I'll Cover You

Chapter 20

"Come on Marius," Cosette pleaded to the unconscious man, "stay with me please." Cosette was using her power to pull Marius away from the bloody barricade. Her chest was heaving up and down. Marius was not exactly a feather. She could not carry him over her shoulder without snapping her spine, so the only alternative was to drag him across the muddy Parisian streets.

After receiving Marius's letter, Cosette could not accept the fact that he could die. She knew he was only doing this for her, and she would not be able to live with herself if he were to be harmed because of her. That's when an idea sprang into her head. Cosette sprinted into Marius's room, and opened up his closet. Her mind raced as her hands grabbed the articles of clothing she needed, and she dressed for the barricades. She then raced for the barricades, and volunteered herself by the time of the second attack. She would do her best to protect Marius, and even if she couldn't she would at least die alongside him.

Now though, they both still had a chance at survival, and Cosette was going to take whatever was necessary to save him. The first thing was to get him as far away from the barricades as possible. This way Marius had less of a chance of getting shot. Where could she take him though? Both her house and Marius's were too far away for them to make it in time, and no one seemed like they would willingly let them inside their humble homes. The closest thing that seemed safe was a dark alleyway. It was not the perfect place to work, but they would at least be safe from the National Guard.

Cosette pulled Marius into the alleyway quickly in order to not be seen by anyone. She laid him down on the ground, and finally got a chance to get a good look at him. He was in really bad shape. Not counting the gunshot wound, he had multiple gashes lining his arms and forehead. Her dragging him through the mud was probably not helping the exposed cuts. She let out a sigh of frustation into the summer heat, not knowing where to start. Cosette was far from a nurse in any stretch of the imagination. How was she now suppose to help Marius without killing him? She had to try though. She couldn't let him die.

Cosette kneeled down towards the ground, and decided to begin with working on his cuts. She took off her thin jacket, and began to rip it into pieces. She looked up from her now tattered jacket to check on Marius, who still layed there silently. She wrapped the remains of her jacket around some of the cuts on Marius's arm, then used other pieces to apply pressure to the wound. Cosette wiped a bead of sweat off her brow. This was a lot tougher than it looked. As she exhaled a breath to try and calm herself down, she remembered that she had not yet taken the bullet out of Marius's shoulder.

A scream of frustration escaped Cosette's mouth. She was obviously doing more harm than help. She couldn't do this on her own. Her mind was too flustered under the pressure. What was she to do though? She could not let him die. Tears streamed down her face as she had suddenly become grief stricken. Her mind wandered at trying to come up with a possible solution to the conflict that faced her. She couldn't very much do this on her own, and there was no doctor anywhere nearby. It seemed as though she were on her own.

All of the hope that seemed to remain in Cosette was drained. There were no other alternatives that she could think of. Everything seemed to be failing her. How was she ever going to be able to do this? As she finished sobbing into Marius's chest, she looked up and realized something. This was a familiar area to her! Maybe there was someone who could help them here! As she racked her brain, the hopeful smile that spread across her face faded. She remembered who lived here, and it was not to her best advantage.

Would they let them in? Of course they would let Marius in, he was dying for Pete's sake. But Cosette? She wasn't so sure. However, she had to take this chance. It was the only opportunity for Marius to survive. She heaved one more sigh as she picked her love up off the ground once more. Though she knew he could not hear, she uttered into his ear, "I'm doing this for you, and only you."

Cosette had struggled a bit with getting Marius to the palace like doors. Her mind, though remembering the terrain, was not very fond of the directions. She had gotten lost one or two times along the way before finally reaching the door. She banged on the door roughly with a sense of urgency now. There was no time to waste, luckily Marius was holding on still. However, that could change at any moment. They needed to act fast. After what seemed like centuries, the door finally creaked open, revealing the older man.

The man's eyes narrowed at the sight of the girl, "What is it that you want?"

Cosette did not have time to deal with his anger towards her. She spat out quickly in a desperate plea, "I need your help Monsieur. Please, it's urgent."

The man retorted viciously, "Why on this planet would I help you?!"

"Because," Cosette cried out, "it has to do with your grandson!... H-he's been shot... And I need your help!"

Gillemond's jaw dropped to the floor. He could not believe the sight of his grandson. Ragged and bleeding. It was almost too much for him to bare. He sucked in a breath, "Come! Bring him inside now!" As much as he did not wish to have the blonde intrude his house once more, he could not let his grandson die.

Cosette simply nodded, and carried Marius inside.