Colin's posts

Ryker continued to do his best to keep Eke awake... until he checked him over, and found that he was no longer nearly as wet, and substantially warmer.

"Okay, kid." he then said to Eke.

"NOW you can sleep." he told him.

"You're no longer shivering, you're warmer, you're drier than before, it should be safe now." he said.

"So just close your eyes and rest."

"I know you're tired, but fight it!" Ryker exclaimed as he raced over towards what looked to be an old-time lodge. He went through the front door, where the place was largely empty... save for a few elder gentleman and a couple of younger ladies.

However, there was a large roaring fire at the back of the lodge.

Ryker then raced towards it, and set Eke down in front of it.

"Just stay awake for a bit, and let the fire warm you up and dry you off." he told him.

"Is the kid all right?" one of the men asked.

"He fell in the river. Almost drowned." Ryker responded.

"Poor thing." the man responded, shaking his head.

"........." Ryker said nothing, before lifting Eke up in his arms.

"Move." he commanded the crowd, a hint of darkness to his tone, as he started to move.

"This person needs to warm up." he said further, quickening his pace and pushing through people.

"Eke, just stay with me." he then told Eke.

"Just keep staying awake."

"Hey!" the demon exclaimed.

"None of your business!" he told her.

"Come on, hand 'em-" he started to say, before they both heard Azazel not too far away.

"Come ON! Where!?" he exclaimed.

"They couldn't have just disappeared!"

"....." Ryker was silent as he witnessed Eke, before holding him close.

"Good." he said.

"You're alive." he said further.

"Are you all right?" he then asked, loosening his grip so he could look into his eyes.

"Just nod or shake your head. There's no need to speak."

"Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" Ryker cursed.

He then started to initiate CPR. He placed his hands atop Eke's chest, and began the compressions, making sure not to overdo it. However, he knew that wouldn't be enough.

Eke wasn't breathing.

So, once he finished the first set of compressions, he placed his mouth over Eke's and puffed in two breaths, in an effort to jump-start the dragon-boy's lungs.

Ryker returned after a very short while... and immediately noticed something was off. And it didn't take long for him to realize what had happened here.

"AH! NO!" he yelled, throwing his stuff to the side and jumping into the water after Eke.

The ice-cold water stung at his skin, but he swam down until he saw Eke, grabbing him by the arm and swimming him back up to the surface, pulling him towards the edge of the river.

"Kid!" he exclaimed, reaching the bank and pulling Eke onto dry land.

"Hey, kid, speak to me!"

Ryker continued to push forward, just wanting to get out of town.

"....I'm making one more stop as we leave." he told Eke.

"If we're going to end up sleeping outside again, we'll need a portable shelter." he reasoned.

"So I'm getting an insulated tent."

Her demon partner froze for a moment.

"Whaaaaat?" he asked.

"Me? Take your keys?" he asked her. "I only did that the ONE time." he said. She then continued to look at him in silence, while he grew a bit uneasy.

"Ok, that other time. And that other OTHER time. And maybe that incident where-look, I don't have them!" he quickly protested, growing more and more flustered.

"Look, see!?" he then finally said, producing a set of keys she'd never seen before.

"Not your keys!"

"No clue." Ryker admitted.

"Probably just some thugs that were part of a gang or something." he said further, before sighing.

".....come on." he muttered.

"We need to leave town." he said.

"We'll grab breakfast along the way."

"I'll bet it is." Ryker responded, taking the candy that was offered.

"...." he was then silent, and sighed.

"We should probably go." he said.

"It won't be long before those guys I pummeled get the word out, and who knows what'll happen then..." he sighed.

"......hm." Ryker muttered.

"I... see." he said.

"That... hm. That has to be a hassle." he commented.

"....how are you doing on those, anyway? How much left?" he then asked.

"There's a pharmacy in town we can hit up before we move on."

"Uh, yeah." Ryker responded.

"There's some bottles of it in a bucket of ice on the table." he told him.

"Those pills?" he asked.

"What do you need them for?" he asked further.

"....feel free to not answer, though." he then added.

The demon was silent when she asked her questions.

"Nothing." he replied.

"On all of those." he said further.

"Seriously, I didn't do anything." he went on, looking off in another direction.

"...and what jingle?" he asked her, fidgeting a little and seemingly thinking about something.

"Let's just get what you need to get done, done. Don't you have a date with that corpse-talking fella?" he asked, referring to Levi, and trying to change the subject.