Part Fifteen:
 

Rating: PG-13 for violence.
 

“Hello there, miss,” the man said, his voice slurred. “Do you know what time it is?”

Oh, God, he’s drunk. Mary-Lynnette was on the verge of panicking. She was in the middle of nowhere with a drunk man, and no one even knew where she was.

Stay calm, she told herself. That’s your advantage. Keep your head clear, and look for openings. In the meantime, get your keys.

Clutching the heavy, metal flashlight in her right hand, Mary-Lynnette used her other hand to rummage in her pocket for her car keys. The man was walking towards her now, mumbling something.

Got ‘em! She turned quickly and opened the driver’s door, but the man came up behind her and grabbed the keys from her hand.

“Hey!” He flung the keys into the bushes. “I wanna talk to you!”

Mary-Lynnette didn’t think. She simply acted. The flashlight connected with his skull with a sickening clunk.

The man cried out in pain. Blood coursed down his face. His fingers closed around her throat, trying to choke her, succeeding. Mary-Lynnette kicked him in the leg as hard as she possibly could, putting all her weight into it.

His hold on her neck loosened as he yelled, and Mary-Lynnette filled her lungs with air and screamed.

The man punched her in the face. Mary-Lynnette tasted blood before she felt the pain and fell to the ground. She took this opportunity to scramble to her feet and try to run, but he tackled her from behind. She threw him off, but he was coming at her again.

Mary-Lynnette fought desperately; kicking, punching, and doing anything else she could think of to do. But she was losing, and she knew it. Her whole body ached. Her face was bloody. Her insides felt abnormal.

Now Mary-Lynnette concentrated on blocking the blows. Her arm felt a cool, rough surface – a rock. She grabbed it and smashed it into the guy’s nose.

Outraged, he took her own weapon and used it against her.

The pain was unbearable. Mary-Lynnette couldn’t move anymore. Then, miraculously, the pain began to fade. It was like she was watching a movie, but she was still in her body. She couldn’t feel or hear anything, just see the drunk man over her, beating her senseless.

Well, at least it doesn’t hurt, she thought.

Then he was gone. No, not gone, she realized. Something dark had knocked him off of her. It was a girl. A girl with long, dark hair. She was fighting the man now, and she seemed to be winning.

That was good.

Darkness was creeping in at the edges of her vision, threatening to cover the scene before her.

Now there was a boy with dark hair pointing a gun at the drunk man. The girl had gotten off of him.

Mary-Lynnette was dimly aware of someone close to her. She turned her eyes, and found herself looking into Ash’s pale face. His mouth was moving, but she couldn’t tell if any words were coming out or not. His eyes were glistening. He looked so scared.

“You came back,” she whispered. He was nodding vigorously. There was one more thing, though, that she needed to say. She needed to let him be happy, at least. Mary-Lynnette opened her mouth, and said hoarsely, “I love y-”

She couldn’t go on, but she knew he understood; he was her soulmate, after all. The only one who could ever fully understand her. Mary-Lynnette closed her eyes and let the darkness take her in its caressing arms.