The Subway (Now Available on Amazon!) (Unedited Version on Wattpad)

Chapter 10

One minute I could hear Archer yelling my name as I fell through the darkness and the next my body was smacking against what could only be concrete.

I cried out as bolts of searing hot pain jolted through every inch of my body. Tears filled my eyes instantly and spilled over as the pain took over. I half groaned half screamed as I lay there in the darkness. There was a horrible throbbing pain in the back of my head and an awful burning and ripping sensation in my side.

Why was everything happening to me?

"Gemma!" I heard Archer yell again but it sounded like he was really far away.

How far did I fall?

I felt a cough rising up in my chest but when I tried to release it a painful gurgle came out instead and I could feel a warm, metallic, liquid fill my mouth.

Blood.

That couldn't be good.

I didn't want to choke on my own blood because that would be a really shitty headline for my death when they found my body.

Teen found dead. Choked to death on her own blood.

So, trying to avoid that being my death headline I tried to sit up.

That was a mistake that I instantly regretted.

As soon as I attempted to sit up I felt the most intense pain run across my ribs and chest and I felt new tears fill my eyes and couldn't help but to sob as I flopped back uselessly on the ground.

This was just great. I didn't have to worry about those nut jobs killing me because I was going to die from my own clumsiness.

My breathing which had once been rapid was now shallow and slow.

I could hear the faint shuffling of footsteps and suddenly a bright light was shining in my water filled eyes.

"Shit!" I heard Archer's horrified whisper.

"Everything hurts." I said through clenched teeth. It took an extreme amount of effort for me to even talk. Every time I blinked it felt like someone was trying to break one of my ribs.

I watched through half lidded eyes as he knelt next to me. He sat his phone next to him letting the light create a small pool of illumination around us.

Another wave of pain rushed across my ribs causing me to cry out again.

I felt Archer grip my hand and gently push a strand of my damp hair out of my eyes.

"I know it hurts like hell but I'm going to help you okay? It's going to be fine." Archer said in a determined voice. I wasn't sure if he was trying to reassure me or himself but either way all I could do was groan in pain as a way of response.

Archer leaned forward and I felt him unzip my hoodie and as gently as he could he eased me out of it but even that small movement caused me unbearable amounts of pain and another sob escaped my lips.

"It's going to be okay. I'm here." Archer said soothingly as he began to lift the hem of my shirt.

If this had been any other situation I would have been kneeing Archer in his nether region but all I wanted right now was for the pain to stop so I let him continue.

Once my shirt was midway my rib cage I heard him suck in a sharp breath.

I wanted to ask him what was wrong but my throat had gone dry and I couldn't bring myself to speak.

"Gemma look at me." Archer said softly but with a demanding tone in his voice.

I dragged my eyes to his face which was mostly cast in shadows but I was able to make out the bright green of his eyes.

"I want you to keep your eyes on me okay?" He said.

I was about to ask him why when he cut me off.

"Gemma I mean it. I need you to keep your eyes on me. Can you do that for me?" His voice held no room for argument, so I nodded my head slightly.

I kept my eyes fixed on his as I felt his warm hand on my stomach. He slowly moved his hand upward until it rested just below my rib cage.

"Just keep looking at me." Archer said softly and before I could even try to respond I felt an extreme amount of pressure on my ribs.

There was an audible pop but I could barely hear it over the ear piercing scream that was coming from my mouth.

I had probably just alerted Dox and all of his crazy friends to where we were but I couldn't think about that now.

I was practically wailing and I bunched my hand into Archer's shirt. I wasn't able to keep my eyes on him and in a failed attempt to try and block out the pain I shut my eyes tight. Then all at once the pressure on my ribs was gone, leaving behind a dull throbbing pain, but it had lessened considerably from what it had been before.

A sheen of sweat covered my forehead as I breathed in and out rapidly.

"Gemma."

I pried my eyes open slowly before looking up at Archer who was looking back at me with worry and concern etched clearly across his face.

"If... you do... something... like that again." I said through pants for breath. "I'll kill you in your sleep."

I saw a small relieved smile replace the worried look on Archer's face before exhaustion took over and darkness overcame me.