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 Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:06 am
Adria was drifting in and out of consciousness. He wasn’t quite past the point of pain, but he was drifting further and further away from rational thought. He figured his arm might be broken; when he tried to move it he couldn’t tell if anything happened. It didn’t feel like anything had happened, and when he tried with his other arm it took a few seconds to reach the phone lying on the ground next to him.
His vision was swimming and it stung when he opened his eyes. He couldn’t tell if the warmth was blood or tears but realistically it didn’t matter. He could barely see the screen of the phone as he drew it close to him; the images on the screen looked like they were sliding off and the first time he tried to reach his contacts, the phone slid from his grip and hit him in the chest as he lay on the ground.
He wanted to give up; he knew the ground was cold but the blood spilling out of him was warm.
Except, he was starting to feel cold and the thought scared him.
A second attempt to call Lysithea probably worked. The phone rang and went to voicemail; when she didn’t pick up his heart just sunk. But he knew she’d get a message if he left one. He had faith that she’d be here. When he heard the tone, he tried to speak. At first, no words came out but after a few seconds of straining he managed, “Lysithea, it’s Adria. I need help. I’m sorry. I’m by the old warehouse, on 18th Street. I think. I got hurt, I don’t know if I can make it home.” He drew in a shaky breath and sighed. “I don’t know. It’s bad. I’m sorry. Please come.”
He dropped the phone again; he wasn’t even sure if he’d turned it off. It didn’t matter; he’d made the call. His eyes fluttered shut and he tried to focus on anything other than the pain.
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Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:07 am
Thankfully Lysithea was starting a patrol just a few minutes after Adria’s call. Thankfully she had been going out every night, now looking for Zack, who she feared might have met some sort of horrible end like Evan had. Regardless, when she powered up and checked her phone, she was only a few short blocks away from Adria, and quickly began her journey towards him, as fast as she possibly could.
He…he hadn’t sounded good in the message, and the thought chilled her to the bones.
Why did things keep happening to the people in her life who were most important to her? This had to just…It had to stop. She couldn’t take much more of it, if she were honest with herself. She couldn’t take much more of this at all.
When she reached the super senshi, Lysithea let out a pained little cry at the sight of him and rushed to his side, kneeling on the ground. “Adria, can you hear me?” He looked…godawful. Like he had been forced through a paper shredder at the very least…
“Lysithea Healing Horn…” the magic sprung to life in the eternal senshi’s hands and she quickly touched it to the gash that was on the blonde’s forehead, sighing as it closed and faded…of course, when that happened, her magic faded too. “Adria…I’m going to take you to the hospital, okay? Can you…can you go ahead and change back into Malcolm for me…?” She couldn’t take a senshi into the hospital…that just wouldn’t work.
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Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:07 am
Adria tried to pry open his eyes; it took more effort than he thought was worth it. One eye cracked open and landed on Lysithea, but he didn’t seem like he recognized her at first. He squinted and closed his eye.
“I figured you were gonna say that,” he mumbled. “…My parents are going to kill me, Cambria. Everyone’s going to ask so many questions. I don’t have an answer. I can’t tell them the truth. My parents don’t know. I’m sorry.”
His words were slurred, like he was exhausted and trying to fight off sleep. He’d been working hard to stay powered up—just in case the General had come back. It was a welcome relief when his uniform shimmered into the outfit Malcolm had been wearing.
“How do I explain being out here, so late?” he asked softly; her magic had helped a little, he could feel the tingling rush when it spread through him. He still just hurt. He just wanted to sleep; he knew he couldn’t walk. He was bleeding from a dozen cuts, some smaller than others but none so small that he wasn’t still reeling with every breath.
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Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:08 am
“You got mugged. That’s all. You might have gotten mugged hours ago and fallen unconscious and only woke up enough to call me for help…they’re not going to be mad at you, they’ll be worried…just like I am.”
She ran a hand through his hair, looking more than a little concerned then picked him up, bridal style and held him close to her chest. “Regardless of how they act, but I don’t think it’ll be mad. Not at you, I’ll be here for you. You know that, Malcolm. You’re one of my best friends, and I’ll always be here for you.
Slowly, Lysithea began walking, not wanting to move the boy too much…honestly, she wanted to run, wanted to get to the hospital as quickly as was possible, but…she had the horrible suspicion that if she moved too fast, Malcolm would be in a lot more unnecessary pain.
“Do you know who did this to you? Did you get a name…? Or a reason…?” Maybe it had been a youma? A fight that ended with Adria dusting the creature…that would explain a lot…but damn, it would have had to be a strong youma then…
If it had been an agent…well…they wouldn’t have just left him alive…would they? They would have taken him and corrupted him…or just ripped out his starseed…or brought backup…
It had to have been a youma.
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Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:09 am
It didn’t matter how much pain he was in; the comfort of having Cambria there was enough reassurance that Macolm could let go, even just a little bit.
He didn’t want to hurt. He just wanted to sleep.
It was such a tempting offer, like he was teetering over a cliff and if he let himself go it would just stop hurting.
Malcolm was slipping between consciousness and unconsciousness, sometimes between steps. His head was swimming and if he wasn’t so afraid of vomiting on Cambria he might have just leaned over the side and emptied his stomach. It seemed like so much effort, though.
“Dunno,” he mumbled tiredly, not entirely sure what she had even asked. It felt like a spike in the head to think about it. “He was mad,” he mumbled; his voice was barely more than a whisper. “The youma.” He shook his head and tried to focus more but even just furrowing his brows felt like it was tearing skin. “…Cambria, I’m really tired. We’re almost there, right? I need to close my eyes, just for a minute. I’m really tired. I’ve got type B blood, if you ask Zack nicely maybe he could share some of his. I don’t know my insurance. Take my wallet, it’s in my pocket. If I got mugged, I probably shouldn’t have that when I go in.”
His words were airy and his sentences were taking longer to form. He was trying to stay awake but the pull to just slip into darkness was so strong, he was losing the battle against it.
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Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 12:11 am
“Shhh, Malcolm, it’s all right…” So it was an agent...someone with a youma…? Her thoughts flitted unwillingly to Sanidine, but that was stupid. There was no way he would have hurt Adria, since Adria had been one of the ones there to save Evan. There would be no way he would have done all this damage…
“I’ll take care of everything, don’t you worry...you just rest...that’s all you have to do now. I’ll take care of everything.
Lysithea continued the trip to the hospital, her worry increasing with every step that she took...but...but he’d be all right.
He had to be.
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