Burn in Hell | C137cest AU

Nervous Pacers Bracing For Bad News - Chapter 12

       Rick walked up the small walkway, hands in his pockets until he wandered up a porch and knocked on the door. Gary wasted no time greeting him, eyes red and puffy. Gene, on the couch visiting, didn't seem much better.

       "How is he?" Gene asked when he saw the man enter, blowing his nose after. "He's in a coma," Rick mumbled, walking towards the kitchen and grabbing a beer while he heard quick whispers of disbelief. "A coma?" Gary whispered as the man walked back in, eyes brimming with fresh salt tears. Rick nodded, opening the can to begin drowning his sorrows. 

       "Gary, I want you and maybe even Gene to go wait for him to wake up. I already said my goodbyes, 'cause I ain't gonna see him no more. It's better than way, anyways, and he don't wanna see me. Especially after his ki--" Rick paused. He hadn't said anything about AJ yet. 

       "Rick," Gary's voice broke as he stared at the man, "what about AJ?" 

       Rick bit his lip, furrowing his brow as he stared down at his can. His lip trembled slightly before he took a drink, wiping his chin. "G--" he tried, clearing his throat and wiping quickly at his own eyes. "Gary, S-Sam got 'im, too. The kid was gone before I got there. . ."

       "No," Gary whispered, collapsing into the couch beside Gene. They held each other and wept almost bitterly, never breaking apart, while Rick stood for a moment.

       "Gary I need you to promise me you will look out for him. You gotta play papa bear with him again." Rick stated, taking care of his now empty can after chugging the rest of its contents. "No more worrying about me, but you gotta start at the beginning with him all over again." 

        Rick made his way to the door, "If he wakes up, anyways."

       Morty paced the hospital room, already tired of this stupid act he's got going on. God, if they play the same stupid episode of Spongebob he was gonna kill his own spirit or whatever he was. But there was something about 'Spongebob' that had a weird--

       What was that? Morty looked towards the door, seeing orange and green. His vision cleared further, but he was afraid because of something the voice said earlier. Something about clear vision meaning dead eyes meaning death. And every hour it seemed Morty's vision got clearer. But it was slowing. Maybe that was a good thing?

"Shh," the brunet heard.
"Don't shush me. He ain't even awake." 

       Whoever they were, they certainly didn't sound... happy. Somebody sighed, a chair brought up while the orange person sat on the edge of the bed and began talking to Morty.

"You remember that funny little spin you always did for me? I'm gonna have you doing so many of those when you wake up."

       What spin? Who the hell was this?

"Kid, this is your second chance. Wake up. You don't have to be out for very long, and you're running out of time. That head wound ain't gonna do much. They might just pull the plug. You're almost brain dead."

       "Why can't you tell me how to wake up?"

"Because I never could figure out how to do it, myself, and now I'm stuck here."

       Morty watched his vision grow clearer yet again, his nonexistent heartbeat speeding up further, though he calmed down when he saw it had barely changed.

"Kid," the other voice said, the yellow one, "Rick wanted me to be here when you woke up. He can't do it, kiddo. He gave up. He ain't gonna see you no more, he says. I guess I gotta be papa bear again, but, truth be told, I don't see how youse two weren't married or something. You got this weird chemistry, every time you're in a room together. I wish I hadn't always tried to pull youse apart. You'd make a great couple."

"Are you saying you ship the kid and drunk satan?"

"What else would I be saying?"

"Oh. My. God."

"What?"

"Me too!"

       Morty rolled his eyes, wondering who the hell 'Rick' and 'Drunk Satan' was as he heard a halfhearted high five, watching the two colors combine before they separated again.

"Wake up for them."

       "I don't know how," Morty replied, sullenly, sitting in a corner. "I want to, b-" A flicker. There was a flicker. Morty saw reality shift for a second after he said 'I want to'.

"That's the secret! Wake up, kid! Wake up while you can!"

       "I wanna!" Morty stated again, standing from his corner with slightly higher spirits. "I want to wake up!"  Another flicker! 

"Wake up, Morty!"

       "I want to wake up! Right now!" Morty watched as his vision grew more blurred, as his reality switched back and forth. 

"Do it! Wake up!"

       Morty continued his mantra of 'I want to wake up' until something finally happened.

       The power went out.

       "What the hell?!" Gene shrieked, sitting up from his spot on Morty's cot. "No!" Gary bellowed. Something could happen to Morty with the power out. The bouncer ran to the kid, checking on him.

       He wasn't breathing.

        A team of nurses ran into the room, urging Gary and Gene to step away from Morty.

       Morty watched fearfully as the power went out, feeling a sharp pain in his chest that blossomed into a tightness. 

       His vision was getting clearer.

"No! Kid you have to hold on! Either hold on or wake up! It's the only way you'll be safe! Keep fighting!"

"Breathe kid!"

"Somebody give me the goddamn tools!"

"Outta my way! Move it!"

"We have to get him stable!"

"Keep him breathing!"

"The powers back!"

       Morty sputtered for air as the tightness slowly fixed itself, but his vision remained the same.

"We're gonna have to get him stable again."

"It doesn't matter."

"He's brain dead."

        "What? NO!"