Sanctum (The After Light Saga) by Cameo Renae Page B

to answer . There was blood pouring from his wound, and I knew even Dr. Banks couldn’t fix it. Not here in the middle of nowhere, with no medical tools.
    “You will soon be in a much better place than we are,” Finn nodded.
    “ I…don’t want…to die,” he breathed. Tears rolled down his face. “My wife, my daughter. Please…tell them I love them.”
    My heart instantly crushed. He had a family. He had a wife and daughter who would be waiting for him.
    I fought to keep the tears that stung my eyes away, but it was too much to bear. My heart was breaking.
    “What’s your name?” I asked, taking hold of his hand.
    “Steven,” he breathed, “with a V.” My heart shattered, and my thoughts went directly to my father, who shared his name.
    “ My dad’s name is Stephen, with a P H,” I forced a smile. “Steven, I promise to tell your family. I’ll tell them how brave you were, and how you saved us all from crashing. They will be so proud of you.”
    He nodded and a weak grin formed on his lips. His breath became quick, and I watched his eyes slowly start to change to a milky white.
    “ Help me.” He gritted his teeth, moaning in pain. “I don’t…want…to change. Kill…me.”
    “Abi, ” Finn said, taking hold of my arm.
    “Finn, what do we do?” I cried. Tears rushed down my face. This was the most difficult decision I’d ever faced. This man was dying, but he was also changing. Did I grant his dying wish?
    Steven suddenly grabbed my arm, and placed Hellfire to his forehead. “Please,” he begged.
    Finn glanced at me. He had a pained look, but gave a single nod.
    Why God? Why m e? I don’t know if I can do this. Hot tears soaked my face.
    “Please,” the pilot begged again, his teeth gritting. He moaned in agonizing pain as he started to change.
    I stood to my feet and wiped my face. Suddenly, I started to feel dizzy, my fingers felt tingly, and my breath became too fast. I couldn’t get enough air in. Not now! What the hell is wrong with me? My legs started trembling, and became weak. I buckled, dropping to my knees.
    “Abi!” I heard Finn scream.
    “I’m sorry,” I cried. Hellfire slipped from my grasp.
    Steven closed his eyes.
    Bam!
    I was jolted from my inner torment, and turned to see Finn holding Hellfire. He did what I couldn’t do. He granted Steven’s last wish.
    Screams and growls began to echo around us again.
    I looked to Finn for support. So many emotions ran through me at that very instant. Finn had saved me. There was no handbook on how to deal with the kind of emotion of killing another human being. It was something that would have shattered my soul, and haunted me for the rest of my life. But Finn spared me. He took the shot. He was my hero.
    “Abi, are you alright?” Finn said, carefully lifting me to my feet.
    “I’m sorry, Finn. I couldn’t,” I sobbed.
    “I know. It’s alright. You don’t always have to be strong.”
    “You did the right thing, Finn,” Dr. Banks said, placing his hand on his shoulder. I turned around and looked at everyone else in the group. Their eyes were filled with fear and horror.
    Finn wrapped his arms around me. “Le t’s go. Sounds like there’s many more out there. We have to get everyone to safety.”
    He was right. We weren’t out o f danger. I had to keep myself focused. I had to pull myself together and turn off my emotions. If I didn’t do it, I’d be worthless, and put others in danger.
    Before we left, Finn bent down and pulled Steven’s tag from his neck and wiped it off. I could feel my world slowly spiraling out of control. He handed me Hellfire, and I checked her ammo. She had two rounds left, so I readied the next magazine.
    “Ab i,” Finn said softly, holding my arm so I couldn’t move.
    Then, Tina screamed in a super high pitch.
    We were surrounded by Arvies. Much more than we could handle. There were at least fifty, and it seemed like every time I blinked, there were more.
    “We’re g onna die,” Tina