How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Jarrod's brow was deeply furrowed, his vision shrouded in darkness.

Elodie's panicked voice barely pulled him back to consciousness for a fleeting instant. With great effort, he lifted a trembling hand and gently touched the back of her head. "It's all right... Andrea and the others will be here soon. Don't be scared..."

His voice was barely a whisper, thin and weak.

But to Elodie, every word felt like a needle piercing her heart, the ache spreading through her chest and lungs.

Ignoring the searing pain in her arm-likely fractured from the impact-she scrambled off Jarrod's body. Her hands shook as she reached for his, completely lost as to what to do. "Tell me where it hurts, Jarrod. Please, open your eyes and look at me."

She desperately tried to find the source of his injury.

But she barely dared to touch him.

After all, her entire adult weight had crashed down on him from the second floor. The damage to him had to be severe.

Even though she was already as light as she could possibly be.

Jarrod's eyelids were unbearably heavy; her words barely registered in his mind. Suddenly, Elodie's hand came away slick and warm with blood.

The heat of it made her heart clench painfully, and her face turned deathly pale. That warmth meant he was still bleeding-badly.

She knelt at his side, body shaking with cold, her expression crumbling. Her voice was hoarse as she called out, "Ivan! Andrea! Hurry, bring the car! He-he needs a hospital, now!"

jumped out, visibly shaken, and immediately hefted Jarrod onto her back, hauling him

distance as

shoulder, climbed in

tore through the streets to the

lane was cleared for them, and Jarrod was rushed

room, her head ringing with

trembling, but she just stared at the closed doors, not shedding

first to notice Elodie's arm was clearly injured. She hurried to

quickly examined Elodie's arm, frowning. "How

fixed on the surgery doors, swallowing hard against

"That high? It's only

cut straight

It was true.

shielded her with his body, she wouldn't have survived the

time. "You'll need surgery

were red and burning as she turned to Andrea. "Please, keep this under

the gravity of the situation and nodded

the unrelenting pain coursing through

could no longer move it at

was a night

dealt with Malcom, his face was drawn and ashen. He was out of breath as he asked