Page 103 of Incubus
Actually getting out of the door was difficult. Sasha’s body was heavy and awkward in incubus form, and they couldn’t quite figure out how to properly maneuver around his wings. Finally, they made it outside and set Sasha down on the concrete. He was still save his breathing, but blessedly limp and loose, not growing stiff as he would have if he were dead. Nathan took small comfort in that.
"Walter," Nathan said.
"I'm here, Nathan," Walter said from beside him.
"Can you check the area and make sure Gabriel isn’t still around?"
“Of course.”
“Nathan, we have to get this off,” Jim said, tugging at Sasha’s leather jacket. He pulled a switchblade from one of his jean pockets and started cutting the leather from Sasha’s arms and wings where it looked painfully tangled. “I just hope he’ll forgive me for ruining this thing.”
Nathan pulled out the small blade he kept attached to his ankle. Following Jim’s example, he began sawing at the pieceskeeping Sasha’s shoes together around his taloned feet. “It was already ruined. We’ll buy him a new one.” Nathan would buy a whole wardrobe for Sasha as long as the incubus woke up.
Eventually, they had cut away all but Sasha’s jeans, deciding that the denim was the one thing that still looked like it fit comfortably on Sasha’s body.
“The way looks clear, Nathan,” Walter appeared again. “I checked the rooftops as well, but please, still be careful.”
Nathan nodded as he and Jim prepared to lift Sasha again. “Wait,” he hesitated. “Now what? We carry him back to the car, get our stuff, and go…where?”
“We could go to the doorway, but I don't know where from there,” Jim said. “I know it's a long way driving, Nate, but...what about Schuester's?”
"That's more than long, Jim; it's a six hour trip.”
“Then we’ll drive all night.”
"Schu doesn’t know the truth about Sasha, and we just show up at his doorstep with a comatose incubus?”
“It’sSchu,” Jim said assuredly. “He wouldn’t turn us away.”
Nathan didn’t think so either, despite his doubts, and the truth was they didn't really have any other option.
Chapter 40
JimandNathanfoldedSasha’s wings around his body to make it less awkward as they carried him to the car, but it made the incubus look even more like a corpse, wrapped in a shroud of black skin. Jim looked completely sober by the time they reached the dumpster and his forgotten jacket. They set Sasha down again so Jim could put his jacket on and also to give themselves a moment’s rest.
"There is no one nearby, Nathan," Walter said. "With the fresh air, I am certain Sasha will make it to Schuester's."
There was no lie in the words, which Nathan took some comfort in, but he had to wonder if there were things Walter was keeping from him. Walter had to have known Gabriel was their uncle. Nathan would have been angry about it, too, if he wasn't planning to keep that same secret from Jim.
Nathan remembered that coma victims were always hooked up to so many machines, one to watch their breathing, one for their heart rate, everything. Sasha was just lying there on theground with nothing to protect him, nothing to make sure he was okay except the constant vigil of Nathan’s eyes, checking to make sure he was still breathing. That was all they would have during the drive to Schuester's too, and even after they got to Minnesota, there was no way to be sure they could find a way to fix this.
“I’ll go get our stuff,” Jim said after they had reached the car, already turning to head inside the motel.
Nathan was standing by the open back driver’s side door. They had to lay Sasha slanted so his feet fell down onto the floor, but most of his chest and head were lying comfortably across the back seat. “Jim…”Nathan wanted to get in the backseat with Sasha, wanted to hold the incubus close to his chest to keep him warm, keep him safe,something.
Jim seemed to understand. He paused and took a few steps back toward the car. “Give me the keys, Nathan. I’ll drive when I get back. It’s okay.”
“But…you drank too much,” Nathan said. He knew Jim was sober enough to drive now, but he still had to pretend like he was protesting.
Jim just smiled and held out his hand.
After tossing the keys over the hood, Nathan climbed into the backseat, carefully lifting Sasha’s upper body so he could slide in underneath and lay Sasha back down on top of his lap. Sasha was heavy. Nathan’s legs would probably be asleep before Jim got back. But Nathan didn’t care. He needed to feel that reassuring warmth.
Walter appeared in the front passenger seat, sitting calmly, and not pressing Nathan to talk or even really looking back save a few concerned glances.
It was an unconscious effort the way Nathan started combing his fingers through Sasha’s hair. He liked it both short and long the way it was when he was changed. Sasha’s skin was so white.Nathan usually forgot that with how much more he saw Sasha human but, as an incubus, he was pure white with faded greys on the way to the blackest pitch on his hands, feet, and wings. Nathan could see the tattoos peeking out of Sasha’s low-riding jeans, and it made him smile a little. The comfort of something normal, of something steady that Nathan saw every day, made the weight lessen, if only a little.
“Some happy birthday, right?” Nathan said softly. The fact that Sasha didn’t answer,couldn’tanswer made Nathan ache a little more.
