A Tiny Error

Chapter 14

Ink cradled Error in his arms as their group rushed into the same veterinary clinic Ink and Dream had taken Error previously. Ink hurried to the reception desk.

"Please," Ink cried, gaining the receptionist's attention. "Y-you have to help us! Please!"

"Oh, my god," the receptionist gasped, getting up from her seat and taking a better look at the poor dog. She ran into the back, and brought both Dr. Chara and Dr. Asriel with her. Dr. Chara nodded to her partner, and the two of them motioned for Ink to bring Error back to one of the rooms.

"What happened?" Dr. Chara asked.

"I..." Ink looked down at Error. "I trusted someone I shouldn't have. Th-they... they hurt him, badly. C-can you help him?"

"Those shoulders look pretty bent out of shape," Dr. Asriel muttered. "I'll try to put one of them back into place while you hold him still. Ready, Chara?"

She nodded, and Dr. Asriel held onto one of Error's shoulders. He counted down from three, then pushed the shoulder into its proper position.

Error let out a whimper, and Ink winced. This looked so painful for him. Ink felt so bad for him. It seemed unnecessary to put him through this. And the really shitty thing about this is that it was actually Error that got so badly hurt. Ink should've been more careful. Error probably hates him even more, now. Ink would probably be in for a worse beating if Error ever returned to normal. He'd probably be furious with him for being stupid enough to trust someone without a soul. In Ink's defense, though, he wanted to believe Fresh could be a good guy. But, Ink supposed he was too naive to recognize a threat when one showed up on his front doorstep.

The two doctors had finished straightening out Error's other shoulder, and now were putting his broken leg in a splint. Dr. Asriel was examining Error's ear, and Dr. Chara had gone to prepare an x-ray. Asriel wrapped some cloth around the ear to keep it in place, and he looked toward Ink. The creator was deep in thought, staring at the floor with a troubled expression.

"Please don't worry, sir," Asriel said, smiling reassuringly. "Dr. Chara and I will do everything we can to save Cinnamon!"

Ink flinched at the name. Another thing for Error to hate him for. That stupid name. He was probably so annoyed with him about that, too. Ink wondered what else he'd done to humiliate Error only for him to blow his cover anyway, and that was Ink's fault, too! Ink was to blame for a lot of things, and he couldn't stop thinking about how he was such a failure. How was he hero?! That's right, he's not. He couldn't protect anyone.

Dr. Chara came back, and the two doctors carefully took Error back to run an x-ray. Ink wanted to follow them, but hesitated. Error is in good hands, better hands than Ink will ever be. He probably would cause more trouble, anyway.

... ... ...

"He has a few broken ribs, a very broken leg, a few scratches, and a swollen ear. We popped his shoulders back into place, but he needs at least six weeks of rest," Dr. Chara said, showing Ink the x-ray. "This is the worst case of abuse I've seen in a long time. And what exactly happened?"

".... I thought I could trust someone I knew to watch my do- ... uh, a-anyway, h-he wasn't... a nice person. Especially to... t-to Cinnamon. A-and he hurt him. Badly. By the time I came back, C-Cinnamon was being choked-"
Ink gulped and took a shaky breath, trying to calm down. Recalling the events was so much more difficult than he thought. Eventually, he continued.
"M-my friends and I... we drove the guy away, and brought Cinnamon here in hopes of getting him some help."

"Well, it's a good thing you did. Cinnamon might have been in real trouble if you hadn't brought him here. Now, here's some stuff for you to know while Cinnamon heals up."