MARA'S BREATHING HAD BECOME LABORED.

emery tugged her button down off, folding it up into a rectangle and laying it on mara's stomach.

"okay, mara, you have to press down on this. i know it's gonna hurt but we have to stop the bleeding." emery explained, putting a light pressure on the shirt, mara gasping in pain.

"hey, she needs to get that shirt off." john b stated.

"hey, you hold this down, i'm gonna take the shirt off, okay?" emery explained, mara leaning forward so emery could take the button down she was wearing off her frame, passing it to john b. "okay, okay, you're good, lean back."

"i'm calling terrance." john b said, taking emery's phone from her back pocket and dialing terrance's number, putting the phone on speaker as emery continued to press on the rag, mara gripping the blonde's forearm tightly.

"did you get the gold?" terrance asked as soon as the call connected.

"yes, yes, we got the gold." emery stated, terrance and cleo beginning to celebrate on the other end. "but hey, listen, we got a problem. mara's been shot."

"what?" terrance asked.

"she's shot in the gut, we need your help." emery said, tossing the shirt that was now soaked in blood into the floorboard and grabbing the other shirt from john b's lap, pressing it down earning a scream of pain from mara.

"we're up in the cane field, a mile up on the left." john b explained as emery helped mara, the girl breathing heavily as emery continued to hold the cloth to her gun wound.

"where you at?"

"we don't know exactly- john b, drop a pin." emery ordered as she started to untie his bandana, placing it between the bloody shirt and mara's wound.

"we're on our way. we'll find you."

"hey, terrance and cleo are on the way, okay? you're gonna be alright." emery assured, flipping the shirt over so there was more fabric on the wound.

"i'm gonna go flag them down." john b said, getting out of the truck and sprinting back to the road, mara groaning as emery pressed down on the wound again.

"hey, hey, hang in there, you're gonna be okay." emery reminded, mara breathing heavily as tears ran down her face.

"ems, it hurts, it really hurts." mara choked as she grabbed onto emery's forearm again, squeezing it so tightly the girl worried it would snap.

"i know it does, i know, you're doing great though, okay? just stay awake, keep ahold of my arm, your doing good." emery encouraged, the sound of a truck door slamming behind them making both girls turn, mara regretting the action immediately after.

"mara!" cleo yelled, opening the door of the truck where the girl was sitting. she and emery put their arms around her shoulders, pulling her out of the truck.

"i just texted you the address of a doctor! tell him i sent you!" terrance yelled at the teens, who were helping mara into the truck cleo and terrance had brought.

"okay, it's a hospital isn't it?" emery confirmed.

"no. you wanna get caught?" terrance fired.

"i don't give a shit, terrance, she needs a hospital!" emery yelled, she and cleo helping mara into the truck, emery running back to grab shirts and other stuff to cover the wound.

"he's better than any of the doctors in that shitcan. he's my guy. he got ya." terrance explained, leaning into the truck to talk to mara, grabbing her hand. "mara, you gon' be okay. okay, girlie? just breathe, relax. everything's good."

mara was still crying, holding down on the wound on her stomach as emery and john b climbed in front the drivers side, removing the shirt emery had put on it as the melville tugged her tshirt off, pressing it onto the wound as john b slammed the door shut behind him.

"we're gonna meet at the wharf in eight hours." terrance said firmly. "no more. it is hot as hell out there. my guys good. he's gonna take care of your,
girlie." he assured mara. "emery, blondie, you just keep doing what you're doing, you're doin' great, baby."

"this is your guy, right?" john b confirmed, showing the pin to terrance.

"that's him. he got you. he's a good guy." terrance explained to them, mara's breathing still heavy as she leaned back as far as she could in her sleep.

"terrance?" mara asked, her voice shaking with fear and pain. "thank you."

"we're good, girlie." terrance assured, cleo coming to john b's window.

"hey, hey. you're gonna need some money." cleo whispered, passing the gold that emery had given them a couple days before to john b. "john b, take care of my girls. mara, emery, you're fighters. hold on! hold on!" she yelled, reaching through the window and grabbing both girls by the hands before running in front of the truck, smacking the hood repeatedly. "go! go! go! go!"

john b started the truck, speeding backwards before turning and steering back onto the highway, mara groaning every time they hit a bump.

