“Who’s coming?” the voice above Hunter demanded.
“I hear a fucking bike man!”
Immediately, the knife snapped back, and the weight disappeared from above Hunter. He wasted no time turning over, crawling to the bed. His body hurt so bad, he wanted to curl into a ball—
But he needed to see her.
Needed to save her.
Needed to hold her.
He groaned, trying to pull himself up to his knees, but his legs felt like jelly now.
“Give me the gun,” the man demanded behind him. “Quickly, man—”
“You’re gonna fucking shoot him when there’s someone coming—”
“Give me the fucking gun!”
“You’re crazy! You’re fucking crazy, everyone’s gonna fucking hear! We gotta go!”
“Fuck!”
Before Hunter could climb into bed, another punching sensation came at the side of him, right into his ribs, and he howled, his face dropping into the mattress. Fucker didn’t pull the blade out though, he just left it there in his ribs. Footsteps pounded out of the room, leaving him writhing, his body half on the bed, half off. He tried to raise his head, but he felt like he had no control of his body. With every breath, he felt the blood pour out of him, thick and slimy, and now he couldn’t breathe.
“Ma…” his voice strained.
If he was going to die, he’d rather die in her arms.
He went limp, blinking into the darkness, trying his best to move his hand and search for her. He felt like he might be touching her, but when he opened his eyes again, his hand was nowhere near her. He wanted to say her name again—maybe he had done it, he didn’t know because he couldn’t hear anything anymore. The deafening silence pounded into his ears, and with every minute he lay like that, he felt…detached and cold. His body jerked suddenly, and then he was being turned around so that he was staring emptily at the ceiling above him. Strange echoes pulsed in his ears. A voice that he couldn’t distinguish—
“STAY AWAKE! STAY AWAKE!”
Roy’s face was over him, and his mouth was wide and screaming. Tears were falling down his face and onto Hunter’s as he ran a ragged bloodied hand over his head, looking like he’d died along with them.
And had Hunter died?
Or was he still falling under?
A serene feeling washed over him, that feeling you get after a good night’s sleep. His body relaxed as he blinked slowly, embracing it as darkness inched its way into his vision.
“STAY AWAKE!” Roy screeched. “STAY AWAKE, MY BOY!”
He closed his eyes, unaware of time or feeling, because in this state, there was nothing—absolutely nothing on the other side.