"Are you okay?" Luke questioned, glancing my way as he pulled out onto the road.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I responded, taking a deep breath, leaning my head onto the back of my seat. I raised my hand gingerly to my rib, gliding my fingers over the thin material covering the area.
The agony I was feeling was increasing rapidly as the adrenaline began to ease off. The sensors on my fingers picked up a warm dampness and I soon found myself fearful for what I would see. As I raised my hand to my eye line, my suspicions were confirmed, with my side being smothered and pouring with blood, forcing me to slam my hand over my rib, applying pressure.
"They've probably got a satellite on us, tracking our car so we'll have to switch. There's a tunnel not that far up from here, I'll ring Michael and he'll get someone to drive a car in and wait, then we'll take their car and drive the other way out-" Luke rambled on, pausing as soon as he took notice to my lack of attention.
"Adelaide?" He questioned, turning his head to face me, his gaze landed on my pained face, the anguish consuming my body evident in my features. I had tried to hide it, but Luke never missed anything, so his glance soon flickered down to my rib cage.
His eyes widened at the sight, but were forced back onto the road ahead, with the lack of light and the speed we were driving at yearning his full attention.
"You said you were fine! Adelaide that is far from fine!" he clamoured, the car sliding to either side as he distracted himself from the wheel. "Do you need me to pull over?"
"You and I both know that isn't an option right now," I reminded him, my voice stern, trying to force his attention back to the situation currently at hand.
"Just keep driving. How far until the tunnel?"
"Don't try to change the bloody subject Adelaide! We need to stop the bleeding, especially with it being your wound!" he stressed, his voice rising before he lowered it to a more soft, comforting tone. He paused for a moment, his eyes searching mine as a silence clouded the car. "It was a gunshot wasn't it?"
I meekly nodded, knowing that this kind of agony and bleeding didn't arise from solely exhaustion. "I think it skimmed me, I can't be sure. It couldn't have hit me directly, I would have felt that instantly right?"
"Yeah, but then again adrenaline tends to subside pain like that. How long will you be able to hold off for? Be honest Adelaide."
"It doesn't matter. I'll be fine, okay? Just drive us where ever we need to be. We can't risk stopping any time soon, never mind going to a hospital."
"Adelaide, I-" he began, but I silenced him before he could even think about continuing. He sighed, once again taking a glance at my pouring side, gripped tightly by my palm. "Once we change the car, we'll head east, there should be a motel somewhere along the way. We'll sort the rest out once we're there."
Twenty minutes later and we were minutes away from the tunnel, ready to switch cars.
I had slowly been loosing energy, my mind drifting in and out of consciousness as I lost the ability to keep my eyes forced open, with the pressure from my hand onto my rib loosening as time continued without my consent. Luke had been fretting the entire time, his persistent questions filling the air within the car and what little space I had in my mind.
"Adelaide, will you be able to get out okay?"
My voice cracked as I went to answer him, a cough escaping my throat as I readjusted my hand on my side. "I should be able to; the bleeding is easing off a bit now."
"Okay. Well, like I said, as soon as we can stop off, I'll take a look and we can sort it out."
I simply nodded in response, the extensive loss of blood taking its toll on my body. The torment from my rib was extricating and seemed to worsen as more time went on, but despite Luke's assiduous queries surrounding my pain, I continued to dismiss him, not wanting to appear in a vulnerable position to either him or our enemies.
