Burning Fury

XXV

"Alice, please, she's bleeding out."

Bleeding out? No, I'm on fire.

"All the more reason to end it all. Wouldn't you rather she didn't suffer?"

"Alice, not like this. Please. I love her."

"How tragic."

She raised the gun and pointed it right at me. A shot rang out, and then Ryder had her on the ground. One final shot was heard and my ears lost all hearing. Fire roared around me and I watched as the trees seemed to be coming down. I was worried about Ryder, but I couldn't form a coherent enough thought. I thought I was imagining Ryder, but he was above me, my blood all over his face and hands.

"Alice," I tried to warn him.

"It's okay, I knocked her out. Can you walk at all?"

"No," I breathed. "Go get help, Ryder. I'll be here when you come back."

"No, I'm not leaving you, Clover. Wrap your arms around my neck."

"You're bleeding," I said, using all my strength to reach up and touch his shoulder.

"I'm fine. It's a flesh wound. Come on, wrap your arms around my neck. Please, Clover."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, hardly able to hold on. As he lifted me off the ground, the world tilted and spun beneath me.

"Don't go to sleep on me, Clover Bree. Do you understand?"

"I'm on fire, Ryder. Please make it stop."

"If I could take your pain, I would."

A tree crashed down right in front of us, the flames already spreading to the severely dry ground. Ryder stumbled but moved out of the way in time.

"Ryder, please, you need to leave me," I gasped.

"Clover, shut up! I'm not leaving you."

His breathing was heavy and I could tell my dead weight was slowing him down. With one last burst of energy, I rolled out of his arms, landing hard on the ground. I coughed up blood, grunting from the pain.

"Clover, stop," Ryder sobbed.

"I told her...that I would sacrifice myself to save the rest of you...I wasn't...lying."

His tears were falling steadily down his face. "I'm not leaving you, Clover. I'll never leave you. You jumped in front of a bullet for me, I'm not leaving you now."

"The fire is spreading, Ry. You need to go."

He sat down next to me and pulled me into his lap. He ran his fingers through my hair as the fire spread around us.

"Maybe she was right, about us being Romeo and Juliet. If this is how it ends, I'm just glad we're together."

"I'm scared, Ryder."

He grasped my hand and squeezed. "I'm right here, Clover. Nothing will hurt you now."

His breathing quickened as the fire closed in on us.

"I love you, Clover. I always have."

"I think...I love you too."

He kissed the top of my head and we closed our eyes, waiting for the pain to take over.

"Over here!"

"Ryder," I whispered. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what, love?"

I shook my head, suddenly too tired.

"Over there! Go!"

Ice cold water rained down on us, dousing the fire around us, sizzling as it hit. Ryder sighed and leaned back against a tree. "They found us."

Ryder shakily stood up, having to use the tree to keep him from falling over. My eyes were so heavy, I wanted to give in to the dark, but Ryder began lightly slapping my face to keep me awake. There was a rush of people above me then. Ryder was pushed out of the way, but he fought as hard as he could to stay by my side. The next thing I remember was being pushed in the back of an ambulance.

Ryder stayed by my side the whole ride, holding my hand, squeezing every once in a while to make sure I was still there. The ambulance came to a stop at the hospital and I remember seeing helicopter blades, whirring as if in slow motion above me, and then I was in the helicopter.

"Dad," I whispered.

Ryder came into my line of sight. "Your dad isn't going to make it here in time. I'll be with you every step of the way, though. He'll drive the five hours to the capital and be there for you. Same as your brother."

"Your arm," I said, suddenly remembering he'd been shot too."

"They're going to patch me up on the helicopter, here. Don't worry about me so much, Clover. I'll be perfectly fine."

"What's happening to me?"

My head rolled to the side and I saw Ryder strapping in to the seat.

"Am I going to die?"

But no one could hear me. The medics circled around me the whole flight and I tried so hard to stay awake. Ryder kept his hand on my shoulder, only removing it when the medics needed to walk around me, and then putting it right back.

"I want to sleep," I said to him. He didn't answer.

I tried sitting up, but the medic gently pushed me back down. "You can sleep now, darling," the male medic told me. "It'll be okay, your family will be with you when you wake."

I took one last look at Ryder and saw him smile at me, but tears were rolling down his face and I went into the blackness with fear coursing through me.