Survive - Zalfie (BOOK 1)

21. Goodbye?

Chapter 21 - Goodbye?

Megan had successfully returned from killing William but Thomas' fate was very fragile at the moment. Tanya was still trying to save his life. She seemed to really know what she was doing but I wondered if it wasn't already too late.

"Zoe, we need you here," Tanya commended. I stood up and walked over to them. Blood was everywhere. I did see the bullet next to them though, which was a good sign, no? "I think we're losing him, I need you to talk to him. Keep him here. Do anything you can."

How was I supposed to do that? I knelt down next to him. Sadness filled my body as I saw how much pain he was in. "What do I say?" I asked them. Jim, who wasn't holding Thomas' body anymore because he wasn't moving at all, shrugged. "What would you want people to say to you?"

"Thomas?" I asked but there was no response. I stroked his cheek like he had done to me the other day. It hurt me so much to see him like this. "Please, Thomas," I begged him. Tears were rolling down my cheeks. He wasn't going to make it.

Surprisingly he opened his eyes, looking straight into mine. I smiled at him through my tears. He showed a forced smile as well. "Please don't die," I whispered to him. Tanya had reattached Jim's shirt and was pressing the wound so the bleeding would stop. Megan took Jim's arm and started to walk away, dragging Jim along, to give Thomas and I some time alone.

"Zo... I... lo-" he was trying to say something. I figured he was confessing his love to me. I gently placed a finger on his lips.

"Don't talk. Save your energy, doctor," I tried to make his last moments a little brighter by joking about him being a doctor for the last time.

"Bu-" he tried again but I just pressed my finger a little harder against his mouth. Thinking that this were his last moments on this planet I decided to make them worth it.

"I love you too," I whispered. I didn't add that I loved him as a friend, so he would at least die happily. That was the least I could do. It was all my fault.

"Keep talking Zoe," Tanya told me. "I think he's getting better."

"He is?" I couldn't believe what she said. Was there a chance that he could still make it? "Please, Thomas, stay with me." The tears kept flooding out of my eyes. I had no idea that I got this attached to him the last weeks.

Tanya stood up and came back a few moments later with a bottle of water and something that looked like pain killers.

"You had those all along?" I asked her shocked. She knew I was in a lot of pain because the splint of my wrist was gone.

"I was saving them for...." She hesitated a little. "Moments like this," she finally told me. "But I don't know if he'll be able to swallow them."

"He is!" I assured her. Turned out I had been a little too positive. We had several attempts but nothing seemed to make him swallow them. We didn't want him to get killed because the pills shoved into his trachea.

Half an hour later we had successfully made him swallow them. But he was exhausted by it. Tanya told me that I should get some rest. She would look after him. I didn't understand why she helped us. If I were her I'd be furious because well... I kind of killed her brother. I figured that she must need a doctor for some reason. After all, Thomas had said something about her being ill.

I went and sat with Jim and Megan. They immediately asked how he was. I told them everything, or well, not the part where I said that I loved him. They were glad that he was still alive but they didn't want to be too positive. He could still die after all.

"What are we going to do with Tanya?" Megan asked me. Jim flinched next to me.

"Thomas told me that she's ill or something. I think that's why she wants Thomas to live. She needs him," I told them.

"She isn't ill," said Jim. "She's pregnant."

"Really?" I blurted out. How could I not have thought of this?

"Yes! And she's asked Thomas to... kill the baby." Jim pulled a sad face.

"That's messed up!" I exclaimed.

"So that's why she wants him to live," he said. "Thomas told me that he didn't even know if he could do it though. That's why he didn't want to steal the food... Thinking about that, it all seems like such a bad idea now."

"We had no idea that William would shoot," I tried to make Jim feel better. I gave him a warm hug which he gladly accepted. I felt really tired and buried my head in his chest. My eyes closed but I knew I wouldn't get much sleep, knowing that Thomas was dying a few feet away from us. At last I did fall asleep next to Jim but in my dreams everything that had happened kept repeating itself. Why have we been so bloody stupid to not have listened to Thomas?

A/N: I hit 1k!!! Thank you so much, it means a lot to me that you're reading and, hopefully, enjoying this story! Who thinks Thomas will live/die? Or even better: would you want Thomas to live/die? Feel free to comment your opinion :) xx