The Collector and Her Steed

Chapter 19

Heisenberg returned to the factory after a family meeting only to find the main entrance into the factory open. Making his way inside he heard the clamor of a group of soldats banging against the walls. Sighing he followed the noise and noticed a trail of blood leading from the lift. Looking inside of the lift he found the discarded magazine and a hunk of fabric soaked in blood.

Following the trail of blood he made his way to where he guessed the group of soldats had either killed the poor soul who was idiotic enough to trespass, or at least cornered them for him to deal with. He found them encircling a door that led into the forge. There were quite a few gathered, including ones he had placed in the mine.

"Everybody step aside and stop." He watched as the soldats shuffled to the sides of the hallway and became still. Stepping towards the door he attempted to push it open to only realize that it had been blocked by the work benches. Peering through a hole one of the soldats had managed to punch through the door, he frowned at the sight. Mira was laying by the forge, surrounded by a pool of her own blood.

Loud thuds echoed through the immense factory, followed by the echoes of explosions as Heisenberg ripped apart the soldats at the door. The metal parts of the soldats ripped out of the flesh and the corpses slunk down, returning to the lifeless objects they were before he got ahold of them. Sending the pieces flying in every direction he focused on moving the metal work benches. Sliding them out of the way, he slammed through the door and rushed over to Mira. Kneeling down he eyed the makeshift bandage and grimaced.

"What the fuck were you thinking buttercup." He muttered under his breath as he slid her bag over one of his shoulders before scooping her up into his arms. She was incredibly pale and her breathing was shallow, her eyebrows furrowed as soft whimpers of pain left her lips. Trying not to jostle her too much, he carried her back out of the room. Walking through the carnage he had caused, Heisenberg made his way up to his quarters. Gently laying her down on the bed, he planted a soft kiss on her brow. He eased up her shirt so he could get at the bandaged wound. Unwrapping it gently, the sight he uncovered made him grimace. Tossing the makeshift bandage away, he went off to grab a bottle of whiskey. Slowly he began to pour the liquid onto the open wound, trying to flush it out.

Mira cried out, her eyes flying open as the alcohol filled her wound. Her eyes landed on Heisenberg and she started shaking, her eyes filling with tears. Shakily she started to talk, "Wh-where were y-you?" She gripped onto his arm tightly as the alcohol cleaned the wound.

"I was at a meeting Mira, didn't you hear the bells?" Frowning, he released her grip on his arm and held onto her hand. "I should have been here though, I should have known you'd pull a stunt like this. Fucking hell Mira you could've been killed." With every word dripping with worry, he rubbed her hand with his own calliced ones. He could see she was fading back into darkness so he hurriedly added, "I'm going to try and fix this, I'm going to try and patch you up okay Mira? Be strong darlin, be strong for me."

Her grip on his hand loosened and he stood up, letting go of her hand. Pacing back and forth, he swore at himself and at his creations for hurting her. Angrily tossing a chair in the room against the wall away from Mira, he knelt down beside the bed. Taking a bottle of healing salve from her bag, he began pouring it over the wound to help start the healing process. He knew that the healing would take time and she probably couldn't move on her own for a while. Going over to where the now very dented metal chair sat, he brought it back over next to the bed and sat on it.

After hours of sitting there and checking on the healing status, Heisenberg stood up quickly. He had thought about a way to help give structure to the side that was now missing a decently sized chunk of flesh. Slowly scooping Mira up, he brought her back out into the factory. Making his way down through the layers of the factory, he finally ended up where he spent his time making the prototypes of his soldats. Laying her in the operation chair, he set off to find pieces of scrap that fit what he needed.

It took him a while but after he found all of the pieces he needed, he doused them in his beloved whiskey and began assembling them. Finally building the plates he needed, he began attaching them to her body as carefully as he could. He wasn't used to doing this on a living human, so he made sure to be extra careful. As he worked on attaching the parts, he realized that luckily the auger had managed to somehow avoid the vital organs and had just caused traumatic damage to the flesh.

Finally the plates were attached and he gently scooped Mira up and carried her all of the way back up to his quarters. Laying her back on the bed, he draped a ratty, old blanket over her. Brushing strands of hair out of her face, he sighed. Making sure she was going to be alright by herself for a while, he left the factory. Heading into town, he went straight to the pub. It was evening when he had left, and he couldn't care less if anyone saw him. His only goal was to get Mira some stuff from home so she could feel more comfortable.

Shifting the deadbolt, he unlocked the door and made his way upstairs. Grabbing one of her bags he raided her closet, grabbing stuff that looked like it would be comfortable to wear. He knew nothing of what she liked to wear so his only goal was soft and flowy fabrics. Stuffing some shirts and pants into the bag, he grabbed her pillows off of her bed and a couple of blankets. Once they were secure in the bag or under his arm, he left the pub and made sure it was locked back up. He had grabbed the horse statuette before leaving though.

It took him a bit longer to make it back to the factory with everything. Once he was inside, he went straight to his quarters and began setting up her stuff. Gently moving her off of the bed, he placed her pillows and blankets down on the old mattress. Looking at her clothes, he frowned seeing how much dried blood was covering them. Running his fingers through his hair, he contemplated how he wanted to change out her clothes. He knew he'd be at risk of getting something thrown at him as soon as she woke up and found herself in new clothes, since she most likely didn't want him seeing her undressed. Groaning, he went over to an old dresser and pulled out an old shirt of his. It was large enough that he could put her in it and then remove the old clothes without seeing anything.

Slipping the old button up onto her, Heisenberg eased off her bloody clothes and once they were removed he tucked her back into the bed. Colour was returning to her face, which was a welcomed sight. Watching the woman sleep, he sat down in the chair and slowly drifted off himself.