17 - Get Out
"Get down!" Patches exclaims just before the bomb explodes.
She puts Calamity down on the floor and behind a couch so that glass splinters will not hit them. To make absolutely sure, she covers the canine with her own body. And then comes that blinding light, followed by the shockwave. It wrecks all the windows and light bulbs inside. Frying whatever electricity was still working in that apartment. And then the fire ball that expands, rocking the very foundation of the building.
Once the earthquake is over, Patches looks up. They are both still alive and the apartment is still in a decent state. Considering. Although it will require extensive renovation, especially as most of the wall that held one of the windows has fallen down to the ground below.
"You okay Calamity?" she asks as she gets off the wounded canine.
"Yeah… urf… where is Trevor though?"
Patches suddenly tenses up. That explosion was already potent enough to damage the apartment but they were safe enough inside. But Trevor was outside. In the open air. She rushes to the freshly made hole and looks outside. She can see the total carnage that the bomb caused to the square. The remains of the Aparoid hybrid and its gooey insides have been scorched, leaving nothing but an eerie shadow burned into the stone. But she cannot see any trace of him.
"No, no, no!" she panics mumbling to herself as she reaches for that monocular.
She looks everywhere, trying to remember where she saw that light coming from. She does find it but there is no trace of Trevor. Until she looks slightly to the right of it and sees two, pointy ears stick out from a pile of rubble and dust. Like a marking point.
A lump appears in her throat. She has found him but now she wishes she had not done so. Her heart sinks and her knees begin to buckle.
"No… he's not…" she encourages herself, casting that grief aside.
Crying can be done later. Getting him out will do for now. She tells Calamity very clearly to stay here; she is in no state to stand up and run with those nasty cuts. The canine tries to disprove this but the pain is too much. So she submits to it so she can recover a little bit.
Now assured that she is not going away, Patches grabs Trevor's rifle so it can be used as a crutch. She plunders the inside of the radio for medical supplies. The big bronze antique itself can come along later.
She goes downstairs as swift as an arrow and jumps through the door where the glass used to be. A thousand thoughts go through her mind right now and only a few of them are positive. But she holds on to those nice ones, just like she has been holding on to the locket he gave her. Like in the elevator or at the window just before she pretended to threaten Trevor.
"You better be alive!" she growls to herself as she finally arrives at the place of ruin.
She starts by tossing the bricks out of the way. One by one before she starts digging. Talking encouragingly to herself but also to Trevor, in the hope that he answers.
"Come on… you might be old but not old enough to be buried yet. So I'm digging you up!"
She keeps digging and then meets a nice big slab of wood. Probably a shelf that fell along with that part of the building. She knocks on it and it sounds hollow. There is an air bubble inside of that?
"Found your coffin! … No reaction? Come on, that was funny." she jokes, trying her best to keep herself laughing.
She then grabs the sniper rifle, turns it around and starts using the butt to ram through the wood. The slam reminds her of how Trevor smacked Felix with it. The first sign that he was different. Not going to be like she was; a subject to the almighty Sheriff. And now, because of that and much more… she is here. On a grand adventure to save Corneria from the last remaining Aparoid menace. Despite all the misfortune she had to endure, she would not trade it for the world. Because what she got in return was worth being hurt for.
With that thought, she busts right through the closet. Then the whole foundation that surrounded the bubble collapses and she is suddenly back on solid ground. And as the closet folds in on itself, she can see him. Covered in dust and ash but unmoving. She runs up to him, cleaning up his face first so he may see and breathe freely. It would be nice if he would.
"Come on Trevor… don't tell me that a building falling on top of you got the better of you…" she quips as sarcastic as the current situation allows her to be.
She extends her hand to his neck, seeing the awful marks left behind by that iron grip from that Martin thing. She puts two fingers on it to feel his pulse. And it is there! The relief that rushes through her is overwhelming enough to put her out of breath for a moment. Trevor is the one to steal it as he uses it to cough up his entire dust-filled lungs. To the point where his face turning red can be seen through his fur.
"Fuck…" is the first coherent thing that comes out of his lips.
Patches continues to dust him off before checking on him. Holding his face in her hands. She is so overjoyed to see that dusty old fart still functioning. And before long she has him in a tight embrace. Which she loosens right away when she hears him groan in pain.
