Chapter 65: Iron rod
Stairs were skipped, belts discarded and Izaya the first to emerge from the blood donation facility as his head whipped around.
Shinra. Where was he?
Movement to the left caught his attention and his adrenaline spiked for a second as Karisawa joined him from behind.
It was Namie.
Forcing her way past a set of broken cars her eyes were as wide as theirs as she met Izaya's gaze.
"What was that-?" she asked, apparently not any wiser than Karisawa and Izaya and Izaya's guts plummeted. If Namie hadn't been the one involved with the sound and Shinra hadn't returned-
Faster than Shizuo was able to follow, Izaya dashed to the right. That stupid quack couldn't be far- What had he even distanced himself from the building for anyway?!
There should be no reason to wander off!
What had he seen?
What was he following?
And suddenly Izaya's steps slowed down rapidly to a complete standstill.
Eyes darted left and right, and the soft sound of Karisawa, Shizuo and Namie catching up reached his ears.
No.
Shinra was smart. Shinra wasn't the type to just roam around and leave the entrance of the building unguarded if not for a very good reason.
"What are you-" Namie spoke, and Izaya turned around with a silent glare in his eyes. The woman who was always ready to argue shut up quicker than anyone would have expected as she realized the direness of the situation.
Someone could be nearby.
Or something.
The street leading to the blood donation facility was fairly empty. Safe for three cars, void of any life, nothing was there to be spotted.
Nodding towards the back of their group Namie immediately turned around. Eyes vigilant and orderly, Karisawa and Shizuo cast a glance at each other before turning to their backs respectively.
Look around.
Every corner. Every shadow.
Shinra's disappearance was no coincidence.
Synchronous like a caterpillar's legs the group slowly made their way forward. Cars were scanned, shop windows eyed carefully. The doctor couldn't be far- and neither their predator.
As if on cue the sound of metal clanking against concrete cut the oppressing silence. Heads were turned, glances exchanged, and within two strides Izaya was at the opening of an alley.
Fungi or flatworm? Izaya couldn't tell as he faced the scorched sight of a corpse that was burning alive. Unrecognizable whimpers and shrieks resounded from its gargling throat, and the volume sent goosebumps down Izaya's spine.
Quicker than expected Shizuo had reacted. The lucky light pole next to the alley had been chosen as today's winner as its metal body pierced the danger with the precision of a skewer.
"Shizuo-" Izaya turned, half to scold, half simply searching for Shizuo's eyes- because this was bad. If this creature was here and Shinra not to be found or heard then-
"Hey, if this is here, then Shinra-" Namie started as well, reaching the same awful conclusion and it only let the lump in Izaya's throat grow.
Suddenly movement on the ground diverted the group's attention instantly and Karisawa jumped in surprise.
Garbage was shoved aside from below and the face of a very much beloved doctor appeared.
"What about me?"
An insane amount of relief washed through Izaya's veins as he released the breath he hadn't realized he had held. He was alive-
"Shinra!" Karisawa called, her eyes growing teary eyes almost from the absence of tension. Izaya couldn't blame her, she had seen so many people die and Shinra had already become sort of a friend to her.
"God damnit, you idiot what were you doing?" Namie scolded harshly and stepped up to pull one more of the trash bags off the doctor's frame- and they all froze.
Palm finding its way to Karisawa's face, the woman muffled a terrified gasp as she looked at Shinra.
An iron rod, coming from the ground like a flower blossoming in the dawn, was perking right up and presenting its glory. Where was it from?
Izaya didn't know, maybe it was part of the street's construction, maybe something else had been in its respective place and was now missing. The only fact that was crystal clear was the crimson blood pooling below Shinra's upper thigh as it had cruelly pierced the doctor's flesh.
The strained expression shown on Shinra's face suddenly held much more urgency and Izaya flew to the ground.
"Izaya-" While Izaya was the first to move, Shizuo was the first to speak. His name carried a question that didn't need to be asked aloud for Izaya to understand.
"Would you be so kind and remove that, it kinda hurts," Shinra smiled weakly, and the extent of strain those words alone seemed to put on the doctor already gave the answer.
Hands moving around Shinra's leg Izaya tried to move the cloth aside- the wound looked horrible and the amount of blood lost increased as Shinra's pants were soaked.
Choking on her own breath Karisawa whispered something under her voice, probably an exclamation of horror, maybe a prayer, Izaya couldn't tell, but he wasn't having it. "Now is not the time to freeze up!" he barked louder than intended and Karisawa as well as Namie jerked from their shocked stupor.
As if having pressed a power button on a robot the scientist suddenly moved.
Knees met the dirty ground, hands tore at the fabrics of Shinra's pants and quick ascertaining eyes scanned the injury at hand.
"Wait, I will rip this out-" Shizuo announced quickly, his hand already reaching out for the laughing iron rod.
"No wait-" hand grasping Shizuo'S wrist midair, Izaya quickly stopped the blond.
Frustration stemming from a misunderstanding spread across Shizuo's face as he jerked his hand from Izaya's hold.
