Manifest Darkness (Sequel to Darkness Within)

Chapter 15- Chains

Sean-

They quickly load him onto the stretcher, tossing him, almost throwing him around, and I have to bite my tongue to stop myself from yelling at them to be careful. One of the paramedics walks up to me as they're loading him into the back of the ambulance and asks me what happened, eyes not on my face, but my neck.

"We, uh, we got into a fight." I say simply. "It escalated quickly." I look down at my hands, examining my knuckles and sighing. "This is all my fault." I whisper.

The paramedic smiles kindly. "We'll worry about it later. "

In a blur, they rush us to the hospital. I'm in the back with Mark, trying not to look at his still form. On the ride, they resuscitate him, his overt form jumping as arcs of electricity race through him. After three tries, his chest starts to rise and fall. Slowly, but it's moving. My stomach twists at the sight of a barely breathing Mark, but at the same time, some of the guilt lifts off my shoulders. I didn't kill him. He's alive. He probably hates me, but at least he would be alive to tell me so. He lies there, breathing slowly, and then gives out a very Mark-like groan. My heart races at this, and I perk up, just to try and see if he was actually okay. His face contorts and his eyes slowly open, snapping shut a moment later, and then he whispers something that only Mark would say after nearly dying- "Someone turn off the fucking light, would you? Tryin to blind a guy?"

I slowly move over to him, glancing at the paramedics. They all have their eyes trained on me, as if I would try to hurt Mark again. Which, hopefully, I wouldn't.

I touch his cheek gingerly, and he flinches away, or at least he tries to, but it's difficult with the straps binding him to the stretcher. At the restriction of movement his eyes fly open, wide enough that I can see the panic in them, and he starts to thrash around, struggling against the belts.

"M-Mark, Mark, calm down!" I whisper to him, and his eyes shift from the belts to me. His struggling calms down a small bit, but he still continues. "It'll all be okay..." I add, smiling calmly.

"They're here to help you."

He looks around, eyes finding the paramedics as if seeing them for the first time. They're standing now, about to step in. Mark looks back at me, his entire body trembling. Gone is the strong, comforting Mark I knew, replaced with this pathetic, trembling one. I don't have a clue what to do, so I just stand there. If I were to touch or try and soothe Mark by speaking to him, he'd most likely be afraid. I don't want to harm him further, but I know something has to be done. I slowly reach down, stroking Mark's hair gently. He flinches a bit, but then seems to still a bit, the shaking becoming less violent. I continue, swallowing harshly.

"I'm sorry...this is all my fault." I murmur.

He looks up at me, worry in his big brown eyes, and starts to say something, but then his lips close, followed by his eyes, and he relaxes completely, melting into the hand running through his hair.

I panic for a small moment, thinking he's passed out again, but calm down when I see that he's still breathing. I let out a small sigh, looking down.

"He's gonna be out for a while, we sedated him." the paramedic says, startling me. He's holding an empty syringe.

I blink and give a small nod, trying not to show the anger I feel at this.

When we arrive at the hospital, it's all a blur of doctors and nurses, questions and examinations. When they finally let me see Mark, they lead me to an empty padded room with a bed, two chairs, a desk, and a restrained Mark, drowsy with drugs but awake. I pull up a chair next to him, smiling wryly.

"Hey, Mark. How ya feelin?" I whisper.

"Shitty."

I laugh a small bit, but stop when I realize that he's glaring at me. "I'm really sorry." I say quietly.

"Don't apologize. Seriously." he snaps, and I can tell he doesn't want to talk about what happened. With the glare he's giving me, I'm a bit relieved he's restrained, but I don't tell him that.

I fall silent, and I stay silent for quite some time until he breaks it by asking "Could you pet my hair again?" He seems a bit embarrassed by his request, cheeks flushed red, but I nod.

"Yea, sure." I say, trying to hide a smile. I comb my fingers through his dark locks, and he sighs, eyes closed, a small smile gracing his lips.

It could've been the drugs, or my actions, but he falls asleep in record time, snoring softly. His breathing was slow and peaceful. I sigh, putting my feet up on the table, and that's when I notice the chains around his ankles. I only noticed the ones on his wrists. My temper flares. What the hell is he, some wild animal?

I have half a mind to go up to the nurses station and demand they unchain him, but my thoughts are ground to a halt when there's a knock on the door, I walk over and open it to find a doctor, who walks in and starts questioning me.