Blood Town

[17]: What Happened That Night?

A/N: Dedicated to @candycane297 who'd brought in two more readers that mean the world to me. Thanks a bunch! 

"Alyx stays here with us." And wishing with all his might that his deduction was correct, he aimed cautiously and pulled the trigger just as the tip of the blade dug into Jason's skin.   

Then, everything came into being so fast it was almost impossible not to miss it. The door swung open and a figure dashed in, knocked John over and shoved Jason aside (who toppled over in an awkward position, his hands still tied to the chair), positioning himself between the doctor and the Deimon. The bullet whizzed past the figure and into the wall behind them. 

Perfect coordination, perfect timing and most of all, blinding trust. 

If it were possible, Ashton would have liked to have made a small recruitment. 

John blinked and it took him a moment to grab his bearings, to know what had just happened. When he saw the figure towering over him, something in his eyes changed. The confidence and blood lust in them departed and fear developed. Immediately, he got to his feet and before anyone could do or say anything, he darted out the window, knocking into the window sill in the process and grunting pathetically. 

"Hoody!" Jason screamed happily, revealing a set of yellow and black teeth. "I knew you were a good cause!"

Ashton disregarded the figure and sprinted for Zane, turning him over and attempting to examine him under all the blood.

Behind the trio worrying over Zane's injury, Hoody lifted Jason up by the collar and brought him so close to his face that the doctor could feel the heat of the intense fire burning in his eyes. 

"You take Zane to your office right now and fix him up or I'll make you regret getting this second chance at life, you hear me?"

Jason nodded furiously at the command, a bead of sweat running down the side of his cheek. Those eyes of a tiger were ones he never wanted to see again, ones he never wanted to cross paths with. And hopefully he would never have to. 

~

"Thank you," chimed Alyx when Jason came out of his office. 

Having finished operating on Zane, the doctor looked exhausted. He grunted and walked off into the shower - the first one he'd had in weeks. The door opened again and Hoody stepped out this time. Immediately, similar words escaped her mouth.

"Thank you so much." 

Hoody tilted his head and Alyx understood the confusion. "Jason said Zane had lost a lot of blood. Thank you for donating - even though you don't know us."

After a small pause, he shrugged and walked away, giving Ashton a short glance before closing the door behind him. Alyx couldn't shake off the feeling that the two shared something. Maybe some kind of thought must have zapped past their minds?

Emily and Lisa were back home. Last night, the two were up digging Mark's grave. They had to close it up again and held a semi-proper funeral with a few flowers and heart-pouring letters were buried with him. Alyx kept a paper and pencil so Zane could write one after Jason fixed him up. 

The two girls were asleep now, Emily exhausted from all the crying and Lisa waking up every few minutes to check on Lucy who was on the verge stepping into Death's doorstep.  

With an uneasy glance at Alyx, Ashton sat back down. "We'll go inside after he wakes up, yeah?"

She nodded. Part of her was still disgusted at what she had with Ashton but the other was guilty. When Zane had fallen after attempting to protect her, she'd thought about what it was like to lose him. Only when she thought that he was going to die did she actually feel the pain of pushing him away.