A Volatiles Claim

City of Lights

             ' Why, oh why did I have to say that I would wait here with Aiden knowing damn well that that psycho could still be lurking around? Mmm...this is definitely one of my smartest ideas of all time! Especially when I am as jumpy as a mouse at every little noise I hear." Bitterness and self-mockery are all I feel as I jump for the millionth time as I hear something, probably a rat, echo a few yards away from me.

Watches have all pretty much been rendered useless many years ago because most would rather use batteries to power more important items than one used to tell the time. If I magically had one that was working and currently wearing, I would be glancing at it nonstop to see how long it has been since Aiden had suddenly collapsed. It took me a moment to calm down enough to go over the list of basic check indicators to determine what happened, and to my dismay, I found absolutely nothing. Besides a period of slightly increased heart rate that could have been caused by anything, it literally appeared as though Aiden's body had shut down completely for its own personal reasons. After that conclusion had been decided, I made sure to put something underneath the unconscious man's head before sitting at the edge of the small platform with my weapon on my lap as I kept alert for potential threats... or Lawan.

Our new ally, one who I am still on the fence about, seemed genuinely concerned about what happened to Aiden. Her concern took the form of raising her massive crossbow to point it at his head because, in her mind made audible, she thought he was turning. I immediately swung my arm in front of my body like a baseball bat, knocking it out of her hand and frantically explaining to her that he couldn't be turning because we were in UV light and that his biomarker was nowhere near critical levels. While Lawan didn't look too pleased about my actions, she understood and agreed with my reasoning but not without pointing a menacing finger at me and spitting some venom about never doing that again. I ended up suggesting to her that if Aiden didn't wake up soon, we could just drag him the rest of the way to somewhere safer but in the meantime, she should go on ahead to clear any obstacles while I stayed behind. She agreed and hasn't been back for a while so I guess that meant either the path was riddled with obstacles, she died at the hands of something/someone, or she left us behind altogether.

'I mean... I don't know which option I would prefer. If she actually is helping us, I wouldn't be surprised if it all wasn't for free, after all, she could easily be some sort of mercenary thief.' My thoughts are all over the place, the entire situation, a person I barely know being seemingly on our side, and the environment cause all sorts of conspiracies and accusations to fog up my head. I want to believe that in a few hours from now, we would all be out of these damn tunnels and up on the surface with Aiden awake and alight.

"Hope something happens in the next few minutes because I'm about ready to-" as I was mumbling nonsense under my breath I was interrupted by movement from behind me followed by a tired groan.

I can't help but wince when my upper torso twists too quickly as I turn around to find Aiden getting up from the floor. "Aiden?!"

Said male winces at my loud outburst but nonetheless stumbles to stand upright. "Marcus?" he grunts out through clenched teeth and tightly closed eyes. I scramble up and immediately latch onto the arm that reaches out in my general direction and try my best to ground him enough so that he can stabilize himself. That's easier said than done, especially with such a large male with no current center of gravity but we manage.

When he finally composes himself, his eyelids slowly peel back and display unfocused steel-blue eyes. "What... What happened?" he mumbles out with pure panic and confusion.

Uncertainty plagues my facial features while I scan his face for any visible post incident signs that could tell me what the cause of his episode was. "I don't know... really, I have no clue as to what happened to you. One moment you were fine, then the next you just collapsed. You weren't dehydrated, you didn't appear to be having a seizure, nothing. Do you remember what happened before you went unconscious? How were you feeling?" I know it might not have been the best time to bombard him with a thousand questions, but if he has something serious going on, I need to know so I can find the appropriate medicine to treat it. It's not like I can just waltz into a hospital to get him a full checkup or go to a pharmacy and immediately find all sorts of drugs to help him.