Vices and Maces

Chapter 65: The Hospital Again?

CW: hospital, drugged with medicine, intrusive thoughts

The first thing Virgil heard was the beeping. It must have been a heart monitor, and that would explain the heavy smell of chemicals. Was he at the hospital? How the hell did he get here? What happened?

Then he heard a sniffle from beside him. It wasn't a sad, pathetic little sniffle, it was an angry and upset sniffle that was followed by a huff. Whoever was crying was angry.

"I told you, I don't know what could have happened to him," a tear strained voice said.

No. No no no no. Virgil knows that voice. He knows who's there. Anyone but her... She can't be here.

"Alright ma'am. But if you know anything, please bring it to me. Someone was clearly trying to hurt your brother. You have my personal number if you feel uncomfortable calling the police."

Well that just confirmed it. But was that a police officer? How was he found? He really didn't want to wake up and have to talk to them... His side hurt so much he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to talk. Especially since he has some tubes going through his nose and down his throat.

He heard the door open and close shut, the police officer must have left. However a sigh followed the noises, so his sister must still be there.

She needs to get out of town. She needs to hide. But how can he explain that without telling her everything that he's been through? He can't have her worried over him, otherwise she'll never leave! How can he explain that she's in danger without telling her about the gangs.

"What did you do this time Virgil? ...No, it's not your fault. I knew you were in danger, I just knew it."

Oh Anna...

She sighed again, "I know you're awake. You always flatten your hands to seem like you're asleep when you pretend."

Oh shit.

Virgil blinked his eyes open, realizing just how numb he was. He couldn't feel his face, though it felt swollen on one side. Really the only thing he felt was a sharp pain from his side, though even that was dull. Medicine... well it's going to be hard to talk.

He didn't want to, but he looked up at his sister as his vision finally started to adjust to the bright hospital light. But honestly... The only thing he recognized were the dark twisted horns that sprouted from her head.

Her hair was cut short, she wore dark eyeliner, and her ears were covered in piercings. If their parents saw her, they would kill her! Isn't she supposed to be a lawyer by now? What happened in the last two years?!

"A-Anna?" Virgil croaked, his voice scratchy and painful.

Her face was covered in tears, her eyes and cheeks red from crying, but tears were returning to her eyes. "I had hoped to never be in this situation ever again. What happened to you? You just disappeared! Where were you?"

There was anger in her eyes, but it wasn't directed at him. It seemed to be the only thing holding back the anxiety and sorrow that seemed to fill her. And seeing her like this, not for the first time in Virgil's life, made tears swallow his vision.

He blinked them away, trying to push the sobs back as the tears rolled down his face. It would hurt way too much if he started sobbing. He tried to take a deep breath, but it was shaky and hurt too much to breath.

Anna grabbed a tissue from a small table, a pile already built up, and she wiped away his tears. "Y-you gotta calm down. You're too injured to cry this hard."

"You ca-can't b-b-be here," Virgil tried to say.

"What are you talking about? You were found, half drowned, by the river! Virgil, three of your ribs broke off. Your face is swollen and your wing... What happened to your wing?" She held the side of his face that wasn't bruised.

Virgil just shook his head. "They-they're gonna hurt you. I-I can't l-let them..."

"Who? Who did this to you? What's going on? I don't understand." Anna was starting to get more desperate.

But Virgil just didn't know how to explain. He can barely talk, he can't tell the whole story, certainly not like this! Anna needs to leave as soon as possible, every second here was too big of a risk.

All he could mumble was, "They're gonna hurt you, they're gonna hurt you."

~~~

Patton was walking back and forth in his living room as he talked on the phone. "I don't know, a lot seems to be happening. I really want to come in but Logan hasn't gotten back yet. He said he's working overtime last night, and then I heard about the explosion on the news... No, they haven't said much yet. Just that the car factory exploded late last night, they talked about the rumors of it not being a car factory, but they said the police are looking through it right now."

"You stay home until your fiance comes back, you don't need to worry about being stressed out," Roman sighed. "I need to go, I have a lot of work to do."

The nymph flinched when Roman hung up. He sounded angry and upset. It was understandable, he just told Patton what was upsetting him. Virgil Noble, someone who worked in Wolfsbane and fed them information, was killed.

But he didn't have time to worry about that now. Logan hasn't been responding to his phone, and he's been out all night. Patton didn't know if he was okay or not, and he was terrified. Everytime he sat down, he needed to stand up again, but every time he was up and moving, the anxiety made him nauseous and he had to sit down.

What if he was shot? Or worse yet, what if there was a fight at the factory and he was there and Wolfsbane got him?! What if he was injured right now, and no one knows where he's at, and he's not answering his phone because it was dead or lost or destroyed! And he's bleeding out and can't move and-

The lock on the door clicked and Patton snapped his head to it as the door opened. Relief washed over him as he saw his fiance. In seconds he was barrelling into a surprised Logan, wrapping him up in his arms.

"What happened? Where were you? Are you okay?" Patton asked. He had a million more questions, but these were the most important.

"I'm okay, I escorted someone to the hospital and stayed there overnight to make sure he's okay. I can only tell you that it seemed like someone was trying to hurt him."

"Who?"

Logan shook his head and closed the door. "I can't tell you."

"Then who was the man that's in the hospital?"

The elf sighed, "All I can say is that it was Virgil Noble. I don't know anything else about the situation. I shouldn't even tell you that but... everything about this situation is confusing."

Wait... "Virgil Noble?" He's... "Is he alive?"

"Yes, he's alive and in stable condition. The hospital will take care of him. I just came home to take a shower and get something to eat, but I need to be going back into the office soon to complete the report on everything."

Patton watched as Logan left the living room to the hallway, walking towards their shared room.

He needs to call Roman back.