Stitches

Postmortem

Natsu POV

         These bastards I swear I will tear them to bits!

          "Natsu slow down! At this rate Levy is sure to run out of magic before we get there!" Gajeel yells from the back of the car. I let up on the gas. I look over and curse myself. Levy was panting and feverish in the passenger seat. I stop and unhook her from SE-PLUG.

          "I'm sorry Levy!" I apologise and hold back the tears that threatened to fall. I hurt a living nakama just to chase down a dead one.

       "Don't worry Natsu! This is why I chose to go with you instead of Erza. I'm more useful this way. I'm still not too much for combat situations." Levy says and Gajeel reaches for her hand.

       "Nonsense you've helped me and have saved me on more than one occasion! Seriously shrimp you've almost made S-Class before with me and I was supposed to back you up, but you ended up having my back!" Gajeel argues and Levy blushes. Get a room and get together already!

          "Thanks Gajeel, but I'm not good at what Erza's has planned. Wendy and Carla are for a quick escape I was supposed to be a distraction. Alzack and Bisca have taken that role thankfully. I wouldn't know what to do." She says and I nod.

         "I get it. It's like me with stealth huh?" I ask and she laughs before nodding. Gajeel groans in the back before hooking up the SE-plug to himself.

        "Go forward bastard! We've lost time! If Erza catches up we're dead!" He yells and I step on the gas. We had a lot of ground to catch up and the scent was getting fainter by the second. A hour passed and I spotted an old overturned carraige and I slammed on the brakes. Her scent! I smell strawberries and vanilla! Lucy!

        "Hey! Give a fucking warning!" Gajeel yells as he holds onto a jarred Levy.

       "Sorry! That's it!" I yell and he breathes in.
  
        "Your right I'll set off a flare. Man, I was expecting whoever it was in a building not to be still in the transportation." He says before shooting off his magic as I run over. There was a lot of blood leaking out of the side. I jump up and peer in. There was two old people torn to shreds. I groan and puke over the side as Erza pulls up.

         "Natsu! What's wrong!" She yells before running over. I was puking up too much to tell her so she looks in. She looks green too before shaking her head.

         "Send word to the Knights. Our suspects are dead." She says solemnly before jumping down.

          "What do you mean dead?" Levy pants from the car.

          "Their throats we're slashed open. I'd say from the angle and depth it was done by someone leaning into the car. My worry is that there was someone sitting between them." Erza says and Levy frowns as Wendy decends with Carla. "Wendy go back to the guild and inform Master that there's been complications."

        "What kind of complications?"

        "I'll say it personally. Now Natsu, Gajeel what do you smell?" She asks and I choke back the vomit long enough to smell as Wendy takes off with Carla.

        "I smell Lucy" I choke out before standing up. I wipe my mouth with the back of my wrist before spitting out left over bits from my mouth.

        "I smell rune knights. They always had a certain smell from their specialty treated metal." Gajeel says and Erza shakes her head.

         "Why would the rune knights do it though?" Levy asks and I shrug.