My Miracle, Your Curse 3/?
Summary: Simon finds himself alive, missing an arm, and still on the sub. But outside of his prison is music and a voice promising him safety. Despite himself, he decides to believe it.
Or; Simon ends up on Erid, somehow only 5 inches tall.
Warnings: Lots of blood and injury
Word Count: 5282
Part 1 | Part 2 | AO3 Link
The new chapter is here! I am very excited to get this one out! I hope you enjoy Grace's POV of all this because we got back to Simon for the next chapter (which will be equally as fun lol). The prompt I used for inspiration was survive. I hope you guys enjoy!
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Grace had a lot of questions.
A lot of questions.
None of which were going to be answered by standing around and freaking out about the fact that a potential human had been found in Erid’s orbit. Or the fact that they were, apparently, only 5 inches tall in size. Grace looked down at his own hand, the other one coming to rub at his palm without permission.
Grace and Rocky, after Grace had mostly gotten over his shock, had wasted no time in following Orion out of the biodome. Grace put on his xenonite suit, way less bulky than the first one he had ever put on to see Rocky’s ship. It clung to his skin like a loose jumpsuit, the Eridians having all but perfected malleable xenonite.
Rocky didn’t bother taking his xenonite suit off, knowing he would just have to put it back on again. They exited his biodome through the airlock system and then walked the familiar path towards the research center. It was where the space elevator shot up into the sky and where the Eridians had figured out how astrophage worked. It was also where they learned about Grace and his own needs to properly care for him. Grace had gotten very familiar with this building during his first few months on Erid. Specifically, one room that he’d had to stay in until the biodome had been completed.
That was where they were headed now as Orion took them to the airlock that separated Grace’s old room and the rest of Erid. Adrian was waiting for them outside of the airlock, digging their claws into the ground and perking up a bit as they finally rounded the corner.
“Beloved!” Rocky was quick to scuttle over toward Adrian and bumped his carapace with his mate’s. Adrian leaned into the touch too, but less enthusiastically. “Grace and I came as fast as we could. What’s all this about a tiny human?”
“And are we sure they’re human?” Grace asked. It’s not like he didn’t believe Adrian and the other Eridians but the thought of a human being so small…well, it was impossible. Right? But Adrian just moved their carapace in the mimic of a nod.
“They look human. They…look like you.” Adrian said and Grace sucked in a breath. “They stand on two limbs and have only one heart. They…also speak English.”
Well, if that wasn’t confirmation enough, Grace wasn’t sure what was. English. The probability that a species light years away from Earth would develop a similar language was next to nothing. They had to be human but that really just left more questions than answers. “They really are human.” Grace said in slight, dizzying awe.
“Yes. The only real difference is their size and…they seem to be missing one of their top limbs.” Adrian said carefully and Grace stiffened.
“They’re…missing an arm?” Grace asked. Now there could be a lot of reasons someone could be missing an arm. Perhaps they were born with it or it had happened in a previous accident-
“Yes, they appear to be in some pain because of it.” Adrian cut through Grace’s thoughts like a blade and Grace swallowed thickly. A recent accident then, that was not good. “They are hurt and scared and so I thought it best to call for the two of you.” Adrian said, a slight low tone to their melody.
Grace nodded and Rocky nudged their carapace against Adrian’s once more. “We’ll help them, don’t worry my beloved.”
“We should get in there. The longer we wait, the worse their injuries could get.” Grace said and Adrian nodded, turning to press a button that started the process of opening the airlock.
“There are a few other things I should mention before we head in there.” Adrian said as they waited for the airlock to open. “The vessel they came in, as far as I can tell, was not built for space travel.”
“What? What do you mean?” Grace asked, confused.
“The metal it’s made of is weak and the ship is all but bare, in regards to things needed for safe travels within space.” Adrian continued to explain. The airlock doors hissed open and the three of them stepped inside. The door closed behind them and Adrian pressed another button to start the atmosphere exchange.
Grace frowned as he thought over what Adrian said. “That’s weird.”
“Also, more concerning, is that, well…” Adrian paused for a moment. “The vessel is welded shut, with no way in or out.”
Grace felt like every new piece of information he was learning was worse than the last. Because what do you mean the human was trapped inside. Why was it like that? What was going on?
