Pain

Ryder's eyes flutter open then shut again, hearing Katie's voice. He moves his hand, grasping Katie's arm as a surge of pain hits him.

Seeing Ryder, Jason's heart leaps into his throat. "Carson, what happened?"

"Family feud." Carson makes eye contact with Katie and nods before he kneels next to Ryder, checking the wound under the handkerchief. "Not fatal if we can get him out of here, but it's not good either. This was too close for comfort."

Ryder cringes a little, wavering between unconsciousness and reality. "Brian..."

"Forget it, mate," Carson advises. "He's gone."

"No!" Ryder suddenly shoots up and tries to get to his feet as he remembers what happened, scrambling towards his brother, but Carson stops him.

"We're getting out of here," he orders sternly.

"No!" Ryder screams as he fights Carson's strong arms. "We can't leave him to die!"

Carson's heart aches, but he stays strong, pushing Ryder back the other direction. "He's already gone, Ryder. He's gone." He looks to Katie again. "Take the lead to the stairs. We'll get him out of here, don't worry."

Emotions flood Ryder's eyes as he's pushed backward, Brian's body becoming smaller and smaller, the farther they got away. But by the time they reached the end of the corridor and had slipped around to the stairway, the pain in his arm and the loss of blood was already making him too weak to fight. Now slung between Carson and Jason, Ryder walks numbly, trying to stay conscious.