After yesterday's fluff, I am back with some angstttt
TRIGGER WARNINGS:
-Blood
-Injury
-Broken bones
-Death
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"The meteor," Emma said, blood dripping from her lips. "We gotta blow up the meteor."
"Why?" Paul asked.
"It's the brain! It's like your friend said. 'You kick the head and the whole thing falls.' Or something like that."
"Okay." Paul stood up. "Will you be okay?"
"What? I'm coming with you!"
"Emma, your leg is impaled. You won't be able to walk, or more importantly, fight."
"We'll stop the bleeding and you can carry me."
Paul sighed. "I'm glad you think I'm that strong, but the theater is on the other side of the town, I can't do that!"
"Great, then I'll walk." Emma started trying to get up, but she couldn't stop the scream from escaping her lips as she put pressure on her left leg.
"Emma, no, you'll only make it worse."
"Well, I'd rather die saving humanity than bleed out on a beach, so I'm coming."
Paul put her hand on her shoulder to force her back down. "Okay, okay. I get it. You're coming. But let's make sure you won't bleed to death first, okay?"
Emma nodded, taking a deep breath, before untying her bow. "We can use this as a tourniquet. We'll have to pull it out first though."
"Okay," Paul mumbled. "Okay, Emma, lay your head down. This will probably hurt a lot."
"Probably? I'm sure it'll hurt." Emma hoped Paul didn't notice that her voice was shaking and she was mainly trying to lighten the mood. She gritted her teeth as Paul put his hand just above the injury to keep her leg still.
"I'm sorry," he said, before pulling the metal pipe out of her leg.
Emma screamed in agony, crying as the pain took over her entire body. She felt Paul tie her bow tightly around her leg, but she couldn't see anything, her vision blurred by tears.
"Emma, we have to go. They probably heard you and they're coming. We have to get out of here. Now."
Emma couldn't hear him over her cries. So when she was lifted into Paul's arms without warning, she screwed her eyes shut to deal with the pain. It didn't help that Paul was running, trying to get away from the helicopter.
After the worst pain had faded, Emma looked around. They were almost at the Starlight Theater. She looked at the grenade in her hand. They wouldn't survive this, would they? They would get infected before they even got the chance to pull the pin, or they would die in the explosion.
Paul slowed down in front of the theater, listening if he could hear singing. When he decided it was safe enough, he entered the building.
He put Emma down on one of the seats in the back of the audience and walked to the stage, where the meteor was giving off a blue glow.
Paul grabbed a grenade from his belt and held it above his head. But before he could pull the pin, Bill entered the stage. "Hello, Paul."
"Bill! Stay back. I- I have a gun!"
"Is that what you want, Paul? You want to kill your best friend?"
Emma peeked over the seats before her. Bill hadn't noticed her yet. Her grip on the grenade tightened.
"No, Bill. You're not Bill!"
"Who am I, then? Just join us, Paul. It's the only way."
Before Emma could process what was happening, Paul was on the ground, Bill towered above him. "It's the end, Paul. Or a new beginning. The choice is yours to make." He grabbed Paul's tie and pulled it so Paul's face was close to his. "You'll be happy. I promise."
Bill dropped himself on Paul's legs so he couldn't move. A loud 'SNAP' sounded through the building as his bones cracked under the pressure. "Emma..." Paul cried out. "Help!" Bill grinned, ready to rip Paul's guts out.
Emma looked at the grenade in her hand. If she threw it, both of them would end up dead, she probably would too. If she didn't, Paul would die anyway.
She stood up, careful to only put pressure on her right leg. "Hey, bastard! I have something for you." Bill looked up, and before she could rethink her decision, she pulled the pin and threw it in the direction of the meteor.
The blast threw her on the floor, and she only had a second to see the roof above her falling down. 'This is it,' she thought, before everything went black.