Ashton's POV
I kept shaking Luke's shoulder every now and again, to see if he would wake up. I would get an occasional groan in response so I would take that as a good sign that he was starting to wake up.
Then, his eyes started to move and they opened.
"Luke?" I whispered and he raised a hand to his head, squeezing his eyes tightly and letting out a quiet moan.
"We're still here?" He said and I nodded, smiling sadly.
"Yeah, buddy." I said, looking around quickly before standing up. I took Luke by the arm, helping him stand up and I placed the gun in my pocket.
"You good?" I said and he nodded, taking a few steps and then he continued to walk in front of me.
"I wonder where Michael and the girls are?" He asked and I shrugged, feeling my breath catch in my throat.
"I hope Grace is okay..." He said and I nodded, rubbing his shoulder.
"She will be, let's just see if we can find them." I said, walking in front of him, taking the lead.
I didn't know if I believed what I had just told Luke. When he was unconscious, all I heard was gunshot after gunshot and scream after scream. Who knew if those screams belonged to our friends?
We walked a little bit further into the forest and then we heard people approaching. I made a signal for Luke to stop and to get behind a bush and hide. I followed him and took the gun out of my pocket.
Then, out of the trees, ran Annie and Daisy.
"Hey!" I yelled, shooting up from our hiding place, but immediately I knew something was wrong.
Annie was supporting Daisy, who was limping on her right side and I saw there was blood coming out of her thigh. I ran over to them and Daisy's face lit up when she saw me, and I wrapped my arms around her tightly, burying my head into her shoulder.
"Ash, someone shot me." She muffled against me and I pulled back looking down at her leg. I helped lower her down to the ground and Luke took off his jacket, handing it to me, and I tied it around the wound in her leg. She bit down on her hand and whimpered in pain as I pulled the jacket tightly. I hated hurting her, but it was for her own good.
"I thought you were dead." Daisy whispered and I smiled, shaking my head.
"No, I'm not going anywhere." I said and I kissed her forehead, resting mine against hers.
"Wait, where's Grace?" Luke said and I looked up, looking to the girls. Daisy kept her head down and Annie was scratching the back of her head, almost looking for the right words to say.
Then it hit me.
She was dead.
Grace was dead.
And at that moment, Luke realised it too.
"No," he whispered, his blue eyes starting to fill with tears.
"Luke, I'm so sorry, there was nothing we could do." Annie said, coming towards him and placing her hands on his shoulders. He shrugged them off and walked a bit away from us, towards a tree.
I watched as he had his back to us and saw him drop to his knees and crying silently, as I could see his shoulders shaking visciously.
I felt a warm tear slide down my face and I wiped it away, looking back down at Daisy's wound.
"Can you stand?" I said to her and she looked down at her leg.
"I'm not sure, I can try." She said and I nodded, placing one of her arms around my shoulders for support.
"Okay, on the count of three." I said and she nodded. I counted and we stood, but Daisy cried out and I set her back on the ground again.
"I can't! It hurts too much, Ashton!" She cried and I ran my hands through my hair.
"Can you carry Daisy, Ashton?" I heard Annie said and I turned to her.
"We are going to have to move, or they'll find us." Annie said and I nodded, realising she was right.
I heard a slight sound and then I heard a gunshot echo through the silent woods... and I saw the bullet go through Daisy's head and she slumped in my arms.
Annie yelled out, bringing both of her hands up to cover her mouth, and Luke turned around, stared at her, his eyes starting to fill with tears.
Whereas, I felt nothing.
"Daisy?" I whispered, shaking her slightly.
"Hey," I said, shaking her again, lifting her up more and putting her against chest.
"Hey, come on, don't do this to me, Daisy." I said, a panic starting to rise in my body.
She can't be dead.
I set her out straighter, and tilted her mouth up to check her breathing, but I felt and heard nothing. The warm stinging sensation started in my eyes and I brought her closer to me again.
"Hey, you're okay." I whispered, nodding my head and I felt someone place their hand on my shoulder.
And in that moment, it hit me.
I let out a short breath and ran my hand through her blonde hair, which was starting to stain red.
A warm tear fell down my cheek as I started to shake my head back and forth.
"No, Daisy, stay with me. You stay with me, do you hear?" I said, my breathing becoming eratic.
"Ashton," I heard Annie say but I ignored her.
"No please!" I yelled, feeling tears tripping down my cheeks and I felt myself not being able to breathe. Everytime I breathed in, it was like the air was escaping from me, rather than going in, so I was hyperventilating.
I bent down, burying my head into her hair, crying.
"I can't live without you." I whispered so as only Daisy could hear.
From behind me, I heard the trees rustle and someone appeared but I didn't turn around.
Kill me for all I care.
Because what I cared about was gone.
