In My Blood- Arcane x OC (Complete)

Chapter 12- Death

TW: guns, drowning

Ezra woke up several hours later. The chair she was sitting in had kept moving and it startled her.  Without lifting her head she opened her eyes and looked around. Everything was fuzzy and all the talking she heard was muffled. Her senses hadn’t ‘woken up’ and that left her utterly confused.

She could feel the hands moving around her body. There was a set of hands tying her hands together in front of her. Ezra didn’t understand the need for it as she could barely hold up her own head, but that was the least of worries.

Hale started speaking, Ezra couldn’t understand what he said but she recognized his voice. She assumed Hale had told one of the men to pick her up since a few seconds later she was thrown over the shoulder of someone. From there, they started walking somewhere. All the moving up and down made her lightheaded so she closed her eyes and tried to focus on something else.

Ezra couldn’t help but think she was already dead and her spirit was just watching what was happening to her dead body. What felt like decades later, Ezra was thrown down to the ground. She assumed she was at the docks as she felt the wood beneath her and could smell the river.

Ezra's senses had slowly come back to her while they were walking. She opened her eyes to see that she was right, they were at the river. This didn't make any sense, Ezra wasn't dead. She could still feel her chest rising and lowering with each breath. Had they not completed the job, or were they going to drown her? There were a million thoughts racing through her mind.

One of the men walked back over to Ezra and sat her up. She was leaning against the wooden railing along the dock closest to the water. "Change of plans darling," Hale squatted down to Ezra. He was practically sitting on her, "You'll live to see another day. Your dear friend is coming so save you. You better hope he comes on time and alone." Hale stood up and laughed.

Now Ezra waited. She had no clue what time it was, it was a cloudy day so the sun wasn't any help. She knew it was light enough to be day time, but that was it. Ezra had also summed up that her 'dear friend' was Silco. Who else could it have been?

After what felt like hours of waiting, two of the men picked up Ezra and brought her to her feet. Ezra could barely stand, but if she fell back she would've fallen in the river. The railing wasn't high behind her, this dock had aged and wasn't as safe.

"Where is she?" Silco sounded calm, but he was filled with rage and panic. "Silco, how have you-" Hale tried for the unnecessary pleasantries but Silco grabbed the collar of his shirt, "Ezra, where is she?" Silco sounded a little more frantic this time. "She's right behind me." Hale moved his head to the side so Silco could look past him. Silco saw Ezra and his expression changed to a mix of joy and sadness. Silco was happy to see Ezra alive, but her bloodied and beaten state concerned Silco.

Silco tried to push past Hale, but he stopped him. "We had a deal. I'm here, on time and alone. Just let her go." Silco protested. Hale clicked his tongue, he did this a lot. He sighed, "But you didn't. You're not here alone my friend." This was true, but there was no way for Hale to figure that out. Or so they thought.

"You knew what was going to happen if you broke the deal." Hale sighed. Ezra was standing there looking at the ground. She was ashamed to have Silco seeing her like this. "No!-" Silco shouted.

Ezra looked up and saw Hale standing there with a gun pointed at her. She heard the fire from the bullet, but everything was happening in slow motion for her. She watched as the bullet slowly moved closer and closer to her. She watched it pass through her skin like it was nothing. Ezra felt the shock of pain that rippled out from her abdomen, as she fell back into the river.

Ezra had no idea what happened on the dock as she slowly sank. All she knew is that as the air in her lungs was replaced with dark murky water, as the sting from river toxins kissed her wounds. She saw a large figure splash into the water. As the figure moved closer, she thought she saw Vander, but that couldn't be possible.

(POV switch) Vander and Vi jumped into the scene as soon as he heard the gunshot. They immediately started beating the shit out of Hale and his men. Hale was left unconscious on the dock, blood slowly dripping from the side of his head. Hale's two men were left dead with several puddles of blood around them.

Silco had run to the edge of the dock. He wanted nothing more than to jump in and save Ezra, but memories flooded his panic and he was frozen. Thankfully, Vander ran past him and jumped into the river head first. Ezra couldn't swim with all her injuries and being tied up, so she was sat at the bottom. Vander grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back to the surface. Silco was leaning over the dock ready to pull her out. Vander passed Ezra onto him as Vander pulled himself out.

Ezra laid on the dock, completely unconscious. "She's not breathing." Silco placed his hand on her neck for a pulse, but nothing. "No. Cut her free. NOW!" Vander shouted. Silco pulled out a small knife and cut the rope around Ezra's wrists and removed the mouth gag. Vander started CPR in an attempt to save Ezra. Silco and Vander sat either side of Ezra, both unaccepting of Ezra dying like this.

Silco examined Ezra's body. Her entire body looked black and blue. She was covered in blood and scabs from cuts that covered her. Grief overwhelmed him as he teared up.

Vi ran over, "No." She stood completely still, paralyzed from the anxiety that filled her. She felt overwhelming pain looking at Ezra’s pale, bloodied face. Vander continued chest compressions, he wasn't going to give up, he wasn't going to betray Ezra this time, "please." He whispered through pants of breath. Ezra, finally, took a deep breath before coughing up water. Vander rolled her on her side so she wouldn't choke on the water again. "Ezra," Silco and Vi said in unison, relief filled them all.