Law of Causality

[gabrielle]

A one on one roleplay between LoversLane and Gabrielle;

​

“If the Universe came to an end every time there was some uncertainty about what had happened in it, it would never have got beyond the first picosecond. And many of course don't. It's like a human body, you see. A few cuts and bruises here and there don't hurt it. Not even major surgery if it's done properly. Paradoxes are just the scar tissue. Time and space heal themselves up around them and people simply remember a version of events which makes as much sense as they require it to make.”


― Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

Cause and effect. Law of casualty.


Time travel into the past.

"One event happens in our universe, and it leads to yet another in an endless one-way string of events. In every instance, the cause occurs before the effect. Just try to imagine a different reality, say, in which a murder victim dies of his or her gunshot wound before being shot. It violates reality as we know it; thus, many dismiss time travel into the past as an impossibility."








Two timelines. One doomed. One subject to change.

​

"If Kerr black holes exist, speculation states that we might pass through them and exit through a white hole. Think of this as the exhaust end of a black hole. Instead of pulling everything into its gravitational force, the white hole would push everything out and away from it -- perhaps into another time or even another universe.


Kerr black holes are purely theoretical, but if they do exist they offer the adventurous time traveler a one-way trip into the past or future. And while a tremendously advanced civilization might develop a means of calibrating such a method of time travel, there's no telling where or when a "wild" Kerr black hole might leave you."

LoversLane's

​

Juliet Montgomery. 21 years. 5'5"





Juliet Montgomery is the only child of two wonderful and wealthy parents in Manhattan, New York. Her life has never been in ruins, she’s never had her heart broken, and she’s never been in fear for her life.


She believes she can never be broken from anything. In her strong belief, she lives carefree until the night that changed the life she’s known forever.


After her 20th birthday, her life changes drastically. After a car crash claims the life of her family, she has no recollection of the events leading up to the crash or how she ended up in the psychiatric ward.


As her stay at the psychiatric ward starts to become terribly longer than it’s meant too, she begins to plan for deadly escape. Not only does she not trust the nurses who are obliged to help her, she doesn’t trust the lawyer who advised her not to go to the police to report the crash or the eerie doctor who keeps causing her to stay longer.


Despite Juliet’s confusion, she is certain something is horribly wrong that if needed too, she will kill, to escape to her freedom and to find the truth about her parents.

Gabrielle's

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Raiden Donovan Tracey. 24 years. 5'7"

He's seen enough. Had enough.


The wrong decisions led to the wrong reality. So what would happen if someone went back to change the very events they knew to be truth?


Raiden had a choice, and he made his decision. He would leave the very people and family he knows for something better, something that doesn't end up like the doomed timeline he's in.


He's lived the future. Seen the future. And he didn't like it. He didn't like it at all.


After years of partaking in the study of time travel, and after everything has found itself in ruins, Raiden goes back in time. There needs to be a change, and he's determined to make it.


So he's going back to where everything started. He created a new timeline, possibly dooming everyone from his to death in doing so. But what does it matter if the timeline was doomed to begin with?
​

 

[LoversLane]

“Juliet Montgomery,” She thought numbly in her mind as the faint clicking tick of the clock distracted her from relapsing back into the facts she's heard about herself. However, it was too late.


She's 21 with plenty of ambition and motivation for the world. She's been accepted into prestigious colleges, but the one she chose was Harvard. She's shares, shared, a mansion with her accountant father and neurosurgeon mother, while she worked as a barista and the remainder of time spent volunteering at animal shelters with her friends. In her free time, she would read any novel that came into her path. Like always, the facts she has to remember about herself to repeat back to the nurses, stunned her from the ambitious and self-motivated personality that surrounded her life before the crash seems distant from the personality she has now. She had been doing plenty of this in her two weeks of staying at the gloomy and depressing Manhattan psych ward, without explanation too the reason for her ongoing stay.


Routinely, her mind would wander to the events leading to the crash that claimed the lives of her family and the events that happened after. In these two weeks, its been more of a quickness in her life that she’s never been comfortable with. The quickness in her parents death, quickness in forgetting her childhood, quickness in her being admitted to Manhattan hospital without any explanation. She craved the slow pace back of the world. And the small part of her life with getting everything she wants within hours, it was strange to have some sort of familiarity of the life she’s known to happen now.


At the Manhattan psych ward, nothing ever happened.


No visitors.


Two other patients.


And three on call nurses on the floor.


It was pleasantly slow.


More often at night, she had the sudden urgency to flee by running through the large grey corridors. And more often at night, her sense urgency would always be misguided to imagine instead of doing it. It wasn't because she worried about the consequences or lacked the courage, she was worried about the staffing and the small possibilities of them keeping her here without her consent was happening to the others, and she felt the small need to save them. Dorian Winstead, the doctor, had explained for the feelings of temporary loss of memory is because of the “traumatic loss” however, as much as it hurt too admit, she didn't feel a huge loss. She only felt the harshness in every breath she took since she had fractured three ribs from the accident. She felt anxiety kick in every few hours. But not once, did she feel the loss.


Her brown eyes glanced at the clock that revealed it to be nearly 1:30 a.m. The sudden urgency returned with vengeance that a harsh thought floated in the back of her mind,”Don’t think, just do.”


Words never became clear for Juliet until they had a real meaning behind them. As she thought of the motivational phrase that gripped to the core of her heart, Juliet yanked the itchy wool blanket from her and tossed it aside. She slid her feet into the warm slippers, yanked off the uncomfortable night gown, placed a large grey sweatshirt over her body, slid into the red and black pajama pants she was wearing the day of the crash, and stared at the door in frustration.


She would open the door, visit the other patients rooms and demand them to follow her, and make an escape. Yet, her frustration was beginning to amplify every second she imagined herself visiting the other patients room. What if the patients were severely mentally ill that their stay is much more needed then Juliet? What if something terrible happens that alarms the staff of her exit?


“No,” Juliet’s voice was raspy and clear from not speaking nearly much ater her parents death. “Don’t think, just do.” Juliet whispered frustratingly and headed to the door.


Her thin lengthy fingers wrapped around the door knob and swung it open. At the current situation of the Manhattan psych ward, the lights were dim and the silence lingered eerily on the hall. The lights were so dim in fact, on the right side of the hall that would lead to an exit, was narrow and bleak that she could not see the ending. Before she stepped out into the unknown, she scanned above for any camera that could be possibly recording her sudden escape. When no camera came into her view, she stared once more down the bleak hall. She looked at the other patients room. With a defiant and courageous sly smile, Juliet slid her hood over her untamed brown hair, stepped out and closed the door gently. With the stillness of the psych ward causing a chill down her spine, she walked hurriedly across the hall to the patients rooms.


When she reached the Caldwell and Aniston patient room, she placed her hand gently on the door and peered inside. The Caldwell and Aniston residents weren't in bed. Confused, she attempted to think back of the Caldwell and Aniston’s and quickly remembered, she never met them. She only assumed of their presence. However, as she opened the door and stepped inside sharply, her assumption was terribly wrong. The beds were made perfectly, heavy packed dust littered on every single item in the room, reeked of a bad odor, and there was no clear sign of someone ever staying inside this room. After the realization of being the only person at the Manhattan psych ward, Juliet didn't hesitate. She turned on her heels, opened the door, and hurried. When she hurried out of the room, she heard the faint steps of someone walking down the hall. Juliet’s courage couldn't retract now, she would need to either fight or hide.


Juliet decided bravely by leaning against the hall, clenching her fist, and waiting for their arrival to knock them out and return to her escape plan.

