The Chosen Ones: Book 3: The War

25

Phil came to a screeching halt in front of the door, sending a cloud of dirt into the air. He quickly got out and helped Gavin load Shaun into the bed of the truck.

"We leaving yet?" Shaun asked.
"Hang in there, man." Phil said. He looked at Shannon. "I actually can't believe we made it out of there. I gotta be honest, I wasn't too confident."
"I'm a little surprised myself." She replied.
"Please." Shaun remarked. "I never had a doubt."

Once they were all in Phil drove about a hundred feet away. He left the engine running. Now, all they had to do was wait.
Shaun's head was resting in Sam's lap. He looked up at her. "You were great in there. Casey told us you were a badass."

"Well obviously." Sam joked. She wanted to keep him talking so he didn't pass out, for fear he may never wake back up. He had lost too much blood already. Shannon leaned over the truck.

"You okay? They'll be coming soon. Do not die on me. You hear me?" She said.
"Yeah, yeah." Shaun replied. "She's always yelling at me." He said, smiling at Sam.
"That's cause she loves you." Sam's replied.

Her remark almost brought Shannon to tears. The thought of losing another friend would be too much.
"C'mon!" Phil yelled. "What the fuck is taking them so long?"
"I'm going back in." Shannon said, throwing a rifle over her shoulder.

Phil got out of the truck. "No you're not! We stick to the plan! If you go in there and they end up coming out we gotta go looking for you. You know this Shannon! You don't think we all want to go back in?!"

"Okay! Stop yelling at me!" Shannon screamed.
There were many scenarios that could be going on. Matt's entire group could be dead, some of them could be, or they all could be on their way out. There was just no way of knowing. Matt had given them an exact time, 11:00. The only thing they could do was wait.

"Guys!" Gavin said. "Relax! We did our job, let them do theirs. Yelling at each other isn't going to help."
"Yeah." Shaun said through short breaths. "Shut the hell up. All of you."

His breathing had almost stopped at one point, then he coughed, spitting up blood onto his shirt.
"Guys!" Sam yelled. They came to the back and huddled around Shaun. He pulled his chain off his neck and put it in Sam's hand.

"Take this." He said.
"No, it's yours." She cried.
"It's yours now."
"Give it to Jenna when you see her." Sam told him. "She loves you."

Shaun pointed to his heart. "Nah, she has this."
Shannon gently slapped his cheek. "You stay with me. Do you hear me?"
Shaun's eyes closed and they all heard him take his last breath. He was gone.

Shannon held his face in her hands. "No, no, no." She looked to the door again, praying to see something, someone running out, just any kind of sign form Matt's team.

Phil eyed the doors. Tyler had healed Shannon after she had died that night on the mountain. But that was almost immediate. If he didn't come out soon there might be no reviving Shaun.