𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟-𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑

Shot

Rafe's POV

Abby and the dark-skinned woman hit the water with a large splash. I run up to the end of the ship and look over to see if my bullet hit the black woman; the woman I aimed for. Well, I aimed for the air around her. Not her specifically.

Both of the women surface in a matter of seconds. The woman I aimed for swims to the boat, but Abby stays in the water, not moving. My eyebrows furrow at why she isn't moving from her spot in the water, and I squint my eyes. When I see crimson pooling in the water around her, my eyes widen.

My God.

"Abby!" I yell, jumping into the water. I land right next to her, and I see the crimson pooling around her more clearly than before, tainting the water around us. When she sees me, tears fill her eyes, and she tries to swim away.

I grab her, locking her in my arms, her back pressed into my chest. She waves her arms around, trying to hit me, and kicks her legs, trying to kick whatever she can. "Stop fighting, Abby!" I yell as she thrashes in my arms. She continues fighting. Punching, kicking, biting—whatever she can do to get away from me. "Stop!" I yell, my voice louder than before. She freezes for a moment at my raised voice.

A sob escapes her lips. "You s-shot me," she stutters.

I didn't mean to.

"The b-baby," she sobs, and my breath hitches. I hit her in the stomach. Swallowing, I look away from her and up at the deck of the boat. "Someone help!" I let the crew out of the tween forward hall, so they should be able to help us.

The pogues sail toward us with their boat, but the crew members aboard the ship point their guns at them, stopping them from getting to us. "Go!" Abby yells. "Leave!"

"If you leave now, I'll keep her safe. I'll keep her alive," I tell them, my voice raised so they can hear me. "Like we could trust anything you say!" Sarah yells, pointing her gun at me. Pure rage lies behind her brown eyes and I can tell she wants to shoot. She places her finger on the trigger of the Glock she holds in her hands, and I brace for the blow, but it never comes. Her eyes flicker to Abby and she puts the gun down. "Abby-"

"Go, Sarah," Abby urges, her voice cracking. Something drops next to me, and I turn my head to see what it is. A ladder.

"Abby, I need you to climb," I tell her in her ear. "The baby," she cries, completely oblivious to what I just said. "The baby will be fine if you just climb," I tell her, moving toward the direction of the latter. "Climb!" I yell, swimming over with her to the ladder. She grabs onto the ladder and begins climbing up, moans of pain leaving her lips.

Only once she is out of the water and on the ladder do I see exactly where I hit her. She was shot in the abdomen. I swallow, knowing that isn't just dangerous for the baby but for her as well. Thankfully, we have a medic onboard.

"Climb, Abby. You've got this," I tell her, beginning to climb up the ladder. I glance toward the left and see that the pogues are still in their boat, not moving an inch. The pogues stay in their boat, unable to do anything but drive away, but they refuse to do that. They don't want to leave her.

Turning my attention back to Abby, I help her get onto the deck of the ship. Once Abby gets to the deck of the ship, she collapses onto the ground. I quickly catch her, bringing her into my arms. "We need a medic!" I scream. Some members of the crew run off, and the ones that stay point their guns and the pogues, and some jump in the water, most likely going for the gold and the cross.

"Get out of here!" she screams with all the energy she has left in her small body. "You'll die too! Go!" My heart drops at her words. You'll die too. Snarling, I pull her into my chest. "You're not dying. You're not fucking dying."