Des arrived by the taxi, saw Sheelagh�s scarf lying where it has fallen off her as she had escaped the attackers grasp the first time.
�Sheelagh!� He felt awful, he needed to find her�before anything worse happened. Not having heard Gina�s message relay about Slate road, he ran the opposite way, as it looked more promising�
I lay dying
And I�m pouring Crimson regret and betrayal
I�m dying, praying, bleeding, screaming
Am I too lost to be saved
�Was this what death was like?� Sheelagh wondered as she felt the knife numbly pierce her abdomen again. She felt herself transcending it all, floating upwards. �No!�, she had to stay, she had to save Patrick from Debbie, she had to show them who the attacker was, she had to see Des� Des, why was he entering her thoughts, Des, she couldn�t die yet. Her other self looked down upon Sheelagh�s prostrate body and reeled in shock�she wasn�t only being knifed. She tuned out. Everything went black.
Hold on to me love
You know I can�t stay long
All I wanted was to say I love you and I�m not afraid
Can you hear me?
Can you feel me in your arms
Des had finally found her, and struck a blow so hard at her attacker that now he lay prone on the ground. He didn�t care, all that mattered now was her� she had to live, she couldn�t die, he wouldn�t let her.
Look for me in the white forest
Hiding in a hollow tree (come find me)
I know you hear me
I can taste it in your tears
�Hold on Sheelagh�� Des pleaded with the unconscious blonde, cradling her in his arms, sopping up her blood with his jumper, his tears thinning the red flow. The medics arrived and surrounded him, taking her gently out of his arms and loading her on to a stretcher as if she were a bit of luggage. Gina Gold appeared in his train of vision.
�Go� she said, pointing to the ambulance. �I�ll speak with you later.�
Sitting in the ambulance, watching the medics work on her injuries, Des prayed. He hadn�t prayed for years, hadn�t believed in God for year, but right now, he needed to do something, needed something to hold on to. What if she did die? How would he live? He had not realised how much Sheelagh meant to him, how she was part of her life whether either of them liked it or not. She stirred beneath a medics hands.
�Des�� she didn�t know where she was, if he was there. Slowly things came into focus, he was there, leaning over her. �Oh god Des�� Their tears mingled on her cheeks.
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