Becca's Moments

Chapter Fifty (Part two)

Thick scarlet blood splattered on the floor. A blaring screech pierced the air.

He staggered forward. Once. Twice. Then he paused. The dark auburn spot on his hoodie spread like wildfire.

He fell to his knees.

Rebecca realised the ear-splitting noise was coming from her. There was an unpleasant gurgling sound when his mouth opened. Blood oozed down his chin and throat as he fell forward.

The dull thud of his body hitting the ground was like the morbid closing of a chapter.

He was dead.

The room flooded with silence. Rebecca willed herself to shake from this horrible dream. But she couldn't. She could only watch as his corpse painted the floor red.

Chris was dead.

Rebecca screamed again, her throat raw and her vision distorted with tears.

Marik climbed off of her and lowered the gun. "What a fucking waste," he spat.

Kayden ploughed into Marik, knocking him off his feet in a flash. The gun clattered to the ground. He straddled Marik's chest and pounded him in the face. The sound of fist against skin was mortifying, but Marik managed to block a few punches.

Kayden pulled back and held a long, jagged knife in the air. He brought it down swiftly. Before the blade could connect, the burly man cuffed him hard in the nose. Kayden stumbled back onto the floor. He didn't miss a beat, though, quickly rising to strike again. At the same time, Marik charged and speared him out of the room.

Rebecca wriggled her hands to free herself from the tattered rope. She felt a pop in her wrist and gritted her teeth as she ripped it from the knot. She yanked her other hand from the rope before clambering off the bed. Her weak legs failed her and she collapsed right next to Chris' lifeless body.

She froze, her tears coming in full force as the scene replayed in her mind.

Marik had aimed for Kayden, who was speeding towards him, but Chris used the weight of his body to shove him aside, effectively catching the bullet instead.

Now he was dead.

She turned his body over, ignoring the warm blood that stained her hands. There was a tiny chance that he was still alive, and it was up to her to check.

She quickly wished she hadn't.

Chris' eyes were wide, his pupils dilated. His mouth lay agape with blood smeared on his lips, chin and throat.

Rebecca's trembling hand covered her mouth. Her chest shuddered with silent tears and her stomach churned as acidic bile rose up her throat. She gulped it back down.

Sounds of smashed objects and pounding against walls rattled the house, but she couldn't look away from Chris' body.

"Please," she whispered through a shaky breath. She reached forward. "Please, Chris. Don't..." she wanted to say, 'don't die', but the truth was right in front of her. She felt his jugular vein with two fingers.

No pulse.

A loud thud rocked the walls. Rebecca tore her eyes away from the body. Another truth: Kayden and Marik were trying to kill each other.

Rebecca spotted the fallen gun and knife on the floor. Her body moved on its own, crawling towards the weapons and clasping for the gun. The weighty steel felt awkward and unnatural in her palm. She rose to her feet and left the room, following the cacophony of brutal violence.

They'd ended up in the hallway by the front door. A part of the banister leading up the stairs had snapped, broken glass lay scattered across the floor, and a large dent decorated the plaster in the wall. Rebecca noticed white prints on Marik's clothes – solid proof that Kayden had flung him into the wall.