The Dead World Ch. 08

"Thank God for rich assholes! Wooo! Let's get the fuck out of here!"

Dog lifted the hood of the car, placing the battery near that of the old Pontiac's before fetching the jumper cables from the back and attaching the pair. After a moment, the lights of the dash illuminated dully, and Charlie eased into the driver seat, holding onto the wheel and craning her head out the window.

"Should I try it now?"

Dog poked his head from around the hood, shaking it vigorously. The thing had sat for six years... It would need every bit of energy it could take from the old Ford battery... which he was certain was probably on its last leg as well. They might only have one shot at it.

"Let me know when then... I'll run back to base and grab what we're taking with!"

As Charlie hopped out and darted back toward the office facility, she hadn't noticed that the chains holding the damaged front gates had fallen, and the slightest crack was left there between the two. She was none the wiser that Slash was quietly making his way around to the back of the self-storage facility, slowly sneaking up behind Dog with a silence rivaling the younger man's talent. In his hands he held the 9mm pistol firmly, waiting until he was just behind Dog.

"Hey, kid. How about you turn it around... real slow, now—aht-aht! Hands up... real slow, that's a good boy."

Dog's right hand had twitched, betraying his thought to draw down on the older man. His shoulders tensed visibly as he hesitantly brought both thin-fingered hands into the air, up alongside his head... and cautiously he turned to face Slash, his expression unreadably cold. He stood there for a long few moments with the group's mechanic holding him at point... almost as if he was waiting for something...

Charlie.

He couldn't warn her if he tried. Dog's teeth gritted hard as the older man cocked his head to the side, peering around him to examine the hard-top Firebird, nodding his head slowly.

"Damn, ain't she a beaut? Gotta hand it to ya kid... ya gotta gift for findin' the best shit, I'll tell ya what. Lil' bit fancy for my tastes, but hey... anything's better than nothin'—ya owe me a set of wheels for running off with my damn truck." Slash chuckled cordially, and Danny flashed a lazy, lop-sided grin, his eyes betraying his true emotions. He glared into Slash's gaze with a dislike now bordering disgust, and the older man didn't overlook it.

"Don't gimme that look, boy... I done saved yer ass a million and one times over since Skully cut that fuckin' chain from around yer skinny lil' neck, or did ya lose yer fuckin' mind because ya made a new lil' friend?"

Dog shrugged his shoulders bitterly and rolled his eyes. 'Gonna talk my ear off or shoot me?'

"Nah, I ain't gonna shoot ya, punk. Let's wait for lil' Charlie ta come along... then we'll have a nice lil' chat an' make our way back to home base..."

Dog's eyes danced nervously back toward the front of the facility, knowing it would only be moments before Charlie rounded the corner again and ran right into Slash. His heart beat wildly, adrenaline slowly working into his veins as he turned his eyes back to Slash.

They could both fear her footsteps. The second she rounded the corner, Slash turned the gun on her and pulled the trigger—and in the very same instance, Dog rushed forward, tackling the older man to the ground.

Charlie squeaked, and threw her hands up impulsively, hearing the bullet embed into the concrete mere inches from her head. Her eyes went wide, wildly trying to make sense of what she was seeing, dropping the backpacks as she rushed to Dog's aide who was now in a hell of a scuffle with the ex-military mechanic.

Slash didn't waste any time throwing the younger male off of him, rounding on him to make his best attempt to regain control of the weapon Dog knocked from his hands, and as they scrambled for it simultaneously Slash threw a punch, catching the younger male square in the jaw. Dog saw stars for a second, but his hands were firm on the barrel of the glock. He flung it off into the garage before Slash shoved him roughly, sending him flying into the red mud, scrambling to get back to his feet. Both men had moved back to stand, and Danny reached back for his knife.

"Whatcha gonna do with that, huh? 'Cept piss me off... Huh?!"

"Fuck you, you motherfucker!" Charlie shouted, springing to leap upon Slash's back, her small hands locking viciously around his neck to claw at the flesh as she did so. Taken off guard, he barely had time to throw her off of him before Dog had leapt, bearing down with the blade with all of his strength as Slash fought to keep control of the moment and keep the teen from driving the blade into his chest. They struggled over the knife as the sky opened up once again, heavy droplets falling upon the scuffling pair... and upon the ground Charlie groaned, and coughed, having been slammed none too gracefully onto her back.

She struggled to stand just as Slash ripped the knife from Dog's grasp, and caught his left leg at the knee with his boot, knocking the younger male onto the ground. Charlie was struggling to stand... and Slash was moving far faster than one would expect him to. Dog struggled to get to his feet, reaching for Charlie's wrist, desperately trying to yank her to safety...

This time though... he was a moment too late.

She screamed a sound so chilling it stole his breath. Slash had driven the knife into her shoulder from behind, twisting it viciously as he placed a boot upon the youngster's right leg, kicking sharply to send her toppling into Dog. And all she could register at that moment was absolute searing pain. Tears slipped from her eyes as he cradled her, gripping the hilt of his knife hard and slowly pulling it free of her shoulder and discarding it.

