Elle

Death...Or Delusion?

As Nic collapses onto the ground, Elle breaks free from the boys' grip, and she quickly runs to Nic. They quickly surround him, and try to lift him off from the dirt.

"Okay... On my mark, 1..2..3!!", Leo counts down. The boys work together to pick Nic up, and while he is being lifted, he groans in pain as they carry him away from the area. While fading in and out of consciousness, listening to the muffled voices from the friends, they finally bring him into the corner store. The boys struggled to keep Nic steady, carefully bringing him through the tight doors. Upon entering the store, Elle quickly scouts for medical supplies, scanning up and down the aisles rapidly. 

" Guys, right here!", she yells out, signaling the group to come over. The boys cautiously find their way to the aisle, when suddenly, Nic collapses onto the ground, stirring up commotion amongst the group. The two people working at the store take notice of the disturbance going on.

"Nic come on buddy, stay with us", Leo replies worriedly, trying to keep Nic awake. Elle brings the supplies to the group, and she watches in horror of Nic's life threatening condition.

"...Elle...", he moans, trying to focus on her.

" Nic, I'm right here ", she replies, on the verge of crying. He looks up to her, staring into her tearful eyes for a moment. He watches her in admiration, brushing her hair aside, all until he passes out.

" Nic?!?", she exclaims, raising her hand over her mouth in utter shock. Tear drops began to fall, and she backs away from him.

"Nic come on, stay with us!", Leo yells out, attempting to wake Nic up.

" Elle, I need you to be somewhere else for now, Link take her outside", he commanded while she watches hopelessly. As Link escorts Elle just outside the building, the two workers approach the group, watching as they stress to heal Nic.

"What happened?", one of the workers asks.

" It's a long story, I'll tell you later, right now we need your help, we need you to pull this metal out", Leo replies anxiously.

"He needs a hospital", the other worker says.

" NO", he quickly yells out, scaring both the workers. "We can't take him there, we need you to trust us, I swear I'll explain the whole story later, just right now we need your help", Leo explains loudly and impatiently. The workers nod, and they assist him.

"Okay, on my mark, we need to pull this metal out hard, and we need to be quick about it", Leo stresses. He takes a deep breath, and wraps his fingers around the blood-drenched blade.

" On my mark...", Leo adds in, with his voice fading out.

While Nic remains unconscious and in a deep sleep, he is elsewhere in his mind. He wakes up terrifiedly, hyperventilating and trying to catch his breath. He sits up, looking around, seeing that he is not where he used to be.

"Oh no...", he panics.
" Am I dead?", he asks himself distraughtly. He stands up, observing the vast whiteness that surrounded him. He walks slowly, touching his chest as of now, his injury is completely absent.

"No....this can't be...", he comments, with his voice cracking.

As he walks further, he takes notice of something in the distance, causing him to walk faster. Once he gotten closer, he starts to make out a figure. Finally, he sees clearly that the figure is a girl.

"Elle?", he asked outloud. He approaches the girl carefully, while she is turned away from him, looking into the distance.

" Elle..?", he asks again, finally seeing the full image. He stands directly besides her, pausing to see if she is aware of his presence. She looks towards him, but the expression on her face is rather..different, far from her usual self.