 

[gabrielle]

Time is not a constant, but instead is something of illusion. Space and time exist absolutely, but are not indepedent from each other. They are interwoven into one fabric. This is a proven truth.


So hypothetically speaking, if time was not constant yet exists in space, shouldn't it be possible to bend this fabric of gravity and travel through time?


This time travel stuff is complicated; it's what Raiden has spent the majority of his life studying. In a sense, time travel is just part of the family business for him per say, and it did not turn out well at all. But above and most important of all, you protect the timeline; therefore, you do not partake in traveling through time. It's something punishable moreso than just by your own death. It's punishable by the death of an entire universe and possibly more should your actions be in the detrimental to the preservation of history itself.

Imagine a tree. All parts of it stem from one point and branch off. It's like a timeline. Hell, it even has the inverse of timelines which would be the roots, but that's getting into parallels, which isn't of much relevance as of now. The point is that the universe starts from one and has deviants of itself, which would be your branches. Each branch represents a timeline alternate from the original. An alternate is created every time someone travels through time and changes certain events. It's entirely impossible to know which timeline is the true beginning of time, but that isn't necessarily important to know. All that matters is the timeline that you're born into, which makes you the original of that universe.


So what happens if you go to a timeline that's not yours? What happens when there are two of you and none of you in two different timelines?


Some people can leave timelines and have no affect at all in the world, but the absence of some others can result in absolute catastrophe. If worse comes to worse, you can destroy your entire timeline. As for having a double of yourself... Well, there's no answer for that as of yet, but it's bound to cause some type of trouble sooner or later.


The hint hasn't been so subtle, so it should be easy for you to get what's being planned here. Raiden is going to go back in time. He'll move to an alternate universe, which will hopefully turn out to be for the better.


But why? Well, that's a loaded question. Bottom line is that he's in a doomed timeline. Case in point being his timeline currently collapsing in on itself around him.


And just exactly how is the timeline collapsing you ask?


Well, it's destroying itself. This is something that Raiden is witnessing at this very moment as he continues to run down the streets of Vancouver.

The skies are gray and are quickly turning black. Wind is blowing in a howling rage, pushing trees and flipping cars. Sirens from seemingly every direction are going off as tornadoes here and there tear through. Lightning bolts are striking buildings and collapsing them. The buildings that remain standing are beginning to topple with the trembles of the earth in a limbo between subtle and harsh quakes.


Things are just continuing to get worse and worse, and it won't get any better. This is an undeniable fact.


Another harsh and countless tremor of the earth has Raiden being shoved to the ground, falling from the sidewalk onto the road. It's like a chain-reaction of bad to worse as a car swerves to avoid hitting him, succeeds in crashing into another car, and runs into a tree which is then struck by lightning, causing it to catch fire and fall onto a building.


By the time Raiden is back on his feet the thunder is singing with the sirens blaring through the city and rain is beginning to pour. Buildings are starting to catch fire despite of the rain, and flash floods are sure to come soon. It wasn't something that Raiden was going to stop and wait around for, though. Not much of this universe was going to be left within the next hour or so, and he had to get out of it as quickly as he could manage.


Thanks for this, Juliet.


And who is Juliet to him? Long story short, she is... well, was involved in the whole time travel business he's in, but she was sort of a special case. She had a lot of potential, but things got pretty shitty for her. Turns out that potential wasn't so great in the eyes of the government, and they decided to bring her to a cold sleep six feet under. She just so happens to be one of those special snowflakes that will cause the whole damn universe to collapse should they cease to exist within it, though, which is a huge problem.


Basically something went wrong in the timeline. Juliet wasn't supposed to die as early as she did, and well, that changes everything. It changes everything to the point of collapsing a whole damn timeline. Like it was said earlier, he's in a doomed timeline, and there was nothing else that could be done to fix this.


Yet something needs to be done. Her death wasn't supposed to happen, so why did it? Timelines don't just randomly malfunction on their own like this. No, someone did this purposefully. Someone that Raiden has a pretty good idea as to who they are, but the details on that can be saved for later. The point is that he has to stop her death from ever happening.


Typically, Raiden should be staying in this timeline like everyone else and die along side them. Like it was stated before, no one really knows what happens when there are two of you in one timeline as of yet. It's not difficult at all to assume that things would go bad, and knowing this, it's sure to mess things up for that second timeline as well. To hell if he wasn't going to try and do better, though.


It's just that someone needs to fix this and save the timeline, and well, Raiden just so happened to be the person given that job. Part of him almost wished he wouldn't have to do this, but then again, here he is avoiding certain death he'd see if he would stay in this timeline. Yet that kind of defeats the purpose if he or the alternate version of himself ends up dead just because two of himself cannot exist at one given time. Either way it doesn't change the fact that everyone he knows, loves, and doesn't know is going to die. In a certain sense they will still exist and live on, but it won't be the same. Sure, it'll be them, but they're not them. They're alternates. It's depressing.


Anyways, after barely avoiding death in the panicked and doomed streets of Vancouver, Raiden finds himself at the residence he was headed for and runs through the maze of halls to get to his next destination:


It's a room closed in by metal doors. It's built for absolute and complete security, requiring countless pass codes and identification scanning to get through. As far as he's concerned, it's just a huge pain in the ass and waste of time. Especially whenever you're rushing through doomsday, scared out of your mind.


Yeah, he's scared. Completely and totally fearful in the whole of his being. Of the entirety of his life, Raiden has never been this anxious. You certainly can't blame him. Not when he literally just witnessed the death, sorrow, and fear of countless people running through the streets with their screams and cries just barely being drowned out by the deafening sounds of sirens, wind, and thunder, and especially not when he knows what is about to happen to them and himself. All on top of the unknown of what could happen if he does go to this new timeline he will create. It's not like he's ever time traveled before, either. It's something that can kill a person and others. He may have been studying it for almost his whole life, but that doesn't mean he actively goes through decades within one day just for the hell of it. If he does go through with this, he may not even make it to the date he's planning on going back to let alone survive the travel itself. This all goes without mentioning the possibility of him dooming this new timeline as well.


You can't blame him. Of course he's afraid.


As he opened the last door to the room, another earthquake brings him to his knees.


He may be one hell of a tough son of a bitch, but he's not perfect. The truth is disheartening, he knows.


Someone he didn't have the time to get a look at ended up dragging him up from the ground and shoved him along before he even had the chance to register that he was just forced back to his feet once more. Hell, he barely had the chance to really have a clear understanding of what was actually going on. He knew what was happening of course, but it was too quick for him to fully process. Yet one thing he was sure of were the sharp, quick instructions that were given to him before he was pulled through a flash of light.


"The universe exists on the preservation of history. By whatever means necessary, preserve it. Trust your judgement."




The feeling of moving through the continuum of time is inexplicable, but to hell if what leads after is.


The first thing that crossed Raiden's mind aside for the blinding of burning light was the feeling of falling he experienced before landing roughly in the middle of a street, probably spraining both of his wrists with the fall. Lucky him, though, he couldn't have fallen more than a few feet.


The next thing to come was the noise. It was louder than any other he's heard before: a blaring ringing accompanied by a headache. It was sharp and demanding, almost as if hundreds of knifes were being stuck into himself all at once. It was to the point of prompting nausea, and only a matter of seconds were called for before he was puking onto the cement in reaction to the absolute and complete pain he was in, remaining in the position of being on his hands and knees he'd fallen into moments before.


More or less it was a mix of blood.


... Great.


