekyll knew bravado when he heard it.
"The realm of Kali is mysterious, and the whims of the goddess are not to be understood by humans," Nemo replied. "It is possible the Alan we knew is dead forever. It is possible that he has returned to us. Until he wakes, Kali holds her secrets."
Tom gave Nemo a wary look. "Right."
A smothered noise found its way to Jekyll's keen ears, originating from the invisible man. Whatever Skinner thought of that, he was keeping to himself. Probably for fear of Nemo's retribution.
Silence, uncomfortable and prickly, descended once more.
Jekyll couldn't stand it any longer. "I'll go see if Mina needs any help."
"With what?" he heard the low, invisible grumble as he left the room. The door didn't quite close fast enough to cut off the rest of Skinner's statement. "He's dead to the world."
At those words, Jekyll couldn't repress a shiver.