-๑-๑ ஜ ๑- Chapter 52: How the turn tables -๑ ஜ ๑-๑-
All excitement wiped off Shinra's expression in a matter of seconds.
Karisawa and Kadota seemed quite perplexed with Izaya's reaction as well, not understanding but obviously grasping that there were more serious matters to tend to.
"Where is Shizuo?" Shinra shot quickly, his eyes flickering to the back of the window as if expecting the blond to follow Izaya right after.
Izaya couldn't help but feel a smile brimming with bitterness crawl onto his face as he tried to keep the panic at bay.
As expected.
Shinra was smart.
"Injured." Was the only word he needed to say for the doctor to get moving. Body jerking to the side as if having been possessed, Shinra janked a bag from the corner of the room. Medical supplies, pills, devices- everything possibly available at short range was grabbed and packed in lightning fast jabs.
"Lead the way."
As if stung by a scorpion, Karisawa unfroze from her stupor.
"Wait, you can't just leave! They are still there-"
A walkie talkie resting in the corner of the room was grabbed, "I'm taking this with me," was all the doctor said as they headed to the window.
"Shinra!"
Groans and gurgling sounds met their ears as the two old friends slipped back onto the street.
The zombies had moved south, probably deeming they had lost their prey as they continued their search.
"Is it far?" Shinra whispered shortly while pulling his bag from the window.
Swallowing the bitter reality, Izaya nodded.
The white doctor's gown soaked itself further with dirt and debris as Shinra moved to the side
Without any further instruction a cover was pulled from what appeared to be a pile of rubbish.
Except it was not.
A rusty small car was unveiled and without further delay Shinra slipped into the passenger's seat.
"You drive."
Perplexion reflected in Izaya's eyes as Shinra's door slipped shut with an audible slam.
Feeling his hair stand on end he quickly slipped into the driver's seat.
"You won't get there with that, there is a bridge blocking the road," he quickly informed, engine roaring as he steered away from their location.
If there was one thing he didn't need then it was a horde of zombies rushing towards them because they had heard the cars door slam shut.
"I know." Shinra answered, not fazed in the slightest, "Head for the west road, it's been cleared all the way to Shinjuku."
Surprise reflected in Izaya's eyes as he glanced at Shinra. . Questions over questions swarmed his mind.
How did Shinra know?
Who cleared the road?
Why had they moved their campside?
And most importantly… Where was Celty?
Izaya didn't dare to ask. The need for a physical car instead of Celty's various options already told him more than he liked to.
"His condition?" Shinra questioned while placing the bag he had brought onto his lap.
Eyes scanning the road, Izaya moved the car onto the highway, quickly skimming the area before answering.
"Tremors, pain in his chest, a hematoma under his skin- Shinra he is in pain," he summed up in quick succession, his voice somewhat breaking towards the end.
It was funny, but spelling those facts out aloud just made them feel worse than he liked.
"Cause?" Shinra shot next, pulling a set of ampoules out of his bag.
"A nightly creature. Bashed him into the ground. The same kind of asshole that cracked my rib."
Syringes were meticulously uncapped. Careful to not touch the tip of the needle, Shinra pulled up various liquids before capping them with the safety tip.
"Trouble breathing?" Shinra asked next and Izaya felt as though he was asking him as he felt his own throat constrict.
Quickly he cleared his throat.
"He seemed to have a hard time talking."
The reaction Shinra gave next was even worse as nothing but deafening silence filled the limited space.
A glance to the side only tripled Izaya's anxiety as Shinra's expression had grown dark.
Worry creased his usually so carefree eyes into a deep frown.
It sent Izaya's guts flying.
"How long has it been?" Weary the words followed as Shinra fished an infusion bag from his bag.
Glancing at the sky, Izaya cursed himself for not having picked up a watch.
How long had he been driving around? How long had it taken to distract the zombies swarming Namie and Vorona?
How fast had he been before finding that motorcycle?
"About an hour," Izaya breathed between tight lips and he could hear Shinra suck in his breath.
Only by chance Izaya read the etiquette on one of the ampules. He recognized them as adrenalin.
"Drive faster."
Horror wiped Izaya's mind clear.
He would die.
As if having received some kind of confirmation of his death Izaya felt the ice cold clutch of fear grasp his chest.
Shizu-chan was really close to dying.
