Moonlit Scars

Demir

My whole side was on fire.

I peeled my eyes open, pulling myself back from the airbag which was almost choking me. My mouth was full of cotton and a hive of bees seemed to have taken resident inside my ears. I groaned.

"Are you alright?" A low scared voice asked near me.

I blinked. Sparks flew across my vision. After a moment, I realized that those sparks were broken pieces of glass strewn all around me.

Two white hands shot out and unbuckled my seatbelt.

Seray peered at me. Blood ran down one side of her face and her sweater was splattered red.

"You know that you're bleeding, right?" I heard myself asking.

"Not important. Just a scratch", I perked at her urgent voice. "Listen, we have to get out of here"

"Are you sure they're dead?" Someone asked from above us and my blood froze. Bastards. I was fairly sure that they were Yildirim's dogs.

"We have to go", Seray said again. "They have guns! They shot at us several times!"

I nodded.

The airbags had thankfully saved us from further damage. My arms ached from the impact but it didn't feel like I'd broken any bones.

I opened the glove compartment and took out my gun, under Seray's widened eyes. I pushed the cartridge of bullets at her.

"Put this in your bag", I studied her flabbergasted expression. "Oh, grow up. These are the same men who shot at Lalam and Burak. They're not going to spare you and me!"

Around us, the sky has darkened into a greyish black. I turned, squinting. I could just make out the silhouettes of the men at the top of the road. As I watched, two of them broke from the group and started coming down the steep.

"Get ready to run", I said. "They're coming"

She nodded, speechless. I pushed the door against the bushes and stumbled outside. Darkness was playing an ally to us. I pushed Seray ahead of me and together, we plunged into the woods, away from Yildirim's men. Gunshots echoed behind us and I sped up.

"Where are we going?" Seray panted.

"Doesn't matter. Away from those guys", I replied.

"Do you even know where we are?"

"Just run, woman!"

We did run through the woods like the devil was on our heels. Once we seemed to have lost the guys who were pursuing us, I pulled Seray towards me, saving her from running straight into a tree.

"Wait", I said, stumbling against the underbrush. I lowered myself onto the ground and pushed my jacket aside. A long gash, starting from under my arm spread towards my waist, which explained the infernal pain I was feeling. I gritted my teeth.

"Oh, God!" Seray exclaimed, kneeling next to me. I glanced up. Her face was a pale blaze against the darkness and her hair hung around her shoulders, come undone from her ponytail. She kept her hand on my t-shirt so I wouldn't pull it down.

"It doesn't look like it needs stitches. It's not that deep", she said.

"Thank you, doctor" I said sarcastically.

She ignored my words and started rummaging through her bag. Then she cracked two pills and handed them to me.

"What's this?" I asked, apprehensively.

"Painkillers", she said.

Then she handed me a half full bottle of water to wash it down. After I'd swallowed the pills, she took the bottle back and emptied it over my cut. I noticed that her hands were shaking, her breathing somewhat erratic.