To Protect You

Freezing water; cold and numbing, pounding at his back, his chest. Waves crashing over his head as he struggled to stay above it. Jason kicked and kicked, pushing himself to the surface, gagging on water as it poured down his throat.
Is this how I end? Do I die now, here? The water slammed his broken body against a rocky ledge, answering with brutal coldness. Jason closed his eyes. It would be so easy to let go, to just let the water succeed in taking his life. So easy...
Just as he was about to give himself up to the water, Jason felt himself being pulled from the river, feeling sharp rocks rip his shirt and chest. Another moment and he was laying in dirt, motionless, sucking in air he had thought he would no longer breathe. When Jason opened his eyes and looked for his rescuer, he saw that he was alone. He looked at his bloody hands and knew then that he had pulled himself from the river. One hand bled more than the other and as the numbness began to wear off, pain started to flood his body, the pain feeling particularly strong in his hand and shoulder.
Jason's hand shook as he pulled himself to his feet. He still had his large, yellow work-type boots on, which surprised him when he thought of the beating he had just taken. The water raged on next to him, seeming angry that its victim had escaped.
How did I survive? Jason looked at his bloodied hands. One was shaking still in small, painful convulsions. He held it up to his face, the pain growing as he moved his hand. Jason's breathing quickened when he saw what he knew was going to be there. A small, but heavily bleeding hole marked the back of his hand. He tried to move his fingers and yelled as the pain exploded, blinding him.
Jason fell to his knees and hunched over, resisting the urge to puke. Jason felt the bullet digging in his shoulder then. He didn't even need to look for a hole to know it was there. The hail of bullets he had fled from had hit their mark. As far as he could tell only his left hand and shoulder had been hit. The bullet in his shoulder was just above his heart, but not high enough for it to be just a flesh wound. Jason tried to keep his shoulder as still as possible, not wanting the bullet to do any more damage.
The pain overcame his control and he vomited. Acid burned his throat and he choked on stomach fluid.

Jason lay on the hard dirt, time passing by as if it didn't exist. One moment blurring into the next. His body shook, freezing, with violent convulsions that tore at his still bleeding shoulder. Blood caked nearly every part of his body but only his shoulder still bled. His hand had stopped bleeding but only as long as he didn't move it.
Jason pushed himself into a sitting position with his good hand.
What do I do? Moaning softly, Jason got to his feet and began walking, slowly, painfully.
Kate. A name there and gone again in a moment free of pain. With the name came a face. Dark hair surrounding a face with high cheekbones and smiling lips. Another image came, unbidden. The face wasn't smiling in this memory. Blues eyes icy with anger glared at him. Jason stopped, sagging against a rough tree, the pain from that image almost worse than the pain in his hand and shoulder.
Kate. She smiled at him, small laugh lines crinkling the corners of her eyes. She mouthed something at him, the words lost in the memory. Her eyes spoke for her.

"I love you, too, Kate." Jason whispered.

Kate needed him. Jason wasn't sure of many facts right now, but this was one he believed in with no doubts. Something was needed to help Kate. To protect Kate. Jason clenched his teeth, trying to stop the shaking. Forcing his mind to clear.
Kate. I need to protect Kate. Jason shook his head and clenched his good hand. With a low hiss, Jason pushed himself away from the tree and started moving, leaving a dark red stain on the tree behind him.