It took a while, but Donald managed to lug Reddington to where he had seen from the tree. He swore mentally and felt the glare that Red was giving him when they saw that it was just a dirt road. Before the other man could complain, he turned and started walking down the road. It had to lead to somewhere, didn't it?

"Great work, Donald." Red stated sarcastically. "We get to walk even farther."

"You don't have to bitch about it." Donald said, already hating that they were out in the sun without the trees to block the light. He also hated having to virtually carry this bastard, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was his fault. If he hadn't left Red alone and tied up, he might not have gotten attacked. Although, the sprained ankle was his own damn fault.

"Oh, I think I do. I'm in pain, handcuffed, and I'm swapping sweat with an incompetent FBI Agent who got us both run of the road by a hick drug dealer." Reddington stated getting a quick glare from Donald.

"If I'm so incompetent, why did you get arrested by me and why haven't you gotten away yet?" Ressler snapped causing Red to look away from him. Donald couldn't help the thought, 'Take that, bitch!'.

They walked in silence for hours. Finally, they saw a building up ahead. Donald had picked up the pace causing Red to grunt in pain.

"Take it easy! I've only got one leg and a brain that's working while you've just got two legs working." Red insulted causing Donald to glare at him again and yank him forward. "Bastard," Raymond grunted when he felt a bolt of pain shoot through his leg.

When they got close enough, they saw that the lone building was a convenience store. They walked inside, and Red noted that it was just as hot inside as it was out. That meant either the air conditioner wasn't working or the power had been out for a while. Donald flipped the light switch but nothing happened.

"Power's out." Donald stated causing Red to roll his eyes.

"No shit, dumb ass." Red muttered. Donald lifted the handcuff chain up and over his head before pushing Red down on the bench behind him. Red glared up at him but stretched out his injured leg in front of him.

"I'm gonna find the owner and see if we can use their cell phone." Ressler said before turning away. He walked over to the back of the store and opened the door. His hopes sank when he saw what was on the other side. There was a large pool of blood but no body with it. He felt his stomach twist when he was hit by the thought that the killer might still be there.

"Owner's dead." said a voice in his ear.

"Jesus!" Ressler shouted as he slammed his back into the door frame. Red raised an eye brow.

"Is a little blood all it takes to make you jumpy?" He asked leaning his weight on the cane that he had found under the bench. His best guess was that it had been laid there while someone was taking a break but had been forgotten when the owner got up to leave.

"Just go sit down. We'll start walking again after a while." Donald instructed and Red rolled his eyes. He walked over to one of the freezers, that was no longer cool, and opened it. With a little difficulty, he reached in and grabbed a bottle of water without having to let go of the cane. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting some water. I happen to like being hydrated." Red stated and raised his eyebrow at Donald's glare. "What?" He asked as the other man put his hands on his hips.

"That's stealing." Donald replied causing Red to stare at him in disbelief.

"Agent Ressler, no one has been out here for at least a week. No one wants this junk. We should take advantage of that while we can."

"Is that how you justify killing and robbing people?"

"This isn't the same thing! You can't tell me that aren't thirsty or hungry enough to take something out of here." Red said and Donald's stomach gave a treacherous growl. He clamped his hand over his stomach and grimaced. "And I'm sure that there's some sort of medical supplies in here."

Ressler chewed his lower lip and ran a hand through his hair. He looked around before finally giving in and grabbing a water bottler from the freezer. He ignored that smug look on Red's face that said that he'd won.

Both men went and sat down before uncapping the bottles and taking a drink. Red downed about a fourth of his bottle. He hadn't realized he was that thirsty. Then, he glanced over at Donald's bottle and saw only a sip had been taken. He raised and eyebrow and looked up to see that the agent looked sick.

"Ressler, you realize, at some point, you'll have to swallow, don't you?" Red asked and Ressler shook his head. Raymond sighed before taking another drink. He heard Donald finally swallow the sip of water and rolled his eyes. "Took you long enough,"

"It tastes like guilt." Donald muttered. And people told Red that he was dramatic.

"Why don't we look for some disinfectants or bandages?" Red asked and Donald nodded. They got up and roamed the various isles until they found what they were looking for. They exchanged their makeshift bandages for real ones after they used the disinfectants which let Red let out a sigh of relief. This meant that if they had to keep going for another week, he wouldn't have to worry about losing a limb.

"Who do you think killed the owner?" Donald asked as he tightened the bandage on his chest.

"How would I know?" Red replied and Donald shrugged. He reached over and grabbed one of the various canned foods from the shelf and a can opener. He glanced up when Donald stood.

"I'm going to find a bathroom." He stated before walking off. It wasn't like Red was in any condition to run away.

It wasn't until Ressler was out of sight that Red heard the pick up truck pull up in front of the gas station. He watched as a man got out of the driver's seat and walked towards the entrance. Red stared at the cane that the man carried. It looked like something else.

"Is that a... oh shit."

Donald opened another door and looked inside. Yet again, it wasn't the bathroom. He sighed and kept going. He opened the next door and froze. This was the bathroom alright, but it was also virtually a morgue. There were bodies cut apart and spread around the room. Blood stained ever inch of the floor.

The color drained from Ressler face as he back away and tried to keep himself from throwing up. They had to leave.. He couldn't stay here.

Red looked around quickly in search of something to help him. He wasn't about to let himself be killed by a man with an ax. That was NOT how Raymond Red Reddington would let his life end.

His options were limited. There were no weapons that he could use. So, he'd have to make due with something that could be used to beat the approaching man. He had this cane but doubted that it weighed enough to do any real damage. His options were now down to canned food and the can opener.

The man was getting closer by the second. Red grabbed the heaviest can he could find and struggled to his feet. He'd only have one shot at striking from his place between the isles. He had to use the best he could. If he messed up... Well, he wasn't going to think about that right now. He took a deep breath and waited until the man with the ax was close enough. Then, he struck.

The can struck firmly against the man's skull but wasn't enough to knock him out. Red was pushed backwards and landed on his back with a thud. He barely had time to process this before the ax was swung down at him. Red held the handcuff chains up to block the ax head from killing him.

Red kicked out and hooked his good ankle behind the man's leg and yanked. The man fell backwards and stayed down long enough that Re could get to his knees. He ended up with his arms stretched out in front of him. The ax came down again and missed his head by less than an inch.

Reddington gasped when the ax broke the handcuff chain with a blow that had been meant to kill him. Now, he hurried to his feet and ignored the excruciating pain in his leg. He grabbed another can and swung at the man.

The can hit the man's head again. This time, they both went down in a heap. Red kept pounding the can into the man's head until he felt blood on his hand. He huffed for a good breath as he got back to his feet. He saw the pick up sitting outside. That was his way out!

He started towards the front door when someone walking out of another door startled him. In shock, he swung the can and clocked the other person in the head. They fell like a ton of bricks, and so did Red. He cried out in pain before looking to see that he had knocked Donald out cold.

"You idiot!" Red shouted, still in pain. He staggered to his feet and tried to keep as much weight off of his bad leg as possible.

He started for the front door when he looked back. He couldn't just leave Ressler there. He groaned internally. Why did he have to start having a conscience now?