"We're too late," Karin whispers as she looks at me with eyes full of fear and panic.

I bite my lips, "No, we're not."

"What are you-"

Cutting her off with a smile I say, "I'm going out there right now. And no, don't even think of coming with me. If Ryder is seriously here then how are you going to explain all of this to him?"

She opens her mouth to protest but decides to close it once she realizes that I have a point.

Grinning at her one last time, I turn away.

I place my hands in front of me, balancing my body weight on my hands and knees.

"And Lisa?" She asks her voice quivering slightly.

"Yeah?" I give her a sideways glance.

"Thank you."

I smile at the sincerity in her voice.

She doesn't say what she's thankful for or what are the few droplets of water on her cheeks.

But she doesn't need to.

Taking a deep breath, I start crawling through the narrow vent.

The metal surface is cold against my warm hand, as if teasing me with thoughts about the cold reality.

As much as I try to push it away, I know something has happened.

And I also know if I don't hurry something even more terrible is going to happen.

My knees scratch against the uneven metal surface. The skin would have come off if it wasn't for my jeans.

But the same can't be said for my exposed palms as cuts have already began to form on them.

Gritting my teeth in pain, I push myself forward. The vent is so low that I'm not even crawling. More like dragging myself forward like a snake.

Speaking of snakes, don't I have a biology test tomorrow?

And speaking of school, don't I have parents too?

Oh fuck.

I start crawling at a speed so fast even Flash would be jealous of.

Parents. Better than any kind of energy drink.

I sigh in relief as I detect the exit a few feet in front of me. A soft light is coming out of it, illuminating the dark place slightly.

Grunting, I place my elbows to support me as I push myself out of the narrow hole.

Great, now my dirty mind is offering all sorts of images.

With great effort, I somehow manage to push my rear side out too. I sigh as I feel the cool breeze on my face.

Outside world! YES!

This should be an episode on prison break.

I shake my head to clear the random thoughts.

Not the time Lisa!

Panting slightly, I push myself up on my wobbly legs.

Only to freeze in mid track as I notice the scene in front of me.

A few feet away from me, Ryder and Sam are huddled around a body. Ryder's back is turned to me. Strong breeze is blowing Sam's long black hair all over her face as occasional sobs rake through her body.

Fear consumes me completely.

Who's the guy?

Why is he lying there?

What has happened?

My head snaps up as I hear a click sound. Another guy is standing before them with his back turned to me. Pointing a banana at them, he chuckles cruelly, "I'm afraid he's gonna be late."

Wait...a banana?

A GUN YOU IDIOT! He's pointing a GUN at your friends!

Think fast Lisa, think fast!

In a millisecond my eyes glance around looking for a weapon. A stick, a racket, hell even a barbie doll would suffice! Just something heavy to hit him!

Then it clicks.

For the second time in this night, I slip a hand down my bra and bring out my secret phone.

Swinging my arm backwards I aim at his head and throw it.

Just in time to hear a monstrous gun shot ring throughout the air.

I clutch my eyes shut as terror grasps me.

Did I make it in time?

Peeking open one eye, I almost faint with relief as I witness his body crumpled on the ground.

"STRIKE!" I yell fist pumping in the air, "Lisa to the rescue! Take that banana man! Boo yeah!"

Slowly Ryder turns his head towards me and all sorts of joy vanishes from my system as I take in the look on his face.

Quickly I jog towards them, "What's happen- Shit."

Both of my hands automatically go up to cover my lips as my eyes trail down the bloody body of Andrew lying on the ground.

The rise and fall of his chest is so slow, it can't even be detected. Thick red almost black liquid is pooled around his body. His maroon shirt is soaked in it completely.

Glancing at me Sam lets out a mournful cry, "Lisa! He...Tell me he's going to be fine, right? I... He..."

Her words are incorrigible and incoherent but they are even more dangerous. Because never in my life, have I seen Sam this messed up.

And Ryder...God I can't even describe his state. His shoulders are hunched over with his fists tightly clenched by his side. His eyes refuse to look at anything other than his shoes.

He's already giving up.

And Andrew.

Oh fuck, fuck!

He's like a brother to me...If something happened to him-

No.

Nothing is going to happen.

"Hey jackass," Crouching down I slap his cheeks lightly, "Don't you dare close your eyes."

Andrew casts a dazed look at my face, "Marylin Monroe?"

Ignoring him my head swirls around the many episodes of Gray's Anatomy and all those mystery/murder and gang leader books I read. At least one person always gets shot in those, right?

Okay, so first I need to stop the bleeding.

I grab Andrew's shirt and rip it open revealing his toned chest and abdomen. A sharp intake of breath is heard from Sam as she notices the large gaping hole by the side of his abdomen.

