Blood was everywhere. Warm, slick, too real to be some nightmare my mind had conjured up. I tried to breathe, but each inhale rattled in my chest like glass breaking. The world around me dimmed, the sounds distorted, fading in and out as if someone was flicking a switch between life and silence.

Lucas.

Through the haze, through the ringing in my ears, I caught him. His face. His eyes wide with terror I never thought I’d see on him. His mouth moved, shouting something, maybe my name, but I ...