“Mera!” he exclaimed, gently and slowly turning her around to face him. Soft groans escaped her lips as her eyelashes fluttered. “Mera,” Jordan called out softly, holding her carefully in his arms, his posture stiff as he didn’t want to move her around unnecessarily.
She didn’t open her eyes, and Jordan could feel his heart quiver in fear at the negative thoughts swarming his mind. He shook his head to clear his mind; she was still breathing, he had to be positive.
“Gem,” he called again, pulling her closer to his chest, and she finally opened her eyes, albeit with obvious difficulty, Jordan noticed. Her eyes opened and closed a few times before she was able to keep them open long enough to stare into his eyes.
After a few moments of silence passed with her taking in his appearance, Emerald cracked a tiny smile, wincing as though even that littlest movement had caused her immense pain. “C-cal,” she whispered, her voice even lower than a cricket’s chirp.
Tears welled up Jordan’s eyes and he pulled her into him, her chin on his shoulder as she laid on his lap. “You’re okay, Gem, you’re okay. You’re here with me, right here with me.” Jordan whispered, clutching her even closer to him, albeit with soft movements in order to not hurt her.
His body finally sagged in relief, tears making their way down his cheeks when he felt Emerald’s faint touch on his lower back; she was okay, she was alive. She hadn’t given up on him.
The couple sat there on the rooftop, the forest coming alive fully in the darkness of the midnight with the moon acting as their sheer source of light. Emerald laid on him, her chin still propped on his shoulder and Jordan had finally calmed down after feeling Emerald’s even breaths tickle the skin of his neck.
He turned his head slightly to the side, his gaze colliding with the lifeless eyes of the crazy blonde woman whose body laid crumpled beside them on the floor. She had three holes on her face-one on her forehead, the second inches between her eyes and the third one right before her cheek.
Jordan had shot at her, not caring where he aimed at as long as it did the job efficiently. Now that he stared at her lifeless body, Jordan could only breathe with relief that it was all finally over. He and Emerald had both survived this ordeal and he was glad they would both be walking out of this hell alive and together.
As he moved slightly to gather Emerald properly in his arms-wincing at the pain in his right shoulder, the one he had used to break down the door-so they could finally leave, he halted, feeling Emerald tense up against him.
Before he could open his mouth to question why or turn his head to look at her, he suddenly felt her give him a hard push to the side and the next thing Jordan heard were two gunshots ripping through the quietude that had come to descend on the forest.
Jordan stilled, his wide eyes staring unblinkingly at Emerald who sat, her posture bent from her arched back. Time seemed to have frozen in place as Jordan remained immobile, still in the awkward position he had taken after being pushed by Emerald.
With his eyes remaining trained on Emerald, who was also looking at him with a sad smile on her face, her eyes drooping every so often, Jordan didn’t notice Carl now pointing the gun to him, neither did he notice Owen hurriedly rushing through the doors and gunning down the older man.
He paid no attention to what was happening around him and only chose to stare at Emerald, his heart slowing its rhythm in his chest when his gaze flickered down to her stomach where two holes were now incised into her skin through her shirt.
A tear rolled down Jordan’s cheek as he took in the bleeding holes on her stomach and whilst his mind and heart screamed at him to move, to hold her, to scream for an ambulance, his body remained frozen, almost like a statue, until Emerald swayed, falling forward and straight into his arms.
“G-g-gem,” Jordan trembled, staring down at the woman in his arms. Emerald coughed, blood trailing out the corner of her lips as she scrunched up her face in pain. Her breaths came out in pants and her body quaked uncontrollably in Jordan’s arms.
“G-gem, why? W-why did you do that? Why?” Jordan sobbed, placing his hand over her bleeding stomach when she coughed up blood again.
He couldn’t stop his own body from trembling and he couldn’t give two fucks about Owen seeing him cry as he quickly raised his head to yell out an order. “Get a fucking ambulance!”
