My vision swirls as Demon tosses me on the ground like a rag doll. Two shots crack. I jerk, covering my face. Then I hear, “Mischief, stay down!”
I don’t know who yells it.
It sounds like Bill.
A thunderbolt of warmth explodes in my shoulder, sharp white agony. I scream, my body convulsing. Chief’s roar rises above the chaos, then silence. I manage to open my eyes, even though they’re filling with blood. Chief slumps, crimson running down his shirt. As his knees hit the ground, blood begins to pool beneath him.
“Daddy!” My voice is a rasp, broken.
Demon’s boot crushes into my shoulder, and I gag, vomiting bile and blood. He sneers down at me. “You’re next.”
Another shot echoes.
Demon’s body crumples beside me, blood spraying my skin. I blink against the pain, every nerve on fire. A trembling hand grips mine. Somehow, Chief has managed to drag himself over to me. He coughs, a terrible wet rasp, blood dribbling from his mouth.
“Baby...go, run...” he whispers.
His body goes still.
“Daddy!”
The scream bursts from me, raw and broken. I claw at his arms, soaked in his blood. He’s limp. I shake him, but he doesn’t move. My tears flood my face, hot and blinding. Sirens wail in the distance, too late. I collapse beside him, world spinning into darkness, every pulse a hammer blow.
Until nothing remains but black.
