Page 61 of Dance Practice, Marooned: Part 2

“Tati,” I gasp.

Before I even decide to move, I’m there, kneeling on the cold, slick floor by Tatiana’s side, and her blood is leaking out, slow at first, then faster, in time with the heart rate that starts slamming in her neck. She looks up at me and I see the bravest girl I know, absolutely terrified. Her lips move, trying to form words.

“Help,” I scream. “God dammit, help!”

Ace is behind me in a matter of seconds, his hands firm on my shoulders, carefully moving me out of the way as he kneels down in front of Tati, his eyes widening as he takes it in. “Oh fuck,” he rasps, his voice barely a crack. “Kellen!”

Suddenly, everyone is there, and so many voices wash over me, I can’t think.

I’m holding Tati’s hand, I don’t even know when I picked it up.

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” I say, because there are no other words in the world. “We’re going to get this out.”

Tatiana stares down at the spike, then at me, and her mouth starts to move. “Grace...”

“It’s okay,” I whisper, fighting back my tears with everything I have in me. “You’re going to be just fine.”

“Fuck,” Adrian keeps repeating, over and over.

“What do we do?” Kellen asks, his voice shaky. “Ace, what the fuck do we do?”

“Zeke!” Ace bellows, his voice booming through the cold night air. “Zeke!”

The ship rocks again, harder this time, and the movement has Tatiana crying out, an agonised sound I never want to hear again. Then, her jaw goes slack. She slumps forward against me and my arms go around her, as if I can do anything to fix this. In moments, I can feel the warm blood from her soaking through my clothes. Aggie screams, a long, broken wail and Rachel has disappeared to find Zeke.

“Tati,” I whisper, tears rolling down my cheeks. “Tatiana, wake up.”

Nothing.

“Zeke,” Kellen roars again as Ace rips off his shirt and presses it tightly to where the object is sticking out of Tatiana’s stomach.

Above us, the moon slides behind a cloud, and the night goes so dark a shiver runs down my spine. And in the cold, splintered darkness, the world stops moving for the second time in my life, only this time, it isn’t coming back.

I’m not sure any of us are.

13

TIME MOVES SLOWLY WHEN you’re scared.

It’s as if the universe wants you to live in that moment, to feel it and breathe it for as long as possible. Perhaps a twisted lesson. I don’t know.

All I know is I want it to stop.

Tatiana’s blood is coating my hands as I put as much pressure on the wound as possible. Zeke, the level-headed and calm one, swings right into action. He won’t allow anyone to move her, and instead we make a clear area for her to lean while he takes a closer look. She goes in and out of consciousness, not from blood loss, but mostly shock. Zeke said the blood loss isn’t as bad as he thought it would be, and that has to be a good sign, right?

But that doesn’t stop the broken shard of wood protruding from her stomach.

Everyone is moving, and yet it feels as though everything has stopped.

Ace is calling out to Kellen, Aggie is keeping it together but staring at Tati with fear in her eyes, Rachel is by her side, holding her hand and Adrian has gone on a hunt to wake Kaylee and see if they can find anything we can use. Me, I’m just standing, numb, staring down at my best friend and wondering if we are about to lose her.

“Hey,” Ace says, stepping in front of me, hands on my shoulders. “Goin’ to need you to keep it together. We gotta help her, you hear me?”

I nod, shaking my head. “Yes. What do you need me to do?”

“Sit by her, she’s scared.”

I do as he asks, carefully climbing down next to Tatiana and taking her other hand. Rachel looks at me, and I can see the fear and uncertainty in her eyes. She’s scared. We all are. I squeeze Tatiana’s hand, not sure if my warmth is what she needs or if it’s the only thing I can offer. Her eyes flutter, and her lips move, but she doesn’t wake up.