Kuza was never much of a restless sleeper before. He would have to get up once or twice a night to take more pain meds but other than that, he nearly never moved. Now, as he rested with his head on my stomach, he was whimpering and shaking in his sleep. He needed sleep so badly that I didn't want to wake him. It was still so hard to sit through. He was once such a strong man... What the fuck happened to him?

I'm not sure how long it took. Time was misplaced for me. Maybe it was about two hours? Regardless, Ricky did eventually come back. He brought Chris with him. He was rather distraught to see what's become of Kuza. After a few visits, I've gotten used to it. It's not an easy sight to take in at first.

"They've agreed to let him out of here for medical treatment, but Ryan has to be the one to treat him. They didn't want to, quote, 'waste the nurses time' with it." Ricky said, rolling his eyes towards the end. "I've got a meeting to get to. I brought Chris to help you move him."

I sat up slowly, redirecting Kuza's head to my lap. He barely stirred and remained asleep. "Thank you so much." I quietly responded, "I'd rather Ryan treated him anyways."

"I figured as much. He won't kick you out of the room like the nurses would." Ricky leaned over me and gently kissed the top of my head, "Text me if you need anything else. Don't hesitate to ask."

"Okay." I muttered.

Ricky showed himself out. He's trying to hard but I don't want a repeat of last time. What if this thing gets hold of him again? I can't hurt Ricky if I still love him. I'm scared the only way this could end is in death. Besides, I've put most my focus into loving Kuza right now. He needs it more. The poor thing is being tortured by an evil spirit.

"Kiss ass." Chris muttered after Ricky left the room.

"It wasn't his fault, what happened. It's a long story." I petted Kuza's hair softly, further running my hand down his arm. "Mike, Baby, wake up for me. Sweetie," I leaned down and kissed his cheek, "Wake up."

He turned over and groaned. He's so adorable sometimes. I felt like a mother trying to pull their child out of bed for school. Kuza took a minute to wake up. He reached his hands to his eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them. Now that he's actually gotten some sleep and had some time away from his tormentor, he seemed to be a little bit happy.

"What's wrong with his chest?" Chris asked as he knelt down.

"We don't know. That's why he needs help." I responded, "Baby, we're just going to take you down to Ryan's lab. You can go back to sleep once we get there. Okay?"

He nodded the best he could, "Okay."

Kuza has always been someone that's had a lot to say. Ever since what happened, he rarely uses his words like he used to. It's like talking to a mental patient. He'll agree to anything I say and he doesn't fight people like he used to. He's lost his spunk. I know it's still in there. I've just got to help him get it back.

He managed to sit up but I knew that probably wouldn't last for long. His energy is beyond spent. Kuza is running on fumes right now and I can't afford to let him burn out. I love him too damn much for that. This hurt Chris to see him this way, I could tell. These two grew up together. They've never known life without one another. They were closer than even brothers. It broke Chris' heart to see him like this.

"Do you think you can walk?" Chris asked him.

Kuza thought about it for a moment. "With help, yeah."

"Alright. Between the two of us, we should be fine to support his weight, but let me know if it gets to be too much on you." He said.

"Don't worry about me. Just worry about him." I replied.

Chris brought Kuza's arm over his shoulder and helped him to his feet. He stumbled a bit, falling into Chris. "It's okay. Just take it slow." He told him.

I stood up myself and stretched out a little. It's been awhile since I've had to sleep on a hard floor. Forgot how much that hurts. I gently set my hand on the side of his face and gave him a kiss. It seems to help him feel more himself when I kiss him. He gently smiled as I pulled away.

"Take all the time you need. We have nowhere else to be right now. You're our main priority." I said.

"I'll carry him. You just walk along side us to catch him if he falls." Chris replied, "I hope Ryan can help him."

"I think just getting him out of this room will be a big help. That and getting him an actual bed and a real meal." I responded.

This was going to be a painful journey. Ryan's lab was at least in this wing of the facility but it was on the other side. We have to go through the main part of the hold to get to it too. All those rowdy inmates yelling is going to hurt his head. Not to mention the things they yell at me will upset him. Let's just hope we can get through that part as quickly as possible.

Once we actually got going, he was doing fine. He just had a rough start. I held open the doors for them as we reached the part I feared the most. Through the next two doors is where the lab is, but there's a lot of cells between here and there. Half of these inmates weren't in their right minds. They'd run up against the bars of their cells, laughing like fucking maniacs. All the chaos was getting to him. He started to moan and grab his head.

"It's okay, Baby. We're almost there." I reassured him and began to walk in front of him, "Just focus on me." An inmate to our right pulled at shackles keeping him to the wall, screaming wildly. To our left, a gang member on death row started to talk about defiling me. I grabbed Kuza's face and forced him to look forward. "Look at me, just me. Don't look at them."

He stumbled a bit and almost fell. Chris and I both caught him quickly. For a mind that was all alone for two weeks, this was way too much stimulation. Kuza's eyes welled and he whispered to me, "My head hurts."

"I know, Baby. I know. We're almost there." I replied.