"what if they- what if they take the gold?" she choked out, voice still shaking.

"hey, screw the gold." emery exclaimed. "i don't give a shit about the gold, we're gonna get you to the doctor, we're gonna take care of you."

"she's right." john b agreed. "the gold doesn't matter anymore, mar, we just want you to be okay."

john b had to swerve to avoid a tractor, glancing between his phone and the road every couple of seconds.

"hold that down, okay? i know it hurts but don't let up." emery mumbled to mara, taking the phone from john b's hand so she could give directions.

"hey, it's okay. it's okay. it's okay." john b assured mara.

"we've got four miles, mar. hang in there, you're doing great." emery added, but the pain was becoming overwhelming. mara was holding onto her gut with insane pressure, pressing her legs so hard against the floor of the truck that she was practically leaning against the seat while she was standing.

"just hang on. everything's gonna be fine." john b told the stevens girl, who was crying and holding onto the door of the truck.

"you're good, you're doing good." emery mumbled. "john b, turn left."

john b turned down an alley, stopping in front of the building that the gps indicated to stop at, the routledge practically kicking the door open as he and emery climbed out of the truck.

"go inside, find the doctor." emery demanded, john b turning to go inside the building. she pulled open mara's door, putting her arm around the girl and pulling her out of the truck, the girl gasping in pain. "that's it, you're good, you're doing good."

"guys! in here!" john b called, emery pulling the limping girl down the sidewalk and around a corner behind john b, the boy hitting the button on the buzzer repeatedly. "come on!"

"what do you want?"

"i'm looking for dr. nygard." john b explained

"dr. nygard's not here." the voice on the buzzer said, mara and emery's faces falling.

"okay, well do you know where we can find him?" john b asked.

"who are you?"

"i'm a friend of terrance's." john b stated. "okay, look, somebody's been shot."

"aw, hell." the voice spat. "there's a camera above you to your left. look at it and let me see your faces."

the trio turned, their eyes falling on the security camera placed below a balcony.

"alright, go through the bar. there's some stairs on the right."

"okay, come on." emery mumbled, throwing mara's arm over her shoulder and pulling her behind john b, the boy leading them through the bar. "hey, where are you?"

"here! right here!" the voice from the speaker called from around a corner. people moved out of the way, letting the group through as they rounded the corner, an old man standing at the top of a set of wooden stairs.

"hey!" emery yelled.

"yeah, yeah, over here- oh." the doctor trailed off. "it's not her head is it?"

"no, dumbass, does it look like it's her head?" emery spat.

"no, it's not her head- come on, guys." john b mumbled, moving up the stairs ahead of the girls.

"i don't do heads." the doctor continued.

"are you that senile that you're deaf? i told you it's not her head." emery spat, mara groaning as she walked up the stairs, emery practically carrying her the entire way up. "two more steps, come on, you're doing great."

"woah, woah." the doctor said, pulling the hem of mara's shirt away to examine the wound. "ah."

"is that good, bad, what is it?" emery demanded.

"go to the left over there." he instructed, mara gasping as emery wrapped her arm around her shoulders again, pulling her through the door the doctor had instructed them to go through.

"hey, we're almost there, come on- john b, get your head out of your ass and open the damn door!" emery yelled, john b running over to open the door for the girls, emery pulling mara through the entryway.

"ah, looks like they got you pretty good, didn't they?" the doctor asked from behind the girls.

"where do you want her?" emery called to the doctor, john b still in front of them, prepared to do anything emery yelled at him to do.

"take her straight down the hallway here." the doctor ordered calmly, shutting the door behind him as he followed the group inside, emery doing as she was told as she helped mara, who's feet were beginning to slip out from under her as her knees buckled, the melville resisting the urge to just throw her over her shoulder.

"damn, she's in worse shape than i am." the doctor added.

"so do something about it!" emery snapped.

"we got a feisty one, do we?" the doctor questioned. "put her up on that table, right there." he instructed. john b turned, picking mara up bridal style and laying her down across the table, the girl groaning in pain as he did.

"i'm sorry, i'm so sorry." john b apologized profusely.

"it's alright." the doctor replied nonchalantly. "hang on a second."

mara was holding onto the table with one hand. john b had backed away, emery walking around the table, mara's other hand gripping onto hers tightly, tears running down the stevens girl's face.

