Nightshift 42: Megahit Movie Rentals

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(From here.)

Artemis threw open the door to the movie rental while managing to keep Haku on his shoulder. Quickly, he set Haku down, turned to the door and locked it. Looking to his left, he spotted a shelving unit with movies in it. Without a second thought, he went around it and shoved the heavy shelf across the door, cases falling to the floor as he did so.

Once the shelf was in place, the boy went back to Haku, body shaking from how much adrenaline he was running on at that moment. "We need paper materials. We have to set the building on fire."

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Haku felt the world slide away when Artemis picked him up and things didn't slide back into focus again until he was being spoken to again.

"Burn... the building down?" He blinked slowly. He was having a hard time focusing and his breath kept getting caught in his chest. He could taste blood, and was aware that it was in his mouth and covering his upper body. Each of the bite wounds felt like they were burning and his body was much too warm.

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"Well... set it on fire, mostly," Artemis said, stuffing what looked like a bunch of useless printouts and fliers into a trash can. He lit another match and dropped it into the bin He also set about lighting some of the older VHS tape casings (the paper kind) and leaving them on the floor. He didn't know if the rug would catch, but it was worth a shot.

Once he'd started a few smaller fires, he picked up Haku again (noting that this time, it was much harder to lift him). He was warm. Or warmer, either one was unnatural for him.

"Come on, we can do this," Artemis said, trying to keep Haku with him long enough to tend to his wounds once they were safe. He moved around the counter and into the back room, stopping to set another ream of paper under the cash register aflame. The fire most likely wouldn't stop the zombies, but it would slow them down--hopefully enough for dawn to come.

He carried Haku across the back room and set him down in what had to be a break room chair. One door was a closet, and the other led down to the basement. This might end up working...

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Haku was even less coherant this time and couldn't even pretend to cling to Artemis. Almost everything hurt, and what didn't hurt burned or had gone numb.

His eyes slipped shut and he panted for a moment, trying to get enough brain power going to speak. "Dangerous. The fire... could get out o-of control." He choked for a moment, and coughed up blood.

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Artemis panicked and took off his hoodie, covering Haku in it for the time being. He'd rip it up later, but perhaps this would stave off the bleeding for a bit.

"Don't worry, I'm taking care of it," Artemis assured him. He knew that if the fires actually caught, they'd only have so much time before the ceiling of the basement became an inferno. On the other hand, if Artemis didn't throw everything he could muster at the zombies (which, no doubt were following the trail of Haku's blood by now), it wouldn't matter if the ceiling was in tact--they would die anyway. It was a gamble, he knew, but he'd had worse.

...possibly. He probably just couldn't think of them right now.

He hoisted Haku onto his back again. "Alright, we're going down the stairs now, alright? Try not to make any sudden movements."

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Haku made a soft sound that was almost pained when he was moved again, but he did his best to hold on and try to stay consious.

He wanted to say that Artemis should just run, but he didn't think it would be any more effective this time around...

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Carefully, Artemis picked his way down the concrete steps, carrying Haku as he went. In the darkness, he managed to make out some sort of... caged storage area. But other than that, some boxes and an ancient refrigerator, the basement seemed quiet, damp, and deserted.

After inspection of the lock on the storage cage, Artemis found that it was both rusted and broken. Thank goodness.

He pulled open the gate, walked inside and set Haku down. Leaving his friend there for the moment, he went to go find something to tie around the gate's bars. Something that could only be opened by something intelligent. "Wait here, I'll only be a moment."

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'Wait here'. As though Haku could do much else. Oh, no wait. He could do something.

The young man fell to his side, lacking the energy to remain sitting in even a half-hearted position, and shivered. That was new. He was shivering. He didn't much care for that sensation, but he couldn't seem to stop.

How strange that he was much too warm and now shivering...

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Artemis came back with a handful of what he considered to be the most secure and frustrating things in the history of mankind: zip ties.

Secure, yes. Cheap, definitely so. Artemis secured the gate and began zip-tying the storage area closed. Nothing short of a zombie with hedge-clippers would get through seven or eight zip ties positioned at various intervals on the gate.

Once he was done, he immediately turned his attention to Haku, pulling his friend back up and supporting him. He pulled Haku against him, and the two of them leaned against the wall opposite the gate.

Hands shaking, and with only a vague notion of whether or not this would work, Artemis clung to Haku and put pressure on his shoulder wounds. As he worked, he found himself trying to stuff the urge to cry into the back of his throat, clenching his jaw tightly.

"Talk to me, Haku," he said, his voice unsteady. "You're going to be fine, but you have to talk to me."

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Haku made an effort to open his eyes and look at Artemis.

"What... talk about?" His voice was breathy and weak, but he would try tohelp Artemis as much as possible.

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Artemis laid his sweatshirt over Haku's wounds again, tying it as tightly as he could. The fabric was too thick for him to tear, so he had to make do with what he had. The material wasn't sheet-like in the least.

"Anything," Artemis said. "Anything to let me know that you aren't going to leave me like this."

He compulsively brushed Haku's stray hairs out of his face, feeling the lump in his throat growing too painful to hold back. "You can't leave me like this... not when it's my fault you're so injured..."

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Haku smiled, a warm,gentle expression despite the blood and the way he shivered against Artemis. "Promised, right? I'm... n-not going anywhere."

He closed his eyes again, too tired to keep them open, but he was still breathing. "Think... we'll- think we'll see snow?" It had been getting colder as of late and Haku was getting almost desparate to see snow again.

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Oh God, he was getting delusional. Artemis took Haku's hand, wincing at how pale and cold it was.

"Of course," he said, holding Haku tighter and petting his hair soothingly. "You'll see the snow with me--once we get out of here. But you can't die on me, otherwise I won't be able to go with you."

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For a moment, Haku's breath caught and he coughed out another mouthful of blood. He could only lay there, panting, while trying to get his thoughts together.

"'m not ... going to die. Can't...." He lost his train of thought and it took him a few moments before he could speak again. "Can't leave you alone."

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Why wasn't his magic doing anything? There was nothing different about these bites, physically speaking. All of the other injuries Haku or anyone had sustained were most likely from an undead entity as well, so why on earth wasn't his magic working?!

"G-good," Artemis said, his voice shaking. He pulled up a sleeve from the jacket wrapped around Haku and blotted at Haku's chin to clean the blood away. It was a terrible sight to see his delicate, feminine face covered in something so terrible. "Because if you did leave me alone," he continued, his voice shaking. "I would never forgive you."

He needed help, he knew that. But no one could help him or Haku now. Their only hope was dawn arriving. How ironic, he thought, that he was relying on the power of the Institute to save Haku--to close and bandage his wounds, put him in intensive care--when he himself could only look on, helpless to do anything. He hated this feeling, but it didn't stop him from hoping that the night was almost over.