Saraphine grasped her sisters hand tightly as they ran around the gunfire, trying to avoid the thick of it. The streets were filled with noise and thankfully Sara didn't need to make noise to communicate with the small child beside her. She simply led her away from the fighting and let go of her hand. She signed to her in quick, jerky motions. Frantic, but she would understand. Her sister nodded to tell her she was okay before they set off again, avoiding as well as they could the noises of both the clickers she heard in the distance and the sound of the hunters.
They ran for only a few minutes more before Sara felt the tightening of her chest and began to gasp for air. Emiline immediately drew the old, but thankfully working, inhaler out of the backpack that was strapped to Saraphineand passed it to the heaving Sara. She nodded her thanks and drew in a deep breath while she pressed the inhaler to her lips. She felt a little better, but she wouldn't be running again. Besides, Emiline looked tired. Sara pointed to a nearby shelter that looked fortified enough, though a bit damaged. She quickly did the sign for "sleep" and took off, jogging as fast as the could manage.
And she almost made it too.
Sara was maybe three steps from the door when Emiline's fingers fell from her grasp and she whirled around, quickly dragging her knife from her pocket and turning on her heels.
"Hold it little missy," the hunter said as he pressed a gun to Emiline's small temple. The small girl had a look of pure terror on her face and Sara put the knife on the ground. She couldn't watch her sister die like that. She kicked the knife towards the hunter quickly. That didn't stop the hunter from bringing the but of the gun swiftly down onto Emiline's temple as a few of his friends circled around him.
"No!" Sara started to run towards Emiline's now-prone form, but another hunter grabbed her from behind and held her while she kicked and clawed. The hunter who had her wrapped his hands around her neck and she choked, gasping for air for the second time in only a few minutes. There was no easy fix for this though- black swam before her eyes in less than a minute and after two, she was out cold.
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Saraphine woke up before Emiline, grasping her neck and gasping for much-needed air. She didn't know where she was but her pack was still safely around her back, which was something at least. Though she didn't doubt they had taken her important things. There were two men in the room already awake, but Sara didn't care about them.
"Emi!" Sara drug herself to her feet and ran over to her sister, who was still out like a light. Sara grabbed her head and placed it on her knees, settling down now that she knew her sister was safe. After a few moments she took off the pack and checked the bag, which was mostly empty. They had, however, left her sister's teddy bear and her inhaler. No, they don't want me to die like that, she thought dryly as she removed the teddy bear and placed it in her sisters arms.
Sara looked up, then, at the others in the room. One had mentioned something about not wanting to die, and the other was helping the first up.
"I don't care about dying, frankly. As long as she doesn't," Sara stood up and carefully placed her pack under Emiline's head. She groaned and looked at the others wearily.
"I'm going to say it before someone else does though- it's useless to expect to survive for more than maybe another day, tops," Sara mumbled, looking down at the floor. She stayed like that for another moment before a small hand wrapped around her larger one and she turned to see her sister standing up and holding her hand, looking at her expectantly. Sara smiled. Her sister certainly knew how to keep quiet. Sara leaned on her knees and checked over her sister. She didn't seem too hurt.
Sara pulled her lips together and formed a slow whistle that went from high to low at varying speeds. It all lasted about five seconds, but Sara knew her sister understood from the way the small girl nodded. She was okay, or at least she felt like she was.