Mindi stopped just before they reached the group of people around Brian. She turned to A.J. "Try your best to stay calm. It's really hard to deal with non-psychics, so everyone here is wide open, trying their best to stay in contact with Brian. If you start freaking out, you'll mess them all up."
A.J. swallowed then nodded. "Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm," he chanted mentally. A few people moved out of their way, and he stepped closer.
Brian was a mess. He looked worse than he'd ever looked in hospital for his heart surgery. Then he'd looked pale, a little bloated, hooked up to several monitors. Scary, but controlled. Now, he was just as pale, but nowhere near as neat and clean. Worse, he was peppered with bruises, and there was dark blood all over the t-shirt and boxers he'd been wearing in his bunk.
A.J. felt Mindi's hand on his shoulder. He gulped. Staying calm was even harder than he'd thought it would be.
"Bone?" The voice was whispery but it was definitely Brian speaking.
"I'm here, bro." A.J. reassured him.
"It doesn't hurt. It looks real bad, and I'm terrified and all... but it don't hurt." He sounded confused by this. "What's..." he paused to cough. "What's goin' on?"
"They're gonna take care of you, B-rok." Mindi supplied gently. "I know it's a little weird, but these guys are gonna get you back in shape, k?"
"Where's Nick? I... I thought I heard him, once." Brian's features twisted in worry. "He's ok, right?"
Mindi turned away quickly, and A.J. had to fight to control his panic. "He's... he's helping the others."
"Can you... I wanna see him." A.J. bit his lip, having no clue what to answer.
Nick supplied an answer for both of them. His voice rang in both their minds. "I'm here Frick, just like I said. Don't worry about me. Just concentrate on getting better."
"O...k." Brian sounded sleepy. Someone put a hand on his forehead, and his eyelids fluttered closed. Before A.J. had time to worry, Mindi hauled him away.
"He's asleep," she explained brusquely, still walking. "It's hell of a lot easier dealing with non-psychics when they're dreaming. Less barriers."
"Honestly, Lina." Nick's voice sounded again, a little tired, but teasing. "What kind of rescue mission is this, you can't even get one guy to sleep without my help?"
"Nick?" A.J. said to the air, hoping Nick could hear him. "You okay?"
"I'm more worried about D. I could use a hand, bro."
"Me???"
"Yeah you." He found himself face to face with the woman Mindi had identified as Lina. "Have a seat."
"I can explain to him, Lina."
"Bite me, Nick. Try working on Kevin for a few minutes. It's less a waste of your time. I want you *out* of there." It was very weird hearing her speak without seeing her lips move. Lina seemed to realise this and switched back to vocalising.
"Short version, Alex. Nick's having trouble getting Howie to wake up. If we can't wake him, it becomes about fifty times harder to get him out. Nick needs you to provide some outside stimulus."
"Uh huh." he stared at her, totally lost.
"Tell me when you start understanding something," she told him, sounding a little bitter. Mindi shot her a look. "Sorry. I'm... I don't have a lot of patience right now." She pushed her glasses up a little. "Ok. Nick's what we call a conduit. He's really good at connecting things; channelling energies, connecting a psychic to a non-psychic, connecting a non-psychic to an unconscious non-psychic."
"Me and Howie?"
Lina nodded. "Right. Basically, he's going to see if he can get Howie to hear you. He wants you to sing, or something."
"He's closer... why can't he..." The look on Lina's face told him he didn't want to know the answer, but he finished the question anyway. "Why can't he sing, or.. shake him or something?"
"He can't move." She closed her eyes, "As far as we can tell he's losing blood, he's in a lot of pain... and we think his spinal cord is damaged. He's fine, mentally, but physically... A.J. just do it. I need him out of there, but he won't leave until everyone else is safe."
A.J. collapsed into the chair Lina had offered him earlier. "If he's... he's awake. They're not. How bad..."
"The fact that he's conscious means nothing, except there's no brain damage. Other than the bus driver, who's dead, he's the worst off. Even the fact he can't wake Howie might have more to do with his own lack of energy than Howie's condition." Her tone was brisk and professional but tears were running freely down Lina's cheeks. "I'm feeding him all the energy I can, but there's a limit..."
"NICK!" A.J. roared.
"No need to yell, Bone. I hear ya."
"Nick, get your ass out of there."
"No. Now, hang on while I try D again."