Chapter 3
𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘑𝘑. "𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳! 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘌𝘮, 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮." 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘑 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘑𝘑 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳. "𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯, 𝘌𝘮! 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘥, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵?" 𝘑𝘑 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥. "𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴! 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭... 𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘸. "𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘺. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭?" "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?" 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥. 𝘒𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭? 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦. "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦?" 𝘑𝘑 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. "𝘐'𝘷𝘦... 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐?" 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘑𝘑 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. "𝘌𝘮, 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘴... 𝘐 - 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘪 𝘰𝘳 - 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘯." "𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘑𝘑. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘺..." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘑𝘑 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮. "𝘌𝘮, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘣𝘪. 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘺." "𝘕𝘰, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵... 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵? 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 - 𝘐 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 "𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺" 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦... 𝘨𝘢𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘑𝘑 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢. "𝘒𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘦." "𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺?" "𝘒𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘑 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. "𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘌𝘮. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘦." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘑 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦. "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘌𝘮𝘮𝘺. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰." 𝘑𝘑 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘑𝘑 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘱. 𝘑𝘑 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘑𝘑 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. "𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 -" 𝘑𝘑 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘑𝘑 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘱, 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴. 𝘑𝘑 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴, 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩. "𝘚𝘦𝘦?" 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘱. "𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳." 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥. "𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵, 𝘌𝘮. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 -" "𝘕𝘰, 𝘯𝘰, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵... 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘻𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘑𝘑 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥. "𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵, 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘦." 𝘑𝘑 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘑𝘑 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬. "𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘌𝘮𝘮𝘺." 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 "𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵" 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦, 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘑𝘑 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘑𝘑 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘑𝘑 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱, 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘪, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘑𝘑, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵.
Gunshots brought her back to reality. Reid helped her stand up, and they started walking further away from where it sounded like the gunshots came from. They couldn't risk getting seen, being targeted.
"Scratch is down. Repeat - Scratch is down." Luke's voice came over the walkie. Reid and Emily looked at each other, relieved that there was no longer a threat. They made their way outside.
"He fell trying to escape." Luke explained. The team stood there, relief but also sorrow washing over them. They never wanted any of the unsubs to die, but sometimes it's the best, or only, way.
Reid stayed by her side until the ambulance pulled up. Once it did, the paramedics immediately got Emily to lay down on the bed, telling her they needed to check her over once they got to the hospital. Emily nodded solemnly, she was exhausted and the adrenaline she had, had left her body. She decided to close her eyes, just to get some form of rest.
𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘴𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘑𝘑. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺, 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵. "𝘎𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?" 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘑𝘑, 𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳. "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴?" 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵. 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺. "𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦?" 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥'𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳. 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺. "𝘑𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳," 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺. "𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘬. "𝘐, 𝘶𝘩, 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘩." "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳. "𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹. 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳." "𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯." "𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘣. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?" 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴. "𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳?" "𝘕𝘰." 𝘈𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥. "𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺. 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳," 𝘋𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘬 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦. "𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘛𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘑 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵. "𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯... 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴, 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘋𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳. "𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘴. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥." "𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥. "𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥." "𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯." 𝘋𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘬 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦. "𝘕𝘰. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯." "𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦." "𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘦." "𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸." "𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘋𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘬 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦, 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶?" "𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨. "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵, 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺." "𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳?" 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺, 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. "𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵." 𝘋𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. "𝘕𝘰. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴? 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘦𝘯-" "𝘕𝘰." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘋𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘬. "𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺. 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺... 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬."𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘋𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘬'𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. "𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺?" "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. "𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳?" 𝘋𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘐𝘧 𝘑𝘑 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨? "𝘕𝘰. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦." 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮. "𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵." "𝘏𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺." "𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵." 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. "𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘦𝘵. 𝘐- 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘹 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵." 𝘋𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘑𝘑. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺." "𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺." 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘋𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘬 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰. "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?" "𝘜𝘩 - 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳" "𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 "𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳"." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩. "𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘗𝘎. 𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘭𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦." 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘉𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘬, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨.
After she had been cleared by the Paramedics and eventually the doctor at the hospital, Emily signed herself out and went home.
She almost immediately went into the kitchen to grab herself a bottle of scotch and a glass. She poured herself some alcohol, downing it straight away. She refilled her glass and sat down on her couch.
The fact that she had thought about JJ through the whole ordeal meant more than she wanted to admit. She laid back, hoping to get some sleep.