Maniacs (Gotham)

Fresh Wounds

[No Man's Land - Day 88.1]

Her eyes fluttered open at the first ray of light. A quiet groan escaped her, and she turned around, hoping to fall asleep again. Last night had been burdensome, her conscious being the main reason why she didn't want to close her eyes... or keep them open. Also, it had become her job to protect Will; She had agreed to take him to Haven, and that's what she was gonna do. If Kai wanted to hurt them, he would've done it already. Even if she felt safe around him, she also felt the need to stay awake and alert just in case.

Reese's sleep had been very minimal; Maybe two hours or so. Muscles around her eye sockets felt weak and heavy, sore even. Being awake pained. All she wanted was to stitch her eyelids and not wake up in about a month.

She sat up, running a hand through her face with a whisper, "Oh, goodness." A yawn unwillingly left her mouth quietly, grumbles coming right after it. The girl knew too well that sleep deprivation was bound to take a toll - mentally and physically. Her head turned, so she could glance beside her to a still sleeping little boy. It made her feel terrible to wake him from his slumber, but it was necessary. She reclined against her side, one of her hands gently shook him, "Will."

He grumbled in his sleep, making her giggle.

"Wakey, wakey." She whispered.

"5 minutes, mom."

Her grin fell slightly, the awkwardness creating a lump inside her throat that slowly began sinking. She cleared it and shook him again, this time in a slightly more stern tone. "Will, time to get up." He continued grumbling but eventually peered his dark eyes open. His lips only twisted downward, realizing his mother was not around. And Reese noticed, "Good morning."

A sad smile appeared, "Morning."

She stood up from the bed, fixing her shirt, "Let's get breakfast. We have a long day ahead." Will responded by reluctantly hopping off the bed. As he was walking, he began quickly losing his balance, colliding against the wall. "Oh, no." The young woman gasped and immediately went to hold him up. Instead of seeming refreshed, Will looked unhealthily drained. Even if she was tired, she picked him up and sat him on the bed with a grunt. Eyes quickly reverting to worried ones as she crouched to his size, "Buddy, are you okay?"

"Uh..." He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Yeah."

Reese frowned, cupping his cheek lightly. "Be honest."

"I'm tired."

A short nod was replied, acknowledging him, "I'm going to bring you breakfast. Stay put, okay?"

"Kay." He muttered.

Without overthinking, she made it to the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets. Searching as if there was much to do about Will's health, it was obvious his health was decreasing fast. He is not going to get better with a few cans of food and sleep. He needed medicines and less stress, something she, unfortunately, couldn't give him. It pained to see him eat his food tiredly, dark bags under his nearly closed eyes.

Kai, who sat on the couch, eyed the young boy. A look of concern washed over his face. "How's he doing?" He whispered, getting up and moving in closer to the woman. Reese glanced at him with conjoined brows; mental anguish was something she couldn't hide easily. She then quickly turned away, uninterested in sparking a conversation. Kai scoffed inaudibly, "'Kay don't answer." He muttered.

But she heard it. She smacked her lips and gave him narrowed eyes, saying, 'I'm just worried'. He wasn't the main priority at the moment.

"He looks tired."

"Sick. Malnourished." She whispered, biting the inside of her mouth nervously; quickly, the tender skin became textured. Being in charge of a small and fragile human was something she would've never imagined happening. Ree dispised Sykes; taking Will to Haven was a way of expressing her guilt. But also how she would enact her revenge for making the kids suffer. "He needs more than a day of food and water to get better."