pulled from the darkness

who: Dorian and Jen with Caleb and Kayos
where: Manchester
when: very early morning

Dorian’s nerves were on high alert and they were lucky they’d run into very little trouble as they made their way through the city to building where Caleb was. If they had, Dorian would have probably made a loud scene shooting the daylights out of it and thus done nothing but attract more attention and more trouble. It would have been both Lockwood brothers bleeding out somewhere.

As they approached the building Dorian held the shotgun up motioning for Jen to move behind him. There was no telling what lay beyond the door, and he knew full well he was a little trigger happy, but he forced himself to take a deep breath, glancing at Jen once more before opening the door.

Her nerves weren’t fairing much better than his but at least she had the comfort of knowing where they were going, unsettling as the silent streets around them were, they were familiar. Despite her worry about finding the right building, one which she kept completely to herself as Dorian was, understandably, enough on edge already, it had actually been easy, instinctively taking turns like it was a route she’d traveled a hundred times before.

Falling into step behind Dorian at his signal, Jen adjusted her grip on Harry and widened her stance slightly - if anything came barreling out of the building towards them and somehow wasn’t taken out by the shotgun she wanted to be ready. She let out a sigh of relief when no attack came through the now open door but it was short lived as she followed Dorian inside, her eyes flicking around her.

Dorian hated that smell, the one of death and blood. It permeated the air as he moved through, slowing at another door, one of the only closed ones. Pausing for a moment he listened, hearing hushed voices on the other side of it, frantic and quiet but there nonetheless. He wished again he could take another deep breath but he was certain he’d choke on the smell. Waiting, this time he glanced towards Jen, wanting her to be sure as well.

The smell was getting to Jen as well and she felt a twisted sort of gratitude that she had already emptied the contents of her stomach when she’d thrown up back at the house otherwise she was fairly certain she’d be doing so now - as it was, she couldn’t stop herself from dry heaving a couple of times. As Dorian caught her eye she gave him a slight nod, certain Caleb was behind the door. It was only when he went to open it that her stomach gave a lurch completely unrelated to nausea and before she had a chance to stop him, he pulled open the door.

The door came but before Dorian could step through it something followed it, just a blur and a muddle cry. Thankfully he didn’t get a shot off, but whatever lunged at him, knife drawn and slashing down his arm, definitely caught the butt of his shotgun. The hit knocked it back where it crumpled on its back and Dorian raised the weapon for a kill-shot.

Jen had been far enough back not to get caught in the scuffle but that didn’t stop her crying out. “Dorian!” she shouted as, even in the dark hallway, she saw the telltale wet shine of blood on his arm. What she also saw, which she certainly hadn’t been expecting, was the fear on his attackers face before they crashed to the floor, a face framed by dark hair like her own. A moment of blistering clarity shot through her and before Dorian had the chance to pull the trigger, she darted forward and pushed the barrel to one-side forcing the shot to go wide.

The shot did go wide, echoing through the room as Dorian turned, ready to hit Jen as well, but stopping in time. It wasn’t someone else attacking from the side, but just her, slowing his shot. As his heart rate tried to go back to normal he took a moment to reassess the situation, looking down at his would be target and seeing what Jen had seen. Pulling the gun down at ease he let the victim stay there, let the blood track down his arm, eyes searching for something else. It didn’t take too long to spot the right clump of dark hair in the mass of bodies, and without a word Dorian was handing off his gun to Jen and moving towards Caleb, already pulling the bag with the first aid kit off his back. “Deal with her,” he added belatedly over his shoulder.

The gun feeling completely alien in her hands, what Jen really wanted to do was go with Dorian to Caleb’s side, to help but she did as she was told - judging by the size of the first aid kit he was probably better equipped to deal with serious injuries than she was and the last thing she wanted was to be a hindrance, if he needed her help he’d ask for it. So she went to the fallen girl and helped her up, noting how easy it was given the girl weighed practically nothing and she couldn’t help but wonder how long she been here, what the vampires might have been doing to her, if she would have suffered less if she hadn’t been a brunette. Tears started falling again as she inwardly cursed her ex-boyfriend, feeling a sick satisfaction that he was now laying dead in the room next to her.

Dorian wouldn’t let himself think. If he thought he’d be focused on how the smell of blood that was in the air was Caleb’s blood, or that if his brother was alive he was barely breathing. All of that would have taken his focus when he needed to focus on first aid, on dealing with the situation.

Setting the kit down he reached for his brother, reaching for his neck to find a pulse. It was there but faint, which had Dorian breathing a sigh of relief. Slowly as he could he tried to roll Caleb onto his back so he could get to the damage.

He'd been out, though the shotgun blast sort of roused him a little. It started him on the trek towards consciousness, something that was helped along when he was rolled onto his back. His eyes fluttered a little, not quite opening immediately, but he made an indistinct sound. No real coherent thought followed, however, as he wasn't fully awake yet, just getting there.

