Nick crested the hill at a dead run, hoping that the disaster he feared was yet to happen. But the scene that greeted his eyes shot that hope down in flames.
For a split second, the scene of Josh crouching over a prone Sylvana might have seemed a picture of pleasant intimacy. After that split second passed the details revealed the horror behind the pose. The first sign that struck the eye was the vivid red stain across Josh's back, accompanied by a few other marks on his shoulder and chest, the stains becoming diluted with sweat the further down his back they travelled. The next was the look of Sylvana's elbow as it lay on the ground, seeping its own redness, bent backwards at a grisly angle. But the final, most obvious sign was the bloodstained rock in Josh's hand that he smashed brutally into Sylvana's head even as Nick watched.
Nick had his blaster out almost before he was aware he had drawn it. He advanced quickly, being sure to crunch gravel to announce his approach. Clearly, this had gotten far out of hand, and Josh was unlikely to react well to being surprised. As Nick approached, Josh staggered to his feet, still watching Sylvana with a predator's gaze. Another detail sprang to Nick's attention - the bloodstain where Josh's hand had held Sylvana's shirt, keeping her still for the final blow.
A hard crunch of gravel underfoot, and Josh whirled toward Nick, ready for action. As Nick sighted at his friend along the blaster's barrel, some part of him noted that it might have been less unnerving if Josh had been snarling. Instead, Josh stood silently, his right arm covered in blood, his left still holding the rock with Sylvana's blood on it, his eyes cold and unexpressive.
"So what'd she do?" asked Nick, throwing as much scorn into his voice as he could fit. "Call you names? Spit on your teddy bear? Have a thought contrary to doctrine?"
"Lower your weapon and stand down, Lieutenant," replied Josh, his tone apathetic and dull. "This threat has been suppressed."
"But this threat hasn't," replied Nick, gesturing meaningfully with the blaster. "And it won't be until I get some answers justifying this... misconduct, soldier." Nick took a step towards his friend. "So let's try that again. What did she do?"
"My motives are not for you to question, Lieutenant. Stand down. That's an order." Somehow, the dull tone in which Josh delivered those words gave his motionless stance an aura of menace.
Nick took another slow step forward, blaster still dead on target. "In my book, Lieutenant With Blaster outranks Captain With Rock. Answers, Josh. Now."
"Stand down. Now."
Nick took another step forward - and Josh launched the rock at him. Nick's instincts did two things - flinched away from the rock, and tightened his finger on the trigger. The combination threw out his aim, and the stun bolt only grazed Josh's left arm as Josh sprinted for cover behind a boulder. Nick squeezed off a few more shots, but was unable to get the proper lead - and then Josh was out of sight.
Stupid, stupid. Stun first, questions later. Nick circled around, keeping a fair distance between himself and the boulder, hoping to give himself a shot without letting Josh get the drop on him. When he rounded the boulder, Josh was gone. Naturally. That would have been too easy. A dark stain on the rock showed where Josh had leant for a moment. Nick drew the blaster back closer to his shoulder and advanced warily, eyes flicking across the long shadows cast by the rising sun.
If it had been noonday, Nick might have been able to locate Josh by following the droplets of blood. Unfortunately, the shadows speckled the ground with spots of darkness, and the effort needed to find blood on the ground would have taken more attention than Nick had to spare. Logic and tactics. Back on familiar ground.
With the amount of blood Josh was losing, he was unlikely to have gone far to set an ambush. He'd have to know his strength was waning. On the other hand, Nick wasn't out to force his friend to die of blood loss. The gripping hand was, an ambush was near, and Nick would have to walk into it. But the shadows gave him a clue of where.
The shadows were streaming down a small pathway through the boulders in front of Nick. His own shadow would be a perfect tip for someone hypothetically lurking behind one of those boulders, and the shadow they cast would hide that of any hypothetical lurkers. Nick set off down the path, counting to himself under his breath.
Between six and seven, a crunch of gravel sounded to his right. Nick turned towards the noise as Josh leaped out from behind a boulder, his bloodstained hand batting Nick's blaster out of line, his left hand cupped to catch Nick's throat. Josh stopped just short of his goal with a 'whoof' as Nick's foot buried itself in his solar plexus, sending him staggering back a few steps. Nick brought his blaster back down just in time for Josh's foot to intercept it, sending it flying off somewhere into the rubble.
Nick spun his hand away from the point of impact as Josh regained his feet and launched a left hook at him. Nick ducked in and under the fist, only to draw back short of striking as Josh pivoted, bringing his right elbow around low, almost into Nick's face. Nick shot out his right fist into Josh's solar plexus again, only realising he'd made a mistake when Josh's right hand closed about his wrist. Nick yanked himself backwards, hauling on his arm, pulling himself free of Josh's blood-slick grip before his friend could take advantage.
