Page 64 of Torment
My mind struggles to catch up as I push against the concrete, my vision doubling. A blow to my ribs knocks the rest of the air free from my chest, the sound of bones cracking loud in my ears. A hand fists in the back of my hoodie before I can move, and the second hit lands harder on the back of my head. My headsnaps forward and bounces off the sidewalk. Stars burst across my vision as something metallic fills my mouth.
I try to scream, but air leaves my lungs in a choked gasp instead. It burns. Rough hands flip me onto my back and a knee digs into my side before I can roll away. Instinct kicks in. I swing wildly, and another blow lands on the other side of my face. Somehow, I make contact. I’m answered by a low, angry grunt. My arms come up too slow to block the next blow, and pain blooms sharp and hot across my jaw.
I twist, clawing for purchase, my nails catching fabric, digging into the skin underneath. He curses then hits me again, the blow forces me to give up the fight. Pain explodes through my skull, bright and disorienting. My vision swims as the world tilts sideways again, the lights above smearing into streaks of gold.
My hands slip. My body stops answering the way that it should. A boot drives into my side and something gives–another sharp, sickening crack that steals what little air I had left. My body falls limp, the cold pavement pressing into my back as the fight drains out of me in quiet, helpless pieces.
The courtyard is still. Too still. Like no one is coming.
Sound starts to disappear first. The distant scrape of skates fade and the hum of Perdition dulls into nothing.
All that’s left is breath. Mine. Broken and wet. The weight disappears suddenly. Footsteps retreat. I tell myself to move, but my body doesn't listen.
Darkness creeps in from the edges of my vision, swallowing the lights above one by one.
Somewhere far away, a voice breaks through like a lifeline.
“Ashlynn?”
Jeremy.
“Ashlynn!” He’s closer now, his voice sharp and panicked. I try to answer, but nothing comes out.
The darkness wins.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Her blood streaks downmy arm as I carry her through the emergency room doors, and for the first time in years, I don’t feel in control of a damn thing. Voices hit us immediately.
“Sir–”
“What happened–”
“Put her here–”
Hands reach for her, but I don’t let go.
“She needs a trauma bay,” someone says, urgency rising. “Now.”
“She’s not going anywhere without me,” I bite out.
A nurse moves faster than the rest, her voice steady. “You can come with us, but I need you to put her down.”
My grip tightens before I force myself to lower her onto a gurney. The second my hands leave her, something in my chest drops. Her head rolls to the side, eyes closed and lips parted.
They move fast. Questions fire. Lights flare down as they wheel her away and I keep up beside them, my fingers brushing her arm like that alone might keep her here.
Stay.
“Name?” someone asks.
I don’t answer. They’re already moving her down the hall, fluorescent lights flashing over her face in broken intervals. Her skin is too pale underneath the blood. Too still.
“Sir, her name–”
“Ashlynn Steele,” Maverick cuts in from somewhere behind me. His voice steady and controlled.
“Date of birth?”