Heaps of memories of their time together flooded Izaya's mind as though his brain wanted to torture him on purpose.
It was a loss he couldn't take - a loss he didn't want to experience.
Accelerating the car to the kind of speed that would wrap the two around a lamppost, Izaya stepped on the gas pedal.
There was time.
They weren't too late yet.
Shinra said to hurry up, not to turn around, that meant Shizuo was still alive.
The unbearable urge to see the blond overwhelmed Izaya and he quickly blinked away some tears as he needed to focus on the road ahead.
He wanted to see Shizu-chan.
Even if it was for one last time.
He wanted to feel his warmth, too look in his eyes, he wanted to tell him he loved him in case he-...he-
Turning his car from the highway, Izaya turned into the narrow streets.
Car wrecks and debris blocked forced him to slow down as they headed onto the familiar road Izaya had been living on.
They weren't far.
The school was just up ahead.
Bringing the vehicle to a screeching halt he jumped out of the driver's seat.
Shinra followed faster than Izaya thought he was capable of.
And then they were there.
Creatures.
… zombies.
How sick Izaya was of seeing them.
Tearing a broken pole from a pile of rubbish, Izaya stepped forward.
Brought down with enough force to split a watermelon he split the creature's skull in half.
No scream resounded, no sound was made as Izaya advanced with the determination of a walking killing machine.
Izaya's hair stood on ends, but not because he panicked in fear of the zombies but because if they were to be delayed Shizu-chan might die.
Anger of a never felt kind, bubbled to the surface as Izaya made his way down the road.
And for the first time Izaya found himself understanding what Shizuo must have felt the night that nightly creature crushed his rib.
Izaya had woken up to zombies stacked upon a pole like a barbecue stick.
He thought Shizuo had gone insane, but right now Izaya couldn't help but wish for the same sight.
He wished they were all dead.
Just done in.
Smashed.
Decapitated.
Deguted.
"It's in there, the main hall down the hallway-" Izaya instructed quickly as the door leading inside the school finally came in reach.
Creaking like it hadn't been opened for ages the doors groaned as the two slipped inside.
The iron rod was cast aside, and Izaya just ran.
Ran.
Ran.
Until the cafeteria laid before them.
Izaya could spot the creature's corpse.
The smashed tables.
But most importantly-
"Shizuo!" Rushing to his side the blond was just where he left him. On the ground.
Unmoving.
No-
Knees meeting the ground with enough force to cause bruises, Izaya grabbed Shizuo's shoulders.
"Shizu-chan!"
And he blinked.
Slowly but surely Shizuo blinked one eye open.
"That… was .. fast."
Hot like fire tears of relief dripped from Izaya's lashes as he chuckled.
"I told you I would be."
He wasn't dead.
Not yet.
He didn't die. Didn't turn into a zombie either.
It was a small win but at least Izaya would be there. He would be there to say goodbye.
He would be there in case things went south.
It was just a fraction of control over the situation but it was more than Izaya could have hoped to have.
Flying to his knees Shinra was second to arrive at Shizuo's side as he assessed the situation.
Shizuo's breathing seemed even worse and Shinra's brows knitted into a deep frown as he cut open Shizuo's shirt.
Blue, yellow and red mixed in unhealthy colors underneath the blond's skin.
"Sorry, this will hurt." Shinra warmed shortly before bringing his hands down onto Shizuo's chest.
Gritting his teeth, the blond flinched as Shinra probed the skin.
His other hand quickly fished for Shizuo's wrist as Shinra watched the hands on his wrist watch.
His tongue clicked and he turned for his bag, not bothering to look for what he needed the contents were poured onto the ground.
"Shizuo, I know it hurts, but you have to breathe normally," Shinra quickly instructed while throwing Izaya a bag of infusion.
"Hold this up high-" As if on autopilot Izaya grabbed the see through plastic bag.
"You saw what happened, show me exactly where and how he was attacked." Shinra continued without batting an eyelid as he adjusted a set of cables and needles to administer the infusion.
"I'm… feeling…. kinda dizzy…" Barely audible, the words came from the patient at hand- and suddenly Shizuo's eyes closed.
Just like that.
He passed out-
"Shizuo-"
"Izaya!"
Taking a moment to process the earlier order, Izaya quickly turned his other hand to a fist, directing it at his own body where he had seen Shizuo get hit.
