Off With His Head

40. Together

"Guys," Caleb says from across the clearing. "We did it."

I take in the scene. Ash covers the ground, turning it grey. The moon looms above us, peaking through the canopy of leaves and illuminating the clearing. Our weapons are scattered around on the floor, fallen in the fray and covered in the small remains of vampires.

Caleb, sits, clutching his leg, which points at a funny angle. Blood pours from his cheek where his recent stitches have opened and from his arms where new cuts have taken place. His green eyes speak of victory, but his mouth is twisted in pain.

Zach sits next to me, his hand over mine on his swollen cheek. The side of his face is already a mottled blue and there's a large lump on his forehead. Blood covers almost every inch of his skin, most of it dry and congealing. Crimson coats his clothes as well, although I can't tell where it's coming from.

Hot liquid runs down my neck where the iron shards landed, and pain radiates from my every pore. Two teeth marks stand out above the cut on my palm and my shoulder screams in agony from the dagger that stabbed me. I can feel blood leaking from my stomach as well and I'm sure that my stitches have opened up. Now that the adrenaline of the fight has worn off, my injuries are throbbing and pulsing in a steady rhythm of pain.

But we're alive, and that's all that matters.

I remove my hand from under Zach's and attempt to start pulling out the iron shards. He leans forward to help me, his gentle touch doing nothing to stop the pain that sears with every sharp tug. After a few moments, there's a small pile of blood covered iron on the ground beside me, eight pieces of metal that were previously stuck in my skin.

Zach places the last one down and reaches his hand out to swipe a strand of hair out of my face. Most of it has fallen from the tight pony tail I arrived with, and several of the ends have been burnt off, but I can't bring myself to care. His fingers linger on my skin, his eyes never leaving mine as he manages a small smile.

Despite the situation, and the agony coursing through my entire body, I feel a sense of relief wash over me as I look at my favourite colour in the world. Somehow, we beat the odds, took out eight vampires and saved Zach. My heart beats happily, grateful to be alive and sitting here with him.

"We have to get out of here," Zach says eventually, lowering his hand and struggling to his feet. He sways slightly before falling back down to the ground with a heavy thump.

"I need help," Caleb mutters, his voice strained.

"What happened?"

"One of them bit my ankle, another one sliced me with my own falchion. At least he had the decency to do that though, saved me from having to cut under the bite myself," he explains through gritted teeth. "But then he twisted my foot and I heard a snap. I'm pretty sure it's broken."

"Can you walk?" Zach asks in concern. I don't even have to wait for Caleb's answer to know what it is. His foot still sits at a funny angle and I can't imagine the pain he must be going through right now.

"Not without help."

It's then I realize just how awful the situation is. We're all badly hurt and we need the medical ward. Caleb can't walk alone and I doubt that Zach can either. I haven't tried to get back up yet but even if I'm capable of staying upright, I can't support both their weights. Especially with the sharp jabbing pains in my shoulder, stomach and neck.

"Okay." Zach takes a deep breath, glancing between me and Caleb. "We've made it this far, we can make it home. We just have to do it the same way we've done everything else."

I nod, understanding what he means immediately. "Together."

Zach and I both struggle to stand up. He stumbles a bit, swaying slightly to the left, but manages to stay upright. We take several minutes to collect our fallen weapons, a task made even longer by both of us straining to stay on our feet. Each time I bend over, the world goes dark around the edges and I'm fighting just to stay conscious as pain streaks through my body like lightning.