Page 120 of Incubus
Nathan knew it was stupid to take Sasha, too much of a burden and hindrance on his own abilities with a taller, larger body attached to him, but he couldn’t go against those scared eyes and desperate pleas. “Okay, but then you’re going to have to stay focused for me and help. Can you do that?”
Sasha nodded. Having something to focus on seemed to help clear his mind.
“Okay. Then you keep an eye open in case I miss something. And hey, you know anything about what Gabriel’s got set up in here?”
“Something…I think,” Sasha said, searching his memories with obvious difficulty. “Something about…wires…and…weapons…and runes.”
“Well…only one way to know for sure.”
Chapter 47
NathanheldSashaonhis left side so that his right hand was free to hold a gun. He opened the door as best he could and kicked it the rest of the way, peering inside. The warehouse was huge and far too quiet, but the first room looked benign. There were two doors on the far side, the room otherwise empty. Nathan decided to go left since that was closer to the room Jim had originally gone through.
The next room, finally, had some clutter. Not enough that a grown man could hide, but enough to hide traps. Nathan entered more cautiously, not surprised that Sasha was growing heavier the further they went. He stared at the surrounding shelving, filled with old boxes and random equipment.
“Stop!”
Nathan felt small pressure on the front of his foot and pulled back just as a gun fired into the wall, barely missing them. “Shit,” he gasped, looking down to find a tripwire.
Wires, Sasha had said.
“Good eyes, pal. You probably just saved my life,” Nathan said. He tried for a smile, but Sasha slumped against him. “Whoa, you okay? Not hit or something, are you?”
“So…tired,” Sasha said, struggling to keep his eyes open.
“I know. Just a little longer. Then we’ll get back to Schuester’s, patch you all up, and…we’ll take a vacation somewhere, okay? Somewhere with big hotel room beds.”
“Tease,” Sasha said in something of a tired hiss.
“You know it,” Nathan said. “Jim has to be further through now. No word from Walter, so we have to catch up. Come on.” He stepped over the wire in case it was somehow set up to fire again, and helped Sasha over as well, before pulling him along beside him further into the room. Nothing else seemed out of the ordinary and there was only one door out.
To Nathan’s dismay, the next room was dark, offering no way to know what lay inside. He entered slowly, trying to keep Sasha blocked by his body like a shield. Dragging his feet across the floor, Nathan tested for wires, and found one a foot from the door. Carefully, he stepped over it and once again helped Sasha do the same.
“See, this isn’t so bad,” Nathan said. He could almost make out another door ahead of them and was more than ready to get out of the dark and find some reassurance that Jim was okay. “I guess Gabriel’s not as good as I—”
"Nathan!" Walter called from somewhere in the dark.
Nathan froze, feeling slight pressure on hischestwhere he hadn't thought to watch for a wire. Something clicked in the distance and the only thing Nathan could think to do was push Sasha to the ground.
The impact sent Nathan flying. He landed halfway between the dark room and the one they had come from with a great searing pain throughout his chest from theshotgun blastthat had struck him.
Nathan knew the sound of a shotgun, the very impractical thing he hadn’t brought himself. At first, he thought he must be in shock. There had to be a hole through his chest and he was already halfway to being dead.
Risking a look at the damage, Nathan stared down the length of his sprawled body. There was too much blood already and his hands were shaking as he ripped at his T-shirt using the tiny pellet holes that had been left behind. They were small holes, Nathan noted, trying to take some comfort in that, and when he could finally see his chest, it was the same—tiny little holes deep enough that Nathan couldn’t see the pellets that were stuck there, but at least he hadn’t been left with a single gaping wound.
"Nathan!" Walter called again, still coming from somewhere Nathan couldn't see. "Jim has almost reached the center where Gabriel is waiting. You have to get up."
Nathan knew that, but his head was swimming from the pain and flow of blood.
Then Nathan felt hands, soft, trembling hands climbing up his body and pressing into the wounds. “Nathan?” came Sasha’s strangely small voice, the sight of him following soon after out of the darkness as he moved into the doorway next to Nathan and tried to help stop the bleeding. “No, no, no…you can’t leave. If you’re real…then you can’t leave me.Please…”
“I’m real,” Nathan said, wishing his voice didn’t sound so choked. “And I’m not…going anywhere. We have to…we have to help Jim. You have to help me get up.”
Sasha shook his head furiously, despite the slump in his body that proved he was barely keeping himself conscious. “Have to…stop the bleeding. You’re hurt.”
“I know I’m hurt…but we don’t have time to…” Nathan trailed, staring at Sasha’s dirty, too small shirt, that was really Nathan’s shirt. “Hey, you want to help?”
Wounded blue eyes looked at Nathan with desperate devotion.
