Unmasked

Chapter 7

The Crescendo

"V?" Evey called, searching the mask for any signs that he was still with her. "V?!" She put a hand on his chest and felt it rise and fall ever so slightly. "Oh God, V," Evey felt her heart jump into her throat, "I don't know what to do. Tell me what to do."

She felt hopelessly underprepared. Hours of medical dramas were not nearly enough to help the amount of damage as the blood pooling around V's body became grew larger with each faint heartbeat.

No.

Stop.

This is not what V needs right now. This is exactly the kind of fear that he wanted to rid you of. This is the kind of fear that can mean life or death; pull yourself together, Evey.

She applied pressure to the wounds that seemed to be losing the most blood and, knowing she wouldn't be able to avoid it much longer, she ripped open his vest along with the poet's shirt underneath it, exposing his chest and pushing the clothing back from his shoulders to get a better look at his injuries. The skin there was smooth in some places and, conversely, rigid in others. The peaks were rough and mangled and the valleys were smooth and even a bit shiny. The sight did not bother her, however. At this time Evey could feel nothing but the need to save V's life, and the anger at the people who had done this to him. She couldn't dwell on that for long, though. She began ripping his shirt into strips, packing the wounds as best as she could. She didn't have time to do full first aid right now, even if she had any idea where to start. First, she needed to get him back to the Shadow Gallery.

The chime of a clock pulled her from her panic for a moment. Midnight. She glanced at V. He had done this, all of this, sacrificed decades of his life and possibly ending it permanently, all for this moment. If he did make it through this she would not be able to face him if she did not do her part in finishing what he had started.

Quickly before she could second guess herself she raced back to the train, not taking even a moment to glance at the explosives as she pulled the lever down, stepping back as the train doors closed and it moved down the track.

Evey turned around as the train disappeared down the tunnel and raced back to V's side. She ran her hands along the skin of his torso, counting the many, many holes there, she had a fleeting thought that when he woke up he might not want to see her again. Not after this. Not after she had violated the privacy of the most private man she knew. V had made sure to remove all fear from her the only fear she felt now was the possibility of losing the man in front of her. This man who had changed her life so thoroughly. This man who had wrecked her so utterly and built her back up. This man that had changed an entire world. This brilliant, beautiful, well-spoken man who had been her friend and so much more. Evey pushed the thought from her mind. She could think of that later. Right now all she needed to do is figure out how to get him out of here.

She remembered when she was little and she would wrap herself in a blanket and lay on the floor in the mornings. She liked the feeling of the cold floor beneath her and a warm blanket above. Her brother would wake up soon after and come downstairs to find her. They liked to play a game where she would lay atop the blanket and he would pull her around on the smooth wood floor. She felt like she was on the magic carpet flying through the sky. This image stuck with her as she searched for anything to lay V's body on. He was much too heavy for her to carry on her own. V, though a slender man, was made of raw muscle. There was no way Evey could drag all 6 foot 2 inches of him down the tunnels of London's Underground, even running on all the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Evey was only 5 foot 3 inches and though she hadn't noticed it before she seemed to have become all skin and bones in the past year. By some stroke of luck or higher power whatever it was Evey sent it a silent thank you as she found V's cape discarded near his hat a few feet away from them. He was still bleeding profusely but she had staunched it a bit, though she knew not to let this information excite her. There was so much blood and so much to be done and many things could happen between here and the Shadow Gallery. Not to mention the fact that she had no formal medical training and had no idea how to remove bullets or fix bullet holes besides what she had read in books. She could think on that later though. Now she just had to focus on rolling V's body atop his cape dragging him down the passageways. One foot in front of the other.