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The day was windy and cold. Though it was to be expected as the seasons changed from autumn to winter, it was still a hassle for anyone getting caught up in it, especially if one was a thief.
He ran around the buildings, hoping not to get caught by the police that were chasing him. He zigged and zagged in every direction, and though he slipped on some carelessly placed newspapers, he managed to get into a hiding spot that would surely not be found by any cop, because cops weren't smart. They just wanted to get paid.
He hid between a very narrow alleyway near a huge alley, just right between two buildings. He hoped that the sirens could leave at any point, and that the dogs could stop barking as well, or whatever they were. All he knew in Elmore was that, if there's a new creature in town, just pretend it's always been there and move on.
After a few seconds he decided to look into the bag that he had, and he sighed in relief upon seeing that nothing had fallen down. The jewels were fine, as well as the boxes of cookies that were nowhere to expire soon. Somehow, it was his lucky day!
"Well, Sal, you finally did it," he told himself as he hid the bag into what looked like thin air, but to him, meant a lot. "Let's see if my poster will raise up in rewards," he chuckled as he then headed into the alley.
While looking around the alley, Sal had an odd feeling that something was wrong. He thought it was just because of the extreme wind that passed by, which was not exactly unusual for a time like this, and he didn't care much about that, however he knew that something else was up.
Suddenly, he heard a sound coming from the giant trash bin, which made him flinch. "Wh- HEY! WHO IS THERE?!", he yelled out, ready to fight.
He walked towards it, spoon in his hand and ready to attack. "I'm warning you! I will fight!", he yelled again, approaching it even more. But no answer was heard whatsoever from it, which confused him. "...Hello?"
No answer again.
"Okay, what is going o-", he asked as he opened the lid. He didn't expect what he saw in there. He could've thought of a million things that could've been, but seeing Patrick was not a thought in his mind. "What the- PATRICK?!"
He started patting his face, trying to get him to wake up.
...No response.
...Why was his face hot?-
"H-HEY!", he screamed out, pulling him out of the trash. It was a struggle getting him out from there, but his mind was spinning with thoughts on how Patrick could've ended up in there, so he barely took any notice of that.
After he got him out from there and put him on the ground, he checked on whether he had any scars on his body. None were seen, but he saw that his static was still, barely moving, so he checked his forehead with his hand.
...Unless Sal was feeling extremely cold, Patrick's temperature was extremely hot.
"PATRICK?! ARE YOU OKAY?!", he screamed more, patting his face even more.
...No response again.
He almost immediately put his hand onto his neck, hoping for at least a beat to sound.
Thankfully, there was. "Oh great," he sighed in relief, but he still felt worried for how Patrick reacted.
He was ready to call the ambulance. He didn't care if he had to get turned in again, Patrick was having a fever, and he wasn't responding. But he didn't have a phone. "I should've taken one phone from that store when I had the chance!", he thought as sweat began to commence dribbling on his face.
He couldn't just leave him there while he got a-
"What is... Huh?"
Sal heard a familiar voice talking near him. He looked to where it was, hoping that it was from who he expected it to be.
...Oh thank a God it was Patrick's, and his static was starting to move more!
"Patrick!", he exclaimed, putting his hands onto his face to check if he was okay. Oh he hadn't felt this happy since forever.
"Wh... What is going on?", Patrick's eyes twitched, but Sal could see that they were droopy, as if he had been woken up from a huge nap.
"You were inside the trash," Sal replied, gesturing the bin with an attempt of a sideways thumbs up.
"Huh?- Oh, I remember...", Patrick responded, putting his hand onto his head. "...I think I was trying to... Uhhh..."
Sal could tell that the fever was slurring his words, as well as making him look sleepier. "Patrick, I need you to listen to my voice, okay, dude?", he asked, directing Patrick's face with his own hand as gently as he could.
