How Things Changed Forever.. PART - II

CH 39: Cold Urticaria

Laura yanked Hillary up again—

Only this time, there was no gasping.

No desperate coughs .

No movement .

Hillary's body was limp in her grasp .

Her head lolled forward, her skin unnervingly pale, her lips slightly parted—

And she wasn't breathing.

Laura's stomach clenched.

She let go, and Hillary crumpled to the floor like a ragdoll.

No movement.

No pulse.

No.

No, no, no, no.

"Shit."

Laura dropped to her knees, shoving Hillary onto her back.

Her chest wasn't rising.

She wasn't even twitching.

Laura pressed two fingers against her neck—nothing.

A cold, unfamiliar sensation curled in her gut.

She pressed harder. Come on, come on—

Still nothing.

A spark of panic ignited in her ribs, clawing at her throat.

Hillary wasn't supposed to die...

Laura didn't do murder. That was messy. That got people caught.

This wasn't the plan.

She muttered a curse, tilting Hillary's head back.

Laura had never done CPR before.

Never needed to.

She wasn't that kind of criminal.

But she knew enough.

She pressed her hands over Hillary's chest and started pushing.

"Breathe, dammit."

One, two, three, four—

Still nothing.

Laura growled under her breath, pinching Hillary's nose shut and forcing a breath into her mouth.

Another round of compressions.

Another breath.

Laura's own heartbeat was hammering in her skull.

If she was dead—

No.

Another push.

Then—

Hillary coughed violently, a harsh, wet sound as water spilled from her lips, her body jerking as she sucked in a desperate breath.

Laura exhaled sharply, relief flooding through her—followed immediately by frustration.

"God, you're dramatic," she muttered.

Hillary barely moved, barely reacted, her body weak and shaking, her breaths coming in uneven gasps.

Pathetic.

Laura sighed, rolling her eyes as she grabbed Hillary's arm and pulled her out of the locker room.

*****

The night air was brutally cold, sinking its teeth into Hillary's soaked clothes as Laura dragged her across the empty streets.

Hillary barely stirred. She was shivering violently, her body too weak to resist, her head lolling against Laura's side as she pulled her through the alleyways.