riptide- outer banks

114 | six feet deep

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"Holy shit, Kor. Your hands." Pope breathed out, dark eyes stuck on the blood that steadily dripped from her fingertips.

Crimson splotches fell to the sidewalk below, but she didn't care. "I'm fine." She said, taking a step forward.

They needed to find JJ.

She'd made it three steps when a hand gently grabbed her arm. "Kori, stop."

"I can't!" She shouted, taking a step away from Logan. "JJ is out there alone and we need to help him! We need to–"

"Look at your hands, Kori!"

John B's voice cracked in a way that made her freeze entirely. He wasn't angry; he was concerned. And that scared her more. Looking down, she finally saw what he meant. She'd been ignoring the burning sensation, but seeing the dozens of jagged cuts, the tiny shards of glass still embedded in her skin, and the pricks of blood all across the surface of her hands somehow made the pain deepen.

She blinked down at her injury. "I'm fine. I'll be fine."

Logan was already there, stepping between her and the decision. He already knew exactly how he could get through to her. His voice was calm when he spoke, keeping her steady amidst the chaos still ensuing just a few feet away. "You did your part, Kori. You got him out. Now, let us do ours."

Kori looked ready to argue, a sense of anguish crossing her face.

"I swear to you–" He gently placed his hands on her shoulders, thumbs brushing her skin in the careful way he always touched her when she was on the verge of breaking. "I swear to you, we'll find him. But you can't help if you've got shards of glass in your hands."

Cleo was suddenly at her side. "You ain't gonna help him like dis, blondie. Let 'em find him. I'll get ya patched up."

Kori reluctantly nodded her head. "Fine. Go. Find him."

Logan closed the distance between them, pressing his forehead to hers. "We will."

Then he was taking off down the street with everyone else.

"Okay, fast, Cleo." Kori pleaded, turning to her. "I don't care if it's perfect. Just get me back out there as soon as possible."

"You got it." She responded, lifting her head to see that most of the town had scattered.

Some were following after JJ and the pogues, others going home for the night. What she particularly cared about was the fact that the shattered police car was the least of Shoupe's worries. All of his deputies had gathered around him as they made a game plan near the wall of the courthouse. A game plan to catch JJ.

"Okay, girl. I got us a plan. Stay here." Cleo ordered, not waiting for a response as she left her by the huge tree they'd been by.

Kori could feel the pain more deeply now that she wasn't running on pure adrenaline. She forced herself to keep breathing normally, choosing to focus on Cleo rather than the pulsing fire that was her hands. The brunette had discreetly opened up the trunk of the police car, retrieving a first aid kit from the back. And now she was on her way back over to her.

"Sit. I'm gonna fix you up real quick. Promise." Cleo reassured her.

She moved quickly–as she'd promised–getting Kori seated against the oak tree. Her efficiency had come from survival, not training. She was no doctor; she just knew how to stay alive. The battered first aid kit had most everything they would need, tools and bandages already out in front of her.