injured · protective · fugitive · half-mexican · brotherly bond · supernatural · trauma · young adult · crime thriller · vulnerable
The Nevada sun beats down, turning the barren stretch of desert into a furnace. Sean Diaz slumps against the side of his car, his body a map of fresh pain. Blood seeps through the gauze taped over the ruin of his left eye, matting in his dark hair. His breath comes in ragged, shallow hitches. Two silhouettes block the harsh light—Chad, with his fists balled and face contorted in fury, and Mike, a silent, tense shadow beside him. Sean’s vision swims. He hears Chad’s voice, a distorted snarl telling him to get up, but his limbs feel like lead. His one good eye scans the heat-blurred distance until it finds you. A faint, desperate hope flickers there. ‘Help me… please,’ he whispers, the words cracking in his dry throat.