THE DEAD ZONE ~ Marhinki

.14

At the last moment, Mari had moved to the side, letting his knife drive into the right side of her chest, missing her heart. But now she lay on dirty concrete, with a knife sticking out of her chest and a dead man (or at least dying man) beside her. 

And it hurt. She had been shot before, sure. But it never felt like this. She was never able to feel something protruding out of her. She never felt like she was about to die. She weakly grabbed for the handle of the knife, she tugged on it slightly, trying to get the thing out of her, but the movement caused her to whimper. She had never felt so weak before. She had never felt like this before. She had never felt like she was dying before. 

"Mari!" She could barely hear the voice that frantically shouted her name. She could barely see. The only thing she was aware of was the knife that was sunk into her chest. She wasn't aware she was crying until a tender touch brushed under her eyes. She felt hands grip her waist, and she cried out as they tried to lift her. 

"You're hurting her!" The same voice accused. She couldn't tell who the person was, the tears that had been gathering in her eyes blurred her vision too much.

"Do you have a better idea?" A different voice snapped. The first voice fell silent as hands attempted to lift her again. This time they ignored her wails of pain, and settled her into a strong pair of arms. And that was when she passed out.

~*~

She woke up to a biting cold digging into her back. She groaned, and moved to try to sit up, but gentle hands pushed her back down. 

"Don't push yourself," The kind voice said. It belonged to a man she didn't recognize, and she stared at him with wary eyes. He only smiled at her. Little did he know that this gesture only made her trust him less... until she realized that the cool metal of the knife's blade was no longer sunk into her chest. 

"Matt," The man called, opening a door Mari didn't even realize was there. "She's awake." The sound of crashing footsteps followed that call and the four boys flooded into the room. FLitz, Wes, and Lasercorn immediately rushed to her, asking her question after question. It was Sohinki however, who held back. He was watching her interact with the others with fond eyes, and talking quietly with the kind man. 

Sohinki still didn't come up to her. He still stayed back, talking with the man. If it weren't for the glances every once in a while, Mari would think that he didn't even know she was there. 

"Alright," The kind man finally said, stopping the chatter that had been surrounding her. Sohinki pushed himself off of the wall he had been leaning on. "Everyone out, she needs rest." The man ushered the three boys crowding her table out, it wasn't until he threw back an over exaggerated wink, that she even realized Sohinki was still in the room. Once the door clicked shut, leaving her and Sohinki alone, did he approach her. The smile that was previously painted on his face when he had glanced at her was gone. He now had a stoney expression on his face, as he pulled a chair next to her bed and grasped her hand.

"We need to talk." Mari's heart dropped. She had heard those four words before. She had heard those four words before she was imprisoned in the Dead Zone. She had heard them before, and she never liked what came after. 

"We do?" She sounded pathetic. She sounded like a child. She cursed herself for sounding so weak. But Sohinki didn't seem to notice. He only gave her a slow nod. 

"We do." He confirmed. Was he giving up on her? He couldn't. Not after she had lost Joven. Not after she had nearly died. He couldn't give up on her. She had lost too much too fast. She couldn't lose him too. 

"I need to know what you want to do," he stated. She felt her eyes grow wide. What she wants to do? What she wants to do about them? She wants to stay together. She couldn't lose him.

"What I want to do?" She questioned, her voice was heavy with emotion. She struggled not to cry. She couldn't lose him. She couldn't lose him too. She had already lost Joven and she had already lost... 

"Are you going to stay in the Dead Zone?" He asked. "Or do you have a plan?" All of Mari's fears slipped away, a smirk growing on her face.

"I have a plan." She couldn't shake the smirk that was plastered on her face. Sohinki noticed her smirk and  gave her hand a small squeeze. He released her hand and stood up.

"Get some rest," he said. "Once you are recovered we can talk." He made a move to leave her then.

"Wait." She reached out and grabbed at his hand, he stopped, turning back around to face her. "Where are we?" 

"Don't worry," Sohinki said with a small smile. "Nobody can hurt you here." He left then, closing the door behind him and leaving her alone. 

It was only then that she glanced down at her wrist. The light blinked red. Disabled. She wasn't in the Dead Zone anymore.