Aubrey heard the explosion from the gun echo off all the metal surfaces in the city. He felt a spray of liquid across the side of his face, and instantly the grip around his throat loosened. Aubrey fell to the ground, the dead man crumpling beside him and somehow managing not to crush the boy.
Aubrey clawed at his own chest, greedily taking in gulps of air between fits of violet coughing. The air seemed to burn as it filled his lungs. He never thought he would miss the stench of that city, but he was very thankful for it now. As his senses came back to him, he was aware of Jax kneeling by his side. He sat up slowly, his head still spinning. He focused on her concerned face and forced a smile. “Never better.” He croaked. He reached up and touched his neck carefully, feeling for the spot where the knife had broken the skin. It was bleeding, but had missed everything important.
He got to his feet with her help. “Don't feel bad.” He said, his voice still raspy, bracing against her for a moment until his head cleared. “I should have been paying more attention.”
He glanced over to where their attackers lay on the ground. Of course, the big guy that had been holding him was dead. But the other seemed to be squirming, as if he were just on the verge of consciousness. A chill ran down Aubrey's spine as he thought of the bullet going through the man's head. He reached up and wiped the side of his face where he had been sprayed with the man's blood with his sleeve. “A-anyway.” He said, his voice abnormally shaky. Although he was never happy about seeing people killed, for some reason his stomach churned at the sight of the man laying there, face down...
“Ah, yeah, let's get outta here before someone sees.”