The Year 3000

Chapter 37: The Attack Part 2

Scarlett's POV

Previously:

I was a mere thirty feet away, when a collective gasp could be heard over the roar of battle. A deadly silence slowly followed. It felt as if all of the air and been sucked from the room. Everyone stopped, no one dared move, or even breathe. With fear in my heart, I warily turned around . . .

. . . just in time to see King Zayn collapse into a heap on the upper floor ground, a gaping red hole protruding from his chest, right above his heart.

Ashton stood over Zayn's crumpled figure, in his hand a sword dripping red with the blood of the King.

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I stood speechless along with the rest of the room. No one could comprehend what had just happened.

Ashton had killed King Zayn.

Zayn's body lay unnaturally still on the cold tiled floor, thick blood pooling around his fallen figure. His chocolate brown eyes were wide open, his face permanently frozen in an expression of fear and disbelief. Zayn was undoubtedly dead. Suddenly, the crushing silence was shattered by a lone battle cry of anguish and loss. All heads turned to see King Liam pointing up at Ashton. His eyes were filled with nothing but hatred and loathing.

"Kill the Rebellion leader! Avenge King Zayn's death!" he commanded viciously, and almost immediately all vampire forces began running towards Ashton. My breath caught in my throat. There was no way Ashton could survive against all of the remaining Kings' forces.

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, an lone arrow was let loose, plunging itself deep into its target's chest.

"Ashton!" I screamed, feeling my stomach drop painfully down to my toes as the arrow sliced its way deep into his fragile, human chest. Our gazes locked, and for one second I could see the regret in his eyes, before he fell to the ground and my heart shattered. My newfound gun fell from my limp fingers, forgotten. Immediately, I flashed up the stairs to where he lay, and, as if it had never stopped, the war of vampires and humans resumed.

I didn't care.

All I could see was Ashton's sickly pale figure lying in a pool of his own blood next to King Zayn. An awful sob wrenched its way from my throat as I dropped down to my knees next to him. His wide hazel eyes looked up to meet mine.

"Ashton," I cried, pulling his head onto my lap, brushing his hair, now matted with blood, away from his face. I gripped onto his hand, avoiding directly looking at the arrow imbedded in his chest.

"I-It was a-an acc-accident, I-" Ashton coughed, blood spilling out of the side of his mouth, "I didn't-I didn't mean to. Zayn—He just came at me, and I lunged. I'm-" I shook my head, cutting him off as countless teardrops fell from my watery eyes onto Ashton's chest.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," I sobbed, my whole body shaking uncontrollably as I cried. "This wasn't supposed to happen. I don't—I can't live without you, Ashton."

It was the truth. I couldn't imagine a world without him and his sunshine. I didn't want to. If he died, the sun would go out, period. Ashton smiled weakly, though it looked as if it pained him, and he squeezed my hand.

"I love you. You'll always be my sister."

Then his eyelids began fluttering shut, and I panicked.

"No," I whispered, shaking his motionless body. "No! No- Ashton! Ashton wake up!" Hysteria gave my voice a hard edge. The tears wouldn't stop coming.