Rabbits and Roses

Chapter Three

I had to have fallen asleep. It was too quiet in my mind. The only thing being heard was the music in the background and my footsteps echoing in the wall of my vast mind. I had been known to dream lucidly, but it still surprised me when I did it.

After looking around to notice it was same as always, white floor and the room large enough that the edges faded into grayness, I decided to try something new.

I thought extremely hard. Hard enough that I thought my eyes might pop from my sockets even though they were closed. Then I opened them. Still nothing.

I sighed and listened to the music for a while.

Then footsteps. I definitely heard footsteps. So I looked behind me. And guess who would be walking towards me but the very man I was trying to fathom up in my mind just minutes before? None other than Francis Bonnefoy himself.

Francis had a small smile on his face, his eyes half closed. He stopped right behind me. I swiveled myself around and stood up.

"What do I need to be ready for?" I asked. He didn't answer, just smiled more.

I grabbed his light blue shirt in my fists and looked up at him. "Look, I don't know who you are, but I need answers. I saw you an-."

Francis's eyes widened and his mouth opened. "Now."

"What? What's now?" I looked behind me and released his shirt.

He turned and began walking back into the grayness. The place where things don't ever leave my mind. Where I think about them and worry about them and never stop.

"Come back!" I yelled. He didn't.

Something hit me hard in the side and I fell. I opened my eyes, ripping my ear buds out, and looked down. Blood was seeping through my neon tank top and onto the bench. I lifted my shirt a little to see that I had been shot. Another bullet grazed my knee. I couldn't even scream. I was in shock, and I could do nothing but look around wildly. I tried to stand up but searing pain flushed through my body. "You're dreaming. This is a dream." Kept flowing through my mind, but the pain didn't stop and I didn't wake up.

And yet I was absolutely sure I was still dreaming, because there was Francis Bonnefoy rounding the corner with a gun out and rushing towards me. My eyes widened and I put my hands in front of me, but he didn't shoot me. Instead he helped me to my feet.

Here he was trying to help me and the only thing I could do was let out gruff "I've been shot" over and over again and he would nod and say "Oui, and you're doing good. It's okay, mon amour."

Halfway to the wall another bullet hit me in the back and I would have fallen forward had Francis not been holding me up. Tears ran down my cheeks like waterfalls, but I dare not say anything in fear that I attract more attention.

After what seemed like forever we made it to the wall. Francis sat me down behind it. He began shooting at people I could not see.

I've heard that when you've been shot this many times and are probably bleeding out that your vision fuzzes around the edges. This didn't happen, though I really wished it had. Instead, my senses increased tenfold and here I was sitting on the floor in a mess of my own blood while a very good looking stranger shot at my killers.

Finally he stopped shooting and leaned down to help me up again. I had my eyes closed in utter pain and he lightly hit my face. "You need to stay away, mon ange!" I nodded and somehow found the energy to pry my eyes open. Francis pulled me to my feet. We rushed as fast as I could go through the broken glass doors.

The lawn was ruined. Four police vehicles turned onto the grass, the men getting out and hiding behind opened doors with guns ready.

"Drop your weapon!" One of them yelled.

Another, the chief I'm sure, stood. "Hold your fire! He's got a hostage!"

Francis and I looked at each other, then he grabbed my neck and held the gun to my head.

"F-Francis... what t-the hell are you doing?" I wheezed.

"Just go with it, I'm going to get us out of here."

The policemen lowered their guns and Francis helped me shuffle backwards into the school again. Before we could even get in, the police began to drop. The remaining turned wildly, guns to the tops of buildings, but none could pinpoint the location of this hidden sniper.

Francis turned us around and we ran back into the school. "For once I thank you, Arthur." He mumbled to himself.

I pointed Francis to the correct hallways after he told me we needed to get to the back of the school. At the end of the last hall stood Mrs. English teacher herself, along with two of her goons. Her eyes widened and she ran out the door. I saw her get into her car and drive off.

Francis and I hid behind the corner again. I heard the doors open and grunting. Feet shuffled along the ground until heavy thuds resounded through the empty hall. Francis looked around the corner. "Mon Dieu!" he breathed. "It's about time you two decided to help out!"

I was definitely beginning to feel dizzy, but followed Francis out anyway. He let go of my hand to walk up to them. They had to be related in some way, both had glasses and cute childish faces.

I leaned against a locker and watched as he hugged and kissed them on the forehead. Even though they were tall, maybe six foot three for the one in the brown jacket and six foot for the other, Francis was still taller than them. They glanced at me and the shorter one gasped.

Pushing myself away from the locker, I tried to shuffle over to them. The pain was searing through me and I held back whimpers. I couldn't even get to them before I fell forward. The two caught me before I could hit the ground and Francis lifted me to my feet again.

"We need to get her to your house, Alfred." Francis said. Alfred nodded and opened the doors.

"Matthew, please help me get her to the car." Matthew came over to my side, avoiding the bullet wound, and slipped an arm around me.

As we eased our way outside an orange SUV pulled up. The back opened and the driver stepped from the car, walking and getting into the back. He helped Matthew and Francis pull me into the sheet covered back. Francis got into the front and Alfred got shotgun. Matthew slipped in after me and shut the door.

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Hecanada