For how long he remained in that position of trying to collect himself, he didn't know, but it couldn't have been more than ten minutes by the time he could see the headlights of a car approaching on the road, contrasting against the darkness of the night. That gave him enough motivation to stand despite the absolute and complete pain of himself and everything that was wrong with him which just so happened to be everything. He was incredibly disoriented and unsteady on his feet, leaving him unable to walk for very far at all until he was collapsing to the black pavement of the road.


Time travel was one hell of a bitch.




After that first night, someone had enough hospitality and kindness in them to pick Raiden up from laying on the road he'd passed out on. Said person had taken him as a drunk; therefore, all the help he received was being carried to their couch with the allowance of rest, which he had apparently taken full advantage of with nearly two days worth of sleep.


The first thing Raiden had been aware of after he'd first awoken was the severe headache that still demanded attention, but it wasn't as nearly as bad as it had been before. He could still hear the ringing from earlier, but that wasn't as intense anymore, either. It sounded more like a distant, soft ringing now rather than being completely overwhelming.


He didn't open his eyes just yet, but took a deep breath instead at he rubbed at them. The thought of where he was, what happened, and who he was with hadn't even crossed his mind by the time a voice finally broke the comfort he found in the silence of the room.


"Oh, thank god." Immediately he froze, that natural flight or fight response kicking in. "I was starting to think you wouldn't wake up."


It was then that he took notice of the femininity of the voice. It had a light, cheerful sounding tone. There was an American accent that he recognized, too. Southern if he was guessing right.


He finally took his hands away from his eyes and looked over in the direction of said voice, squinting against the harsh brightness of daylight. His vision was definitely quite blurry, but he could make out the appearance of tan skin, big blue eyes, and curly light blonde hair in close proximity to him. She was crouched down beside the couch he just realized that he was on and wasn't his, her face far too close to his for comfort. Out of reflex he went to move away from her, but really didn't succeed in getting very far with her hand being placed on his chest, forcing him to lay back down. His sense of masculinity could definitely take a hit from this, being pushed back down so easily, but the feeling was brushed off with the reasoning that he was just weak from all that had happened and that the strength of her had just surprised him.


"Don't," She said, her calm tone of voice contrasting against the force she'd used to keep him from moving. "Take it easy, okay?"


"What happened to you?" She paused, but seemed to think better of her question with a short shake of her head. "Never mind, it's not my business. You might want to go to a doctor or something, though. You've been getting a lot of nosebleeds." She said as she held up a bloodied cloth, but then seems to think better of that as well as a light blush dusted her cheeks. "I mean, not to mother a total stranger or anything. I just thought it'd be nice to... and well, not get any blood on my blankets."


It was then that he finally took notice of the warm blankets that were thrown over him and the smell of iron that lingered. Huh.


"Just... Okay. I'm Elise." She said with a sweet smile despite obviously being embarrassed.


It was a delayed, but he finally had the realization nonetheless that she was rambling most likely over her nerves. A glance down to her hands just to find them shaking gave him enough evidence to be sure of her apprehension. He couldn't blame her. Raiden was well aware of the fact that he didn't necessarily look like the nicest, most safe, and gentle guy to be around. That on top of him being a bloodied up stranger who she just so happened to find passed out in some road he didn't know the location of. She also seemed to be here alone as well. All of this didn't exactly scream the guarantee of her safety, and he can acknowledge that fact.


"I appreciate this, Elise." He finally spoke up in an attempt to calm her apparent nervousness. Ah, speaking just made his headache worse.




Elise turned out to be an incredibly nice girl who lived with her boyfriend, Alec. He didn't seem to be one who spoke very often, but the guy was as decent as Elise nonetheless. The two's hospitality was to the point of it almost being painful to witness for Raiden. Sure, he slept on their couch and only stayed for about three days including the two that he had been out of it, but still, damn. If the whole world consisted of people like them, it'd be one hell of a nice place.


From them he'd come to learn a handful of undeniable truths:


He was in the United States. Kentucky, to be exact. He had been found on a back road in a small town, passed out with blood covering half of his face and front of his shirt at around two thirty in the morning on April 23, 2015. And lastly, that the kindness found in strangers can save your life.


Just as he'd predicted, time travel wasn't perfected as of yet. If things would have gone on as planned, he would have found himself in Manhattan, New York, weeks before the day he arrived and certainly wouldn't have been in the condition he was found in. Like it was said earlier: time travel can kill you. Let it be known that he can definitely acknowledge and appreciate the fact that he is truly lucky to be alive.


Anyways, after Raiden had recuperated himself enough to function on his own, he left for Manhattan. Being without a car or much money at all, he started out by walking. The majority of the trip was spent hitch hiking with decent people, luckily enough. It only took around a week or so for him to find himself in the city in New York. His last trouble location-wise was to finally find Juliet. If he was recalling correctly, right around this time she'd be in some mental institute of sorts. That shouldn't be too difficult to find, right?


Two days had passed until he managed to get the right place.


Part of him was worried about whether or not he'd make it to Juliet in time or if she'd even trust him to begin with, but overall those were troubles of the mind he decided to save for later. If he managed to befriend her once, he should be able to do it again, right?


... Well, we'll see how that goes soon enough. Let's just hope that he wasn't too late.


As he approached the institute, dread started to find its way into himself. This scene was awfully familiar: getting in too late, not being enough, not being able to protect the one person he was supposed to.


It was a sad truth that Raiden was beginning to fear something: having to watch Juliet and a whole universe die a second time.


He has to save her. No, he will save her. This is nonnegotiable.


Raiden pulled the hood of the gray jacket he was wearing over his head. It was cold out, and so he was dressed for such weather: a long sleeve shirt under a hooded jacket under a leather jacket accompanied by sweatpants under his jeans. What can he say, he may be from Vancouver with the full accent to make that fact blatant, but he still was one to easily be bothered by the cold.


He found it almost humoring to be such a criminal in the eyes of the law yet something as petty as New York's April wind to be so bothersome.


And yes, let's face it. Raiden is a criminal. It's not like he's about to break into this building without having any prior practice, and the Caliber .45, M1911 gun he had under his belt didn't exactly scream that he wasn't, either.


The M1911 he had was a gun that made him painfully aware of the fact that he was in the United States. It was created by this country and has been issued into many wars for US soldiers and special forces such as the Navy, Air Force, and Marines. This gun is one of the post popular guns in the US. It's single-action, magazine fed, semi-automatic, and not to mention pistol recoil-operated.


What can he say? He likes guns and knows about them. Selling them is his part of his job description, after all.


Okay, enough with the swooning over guns for him.


Breaking into this building a second time wasn't nearly as difficult as it was for him the first. Here, let's just make this clear as of now: this isn't where Juliet dies. It's where she almost does the second time she escapes, but in his timeline she managed the get away on her own just fine during the first time. Being she was alone of course eventually didn't lead to the best of things. It was the second time that she was put into here that someone got her out. That "someone," just so happened to be himself. There's another bout of luck Raiden is finding himself to come across being he won't have to deal with... well, running into himself tonight.


Anyways, being this was the second time he's breaking into here, he already knows where the video cameras are outside, and where the guards should be. What to avoid to not set off the alarm. What to do if the alarm does go off. Just what to expect overall; that alone did wonders in calming his nerves.


Again, of course he was nervous. Raiden was always one to tend to get a little anxious at times even if he does do his job well in the end, so his anxiety should be a given. He was breaking into a building, okay! One with security systems, guards that no matter how petty they may seem can still work a gun, and phone lines to call for the cops. His presence here didn't go so well the first time, so who's to say that it won't be so bad for a second?


