Chapter Text
'Disgrace!'
'Disappointment!'
'Waste of my time!'
He could still hear every hate filled word. Still feel every single blow that accompanied them. Over and over and over again. He wheezed against his aching ribs, blood gurgling in his throat with each painful breath. His head lolled to his left pitifully, staring at the stump that used to be his arm. Cleanly cut right above the elbow.
Yet another reminder of his failure.
This was no warrior’s death…then again he supposed he never was one to begin with. He’d played the part well enough in this life. Trying time and time again to be what was expected of him. But nothing was ever good enough…and he supposed his heart was never really in it. This revelation being in his dying moments tasted nearly as bitter as his blood.
Des rolled his head back with a pained growl that bounced back at him off the cave walls. The rocks themselves mocking his own death rattles. As his ribs ground together in another breath he wondered just what exactly would happen first. Him bleeding out or whatever called this cave home returning and dispatching the intruder in its territory. With no weapons and the fact he was laying at the death god’s feet he couldn't fight back even if he wanted to.
Pathetic. Dying like this. No grand hunt, no worthy prey, no opponent to bring him down in honor. Just the dark quiet of this damp cave and the blinding pain of his body. He wouldn't go out with a valiant roar, he was going out with a pitiful whimper.
This was no warrior's death….but, perhaps it was the one he deserved.
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“Reid, you copy?”
The radio crackled on the bedside table, the voice of her supervisor breaking the peaceful silence. A deeply unpleased grumble came from the blanket cocoon on the bed. The entire thing rotating as a hand lazily reached out.
“Leah? You awake?”
He came over the crackling frequency again. The hand groping blindly at the bedside for the offending noise. Sitting up with a soft huff Leah dropped the blanket and brought the radio up to speak.
“I am NOW.” She muttered tiredly as her vision adjusted to the low light of her bedroom. Her eyes traveled back to her bedside table. The bright red glow of her alarm clock reading 3:15 am. She sighed deeply, it was too early for this shit. The radio blipped as the voice spoke again.
“How kind of you to join us, Reid.”
“Fuck off Kent, someone had better be dead or dying.”
“We have reports of a lot of commotion in your sector. Some campers called in a ton of noise in the cave system a few clicks from your cabin. Sounds like maybe a bear or mountain lion in there.”
Leah breathed an annoyed huff before replying. “And you want me to check it out? At 3 am?”
“Oh sorry, would you like us to ask the murder mammal to wait until after breakfast to maul someone?” Kent’s snark was unappreciated. Leah shook her head pinching the bridge of her nose. “Alright, give me fifteen and I’ll be en route.” She replied, kicking the blanket to the floor.
“Call if you need back up. Be careful out there Reid. Make sure to grab your bear spray.”
“Copy, over and out.”
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The second she cut the lights on the jeep the forest was pitch black again. Immediately she noticed how quiet it was. The crickets’ song had fallen deathly quiet, no owls screeched overhead, and there was not a single glinting pair of racoon eyes in the treeline. She wasn't afraid of the woods, but this certainly gave her an uneasy feeling. A forest going quiet was always a bad sign.
The beam of her flashlight cut through the black as she walked to the mouth of the cave. Sweeping it low over the ground to check for any tracks first. This wasn't the first time a bear had cozied up in this spot, and she was certain it wouldn't be the last. Just another quick call to animal control to have the thing tranquilized and relocated away from the camp grounds.
The light moved over an indent in the ground, the tracks she was looking for. Only….that didn't really look like any bear tracks she’d seen before. She bent down to look closer, the flashlight catching something else right beside it. A flash of bright green in the dirt. Cautiously Leah reached down, swiping at the blotch with a finger. Bringing it up and holding the flashlight close to it.
It ran down her finger freely, and to her shock it was slightly warm. She swept the ground for more and out of the corner of her eye she was shocked to see it glow softly in the low light. What was it? Glow in the dark paint? She huffed in annoyance. “If those teens are out here with the damn paintball guns again-”
A soft, echoing noise came from the cave mouth and Leah snapped her head around to it. Sweeping the flashlight across the dark entrance. Animals made weird noises all the time, sometimes mountain lions were mistaken for women screaming in the night. But that? That did not sound like any animal she knew lived in this region. Slowly she stood not taking her eyes off the mouth of the cave. Half expecting whatever that was to come lumbering out to try and intimidate her out of its territory.