"He's already lost way too much blood," I mutter as I press the wound with both of my hands covering it, "We need to stop the bleeding right now. And someone call for a bloody ambulance!"

Ryder stands up abruptly as if snapping out of a trance, "Yes-"

Suddenly the monstrous sound of a car engine snaps our attention back.

With a thundering noise, a blue Range Rover crashes through the metal fence that is surrounding the entire area. The slightly burnt smell of tires reaches my nostrils as it comes to a halt right in front of us.

"Get in!" someone yells the window rolls down.

My eyes widen as I take in the frantic blonde guy peering out of the driver seat.

Mason?

What the hell?

Christ this night just gets weirder and weirder.

And all I wanted was a fucking normal date!

"Get him inside!" I yell at nobody in particular as I try to think of something to be used as a moist, sterile dressing to place on top of the wound. Thankfully the intestines aren't ripped open so there is a chance that not much damage has happened.

Sam gets up and rushes towards the car. Throwing open the door, she yells at Ryder to get Andrew inside.

Suddenly it clicks in.

A moist, sterile dressing.

I stop Ryder as he starts to hoist Andrew up, "Wait no! If you move him right now, the wound will be gaping open once again and he can't afford anymore blood loss!"

He grits his teeth, "But he fucking needs to get to hospital!"

"I know!" I drag my eyes towards his abdomen, "But first let me dress up his wound first."

Before anyone can process what's happening, I tug at the bottom of my shirt and rip it open.

Ryder inhales sharply as my chest which is barely covered with mickey mouse cotton bra comes into a 3D view. Blushing I push away the embarrassing thoughts.

Bad Lisa! It's a life and death situation!

I wrap my white linen ripped up shirt around his abdomen, covering the wound so no more bleeding will be continued.

Thank God at least I have the tendency to not wear leather all the time unlike everyone present here.

Tying up the two ends of my shirt into a knot, which no longer resembles a shirt, I sigh. "Now hurry up and get him inside the car!"

An awed up expression covers his face as he glances at the almost-professional looking dressing. Without delaying any longer, he hoists Andrew up and drapes Andrew's arms around his shoulder. Andrew's head loosely hangs down as Ryder struggles to carry his body to the car while making sure the bandage isn't ripped open. Andrew grits his teeth in pain but tries to comply nonetheless.

Abruptly I stand up to help him. Draping his other arm around my shoulder, we both somehow carry his half conscious body to the car.

After putting him inside, I rush towards the opposite side and throw open the door. The door to the passenger seat snaps open and Sam also gets in. "Mason drive!"

Tires scrap against the concrete pavement as the car makes a U turn and dashes throughout the dark night.

Biting my lips I look down at my shirt covering Andrew's stomach. It looks slightly better as I seem to have stopped the bleeding.

"Hey." I whisper softly as I notice the look on Ryder's face.

His eyes are distraught, shielding him from the cruel reality.

He doesn't seem to hear me or if he does he simply ignores me.

Guilt starts plaguing me. If it wasn't for me and my stupidity every thing would have been fine. If only I hadn't run of at that time, I wouldn't have gone to his house. If only I hadn't been caught and used as a bait, none of this would have happened. If only....

Hesitantly I lift a hand which has smudges of Andrew's blood on it. Andrew opens one eye from beside me and gives me a look.

Still in this situation he manages to give me a 'Go ma homie' look.

Shaking my head at him incredulously I glance back at Ryder who's looking out of the window with his jaw clenched.

Should I?

I glance down at his clenched fist that is resting on his knee.

Should I? It's not far...well we have a half dead Andrew dreaming about Marylin Monroe between us but I can still reach him, right?

Inhaling sharply I place my hand hesitantly over his fist.

It loosens slightly as his tired eyes glance at me, "Hey."

I smile at him slightly, "Hey."

"Are you okay?" his voice is hoarse as if he has been holding tears for who knows how long.

My heart warms at his question.

Worry about yourself first idiot.

Nodding I smile but start frowning when I remember that it's all my fault.

"I'm sorry." I whisper so lowly that I'm not sure if he has heard me, "I'm so sorry."

I don't say why I'm sorry. But I know I don't need to.

After all, this boy knows me better than I do myself.

A soft gasp escapes me as I feel him intertwine our fingers together.

He doesn't say anything else but just strokes the back of my hand gently.

I smile at this action.

Right now, no matter how hopeless the situation seems, I have no doubt that it's going to be okay.

That we, all of us, were going to be fine.

We had to.

"By the way," Glancing down at my chest once he smirks. "Cute bra."

Is it weird that I just got turned on?

And there goes my dramatic exit.

Zarin