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They hurried out of the library, avoiding the dirty looks they got from the other patrons as their phone rang loudly. They cursed themself for not putting it on silence before entering.
They didn't even get a chance to say 'hello' when Phyllis's panicked voice came through from the other side.
"Reed!! It's Jersey! He's hurt! Real bad!"
"What?! Okay, calm down! How hurt?"
"He's unconscious! I can't get him to wake up!" Phyllis choked, "Oh god I think he's dead!"
"Phyllis, I need you to calm down, okay?" Reed hurried to the parking lot and fumbled for their keys, "I need you to do me a favor, okay? Can you check his eyes?"
"What?"
"Check his eyes! Are they dilated?"
"Uh... one is."
"Okay, sounds like he might have a concussion. Can you tell me what happened? Where are you guys?"
"At the junkyard. We were patrolling and saw some of Knarfs guys coming in. One of them grabbed him by the tail and swung him around and slammed him repeatedly into the ground!"
"Christ..." Reed bit their lip as they started their car, "Okay, Phyllis, stay on the line, okay? I'm going to get you guys. Can you tell if he's breathing?"
"Uh... yeah! Yeah he is!"
"Okay, and his heart rate? How is it?"
"What? How am I supposed to tell?!"
"Find his pulse," They said calmly, driving down the road, "You should find one on the nape of his neck."
"Okay... Okay, I think I got one."
"Great!" They breathed out, "Is it fast? Slow?"
"Uh... in between?"
"Okay, good. Okay Phyllis, I am fifteen minutes out. I need you to keep his head still, okay? Can you do that?"
"Yeah, I can."
"Okay, and make sure he doesn't move around too much! Too much movement will make it worse! If he wakes up, make sure he remains calm."
"Oh my god!"
"What?! Phyllis?!"
"He's shaking! No! He's jerking around! Jersey stop! Hold still!"
"Shit," Reed cursed, "Phyllis it sounds like he's having a seizure. I didn't think he got those..." They pushed aside the panic, "Okay, Phylis, calm down, okay?"
"How do I make it stop?"
"You don't. Listen, I need you to roll him onto his side, okay?"
"You told me not to move him!"
"Clearly the situation has changed! Roll him over on his damn side!"
The other side was silent save for the muffled sounds of Phyllis moving before she picked up the phone, "Okay..."
"Make sure his neck tie isn't constricting anything, okay? We need to make sure his breathing is unobstructed."
"Okay, I took it off, now what?"
"Time it. If it lasts longer than five minutes, tell me. I'm almost there."
"He's stopping. What do I do now."
"Nothing. Just keep him like that until I get there, okay? How are you? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"No... No I don't think so."
"Good. Okay," They turned a corner and parked right outside the junkyards gate, "I'm at the gate. I'll find you guys."
They grabbed some metal poles and an old bed sheet as they hurried along the open path, finding Phyllis and Jersey right in the middle.
Seeing Jersey in this state made them feel sick to their stomach.
"Reed!" Phyllis shut her phone, "Thank god!"
"How is he?" They knelt down and started checking his vitals, "Did he start seizing again?"
"No. He didn't."
Jersey groaned, pushing himself up.
"Woah woah woah, don't do that, Jersey," Reed said sternly, "Lie back down."
"I'm fine..."
"You're not fine, dude!" Phyllis snapped.
Reed shushed her, before turning back to Jersey, "Jersey you had a seizure."
"I-" He paused, "What?"
"Just lie back down, okay?" Reed laid out the poles and sheet, tying the corners to make a makeshift stretcher, "Okay. Phyllis help me get him on. Carefully."
They both carefully laid him on the stretcher. Once he was secure, Reed took one end and instructed Phyllis to take the other, carefully lifting him up and carrying him to Reeds car.
---
Jersey was laid down on his bed, an ice pack fixed to the top of his head, "I don't need supervision, you know."
"After what happened?" Reed crossed their arms, "You could have another seizure. You were hit pretty bad."
"Did she stop them?"
"Who? The vegetables? No she was busy trying to make sure you were okay!"
"Then they're still out there!" Jersey shot up, "Who knows what Knarf is planning?!"
"Lay down!" Reed snapped.
Jersey did not hesitate to comply.
"Look," Reed sighed, "I get it. This is a... huge loss for you. You've never been beaten this bad before. But Jersey," Reed walked over to fix the ice pack, "You've been seriously hurt. You need to rest."
"I don't think I know how," He grumbled, "Not like this."
"Well, you're going to need to learn," Reed pulled up the blanket, "Because you're not getting up until I say you can."
Jersey rolled his eyes, immediately regretting it when the world suddenly started spinning, "How long will that be?"
Reed was silent.
"Reed," Jersey said sternly, "How long will that be?"
"I don't know..."