"He is bleeding! I'm fine, I can do that!" he announced, but Izaya shook his head. "That's not the issue."
Confused, Shizuo looked at Shinra, then at Namie. A deep frown had carved into her forehead making the woman seem older by at least ten years.
A tired smile spread across Shinra's face, "How bad, doctor?" he joked, but his voice didn't carry the amusement he intended to convey.
"Shut up." Namie replied, though the content of the words didn't match their tune as her voice had turned awfully quiet and gentle. "Karisawa!" She called quickly, "The trays, inside the-"
"I will get it!" the young woman announced and dashed off before Namie was able to finish. The instructions were clear and the amount of time to waste was nonexistent.
"What's that, apparently she does know how to act fast sometimes," Namie added quietly with the softest hint of a bitter smile.
"How bad is it?" Izaya asked. He was smart and definitely capable of treating a variety of injuries himself. But anything regarding the inside of the body was nothing more than a gamble on his part.
Shizuo sewing up his lung and Izaya surviving had been a miracle in itself.
"As far as I can tell no artery was hit or he would be dead already," Namie announced curtly, and Shinra gave a tired smile.
"I could have told you as much," he spoke quietly, in the same manner he usually did, with no care in the world. But his face was pale and his breath came too shallow to believe he was fine.
"You still lost a lot of blood," Namie added quietly and Shinra's brow twitched.
How much, that was the question.
Time had passed, but what amount? A few minutes? When was Shinra injured? Looking at the blatant stain of darkness seeping to the ground Izaya swallowed harshly.
"Can we pull this out?" he asked and Namie's expression soured.
"It's risky. Under normal circumstances you would wait for professionals to arrive, cut the rod off and only remove it under a surgery, but like this-" harsh panting and quick steps approached the alley and for a second the team froze until Karisawa's red face turned around the corner.
In her arms she was holding medical tools of all shapes and sizes. One of the blankets had been abused as a makeshift tray as she placed everything she had found on the ground.
"Here-" Karisawa announced between two sets of breaths and Namie quickly met Izaya's gaze.
"You two, take his upper body, I will move the leg." Confusion addressed Karisawa's face as she moved to Izaya's side. A helpless glance met Izaya's and he quickly explained. "We need to lift him off this without dealing any more damage to the tissue. So move slowly and carefully."
For a second Karisawa froze. Moving the rod was going to put Shinra into tremendous pain and they were all heavily aware of that.
Body stiffening by itself Shinra closed his eyes for a second as a frown grazed his forehead and Karisawa quickly nodded before moving over.
Carefully she grasped Shinra's shoulders and Izaya did the same as his arm slipped behind Shinra's back.
A piece of cloth was ripped off Izaya's shirt and upon opening his eyes again Shinra faced the piece in front of his eyes.
No words were exchanged and Shinra quickly nodded as Izaya shoved the piece inside his mouth to bite down on it.
"Ready?" Arms carefully circling and supporting the leg, Namie's eyes grazed the small group. Shizuo had joined in as well, taking the non injured leg and letting his arm slip beneath the doctor.
A last nod was given-
"Careful-" and they moved.
A painful scream drowned by nothing but the fabric in Shinra's mouth reverberated between the alley walls as the rod retracted from the flesh.
"Higher-" Namie hissed quickly, adjusting the angle at which the rod was retracted. Karisawa paled and her grip on Shinra rightened-
And then it was out.
Harsh pants of breath filled the air as Shinra pulled the small piece of fabric from his mouth.
"Okay, lay him down," Namie ordered, and Shinra was lowered. Quick and smooth as if never having done anything else in her life Karisawa kneeled on the ground, moving Shinra in a way that he could rest his head on her lap as she carefully grasped his shoulders.
He was incredibly pale. She couldn't imagine the kind of pain he had to be going through. Sweat was sticking to his forehead and his breath coming harsher than a sprinters on a marathon.
Eyes circling to Shizuo, Izaya quickly addressed the blond, "Watch out for anything coming over. I hate to say it but the noise from earlier will definitely attract some unwanted attention."
Shizuo understood There was nothing else he could do and so he nodded and turned.
Glance turning to Shinra their eyes briefly met and Izaya swallowed. Shinra was always the one to treat them, not the other way round. Seeing him like this-
It put a hole into his stomach.
Gloves were picked from the pile of supplies Karisawa had brought and Namie fished for various tools. Needles, bandaids, objects that seemed like cutlery and odd liquids.
"I need to cauterize this," she announced with not a shred of sympathy and Shinra's body stiffened.
Before Izaya knew it he found Shinra's palm clutching his arms sleeve. Izaya knew what that meant, and Shinra did as well. Only Karisawa was left in the dark as she could do nothing but draw circles and patterns on Shinra's shoulders in order to provide a bit of distraction and comfort.
Izaya realized with dread that Shinra's breath was coming awfully fast.
No shock. He couldn't go into shock-
Quicker than Namie could even give the order Izaya moved.
Leaning over Shinra, he efficiently blocked the doctor's sight of Namie and her tools.
