“I can’t hit any of them,” I ground out, reloading my gun as yet another projection appeared in front of me. A shot whizzed by my ear, and I flinched. Dom lifted his gun and fired three rapid shots, nailing the opposition squarely in the chest. I was beginning to feel panicked. How were we supposed to fight off all the projections and get back to our spot in time? It was a safe room, but still, it would be hard with a group of men following us. I shot another projection, but my arms were getting shaky, and I knew I couldn’t do this forever. “Dom, come on, what are we doing?”
“We can’t go anywhere,” he replied, completely focused. He spun around, eyes on the projections approaching from behind. I was left to deal with the ones in front of me, who seemed to sense my inability with a gun, and pressed forward.
“Dom – “
It was too late, a shot hit me squarely in the shoulder, and I cried out, pain shooting through my entire body. Never had I felt such pain. My gun immediately dropped from my hand and my other hand covered the now bleeding hole in my skin. I scrambled to pick up my gun with my left hand, but the blood covering my skin made the smooth metal slip right out of my hand. Fortunately, Dom was by me in an instant, his shots deadly and accurate. He forced a pathway through the projections, holding my arm and pulling me through. Every step was jarring, making my arm burn even more.
The projections weren’t giving up. They saw the blood, they heard the pain in my cry, they heard my labored breaths. This was their chance to strike, and they knew it. I tried not to cry, trying even harder to keep a good grip on my gun as I fired. But my left hand was shaky, and I missed nearly every time.
“Don’t bother,” Dom said into my ear, trying to support me enough that my injury wouldn’t be upset. “You’ll just miss.”
“There’s too many of them for you,” I hissed back, attempting to reload my gun with one hand while running. In a swift movement, Dom lifted me onto his back. It hurt to hang on, and every step he took was even more painful than the previous, but I knew that if I let go, I’d be dead, not just shot.
Dom spun around a corner, finding Arthur and Ariadne heading towards us, back to where we were supposed to meet. They barely had a moment to be surprised before Dom pushed past them. “Cover us! Alex is hit.”
Arthur and Ariadne immediately went into action, guns up, firing shots quickly. The sound was almost deafening. Dom set me down behind them, quickly ripping off the end of my shirt to tie around my wound. I groaned, black spots dotting my vision. My head felt like it was spinning, and I had to grip onto Dom’s arm to keep myself from falling over. “Dom – “
“Shh. It’s going to be alright. Arthur, don’t you have anything?”
“No – “
“Dammit, Arthur!”
“Alex, don’t faint,” Arthur’s voice warned, cool hands touching my face. I belatedly realized that the shots had ceased. They must have gotten rid of the projections. How nice, I thought, tempted to giggle. But I didn’t. I knew that this was just the pain taking over. It was imperative that I remain calm and keep my mind steady.
“I’m not going to faint,” I said as clearly as possible, though I was well aware that my words were slightly slurred together. I felt Arthur’s hands leave, and Dom’s replace them, lifting me to my feet. The black was slowly disappearing, but my head still spun. I tried to keep my eyes locked on Dom’s. They were my focal point. “Just don’t move. Don’t go.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” was his reply, compassionate and calm. I wanted so badly for that to mean more than just standing there. I wanted it to mean that he would be there forever. The thought made my heart pound and my face heat up. This couldn’t be happening to me. This was me. I didn’t need anyone. I never needed anyone.
“We need to go,” I said, trying to make my voice clear. Dom hesitated, looking over to Arthur. “No, I’m not staying here. You know as well as I the pain will be less in the next level, and so on.”
“Fine,” he allowed. “But that’s the only reason. You’ll stick with me, you won’t try and use a gun, and you will do exactly what I say. Arthur, carry her back, would you?”
I was lifted into Arthur’s arms and we began the trek back to the meeting spot. I was aware that we fell far behind the group, probably because I was weighing down Arthur so much. I sighed and settled in against him, staring at the hollow of his neck. “Arthur…”
“Yes?”
“Why do you like me?”
“Pardon?”
“Truth.”
I heard a sigh exit his body, and he was silent for a moment. I wondered if he would even respond. As expected, he countered, “Why do you think I like you?”
“I really don’t know. I’m pretty terrible. I’m not saying that so that you’ll tell me otherwise. I know it’s true. I strung you and Dom along, and didn’t even end up with one of you. I went with Richard, who I didn’t even love. And I come back and do the same thing. You read about those people in books, or see them in the movies, and hate them, but…I am one. And I just don’t know why you would like someone like me.”
“I don’t know where you’re with this,” he told me. I could feel my heart pounding in long, slow beats. Could I tell him what I really thought, or would it push him away forever?
“I just worry that you don’t actually love me. That…that I’m just someone who was convenient because I fulfilled everything that people claim you’re not. I’m outgoing, I’m blunt, I’m rude, I’m obnoxious sometimes. I’m adventurous, and I hate order. Arthur, we have nothing in common.”
Arthur’s face showed none of the tension that I knew he must be feeling just about now. “I don’t think this is the time for this conversation.”
“After this, I’m going to choose. I promise,” I whispered. I wasn’t even sure he heard me, but when I saw the line on his mouth grow tight, I knew he had. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, but maybe hurting them now was the only way to not hurt them more, if that made any sense? I still wasn’t even sure what I was going to do. Go with Arthur, the safe, logical man who I knew would dedicate everything to me, and treat me like a queen, or with Dom, who would still be ever loyal, though more rebellious, and with kids. Could I handle kids? I wanted kids, I knew that. But could I love someone else’s kids? I didn’t know.
“In here!” Eames shouted, waving us in. Arthur picked up the pace, bringing us into the safety of the locked room. We wasted no time injecting the sedative, and like that, we were in Chandler’s level.
CASSIE’S POINT OF VIEW
“Around here, maybe?” Cassie mused, pulling away the old wood that led to an old tunnel under the house. Not her style, but hey, Robert seemed like the type to have a creepy tunnel thing.
“I don’t think so,” Eames said skeptically, but followed her in immediately. It ended up being a dead end, blocked off by rocks. No Chandler. Cassie wanted to cry out with frustration. They had been searching for nearly twenty minutes, and they only had ten left before they were pushed back out of the dream. She sat on the ground, head in hands, trying to think. Where would Chandler go? Where would he go?
Cars, Cassie realized. Chandler loved cars. Where was the garage? She got up immediately, dodging past Eames without him noticing. It felt like she was almost in a trance, weaving her way around the house until she was facing the four-car garage. She pressed the garage opener button, and the door opened, revealing four old cars, possibly ferrari’s. It was dark and dusty, like no one had been in there in a long time. But she knew better, when she spotted a hand print in the dust on the windowsill, sliding down as if one was injured.
“Chandler?” She called out, voice echoing. A low moan answered her. She nearly gasped out loud, falling over her feet to grab the handle of the fire red car next to her. There, lying on the seat was a bloody and beaten Chandler. His blonde hair was stained pink, and he looked worn out and older. That didn’t stop her from throwing herself over him, sobbing, kissing his cheeks, his forehead, any area of skin she could reach. “Oh, Chandler, you’re alright!”
“You’re hurting me, woman,” came the muffled response. Cassie nearly bawled. She had been waiting, dreaming, listening for that lovely voice. The voice of the man she loved. Yes, she loved him, she knew it now.
Chandler’s arm came up around her, holding her close to his chest as he breathed in deeply, breath slightly shaky.
“Hang on, Chandler,” she whispered. “We’re getting you out of he