*****Erika''s POV******


    I was about to scream but the hand mped my mouth, then swerved me around


    to stare at their face. "Jace." I immediately hugged him, tears falling from my eyes. My brother was alive. "I''m sorry." I broke into sobs.


    "Shh, they''ll hear you. It''s okay." He whispered in my ears.


    I sniffled. "Okay. We would talk more at home." Then I remembered Pa and


    Kat. "We should go find Pa and Kat." I held his wrist.


    "We need to be careful, they are here somewhere." He told me.


    Carefully and cautiously, we darted round the bush, trying to locate Pa and avoid the people that were after him. I wondered where they were, they had the car and we needed the car.


    Soon, I heard the honk of a vehicle, it was them. They were driving really fast. Together with Jace, we ran after the vehicle, I noticed Jace was limping.


    "Get inside now! They''re behind us." Pa screamed as Kat opened the door of the back seat. I pulled Jace so he could go in first, he screamed all of a sudden. I looked in horror as a small knife had pierced his side, I had also heard a gunshot.


    I heard noises, without risking a nce back, I pushed him into the vehicle and climbed in after him. Pa zoomed off immediately, driving like a maniac, I paused to catch my breath.


    "Jace." Kat was all over him, his blood had stained her body but she did not care, I even saw tears fall from her eyes.


    He was bleeding badly, Kat pulled off her shirt while I removed the knife from his down torso, that brought a pain-filled groan out of him. Kat instantly pressed down on the wound with her cloth. His breath was raspy andbored. There was also a hole near the cut, the bullet was in him too. Every part of me trembled in fear.


    "Please be fine, Jace." I pleaded. "Please don''t die on me."


    Kat''s shirt was soaked in no time, oh my goodness! Mother of the Moon, please help my brother. Don''t let him bleed to death. He was losing so much blood. "How long before we get to the pack, Pa?"


    "In thirty minutes or so." She replied, her eyes focused on the road. She was going fast but not fast enough for me.


    "Thirty minutes?! Step on it, Pa. My brother is losing too much blood!" I yelled.


    "I''m trying." She increased her speed.


    "Jace stay with me." Kat was holding his hand tightly.


    That knife could have touched a vital organ, hence, the bleeding. And if that was the case, then this was an emergency. I did not want him to bleed to death, I wanted him alive. I took hold of his other hand as the blood-soaked shirt was still on the wound, the bleeding was not ready to stop.


    It was still flowing and that scared me more than anything. Why was he bleeding this much? “Pa go faster please." My voice was broken and filled with panic.


    I had no idea how long before we got there, but I hoped it was not toote by then. I hoped that by the time this car got to the pack, my brother was not toote. I waited as the car kelt moving at a fast pace but it felt as though it was a snail pace.


    My mind went back to thest discussion we had; my brother and I. We had quarreled, gotten into a big fight that had made him leave home. I had used him of working with Elder Grigshade against him, I had done that without understanding the whole story.


    He had left just so I could believe him. He had left because he did not want me to suspect he wanted anything from me, not even the title. He had made it clear a thousand times that he was not interested in rulership, he just wanted to be sessful and live a simple life.


    Despite the many times he had said this to me, I had still used him. I had all but rubbed it in his face how much I was suspecting him. I was wrong, I had done something unfair to him. And he still had the right if he did not want to talk to me ever again.


    I should had known there was trouble the moment he had not picked all three of our calls, but I had been annoyed instead, thinking he was intentionally not picking them. I had called almost four times, Kat and Pa had tried reaching him too.


    His phone was avable then but he had left our calls unanswered, who knew how much danger he had been then? And if it was probably because of this danger that was why he had not been picking his call. I turned to look at him, Kat was still using the shirt to press down on the wound.


    "How many minutes more, Pa?" It was Kat''s turn to yell her frustration, fear and


    panic.


    brother''s hand as


    I held on to my b


    though it was my semnce of reassurance that all was going to be fine. All was fine, I sternly told


    myself. All had to be fine, not nee


    was going to be wrong with Jace. I wiped tears from my eyes, squeezing his hand tight


    "We''ll soon be there." Pa took a fast swerve, people ran out of the road, dispersing into scattered directions. "Sorry!" She yelled through the window.


    Jace coughed and spluttered droplets of blood, I cleaned his lips with my hand. "You''ll be fine, Jace. I promise you." Tears welled, falling on his stained shirt.


    I got lost in thought again, wondering what would have happened if Jace had been unable to reach us, how he would have escaped that ce with one of his legs injured. I cut off the thought, I could not bear what the answer would be.


    He had reached us, and we had been able to get to him. In the end, he was going


    to be fine. We were this close to getting him treatment.


    "Jace? Jace." I heard the panic in Kat''s voice, he had his head on herps. I turned to look at his face, his eyes were closed.


    Even in the dimly lit car, I could make out his features. I shook him. "Jace?"


    "W-what''s happening there?" Pa was scared as well.


    "Jace!" Kat screamed.


    No. No. No. I checked his pulse, I froze. I could not feel any pulse. "I-I''m n-not feeling any pulse." I stuttered. "Jace!"


    "Jace, wake up! Wake the fuck up!" Kat wailed.


    I was feeling so many emotions yet I was numb. They were indescribable, these emotions. "Jace, don''t you dare do this! Don''t you dare die on me! Please, no. Say something. Make a sound, anything. Jace, please."


    But he remained still and soaked in his own pool.