Maria heard the shot loud and clear, but everything afterwards slowed down to a crawl.

The wind had picked up and Maria could hear it rushing past her ears, muting the panicked screams from behind her. It was a soothing sound and she let her eyes slide shut; just enjoying the mournful moan.

CRACK

Her eyes snapped open and dilated in terror; but she quickly realized that it was only the first echo of the blast resounding in the night-shrouded desert. It was only then that it dawned on her that the light had been extinguished, allowing the pale starlight to shine through the night.

Maria’s vision swam, blending the pricks of fire in the sky into streaks of light. She blinked, trying to overcome the effects of the alcohol.

CRACK

The second and quieter echo slammed her mind back into reality. The world seemed to give a sudden start, then resume its natural pace.

Maria clenched her teeth, suddenly panicked, as her befuddled brain finally grasped what had just happened--the gun shot, the light blinking out, and then the screams of her friends behind her.

‘Oh God, Kyle. Oh God!’ her mind cried over and over like a mantra.

The moment she turned, a jolt of pain tore through her body. It throbbed outward, wave upon wave, from a point above her right breast.

That was when it hit her.

‘Travis shot me!’ she thought incredulously.

Maria abruptly tottered under the onslaught of a wave of dizziness. She wondered foggily whether it was from the alcohol or the large hole in her chest.

‘Oh, I am SO going to kill him,’ she thought before blacking out.

***

CRACK

The shot rang out, startling Michael as his eyes strained to adjust to the sudden darkness.

The breath of air he had been inhaling suddenly solidified and became a frozen mass in his throat.

CRACK, CRACK

The echoes exploded, matching his heart beat for beat and then she went down, tumbling head-first off the rock.

Michael was by her side before he even had a chance to think about it. The blood was the first thing that he saw. There was too much of it. This could in no way be good.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Michael placed his hand on her head and sighed when he felt her life force. It was slowly ebbing away but at least she was still alive.

Quickly, he scooped up her body and held her to his chest. He had to get her to Max before it was too late.

‘Damn!’ he cursed silently. ‘Why haven’t I learned to heal yet?!’

***

Kyle’s mind was spinning.

“No, no, no, no,” he unconsciously breathed as he saw Maria fall. “Ria!” he yelled, the agony apparent in his voice.

Not wasting the time to stand up, Kyle crawled, scrapping his knees and palms against the sharp rocks, to where he had last seen her.

“NO!” he screamed again, the tears flowing freely for the first time in years. Reaching the edge, he peered down into a world of sharp crags and deep shadows.

“Kyle?” Liz’s weak voice called to him. “Maria?” The last word came out not much more than a whisper.

He couldn’t answer. The words seemed to die before they left his lips. The only thing he could say was “No! Ria! Where are you,” but the silent depths below offered no solace but the empty return of his own cry.

***

Michael was wet. For a few moments he thought it was sweat, but then he made the mistake of looking down. Blood. He was covered in blood. He gently placed Maria’s limp body on a rock while he hopped down to the next flat surface.

With more tenderness than he had ever displayed before, Michael lifted her into his strong arms once again, hugging her tightly to his chest.

Without warning, his foot slipped on the loose dirt and gravel and Michael struggled desperately to keep his balance. He swayed precariously as he slid down the remainder of the hill.

Remarkably, he stayed mostly vertical and made it to the bottom without landing on his ass. Placing his hand yet again on Maria’s forehead, Michael reached out to her with his mind. He emitted a sigh of relief when he felt her life force, though weak, fighting for survival.

Not much time left. He broke out into a run aiming for the dark silhouette of the jeep.

***

Travis heard the screams from above and immediately knew that he had been wrong. But it wasn’t until he heard a familiar voice that he realized just how wrong.

“No!” The anguished scream from above sliced deeply into his soul.

‘Kyle? Oh God, is that Kyle?’

“RIA!” Kyle cried again. Travis’ heart froze as it dawned on him what may have happened.

“Maria?” he called, his stomach twisting in terror. “No!” He charged up the rocks talking to his love the whole way. “Baby, I'm coming. I'm coming, sweetie. I'm so sorry. I didn’t know. Oh, God. Maria, I'm coming.”

The growing roar of engines could be heard approaching.

***

Michael sprinted as fast as he dared. He didn’t want to jar the fragile bundle in his arms.

“Michael!” Isabel gasped from her seat in the front. “We heard the gun shot and thought the worst. What hap—“

It was clear from her abrupt cut-off and her confused expression that she saw the petite body in his arms.

“I need your help,” Michael wheezed, still recovering. “Heal her.”

Both Max and Isabel simply gaped at him for a beat. Growing impatient, he laid Maria down across the back seat.

“What? Michael, she’s human!” Isabel exclaimed.

Michael ignored her and turned to his brother. “Max, please,” he begged, with an uncharacteristic quiver in his voice.

Max didn’t answer, instead he turned to face the dying girl. Covering her chest wound with both hands, he concentrated on stopping the flow of blood.

Watching him mend her torn lung, Michael allowed himself a moment to wonder what the hell he was doing. Isabel was right. Maria was human. She was the enemy. But if that were true, why was he so pained to see her slipping away?

Max finished with the bullet wound and moved on to a gash on Maria’s forehead.

“Okay, you helped her. Now, let's go!” Isabel cried, pulling Max away from the human. “The backup is almost here!” she added, pointing towards a group of lights approaching from the south.

“Okay, Michael get her out and let's go!” Max ordered, starting the car.

“Is she alright? Is she going to live?” Michael asked, unmoving.

Hesitantly, Max shrugged. “I'm not sure. She’s lost a lot of blood. But her people can help her now. It’s out of our hands. Our lives are at risk now.”

“No! Not until she’s okay!”

“Michael, now! We don’t have much longer!”

“I'm not leaving her like this. She’ll die and you know it.”

“Why do you care? She’s not one of us!” Isabel yelled, forgetting that they were trying to remain quiet.

“Isabel, I'm NOT leaving her,” he replied forcefully.

Max, needing to resolve this standoff fast, interrupted. “Fine, just get in the car.”

Knowing when to shut up, for once, Michael climbed in. He placed the injured blonde’s head in his lap to absorb the shocks of the bumpy terrain.

“Max, are you crazy?!” Isabel looked as though she were about to explode.

“We can't just leave Michael behind.”

The argument might have continued if the patrolman hadn't spotted them from the rocks above.

“Hey, you! Stop right there!”

“Shit! Max, go!”