She cried out as he pulled the blade free; the sound it made was sickening, her breath frantic and strained as she whimpered and gasped in desperate pain. Dog drew her in, snatching the beanie from her head to press it hard into into the wound as the blood began to flow, his heart wrenching as she cried out again and grasped his arms. "N-NO—SS! S-stopstopDanny, nngh!"

"Ah, shit... now see what ya did?!" Slash's amused shout was accompanied by laughter, absolutely pleased with how things had panned out... Oh, but he simply wasn't looking hard enough. Dog was scrambling to slow the bleeding, and it was surely the first time he'd seen Charlie without the beanie on. His brow furrowed, and he slowly circled around the pair, taking in the long braid that had fallen loose from the cap the kid always wore, the curly tendrils framing her round face...

"Shiiiit... Oh fuck, ohhhhh shit! Charlie's fuckin' female—I FUCKIN' KNEW IT!"

Dog ripped the silenced 9mm pistol from its holster at his hip, thumb pulling the hammer back in an instant as he trained the gun square on Slash's chest. He clutched Charlie close, pressing with everything he had down upon the rushing wound as the woman struggled in frantic pants, shuddering gasps and whimpers of fervent pain. The mechanic's expression had melted from sadistic glory to absolute shock and panic, a wave of guilt sweeping him as he came to terms with the fact that he'd just knifed a fucking girl in the back!

"Dog... now, ya listen to me, an' listen good... get her up! C'mon kid, you shoot me an' you're fucked—she's as good as dead! She ain't gonna make it without help—now get her ass up, she needs a fuckin' medic!"

He held the gun on the older man so tight he was trembling, the flood of rage and fear subsiding as Charlie sobbed and shook her head desperately as he attempted to move her. Dog grit his teeth and shoved the gun back into it's holster, bitterly tossing his head toward the car. Slash rushed into the garage, retrieving his firearm before dropping into the seat of the Firebird and turning the key in the ignition.

The engine grumbled, struggling to turn over as he held the key. With terror lacing every inch of his being, Dog scooped an arm beneath Charlie, hoisting her up into his arms despite her protests. Her breath was ragged and strained in rapid rise and falls as she struggled with the heavily bleeding wound. He tried his best not to let the soft cry of pain distract him from how crucial the next few moments would be as he moved around to the car door, his bloodied hand grasping the handle to pull it open and bring Charlie into the vehicle with him.

Slash tried the engine once more, and with a roar, the car started, and he slapped the steering wheel as Dog slammed the door shut. He rushed from the driver's seat to hastily detach the truck battery and cables, slamming the hood down and unceremoniously tossing the items into the back seat before he took the wheel once again. Slash put the muscle car into gear and tore out of the garage. Charlie had gone quiet now and was still in his arms, prompting Dog to damn near panic as he struggled to get her out of the leather jacket and better press down upon the wound.

There was so much fucking blood.

"Hold 'er tight, put pressure on her hard, or she's gonna bleed out 'fore we make it! Fuuuuuck, you fuckin' morons! Now look at the fuckin' mess ya made!"

"Keep the pressure on!"

Slash's voice was a hazy murmur as she drifted in and out of consciousness...

One moment she felt cold nothingness... and the next she felt as if she had been lit on fire. Every nerve ending in her body sang with absolute agony when the world came crashing back to her, and she struggled to breathe, sucking air between her teeth as she groaned miserably with her face pressed to Dog's chest. Stay with me...

He held her in a death grip, his knuckles white as he clutched the blood-soaked beanie against the gaping wound torn into her right shoulder, the other hand clutching her head to him as tears streamed from her eyes. She could hear the engine roaring and the rain falling upon the hood... she could hear Dog's heart thumping wildly in his chest as he stroked her head and tried his damndest to comfort her.

"Hey, hey hey, keep her fuckin' awake man!"

Stay with me.

She was sure she could almost hear Dog's voice as the world began to fade away, sucking her back to that cold, empty place. She shuddered, her eyelids fluttering dangerously low as she felt the world spiral... and she fell still and quiet again.

Slash pushed the car well to the hundreds on the speedometer, shaving five minutes at least from the twenty-minute drive, but as the paved road turned to gravel he had no choice but to slow down, narrowly avoiding a few stumbling rotters on the bridge as they raced the clock to make it back.

"I fuckin' found 'em, Diablo get yer shit... One of 'em's fuckin' dyin'!" As soon as they were within range Slash relayed their position on the radio. Dog didn't dare look at Slash. He still wanted to shoot the fucker and be done with it... and he would have surely done so if he didn't need him to drive the car

"Roger that." The static broke with Ruthless' voice as they neared the familiar structure.

He slammed the brakes at the valet station of the northern tower, both Diablo and Ruthless rushing out to meet them as Dog carried the motionless female into the building. The men hurried to shove the items from the check-in counter before Dog laid the woman down gently upon it, the visible confusion shooting between the group.

