Red Spirit

{32} Guilty (Sad Alternate)

I felt the bullets slice through first my arm and then my shoulder, and I have to say it's an experience I've never wanted to feel again. The guy had the aim of a storm trooper, but that doesn't mean to say that I wasn't in the worst kind of pain that I'd ever experienced.

I tried to talk, maybe sass the guy into thinking that he hadn't actually shot me, but from the look on his face he wasn't going to buy a second of that. He knew how much pain I was in; he was enjoying it.

Searing whips of agony tore through my body, starting at the tips of my fingers and travelling up my spine torturously slow. My eyes were blurry, but that was because I was crying.

Suddenly it was too bright.

Suddenly, everything was slanted. Had I fallen over?

Someone was running, no idea where, but I could feel the vibrations in the ground that I was now lying on like drum beats rattling through my body. Groaning, the first sound I'd made since he shot me, I clutched at one of the wounds on my arm, trying to blink the blurriness away.

The running footsteps stopped, "Red? Red!"

Oh the panic in his voice was slightly refreshing, but I couldn't even smile in response, only clutch and grab at my arm and –oh I'd started shaking, no vibrating, that was completely new. Was I going into shock?

The blur of blue and black collapsed next to me, hands hovering over as if not knowing where to go first, "Red? Speak to me, stay with me!" His hands finally decided what to do, heading for my shoulder –or chest, actually it's far closer to my heart than shoulder- and putting as much pressure on it as possible.

Ow, that had to trigger the dots dancing along my already blurry vision didn't it? Just bloody perfect. Excuse the pun.

"Wren –it's gonna be okay- just say something, anything!"

My tongue was molten lead, but I managed to get it moving a tiny fraction enough to choke out, "Oh fuck," that summed it up quite nicely don't you think?

"Wren..." his voice was as weak as I felt; "Help is on the way-" He broke off, not a polite thing to do to the dying girl, huh?

Was I... I was dying? Never thought I'd say that, never thought it'd be like this.

At least I could do it melodramatically.

I forced my body to stop shaking, as in physically had to strain myself to stop the vibrations, "Will... I- I'm not ... gonna die... Got it?"

He choked out a surprised laugh, "You called me Will. You only call me Will when you're being serious."

"I... am." I felt my eyes roll back, but Will grabbed my face and leaned closer, not that I could see very well, but I could feel –aside from the still present burning pain of bleeding to death- the tickle of his hair on my face.

"We... did it though? We- stopped 'em?"

"Yeah," He started tracing patterns on my face, was he trying to make me sleepy?

Oh... "That feels nice..." I sighed, and leaned into his touch.

The quivering stopped suddenly, but I lost the ability to move my arms. They flopped uselessly at my sides, and my suddenly clear vision eyed the massive puddle of blood that I was lying in.

"Wren? Wren! Stay with me Wren you gotta fight it, come on keep talking Wren you're amazing at that, just answer me -come on! Please answer Wren, I don't think I can do this without you please just-" He was clutching at me as if I was a lifeline. But I wasn't. I was dying.