Patrick blinked a few times before shaking his head, albeit very slowly. "N-No, I'm... I'm fine! I swear!", he replied as he shook his hands. "I'm... I'm Mr. Worker! Not Patrick! I don't need help!"
Sal sighed in an annoyed tone. "Okay, I don't know what the hell hit you in the head a few weeks ago that made you think you ain't good to help," he groaned, "but you have gotta realise that you're a person like me too. Also who the hell is Mr. Worker?!"
"Hey," Patrick then pointed a finger at him, "Mr. Worker is... Is..."
Sal realised soon enough that Patrick looked like he was going to faint again as his finger slowly went to the ground and his eyes were barely opened, so he immediately tried pulling him up. "Okay, Patrick, one step, two step, you got it?", he asked him, and after a few seconds of seeing him visibly thinking, Patrick nodded, slowly as well. "Good, now."
Sal grunted as he brought him to his feet, making sure that in no second he could fall, despite their height differences. Thankfully, Patrick didn't fall, making Sal sigh in relief. "Okay, now hold onto the trash next to the one I pulled you from. It's got a firmer surface."
Patrick nodded and began holding onto the trash can. "...Thanks," he mumbled out.
"Welcome, what were you even doing there?", Sal replied, furrowing his brows.
Patrick sighed. "I...", he then looked down. "I just needed a place to sleep in."
That shook Sal.
"Wh... What do you mean?", he nervously asked.
"Look, you know me: I don't have a house, and the only place where I could sleep in is in someone's basement," he mumbled. "And for the past weeks I can't sleep in said basement because I..."
Sal noticed that Patrick started shaking, brows furrowing as he began gritting his teeth. "...Patrick?", he asked, concern showing in his voice. After a few seconds he realised that Patrick's form was... changing as his breath got heavier, and his face was looking at the ground. His hands started to turn into claws, his teeth were sharper, and his pupils were changing into what he knew as anger.
Sal didn't know what to do. The only thing he thought of doing was tapping on his shoulder, and as he did so Patrick got brought back down to Earth, blinking slowly as he gradually looked back at him. "You... You good?", Sal asked him, and he could almost swear that he heard him gulp.
"Uhm... Yes, I'm... I'm fine, I'm...", Patrick began replying before his eyes began fluttering, his form changing to a dull and neutral colour, almost as if he was turning into goop.
"H-Hey!", Sal then started patting on Patrick's face, trying to wake him up. "We're gonna take you to uhm..."
Then Sal began to think as he continued to pat.
Where could Patrick stay? Where could there be a place where Patrick could recover easily? He could stay at a hospital, but he knew he had to stay somewhere familiar. And a hospital usually had a lot of noise so he had to jot that down.
Hold on, didn't Patrick say something about Judith? He knew that Patrick mentioned her a few times, even referring to her as his wife, before his face usually fell and he stopped talking. Despite Sal somehow remembering only a small part of his memories with Patrick, he knew that he was telling the truth, because in his memories Judith was usually hanging out or on a date with him.
"What about Judith? Let's take you there!", he said, smiling a little. Then he saw Patrick shaking again, which made the smile fall. "...You okay?"
He heard Patrick gulp, and his form started changing into what seemed to be scratchy. "I-I...", he stammered, his pupils shrinking as they shook. "I can't, what would she think?"
"Patrick, compagno, I think she'd be more concerned over you having a fever than anything else-"
"LISTEN! I-", Patrick yelled before catching himself, his face going from frustrated to shocked. "I'm sorry, you don't deserve to get yelled at."
Sal sighed. "Appreciate you apologising, but why don't you want your wife to help?"
Patrick then looked down, his eyes trying to open all the way through. He then started putting his hand on his forehead. "My head hurts a lot...", he mumbled, his brows furrowing as his face looked visibly pained.
"Okay, well, we're still gonna go to Judith's house, I know the address."
"Wh- Wait how?"
"I dunno, just appeared in my notes one day. Don't remember why."
