I hit the ground, landing hard on my stomach. A loud boom creates a ringing in my ears. Leaves and dirt cling to my hair and cheeks as I lay flat, counting the silent seconds.

At the end of eight there's a blood letting scream. Heedless of danger from a second attack I scramble up, looking for Zeke.

He's laying on his back on the ground a few feet away, bleeding profusely from a nasty, bloody hole in his right shoulder.

I drop to my knees next to him. "Zeke! Zeke, can you hear me?"

His eyes roll back in his head, exposing the whites. He shivers violently, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes.

"Zeke, don't pass out," I plead. I try not to look at the gaping circle in his arm.

There's another shout off to the left. Looking up I see Nick launching himself at a man in a uniform before they wrestle over a rifle.

This is all my fault. I knew from the beginning that if he was near me he would get hurt. He keeps putting himself in harm's way to protect me and I...

I had just called him an idiot for the hundredth time.

And how does he repay me? By saving my life again.

And if I don't stop his bleeding he's going to die right here on the forest ground like a dog, because of me.

I gather a bulk of the dress, Rene gave me, in my hands and rip it off in long pieces. I press it directly onto Zeke's bullet wound. I shutter as his warm blood oozes over my fingertips. He makes an agonized cry and his eyes flutter closed.

"No, no, no, Zeke. Stay awake. I need you to stay awake."

But he's too far gone to hear me.

"Lyric!" Rene comes running towards us, her curly hair almost wrapped around her body. "Are you hit?"

"Zeke is."

Her mouth drops open in horror when she sees him. "Oh no."

He's bleeding too much. "Help me get him into his side so I can wrap this."

Together we push him into his left side. He groans even in his unconscious state. I wrap the clothes as tight as I can, but his vital fluid continues to soak the fabric. I wipe sweat off my forehead, probably smearing his blood there.

"He has to get on his feet." I lean over him. "Sorry, Zeke." I murmur before bringing my hand down to slap him hard against the cheek.

He yells, eyes flying open. "Ahh! My shoulder... it hurts." Sweat beads at his hairline, his breath coming out too fast.

"I know. You were shot. I need you to stand up, okay? You have to get up. Rene, help me." She pulls him on his left side, while I push him from the back. But it's awkward because of his size and we seem to be causing him more pain.

There's another shot in the distance and a few minutes later Nick appears. He doesn't appear to be wounded. He gets an arm under Nick's left shoulder and hauls him to his feet.

"Let's get out of here, I'm sure his buddies heard the shots." Supporting a large portion of Zeke's weight he starts walking across the uneven grass.

I stay in step on Zeke's other side. His face is pale and tight and he keeps stumbling over his feet.

My heart squeezes every time he grimaces or cries out in pain.

I see Nick in a new light. He drags a half conscious Zeke we move until the sun goes to set.

The descending sun bathes the trees in a orange light. The daytime creatures have quieted, making way for the sounds of the nocturnal animals.

Nick stops and with my help lowers a trembling Zeke onto the ground, leaning his back against a tree.

"We need to take a look at his arm before it gets dark," Nick says. He squats, squinting at his shoulder in the fading daylight.

I get on my knees next to him. Nick unwraps the makeshift bandages, stained red wine. "Why is he still bleeding so much?"

"I think... the bullet is still in there." He exposes the swollen, bloody, purple colored wound to the air. Zeke grunts, eyes tightening. He seems to be wavering just below consciousness.

I've been ignoring the sickening question for hours. Is he going to die?

"I'm going to have to remove it before he bleeds out," Nick says grim, lips tight.

My breath catches. "Here? Now? With what?" My voice is getting a little shrill.

"You want him to bleed to death?" Nick snarks. "It's going to be messy so I need you two to help me hold him down." He eases Zeke off the tree and lays his back on the ground.

"Have you done this before?" I ask.

"Dozens of times." I can't tell if he's being sarcastic or not. "Rene, get on his left. Kid, on top of him."

Rene reaches over Zeke to squeeze my elbow before latching onto Zeke's uninjured shoulder.

Swallowing hard I climb onto Zeke's chest, gingerly resting my weight there, expecting him to cry out from the pressure. Sweat mats hair to his forehead. I reach out and push his hair back before resting my knees in the dirt on either sides of his waist.

Nick takes a deep breath and it worries me that he's probably scared too. I watch with morbid fascination as he inserts his thumb and pointer finger into Zeke's wound.

Zeke's scream makes my blood run cold. He bucks, trying to jerk away from Nick.

"Hold him," Nick orders.

I dig my knees into his side, pressing my palms into his chest. Nick's fingers continue their quest. Sweat pours down Zeke's face, his heart hammering against my hands.

"I see it." Nick pinches at something. Zeke howls, arching his back and nearly throwing me off him. Rene loses her grip on his shoulder and he uses his elbow to prop himself up.

