Joel Miller x Reader

Forty-Eight

The air burned in your lungs as if someone had mixed oil and gasoline and set it on fire.

Your body twitched, the instinct to survive kicked in and you wanted to swim back to the surface to catch your breath.

But you forced yourself to keep your head under water just a little longer, to make sure the group didn't spot you right away.

Pressure spread inside your head, pressing against the inside of your skull as if your brain was about to pop out. Your nose broke the surface of the water, a cold wind brushed your skin.

Suddenly the water felt so much warmer. It hurt to breathe fresh air, but what didn't kill you made you stronger.

Pulling your head back under the water, you dived on.

The water was so dark that it was hard to find a way through. At first you thought you were swimming in the wrong direction, but when your outstretched fingers hit wet earth and buried themselves in the sand, you knew the shore couldn't be far away.

Again you surfaced to catch your breath. This time you dared to lift your head completely out of the water and look around.

In the distance, the dogs were barking.

You had to cough, the air still scratched in your chest.

The pursuers were already so far away that their bodies were barely more than outlines in the distance. Their voices filled the air. They were shouting, ordering the base to brace itself.

Sirens sounded. The dogs barked louder, more aggressively.

Without thinking that you might be spotted, you swam the last few meters to the shore. Your own breath filled your ears. A few more meters, then your feet found a foothold in the sand and you pulled yourself ashore, panting.

Water poured out of your soaked clothes, which were so wet that it felt like you were carrying twice the weight of your body on your shoulders.

The water flooded the land underneath you, melting the snow and revealing the earth beneath. Red drops mingled with white.

The sound of an engine running came from afar.

Your eyes popped open.

Between the trees, within reach, the rusting paint of a car flashed.

The pain returned. Gasping, you pressed a hand to the wound to see how bad it was and had to inhale sharply as a layer of watery red wetted your palm.

You tried to get up, but slipped and fell back into the water with your legs. The splashing sound was so loud that you had to squeeze your eyes shut and bite your lips, cringing.

Holding your breath you crawled back on land and listened.

The barking of the dogs had stopped.

Tensely, you cast a glance over your shoulder.

It was suddenly so quiet.

Maybe even too quite.

There were no more people to be seen in the distance.

Instead, something was moving in the bushes on the shore. Breathing heavily, you managed to pull yourself up by a tree and stumble into the forest. Thick drops of blood fell into the snow and drew a clear line.

Dark outlines appeared in the distance.

Dogs barked. They were not far away. And wherever the dogs were, people couldn't be far.

Now you could hear the voices again. Out of the corner of your eye you caught a glimpse of their silhouettes in the distance, high up on a rock.

As soon as they entered the valley from up there, you would have a problem. Your legs weren't strong enough to run and the pain that stabbed your side with each quick breath wasn't helping either.

Distracted by the danger, you tripped over a root, fell to the ground, and had to stifle a pained scream. Your heart was beating wildly, adrenaline was trying to keep you alive, but your body was weaker than expected. You tried to get up, but slipped and fell back into the mud.

With the last spark of will to survive, you grabbed the roots of the trees and dragged yourself through the mud, under some bushes.

Breathing heavily, you had to swallow. Blood welled up between your fingers.

The world blurred before your eyes.

The footsteps became louder.

The barking of the dogs sounded close.

Too close.

Cautiously, you glanced through the dense leaves.

The car seemed miles away. It was at the edge of the forest, where the crumbling road did not pass the town. The engine was still running and you thought you could recognize a familiar face in the driver's seat.

Swallowing hard, you squinted your eyes. The pain drowned your mind. Gritting your teeth, you managed to suppress the trembling in your body and crawled on without getting noticed.

The car came closer and closer.

Behind you, someone called your name.

A cold shiver crawled down your spine, and for a moment you lost focus. But you didn't stop. Gasping, you put one trembling step in front of the other.

As you did so, the world around you disappeared and everything drowned in a dull pain that dug through your lungs.

Again someone called your name, but it sounded like a threat.

Your own breath echoed inside your ears. All you could see was the car.

It was within your reach. Just a few more steps. Your hand reached out for the door.

In this blurry mess, Joel's face appeared.

His eyes fell on you. (E/C) mingled with hazel.

He moved, it looked like he wanted to open the door to help you. But he faltered.

His eyes jumped upwards.

You couldn't see what he was looking at.

Or who.

Your head turned, from the corner of your eyes you could spot a silhouette.

With a hateful expression on his face, Owen raised his riffle. His finger twitched on the trigger.

A shot rang out. The bullet chased through the air.

Pain ripped through your lower body, tearing you to the ground. All the air was squeezed out of your lungs.

Overcome by pain, you remained lying on the ground, twisting and twitching in your own blood.

The entire world drowned in tears and a pool of red.

Nothing mattered anymore. Darkness crept into your eyes, consuming your mind.

One more breath and everything was gone.