Part 3 Ch. 23-2

Carson waits a few seconds and runs towards me. He helps me stand up. "What are you doing here?" I ask. He's a little out of breath but grins. "That kiss felt a little too much of a goodbye for me." He said. I realize I'm still clutching his hand. "Paxton told me where you were." I blink. "Paxton? How do you know-" "Where's Mateo?" He interrupts, looking around. "It was just a shape-shifter. He's safe-" There's a hiss of air and Carson stumbles. I pull him towards me, putting the metal stacks between us. Seconds later shots ring out, ricocheting against the metal. Tasia isn't dead yet. "Are you shot?" My voice comes out shrill. I turn him around and look at the wound. Near the surface of the skin, I see the AIM metal. I breath out in relief. "Thank god." He looks indignant."Thank god? I've been shot." I show him my shoulder wound. "Not with bullets. It's an AIM pellet." "Can you get it out?" My fingers hover over the hole, trying to pull the fabric away- "Come out, Elenora. Don't play games." Tasia's voice says. I glance behind and see she's limping towards us, her leg is wet with blood. Carson aims his gun and the pulls the trigger. It just clicks. He curses. "I'm out of ammo." "Why won't they just die?" I growl. Carson puts my arm over his shoulder and we start running. The wound on my side sends up flashes of pain with every step. I'm going as fast as I possibly can without passing out but it's still not fast enough. "Just a little more." Carson gasps. We reach the end of the stack and hide at the edge. In front of us, there is another stack that goes on until it reaches the wall. Another shot rings out and then a click. She's empty too. I look at Carson. His eyes are narrowed in defiance beneath his mask. He looks so beautiful right now. I force myself to look away and check the stacks on the other side, the one leading back to where we came from. The light from the door calls to us. Thankfully, there's no one coming from that side. Romero and the other one are probably gone by know, it's just Tasia. I pull his shirt to get his attention and point behind me. He nods and we start running. My knees buckle almost immediately until he's half-carrying me. I look behind me. Tasia is staggering towards us. "Just go." I gasp. My side feels completely numb now but it takes every ounce of self-control to keep running. "You better not tell me to leave you here." He warns. We're almost at the end, where the floor opens up. I can see the empty chair up ahead, the open door twenty feet away. Just a few more steps. Carson is ripped from me just as we cross the threshold. I see him fly across the room and hit the wall near the open door. He crashes hard into the wall and falls to the floor, unmoving. "Carson!" I look at the figure bearing down on me and I scramble backwards, towards the middle of the open floor. It's Mary-ann, she must be incredibly strong to have thrown Carson half-way across the warehouse. I suddenly remember the knife in my leg as she stalks towards me. I rip the knife out of its tape and turn the blade inwards towards my arm to hide it. We circle each other until I stand between her and Carson. Through the open door a breeze rolls in, it smells like seaweed and salt water. "If you leave right now, I might consider forgiving you." I tell her, summoning my past bravado. I can tell she's not much of a talker but maybe I can stall enough. She snorts and moves so fast that I barely have time to dodge her strike. She has strength, I know that even one of her hits is enough to kill me. I keep the hand holding the knife at my side as if I'm clutching my wound. Tasia is approaching, there's no way I can take two of them. I need to act now. Next time she rushes towards me, I run towards her and jerk sideways at the last second, burying the knife deep in her side, and leaping away, still holding the knife. Hot blood runs down my hand and sweat runs down my face. She looks confused for a moment, and looks down. Fury contorts her face and she staggers towards me, managing a couple of steps before she falls to the ground. "You bitch!" Tasia hisses. She's fifteen feet away, emerging form between the stacks.  I don't have the strength for hand to hand combat, it takes everything I have just to remain upright. But still, she approaches, walking faster as she nears. The knife is still in my hand. I jerk my hand back, aim carefully, and throw it.  It happens in less than two seconds, not enough time for her to dodge. The knife buries itself in her chest, the force of the impact is enough to unbalance her. She falls to the ground and doesn't get up. For a second I can't take my eyes off of them. I've killed before, yes. But not like this. My stomach heaves and I fight the nausea down. Carson. He's still in the same spot he landed, he hasn't moved. I stumble to him. After what feels like an eternity I fall to my knees in front of him. He's face up, beneath his mask his eyes are closed. There's blood trickling from his forehead, making his face even paler. I take the mask off. "Carson." I whisper. "Carson please." I scan his body for any obvious injuries but everything seems in place. If he's just, it must be internal. "Carson." I tentatively touch his neck, and sag in relief when I hear his heart beat. "Wake up." Nothing happens for a whole minute. Then his eyes flutter one, twice and he groans and opens his eyes. It must be the light, but they just might be the brightest things I've ever seen. A fierce warm feeling fills me and I kiss him. He kisses back, I can feel him grinning. "You're not getting rid of me that easily." He says when I break apart. "Can you move?" I ask. He shifts and his face tightens in pain. "Something's definitely broken." He groans. There's a noise behind me, a scrape, and I turn around but nothing's there. Through the open door I only see the rest of the warehouses. The bodies on the ground haven't moved. Romero is nowhere in sight, he must have escaped by now. We'll get him someday but for now, I need to get Carson to the hospital. I try to open a portal but nothing comes. Then I remember the AIM metal, I can't believe I've forgotten. "Carson, we need-" His face twists in surprise and horror as he looks behind me. He jerks forward. "No. Wait!" I begin to turn around-