And he was telling the truth, it did suddenly appear on one of his papers he always carried around in his... pockets? It was confusing whenever he tried to explain it, so he just settled for tasche infernali.
But he knew that Patrick didn't believe a word that he said, considering the annoyed look on his face. "Okay, but if you were planning to rob-", Patrick began saying.
"I wasn't planning to rob anything," Sal assured him as he rolled his eyes. "Now, let's head there-"
"Listen, I'm repeating what I said, I'm fine!"
"Patrick, you can't hide that fever from me, alright?"
"Sal, I do not have a fever."
"Oh really?"
"Yes."
"Then how do ya explain the heat that is rising in your head?"
Patrick looked stumped, Sal could tell from the fact that his furrowed eyebrows were not furrowed anymore. "I uhm...", Patrick then looked off to the side, before clearing his throat. "I ate a heater!"
"Compagno, that has got to be the worst lie you have ever made, and I've been arrested a lot of times."
"Look, I'll do anything, just please leave me alone here."
"You need HELP."
"WHY SHOULD I NEED IT?!", Patrick snapped, his teeth barring out as he tried walking away from the trash before nearly falling to the ground.
"PATRICK," Sal yelled out before jumping in front of him. He almost fell to the ground alongside him, but he managed that both of them could stand on their feet. Despite that, he felt exhausted, and he was almost out of breath. "Wh- WHAT IS UP WITH YOU?"
"I don't need help, I don't deserve help," Patrick tried to get out from Sal's grasp but as he did he started walking as if he were drunk, which made Sal get hold of him again.
"Okay, is this about that CHANAX guy? I swear- If he don't mind his own business-"
"This isn't about the CHANAX boss," Patrick interrupted, grabbing hold of the trash again, which made Sal let him go, but still be near him.
"Well then what is it then?", Sal then put his hands out in a confused manner. "Why don't you want to be with her? Did something happen between y'all?"
"NO! NOTHING, it's just...", Patrick then rubbed his eyes. "Look, what do you want?"
"Huh?"
"What do you want from me for you to leave me alone?"
That shook Sal.
"H. Huh?"
"Listen, I'll do anything, alright?", Patrick replied as he uncovered his eyes. "I'll do... anything, okay? I don't want any unnecessary problems."
"Unneces- YOU GOT A FEVER-"
"Stop yelling, please," Patrick mumbled in a shaky breath.
Sal quickly closed his mouth. "Sorry, but, Patrick, look at yourself: you are shaking, and I just found you in the trash."
"But I...", Patrick then slowly looked down on the ground. "I... deserve to be in there."
Sal's eyes widened in shock. "Wh... What?- Who told you that?!", he exclaimed.
"I got out of the shell, and I'm... I shouldn't get help, I...", Patrick's eyes began fluttering, and Sal could tell that he was exhausted. The fever was most definitely rising.
"...Who told you that?", Sal asked, slowly approaching him to not startle him more.
Patrick then looked down on the ground, brows and eyes visibly showing his fear. "I... I can't say...", he mumbled.
"...Was it Judith?"
"WHAT?! NO, SHE'S-", Patrick then began hissing as he put his hand on his forehead.
"Patrick?-"
"Sh-She's... She's good to me, she's my best friend, she's...", Patrick then lowered his hand, and was now looking at it while shaking. "...She would most definitely want me to stay at her house, if I have a fever."
"Then why-"
"I can't tell you who will hurt me," Sal heard Patrick choke on his words, "but I can assure you that Judith would not hurt me whatsoever."
"...Who's hurting you?"
Patrick's face turned shocked, and his form was turning into a combination of goop and solid. One part was goop, the other was solid, and so on so forth. "I... I'm sorry, please I'm sorry," he stammered on his words as he began covering his mouth.
Sal had never seen him like this. "Patrick?-"
"Please," Sal saw Patrick's pupils shake as he tried looking at him in the eyes, but they constantly shifted to look at the ground whenever he tried to do so. "Please tell me what I need to do to get you to not tell them, please."
