AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I wriggle out of King’s strong grip and drop down at Puck’s side, grabbing his hands and inspecting his wound.
“Get an ambulance or something. Someone help!” I shout, looking frantically around.
But no one moves.
“KING!” I shout, but he just looks at Puck, a sadness that I’ve never seen shadow him before.
“It won’t make a difference, Theo,” Dax says calmly, putting his gun back in his belt.
“No!” I cry, holding on to Puck’s hands. “Puck?” I sob into his chest, the blood from his wound coating my hair and forehead.
“T,” Puck whispers, barely any life left in him.
“Don‘t die. Please don’t die. I’m not worth dying over, Puck, please!” I wail as I take his face into both of my hands, sticky with his blood.
“Theo... it’s okay,” he says so, so quietly. He slowly lifts his hand from his chest and interlocks his pinkie finger with mine. “I’ve got you.”
He smiles slightly before stilling and I watch in horror as the life leaves his eyes.
“No, Puck. Please hold me, Puck, please.” I sob, the tears falling thick and fast, my finger clinging onto his tightly. A pain so strong cuts right through my chest. That should’ve been me and instead, Puck has once again paid the price for something that wasn’t his to pay.
The prison is silent and I look up to see everyone standing around. Tears stream down grown men’s faces, quiet sniffling echoing within the walls. His friends stand to my right, crying over Puck’s body, limp and lifeless on the ground. Dax and King are both quiet, overwhelmed with sadness. I’ve never seen King so still. So devastated.
The respect pouring out of each and every single man for Puck is strong. He was their friend, their brother, their family, and everyone knew he didn’t deserve to be in here.
“Theo,” King says quietly, breaking the silence.
I shake my head, clinging tighter onto Puck’s hand, our pinkie fingers still interlocked.
“Theo, we need to go. I don’t know if there are any more threats,” he whispers. Gone is the authoritative, dominant voice, but the voice of a sympathetic friend having to do the hard thing.
“I can’t leave him. I can’t.” I cry some more.
King crouches down beside me and lifts my chin, a tear slipping out of his eye and down his cheek.
“Come on,” he pleads, holding my hands and trying to pry them off of Puck’s.
King hooks his baby finger into mine, detaching me from Puck and holding on to me tightly. He holds my chin with his free hand and stares directly into my eyes.
“I’ve got you now, sweetheart,” he whispers, swiping away at the never-ending tears falling down my cheeks.
I sob uncontrollably as King lifts me into his arms and carries me away.
Away from Puck.
My friend.
My protector.
My family.
20
THEO
King cradlesme in his arms through corridors and rooms I’ve never seen before, or maybe I have, but I never paid enough attention. My vision blurs and the rooms sway as my head continues to loll on King’s shoulder. My cheeks are cold and wet, small teardrops still falling from my eyes, like the lightest of showers from the skies. You can feel it dampening your skin, but it’s comforting.
King kicks open a huge, heavy door with a glowing green exit sign above it and unlike my light smattering of tears, the rain outside is hard and fast, pelting my flesh like a thousand needles injecting my skin all at once.