"Sorry. Got excited." she apologizes really quickly, but not stopping.
"It's okay… just, d-don't snap me in half, yeah?"
That building collapsing on top of his head has not changed his dorky sarcastic attitude. And she is glad. But time is of the essence. He might have a concussion or something else. So she tries to lift him up but he screams in pain when she does. She lets go right away.
"My leg…!" Trevor points out now that adrenaline is no longer enough to subdue it.
Patches follows to where Trevor is pointing and sees that on his leg is a nasty looking collection of bricks held together with the cement. All resting on a now shattered shin. She moves over to it and carefully lifts it up. Luckily the bottom that was crushing the bone did not have any sharp edges so it does not tear skin or flesh as she lifts it off. She tosses it away as far as she can before looking it over.
"Does it look as… urk! bad as it feels?" Trevor asks, panting.
She does not know that for sure but it does not look nice. It is a flesh wound with the bone visible and it is bleeding pretty bad. She can also dirt and fragments inside of it. Both bone and brick.
"That expression… does not… suggest anything lovely… did you bring a tourniquet? T-Tie it around. Then bandage it up…ugh… is the core… Calamity?!"
He wants to sit up but cannot because of the pain and Patches stopping him.
"She is alright. The core too. Worry about yourself now. I… cannot pick out the small fragments like you can. I'm afraid I will cause more damage. But what you said, I think I can do that."
Trevor agrees with that and rests himself as Patches goes to work. First by tying the tourniquet tightly just above the wound, putting pressure on the broken blood vessel. Then she lightly lifts his leg, careful not to hurt him too much as she bandages it tightly and with multiple layers. The blood is still visible but very vaguely. After the last staple is put in, does she pack everything up.
"There. As good as possible. Now, take this and lean on me." she tells him, handing him the rifle to use as a crutch.
With a lot of effort, strain and groaning from both parties, does Trevor finally rise. Using the butt of the rifle as the bottom of his new "cane". Together, they hobble back to the apartment. Then a shotgun blast rings out inside of the apartment. Along with extremely colorful language being shouted by Calamity herself, as she is turning the remains of the Martin creature into paste.
"That's my girl… ack! You think I need to watch my language? That girl got an even bigger sailor mouth than I do! Especially if she uses her native tongue; Lylatian. With a Katinian accent." he tells proudly.
And come to think of it, does sound like gibberish to the uninitiated. Patches is not that strong in Lylat but she knows enough to know that Calamity does not have a particularly high opinion of that thing.
"Did she just… use multiple diseases along with an old slur as a collective swear in one sentence?"
"Yup. She did. Damn, do I love that woman." he sighs as the pain is slightly alleviated by just thinking about her.
"Hey Cal!" Patches then shouts out.
The profanity stops and Calamity comes running into view. Trevor can see she is cut up pretty badly but none of it is very deep. Panting heavily but still standing upright. Looking like she just went through hell itself and blew a hole straight through the devil's gut. The spent shell is pumped out as she sees the two of them. And her mood clears up right away.
"You're alive! Oh my… so glad… I'm coming down. We'll take the car!" she calls out, switching from crying tears of joy to womanning up and turning practical.
She takes the radio with her, somewhat overwhelmed at how heavy that thing is. Then she takes that weird egg under her arm. And leaves the apartment in a mixture of relief and melancholy. She really liked it much better like how it was just a few hours ago. Not so much destruction and rubble. But that can wait. Her boyfriend is in need of medical assistance and this core thing is somehow the key to that.
She runs down and meets the two. Leading them to the garage that is on the left side of the building. Using her apartment key, she gets the door open. The garage is communal, meaning only those who live in the apartment can put their cars in there. And it is deserted with only a red hatchback visible.
"There it is. Uhm… do you know how to drive?" Calamity asks Patches, a little ashamed.
"I never got my license."
"No worries, I can. Open up the car and we'll be off. Put the core in the boot and the radio on the passenger's side."
Calamity follows the instructions to a T. From the pocket pouch on her vest she fetches the key and unlocks the car. Carefully placing the egg in the back, which fits snugly. Then the passenger door is opened and the radio is put on there. The seatbelt is put around it to be sure.
