A gunshot.

There was shuffling of feet as her eyes drooped down. The Darkness was fighting to take over her body and rule over who she was. She was seeing stars and the endless galaxy, feeling the freedom being taken away from her. The taste of the living was leaving her.

But the angel whose face she saw wanted her to fight. "Zara!"

She heard him.

So clearly.

"Stay awake, Zara!" He cupped her face, his hands warm. The smell of gunpowder was taken over by a sweet smell that reminded her of how she would feel about petrichor. "Stay awake for me! Open your eyes."

She tried to.

She really did.

"Talk to me. Hey." He softly patted her face, but that only made her want to close her eyes even more.

"I want to sleep." She mumbled. Or maybe she didn't.

She heard a small chuckle that sounded like ringing bells. "You will. Soon. But stay with me for now. Concentrate on my voice."

She felt the ground beneath her give way as she was lifted from the ground. She was in the arms of her angel. The sweet smell consumed her completely and her head rested against his chest.

"Zara?"

"Mmh?" She tried to call for him.

He sighed in relief. She felt the weight on his chest come down. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Hell?

"Home." She whispered.

"Oh, Zara...."

She felt the hair being brushed away from her eyes. She tried to look up at him but it was so dark. So very dark. She looked at his silhouette and recognised his voice.

He had found her after all.

He had saved her again.

Deja vu.

Her eyes fluttered open to take another glimpse at him. "My head...." Her face was burning up, her hair was wobbly. "I can't...."

"Ssh. Don't talk." He spoke. "Stay with me."