Reapers

Chapter 1 Well That Escalated Quickly

Content warning: blood, car crash, mentions of death (including main character death), and a bunch of hospital stuff (Just a reminder, there is a lot of death in this story)

Roman hummed along to the song playing from his Disney Playlist. It was "I Can Go the Distance" from Hercules, one of his favorites despite being terribly inaccurate. He could forgive it though, it's a great movie after all!

He couldn't help but feel giddy, after a horrible year he's been having the best month! It was summer, the sun was out and he's been on a creative spree! Writing songs and stories! Best yet though, he has a callback in just one week! Finally, after so long, ever since his brother's death, everything is looking up!

Until everything was spinning. There was a loud metal tearing, and the sound of glass shattering before Roman could even register it. He gripped the steering wheel tight, hitting his head against the window. The car was flipped upside down and Roman blacked out.

When he woke up again, everything felt sluggish and slow. His vision was blurry, but he somehow knew someone had hit his car. There was distorted shouting around him, but it sounded like he was underwater. Different color lights were flashing, reflecting off of broken glass and drops of blood.

Who's blood is that? Is that his? He doesn't feel hurt... He... He was hit, right? He should probably get out of the car, but he can't move. Why can't he move? He's upside down, he needs to get out of the car, then it'll probably be okay to just lay down for a little bit.

Despite hanging upside down, Roman found his eyes closing again. He was really tired, he really wanted to sleep. Wait... wait he can't sleep now! He could die!

He didn't want to die, he was getting better! Everything was getting better! He can't... He can't... Will he be able to see Remus again?

There was movement in the corner of his eye and he was able to turn his eyes to his shattered window. It looked like a figure cloaked in black kneeled down next to the car. The figure set down something big and curved at the end, he reached a hand out to him and Roman had the strange urge to grab his hand, knowing everything will be okay if he does.

Roman still wasn't able to move, but he knew the figure would be able to help him with that. His vision started to dim, but for a moment it sharpened and he saw-

~~~

Everything was quiet and peaceful, and Roman felt light and numb. Was he dead? Is he in the afterlife? He opened his eyes, which was somehow hard to do. If he's dead, then why is he so tired? Everything was bright, but seemed to dim down quickly enough.

There was beeping from somewhere, and the walls and ceiling were white. This wasn't his home. He looked at where the beeping was coming from and saw a heart monitor. Oh, that must be hooked to him. He's at the hospital, because he was in a car crash.

He faintly remembered seeing someone there, who was it?

"Oh, you're awake," a voice brought him out of his thoughts. He looked over to see Logan sitting in a chair, a book in hand. Patton was leaning against Logan's shoulder, he was sleeping but when Logan spoke he stirred.

"Logan?" Roman asked, his voice hoarse. He tried to sit up, but it felt like he weighed a million pounds.

"Don't move, you'll agitate your injuries." Logan set his book aside to get up as Patton sat up all the way, blinking the sleep out of his eyes as his fluffy brown hair fell in them.

"Roman's awake!" Patton quietly cheered in a half whisper.

"I'll call the doctor." Logan walked over and pressed a button by the hospital bed Roman was on. "How are you feeling?"

"Heavy and numb," Roman answered. "I-I got in a car crash, right? What happened?"

"Another car hit yours, the uh driver was texting and driving. They hit something and lost control, hitting your car."

"Oh... are they alright?"

"We don't know," Patton told him. "We only know about you since we're your emergency contact. They were hesitant to let us in here since we're not legally family, but they did."

"Oh..." Roman's mind felt slow and sluggish. It felt like there was something he was forgetting, something on the tip of his tongue. It has something to do with whoever was with him in the car crash, was there someone else in the car?

"We were really scared, kiddo," Patton said, distracting him. "You were out for a long time, several hours."

"I-I'm sorry." That's the right thing to say, right? He didn't mean to be out for that long.

"It's not your fault, you hit your head pretty hard!" That must be why everything seems so confusing.

"You've also sustained some cracked ribs," Logan explained. "At least, that's what we were told."

There was a knock at the door and Roman turned to see a doctor walk in. She was pretty short, with dark hair and tan skin, probably Latina.

"I see you're awake Mr. Prince," she said. "I'm Dr. Garcia. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"No, go ahead," Roman told her.

"Okay, so you're here because you got in a car crash, which resulted in your comatose, correct?"

"I-I think so, I do remember a car crash."

"Have you been brought in to stay overnight before or have any surgeries?"

"No."

"Is there any family history of any major diseases that you know of?"

"No, I never met my parents. I'm an orphan."

"I'll make note of that." Roman watched her as she scribbled something down in her clipboard. Afterwards, she continued her questions and Roman answered as best as he could. Eventually, she finished her questions with one last one, "Do you have any concerns?"

"When will I be able to go home?" He just wanted to go home and curl up in bed to sleep the rest of the day away.

"Tomorrow morning, one of these two have to be here to sign you out, as well as help get some pain medication that I'll prescribe to you."

"Okay." That's not too bad, though the bill will probably double because of that.

"Oh, Roman, your call back is this Saturday, isn't it?" Patton asked. "That's only a week away."

"Will I still be able to do that?" Roman asked the doctor.

"No, that's too soon. It will take four to five weeks for your ribs to heal, and when they do you'll need a follow up appointment. Until then, you need to avoid any strenuous activities."

Roman groaned in annoyance, squeezing his eyes shut tight. "I really wanted that call back."

"I'm sorry, kiddo, I know this might be hard for you," Patton tried to comfort. "But there will be other plays to audition for, other call backs that you'll get!"

"Your health comes first," Logan agreed.

Roman sighed, "Yeah, you're right." He couldn't help but feel disappointed though. He was really excited when he got that call back! Now he has to lose it... it was so unfair.

"Everything will be okay," Patton encouraged, "you'll be back on your feet in no time!"