Beneath the Courage

Hands Off

I kept my mouth shut, though, and just waited until she opened the door and we were allowed to go inside. What I saw when my vision adjusted to the dim room made my stomach ache terribly. I wanted to run over to the bed and tear Fri free of the ropes that held him to the metal bed. Parker grabbed my wrist and squeezed, making me take a deep breath as I stared down at him. 

"Calm down, Callem." 

His voice didn't help me much as I slowly made my way closer to Fri. He had a mask over his face, and a weak, but steady growl was echoing in the quiet room. His eyes were barely open, but I could feel them on me. I let my gaze move over his body, the amount of things hooked up to it was sickening. 

"He can't need all of this." I stated, staring sideways at Parker as he stopped beside me. 

Instead of answering me, Parker turned toward the machines that were beeping in the room. I wasn't sure what any of them were, but surely Fri didn't need so many. 

"Why is he on a ventilator?" Parker asked as he turned to face the woman who had followed them inside, the two men she'd gotten to join her at her back. 

She glanced down at the clipboard, using the light coming in from the hall to read. "It says that he came in unconscious. He was barely responsive and needed assistance breathing. That's why the machine was hooked up." She stated, returning her gaze to us. 

"I'm assuming he's tried to escape or attack someone, and that is the reason he's tied? And not just because he's growling?" Parker asked, a hint of frustration in his voice that I shared. 

The woman sighed and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "He came in unconscious but when he came around, he began baring his teeth and growling at staff. They tried to assure him that they just wanted to help him, but he refused to keep the ventilator mask on or the IVs for the fluids he needs in."

He must have been terrified. Anger boiled in my chest when I realized that Hice was nowhere to be seen. I had expected him to be lurking in a dark corner, watching over Fri, but he wasn't here. I doubt he even came at all. 

The door opened right as I thought that and I had a feeling that my own mind had brought Hice to Fri's side. Unfortunately, the person who stepped through the door quietly, then turned and shut it before facing us, was definitely not Hice. 

Parker stepped forward, likely about to speak to the man, when a snarling roar ripped through the room and the machines against the wall began going crazy. I jerked my attention back to Fri, who was fighting the restraints in a fury. He swung his head back and forth enough to force the mask off, then began trying to free his arms. His struggling forced some of the IV needles to pull free, leaving lines of blood slowly escaping from his wrists and arms. 

"Fri, calm down." I said, trying to soothe his anger. 

His dark-rimmed eyes met mine, and I realized then, that he wasn't angry. He was terrified. Without thinking, I responded. Whirling around, I grabbed the man by the throat and slammed him against the wall hard enough to shake the shelf leaning up against it. Dust fell slowly to settled on us from the ceiling as Micah lifted his shaking hands to scrape at my arm, but I didn't release him. I tightened my grip as my gills flared and I felt my teeth starting to form points. It took a lot to bring out my other side without the feeling of water over my body, but I was very close to tearing him apart.

The only thing that saved the man were his gasped words as he choked around my fingers digging into his neck. "Hice s-sent me." 

I let his body drop to the floor then, after a final strong squeeze. He coughed, then gagged and coughed several more times, trying to regain his ability to breathe. I probably hurt him for far longer than this moment, but after Fri's reaction to him, I couldn't find it in me to care. A hand wrapping around my left arm brought my fury back and I turned, snarling at one of the two men that he woman had brought in for protection. He shrank back against the opposite wall, eyes wide.