Jingle balls
789 Words
*Karolina*
My eyes stings, blurring the scene before me, and I wonder if it might be a blessing. But I can still see Ryan's face, usually so full of cocky charm, and how it is now etched with grim determination. .
My heart hammers a frantic rhythm against my ribs, a desperate, futile protest against the inevitable. I do not want to die, and not like this… this doesn’t even feel like my damned battle.
I close my eyes, bracing for the impact, the pain… anything. It should be quick at least, I tell myself, trying to find some sliver of comfort in the brutality of the end I am facing. But even that small mercy feels out of reach.
To be honest I want to scream, to rage, to curse them all to hell, including Ryan, but all that comes out is a choked sob.
Then, a sound reaches us from above. A deep, resonant thrumming that slices through the deadly silence. My eyes snap open. I see it then, a dark shape silhouetted against the darkening sky, like a monstrous bird of prey descending from the heavens.
It’s the Duckling..
Clearly the others reached it as I see Sebastian. He's there, hanging precariously from the side, a blur of motion as his weapon spits precise, deadly bursts of fire. Each shot finds its mark, in a controlled rain of destruction.
Ryan’s yell cuts through the noise, his voice raw, "Karolina! Down!" He pulls his own weapon, the report of gunfire echoing the furious staccato of Sebastian's shots.
I drop to the deck instinctively, Not feeling the least safe as bullets whizz past my head. It's chaos. Pure, adrenaline-fueled chaos. I cover my head, praying for me, and for the others.
Then suddenly, a hand grabs me, pulling me hard against a solid, comforting form. Holly's face, grim and determined, is close to mine. I got you, just hold on.”
She's fast and efficient as always; I barely register her movements as she snaps a harness around me, Securing me to her body.
Then I feel myself being hoisted, lifted into the air, the sounds of battle fading slightly as we rise. We're being pulled upward, soaring above the mayhem below. I am sorely hoping they are to busy trying to take out Ryan and Sebastian to notice us.
Safely inside the Duckling, the roar of the engines fades out all other sounds. My body trembles, as Holly unclip me from the harness. The adrenaline still coursing through my veins, but the terrifying certainty of death is gone.
"Ryan?" I gasp, my voice trembling. The adrenaline is fading, leaving a bone-deep exhaustion and a shaky relief in its wake.
Sebastian grins, a wicked glint in his eye. "Should we just leave him? He did put us through quite the spectacle."
"No!" I exclaim, my voice sharper than intended. "We can't leave him." The thought is absurd, unthinkable. My heart aches with a mixture of terror and some kinda affection that I hadn't fully realized until now.
Sebastian laughs, a low rumble in his chest. "Don't worry, darling. Holly's just sent down the harness. Our fearless rogue will be joining us momentarily."
A moment later, Ryan is hauled into the Duckling, his face a mixture of relief and annoyance. "Seriously? No VIP treatment? Holly could have at least come down for me too. This harness is practically strangling my poor balls!" he complains, his voice laced with pain, and a familiar swagger already attempting a comeback.
I rush to him, my arms wrapping tightly around him in a hug so fierce it leaves me breathless. “Боже мой,” I murmur, the Russian words escaping my lips in a choked whisper.
“Are you thanking God for my crushed balls?” He grins. “Or just happy I am safe.”
“The second,” I say, feeling my cheeks heat up.
He chuckles, his arms tightening around me. "Well, that's a relief. Although, I've had better landings. And less… intimate harnessing experiences." He grumbles, but the sound is laced with affection, the tension visibly easing from his body.
“Oh stop bitching,” Holly tells him, as she is stripping herself into her seat. “Bust be happy that something wanted to touch those for you.”
“Ha ha,” Ryan barks and sticks out his tongue at Holly.
Tommy is laughing and Sebastian groans from his seat, “please grow up, and find your seats.”
As soon as Ryan has me strapped in and slumps into his own seat he Duckling takes off, soaring into the night sky, leaving the chaos of the lagoon far below.
“So where to now?” Holly asks.
- Writer
