Yay! Another chapter! And guess what? After this chapter, I will be up to 100 reviews! Woot woot! I feel so accomplished. Well, now I'm off to watch Big Bang Theory or perhaps Dexter... please review so that I have something to look at later. :D
Kaoru flinched away at the sharp sound of the gun and the bullet whizzed somewhere nearby but Kaoru ran blindly faster, dropping the forgotten flashlight onto the tracks with a clank. His harsh breaths were loud to Kaoru's ears and the footsteps behind him were deafening. Kaoru raced along the gently curving tunnel until finally he saw Haruhi's candle up ahead.
Another gunshot erupted in the tunnel, ricocheting off the wall somewhere behind Kaoru. "Haruhi, run!" Kaoru screamed down to the shadowy figure. "Run!"
"Kaoru?" She called back, jumping to her feet.
"RUN!" Kaoru cried, stumbling against the tracks. He slammed to his knees just as her figure took off in the opposite direction. Kaoru silently willed her on as he pushed himself from his knees. But the man had caught up and a bullet exploded through the passageway; this time it didn't miss.
The bullet lodged itself deep into Kaoru's right leg, causing it to give out right beneath him. Kaoru fell to into the ground face first with a pained gasp, smacking his skull against the hard concrete. His leg was burning, on fire. Kaoru bit back a scream as he curled into himself; his head throbbed, pulsing and aching. Tears stung at his bleary eyes.
"Gotcha," the man chortled victoriously. Kaoru didn't even notice his approach, but suddenly his hands were being lifted away from their clutches on his leg. He opened his eyes to see them stained with crimson blood that matched the bloody patch on his torn jeans. Blinking rapidly, Kaoru tried to stay aware of his surroundings.
The man grasped Kaoru by the armpits and heaved him backward; painfully grating Kaoru's wounded leg across the rough concrete. Kaoru cry of anguish was animalistic. This was the worst pain he had been in his whole life.
"What happened here?" A voice cried from somewhere behind Kaoru and he was dropped carelessly against the pavement. "Who is that?"
"Help me with him, will ya?" the first commanded above Kaoru. "Or go check out what's with the light down there."
"Okay," the second replied.
Slowly, the first man began dragging Kaoru down the long expanse of the tunnel. It was torture feeling his wound scrape against the stone. His whole leg was wet with blood. Kaoru wanted to pass out, he did, but his mind wouldn't let him. Instead, Kaoru felt every inch.
By the time the man dropped to the ground by a small fire, Kaoru was panting breathlessly between clenched teeth. He groaned and rolled so that his weight was off the throbbing injury.
"You shot another one?" a third voice questioned beyond the heated, flickering light.
"Yeah, well, you can never be too careful. All of the last ones had the Red Plague and I will bet you anything that this kid is just the same."
"He doesn't look like he has it," the third countered.
There was silence after that. Kaoru didn't know how long he stared emptily and numbly at the swirling fire, but it was long after when the second man returned. "I found one backpack full of supplies. The boy's companion took off and she's long gone."
"You hear that?" the first man laughed, nudging Kaoru with his steel-toed shoe. "Your girlfriend up and abandoned you."
"Leave him alone," the third said sternly, pushing the first man aside. Suddenly he squatted down by the limp red-head, staring questionably into Kaoru's amber gaze. Kaoru didn't move. "Can you hear me, son?" the man asked.
Kaoru's eyes flitted to the man's face. His eyes brows were knitted in worry and his head was tilted to the side. He looked kind enough, so Kaoru nodded, rubbing his check against the ground.
"Good, good. What is your name?"
"Kaoru," he barely whispered.
But it didn't seem to matter because the man swept quickly onto his next question, "Do you have the Red Plague?"
Kaoru shook his head. "No… I'm immune."
"Did he just say what I think he said?" the third questioned the others.
"How is he still alive?" the second wondered aloud.
"Let's stitch him up," the third said suddenly, moving quickly to Kaoru's side. Kaoru flinched away but the man yanked on his leg nonetheless. "I'm flipping you over kid to get a look at that wound," he stated, roughly flipping Kaoru onto his stomach. A whimpering gasp escaped Kaoru's lips. "Grab me the tweezers."
Suddenly a cold metal was being shoved into Kaoru's wounded leg. He screeched as it prodded against his raw skin, burning him from the inside out. Hands were suddenly pressed on his shoulders and legs, keeping him from thrashing. Tears poured from the young Hitachiin's face.
"Alright the bullet is out," one of them said above Kaoru's crying. "Now comes the worst part."
At those words, Kaoru began to thrash harder against the arms. They were going to stitch him up here and now? With no anesthesia? A cold liquid trickled onto Kaoru's bleeding wound and Kaoru cried out, mumbling Hikaru's name as his mind pierced in a white hot heat.
The stitches were horrifying. Kaoru felt every stab into his sensitive skin with the bloody needle. He endured his leg being pulled back together, piece by piece. It was pure torture. And when it was over, the pain dulled but it did not disappear. Kaoru's mind swam in agony.
But just as the men pulled away from their handy work, the distant wailing of the sirens started up from above ground. The three men glanced around warily. "What does that mean?" the first questioned.
"We should go see," the second reasoned. "It could be help."
They jumped to their feet, stepping around the red-head on the subway floor. "What are we going to do about the kid?" the third asked.
"Leave him," the first replied. "Someone else will find him."
Yeah, they'll find me… and kill me, Kaoru thought.
"Grab his backpack, we may need it," the first continued. And soon they were gone.
They had left in such a hurry. Kaoru stared blankly at the dwindling fire as the siren blazed on in the distance. Why did they bother stitching me up if they were just going to leave like that? They left me for dead.