Survival

Chapter 14: Recuperation

There was darkness surrounding him, terror lapping at his heart and strange grey-blue eyes staring into his soul. North woke with a start. What had that been? He had not had a nightmare in thousands of years. With Sandy around he had known nothing but peace in his sleep. Dreams leading to ideas for new toys, magical Christmas mornings experiences, and sometimes memories of his past filled with wonder. He had never dreamed of those eyes before.

With a groan he rolled over onto his side. The bed was comfortable, but not familiar. It had the faint smell of ginger as well as disinfectant. Infirmary. Why was he here of all places? With a sudden jolt, everything clicked back into place. Jack! Why had he looked so strange? And more disconcerting, why had he attacked and impaled him in the back?

Rising to a sitting position, Nicholas St. North took in his surroundings. There were no Yeti's in sight. Sandy was snoozing on a chair, Bunnymund was curled up in a nest of blankets next to window so the light could warm his fur, and Tooth was just rousing to the land of the conscious. "Tooth! Are you alright? What happened to you?"

"North! Oh, North. I'm so glad you're alright. You took a terrible hit! Should you be sitting already? Doesn't it hurt?! I can't believe we took this much damage."

"Slow down. What happened to you?" North was realizing that Tooth was in a bed with bandages along her back. Had she been attacked as well?

"Jack. I don't know what happened to him, but Pitch snuffed out the lights and Jack took out one of my wings. Bunny grabbed the two of us and brought us back using the tunnels. I passed out on the way here. There was so much blood. What was wrong with Jack? We aren't healing him anymore and he looked terrible! How could Pitch do that? I mean, I know he's evil, but Jack is still a child! This goes beyond just spreading fear and giving nightmares!"

"Tooth, please breath."

With a giant heave, she sucked in a much needed breath. The air seemed to calm her down slightly.

"Now, what 'appened to Jack?"

Before Tooth could voice what she remembered, Bunny began to stir. His sensitive ears could not ignore the twittering of the Tooth Fairy speaking 100 miles an hour. With a groan, he sat up on his haunches to observe the newly recovered Guardians. "North! Tooth! What the bloody gutser are you two doin' sittin' up!"

"Bunny! You awake! I offer fruit cake, but I no see any."

"North! Strewth! 'Ave you no idea what you've put us through? You almost kicked the bucket! I think you 'ave a kangaroo loose in the top paddock mate if all you are thinking about is bodgy fruit cake been 'er who knows how long." With that, the Aussie rose the rest of the way to take stock of North and Tooth's healing injuries.

Poor tooth could only follow half of the Pooka's conversation. The more irritated or stressed he became, the more his accent became pronounced. "How long have we been out Aster?"

"Well, after you took that 'it, everything was all over the place like a mad woman's breakfast. I did the first thing I could think of and got us out of there before we took more damage. Been two days now. Sandy an' I been pretty drained healing you sad sacks."

"Two days? Not so bad. Could 'ave been worse. Twas close, mind you, but could have been worse. Did either of you get a good look at Jack? It was dark, but something was definitely wrong with our little friend. I saw it with my won eyes, and I feel it, in my belly!"

Jack had been bored out of his mind hiding in the shadowed corner of the ceiling. For two days he had remained frozen watching the four sleep on and off for two days straight. He could not afford to close his eyes. He had is orders. These fools were so boring to watch. Eventually though, the two on the beds began to move and converse. 'Finally! Something might happen he could actually report to Pitch on other than: "They slept."'

His ears perked as that giant rabbit entered the conversation. He agreed with the Pooka wholeheartedly. North definitely was a screw loose. When the discussion turned to him though, his heart started to beat faster of it's own accord. It seemed he subconsciously wanted them to figure out what had happened. Wanted to be free of their blessed master Pitch. Silly Jack, life was so much better now! He was actually wanted! Now he will be able to see the Guardian's true feelings about him from above. He was about to have absolute proof of their intentions to just use him and nothing more. Closing reassured eyes, Jack settled in for the unveiling.

At this point, Sandy awoke to impromptu conference being held without him. Drowsily rubbing his eyes, he took notice of the improved health of the two formerly downed Guardians. Smiling, he waved at each in turn.

"Sandy! Thank you so much for helping up! Are you alright? We were just talking about Jack."

Nodding with a thumbs up, he reassured her of his uninjured state. A shiver ran up his spine though. Something in the room felt off. There had been a dark undercurrent present since their arrival, but he had passed it off a dread and concern for his fellow companions. But now with their health reassured, it still lingered in his peripherals. Best keep on his toes.

"North mate, you were closest. What did 'e look like?"

"Dreadful. His hoodie was gone and I could see shackles. Nightmare sand with ancient ruins upon them. 'E was covered in blood. I do not know how he moved as he did. Seemed to be 'aving trouble breathing but moved like 'e was possessed. Also, he looked funny. Skin looked like Pitch's an' his eyes. His eyes were not his. No compassion, no spark of good nature, just dark conviction. 'E was not in 'is right mind."

"Well that much is obvious mate. Did you hear that laugh? Me spine is still tingling from it!"

"Ay. Tis true. 'Is smile was wrong too. Like a hyena closing in on wounded prey."

"Well, what are we going to do? We have to help him! He is obviously hurt and Pitch has done something to him! Can we track him down somehow? I can't even stand the thought of Pitch keeping him in the dark for one more day. He is so bright and full of kindness! He saved us once, now it's our turn to save him."

At this, Sandy waved at them to get their attention. The images of an egg, tooth, sleigh and a sand swirl formed in sequence above his head. They were individual and distinct representations of each of the older guardians. After, a snowflake formed in the center and all the other symbols gravitated to it, enclosing it in a circle.

"You said it Sandy. As much as it pains me to say, the little blighter has brought us closed together. We aren't complete without 'im now. Not only is he the one who knows most about ankle biters, but he helps our centers. We are all stronger for knowin' 'im and it's time to return the favor."

With that said, the temperature in the room started to fluctuate slightly. Funnily enough, it felt reminiscent to when Jack was confused. Too bad the dag was not here. They needed to work on locating him first so they could help.

Sandy noticed the fluctuations as well. He immediately recognized them for what they were, but unlike Bunny, did not blow them off. Jack was here. Somewhere in this room if the intensity was anything to go by. Raising his hand, he motioned to the others to be quiet and still as he sent out thin, imperceptible ribbons of sand to search.

Under he beds: nothing. Outside the window: nothing. In the closet of supplies: nothing. With each area nullified, his tension grew more warry. When they reached the ceiling he could feel the cold intensify. He was getting close.

Jack was trying not to hyperventilate as his mine started to be conflicted. Just beneath the surface, he could feel Jack's excitement over the Guardian's pronunciations grow. It was annoying. 'Shut up! They just want to pay the debt, nothing more. There is no real sentiment here. You'll see.' With his eyes shut while his inner turmoil built, he did not notice the lull of the conversation nor the gentle shifting of sand until they were converging upon his position. 'No!'

With a mighty surge, Sandy raised both arms and poured as much golden sand as possible into restraining the shadowed creature hidden in the rafters. He tugged with all his might and the dark figure crashed down into the middle of the infirmary floor for all to see.

"Jack!"

A/N Yay for Aussie slang! Thank you tjw242 for giving me a list of some to incorporate. If anyone else know Australian slang, or Russian slang, please give me some ideas. In the film, the only slang I hear North use is the name of Russian composers...