Carry Stress In the Jaw

[Cyco†]

((continued from This Could Be Anywhere In the World))

The trio finally arrived at the hospital, without incident, which wasn't surprising considering they were among the last remaining survivors on the island. Bryan figured that anyone who'd made it this far wouldn't want to be taking any chances, which would satisfy as an explanation for the inactivity around them. It had occurred to him earlier that Danya would likely use the perma-dangerzones to corral the players closer together, but so far the big man behind the curtain had taken no such action.

'Maybe he's on his lunchbreak; guy's gotta eat.'

In any case, if everyone was playing on the defensive at the moment, it was a safe bet there was someone holed-up in the small white hospital building. Bryan was exhausted and didn't know if he had it in him for another hostile encounter at the moment. He needed a break from all this stupid bullshit.

"Hey," he piped up, shifting Tori with his arms to stir her in case she'd fallen asleep again. "Wake up, pumpkin, we're at grandma's."

[Ares]

((continued from This Could Be Anywhere in the World))

Back here again...

The last time Rob had been at the hospital was when he had suffered from one his headaches. Luckily since lighting up a joint with Matt that day he had not suffered another. In the back of his mind he wondered what happened to the boy and girl they'd met. He forgot their names, so they may have been announced as dead.

"Are you going to be okay taking care of her, or do you want some help before I take off?"

Secretly Rob hoped that Bryan would decline the offer, being that ever since being shot, by Bryan nonetheless, Rob felt a sickly feeling in his stomach that Matt was in trouble. It might be paranoia from the game, but he needed to get back to the school as fast as humanly possible.

[baby_g†]

The slight movement Bryan was making assuming it was to wake her up, did just that. Opening her eyes slightly Tori could now see that they had made it to the Hospital and the kid was still with them.

"This isn't grandma's..." She joked. "You owe me some sugar cookies."

Resting her chin on Bryan's shoulder so that she could see what he was seeing she wondered how much longer she'd have to wait to get her leg treated. The boy offered to stay and help but she knew they could do it on their own. Sure, she had just dried these pants and washed herself all nice and clean and now was covered in blood and a little faint.. but surely it wasn't anything the two of them couldn't handle! All the same, to avoid saying anything that Bryan would get upset at she remained silent to allow him to answer for them.

[Cyco†]

"We'll be ok," Bryan responded to Rob's offer, giving him a half-hearted smile. "Thanks for all the help. Now go do what you gotta do." He had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that whatever Rob did have to do would ultimately end up getting him killed (or close enough to it), but if it was anything as important as Tori was to him then Bryan had no business stopping him. It was good enough for him that they just part friends and never see eachother again. What else could they do?

Until now Bryan hadn't set foot in the small hospital building, but as he pulled open the front door and inhaled he felt it was fair to assume that it was the stench of day to week-old corpses that masked that of sterile cleanliness. He grumbled accordingly and let the door close, letting Tori down onto a nearby chair against the wall and going about checking the rooms. There were a few people here and there, but none of them were alive.

Bryan strolled back into the waiting room when he was satisfied, shouldered the SPAS-12 again and positioned himself for Tori to climb back on for another (albeit shorter) piggyback to one of the rooms.

"All clear, let's go."

[Ares]

You go do what you gotta do...

This was quite possibly the best advice Rob had heard from anyone on the island, including himself. It was simple, yes. However that simple cliche phrase was the perfect way to sum up what needed to be done.

"No problem man, and don't worry, I'll get it done," Rob turned and began to walk away. He stopped for a second, before turning back to Bryan, and with a smile said, "Oh, by the way, that shotty you have there fucking hurts even through walls." Indicating the now bloodstained bandage over his left shoulder.

Chuckling slightly before waving once again to Bryan and Tori, Rob turned and continued out the hospital and on the way to the school.

"Get Matt, and get the fuck out of here...Get Matt and get the fuck out here..." Rob muttered to himself as he pushed open the last set of doors before exiting the building.

((continued elsewhere))

[baby_g†]

The boy left them while Tori had a moment to sit still in a chair before climbing back onto Bryan's back to be carried around some more. She felt bad having him do all the heavy lifting.. but if it helped take some of the pressure off her leg she was very happy for it, and she knew that complaining about getting her leg looked after would only result in her walking the rest of the way.

Keep it light.. everyone likes jokes...

"You also owe me a buck fifty for that burger." She grinned ear to ear.

[Cyco†]

Bryan let Tori down onto the raised bed in one of the operating rooms, his brow deeply furrowed as he tried to figure out exactly when he could have possibly hit Rob through a wall with the shotgun.

'Whatever.'

"How 'bout I pull that slug out of you and we'll call it even," he grunted in response, locking the door behind them and setting down all of their gear on the floor against the wall. They would have to repack a few things later; in his hurry to get out of the hotel Bryan had stuffed both the small axe and the SMG in the same daypack, and snatched Seth's entire bag even though they only needed the ammo. Maybe the medkit.

