[AL] January Prompt #6
His hand reached out towards the nightstand as the vibrations of his phone pierced the air. He fumbled for the light, switched it on and without opening his eyes he flicked the button to answer the call;
“Henry Jekyll” he murmured into the headset, his voice thick with sleep.
A voice on the other end began to speak and automatically Henry cradled the phone to his ear, reaching out towards the pad of paper he always kept by the side of the bed. He opened his eyes then, writing down the information he was given.
“We’ll be right there” he murmured, ending the call.
Turning his head towards the blonde next to him he kissed her forehead;
“We have a job, love” he said quietly, knowing full well the phone call would have woken her already.
Rose’s face crumpled up as she opened her eyes. Henry couldn’t help but laugh, shaking his head and pulling the covers back.
“5 minutes” he muttered sleepily, heading into the bathroom.
He found her ready 5 minutes later when he came back out as he knew she would be, she always was and it always amazed him. Henry dressed quickly and grabbing everything they needed they left the house.
Slipping into the drivers seat Henry yawned loudly. No matter how many times he did this, he never quite got used to it. He vaguely wondered if he ever would as he started the engine and pulled out of the drive and into the street. He had only gotten used to driving so was still a little confused, but he was glad that there wasn’t too many people about - but then, most people, he thought, were safely tucked up in bed. But then again most people didn’t work for Torchwood, keeping said ‘most people’ safe.
Flicking on the radio, he put it on low, listening to the news for a few moments before giving Rose the piece of paper that he had scribbled down the information on earlier. Getting her laptop out of her bag she powered it up, entering the co ordinates and waiting whilst the machine did it’s work. Almost immediately the coordinates came back, along with a name - 82 Leather Street” she said aloud, turning towards him, the corners of her mouth turning down with curiosity. It seemed to be a regular building in the middle of a busy street - it was probably some kids playing around or a cat…or pigeons. It was never anything interesting!
Twenty minutes later they were there. Parking the jeep they both got out, making sure that they had everything they needed. Neither of them liked using handguns but both had one strapped to their thigh in a holster, Henry had a dagger in his boot and also one in a holster on his shoulder. He may not be as deadly with them as Edward was but he could still throw an accurate one and if he was going to use a weapon that would be the one he would use.
“Stay alert, we don’t know what we’re dealing with here” Rose said quietly and Henry nodded. He went first, as he always did on such missions, Rose moving close behind them. Their connection in the field had been an asset - most of the time they didn’t even have to look around to know exactly where the other was and that had saved them on quite a few occasions. Edward’s heightened sense of smell and hearing also helped them, that also had saved them more than once. Carefully he reached into the holster at his thigh and brought the gun out, cradling it in his hands. He still wasn’t really used to it but he was glad that his hands didn’t shake at all - a doctors hands.
He strained his ears, opening the door slowly, silently, his gun and flashlight crossed so he could see and shoot simultaneously. He looked around, making sure everything was clear before ushering Rose in with a barely moved hand. Two pale beams of light worked around what looked like a hallway, the wallpaper peeling off the walls, the woodwork around in several states of disrepair. Both his eyes and ears were strained painfully for any kind of movement that was foreign, wrong but judging by the state of the building everything that they heard shouldn’t strictly be here.
It was quiet, too quiet…
“It might be better if we split up… cover more ground, there doesn’t seem to be anyone here…” Rose whispered softly, right against Henry’s ear.
“Perhaps…false alarm maybe?” he replied, turning his head towards her with a small, tired smile.
“Probably just cats…or kids” Rose sighed.
Their attention was brought rapidly to the gunshot that pierced the air some distance away. The two of them frowned deeply, and both instinctively made their way towards the sound, inch by inch. Was someone hurt? Was someone dead? Henry’s medi-kit was tight around him, and he knew everything he would need if he needed to treat someone.
They walked slowly towards the sound of the gunshot, their eyes and their ears poised for any last little sound - even Hyde was on full alert. It seemed quiet, deserted, but it was definitely a gun shot they had both heard. It came again and then a loud cry, the hair on the back of Henry’s hair standing up on end and is eyes darting quickly towards Rose. She shrugged, she didn’t know either but he could see the worry and the adrenaline in her eyes.
They climbed down the stairs silently, down into what looked like a cellar. It was completely empty apart from a body in the middle of the room. They didn’t have to get close to know that the person, because they couldn’t tell whether it was male or female, was dead - the pool of blood around it spreading by the moment. Henry frowned deeply, his eyes wandering around, it seemed so…strange. This person was recently dead, the fact that the wounds were still bleeding were a strong indication, the fact that it seemed so deserted, so wrong made Hyde press even closer to the surface, almost waiting for something to happen.
Rose moved forward a little, kneeling down a small distance away from the blood and what used to be a woman, blonde and Henry saw her shudder visibly. He was used to seeing blood, was used to seeing dead people although not quite like this. He was sure Rose was used to death too, in this job they all knew it intimately, some more than others, but it still didn’t really prepare you fully for it, you never got used to it, you just tried to not let it bother you.
Out the corner of his eye Henry was suddenly made aware of a small flash, a small flick, Hyde shouting inside his head, almost roaring to the surface well before he knew what was happening. With a loud cry he moved, hoping to reach Rose before…
“Rose, move, now!” he shouted, throwing himself forward towards her, seemingly covering her before a dull thud sent dust flying all around and then quiet.
“Henry what the he-?” she said, her voice irritated at him, frowning deeply. “Why did you?” she started as she attempted to push him away, only to be answered by a loud, pained groan from the man on top of her, his body almost like a dead weight.
“Henry?” she whispered, when she didn’t get anymore out of him.
She couldn’t work out what had happened, her eyes scanning around her but to no avail;
“Henry?” she said for a third time, a little louder this time, attempting to move against his weight. Only when she put her hand back to try and turn in his arms did she bring it back red. Taking a deep breath she tried to stop the rising panic, attempting to remain calm. He had…
Henry stirred a little, moaning again, his eyelids fluttering open.
“What…?” he whispered, pain etched over every part of his face.
“Don’t move” she said, trying to keep her voice calm even though Henry knew exactly what was wrong. “Just…just” she tried to remain calm, she had to remain calm. Her eyes flicked around her again, looking, listening, could they still be here? The people that had…
Reaching into her pocket she brought out her mobile phone she dialled a number and spoke as calmly as she could to the person on the other end for a few moments, giving them details and directions before putting it down again, her hands shaking.
“They’ll be here soon, Henry, just don’t…” carefully she brought her hands up and placed them on the wound in his back, pressing down firmly, applying pressure like she had been taught, trying to stop the tears that were forming in her eyes from falling.
“It’ll be okay” she said, her voice cracking a little although who she was trying to convince exactly she wasn’t exactly sure.
She would make it alright, she couldn’t afford to lose him, not now.
Henry’s eyes flickered closed again and she felt his breath catch, pressing on his wound harder this time;
“Henry” she said, her voice harsher than it had been before “Stay with me, please…”
His low groan echoed around the small room.