Sat in the hallway with the girl who’d jumped Dorian, Jen was too far away to hear the noise Caleb had made but she did see Dorian’s sigh of relief and let out one of her own and turned her attention back to the girl who was a little groggy having hit her head when she’d been pushed back.

Dorian saw the eye flutter and heard the small noise and he jolted with his own surprise. He had already started tugging at Caleb’s blood-soaked shirt, trying to find the source of the bleed, but the noise slowed that for a moment. Consciousness wasn’t something he was expecting until a while from now, not with the amount of blood pooled around him. “Cay?” He asked, letting the nickname drop and reaching to rest a hand on his brother’s forehead. “You with me?”

He made another sort of sound, but a few moments later he cracked his eyes open, just slight slits, seeing mostly shadows and nothing distinct. But he did recognize Dorian's voice. "What're..." he started, but he sort of didn't have an end to that question. He wasn't coherent enough to come up with even something he thought made sense.

Although she was helping the girl, Kelly she said her name was, back into the room, Jen was also keeping an eye on the brothers, her heart pounding with worry. Sitting Kelly down by the wall, well away from the bodies that she was steadfastly trying to ignore, she went to the first aid kit and dug out some gauze for Caleb’s shoulder, her eyes glassy as she watched Dorian try and get a reaction. Her heart soared for a moment when Caleb spoke, incoherent as it was and she looked at Dorian, daring to feel hopeful for the first time since they’d arrived.

That Caleb was able to form any type of coherent though, let alone words had Dorian floored, and though his hands were stained his with his brother, there was a small smile quirking in the corner of his lips. Jen’s reaction was missed, but mostly because Caleb had Dorian’s full attention at the moment, little else in the world mattered. Brushing at Caleb’s hair like he was much younger than eighteen, Dorian nodded. “You got hurt. I’m here to help,” he explained. When things were better he’d go into detail, explain about Jen’s vision, but for now the basics would work. Moving his hand back to Caleb’s shirt he went back to looking for the wound, gauze from Jen ready. It wasn’t hard to find the damage, gushing openly still. The fact that Caleb was close to conscious had Dorian baffled; he was still bleeding badly. “Cay if you’re with me, stay with me,” he said glancing up and noticing that there was blood on his brother’s lips as well. Swearing under his breath he pressed at the wound harder. “Jen, here give me your hand,” he said voice a little more frantic than before.

She didn’t need asking twice and wordless held out her hand, letting Dorian place it over the gauze on Caleb’s shoulder and she pressed down. Knowing she needed to keep up the pressure if they were going to stem the bleeding didn’t make it any easier to ignore the way the blood seeped into the fabric beneath her hand, slowly turning it from white to red. She saw the blood on his lips as well and that hope she had briefly felt was washed away; if Caleb was bleeding internally she had no idea how to deal with it. “What do we do?” she asked Dorian, her voice shaking in a way she reused to let her hands do.

“You stay here. Keep pressure on it,” Dorian ordered as he stood, wiping one hand on his shirt before pulling his phone out of his pocket. There was barely a need to look at his phone to punch the speed dial number for Kayos, which was a relief because Dorian was pretty sure his hands were shaking. Holding the phone against his ear he closed his eyes while he waited for it to connect. This was what people prayed about when they prayed wasn’t it?

Kayos had few people who had her number, and so whenever her phone rang she always got it as soon as possible. Like nowish where she got it before the first ring was over. "Dor! How's you, you purple eyed tall man?" she asked. "Whassup?"

There was something about Kayos’ happy demeanor that usually perked any aspect of Dorian’s spirits, but not right now. Right now he needed her to be serious. “I need help. It’s Cay,” he said, not able to drop the nickname with his brother bleeding out. “Can you get here now?” He really hoped she could.

Kayos was also a girl who kicked into gear in seconds, and she did so then. Dorian didn't need to repeat himself. "Help like extraction? Firepower? Medical needs?" she asked, already getting Teddy to pinpoint Dorian's signature in the world.

“He’s been stabbed. Bleeding bad and I think there’s internal damage. I can’t patch that in the field. Especially not in fucking Manchester,” Dorian forced himself to explain even if he sounded distant. He had to. If he focused on the fact that Caleb, the one person who probably meant more to him than anyone else in the world was probably dying, he was likely to break down completely. “It’s me, him, a girl and two survivors from here. Or just him if it’s easier, I can bring the others through the door.” He hated leaving Caleb’s side, but if he was with Kayos he was in capable hands.

"Because Manchester's a place I want to leave you." Kayos said shaking her head. "Wherever you are, step back a good three feet." she told him. "I'll be there in a heartbeat." She hung up, then waited, planning to jump right on his signature, but she gave it a few long moments before she did so.

Dorian didn’t care about being left. He was ready to snap and if something came at them it would be dead long before it even blinked at him. Hanging up, he did as he was told, stepping back a few feet in two steps until the familiar flash of Kayos appearing was right in front of him. Belatedly, he realized he should have warned Jen, but it was too late for that now.