"The fuck, man, who the fuck is this?" Diablo questioned, clearly confused.

"ITS FUCKIN' CHARLIE, who the fuck does it look like?!" Slash snapped in clear panic.

"Bro..." Diablo shook his head hastily in disbelief, not wasting time to take care of removing the flannel shirts as Dog shifted her gently to her side and then stepped back numbly. His mind was racing, his eyes darting wildly from Charlie, to Diablo and then Slash.

Ruthless moved swiftly, drawing his own long hunting knife from the sheath at his back pocket and offering it to the medic who sliced clean through the fabric of the woman's shirts before slicing away at both her bra and the thick material she'd woven around her chest, throwing his gaze back over his shoulder to Dog with knitted brows.

"Water—towels too, hurry up!"

"What happened?" Ruthless' deep, deadpan tone was a jarring snap as Slash raised his hands defenselessly and shook his head with wild disbelief at how things had unfolded. It took everything he had not to cackle and grin wickedly as the men scrambled.

"Oh fuck no, don't look at me—both these lil' fuckers had it out for me, one minute we're scrappin', next thing I know she gets hit!"

Dog was gone and back before Diablo could dig all his tools out, enlisting Ruthless to aid in calming the blood flow. Any moment pressure was removed seemed to steal minutes off of Charlie's life. Dog set the items requested by the medics aside, and backed away, pacing the floor as he tried to calm his frayed nerves.

"Ay, dios mio, the fuck Slash, you tried to kill him—her! Fuck, man! Hold here... Shit went clean through to the other fuckin' side of her arm, he turned the blade, took a fuckin' chunk out of her—I can't stitch this shit, man—Imma have to burn her, or she's gonna bleed out." Seeing through the bleeding mess was the easy part. The blood had gone from Diablo's face as he realized the extent of the damage done though. He frantically sought a bottle of liquor from his supply bag, drenching the wound before pressuring one of the towels Dog had retrieved against it in a desperate attempt to slow the bleeding.

"Get the fuckin' torch, Slash—And I'ma need an anesthetic, painkillers, whatever the fuck you got... C'mon, hurry the fuck up!"

"We need Oz—" Ruthless' cold tone was intense, and harsh.

"Later man, I need y'all here! Dog... something hard and wooden, so she doesn't bite her fuckin' tongue off..." Diablo bestowed the order to the younger male with urgency, and Dog hastily went to work.

The chaos had gone unbeknownst to Charlie for the longest time.

It wasn't until Slash returned with a tall blue torch did the world come painfully ripping back to her. The searing pain was red hot, and her eyes shot open as a burst of adrenaline flooded her body. She tried her damnedest to jerk herself away, but Ruthless had taken her by both arms, holding her down as she screamed with everything in her against the makeshift bit of a supporting piece of one of the fine lobby chairs Dog had torn apart. Her teeth bore down until she felt consciousness slip away from her again, eyes rolling back as the pain overcame her...

Diablo could only be grateful she'd passed out again, nodding for Ruthless to continue to hold her as he held the flame to her shoulder. He could only pray the shock of it didn't put the poor thing into cardiac arrest.

Once the flow of blood stopped, Diablo tipped the bottle of clear grain liquor once more over the cauterized wound, unable to help the shaking of his hands. There was blood everywhere. She'd lost a lot for someone so small. It put her odds of survival incredibly low... but for now, she was still breathing, however pale and traumatized she may be.

He couldn't help but bring the bottle of Everclear to his lips and toss his head back, taking a swig before placing the cap back on it and looking through the old military medic bag for clean gauze, tape, and sutures. Diablo was uttering to himself in Spanish, still trapped in a moment of sheer disbelief. Ruthless had slowly released the heavy hold he had on the delicate woman's arms, moving away with haste and with red-tinged hands, almost entirely unsurprised that Slash had delivered several sets of drugs to the paramedic and then all but vanished.

"We need Oz." Ruthless' tone of voice was now an aggressive boom. Dog sat on the dusty lobby floor, watching as Diablo went about the process of stitching the exit point of the knife up while Charlie was unconscious and still, paying little mind to the drying blood that painted his forearms and clothing. The prang of guilt had slowly begun to creep into his psyche, playing back the fateful moment when he simply hadn't been quick enough to pull her to safety.

"Yeah... Let's get her to the other building first. It's clean, there... She's gonna need a lot of rest if she's gonna make it. Ayuda me—careful with her..."

Diablo mindfully tucked one of the old towels around Charlotte's slim, exposed body after cleaning up as much of the dried blood as he could with the water Dog had brought. He would've killed to have an IV for the poor, unfortunate woman or a few packs of blood... but there wasn't a cold chance in hell he'd ever come across any such materials, and so, he settled for what he had—a syringe, a vial of morphine, and a bottle of Vicodin. He made certain to sedate her before allowing Ruthless to lift her up from the desk... and slowly, with newfound tension thick enough to cut with a knife, the three men made their way deeper into the recesses of the resort.

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