It hadn’t taken too long for the demons to come out of the corners once the numbering process was over. It seemed as if the portal opening may also have had something to do with it, as Aaron noted they tended to move faster during the time that everything was shifting. This battle was taking longer than the previous ones, probably because there were more assailants, and he reloaded his Glock with the last clip he had on him just as something that looked like a cross between a dust bunny and a Wonder Mop shot out of the shadows, barreling toward him. Trying to conserve ammo, he shot it only once and regretted it immediately as the monster knocked him hard into the lava rock wall behind him.
A knee to the groin did nothing to the creature as the monster opened a hole in its face he could only presume was its mouth and bared rows of sharp teeth. Aaron used the heel of his hand to strike the monster right beneath the opening, assuming that would have the same effect as a blow to the jaw, and started to gain some traction when the beast’s head flew back. It was enough time to raise his revolver and shoot straight up through its head, smattering the ceiling with black, chalky residue as the rest of the demon fell away.
He didn’t have time to admire his work. Brandon was struggling with a two-headed wolf, and Alex was pinned to the ground with another demon dog on top of him.
Aaron shot at the demon dog, hitting it in the side of the head as Alex screamed out in pain and a spurt of bright red blood smattered the surface of the cave floor. “Jamie!” Aaron yelled to his friend who was just ending some sort of a lizard creature. He didn’t have time to see if the Healer noted why he’d called for his attention as Brandon was losing ground, and the wolf wasn’t in position for Aaron to shoot without potentially hitting Heather who had the upper hand on whatever the hell that thing was she was engaged with. It sort of reminded Aaron of a walking ink blot.
“Really, we can go home any time!” Elliott shouted, firing at several other creatures attempting to come out of the tunnels as Aaron closed in on Brandon’s position. He pulled his knife and jammed it into one of the wolf’s heads while Brandon fired into the other. A few jagged cuts of the blade left it recoiling on the floor, and Aaron looked around to see what else needed ending. All was quiet again—for now.
Except for Alex. He was writhing in pain on the cave floor, Jamie at his side, but Aaron noticed immediately the doctor had his gloves on. Dax, Brandon, and Heather took up positions on the perimeter as Aaron and Elliott moved to Alex’s side.
“Why aren’t you fixing him, Doc?” Elliott asked, dropping to his knees next to the other Guardian. Aaron already knew the answer to that question, but he let Jamie explain.
“He has a DNH,” Jamie replied. “I’m happy to take my gloves off and put him out of his misery right now, but he’d have to tell me to do so, and right now, he’s still refusing my assistance.”
“No, leave it be,” Alex insisted, struggling to sit up. Aaron and Elliot leaned down and pulled him to sitting, and Alex grimaced against the pain. His leg was still bleeding profusely, and his breathing was labored.
“I’m fairly certain that bastard nicked his femoral artery.” Jamie’s voice was hushed, as if he didn’t want Alex to hear what they were saying.
“How long does he have?” Aaron asked, wishing there was something he could do himself to stop the blood but also wanting to respect Alex’s wishes.
“It’s hard to say. It depends on how deep it is, and how quickly his body starts to heal by itself. If it were you, I’d say he’d probably be fine, but he hasn’t had a second dose. And... I don’t even know if he can die in here.”
“Nah, I don’t think he can,” Elliott said, shaking his head. “Sorry, Alex, but I think you’re stuck with us for the long haul.”
Alex chuckled slightly. “Oh, how I hope you’re wrong, Dr. Sanderson. As painful as this, I am very much ready to cross over. There are a lot of people I’ve been missing these last two hundred years.”
“But... you can’t die, not in here,” Brandon countered, stepping over. Aaron did a quick survey of the area, determined they were still safe as the hissing and howling hadn’t started up yet, and let the teen continue. “If anything happens to you while you’re in here, Cass will be so upset. You know she’s waiting for you, Alex. You’re like... one of her best friends.”
“Ah, that Cassidy,” Alex mused, a glazed expression coming to his eyes as his forehead beaded with sweat. “I am quite fond of the girl. She is extra special, that one. I’m sure she’ll understand. I’ve made my position quite clear all along. If there’s any way that I can pass on from this laborious world, I wish to do so.”
“But you’re not even in the world.” Brandon tried again. “What if you get lost in here somewhere? What if you die here, and you can never leave?”
“Then there’d be a hell of a lot of ghosts haunting this place, and there ain’t,” Heather shouted.
Brandon turned and gave her a dirty look over his shoulder, but she wasn’t paying attention. She seemed disinterested in whether Alex lived or died. Aaron couldn’t blame her for not being too involved since she’d just met the man, but maybe a part of her wanted him to die just to prove her point that it was possible.
“I’ll tell you what,” Alex began, struggling to sit up straighter as he dug into the pocket of his jacket. “I shall use my mobile device to record a final message for Cassidy, in case this is truly goodbye. That should suffice. I am certain she will want me to follow my heart in this instance, to get back to my dear Elizabeth.”
Aaron could understand that, having spent over a century longing to get back to his own first wife. Now, he couldn’t imagine leaving his second one behind. Alex needed to do whatever he felt was best.
“May I have permission to turn my device back on?” Alex asked.
Taken aback, Aaron replied, “Yes, of course.” Alex nodded and turned his phone on. Rather than taking a video, which is what Aaron had expected, he opened up Notes and began to type.
Aaron caught Elliott’s eyes, and his friend began to slowly shake his head, either in disbelief or in acknowledgement that Alex was an odd bird. Either way, Aaron didn’t have anything more to say about the situation, only that he hoped if Alex died, it was as pain free as possible.
Brandon let out a loud sigh and turned back around, causing his father to pull himself up from the ground and go over to talk to him. If Aaron wanted to hear, he probably could have, but it was none of his business. He imagined Brandon was feeling bad for how he’d treated Alex, though Aaron couldn’t think of anything specific the younger man had done. Perhaps he’d given him the cold shoulder from time to time, but Brandon was obviously concerned that Cassidy was spending too much time with the ex-Revolutionary War era hero, so it made sense that Brandon wouldn’t exactly want to be his best friend.
Alex stopped typing and handed his phone to Aaron, likely not realizing it was coated in blood from where the statesman had been grabbing at his thigh. Aaron took it anyway and put it in his pocket. “You’ll see that she gets the message, won’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Good.” Alex smiled, took a deep breath and settled back against the rock as best he could. Jamie checked his watch, which didn’t do much good in an environment with no time.
“I was wrong, wasn’t I, about which portal would open next?”
Aaron hadn’t had much time to look at numbers since the portal opened and mayhem ensued, but he was fairly certain it wasn’t the one that Alex had predicted. “We’ll look at it shortly,” he said.
“Perhaps there is no rhyme or reason here. No time, nothing to measure one’s rate of change or the status quo.” He closed his eyes, and Aaron could tell his breathing was growing more shallow. “I am reminded of the great Civil War General, Albert Sydney Johnston, who died of a similar wound at the Battle of Shiloh.”
“Johnston was a damn Reb!” Heather shouted, surprising Aaron with her allegiance to the North since she sounded fairly Southern herself.
Alex either didn’t hear or ignored her. “Such a warrior, that one. His work in the Black Hawk War isn’t given enough credit.”
“Killin’ innocents!” Heather added. Aaron began to wonder if she had some personal connection to the man Alex spoke of.
“’Tis a shame he died at the hands of his own men, most likely. An accident, of course. Bleeding to death without realizing it. His boot filled with blood....”
“Alex... are you sure?” Jamie asked, and Aaron could hear the anguish in his voice.