The door was miraculously only a few feet away. I swiped my key card but it wasn't working. Chris pulled his from his pocket and offered it to me. It failed too. I know Ryan would never deny us access to his lab. He must've reprogrammed the reader after what happened. Too many people had access by now. Though I didn't want to do it for the sake of Mike's headache, I banged on the door. Then I looked up at the security camera posted about it as I heard it move to face us.

"Open the goddamn door." I scoffed. The mechanisms turned for a moment and it finally popped open. "Thank you."

I opened the door and held it for the other two. Just getting into this corridor cut down on the noise immensely. It was a huge relief for me. I can't imagine how Kuza felt. While we waited on the second door to open, I comforted him by giving him more kisses.

"Devin," He whispered, "I smell death."

Before I had a chance to ask him what he meant, the door opened. Ryan can walk decently after the accident. He wasn't paralyzed but it's painful for him to put weight on the side of his body that he was shot. Because of that, he's been using a walking cane to get around. He held onto it with one hand, holding the door with the other.

Ryan looked over Kuza with worry. It wasn't just worry; it was shock. It's pretty damn hard to shock him. I grabbed the door from him since it was obvious he wasn't keeping it up very well. Chris helped Kuza in. Once they were out of the way, Reese left, pushing a cart with her. It was the size of a body and had a white sheet pulled over it. Kuza wasn't lying when he said he smelled death. He's starting to scare me more and more each day.

"Lay him down over there." Ryan spoke and pointed towards a bed in the corner.

"Who was the body?" I asked, shutting the door.

"A lot of lost progress." He responded plainly, "He had a very, very rare disease that's incurable. I was starting to find a cure but when I was in the hospital, he wasn't getting his treatment. He went too long without it and died. A lot of my cases are fucked up from me being gone so long."

"I have a feeling it worked out that way for a reason. You're going to need all the time you can get to work on Kuza." I said, "Is it alright if I stay here with him?"

He sighed as he looked over the edge of the bed, "I suppose. Just try your best to get along with Reese while you're here. When was the last time he ate or slept?"

"He got about two hours sleep before we brought him here. Before that, it had probably been days. He hasn't eaten for about a week."

"Where was the last time you got some sleep?" Chris asked me, "I know you didn't fall asleep last night."

"I got an hour or two in." I replied.

Ryan unlocked the rail on the side of Kuza's bed and pulled it down. "Lay down with him. You both need the sleep, and it's been proven that it can be healing to rest with someone you love. Sounds like bullshit to me but who am I to argue with science?" He moved over to a table full of medical supplies, "I've got some paperwork to get done anyways."

"And I have an angel to go sweep off his feet. Angelo gets back from that mission tonight." Chris said.

I smiled softly, "Enjoy having him back. Thank you for everything."

He returned with a smile as gentle as my own, "Of course."

Chris slipped out the door. I don't know what I would've done without his help. Between him comforting me at night to him helping me with Kuza, he's been the only one getting me through this. Kuza was shockingly still awake. If I hadn't seen a real bed in two weeks, I'd be out like a light. It was still a hospital bed, and an old fashioned one at that, but it was a bed.

I very gently sat down next to him and laid down. He managed a little grin as I snuggled up to him. Kuza fell back asleep before Ryan even made his way over here. He used cotton swabs, of which I was guessing were drenched in an anti-bacterial, to clean over his wounds. Yeah, I could smell the rubbing alcohol from here. I hated that smell. Kuza was so tired that he slept straight through it.

Ryan switched over to a different substance. He opened a jar filled with a black liquid and dipped a soft rag in it. Then he began to run it over the cuts generously. Kuza started to moan in his sleep some. Not to the point he seemed in great pain but it was affecting him.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Charcoal water. Normally, medically, you should never do this. This isn't just a medical problem though. It's a spiritual one. Charcoal is used in satanic rituals and frequently placed at alters." He explained.

"So, you think it'll give him strength?"

"That's what I'm hoping for." He finished what he was doing, setting the cloth back on the tray beside him. Ryan lit a match and began to burn a few red candles. One of which was a smaller tea candle inside an incense burner.

"I take it The Devil also likes things to smell pretty?" I teased him.

"He likes you, doesn't he?" He responded. Ryan smirked at me as he waved out the match. "Incense is another thing used in satanic practices. Different smells are connected to different elements. Cinnamon is equated to fire."

"It smells more like Cinnabon than it does Satan." I said, "Then again, Cinnabon might as well be Satan for what it does to my hips."

"It's your own fault for eating it."

I stared at him blankly, "Ryan, there is no such thing as not eating Cinnabon. It's better than sex, and sex is the definition of lust... You know, maybe it is Satanic. I mean, that explains a lot when you think about it. No one knows how they're made and they're way too good to come from Christians."

"Has anyone ever told you that you ramble a lot when you're tired?" Kuza muttered.

"Sorry. It's not my fault Ryan made me hungry! And hey, I thought you were asleep."

He chuckled, "Getting there. I won't sleep until you do."

"Before you drift off," Ryan picked up two necklaces from the tray, "Protect yourself."

They were identical charms. Both pentagrams made from black metal. If this thing is evil, why would Satanic things compel it? Unless it was a different kind of evil. Maybe that's why it can't take Kuza and it's afraid of me. This thing, whatever it may be, is an enemy of even The Devil.