^^^*Concept art of Danny included*^^^
"Nerissa, what the hell happened to you?" Rhys asked as he turned to her in the van. She moved her head to face him as she held her hand to her wounded shoulder.
"It was Damien, I was trying to heal Danny and he stabbed me and yanked me away from him..." Nerissa said quietly as she clutched her shoulder tighter.
"Oh, that must've been what I walked in on down there, he really messed you up, huh Danny?" Rhys turned his head to look at him and his brow furrowed. "Danny?" Rhys lightly slapped Danny's knee when he didn't answer him. Danny groaned weakly as his head hung to the side. "Hey! Danny?!" Rhys yelled louder and his heart started gunning when Danny was unresponsive, most likely the loss of blood was finally catching up to him. Rhys quickly reached forward and slapped Nate on the shoulder. "Step on it, Danny's fading."
Nate glanced at Danny in his rearview mirror as he slammed his foot on the gas pedal. "We have to do something now guys, we have a four hour drive ahead of us." Nate said as he glanced in the rearview mirror again.
"I don't know what you want me to do, dude! I can't tourniquet this wound on his chest, it's huge!" Rhys started to panic slightly. He didn't want to lose another friend, not this soon. Not ever.
"Rhys, calm down!" Nerissa shouted suddenly, the pain from her own wound was evident in her voice. "Take a fucking breath and use your heads." Nerissa was talking to everyone now.
"Rhys, in the back, behind the seats. My mom has a first aid kit stashed back there." Nate said as he jerked his thumb backwards. Rhys turned around and leaned over the seat to immediately spot the bright red first aid box. He quickly scooped it up, turned back around and set it on his lap. "Take out all the gauze pads, biggest ones first, and cover that huge wound. It won't close it, but it might stop the bleeding." Nate spoke to Rhys as he continued to drive, taking care not to speed too badly. The LAST thing they needed was to be pulled over.
Rhys nodded to himself as he opened the box and fiddled around inside. He found three large gauze pads and 5 small ones. "Okay, so this might be just enough to cover up the wound on his chest, but not much else." Rhys said as he opened up one of the large gauze pads and turned to Danny. He cursed under his breath when he saw that Danny's tattered shirt was blocking his access to the wound. Rhys held the gauze pad in his teeth and ripped open Danny's already ripped shirt.
"Holy shit." Nerissa said quietly when he actually saw the huge gash across the front of Danny's body. Rhys glanced at her before he took the gauze from his mouth and placed it on the top of the gash.
"Nerissa, hold this here." Rhys said sternly, he quickly got the medical tape out of the first aid kit and taped the gauze down as Nerissa took her hands away. Rhys noticed that Nerissa's hands were shaking as she pulled them away. "What's wrong, Nerissa?" Rhys asked her as he continued to patch Danny's wound.
Nerissa sighed, her eyes rarely leaving Danny's face. His eyes were covered by his hair hanging in his face but she knew that they were closed, he was breathing though, and that's what mattered. She remembered that Danny shook his head back in the estate, he didn't want to tell the group yet about the secret they learned, she didn't want to tell them without his input and he couldn't give that right now. "I'm just...still shaken up." Nerissa said before she groaned softly from her wound hurting her. It wasn't a serious wound, the blood had already clotted a lot of it so she wasn't too worried. Danny was in far worse shape right now. Speaking of Danny, Rhys stopped moving more gauze onto his wound when he felt a hand on his. He looked down and saw Danny's bloody hand on his, he looked back up and saw Danny's eyes opened slightly.
"Help...Nerissa..." Danny's voice was quiet and weak. Nerissa's eyes opened slightly when she heard Danny's voice and her head whipped to look at him.
"No, Danny, you are in way worse shape than me, I'll be fine. I can heal myself when we get back to the lake." Nerissa said to him and she gripped his shoulder. Her heart was warmed by the fact that Danny wanted her to get help first, but he needed attention now. Danny groaned as he stretched his neck, too exhausted and sore to argue with her. His eyes closed and he leaned his head back against the headrest.
"Danny?" Rhys said his name with slight concern.
"I'm just resting my eyes, Rhys." Danny said with a weak assertive tone.