Hands slippery with blood, Jen had added another gauze pad while Dorian was on the phone, wondering who the heck he was talking too but too preoccupied with maintaining the pressure on Caleb’s shoulder to ask. Still, clearly he thought whoever it was could help if he was calling them. She was about to ask when he got off the phone but before she had a chance a blue flash of light filled the room and she crewed her eyes closed.. “The fuck was that!” she squeaked, barely managing to keep her hands down as she shook from the surprise, opening her eyes to see a tiny blonde woman now in the room with them. “What the...reinforcements?” she asked Dorian weakly, her capacity for shock being somewhat on hold what with everything else that was going on.

Dorian already had his hand out for Kayos, both to steady her if she needed it, but also for his own sort of grounding. “Thanks,” he mumbled nodding towards Caleb and Jen as headed that way. “The best kind,” he told Jen as he knelt, reaching for more gauze and replacing Jen’s hand with his. “Jen, Kayos, Kayos, Jen,” he said quickly, nodding towards the blonde before turning to her. “Hospital?” he asked Kayos.

As Dorian reached for her, Kayos reached back, taking steady hold of his arm as she looked around. She heard the girl cry out, but ignored that, instead focusing on the situation as a whole. She looked at Jen, then the other people who were looking at them in shock. "...yes, hospital." she agreed. Standing, she looked to the nearest blank wall. A moment later there was a tear in reality, the same blueish flash of light along with it. On the other side? The parking lot just outside the ER's doors. "Everyone through. Dor, I'll help you with Caleb." she said.

Jen allowed herself a second to stare in amazement at the gaping hole that was apparently leading straight to the hospital before pushing herself to her feet. Grabbing Harry, she handed it to Kelly and helped the girl up. “Hold onto this for me,” she said firmly and pushed her towards the hole. The other guy, the one who hadn’t spoken the whole time they were there was sat near where Stu had fallen and she quickly went to him. “Hey, I know all kind of crazy shit has been happening here to day but you gotta hold off dealing long enough to get through that door.” Yanking him to his feet, she walked him a couple of steps. “Go with Kelly,” she told him in a voice that sounded a fuck more confident than she felt and after they passed through, turned her attention back to Stu’s body.

He was still anxious, still panicked that Caleb was dying on his hands, but it was better with Kayos around. He felt more grounded. As the wall opened up, he made adjustments to get Caleb through it. “You hold this against where he’s bleeding, I’ll carry?” he suggested already reaching for more gauze and situating himself to be able to lift Caleb.

Kayos nodded, then did just that, reaching out to hold pressure on the wound. As far as she could see? This was bad. She didn't quite know how he was managing to hold on right now. That wound looked pretty mortal to her. But he was breathing. He looked at her, blinking lightly even if he didn't say anything. She gave him a reassuring look. "Hold on...we've got you covered, okay?" she said in a confident tone, one that was total bullshit in reality, but it sure sounded good.

Dorian was nervous about picking Caleb up, but it had to be done. Eyes on his brother’s face as he did so he eventually got them to standing position so they could walk through the gap in space that Kayos had made in the wall. Her confidence might have been bullshit, but he needed to hear it just as much as Caleb might have and it kept him moving forward, leading their haphazard group as quickly as he could back to Marquette and through the doors of the ER. He didn’t really have to shout for help for someone to come running, their scene seemed to attract enough attention but he shouted nonetheless as some of the staff scrambled forward.

While Dorian and Kayos had been sorting out Caleb, Jen had gone over to Stu’s body. A brief stab of guilt went through her that she was doing this while Caleb was in such a bad way but she knew she had to do this and, before she could psych herself out, she rolled Stu onto his back or more precisely the vague mess of what was left of it- her hands were already stained with blood so a little more wouldn’t make a difference. His eyes were still open, staring blankly at nothing and his expression seemed caught somewhere between shock and pain and she wondered whether Caleb’s attack had killed him instantly or whether it had taken it’s time and he had died slowly - she wasn’t sure which she would have preferred. Seeing him like this, knowing that it was over, that he could hurt her anymore, she thought she would have felt more but instead there was nothing except that vague sense of satisfaction. Part of her knew that she wasn’t going to stay like this, that there was going to be a whole lot of emotional fallout from what had happened there in that room but for now she was glad to be holding it together.

Reaching down she tugged something free from his wrist - a necklace of hers he had taken on the night he’d found her. She had worn it everyday since she’d gotten it for her sixteenth birthday and when he’d taken it, she had felt naked for weeks after. Now she couldn’t imagine wearing it again but she refused to leave it here as a tie holding her to him and she tucked it into her pocket. Business done, she grabbed the shotgun and first aid kit and, without looking back, headed through the hole all too happy to leave Manchester and that part of her life behind to focus on Caleb and the future.