Rise [Bruno Mars]

Chapter thirty-one

Chapter thirty-one

“Is he—?”

“Yeah. He is.”

I crossed my arms and forced myself to breathe, squinting. I could hardly see the body, a rigid dark lump across the distance. The stranger had moved so quietly, and the knife in my stomach proved these attackers professional. Yet Bruno who had no past experience of gun artistry located him and shot him down with ease. It was hard to fathom. The edges of his sense was sharpening, giving him unlearned skill.

Shaking off my thoughts, I focused. My gaze was no longer on the dead—blood was everywhere, I realized. Splattered across the snow like a murder scene, smeared around Bruno's hands, some on his face. It drenched my clothes, beginning at my torso and ending at my knees, and left dried on my cheeks and chin. I scrubbed at it, amazed at how all this blood could possibly come from a single human being. It reminded me how frightening it was to balance precariously on the ever thin line dividing life and death. It reminded me how I had just wanted it all to end. To not even balance, anymore. To fall.

“We have to move.” Bruno slid his firearm's cartridge out smoothly, checking its ammunition amount. “It's not safe here.”

“How are we going to do that?” I felt too weak to stand, and Joseph was not conscious. Whatever he did—saving my life had costed him.

Bruno primed his gun. “Wake him up.”

“He's unconscious.”

“I can see that.” But he was watching the trees, tensed, ready, on guard. “Come on, Dri. We don't have much time.”

Using a thick root of a tree, I pushed myself toward Joseph. Halfway, I encountered a sleek weapon resting in the snow. It was a dagger. The dagger. Extending from a brown and gold hilt was crimson-coated steel as flat as a razor and ending in a point so dangerous just at its sight I winced. My scar gave a faint throb, as if saying Oh boy, that was inside of me?

“Dri?” Bruno wondered from behind. I felt his eyes touch my shoulders.

Joseph was never seen without the knife that nearly killed him. I thought about Unhomboldt. I slipped the dagger inside my deepest pocket. This was my punishment. I dragged myself the rest of the way using my elbows and feet.

I could feel the blank space of Joseph's mind envelop mine so supremely, I bet if I could physically lift a finger and touch it I would have left a dent. But fingers were no use here. Temples pressed together, I spoke to him. An awkward Wake up? that echoed like a question. He didn't answer. I showed him memories. I showed him an image of the surrounding area and growing frustrated, I demanded him to wake, managing to add in a swear word. Not once did he stir. The weight of his unconsciousness was as heavy and stable as before.

“This is something Joseph has to do on his own, waking up.” I turned around to find Bruno watching. “What are we going to do?”

Bruno looked from me to Joseph then to me and Joseph again. He turned his head away, as if it were too much. “I don't know.”

“Bruno—”

He stood. “I'm going to dump that body somewhere. Hopefully it'll keep them off us.” He glanced around and walked to an area that caught his eye, picked up a black object, and handed it over. 

I looked down at my gun. “We should stick together.”

“Adrian, our best bet is to lead whoever the hell those guys are away from us.”