Wait.

What did Dawn say? He’d only closed his eyes for a moment, or so he’d thought, but when he opened them Drake’s tired gaze found someone else in Dawn’s place, with any memory of her words being nothing more than jumbled nonsense. 

[i]Soren?[/i]

He was being carried now; that much was clear from his blurred perspective. Had he passed out? There wasn’t much time to process this change of events, as Drake’s strained body forced him back under again.

Even while unconscious, his shuttered, jagged breathing continued in a manner that Soren could likely hear. It was a sign that the boy was in constant pain, his body trying desperately to compensate for what he now lacked.

---

[color=#7fe817]“Ph-sph-r-s!”[/color]

Some distant, garbled yelling allowed him to resurface again briefly, the constant in and out of his awareness beginning to leave him in a confused daze. He focused on the yelling from Soren’s voice this time, as his next sentence allowed Drake some amount of instruction.

[color=#7fe817]“--cover your faces!”[/color]

Obediently, the boy reached to grab his jacket’s popped collar and pulled it in front of his face, creating a sort of makeshift mask. The rest of the conversation sounded far away, but he could still make it out and his heart sank.

Reith... They...
They had to leave her behind.

[i]...No...[/i]

Everything was happening so quickly. Or perhaps, it only seemed that way to him.
He couldn't help but wonder how long he'd been out. Regardless, this news was devastating. Even if he hadn't known Reith all that well, she still didn't deserve this. She was one of their own, damnit! And who was to say this wasn't the only person left behind?

Drake started to sit up, to lean forward with some sort of driven plan or motive, but it proved to be too much and his body only fell back against the seat again, protesting. He couldn't stand it. He wanted to fight. He [i]had[/i] to fight. This was his [i]family[/i], for the love of christ! He had to protect them. Whatever it took, he would keep them all alive, he would--

No... He couldn't.
Drake [i]couldn't[/i] fight back.

Not this time.