Chapter 115

Hotch's whole body hurt, but his head felt like it was trying to explode, and he had to wonder if he'd cracked his skull when his head had crashed into the ground. He could hear voices, but he couldn't understand what they were saying because they were too muffled by the sound of his own heartbeat thundering in his ears. He tried to swallow, but he couldn't. He mentally sighed. Just open your damn eyes, Hotchner! That's not that difficult. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't, so he tried to focus on the voices.

"We need to straighten it out."

"But moving him could hurt him even more."

"But he heals, doesn't he?"

"Yes, but he will heal easier if he's at least somewhat in the shape he supposed to be in."

"Yes, just like when you broke your arm. The doctor had to straighten it out, so the bones would heal properly."

"Alright, but you two better hold him down cause this is gonna piss him off."

"But he's unconscious."

"Is he? Are you sure about that?"

"Well, no, but he hasn't moved, hasn't made a peep, he's not even really breathing."

"Vampires don't breathe like normal humans."

"Well, if we're going to do it, we better do it before he wakes up."

"Yeah, you guys hold his shoulders down, you turn him on his side, and I'll grab his leg."

"On the count of three."

"One."

"Two."

And Hotch's eyes flew open as he shrieked. Still not understanding what was going on but not wanting to be hurt anymore, he tried to get away from the hands holding him, but that made the pain even worse and he screamed again.

"Easy, Aaron! It's just us!" was said next to his ear as the pressure increased on his chest.

"Hold him; I'm almost done!"

"Aaron! Aaron, look at me!"

But Hotch was still fighting.

Suddenly his face was grabbed as something moved right in front of him. "Look at me, Aaron! It's me Copper. I know this hurts, but it must be done!"

Hotch blinked a few times, and he couldn't believe it, but it was the faun. "Copper?" he asked as he frowned, and he relaxed back onto the ground as he stopped fighting.

Copper nodded. "Yes! You're going to be alright, but we have to do this."

"Do what?" he asked.

"This," was said and Hotch screamed again.

"It's ok, it's ok," Copper kept telling him.

"What are you doing to me?" Hotch asked as tears escaped the sides of his eyes.

"Sorry, son, but you landed on your leg messing it up pretty badly," Maxin told him as he knelt down next to him. "And we thought we should straighten it back out, so you could heal easier."

"We thought since you weren't awake that it wouldn't hurt too badly. We're so sorry," Therry told him as she rubbed his sweat soaked hair back from his forehead.

Hotch looked around him as he tried to get his breathing back under control. He couldn't believe it, but they were all there. Tucker, the dwarves, the gnomes, everyone. He closed his eyes. Am I dead or am I dreaming?

"Aaron?" Copper asked as he looked at the others.

"Maybe he's passed out again," Maxin offered.

"How?" Hotch asked as he opened his eyes and looked at the faun.

Copper frowned. "How what?"

Hotch took a breath. "I saw you. . . I couldn't see it, but it was there. It had you. It was killing you, and I tried to save you." He shook his head but that made the pain in it worse and he winced. "It took you under and you disappeared."

Copper sighed as he nodded. "Yes. It had me. I was drowning, and I passed out thinking that was going to be the end." He shrugged. "But I woke up here."

Hotch looked at Tucker. "We heard that werepion thing. We heard your screams."

Tucker smirked as he showed Hotch his bloody arm. "Damn thing chomped down on me and then dragged me here."

Hotch looked at Lenny. "The wraith?"

"Snatched me up and brought me here," the little man told him as he sat down on the ground.

"That werewolf looking thing got us, too," Benny explained as he gestured to Jenny.

"And we were running from some hideous creature that could run on the walls when the walls started shifting again, and we ended up sliding down a channel that led us here," Maxin explained. "Course ours was only a few feet in the air, not thirty feet above."

Hotch looked at the ceiling and could just make out the trap door that he'd fallen through, and he sighed.

"So what happened to you?" Dag asked him.

"I got on top of the walls to escape that dinosaur, and then the wraith attacked me, but I was too heavy for it," Hotch started to explain. "It caused me to fall back into the passageways."

Copper looked at Tucker for a second and then back to Hotch. "Wait, did you say dinosaur?"

"I think he hit his head a little too hard," Tucker said with a wince.

Hotch swallowed. "I don't know what it was, but it looked like a dinosaur, a demented, labyrinth version of a triceratops," Hotch told them and then tried to swallow again.

"Do you need a drink, son?" Maxin asked as he stood up.

"No, Aaron doesn't drink water, he. . ." Copper started.

But Hotch nodded to the older dwarf. "Please." Then he looked at Copper. "Unless it comes from that basin where that water monster lives."

Maxin laughed. "No, it's safe. We've all drank from it," he told him and then walked to the far side of the room. After a few moments, he brought back a small, metal bowl.

Therry reached out for it and then held it to Hotch's lips with one hand as she cradled his head in the other.

After drinking it down, Hotch gave her a smile. "Thanks."

She returned the smile and laid his head back down gently.

"What happened after the wraith?" Dag asked.

"The triterrortops showed back up, and I ran."

"Triterrortops?" Copper asked and then laughed. "That's perfect."

Hotch huffed. "I thought you would like that. Anyway, I hid in a small room thinking it couldn't get to me, but the opening widened, and it came in."