Ugh. It really is best not to mind these worries, and so, Raiden did his best to focus on doing what he should be rather than thinking of things that would make his hands shake. If he was going to end up shooting a gun later on, his hands need to be steady, after all.


One by one, Raiden went about disconnecting the security cameras. It was definitely a challenge given his height (or lack of) and the difficult positions of the cameras themselves. Shooting the cameras would definitely just be easier than climbing up over dumpsters, roofs, and boxes to get to them, but that unfortunately would cause a lot more trouble being he didn't have a silencer for the gun he had. It's not like he had unlimited bullets, either. Every shot counts.


As expected, by the time he was finishing disconnecting the third out of the eight security cameras that should be found in and around the building, the so-called security guard shows up. It's a mistake on the guard's part being he just so happened to unlock the door and definitely a plus on Raiden's.


Being he knew the guard would show up for the third camera, Raiden was sure to get the cameras by the back door first. So by the time said guard walked out, he was able simply hide and throw a rock in the opposite direction to distract the other. As the guard pulled up his gun and went towards the diversion, Raiden ran to catch the door that was slowly beginning to close and went inside.


Yes, he could have either shot or fought the guard in hopes of knocking him out, but Raiden found that to be a stupid thing to do. First of all, if he got caught, he'd have more than just being charged with breaking and entering, and that goes without mentioning the gun he has. Secondly, attacking the guy would cause a lot of commotion. Third of all, he didn't even know if he'd succeed in knocking the guy out. And fourth, the other guard that is sure to be here would be alarmed and more prone to shooting once he realizes the severity of the situation.


To put it simply, it's a lot easier and convenient to be quiet and unnoticed rather than busting in and shooting up the place. Doing so would just be plain stupid and a death wish within itself. Who cares if this way takes longer? It's safer, and isn't the whole point of this to keep Juliet alive and well?


The first thing Raiden noticed as he slipped in and started quickly down the hallway was that the lighting was still shit. This place was just as shady as it was last time. Ha. Maybe this timeline isn't so different after all.


Distantly hearing the back door open once more, Raiden hid in a supply closet. It was cramped and definitely uncomfortable, but it was during times like these that he was glad he had no stature that reached above six foot. Being below the average height had it perks from time to time, that was for sure.


He waited until he heard the footsteps fade before stepping out of the closet and continuing on. Maybe if this was his first time in here he would have waited longer, but it wasn't. He knew that guard would only prove to be a demanding problem later on. As of now he'd be back in the office of his, trying to decide what to do. Eventually he'd step out of the office and start patrolling the halls up until the worries he has either show up or disappear.


The first time that had happened Juliet got shot. Raiden wasn't about to let that happen again.


On the way to where he knew Juliet's room was, Raiden checked the other rooms as he went. The last thing he needed was a surprise. All of the rooms turned out to be empty fortunately and unfortunately for him. There were no others to worry about, but Juliet wasn't in her room, either. Inviting himself in, he found the blankets on her bed to be in disarray and a nightgown to be on the floor.


Dammit.


The slightest of a frown began to tug at the corners of his lips as his fists tightened at his sides. He felt the middle of the bed just to see if there were any warmth left to it. This was for the sake of trying to estimate how long it's been since she was gone, and he found that she couldn't have been out for more than thirty minutes being the bed was still warm. The information wasn't very helpful.


Frustration was beginning to fight to be felt in a more demanding manner as he paced the room for a moment as he thought over his situation.


It is known that Juliet escaped this institute on her own in the past, so she should be able to do it again, but that was without his interference of already alarming the guards. She wouldn't know that they would be looking for someone under the impression that anyone in the halls would be an intruder. They could shoot her under a mistaken identity. He could A) take care of the guards for Juliet as she presumably escapes assuming she hasn't already or B) find her and ensure that she gets out without the necessity of assumptions over her safety.


Fuck, this was a pain in the ass. He didn't have time to be thinking about this.


With the decision of whoever he ran into first would be who he'd take care of, Raiden walked out of the room and made his way down the hallway. He tucked his shirt behind the gun that was being held under his belt for a quicker draw as he kept to walking beside a wall. His left hand was kept on the grip of the gun, and his right was kept up in preparation of a confrontation.


He was ambidextrous with a preference to a left dominance, but either way he could still manage pretty well with his current arrangement. Thin, white bandaging still covered both of his wrists from earlier in the week; they had been sprained pretty badly. Pain still lingered, but to hell if he wasn't about to get into fisticuffs if he needed to hence him holding up a fist and preparing to pull his gun on someone.


Before taking the final step to find himself at the end of the hallway, one last look behind himself was given. With no one behind him, he first looked to the left side of the hallway then to the right only to find the silhouette of a person against the wall.


Huh. It looks like his luck finally ran out.

 

[LoversLane]

Juliet was ready. She was ready for the oncoming battle for anyone who would cross her path in the next moment, she was ready to escape, and she was ready to find out the truth about her parents because within the confused pain in her heart, something did not feel right. Yet, it was too her own surprise that she was not ready for the man coming before her to not only appear as strong but to be more prepared.


But, it was her own surprise, the courage did not retract.


Like the blood coursing through her veins, the courage seeped within her heart and caused the fight within her to begin.


Juliet didn't hesitate. In one sweeping motion, she kicked him roughly in the shin to bring the towering man to her level, used her left hand to latch around his wrist and used her other hand to steal the gun, then shoved him to the floor. As she hurriedly took a shaking step away from him, her eyes scanned him for a moment longer then she should of. He looked familiar, but she was certain that couldn't be true. She would never associate with a man who looked as tough, bruised and beaten as he did. In addition, her parents would disapprove and she would always agree. As she realized there was no part of her that she should recognize him, Juliet decided to not speak on that behalf and because she was certain that her voice would shake if she spoke aloud. She allowed her index finger to rest on the trigger, before she lifted blankly above her.


The gun.


It resembled the gun her father had pictures with because he was apart of US Navy. As she averted her eyes straight ahead again, a sudden anxious thought cornered her to believing that he might know her father. With sudden worry and timidness, Juliet forced to stare blankly ahead and try to hold the gun steady.


Her hands weren't trembling terribly, but it was enough that she had to use both hands to grip the gun.


She grew aware that it could be the death of her to stand idle.


Never pushing the trigger before, Juliet would have to face life or death with a man that could be her biggest downfall or her greatest success on fleeing the Manhattan psych ward. As her thoughts collided horribly together, Juliet waited for a sudden movement, something, to ignite the fearlessness to flee and to never look back.

 

[gabrielle]

Raiden realized his fault as soon as he felt the pain of a kick burn through him with a sharp feeling, which made him well aware of the fact that a bruise would ensue. He had been expecting a punch to the face, not a kick to the shin. Turns out he only just so happened to remember having this happen once before seconds too late to do anything about it. With that being said, he was thrown off for a moment and wasn't exactly prepared for what would happen next. His split second of a recoil on top of his surprise was his second mistake. It left a vulnerable opportunity; it was one that was taken full advantage of.


Seconds hadn't even passed until he was being shoved to the floor and found himself unarmed. He made the attempt to grab onto the wall and catch himself, but the affects of time travel were still nagging at him. He wasn't exactly at his best physically despite taking a week to recover. There was no time to wait to get Juliet out of here; though, so that's why he made the decision to do this now instead of later. Too bad that he should have taken a few more days off.


