No... not like this.
Move, damn it—MOVE.
Alden thought as he tried to move his body.
Before he could do anything.
The woman kicked him again.
This time, Alden's body didn't fly.
It just sank in the ground.
The force of the blow crushed him straight into the earth, forming a deep crater.
Every movement hurt.
Then–
It all stopped.
He couldn't even move anymore.
His body no longer responded to thought.
His nerves had shut down.
His pain receptors had long since gone silent, no longer capable of transmitting the pain.
He didn't feel anything anymore.
Only the cold stillness of a body that had reached its limit.
He couldn't speak.
He couldn't scream.
Even breathing had become a half-conscious struggle.
Blood filled his throat.
Something sharp—maybe a broken rib—was stabbing his lung.
His gaze was unfocused and swimming in red.
Only one thought remained constant in his mind:
So this is it.
He had failed.
No. He was failing.
Not just for himself.
But for her.
