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After a while, she realized she could open her eyes She turned her head

Glass everywhere, sparkling in the light

She couldn’t see Nick

She couldn’t breathe

Her ears were ringing and full, and she couldn’t seeht yet

Where was the man?

He’d shot Nick She’d seen the flash, had seen Nick jerk and fall

She had to run

She had to get to her phone

Her brain was racing, but everything else see in slow motion

Move!

She still couldn’t breathe The pressure was intense, as if an elephant had set up shop right on top of her chest Her vision was turning spotty

Had she been shot? She felt like she’d been dropped into liq-uid a to a crystalline stop

What was happening?

And then, without warning, reality snapped back into place

Wind rushed into the studio, chilling her face andacross the wood

She could move She could breathe She could crawl

But no When she rolled over, trying to get to her hands and knees, her body shook and protested the motion Every joint hurt Her head swam Her skin pricked like she’d been sliced open by a hundred tiny knives

Oh, look Her arhtbulbs Glass under her pal

His eyes were closed Blood had pooled on the hardwood floor, glistening where glass had collected in it

She realized she was screa his name Glass sliced into her hands and knees as she scrahttheHide where? In the open?

But no It wasn’t the man She didn’t see Gareth anywhere

It was Adalass-strewn floor that she was Blood streaked his forear from the te

She was yelling She couldn’t h

Nick

Nick

Nick

He didn’t ot to him first Rolled him onto his back Nick’s ar his naling to find a pulse Adam’s words came to her in slow motion, and her brain didn’t want to process the

Damn it, Nick

The side of Nick’s face was soaked in blood It was already caking in his hair

Oh, Nick Quinn choked on her sobs

Ada happened

Nick’s voice was echoing in her head, froun to the head is a surefire way to kill us

God, now it sounded like a preht Gareth in the parking lot She should have screaed Tyler to stay she should have should have should have--

"Daet to your phone? He’s got a pulse We need an ambulance"

Nick had a headache

He couldn’t open his eyes He kept flashing on waking up in the woods, Gabriel leaning over hiat his skin, full of pride, seeking his attention

Yes, yes, he thought I’ hurts

He knew he’d been shot in the head, but only kind of distantly Like maybe one day he’d be able to look back on this and say, "Well, the one time I took a bullet to the cerebral cortex"

No That was stupid If the bullet had gone into his brain, he wouldn’t be lying here thinking about it, would he?

He felt drunk He wished he could open his eyes

He wished he could es and cloves

Ada hiue and filled his lungs Power flared in his chest, finding his blood and sparking through his body

Another breath and he could move

Another breath and he could hear Quinn’s voice "Come on, Nick Come on Please, Nick"

She sounded so worried Didn’t she remember their whole conversation about air pressure?

Another breath Wait, this kissing was all wrong Nick brought his hands up and captured Adam’s cheeks

Adam jerked back and swore

Nick opened his eyes and found wide, panicked brown ones gazing down at him

" ’Sup?" said Nick

"Holy shit," Adaht blue eyes appeared next to Adam’s

"It’sit’s impossible," said Ada tilted and spun "It’s physics"

"He still needs an ambulance" Adaain Can you get a signal yet?"

"I can’t even get the stupid thing to turn on"