"Like this, just stronger-"
"God damnit-" the fresh needle Shinra had been about to attach clattered as it fell to the ground.
He was stressed.
Never having heard the doctor swear before, Izaya felt the need to act.
"It's okay, you still have fresh ones," he tried, but Shinra's expression only grew more dire.
"That's not the issue. This is already bad as it is-" Taking a deep breath the brunette paused before finishing his earlier task anew. "From the sound of it his ribcage was pressured forwards his sternum. Basically what's happening right now is that his heart and lungs are getting squeezed against their will. Hematomas are forming underneath his skin- he lost blood, I don't know how much. And I can't even make sure if any other organs have been affected-" cutting his rant short he quickly adjusted his glasses before grasping Shizuo's shoulder.
"Help me move him to his side." Quickly Izaya did as told, while keeping the infusion up high.
"Seeing as so much time has passed and he is still alive and breathing I have to assume the internal bleeding has stopped. Which means there is now a space filled with blood somewhere around the spot of impact."
Swallowing shortly, Izaya nodded, signaling that he followed Shinra's explanation.
"Is that why you are giving him an infusion? The blood loss?" Shinra nodded, while handling a sharp knife.
"That and I administered something against the shock. Cardiac arrest or shock are common symptoms that might occur even after a while has passed." Taking a deep breath, Shinra closed his eyes for a brief moment.
"I'm going to operate him, right now. And you will assist me, can you do that?"
A bolt of fear traversed Izaya's body at the statement.
Here? Right now?
Frozen in shock, Izaya barely managed to nod as Shinra took the infusion from his hands. A chair was abducted from the tables nearby and used to hang the liquid instead.
Confidence and an odd sense of calmth spread from Shinra's expression as he faced Izaya.
"Follow my exact orders. We can do this."
And it was as though someone had blown away Izaya's fear.
This was no time to worry but to act.
As if on auto pilot he nodded, and his mind and hands became calm.
One order after the other followed and Izaya executed each task with utmost precision.
If someone had asked him what exactly they had done he couldn't have told them a thing.
He didn't even remember Shinra setting a cut, didn't remember seeing a wound, the rib cage.
Fragments of white pads getting drenched in blood and a puddle soaking the ground was all that remained in his mind as he stared at his hands.
Spots of blood decorated each of his fingers and palms, and it took effort to tear his gaze off them and towards Shinra who adjusted layer after layer around Shizuo's chest.
They were done.
Shinra was done.
Izaya had no idea how the operation had went, whether Shizuo was going to survive- and he knew asking Shinra would be just as fruitless because they just didn't know-
They didn't-
"Drink."
Gazing up, Izaya realized Shinra was holding out a bottle of water. He looked worried and like he had called out to him more than once.
"You look pale as a wall." Shinra continued, "Can't have you fainting on me."
Izaya would have loved to say that Shinra was being silly and that he was completely fine. But the tremors traversing to the bottle of water proved differently as Izaya took a few sips.
"We did everything we could, now it's on him." The words sounded hollow, without meaning.
It was clear as daylight that Shinra only said them in an attempt to comfort the raven.
"...you don't know if he will make it, right?" Izaya whispered softly. He didn't mean to blame Shinra. The doctor had done everything within his possibilities.
Under these circumstances, with treatment delayed for so long and barely any proper care available he had already done wonders.
"I mean, from a medical perspective-" Shinra started with a smile, but Izaya's eyes just made him fall silent. He was right, just some nice words weren't going to cut it. "It's Shizuo," he whispered softly instead and Izaya couldn't help but chuckle.
"That sums it up pretty well." His voice was shaky and he quickly took another sip from the bottle.
"Damned monsters," Shinra cursed, and Izaya paused as he set the bottle back.
A bitter frown creased his forehead.
No.
"That wasn't one of them."
to be continued~
Ufff well, well, Izaya is quite shaken now, isn't he? xD Will Shizuo survive? What about Izaya and Shinra? The guy could still be nearby- why did he want to kill them?
Where is Celty? Why did Shinra's group leave the camp? How did Kadota get injured?
Questions over questions~
See you next Saturday~ C; xDDD
PS.: Ast will not update today as I need to make some final adjustments xD I finally thought of the perfect end for the story and needa revise a few things xD As for SD- similar reason, I am adjust the plot somewhat and therefor gonna spend some more time thinking about what exactly will happen next chapter xD