𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐧 |~𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝚁𝚎𝚒𝚍~|

Chapter Ten

My heart raced as Tobias went back and forth between what seemed like a dominant and submissive personality. He was debating whether or not to shoot Reid.

I took a deep breath and stepped into the clearing, holding my gun out to the man. "Drop the gun or I shoot," I said. 

The dominant personality took over. "If you shoot, I shoot, girl." 

I took a deep breath. "Don't do this. Tobias, are you in there?" I asked. 

"Tobias ain't gonna help you now." 

I tried to keep my hands steady. I knew I had to shoot him. I had my finger on the trigger. I couldn't do it. Tobias still had a chance. If I shot him, he would be gone forever. I had never killed a person before. It was always Hotch or Morgan who fired the shot. 

I had always assumed I'd be fine when the time came, but, as I stood there, looking into his eyes, I couldn't do it. I couldn't take his life away. 

But, then I realized that he would try to take Reid's life and my life. That's when I decided to pull the trigger. I didn't even pull it all the way before I heard a gunshot. 

That was odd. Something was wrong. 

Then, I felt an extreme heat and pain in my lower right lung. I tried to take a deep breath, but it was a lot harder. 

I closed my eyes and concentrated. I couldn't stay standing for much longer. I fell backwards on the ground. 

I felt my stomach and found a warm sticky substance. Blood. The bullet had penetrated my chest cavity and my lung would collapse soon. I needed to stop air from getting in the bullet hole. 

I clamped my hand over the wound and gritted my teeth. It hurt like hell. 

I closed my eyes and tried to control my breathing. Hyperventilating would only shorten the amount of time I had left. 

I opened my eyes when I felt somebody touch me. It was Tobias. He dug around in my pockets before taking something out. I didn't see what it was. He ran back to the house. 

When I looked back up, Spencer was kneeling over me. "Hey, Laney, you're gonna be ok. He's calling an ambulance for you. I just need you to stay strong. Hang in there, ok?"

I grabbed his hand and held it tightly. "Spence, what are you doing?"

"I'll be ok."

"Answer me." 

"I have to go with him. He'll shoot me, too, and he won't get you help if I don't"

"Spencer, don't go with him. Grab your gun-"

"He took the guns, Delaney. There's no other option." 

Hankle came out of the house and grabbed Reid by the arm. "Boy, you're coming with me." 

"Wait, no, let me make sure she stays alive-" Reid was being dragged to Hankle's car. "Wait, no, she could still die! Delaney!" He yelled. 

I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my hand tighter onto my stomach. I could still breathe a little, so that was good; my lung hadn't collapsed yet.

I just had to hang on for a few more minutes. Just a few more minutes. 

It hurt so badly, I didn't know if it would even be worth it. I could just move my hand away and be done. 

That sounded so nice; to be done with the pain. To no longer have to remember my childhood. To never again see the faces in my dreams of all of the victims we couldn't save. To never have to feel. To never have to deal with the fact that despite how much I do and how hard I work, it's just not enough sometimes and that there are so many that I just can't save. 

To never have to live with the guilt of knowing that my mother's death was all my fault. 

Just as giving up seemed to be the best option, I remembered Spencer. Spencer Reid was in trouble. The team needed to know that Hankle was the only unsub. I had to tell them. I had to stay alive. 

If I died, I would never see Spence again. 

I was so lost in my thoughts and my pain, I didn't even register the sirens coming. I said as loud as I could (which was not very loud), "I'm here! Over here! Help me, please!" 

The EMTs rushed up to me and loaded me onto a stretcher. "Thank God you're here. You have to help Spencer. Please, help him."

"Ma'am, you need to save your breath. Please, calm down, we're here to help. Can you tell us your name."

"No, Spencer, find Spencer. Please, don't worry about me, I'll be ok." 

"Ma'am, you got shot in the lung, you are not ok, please calm down." 

I shook my head. "No, you don't understand, he's in danger, he was taken." 

It was getting harder and harder to breathe.

The last thing I saw before I blacked out was the ceiling of the ambulance.