Raiden couldn't catch his balance nor could he find a grip on the wall to avoid falling. He bit his tongue remained silent aside for a soft huff as he was met with the floor. Pain shot up both of his wrists, causing a grimace to cross his features. His teeth were clenched, a frown tugged at his lips, and his eyes were closed with his visible flinch.


Having his wrists already be in the state of being badly bruised and sprained, falling did not help his case in the slightest bit. Little to no time was taken for his recovery, though. He simply didn't have the time. It wasn't like he could just hang out in the middle of the hallway that he knew the guards would walk down soon as he just rubbed off the pain he was feeling. No, barely a handful of seconds had passed before he slid behind the opposite wall Juliet had been hiding behind. Lucky for him this means if gun fire rang out he'd be fine and have cover while he shot back, but unluckily for Juliet, that meant she'd get shot with her current position.


Wait... Fuck.


Sitting with his back against the wall and knees drawn up to his chest, Raiden finally looked up at Juliet as he rubbed at his sore wrists. Just as he'd expected, he was met with the sight of the barrel of his own forty-five.


Hold on, how does that one song go?


And I'm staring down the barrel of a forty-five, Swimming through the ashes of another life, No real reason to accept the way things have changed, Staring down the barrel of a forty-five.


He almost wanted to laugh with the memory of the song. This whole situation was absurd to him. He goes in with the intentions of saving this damn girl's life yet she manages to get him to submission within seconds and point his own gun in his face all while here he is thinking of a damn Shinedown song. At least the song was oddly fitting for his predicament.


Honestly, he couldn't help but have the slightest hint of a smirk cross his expression.


Maybe he should be a bit more concerned about this situation, but he's not. He knows how this ends. If this was the first time this was happening, of course he'd be more worried, but no, he knows Juliet doesn't shoot him. Actually, she's the one that gets shot, isn't she?


She is.


The anxiety that was previously taking hold in him as only small rippling in the waters of his temperament suddenly took course as crashing waves, slamming down onto the shore with roars of fear. He had come to the quick realization that this would not turn out how Juliet's first escape did. No. This would happen like the second time did; the time where he was there. His presence in this timeline alone was creating an anomaly, and the timeline was making do in compromising fixing itself. The way this originally was supposed to happen can't with him being here, so the timeline is going with how things would go when he is supposed to show up.


That means... Shit. Juliet is going to get shot tonight. If he can't save her in the end, he just managed to shorten her life. Wow.


"Juliet," He started, his soft voice breaking the dead of silence holding in the corridors; worry was starting to make it's beginnings in the expression he held. Raiden wasn't one to show much emotion physically to begin with, but his raised eyebrows were capable of telling enough.


"I'm here to help you. You don't..." He trailed off as he recalled this very moment. Those were just about the exact words he spoke last time. Words that were unconvincing and led to more that just wasted time up until the bangs of gun shots had the both of them flinching.


You don't have to shoot anyone. It was an ironic thing to say considering no less than a minute later they would be shot at.


Raiden didn't have time for words, but he had enough for actions. Forgive him for the brutality found in impatience, but we have more pressing concerns on the table even if Juliet hasn't realized that fact yet. She needed to lower than damn gun and find the cover she had earlier as far as he's concerned.


Having found some of his composure, Raiden went about standing once more. His movements were intentionally slow, and he kept his hands raised in a gesture of surrender. He was going to take the gun from her, and if he was lucky, neither of them would find themselves hurt. Knowing how this went down last time didn't really help with his confidence in that, but to hell if he was just going to wait here while looking straight at a gun up until Juliet gets shot.


"There are guards looking around this place," He started as he took his time in getting a bit closer to her. "So I really wouldn't shoot that gun if I were you. It'd have them running here in seconds."


He more or less held his gaze with her. Yes, he was looking at her, but he wasn't looking at her eyes. It was just that he couldn't bring himself to do so just yet; he'd have to fake it by looking at the space between her eyebrows for now.


It was just... This was incredibly unsettling to him. Here he has a friend back from the dead with the capability to kill him right here and now. It was an odd enough thing to imagine, but to actually witness it let alone go through it? Hopefully he could handle this for the most part. It was looking at her that he couldn't deal with for sure, though.


Anyways, he didn't drop his attention to the gun which was now inches away from his chest and raised hands. That'd just give away his intentions. He needed trust, and wasn't eye-contact supposed to really help with that? Well, he was kind of feigning it right now, but still. Just stopping and staring down a gun that's so close to him would be a bad. To him it's almost like saying aloud, "Hey, I'm going to do something stupid now like try to take that gun, okay?"


Ah, he's stalling way too much, and he knows exactly why that is. He's avoiding doing this, because he doesn't want to mess this up and get her killed. What if instead of in her arm, the bullet lands in her head because of his interference? Once you mess with the timeline, things don't always stay true to the original plan of things like he's already come to experience. This is Juliet's first escape, yet it's happening like her second one would. Her getting wounded could easily turn to her reaching death.


Okay, that's enough of that. Doubt and hesitance doesn't help anyone. He's here to help Juliet, right? Yeah. So if that includes doing this, then so be it. He's a capable man. He can do this quickly and quietly. He will get Juliet out of here and safely at that.


Ha. That pep talk did nothing for him. He was still doubtful and anxious. To hell with this.


With a sense of do or die urgency and motive, Raiden's hands were almost a blur as he went to grab her wrist and point it to the ground as he twisted, standing beside her in a crouched position. Immediately after, he put in the effort to try and force her elbow to bend. With this position, he could get the gun to point towards her even though she was still holding it. If she was smart, she'd let go once she realized that it was pointing towards her.


Kudos to her for being smart.


Once Juliet's grip on the gun faltered, Raiden took full advantage of that as he yanked it from her hands and pulled her behind the wall. He was sure to cover her as he did so, standing between her and where he knew the guards would be as he shot twice into the direction of the dim hallway. Shots were already being fired at them by the time Raiden was firing back. The two bullets Raiden spent didn't seem to hit anyone unlike the person on the other end. The shots were loud; they echoed through the halls with short series of bang, bang, ba-bang, bang.


A bullet grazed his left shoulder, biting through numbly as he'd gotten Juliet out of the way. Raiden didn't feel it at first let alone notice; he just shot once more before finding cover behind the wall beside Juliet. It was then that he felt something on his arm. Confused, he wasn't sure what was the wet feeling quickly spreading along his bicep. He had a short thought of did I just get shot? Looking for only a moment he found that yes, holy shit, I got hit.


"We need to run," He said to her, looking at the wall in front of them. His voice lacked the authority he'd prefer it to hold, but he just couldn't bring himself to have it. Shock, anxiety, and adrenaline were demanding his attention, leaving him unable to really concentrate on much aside for getting the hell out of here. He was becoming disoriented in the confusion found in the danger and speed of the situation, yet he still knew what needed to be done. They couldn't just sit here all day and wait for cops to show up.


Raiden took one last look past the wall and quickly moved back behind it as shots were directed towards him. Those who were shooting at them didn't seem too intent on walking over to where they were, which was a good thing on Raiden's part. They'd at least have a head start in running out. With that, he nodded towards Juliet in an unspoken gesture of c'mon. He barely knew the layout of this building, but even so, he ran down the hall.


"Do you know how to get to the kitchen from here?" He asked her as he kept moving, only slightly slowing down his pace. "All of the doors are locked, but there should be a emergency fire escape in there."

 

[LoversLane]

As Juliet's eyes lingered from the bruised man's wrist, she wondered about him easily. She wondered what had happened but she was aware the curiosity she had needed to stray away, because he was a good distraction to steer her away from her escape plan. As Juliet remained with her arm raised with her index finger raised over the trigger, her patience and time was running out.