"Wh- Who's-"
"PLEASE!", Patrick screamed out as he collapsed on his knees while looking at the ground in front of Sal, shocking him and making him stand still. "PLEASE TELL ME WHAT I'VE GOT TO DO, I DON'T WANT ANYONE TO HAVE ANY PROBLEMS, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE."
Sal didn't know what to say. He had never seen him like this at all...
"...Who are "they"?", he managed to say while his wide eyes remained open.
"Please please- I-I'll do anything, okay?", Patrick looked up at him while clasping his hands together, and Sal could see tears streaming down his face, while a crooked smile appeared on his panicked face. "I'll- I'll kill someone for you! I'll steal anything! I'll let you YELL AT ME! JUST PLEASE DON'T TELL THEM-"
"PATRICK! Listen to my voice okay?", Sal's mind was spinning, but he knew he had to tell him something.
Patrick's crooked smile widened as his eyes grew pained. "Anything... Anything, please," his voice shook as tears fell down faster.
"...Patrick, I don't who are "they," but you need help," Sal said firmly. "I can see that you are... weak. You nearly fell down several times, you know?", he then sighed a shaky breath. "...Look, why don't we... go to Judith's house- You two's house I realised just now... And we can get you healed up."
Patrick's pupils shook again, and Sal could see that he was processing everything, considering that his smile fell. "...Wait, you... You don't know who "they" are?", he asked.
Sal shook his head as best as he could. "No, I don't," he replied, and he saw Patrick start looking at the ground, his pupils slowly going back to normal, and then small again.
"...You're not lying?", he shakily asked.
Sal shook his head again. "I'm not," he responded, and then held his hands out for Patrick to take. He didn't expect him to take them all of the sudden, but, he at least hoped that Patrick wouldn't try to run away, just like he did last week. He looked as if he had gotten beaten up, but despite that, Patrick flew away, and Sal couldn't keep up with him.
He saw Patrick look at his hands, and slowly put his own onto them. Sal could tell that he was nervous, that he didn't know what could happen next, and he understood why. Whoever those "they" were seriously messed him up, to the point that Patrick didn't feel like he shouldn't... get help.
"...Okay, now, ti sto sollevando," he slowly began getting him up, hands holding onto his. It took a giant effort to get him up, but thankfully, much like before, he didn't collapse. "Good, now let's start walking to Judith, okay?"
Patrick nodded slowly. "...My head hurts...", his voice shook as he looked at the ground again.
Sal nodded. "It's natural, you have a fever, and now you've got to get rest," he replied.
Patrick nodded again. "Yeah, um... Yeah," he replied.
"...Hey, it's gonna be okay."
"I know but...", Patrick trailed off before slowly shaking his head. "Okay, let's... I'm tired, let's go home..."
Sal gave him an affirmative nod. "Right, um, do you need me to clean your tears?", he asked.
"I uh... I think I can clean them myself," Patrick then wiped away his tears with his hand, "but... Thank you for asking."
Sal saw him trying to smile, but each attempt was shut down by his own tears coming out of his eyes again. "You- You need a hug?", he asked as he opened up one of his own arms.
Patrick nodded as he shakily embraced him. Sal hugged him back, trying to think about what he should say next-
He's crying.
He's crying his heart out.
"I don't- I-I-I don't even have a house," he heard Patrick stammer out as he held onto Sal's back mid-sobs. "My family doesn't even remember me, my Judith doesn't even know who I- Even you don't even know who I am!"
Sal felt his mind halt when he mentioned him.
"My friend... One of my old best friends that was always there... I'm so sorry for treating you like an ass sometimes... I'm sorry, I really care about you, I'm sorry", he sobbed out as he embraced him even more.
Sal looked at him, brows and eyes showing sympathy, but he couldn't see his face because he hid it in Sal's shoulder. He knew why he
...He wanted to tell him that he was... also...
