She groaned, her eyes welling up with tears. She was gasping. Her gut was on fire. As she looked down at herself, her hair fell over her face. The handle of a knife stuck out of her midriff. A small stain was starting to form on her shirt. A bright, red one. It's the same color as my hair, she thought.

She curled her fingers around the knife, and with all her might, pulled it out. The pain nearly made her black out. Her knees buckled. A moan escaped her lips. Blood gushed out freely. It felt warm, and she welcomed it. She was done with the cold. It felt as if someone had lit a match inside her chest. It was searing hot, but she liked it. After the cold, this was comfort.

The sight of her blood made her dizzy. Or maybe it was because she was losing so much of it. She couldn't breathe very well, and every time she inhaled, her ribs hurt.

All of a sudden, there were faces around her- crying, yelling something, speaking to her. Her brown eyes darted around, searching. She couldn't find him. Frustrated, she huffed. She could hear his voice, but he wasn't talking to her. Her eyes were overflowing already, but she felt sad now. She wanted to see him.

She tried to call out to him, but her voice wouldn't work. Her throat felt dry, and hoarse. The pain was fading now, but so was her vision. She started panicking. She needed to see him one last time. She tried to raise her head, but someone eased it back down, gently, but firmly. She started to sob.

Her eyes started feeling heavy. No. She fought. Using all her strength, which wasn't much, she shouted.

'Jake!'

Her voice came out as a whisper. She sighed, feeling mad. Then the world turned black.

**************