He wouldn’t stop, tongue stabbing through.
I held my breath, praying for oblivion, unconsciousness, darkness- anything but experiencing this utter lack of control.
Black speckles filled my vision.
Blood whooshed in my ears.
An angel’s scream tore through the preserve, ricocheting through the center of my chest. The weight on me vanished and I greedily sucked in mouthfuls of air. Hot blood oozed down my cheeks. Gasping, the world vignetted-
Screaming and furious roaring continued as I drifted in and out. Everything tilted sideways- or maybe I had? I couldn’t feel my fingers or my hands or my arms.
“I’ll kill you! I’llfuckingkillyou!”
Courtney. A pained howl. A hard thud. A frustrated shriek.
Retreating footsteps. Or were they approaching?
Blood gummed on my lashes, making it impossible to open my eyes. I didn’t know if I wanted to right then. I wanted to melt into the ground.
“Tiny Dancer!”
“I’ll kill him,” she sobbed.
More footsteps.
A chant thumped in time with my heaving gasps.Pain. Pain. Pain.
“Holy shit- he's bleeding.”Serina.
“Help him, please.”Courtney.
“Hey, hey, it’s ok.”Miranda.
I coughed and coughed and coughed and I’d never stop.
A warm pulse of soothing calm hummed in my chest, fighting the tidal wave of terror.
A strangled growl from Jack. “Stay with them, I’m tracking down the bastard.”
“You’re not going anywhere alone.”
Featherlight touches skated my throbbing face.
“I’m here, I’m here. He’ll pay, my love,” my angel sobbed.
I reached for her blindly.
Fingers laced through mine. “Shh, it’s ok, I’m here.”
Vomit filled my mouth-
“Help me roll him over, he’ll choke.”
“Fuck, fuck,fuck.”
“I’ll carry him.”
The more they talked, the further I drifted into the vortex of darkness swirling me around and around and around into the whirlpool of nothingness.You’re not infallible. You’re not infal- You’re not- You’re-