"...I'm sorry too," Sal replied. He felt Patrick shift from his shoulder, and he saw him now look at him. His eyes looked like ones with sparkles, but not the kind that were happy... They were the kind that were miserable, with almost no hope whatsoever.
"...Do you ever think about... what if I had never went to the Void?", Patrick asked, his eyes struggling to open. "Would we have... Are we even friends anymore?"
That shook Sal. He tried opening his mouth, but struggled to find an answer. They were friends in school, he remembered that, but... He also remembered both of them yelling over things that were mostly Sal's fault, he admitted but... He didn't want to feel like he was wrong sometimes. But they seemed like they were kind of getting along, but an arrogance from Sal always ruined it.
And now he's looking at Patrick, who looked like he was on his last strand of sanity, but was still clinging onto said strand. His entire body was shattered, and nobody could remember him fully, only having a slight hint of his name, as if that was much.
And there was... "they."
...Who was "they"?
And what have they done to Patrick?
What have they done to the point where Patrick even suggested killing someone just so that he wouldn't-
What the fuck did they about Sal to Patrick?
"...We are friends, it's that...", Sal didn't know what to say next. "Look, I uhm... I'm... sorry for arguing with you about... stupid stuff."
Patrick continued looking at him, until he looked at the ground again. "...Water under the-"
"Don't you dare give me that "water under the bridge" pushover words, alright?", Sal responded, his brows furrowing, but not anger, but from concern. "I do more mistakes than you, and you've always been like "Oh it was stupid anyway," "Oh everything's fine anyway," "Yeah I hated that but you know what? I'm gonna tell you you're right because-" And you always said it with a tired, exhausted tone. And I understand why you said it like that, because now I realise that I would be pretty tired of my own bullshit too."
Patrick blinked a few times, startled by his words. "...But-"
"And I don't know who the fuck is "they"...", Sal continued saying, but then he looked at his face. He saw a confused yet exhausted face, who looked like he hadn't slept in days, maybe even weeks.
He started thinking about all of the times he had ever argued with him. Despite him only remembering only a few moments, he knew there were more.
He wondered which argument Patrick had told those people, and "they" used it against Patrick, to make him feel like he didn't deserve help. To the point where Patrick potentially made up an alias such as Mr. Worker, which, now that he thought about it... It reminded him of one memory where Patrick was staying late at night to finish schoolwork. Which left him with what he knew were eyebags when he saw him the next day.
His face showed the concern that he had, but now saddened. ...He... felt like a complete jackass. "But I'm genuinely sorry that because of them I made you believe like I couldn't help you without hurting you... And I wish I had realised that sooner... before it was too late, and I hurt you more than anything."
Patrick blinked slowly, and Sal could tell that he couldn't believe what he was saying. Understandably so.
"...Look, I don't expect forgiveness or an apology," he said, "I just want to tell you that... I feel awful that this came to be."
He looked back up at him, and saw Patrick looking off at the side, and then back at him. "...Thank you for... saying sorry, I don't...", Patrick then groaned as he wiped his tears away. "God the headache is worse in my words, Jesus, I'm sorry, I don't know how to exactly say things."
Sal sighed. "Yeah, I get that," he then got his arm around his shoulder. "Now, lean onto me if you can."
Patrick nodded as he did such action. "Okay," he replied.
"Now, off to Judith's house," he said while looking around the alley, and then back at him. "I won't tell her about the trash."
Patrick laughed a little at that. "Yeah that was... stupid of me, my bad," he replied.
"It wasn't stupid. And hey, I'm just glad that I found you, okay, compagne?", Sal replied back with a smile, to which Patrick nodded.
"Yeah, I'm... I'm happy too," he responded, giving him a small smile as he now looked around the alley.
"Right, well, one step two step, remember?", Sal said, to which Patrick nodded again. "We a nodding mood?", he asked lightheartedly.
Patrick smiled with rolling his eyes. "Are we in a bandana mood?", he replied.
