Paws and Passions

Chapter Four - The Aftermath

The sound of the gunshot reverberated through the narrow alleyway, sending a chill down everyone's spine. For a split second, everything stood still. The next moment was a blur of chaos and confusion. Raine's ears were ringing, and her legs were so wobbly that she couldn't muster up any strength to stand. Sebastian was shielding her from sight and supporting her weight, but all of a sudden, his weight was suddenly on her and they slowly crumpled to the ground together as Raine tried in vain to support him.

"Sebastian? Sebastian!" Raine cried in alarm, pulling slightly away from his embrace and trying to lower them both to the floor as gently as she could. Her eyes scanned his pale face to his body, trying to assess what happened.

Sebastian didn't feel anything at first but an impact to his right shoulder and his body jerking backward by the force of the bullet. However, after a few moments of momentary mercy, the pain hit him in full force. The sharp, searing pain bloomed in his shoulder and he gasped as the breath was driven from his lungs. Despite the pain, he tried his best not to collapse directly onto Raine, only succeeding partially when his legs started giving up. He's been shot a couple of times in the past, and goddamn does the pain not get easier.

Raine saw the blood start pooling on his shirt where he was shot and her mouth opened in a silent scream.

"Sebastian! Oh my god, oh my god" she chanted, once she regained her voice. Her hands hovered over his wound, unsure of what to do.

Seeing that the alley Sebastian and Raine were blocking was much wider, the assailant chose to shoot Sebastian so that he could make a beeline out of that alleyway, which would prove more advantageous than the narrower alleyway blocked by the lone police officer. With Sebastian incapacitated, the assailant made his escape. Shinobi barked fiercely and attempted to block the man, and he raised his gun to aim at the mutt that was in his way.

"Shinobi, no! Come here!" Raine screamed, and thankfully, Shinobi must have heard the urgency in her voice and backed down, returning to Raine's side, growling angrily.

"Oh my god, someone's been shot. We need an ambulance, now!" the newbie officer shouted into his radio, his face pale and his hands on the gun trembling. He chased after the assailant, but the man already had a head start. The officer fired a couple of shots, but the assailant was surprisingly deft and the shots missed.

The sounds of the gunshots made Raine shake violently each time, but she tried to tamp down the suffocating panic. Shinobi pushed his cold nose into her arm, as if knowing her distress and was trying to give her strength and support.

Raine's hands trembled as she pressed down on Sebastian's shoulder, trying to stem the flow of blood. "Oh my god. Please, stay with me, Sebastian. Help is on the way."

Sebastian's vision blurred, but he managed to focus on Raine's face. "I'm okay," he rasped, though the pain was nearly unbearable. "Nothing new. All in a day's work. " He offered a little boyish grin.

Tears welled in Raine's eyes as she shook her head and pressed down as hard as she could. "I can't believe you're joking with me right now."

The minutes dragged on agonizingly until the wail of sirens signaled the arrival of the ambulance. Paramedics rushed in, quickly assessing Sebastian's condition and loading him onto a stretcher. Raine stayed close by his side, refusing to leave him.

As they lifted him into the ambulance, Sebastian grabbed her hand. "Raine... Don't worry."

She squeezed his hand tightly, her heart breaking.

Sebastian's eyes drifted shut as the paramedics worked to stabilize him. Angelica arrived at the scene shortly after and her eyes went wide when she saw all the blood and Sebastian lying limp on the stretcher. Her eyes held a hundred questions, but she reserved them for later as Raine passed her keys and told her to settle Shinobi into her apartment temporarily. Raine's brain had compartmentalized all the fear and was now working on autopilot, managing one task at a time. She suspected the hospitals wouldn't allow dogs in and didn't want Shinobi waiting outside for god knows how long.