Falling to the ground, I resist the cry from escaping and watch as Darlia is picked up by a group of soldiers and carried away. No. No, not Darlia.
I try to push myself up with my one good arm to fight more, but my body is too weak. My leg is now bleeding out, staining my sweatpants and the carpet while my shoulder is screaming at me to fix it. Pain is radiating through every inch of my body.
Forcing myself to get up anyway, I manage to get my good leg flat on the floor, forcing all my weight down and trying to push myself up. Just before the door closes with Darlia being dragged out behind it, I’m shot again by someone else this time, and fall to the ground.
My source just fucking shot me.
My face collides with the floor, my shoulder throbbing and tingling, which I know isn’t a good sign. I don’t realise I blacked out until I open my eyes and see the sun is in the west through my office window. It’s late afternoon now, Darlia would’ve been gone for at least a couple hours.
“Marcus!” I yell, but the words are barely coherent. The room is spinning, everything is fuzzy. Fuck, I’m losing too much blood.
Forcing myself up, I crash into the wall for support, turning to the mirror and finding the second bullet only grazed my hip, thank fuck. The first bullet feels like it missed bone, but I’ll focus on that later. My shoulder is my second biggest problem besides blood loss right now.
“Marcus!” I call out again. Shit, is he dead? Was he killed? I was so focused on getting Darlia out, I forgot about Marcus and Bella. I feel my stomach drop with nausea.
Limping, I crash into the other side of the hallway wall, the impact landing on my already damaged shoulder. With a grunt, I push off and limp to the top of the staircase. I can do this, Marcus and Bella need me.
They’re alive, they have to be.
Fuck it. Using the remaining adrenaline in my body, I run down the stairs, better to do it all at once and suffer the pain after than do it slowly. The living room and kitchen are empty, they’re already gone. Marcus is missing, and Bella is probably already on her way back to The Academy.
“FUCK!”
I failed her, I broke another promise to Darlia. She looked so hurt, and I did that. I did that to her. Fuck, I’m such a prick.
“Calm down, it’s not that bad.”
I turn to look behind me, my eyes widening as I see Marcus, bruised, beaten, but alive. I’ve never been happier to hear Marcus’s voice. He closes the distance and pulls me in for a hug, I manage to wrap my good arm around him.
“I thought you were dead.”
“I didn’t escape those bastards just to die by them ten years later.”
I laugh, but it’s hollow, before pulling away. “I need you to do my shoulder, it’s dislocated.”
Marcus grins as he wraps both hands around my arm like it brings him joy to be the one fixing me, but inflicting pain. “Do you want a countdown?” Asshole.
“Just do it, Marcus.”
“Three, two—” Pop.
Fucking hell.
I look over Marcus’s shoulder and see Bella standing there, her arms wrapped around herself looking lost. They forgot her. “Oh thank fuck, you’re okay.” A sigh escapes, one less thing for Darlia to hate me over.
“I need you to stitch this.” I look to Marcus who nods, already running off to go get the first aid kit while I sit down in the closet chair. The sudden pain starts to really hit now that the adrenaline is wearing off.
“Was any of it real, with Darlia?”
I look up at Bella like she’s just asked the stupidest question in the world, because she did, and she knows it. She’s upset. Her friend’s just been taken, and I get that. But there is nothing I wouldn’t do for Darlia.
“More than you know.” My voice is rougher than I would like it to be. I’m tired, stressed, in pain, and fucking angry. Darlia probably thinks I’m a monster, that I knew the Overseer would be in my fucking office, but I didn’t. They set me up, and it worked.
“We’ll get her back,” I promise Bella who nods, tears streaming down her face.
“Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?” I’ll break their hands if they did, but she shakes her head. Good. That’s one less problem for me to worry about.
“Can you grab my phone? I need to find out where they’re taking her. It should still be in the kitchen.” Bella nods, walking away as Marcus walks back into the room, kneeling down beside me and pouring some chemical onto a cloth, placing it against my hip.