"Right! Now for the difficult part. We will have to lay him down on his back. That leg needs to be kept as horizontally as possible and… hey!" she exclaims as Trevor starts leaning harder on her.
Not because he feels like being annoying but because the pain is causing him to lose control, bringing him closer to losing consciousness. He slurs an apology for the inconvenience.
"No no, Trevor! Don't faint now. Come on, keep those eyes open. There… there you go. Relax partner, we got this. Cal, you will sit with Trevor in the back. Perhaps having his head in your lap will be good for him."
She accepts that idea as she opens the two rear doors before joining Patches in keeping Trevor upright. He mumbles another apology for being a burden on both their shoulders now and semi-seriously suggests that they got the core. They can leave him. But both fiercely deny that.
Very carefully, they move Trevor to the right side of the car and turn him around so he faces his back to the open door. Even more carefully, they lift him off his feet and slide him over the backseats. It hurts all the way through but he fits. The door is closed and then Calamity enters on the other side. Making sure to carefully lift up only his upper body so she can sit down and then provide her lap as a resting place for his weary head.
Now seated properly and Trevor as comfortable as they could get him, Calamity hands Patches the keys to the car and she takes her seat behind the wheel. Where she finds out about a potential problem; it is a manual. The last time she was behind the wheel of one of these, was when her automatic learner car had broken down for the day. And it did not go very smoothly.
But does she have a choice? She manages to start the car and uses the knowledge she has about this system, she manages to drive away. But it is a very bumpy ride with quite a lot of complaining and groaning. Until she manages to get into the process of pressing the pedal and then switching gears decently under control. And with that, it means that she does about 50 km in third gear. Comfortable enough. Then she reaches over to grab the transmitter module.
"Nelson, come in! This is Patches, priority code Bones!" she calls out, both desperate and high on adrenaline while keeping an eye on her rearview mirror to check on Trevor, who is slowly becoming delirious.
"Patch? Sorry, I expected…"
"I don't care!" she interrupts.
"We are underway back to you! We have the core but Trevor is wounded. We need a way out, now!"
Nelson is taken aback by her tone and attitude but considering the situation he understands it. He delegates a member of his team to fetch the Captain and the Sergeant-Major while he instructs another to get the U-GPS up right away. The screen boots up and the system frantically searches for them.
"Patch, can you describe your vehicle?"
"Red hatchback, going at about 50 km/h."
"Gotcha! Find that thing!" Nelson orders around.
Not even a second later, a lovely noise indicates that the system has locked on to the car.
"Patch, we got you. You are driving in the right direction. Keep going south and you'll eventually end up at Wall Section #32. I'll transfer you over the moment you are in range. Make sure to use your priority code and clearly identify your vehicle or they will shoot." he urges calmly on the outside, but fluttering and nervous on the inside.
"Got it, thanks Nelson. Make sure that medics are standing at the ready, Trevor's close to fainting."
Then Calamity looks up from tending to Trevor and sees that behind them a load of Aparoids are literally pouring out of every dark alley or sewer. Which is accompanied by occasional gunfire from survivors that have been holed up and hiding.
"Patch! Behind us!" she calls out.
As she adjusts her rearview mirror, she can see the swarm. They are coming at them like she just placed a nice fat steak to the car's towing hook. And the meat is the core in this case.
"Fuck!" she exclaims as she puts the pedal to the medal and shifts into fourth gear to outrun those things.
"L-language…" chuckles Trevor weak.
"Shhh, my love." hushes Calamity, stroking through his hair.
"Spare your energy. Patch is going to get us out of here."
"You're damn right! Nelson, am I gettin' close yet?" she asks, turning full southern as she turns the corner at high speed only to apologize right after giving Trevor's position.
"You are in range." Nelson then tells.
"Imma transfer you over. I'll hear from you once you are past the wall. Stay alive you two!"
"Planning to, Nelson. Prepare everything; we're also bringing a guest."
"You got it!" is the last thing the shrew says before he passes them on to the wall section.
"This is Wall Section #32. State your intention." a slightly monotone, feminine voice says very professionally.
Although it makes Patches more think of an uninterested drive-thru attendant.
"Priority Code Bones! We are in a red hatchback, being chased by the whole damn Aparoid army. We must get out of this hellish zone!"
She does not mince her words at all. And hearing that tone and the contents of her sentence, seems to brighten the disinterested voice's day.
