Page 31 of Guarded By Death

But my desperate cries float away with the wind, it's too late. The man’s hand clamps around Pierce’s throat and he lifts him from the ground. I tremble at the terrifying sight, knowing I can’t do anything to help. My fears dissolve when Pierce’s knuckles collide with the man’s jaw, who stumbles, releasing his iron like grip.

Pierce has the upper hand now; I shuffle on my bottom against the wet stone floor as I back myself into a brick wall to stay out of their way. Tears pour down my cheeks at the lack of power I have.

They both equally thrash each other around, it's a horrifying sight to see. Pierce’s massive frame makes for a haunting echo as the cracking of bones bounces off the walls.

Dread courses through my already cold veins as they collide in the small space. I silently chant in my head the words 'no' as I realize Pierce doesn't have the advantage like I thought he did. The man he's fighting now is bigger and stronger than the others and I flinch at every violent punch that is thrown at Pierce. Why doesn't he just kill him? My thoughts are dark but it's true. This man could easily be a serial killer, he has to be something dark to be possessed, so why doesn't he just kill him. All I care about is Pierce’s safety and my hope is evaporating with every passing second.

My haunted thoughts look promising when Pierce slams the man against the wall with such force that the stacked brick crumbles at their feet. His large hand covers the man’s throat and a sigh of relief escapes my quivering lips when the demon loses strength. Pierce whips his head in my direction, snarling. "Look away!" he orders, but I can't. I can't look away from him, my concern is too high.

The man directs his paling face to me, his black eyes staring into my soul. A sinister smile creeps up his face.

Things play in slow motion as the man reaches into his pocket. "Pierce! Watch out!" I cry, a blood-curdling scream escaping me as I fumble to get off of the wet ground. Determined to protect Pierce no matter the cost. Pierce returns his attention back to the man in front of him, but the pale fingers of the bald man grip the shiny metal knife too quickly for him to react.

I run towards them in absolute horror as the man brings the glimmering knife across Pierce’s neck, slicing into his skin with a firm slash.

Seventeen

Oh, no no no

Aloud crunch echoes through the alleyway. I halt a few feet away to see Pierce cracking the man’s neck with his bare hands. He releases the now lifeless body of the man, while he too collapses onto the wet stone floor.

My knees give way next to Pierce’s still body, and I scream at him to get up. I place his head in my lap and watch his green eyes slowly fade out. His golden skin pales before me and I desperately want to hear him speak, move, blink, anything to let me know that he’s still with me. But I don't know if he can come back from the gushing blood that pours from his neck.

In movies when someone is dying there's always a few seconds where profound words are said, the last dying words. I am not granted with hearing his voice again as he lays lifeless on my shaking body.

I scream as loud as I can for help, as I try and push his cut skin back together, my hands covered in thick red blood. It's a violent sight in front of me, but I don't care, I just need to put him back together.

"I'll put you back together, Pierce," I promise to him as I close my hand around his neck. Maybe I'm going crazy, I can't tell, all I see is red. His face is covered in it, his neck and white t-shirt are doused in the thick red substance. "Why won't you go back together!?" I sob into the quiet street.

I begin to hopelessly push the blood back in, scooping it up with my palms and feeling pale myself. "You promised Pierce! You promised you wouldn't get hurt!" I scream at him from my anger about the situation. "You can't leave me! You can't!" I cry through muffled sobs.

A lonely, hollow feeling in my chest tells me he's gone; I stare into his lifeless eyes and realize that I have now died with him. I can't move, I just touch his cheek and caress his thick hair in my blood-soaked hands. I could call an ambulance, but he is gone, I know he's gone.

I stare out into the nothingness in front of me, a spine-chilling screech escaping my lips. My throat hurts from all the screaming but I don't care... I feel nothing. Absolutely nothing. All I see is death.

Someone grabs my arm and I flinch.

Through my blurred vision and choking sobs, I hear shuffling around me. I instinctively go to throw my body over Pierce. "No! You can't have him!" I bark at whoever is trying to take him from me as my body crashes onto the hard-wet concrete. My hands search the wet ground for Pierce's body, but he's gone, they took him from me.

I panic as I pull my blood-stained hands into my blurry vision to see if what just happened was real, to see if I'm real.

Suddenly, I'm picked up like a child being cradled. I sob without fighting because I know there's nothing left in me.

My eyes search the dark ground for Pierce's body, I don't want to leave him here alone on the wet ground. My eyes peel up to look to the sky and my body goes stiff. Pierce is carrying me through the rain. He looks down at me with a pained expression.

His haunted eyes rake over my shaking body. I can't speak or move. I look at his throat, the only signs of his violent demise is the mixture of blood and rain as it soaks his shirt.

Comfort fills my stiff muscles, relief that I can't understand. No matter how at ease I am that he's carrying me, the moments I just experienced leave me in a shock that envelops my entire soul in a dark way. Seeing him that way, his throat... I can't breathe or think. I just sink my head into his blood-soaked chest. This isn't real. I'm having a terrible, awful nightmare.

"I'm so sorry, baby, I'm so sorry you had to see that." His voice is ragged in my hallucination.

I can't look back at him, I can't meet his face. All I see when I close my eyes is him bleeding out. His life slowly but all too quickly draining from his perfect face. If I look at him, he will disappear. I keep my eyes glued in front of me. I don't want to be here anymore. The dark stone streets fade out and the scenery changes before my eyes, we are now walking through a warm room. It looks like a beach house by the pictures on the walls and décor.

His chest rises and falls at a rapid rate. "Scarlett, I'm so sorry you had to see what I did. I'm sorry you had to see me that way, laying on the ground like that. I can't imagine how terrifying that was for you, I never thought it would come to that. I can't die, Scar,” he groans. “I didn't think to tell you that when I die, I wake up. I never thought we would be in that situation, but I got distracted. If that would have been you..." he cuts himself off and holds me tighter to his chest. I want his words to comfort me, but I feel hollow.

The only thing keeping me going is knowing that he’s okay. I repeat those exquisite words over and over. The movements of Pierce carrying me through a dark room are the last things that I remember before I shut off. Completely and utterly collapsing within my own dark thoughts.

Eighteen

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