Chapter 33: Corpse

It's dark when I wake up again. I wince as I get up. With one hand pressed on my ribs and one on the wall beside me, I get on my feet. I wipe the leaves off my body and walk over to Winston. She hasn't moved.

'Winston,' I say, hesitantly. Her nose looks broken and there's a little dried-up blood under it.

I gently move her with my foot, but there is no reaction. I grow more worried, 'Winston?' I kneel beside her and grab her wrist to check for a pulse.

I think about the way she was slammed on the ground, the pain she must have suffered. She could have a broken spine, maybe even be paralysed. Sure, she's a vampire, so, she heals quickly, but this isn't just your average bar fight. She was attacked by an Alekti, not some drunken human.

'Winston?' I ask again. 'Don't die on me, now.'

And then I feel the pulse. I let out a sigh of relief. It's weak, but it's there.