“Zoey, Zoey, Zoey.”
I turned at the whimpering sound of my name and saw my mom propped up against the door of the barn. She was covered in blood, and I couldn’t even begin to tell where it was coming from.
She was going to be okay. She was going to be fine. I repeated it in my head like a mantra. She was going to be okay.
“Get in the barn, Mom. Get in there and lock the door,” I said firmly, turning away from her.
I caught Ash at the corner of my eye, taking two Awakened down so quickly that I wanted to stop and clap or throw my arms around him and kiss him. I shook my head and started shooting at the remaining Awakened that were coming toward me. One by one, they went down, and all I could see in front of my face was red. I was on fire; I wasn’t even a person anymore. I was a weapon, and I wanted to kill. I wanted to kill these stupid Awakened that had taken away my city, my father and attacked my mother.
I was still shooting an Awakened on the ground when I felt a strong hand on my arm. I turned, quickly, ready to fight.
“They’re dead, Zoey” Ash said, his hand gripping my arm tightly. “You got them. You can stop shooting. They’re gone. You can stop.”
My arm fell to my side, and my gun dropped to the ground. He grabbed me tightly, pulling me close to him, and I felt his heart beat on my cheek. For a moment, I felt safe.
“It’s okay. It’s okay,” he said. “Let’s go find your mother.”
I pulled back, remembering. “Mom.” I spun on my heel and saw the barn door standing slightly open with just enough room for a person to squeeze their way in. Blood was pooled at the entrance and streaked across the hay that was spread inside. I followed it quickly, my eyes darting all about. I spotted her, lying against a bale of hay, her eyes closed, her breathing heavy. “Oh, no. Mom.” I ran the last few steps to her, and fell to my knees next to her.
She was completely torn up. There was blood everywhere, and I couldn’t even see where it began or where it ended. I shifted her a bit, and she groaned. I pulled my hands back, afraid to touch her. I didn’t want to hurt her any more than I already had. “Ash, we need to take her into the house.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I can get her.” He leaned over and took her into his arms gently, like she was a doll. A whimper escaped her lips, and I saw a flash of pain cross Ash’s face. We made our way out of the barn and across the lawn to the house. On the way, I gathered up the gun I had dropped, ignoring the bodies strewn all over the ground.
“Put her in the downstairs bathroom,” I said, as we went into the house. He nodded, pushing the door open with his foot and walking in. he bent down, slowly, laying her as carefully as he could into the bathtub.
I pushed past him, grabbing the removable showerhead from its hook and turning the water on, waiting until it got a little warm. I started to wash her down, my hands shaking as the blood ran on the sides of the tub, toward the drain. There was so much of it. There were gashes and bites everywhere, consistently gushing blood. “She’s covered, Ash,” I trembled. “I…I don’t know where to start.”
“Zoey…” My mom’s voice was weak, her eyes still closed.
“Don’t,” I interrupted her. “Don’t talk. Save your strength.” I looked over my shoulder at Ash. “Get me towels, a bunch of them.” He was staring at me. “Now, Ash!”
He shook himself out of his daze and turned on his heel. I could hear the hard falls of his step as he ran upstairs to the linen closet, the familiar creak of the doors, and he was back in a moment. He dropped them next to me, and I started pressing them over the wounds. There were just so many, and the towels were crimson before long.
“Zoey, please.”
I could feel tears in the corners of my eyes, and a large lump was in my throat, threatening my ability to breathe. “You’re going to be okay, Mom. You’re going to be okay. I’m going to fix it, okay?”
Her eyes fluttered open and met mine. Her eyes were red and, for a moment, I wondered if any other color existed. All I could see was red, the deep red of her blood that was now covering the bathroom. “I love you, Zoey.”
I shook my head. “No. No, you are not talking like that. I refuse to let you talk like that.” I ran the stream of water over her body, and the water started running pink, and I felt a brief sense of relief. The bleeding had slowed, and I cleaned the wounds as best as I could, feeling helpless. I could fight. I could pack a punch, and I had a stupid blue belt in taekwondo, but I couldn’t fix this. I didn’t know how to fix this. She just wouldn’t stop bleeding. She needed a hospital, but I don’t think those existed anymore.