When her name fell out of his mouth, Juliet felt a dreadful ache in her chest that only grew worse as more questions littered her already confusing mind. She didn't lower the gun, however, his slow deliberate moves were narrowing the distance between them, that soon she would need too or he might take it. Yet, for a moment longer then she should, she allowed herself to stare back in his eyes, trying to familiarize herself with this stranger. But her guard had fallen as quickly as the ache in her chest returned.


With his sudden charge to take away the gun, Juliet had faltered. She didn't have the strength too keep holding to the gun but another part of her, insisted, that she needed to attempt too trust him.


As the next shocking thing happened, Juliet felt the adrenaline coarse through her again. It all seemed to be a horrifying blur as she vaguely listened to the shots that rang, staring at the bruised man aiming right at the guards, and seeing the bullet graze his shoulder.


How did he know where the guards were to shoot them at? Why is he here? How does he know her?


Reluctantly, the questions she needed to ask would go unanswered for now.


She glanced at the bullet wound then at him, for a moment longer then she should have, before she noticed his signal to follow. As the bravery still remained to stay with her, Juliet nodded simply and continued running along side of him. She glanced back occasionally, in belief, they were being followed.


"I know a quicker way to get to there. But it would involve going through the vents," Juliet began carefully as she pointed to the one not too far from them. "But, it can be risky because the vent to the kitchen sometimes is locked apparently because..." Juliet wandered. They explained the reason they locked the vents at night were because of the other patients trying too flee, but since there weren't any patients, Juliet pursed her lips. "Let's go through the vents," Juliet stated frustratingly.

 

[gabrielle]

"I know a quicker way to get to there. It would involve going through the vents, but it can be risky. The vent to the kitchen sometimes is locked apparently because... Let's go through the vents."


Hearing her voice stirred feelings in him that he'd really rather not feel, causing a momentary falter in his focus. That hopeful feeling of oh, Juliet's alive! Only to stop and realize that no, she isn't. She's been dead for months, and this was just a different version of her. A version of her that doesn't know him. A version that hasn't spent the time he's spent with her. A version that's just as good as a stranger. It was like some sick joke taking that saying of how the ghosts of the people you used to know haunt you to a completely different level.


Pushing away that short bout of heartache, he listened to her intently despite having to multitask with watching both of their backs and running along the corridors. Curiosity nagged dully for only a moment as she'd trailed off on her sentence, but it was quickly pushed away. He had priorities to focus on rather than listless questions over something that is irrelevant. C'mon now, if it was important she would have finished the sentence, wouldn't have she? Then again, if it wasn't important, why did she mention it in the first place?


See what we're doing. Getting off topic with things that mean nothing. They need an escape plan, and fast. He recalled this happening before; they took too long on deciding what to do. The guards ended up losing their nerves and finally had gone out and followed Juliet and himself. Long story short they found them pretty quickly, and well, he ended up stuck hiding in another supply closet. Typically he has no problem with that. He's not too big of a guy, but it had been with Juliet. First of all the two of them had barely fit, and second of all, personal space is a thing, thanks. And that's exactly how they'll end up if they take too long discussing this, so as far as he's concerned, that's one thing Raiden would rather not relive.


"I don't want to take the chance of it being locked." Really, what use would it be if the two of them took all the trouble just to end up stuck? "And besides, my shoulders are probably too wide for that. You might fit, but I won't." Last he checked, vents weren't exactly made to be crawling around in, either. What if the weight of both of them had it breaking? The two of them together had to be at least over two-hundred and forty pounds. The risks really weren't worth it to him.


"You can go through the vents and go to the kitchen. Those guys will be back any second." He slowed down to a stop as he reached where she'd gestured towards. He crouched down in front of it and went about taking off the outlet of the vent. "I'll get the guards away from here and meet you back by the kitchen. If the vent is locked, just wait for me there even if you can unlock it yourself. Trust that I'll be back, okay?"


This timeline was beginning to become unpredictable to him, and to hell if that wasn't stressful. Take for example earlier: Juliet was supposed to get shot, but instead he was. How is he supposed to know how they'll end up if it's not going the same way? He's speaking as if he knows exactly what's going to happen: that he'll return, but the truth is that he doesn't know.


What if this has to do with being a double of himself? He is an anomaly in the timeline, and the timeline would try to correct itself before finding that all is lost and collapsing. It wouldn't be entirely out of the question to think that in order to correct itself, it's making it a point to make sure that only one of himself exists. Is the other version of himself being shot at right now because of this? Will he end up dead tonight, because everything that can go wrong will go wrong just because he is the problem here? Will things continue to go that way up until either he or the other version of himself ends up dead?


If that's the case, well, should he really be here with Juliet right now? She can manage just fine on her own, can't she? She made it out here alive the first time. Then again, the guards hadn't been running all over the place like they are now. That goes without mentioning how she ended up dead because of certain events where she had been alone... So either way, with or without him, she ends up dead.


Okay, this is a bad train of thought. That's enough.


"Here, I'll meet back with you later." He said as he finally got the outlet off and moved out of the way, gesturing towards the vent for Juliet. Really, he was trying to sound patient, but he couldn't keep the hint of anticipation finding itself to his tone. They'd be damned to hang out in a closet for a while if Juliet decides to argue like she did last time.

 

[LoversLane]

Juliet watched his anticipated gesture towards the vent, however, she was now reluctant and hesitant. While she was certain she was not familiar with this man, he knew her somehow. With that reason alone, Juliet decided to trust him slightly, enough to escape with him. Her hesitation stemmed from escaping through the vents due to him explaining the reason why he couldn't follow. Although she understood, she wouldn't leave him alone that easily. How could she simply take that chance of leaving him to defend himself when he might have all the answers towards her parents unresolved death and the only person who might know she even exists in the world?


Since her hospital stay, everything in her life seems rather temporary and nonexistent. The friends she's had, hasn't visited her or even called. In addition, her family members hasn't visited. It seemed as if, no one cared for her existence or knows about her existence. It seemingly felt, the moment her parent's tragic death, she was dead along with them. That bitter thought seemed to cause a huge painful lump in her throat and blurred her vision with tears, that she avoided his gaze and shook her head.


Within a minute, her frustration only grew as her she glanced above, watching him take the outlet from the vent and moved it aside. She slowly stared from the vent then to the bruised man with a skeptical gleam in her eye. She was aware that her eyes still looked watery, and she was not the person to ever display sadness in front of anyone but she needed too look at him, so he could see her frustration. Not wanting to argue, she crossed her arms and shook her head,"I don't want to argue about this. Let's just make this simple." Juliet paused, then looked around for another place they could hide for a moment. After not finding a good enough place, she looked at him again.


"Pick a place and we'll go there. But, we are doing this together. Like it or not, so, if we have to hide out for awhile, then let's do it." Juliet declared steadily, with a hint of urgency. She still had adrenaline coursing through her veins and felt within minutes, there would be someone lurking around and shooting them when they least expect it.

 

[gabrielle]

"I don't want to argue about this. Let's just make this simple. Pick a place, and we'll go there. We are doing this together, like it or not. So if we have to hide out for awhile, then let's do it."


Of course. Just. Of course she has to be difficult. If she doesn't want to argue, why isn't she just going with what he suggested? Does she not realize that he's the one that's here to help her? That they're already doing this together? Obviously the vents are the safest bet. It'd be stupid of her to tag along with him, the one that is being shot at. She should be able to put two and two together. Some random guy with a gun breaks in, and the guards are shooting at him? Does that really give off the greatest sense of safety? If he where her, he'd do his damnest to get away rather than follow.