He's moving slower, anyway, thought Nick as he backed away, giving himself some breathing space, noting that his friend's right calf seemed to be bleeding as well. I need to focus - he's not going to pull any punches. I won't do anyone any good if I end up like Sylvana. He spoke aloud, hoping that his friend was lurking somewhere behind those arctic eyes. "Josh, this isn't sane behaviour. This isn't helping anyone."
Josh's expression did not even flicker as he approached. Nick flicked out a snap-kick, warning him off, and pulled it back well ahead of Josh's attempt to grab his ankle. "You'll get court-martialled for this," Nick threatened, remembering hearing of the threat's effectiveness last time the stormie held Josh in its grip. If he even falters...
Josh shuffled forward, dancing out of the way of Nick's kick, his left fist coming in slowly. So much for that idea... Nick stepped forward, driving his right elbow into Josh's jaw, hoping the shock might jar his friend back to his senses. Nick pushed forward, to escape close combat while Josh was still dazed, only to find himself yanked back by his ponytail. Shit! He wasn't trying to punch me at all! It's too early in the morning...
Josh yanked harder on Nick's ponytail, dragging him off-balance, exposing his neck. Nick felt Josh shift his weight around, and could imagine him raising his right hand to crush his throat. Sod that. Nick leant further backwards, bringing his knees upward in a flip that, not incidentally, slammed Josh in the jaw on the way past.
Josh did not release his grip, but Nick landed in a crouch with Josh's hand next to his ear, unable to exert a useful pressure on Nick's head. Nick sprang forward, hammering a right into Josh's left armpit, then a stiffened hand to the stab wound on the front of Josh's right shoulder, followed up with a headbutt for good measure. Josh released Nick's ponytail, trying to bring his arm in to guard himself, but Nick settled into a rapid rhythm, hitting pressure-points and wounds faster than Josh was able to block. After a few seconds of this punishment, Josh threw his left knee for Nick's groin, a move Nick had been waiting for. He twisted back, hooking his left leg around Josh's injured right leg, and simply... scraped.
Josh's leg convulsed, and he dropped to his knees. Nick unhooked his leg and charged, digging his right thumb into Josh's wounded shoulder, heaving him onto the rocky ground with the aid of a knee to his groin. As Josh hit the ground, his knees bent under him, Nick's elbow on his throat, Josh made a noise Nick was hoping he'd never be glad to hear.
Josh screamed.
Nick intensified the pressure, trying to make sure Josh would scream himself back to his senses before easing it off. When the scream died off into chesty coughing, Nick eased up, rolling back to sit out of Josh's easy reach. He watched as Josh's coughing fit eased up, his friend spitting out blood while he lay helpless on the ground. Josh lay there for a moment, gasping for breath, eyes closed.
"Feeling yourself?" Nick asked, heaving himself to his feet, warily watching for any further attack. Josh opened his eyes at the question, and the mute look of horror in them was answer enough for Nick. Nick stood, and jogged to where Sylvana lay, crouching beside her, searching for any signs of life.
It took a while, but he was able to find a weak pulse, and he found she was breathing shallowly. With the head injury, though, and with God-only-knew-what-else Josh had done to her, it was hard to say how long it would last.
There was a crunch of gravel behind him, and Nick turned to find Josh, having just fallen onto all fours, staring aghast at Sylvana. "My God," Josh croaked, "Is she -?" The question dissolved into another coughing fit.
"Alive? Barely. You really did a number on her," Nick answered, scowling, unhooking his comlink. "But then, you knew that already, right?" He stood, and drew a breath to call for help on the comlink.
"I'm sorry," sobbed Josh, still staring at Sylvana, crawling closer to the fallen woman. Nick's patience snapped.
"Sorry? Sorry won't cut it, Josh. You screwed up, and big time, all because you were too cowardly to tell us about the stormie. I screwed up, too, giving you the time and space to work it out, by thinking you'd be able to handle it on your own. Sylvana just paid the price for our mistakes, but you've been taking it out on the rest of us as well. Me. Kristy. And everyone else who's had the misfortune to come into contact with you the last few days. You'll need to do a lot better than sorry." Nick glared at Josh, his nostrils flaring, struggling to contain the sudden burst of anger.
"I should be dead," Josh muttered, his face screwed up with grief, tears welling in his eyes. 'If I'd died when I was supposed to, none of this would have happened..."
"You think you should be dead? So you think we should all just piss off and leave you to rot? Forget about you because you're a worthless excuse for a human being?" Nick's eyes narrowed, and he crouched beside Josh, slipping a holdout blaster from its ankle holster. He leaned in closer, lowering his voice. "Think that all you want - but it's not your decision to make." For the second time in only a few days, he brought a weapon to bear on his best friend, and pulled the trigger. Josh convulsed slightly as the stun bolt struck, then lay still, less than a metre from Sylvana. "Sorry, mate," he said regretfully, and activated the comlink.
"I need some help out here. Bring stretchers."