Left For Dead [malec fanfiction] [complete]

Sixteen: Bullet For Your Thoughts

Magnus' secret hideout was just an ordinary old apartment building that was long abandoned since the beginning of the apocalypse. They entered one of the rooms on the first floor and set Alec down on a mattress, piling up pillows behind his back so that he was sitting up somewhat.

"And you're sure we're safe here?" Jace asked as he was looking around for blankets for his brother.

"I wouldn't bring us here if we wouldn't be," Magnus retorted. "And blankets are in the closet in the hall. Third door to your right."

Jace returned a moment later with blankets in his arms. "How did you know they'd be there?"

Magnus hesitated. "Because this used to be my apartment."

Everyone froze in place. It was a rather unexpected surprise. Because Magnus said he'd been alone for so long, nobody thought about what his life was like before the world ended or where he was or what he was doing.

"You lived here?" Max finally asked.

"I did. We're in my room right now actually. Your brother's in my bed." Magnus smiled at the young boy. "Come on. Go out into the dining room for a while. I've got some playing cards out there. You and Jace can have a game of Go Fish or something while Clary and I help Alec out."

There was an old first aid kit that Magnus had hidden away under his bathroom sink under a loose board. Once Clary grabbed it and returned to the bedroom, Alec's fever had spiked and he was shivering under his blankets.

"His fever went up. We need to break it. Does this place still have running water?" Clary asked.

"Only one way to find out," Magnus went to the sink in the bathroom, a small room adjoining to his bedroom, and turned on the sink. A burst of water shot out and he plunged a facecloth under it long enough to make it damp. He returned it to Alec and placed it on the oldest Lightwood's forehead. Alec moaned in protest, trying to move Magnus' hand away.

"I know, Alec. But we have to break the fever or otherwise you're going to get sick. What's inside the kit that we need?"

Clary opened up the kit and rummaged through it. "Bandages. Adhesive tape. We need more than this to get the bullet out, Magnus. Needle and thread for stitching. Something to get the bullet out. Like tweezers or pliers-"

"I know just where to find all that. Wait here," Magnus huffed. He left the apartment altogether and didn't return until fifteen minutes later with a plastic bag in his hand. "Told you I'd find what we needed. Lady next door was old and loved to knit and sew. Who knew having a crazy old cat lady for a neighbor would have its benefits?"

Clary watched as he took out needle and thread, a pair of pliers and a bottle of alcohol. "Okay. So the thread and needle I understand. The pliers I get too. But what's with the booze?"

Magnus popped the bottle open and took a sniff. "To clean the wound, of course. I didn't have any rubbing alcohol so this was the next best thing."

Alec moaned as Magnus used a pair of scissors to cut his shirt open. "What are you doing?"

"Getting that slug out of you. You'll die if we don't. Now hush. We need to concentrate." Magnus picked up the bottle of alcohol and grimaced. "This is going to hurt a bit okay?"

Before Alec could protest, Magnus poured a tablespoon of the alcohol onto his wound. He let out an agonized scream and his body arched off the mound of pillows.

"You're doing great, Alec. That was just to clean the wound and allow us to get better access to the bullet," Clary pat his leg in reassurance. "Not much longer now, okay?"