Monsters

Chapter Eleven

She lifted her head to look at them again before her eyes fell back on mine. "It's a big group so we need to get out of here before they spot us. They're too big for us to take on understand?" She asked me and I nodded my head too lost in how her previous actions had made me feel, how they made me freeze as well.

After a few moments, Luz offered a hand to help me up before we started to travel more discretely. We had stayed mostly quiet though the tension around us had mostly dissipated to what felt like a more manageable, normal level. I fell into step behind her as I tried to make our conversation flow into what it was used to. I wanted to put the past behind us because I knew this level of tension would not be good for us in the long run.

"So, you said how you were into reading as a kid. What kind of books did you read?" I asked her as she offered me her hand and helped me down from a car we climbed that was blocking the alleyway we took. As my feet met the ground I stumbled forward a bit as she moved her hands to my waist to steady me. I froze for a moment, looking up at her before I took a step back and she looked towards the side rubbing the back of her neck.

"Yeah, well, I was into fantasy books and such. I had a big imagination as a kid and I'd get mostly stuck in my head. I was a big nerd if I'm being honest. Didn't fit in with a lot of the other kids." Her face fell for a moment as she looked back on the memory and I regarded her with a sorrowful look. "But I made friends who accepted me so I didn't feel so alone." I watched as she turned and started to walk away. Her shoe scuffed the ground for a second before she continued forward and I followed shortly behind her.

"I haven't seen them both since this all started. Kind of makes me wonder if they made it or not. If I'm being honest though, I'd hope they wouldn't have to go through this like my dad didn't have to." She mumbled and I tilted my head. Luz never mentioned her father before, like most of her past.

"Your dad?" I questioned, catching up to her as she stopped moving forward.

"Yeah, he uh..." She stopped, taking a breath before continuing. "My dad died before all of this happened. It's sad, but I'm also secretly glad he didn't have to live through something like this. As much as I would have wanted him to be here to protect me I can't help but be grateful he wasn't here like my mom was. Is that wrong of me? To be happy he's dead?" She said her voice wavering as it shook.

This news made my heart drop for her as I felt tears from her pain build in my own eyes. And the mystery behind the story of Luz's mom became clearer. Luz had lost her mom during this. "No Luz," I walked to her and brought her into a tight hug, "you shouldn't feel bad for wanting him to not go through this. The pain this world has caused and the suffering you've had to endure. No one should have to go through this. You shouldn't feel bad for wanting to spare him that pain." I whispered.

What happened next caught me entirely off guard. Luz wrapped her arms around me, crying into my shoulder as she relaxed into my grasp. I only held her tighter as I felt my heart warm at this real moment between us. This is the first time I had seen Luz this vulnerable and I hadn't entirely been expecting it. "It's okay Luz. I got you." I told her softly before closing my eyes and laying my chin on her shoulder.

... ... ... ...

"So, I've heard about Willow, but what about your other close friend?" Luz turned around and started to walk backward. "I wouldn't do that. Remember what happened last time you did that." I warned her and she just rolled her eyes, shoving my shoulder before falling into step beside me.

"Well, Gus was a part of the press club. He'd been younger than us. He was a smart kid so he skipped a few grades but because of his young age, a lot of students picked on him. The press club was the only place where he was taken seriously as his writing was impressive, well above some of the other members. So they started to respect him and help him with the other kids." She said this with a smile.

"Besides them, Willow and I were the only ones who'd treated him as an equal. He was like a little brother to me and our friend group was like a second family. I was lucky to have them both." Luz smiled fondly and I smiled at how happy talking about them had made her. She then began to root through her bag until she pulled out what looked like a very worn photo.

Turning to me, Luz placed the photo in my hand and I examined it. "This is a picture of Gus, Willow, and I." She clarified and this news made me grin as I examined the two people in the photo, yet my eyes wandered toward a younger-looking version of Luz. She looked cute in the photo and I cleared my throat once I realized what I had just thought.

"What about you? Did you have any good friends?" She asked, stopping fully and turning to look at me causing me to stop as well. I gently gave the photo back to her and she put it back into her bag safely.

"Yes actually," I said as I let myself fall back into the memory of my old friends. "They were chosen for me by my parents though. However, some of them were nice, you'd probably like them." I commented as Luz tilted her head. Her brows furrowed as she looked off to the side for a moment.

"What?" I questioned though my eyes fell on a lingering monster off to the side and Luz looked back at me shrugging it off.

"It's nothing. Anyways, your friends?" She inquired, putting me back on topic. As I went to say something though, a loud gunshot rang out and I watched Luz stumble forward in front of me as I stumbled back.

Luz took my wrist and dragged me behind a building, pushing her back against the wall as I stood before her confused from how sudden this all happened. I watched Luz place a hand along the top of her shoulder pulling it back to see blood on her fingers. I tried to speak up but my mouth felt dry.

"It's okay. It just grazed the top of my shoulder. I'm fine." She mumbled while looking down at her bloody fingers before whipping them off on her shirt. I watched her peak around the building with a serious face as she tried to catch a glimpse of the shooter. My legs began to grow heavy and keeping myself up seemed to become a physically draining task. I could see Luz's lips moving but I couldn't focus on her words.

My shoulder felt warm and I brought my hand to lay against it. "Amity?" I heard Luz say, though it somehow sounded so much more distant.

"Luz, something's wrong," I mumbled pulling my hand from my shoulder and seeing blood. I fell to my knees and Luz ran toward me. Her hands gripped my shoulders and they followed me to the ground.

"Amity!" Her hand went to my face turning me towards her. "Just look at me okay? You're going to be okay." She looked around frantically, her guard up.

I looked down at my shoulder, my shirt soaked with blood. "That's a lot of blood," I commented. Luz was breathing heavily as she shut her eyes tight.

"Yeah, it is." She flinched in on herself. Taking off her green outer jacket she tried to tie it around me to put pressure on my wound and shut her eyes again. I simply watch her as the world around began to fall away.

I raised my hand and held her cheek. She gasped, opening her eyes and looking at me scared. "It's okay Luz. It doesn't hurt." I tried to reassure her though it only seemed to disturb her more. My thumb felt wet against her cheek and I realized it was because she had started crying. I brushed the tear away and she closed her eyes.

She took my wrist in her hand, her grip tight, pulling it away from her. I felt as if I was growing tired, my eyelids were now heavy. I must have lost a lot of blood because I could have sworn Luz's eyes were lightly glowing red within their normal brown hue. "Amity, you're in shock, you have to stay awake for me. Please! Can you do that for me?" She begged.

I lightly nodded my head through the action took a lot more out of me than usual to do so. It was as if every part of my body was weighed down by this immense pressure. Luz took a deep breath before bending down to pick me up. I laid my head against her chest and looked up at her. For the moments after I felt myself fading in and out of consciousness, not entirely aware of what was going on around me.

It was like having a lucid dream where you were aware of the things around you yet still in a haze. And I knew Luz had asked me to stay awake, but I couldn't help how I'd started to drift off. Even though I distantly heard her voice begging me to stay awake I could not fight the hold this had on me. So I gave in to the darkness as Luz screamed my name.