Before I Forget

Through Love all is Possible

Pain flashed through Sky's body like a bolt of lightning, and she screamed as she went down on one knee.

It wasn't Miguel's fist, it was the bullet that hit her. Once again it tore through skin and flesh and bone. Blood splattered. Sky tasted copper on her lips, the darkness surrounded her, the dark spiral that would fucking drown her—

No! No, I'm not gonna fall!

Drawing in a shaky breath, Sky opened her eyes, just to see Miguel's outstretched hand in front of her.

"Asshole," she breathed through her teeth, but took the hand and let Miguel help her up.

"Sorry," Miguel said, but he didn't really look like he was sorry at all. "I just wanna win."

As soon as she was back on her feet, Sky pulled her hand back. "By any means necessary, huh? Even if it means fighting dirty?"

"Nothing dirty about winning," Miguel shrugged, but didn't meet her eyes. He turned his back on her and walked back to his side of the mat, and as he turned to face her again, his eyes were black as night.

Sky rolled her shoulder, and the pain made her wince, but she chose not to care about it. Nothing was broken, it was just sore and swollen and there was nothing new there. She wasn't going to give up now - this fight would be over soon enough, anyway.

"Fight!" came the sharp command, and again Miguel launched himself at her, and Sky only barely managed to dodge the kick aimed at her shoulder. She began to panic, to fear the pain, to fear what might happen if he hit her shoulder again. She had been so close to falling into a flashback, and she could still feel it lingering on her. Suddenly she was scared of her opponent, that strange, angry boy with black eyes, and she retreated, blocking and ducking punch and kick after another, until—

A roundhouse kick to the same damn shoulder, and again she went down, a wail of pain escaped her lips and she couldn't stop the tears as she hit the mat hard.

And it isn't the mat anymore, it is the cold, tiled floor of her old school. There is blood on her lips and her shoulder is hurting so much that she wants to die - and then it hits her - she is dying. Her life is gushing out of her with all that blood, and it is harder and harder to draw in a breath, to keep her eyes open.

The gun lies on the floor next to Matt's feet, and someone is screaming, but all Sky can think about is Kat. She struggles to stay conscious, fixates her gaze on Kat's face as if it is the only thing that exists in the world. Her lifeless eyes. The blood that's spilling down her chin.

But what is the point of fighting the darkness? If Kat is gone, she has nothing worth living for. Nothing.

Tears fall to her cheeks and mix with the blood, and she lets the darkness in. It calls to her, and it is soft, it feels like home and Sky knows this will all be over soon. She knows she's going to see Kat again. When her heart stops, she's not scared anymore.

"It's not real!" Sky heard someone shouting. "It's not real! Snap out of it!"

Hawk's voice. And with a jolt, Sky remembered she did have things worth living for, things worth fighting for, things that would kickstart her heart over and over and over again as sure as the defibrillator the paramedics had used on her. As many fucking times as necessary.

And then, a hand on her shoulder - but it wasn't Hawk, it was Sensei Lawrence, and his ice blue eyes were wide, alert, and full of worry.

"Ginger, you okay?" he asked in a low voice.

Sky pushed herself up to a sitting position and took a shaky breath, then another.

Four counts in, six out. Again. Again. Again.