thesupersmeller | OOM: So Not Dead

The end of the universe is ending and Burton Guster is curled up in a ball in a corner, wracked with soft sobs as his brain tries to figure out what's going to happen to not only himself, but to everything. He closes his eyes tightly, shifting from where he sat with his back to the wall until he's on his side in the fetal position.

It seems to last forever, the shaking and screams - muttered prayers and reassurances that somehow everything is going to be just fine. And then... nothing. A chill wraps around him like jumping in a swimming pool in January; he can't breathe - can't open his eyes or move a muscle.

And then pain, shooting up his left arm from his elbow to his wrist. The rest of his body is numb until he feels the arm warm enough that he can gasp for breath and open his eyes. He's alone, and he sure as hell aint in Milliways anymore. It's dark, after a moment he realizes he's outside but the moon is obscured behind heavy clouds. He can see a street light in the distance and hear the ocean.

Gus closes his eyes again and rolls onto his back - the arm that had been trapped under him letting out another fresh jolt of pain. Broken; definitely at the wrist and probably up higher too if the tingly numbness and shooting pain is telling the whole story. Desperate, he digs into his pocket and manages out his cellphone and phones the last number he called.

"Shawn, pick up pick up pick up..." he whispers in a barely audible whimper.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

psyched_you_out

"I'm on it."

After a somewhat frantic motorcycle ride and laptop search, he dials Gus's number again.

"I've got it, I'm on my way."

From:

thesupersmeller

When he answers the phone, his voice shakes a little as he tries to hold back a shiver. "Take my car, the spare keys are in my top center drawer."

Listening as they're retrieved, he asks; "Am I even in California? How far?"

From:

psyched_you_out

He almost laughs as he sees the location on the map.

"You're not even that far from here. I'll be there in like, five minutes."

From:

thesupersmeller

Gus doesn't bother saying goodbye before killing the connection. At least when the bar fell into the void it had the good humor to get him sort of close to home. It would have been nice if it didn't involve dropping him on his arm; but it beats landing on his head.

He lets himself relax on the warm sand and tries to think about anything other than how body his body hates him and how cold it is.

From:

psyched_you_out

As promised, it's not long before Shawn's crouching beside him, still looking confused/concerned.

"C'mon, let's get out of here."

From:

thesupersmeller

"Easy for you to say." Gus frowns and manages to sit up, but not without some tenderness. "I fell at least a good fifteen feet..."

He crosses the injured arm in front of himself and tries to keep it steady against the stiff, bloody shirt. "And no, it's not my blood. Help me up, I think my left wrist is broken."

From:

psyched_you_out

He loops a supportive arm around Gus's shoulders, trying to be careful of the bruised ribs. Fortunately he parked nearby, so they don't have too far to go.

From:

thesupersmeller

With each step, his legs co-operate a little more until he slips into the passenger seat of the Blueberry. Leaning his head back against the headrest, he closes his eyes again.

"That was, beyond a doubt, the stupidest thing I've ever done."

From:

psyched_you_out

He slides into the driver's seat and starts up the car, heading back towards the office.

"You wanna tell me what happened?"

From:

thesupersmeller

"ER, please," he sighs and licks his lips, centering himself before dipping into the somewhat convoluted explanation.

Finally, he admits; "I was looking for you and sort of got swept up in the chaos and almost got killed by an explosion and some flying, fire-breathing penises before even making it to the bar."

From:

psyched_you_out

"Flying what?"

He changes course and steers them towards the hospital.

From:

thesupersmeller

Yeah, that was weird.

"You know what I said, Shawn. Anyway, after falling on some dude with a sword who pointed me to the bar I figured you probably weren't even there."

From:

psyched_you_out

"I'm so sorry man, I should have called you."

Guilt. He has it.

From:

thesupersmeller

"It's all right." He groans and shifts, giving up on even considering a seat belt.

"I helped out doing triage in the bar, you know... stopping bleeding and dressing wounds and stuff." He chuckles under his breath and then lets out another slight groan when his ribs ache; "Dude, LORD ELROND touched me. For real, he totally had faith in me and told me I could help those people."

It was kind of really cool. In a way that nobody would ever get.

From:

psyched_you_out

"Wow. That's pretty cool."

It may not show much, but he's secretly kind of proud of him for stepping up.

From:

thesupersmeller

Once the adrenaline rush wears off, Gus'll be pretty damn impressed himself. As it is, between the pain and the shock of the situation he's basically high as a kite.

He closes his eyes and tries to focus on ignoring the shooting pain in his wrist and forearm, failing miserably but knowing that they're close to the hospital. "How'd your date go?"

From:

psyched_you_out

"Oh, you know... once we managed to avoid the doom, it went pretty well."

He pulls over as they finally reach the hospital.

From:

thesupersmeller

"What happened at the office? Were you there? I went looking for you and the place was trashed... door wide open and everything."

It occurs to him for the first time that it may well have been the work of the bar - just like everything else.

From:

psyched_you_out

"Yeah... we were in such a hurry to get out of there we didn't think about the mess."

From:

thesupersmeller

He tries to nod, but only succeeds in making the world go a little more blurry as the weight of what happened and his own stupidity begin to hit him.

"I really thought you were out there... Thought I was gonna die."

He almost adds 'alone' but instead only groans when the Blueberry hits a speed bump - they've got to be pulling into the parking lot.

From:

psyched_you_out

... He has no idea what to say to that.

"We're here."

From:

thesupersmeller

"Right." He manages to force open his eyes only to groan at the blinding glare of the emergency receiving lights as Shawn parks the car.

He's still fumbling for the door and to unbuckle a seatbelt he isn't wearing when the door is yanked open and a burly attendant is man handling him into a wheelchair.

"I'm fine, man... Just fell. My wrist, my feet still work fine." He lurches forward, dizzy again and concedes to letting him do his job.

From:

psyched_you_out

Shawn follows, not wanting to let Gus out of his sight.

He knows he isn't hurt too badly, but he still hates hospitals.

From:

thesupersmeller

Triage pushes him through pretty fast, but the shock is hitting him hard and he really doesn't come back around until he feels hands on his head and an unfamiliar voice urging him to open his eyes.

As much time as he spends with doctors, he's never gotten used to the antiseptic and latex smell; "Shawn? Doctor?" He manages his eyes halfway open. "I think I might have a little concussion."

From:

psyched_you_out

He sticks as close to Gus's side as he can while the doctor examines him, trying to stay out of the way at the same time.

"Does that mean I get to poke you every twenty minutes to make sure you're not unconscious?"