"stay with us, stay with us- hey, you're going great, okay? you've just gotta hang in there, okay, you're gonna be fine." emery soothed, smoothing back some of mara's hair with her free hand as the doctor walked back in, carrying a tray of supplies with him.

"let's take a look at this thing." the doctor said, moving mara's shirt to get a look at the wound. "so what're we got here? ah. oh boy."

"what, what, what?" emery asked, john b and the doctor looking at the wound. "she's gonna be okay, isn't she?"

"that remains to be seen." the doctor replied, freakishly calm. he ran an into the arm that mara wasn't using to hold onto emery like a lifeline and put the girl on a heart monitor, which was beeping steadily, before turning to john b. "put some pressure on that wound."

"yes, sir." john b replied. "what kind of doctor are you?"

"i'm not a doctor." he replied quietly, emery raising her eyebrows at him.

"you better be joking." she spat.

"not in the eyes of the law." he continued. "i'm more like a service provider."

"what does that mean?" john b asked, the old man retrieving his medical supplies from around the room.

"tell you what, if you find a cure for arthritis in med school, the higher-ups don't like it very much. you know, the powers that be don't give a damn about curing anything." the doctor explained. "all they care about's the green stuff, the money, you follow me?"

"yeah, yeah." john b said quickly. "is there anything else we should be doing? we don't know anything about this."

"yeah, just be quiet a bit." the doctor replied. "take that off and let me study it a minute." he told the boy, who removed the cloth that he had put over the wound as the doctor looked at it.

"she doesn't look like she's bleeding much now." emery stated hopefully. mara's grip on her hand loosened, suggesting that the girl had fully passed out due to the exhaustion and the pain.

"that's because she's not, on the outside, anyways. she's bleeding a lot on the inside." the doctor said bluntly.

"what does that mean?" john b asked, sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

he and mara were always arguing about something. the fact that she was emery's best friend and he was emery's boyfriend didn't help at all, but the truth was that they both cared about each other.

"it means i can go in." the doctor explained, holding up an scalpel.

"you're gonna clean that, right?" emery asked shakily, the girl's previously calm demeanor she had put on to help relax mara faltering more by the second.

"good call, blondie." the doctor mumbled, dropping the tool into a bowl of what emery assumed to be rubbing alcohol sitting next to him on the table. "now when i do go in, she's gonna lose a lot of blood."

"okay." emery whispered.

"and it may kill her." the doctor added.

"no, no, no." emery whispered, stepping away and raking her fingers through her hair.

"or it may not kill her." the doctor continued. "the point is i can't be held liable for this either way."

"you're not liable, okay?" john b stated, emery still pacing circles around the room, with her hands in her hair, clearly not in a state to answer any questions or make any decisions.

"yeah. there's one more thing." the doctor continued. "job like this costs 4k."

emery practically ran back to john b's bag, tugging it open and pulling the gold out, which she tossed on the table for the doctor to see.

"there's the money." the girl said. "now help her, and tell us what to do."

"that's all we've got." john b told him shakily.

"you're shitting me." the doctor whispered, picking it up and examining it.

"are you waiting for it to turn a different shade of gold? you've got the money, now do your job!" emery demanded, the doctor glancing up at her. he tossed the gold down, grabbing the scalpel out of the bowl of alcohol.

"hold that back." he instructed, pointing to mara's shirt.

"doc?" john b whispered. "please save her." the doctor didn't say anything, just looked at him for a moment before starting his job, emery grabbing mara's hand tightly as she crouched down next to the table.

MARA WAS GETTING STITCHED UP.

her heart monitor was still beeping steadily. emery's legs burned, begging her to stand, but she couldn't bare to look at her friend.

"that was no garden-variety extraction, i can tell you that." the doctor stated, emery watching from the floor as he stitched the girl's wound closed. "okay, give me the scissors." he paused as john b passed him what he needed. the routledge had helped him the entire time, while also doing his best to console emery. "and then get me that salty dog, if you would, please."

john b went across the room to grab the man's glass, which he downed in one drink. emery finally stood up. they had cleaned the blood from mara's skin, the girl no longer looking like she was in such bad shape.

"what now?" john b asked.

"we wait." the doctor said shortly. "and hope she wakes up. time for a refill." he stated, going into his office to pour himself another drink.

