A Trail of Smoke and Smugglers (Santi/PopexReader)

Mercy

[A/N: Hello my lovelies! My sincerest apologies, I meant to upload twice yesterday, but the day got away from me quicker than expected. But, here is the next chapter for you all, and I wrote it to be a long chapter just for you. Thank you all for being here, for commenting and voting as well. It means the world to me, and I love each and every one of you. Please enjoy! -K 🖤]

[🌿This chapter contains swearing, perilous situations, and saddening angst.🌿]
***
A screeching alarm blared while sparks of faulty electric wires illuminated the cabin.

My eyes painfully fluttered open as I heard the electrical pulses of the swinging wires and the winding down of the savagely destroyed blades.

I was laying flat on my stomach and as my eyes darted around me, I realized that I was upside down and laying on the ceiling. The helo must have flipped several times during its tumultuous descent from the sky.

"Shit..." I breathlessly whispered, still trying to come to my senses as my adrenaline faded quickly. My back was raging with uncontrollable pain, causing me to cry out in unadulterated horror. Pins and needles traveled down my thighs, originating from the central point of pain in my lower spine.

A terrifying realization hit me.

I couldn't move my legs.

Smoke abruptly filled the cabin and seeping blood dripped from my forehead, blinding my eyes and melding with my rapidly blinking eyelashes. I began to cough erratically and wipe at my face with filthy, sooty hands.

I couldn't determine if I had been injured anywhere else, but I knew that I had been unconscious for some time, as there was already dried blood on my palms and drying on my cheeks. Every time I contorted my face, I could feel the tightening sensation of the dried blood on my skin pulling and tugging uncomfortably.

I gripped the jutting metallic pieces of the ceiling and attempted to distressingly drag myself towards the mangled end portion of the helo. With every movement, whether frantic or minute, I screamed in agony and gasped in broken huffs of labored breaths.

Now would be a perfect time to cry out for mercy.

But no one was listening.

My now bleeding fingertips dug into the ceiling as I pulled my weight again, weeping as shocks of nauseating pain traveled down my legs and infected my back ruthlessly. I wanted to surrender, to wave a white flag, and to denounce trying any longer.

The uniform I was wearing, which was strictly black camouflage, was being ruthlessly torn down the front from the jagged pieces of metal, simultaneously scratching and digging into my skin.

Dangerous crackles and snaps from the severed wires urged me to drag myself faster, for fear of combustion within the helo. I fought the lethargic and dizzying torture that was inhabiting every portion of my body, threatening to debilitate me where I laid.

"Help...please..." I weeped and begged to no one in particular. No one knew where I was. No one would know about the tragedy of this mission, and my life would insignificantly disappear forever.

Never again would I see Tom. My older brother, my oldest and best friend. My protector from a young age and who acted as a nurturing parent to me as I matured. The one I would cry to for hours as he wiped away my tears with no judgment.

I wouldn't ever hug Fish again. My brother, although not related, but still worthy of all of my love and respect. He was my comforter and the one I would run to for a calming embrace. He was only ever a phone call away and would move mountains to get where I was.