P. Stormcrow

Oliver

The sound of his feet pounding against the wooden floorboards with each step bounced off the walls as odd echos. Malcolm better not have done something stupid. Why the hell did he let him go alone in the dark to figure out the electronics.

Because Oliver had a secret he never wanted to let the others know.

Please. Please don’t. Don’t leave me here. No! Don’t lock—

The slam of the door followed by the soft click rolled around in Oliver’s head as he ran. But he wasn’t going to let his memories get the best of him, not when Malcolm was in danger. 

The ring of light bobbed in front of them as they made their way down the stairs and past the morgue to the expansive utility room in the back that doubled as storage. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed Noah casting an uneasy glance at the cooler. Three bodies if he remembered right but they should be okay for a few hours as long as they didn’t open the door. Or so he hoped.

“Oliver, slow down.” Noah grabbed his hand and yanked him back just as he was about to crash into something. One of those damn steel tables. It wouldn’t be the first time he ran into the corner of one.

Just then the alarm started, blaring its obnoxious tone. Oliver clapped his free hand over his ear and glanced at Noah who frowned. Shit, the temperature has been compromised.

“Fuck.”

Oliver picked up Malcolm’s swearing and breathed out a sign of relief. At least he was still conscious. He shined the flashlight down in the direction of Noah and exchanged a nod with him before they started moving again.

Malcolm had left the door open and they stepped across the threshold. Beside him, Noah shuddered.

“Come on,” Oliver motioned Noah to follow and forced his own feet to move. He had to. Someone had to lead and he has always led the three of them.

“Guys?”

“Yeah, it’s us.” Oliver shined the light toward Malcolm and sucked in a breath. “Oh shit.”

There laid Malcolm on his back, a shelving unit over his legs. A large box with spilled tools laid just inches away from his head. Oliver shook his head and hurried to Malcolm’s side. As he grabbed the edge of the shelf, a faint crying reached his ears but he shook his head. All in the mind. Fuck. He hated this part of their facilities the most. But as they arrived, he set the flashlight down and adjusted the angle so they could all see.

“Thanks,” Malcolm grunted as Oliver tested the weight of the unit. Heavy. He hoped it didn’t crush Malcolm’s legs. “Noah?”

The youngest of them stood, gaze transfixed but unmoving. He’s in shock. “Noah!”

Noah shook himself off and hurried to the other side of the shelf. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

Oliver didn’t reply to his apology but focused on Malcolm instead. “Can you drag yourself out if we lift it?”

“Yeah.” Malcolm winced but didn’t complain about the pain he must have been in.

“Good. Noah, on three?”

“Okay.” Noah didn’t sound okay but Oliver didn’t call him out. Despite Noah’s cavalier attitude, he had always come through for the three of them.

Oliver adjusted his grip and bent his knees to brace himself. “One. Two. Three.” 

He lifted, his muscles quivering and felt the shelf rise as Noah did the same on the other side. Malcolm groaned but didn’t spare any time to use his elbows to push himself out, wiggling until his legs were free. With a nod to Noah, Oliver dropped the shelf. The thing came back down with a crash.

For a moment, all three men stood still, the silence punctuated only by heavy breathing as  they all tried to catch their breath. At last, Noah knelt down to study Malcolm’s leg. Of the three of them, he was probably most qualified to judge the injuries.

“How bad is it?” Oliver asked, dreading the answer already.

“Pretty sure nothing’s broken. Maybe a sprain,” Malcolm replied but Oliver ignored the answer. Malcolm always hid his pain.

“Could have been way worse,” Noah replied without looking up. “Mostly lacerations and bruises. We’ll have to see if there’s a sprain but yeah, no broken bones.”

Oliver glanced at the scattered tools on the floor. Definitely could have been way worse. “Okay. Noah, help Malcolm upstairs and get him bandaged up. I’ll see what I can do about the fuses. You’ve got a flashlight?”

Noah nodded and dug into his pocket for his phone. Good enough.

“Where’s Sky?” Malcolm asked as Noah helped him up.

“She’s upstairs. Worry about yourself,” Oliver snapped, annoyed. “Just get upstairs.”

He turned towards the fuse box, cutting off any other comments, only to freeze as he caught a faint peal of laughter. No it must have been his imagination.

“You hear that?” Noah asked in a hushed whisper.

Oliver’s blood ran cold. If Noah heard it too…Was someone hiding down here? He shone the light in the direction of the voice but there was nothing.

“How did the shelf fall on you, Malcolm?”

“Not sure,” he grumbled.

“Get upstairs,” Oliver muttered and took a step forward. If some little shit was responsible for Malcolm’s injury, there would be hell to pay.

A hand grabbed Oliver and he turned to stare at Noah’s pale face.

“Don’t go. Haven’t you seen those movies? Splitting up is a bad idea.”

