On The Verge

Chapter 28- Army of Spots

——————Maddie——————

⠀⠀Tension hung in the air as we anxiously waited to see if Kenzie would begin breathing. I held my breath in nervous anticipation, time drawing itself out until each second seemed to last a minute and each minute, an hour.

⠀⠀Her body remained devastatingly still, and although I tried to tell myself to have hope I knew that it was too late.

⠀⠀She was dead.

⠀⠀I paused, finally letting it sink in that she would not start to breath— nor would she ever— because she was dead. Suddenly, Kenzie's chest expanded with a start as she sucked in a breath of air. I nearly yelped in shock as she coughed and sputtered, dirt exiting her lungs and forming a dark cloud in front of her before falling peacefully to the ground. I helped her into a sitting position, my eyes wide in relief. I kept one hand on her back as she coughed over and over again, clearing the dirt from her lungs.

⠀⠀She breathed heavily for a moment, catching her breath. I then realized that she was crying and I enfolded her in a hug. Wonder and relief washed over me. My little sister was alive, and I couldn't be more grateful.

⠀⠀A single sound then erupted through the dark night around us; a gunshot. The sound was echoed by a loud scream that reverberated among the trees. I knew that scream from anywhere. The exact pitch that belonged to none other than Kendall.

⠀⠀I was up on my feet in record time, panic now replacing the sense of relief. Was Kendall or Chloe hurt? Did they need help? My first instinct was to run into the woods in search of them, but images of Kenzie held me back.

⠀⠀I had just pulled her out of her grave, I couldn't leave her. I glanced back at her vulnerable being, conflicted. The moon shone behind Nia as she helped Kenzie to her feet. She brushed dirt from Kenzie's jeans as Kenzie attempted to rid her hair of the grainy substance.

⠀⠀She looked mostly recovered, just a little shaken. Nia is there, I assured myself. I knew that would be fine. But Kendall and Chloe may not be. A worried breath escaped my parted lips before I took off running into the dark woods.

———————Chloe———————

⠀⠀I fell to my knees beside Kendall, who was sobbing uncontrollably, her eyes trained on the bloody wound. I didn't know the first thing about first aid, let alone excessive bleeding.

⠀⠀My breathing quickened in panic as I struggled to think of a way to stop the bleeding. Kendall's hands were clasped tightly around her knee where the wound was located. Blood oozed out from between her fingers, staining the surface of her skin a crimson colour.

⠀⠀My already quick breathing became shallow as it progressed into hyperventilating. Black spots lined the fields of my vision.

⠀⠀This had happened before— the hyperventilation, the spots— they always came before a panic attack. I knew I needed to stop the bleeding quickly, before Kendall lost too much blood or my panic attack worsened.

⠀⠀Taking a deep breath, I carefully removed Kendall's hands from her knee. A fresh wave of blood gushed from the wound as I struggled to keep from throwing up. A ragged hole about the size of a bottle cap pierced the skin on the surface of her knee, blood trickled down in large quantities. I could not tell exactly how deep the puncture was, but the wound looked deadly.

⠀⠀I felt a vibration in my bones; I was shaking and with each passing shake my the panic attack worsened. Breathing became increasingly difficult, just like every step you take up a mountain becomes harder as the slope steepens. I hiccuped on my sobs, failed attempts to control the attack.

⠀⠀I couldn't stop the army of spots that invaded my vision during their attack. Each second that passed the darkness crept a little deeper into my feild of vision. I knew I only had moments left before the darkness consumed me.

⠀⠀I placed my hands over Kendall's wound, sealing the hole with the skin of palm. I could feel the blood pulsing against my hand. I applied as much pressure to the gunshot as possible, putting my full weight on it.

⠀⠀The army of spots now proceeded deeper into battle, taking up my entire vision. I relaxed my weight onto Kendall as I waved my white flag in surrender; allowing the black spots to win.

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