The next day Lance had woken up to find a slip of paper under the door noticing it was most likely the person who attacked them and most likely stalked him the other day. It made him dizzy thinking about it.
What would they want? He became embarrassed realizing he was dressed in a hospital gown and laying face up in bed. He quickly sat up and slid out of it, ignoring the stabbing pain in his side as he shifted uncomfortably.
He picked up his discarded clothes and walked into the shower. As soon as he stepped out, he saw a piece of paper again sitting on the counter.
"There was someone before Zari..." He read the note as he threw on his clothes.
When he finished reading, Lance went into the bathroom and locked the door, knowing that Zari wouldn't be able to get in there without being seen.After changing into a pair of sweats, Lance opened the bathroom door and peeked out, making sure Zari was nowhere in sight.
He pulled the crumpled slip of paper out of his pocket and began to read it again. Lance furrowed his eyebrows. Why would someone write that? Who was there before Zari? How did they get in? Did they follow Zari and attack him?
Lance decided to push the window open examining the height of the hospital building. It wasn't too far. Maybe it was worth a try. At this point though, he doubted he would succeed. Lance was exhausted and hungry. His injuries hurt and he wasn't in any condition to do much more than stumble around aimlessly. Even then, he knew he wouldn't be able to accomplish much if he did manage to escape.
So that left the window as his last hope. Lance ran his fingers through his tangled wet hair getting ready to jump out of the window and hopefully fall flat on his face. He winced as a sharp pain suddenly radiated throughout his right shoulder blade.
Shifting his position he noticed he was still bleeding from yesterday's fight and now looked like quite the mess. But that didn't matter to Lance anymore. He couldn't sit around and wait for someone else to heal him when he could have done something to help himself. He didn't have much time to waste.
He limped to the address on the slip of paper, carefully balancing on his good foot, wincing and gritting his teeth at every sudden movement of his injured side. He was determined to make this work. He wasn't sure if it was possible - but he had a lot riding on it.
"Please be okay!" He whispered.
He held onto the window frame for support as he jumped, letting out a small scream as he landed painfully upon his feet. His muscles screamed as he forced himself to walk forward, wincing as he limped his way through to hide behind a nearby car.
Lance scanned the parking lot, looking for anyone who might see him. When he didn't find anyone Lance let out a sigh of relief and leaned against one of the cars to catch his breath. Once the pain settled down enough he stood up straight and examined his surroundings once more, checking out any buildings or signs of activity.
Everything seemed perfectly normal and no one looked suspicious. Lance relaxed just a little bit as he continued walking in the direction indicated on the paper. The farther he got away from the hospital the better. He wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
There were two things that were bothering him. Firstly, whoever wrote those notes obviously knew him. That didn't mean anything because it could've been anyone, really. Second, what the heck was he doing jumping off the hospital roof?
He tried to think back to yesterday's events, hoping that maybe he was dreaming or seeing things. Reading signs to his destination, Lance found himself in front of an apartment complex with apartments numbered 3, 4 and 5.
The teen knocked on the door that read 4 and was relieved to hear footsteps approach. Moments later it swung open revealing a shadowed figure. Before Lance could say anything the other man spoke.
"You should probably come inside." A familiar voice said.
Lance followed the man inside and watched curiously as the man closed the door. Suddenly Lance noticed how pale the man's face seemed, how tired he looked. This must've been some kind of dream.
He decided to not display his weakness , trying his best not to show how hard it was for him to stand. He needed this guy to understand where he was coming from.
"What do you want from me?" Lance asked.
He didn't realize how hoarse his voice sounded. "Is this going to be a game to you?" Lance questioned bitterly.
The taller man sighed.
"Look, I'm sorry for what happened last night. You have every right to be mad at me, after all that I did to you."
He replied, looking down at the floor. Lance felt anger stir within him at those words. Of course Lance was mad! The man came out of the darkness revealing his face, the collar came back to his mind.
The image of him being beaten flashed across his vision causing Lance to feel sick to his stomach.
"And don't worry, I don't expect anything else from you right now. All I need you to do is remember, Lance!" He snapped his head up when he heard his name being called. The man stared at him, expecting some sort of response but received only silence.
A deep sigh escaped the taller mans lips and he turned away from Lance walking towards a corner of the room.
"Just stay here. I'll send food by soon." He stated calmly, "You are hungry right?"
He silently nodded and watched the tall figure as the mysterious man left the room leaving Lance alone in the dark apartment. His entire body hurt, he was exhausted, sore, hungry, and thirsty. All of his belongings were gone except his phone.