Out of the Darkness

135

"It doesn't even seem like the bleeding has slowed down much. It's just mixed with that black goo now." "No, I don't want to go to the hospital. What are they going to do for a demonized bite? I don't think antibiotics will work on that, Sam. Let's just try the salve for a few days and if it doesn't seem to be helping, then I'll go to the doctor." Sam looked hesitant, like he really didn't think that was a good idea. After a moment, he sighed, and met my gaze. "Fine." "Just keep it wrapped for a few days, then you can take the bandages off." Ash said. "What bandages?" I asked, nervously looking down at my wound. Was I that fucked up, that I couldn't see the damn bandages? "The ones that Sam is about to put on you," he replied, handing Sam some gauze and medical tape. Where did he even get those from? I waited, not so patiently, for Ash and Sam to fix my arm up. Ash cleaned my arm the best he could, being as gently as possible, but it hurt like hell. I clenched my jaw, and squeezed my eyes closed against the pain. "Okay, all done with that part, but this next part. It's probably going to hurt," I heard Ash say. I opened my eyes, about to ask what part, but Sam plopped a gob of the salve onto my arm before I could. It automatically set my arm on fire, making it feel like it was almost bubbling from the inside out. "OH HOLY SHIT!" I screamed, squeezing my eyes shut again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Sam said, while he spread the stuff across my wound, as quickly as he could. "Just hurry the fuck up!" I groaned. "Please!" I had injured myself plenty of times. It was sort of inevitable with what I did for a living. Exploring dangerous buildings that were sometimes falling apart, running from ghosts, and just doing stupid stunts for the views, had led me to experience pain quite a few times. Nothing that i had every experienced hurt like this did. Hell, when my arm was ripped open didn't even hurt like this did. "Okay, I'm going to bandage it up now," Sam said. I kept my jaw clenched, because the pain wasn't going away, but I did manage to open my eyes. "What the fuck is in that stuff?" I asked. "It's a mixture of my own making. Comfrey, chaparral, plantain, lavender, rose quartz, and a few other things. Baked well under one full moon cycle. If this doesn't help...well, let's just hope that it does," Ash replied, holding it out to Sam when he finished bandaging my arm. I didn't really like the sound of that. "What does that mean?" I asked. "If it doesn't help, there's no hope? What's going to happen?" Ash shrugged. "I have no idea. This is new territory for me too. I'll do some research, starting tomorrow, and see if I can find anything else that help you guys. Right now, however, I'll see you out. I am mentally and physically drained after all of the excitement of being stuck in the demon realm. Don't forget to call me if you need me. I already have your number so I'll call if I find anything else to help." "Sure thing. Thanks, man. For everything. We wouldn't have made it out without you," Sam said, holding his hand out to Ash. Ash looked down at it, then back up at Sam and grinned. "Bring it in," he said, holding his arms out. "I- uh, oh!" Sam said, when Ash wrapped his arms around him. He awkwardly slapped his back a couple of times, then pulled back, and walked around to the driver's side. Ash leaned down, and smiled at me. "I'm sure you'll be fine. Like, 75% sure. Get some rest. You can't help Anna, if you're dead." Without waiting for me to say anything, he leaned up and closed my door. Well...that was comforting. I didn't really want to talk about the possibility of me being dead, when my arm was already bleeding through the fresh bandages. He waved goodbye to Sam and I, then turned and walked back into his glass house. I had to admit that it was kind of cool though. Sam didn't really speak much on the way back home, and neither did I. My eyes grew so heavy that I let them close, just for a few minutes. Before I knew it, pain was searing up my body and Sam was screaming at me. "COLBY, I SWEAR TO GOD, IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP, I WILL KILL YOU!" "Jesus Christ, Sam, stop shaking me," I groaned, opening my eyes. They almost felt cemented shut. "Oh fuck you. You scared the shit out of me," he replied, leaning back against the open car door. "Sorry. Guess I was sleeping pretty hard," I said, letting out a huge yawn afterwards. "Come on, let's get you inside." He knelt down and helped me up out of the car, then closed my door. "I can walk...I think," I said, trying to pull away from him, as he led me to the house. "I'm sure you can. How about you humor me and let me help you tonight? I'm just worried about you bro. You've been through a lot tonight," he replied, pulling me back towards him. I let him, because, honestly, I probably would've face planted into the concrete on my own. "Fine," I answered. "But only because you let me help you when you broke your back." He let out something between a groan and laugh. "Ugh, you had to bring that up, huh? God dang it, that was painful. We really should learn from these dumb ass ideas that we have." I nodded in agreement, and gave him a short laugh. "Yeah...but where's the fun in that? Take chances, right?"