"Lost it," Nick says, disgusted. "You two have to hold him still. I'm trying again."

A vein above my eye twitches in frantic beats. Nick wipes his blood covered hand against his shirt before putting his hand back into Zeke's shoulder. This time when Zeke jerks I push down against him. Usually my weight would be no match for him, but he's weak from so much blood loss.

It feels like hours crawl by but it's probably more like seconds. "Got it." Nick holds up a arrow shaped piece of metal, red and purple from Zeke's blood.

Zeke's eyelids flutter close, his breathing slows, his body goes slack. Rene let's go of his shoulder. Nick digs in his bag and pulls out a canteen. He opens the top and pours water over the messy wound. Zeke doesn't even wince. He must be unconscious.

Nick produces cloth bandages and wraps Zeke's shoulder. Relief floods me when blood doesn't seep through. Rene takes the canteen from Nick and runs water over his hands, helping him clean them.

"We should rest here for tonight," Rene says to Nick. "Get some sleep, I'll take first watch."

He looks like he wants to argue and go first, but he's blinking hard just to keep his eyes open. "Alright," he mutters. "But wake me up in an hour." She nods, but we both know she doesn't have any intention of doing that. Within a minute Nick is asleep.

Rene sits next to him, and runs her fingers through his hair.

"He saved Zeke's life," my voice is as dry as my throat. "I guess he's not so bad."

She gives me a smile tinged with fatigue. "Yeah."

"You can sleep if you want to," I tell her. "I won't be able to sleep for a while."

She nods. "Okay, wake me up when you're sleepy."

The deep, out of sync breathing of the three calms my nerves. Especially Zeke's.

He's alive. And God willing I'll have to keep him that way.

~

I wake up to the sun on my face. It's hot for this early in the morning. There's a heartbeat in my left ear, and my head lifts and falls in slow rhythm. I pull my forehead up from Zeke's chest. I can't remember falling asleep next to him after I woke up Rene.

His eyes twitch beneath his lids and his eyebrows keep inching together in a frown.

"Zeke," I call softly. "Wake up." He doesn't respond.

I touch his forehead. Sickly heat scalds my fingertips. I bite down on my bottom lip, feeling bile roll up in my stomach.

I lead over and check his shoulder. Red stains the bandages. My sharp gasp wakes up Rene.

She bolts upright. "What is it? What happened?"

Footsteps crash over leaves and seconds later Nick appears. "What's wrong?"

"His shoulder. It shouldn't be bleeding this much, should it?"

Nick drops one knee to examine the hole. He pulls back the bandages. I can't see what he does, but judging from his expression it's bad. He rewraps the shoulder, tighter than before.

"We need to get him to someone who can help. The base is still three days away."

"He'll be dead by then."

"You got a better plan, kid?"

I open my mouth to snap back at him, but the words don't come out. I don't have a better plan, and Zeke will die.

He's going to die.

Tears blur my vision, before I quickly rub them away. "There has to be something we can do."

"Yeah, there is," Nick says. "Help me get on his feet and let's keep moving."

With my and Rene's help we get Zeke onto his feet. With every mile Zeke's face becomes paler and more drawn. Dark circles turn purple under his eyes and he makes hardly any sound.

With only two breaks to drink and eat a little, we trek for hours. My feet rub against the insides of my boots, swollen from the walking. I watch Zeke as Nick labors to pull him along. He had woken up a few times. But all he did was mumble unintelligible words.

The bleeding had let up, but the wound looks as if it's become inflamed.

I'm so busy studying him, I don't watch where I'm stepping. I trip on a downhill incline, lose my footing and go tumbling into a pile of leaves. I hit the ground harder than I expected, knocking the wind out of me.

"You okay, Lyric?" Rene balances her way down to me, her lithe movements making me jealous. She offers her hand and pulls me to my feet.

I dust leaves and dirt off the front of soiled dress and arms. "I'm fine."

"Nick, let's take a break, okay?"

He nods, sweat glistening on his brown skin. He's been trying not to show it, but Zeke is not a small man, and it's been tough supporting him over the rough terrain all day.

We sit down next to a grove of thorny blackberry bushes. Zeke's head lays on my lap. The sickly sweet smell of the berries compels me to risk the thorns to pick several. I chew one, the thick, gooey texture flooding over my tongue.

"Zeke, wake up. Eat this." I place my thumb on Zeke's chin and force a berry in between his teeth. His jaw moves up and down. His throat bulges as he swallows.

Rene sighs and lean her back on a tree. She lurches forward, head cocked to the side.

Nick watches her. "What?"

"Heard something," Rene says. She stands up. "I'll go check it out." She darts off among the trees.

"Rene--" I start, but she's already disappeared.

"She'll be okay," Nick assures. "Just stay quiet."

