"Oh my god, this is awful." I groaned my mouth full of the worse made pizza in history. The crust was all gooey like it had been barely cooked and was burnt at the same time. The cheese was stale and the sauce left a bad taste in the mouth.
"I promised you'd experience everything San Francisco had to offer. That means the bad and good." Wrench said the emoticons on his mask up turned arrows. I glared at him as he stood leaning against the kitchen counter in my apartment. He folded his arms across his chest.
The entire kitchen was littered with pizza boxes from Wrench's little plan. He'd gotten a slice of pizza from twenty different pizza shops within twenty miles of my apartment. He said it was a way for me to get a taste for the "culture" but I think it was really more of an excuse to eat pizza. Not that I'm complaining.
"This is disgusting." I took a large drink from my pop bottle trying to wash away the bad taste. "Do you hate me or something?" I asked him jokingly.
"Hmmm no, far from it actually." He hummed leaning forward, catching me around my waist, and pulling me towards him.
"Hard to tell when you have me eating crap pizza." I whined but even so couldn't stop the grin tugging on the corner of my lips. "It leaves a bad taste in the mouth."
"I could fix that." He replied lowly and I laughed playfully shoving his shoulder.
"Sure you could bud." I turned but before I could escape he caught hold of me again drawing me back against him.
"Bud? Since when did I become a seven year old fat kid?" He chuckled resting his chin on my shoulder.
"As if you'd be a seven year old, you barely have the maturity level of a five year old."
"Well...huh. I got nothing. I mean you're not wrong-" He was cut off by the sound of breaking glass. "The fuck was that?" The ground beneath us shook along with a loud explosion. We stumbled forward catching ourselves against the corner of the counter. My first thought was maybe the hot water tank blew. But why would the glass break first?
"We have to-" Wrench was interrupted by the glass of my living room window shattering. In dropped a remote sized grenade. For a second I stood completely still unsure of what I was really seeing until I heard Wrench yell at me to get down.
I felt him pull me down towards the ground but not fast enough. The grenade exploded, the sound of it deafening. It sent our semi crouched bodies reeling forwards against the cabinets.
The pain was blinding and for a second I was knocked out cold. "Kit!" My eyes blinked opened and I let out a groan. "Get up we have to get out of here, the place is on fire."
I looked over his shoulder wide eyes. The curtains and couch were completely engulfed in flames and everything around it was catching like dry brush.
"Now is not the time to go into shock." He said seriously, but I could hear the worry in his voice even with the voice manipulator. I blinked my eyes again squeezing them shut then opening them again. I started to get up, letting him help pull me up off the ground. Almost instantly i was hit with a wave of nausea and had to lean heavily against the counter to stop myself from leaning over and vomiting.
"I think I might have a concussion." I muttered weakly.
"That's a later problem, not dying of smoke inhalation that's a now problem." He replied wittily. "Here lean against me."
We made it to the door and out into the hall before the third explosion rocked the building. It was somewhere higher up and nearly caused me to fall face first against the wall.
Smoke filled the hall way as we made our way downstairs. The smoke alarms were screeching in the back ground but none of the sprinklers had kicked on. They probably weren't even connected to be honest. That's what you get for renting in an apartment building out of the Stone Age. "Almost there Kit." Wrench coughed as we made it to the ground floor. The smoke was thick and we could feel the heat. The fire bomb must have went off somewhere on the first floor.
I pulled my shirt up over my mouth coughing. Wrench dragged me forward, but I was mainly walking in a daze at this point. Everything was blurry and my head was pounding. I reached up to wipe the sweat from my forehead and my fingers came back red. "I'm bleeding." I stated without any real emotion behind it. I still hadn't registered it or what had just happened enough to feel anything.
Wrench pushed open the front doors. I nearly collapsed into a coughing fit when i felt the cool outside air enter my lungs. I was suddenly was lifted off my feet. Blinking I looked up at the Two fire fighters stood on either side of me as they helped me over to a medical gurney with Wrench not to far behind. After they dropped me off they turned back towards the building.
Someone was yelling and the blinking sirens on the police cars jumbled up with it. I couldn't here anything else. There was just to much. The scent of smoke and my own blood still assaulting my nose. I gazed blankly forward unaware of what was really happening as I went into sensory overload.