"This'll probably hurt a lot, just so you know," he added, extracting Seth's kit and laying it out on the small metal table beside the bed. He would need some long tweezers to reach the bullet, which weren't in the first aid kit but were--fortunately--available from a small drawer under the table (along with an arsenal of other clinical instruments and supplies).

"Oh right, painkillers..." he mumbled under his breath as he came across a small bottle of analgesic and syringe. He hoped Tori hadn't heard him, given the level of unprofessionalism in both his tone and message. He threw the tweezers on the table with the kit and went about extracting from the bottle with the needle.

[baby_g†]

"Uh.. You're... not seriously going to stick me... with that needle are you? I really don't like them.. at all... seriously... Please don't."

Out of a neverous habbit, Tori began to shake and the mere thought of a needle being stuck in her. As much as she was loving Bryan's company, she couldn't really say she'd trust him when it came to doctor stuff like needles or whatnot. Even if he was great of his job and new exactly what he was doing she still probably wouldn't trust him.. simply because it was a needle... and Tori hated needles. This whole island was just one big bad dream for her. Already she had to carry a gun and a blade both of which she didn't like either, she had to fend off herself in the mall from a crazy guy trying to kill her which Bryan then took the glory for (though she really couldn't care), she had to leave Bryan at the hospital and write a message in blood with a girl she had just met and thought a friend. Turns out now thanks to the over head booming voice that that friend could no longer be trusted at all. Now she's here in the hospital after just being shot at on the roof of the hotel and was brought here now to be stuck with some needle and have a bullet dug out of her leg. The only thing at this moment that Tori could think of was to beg him not too. As the nervous tears began to roll down her face she reached out to his elbow pushing it away.

"Please Bryan.. Please.. I don't need them. I'll be fine. Just get the slug out.. I don't need the pain killers... I'll be fine. Please.. I'll give you everything I have in my bag and pockets! Please Please don't do that to me, name your price I don't care. Anything!"

She was just a scared little girl who wanted to go to sleep. She couldn't imagine what Bryan must be going through with all his wounds and all the times he'd had to kill thus far on the island. She witnessed some of them, but how many others were there when she wasn't there? This guy was just trying to help her once again like he's been doing this whole time and she's sitting there being selfish and refusing it. Perhaps he should have hooked up with another partner when this thing started up. Maybe that person would have been less of a pain and helped out with the kill count. From what she could remember it was seven or eight days in and she was pretty sure she was the only one who hadn't killed anyone! She wouldn't be complaining but she was starting to feel really useless. As much as she wanted to 'Man Up' and take care of business, she just wasn't sure if she had it in her.

"I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.. I just hate them.."

Tori laid on her back on the bed staring up above her. After a couple long deep breaths she began to calm down and give Bryan the 'okay go' for what he had to do.

"Alright.. okay.. 'K, do what you have to.. I'm good.. I'm good."

No I'm not.

[Cyco†]

Bryan wasn't prepared for Tori's intense reaction, and he simply responded flatly at her protest. "Don't be a baby." He reached out to hold her leg down but she retreated in a panic, carrying on as if he were threatening her with the small medical instrument. Bryan finally clued in and went about trying to settle her down.

"Ok, ok," he urged her, hastily putting the needle down on the table and wrapping his arms around her. Maybe it was a phobia or something. Maybe she was just being an idiot. It didn't matter. Whatever it was, this seemed to be a better approach to it it than yelling at her.

"It's ok. Shh," he said softly, pulling away just a bit so he could talk to her face to face. "Listen. I'm going to do my best here, but I need you to relax. Ok?"

To his surprise it worked; she became compliant. Bryan let out a deep breath, and went about administering the painkillers. The announcements came on, and Bryan wanted to ignore them although he knew that he couldn't afford to. Danya began rattling off the dead as usual, and as he mentioned Seth Bryan felt his blood boil. He finished with the needle and turned away from Tori so she wouldn't see his eyes tear up, pretending to fish through the drawer again as if he forgot something. Finally Danya finished his mockery and Bryan slammed the drawer shut. "Bastard," he snarled under his breath.

'Ok, the hospital's safe, now concentrate dammit.'

[baby_g†]

Tori, now calmed down, knowing that the painkillers would do no more than freeze the surface and that Bryan would have to dig deep to get the bullet, scrunched up the collar of her shirt placing it in her mouth ready to bite down on it. The announcements came on over the speakers loud as Bryan fished once more through another drawer near by.

How long have we been here?

As Tori laid on her back waiting for Bryan to come back to her side to begin digging through her thigh she kept close attention to what the loud ever so annoying voice was saying. There was ten of them left... and if she and Bryan wanted to make it to the end she'd have to chill out, listen and be extra careful. There wasn't any space to screwing up anymore and she had to make very sure that she wouldn't. Danya sure had really stuck it to Bryan about the whole Seth thing, and though his embrace made her feel better and for a moment like everything would be okay, she could tell now that he wasn't.

"I'm really sorry about Seth, Bryan."

[Cyco†]

Bryan took a slow breath. "It's ok," he replied. He grabbed the tweezers and wetted them in a tray of antiseptic on the table. This would probably do well enough in regards to getting the bullet out, but they would have to be ready to stop the bleeding quickly afterwards. A few minutes had passed, so the painkillers were likely taking effect.

