Needledrop

15

"I'll get them out of here, go." Giovanni grabs my bicep to tell me. When he pulls his hand away, I notice a bloody handprint on the place he grabbed. I frantically survey him for injuries and find his right hand holding his side, low on his stomach. At this moment I feel the need to take up Jake's role.

"You idiot, what happened? What were you thinking?" I growl at him, worry flooding my face. He lets out a humorless laugh that sounds all too breathy.

"You sound like Jake." He says lightly, sweat has overtaken his body, glistening on his pale skin.

"We will get him out of here alive Wyatt, I promise." Brett tells me. Lillian nods, determination shining in her eyes. Keya follows them, head hung low.

"We're gonna die." I barely hear her muttering to herself. This is wrong. She's always been the hopeful one, the dreamer. The one to always make Brett and I see that things can turn out okay. Something is very wrong.

"Go." I tell them. They rush out, Oriana changing her sword into a large shield, blocking the others. The bullets Parker fires at us are deflected by the shield. While he's distracted by the others moving, I sneak around the other side of the table, throwing two knives at his head. One cuts across his nose, the other across his forehead. This is, however, just me being a distraction for Oriana.

He advances on me, a wicked smirk on his face.

"Hello Wynnona, my dear." He all but purrs in what I used to think was a seductive way, now it's disgusting. A cold shiver goes up my spine. "Might I say you look rather ravishing in that dress." My fists tighten as I sink into a defensive position.

"You may not." I snarl at him, charging and throwing a fist. I hit him square across the jaw, Oriana charging forward at him. She plunges her morphing weapon into his back, not getting far with the thick armour protecting him. He turns and throws his fist across her face with enough force to send her across the room and knock her out. In his moment I take off the heels I am wearing and step back.

Charging at him again I jump up to kick his chest, then turn mid air to send the heel of my foot into his cheek. I do a back somersault upon landing to put some distance between him and I. He glares at me, a smirk slightly playing on his lips.

"You're definitely just as formidable as I remember you being," before I can blink, he is holding me in the air by my neck, "but I seem to have improved." My feet kick, my toes point to the ground, but they can't touch the cool floor. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! Think Allen, think! I shout mentally to myself. I go for the place where the sun doesn't shine, ramming my knee as hard as I can into his crotch, right between his legs. It is an unfair shot, but I care more for my survival. He drops me and falls to the ground, crying in pain. Wimp. I rush over to where Oriana was passed out, but she's gone. I see Lillian motion me over to the group's hiding place. I rush over to join them, Parker's back to them as he's more focused on his crotch.

"We are going to die here. Why are we prolonging the process?" I hear Keya say to Brett. She sits on the ground in the fetal position. Tears stain her cheeks as we visibly watch Keya fall apart. I go to kneel before her, grabbing her shoulders to make her look at me.

"Keya, listen to me princess." This makes her look at me. I can see a soft orange glow coming from my bag. "You are the strongest of all of us. You are the one who suffers with Brett and I being miserable all the time. You are the one who makes us smile. You're our strength, the one who holds us together and pushes us forward. I know that's a lot of pressure baby girl, I really do, but you have always been the strongest one.

"So what, one guy gets a hold of you and you shut down?" My words have stopped her tears. "The guy who hurt you and Brett isn't standing here, kicking, and breathing like you are. You suffered years with Cobra, one guy is barely anything to you. You're a queen who should be feared across the entire galaxy. I swear, I will teach you how to defend yourself once we are out of this situation." I cup her cheeks, wiping away tears and kissing her forehead.

"You're right." A smile overtakes her face. "We will be okay, go kick that jerk's butt." I smile at her and Brett comes over to hold her close to him. I take the book out of my bag and give it to them to make sure I don't lose her. The orange stone starts to disappear, but not before the other stones start to glow along with it. In a blinding light someone stands before me.

Her skin is pale, almost as white as paper. Her hair is tied back in a long braid that falls over her right shoulder, ending at her waist. Her hair is white as paper, streaks of colour running down her hair. One colour for each of the stones, three were still black. I get too distracted by the fact that she is about to faint and hit the floor to admire her further. I catch her before she hits the floor, slowly laying her down gently. My attention is pulled away from her when I hear my name, however.

"Wynnona." Giovanni calls to me. His voice is weak, broken, hopeless. All the fight is gone from him when I divert my attention to him.

"No, you can't do this." I tell him. He looks deathly, his wound must have been worse than I originally thought. "You do not get to leave me, not when I just got you." I can feel the tears filling my eyes. "What about Jake?" I ask, just to be a brat so he has a reason to stick around. I'm starting to like him.

"I'm sorry kid. I guess it's my time. I knew the Elder Gods wouldn't let me go out peacefully or late." He lets out a breathy chuckle. "When Jake wakes up give him my necklace and tell him I love him more than anything in this life, or the next." Tears fell down his cheeks.

"Tell him yourself god damnit." I cry. I watch the light fade from his eyes, his piercing blue eyes fading to a clear blue, one that looked right through my soul. The smile on his face never faded. "No." My tears fall in an angry trail down my face. I grip the material of his suit jacket in my fists, my head falling to rest against his chest. I can't hear his heartbeat. "Giovanni no. Please come back." I cry softly as I hiccup and shake. Parker did this, and for it he will die. My sadness burns way for my searing anger.

We all hear a scraping of metal across the marble walls, heading towards our hiding place. Parker has finally come back into this fight. Good, I want to rip him limb from limb for what he did with my bare hands.

"Where are you Abrettden?" He says in a voice of pure insanity, just like Gunther did back on Earth. I see the visible shiver that runs up Brett's spine. I charge out of our hiding place, leaving a passed-out girl I don't know, an injured Oriana, fearful friends, and the dead body of my brother behind me.