different blood

Chapter Nine

Holy fucking shit, this place looks like hell.

Deafening police sirens blared in Gavin's ears as he stumbled into the area. He saw broken glass scattered on the ground everywhere, some cars turned over onto their sides with the alarms wailing and the headlights flashing. Officers milled around on the streets, investigating stores that had been vandalized and robbed.

He tried to keep a low profile, sneaking along behind cars so nobody would see and recognize him. The detective surveyed his surroundings carefully, trying to find anything that looked similar in that live clip on the news.

He managed to not attract any attention surprisingly. Gavin almost got caught by some officers who were walking around though. The man eyed a street address sign on a broken stoplight.

He recognized this, it had been shown on the television. Hope coursed through him as he quickened his pace, his injured body aching with every step. The pain was muffled out by his newfound strength as he began to identify things that he had seen on the news.

Gavin paused, a trio of officers standing in front of him. Their backs were turned to him though. He recognized one of the officers as Kristine. She would definitely force him back to the hospital if she saw him here.

The detective hastily ducked into an alley, pressing against the brick wall. He breathed heavily, trying to ignore the sharp pain shooting through his weak body. Gavin hissed, slouching against the hard wall slightly and closing his eyes. God, he felt like shit.

He was about to peek out to check if the coast was clear when he heard movement coming from behind him. Gavin was unable to turn around quick enough. Something pinned him against the brick wall, a hand clasped around his neck firmly. The detective gasped, opening his eyes to see..

A rather familiar android.

Conan stood in front of him, his LED an urgent red color. Bloodstains, both blue and red, stained his used-to-be clean uniform. A deep gash was visible across his left cheek, thirium trickling down from the cut.

The most noticeable injury was Conan's arm.. or lack of one.

The android's arm had been ripped off brutally, exposed wires and metal sticking out dangerously. Bioluminescent thirium splattered onto the ground, Conan's face twitching slightly. His condition was in a severely dangerous state, it was obvious that there was a possibility of him shutting down due to too much damage.

Gavin couldn't let him die. Not again.

"Conan," Gavin managed to choke out. Somehow, Conan still remained an iron-like grip around Gavin's neck even with one hand. "let me go."

"I have orders to eliminate you." Conan's voice was slightly distorted, his cold gray eyes narrowing as they locked with Gavin's. "I failed my duty last time I had you at my mercy. Tell me why I shouldn't murder you in cold blood right now."

"Wake up, Conan!" Gavin's voice wavered. "This.. this isn't you. I know you're in there somewhere."

Conan's grip on Gavin tightened, Gavin starting to choke. The detective writhed violently, trying to release himself. He banged his head against the wall accidentally, the immense agony nearly bringing painful tears to his eyes.