Protector Ch 17

It was all over. Zandra writhed on the ground, coughing up blood. It hurt so much, it felt so real, Zandra's instinct took over again and she forgot everything she had been taught. It just hurt so badly. She stared at the ground in front of her, watching the puddle of blood wander its way across the concrete.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Richards," Jones said, walking over to her injured body. "But sometimes, we have to suffer the consequences."

He cocked his gun, and aimed at Zandra again. Brown just stood where he was, smiling his cold smile. Zandra could only see his shoes – his shiny, immaculate shoes. But she knew that he would be smug, knew he would be smiling as he watched her die. As she bled to death. Alone. Cover… come…

Jones shot again.

"Come on, Cover, we don't have time!"

"Shade, I'm going as fast as I can. Just be ready."

"I am ready!"

"Then it's just a matter of time."

Jones shot again. And then Brown emptied his own gun. Something was frustrating them, Zandra could tell. She was still in so much pain, everything seemed dim around her… She saw Brown's feet coming closer to her. A rough hand picked her up and threw her against the nearest building. Zandra was too dazed to care, it hurt so much, there was so much blood everywhere. She could taste it in her mouth, smell it in the air, feel it damp on her hands and clothes…

"Why won't they work."

Brown was tense.

"It is a glitch,"

"Then we should try again."

"There they are," Shade shouted, "I've got everything ready."

"Kill them first."

Both agents registered the sound at the same time. They turned around simultaneously, both realizing just a moment too late that they were about to be terminated. Shade, his face furrowed in concentration, let loose a volley of rifle fire that had the agents out before they knew that it was coming. In only a second, Zandra's threat was gone.

"Out!" Cover shouted. The car screeched to a halt, and as it did, Shade leapt out of the window to the sidewalk. He went over to Zandra, still writhing helplessly on the ground.

"Zandra," he breathed, adrenaline pumping. He had to help her quickly – it didn't look like she would be able to take any more… He took off his leather jacket to get to his undershirt to tie her up, but where was the bullet wound?

"I'm sorry, this might hurt," he offered, taking her in his arms. Her face was pallid and cold, a sheen of sweat showing on her brow. Her breathing was shallow, and made no gesture of recognition. She only whimpered as he gently lifted her up, looking for the source of blood.

"Shade, we don't have time." It was Cover, standing close to them. He looked around expectantly. "There will be more."

Shade nodded. "I'm sorry," he repeated, and pulled Zandra off of the ground. She didn't scream, but Cover could tell from her facial expression and sudden gasps that she was in pain.

"Lay her in the back and take care of it," he said, ushering Shade back to the car. He nodded again. Zandra still whimpered. "It hurts," she kept on repeating, almost mumbling the words to herself.

Cover turned back to Shade and her. "Zandra, listen to me. You can stop the damage now if you just take control of yourself."

Shade glared at him, but Cover ignored it. Zandra stopped whimpering. They all piled into the car and began the drive back to the phone, back to Purgatory. Shade again lifted Zandra up to see where the bullet had hit her. There it was, Shade could see a small hole at the back of her side. Luckily, it had not gone far, because Shade could even see the bullet itself, lodged in her back. That's what probably caused all the pain, Shade figured.

"The bullet it still in," he said to Cover, beginning to dab at her wound. Zandra began to whimper again, but gritted her teeth. It seemed like for the moment, she was beginning to come back. The blood was running less; but whether it was from clotting or loss, neither knew.

"We can't do it right now," warned Cover, who began to drive faster, "She'll survive for now,"

Shade sighed and looked into Zandra's eyes. They were fearful, but also somewhat controlled. "I'm sorry," he said softly, "We'll have to wait until you're out." Zandra nodded slowly, as if to say it was okay. And then everything became blurry. The light around Zandra seemed to dim, and she thought night was coming. Okay, she thought, fine by me….