Five: Out of the Dark

by Anderson, Holli

  We all started toward him, but I motioned for Alec and Seth to stay put. They had a job to do. While they wove a lashing spell around the legs of our attacker, Halli and I ran to where Johnathan was splayed beneath the giant outstretched hand. He struggled, trying to push himself out from under it with no success. The veins in his neck and face bulged with the effort, ready to burst; his face was bright red. I freaked out when the Ogre started to close its hand around him, only Johntathan’s head and shoulders visible above the encircling fingers. I heard bones cracking.

  I didn’t know the Latin phrase for Let go, you big, stupid Ogre, so I just improvised by envisioning what I wanted and sending my will blasting at the hand that was crushing Johnathan.

  “Open!” I yelled, in case my visualization wasn’t enough to let the spell know what the plan was.

  A split second later, I heard Halli yell, “Loose!” unleashing a spell of her own.

  With a spasm that shook the room, the Ogre’s fingers flew open and Johnathan was free. The Ogre let out a surprised grunt and moved the disobeying hand in front of its eyes to examine it. Johnathan wasn’t moving away very fast, which meant he was either hurt or in shock.

  We each hooked an arm under his armpits, hauling him backwards several yards before the Ogre could notice and react. The boys must have successfully completed their lashing spell, because the giant beast tried to rise up to its knees but couldn’t because its legs were stuck together from crotch to feet and its knees wouldn’t bend. It flipped onto its back with astounding agility and swung the club in a wide circle in an attempt to take out Alec and Seth. They dove out of the way.

  In a flash, the Ogre flipped back over and reached for Johnathan again, as if suddenly remembering he was the prize it wanted. Halli and I gave one last Herculean effort and tugged Johnathan far enough away that the tips of its fingers just grazed his feet. We’d both fallen to our butts with our last pull and Johnathan still wasn’t reacting as he should.

  “Halli, cover us,” I directed.

  She nodded and turned to face the giant Ogre. The contrast in their sizes was almost comical. But Halli was a formidable opponent. There was never a time I wasn’t glad we were on the same team. It was like having our own little magical Tasmanian Devil when she unleashed on something.

  And that’s exactly what she did. The Ogre never had a chance, really. I turned my attention to Johnathan and in the next moment the Ogre was nothing but a huge pile of super-smelly, green ichor splattered everywhere—all over the dilapidated room and all over us—especially Halli, who’d been standing right in the center of the splash zone. It was a really good thing that stuff wasn’t toxic.

  I wanted to know what attack she’d used, but I decided I could find out later. I needed to see why Johnathan was still not responding appropriately. This whole interaction—from the time we pulled Johnathan away from the furniture-sized fingers to the Ogre-explosionfest—was less than thirty seconds.

  When I finally got a good look at Johnathan, shining star-bright right down on him, I gasped. His lips had turned an awful blue color and I could see the cords in his neck straining with each attempt to pull air into his lungs.

  I used my super-human, adrenaline-powered strength to rip his shirt down the middle. “Oh,” I croaked.

  The whole left side of his torso was misshapen and bruising at an incredible rate. Almost every rib on that side appeared to be broken, and while the right side of his chest rose and fell with each grueling breath, the left side didn’t move. That meant, I realized, he had a collapsed lung. The pressure was building on the collapsed side, which crowded the right side, making it more and more difficult for him to suck in any air at all. Recognizing the problem was a start. But I had no idea what to do about it.

  My slime-splattered companions raced over and knelt beside Johnathan and me.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Alec asked.

  “Collapsed lung,” I said.

  “He doesn’t look so good,” Seth said. “What should we do?”

  I hated that they all turned to me for an answer. The only thing I could think of to do was call an ambulance—and we couldn’t do that. First of all, we had no phone. We also had no parents or guardians, and that would be a huge problem if the authorities found out. Foster care was not somewhere any of us wanted to end up. Also, the whole technology-ruining thing was a big problem in a hospital. Not that any of these reasons would have stopped me from calling, had a phone been available.

