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“Ow… They got me.” I tried to laugh it off, feeling the blood pool on the floor, hot liquid burning away in contrast to my cold feet. “You might want to send some backup.”
“Phoenix, hold on. Can you hold off for a couple of minutes? EVAC will be there soon. Please stay awake. We’ll be there soon enough.”
“I’ll be alright. Don’t worry about it.” I pressed onto the wound, secretly hoping that I wouldn’t pass out. He doesn’t need to see this. He doesn’t need to see this. He doesn’t need to see… this.
I bit my lip as I accidentally pressed too hard on the wound, barely stopping the whimper from escaping. “It’s fine. Just the wrong spot being pressed on. Haha.”
“I suggest you stop moving, Agent. We’ll locate you soon enough.” His frantic voice gave me pause.
“I was moving?” As soon as I mumbled that, the lightheadedness came back, forcing me to tilt my body to look for the nearest wall. “Sorry. Uhhh…”
The silence from his end concerned me more than the fact I felt sticky all over as the wall started smelling of metal. “Sir?”
“Agent Phoenix, please continue pressing on the wound. I… I’m not there to help you. I’m so sorry. Please hold on.”
“It’s not the first time, Handler Sir.” I fought back a chuckle as I tried not to choke back the tears. “It’ll be alright.”
There was silence between us, only the background machinery filling the space, its vibrations barely keeping the haze from fully submerging me back to that room.
“Agent, as much as I appreciate the comfort, I want you to live. Please, live. If not for yourself, for me. I… It’s not the first time you nearly died. And last time was my fault. I’m sorry. But if I were to be selfish, I want you to stick around, annoy me if you want, break protocol, anything.”
“It was not your fault. It’s so different from the first times I bled out and died.” A sardonic laugh emerged from my lips as I tried closing my eyes.
“Sir, this is the worst vacation I’ve ever been on.” I mumbled as I pressed on the wound, secretly gritting my teeth at the fact I wasn’t able to dodge well enough. How rude of them to just shoot without knocking the first time.
I was still getting used to the whole “dying” thing. Thankfully, the previous deaths were quick and relatively painless.
He remained silent. “Handler Sir, do you have a visual on the other assailants?”
“I do, indeed. Just keep pressing on the wound.” His voice was rather calm. “They seem rather focused, don’t you think?”
“More on swift. Sheesh, I barely dodged the bullet. Heh.” I tried not to look at the red pool growing from my side.
“Indeed you did, Agent. How are you feeling?”
“I feel a bit woozy? No idea. But seriously. This is rather bad. It was so hard to sweet talk the train staff to get me a gift, you know?”
“Why didn’t you just continue pressing the button?”
“Do I look like someone who would do that?” I feigned offense, the pressure from my side weakening. “Besides, I didn’t want to be blacklisted in case I come back.”
“... I’m… sorry, Agent.”
“Sir, I’m still here. How close are they?”
“They’re quite close. Hold on. I’m getting a signal. Oh dear… Agent, I want you to stay calm. I don’t think it’s–”
The signal cut out and I heard several footsteps approach my location.