The gun was pressed again Ian's body before I hit Ramone with the rod.
Oh, my god! What if... what if...
No. I can't be. It just can't.
My body was trembling. Each step I took was so unstable that it was a miracle that I didn't fall already. Ramone was on top of Ian so I didn't know who actually moved. With shaky hands and dreadful fear gripping my heart I pushed Ramone's body away and knelt down beside Ian.
Ian was lying on his stomach so I couldn't see his face. He was so still. My mind was telling me to touch him but no matter how much I willed I couldn't move my hand. The fear of confronting the unimaginable was too much for me.
"Ian." A sob escaped my lips. "Ian?" No answer. No movement.
My heart felt like it was being torn apart into pieces. I could actually feel the physical pain in my chest. Raw and agonizing. That's when I truly understood the weight of losing someone so dear. It was crushing me.
I threw myself on him and started crying helplessly. It felt like forever as I cried clutching onto his back. The smell of him mixed with the smell of sea salt and blood. The softness of the shirt's fabric. It was just the other day I was thinking how different he looked in a button down shirt. And the warmth I have become so familiar with. The warmth that also made me feel safe. To think that it won't be there anymore to make...
"No offense but I think you have gained some weight."
Huh?
"Ian?"
"Who do you think you lounging on then?"
The world seemed to stop at that moment. Everything literally felt like it moving in a slow motion. Even me as I sat up. Ian slowly pushed himself off the ground. If I was not so shocked I would have helped him get up seeing that he clearly was struggling. But like I said I was shocked. Shell-shocked to be specific.
"Chasity? Hey! You okay?" I felt a gentle tapping on my cheek. "Snap out of it." And a not so gentle tap which seemed to have worked.
"Ian?"
One second.
Two seconds.
"Ian."
Three seconds.
"Ian!!"
And for the second time I threw myself on him. "Oh, you're alive! Oh god! You're alive!" Relief flooded me and I cried even more.
Weak but at the same time strong arms surrounded me making me feel safe again. "Don't cry, Chasity."
"I thought... I thought...you..." The uncontrollable hiccups didn't let me finish the sentence.
"Stupid girl." Ian chuckled. "How could I? I had made so many promises to you. Until unless I fulfill all of them I'm going nowhere. So stop crying now."
He removed one arm around me and lifted my face up. "Crying doesn't suit you. Nor does the snot."
Feeling offended, I pushed him away. "I don't have snot on me."
That infamous smirk found its place back on his face. "Sure you don't."
I touched my nose doubtfully and sure there was a little bit of snot. Just a little bit, okay. My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I tucked my head down.
With a sudden jerk, Ian pulled me towards his body. His chest rumbled under my palms as he chuckled. "Oh my little red tomato, don't be embarrassed. You can wipe away your snot on my shirt. I won't mind at all."
"I'm not little." I sounded like an annoyed toddler. But it was all okay. Ian was safe and with me. Ramone was sound asleep if not dead already thanks to my surprise attack. I just hoped others were caught too. As I was thinking about the agents, right at that moment I heard footsteps rushing in.
"Ian! Chasity!"
I raised my head from Ian's chest. Agent North and others had reached our location. Two of them were already onto Ramone. Securing him even though it seemed unnecessary since he was completely knocked out.
"Call the medics! Fast!" Agent north knelt down beside us inspecting our conditions. "What happened here?" He asked.
Seeing I was still to recover from my hiccup session, Ian answered, "Ramone was trying to escape taking me as a hostage. Thanks to Chasity he didn't succeed. She knocked him down with a rod."
North sighed. "That was courageous of you but still you shouldn't have come without any backup. Anything could have happened. One of the agents heard a gunshot from back here. Looks like no one got hurt, though."
"I agree with you." Ian fixed me with a stern look. "You were pretty reckless."
Looking back, I sure seemed reckless. "I didn't have time to tell anyone. I saw some movement towards the back exit. All I could notice was your shirt and I rushed. I didn't think much."
"You're one hasty girl. But I still can't understand how you managed to come here in your condition."
All I could do was give a shrug as an answer. The medics arrived pretty soon. We were escorted to the front of the warehouse and helped inside the ambulance.
"You should take another ambulance. You need to lie down too," One of the medic people said to me. But no way was I going to get separated from Ian.
"I'm fine. I can sit. It's just my leg that's killing me. And maybe my ribs. A little bit head too. But besides that, I'm perfectly okay."
Everyone around me stared at me as if I had a second head attached to my neck. Seeing that I wasn't backing down anytime soon the nurse agreed to put me in the same ambulance as Ian reluctantly.
"So you finally had them agree with you. Huh?" Ian was lying on a stretcher inside the ambulance. I sat on the bench type seat beside him.
"Of course," I said cheerfully.
The two nurse standing out gave me sore eyes. One of them climbed in. "Can you tell the driver the shortest way to the hospital? He's new."
The other nurse nodded and closed the door.
In few minutes the ambulance van started moving. The nurse had already started giving preliminary aids to Ian. He was slowly slipping into the effects of medicines. We both checked briefly before we left the dock. I was in a better condition than Ian. He had suffered a lot of injuries. The medics suspected that there was a huge possibility of internal bleeding too. But Ian acted as if he wasn't in pain at all. If he was suffering already I would have hit him.
Stupid geek trying to act strong.
I didn't say anything during ride mostly because every time I tried that nurse would give a stinking stern look and that would shut me up. But it wasn't bad actually. It gave me time to reflect on what all happened till now with us. The journey we traveled together. I can't believe in such a short time we went through so much.
But, finally, everything was going to be alright. The chasing has stopped. No more running. No more hiding. And no more fear. It was time to celebrate the new thing that we discovered during this ordeal. Just thinking about it sent jolts of happiness in my body. Literally.
Wait, what? Literally?
I must be imagining.
The ambulance was moving on the paved road. There's no way that it could have...
Again. The vehicle jolted. And again.
What's happening?
"What's the matter, Barry? Why is the van shaking so much? Is there a problem?" The nurse called out to the other nurse.
No answer. She tried to slide open the window separating the driver's compartment from the back but it didn't open.
"Barry!" She knocked on it repetitively. "This thing is again stuck. Can you push it from there?"
No response. The vehicle was still moving and the frequency of jolts had increased. As if we were traveling on a rough terrain.
Suddenly the vehicle came to screeching halt. The nurse opened the back door and stepped out. "Stay here. I'll check on the driver and Barry," she said while swinging the door back. She didn't close it completely. There was a little gap through which the outside was visible. It looked green.
Out of curiosity, I thought of pushing the door a little further. I reached out my hand and was about to hold the handle when a blood-curdling scream froze me at my place.
******
Sorry for updating late. But I was busy. Had exams.
Anyways, what do you think about this chapter? Satisfactory?
Don't forget to VOTE if you liked it!
And guys I haven't been seeing much of comments lately. I miss talking to you all. Be it a random talk. But do comment. I will be waiting.
Love ya.
-- Jags