CHAPTER 11. – I WATCHED THE WORLD FLOAT TO THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

- MARY -

I screamed.

The gunshot was unexpected. It sounded like I came from beside and behind me, but I didn't know. The next thing I knew, I was falling over. Bash caught me in his arms and once I was steadied we noticed that Leith had been shot in the shoulder. "Leith!" Bash called and we both went over to him. "Are you alright?"

Leith cried out in pain. "Bloody hell!" he cursed.

I ripped off part of the bottom of my dress and knelt down to bandage him up. "We have to stop the bleeding."

"How do you plan to do that?" Leith asked.

Bash seemed to have an idea. "Wait here."

I looked over to the side. Francis was standing there in shock. I had no idea why, but he wasn't moving. He just stood there, his eyes wide. I remained on my knees and tried to keep as much pressure on Leith's shoulder as I could. The ship titled more and we were getting dangerously angled. Any further and we would start sliding down the deck.

Within minutes Bash came back with a sponge. "Where did you get that?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it," he said and bent down. I loosened the piece of cloth I'd used to tend to Leith's wound earlier, and Bash put the sponge in place. I wrapped the cloth back around it and had to tear more off of my dress to help secure it.

"There," I said. Leith couldn't move his shoulder. The bullet had gone right through, which we discovered upon examining earlier, but that was a good thing since we wouldn't have to get it out. It wasn't a good thing that he got shot but regardless… he'd survive if we had anything to say about it.

I tried standing up on my own. The pain in my ankle was less than when the fall had first happened and I could walk on my own again. I turned around. Francis was gone. I looked around for him. Then… I saw where he was. He was on the boat that was being lowered.

- BASH -

That son of a bitch. He'd taken Mary's spot on the boat. No one was stopping him. He was clearly a man and they were still only allowing women and children. I had to assume he paid off the officer loading the boat. That was the only explanation. I put a hand on Mary's shoulder. "It's gonna be alright. We'll find a boat."

We went down to the other end but the ship was sinking dangerously now. So we made the decision to turn around and head in the other direction—head for the stern and get as far to the top as possible. That's when the panicking truly set in. The ship was being sucked down more and more each second. We had to fight through a mob of people to get to the top and make sure Leith's shoulder was protected. But eventually, we made it. Leith grabbed on to the railing with his good arm and held tight while Mary clung to me as I held on.

There were several other people around the railing. One was a woman, holding a crying boy, telling him, "It will all be over soon." I could see the look on Mary's face and how she was affected by that. She was terrified. That little boy might die. Or he could lose his mother. Half of the people on this ship would die. Some already had. There were dozens, no—hundreds of people jumping off of the ship. Some were falling to their deaths. Some were struggling in the water. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about this. I wanted to be anywhere but here… anywhere but here.

"Bash," Mary said, getting my attention. "This is where we first met."

It was. How ironic that this was the place we end up on Doomsday. I kissed her head and held her closer.

And then… the ship snapped in two.

- MARY -

I thought I might have a panic attack. The ship snapped straight down the center and we went flying back down level. I clung to Bash as tightly as I could and screamed. I wasn't the only one.

As we started to go back up, Bash said, "Come on, come over the railing." He helped me and then we both went to help Leith. He could barely come over the railing.

He didn't make it.

We tried with all of the strength we had to pull Leith up after he slipped, and he dangled there for a few moments. He was in an enormous amount of pain. "Just let me go," he begged. "I'll be alright."

"No!" Bash shouted. "I'm not letting go of you!"

"Leith, please," I begged, "try to pull yourself up."

He shook his head. "I can't. I—I'm sorry."

That's when he let go.

"NO!" Bash shouted and we watched Leith fall down and hit one of the benches, tumbling and falling further until we couldn't see him.

Tears sprung to my eyes. I choked on nothing but air. Leith had sacrificed himself, knowing somehow that he wasn't going to make it. My heart felt like it might explode. It was the last thing I was expecting.

I looked over at Bash who put his hand over mine. "We have to survive. For him."

I nodded.

The ship was being sucked down now. There was no stopping the inevitable. "Take a deep breath when I say so. The ship will suck you down. Kick for the surface and do not let go of my hand. Do you understand?"

"Yes," I said as we inched closer and closer with each passing moment.

"Ready?" We were just about to hit the water. "NOW!"

I took a deep breath… and soon I was being sucked underwater.

...

A/N: By my estimate, two-maybe three-more chapters until we're done! Chapter 12 coming soon! Send me some love! -heart-