"Hey! It's a pretty good bandana," Sal protested, to which made Patrick chuckle again.
"How old is that thing?"
"Hey, it ain't a thing!"
"Right, I'm sorry, but, how old?"
Sal looked at him, thought for a very long moment, and then looked away. "...Let's just start walking."
He could tell Patrick was going to ask him more so he tried taking a step forward, but was stopped by Patrick who was still standing. "How old is that?", he heard Patrick ask, and when Sal turned his head towards him, Patrick had his head leaned off to the side while trying to look at him, his eyes fluttering again.
"Um... Well-"
"Are you wearing grandma's skin?"
"Grandma's what."
"Yeah, you said before- Last week I think? That you were wearing a grandma's skin? Is that like a new animal or something?", Patrick asked, his eyes squinting as Sal could tell that he was doing that so that they stopped fluttering.
However, despite knowing that fact, Sal was speechless. He had no idea how to respond to that whatsoever. It was like the breath within him got sucked out, and he was now just standing there.
"Um. It's a uh...", Sal's eyes then darted around the alley, trying to think of something that he could say. He had never said that sentence before, but he didn't want to cause much disturbance to Patrick in this state. He cleared his throat. "Well, it's like... It's old, you know? It's old enough to drive, it's old enough to bake cookies for its grandkids, you know?"
Patrick blinked a few times before he said: "Oh, yeah! I get it now," he replied, smile still intact.
"Great- Oh uh, you need a coat, it's windy-"
"I'm fine, I've got wings-"
"Patrick, you have a fever. Even with wings those might break off faster than window glass, you know?", Sal replied, his gaze looking through every direction again just to find a coat.
"Well, I found a coat in the trash I was in before," Patrick mumbled out.
"Perfect!", Sal exclaimed in a low tone as he started walking towards the trash. "Follow my steps, got it?"
Patrick nodded as he steadily walked beside him. Sal started digging through the trash with one hand, and he finally found what he was looking for! "Grazie al diavolo- I found it!", he said, taking it out of it. It looked slightly worn out, but it was big enough for the Patrick to be in.
"Yay," Patrick weakly responded.
Hearing that made something feel... null inside of his body when he said it like that. Sal knew that it was due to the fever but... "...Okay, now wear this-"
"What about you?"
"Me?"
"Yeah, you'll be cold too."
"I- I'll be fine, don't worry, okay?", he said as he shook his hand around.
"No, wear it too."
"I-", Sal then sighed. "Okay, now I know I can't argue with you, but-"
Patrick then took the coat away from Sal's hands, and began putting it over the two with his hand. Sal could only sigh as he helped Patrick to put the coat over them even more. "Thank you," he heard Patrick say.
"Don't even mention it," Sal rolled his eyes. "But why do you want me to get warmer?"
"That's what good people do," Patrick replied after he finished covering Sal's back, which stunned the latter.
"...Thanks," he merely responded, looking at the ground as he did so.
"Don't even mention it," Patrick then looked at the alley. "Do we go now?"
"Yeah," Sal responded as he then took a step forward as he looked at the exit. "One step, two step."
"One step, two step," Patrick repeated slowly as he followed him.
"One step, two step."
"One step, two step."
"One step, two step."
"One step, two step."
They repeated that as they headed to where the exit was, and before they did that they gave each other a quick and affirmative nod. Then they headed into the windiest part of all, and my god was it windy.
It nearly made them fall over as it came towards their left sides, and Sal could feel Patrick's wings try to cover him. "What the- What are you doing?!", he exclaimed as he looked up and saw him, his face showing fear and desperation to get somewhere.
"I'm trying to get you safe!", Patrick exclaimed before grunting.
Sal's mind almost went blank as thoughts and panic rushed more into his head than before. He noticed that his temperature was rising even more. "Okay, Judith's house- I know where it is! One step, two step," Sal replied as he walked to the right side, and thankfully, Patrick followed.
