I tried to type this really fast because I kind of left the last chapter off on a cliff hanger and I know I at least would have been driven crazy by this had I been the reader. So sorry if it's not great, but that would be the reason why. This chapter really starts to bring in the whole "damsel in distress" angle that was one of my favorite parts of the original series (even though Chloe could totally kick-butt when necessary). Hope you like it!
"Chloe?" I heard someone call horrifyingly loud, the sound heavy with panic.
"Derek?" I whimpered, naming the person I most hoped it was. I staggered towards the sound.
"Chloe!" In front of me the undergrowth shuddered, and then Derek was running towards me, still fifteen feet away.
Weak with relief (and blood loss) I stumbled another step forward. "Are you ok? I thought I smelled-" He fell silent and shuddered to a stop five feet away, shock etched on his face. I had just stepped into a shaft of moonlight leaking down from a part in the trees. I could only imagine what he was seeing- me even paler and necromancer-y than usual, hands pressed to my side against the blossoming crimson pool blooming across my shirt, blood dripping down my face. "Blood." he finished weakly, looking as if he was the one about to collapse.
"Derek run!" I choked. This was enough to shatter his surprise, and he did run- just not towards the house.
"No-" I protested weakly as he dashed to my side.
"You need help. Urgently." he grabbed my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "Are you all right to get back to the house?"
I couldn't even get the energy to glare at him. "Fine." He slung my arm over his shoulder and we took a step, but my knees gave out. I collapsed on the ground in a dirty, bloody heap.
"Guess that's a no." he crouched next to me. "Ok, then, we'll get help here." I blinked up at him, unsure what he meant. It became apparent when he took off his shirt and bunched it up. "Ssh…" he soothed, I didn't realize I'd been whimpering softly. "Just lie still." I did as he asked, clenching my fists and squeezing my eyes shut. "Ok, this might hurt." he sounded reluctant. He pried my hands away and pressed the shirt against the wound instead. I bit my lip to stifle the scream, so hard I drew blood. "Sorry, sorry." he muttered, trying to staunch the flow of blood. I opened my eyes and saw the shirt he was pressing against my side was now almost completely red.
"Derek?" someone was crashing through the woods, startlingly loud after the only sound being our combined heavy breathing.
"We're over here." Derek called back tersely. Simon shouldered his way towards us.
"Did you find Chlo-" my name died on his lips as he caught sight of us, me lying in a puddle of blood. "What happened?" he moved swiftly to crouch beside Derek. I missed what he said next, my hearing was ringing, but I did notice Tori's arrival.
"I'm going to kill her!" she raved, batting aside a low hanging branch. "Making us all tramp through the wilderness in the freaking middle of the night so she could try and play hero-" like Simon she froze when she saw our huddle. "Oh god," she gasped, looking horrified. "No, no, no, no, no!"
"Tori, we have to get her back to the house." Derek grunted. I couldn't see his face anymore, everything had gone blurry. "I'm going to need you to scout ahead, see if there's anyone ahead-"
"No," I croaked, making them all pause and look at me. "You guys run! They already know we're trying to escape, and they have guns."
"That's obvious." Tori muttered, looking pointedly at my stomach, but I kept going.
"Don't give them the opportunity to increase security. Go now!"
"But Chloe," Simon argued. "You need help. Like, serious help. You can't run away right now."
"You guys go. I'll catch up." I tried to push myself to a sitting position but Derek lightly shoved me back down.
"No." he growled.
"You have to go now." I repeated.
"Chloe-" Simon tried to argue.
"We're not leaving you behind. So stop being stupid." Derek snapped.
"But-" I winced as a pebble flew up and hit me in the face.
"What?" Derek jumped up, looking around as if that would let him see the ghost.
I glanced up at the towering trees expecting to see Royce, but it was Liz I saw instead. "Sorry, but you weren't paying attention." she explained.
"What's wrong?" she was biting her lip nervously.
"Um…I know you're hurt and everything but you guys really need to get back to the house."
"Why? We have to escape, not go back." I was vaguely aware of Simon, Derek, and Tori watching me cautiously as if fearing more stuff was going to go flying. At least they knew I was talking to a ghost and not just myself. Whatever else I was, I wasn't crazy. Yet.
"They're coming." she looked over me to the forest behind.
"How many?" I pushed myself up with one arm, and this time Derek didn't force me back down.
"Only two, but they both have guns. And funny glasses- night vision goggles? Either way, you guys have to get out of here."
"Chloe?" Derek was asking. "Is it Liz?" I nodded but missed what she said next.
"Sorry, what?" I asked.
Liz rolled her eyes at me. "I know you want to escape, but you can't risk it. Not tonight. They already know where you are, Chloe."
"How?" I asked panicked. This was a new and frightening twist.
She blinked at me. "I don't know. But they have a GPS type thingy and its signal is leading them here."
"We've got to go. Now." I tried to stand but fell down instantly. That didn't stop me from trying again, though.
"Chloe." Derek caught my face and pinned me to the ground. "Stop." I lay still. "What. Is. Going. On?" he spoke the words carefully and deliberately.
"Liz says there are two guys, headed this way." I explained.
"Armed?"
"Guns and night vision goggles."
"We've got to leave. Now." he stood up and brushed the dirt off himself. Tori and Simon looked worried but followed his lead.
"You guys have to run." I tried one more time, but no one said anything. Wordlessly Derek bent over and scooped me up in his arms, cradling me against his chest. I managed a weak protest but didn't really have the energy to complain. It was curled up against his warm chest, rocked by his steady lope, that I at last blacked out.
Confused? Sorry, I wasn't sure where exactly to fit in an explanation in this chapter, because Chloe's kind of dying…But anyway, it should be explained in the next chapter. Long story short- the gunshot they heard was Chloe (poor Chloe L) but they didn't capture her or anything. She's not entirely sure why, but she doesn't stick around to find out. She wandered through the forest until Derek found her…and you know the rest. Sorry that wasn't made more clear in the story.