And hell, she was even the one to suggest going through the vents! Why back out of your own idea? He just did not understand her logic, and now really wasn't the time for this dissension. A frustrated sigh sounded from him as he ran a hand through his hair, making his upset more apparent with his pensive frown and set jaw. He really can't change the past much, can he? Stuck in a supply closet with her can't be so bad the second time around, can it?


Oh, who is he kidding? He can't stand having people so close to him. This will be just as bad as the first time, especially considering the whole off-set feeling this déjà vu and ghosts of your past type of issue he's currently having. Let's not forget to mention that he just got shot, either, which does hurt (adrenaline has kept it mostly unnoticeable pain-wise, but once that wears off...) and is currently bleeding, mind you. This should be fun.


"Fuck, Juliet." He said quietly, more or less to himself as he crouched down to put the outlet on the floor. If he would've just tossed it, it would've attracted attention with the noise. He couldn't exactly stop and put it back to the vent, either. They didn't have the time. It would give the hint as to where they went, but that didn't really matter. No, not when blood was beginning to drip onto the tiles of the floor.


"We don't have time for this." He muttered, getting up and changing his direction to run down another hall. Why was she even asking him to pick a place? It's not like he knows the layout of this building like she does. The first time he was in here, he barely knew where things were. So take that into account on top of the fact that what he did know, he only vaguely remembered. She could probably find a better place than him in his opinion.


He slowed to a stop as he reached another walkway and stayed behind the cover of the wall he was beside. As expected, he was beginning to hear distant voices, and a careful look confirmed his suspicions that both of the guards were now walking the halls in their search. They'd walk down the walkway he and Juliet went down, see the vent, follow the blood trail, and walk past the closet he'd be hiding in with Juliet. Or that's at least what should happen, and what he's hoping for. This wasn't as clean of an escape as he was planning on, but at least this was something.


"There should a closet at the end of this hall on the right." He whispered to her, taking the gun he had in both of his hands once more. It was just a safety precaution per say, because hey, maybe those guys won't make that turn down the corridor after all. "Those guards will be over here pretty soon, so we can stay there until they make their way towards a different part of the building." He added, switching his hold on the gun to only his left hand as his right went over the wound that bullet had created. He really couldn't tell if the slight harshness of his breathing was from the running or the pain he was in.


It was beginning to demand attention now that he had put more of a notice towards the wound. It had only stung at first, yeah, but now it was all the more worse. The stinging was starting to move more towards a feeling best suited for the description of burning. He could feel pressure all along his left arm which was beginning to loose strength. Blood was starting to soak through the clothing he wore, leaving stains of deep red along his shoulder and arm. Like it was mentioned earlier, he was wearing a shirt along with two jackets; so it kind of gave him a hint that he was starting to loose more blood than what he should be with the way it was starting to show.


See, he could feel the affects too, but up until now he'd pinned his fast heart rate on the situation, not his health. Yet with the coldness, irritability, and slight feeling of daze he was beginning to notice pointed towards the affects of blood loss. He could guess that he was starting to look a bit pale, too. That just has to look attractive, yeah? Ha.


With an apprehensive lick of his lips, he took another glance past the wall. He saw a glimpse of the second guard walk down the hallway, and with that, Raiden took off running once more. As he ran, the gun was put back under his belt; it was really in the way with all of this running. He made sure to move at a faster pace, hoping that Juliet could keep up. The guards were literally yards away from reaching the end of the hall they were walking through and seeing the two of them running down this one. They really didn't have the time to just keep a comfortable jog, no.


As they approached the doors that lined the hall, Raiden slowed down his pace and tried opening the doors on the right. They were all locked, and each failed attempt of opening a door was met with a curse under his breath. It took several tries until he was throwing one open, coming face to face with quite a small, crowed space of cleaning supplies.


He hates this closet. He really, really hates this place, okay?


"Go in there. I'll be back in a minute." He said to her with a nod and a tone that he hoped would be taken as not accepting of any arguments. He continued down the hall and removed his hand from his shoulder, purposefully flicking blood onto the tiles to create a false trail down a separate hallway. With one last smear on the corner of the next hall, he was running back towards the closet. His lack of contentment with this arrangement was painfully apparent as he ducked under the low shelf and went to shut the door.

 

[LoversLane]

During the bruised man's frustration threatening to escape all the while running aimlessly together down the hall in search for a hide away, Juliet's glanced timidly at him.


"There should be a closet at the end of this hall, on the right,"


Stunned, Juliet wondered about how much he knew of the Manhattan Psychward. Her mind wavered in between him being a patient at one moment or someone who had escaped like her. In belief she needed to ask the questions later, Juliet had stood beside him, her eyes glancing to every dark corner and behind her consistently until he had took off in a quick run. She didn't lingered, not once, she stayed beside him. In belief they were going to run down the hall and push through the door, she had stopped hard, nearly colliding with the wall beside her. When he commanded her too go inside the supply closet, Juliet's sharp tone almost lashed out.


As soon as she slid inside the supply closet, Juliet was immediately grateful. It gave her a moment to gather her thoughts, manage her breathing, and attempt to steady her trembling hands. She worried she would no longer feel brave or appear brave. Since the supply closet was drastically small, they were confined close enough that at least one part of their body would touch. For a minute, she let the silence invade her while she attempted to keep any part of her body from accidentally touching his.


His shoulder. Juliet suddenly felt selfish for allowing a minute to pass without giving the help he needs. The supply closet held first aid kits which was something the bruised man needed badly. She hesitantly looked at his shoulder before turning to avoid touching him again, while she started to search for the first aid kit.


"There is a first aid kit somewhere around here. Maybe, we could put some gauze around it?" Juliet suggested quietly, wondering if it was noticeable she had no plan on how to stop the bleeding entirely. While she had no clue on how to help him, she was eager to try too.

 

[gabrielle]

He was sure to close the door quietly and lock it. The last thing they needed was this door opening just to give a show of one hell of a nice gun. Ha, this whole love of weapons thing he has going is pretty conflicting sometimes. It can definitely be a bit odd to have a passion for something that could easily kill you. Is this how firefighters feel? Okay, yeah, that's enough of that. This is irrelevant.


Anyways, Raiden sat in the corner opposite of Juliet with his back to the wall and his knees drawn up to his chest. The shelves were too low to be able to stand; he'd end up in an awkward and uncomfortable position should he not sit as he is now. And hey, they'll be here for a short while, so why not get comfortable? Hm, maybe because there are people out looking to kill him right now, but who's worried about that? Not him, he says, but his shaking hands say otherwise.


The lighting was incredibly dim; he could only make out the outline of Juliet. The small amount of light that was filtering through the bottom of the door helped in making out more details of her face, but over all he still wasn't necessarily able to see much of anything. Not that he was complaining, either. It was just plain weird seeing her around again with the last time he saw her face being in a morgue, pale and lifeless. Quite frankly, all of this was bringing up the worst of memories.


In his opinion the best thing to do here was to focus on something other than Juliet as counter-productive as that sounds, but really, hear him out here. It was a bit emotionally distressing to be around her right now to say the absolute least. It's not like he's that man of steel stereotype society likes to show. No, despite not really appreciating it, this guy has feelings, okay? That's probably the most sappy thing he's admitted to himself all day. Ha.