Again, it only produced more questions than answers. Grace was itching to get a look himself, to try and figure everything out. To ask the human what was going on.
It kind of hit him suddenly that he was about to speak with another human for the first time in many, many years.
Grace swallowed back the bile that threatened to come up at the thought as the airlock system completed the process and finally opened the door into the room. As Adrian and Rocky stepped inside, Grace took a moment to quickly take the xenonite suit off and hang it by the door. He then pressed a button nearby and the lights within the room turned on, allowing Grace to actually see the room.
His eyes honed in immediately on the ship that sat on the table and his eyes widened at the look of it. “That’s…a submarine.” He pointed out.
“Not know word.” Rocky said but Grace was startled to hear the familiar voice of the translator come through with more simplified words. It made sense though, that Adrian would have set up the translator in order to speak with the human inside. He bit his lip.
“A submarine is a ship built for underwater travel.” Grace explained. “It's definitely not built for being in space.” It made Grace wonder how the human inside was even still alive. How had he survived being in space in something so totally not built for it?
He didn’t know but he was almost desperate to find out at this point.
“Yes, yes, yes, just as Adrian said. Is strange.” Rocky said, wandering around the sub itself to get a better read on it.
Suddenly both Adrian and Rocky perked up and the room was silent for a moment. “Yes, yes, yes, Adrian mate Rocky and Friend Grace here as well.” Adrian responded to something Grace couldn’t hear. The human must have spoken but of course, with the thickness of the ship and how small the human was, Grace couldn’t hear it.
“What did they say?” Grace asked.
“Tiny human ask who else was here. Grace can not hear tiny human, question?” Adrian asked and Grace nodded. Sometimes other Eridians didn’t realize what Grace could and couldn’t hear. They’re hearing was much better than Grace’s after all and it was hard to figure out just how limited it was when they had never experienced it before. “Ah, Adrian fix.” Adrian walked over to the computer that was still translating and moved the microphone attached closer to the sub. They then proceeded to press a few buttons on the computer itself.
“Okay. All fixed. Tiny human can speak now and Grace hear.” Adrian said as they stepped away from the computer.
Grace waited with bated breath.
“Uh…hello?” Another voice, not the one provided by the translator, but a real human voice came from the computer's speakers. It was deep, which was almost strange given how small the guy was. But despite the gruffness of the voice it still came off as soft spoken, like he was nervous. Which, given the situation, made a lot of sense.
Grace steeled himself before answering. “Hello, my name is Grace.” Better to not overwhelm the guy too much with his full name. He had enough to worry about anyway. “I’m a friend of Adrian, the one you’ve been speaking to. What’s your name, if you don’t mind me asking.” He figured introductions were the best way to start this, ease the other human into it.
It was silent for a bit too long, to the point Grace was about to take back his question, thinking that the tiny guy really did mind. But before Grace could, a voice once again came through on the speakers. “S-Simon. My name is Simon.”
Grace sucked in a breath. He really hadn’t known what he had been expecting but the name was just so human. Normal. This really and truly was another human he was speaking with. One that, for some reason, just happened to be 5 inches tall.
“What’s going on? Where am I?” Simon asked and even through the computer Grace could tell his voice was strained. Grace bit his lip, trying to figure out how to explain, well, all of this.
“We found your sub in Erid’s orbit, that’s the planet we’re on right now, and so some Eridians went to go get you.” Grace paused, he already felt like he was doing a bad job of explaining. “Uhh…oh! Eridians are the intelligent life on this planet. They…basically look like sentient rock spiders.” He let out a little laugh. “I promise they don’t look as scary as that sounds.”
“Rocky and Mate Adrian not scary! Promise!” Rocky chimed in and Grace couldn’t help but chuckle at his best friend.
“We’re…on a planet?” The way Simon had said that had flags raising in Grace’s mind but he wasn’t sure why.
“Yeah, Erid. It’s in the 40 Eridani solar system, which is about…uh, 16.3 light years away from Earth.” Grace winced, wondering if he should have revealed that part. He wasn’t sure where Simon had come from or how he had gotten here but there was no way to predict how he would react to the realization that Earth was so far away.
Simon was silent again and Grace assumed he was processing everything. “Hey, I know that’s…a lot. But we’ll do our best to find you a way home, if that’s what you want.” The Eridians had already offered to send Grace back to Earth, which he had declined, so he was sure they could modify it so they could send Simon back home.