"Kalla!" I think it was the shock of the fact he used my real name that shook me from my stupor. My eyes focused again on him and I realized he didn't have his mask on. Must have had to take it off with the smoke. His hair was plaster with sweat to the side of his face.
My eyes widen and I lurched forward to my feet and towards the building that was completely engulfed in flame at this point. "Soviet."
"What?!" Wrench cried and I felt him grab my arm holding me back.
"He's still inside Wrench, Soviet's still inside-" There was an awful crunching sound and half the building gave way falling in in itself. I froze staring in horror at the crumbling building. "Wrench, he's...he's."
"Kit you need to sit down and let the medic finish bandaging you up." He said gently next to my ear. "You're still bleeding." I let him lead me back against the gurney sitting still as the woman stuck some huge bandage against my forehead. She said something to Wrench and he nodded before helping me up into the ambulance.
I lost focus for the next hour. Everything went by quickly eventually ending with me sitting in a hospital bed with Wrench in a chair next to me. The doctor said I had minor concussion, and nothing more serious than a few cuts and abrasions. They wanted to keep me over night for observation and at first I agreed. Until finally I convinced Wrench to sneak out.
"Where are we going?" I asked as we got into the car Wrench had just finished breaking into.
"My place. We could stop by the Hackerspace if you want." He offered and I shook my head in response. "I already told everyone we were in one piece. They wanted to come down but I told them not too." We drove in silence not bothering to turn the radio. Forty minutes later we pulled up to an apartment building within a block or two of his garage.
When I stood up I felt my stomach turn but that was about it. I walked on my own despite Wrench's constant attempt to help me.
"Sorry about the mess." He mumbled unlocking the door. I shrugged stepping inside looking around. This was the first time I'd been here and that probably wasn't by chance. Beer cans and bottles and all other sorts of trash littered the room. Everything seemed to be out dated and there were holes in the dry wall like he'd punched the wall in some places.
I stared down at myself, suddenly realizing I was still wearing the pink hospital scrub top. They taken my shirt because it was covered in my blood. "Here let's get you something else to wear." Wrench sighed. I followed him into the bedroom unsure of what else to do and dropped down on the bed watching him walk back and forth looking through piles of clothes that seemed to be everywhere.
He left the room while I changed offering for me to take a shower. But I was too tired and dizzy to stand for that long. Besides I was forced into taking one at the hospital all though it was short and for the most part unpleasant. Instead I curled up under the covers on his bed trying to fall asleep. Fifteen minutes later he reappeared his hair still damp. He'd changed out of his usually clothes into a worn t-shirt and shorts.
"Just so you know I'm only wearing this for your benefit." He stated a smirk pulling the corner of his lips up. "I don't usually sleep in clothes, to constricting." I tried to laugh but it came out sounding fake and forced. His grin faded and I looked down to avoid his eyes.
"It's going to be okay Kit." He murmured laying on the bed next to me gently pulling me towards him. "You should try to sleep." He said trailing his fingers through my hair with my head resting against his chest.
"My body is ready too but my mind won't shut up." I breathed barely talking above a whisper. "I have so many questions. Who did this? Why? What am I going to do now? God, Wrench everything I had was in there. Even my brand new phone. And Soviet...."
"I know. But we'll handle it okay. Marcus and the others are already on the first two." He said squeezing my shoulders reassuringly. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you want. It isn't exactly the greatest or cleanest mainly because I'm rarely here except to sleep. But I'll pick things up in the morning. Make it a little more tolerable."
"Thanks."
"Mhm." He hummed his fingers brushing along my skin in a soothing manner. I shut my eyes trying to slow my mind and thoughts. I was starting to drift off when a thought came to me.
"I left the window open in my bedroom. Soviet liked to sleep out on the fire escape. Maybe he wasn't inside, maybe he got out." I jolted up pulling away slightly trying to sit but Wrench held me down. I was still to weak to put up much of a fight. "We have to go check." I begged meekly.
"We will, in the morning." He promised. "If he got out he'd probably be scared by all the sirens and people. He's most likely off hiding somewhere then. Besides it will be easier to find him in the daylight."
"Yeah." I sighed. "I guess you're right."
"Sleep." He commanded and I stopped trying to fight him curling back up against him. The events of the day seemed to be finally hitting me full force and I was beyond tired. The throbbing in my head had abated enough to not take up my full thought process. It wasn't long before I was passed out cold.