UNPROTECTED

Part Twenty

Alina's POV 

Ryan led the way to the slump yards with Connor holding back slightly - you could tell that he was trying to hide the fact that he was just as scared and anxious as the rest of us of whether this would work or not. 

Catching up with Connor, I decided to make conversation in order to help him feel better. "Hey." 

"Hi." he whispered to me. 

"You know, this is great, what you're doing here. I guess I'm sorry for doubting that you could pull it off." He stared at me, his eyebrows furrowed. 

"The job isn't even done, yet." He replied, his voice shaky. 

"I know. But you've done the hardest parts: coming up with the plan and starting it." 

"Thanks." And what a way to have a conversation. I could tell that it would be a dead end from the start, but I hadn't cared. And the reason why I hadn't niggled at the back of my brain. 

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Settling down again, Louisa nestled into Ryan as I scoured the crowd, trying to find my sister's eyes or maybe Marcus', but I couldn't find them in my weariness. I just wanted to sleep. 

But I knew I couldn't. 

Before I could wish for some more sleep, a blaring alarm jarred me from my thoughts, forcing Connor to react. "Everyone, get up! GET UP! OUT, OUT, OUT. EVERYONE, MOVE!" 

Due to his reaction, I knew that he knew what that alarm meant. With my heart thrumming in my chest, I hauled myself up and sprinted out of the building, following the people in front of me. "Con, what was that about?" I spoke as loud as I dared, the alarm still blaring around us. 

"They know we're here - they found the bombs. It's the emergency Ministry bell to warn them all that something is coming...something big." His expression scared me as  I dared to turn and face the building we had just left. Being someone with as high a status as he had would mean that he had been in a drill like that before and what scared me even more was that simple fact: he knew. 

Some of our team were still emerging from the cover of the building when a low rumble shook the ground beneath my feet. The warehouse that was once our shelter was now shifting in my vision - Louisa and Ryan rushed to the ground, along with everyone else. 

Two hands grabbed hold of me in a vice grip - one on my waist and the other on my shoulder - and dragged me to the stoned ground as a roar escaped the mouth of the shelter, followed by flickering flames and shards of rock that would never reach my face because of the arm that was covering it. 

My ears rang as everyone around me shifted, some writhed in pain whilst others stood on in shock. Looking at my saviour, I saw the look of relief in their eyes and wondered why they were feeling that way. "Connor?" It looked as though he was crying. 

"I'm so glad you're alive!" Because I knew as well as him that if I hadn't been brought to the ground by him that I would have surely had a serious injury or be dead. He pulled me into his chest as he sniffled and stroked my hair. 

That's when I saw them. 

A person sprawled on the floor, a black balaclava disguising their face. 

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"Alina? Alina! What's the matter with you?! Speak to me!" Connor shook me as I stared at the body, unable to process the fact that that might be a dead body. All I could do was point at whoever it was and hope that he saw it too. "Oh my god!" 

Running to the body, I couldn't shift a horrible feeling lying in the pit of my stomach like a rock, weighting me down. Their eyes were barely open, mud and dust covering them from head to toe with blood seeping from a wound on their leg, another on their chest, slowly pooling around them in a crimson glow. 

Connor got there first, removing the balaclava to reveal a face I had loved for my whole life. 

"Alina, look away." He said. 

But I had already seen. 

A scream rattled my eardrums, coming from someone behind me. Louisa. "NO!" That was all she could muster as I stood stock still, not daring to breath for fear that I would blow them away. 

Glossy black hair surrounded the girl's face as her cerulean eyes came up to meet mine. 

With the truth hitting me like a ton of bricks, I knelt down and held her head in my hands, supporting her body. Her breathing was quick a ragged as she shook beneath me. 

"It's going to be just fine, Lena. Lou? Lou! Listen to me: I love you both. Don't cry, please." It was only then that I felt the hot tears prickling my eyes as slowly tracing down my skin. Reality hadn't fully sunken in yet. 

"No, Del, stop talking like that, you're gonna be just fine."I sniffled, leaning over to kiss her forehead. 

"Lena, it's going to be okay." Delia rasped, her voice loosening. 

"Delia, please, listen to Alina. You are going to be fine. Ryan, could you help, please?" Louisa turned to Ryan, who was standing directly behind her, not wanting to miss any of the action. He couldn't reply. Louisa was getting desperate and resulted in yelling at anyone who would listen to help. 

Delia held my hand in hers as I held back tears that would only make these few moments worse that they already were. "Lena. You need to find Marcus. He's here somewhere. We were only trying to help: you know, just scouting ahead, like Ryan told us to." 

"Ssh, ssh, ssh," I said, pressing my index finger to her lips.I knew nothing could save her. Pressure on the wound would only make her death more painful for her and would delay the inevitable. "I'll find Marcus, I promise. I love you." 

She smiled, "I love you, too. Oh, Lena. I'm just so tired. It hurts, so much." A single tear left her eye and I knew what I had to do. 

"Why don't you just close your eyes and have a nice sleep? Huh?" I couldn't fight the tears anymore, as they streamed ferociously from my eyes. 

Delia grunted in agreement as she closed them and sighed. 

[PLAY SONG]

Everything stopped, then.

Laying her down on the concrete, a smile on her beautiful face, I cried. And cried, and cried and cried. Until I had no tears left. 

"Hey, hey, hey. She died happy." Connor soothed, rubbing my back whilst Louisa lay curled on the ground, shaking with Ryan standing over her. 

"No. We have to find Marcus." Standing up, a ran to the pile of rubbled next to her and chucked away loose pieces of rock. I dug until I bled and then some.  

Lacing my hands into his, Connor shook his head. "Not like this." 

Men dug for me with shovels and gloved hands until a head was barely visible. They dug and dug until they could haul the body out - by this time, the sun had risen.