I didn't hear the shot — just felt the impact, the white-hot pain that made me scream into Fao's fur. My leg spasmed, nearly losing my grip, and I felt the bullet punch through muscle and out the other side, burying itself in Fao's flank.
He stumbled but didn't stop. Didn't even slow down.
El! His voice in my head, frantic with terror. El, are you—
"Keep running!" I screamed through gritted teeth. Blood was soaking my pajama pants, hot and wet, but I could still feel my foot, could still grip with my legs. "Don't stop! Don't you f*****g stop!"
You're hit—
"It went through! I'm fine!" I wasn't fine. The pain was blinding, nauseating, but the bullet had passed clean through the meat of my thigh — missed the bone, missed the artery. I'd live. If we got out of here, I'd live. "How bad is