“I…I don’t-” Simon started but cut himself off. His voice was a bit off and the computer picked up on Simon breathing rather heavily.
“Simon?” Grace asked, hoping the little guy wasn’t about to have a panic attack. If he had one now, there wouldn’t be anything they could do to help.
“...I’m fine.” Simon said after a long moment. “I’m fine. I…why do you sound different than Adrian?” Simon asked suddenly, and it seemed like he really wanted to change the subject. Grace went along with it.
“Oh, I’m not an Eridian. I’m human. The first and only human on the planet Erid.” Grace paused. “Well, I guess I’m not the only one anymore.” The realization seemed to hit him again, that he was no longer alone as the only human, but much harder this time. So much so, tears started to well up in his eyes. He wiped them away before they could fall and before Rocky or Adrian could notice. It was just crazy to think that…that another human was within reach again.
He had long since accepted the fact he would never see another human again. He had been more than okay with it, even. He had Rocky and Adrian and all the other Eridians. He had more people who cared about him on Erid than he ever did back on Earth.
But suddenly, he was faced with another human, albeit one who was very small. But that didn’t change the fact that Grace…might not have been as okay as he had first thought.
That was something to think about at a later time though. Right now, there were more important things to worry about than some…minor realizations of his.
“A human and…Eridians. On a planet called Erid. Alright.” Simon really seemed to be processing everything now. His voice was thick with emotion. “Okay, this is all…okay.” The microphone picked up on some shuffling. “I’m-I’m choosing to believe all of this. I…you better all be…real.” His last sentence trailed off a bit, like he lost his nerve halfway through.
Grace knew it was a lot. He was just happy that Simon was willing to trust them on this. “We’re real. I promise.” He reassured him. “Okay, now that we’ve got all that cleared, how are you doing? Adrian said they saw you in some pain?” Grace kept his voice low.
“What? How did…how could they see that?” Simon asked, sounding like he was on the verge of panicking again. Grace was quick to explain.
“Eridians don’t see like humans do. They use a kind of echolocation, so…they can pretty much see through walls.” The lack of privacy had been something Grace had gotten accustomed to but he was hoping Simon wouldn’t mind.
“...Oh. Right. I…guess that makes sense?” He didn’t sound so sure but he continued. “I’m…pretty sure I got a concussion. And some bruises and scrapes as well.” Simon listed out his injuries, Grace taking a mental note.
“Okay, and uh…” Grace hesitated in asking but it needed to be asked. “What about your arm?”
“...Adrian can see that too?” Simon asked, though he sounded more resigned at this point.
“And Rocky!” Rocky chimed in, like he wanted to remind everyone he was still there. Adrian placed a claw on him and did the Eridian version of a gentle shush. The two had been pretty quiet up until this point. They probably knew how important it was for Simon to talk to someone human.
“Y-Yeah, they said you didn’t have one and that it appeared like you were in pain because of it?” It was obvious since Simon was coherent and talking that it wasn’t bothering Simon as much as having an arm freshly ripped off should have. Which meant it was probably a previous injury that still gave Simon a bit of trouble every now and again.
“...A little bit. It’s closed up though and it really just aches, so, it’s…probably fine.” His voice went close to a whisper at the last couple of words, the microphone barely picking it up. Grace blinked at Simon’s word choice, his earlier thoughts a bit scrambled.
“Is it a…recent injury?” Grace asked, even though that didn’t make any sense with it being closed up.
“Very recent.” Simon grunted out. “I don’t know what’s going on but…but somehow it’s closed up.”
Okay, forget everything Grace had thought before. This was just getting weirder and weirder.
He still had so many questions and he could have stood there all day asking Simon all about himself. Not just about his injuries but about how he had gotten into the sub in the first place, why it was welded shut, how was he so small-
But Grace’s thoughts were cut off by a sudden knock and Grace turned to face the clear xenonite wall. On the other side was Orion, who Grace was only now realizing never followed them into the room, and Tonk, who was holding something in their claws. “We procured a device to open the vessel!” Tonk said, lifting up the item in their hand. It was a power saw, or at least, the Eridian equivalent of one.
Right, first and foremost, they needed to get Simon out of that sub. Then they could properly check him out and get him healed. And then Grace could ask all of his burning questions.
