Only Escape

Prologue

Bullets whirred past them as they ran with such speed only adrenaline can give. The sounds of the gunshots and footsteps behind them were drowned out by the sounds of their own breath. Heavy, erratic breaths as if their lungs were about to collapse. Yet they kept running, past the pedestrians no doubt riddled by the bullets that were flying.

Adrenaline was to thank for the speed and strength. Or maybe it was love or fear. Either way, they both knew they couldn't stop. Couldn't stop running, couldn't stop fighting. Couldn't stop pushing through the pain. To stop would mean death, or worse: jail time. At least if they both died in this moment, bullets pushing through their bodies, they will die together. But if they were to be caught, they'd be wrangled up and thrown in two different prisons, each one wondering where the other ended up. Left wondering if the other had died. At least they'd be together through death, and whatever came after it.

A sharp, sudden shriek filled the air. Bonnie collapsed, sprawled on the ground. She scrambled to get up with Clyde tugging at her arm. Bullets barely missed the two as they collected themselves, continuing to run in the only direction they could. Blood gushed down Bonnie's left side, yet she couldn't place where the streams were coming from. Adrenaline can protect, but in that moment it did not; she bled out, not knowing where to add pressure from the lack of the sense of pain. Blood was everywhere, her shirt, pants, shoes.

"Clyde! We have to stop running!" She said through breaths, still dashing down street after street, footsteps following close behind. Clyde didn't respond, he seemed to have been saving his energy in order to keep going, which was the opposite of what she needed. "Clyde!" He whipped around, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her toward an alleyway. There was no way of knowing if it was a dead end, leading them to their death, but they took the chance. She had already taken a bullet and was bleeding out. If she died, he would make sure he did too.

 Thankfully, the alley was not a dead end. They slipped through a door that seemed to lead to a warehouse. Pushing Bonnie away from the door, Clyde slammed it shut, locked it, and backed away slowly. The footsteps continued on and bullets rang out no more. The pair seemed to have lost the cops that were following them. Clyde pulled Bonnie up the warehouse stairs to the second floor. There, he forced her on her back, ripped her shirt off and examined her body for wounds.

"There's too much blood," Clyde gruffed as he ripped his shirt off and shoved it into the pool of blood. As the blood soaked into the white cotton, he found the entry hole. It was below her last rib on her left side. As the adrenaline died down, Bonnie started groaning out in pain. As she rolled on her side, cradling her legs in fetal position, Clyde moved her ripped shirt to the side and searched or an exit hole. There wasn't one. The bullet was still inside of her. 

Banging on the warehouse door startled them both. The lock would only last so long with all the pushing, especially if they chose to shoot the door open. As Clyde scooped Bonnie up, a gunshot echoed throughout the large building. Cops poured through the door, guns pointed at Clyde who held Bonnie as tight as he could, reminding her to put pressure on her wound all the while. Carefully making his way up the third story stairs, he eyed the door that led to the roof. 

"We have to go on the roof," He pushed through the door, slamming it closed and pushing their body weight on the door. The cops' footsteps could be heard through the metal door, making their way toward the couple. "We're gonna have to jump," Clyde eyed at the adjacent building. Bonnie stared up at him, wide-eyed.

"I can't," and Clyde knew that it wasn't out of fear. She had lost too much blood to make the six-foot leap to the other side, she'd end up collapsing before she even got to the edge. But Clyde could make it. He could clear it easy, but he couldn't have Bonnie weighing him down. The door swung open, officers pointing guns toward Bonnie and Clyde's direction.  

"Get on your knees, hands behind your head!" Officers screamed and surrounded them. Bonnie was in no condition to stay upright, her poor body giving out. Clyde kissed her cheek one last time as he slipped in between two officers, leaping over the edge and onto the roof of the adjacent building. Dodging bullets, he made his way down the stairs and into the building, escaping... Alone.