A/N
Also, song for the chapter. "The Last Night" by Skillet. Play when you see "****"
Carmen
I'd never been as scared to see blood as I have been now, when I laid my eyes on her stomach. Her hand was on her stomach, covered in thick red fluid.
Blood.
She was taking her breaths in shaky gasps, and those few seconds since we had ran into the open seemed like hours. Everything was in slow motion, like the tears pouring from Mia's eyes, like Ashton running to her side as she fell.
I was even in slow motion, as I ran to them, taking Mia's hand.
"You aren't.... a-aren't safe yet," She whispered. "They won't be afraid to chase you to here... but.... p-please, just go. I don't want you to die, you've.... got so much more... t-to do."
I sighed. "No," I said back. "We aren't leaving you. Not now."
She didn't reply; she couldn't. Her eyes were drooping.
******
"Move!" I screamed to Ashton, and we sprang up. We sprinted on the road, Mia in Ashton's arms, me right by their side. "We aren't leaving you now," I whispered, more to myself than to Mia.
We rounded the corner, my heart beating loudly in my chest. I could hear it thumping in my ears, louder than the sounds of the city around me. Ashton and I rounded another corner, getting closer and closer to safety to stop.
We pushed harder, making it our priority to save Mia, even if it were the last thing we ever did. This was the last night that Mia would spend alone in a room with her abuser.
She's free.
I suddenly remembered Jen and Ash when I thought the word 'free.' They are free, I know it; but freedom would have been better if they were here with us, running.
After a long twenty minutes of running, we finally arrived to a hospital, a few miles away from where Mia was shot. Ashton and I ran inside, panting, but not giving up.
"HELP!" I screamed. "SHE NEEDS HELP! NOW! HELP HER, PLEASE!"
Suddenly, a nurse came to us, followed by a doctor. They screamed something into the distance, and soon a bed was brought to our side. Mia was nearly ripped from Ashton's arms, leaving them bloodied. Mia was placed onto the bed, and was rolled quickly away from us.
I stood for a moment, just watching them run down the hallway. I felt a weight on my shoulders; two lives, possibly three, gone. Just by helping me.
It was my fault.
I looked down to my hands, laying limp at my sides. They were bloodied, from holding Mia's hand.
Suddenly, I remembered something. An image flashed in my head.
Ash, closing her eyes for the last time, a bullet hole in her chest.
Then it morphed, into Jen falling to the ground, blood gushing for the shot that had hit her skull.
It turned into Mia, holding her bloodied stomach, collapsing into Ashton's arms.
I started shaking my head, trying to get rid of the terrible images. I held my head in my hands, and felt Ashton put his hands on my shoulders. I heard him talking, and I caught words like "Screaming" and "Don't" and "It's Okay".
I didn't realize I was screaming.
I clamped my mouth shut, breathing deeply. I still saw the images, but I can't do this now. I can't break down now; I can't afford to break.
I need to do this; save these three men, all those women, Mia, and capture the men responsible for making these people's lives a living hell.
I stood up, calm, and walked to a seat in the waiting room. Ashton followed me, a worried expression printed on his face.
"Carmen, are you alright? You were screaming, and shaking your head-"
"Ashton," I sighed, cutting him off. "I'm fine. Trust me."
"What.... what did you see?"
I sighed, closing my eyes. I needed to tell him; he would keep pestering me if I didn't. "I saw... Ash, and Jen. When they died. And Mia, when she was shot, and when you caught her," my breath hitched in my throat, and I swallowed. "And I realized how many lives have been lost because of me, because of my actions. It's all my fault."
Ashton sighed, and took my arm. "Follow me." He whispered, leading me outside. "You can't save everyone," He said, as soon as we were out in the open.
"That's my job! I try to save people, and I am supposed to save everyone."
"You simply can't! You can't save every life, or know every answer. You've thought that too long, and you need to stop. You think you know the answer to everything, the answer to life itself, even! You think you can save everyone, but you can't. You think that everyone is below you!"
I swallowed. "No," I whispered. "I don't."
Ashton set his jaw. He looked like he was going to say something, but didn't. He took my arm and led me back inside.
"What can we learn from Mia?" He asked, as if the conversation we just had didn't happen.
I sighed. "About how Louis is connected."
"Now," He sighed. "We just wait. And be thankful to God that we got out of there without being killed."
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A/N
hey! Sorry I haven't been updating. I've been really busy, and I will be for this month. I have Drama, and our show is in two weeks. Track starts tomorrow. I'll try to update whenever I can.
-Hope
