CHAPTER TWELVE
"What are you doing here?" Connors asked. He knew it was a stupid question but it was the only thing that came out. Johnson reached down and plucked Roy off the floor. Carelessly, he tossed the injured man onto the bed. It was where he wanted him anyway.
"Surprised to see me? I bet you were hoping I was still chained to that damned stove, huh? Well, you're not the only one with talents, Connors," Johnson growled. As he talked, he straightened the civilian's limbs.
"Just leave him alone, okay, Johnson? You should be trying to get as far from here as possible like the other three," Connors said. He wished he'd had the sense to keep a weapon with him. He knew what Johnson was planning on doing and he had no intentions of letting it happen. As he talked, Connors glanced around the room in the false daylight caused by multiple lightning strikes, hoping to find something, anything he could use.
"I've been waiting for this for too long to just forget about it," Johnson rumbled. He reached down and began fumbling with the man's shirt. This was going to be so much better than in that drafty, dirty old shack.
"I can't let you do that, Johnson. You know that," Connors said. He inched toward the bedside lamp. Under Johnson's rough fingers Roy began to come around again. He shifted and moaned as his body registered the pains and aches that still resided inside it.
"You're too little to stop me," Johnson said dismissively, a wicked grin spreading across his face. He'd finished opening the man's shirt. With absolutely no concern, he pulled the tape off of the man's chest. Roy hissed in pain as the tape tore at his skin and his ribs even while being not quite with it. Then Johnson turned his attention to his victim's pants.
"That's what you think," Connors muttered. He grabbed the lamp and sent it crashing into Johnson's head. Glass shattered as it made contact with his skull. But it barely fazed him as the big man roared. Knowing he didn't have anything else to use, Connors threw himself bodily at the man. The two of them went tumbling on the floor on the other side of the bed.
Johnson had the benefit of height and weight. Connors had the benefit of desperation. The two men grappled on the floor, trying to knock each other senseless.
Roy came around fully just in time to have Johnson randomly throw his arm up. The flailing limb came crashing down on his injured side. Roy couldn't suppress the scream that erupted as his entire side went up in a blaze of pain. Gasping, trying to recover, Roy tried to drag his too heavy body across the bed in an attempt to reach the door.
"This is none of your business, Connors," Johnson shouted. He was really getting tired of the other man's interference. Raising his fist, Johnson sent it arcing down toward the other man's head. Connors had enough presence of mind to shift and get his head out of the way at the last moment. Johnson bellowed in pain and frustration as his fist made contact with the unyielding floor.
Ignoring his side and everything else that hurt, Roy pulled his body up into a standing position and took the three steps to the door. He hated leaving the other man to defend himself but he also knew he wasn't going to be of any help in his current state. Opening the door, Roy stumbled out into the dark hallway beyond.
The light from the storm didn't reach within the walls of the hallway. It was completely dark. Roy was reduced to running his hands along the walls. He had no idea where he was going but the grunts and crashes from the bedroom spurred him on. Roy wasn't sure how long Connors was going to be able to hold out against the larger, stronger man. He had no intention of letting the man's sacrifice be in vein. The mere fact that he was retreating went against everything Roy believed.
Just as Roy reached the end of the hall and the living room beyond, the front door crashed open. Amid flickering flashlights and shouted warnings, Roy became aware that there were police officers behind the blinding lights. Roy stumbled, barking his all ready sore knee against a side table. The light had blinded him to his surroundings. Unable to stop his forward momentum, Roy slammed to the ground. The impact stunned him, making the world move in slow motion and sound like it was underwater.
Roy saw the policemen burst into the cabin, their flashlights coming to fall on him. Then the lights shifted away to somewhere above him. There were shouted words that he couldn't quite hear. The police officers strode forward, their guns drawn and aimed. The images that were reaching his addled brain were becoming more and more confusing. Roy wasn't sure if the policemen were covering him or aiming at him.
The storm continued unabated outside the open door sending crazy shadows across the floor. Roy tried to get up on all fours but his body failed him. All he managed to do was roll over onto his back so that he had a better view of what was transpiring around him.
The policemen had their guns aimed squarely at Johnson. The bear of a man had come barrelling down the hallway, intent on his prize. He stopped on a dime upon seeing the flashlights and police uniforms. It took him a total of three seconds to make his decision. Better to die than go back to jail. Roaring like a mad animal, the huge man rushed toward the clustered police. Several guns went off simultaneously, slamming the man in the chest. The strength of the impacts stopped him dead in his tracks. Vaguely stunned, the big man took a step or two backwards. He placed a hand over the blood stain that was spreading across his shirt in several places. Then he slowly crumpled to the ground.