Adrian perked up and started heading toward the airlock door. “Amaze! Adrian will go get. Grace and Mate Rocky keep tiny human Simon company. Will be back in 300 seconds.”
“Of course.” Grace said, watching as Adrian exited through the airlock.
“Uh, what was all that about?” Simon asked and Grace realized that the translator hadn’t picked up on Tonk’s words at all.
“Oh! Adrian is going to go get something to help, uh, get you out of there.” Grace bit his lip before he started to ask his too many questions. He’d have time for that later. “Just a warning though, Adrian said you were welded in there and the only way to get you out seems to be cutting the thing open.”
“Yeah, I figured.” Simon said. “I don’t really care what you have to do. I just want to get the f*** out of here.”
Grace was a bit startled by his language but didn’t comment on it. “We’ll get you out. I promise.” Grace was making a lot of promises today, it seemed. But he really did mean every single one.
“Rocky promise too! Tiny human Simon will be free and safe, safe, safe!” Rocky chirped from Grace’s side. Grace smiled and placed a hand on top of Rocky. He was thankful for the backup in reassuring Simon.
“...Thanks. Uh, about that though.” Simon started and Grace let out a small hum in question. “Why do Rocky and Adrian keep calling me tiny human?”
Grace blinked. Oh.
Oh, no.
“Uh, Simon? How tall are you?” Grace asked, hoping he was able to keep the growing panic out of his voice. Simon seemed confused, maybe a bit annoyed at Grace completely ignoring his question, but he answered.
“Like 5’ 10”?” Simon answered and Grace sucked in a breath, realization hitting him.
“Tiny human Simon lie. Simon only-” Grace cut Rocky off.
“Rocky! I don’t think-” It was then Grace’s turn to be cut off by Simon.
“I-I’m not lying! Why the f*** would I be lying about that?!” Simon said and Grace winced at his tone.
“I know you’re not!” Grace was quick to reassure. “I know you aren’t lying. Rocky didn’t mean it like that, it’s just…” He hesitated. “Uh, I don’t…really know how to tell you this.” Grace started, racking his brain for a way to ease this new information to Simon.
“What? What is it?” He sounded panicked again and Grace winced at the knowledge that it was his fault.
“Well…from our perspective your sub is maybe only a foot in size. Meaning you couldn’t be more than…5 inches tall…” He let his words hang in the air for a moment. “I mean, we haven’t properly measured you yet but that’s the estimate.”
Simon was silent for a long moment.
So long, in fact, that Grace was starting to worry.
“Simon?” Grace asked and that seemed to snap Simon out of it.
“...You’re really saying that…I’m…” Simon trailed off and Grace found himself nodding despite knowing Simon couldn’t see him.
“Yeah. I’m assuming this isn’t…normal? For you?” Grace asked.
“No, no it’s not.” He heard Simon groan through the speakers. “But none of this is f***ing normal, so…” Simon let out a shaky sigh. “How…how tall are you?”
Grace winced. “Uh, 6 foot.”
Simon was silent again.
“F***.” Simon’s voice was a bit muffled and Grace could just picture his head in his hands. “Okay, yeah, sure, why the f*** not! It wasn’t enough it had to take my arm but it had to f***ing shrink me to! That’s just…f***ing awesome.” His voice got so loud that Grace could almost hear it coming from the sub itself instead of the speakers. His voice waned at the end though, growing quiet.
“I’m sorry, Simon.” Grace didn’t know what else to say. He didn’t know what Simon’s been through but what Grace did know already wasn’t painting a pretty picture. Being welded into a ship, losing his arm, being shrunk…it was a lot. “I promise, we aren’t going to hurt you. And we’ll do our best to figure this out. There…there has to be a way to get you back to normal size.” Grace could figure it out, he had already figured out one almost impossible problem, what was one more?
“Rocky, Mate Adrian, and Grace fix!” Rocky exclaimed, repeating Grace’s sentiment.
“…Thank you.” Simon said after a moment and Grace smiled softly. They would figure it out.
“Adrian entering airlock now.” Rocky spoke up again and Grace could hear the hiss of the inside changing atmospheres.
“Right, once Adrian comes back in we’ll be sawing your sub open. We’ll be careful but it’s probably going to be a lot.” Grace wanted to prepare Simon as much as possible because the idea of a power saw bigger than his ship was no doubt terrifying. He took a step closer toward the sub, wanting to get a better look at it and maybe find a weaker point to start at.
