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Sam crawled on his hands and knees toward the gun in Archer's hand. He was splayed on the ground but he was still holding onto it desperately.
Leaning down, Sam punched him in the shoulder, just hard enough to make him unclench his fist. He swiped the gun out of Archer's hand, aimed it at his face.
Archer opened his mouth to say something.
Before he could, Sam emptied the clip into it.
Archer's body shook on the ground as Sam fired round after round into his face. The field filled with smoke and the smell of gunpowder, my heart rate increasing with every shot.
I watched his face change under the constant barrage of gunshots, each one of his features turning into nothing but a bloody pulp.
My stomach turned.
And the world was awash with vibrant, horrifying red.
Chapter Thirty-Two: Teo
Iwokeupfeelinglike I'd just run a marathon. My head was pounding and my limbs felt like rubber. I was lying down, on my back, staring up at a ceiling. I had no idea where I was but I tried to force myself to piece together how I got here.
It took me a few seconds to orient myself. I didn't like hospitals; as a rule, they were best avoided, in case the law was around. The steady beep-beep-beep grounded me immediately, though. I tried to sit up, but a reassuring hand appeared on my chest. ”No,” a delicate voice said. ”Don't move.”
It was Sofia. She was sitting next to me, her eyes filled with concern as she looked down at me. Her hand was on my chest, gently pushing me back down on the bed. ”You need to rest,” she said softly.
I didn't think she looked much better than me. There was a large bandage around her head, her pretty hair pulled away from her face.
I tried to speak, but my throat was dry, and my voice came out as a croak. Sofia quickly handed me a glass of water, and I drank it gratefully. ”Where am I?” I managed to ask.
She handed me a tumbler filled to the brim with ice water and I instantly read the logo for Orlando Health Regional Hospital.
”Are you okay?”
She smiled at me. ”I'm a tough girl,” she said. ”I'll be fine. How are you?”
”Fine. I really don't think this is necessary because I fainted when I saw a little blood...”
I trailed off. She held my stare for a second. ”A little blood?” she challenged, cocking an eyebrow.
I closed my eyes, seeing the bullets landing on Archer's face behind my eyelids and trying to push the memories away.
”How's everyone else?”
”Archer is dead,” she said. ”Grayson is shaken, but okay. Sam is being seen to. And you're not here because you fainted, Teo.”
I looked at her, raising my eyebrows.
She glanced at my leg.
That was the first time I realized I wasn't at all in pain, though my body did feel incredibly stiff. It took me a second to realize that my leg was suspended on a metal contraption and it hung loosely over my body.
The sickening feeling returned to my stomach. Something was wrong, very wrong.
My eyes broke away from Sofia's, but her hand closed around my own, squeezing it gently. ”You're going to be alright,” she said. ”And we're going to be alright.”
”I can't feel anything,” I said, my voice a little shaky.
”Medicine,” she explained. ”It's to prevent the pain. You were shot in the leg, Teo. You have to stay still until it heals. You're lucky the bullet didn't hit any arteries.”
”I feel fine,” I said. ”I feel normal and I feel like I can get up.”