"Copy that! Priority Bones accepted. All wall units! Weapon systems online. Do not target a red hatchback coming at us. Gate guards, prepare to open for one car. I repeat; one car."
A moment passes by and then the feminine voice gets back to the microphone.
"We are ready to receive you. Just drive straight at us; we will take care of your bug problem."
Patches sighs but not too relieved yet. They have to get past the wall first before they are home free. And it should be just beyond the upcoming corner. The Aparoids behind them however are not planning to let them go.
"Cal, hold on to Trevor; I'm not stopping for this corner."
Hearing this, Calamity cradles Trevor as tightly as possible as Patches corners the car with screeching tires. A maneuver that would not look out of place in an action movie. But despite the car mildly tipping over, she manages to keep it straight. And now she can see the wall coming closer. On top, she can see soldiers congrating and pointing their rifles. As well as two defensive turrets that turn towards them. However, none of them are pointing at the car. Once the Aparoid horde is close enough, does everyone and everything open fire on them.
"Priority Bones, thanks for choosing Wall Section #32 as your gateway. We hope you enjoyed our service and perhaps we will share a drink once we cleansed all of them."
Patches cannot help but chuckle.
"Thanks but no thanks Section. I already got my eye on someone else."
"Your loss." is chuckled all sassy right back at her as the massive gate opens up for them.
The Aparoids however have not given up at all and keep going after them. Whereupon the Wall Section activates the flamethrowers placed at either side of the gate. And once the red hatchback zooms past, do they turn on. Bathing the road in a sea of ejected fire and napalm that spares no Aparoid. Effectively turning them to ash upon touch.
And with that, they are out. Outside the Infection Zone, back with the living again. One last thank you comes from the Wall Section before they transfer her back over to Nelson.
"Are you out? Fantastic! Oh… fantastic! That feels good to see and hear."
Even though Patches said literally nothing.
"I already informed all checkpoints on your way back to let a red hatchback through and U-GPS has you locked on. Please, drive safe! We are expecting you. By the way, how is Trevor hurt?"
"His right shin has been shattered by a pile of bricks. I applied a tourniquet and a bandage but I spotted fragments in the wound. I couldn't get those out."
"No worries, our medics can. Keep him awake until then and do not let him get into shock!"
"I am taking care of him, no worries." Calamity chimes in from the backside.
"W-who is that?"
"Nelson, that's our guest. Trevor's girlfriend is with him in the backseat."
"Oh, even better! Then he'll surely stay awake. We'll await you… three then! Again, drive safely."
With that said, Patches puts the transmitter module back on the radio and slows down slightly. Passing through the checkpoints with ease. Because there are not a lot of red hatchbacks still driving around.
In the meantime, the Captain and Herg have joined Nelson and watch the U-GPS screen in real time as the car comes closer. The Captain requests Nelson to have the microphone and the shrew lets him.
"Ms Patches. Or just Patches now, I suppose. This is the Captain speaking; phenomenal job. From both you and Trevor. I owe you two a personal apology and maybe even a raise. Come home safely."
There was a hint of genuine emotion in that sentence. She has not heard the Captain speak like this before. Granted, this is only the second time she has ever heard him but from descriptions given, this is quite special. She does not answer and it seems the Captain is not expecting an answer either.
Instead, the Captain steps aside and allows his right hand man an opportunity to say something. The avian looks a little bit confused at both the microphone and the Captain, who is grinning ever so slightly. He knows about the big man's potential attraction to the small bunny. No longer standing so tall and tough, he approaches the microphone.
"Erhm! Trevor. Patches. This is Herg speaking. I am very glad to hear that you are both out of that awful place. Keep yourself in one piece and I will make another cup of tea for you… for you two I mean. Erhm! Fare well; we are ready to receive you."
With that said and his heart racing, he steps back only to see the Captain's face glowing with the joy one only gets when seeing slapstick humor. Herg declines to comment on this any further. Back in the car, Patches' heart has started to race as well. Hearing him like that was an unexpected pleasant surprise. Especially the part where he misspoke, mentioning only her. It sounded suspiciously like the proposition for a date.
But right now, there is one thing more important and that is getting a fading Trevor to the base as soon as possible. She floors it again and races towards the base.
