"Guys," Caleb says from across the clearing. "We did it."

I take in the scene. Ash covers the ground, turning it grey. The moon looms above us, peaking through the canopy of leaves and illuminating the clearing. Our weapons are scattered around on the floor, fallen in the fray and covered in the small remains of vampires.

Caleb, sits, clutching his leg, which points at a funny angle. Blood pours from his cheek where his recent stitches have opened and from his arms where new cuts have taken place. His green eyes speak of victory, but his mouth is twisted in pain.

Zach sits next to me, his hand over mine on his swollen cheek. The side of his face is already a mottled blue and there's a large lump on his forehead. Blood covers almost every inch of his skin, most of it dry and congealing. Crimson coats his clothes as well, although I can't tell where it's coming from.

Hot liquid runs down my neck where the iron shards landed, and pain radiates from my every pore. Two teeth marks stand out above the cut on my palm and my shoulder screams in agony from the dagger that stabbed me. I can feel blood leaking from my stomach as well and I'm sure that my stitches have opened up. Now that the adrenaline of the fight has worn off, my injuries are throbbing and pulsing in a steady rhythm of pain.

But we're alive, and that's all that matters.

I remove my hand from under Zach's and attempt to start pulling out the iron shards. He leans forward to help me, his gentle touch doing nothing to stop the pain that sears with every sharp tug. After a few moments, there's a small pile of blood covered iron on the ground beside me, eight pieces of metal that were previously stuck in my skin.

Zach places the last one down and reaches his hand out to swipe a strand of hair out of my face. Most of it has fallen from the tight pony tail I arrived with, and several of the ends have been burnt off, but I can't bring myself to care. His fingers linger on my skin, his eyes never leaving mine as he manages a small smile.

Despite the situation, and the agony coursing through my entire body, I feel a sense of relief wash over me as I look at my favourite colour in the world. Somehow, we beat the odds, took out eight vampires and saved Zach. My heart beats happily, grateful to be alive and sitting here with him.

"We have to get out of here," Zach says eventually, lowering his hand and struggling to his feet. He sways slightly before falling back down to the ground with a heavy thump.

"I need help," Caleb mutters, his voice strained.

"What happened?"

"One of them bit my ankle, another one sliced me with my own falchion. At least he had the decency to do that though, saved me from having to cut under the bite myself," he explains through gritted teeth. "But then he twisted my foot and I heard a snap. I'm pretty sure it's broken."

"Can you walk?" Zach asks in concern. I don't even have to wait for Caleb's answer to know what it is. His foot still sits at a funny angle and I can't imagine the pain he must be going through right now.

"Not without help."

It's then I realize just how awful the situation is. We're all badly hurt and we need the medical ward. Caleb can't walk alone and I doubt that Zach can either. I haven't tried to get back up yet but even if I'm capable of staying upright, I can't support both their weights. Especially with the sharp jabbing pains in my shoulder, stomach and neck.

"Okay." Zach takes a deep breath, glancing between me and Caleb. "We've made it this far, we can make it home. We just have to do it the same way we've done everything else."

I nod, understanding what he means immediately. "Together."

Zach and I both struggle to stand up. He stumbles a bit, swaying slightly to the left, but manages to stay upright. We take several minutes to collect our fallen weapons, a task made even longer by both of us straining to stay on our feet. Each time I bend over, the world goes dark around the edges and I'm fighting just to stay conscious as pain streaks through my body like lightning.

Finally, we head slowly over to Caleb, each grabbing one of his hands and helping him up. He yelps in pain as his left foot touches the ground, further proof that he won't be able to walk by himself. Slinging one of his arms around my shoulders, I wait for Zach to take the other before taking a step forward.

It's torturously slow as we hobble out of the clearing and through the forest. We have to take several breaks, leaning against trees as we all catch our breath. Each step feels like it takes more effort, each breath gets harder and harder to come by. My body shrieks in agony from the multiple injuries and Caleb's weight feels as though it gets heavier by the second.

After what feels like hours, we finally step out from the tree line and I almost cry with relief when I see the road in front of us. We trudge forward, the moon illuminating our way, our ragged breaths and heavy footsteps the only sounds in the still night. By the time we get to the mouth of the tunnel, Zach's looking far too pale for my liking and starting to stumble under Caleb's weight.

"Hold on," I whisper. "Let's take five."

