Ch. 8 Hurt and Hurt again
"Rose!"
The injured girl looked up, looking exhausted, but her face lit up as she saw Zeke standing their.
"Are you all right?" he asked as he rushed to her side, crouching near her injured leg.
"I am, but Lillith isn't." Her leg was covered in blood, Zeke could barely see where the bullet had entered.
"What happened?" he asked her.
"She was shot. We couldn't run, so we hid ourselves."
Zeke frowned, thinking how bad she must have exerted herself to climb up the ladder. He took out his knife, and sliced off a large portion of his sleeve, and tied it around her leg.
"That should hold it until I can get you to a hospital," he told her, standing up. Rose nodded, staring at the ladder.
"I'll help you go down," he said, offering out his hand to pull her up. She grasped it, and pulled. Zeke suddenly fell down with the pressure, clutching the bullet wound on his arm. He felt stupid, forgetting he was wounded as well.
"You too are injured. If you push yourself, you'll get yourself sick," Rose told him. Where did he hear that before?
"Don't worry about me. Try hoisting yourself up, I don't think I can help you," he said, still feeling the pain rip through his upper arm. Rose shifted her weight until she could fully push herself up with her hands. She mumbled something he couldn't hear. Zeke guessed she was talking to Lillith as he stood up.
"Come on. You got up the ladder, you can get down."
"All right," Rose replied. She slowly made her way down the fire escape, and onto the ground. Zeke grabbed the sides of the ladder, and slid down the entire way. Rose limped, leaning against Zeke for support.
Half-way to the Hospital, Zeke heard footsteps echo behind him, and the click of a gun. He shoved Rose to the side, drawing out his pistol as he whipped around.
The bullets that were meant for Rose ripped through Zeke's chest. He fell back, and shot twice at the mans head as a last reflex before he blacked out.