Daegelus | Volume One: Subject 0333

Chapter Forty-Six | Escape

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They moved through the lab as quickly as they could, heading up to the main floor using the elevator, and then Elijah navigated the halls, trying to find a way to get out to where the morticians were dumping the bodies of dead subjects.

He tried to keep his focus, but the fact that Zoe was his sister still had him in a state of utter disbelief...and maybe even a little denial, too. Maybe he couldn't accept the facts because he'd never imagined the answers would be the ones he received. Through all the long nights of pondering, he never once thought that his family would be who they were; he thought he'd come from someplace far, far away from all the noise and bustle of the city because he never felt quite right walking the streets, but he was wrong; his family were rich, they were government officials, and they were connected to an Ancient.

"Wait, there," Zoe said, pointing to a sign labelled 'morgue'.

They headed left down the corridor, and at the end were a pair of double doors, both leading to the morgue.

Haru started grunting painfully, grasping his side. "I-I can't," he breathed, slipping out of Elijah's grip.

Elijah halted and pulled Haru to his feet. "We're almost there," he told him. "Just a few more minutes." But he noticed the blood soaking through Haru's shirt and onto his own sleeve; his wound must have torn. "We can stop once we're through those doors, okay?"

With a nod, Haru tightened his grip around Elijah's shoulders.

"Hurry," Zoe said as she held one of the doors open.

They rushed into the morgue, and when Zoe shut the door behind them, Jake grabbed a metal broom and pushed it through the handles to keep anyone from getting in.

Elijah helped Haru sit on a stool by a workstation. "Find something to cover his wound with," he said as he opened a nearby cupboard and grabbed a small bottle of anti-bacterial liquid.

Haru groaned and drawled, "That shit hurts like hell."

"It's all there is," Elijah said regrettably.

With a huff, Haru nodded and lifted his shirt up. "Just get it over with."

"Here," Zoe then called and hurried over with a roll of bandage and some gauze.

"I found this," Jake said, joining them with a tube of healant gel. "It was in someone's desk drawer."

Elijah examined Haru's wound. He hoped that he wouldn't have to use the anti-bacterial liquid, but the surgical cut was clearly infected, and the healant would be useless. He grabbed a small cloth and folded it up. "Bite down on this," he said, handing it to Haru.

Haru put the cloth between his teeth and bit down, looking away as Elijah unscrewed the bottle lid.

"Are you ready?" the demon asked him.

He nodded quickly.

Elijah didn't hesitate; not only did he not want Haru to suffer any longer, but they had to get out of the lab now, and they could do that if Haru was in pain and unable to keep going. So he poured the liquid over the ghastly wound, and when Haru yelled painfully through the cloth in his mouth, he grasped Elijah's hand and held it tight.

"God, that looks..." Jake grimaced, holding his hand over his mouth.

As the liquid poured over the wound and dripped from Haru's body, it carried blood and pus with it. Haru whimpered and held his eyes shut tight; he was clearly trying to hold back tears and knowing that made Elijah's racing heart ache. Haru was always so brave, but this time, the pain was too much.