Zach helps me lower Caleb to the ground and gratefully drops down beside him. I hold the gun aloft, ignoring the pulsing pain in my shoulder as I lift it, and keep an eye on our surroundings. As far as I know, we've managed to kill all the vampires that Henry turned, but I can't be too sure that there aren't any more around.

Caleb clutches his leg, his face a picture of agony and it's easy to see that the trip from the forest has taken a serious toll on him. Zach rests his elbows on his knees, his head drooping down toward the ground. I'm tempted to shake his shoulder to make sure he's still awake, but I don't want to cause him any more unnecessary pain. My arm drops to my side as I look down at them, too worried about their current situations to focus on our surroundings.

After several minutes, during which I count each breath that Zach releases, he gets unsteadily to his feet, his limbs visibly trembling. His ocean eyes meet mine as he nods slightly, indicating that he's ready to continue. We lift Caleb to his feet again, his yelp of pain piercing my ears as we attempt to support him between us. The journey through the tunnel feels longer than it did when we first came here, but as soon as we exit on the other side, the car stands a few metres in front of us.

It feels like another victory.

If I had the energy, and I wasn't helping Caleb, I would sprint towards it, so relieved to finally see it standing there in all its moonlit glory. I've never been so happy to see a vehicle in my life, and we reach it not a moment too soon, as both Zach and Caleb look ready to give up.

But, now we're faced with another dilemma. Zach is clearly unfit to drive after barely managing the walk to the car. His eyes droop and his skin is so pale it's almost translucent. He keeps shaking his head as though he's desperate to stay awake, holding Caleb aloft with what little energy he has left. Caleb can't put any weight on his leg and wouldn't be able to press down on the pedals.

Which leaves me. I'm not entirely sure that I will be able to drive either. Every inch of my body screams in pain and I'm worried that I might pass out behind the wheel. But, we're out of options and one look at Zach and Caleb is all it takes to harden my resolve. They need urgent medical attention, and the only way they will get it, is if I can somehow manage to get us home.

I reach into Caleb's pocket, grabbing the keys and clicking the button to unlock the doors. Zach helps Caleb into the back seat and then leans against the bonnet, his breath coming out in short bursts. He's getting paler by the second, his eyes almost completely shut and it's this more than anything that spurs me to move.

I shove him softly towards the passenger door, and climb into the driver's seat. Sticking the key into the ignition, I ignore the sharp shooting pain that radiates through my shoulder and shift the car into gear, heading back the way we came.

Zach's head lolls against his chest as he passes out and I can tell Caleb's not far behind. His soft murmurs of 'left here' as he gives me directions are getting harder and harder to hear. Eventually we turn on a road that I recognise, which happens just in time as Caleb has gone quiet, falling unconscious in the back seat.

My own vision is blurry around the edges and my eyes are starting to droop. Each time I blink it becomes harder to open them again. I shake my head, determined to make it back and not give in to the welcoming darkness. But, it becomes increasingly difficult in the deafening silence of the car, with nothing but my pain to keep my company.

I fumble around the centre console for Caleb's cell phone, breathing a sigh of relief as my fingers close around the device. Trying to keep one eye on the road, I unlock it and pull up Caleb's recent calls, clicking on the second one and waiting for it to ring.

"Lideri," I mumble, as soon as the call connects. "We need help. We're almost there." I hang up before he can answer and try to keep my eyes from closing as I take another turn.

Five more minutes, Peyton. You can do it.

Keeping my eyes open long enough to get Zach and Caleb home feels like the hardest thing I have ever done. I keep glancing at Zach in the passenger seat to make sure he's still breathing, my heart doing a little flip every time I see that he is. I can't see Caleb in the rear view mirror, and I'm too nervous to take my eyes off the road for too long. So I tell myself that he is, that he has a broken leg and with a cast and a few weeks of rest, he will be okay.

I take a final left and tears of relief start to roll down my cheeks as I look at the acres of farm land in front of me. The rickety water tower stands in the distance; the most welcome sight I have ever seen. The headlights sweep across the open field, illuminating three figures by the farmhouse entrance.

"We made it," I whisper in disbelief as Lideri, Angie and Matthew start to run to the car. I shift into park and swing my door open, leaving the engine running. Lideri comes to my side, catching me in his arms as I fall out the vehicle, my shaking limbs unable to keep me upright.

"I brought him home," I manage, before I finally give into the darkness and my world fades to black.