Dag looked up to the trap door with horror filled eyes. "Do you think it's gonna come down here?"

Hotch shook his head. "It can't. It's dead."

They all looked at him with wide eyes. "You killed a dinosaur?" Copper asked him.

Hotch shrugged. "Not with my hands." He sighed. "There was a tripwire. I used the trap against it." He had to banish the vision of the beast's legs twitching that had jumped into his mind. "And when I was finally going to try to get out of that room, I fell."

Tucker nodded as he smiled. "Well, at least we all survived even if some of us are a little worse for wear."

Hotch shook his head. "Not all of us."

Copper frowned. "What do you mean?"

Hotch groaned as he tried to move. "The goatman. He's not here."

They all looked at each other. Maxin shrugged. "Maybe that means he's still trapped."

"Yeah, at least we all made it here," Lenny put in.

"But where is here, and now what happens?" Hotch asked and then moaned as he tried to shift into a more comfortable position.

Copper sighed as he shrugged. "I don't know, but at least there aren't any monsters down here trying to kill us."

"At least not yet," Benny put in, and then they all looked around.

When Hotch tried to shift again, he had to bite back the yelp that wanted to escape, and Therry shook her head and dug into the folds of her shirt. She held something out to the vampire. "Here. This will help with the pain."

Hotch frowned. "What is it?" It looked like a crinkled up dead leaf.

"It's elthump. It grows in our caves, and we use it for pain relief," she explained.

Hotch shook his head. "I'm fine. You keep it in case you need it."

Maxin huffed. "Your leg is broke in at least three places, you got a hole in your back, you're cut and bruised all over. You are certainly not fine, son," he told him.

Hotch gave him a small smile. "I'll heal."

Maxin's brows rose. "The way I hear it is that deep healing is painful for vampires. That leg is gonna hurt a lot more before it feels better."

Hotch sighed.

"Just take it. It'll help," Therry pushed.

Jenny smiled. "You clearly need it."

Hotch frowned. "Will that even work on me?"

Therry shrugged. "Don't know, but it can't hurt you. What's the harm in trying?"

Hotch huffed and then held out his hand to accept it. "Do I just swallow it or what?"

"No, chew on it like its jacko," she explained as she placed it in his hand.

Hotch's brows furrowed even more. "Jacko?"

Tucker laughed. "Chew on it like its gum."

"Oh," Hotch said and then placed it in his mouth and started chewing on it. Within a few seconds, his face slowly contorted, and he took the elthump back out. "That's the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted."

Maxin snorted. "It's medicine, it's not supposed to taste good. If you can face a dinosaur, you can chew some elthump!"

Copper laughed.

"Shut up, Copper," Hotch uttered and stuck the wet, brown, sticky blob back into his mouth.

XXXXX

After getting the frozen man out of the freezer, Chuck, Rossi, and Sebastian watched Kahlan as she silently paced in the hallway. "Should one of you go to her?" Sebastian asked the human men in a whisper.

Chuck shook his head. "Not yet. She's trying to cool herself down, and until that happens, it's safer to keep your distance."

After a few more turns in the narrow hallway, Kahlan finally stopped and took a deep breath. When her hands finally relaxed out of the tight fists they had been in, she noticed the guys staring at her. She ducked her head. "Sorry."

"Nonsense. You have every right to be upset," Sebastian assured her.

Rossi nodded as he went to her. "And while we might not have been able to save Aaron today, we can save all these. . ." he started as he gestured to the doors around him, "well, all these whatever they are."

"And I say we start with this one," Willie offered as he stepped into the hallway with a grin and grabbed the first door handle he came to.

Kahlan moved to him and held the door closed with her hand. "Are you alright?"

He nodded. "Yes. That blood you brought offset that dead blood very quickly. Thank you."

She smiled. "No, thank you, for doing this."

He sighed. "I'm sorry Aaron wasn't here."

She nodded. "So am I, Willie, so am I."

"Let Willie open the door. You never know what's in there," Christian suggested as he walked up to them.

Kahlan nodded and stepped back, and Willie pulled on the door. The old lock wasn't a match for his strength and the light from the hallway flooded into the little room.

Kahlan looked around the young-looking vampire and then gasped. "Oh my God."

There, cowering in the back corner, was a man. He was dirty, emaciated, trembling, and chained. Around his neck was a tight collar that had four chains hooked to it that led to his wrists and ankles, and the short length of the chains didn't allow for much movement.

"Son of a bitch," she uttered under her breath as she took a step forward, and she couldn't help it, her mind flashed back to when she'd found her husband wearing a collar.

Willie stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "Don't."

"What? I am going in there!" she told him through clenched teeth.

Sebastian and Christian suddenly stood before her. "You can't."

"Why?" Rossi asked as he also joined them in the doorway.

"Because I think he's a werewolf," Willie told her.

She frowned. "And you can tell that from here?"

Willie glanced back at the man who had yet to utter a noise. "No, but he is chained with silver. Not many things would be."

She huffed as she looked at the scared man. "I don't care what he is; I am going in there!"

"He's obviously starving. He could attack you," Christian reasoned.

"I wouldn't," the man's weak voice drifted out to them. "Even if I could, I wouldn't. I know what the harvester will do to me. I will allow you to take whatever you want like the good dog I've been trained to be."

That statement made her anger flare, and she pushed her way past the vampires and into the room.