HOPE

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Third Person POV - Warehouse 1 Parking Lot - November 12th

"Help!" Liam shouted again, snapping his gaze back down to his wife.

He hovered his hand over Fallon's slightly parted mouth, trying to feel for her breath. He hardly relaxed when he felt small and short puffs of air brush his palm.

Her grey, sightless eyes stared up at him, telling him that she was gone, despite her breath proving otherwise.

Liam quickly placed his hand under her jaw, feeling for a pulse. He let out a deep, shakey breath when he could feel a soft thump through her skin.

She's still alive.

He told himself this to make him feel better, even though he knew she could be gone in a matter of seconds.

Liam carefully lifted her head from his lap, and he gently placed it down onto the concrete.

Looking back down to her stomach, Liam unbuttoned her red-stained shirt to analyze the wound. Breath uneven, he hesitated to look at it, afraid of what he would see.

He peeled away the thin fabric, cringing back at the sight of the gaping hole. It was centered between two thinner openings that reached vertically along the length of her torso.

He didn't know why or how the wound had a hole the size of a fist, but right now, he didn't care.

A foul stench wafted into his face, and he could easily tell that it was infected.

The edges of the opening were tinted yellow and crusted with pus, prominently evident through the layer of blood on top. The sticky substance was smeared all over Fallon's stomach, as well as on her hands from trying to cover it up just minutes before.

Liam knew that if he looked hard enough, he would be able to see her insides through the puddle of blood that had settled in the stomach hole.

Tears continuously fell from his face onto Fallon's skin, and, on accident, one dripped onto the wound.

Her finger twitched, catching his attention.

"Fallon?"

Her face was still the same blank as it was before.

Liam looked up and scanned the roads, praying that a car would drive by.

Giving one last look at Fallon, he stood up and rushed to the side of the road, snapping his head back and forth. He tried to see if a vehicle of any kind was coming his way.

The world was silent.

He tapped his foot on the ground and shook his hands impatiently.

He sighed as he spun back around, quickly making his way back to Fallon.

He dropped to his knees, checking her pulse once more. He choked out a small sob when he could just barely make one out. It was much smaller and much weaker than the last time he had checked.

He wiped away the tears in his eyes, only for them to pool again. A few more sobs escaped his lips as he gently held Fallon's face in his hands.

Her dull eyes stared up into the sky, not even the sun giving them their usual sparkle.

Tears kept falling from Liam's cheeks as he gazed down at his dying wife's face. He noticed that tears had fallen from her eyes as well, most likely from right before she collapsed, and he softly wiped them away with his thumbs.

"C'mon, Fal," he whispered through his soft cries. "Don't die."

He stared into her lifeless eyes. His face crumpled with sadness.

"I just got you back... I-I can't lose you again!" he sobbed, his voice cracking mid-sentence.

He paused to just look at the dirtied face beneath him. Leaning down, Liam lightly kissed Fallon's pale cheek, avoiding her parted blue-ish grey lips. He didn't want to cut off her source of oxygen, even if it would only be for a second or two.

He pulled away, his vision blurred with his tears.

"I love you," he said, the words barely leaving his tongue.

He stroked her cheek with his thumb as he sat in a distressed silence.

The silence was interrupted, however, by the screeching of car brakes. Liam jumped at the horrid sound, but his startled expression quickly turned into a look a pure hope.

He flung his head around to face the road, and he looked to see what the cause of the sound was.

A middle-aged woman hurriedly climbed out of the front seat of her car, rushing to the side of the road. She stood a little ways off from where Liam and Fallon were.

"Do you guys need help!?"

Liam sighed in relief.

Maybe there was still a little bit of hope after all.
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