Someone runs towards me, standing me up and jerking me towards the house. I don’t know what’s happening.
“Krypt?” Maddox yells again.
“Don’t you fuckin’ see? They knew she’d come out here, which means . . .”
He doesn’t get to finish, because the sound of gunfire rings through the trees. A bullet zooms right past my head. I scream and begin running towards the house. Another shot rings out, and a burning pain rips through my shoulder. I drop to my knees, crying out in agony.
“Get her in, now!” Krypt roars.
Someone leans down, lifting my body and dragging me through the front door. Another shot hits the pole beside my head as we pass it. When I’m inside, I’m rushed down the hall until whoever has me reaches a bathroom. I see it’s Grimm, when I manage to focus through my pain. He lays me on the floor, pulling out his gun. He lays me directly under the window, so that I can’t be shot through it.
He pulls a towel off the rack and presses it against my shoulder. “It’s goin’ to be okay.”
“It hurts,” I wail.
“I know. Stay still. You can’t afford to move right now.”
“Krypt,” I croak.
“They’ve got this.”
I hear more gunshots, doors slamming, and girls screaming, before everything falls silent. I am still shaking through the pain, my vision blurring as my body threatens to drop into darkness.
“Oh God, it hurts,” I scream.
“Hush,” Grimm says again. “It’ll be over soon.”
My head swims and my eyes flutter closed. I’m still screaming, but soon darkness clutches me and takes me with it. I let it, too. I need the escape from the pain, because the pain is too much, and I feel as though I’m going to die if I don’t get away from it for just a second.
“Ash,” I hear Grimm say as I sink further. “Ash wake up.”
Then I hear nothing.
~*~*~*~
“Motherfucker, she’s bleeding,” I hear through a foggy haze.
“Stitch her, fast. If you don’t, she’ll lose too much blood. The bullet is gone.”
“Fuckers. I’ll kill them all.”
“Just focus, Krypt.”
Krypt?
I open my mouth and try to squeak his name. A hand strokes over my face, only barely there. “I got you, baby. We’re goin’ to make this better.”
“Load her up, Krypt. It’s goin’ to fuckin’ hurt.”
Maddox.
“You want me to fuckin’ drug her?”
“You got a better idea out here?”
“Fuck.”
Everything goes quiet as I drift back into my unconscious state, but before I’m fully out, I feel a needle being plunged into my arm. Then everything goes black again.
~*~*~*~
I wake again. This time I’m bouncing. Like I’m in a car.
Everything hurts.
My tongue is dry.
I cry out hoarsely, desperate. Where’s Krypt? Where is he? I want him. I need him.
Krypt.
“I got you baby,” a soft voice says. “I got you. You’re safe.”
Krypt.
I reach out, my fingers desperate to feel him. My mind is spinning, but I know I need him, almost frantically. I clutch at anything I can, my fingers curling around something soft.
“It’s okay,” he murmurs, placing a warm hand over mine.
“Krypt,” I wail. “Krypt?”
“I got you.”
“Krypt.”
“She’s hallucinating. Just hold onto her.”
“Who’s there?” I cry, hearing the faint voice and feeling my panic rise.
“Ash, I got you honey.”
Krypt?
I cry out for him, reaching around frantically again. I feel a chest, but I don’t know whose it is.
“I’m sorry, Krypt, I’m sorry. Don’t leave me out here. Please don’t leave me out here. I want you. I do want you.”
“Hush, you’re going to be fine. Just hang in there.”
“Krypt!” I wail. “Please don’t go.”
Another sting pushes into my arm, and once again my world is taken from me.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I wake to the sounds of voices. I shift. I’m on a bed. I can feel the soft mattress beneath my body. I let my eyes flutter open. I have to blink rapidly to gather my bearings. I stare, confused. I’ve never seen this room before. Where am I? I try to swallow, but my tongue feels like a dead weight, dry and scratchy.
“Krypt?” I croak.
Nothing.
I try to sit up, only to cry out in pain and drop down again. I turn my head and stare down at my heavily bandaged shoulder. I got shot. Oh my God, I got shot.
Leo.
“Leo!” I cry, trying to sit up. “Leo.”
The door opens and before I can say another word, Krypt is beside me, his big arms steadying me. “He’s at the hospital; he’s okay. You’re okay.”