Page 82 of Killaney Blood

"What the fuck is going on?!" I yell, fear converting instantly to anger.

I follow the man around a corner, and my legs nearly give out beneath me.

Declan is sprawled across the dining room table, the same one where we ate breakfast this morning. Blood covers everything. The polished mahogany, the floor, his clothes.

Four men surround him, their faces grim. The dining chairs have been flung against the wall to make room.

Declan's skin is ghost-white, his shirt torn and soaked through, and his eyes are closed.

"OH MY GOD!" I scream and run to him, shoving one of the men aside.

When I get closer, I see Declan's face is gray; his lips are slightly blue. His breathing comes in shallow gasps.

One of the men turns to me. Shane. I know him. He's around a lot.

"He's hurt bad," Shane says, rubbing his forehead.

"Okay, what the hell does that mean?" I snap unintentionally, grabbing Declan's arm.

"Stabbed there," Shane points to a dark, saturated patch on Declan's left side.

I grab Declan's shirt and rip it open, buttons scattering across the floor. The wound is deep, ragged at the edges. A knife wound, not a clean one. Blood still oozes from it, thick and dark.

"Holy fuck. He needs to go to the hospital," I say, pressing my palm against the wound.

"No," Shane says firmly. "He said no hospitals. Just you."

I look at Declan, willing his eyes to open.

"Declan," I say, grabbing his face. "Declan, can you hear me?"

Nothing.

His skin is cold and clammy and he's too pale.

"Fuck. Fuck, I don't, I don't know what to do. He's losing blood. He needs..." My voice breaks. I have nothing here. No supplies, no equipment. Nothing to stop him from bleeding out on his own dining table. "I really think we should bring him..."

"The basement," Nina steps forward, wiping tears from her face.

I whip my head around. "What?"

"Come. Now. I'll show you. Hurry."

I look around at no one in particular; I can't seem to focus. "Keep pressure on the wound."

A man nods and I take off, chasing Nina through the house.

I take the corner too fast, slamming my shoulder into the wall. Pain explodes down my arm, but I ignore it, keeping pace with Nina as she leads me down a hallway I've never explored.

She throws open a door, revealing stairs leading down into darkness. I grip the banister as we descend, my hand streaking Declan's blood across everything I touch.

At the bottom, Nina fumbles with a light switch, then pushes open another door.

Fluorescent lights flicker on, so bright they make me squint. I step inside and freeze.

It's a fully equipped medical room. A hospital-grade gurney sits in the center. Steel cabinets line the walls, and I can see through the glass doors that they're stocked with medical supplies. There's monitoring equipment, an anesthesia machine, even an ultrasound.

"Jesus, he's got everything."