"You 'right?"

It wasn't easy, and it looked painful. Bryan grimaced and breathed heavily through his nostrils as he dug the instrument steadily into the wound, but the worst part was having to feel with the tongs for the actual slug itself. Bryan knew it had to be excrutiating; he shot an apologetic glance up to her once or twice before the deed was done.

"Come on...there we go..."

Finally Bryan withdrew the bloody, misshapen hunk of lead and tossed it aside. He quickly went about cleaning the wound and sealing it with the adhesive bandage, then lifted Tori's leg to wrap the appendage properly. The whole operation took under five minutes, but what could one really do under the circumstances?

"Ok, it's over," he said with a sigh of relief, and he wiped his brow. He pulled her up into a sitting position. "I think it'll be ok, just don't stress it."

[baby_g†]

Tori didn't answer as Bryan approached with the tweezers. She knew quite well that what would happen next would probably be the most painful experience she'd ever have to go through. Biting down on the scrunched collar of her shirt her eyes began to overflow with tears. The painkillers help a bit, but it didn't stop the grinding pain that made it feel like he was slowly cutting it off. When Bryan was finally done, he went about wrapping her leg up tightly and was able to stop the bleeding as well.

With the bandage around her leg Tori wasn't looking so bad anymore... Bryan on the other hand was pretty messed up still. The scratch on his head looked like it should be cleaned while his hand would probably need to be wrapped again. Pulling one of the bags over to her being careful not to make noise or knock anything over, she open up the aid kit using some of the stuff she had and some of the stuff that was already opened ment for her.

"Bryan, come here." Pointing to the bandages, she reached out for his hand to undo the wrapping clean it with the antiseptic near by. After she finished with his hand she reached over and adjusted his head so that it was close enough for her to take a good look at it. She dabbed the antiseptic over slowly. She wanted to be helpful, but she also just liked having him close to her.

[Croco†]

((Continued from No Rest for the Weary))


The hospital...

How ironic that this would likely be the last stop, thought Vesa Turunen to himself as he saw the familiar building, dragging himself with axe in hand toward it.  It was but a few days earlier where he and Andi Ayala entered to escape plots and familiar faces...but the cold hard facts were starting to come to him.  And they were that this would be the last stop...not to finish the game on his terms...but in all likelihood to have someone finish him.  All that he needed was a worthy adversary, and whether he lived or died would be left for fate to decide.  A smile came over Vesa's face as he stepped up to the door and pushed it open.

He was expecting dead silence...so when he heard a loud scream, it unsettled him slightly.  But Vesa couldn't leave anything to chance...not this far into the game, when there was still a strong chance that he would make it out of this ordeal alive.  He was one of hundreds, and now that there was only ten or so combatants left, the fire was burning as strong as ever...even if it was starting to fade.  He set his pack down, panting as the burden was relieved from his shoulders, and pulled out the trusty Beretta that he acquired from the last venture he had from the hospital.  He felt he was safe enough to leave his pack unattended; the Colt 45 he plucked from Debrah was out of ammunition, so he didn't have to worry about that.  All he needed to do was to find anyone that was inside and determine if they were a threat, or easy prey.

Stalking quietly, Vesa put his ear up to the wall to see if he could hear anything, eventually coming to the door outside the room that Bryan and Tori were in.  "Now what...?" he whispered as he peered in to observe.

[Cyco†]

Bryan made no move to prevent Tori from rewrapping his hands. By now the lengthy cut--along with the short-lived memory of the encounter with Dan Birch--had all but faded into the back of his mind and buried themselves under 7th grade geometry.

He'd also forgotten about his temple, which stung a bit as Tori dabbed it with antiseptic. He winced, but shrugged it off and cracked a smile to indicate that it was well enough. She was so close to him; Bryan thought back to what had happened between them at the mall. How long ago was that? Moreover, how many times had they been nearly killed since then and now?

Bryan eyes met Tori's. They were a soft blue. His had always been a dull shade of green, nothing special to look at. He didn't suspect that they drew someone in the way hers did. Like before, he couldn't help himself. As if acting on its own his hand rose to touch hers by his temple.

'This girl's gonna kill me,' he thought as he leaned in and kissed her. 'But it's ok. Almost over. Everything's going to be ok.'

[baby_g†]

Tori was caught off guard by Bryan's kiss. Instictively she kissed him back placing her free hand behind his neck as she wondered if he knew just how much she really liked him. It wasn't just because of the numerous amount of times he'd saved her life or because he'd just carried her from a roof all the way to the hospital to fix up her leg; She was quite certian that if they were still at home, at school, she'd feel the same way.

Not wanting to ruin the moment at hand, Tori gave Bryan a deep soulful kiss and she couldn't have been more happy with the way things were turning out. Bryan has fixed her leg, she his hand, and given a hour or twos rest they could be on their way. It would only be a day or two left before they made it off the island together and as long as she stayed focussed on that she knew she'd be alright.