  I didn’t have an answer. Something tickled the edges of my memory. Something about decompression. I remembered a lecture in an advanced first aid class I’d taken, but it hadn’t really been part of the class. The paramedic instructor was just trying to impress us with his feats of medical heroism. Andy, that was his name, I remembered—amazing the things you think of in times of great crisis. I concentrated hard, trying to remember exactly what he’d said. Needle decompression, between the second and third ribs in line with the middle of the collarbone on the affected side, the voice of the cocky but cute instructor came back to me.

  Johnathan’s whole face was turning blue now. I didn’t have a needle, but I rummaged in my fanny pack for something—anything—that I might be able to use.

  “What are you looking for, Paige?” Seth asked. Then, with more urgency, “What are you doing? Johnathan’s dying!”

  “A tube … I need a small tube of some sort.” I pulled a pen out of my pack and removed the ends and the ink. I held it up to examine it. “Too big. It’s too big around.” I set the pen down and dumped the contents of the pack on the floor, frantic.

  Seth unzipped his pack and pulled out the most wonderful thing in the world—a blowgun that was small in circumference and made out of Black Ironwood. I vaguely remembered him taking it from an Imp we banished back to the Netherworld. Too small for a human to use as a weapon, he’d kept it as a novelty item.

  I grabbed the blowgun out of his hands and pulled a pocketknife out of my pocket, glad Johnathan always insisted we keep them razor sharp. I was scared to use the metal blade on Johnathan—I’d read a lot about silver being detrimental to werewolves. Even though my knife was not made from silver, I still had reservations about using it. I’d seen firsthand the damage steel and iron did to the Fae, burning their skin away like an attack from a million microscopic piranhas. And the thing that bit Johnathan was likely related to the Fae. I didn’t want to take a chance. So I used the knife to cut off a three-inch length of Seth’s blowgun, cutting at a sharp angle to make a pointy edge that would puncture Johnathan’s body.

  I turned my attention to Johnathan. His efforts to breathe were almost nil at this point. I wasted no time on thinking, because if I allowed myself to think about what I was about to do, I knew I would probably chicken out. With my left hand, I found what I hoped was his second rib, and with my right hand, I stabbed the modified blowgun in at a forty-five-degree angle, slipping it under the third rib. It slid in smoothly and I knew when I’d gone in far enough because a whoosh of air escaped through the tube—and continued escaping as the previously entrapped air finally had an exit.

  I examined Johnathan’s face, sure his skin would be turning pink again. It wasn’t. His efforts to breathe had ceased completely while I’d been busy puncturing his chest.

  “Halli, mouth-to-mouth! Hurry!” I said. I was afraid to move; afraid the tube I’d just placed would shift and become of no use if I didn’t continue to hold it in place. I watched as Halli tipped Johnathan’s head back, plugged his nose, and placed her mouth over his. She breathed into his mouth, pausing in-between breaths to allow the air exchange to take place.

  “Should I start chest compressions?” Seth asked.

  “No. I can still feel his heart beating. He just needs oxygen,” I answered, my left hand lying over Johnathan’s heart.

  He took a shuddering breath on his own. I don’t think I’ve ever been as relieved as I was when Johnathan opened his eyes. He blinked at Halli, still leaning over him,
then looked at Alec and Seth. When his eyes landed on mine, they stayed locked in place.

  “Paige,” he groaned. “Chest … hurts.”

  I smiled, and breathed for the first time in several long seconds. “I know, John. I’m sorry. You’ve broken some ribs and collapsed a lung, but everything’s gonna be fine. You’re going to be fine.”

  He placed his hand on top of mine that rested on his chest over his heart. My other hand still held the tube firmly in place; air whooshed out with each breath he took. His hand on mine was cool at first, but grew warmer and warmer. He closed his eyes and squeezed my hand. His grip was stronger than I thought would be possible after what had just happened.

  The adrenaline rush subsided in an abrupt fashion—I hit a brick wall. My body shook like I was freezing and a bout of weakness overtook my limbs. I became dizzy and a little nauseated. Shock, I thought, referring again to the first aid class I’d taken so long ago, before my world was full of monsters. I’m in shock. Johnathan should be in shock.

