Heaven's Hell (currently paused)

Fourth sphere

It has been two days. Louis had shouldered his bag and let the door shut behind him. He had known that Caspian would disappear after the escapade he had accomplished. Still, it gnawed at Louis. The nights were stormy and rainy, as ever, like the afternoon he had picked him up in the Plänterwoods.

Where had Caspian ended up? Had he gotten somewhere else? Maybe he had found his way home.

Louis turned a corner and switched sides. He had worked on a report about child poverty in Berlin this afternoon and was now downcast for several reasons. Neukölln-Nord was a focal point and especially the children in this quarter suffered. With a sigh, he looked up at the hard-to-read street sign and decided to use an abbreviation.

The alley was narrow and dark. He circled a fallen garbage can and discovered something lying on the floor further ahead. Probably a homeless person or a drunk. With a heavy heart he went up to him and wanted to avoid him, Louis had no cash with him and most of the time these people spent it on alcohol anyway, when he stopped. He took a few steps back and felt a lump form in his throat.

Was this ... blood? He had mistaken it for a puddle, but it was definitely blood. Dark and already crusty. Crap. He had just stumbled into a body. He backed a few steps away and rushed for his cell phone. This day had just developed from "rather bad" to "Better I wouldn't even have gotten up". Panic crept over his skin and his cell phone trembled in his hand.

Good God, this body was battered. Did they have a new serial killer in town? He was a journalist, sure that was exciting in a very wrong way, but Louis would have preferred not to be part of his own stories. It went all the worse when he saw the body move.

A finger twitched.

Eyelids fluttered.

Ice-blue eyes stared at him.

Louis slipped the phone out of his hand. "Shit," he breathed, falling to his knees. He crawled over to the person. These eyes had burned deep into his brain and he would not forget them. Especially not after two days. "Caspian?" Louis whispered and a shiver ran down his back. Now he recognized the blonde hair, coloured by the blood.

-

At this point, Caspian had expected to be nibbled on by street cats. His body felt numb and empty as he haired out on the cold floor and waited to be able to move on his own again.

The first thing that was restored was his hearing. It was actually shit, because he heard the shouting from the apartment above him, the laughter from the street and the moaning less than five meters away, but knew that nobody would find him. Next, he was able to open his eyes again and saw nothing but cold, dirty concrete walls.

The first day he had managed to drag himself two meters away, but his blood loss was high and without water and food, his body lacked the energy to work properly. As a result, the other things were neglected and his organism first worked to preserve the head and organs.

He was hypersensitive. The howling and screeching of the cats and the noise of the street drove him crazy. The few times he sank into a less restful sleep, he was awakened by something. Last time it had been a rat crawling over him, this time it had to be something bigger. He felt the vibrations of the steps. A person?

Strange. He had not expected anyone to actually dare to come here. Caspian showed all his strength and opened his eyes. He regretted it immediately. The sunlight hurt in his still sensitive retina. But as the blurry picture cleared, he recognized a familiar face. He also heard his voice. The thirst made him hallucinate.

"Bloody hell." The imaginary Louis reached out a hand for him, but then withdrew. "I have to call an ambulance. This time I have to-" "No." Caspian was not sure if he had said that aloud or if he had just moved his lips, his throat was dry as dust. Felt like sandpaper. Either way, the Louis from his imagination raised his eyebrows. "Shut up." Wow. Caspian was impressed. His thoughts had definitely given Louis a little more fire.