She is Fatal to Death (Standalone Story)

Chapter 28 (State of Emergency)

Renata

The blurriness of her vision and the high-pitched ringing in her ears only worsened her dazed mind. She rolled onto her back, wincing at the sharp pain at the back of her skull as it brushed against the cold, tiled floor.

"Renata!" The voice was far away and echoed.

"Renata!" It was closer this time.

She tried to respond, but her body was sluggish and depleted of energy. All she really wanted to do was close her eyes and take a quick snooze.

But then a handsome face was hovering above hers. This person looked like they'd been through the ringer. His hair tickled her face, making her crinkle her nose against the teasing sensation. "Renata?! We have to get you out of here. Keone, help me. Rocio, get Ma."

Tahoma. How could she forget?

​ The surrounding chaos continued despite the interruption of whatever just occurred.

Renata groaned as Tahoma lifted her soon after. This sudden movement felt like the opposite thing to do in her state. But Tahoma moved fast, and she was vaguely aware that everyone else was following close behind.

Her vision blinked in and out. As did the sound, going from silent to explosive in the next moment.

They had made it into the car. She was sandwiched between Nirvi and her sister. To her shock, while Tahoma drove off like a mad man, Keone was in the passenger seat. He leaned out the window and pulled the trigger of his gun. The deafening sound made her wince.

Rocio was groaning. "Something's wrong." She fidgted, as though she couldn't bear to stay still. "I'm burning up. I can't take it. What's happening?"

Nirvi had a bit more composure as she held onto the car door, but when Renata looked at her, she was clearly in pain too.

"I'm feeling sick too," Keone shouted as he shot off a couple more bullets before settling into his seats. He sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Besides being really fucking confused, I feel fine," Tahoma responded. His eyes darted toward the rearview mirror. "How are you doing back there, priya?"

Renata heaved out a big sigh, failing to collect herself. "I'm fine."

Tahoma scoffed, making a sharp turn and made the whole car reverberate with groans. "The fuck you are. You're nursing a major concussion right now. I can smell the blood. You're losing too much of it. Rocio, help her put pressure."

Though her sister was occupied with her own suffering, she whipped off her shirt and pressed it to Renata's wound. Renata hissed, trying not to pull away as much as she wanted to. "Easy. What does it matter? It's not like I won't come back."

As they drove past town, Renata noticed that everyone was in disarray. Various car crashes. Broken wondows. Screaming women and children. Chaos everywhere. "Oh, no," Renata whispered, feeling as liquid dripped down the nape of her neck, "this is bad."

Tahoma expertly maneuvered the car around the collisions and other disturbances. His gaze had the focus of a lazer. She had never seen this more serious side of him, and wasn't sure what to make of it. "We just need to get back to the house. Get patched up, then we need to get as far away from Angel as possible until we figure things out."