But nothing was there. Another, louder noise came from deeper in the cavern. The light of her flashlight caught more of the green fluid, in a trail leading up and into the cave. Cautiously Leah reached to her belt for her radio, not taking her eyes away for a moment as she lifted it to speak.
“Kent, I'm here. I hear what's in there-” she rubbed her stained fingers together “-and looks like there's some vandalism too. Some kind of …glow in the dark paint.”
“Typical-” Kent huffed “- these damn teenagers. Got any idea what it could be?”
“I don't….really know. Might be one of the teens hanging around trying to scare their friends. Paint heads into the cave, I'm gonna go in and see what the damage is.”
“You want me to call Jameson? He can be there in about ten.”
“Nah, think I can handle it."
“You got your bear spray right?”
“Oh gee you only remind me to bring it every single time we talk.” She sarcastically replied.
“Fuck you.” Kent chuckled “Be careful Leah, call if you need backup. Over and out.”
Replacing the walkie on her hip she lifted the flashlight again, walking cautiously into the mouth of the cave. She swept the light over the ground as she took each careful step. Following the trail left behind by whatever it was in here. Droplets of it became small puddles here and there. All of it gave off a strange soft glow when her light was not focused on it.
Something about it didn't sit right with her. Paint didn't normally have this texture, and the glow it gave off was almost bioluminescent. What had these kids gotten into? She ducked her head around a corner and something in her peripheral made her stop. A shadow along the far wall about twenty feet away from her left. It….looked….like a person?
She swallowed before speaking. “Hello? Park Ranger. Do you need-” she tipped the light up, and her shocked gasp echoed loudly off the cave walls. The flashlight nearly fell out of her hand, the light bouncing wildly around the rocks before she caught herself and focused it again.
That was NOT a bear.
It was humanoid, but not a human. It had to be at least seven feet tall, maybe more. With skin that was various shades of green striped with black. And it's face…oh God it's face. Four mandibles ending in pointed tusks covered its mouth. Opening and closing as the creature raggedly breathed. It took her a moment to really process that. It was BREATHING.
She shifted the light a little, eyes wide as she looked at this…thing. It was missing an arm, cleanly cut right at the end of the bicep. And that same glowing green oozed out of the wound. She blinked and lifted her own hand to rub at the stain it'd left. That texture, the viscosity, she knew it was familiar. Blood….this was blood. It was bleeding. She looked back as it gave a pained whine in another breath. More glowing blood seeping from its wounds.
It was dying.
“Reid, you copy?” The crackle of the radio scared what little life she had in her left. Pawing blindly at her hip not taking her eyes off it, hoping beyond hope it hadn't heard her. Or at least didn't care to do anything about it. She fumbled with the buttons in her shaking hand. “Yeah! Yeah I’m here!” She answered a little too quickly, focused still on the thing on the wall.
“What's the situation? Do we need to call animal control?”
This was FAR out of their jurisdiction. This called for…she didn't know. The army? The FBI? But this would definitely take more than a tranq gun and a net. Leah lifted the walkie to talk again, a plea for that backup Kent had mentioned on the tip of her tongue. Then she looked back at the thing.
It's head had rolled back pressed up against the wall and toward her. It was staring directly at her with one good eye. The other was swollen shut by a massive welt. She expected malice, a threat for coming so close to it in such a weak state. But…instead there was just pain. Desperation. Fear. It shouldn’t have, she knows it shouldn't have…but it made her chest heavy with sympathy.
It was confused, afraid, and dying. And now it stared at her with that sad expression, eye the color of tree sap. Her hand squeezed the walkie tightly as her thoughts became disjointed. Sympathy rapidly replacing fear. What could have possibly left it like this?
“Leah?! I’m about to get the police out there, what the hell is going on?! Are you hurt?!” Kent was getting very impatient. Leah continued to stare at it for another far too long moment. And she made her choice. Wondering if she’d gone completely insane as she lifted the walkie again.
“I-I’m alright! Yeah, those damn kids got in here and made a real mess of the place. It was all some big prank they were trying to get their friends with.” She kept her voice as even as possible. She was lucky he didn't have better intuition. “Son of a bitch! You catch them?”
“No, they're long gone now. I'm gonna clean this up and head back.” Leah said, her eyes looking back up. It's head was hanging down again, too exhausted to keep it upright.
“You need help?” “No-” she said far too quickly, cussing under her breath “-no I got this. Shouldn't take too long…it's just paint.” Her foot shifted to cover a small patch of the blood with dirt. “Alright, if you're sure…sorry to get you out this late again. Over and out.” The second the line went dead she turned and hit the ground running to the jeep. Nearly tripping three times on the way.
“FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK.” She swore as she ripped the trunk apart, grabbing her first aid kit, and nearly tripped two more times as she ran back into the cave. Slowing considerably once she came back around the corner. Even if it was VERY hurt, running up on it was not wise. She crept around the corner slowly keeping her eyes on it the whole time. Clutching the first aid kit to her chest as she held out the flashlight as if it would keep it at a safe distance. She swallowed hard as she took a cautious step closer.
“Um….okay….I don't know if you can hear or understand me …but I'm gonna help you? Okay?” She said as she took small anxious steps toward it. It looked back up at her as she approached, that tree sap eye watching her in exhausted curiosity. Leah took another deep breath and stepped up next to it, her every move watched carefully. Moving the light away from its face she lowered herself to the ground.
“H-help…” came a quiet, raspy voice as she set the first aid kit by her knee. She paused, lifting her head to stare at it. She almost hadn't heard it was so quiet. But there was no doubt that it had been the one to speak. Slowly she nodded her head. “Y-yeah, help…I'm going to help you.” She repeated herself.
She decided she'd unpack it speaking - in a voice that could have been mistaken for her own - at a much later date.
First, she needed to stop the bleeding from his arm. She swore to herself again trying to think of something- ANYTHING that could make a decent tourniquet. Her belt. It wasn't an ideal fix. But it'd have to do. Nearly ripping the loops on her pants as she removed it and wound it tight around the stump. The leather creaked angrily as she pulled it taut, tighter and tighter around the thing’s bicep. Aside from a few low grunts it was surprisingly nonplussed about it. Slowly the pressure reduced the free flow to an occasional drip. First problem solved.
Leah wedged the handle of her flashlight against her teeth, nestled just in the indent of her molars. Holding it in place as she rummaged with forced focus through the gauze, burn creams, and calamine lotions in the first aid kit. Saline, where was the damn saline?! It nearly fell from her shaking hands as she picked it up. Leaving it in her lap as she found the needle and thread. A steadying breath around the flashlight, focus she urged herself. With minimal hand shaking she threaded the needle, giving a small muffled grunt of satisfaction.
‘You can celebrate later’ she chided herself. Another deep inhale as she turned to face it again. Flushing the first wound with the saline before pressing the needle into and through its skin. A challenge at first. She was afraid the needle would bend or possibly even break before she finished the first stitch. Luckily it held out. Pulling the flesh closed, twisting the thread around her pinky, and giving a soft tug to break it.
One down.
She fell into a rhythm, calling on the memories of her father teaching her the procedure many years ago. Saline, stitch, saline, stitch. Once again it hardly made any noise as she pulled its skin taut. What had it been through prior to this? The bottle of saline was nearly empty by the time she pulled the last stitch closed. Heaving a shaky breath as she dropped the needle, hands shaking again as the adrenaline receded.
Another breath. Steady she reminded herself. Swiping her hands on her shirt a few times she stood slowly on her tingling legs. That had taken so long they'd fallen asleep. She moved the light back to its face….was it still breathing? A long, tense moment passed before she saw - thankfully - it was. Her blood ran cold as she had a thought: now what? She'd committed to at least treating it, but what was her next step here?
Well…she couldn't leave it here. She shuffled back in front of it, its head lifting to the noise. Awkwardly she motioned up with her thumbs, praying it would understand that if not her words. “Can you stand?”
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Exhaustion completely wrecked her as she dropped her forehead to the steering wheel. “What the fuck am I doing?” she muttered. Wondering if she was suffering from some stress induced hysteria. Or maybe this was some weird, highly detailed nightmare? Honestly she'd prefer either at this rate. Easier than accepting what exactly she'd just done.
Her eyes lifted to the rear view mirror, just able to see the tarp covering it- him (she guessed) in her trunk. She shifted her feet, her boots covered in mud and trace amounts of his blood. The trail was gone, she'd gone back over it three times after half settling half dropping him into the back. What even WAS he? Where'd he come from? Why was he here? Why was he beaten within an inch of his life? Would he even make it to sunrise?
One thing at a time. She needed to get him away from here before either someone else spotted them…or she came to her fucking senses. White knuckling the steering wheel Leah glanced up at the horizon just past the tree line. Probably only had an hour- no even less before sunrise. She needed to move now if she wanted to keep under cover of darkness. “Fuck.” She hissed through clenched teeth as she started the jeep again. She was in way too deep now.
She just hoped she wouldn't regret this.