Ethan's trembling hand slipped from the smoking wreckage. Before he could even finish the word Lux, his eyes closed, and his body, devastated by the explosion and strain, collapsed back onto the ashen ground.
"Boss!" Jason shouted, panic cutting through his cold voice for the first time.
"Ethan! No!" Cassandra threw herself onto his chest, trying to rouse him. Sarah was on the verge of hysterics, clutching her head as she looked at Ethan's shredded back. The few men Jason had left who could still move looked on with despair; their leader, their only hope, was out of the fight.
"Falcon One, you and Two, organize a perimeter! Wounded to one side!" Jason ordered, kneeling beside Ethan. "We have to take him to the doctor! The Royal doctor, now!"
"No, Jason, it's too far!" Cassandra cried out, her voice choked with tears. "He's bleeding, his pulse isn't steady! He needs a hospital... he needs help right now!"