"One step, two step," Patrick grunted, following him as much as he could.
They repeated the words as much as they could, between grunts and the shiverings. They walked to the street near the trees, and they headed forward as the wind was still on their left side.
Sal could feel Patrick leaning further into his shoulder as his repetition began turning into whispers, and Sal panicked even more. "Hey, w-we're going to be... Gonna be okay, got it?", he stumbled upon his words.
"Yeah, um... One step, t-two step," Patrick stumbled on his words as well.
"One step, two st-step," Sal replied,
They repeated even more as they proceeded forward, until Patrick nearly stumbled upon a rock on the ground.
"PATRICK?!", Sal screamed out.
"D-Don't yell," Patrick stammered, covering Sal with his wings even more.
"I- I won't, but-", Sal cut himself short as he looked at the street. "Okay, now the house should be around the corner, and then home."
"yay...", he heard Patrick slowly whisper. Sal looked at him, and he could see Patrick slowly close his eyes.
"h-HEY!", Sal exclaimed as he started to pat his face. "One step, two step, remember?"
Patrick's eyes slowly opened, as he nodded. "One step, two step."
Sal felt more hopeful than before. "One step, two step."
"One step, two step, one step, two step," both repeated in unison as they walked even faster to the corner.
They hit the corner and hit a left again. Now the wind was on their faces, but they didn't care right now. One step, two step to the house that was going to be their very last stop.
Sal saw the house very clearly, and started pointing towards it. "ONE STEP, TWO STEP," he screamed out.
Patrick squinted his eyes as a small smile appeared in his face. "one step, TWO STEP," he loudly said as his eyes squinted a little, but there was a shine of hope within them, and his pacing went faster.
Sal caught up with him as he still tried his best so that Patrick couldn't fall to the ground. He slightly smiled as he saw him smiling even more, because it filled him with hope as well.
"One step, two step!", Sal exclaimed.
"One step, two step!", Patrick exclaimed as well.
"One step, two step! One step, two step! One step, two step! One step, two step!", they repeated in unison, following each other's step as they knew that they were going to get there soon.
Soon enough the house was right near them! They walked into the porch carefully, watching every step they took. Sal started knocking on the door, and waited for-
"I'm coming, I'm coming!"
-that familiar voice!
He heard steps walking towards the door, and he could recognise the unlocking of a door whenever he heard one! As the door opened he saw the person with the most recognisable face that he could distinguish from a crowd: JUDITH!
"What in the- Sal?", she asked as she blinked.
"Hey, Jud-", Sal began saying before he felt the wings that he knew slowly uncover from him, and as he looked at Patrick he saw him collapse onto Judith's shoulder. "PATRICK?!"
"Wh- What is going on?!- Wait," Judith then put her hand onto Patrick's forehead, and her face changed from confusion to concern. "Patrick, are you having a fever?"
"Hm," Patrick nodded weakly, still collapsed on Judith's shoulder.
"Oh no- Right in the middle of the wind- Okay, you two, get in here!", she said as she signalled Sal to get into the house.
"Are you sure?", Sal asked.
"Yes, I'm sure, you must be freezing too!", Judith exclaimed.
"Please don't yell," Patrick mumbled under his breath.
"H-Hey, please don't sleep, don't sleep," Judith said as she started putting her hand onto Patrick's face, which made Sal realise that Patrick could be sleeping with a fever at any moment if Judith left him alone even for a moment. He wasn't going to leave him alone in any way possible, but still.
"Okay, I'm going in, but I'm not freez-", Sal began saying before suddenly sneezing, which made him halt for a moment. "...Tempismo perfetto," he muttered out before sneezing again.
Judith sighed. "Okay, pills for both of you, and warm blankets too," she said as she signalled Sal to get in again.
He felt slightly embarrassed, but he decided to walk in there while groaning. But that groaning didn't last long as he sneezed again, and then sniffed.
"What happened to you two?", Judith asked with worry as she closed the door behind him.