His nose was immediately affronted with the smell of something metallic. His nose scrunched up in disgust but the smell was eerily familiar. It was then that Grace noticed the splatters of some sort of liquid all over the ship, something that Grace had thought was simply the paint job before he had gotten closer. It looked dried up and Grace almost reached out to scrape some off before he thought better of it. If he didn’t know any better, he would think it was blood.
Grace didn’t have time to think on that further though, as the airlock opened up again and Adrian came through with the power saw.
“Adrian back! Ready to open ship, question?” Adrian asked as the door shut behind them. Grace stood up straight, away from where he had been leaning a little too close to the sub.
“Simon? Are you ready?” This was affecting Simon the most, after all. He should get the say of when to start. Even if getting out as fast as possible was the best option for his health.
There was silence, but just for a moment.
“Let’s get this over with.” Simon said, sounding like he was gritting his teeth in preparation. Grace nodded, understanding that this was the kind of thing you couldn’t really prepare yourself for.
“Mate Rocky open ship.” Adrian said and Rocky scuttled over to them to take the power saw from Adrian’s claws. “Mate Rocky has steady hands. Simon safe with Rocky.”
“Yes, yes, yes! Rocky steady. No hurt Simon.” Rocky said as he fidgeted with the power saw. Grace assumed he was getting it to the correct settings.
The computer picked up on a low hum and Grace assumed it came from Simon.
“Alright, Rocky’s gonna cut near the middle, so try and move closer to the front of the sub, if you can.” Grace said, watching as Rocky set up near the table and carefully adjusted the sub so it was facing the right direction. “Let us know when you’re ready.”
There was some shuffling that the microphone picked up on before Simon’s voice came through again. “...Ready.” Simon said and Grace had to ignore the way he didn’t sound ready at all. But they had to do this. He gave Rocky a thumbs down and took a step back as the power saw came to life. Rocky started the incision into the ship and sparks flew as it sliced, the power saw easily cutting into the weaker metal.
It really brought attention to just how unsafe it was. Especially as something they had found in space.
Again, once everything was settled, Grace was going to have a lot of questions for Simon.
Before Grace knew it, the saw had completely cut through the ship and Rocky turned the saw off, stepping back. The sub, now in two halves, laid tilted at opposite angles but were otherwise steady. Grace moved closer and was hit with that same metallic smell as before but much stronger this time. Grace slapped a hand over his nose and had to swallow down a small gag as he moved closer to look inside the sub itself.
His eyes went wide as he realized that metallic smell really was blood.
It was hard to deny when the inside of the ship was absolutely dripping with the stuff. It was almost as if it was leaking right out of the walls and floors but that wasn’t possible, right?
Right?
But then how was there this much blood on both the inside and outside of Simon’s sub?
Speaking of Simon, a small bit of movement had Grace’s eyes leaving the blood and moving onto the small form huddled near the front of the sub.
Grace’s hand dropped away from his face in shock, no longer caring about the blood smell hitting his nose. His eyes went wide as he took Simon in. Look, it was one thing to know he was talking to someone so small. It was another thing entirely to actually see Simon there, all five or so inches of him, moving and breathing and just being alive. He met Simon’s eyes and felt guilty over how much fear was in them. It made sense, of course, but Grace still hated the idea of anyone being afraid of him.
“Simon?” Grace kept his voice low, trying not to scare Simon anymore than he already was. Simon’s chest seemed to pause when he spoke, before starting up again, moving up and down much faster than before. Grace winced. “It’s okay! It’s okay, remember, we aren’t going to hurt you.” Grace hoped the repeated reassurance would help. He couldn’t imagine what Simon must be going through right now, being faced with a giant.
Adrian took a step closer, startling both Grace and Simon as both of their gazes snapped over to them. Grace wasn’t actually sure how much of Adrian Simon could see but Adrian was taller than the table and he must have been able to see enough because Simon’s eyes somehow went even wider. “Is real. Simon is safe. Adrian Rocky Grace promise.” Adrian said and, surprisingly, Simon seemed to relax, just the tiniest bit.
He took in a deep breath and Grace’s gaze fell back on him. “...Okay, just…give me a second.” Simon rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m…processing.”