He looked back down at Emerald when he felt her place her hand over his which was trying to stop her from bleeding out. “C-c-cal,” she breathed, drawing his attention to her. “I’m f-fine. Y-you’re fine. . . that’s what m-mat-matters.”
“No! I’m supposed to protect you, not the other way around, Mera.” He broke down, his tears free falling like never before as he watched her face grow pale with every passing second. “You shouldn’t have done that. You shouldn’t.”
Feeling his tears wet her face, Emerald couldn’t stop hers from trailing down the sides of her face as well as she stared up at him. Attempting to chuckle but only bursting into a fit of coughs, Emerald flashed him her bloody teeth.
“You k-know,” she started, looking deep into his eyes. “I kind of feel like W-wonder Woman or something,” she chuckled lightly again, “just. . . without the cool, sh-shiny armour.”
Jordan shook his head. “You’re way cooler than Wonder Woman, Gem,” he humoured her. “With or without the armour.”
“Hmm,” she hummed, her eyes drooping as the fatigue crawled and buried itself in her bones. “B-b-but. . . am I. . . sexier?” she wiggled her brows playfully, drawing a small watery chuckle from Jordan, who leaned forward to place a kiss on her forehead.
“The sexiest woman in the entire universe,” he mumbled against her forehead before he pulled back to stare at her, his tears refusing to make a single pause in their race down his face.
“You can’t leave me, Mera, I won’t let you. I haven’t even gotten down on both my fucking knees yet.”
Emerald laughed, coughing soon after before she quietened, breathing heavily as she tried to regain her breath before speaking again.
“Both k-knees?” she smiled through her clogged, bloody throat. The copper taste of blood dominated her mouth and Emerald could only stifle a gag.
Jordan nodded. “You deserve both knees, Gem. Hell, you deserve me rolling on the floor just for you.” He shifted his hand a bit, clutching hers before placing both their bloody hands over the gaping wound.
With anxious worry shadowing his countenance, Jordan looked up and saw that Owen was yet to return and he could only continue to feel the fear suffocate his being as Emerald’s blood soaked her clothes as well as his trousers. She was losing too much blood, too fast.
When he looked back at her, her eyes were fluttering close more often and Jordan could see that it was a struggle for her to stay awake and keep talking, but that was exactly what he needed from her. He needed her conscious, he didn’t want her to give into the darkness for fear that she might never come out of it again.
He wouldn’t know what he would do if that happened.
“I would. . . I would love t-to see tha. . .” Her words were starting to come out slurred and disoriented as she slipped further into unconsciousness.
“Then stay with me, Mera, p-please.” Jordan’s voice turned desperate as he stared down at her. Her orbs were unfocused as she stared at him, cross-eyed. He knew she was struggling to fight against the darkness and for that, he was proud of her.
“Stay with me, Gem, please. Just keep listening to my voice, okay? Please, Gem.” Jordan begged, pulling her into him to tuck her right into his body. He rested his chin on her head, his salty tears falling down his face and disappearing into her sea of hair strands.
“C-ca-cal?”
“Yes, baby?”
“I-it hurts. It h-hurts so-so muc. . .”
“I’m so sorry, baby, I’m so sorry. Please, hang in there a little longer. Help is almost here, please stay with me, sweetheart.” And right on cue, Jordan began to hear a helicopter approaching.
“M-make i-it stop, C-Ca. . . Make it st-st-sto. . .”
“I will, Gem, I promise I will. You just have to hang in there a little longer. Just a little longer, please.” Jordan squeezed his eyes shut tightly, feeling her hold on his hand slacken, but he only held onto her even tighter, sobs escaping his mouth at this rate.
“I love you, Gem, I love you so much,” he whispered, just as her droopy eyes finally closed.
Silence ensued in the entire forest, not a single sound of life could be perceived within the woods-not the croaks of frogs, not the chirps of crickets, not even the howl of the wind. And most certainly, not a word from Emerald Pearce.
“I love you too, Cal.”
She never got to say it back.