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When Ray awake, he expected to be in somewhere. Whether it be heaven or hell, that was uncertain. But he was dead. That was for sure.
Instead he was met with bright lights. Not golden ones, or red ones. Instead there were medical lights, the ones you'd see in the E.R. after breaking your arm. They stung his eyes, and for a minute he felt tears fall out of his eyes.
Then he heard the noises of someone next to him. "Ray...?"
That voice. That was McVries. His best friend.
A turn of his head confirmed that thought. Peter was staring back at him, his eyes cloudy. His body looked tired. But....hadn't he won?
Why was Peter here? Why was he here? Why was he himself alive? And did he hear the breaths of others beside him?
Turning to his other side, he was met with Harkness. His bed was propped up, and he was currently scribbling into his journal. His glasses were on, only slightly cracked. And at the edge of his bed, Garretty could see the shine of a metal foot.
"Harkness? How are you still alive?"
The question seemed to catch the writer off guard, and he almost dropped his notebook completely. "I didn't know you were awake Garratty. But, they saved me. Apparently I lasted long enough to be saved. But my foot, not so much."
That explained much more. But still, he had questions. First off, what happened to the other musketeers. Second, who died. Third, would he be able to actually talk to McVries about what had happened once he'd won.
But first, he has to work his way down the list. Sitting up was painful, and his abdomen stung. But he persevered, managing to sit himself up. Albeit a bit painful.
Now that he was able to fully sit up, he was relieved to find what he saw. Across the room from him in the corner was Olsen. He was sound asleep, his abdomen having a bunch of tubes connected to it. Along with that, he had a pouch attached to him.
Next to Olsen was Art. His body had wires all around, and there was a constant scan going off his blood pressure. It was concerning, but his nose has at least managed to stop bleeding.
On Art's right was Barkovitch. He had a bandage wrapped around his throat, and a brace that stopped him from moving. His chest moved slowly, as if he had a weight laying on his lungs.
At the end of the row was Collie. He had his stomach bandaged up, and the side of his cheek was bandaged. It seemed he'd missed, shooting the wrong part. Ray wouldn't have known, he had turned away when it'd happened.
Turning back to Peter, he was reminded of the last kid he hadn't seen. Stebbins.
Garretty looked around frantically, trying to find the blonde. Harkness seemed to take notice, catching the frantic boy's attention.
"Calm down. He's right next to me," Richard said, pointing down to the bed next to him. Looking over the brainiac, Garretty got a sorry look at Superman.
Stebbins was a sorry sight. His face was pale, and he was hooked up to machines. His mouth let out small wheezes every so often, and was shifting a bit. He had a bandage where his kidneys were. And his body seemed to still be struggling with illness. His nose, cheeks, and forehead were red as a beat.
"McVries, what happened? How...who...what...I just," he sighed, turning his body to face his best friend. McVries simply smiled back softly, and pushed himself up into a seated position.
"Don't worry Ray. What matters is, most of us made it."
His eyes looked sad as he spoke, as if not everything turned out as expected. Ray saw tears fill his eyes, and a chocked sob escaped McVries mouth.
"They couldn't save him." A chocked sob escaped Peter's mouth, and warm hot tears fell down his cheeks. "The kid, Curly, he died. He's dead. Ray, I couldn't save him."
Quiet sobs filled the room, catching the attention of Harkness. The nerd put down his book, sighing softly. "He's been upset about this since he got here."
McVries sobbed even harder at that, holding his face in his hands. In that one singular moment, Ray realized what truly mattered. All his friends were alive. Even if they'd lost some of the other walkers, some of them were able to survive.
Garretty sat up, shoving his legs to the end of his bed. With careful, planned steps, he made it to the edge of McVries bed. "It's ok. You saved the musketeers. That, I'm eternally grateful for."
"Excuse me?"
"And Harkness."
Peter let out a small chuckle, a smile coming back to his face. He reached over to Garretty's shoulder, and gave it a small squeeze. Almost like a "I'm glad you're ok".
"How are you feeling McVries? How was the win?"
The latter sighed, resting his back on a pillow. "I...I wished for this. I asked for them to save as many people as they could. As for how I'm feeling, I'd say achy."
"You're a good man McVries."
"Thank you Garretty. That means a lot."
McVries scooted forward, embracing the other. Never did he think the walk would end up that way. But somehow, he was glad it did.
In that moment, nothing mattered. Not the major, not the walk, not the injuries or the deaths. Just this moment, right now.