All Because Of Me

 

            Something stirred... A slight rustle and then a dull pang. Why was it so dark? Hack opened his eyes slightly and groaned at the pain spreading across his body and yet, comforting him at the same time. Someone gripped his shoulder suddenly.

            "Hack?" He heard, "Hack, are you okay?... Oh God... You're bleeding everywhere. Hack, can you hear me?"

            "Yes..." Hack's voice came out weakly.

            "Good. Hold on for a moment. I'm going to get out of the car and come to the other side. I'm so sorry." The person breathed heavily on his arm. Something, which Hack guessed to be the car door, opened and seconds later his own door was opening. He saw Dagger's face, hard to recognize through the sunlight, upside down. Tears were running down her pale, bloody cheeks as she undid he seat belt with fumbling hands. His head the bumped the ceiling of the car but he made no motion to show that it had hurt.

            "Sorry..." Dagger said and pulled him out of the car. She and Hack got onto the ground and stared at the wreckage before them. Their vehicle was atop the guard's car in the opposite lane; other cars had pummeled into the pile of cars as well not realizing what was happening. Smoke billowed out of the cars, gasoline dripped onto the gravel along with blood seeping into every crevice of the rocks. There was no possible way the guards could have survived. Dagger walked away slowly not bothering to check if any other people were alive. The only thing on her mind was to get away from the warehouse. Hack followed with a limp that seemed to add to the pain he felt pulsing in every vein.

            "We need to rest somewhere for the night. We can't walk far right now but I know an apartment just around the corner. We can't stay there long because Base 1 and Ducky will find us. It should give us enough time to clean up though," Dagger led the way. It was obvious she had lied when she said she had never surfaced, in fact, she knew they layout of the entire city quite well it appeared. Hack watched her intently as she clutched her arm while he allowed his thoughts to wander. After a moment, he looked at his own arms and found them covered in blood which made him wonder what the rest of his body looked like. Dagger led him to the apartment building but Hack stopped in front of it and studied the people around him. They stared, pointed, and backed away as if they were frightened of fugitives ready to kill. He glanced back at the entrance to see that she had disappeared. He ran inside to find her already waiting inside the elevator with the doors open. They made their way up to the third floor where Dagger produced a key to open a room.

            "Where did you get the-----" Hack was stopped.

            "I stole them." The door opened and they walked inside. Dagger soon sat on the couch and wrestled with what Hack noticed to be a piece of glass wedged in her arm. More tear streamed down her cheeks.

            "Hack, I really should have let you drive... I nearly got you killed. Look at yourself, you're covered in blood. All because of me... Everything." Dagger cursed as she tugged on the glass again only to have it cut her hand. Hack grabbed a cloth from the small dining area and came to her aid. With the cloth wrapped around the glass, he looked up into her eyes waiting for her to tell him he could pull it out. She nodded while she bit her lip tightly, resting her other hand on his shoulder to help give some leverage. As he began to pull, she cried out and gripped his shoulder so hard that blood began to form where her nails were digging into his skin. The glass slowly inched itself out of her arm until it was out entirely to expose the large, gaping wound beneath. Blood steadily flowed out of the wound but Hack removed the glass from cloth and tied it around her arm although he knew it would very well need stitches.

            "Thanks but I think you need more cleaning up than you do." She smiled.

Author's Note

Still editing

Reviews

[Jacques]

i really liked this chapter because it introduced that there's more to the book that can just hacking and i'm enjoying this book and i've enjoyed all the chapters so far more than the first three H.A.C.K. chapters . i think you're doing a remarkable job characterizing Dagger and Hack and i'm enjoying them bonding and Dagger feeling guilty for what she's done because it adds more layers to her characters . favourite chapter so far

[amdc101]

I'm a bit confused how Ducky became their enemy. I know what happened in Escape, if there's another chapter I should reread to be caught up, let me know. I think it's really interesting how we are seeing the softer side of Dagger. I am curious to see what is up with Hack. As usual, you keep me wanting to read more.