BREATH . OF . LIFE . ~ { ReGenisis Chronicles Book I }

Chapter Sixteen [Part 2/2]: Aftermath

                      -Jake Aylesbury -

The situation had been stabilised in the Sub-Basement level, Ashington was on the floor, holding her wounded left leg. The Nocturnal with her before wasn't so lucky, he'd taken the risk of letting himself be surrounded to draw off enemies from her and had been torn into and partially fed on by a Scavenger or two. I hadn't even known his name. He would be forgotten by many, long before he had a chance to be remembered.

Jennings was barely standing, two broken ribs he was fighting to breathe through the pain of. Hudson was still clung to his weapon, waiting for another onslaught as if it were really about to come. We were lucky, goddamn lucky. There must have been thirty or more bodies strewn about the one hallway, and we were not amongst them. Perhaps it was that many lacked weapons or had faulty workings, or perhaps we were just blessed with being the right team at the right time.

Griffin was stood at the ready across from me. Kate shaking by his side, pale little hands wrapped so tightly around her red penknife, held out in front of her. She had some extra wounds that were healing up. Tears spilling over her cheeks, eyes far off, trying to forget what she could still see. She had avoided taking a life herself. As far as she was aware. Instead she defended herself, weakened opponents and let Griffin finish them.

I wonder how long it would take for the guilt of being second hand responsible for those deaths, to hit her. Perhaps it already had?

        Ashington, ground floor is secured, ammunitions control, secured, Lab Two and all else seems to be fine. Stragglers are being rounded up and put into cells, all locks changing.

 Immanuel Garner's voice was almost cheery on the other end of her com.

        What's your status?

"Sub-basement level cleared. But, Daniels got away sir...status of his condition unknown." Ashington's lips tremoring as she held her hand up to her ear piece. She was fighting to hold herself together, her body shaking from blood loss, skin turning pale. She'd just seen a good part of her team destroyed.

"What?" I felt sick, "When?"

We all turned towards a bloody patch on the floor, far behind us. Platinum blonde hiat, loosed from its tight control and dipped in the red. A limp body following it. "Shit,"

Kate turned and her heavy breathing turned to screaming, loud and broken. She rushed over to her sister and knelt down by her. "He didn't take your head, wake up!" She shrieked like a banshee, thumping her fist against Natalia's chest hard. "WAKE UP!"

"And... Swan's dead." Ashington murmured.

      What have I done? Garner sounded distraught. She can't be.

Griffin and I approached Kate. Gravely, I knelt down by Swan. Trying to find what it was that killed her. Her stomach had pulled together. It wasn't that. Griffin put his hand on Kate's shoulder, pulling her away and holding her close to him where she bawled like a hysterical child.

"How the hell did anyone get through... how the hell did anyone do this...How didn't I stop it." My hands had turned to fists, shaking uncontrollably.

Jennings and Hudson joined us, the latter limping a little. Tears had filled Hudson's gold eyes, all the time they'd known each other weighing heavy on him.

I lifted her up, and found the bullet holes under my fingers. One with such impeccable aim that it had hit her heart. Whoever shot knew what distance they needed to be at to make it stay. It was improbable that it had. But, it had.

 I went to dig my fingers into it, but they were too wide. Fumbling and only drawing more red juices out of her body.  

"I can't..." Shaking, vision blurring. I had held it together before. But all I could see was a bloody Amy before my eyes morphing with Swan, and Rin laid vulnerable on my bed, Kate on that table, half catatonic. All these fresh memories culminating in a ripping feeling, hatred and hurt. I was tired of watching the suffering, especially of those I cared about.

Kate had pushed gently out of Griffin's arms and was down next to me again.  "Let me," She whispered, hiccupping back her tears.  

She winced, digging her tiny fingers into the bullet hole just over Swan's heart. She flinched every now and then as she reached for the little piece of led. When finally she pulled out a bullet, she dug for the two others in Swan's back. Each chinking to the floor and echoing in my hollow ears.

Once Kate had finished, I laid Swan down again, the serum would still be active in her system. She was dead, but they weren't.

"Come on Swan, breathe." I ordered her. "If you don't breathe, you can't pay that bastard back..." I hissed, trying to hit her chest to restart her heart. To remind that serum what it was there to do.

Kate put her hand on my shoulder, a jolt of electric went through me, it was numbing. I backed up a little  as she held her hand forward. Violet charges of electric running between her fingers where she held them up. She held her hand down over Swan's chest and I watched it surge through her. Swan's body juddered, then loud and clear a weak heart boomed back into action. Lungs forced a breath of life back into her body.

Despite Swan still being unconscious, Kate swept her arms forward to hug her sister. "Thank you, for helping me learn to fight back." She whispered.

Just then, the sound of two compressed bullets went off behind us. Then the clump of a body hitting the ground. We all turned to see a straggling agent who'd just been shot through the head, he'd been coming at us with a sword. In our distraction, he would have succeeded.

 Then we looked up at who had shot him. Skinner. I frowned.

"Good timing, man," Jennings half smiled, then frowned as he felt the pain of breathing with those broken ribs.

"It would seem so." Skinner nodded, approaching us from the other side of the corridor.

"I thought you were locked up whilst we were still being rounded." I asked curiously, watching his eyes as they darted towards Swan, worry tingeing them.

"Is my girl alright?" He asked, ignoring my question.

I nodded, "Fortunately Kate has the stomach to remove bullets." I glanced at his weapon.

"If she'd died, I don't know what I'd do with myself." He was shaking, Skinner never shook.

"So where have you been?" Hudson's voice boomed behind me, making me shudder.

"In a cell, Daniels must've unlocked my door by accident as when I heard some commotion and tried it, it came open." He stood a little straighter.

"Must've." I agreed dubiously with a nod.