Gavin
Chapter Twenty-Five
My head is pounding and the light is way too bright for my eyes when I open them.
This was not supposed to happen like this.
I try moving my body just to find out that I’m chained to a chair.
A groan next to me has my blood running cold.
I recognize it all too well. Atlas is not supposed to be here.
What the hell did he do? I try turning to look at him but the chair doesn’t allow much room for movement.
From what I can see he looks to be okay.
His voice sounds groggy when he finally comes to. “Hey, man. Good to see you; wish it were under better circumstances.”
A chuckle slips past my lips and I instantly hiss in pain. Pretty sure my ribs are broken. “Why are you here, Atlas?” The words scratch against my dry throat, coming out in what sounds more like a croak.
“Did you really think we wouldn’t come rescue you?”
We? He said we. No. No, no, no, no. Please tell me I'm wrong. I am about to ask where Maizyn is, when a commotion right outside the door interrupts me. The door is slung open by two of Vin’s men before they step out of the way and my heart drops to my feet.
I find the source of the commotion and she is kicking and swinging while being dragged into the room by Vin himself.
Of course, Maizyn wouldn’t be going down without a fight.
I am assuming she bit him on the way here because her mouth is duct-taped and he has a bandage over his palm.
He tosses her to the ground in front of Atlas and me.
The fucker is lucky I’m tied to this chair or he would be dead already.
She scrambles to her feet, ripping the duct tape from her mouth, ready to attack again but stops when she sees us. She rushes towards us her arms wrapping around us for a few seconds before she is yanked away from us and thrown back down to the ground.
I can see the anger taking over her features as she rises to her feet for the second time. “Let them go!”
Fuck she is pretty when she is angry.
Vin pulls his gun from his holster. “I will let them go on one condition.”
“Name it.”
She doesn’t know what she just set into motion.
Vin doesn’t play fair and she just gave him exactly what he wanted.
Free entertainment. He flips his gun in his hand.
His grimy fingers wrapped around the barrel as he motions for her to grab the grip of it.
“Grab the gun if you know what's good for you. I don’t like to be kept waiting.”
Her eyes dart from Atlas to me before she snatches the gun from him, scurrying back far enough that he can’t grab her. Smart girl. “Now what?”
“Maizyn, was it?”
“Does it matter?”
“Feisty. I like it. I can see why she has both of you boys wrapped around her finger. Maybe I will just keep her for myself and call it even.”
“Don’t fucking think about it.” The words leave my mouth but Atlas says it at the same time as I do. Both of us almost growling the words.
“You boys are no fun. Fine. Let’s play a game instead.
” He is circling Maizyn like a predator circles prey.
I don’t like the way this is going. Her grip on the gun tightens but she doesn’t falter.
Instead, she squares her shoulders and looks dead ahead again like he is not even there.
Good girl, I am so proud of you right now.
“I'm getting bored here, Vin. What’s the game?” The words come out calm and steady. If it weren’t for her white-knuckled grip on the gun, I would assume she was completely unaffected by the whole ordeal.
“Straight to it, I see. I can respect that. The game is simple. There are three of you but only two of you are walking out of here. The other will be leaving in a body bag. You have the gun and get the honor of putting the bullet in the person who stays behind. Pick who you are going to shoot or I will pick for you, by just killing all three of you.”
She points the gun at Vin, aiming for his head.
“Be smart, young lady. That will just get you all killed.” He doesn’t seem phased by the gun pointed at him.
I guess in his line of work it probably happens often but the way his tone sounds when his words are directed at her makes the hair on the back of my neck stand at attention. His words feel as vile as he is.
She lowers the gun back to her side, putting her other hand into her back pocket. For a moment, I think she is going to pull out her pocket knife but she pulls her hand back out empty. She currently looks like a cornered wild animal. Atlas speaks up first.
“She doesn’t have to make that choice, asshole. Don’t put that on her.” Atlas says to Vin. “Darling Chaos, you don’t have to make any decision; we can figure this out.” He tells Maizyn in a calm voice.
That seems to have the opposite effect from what he wanted because she starts pacing back and forth. I guess it’s my turn to try. But Atlas is not going to like what I am about to say.
“It’s not a hard choice to make, Little Tornado.
” Already feeling my heart shatter in my chest, I smile weakly before elaborating.
“You and Atlas are meant to be together. He is your yellow and all I know how to do is destroy everything I touch. Even though you have become my entire story, I think I am only meant to be a small chapter in yours. It may hurt, but eventually you will get over me. We both know you wouldn’t be able to recover from losing Atlas.
I am the reason we are all in this mess to begin with and I refuse to be the reason this story, your story, becomes a tragedy. ”
Atlas slumps into his chair. Like he is putting his mask back in place for whatever happens next. Maizyn’s hand trembles, the gun shaking in her grasp. “á la folie.” Tears stream down her cheeks as the words leave her lips.
“Wh- what does that mean?” My voice cracks as I fight to keep my composure. How the hell is no one else panicking right now?
She remains still as if bracing herself for what she is about to do next.
Something flickers across her face as the room quietly waits for her to answer me or answer the man who put us here.
It’s at this moment I finally understood what Atlas meant when he said her silence is what scares him most. Every hair on my body stands on end.
“Atlas… I don’t fucking like this. This is what you meant, wasn’t it? ”
“Yeah, Gavin.”
That’s all he says and my stomach sinks to my fucking feet. What the hell is she about to do? My patience runs out and I ask her again. “What does that mean, Little Tornado?”
“To Insanity.”
That seems to shake her out of her trance-like state, but I scream out in horror at what she does next. She draws the gun. Presses it to her temple. Then pulls the trigger.
Click
The entire room erupts into chaos.
Maizyn
The crisp click of the firing pin hitting the empty chamber may haunt me forever.
It’s somehow louder than Vin's menacing laugh as he points his gun at the boys. It’s louder than the screaming that seems to come from all sides.
A loud bang detonates behind me, the reverberation of it causing me to stumble forward.
The smell of motor oil and kerosene is strong enough that it makes it difficult to breathe.
Gunfire replaces the sound of the explosion.
I can’t tell if the room is echoing or if we are surrounded by it.
If I survive this and the boys ask me why I did it, I will lie.
Say something about knowing the gun wasn't loaded, even though I will always know the truth.
I value their life way more than I will ever value my own.
When faced with the choice, I will die if it means they will live.
It's almost scary how little I hesitated to pull the trigger.
The fucked up part is I would do it again, loaded gun or not, in a fucking heartbeat.
I can tell myself that I was just buying time.
Time for Ramos and his crew to respond to the panic button I hit when I reached into my back pocket, but that would be another lie.
Does that mean that I don't care to live in the first place?
Or is it simply the fact that my life wouldn't be worth living without them in it? I don’t know if my action was meant to be heroic or if I was finally giving up the fight.
Dying would have been easy, for me at least. My mind splinters in two different directions.
What kind of person do my actions make me? I don't know what the truth is anymore.
The room comes back into focus. Ramos must have called in backup; the number of people in this room tripled compared to a few moments ago.
There is too much going on. Panic begins clawing at my throat, suffocating me when I can’t locate the boys.
I weave through the room, dodging flying bullets and hands that keep trying to grab me.
Vin’s men are clear to point out, their formal clothing clashes with the tactical outfit of anyone on our side.
It reduces the risk of me killing anyone who is only trying to help.