"Just checkin'." Rhys whispered as he continued to tape gauze onto his wounds.
Are you okay?
Nyx heard Nate's voice in her mind. She glanced over at him before thinking about her response. I'm fine, Why do you ask?
You have that look in your eye. I've seen that look before. Nate sounded somber. Like he was about to say something she didn't want to hear. I remember that look from our first night at my uncle's place.
There it is. Nate, I'm fine. At least, I will be. Nyx was partly telling the truth, just not the entire truth. The entire truth was more complicated.
Nyx, you can tell me anything, you know? Nate sounded sincere, but she was still afraid to tell him that seeing Danny in that state made her feel...upset...in a way that she couldn't explain...
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The door to the lake house flew open and Rhys entered first. Danny limped inside with his arm slung around Nate who was guiding him inside. Danny groaned as his body ached with each step.
"Almost there, Danny." Nate said quietly before he eased him onto the couch. Danny winced as he sat down before resting his head on the back of the couch.
"Get me a jug of water from the kitchen pantry." Nerissa ordered as she took off her bloody jacket and threw it on the ground. Rhys ran into the kitchen and returned a moment later with a gallon of water. He opened the seal before backing away, watching the situation closely. Everyone was watching closely. Nerissa took a deep breath before she motioned her hands in a small circle and pulled the water out of the jug. It formed into a ball in front of her before it started to glow a bright blue, along with her eyes. She moved the ball of water into Danny's chest and he sighed deeply as his wounds closed and the bruising faded. When all his wounds were healed, he reached up with his hand and tore off the gauze pads across his chest. He leaned his head against the back of the couch and took a deep breath.
"Danny?" His head moved towards the voice and his eyes opened lazily. It was Soul, the first time she spoke since they escaped the estate. "What'd he do to you?" She asked quietly. Danny inhaled sharply but quietly, he closed his eyes and shook his head slowly as his face scrunched in subtle despair.
"Guys, let him sleep." Rhys said to the group. "I think we could all use some sleep actually." Rhys reached up and scratched his head before he looked at his hand, which had some of Danny's blood on it from treating him. He sighed softly before he wordlessly went upstairs to wash his hands.
"You guys go, I'm gunna stay here and make sure he's okay." Nerissa added quietly.
"Yeah, and what about you? You're swaying from the blood loss." Nate said to her as he crossed his arms.
"I can heal myself, guys. I'll be fine." Nerissa's tone was slightly cold.
"No, I'm fine, Nerissa." Danny said quietly but sternly. "I'm just exhausted, you go do what you gotta do. All of you." The group looked at each other before they went upstairs one by one. Leaving Nerissa and Danny alone, they locked eyes immediately.
"What?" Nerissa asked him after a few seconds of staring.
"You're my sister." Danny said flatly with a blank face.
Nerissa smiled, "You're my brother." She whispered as her eyes started to tear up. She placed her hand on Danny's hand and squeezed it. "You wanna see something?" Nerissa asked him, hoping to change the subject from whatever was going on in Danny's head.
"Sure." He responded before they both got up and Nerissa led him outside through the back door. They approached the dock silently before they reached the end of it. It was rather calming, the sound of crickets chirping surrounding them as the faint blinking of fireflies peppered the area. "Why are we out here?" Danny asked her in a slightly confused voice.
"You remember how I said I could heal myself?" Nerissa asked as she turned to face him with her back to the water. Danny nodded slowly before Nerissa continued. "Do you trust me?"
"Of course." Danny said with exhaustion in his voice. Nerissa nodded and smiled weakly before she backed away a few steps from him, a gentle look of concern appearing in his eyes. She gently closed her eyes and leaned backwards, Danny's eyes widened before he reached forward and tried to grab her. He barely missed grabbing her shirt before she fell into the water with a large splash. Danny stared in confusion and fear, he was still fragile from what happened in that hellhole. After a moment, Nerissa started...glowing. The water started to sparkle with vibrant blue light, which bathed Danny in the same blue shimmer. The concern faded away from his face as he saw the subtle blood trail from Nerissa's wound fade away as the wound closed itself, leaving no trace that it was ever there. Nerissa resurfaced by the ladder of the dock and climbed up. Once she got to the top, she stood there and made a shrugging gesture.