Despite as much as he wanted and needed to be alone right now, it was just about impossible to convince himself that there wasn't anyone beside him. C'mon now, you can't except him to be this close to Juliet without being able to feel the heat of her even though they aren't touching. Hell, if he weren't so tense right now, their arms would probably be brushing against each other.


If anything, he knew he didn't want to touched. Those natural painkillers of his were starting to wear off, and second by second the pain he felt was worsening. It burned like holy hell and knives being stabbed into him; and imagine even worse than that. It's not like he'd die because of this, but damn, did it hurt. The worst that would probably happen would be him fainting because of the pain, blood loss, or shock. He seriously doubted that would happen, though.


"There is a first aid kit somewhere around here. Maybe, we could put some gauze around it?"


"Be careful to not knock over anything." He mentioned first before replying to her suggestion. They really didn't need her accidentally hitting something and making too much noise. Their whispering alone was too loud, and the sound of something crashing to the ground? Now that's just asking to get found out.


"And we can if you find any." He finally replied, moving to take off the coat and jacket that he wore underneath it. It was awkward doing so in such a small space, and a sharp intake of breath could be heard if you were paying close enough attention as he moved his left arm.


Of course it was best to stay still, because that could have reopened any of what had started to close. To hell with that, though. What was it worth if he ended up getting an infection or something? Raiden knew a thing or two about first-aid having taken a first-respond class a few years ago, and the gauze would at least help prevent infection and stop the bleeding. More than anything, he needed to put pressure to it. It'll be a bitch pain-wise, but it's necessary. He's already having trouble with having lost too much blood; he didn't need to lose anymore.


"You haven't asked me my name yet," He started as he put the two jackets he had over his legs. Hey, he was just one of those people who were naturally more prone to feeling cold, and being in Manhattan of all places let alone half covered in blood at that really wasn't helping his case. "It's Raiden." It's only fair if he tells her his name if he knows her's, right? He could figure that she doesn't remember his like the last time they went through this, and it's not like a name was something he needed to hide. And if she was intent on staying by his side (which she actually needed to do in his opinion), why not share it?


With his jackets off, he took off half of his shirt to where the long sleeve of it wouldn't get in the way of tending to where the bullet went. This wasn't the best for his decency, but this needed to be done. Again, he couldn't just let himself bleed, no. Too bad if she has a problem with this; it's not like there was really any light to be able to tell, anyways. If he doesn't have a problem with it, then she shouldn't either, yeah?


Not having much of anything else, he took a rag that seemed to be clean for the most part and held it to the wound on his shoulder with pressure behind it. Again, there was barely audible sound of discomfort from him, but he did it anyways, biting his lip as he did so. This will have to do for now, at least.

 

[LoversLane]

As Juliet worked to search through numerous amount of dusty packed boxes, she did not want too speak although she knew she needed too. She had questions that needed answering. She continued rummaging through the piles, as she distantly listened too his warning. Frustration passed throughout her again, as he warned her to be careful. She's always lived her life by being careful until this moment. It was a small matter that didn't truly deal with him, that she forced the frustration away. Once Juliet came across the first aid kit, a relieved sigh escaped her lips as she opened the box. She turned around to face him.


"Raiden?" Juliet questioned lowly, studying his features for any sense of recollection. Her previous years were hazy, and only coming up with an empty slate. She welcomed the silence invading them, that allowed her to gather her thoughts while taking the gauze, ibuprofen, and scissors from the box. Not knowing what to do, she decided to pretend. She grabbed scissors, cloth, and cut a fragment of the gauze, and walked towards him.


"You must know me from my parents," Juliet theorized lightly, despite the hard lump returning in her throat. She refused to choke on her words or let the sadness engulf her from her theory. Don't think, just do.


"I mean, they are," She corrected sharply,"Were," She cleared her throat as she gently used the cloth to wipe around the surrounding wound. "Sort of famous, I guess. We were always being talked about. My mother was neurosurgeon, but got recognized for her work even more after working on this one celebrities child and cured 'em for life." Juliet paused briefly,"And my father was an accountant for celebrities, but he took in regular clients." She paused again, not allowing him to speak. "So, you..knew me from my parent's, yeah?"


Juliet's tone was light and conversational, but her hope was becoming demanding. She hoped her parents were alive and well, on how she's heard from the nurses and lawyers. Something was terribly wrong and in her strong belief of her needing to seek the truth about her parents strange death, she needed to learn the reason for the Manhattan Psych ward to still be running with it's callous doctors, nurses, and environment.

 

[gabrielle]

As she'd spoken his name he glanced up towards her, his eyes questioningly before glancing towards what she had in hand. Despite her gentleness with the cloth, the discomfort he felt burned with doubled intensity. His eyes were soon shut as if that'd help distract him from the demanding pain of it, but obviously, it didn't. If one thing was helpful in this situation it would have to be the low lighting hopefully keeping Juliet seeing the prominent look of pain that crossed over his features.


He listened to her apparent rambling silently, feeling the beginnings of pity for the girl. It was one thing to have to tell her the truth over her situation one time, but for a second? He wasn't sure that he could to that to her again. Was that selfish? With a blurred line making him unsure whether he was wanting to refrain from sharing what he knew for his own sake or for Juliet's, it was hard to say who's benefit he was looking out for here. Ah, this was a pain to deal with.


"So, you... knew me from my parent's, yeah?"


Raiden didn't reply immediately, his silence hanging in the air as he thought over his words. In certain way she was right, but it'd be a lie to agree with her assumption. He'd heard of her parents giving up their child and following after he'd made it a point to get to know her himself. So it wasn't that there were any parental figures introducing them to each other, no. Raiden had done that by himself on his own accord. He didn't go and approach her the first time out of some star-struck awe of who the girl's parents were. Quite frankly, he couldn't care less about who she had been born to. They were about as irrelevant as Raiden's own mother and father, but let's not get into that. This was about Juliet; his childhood had no part to put into this.


"I guess you could say that..." He started noncommittally followed by a shortly lived silence as he searched for better words. "But I know you, Juliet. Not your parents." He spoke with his voice softer than it already was, almost as if the gentleness of his tone would pacify her into not asking any more questions. The answers to anything that she would ask him were things that now certainly wasn't the time for. They had bigger concerns here such as the two guys with guns looking for the two of them right now. Those muddled thoughts and feelings that Raiden could assume Juliet was currently going though could come later as far as he's concerned.

 

[LoversLane]

Juliet was expecting a reliable answer to escape from his lips, her heart to swell, and everything to quickly feel right again. When the silence lingered for a moment longer then it should have, she averted her eyes back to his wound and pondered the possibility of taking him to a hospital when they escaped. When he finally answered and didn't meet her expectation, disappointment surpassed through her and she hoped it didn't appear on her face. She nodded slightly, attempting to disregard her own expectation and free herself from the sudden ache in her chest again, that ached when he had said her name.


"Oh," Juliet voice was quiet and low. It wasn't because of the fear of talking could take them out of the perfect hiding spot. It wasn't because there were two men searching for them. It wasn't because she was trapped in the supply closet of a man she didn't know although he knew of her. It was the simple fact, this conversation was leading her into more isolation, frustration, and confusion as she was well aware of speaking about it with him would have too wait. Her answers wouldn't be found here, considering, it wasn't the time too start finding them. With the sadness and frustration taking it's toll on her, she raised her eyebrow timidly.


"You think we can head out now?" Juliet asked, leaning back against the wall. Since it was a tiny space, if she moved in the slightest something was bound to fall unless Raiden stood to leave first. She hoped it was clear enough because Juliet was starting to feel extremely uneasy with the confinement and wanted to flee desperately again.