Chapter 39: How is she?

The sharp tang of blood and gunpowder filled the hallway as Zayn and Liam took down the last of Kaito’s guards. The echo of gunfire still rang in their ears, but the sudden, deafening silence that followed was far worse. It was shattered by the sound of two rapid gunshots from the server room.

Both men froze, their breaths catching in their throats.

“Damon?” Liam barked into his earpiece, his voice tight with urgency.

Silence.

Zayn’s jaw clenched. “I’ll get the car!” Without another word, he took off down the corridor, his boots pounding against the tiled floor as he sprinted for the exit.

Liam burst into the server room, his heart thundering as his eyes locked onto the scene before him. Damon was on his knees, cradling Sera’s lifeless body in his arms. Her dark hair fanned out against the cold floor, a stark contrast to the crimson spreading beneath her. Damon’s hands were pressed tightly against the wound in her chest, his fingers slick with her blood.

“She’s been hit,” Damon rasped, his voice raw and trembling. “Liam, do something!”

Liam dropped to his knees beside them, his medical bag already open and his hands moving with practiced precision. His mind screamed at the sight of Sera’s pale, motionless form, but his voice remained steady. “Keep pressure on the wound. Don’t let up, Damon. Not even for a second.”

Damon nodded wordlessly, his storm-gray eyes wide and filled with a rare, devastating panic. His hands didn’t falter, pressing firmly over the wound despite the blood that seeped through his fingers. “Stay with me, baby,” he murmured, his voice breaking. “Stay with me.”

The room buzzed with the alarms of the self-destruct countdown, the flashing red lights casting everything in an ominous glow. Liam worked quickly, securing a temporary seal over the wound and checking her vitals. Her breathing was faint, shallow, and uneven.

“She’s losing too much blood,” Liam muttered, his hands shaking as he prepared an IV. “We need to move. Now.”

Damon nodded again, scooping Sera into his arms with a gentleness that belied the urgency of the moment. Her head lolled against his chest, her body alarmingly light and fragile. The sight of her like this sent a fresh wave of anguish through him, but he pushed it down, his focus razor-sharp.

They burst into the hallway just as Zayn screeched to a halt in the sleek black SUV outside the facility’s rear entrance. He threw the back door open and shouted, “Let’s go!”

Damon climbed into the backseat, cradling Sera in his lap as Liam followed, his medical bag still in hand. Zayn didn’t wait for the door to close before he floored the gas, the tires screeching as the car peeled away into the night.

The SUV hurtled through the empty streets of Tokyo, the neon glow of the city flashing past the windows in a blur. Zayn’s knuckles were white against the steering wheel, his jaw set in grim determination.

In the backseat, Liam worked furiously to stabilize Sera. He barked orders to Damon without looking up. “Keep her head elevated. Watch her breathing. If she stops, you tell me immediately.”

Damon’s hands trembled as he adjusted her position, his storm-gray eyes locked on her pale face. Her lips were slightly parted, her breaths shallow and ragged. His heart ached at the sight of her like this—so vulnerable, so still.

“Come on, Sera,” he whispered, his voice cracking. “You’re stronger than this. You’re stronger than anyone I’ve ever met. Don’t you dare give up on me now.”

Zayn glanced at them through the rearview mirror, his voice strained. “How is she?”

Liam didn’t look up. “Not good. We’re barely holding her together.”

“***Then drive faster***,” Damon growled, his voice laced with desperation.

Zayn didn’t need to be told twice. He pressed the accelerator, weaving through the streets with a precision that bordered on reckless. The glow of the hospital’s emergency lights appeared on the horizon, and Zayn’s heart pounded with both relief and dread.

The SUV skidded to a stop outside the emergency entrance, and Damon was out the door before the car had fully halted. He carried Sera in his arms, her body limp and lifeless, her blood staining his shirt and dripping onto the pavement.

“Help her!” Damon’s voice cracked as he shouted, his storm-gray eyes wild with desperation. “Please, someone help her!”

A team of doctors and nurses rushed forward, their movements efficient and practiced as they transferred Sera onto a stretcher. They began shouting orders, checking her vitals and preparing her for surgery as they wheeled her through the double doors.

Damon moved to follow, but a nurse blocked his path, her expression firm but kind. “You can’t go any further, sir. We’ll do everything we can.”

He stood frozen, his hands clenched into fists at his sides as he watched them wheel her away. The sterile white doors swung shut, leaving him in a silence that was deafening.

Zayn and Liam caught up moments later, their faces pale and drawn. Zayn placed a steadying hand on Damon’s shoulder. “She’s a fighter, Damon. She’ll pull through.”

The three men sat in the cold, sterile waiting room, the minutes stretching into what felt like hours. Zayn paced the length of the room, his phone clutched tightly in his hand, while Liam sat with his head in his hands, exhaustion etched into every line of his face.

Damon remained seated, his elbows resting on his knees, his hands clasped tightly together. He stared at the floor, his mind replaying the moment over and over—the gunshot, the look in Sera’s eyes, the way her body had crumpled in his arms.

“She’ll make it,” Zayn said again, his voice more to himself than anyone else. “She has to.”

Damon’s voice was low, rough. “She didn’t even flinch, you know. She was scared, but she stood her ground. She was so damn brave.”

Liam looked up, his expression softening. “Because of you, Damon. She knew you’d come for her.”

Damon’s hands clenched into fists. “And I wasn’t fast enough.”

The room fell into a heavy silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Finally, after the longest 2 hours of their lives, the double doors swung open, and a doctor in scrubs stepped into the waiting room, her expression grave but not hopeless.

“Are you with Seraphina Cross?” she asked.

All three men stood, their eyes locked on her.

“Yes. How is she?” Damon said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“She's...”