One of a Kind

10

     My eyes shot open as I jerked awake from hearing gunshots and voices shouting near me. I saw Eli and Jenny huddled together in a corner looking as startled and confused as me.

     "Is that..?"

     "My mafia," I said under my breath, finishing Eli's question. Both of their eyes lit up, and they had the biggest smiles stuck on their faces.
     I shuffled towards the bars, trying to look around to see if there was any sign of my friends. My heart sped up as I saw Marcos and Ann and someone else from our mafia round the corner. I quickly shouted at them to watch out as the enemies weren't too far behind. They turned around and fought the vampires who were tailing them. Finally, they ran up to me, and Ann dangled a key in front of my face.

     "How.." I breathed in awe.

     "I got more spunk that I show," was all she said before quickly unlocking the cell door. They ushered me out as fast as they could, but I stopped them.

     "Ann- my friends," I said worryingly as I motioned towards Eli and Jenny.

     "Come with us," she said to them. Eli warily stood up and extended a hand to Jenny, which she reluctantly took.

     "Ann, what about the rest of the Kamils? We can't just leave them here," I said as we all ran towards the fight to look for an exit.

     "Don't worry, Jayden. We are going to get them all out of here. Just b-"

     "Boss! We got him!" Marcos yelled to Tyler who I spotted across the room. That was a major mistake. All heads turned our way, and Marco's face drained as he realized what he had done.

     "Holy shit," was all I heard before I took off in a sprint, desperate to get to Tyler. I tried my best to shove off all the hands trying to grab at me and kept running.

     "Tyler!" I yelled.

     "Jayden!"

     "Tyl-" I wasn't able to finish. I felt something pierce my skin, somewhere near my ribs just when I heard a loud bang. I got shot.
     I fell to my knees, a sharp pang of pain spreading through my body, and my shirt quickly drenched in a warm, red liquid.

     "Jayden?!"

     That voice. That was all I needed to hear. I felt a burst of adrenaline as I forcibly picked myself up and fought through any monster that tried to put their hands on me. I ran towards him, towards the voice I had gotten so used to during these past months.
     I felt blood trickle from the side of my mouth as I finally reached Tyler, removing my bloodied hand from my wounded body and clutching onto him. My mind was foggy. I couldn't see well. The sounds were faded. I saw Tyler's panicked expression as we ran through the fighting croud. I was on the verge of passing out when I felt my legs being picked up and a strong arm on my back. A face filled with worry and determination was all I saw before I was engulfed in darkness, once again.

~~~

     "Well get it done! I am tired of waiting. Don't waste my time. Do NOT look at me like that. I will break your neck."

     What?

     "Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

     Where am I?

     "Jayden!"

     I blinked, unaware that my eyes had started to open on their own.

     "Jayden, hey. Baby." Tyler rushed up to me when he realized I was awake.

     "Tyler-" I croaked.

     "Sh, it's alright. Everything's okay," he said as he handed me some water. I drank it, trying not to spill it because of how weak I felt.

     "What happened?"

     "Well, we kille-"

     I suddenly sat up, causing a groan to slip out of my mouth because of my soreness. "Eli? Jenny? Where are they? Did they make it?" I asked, wide eyed.

     "Jayden, please, careful baby," Tyler sighed as he put his arms on my shoulders, gently pushing me back onto the hospital bed. Oh. I didn't know his mafia thing had a hospital area? "They did make it out. We got every Kamil out of that place. They're back at our Prims. Don't worry, your friends are safe."

     "Oh, thank God. And what about- what was his name? Antoinette? Apple?"

     "Andres?"

     "Yeah, that guy." I shivered at the thought of what happened.

     "He was an old enemy of mine. Don't worry, I killed him myself. Just for you. Eli and Jenny told me what happened." He flashed me a toothy grin. Or should I say fangy grin. Shut up.

     "And everyone else there..?"

     "Dead."

     "Oh. Okay." Very blunt.

     "Anyway, you need to stay here for a while. The doctor said at least 2 weeks. The bullet went all the way through."

     "Oh, shit."

     "Yeah, the guy was at close proximity. But you'll be fine. There's no infections, and luckily, it missed your bones."

     "Thank you, Tyler. For everything."

     "Ah, it's Adler."

     "Whatever," I sneered.

     He got closer, our lips only centimeters apart. He caught mine in a slow and gentle kiss. All the pain I had been feeling seconds ago seemed to disappear.

     Just a few months ago, I had been living in hell. In that short moment when I got hit in the head, my whole life suddenly had meaning. I had a family. A real family. I hadn't been captured. I had been saved.

   
      I cupped Tyler's face as I pulled back to take a look at his beautiful, amber eyes.

     "I love you," I muttered.

     It took a second for him to process what I had said. His eyes softened, and his mouth shyly perked upwards.

     "I love you, too."