"we're good though, right?" john b asked.

"only time will tell." the doctor called back.

"do you need a minute?" john b asked emery, who stood in silence for a moment before turning towards the office the doctor had disappeared into.

"how much for me to get one of those drinks?"

EMERY HAD GONE OUTSIDE TO BREATHE.

the doctor had poured her a drink, which she was sipping on steadily, pacing back and forth on the deck outside. suddenly, john b ran through the door.

"something's happening." he breathed. emery dropped her glass, running inside, john b behind her.

"doc!" john b called. "doc, come here."

"can you feel it?" he asked, referring to mara's pulse.

"in her neck, but not in her wrist." john b stated.

"oh shit." the doctor mumbled, walking around the table.

"what do you want us to do?" emery asked.

"she's got too much fluid already." the doctor explained, most likely talking to himself. "mores gonna kill her. she should be waking up." he stated, shutting off the iv in mara's arm.

"emery?" mara whispered feebly, the melville shoving john b out of the way as she bolted to mara's side, grabbing her hand and leaning over her.

"hey, hey, it's me." she whispered, trying to keep her voice steady. "john b's here too."

"hang on, i gotta go get something, i'll be right back." the doctor said, john b stepping back as emery leaned over mara's bed, using one hand to push her hair back.

"you've been out for hours." emery mumbled.

"sleepyhead." john b added, moving to the other side of mara's bed as the doctor yelled various things from the other room.

"emery?" mara repeated.

"hey, hey, you're okay, you're doing great." emery whispered. "we're gonna get you out of here and we're gonna go meet up with terrance and cleo and stubby and we're gonna get the gold, and then we get to go home, you get to see jj again."

"i can't feel my body." mara whispered, emery smoothing her hair back repeatedly. and shaking her head.

"no, no, you're okay. you're fine, just listen to us, okay?" emery whispered, nodding between herself and john b. "you're gonna see jj again, okay?"

"if i don't make it-" mara stated, her voice choking, emery shaking her head.

"don't talk like that, you're gonna be fine." john b soothed, cupping the side of the girl's face and running a finger under her eye. "we'll leave this creepy doctor's office, and everything's gonna be okay."

"just stay with us, alright?" emery whispered, running a finger over mara's knuckles. the girl's eyes closed lightly, her heart monitor beeping frantically now. "doc?"

"hey, doc?" john b called.

"hold on, i'll be right there!" the doctor yelled back.

the monitor flatlined.

"doc! hey!" john b yelled, emery's breathing speeding up.

"no, no, no." she mumbled. "mara? mara, hey- mara, wake up!"

suddenly, the doctor reentered the room. "do either of you know cpr?"

"i do." emery spoke up.

"great, do it until i tell you to stop." the doctor ordered, emery folding her hands and pressing on mara's sternum, counting under her breath. "try not to break her ribs."

mara's body only shook limply as emery did the chest compressions, still counting under her breath.

"hey, ems, you're doing great." john b whispered. "just keep it up, you're doing good."

"okay." the doctor said, emery stopping as he placed a mask over mara's face, using it three times to pump air into her lungs. "okay, again."

emery started on the chest compressions again, still counting under her breath as john b encouraged her from across the table. emery's movements became more aggressive, like she though if she did the compressions with more force, it would make mara wake up.

"stop." the doctor commanded, but emery kept going. john b rounded the table, wrapping his arms around the girl tightly, forcing her to stop despite her fighting him all the while. the doctor didn't put the mask over mara's face. instead, he leaned over, looking at the wound.

"what're you doing?" emery demanded. "what's going on- what?" she yelled, the doctor slowly standing up and looking at her with remorse, the monitor beeping off as the doctor turned away. "why are you walking away- help me- help her!" emery demanded, john b's arms still wound tightly around her.

"she's just lost too much blood, kids." the doctor stated bluntly, john b immediately letting go of emery. "i'll leave you with her."

"no." emery whispered. "no- get back here and help her!" she shouted.

"ems..." john b trailed off, attempting to put his arms around her again, but emery shoved him off her.

"no! no, she's gonna be fine- she has to be fine!" emery yelled, tears running down her face for the first time that day. she walked back over to mara, staring on chest compressions again, john b just standing away from her. she stopped, walking over to the filing cabinet where the doctor had set the mask, pressing it over mara's face and giving her a couple of puffs of air, the melville breathing heavily.

