Stein carefully unwrapped the bandages he put on Gary's wounds the night before. When he had arrived at the infirmary in the morning to check on his condition, the bandages were soaked in red, and Garry had been choking on his fluids. Marie and Sid watched with agony as each bandage was ripped off. The cuts didn't look any better then before.
"This is absolutely disgusting," Marie said, covering her face. She then opened her fingers and peeked through them.
"Then why are you watching?" Sid asked. His skin looked bluer then it already was, and his stomach was queasy. There was a knock at the door. Stein was still concentrated on Garry as he said, "If you don't like watching this, then do something else. And that something else could be answering the door, no?" Marie and Sid aced to answer he door, and they both grabbed the handle.
"Please, let me get it!" Marie said.
"Heck no!" Sid retorted, "I get queasy when I see blood!" Marie rolled her eyes.
"Oh please, you're already dead!" she barked, pushing Sid out of the way. She blew a strand of yellow-orange hair from her face before opening the door.
"Oh, hello kids! Come to see him?" Marie asked as Maka and Soul walked in, stepping over Sid, wh lay on the floor.
"That would be great, thanks" Maka said. Stein's back was to them, his figure obscuring Garry's form that sat on the table. His feet almost touched the ground when he sat on the operating table. Shoes pounding on the floor, Stein walked over to his desk, revealing Garry. Soul grimaced at the sight of him. Garry's body was tall and skinny, his skin deathly pale due to the loss of blood. The wounds on his face wet still red and raw looking.
"Wow, she sure did a job with you," Soul said as he walked closer to inspect him even further. Garry was silent, a forlorn look in his eyes.
"Soul!" Maka scolded him.
'So, how long are you gonna look like Batman's arch nemesis?" Soul asked jokingly. Maka punched his arm, "Ow! Maka!"
"I told you!" Maka warned. Garry's hand searched the area, his eyes looking for something.
"Proffessor Stein? Maka asked. Stein didn't look up from the papers he was working on.
'What is it?" he said, sounding almost bored. Maka gestured to Garry.
"I think he's looking for something," she explained.
"What is it you need, dude?" Soul asked Garry. With his fingers, Garry made the shape of a square in the air. Soul nodded as if he understood- which he didn't.
"A square?" he asked. Garry shook his head and went to open his mouth, then quickly shut it as pain seared in the nerves of his face. The cuts looked as if they were about to rip open.
"Yeah, bad idea, buddy," Stein said as he bought his work over. He shook the blue ballpoint pen he was writing with to get more ink out, and muttered "Crappy pen." Looking up, he asked, "So whaddya need?" Garry pointed at Stein.
"Me?" Stein asked, "I've been here the entire time." Garry shook his head, pointing a Stein's hand- specifically the one that held the pen. Stein held it up, "This?" Garry nodded, then pointed to the paper.
"Pen and paper?" Maka asked. Garry nodded.
"Marie, can we get a pen and some paper for Garry?" Stein yelled over his shoulder. Marie jumped up excitedly, knocking over the chair int eh process, "And Sid?" Stein said, Sid grunted from his spot on the floor.
"Get up," he commanded and with a grunt, the zombie heaved himself upright. Marie, with pen and paper in hand, ran over, and dropped everything as she tripped over Sid as he started getting up. Papers fluttered silently and the pen clattered to the floor. Picking herself up, she gathered the items and dusted of her black and yellow dress.
"Here you go," Marie said as she handed the paper and pen to Garry, "and I'm Marie by the way. I didn't have a chance to introduce myself earlier." At the mention of her name, Garry's eyes went wide. Oh, shit, Garry thought, gotta get out! She's fucking here! With a crazed loo in his eyes, he jumped from the table, knocking over glass bottles, vials, and paperworks in the process. The vials shattered when it hit the floor.
"Shit!" Stein yelled, "Sid come on! Grab him!" Garry was running towards the zombie frantically, peeking over his shoulder at Marie, who stood there, frozen with terror. Her eyes were wide and filled with tears. With a light flex of his muscles, he jumped the rest of the way to the door and threw it open. The wood hit the wall with a loud bang.
"After him! Let's go!" Stein rushed Maka and Soul out the door as he ran with Sid.
"Be careful!" Marie shouted after them, stepping carefully around broken glass. Maka and Soul were struggling to keep up as they ran. Stein and Sid were way ahead of them, Garry even further away.
"Do you think….." Soul was panting, "we should…just…..leave this to them?" Maka blew her hair out of her face.
"Let's just follow them, see where they go," Maka suggested. Soul groaned.
"But…. I'm so…. tired!" he panted, wiping sweat from his forehead. His feet were sore from running, and his arms were starting to get tired.
