Chapter 13

For a moment, my hearing vanished—the world plunged into absolute silence. It felt as if a searing giant hand had slammed me into the ground. I coughed up blood, my organs seeming to shift from the impact. Thick smoke filled the air, obscuring everything. Something warm trickled down my face; when I touched it, my palm came away crimson.

The blast had thrown Joseph several feet away. I tried to stand, but my legs refused to cooperate. With trembling hands, I crawled toward him, my knees scraping against the rough earth. Reaching him, I checked for breath, praying desperately. Thank God—he was still alive.

Gunshots echoed again, faint but drawing closer. Fighting back panic, I hoisted Joseph onto my back and struggled to my feet. I stumbled forward, but armed men were everywhere, their shadows looming. Forced to change direction, I plunged deeper into the forest.

I lost track of time as I ran. My legs gradually went numb until I could no longer feel them. Finally, my strength gave out, and I collapsed.

Joseph stirred then, struggling weakly to rise but finding himself unable to move. His voice, faint but urgent, whispered, “Zoey… leave me. Go!”

Tears streamed down my face as I sobbed, shaking my head violently. “No! We leave together! Both of us!”

He grabbed my ankle, his grip weak but insistent. “Go… get help. You can’t carry us both out of here.”

I broke down completely, crying so hard my chest ached. “Joseph! We made promises! You can’t lie to me! If you die, I’ll never forgive you!”

A faint smile tugged at his lips, only to be interrupted by a coughing fit that brought blood to his mouth. “I’m not lying… Liars… become puppies…”

Choking back tears, I forced myself up, helping him lean against a tree. Even as I wiped my face, fresh tears kept falling. He squeezed my hand gently, his gaze steady but pleading. “Go now… you won’t let me die, right?”

Chapter 14

I nodded fiercely through blurred vision. “Wait for me! I’ll come back for you! You’ll be okay—I promise!”

He smiled weakly and waved me away. “Alright.”

I turned to flee, but before I could take more than a few steps, a deafening gunshot split the air. A powerful impact knocked me to the ground. Searing pain spread across my shoulder, leaving me gasping. I’d been shot.

Terrified, I turned my head to see Joseph collapsing onto me. Blood poured from a massive wound in his chest, staining his white coat crimson.

My mind went blank. Ignoring the burning pain in my shoulder, I rolled him over, pressing my shaking hands against his wound. “Joseph! Joseph!” My cries grew desperate, tears unstoppable.

He weakly raised a hand to clasp mine, the simple action seeming to drain his remaining strength. In a hoarse whisper, he said: “I’m sorry… I love you… In the next life… please be my little one again, okay?”

His eyes held a kaleidoscope of emotions—reluctance, tenderness, resignation—all fading into stillness. The light in them extinguished. His hand slipped limply from mine.

I stared at him in disbelief as overwhelming terror and heartbreak consumed me. It felt like my heart was being incinerated. I coughed violently, blood spilling from my lips as my vision blurred. Sweat drenched me as pain from my shoulder wound surged through my body. Even so, I reached out, trying desperately to grasp him, to pull him back.

“Joseph…” I called weakly, my voice trembling with fear and grief. But my body had reached its limit.

Darkness closed in as I collapsed backward, consciousness slipping away.