Chaos didn’t wait. It swallowed everything. Gunfire cracked through the air—sharp, relentless—echoing off the concrete like it had nowhere else to go.

Someone shouted While Someone else dropped. Someone else ran the wrong way. And for half a second—

Everything threatened to spiral.

“Stop running!”

My voice cut through it before I could think. Louder than I expected. Sharper.

“Perimeter—hold your positions!” I snapped, turning toward the nearest group. “Drivers stay low! If you move, you’re a target!”

They froze. Not completely. But enough. Enough to listen.

Good.

“Stay behind cover!” I added, already moving. “Don’t engage unless you have to—we’re not here for a war!”

A body hit the ground nearby.

Hard. I turned immediately.

“Here,” I said, dropping to my knees beside him.

Blood. Too much. Too fast.

“Pressure,” I ordered, grabbing his hand and forcing it over the wound. “Don’t move it.”

“I—I can’t—”

“You can,” I cut in. “Or you bleed out. Pick one.”

That shut him up.

Good.

My bag hit the ground beside me, hands already moving—gauze, compression, stabilize—

“Left side clear!” someone shouted.

“Keep it that way!” I snapped back.

“Dylan.” With these circumstances, I didn't reprimand her for not calling me doctor.

She was there. Of course she was. Already kneeling across from me, hands steady as she passed me what I needed before I even asked.

“Pulse is weak,” she said quickly.

“I know.”

“Bleeding’s not slowing—”

“It will.”

Because it had to. Because I didn’t have time for it not to.

“Hold him,” I added.

She did.

No hesitation.

Never did.

Another shot rang out—closer this time.

Too close.

I looked up—

And there he was.

Standing in the middle of it like the chaos didn’t belong to him.

Adrian.

Unshaken.

Unmoved.

Surrounded. Of course he was.

“…you’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered.

I pushed to my feet immediately.

“Keep pressure!” I told her.

“I’ve got him—go!”

I didn’t hesitate.

Didn’t think.

Just moved.

“Are you trying to die?” I snapped at him the second I got close enough.

His head turned. Sharp and Fast. Recognition hit immediately.

“…you,” he said.

Not surprised.

Just—

Certain.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

I let out a short breath.

“Saving your behind, obviously.”

A beat. Then—

“…I don’t recall asking for help.”

I scoffed.

“Yeah, well, you’re getting it anyway.”

Movement to the left—

I grabbed his arm without thinking, pulling him just enough to avoid the next shot—

“Move when I tell you,” I added sharply.

His gaze dropped—

To my hand. Still on him. Then back to my face. Something shifted. Again.

“…you’re giving me orders now?” he said quietly.

“Yeah,” I shot back. “Try listening for once.”

Another shot—

Closer. Too close.

“Down!” I snapped, dragging him with me behind cover. Concrete chipped where we’d just been standing.

“…this is your plan?” he asked.

I glanced at him.

Then back at the field.

“Not anymore,” I muttered.

Because this—

This was worse than I thought. More people. More movement. More—

“Dylan!”

Her voice cut through everything.

Different this time. Urgent. I turned. And saw it immediately. One of ours—

Down. Not moving. Too still.

“…stay here,” I told him.

He didn’t respond but I was already moving.

“Move!” I barked as I reached them, shoving one person aside just enough to get to the injured man.

“Give me space!”

They did Immediately with No hesitation.

No argument.

Just—

Trust. I dropped beside him, hands already working.

Pulse—

Faint.

Breathing—

Shallow.

Blood—

Everywhere.

“…damn it,” I muttered.

“Can you save him?” someone asked.

I didn’t answer. Didn’t have time.

“Clamp,” I said. She passed it. Of course she did.

“Hold him steady.”

Already done. My hands moved faster now. Cleaner. More precise. Everything else faded, except the doctor's medical knowledge.

With the Noise, Gunfire and Shouting, it Didn’t matter.

Just this. Just him. Just—

“Stay with me,” I said under my breath. “You’re not done yet.”

A breath. Weak. But there. Good.

“Again,” I muttered. “Come on.”

Pressure. Adjust. Hold. Don’t lose it. Don’t—

“…he’s stabilizing,” she said quietly.

I exhaled. Just once.

“…yeah,” I replied. “He is.”

When I finally looked up—

He was still there. Of course he was. Watching. Not the fight. Not the chaos. But Me.

His gaze didn’t waver.

Didn’t shift.

Just—

Studied and Measured me.

Like he was putting something together. Piece by piece.

“…you’re not what I expected,” he said.

The words were quiet.

But they cut through everything else.

I didn’t answer. Didn’t have one. Because right now—

That didn’t matter.

What mattered was—

Everyone here was still breathing.

And for the first time since this started—

That felt like something I could actually control.