The only noises are the chirping of hidden insects and whistling birds. Minutes later Rene appears as noiselessly as she left. "There's a group in the woods. I'm not sure how many. I saw three. I think they're tracking game. They'll be on top of us in like two minutes."

"Any weapons?" Nick asks.

"Only bows and knives. No guns."

Nick runs a hand through his hair. "No way to tell if they're going to be friendly or not. We need to relocate."

"How?" Rene motions to Zeke. "He's in no condition."

He blows out through his nose and shuts his eyes. I half expect him to reopen his eyes and tell Rene to leave me and Zeke behind to make a run for it. But I know he won't do that.

He opens his eyes. "Rene, me and you are going to make some noise draw them off--away from the invalid and the kid."

Rene's dark eyebrows shoot up. "That's your plan?"

"What's with you two and questioning my plans?" Nick demands. "They've worked so far, haven't they?"

"It's called pushing your luck."

He nudges his knuckles across her nose. "Just follow my lead." He points a long finger at me. "You two don't wander off."

"Funny."

He and Rene start off in a run, their footsteps barely disturbing the twigs, leaves, and fallen branches.

I can tell from the shouts when they're spotted. Demands that they stop are yelled and apparently disobeyed. Running footsteps surely scare off any hope any further hunting for the night.

I pull Zeke as gently as I can behind the berry bush, to keep us out of immediate sight. I count the minutes in my head. Nearly half a hour crawls by in silence. And no sign of Nick and Rene.

Were they caught by the group? A group of slave hunters maybe? What if they don't come back? It's not like there's anywhere I can go for help. I can't move Zeke by myself.

I turn my attention to Zeke, he hasn't woken in a while. "Zeke," I whisper. "Can you hear me?" I shake him, careful not to shake his shoulder. "Zeke--"

A noise beyond the bush. My heart leaps into my throat, part relief, part panic. Nick and Rene? But the footsteps are trying hard too hard be quiet. Something is wrong.

I press my mouth against Zeke's ear. "I can't get you up by myself. I need you to help me." He mumbles nonsense in response. "Zeke. You have to get up." I slap his face, but other than leaving a red mark I can just barely make out in the darkening light, it does nothing. I push his head out of my lip and force him to sit up. His skin is flushed hot and he's so pale. I wish I had Nick's canteen so I could dump water over his head. I throw his left arm over my shoulder and using all the strength I can bring us both to our feet.

His weight surprises me and we almost topple, before I dig my heels into the dirt and manage to stay upright. But my knees quiver.

"Zeke," I grunt. Sweat trickles down my chin. "Wake up." The footsteps are coming closer. There's one thing I haven't tried. I stretch across Zeke and hit him in the other shoulder.

He howls like a cat whose tail was crushed under a carriage wheel. The creeping person breaks into a sprint. So much for hiding and staying still.

"Let's go." Still holding onto Zeke I start running down the same hill I slipped on earlier. The jolt of pain seems to have made him aware enough to run beside me.

"Lyric," he rasps. "What--"

"Don't talk," I urge, already breathless and shaking. "Just keep going." In the gray twilight we stumble over logs and beneath hanging branches. An above ground root almost takes Zeke down, but we don't stop.

"Ahh!" A startled cry. Not from Zeke, but another familiar male voice. Nick. I pull up short, dragging Zeke to an ungraceful halt. Zeke heaves a breath, then falls to his knees and throws up.

"Zeke," I shout, the alarm in my voice surprising even me. He's going to die. And it's my fault.

I reach for his chin right before my head goes another way. The roots of my hair are being yanked from my scalp.

A scream of pain rips from my throat as tears blur my eyes. Through the watery edges I see men knock Zeke on the back of the head with a wooden club. He goes stiff before falling forward onto the dirt with a smack. He doesn't move again.

"No!" I try to crawl towards him, but I'm snatched back. My head aches, my brain throbs. "Zeke! No, get away from him."

But they're already dragging him away. Somewhere into the darkness.

Panic and bile rise into my throat until I feel like I'm about to throw up next. The tears make their way down my cheeks and I open my mouth to let loose a scream that's been building inside of me for years.

It's a scream of raw anger, depression, lost hope, and loneliness.

The sound of my own pitiful, wounded animal like scream vibrates in my ears before pain, sharp and all consuming spreads like a fire across the back of my skull and I fall, fall, deep into the quiet calm of darkness.

~

A/N: Zeke and Lyric will return...

Like that little MCU reference? 

Ahh! Guys I completed a book for the first time, like ahh! I'll be completely candid, I don't really like this book that much, I love the characters to death, but I feel like it could have been better written and more interesting. Actually I'm considering rewriting the book with the same plot and characters in a futuristic apocalyptic setting. Thoughts on that, anyone? 

Well anyway, thank you so much for reading, voting, adding to reading lists. A lot of you read the book the whole way through and that was amazing! Thank you so much! Can't wait to see you in my next book! Later!