I widened my eyes and blinked a few times. “I feel nauseous,” I said, swallowing.
She looked down at my hand on my thigh, both covered in scarlet. “It’s because you’re losing so much blood. I’ve got to cover Jared, but you stay awake!”
Claire pulled a hand gun from the holster on her back and shot several rounds, simultaneously whipping a rifle over her head and stabilized it on top of the remaining wood of our make-shift fort. Staring down her sights, her tiny frame jerked back with each shot as large brass casings flipped out and over, landing all around me.
“Your SIX, Jared!” Claire screamed as she took more shots with her rifle with one hand, and intermittently straightened her head to use her hand gun with the other.
The bullets no longer showered the restaurant as they seemed to be mostly out in the street. Claire repacked her guns on her person and grabbed the back of my dress, pulling me across the floor. She side-stepped down the hall to the kitchen in a crouched position, and I swallowed back the nausea as I noticed the thick trail of blood along the white tile behind us.
She propped me against a cabinet and appraised my condition. “Yikes, you’re really pale,” she said, leaning back quickly to look down the hall and then righting herself to reload her firearm.
“I feel pale, thanks,” I mumbled, my eyes feeling heavy.
“Hurry up, Jared,” she muttered, wiping my bangs from my eyes. I noticed, then, that I was sweating, my wet hair matting against my brow.
The gunshots were quieting down outside, with only sporadic shots fired every minute or so. I began to shiver and Claire frowned, concerned with my diminishing state.
The waitress was curled up in a corner across from us. She looked at me with wide, terrified eyes, noticing my leg.
“It’s getting quiet,” I mumbled.
“That’s because Jared has taken care of most of the people shooting at us,” Claire said with a contrived smile.
“Where is Jared? Why isn’t he back, yet?” I struggled for breath.
“He’s coming. Just hang on, Nina,” she said, distracted as she checked the hall once again.
I needed a more specific time frame. Worried about how much longer I would have to fight to hang on, the question fell short. I looked around the room and it began to blur and spin.
“You’re losing too much blood. We have to move,” Claire said, pulling me to the doorway. She peered out quickly before leaning back to speak to the waitress, asking her something in Japanese. The woman pointed and nodded, whimpering back an answer.
Claire smiled at me. “There’s a back door. We’ll pick Jared up on the way…let’s go.”
“I’ll be right behind you,” I deadpanned.
With her rifle in one hand, she tossed me over her shoulder with the other. As if I weighed nothing, she carried me down the hall, took a turn, and then stopped for less than a second before issuing a damaging blow with her foot to a heavy steel door.
I could feel the night air cooling the warm blood on my leg, and I breathed a sigh of relief that we had finally escaped into the alley. We had almost made it to the street when Claire froze and lowered me to the ground.
“Rookie mistake, Claire Bear,” Grahm said, pointing his gun. His nose was still taped from where she’d shattered it with her elbow.
“Awfully brave of you to come alone,” she smiled.
I had seen Claire’s smug expression before, but this time it was different. She had an edge of fear in her eyes. She knew that I was running out of time.
Grahm turned to me. “I told you I’d see you soon, Nina. Looks like I’m not even going to have to waste a bullet…you look pretty close to death’s door. Such a waste, too,” he said, clicking his tongue in disapproval. “I was looking forward to spending some time with you.”
I held myself up with my hands, but my arms were quivering from exhaustion. I struggled to keep my eyes focused, and my lungs were having a hard time feeling satisfied with each shallow breath. Grahm was right, but I would fight it; I had to keep my heart beating to save Jared.
“If she dies, Grahm, I won’t kill you quickly,” Claire said through her teeth, her voice quivering with anger. “You will suffer…for days. Maybe even weeks…Hell will be a sweet relief compared to what I will do to you.”
Grahm laughed, pointing his shotgun at me. “I could end her life right now, but I think I like watching you squirm while we watch her die.”
I coughed, and fell to my elbows, my palms flat on the damp pavement of the alley. The nausea became more of a promise than a threat, and the sweat dripped from my hairline into my eyes. Grahm planned to hold us at gunpoint until my heart stopped beating, and Jared would soon become sick and die. The rage welled up inside me and I gritted my teeth in anger.
I looked up at the barrel of the gun. “I wish I could watch what she does to you, Grahm, you sorry sack of—,”