Hellcat

Chapter 37

I let out a cry of pain before I realized what had just happened. I felt the blood spreading fast over my skin as I stared at the last attacker standing. He kicked his foot out, slamming it into my chest. I went flying backwards, crashing into the concrete floor. I grunted at the pain radiating through my back before something else happened. I heard a yell of rage and then something slamming into the floor.

But what I saw was Elektra, hovering over me with shock written in her eyes. I couldn't see her face but I had a feeling her mouth was hung open, matching the emotion in her wide eyes. I groaned softly at the pain as she just hovered over me. Sucking in some air between my teeth, I lifted my head to see how bad it was.

"Shit," I hissed as my head fell back against the concrete, eyes closed tightly against the pain. "No," Matt muttered, realization in his voice. Had he not known it was me the whole time? I felt a hand brush against my arm and I stiffened, ready to fight if I had to. But when my eyes snapped open, all I saw was the red devil helmet eyes staring back at me.

And then they attacked again. Two grabbed Matt, each taking an arm and dragging him backwards. He fought against them, struggling to get back to me as they tried to beat him into submission. I heard Elektra yelling and wondered if she was struggling in the same way. But all I could see was Matt. They finally shoved him to his knees, holding him as a third man stepped forward, sword poised to slice through Matt.

And then a blur of gray jumped down from above. Gray clothes, pale skin, gray hair. The man quickly dispatched the three attacking Matt, shoving one into the hole to join the other I had killed. There were a few more grunts before two figures came into view, hovering over me. Matt was knelt down beside me, one hand pressed to my abdomen while the other brushed hair back from my face. "Oh, God. No, no, no," he chanted over me as Elektra stood behind him, staring at me with growing confusion.

And then someone else spoke – a voice I recognized. "So... who wants to get the hell out of here?" Stick called out, catching my attention. I let out a small chuckle that turned into a groan of pain. "No, no, hey, don't. Please," Matt pleaded as he carefully pulled my body closer to him. "She's a goner, kid. Let's go," Stick huffed, taking a step towards the exit. "Dick," I managed to groan. The old man let out a scoff, shaking his head. "I'm not leaving her," Matt snapped in response.

"She's already dead, Matty," Stick argued. But then something surprising happened. "You can help her," Elektra spoke up, stepping towards the old man. But it wasn't in a threatening way, like I had imagined. It was almost like respect, familiar. The old man let out a sigh of frustration. "Then get her off the ground and let's go," Stick snapped, the urgency in his voice increasing as he resolved to help. Matt did as he was told, earning a grunt of pain from me. "I got you, I got you," Matt chanted softly to me before we were moving swiftly through the building.

Things around me started to blur in and out. My eyes would focus on Matt, but anything behind him was undiscernible. "Get in," Stick ordered before I heard metal clicking. A car? Everything behind Matt got darker as he shifted into the seat. He held me close as the door closed next to us. A moment later, the door at my feet opened and Elektra jumped in. She was careful of my legs, putting them over her lap as she closed the door. The car jerked forward and I grunted at the sudden movement. My eyelids were getting heavy.

"Stay awake, Allison," Matt called to me urgently. Eyes turning to his face hovering above my own, I watched him yank off his helmet. Matt was right. I had to stay awake. Stay awake. Stay awake. Why hadn't he woken me up when Elektra came to my apartment earlier? Why didn't he wake me up? I didn't realize I'd actually asked him that question until he spoke. "I didn't want you to get hurt, and now..." he trailed off, shaking his head as he shifted his hand to better cover my wounded abdomen.