Isak screamed.
“No—no—please—”
He crawled through the dirt, dragging himself to Einar. His hands fisted in Einar’s shirt, shaking him.
One of the soldiers turned. “Shut him up.”
Another raised his rifle.
“NO!” I screamed, thrashing against Arche’s hold. “DON’T—PLEASE—!”
“They’ll kill you!” he roared in my ear.
I twisted harder, my heel slamming into his shin. He cursed, yanking me tighter against him.
My voice cracked.
“Einar—”
I couldn’t finish.
Isak pulled Einar close, blood soaking him as he pressed his face to Einar’s chest.
“Get up—please—don’t leave me—don’t—don’t—please—”
Einar coughed, choking on it. Blood spilled from his mouth. His head barely lifted, but his eyes found Isak.
“I’m sorry,” he rasped.
Isak shook his head violently. “No—no, I’m not leaving you—”
Then he looked up, eyes blazing at the bald soldier.
“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?” His voice cracked with fury. “WHAT IS WRO—”
CRACK.
The bullet ripped through his skull. Bone and blood sprayed the wall like rain.
His face was gone.
I don’t think I really understood what I was seeing. I’d never seen so much blood before.
I finally wrenched free of Arche’s grip and threw myself down beside him.
“No—please—don’t. I can fix this.”
His eyes fluttered, and blood bubbled at his lips. And then he looked at me.
“Run.” he rasped.
Then his head tipped forward.
“Einar?” My voice broke. “EINAR?”
I clutched his shirt, pressed my forehead to his, sobbing. He didn’t move again. Their blood spread together in the dirt, thick and dark.
I could fix it.