Garry ran wildly through the halls of the school. Where the fuck am I?! he thought as he raced through dark corridors. He watched the walls intently as he ran, ready to jump in case a hand shot out at him. Am I still in the gallery? Was i never really rescued? He could hear voices shouting for him.
"Hey! Come back!"
"Stop! We don't want to hurt you!" Garry sped up, scanning the ceiling for anything that might swing down on him. He gulped as he noticed blades line the ceilings, sharp and slick. Will they come down? he thought, Gotta go faster! The heels of his shoes pounded the red carpet on the floor, leaving muffled footprints on his trail. Skidding to slow down, he turned another corner. There were no windows on the wall for him to signify if it was day or night. Everything was pitch black as he ran, like a blind man in a lion's den, unaware of what could damage him, injure him, kill him. He looked around, seeing nothing but blackness. Squinting, he ran faster, the voices getting softer. Slowing to a jog, he used the wall to support himself. He panted as he tried catching his breath. The cuts at his mouth stung as he opened his mouth to suck in sweet, fresh air. He felt the warm substance drip down from his cuts on either side of his mouth and dribble until it fell off his chin. Wobbling, he tried to continue running. His chest heaved as he tried to regain his momentum.
At the end of the corridor, he heard a small click, and there was a small pool of light spilling onto the carpet in front of an open door. An exit! Garry thought, please, please, be an exit! Reaching out, he ran for the light, his eyes in pain from squinting so much. He could almost taste the freedom on his tongue….
"Hey, who wants to come with me to get Soul and Maka?" he heard a voice ask from the light. A shadow splayed on the floor as a figure stepped out into the hallway. Wearing all black, except for small white squares on his shoulders and three white stripes in his hair, Garry couldn't make out the person. Skidding to a top, he put a hand to his face. His fingers came away sticky and warm. Taking a step, he lurched his body forward. The stone on the wall felt cool, rough beneath his fingertips. The person turned, then suddenly jumped when they saw him.
"Hello?" the person called, "who is that? Is that Soul?" Garry panicked as he heard footsteps- the person was coming closer. He froze where he stood, unsure of what to do.
"Kid?" came another vocie- A girl's voice, Garry thought as she then stepped out ingot eh hallway as well, "Is there someone out there?"
"Tsubaki, yes!" said Kid, "I believe the person is over there," he pointed a finger right at Garry, "It might be Soul. He won't answer though." Tsubaki laughed, a high pitched noise.
"Come on, Soul, stop joking," Tsubaki called down the hall, "You and Maka should come and join us! The food is almost gone!" He heard them come closer, their footsteps loud. Warm blood dripped off his fingers as he took a step towards them. He felt sweat drip from his forehead, stinging as it dripped into his cuts. Tsubaki and Kid were closer now, probably a foot away. Would they recognize him? Tsubaki reached a hand out in front of her, her pale skin shining in the dark.
"Come on, guys, stop playing around!" she said as her fingers grabbed at the air, then found his hand. Her fingers closed around his, "Your hand feels cold, Soul," she said, "let's get you two warmed up, come on!" Obediently, Garry let Kid and Tsubaki lead him to the room. Her fingers rubbed his hand where it was sticky with blood.
"Soul…?" she asked. Garry was silent. Who's Soul? Garry thought as they turned abruptly and he was emerged in more darkness, the only form of light the television screen. Tsubaki took her hand away, looking at the redness on her fingers, "Are you okay? Is this blood?" Kid swift grabbed Tsubaki's fingers, then grabbed Garry's hand, holding them next to each other.
"Tsubaki, grab a flashlight," Kid demanded. With her free hand, she bent down and searched the floor until she felt the cold metal between her fingers. She picked it up and handed it to Kid. With a click, a small circle of artificial light rested on their hands.
"Soul, your hand looks kinda…." Kid trained the flashlight on Garry's fingers, "big. Did you like, magically grow overnight?" Garry didn't answer. Please don't put that in my face, he thought. Kid dropped Tsubaki's hand, and it fell limp at her side. Kid tightened his grip on Garry's arm, feeling for his wrist as he drew the flashlight up his arm, finding the sleeve of a blue coat. Kid squinted as he peered closer at the frayed cuff.
"This is not your varsity jacket, Soul," Kid said, trailing the flashlight up higher to find pale skin, a thin body peeking out from a green tank top covered with muck. Kid's eyes widened.
"You're not Soul! Tsubaki, get the others! This isn't Soul!" Kid sounded a bit surprised as the flashlight flew to Garry's face, revealing the jagged scratches, the smiley-face shaped cuts at his mouth, freshly opened, dripping with blood. A hand flew to Tsubaki's mouth. She felt as if she was about to gag.
"Kid, where did the others go?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"To get more food and stuff…" Kid's voice trailed off as Tsubaki ran from the room. Garry shielded his face as best he could with his other hand, sinking to his knees on the floor at Kid's feet