Oliver opened his mouth to scold Noah only for Malcolm to shake his head. Malax knew more about Noah than him. All he knew was that Noah as a kid used to have nasty night terrors, enough to wake them all up at night. But after the priest came in and tore strips off them for waking up everyone, they had tried their best to keep Noah quiet. Sometimes Malcolm and Oliver had to turn his body around so he could scream into the pillow. The memory was enough for Oliver to nod him.

“Fine. We can check the outage map upstairs.”

The relief on Noah’s face told him that he made the right decision. Oliver moved back to their side and slung Malcolm’s other arm over his own shoulder. “Let’s go.” 

###

Sky

Sky hugged herself tightly as she stood in the middle of the hall. Part of her wanted to follow, didn’t want to be left alone but a bigger part of her was reluctant to enter the basement.

But he had helped her. Showed her nothing but kindness. If not for Malcolm, Oliver may have thrown her out to the street already. Sure Noah may have protested but she had already gathered that Oliver wouldn’t listen to Noah much. She should follow and make sure he was okay even if she wasn’t sure where the guys went.

Not opportunistic at all.

Out here, sunlight streamed in through the glass doors and the windows in the back brightening just enough for her to see without a problem but Sky would need a more portable light source if she was going to find them. She glanced over her shoulders and glimpsed the office door, ajar. Malcolm and Oliver had come from there so perhaps there was another flashlight she could use.

It didn’t sit right with her to wander into someone’s office uninvited but her rising need for a flashlight overrode all caution. She walked through the open door and look around.

The office was as neat as she expected. The back wall behind the practical desk was dominated by a large bookcase with rows and rows of binder. The furniture was modern bit spartan and a lot less expensive looking than outside. 

She skimmed her fingers along the desk and stared at the laptop, the monitor still lit up. Guess it was running on battery power. 

Go ahead. Get on it.

See what they are doing.

What do you think you will see?

Sky inched closer until she could see what was on the screen. It looked as though Oliver had left a spreadsheet open. 

She sat at her laptop in the middle of the night. Crunching numbers again. She should have used R instead but there was something she enjoyed about each row, nice and neat. 

The memory faded but she remembered R to be a statistics application. A small sense of triumph bolstered her courage and when she turned and spied a blue opened bin, its lid propped against it, she continued to shuffle forward until she spied a flashlight inside. 

Sky retrieved it and turned it on. When light flooded the room, she took off running. Out the door and down the hall where the guys took off. She fixed the image of Malcolm:s smile in her head and repeated the mantra. Please let him be okay. Please let him be okay. Because since she woke in thar little shallow grave of hers, he was the only one that had made her feel safe.

And she hated herself for admitting it.

It took awhile for her to find the door that led to the basement. The place was bigger than she had expected and it took three wrong turns before she found it. But just as she approached the entryway, she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Seconds later, the three men emerged, much to her relief.

“What happened?” She glanced down at Malcolm’s leg and pursed her lips at the tear in his jeans and the blood crusting the fabric.

“Shelf fell on me,” Malcolm grunted. The three of them exchanged glances but none of them elaborated.

Sky was about to protest when Oliver spoke.

“Go to my office and get the first aid kit in the plastic bin beside my desk, then meet us out front.”

She almost said no. She didn’t crawl out of a grave just to have someone order her around. But another look at Malcolm’s leg was enough to spur her into action even if she didn’t dignify Oliver’s orders with a reply. She sped back the way she came and retrieved the kit. Oliver and Noah were helping Malcolm on to the couch in the reception area just as she re-emerged.

“Thanks.” Noah rose and took the kit away from her with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. It left her standing there awkwardly as she watched them patch Malcolm up. 

About to speak again, Sky stopped as the lights came back on. She blinked at the sudden brightness and refocused back on the guys who looked up in confusion and suspicion.

“Malcolm, go home,” Oliver started.

“But—” Malcolm protested but Oliver quickly cut him off.

“Noah, how are his legs?”

A look of guilt crossed Noah’s face as he glanced at Malcolm. “Not great. Probably bad sprain at least since the left leg was caught at an awkward angle. He can’t walk the grounds much less take care of it. Better if he goes home and doesn’t try to walk on it.”

“There.” Oliver gave all of them a smug smile. “You heard. Doctor’s orders.”

“Noah is not exactly a doctor,” Malcolm protested. 

“Hey!” Noah snapped though Oliver wasn’t wrong. But before any of them could argue further, Sky spoke. 

“I can help Malcolm home.” She didn’t know why she did. She didn’t know why she offered this. Only…it felt…right. Repaying a favour. Yes that was it. She didn’t like owing anyone anything and this would balance the scales.

All three of them turned and stared at her in surprise. In return, Sky straightened and tilted her head back. “What? I can take care of someone.”

“You—” Oliver began.

“Thanks Sky. I could use the help.” Malcolm flashed her a smile that warmed her all the way to her toes. An unbidden flush crept up her cheeks and she coughed to clear her throat.

“Yeah, sure. No problem.” She crammed her hands in her pockets.

Oliver let out a long sigh. “Okay, let’s see you two on your way.”