Awake

TWENTY FIVE

 "Paige? Come on, sweetheart – you're ok, we're nearly there. I promise. Paige?"

Her arms dropped limply off my neck, and I had to reach backwards to catch her before she hit the grass.

"Oh, shit. Oh no. Oh shit. Shit. Shit, Shit. Shit. Shit..."

I knelt down, and reached around to pull her in front of me. Paige's head lolled back limply. Blood was running in dark rivulets from her ears, nose and eyes – it was so dark it looked like cracks through china – as though her small face was a broken porcelain mask.

"Paige?" I'd survived a lot so far. Despite everything that had happened, I was still me, still Anna. I remained myself – the girl I'd been before the virtual world first cracked open in front of me. But I knew without a doubt that if I'd killed this girl by bringing her here, that Anna would be shattered, gone.

I pressed two fingers against her throat and felt her pulse, slow and regular. It took me a few terrified breaths to scrape my ragged thoughts together again. I had to be strong. I had to think. Nothing had changed. I had to get to Jake. Faster.

I picked Paige up again, and increased my pace. We were just one hill away from the café. As we drew closer and the hour neared five, the world started to stir. Occasional houses had their lights on. It was still dark enough that streetlights streaked the footpath – but once I had to duck behind a tree at the side of the road to avoid a jogger. I had to hide again when a garbage truck trundled up the opposite side of the street. I couldn't help but remember the dark car that had inched slowly down the street towards Jake and me that day in the acid rain.

It felt like it took forever for the truck to move onwards. As the garbage men joked and laughed, I could feel the life ebbing out of Paige.

As soon as the street was clear, I continued on, my arms aching and seized up around her body. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to let go of her when I did find Jake.

That's when I did find Jake.

He was getting out of a battered car that I didn't know or care the make of. He hadn't noticed me. I grabbed hold of his shoulder, and he spun around – a ferocious expression on his face. He shoved me backwards, and I stumbled, slipping off the footpath and into the gutter. My back thumped against his car. I maintained my tight grip on Paige. She groaned as the impact shook through both of us.

"Anna?" he said, his expression shifting to something I didn't understand as he recognised me.

"You have to help her," I said desperately, "She's a Partial, and she's breaking down over here – I brought her across, but I don't know where to take her back to. You have to take her somewhere safe, now! Please, Jake."

His eyes flickered from my face to Paige, as though he hadn't even noticed her in my arms before.

She opened her eyes blearily, "Anna?" she said.

"Oh, thank God. Paige, this is Jake," I said, "He's going to take you back, somewhere safe."

"What did you do?" asked Jake urgently, "You're hurt."

"She's more hurt!" I snapped, "Take her, please, I'll do the training, I'll do anything." I pushed Paige at him and he took her off me on reflex. 

Paige grabbed hold of my sweater – and with it a fistful of hair – so I was still tethered to her. "Anna," she said fiercely, jerking my head closer to hers. "Don't leave me."

"I can only take one person to the unworld at a time," said Jake.

"Don't leave me," said Paige. "I'm scared."