  I looked at his face again. His color returned and his breaths came easier. He opened his eyes like he felt me staring at him. He removed the hand that held mine and raised it to my face. His touch was like an ember—was it because I was so cold? Or, had he gotten that warm, that fast?

  He snaked his hand around the back of my head and pulled me down. He laid a gentle kiss on my forehead. His hand dropped back to the rubble-strewn ground as I sat up straight again. My skin tingled where his warm lips had touched.

  Seth, always the thinker, wiped the blood from around the tube in Johnathan’s chest and said, “Move your hand, Paige. I’ll tape it down so you don’t have to hold it.”

  Johnathan closed his eyes again, grimacing. I scooted around so I could lay his head on my lap, hoping to make him more comfortable. Alec, Seth and Halli huddled close. We were all silent, allowing him some recovery time.

  Johnathan’s eyes flew open; he jumped a little and grimaced at the pain the movement caused. “I heard something,” he said. “I think there’s someone out there.” He pointed in the direction of the demolished entrance, out toward the Underground street.

  Halli stood. “I’ll go check it out.”

  Without saying a word, Seth followed her.

  I examined Johnathan’s left side again … and thought I was losing my mind. The bruising was already changing from new bruise purple-red to old bruise yellow-brown. And I could see his ribs reshaping, moving ever so slowly under his skin back to their original positions. I watched, transfixed, my eyes glued to the miraculous healing. I remembered the cut above his eye the night before, and how fast it had healed.

  “Alec,” I whispered, “Look.”

  Alec’s eyes widened. “Wow. That must be a Wolf thing.”

  I laid my hand on Johnathan’s cheek. He was so warm. I stroked his cheek, his forehead, his hair. His eyes were closed again. Less air was leaking from the tube in his chest, which I hoped was a good sign.

  Seth and Halli came bounding back into the building. “Did you see anything?” I whispered.

  Halli shrugged. “I thought I might have seen someone turning the corner, but if there was anyone there, they were gone by the time we reached it.”

  “Wow,” Seth said, looking at Johnathan. “He’s healing fast. Just like the cut on his forehead last night. I wondered if that was only something that happened when he was in Wolf form—I guess I have an answer to that mystery now.”

  “We should probably try to get him downstairs. We’re kind of unprotected up here. Someone knocked out our wards at this entrance,” Halli said.

  That wasn’t good. I didn’t think the Ogre had been capable of disarming magical wards—which meant his appearance here hadn’t been accidental. Someone sent him. Someone who knew where our hideout was.

  “Okay,” I said. I leaned down close to Johnathan’s face and said in a quiet voice, “Johnathan? Do you think you can move yet? We can carry you if not.”

  I felt the exhale of his warm breath on my face; smelled the scent of it. His nostrils flared and his eyes opened so fast it made me jump. They weren’t his eyes staring up at me, but the golden eyes of the Wolf. He clamped his hand around mine that was still pressed against his face, and squeezed. His eyes rolled back a little and a small growl escaped his throat. He still held tight to my hand, crushing my fingers against each other. He closed his eyes and breathed in and out a few times before his grip relaxed. Without opening his eyes, he said, “Move. Away.” He released my hand with a shove.

  I scooted my legs out from under his head, letting it hit the floor with a thud. I stood and took several steps away.

  Seth and Alec were stunned silent for a second; I had to assume they didn’t know about my and Johnathan’s deal, or his struggles with staying in control around me. I’d talked to Halli about it late at night, when sleep evaded us both, so she knew, but this was the first time she’d witnessed the harshness behind these incidents.

  “Johnathan,” Alec said, “what the heck, bro? She just saved your life.”

  Johnathan responded with a growl. His fists were clenched so tight at his sides that they shook.

  “It’s okay, Alec,” I said. “I’ll explain later. He didn’t mean to be a jerk, he can’t help it.” I tried to speak with an understanding tone, or at least a neutral one, but the words came out with a little bit of bitterness nonetheless. The hurt stabbed into my heart every time he rejected me like that, even though I knew why he did it.

