"What are you asking?" Thomas asked. What he had asked for didn't even sound like an answer.
Tears started to pour to his eyes. He put off the answer for another ten seconds. "Just give me something to do in my last few minutes. I want to be known... I want to be loved..."
"Don't tell me you're asking what I think you're asking." Parker lowered his brow. He had an angry aura around him. "Because if you are, you ain't gettin' it."
"I don't know what I'm asking!" Brandon screamed, dropping to his knees.
"Can't you see he's broken?" Violet asked them, standing in the middle of the circle in front of the man. Parker and Thomas put their guns down so they wouldn't accidentally shoot. "Where is your humanity, people? Let him have his last wish."
"I don't have a last wish..." Brandon confessed. He again, flexed his arm and tried to erase the pain in his shoulder. "I'm nothing... When have I done anything that meant something... Just kill me. You'd be doing the world a favor..."
Parker raised his gun back in the air, but Violet raised her arms out to the side, forming a human shield. "Put the fucking gun down, man!"
Brandon crawled under her arm and knelt before Thomas. When he looked up into his eyes, Thomas could see the man literally had nothing. The only thing he had left was his life, and that was draining away by the second. He put out his arm and took the barrel of Thomas' gun. He placed the cylinder around his forehead with both hands gripped on it. "Just kill me... Get me out of this hell."
"You don't have to!" Violet cried. The tears were flowing to her eyes now too. "You can let him go. Give him some supplies and let him live out there. At least he'll have a chance! But don't kill him!"
Thomas gazed at her brother Trevor, and he saw a strange apathy on his face. Everyone else around the circle was in shock and terror, but Trevor looked like he didn't care. Thomas could almost see a bit of a smile on his face. Mitch looked even more scared than anyone else, and was visibly shaking. Cecil shrugged and put his hand on Thomas' shoulder. "Just do it, son."
"No!" Parker protested. "Tom, you can't do this. It's not right. We have to let him live."
Thomas gazed down into Brandon's eyes just before he closed them. His fingers closed tightly around Thomas' gun and pressed it even tighter against his forehead. He was ready for whatever Thomas would decide.
[A. Shoot Brandon.]
[B. Make Brandon leave.]
57.1% of readers chose to [B. Make Brandon leave.]
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This man was a threat, but how could Thomas kill him? Even though it appeared as something the man wanted to happen, Thomas couldn't do it. Killing was wrong, no matter in what form. "I'm not going to kill you." He said, ripping the barrel of the gun away from Brandon's head and from his grip. "You may be dead, but I'm not going to be the one to do it."
Brandon looked up at him in an act of confusion. He wasn't making any effort to keep the tears from his eyes now. He reached over with his arm that wasn't injured and took Thomas' gun. He tried to aim it back at himself, but Thomas ripped it away again.
"Wha..." He cried. "Why?"
"Because there's a better way." Thomas replied. "You're going to leave. We'll give you a gun. Food. Anything you need...and you'll go make your own way. If you're going to die, you're not going to make one of us a murderer in the process."
Brandon only looked confused. He laid down on his back, looking at all of the people around him. Cecil sneered. "You just showed up... Who the fuck gave you the rights to call the shots? Just give me gun. I'll do it, boy." He reached over with his seemingly frail old hands. Thomas was surprised to find they were stronger than he imagined. Quite soon after it happened, Parker and Mitch grabbed the man by the arms before he was able to aim the weapon.
Chapter 17: The Victim
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