Falling Cities

F-o-s-t-e-r

That damn Nordic charm bracelet can't save me now...
I felt the impact of the bullet before I even heard the shot. If I hadn't stood, I'd likely have been hit in the heart and not in the side.
I still had my gun. My arms were so weak though. Was I in shock? All I wanted to do was shut my eyes...
But I didn't. Veris still needed me.
Emmet stares, but he doesn't leave Lucinda, too surprised yet, and the room was large, he probably wouldn't reach me before I fainted. Besides, his loyalty was to Lucinda, but it didn't stop them both from yelling my name like tortured parents unable to help a child.
Arlo has hold of Veris's hand, he's trying the claw the bracelet from her fingers. Blood runs down her wrist. I lift my pistol. I can feel the warmth draining from my limbs. It's now or never. I fire.
I knew I was a terrible shot, but when it mattered, my aim was true.
It hits Arlo squarely in the back. He staggers away from Veris and falls drunkenly away. Crumpling into a pile with a faint curse.
It hurts doesn't it?
TIB is still bounding over to Veris. But she's already got the key in the lock.
I realize I'm not breathing.
The gun falls from my grip and I drop my arms. They're so cold, is that normal? Does that happen when you've been shot?
Not to mention the pain. It makes the punch to the nose feel like a pinprick.
It radiates from my stomach all the way too my neck and now my legs. Luckily, I can still feel them.
Veris screams. I watch, unable too move my head, as TIB wrestles her to the ground, they claw at each other for a few moments.
474. I want to shout but I can't.
There's no way Veris can't type in the code now. Emmet would never get there in time, I'm closer, I'm very close actually.
I crawl, nobody notices, until I'm almost directly below the machine.
"Oh no you don't!" TIB says. Veris tacklers her agian. "Now Foster! Now!" I reach up a weak hand and type it in, the world seems to slow down a little around me. Emmet is shouting and sprinting towards us, Veris has TIB in a messy chokehold.
"No!" TIB begs. "Please! You can join me! I promise you everything you'd ever dream of! Please!"
It's so pathetic I can't help but respond, although my mouth is dry, I rasp; "But I came all this way.." sarcasm, hopefully she understands it. I crawled seven whole feet to end this.
Stupid computer

4-7-4

A single moment passes before I hear a satisfying click and TIB screams before going still altogether.
It's silent then. For a second, we all pant.
Veris looks at me. Her face is netted with tiny scratches from her brawl with computer-woman, although it looks more like she had a fight with a pack of rabid kittens.
"Uh.. Foster." I touch my side and it comes away heavily with crimson blood.
My eyelids flutter and Veris moves to catch me, I let myself drop into her arms without a fight.
She looks down at me.
A kiss maybe?
"Don't leave me Foster."
Jeez. How bad is it? No kiss I guess..
Emmet is there too now. He pushes me agiasnt the machine so I can sit up. Lucinda is all the way at the door, limping along. Finally she opens it and allows people to filter inside.
No one is controlled now. We freed them all, anyone chipped is now in control of their own own mind.
Free to make their own choices, it's a gift I wish upon everyone.
Our men lift up Lucinda so easily you'd think she's a feather. They haul her away quickly too.
I gaze back up at Veris.
She's crying.
Why are you crying? I'll be fine. Right?
"Veris, give him some air-"
The rest of the sentence was lost in a haze. My head fell against my shoulder. Was this what death felt like? I wasn't afraid. Everything died, I knew that from lessons.
TIB was gone, we won. So why did it feel like an empty victory? Why did it feel so cold?
Veris?
But she isn't listening to me. She's yelling at somebody.
I think someone is dragging me away.
No. If I'm gonna die at least let me do it with Veris nearby. Please.
There's no noise. It's so quiet.
Strange things happen when you've been shot. I don't like it.
I'm going to try to not get shot from now on.
At least I got him back. The jerk.
I could die knowing I kissed Veris and got a nice drink of sweet revenge.
She's nearby, following whoever's carrying me away. And she says something. Maybe it's the feverish imagination, but I heard it.
"I love you Foster." As the fluorescent lights above me start to blur together, I only had one thought;
I wish I could've responded.

But apparently I didn't die, because I woke up with a pounding headache and a horrible pain in my side. What a jolt! It's so quiet and peaceful, then suddenly all my senses are back and it's excruciating.
I'm lying on the floor, on a towel or something, armor is gone, there's heavy bandages around my torso. There's also an IV in my arm, if it's a painkiller it isn't working very well.
A freezing hand touches my arm, I gasp and jerk away.
"Feeling better?" Lucinda asks. Standing above me, brown eyes tired.
"Hardly." I gasp.
"Well. Your welcome."
I clench my teeth.
"What ever for!?" I say, mustering all the condescending wit in existence into those words.
"Cutting that bullet out of you.. sewing your insides back together.. you know, things like that." She looks at her nails, pretending to be interested in them.
"You did that to me?"
"For you, yes. I promised you a trip to the diner if you succeeded, you did. And you couldn't go to the diner if you where dead. Besides, I promised Veris I'd help you if she stopped yelling at everyone.. gosh.. that girl has a very large vocabulary."
I nodded.
"Veris thought you were. Dead I mean, we all did. Emmet said he didn't even move to help you because he knew you where a goner."
"That's.. comforting. Was it so bad?" I ask tentatively, surely I shouldn't have asked.
She smiles, "hey it was fun! Haven't had drama like that in awhile. Anyway I'll get Veris, she's a little worried. Been pacing the hallway nonstop and bugging all the doctors."
She gets up to leave.
"And Lucinda? Tell her that I love her too."
"What?"
"I love her." Without hesitation.
Lucinda drums her fingers on the doorknob.
"You'd better tell her that yourself kid."
But before she goes, she says,
"Thank you. Thanks for cleaning up my mess for me."
"I guess we're even then? You freed us, we freed you."
She nods, then with an unreadable sigh, leaves.