"Hey, tell me, how did you even manage to get yourself stabbed, what happened?" he quickly asked, and Shinra swallowed.
Eyes directed themselves to the gray sky and he took a deep shuddering breath.
He knew this was a well needed distraction and he was damn grateful for it.
His limbs were shaking and with no painkillers or anesthetics at hand his fear of what Namie was going to do was greater than expected.
"I saw something move, I knew- I knew it was one of them. I figured it would be safer to take it out," he started slowly, stuttering halfway as he nearly lost the ability to speak.
"Wow, you? Taking out one of the flatworms by yourself? I wasn't aware you were as strong as Shizuo," Izaya quickly spoke and the softest hint of a smile spread across Shinra's face.
"Who knows? Maybe I have more skills hidden that you don't know of?" he joked quietly- and suddenly it was there.
Jaw tensing Shinra's eyes widened with a soundless scream on his lips. Tears sprang to his eyes and he squeezed them shut as he choked.
Izaya didn't need to look to know what Namie was doing. She was cauterizing the wound.
There were only two methods to do such a thing, via chemicals or fire. He guessed she found the right substances as he couldn't smell or feel any heat.
Karisawa was in a position where she could see what Namie was doing and her face grew incredibly pale.
"Breathe." Izaya reminded Shinra as calmly as possible. But it seemed not only the doctor had needed the instruction as Karisawa gasped as well. Even she had held her breath, and she was fine. Izaya couldn't imagine what Shinra had to feel like.
"So? How did you end up here? In the shadow without getting killed?" Izaya inquired further as Shinra's chest heaved.
A few seconds passed in which the doctor tried to talk but failed. Eyes scrunched in waves of pain and the doctor swallowed.
"I realized too late what exactly- what exactly I was looking at. When I turned to run it cut off my path, that's when I headed in here-" he breathed slowly and Izaya nodded quickly.
"I see and that's when you thought sticking a rod to your thigh was a good idea to fend off a flatworm," he nodded to himself and Shinra showed a tired smile.
"Yeah, definitely. That's how it went," he agreed.
They both knew they were talking for the sake of talking. Tilting his head to the side Shinra tried to glance past Izaya's body. Of course he was curious. He was a doctor himself. And Izaya understood his desire to see his injury to assess whether what Namie was doing was good or not, but Izaya also understood the risk of seeing one's own flesh mutilated like that and the chance of going into shock or passing out from it.
Shinra was skilled, no doubt, but he was also just a simple human and not the sturdiest one.
"I didn't take you for the clumsy type to stumble and trip," Izaya announced, making an effort to block Shinra's view as he leant to the left.
Giving up on his short goal Shinra sighed, a glance met Izaya's eyes, but appreciation quickly replaced the initial annoyance.
"Me neither, but that asshole jumped on me and before I knew it I was on the ground." Goosebumps traveled down Izaya's back at that.
That close.
Shinra had been that close to getting killed or bitten.
"Then that exploding sound…?" he whispered and Shinra smiled. "I stole your move. Threw a knife into that." Looking to the side Shinra glanced into the direction of what appeared to be a power generator. Maybe an extra cut from the power supply in case electricity failed the building. Or in other words a larger battery.
Now Izaya understood where the explosive sound he had heard earlier had come from.
"I hoped it would blast that bastard's head right off his neck, but he somehow survived," Shinra informed further and Izaya snorted. "You really did a number on him though." And suddenly Shinra's face contorted again-
His grip on Izaya tightened and Karisawa averted her gaze.
The strength with which Shinra was holding onto Izaya's arm increased, only to fade a second later.
Harsh intakes of breath left Shinra's lips and Izaya tensed.
"Alright, that's it," Namie suddenly announced and Izaya felt as though he had been the one undergoing this makeshift operation as the tension left his body.
Shinra was heaving, his eyes were closed and for a second Izaya dared to glance past his shoulder and his breath stilled.
Fuck.
That wound looked horrible.
But Namie treated it. There should be no infection, no risk.
She had probably put more bodies apart than Shinra in his lifetime ever would.
Reaching for bandaids quicker than a professional Namie cut off all sight from the injury as she wrapped layer after layer.
"See, it's over," Karisawa announced gently, brushing past Shinra's hair in careful strokes.
Still having his eyes closed the doctor was too exhausted to reply anything and so he gave only a soft nod.
"We need a car." Izaya announced quickly, picking himself off the ground.
"What?" Namie seemed quite out of it. They all did to be honest and Izaya quickly took control.
"We need to get away from here. The sound definitely attracted others, and I am not only talking about the zombies." Joe's hoes. If they were in hearing range then they had more than just a little problem.
"Karisawa, you take care of Shinra, if anything's off scream."
"Scream? Is that a good idea?" she replied fairly startled and Izaya quickly agreed.
"I will go hotwire a car, whatever is approaching this alley I will take care off."
He wasn't going to let anything kill these three.
to be continued~ xD
Ouch, I really don't want to be Shinra in this chapter xDDDD
But what now? Is it over? Will they get home safe? What about the noise?
… who heard it?
C: C: C: C: