The impact of the hard ground sends what little air Yoongi had left rushing from him in one fell whoosh.

So dizzy, the world is spinning.

But he has to get up. He has to get up or he is going to die. And at this point, the panther hybrid is an old expert at cheating death.

He rises, however unsteady, to his feet.

Through hazy eyes, he can spot Vale from the window above. He is clearly furious. Yoongi knows that it won't take the man long to send someone after him, and in the state he's in, there's no way he'll be able to defend himself.

On sheer willpower alone, he forces his limbs to move.

He seems to have landed in the backyard, amidst colorful flowers and ornate statues. Were he a little more lucid, he might scoff, disgusted by such a vile man owning such beautiful things. But he is not, and the only thought in his pain-ridden mind is finding a safe spot to remove the bullet.

The anti-hybrid serum that the bullet is laced with probably won't come out of his system quite so easily, he imagines, and his tail flicks violently to and fro as he realizes just how grim the situation has become. The serum is a new invention, barely even tested, and he doesn't know exactly what it will do to his body if it isn't removed.

Ignoring the burning ache in his shoulder, Yoongi stumbles along. He isn't even sure where it is that he intends to go, but he's too stubborn to sit still and wait for the bastard to kill him. No. He has no intentions of dying, but if he has to, he certainly won't be making it easy for his adversary.

The premises seem to stretch on forever, each step taking him further away from the house, and yet not any closer to escape or relief. Yoongi passes row after row of vibrant, exotic flowers, and into a section full of flowering trees.

It feels as if he's been walking forever.

He can't see for shit, but his ears still seem to be working just fine, and it is thanks to this that he notices that he is not as entirely alone in the garden as he'd first suspected.

Indeed, just around the corner and curled into a ball at the base of one of the many flowering trees, a young woman sits crying. It is a gentle sound, not the overly harsh wailing one might expect of a woman as distraught as her countenance suggests.

Though she is quickly shaken from her tears when Yoongi, weak and weary despite his determination, collapses at her feet. She utters a wordless sound of complete surprise, and immediately scurries to the injured hybrid's side.

He is nearly unconscious, she quickly realizes, and bleeding so profusely from a nasty looking wound in his shoulder that she wonders how it is he is even still breathing.

Time is short, and there's no telling just how much longer he has.

Lailah Vale nearly drags the half unconscious hybrid further into the garden, towards the storage shed in the very back. She's placed his uninjured arm around her shoulder, and her arm around his waist. Though not particularly strong, she has a stubborn streak to match that of even Jeremiah Vale's.

Her dad.

He'll be furious once he learns that she's helping the panther hybrid, but she couldn't care less. Let the man be furious.

As far as she is concerned he is no father of hers.

Her platinum blonde curls cling to her face thanks to the sweat she is working up, and her muscles ache under the weight of the injured man, but she pushes on. She's almost certain that her father must have used that abominable serum on this man, and if she doesn't get him the antidote soon, he's likely to die.

His breathing is already incredibly labored.

Lailah sighs in relief as the shed finally comes into view.

"Just a few more steps, " she whispers encouragingly, "a few more steps and we're there."

The hybrid doesn't respond, and fear curls in her belly as she realizes that his furry, triangular ears aren't even following the sound of her voice.

She barely manages to stumble inside with him before he collapses once more, and begins convulsing upon the floor.

This is bad! He's running out of time!

Her knees tremble, same as her hands, as she rifles through the storage room in search of the antidote she'd swiped from her father. She'd stashed it out here, in the last place he'd think to look for it.

Sighing in relief, she discovers that the little bag is just where she'd left it. There are only three of them, little syringes filled with an unsettling green liquid, but thankfully only one dose is necessary. She's no nurse, and won't deny that she is nervous as hell. She'd overheard her father's scientists talking, knows that it really doesn't matter where she injects it, but still.

What if she messes it up somehow anyway?

She quickly berates herself, realizing that now is not the time for doubts. It is the time for action.

So she sets to work at once.

Lailah quickly uncaps the needle end of the syringe, and pushes out what little air might remain inside. She'd seen the scientists administer shots enough times to know that this is an important step.

Her brain works a hundred miles a minute as she determines where she should insert the needle. He is still convulsing, so if she isn't careful she could injure him gravely. There is the possibility too that he could lash out against the pain, and injure her.

And she needs to keep in mind easy access. She'd administer the shot to his thigh, but is afraid that removing his jeans would take far too long. She doesn't know whether or not it is safe to poke through them either.

So instead, she seats herself upon his stomach and tucks his hands behind her knees. His legs continue to flail about, but her weight upon his stomach keeps his back on the floor as she sinks the needle into the flesh of his bicep.

His head thrashes about as she pushes down upon the plunger, though she is careful not to overdo it. If she injects the liquid too fast, she might hurt him.

At least, so she assumes.

Once the barrel is completely empty she tosses it aside. Honestly, at the moment, she isn't concerned about blood-born pathogens. And it isn't as if there is anyone that works for her father that she couldn't stand to see die a slow and painful death anyway.

The hybrid has stopped convulsing, at the very least, though his breathing is still labored.

She leans forward in order to better examine the wound on his shoulder. Closer inspection reveals that there is a bullet lodged inside.

It's not over yet.

And any minute her father's men could come busting through the door to finish the job.

Lailah curses beneath her breath. There's no way that she'll be able to get her hands on a pair of tweezers in time.

She rises, and begins frantically searching for anything that the could use to remove the bullet. But the shed is primarily used as storage for gardening equipment, and she quickly finds herself frustrated with the search.

Desperation leads her to search the hybrid's pockets. Under normal circumstances she would never invade a person's privacy like this, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Besides, she's fairly certain the hybrid won't mind if he makes it out of this alive as a result.

Her search reveals a small, hidden blade if the folding variety. It's handle is wooden, and intricately carved with the resistance's symbol, and suddenly, everything makes sense. He must have come here to kill her father, only to end up getting himself shot.

She frowns as she flips open the blade, admiring it's shiny, polished sheen.

It's better than nothing.

By the time she's removed the bullet, the hybrid is beginning to come around. His face is still damp, feverish as a side effect of the anti-hybrid serum. And the fact that she basically performed surgery upon him without any form of anesthesia probably didn't help. But he's awake, and alert of his surroundings for the first time since he fell at her feet. As far as she's concerned, this can only be a good thing.

It's too early to relax, however, as the sound of footsteps suddenly begins to surround the small shed. Lailah rushes to the the tiny window between the rows of shelves and bags of fertilizer, careful to avoid being seen as she sneaks a peek outside.

Just as she'd suspected, her father's men surround the perimeter. And Jeremiah himself stands at the fore.

She racks her brain for a solution, anything at all that could help the stranger escape. But even were he to manage to slip out of the shed unnoticed, there's no way he'd make it to the front gate in the state he's in. And even if she reveals to him the back way, a set of tunnels that lead into the sewers beneath the city, he'd likely find himself lost and cornered rather quickly.

And he won't be able to leave the city by train. Her father's men will have guards out everywhere looking for him. He'd turn the city inside out looking for this hybrid, she's sure of it. Jeremiah isn't the kind of man who forgives, or allows perceived slights to go unpunished.

"I know you're in there!"

This time, Jeremiah Vale sounds angry. There is no more conceit, no more confident arrogance in his tone.

In fact, if Yoongi didn't know better, he might think that he even hears a small amount of panic in then bastard's voice.

"One of the gardners witnessed you dragging my daughter out here! Return her to me, and maybe I'll make your death quick and painless!"

Yoongi snorts, the action causing him significant amounts of pain.

Though unstable, and barely conscious at the time, Yoongi is aware of what the woman beside him had done for him. It mystifies him, but he can't argue with facts.

"Take me hostage, " she whispers into the furry appendage atop his head, "he won't stop you from leaving if you take me hostage, won't dare risk hurting his own daughter."

Yoongi winces, black ears flattening against his skull as the woman presses down upon his wound to staunch the bleeding. She'd torn the now bloody strip from her own nightgown, and he is absolutely flabbergasted at the idea that she is trying to save his life.

"Why help me?" He growls, suspicious of her intentions. "I'll come back to finish the job if I don't die here. I'll fucking kill him, you understand that don't you?"

His tail swishes side to side in agitation as he awaits her reply.

Lailah Vale nods, grim-faced and cold.

"I certainly hope so. Otherwise, I'd be saving your life in vain."