"Roy?" Looking around sluggishly, the senior paramedic could have sworn he heard his name being called. He knew he was reacting to everything that had happened and especially to the head injury he'd sustained. As a paramedic, Roy knew the effects and recognized the symptoms but that did little to help him process what was going on. Then Johnny was hovering over him in the flickering lights.
"Johnny?" Roy said, his voice barely heard in the cacophony of sounds of the storm and the police men searching the house. Blinking his blue eyes a few times, Roy tried to determine if it really was his partner or it he was imagining the whole situation in a fever dream. Cool fingers brushed across Roy's forehead. Even in his confusion Roy could feel the tenderness and caring in the touch.
"Yeah, Roy, we finally found you," Johnny said. He was appalled by what he was finding by the light of his flashlight. Beside him, Mike was kneeling as well, adding his light to help Johnny do a more thorough exam. The engineer tried to not show the rage and revulsion he was feeling. For the first time in his life, Mike Stoker was glad to know that someone was dead.
"Where's Connors?" Roy asked as he struggled to sit up. His ribs and Johnny's hands brought him up short, forcing him to lie back down on the carpet.
One of the policemen had found the light switch and tried it only to find that the power was out in the cabin. That determined, another officer began to pile firewood in the fireplace. They weren't going anywhere until this storm passed.
"Who's Connors, Roy?" Johnny asked. He'd pulled out his first aid kid and was working on cleaning up Roy's multiple wounds. He'd seen his friend's reaction to trying to sit up. In the increased light from the now roaring fire he could see a dark area on Roy's right side. He was going to deal with that once he had the bleeding stopped on Roy's other injuries.
"The other inmate. He was in the bedroom, trying to keep Johnson away from me," Roy said. Now that he was finally safe, the senior paramedic had begun to tremble. The trembling quickly turned to all out shaking. Johnny wished he could do more for his friend but there was only so much to be done.
"Yeah, we found him," the officer in charge said. Two of his men dragged the unconscious man into the living room and placed him on the floor. "Looks like he took quite a beating too."
"He was trying to protect me, Johnny," Roy said, his voice trembling with the shaking of his body. As Johnny watched, tears gathered in the corners of Roy's eyes. Flashes of memories of what had happened in the last day and a half were flashing through his mind. Thoughts of what could have happened weren't far behind. Roy's shaking got worse.
"Is he going to be okay?" Mike asked with concern. In all the years he'd worked with the senior paramedic, he'd never seen him in this state. It was very unnerving. Mike was beginning to question Roy's state of mind. Not that he really blamed him.
"Yeah," Johnny replied. He forced himself to ignore his friend's emotional stress long enough to finish his examination. He knew that the damage was superficial for the most part and he'd cleaned it up as well as he could. The internal damage, the ribs and the head injury, were things he couldn't do anything about. Now that he knew his partner and friend wasn't going to die from his injuries, Johnny gently wrapped his blanket and the discarded one from the couch around Roy. The shaking didn't stop.
Roy had his eyes closed, trying to block out the sounds around him. He didn't seem to be able to deal with the police men's presence as well as that of Johnson's body and Connors lying just a few feet away.
"Do you want to check this guy or do you want us to do it?" one of the officers asked. They'd all been trained in basic first aid in case they were the first ones on an accident scene. Johnny held an internal debate for a few moments. The last thing he felt like doing was leaving Roy now that he'd found him. But, the other man deserved the best care Johnny could muster for him. Sighing, Johnny got to his feet and headed over.
Johnny paused before he'd taken two steps. He turned to Mike who was still kneeling beside Roy. "Stay with him. We don't need him going into shock," Johnny instructed.
"Sure thing," Mike responded. He had no intention of leaving Roy's side. Johnny was the paramedic. He could deal with the injured. The only thing Mike had to do was be here for his friend.
Not knowing what else to do, Mike caught hold of Roy's nearest hand. The paramedic didn't seem to lie being covered all that well, he had both of his hands on top of the blankets. Roy hated the feeling of confinement the blankets were giving him.
Instinctively, Roy tightened his fingers around Mike's. Knowing that the engineer was nearby and watching over him helped Roy push some of the other distractions away. The shaking subsided slightly. It hurt like hell but Roy couldn't stop it.
"You're okay now, Roy," Mike said in a low voice. He needed to know Roy could hear him but not the other people in the room. He'd be embarrassed if he knew they'd heard what he was saying. "We're going to get you out of here and back home where you belong."
"Thank you," Roy breathed. Now that he knew he was safe, exhaustion came crashing down on him. Even as he gave into the gentle folds of sleep, Roy kept a grip on Mike's hand. He needed to know that he was there, watching over him.