Here's the next chapter, it picks up right where we left off.
"How did you do that?" Clark gasped, staring blankly at the collapsed girl in his arms. Louhi's breath came in short, shallow pants and she clutched at her chest, her hands shaking as they came into contact with the warm fluid.
"Wha-what happened?" She stammered, pulling herself to a standing position only to have her knees buckle and be in Clark's grasp once again.
"You took the bullet for me."
"How?" She whispered, glancing down at her wound, her face a chalky white. "How did this happen?"
"I don't know." Clark whispered, looking bewildered. He knew that Louhi had been behind him when that gun went off. Looking at up the fallen men, he couldn't understand what had happened; they were both dead. "Look," He said, "we've got to get you to a hospital. I'm going to pick you up."
Clark stood, cradling Louhi in his arms. He worried that, with her injuries, running could kill her, but he didn't see much other option.
"No! No!" The girl screamed, interrupting his thoughts by pulling at the collar of Clark's shirt. "No hospitals, please." The look in her eyes was one of pure frenzy; if Clark had thought she was frightened before, he couldn't have imagined what she was feeling now.
"You've been shot." He stated blankly, again mystified by the girl cradled in his arms.
"Please, just take me somewhere quiet. I'll be okay, I promise." Louhi's voice was weak as she turned her face into his chest, reveling in the warmth radiating from him. She felt cold all over; her eyes were beginning to flutter shut and she wondered if this was really going to be the end. It could be worse, she mused, at least this would be a surprise.
Louhi opened her eyes as the boy who had caused all of this set her down on an old couch, in what appeared to be a real barn. It didn't occur to her to wonder how they'd gotten to such a new location so quickly, but she did have just enough energy to be amused. "You really are a farm boy." She chuckled, shaking her head.
"You're delirious." Clark paced around the loft; he didn't know what to do. He obviously couldn't just let this girl die, but he couldn't take her to the hospital, not with the way she panicked. He rubbed at his face, his fingers dipping into the line of his hair. He let out a sigh.
"No, I'm not and you can calm down; I'm fine." As weak as she seemed, she managed to pull herself to a seated position and placed her hand over the wound in her chest.
Clark slowed his pacing to watch.
"What are yo-" He started to ask, but as the bullet emerged from Louhi's chest to meet her waiting hand its green glow shown from across the room and Clark was overcome with the sickness that always followed.
Louhi gave a small cough, using the edges of her ruined shirt to wipe the blood from her skin as the wound sealed itself shut. She held the mysterious green bullet in front of her, examining it with fierce determination to unlock its secrets.
"So weird." She murmured, as Clark let out a groan. "Are you okay?" Louhi started to walk towards the young boy but, the closer she got, the more the bullet's color began to brighten and the paler Clark became. She froze, standing just before him.
"What's happening to you?"
"I'm feeling a little sick." She eyed him suspiciously, inching closer with the bullet held out before her like a sword. Clark collapsed to the floor, his face marred in pain.
"You're lying. What is this made of?" Louhi demanded, intrigued by the way the young boy's face contorted the closer the green stone got.
"It's meteor rock." Clark moaned, writhing on the barn floor. Louhi closed her eyes in frustration; this meant that they figured out her immunities.
"Why does it hurt you?"
"Please." Clark begged. Louhi noted the way his veins were beginning to show, the way every inch of his skin appeared as if he was battling to leave his body.
"Answer me." She ordered, holding the rock just before his eyes.
"I'm from another planet. And that will kill me." Clark closed his eyes, planning to just let the pain overtake him, but it vanished. He peeled open his eyelids, expecting to see the disgusted face of someone who would never accept him, or the face of someone who wanted to exploit him, but he saw nothing. Louhi had vanished.
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