Damien grunted and flipped the man he was fighting onto his back.
It looked like he was winning. I moved further into the room and pointed my gun at them. I had never even shot a gun, let alone killed someone, but I knew I could do it now.
I could do anything to save him.
The man recovered quickly. Damien was moving much slower than usual, and I knew a lot of it was because of his injuries.
My hands shook as my grip tightened around the gun, and my finger moved to the trigger.
The man grabbed Damien’s legs and pulled them out from under him. I watched in horror as Damien fell to the ground, and the man climbed over him. He pulled his hand back and punched Damien over and over again.
And again.
I let out a small cry and shouted at the man to stop, but it didn’t seem like he heard me, or if he did, he didn’t care.
“Stop it! Just stop.”
He kept punching him.
I aimed my gun in the man’s general direction. I didn’t know where I was aiming, his head or his heart, but God, I hoped I didn’t miss.
I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger.
A loud boom came out as the gun went off, but with all the chaos in the barn, no one even paid attention to me.
My hand shook from the shot.
I opened my eyes and took in the scene in front of me.
The man was now lying on top of Damien, and neither one was moving.
Oh, God.
I rushed forward and placed my gun beside me. I pushed the man off Damien. It took several attempts, and I had to keep the nausea at bay when I realized just how heavy abodywas.
Tremors rocked my body, making my movements awkward and chaotic. My eyes assessed where the blood was coming from.
I had shot the man in his stomach. Any lower, and I could have hit Damien.
I shuddered in revulsion at the thought and used every bit of my strength to shove him off before getting to an unconscious Damien.
I shook him.
No response.
I shook him harder.
And for the second time that night, I found my voice.
“Damien, wake up. Wake up, please. Please don’t leave me. I can’t handle it. I just can't, so please wake up. Damien. Damien!”
Still no response.
Tears blurred my eyes, and I wiped them away so I could look at him. His eyes were closed, and there was so much blood everywhere. I didn’t know if it belonged to him or someone else. I didn’t know where to touch him.
Cautiously, I placed my hands on his chest. It felt firm and warm. That had to be a good sign, right?
“Please,” I sobbed. “Damien, wake up, wake up, wake up!”