  “It’s seriously not okay, but whatever,” Alec mumbled.

  “Come on, guys, we can talk about this after we’re safely downstairs behind warded and locked doors.” Halli looked around. Her eyes lingered on the destroyed wall where the Ogre had entered.

  “Johnathan? Do you need help? Should Alec and I make you a stretcher?” Seth asked.

  Johnathan inhaled slowly, then opened his eyes. “I think I can do it myself.”

  “Good thing, ’cause I wasn’t going to help you.” I never knew Alec could be so protective. You’d have thought I was his sister or something.

  “Alec, he really does have a good reason what for he just did,” I tried to explain.

  “No. Alec’s right to be mad at me. I don’t deserve any of your help. You should have just let me …”

  “Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” I turned and stormed down the stairs.

  The others followed, Johnathan and Halli taking up the rear. Johnathan grimaced a little as he plodded down the stairs, but he made it on his own. Halli stayed at the top to set the wards and relock the padlocks.

  Johnathan went to his sleeping bag and sat, using the wall as a brace to slide down and then rest against when his butt hit the floor. He was breathing heavier than normal, but doing well considering what he’d just been through.

  The rest of us took turns using the bathroom to wash at least some of the goo off from the Ogre-explosion. I went last, keeping a close eye on Johnathan’s condition from across the room.

  When I came back out to the common area, Halli turned to me. “Johnathan thinks he’s healed enough to take the tube out. He doesn’t want the skin to heal too much around it and make it hard to pull out.”

  “Okay …” I said. “I think we should test it first, to make sure no more air is leaking from his damaged lung.”

  “How do we do that?” Alec asked.

  “I don’t know … plug it off for a few minutes, I guess. See if it’s harder for him to breathe. Why am I all of a sudden the medical expert?”

  “Because you’re the one who stabbed him to save him,” Alec said. “You are the MVP today… and the only expert we have.”

  “I agree with Paige. We should plug it off first to make sure you’re okay,” Seth said.

  “Fine, should I just hold my finger over the hole, or what?” Johnathan asked.

  “I guess,” I said. “Just do it tight, so no air can escape.”

  He did fine when the tube was plugged. No increased trouble breathing
. “Okay. I’m fine. Now will someone please take it out?”

  I started toward him and then stopped at the distressed frown on his face. “One of you guys’ll have to do it,” I said. Keep your distance, Paige—please, I could almost hear him pleading with his eyes.

  “Oh, for crying out loud, this is ridiculous. What is going on with you two?” Alec looked back and forth between us.

  “Someone come take this out and then I’ll explain,” Johnathan said.

  “I’ll do it,” Halli volunteered. “Just tell me what to do, Paige.”

  I sighed. I guess I was going to remain the expert, whether I wanted to or not. “I guess just peel the tape off carefully then slide the tube out. You should cover the hole with something that won’t let any air leak out, I think.”

  She grabbed the roll of duct tape from Seth and knelt down beside Johnathan. Halli pulled the tube out quickly; he didn’t even flinch. She fastened a couple strips of duct tape in an X over the hole.

  “Okay, tough guy, tell us why it’s okay for you to be such a jerk to Paige,” Alec demanded.

  I didn’t bother sticking up for Johnathan this time. My heart was still stinging and my body too exhausted from the huge adrenaline rush and subsequent crash to be understanding and supportive at that moment. Let him explain this to them.

  Without going into any details about our encounter in the alley, he explained as best he could the danger he believed he posed to my well-being. He used words like lust, uncontrollable, and animal. And phrases like never forgive myself, rather die, and I should just leave.

  The way they all looked at me, even Halli, all full of pity, was more than I could take. I stood, knocking my chair over backwards, and walked with carefully controlled steps—determined not to let myself run like I wanted to—to my room. Once there, I slammed the door like an angry five-year-old.

  I didn’t cry behind that closed door. The day had been too hard and my emotions were all spent. I just sat, arms around knees, and rocked back and forth until fatigue overtook me.