Carson and Rylee [Morning After]
Much like the first time, Carson began to be aware of things very slowly. Everything ached, for one, from the top of his head down to his only set of toes. All of his joints were painfully pulsing like he had a fever, and every muscle felt stiff. He realized he was cold -- luckily it wasn’t the close-to-hypothermia cold that he’d experienced his first month, but he was definitely naked on the concrete floor in a badly-heated basement. His stomach didn’t feel packed full this time, instead it was empty and growling and making him nauseated.
Carson moved his head slightly and instantly regretted it, pain punching through his skull and down the back of his spine. The big muscle in the side of his neck was throbbing painfully where he’d been shot with the tranq dart. He let out a pathetic little groan and made himself move again, getting his hands braced against the floor. Pushing himself up seemed like a daunting task at that moment, so he just breathed and worked on getting his eyes open and focused.
Rylee had stayed in the basement with Carson as long as her body had allowed, only leaving his side when it had been impossible to keep her eyes open. She slept on the couch upstairs, thankful for Lem and Vex being so accommodating, considering the kind of animal they had in a cage in their home. Rylee slept restlessly, waking up several times in the early hours until eventually she just lay there and stared at the ceiling, letting the image of Carson shifting into that beast play over and over in her mind like it was on a goddamn loop.
Eventually she got up and went back downstairs, a small blanket wrapped around her as she settled against the wall near the cage that held Carson. At some point she drifted off again and when she woke up Carson was Carson again. He seemed to be stirring and Rylee pushed away from the wall, not wanting to scare or overwhelm him straight away. She walked over to the cage, frowning at the way he groaned. Obviously he wasn't going to be in tip top shape but now she wanted to know if she ought to go find Vex or Lem or someone. She settled on her knees and reached in with one hand. "Hey," she whispered. "I'm here. How are you feeling?"
Carson had no idea what time it was, just vaguely that the sun must be up since he was back in his own body. He was trying to find the strength to sit up -- and also trying to recall the last thing he remembered ... walking into the cage? -- when he heard Rylee’s soft voice. That inspired Carson to really lift his head, his eyes bleary and his face puffy from the weird prone position. She was there, on the other side of the bars, alive and well, and it immediately brought tears of relief to his eyes. That meant the cage had worked, everybody was safe. Carson managed to get himself up on his elbows, his fingers reaching for Rylee’s to hold her knuckles to his cheek. “Bad,” he rasped. “Cold. Thirsty.” He was alive though, and it seemed that everyone else was too, if he was still in the cage, and that made it all worth it.
"Here." After stroking his cheek for a moment Rylee tugged the blanket off of her and began to slide it through the bars. It was small and thin but something was better than nothing. "Take this. I'll get your clothes and then get you some water. Are you hurting? I have some pain medication in my purse too." He was talking and while he looked pale and a bit rough, he seemed to be okay. Definitely in one piece, at least. Rylee never wanted to get her hopes up but it seemed like the cage and the tranq worked. This could be their solution every month, while Lem and Vex were still in town, as long as they continued to allow it. It was a relief, especially after what he had been through the month before.