"I didn't know you could do that." Danny said to her.
"Yeah, it's the only way I could heal myself the way I heal others. I have to be fully submerged in water." Nerissa answered him with somewhat uncomfortable posture.
"So...does that mean you're okay now?" Danny asked her quietly.
"Yeah, yeah I'm good now." She responded before Danny moved forward and embraced her tightly, holding his hand on the back of her head to hold her as close as possible. Nerissa started to tear up again as she hugged him back tightly.
"I can't believe I have a sister." Danny's voice broke slightly, Nerissa could tell from the slight shaking of his hands and his uneven breathing that he was trying to hold back tears.
"Danny, are you okay?" Nerissa asked him quietly before he released her from the hug.
Danny looked off into space, even though he was healed he still had dried blood all over him and his eyes looked empty and sunken. "No, I'm not okay, Nerissa. He tortured me, I haven't slept since I was taken, I was too afraid that if I did fall asleep, I wouldn't wake up again. He told me that you were my sister and then said he was going to make me watch as he tore you apart. There was part of me that wished...you wouldn't come...so I wouldn't have to watch him do that to you." Danny spoke as his gaze didn't waver, like he was remembering every excruciating moment of the last 24 hours.
"Well, he didn't." Nerissa responded.
"He almost did. Which led me to do something I'm not proud of..." Danny's lip quivered slightly as his eyes began misting. "I was just...so angry...he spent hours beating me, slicing me open, stabbing me, twisting the knife...and I couldn't do anything to stop him..." Danny spoke with an empty tone as he stared off into nothing.
"But you did do something." Nerissa caught his attention when she spoke. "You used his own powers against him and broke out."
"And then I killed him." Danny spoke over the end of Nerissa's sentence. "I was so angry, it was like I was seeing red...and then he threatened to kill you and the next thing I knew I had stabbed his own knife into his throat." Danny held up his hand and stared at it, the dried blood stains taunting and mocking him. His mind flashed back to a few hours prior and the blood looked wet, fresh. The vision was gone just as fast when Nerissa slowly slipped her hand into his.
"That was your first kill, wasn't it?" Nerissa spoke quietly as she lowered both of their hands. Danny nodded subtly without looking at her. Nerissa's face softened as she looked at his empty eyes. She knew that it would take a long time for him to recover from this night, if ever. Nerissa knew that feeling, she felt it many years ago. Except something was different now, Danny wasn't going to be going through this alone. Nerissa was going to be there to help him find his light again.
"Thank you, for coming to get me." Danny added as he glanced up at her. Nerissa's face morphed into slight confusion.
"You have literally no reason to be thanking me right now, or the others. I love you, Danny. You're my brother, and I never want you to feel like you are a burden on me." Nerissa sounded genuine and warm, it put Danny's swirling mind at ease. "Come on, you need some sleep." Nerissa added as she walked away and led Danny by the hand back inside, Nerissa went to her room and Danny went to his. Danny flicked on his light on the bed side table and sat down on the bed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. His eyes drifted to the mirror that was across the room from his bed and he saw himself. His shirt was shredded and ripped open like a strange vest. Dried blood coated his body and made his breath hitch slightly. Danny then got up and went down the hall into the bathroom to shower.
Danny flicked on the light as he was already looking in the mirror. His eyes snapped open in pure fear when he saw Damien in the mirror, standing behind him. He was grinning like he was when he was inflicting agonizing pain on him over and over again. Danny whipped around quickly to find himself alone in the bathroom. His heavy breathing sounded loud in his ears from the acoustics of the tiled room. He placed a hand on his chest and tried to calm himself down as he turned on the shower and stripped out of his blood and tattered clothes.
He didn't know how long he was in the shower for. Once he stepped into the water and the blood was beginning to rinse off of him, he just lost time. This happened a few times as he tried to clean himself.
Jack is dead...because I wanted to do something on my own. Jack is dead...because I got cocky. Jack is dead...
Jack is dead...
Jack is dead...
Because of me.
Danny took a deep breath and his eyes hardened, never again. No one will ever lose their life because of me again.
I won't let that happen.