As The World Turns Cold

Damaged

"What did they do to you?" She could hear the fear in Rogue's voice as he took in her broken form.

Mercy shook her head. "I'm fine. Get me out of here." She rasped. Her voice cracked and her throat tightened. Could this get any worse?

Mercy heard the slam of a door and commotion in the hallway. Clearly, it could get much, much worse.

"What do you think you're doing? You can't go in there!" The unfamiliar voice yelled.

"You think you can stop me? We'll see about that. You hurt my girl, I hurt you." Rogue replied with a growl.

An audible smack reverberated from behind the crack in the door. There was a shuffle of movement and more fighting happening outside in the narrow corridor.

The thick metal hinge of the door gave way as Rogue ran inside to meet her. He landed in a heap beside her body in a flurry of action. He turned her head to face him.

"Mercy. You are definitely not fine." Rogue's eyes crinkled in pain at the sight of her. He gently eased the blade away from her shoulder and Mercy cried as a new flow of blood poured from the open wound.

She hissed as she tried to maneuver her other arm to her shoulder. She acted carefully, hesitating for a moment before she pushed against her shoulder with her opposite hand, trying to add pressure to alleviate the wound.

She felt salty liquid pooling in the creases of her eyes. Her eyes filled with tears, a rare sight. Mercy shuddered as the emotion shot through her body making her quake against the intensity. She hardly ever let tears loose. It was a weak move and now, with her body bloody and bruised, it only succeeded in confirming her accusations.

"I need to be free, Rogue." Mercy shook her head. "But this is too much. I want all of this to be over."

Rogue ripped at the fabric of his shirt, tearing away a long, thin piece of the gauzy material and fastened it around her wound to act as a tourniquet.

"Shh. It's going to be okay. I told you didn't I? I said I would find you and I managed to that. They won't hurt you while I'm around."

He hissed glancing up at the walls as if someone were still watching them. He shook his head, mumbling under his breath as he took in the damage done to her.

Rogue lifted her crumpled body in his arms gingerly and whispered in her ear to calm her down. "I've got you and I'm not about to let you go. You 'll be alright, Mercy, you're the strongest person I know." He tapped her forehead lightly in an attempt to ease her fear.

"The others," Mercy croaked, "Did they find everything we came for?"

He nodded. "They found more than they needed."

Mercy gripped the black leather jacket Rogue was wearing to aide in supporting her.

"Then why are we still here?" She managed to utter the words with no more than three pauses this time. She was gaining some of her voice back as more air filled her lungs.

Rogue moved Mercy's bangs away from her face. The caress was a welcome pleasure to her weakened state of mind.

She was too exhausted to fight it and she couldn't think straight after the shocks to her nerves.

If he kissed her right now, she'd probably have no defenses to stop him. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

The shocks must have taking away her intellect and voice of reason when they'd passed through her body.

"I'm afraid to move you. Anything broken?"

Mercy shrugged and the pain in her shoulder was back. She whimpered as the pins-and-needles sensation coursed through her arm again.