The Elemental

Chapter 16: Breathe

Alyssa's eyes remained glued to her hand as the blood seeped into her tank top and trickled down her right arm. She took an unsteady step backward, colliding with the wall as her legs began to give out.

A panicked wail escaped her throat and Johnny reached for her, attempting to guide her fall as she slid to the floor. He knelt in front of her, quickly sliding off his jacket and lifting his shirt over his head.

"The bullet's still there," he said, folding up the shirt with trembling hands. "It pierced your artery and fractured your shoulder blade." He pressed the shirt against the wound and she cried out as pain shot down her arm, bringing her out of her daze. "I have to put pressure on it or you'll bleed out," he explained. "What were you thinking? You idiot. Why would you—" he paused, meeting her eyes with fear in his. "Why?"

Because, idiot.

She looked away, fearfully watching her blood slowly darken his white t-shirt as he took her cheek in his right hand. The spark from his touch was barely noticeable.

"Hey, look at me," he said.

An ache passed through her heart as he planted a kiss on her forehead. "I thought you hated me," she said softly.

He hesitated with a pained expression. "You were right, about Peter. It is my fault. I didn't want to accept that. I treated you horribly, and you— you took a bullet for me."

"You know I'm never gonna let you live that down, right?" she teased.

He chuckled slightly. "That's fair."

"How are we getting out?" she asked.

He glanced over his shoulder toward the door as a scuffling sound came from the other side. "We're not."

"What do you mean?"

He didn't respond. There was a low pitched hiss as a laser began to cut its way through the door, answering her question for him.

"Can't we just take the elevator to another floor?" she suggested, trying to keep her fear from her voice.

"They know we're in here. They'll have the exits covered by now, and we're in no condition to fight."

"What if we just go down to the bottom and dig through the floor back into the tunnels?"

"I can't," he replied. "I-I don't even think I can hold the doors closed at this point. Even if I could, you'd bleed out."

"You can heal me, can't you?" she asked.

"I—" he shook his head. "I'm not trained. I don't know how."

"You figured out how to perfectly forge money."

"With weeks of practice," he countered. "I've never healed anyone before, and right now, my powers are drained. I'm too weak. Even if I wasn't, even if I knew exactly what to do, I don't— I—" he trailed off and lowered his head. "I couldn't stand to put you through that pain."

"I'm already in pain," she argued, "and the alternative is worse."

"You're not gonna die here. Okay? I promise."

Tears crept into her eyes and she blinked them away. "You can't promise that." She shivered involuntarily as a chill washed over her and her gaze shifted down to her shoulder. Johnny's white t-shirt was almost solid red.

"You're losing too much blood," he said worriedly as it dripped from her right hand, still steadily leaking through his fingers.

"I don't think I'm gonna make it," she muttered weakly.