"one, two three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." she mumbled between compressions, her voice trailing off as tears ran down her face, the girl stopping before putting the mask back on mara's face. "come on, mara, wake up."

"emery..." john b mumbled.

"no- no, i'm not stopping." emery said abruptly. "stay with me, please." she whispered, starting to do compressions again, john b's arms snaking around her waist.

"it's no good, emery." john b mumbled in her ear, his voice shaking. she stopped, turning around and pushing him off her again, this time into the wall.

"what if it was me?" she yelled. "you wouldn't stop. you wouldn't give up on me. but jj isn't here- and even if he was, i wouldn't give up on her." emery said, but her whole body raked with a sob as she tried to continue her compressions, john b still standing with his back against the wall.

"come on." emery whimpered as she cried, pressing the mask back over mara's mouth and giving her a few more puffs of air, the girl sniffling as she continued to cry, slapping her friend's face repeatedly. "wake up, wake up- wake up!" she screamed, kicking the side table with the doctor's supplies on it, the bowl with the alcohol shattering on the ground.

from behind her, emery could hear john b crying too, but he hadn't tried to stop emery again, the girl starting on her compressions again.

"hey!" emery attempted to speak calmly, but her voice cracked. "please, please stay with me- please don't die." she begged, pushing mara's hair back and running her fingers through it, her whole body shaking as she cried, the girl eventually collapsing, falling onto mara's chest and sobbing. she sat up again after a couple seconds.

"come on- wake up!" she screamed in mara's face. "mara- wake up!" she continued her compressions again, her whole body shaking the entire time, mara's moving limply back and fourth due to the pressure of the compressions, but her whole body was limp. emery stopped, grabbing the table she had kicked down and throwing it into the wall across the room, raking her fingers through her hair as john b stared at her in disbelief, tears running down his face.

emery leaned against the table, sobbing into her hands before she knelt down on her knees, covering her mouth with her hand as she continued to push mara's hair back, her hands trembling as she did.

"i love you." she whispered. "you're my best friend- i love you so much." she repeated, choking on another sob as she shoved her own hair back out of her face, laying her head on the table.

suddenly, the monitor started beeping again, john b turning almost immediately. emery turned too, but slower, watching as the line started to raise up and down feebly, but still, it was moving.

"you did it, ems." john b whispered happily as he placed his fingers on mara's wrist, emery slowly standing back up.

"doc!" she yelled. "get your ass in here- the monitor's going!"

the old man came through the door, looking at the monitor and checking mara's pulse in her wrist before slowly turning towards emery.

"you crazy bitch." he whispered, emery still pushing mara's hair back, smiling weakly up at him, the man nodding in response, a thin smile on his own lips.

"you can breathe now." john b choked out, emery holding back another sob. "she's gonna be okay." he added, wrapping his arms around her again. this time, emery accepted the gesture, leaning into her boyfriend and burying her face in his shoulder.

he had rarely seen emery cry.

she was always there for everyone, she was the shoulder he and jj cried on when they needed to let loose, when things were becoming too much for them. emery was the person everyone came to when they needed help.

but as john b held the shaking melville in his arms, he knew that she was seconds away from losing the person who meant more to her than he did, someone who was her partner in crime, who she stole beers with, who she constantly bailed on him to have sleepovers with- emery had almost lost her best friend.

emery had said before the two things she cared about most was her family and the pogues, but john b knew there was a special category for mara. the two had been through everything together, from persecution by the kook academy to now running from the cops. john b knew that emery losing mara was the equivalent of him losing jj.

emery's body fell limp in his arms, the girl having fallen asleep, the exhaustion from the day hitting her like a ton of bricks, despite the clock on the wall only reading five. john b carefully moved to the chair behind him, sitting down with emery on his lap as the girl curled into his body, her arms wrapping around his torso.

the monitor was still beeping, signaling that mara was still alive. it was that beeping that was faint, but still there in her state of subconscious, that allowed emery to fall asleep.

kens speaks 🪐

over 4k words again??? who am i??

mara almost dying like the lil attention seeker she is

anywho this was hella tense to write and i almost cried multiple times so there's that