Chapter One
MERCS
Puff
Puff
Puff
Air forces from my lungs into Effa’s so hard I barely remember to breathe myself. My lips are dry, my heart hammering like it’s trying to claw its way out of my chest. My movements are frantic but focused as I move from Effa’s lifeless mouth and lace my fingers together, driving them down on her sternum.
I don’t even know if I’m doing this fucking right.
Her head sways with every compression, but her eyes stay closed.
Pump
Pump
Pump
Four… five… six…
… thirty, I think, then seal my mouth over hers again.
Puff
Puff
Puff
Her chest rises under my breath.
The droning music overhead blends with the pounding in my ears. Sweat runs down my temples as Andi kneels nearby, crying. People crowd around us, but no one moves. No one helps.
“C’mon, baby… come back to me,” I rasp, pumping harder while her skin turns ghost pale. “Effa. Fuck! C’mon…”
Two minutes… maybe more. I pull back, panic now tearing through me as I ball my fist and slam it down on Effa’s chest.
Her body jerks.
Hope flares.
Nothing.
“Stop dying on me!” I roar, slamming both fists down harder than I should.
Her body convulses again, and when she gasps, the sound rips through me. She collapses back, and I lower myself over her mouth, desperate to catch the slow, uneven sound of her breathing, and the relief nearly knocks me flat.
Medics push in beside me, hauling me out of the way. “Sorry, but I need access.”
I stumble back, hit a pole, and sink to the floor. They work on her immediately with a blood pressure cuff and an oxygen mask, controlled and efficient, as if they have done this a thousand times.
But all I hear is ringing.
My body goes cold, and I’m shaking so hard my teeth chatter. I close my eyes and pray I did enough.
“Let’s move.”