Grace nodded. “Take all the time you need.” As he let Simon do that, Grace took the opportunity to look around the sub a bit more. It was a bit hard to see without leaning in closer but Grace didn’t want to startle Simon, so he kept his distance for the moment. His eyes fell back on all the blood but he forced himself to look at the other aspects of the sub itself.
He noticed that Simon seemed to be leaning against a console, one that he assumed was used to steer the sub. On the opposite end, and in the other half of the broken sub, there was a small, albeit busted, computer in the corner and a button that was just in the middle of the wall. There was also some sort of screen on that side but it was currently blank.
Most things in the sub were off, which made sense considering Rocky had sawed the thing in half. But there was still one light left on. A little green one in a strip where at the top it said O2. Oxygen. And Simon had only had one bar left.
Grace bit his lip as other worrying things became apparent the longer he looked. Like the lack of food, water, or other necessary supplies. The sub itself was pretty barren and busted up, not to mention again, all the blood. Combining that with the fact that the sub had been welded shut, well…
“Alright.” A tiny voice sighed and Grace honed back in on Simon, who was using the broken chair in order to help himself stand. Grace took in Simon completely, noticing his tattered clothes that, like the rest of the ship, was also covered in blood. But, Grace was quick to notice, the blood was mostly all on Simon’s left side.
The side where his arm was missing.
“Simon okay now, question?” Rocky asked, taking the initiative this time and startling Grace out of his observations.
“Uh, no, not really.” Simon gripped what was left of his left arm. “But, again, I’m choosing to believe this and all of you so…yeah.” He looked up and met Grace’s eyes. “And I really just want to get the f*** out of this ship.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s completely fair.” Grace also wanted him out of that blood soaked sub as soon as possible. It couldn’t be good for him to be surrounded by so much blood. Grace’s hand twitched and he realized there was only one real way to get Simon out. “Uh, can I…offer you a hand?” He asked, hesitant.
Simon seemed to get what he meant immediately and his gaze snapped toward his hands. Grace suddenly felt really self-conscious.
“I, um…” Simon tore his gaze away, looking at nothing. His eyes closed for a second and then they were back on Grace as they opened again. “Yeah.”
Grace nodded and went slow, knowing how much trust Simon was giving him to do this. He let his open hand hover outside of the big hole in the sub. He really should be wearing gloves for this but Grace figured if he didn’t touch anything in the sub, and washed his hands afterwards, he’d be fine.
He waited patiently with his palm up for Simon to initiate the contact. He didn’t want to grab him or restrain him, so he decided this was for the best. Simon looked at the offered hand, his eyes darting back and forth between it and Grace’s eyes. Grace smiled reassuringly. “It’s alright, I’ll be careful.” He said and Simon seemed to pause for a moment before giving a firm nod.
Grace held his breath as Simon reached out with his one arm and, oh so carefully, made contact with his finger.
The touch was feather-light. Grace could barely even feel it but that didn’t negate the warmth he felt at the contact. Simon seemed to feel it too, because he looked as frozen in awe as Grace himself felt. Grace offered him a smile and Simon’s lips started to quirk up in response.
And then something stabbed at Grace’s finger.
“Ow! What-?” Grace tried to snap his hand back on reflex but found he couldn’t move. His eyes widened as he watched Simon also try and take his hand back, but for some reason, his hand stayed firmly on Grace’s finger.
Something red connected them, a line that came from Simon and had embedded itself into Grace’s finger. It was hard to see but Grace swore he saw it moving. Simon was looking at it too, face ashen.
“Grace okay, question!?” Rocky yelled, coming up next to Grace. Grace wanted to answer but he wasn’t even sure what his answer would be.
“I-I can’t-” Grace tried, still pulling at his whole arm in order to take his hand back, but whatever had him wasn’t letting up. “Simon?”
Simon looked horrified, more scared than he had been when seeing Grace for the first time. Grace didn’t know what was happening but Simon’s expression was only making Grace panic more.
There was another stabbing pain in his finger and the red disappeared. But before Grace or Simon could react to try and separate again, there was a very sudden flash of red taking up his whole vision.
Grace felt himself being thrown backwards, hitting the wall hard and crumpling to the floor in a heap, his entire body tingling with sharp pain.
The last thing he heard before fully losing consciousness was Rocky crying out his name.
