Mason was only very vaguely aware of what was happening. His breathing had completely stopped, his body was losing oxygen, and his body was shutting down quickly. But he still managed to hear the door slam open and before he knew it, a force had flipped him over.

He tried to open his eyes, to see who this person was, but no matter how hard he tried, his eyelids would not open. Possibly it was someone to come and finish him off. Please, do it quickly. He begged in his rattled subconscious. He could feel himself slipping away, farther into blackness.

I am a dead man.

Even the pressure on his throat now, he could barely feel that someone was shoving an object down his throat. The poison was too strong; it would kill him, surely.

But then... Something. Something clicked in his mind.

.....Leo? ...My Leo?

The soft voice echoed through his blackened mind. It was a familiar voice. A voice he loved. It was her. She had come to save him! Hearing her voice pulled him back. He wanted to fight. He needed to fight.

He needed Cora.

Suddenly, Mason was able to breathe again and he sucked in a huge gust of breath. He coughed and wheezed, rolling on to his side to stabilize himself. He inhaled and released more big, unsteady breaths until he rolled over onto his back again. He tried to look at his savior, but everything was blurry. His eyes were wet.

Then a strained noise came from his throat. "Cora."