BRUTAL | jj maybank

THIRTY

"Oh, but you did, Kyla," Tara said from behind her, making Kyla slowly stand up to face them again.

"We watched you," Rafe said and Kyla started to shake her head again, not believing it. "You also killed Sarah and John B."

Kyla let out another shaky breath. "N-No, I didn't. They're — They're not dead," she told them, continuing to shake her head.

"If you never killed Peterkin, they would have never drove out into that storm where they drowned. This is all your fault, Kyla. You have to accept that. You have to accept that you're...just like us," Tara drawled and Kyla swallowed hard, not knowing what to do. "And for that..." Tara trailed off before her and Rafe held up guns towards the girl, "...you must pay the consequences."

Kyla sucked in a breath, holding her shaky hands up. "Please — please don't do th — this. I-I can fix this!" she pleaded, feeling tears fall down her face.

"Not this time, Ky," Rafe said, tilting his head. "You couldn't even fix our relationship, what makes you think you can fix this?" he asked, making Tara let out a laugh.

"I'm sorry," she said in a high voice, "b-but please don't do this."

"It's for your own good," Tara said before her and Rafe turned the safety's off their guns at the same time.

"I'm sorry, Ky, but Pogues don't deserve to live," Rafe said before the both of them pulled the trigger at the same time, landing two shots to her chest.

Kyla gasped, collapsing on the ground next to Peterkin. But when she slowly turned her head to the side, she realized that it wasn't Peterkin.

It was JJ.

JJ turned his head over to her and said in a strained voice, "Y-You've killed us all," before blood spilled out of his mouth...

But that was all dream.

Kyla woke up when it started to get a little light outside, gasping for air as she held a hand up to her chest. Tears spilled down her face as she frantically looked around, trying to gather her surroundings.

She then felt someone touch her shoulder and she quickly looked over, bringing her hands up defensively. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Ky, it's me. It's me, it's JJ," the blonde said quickly, his eyes wide with concern at the girl.

Kyla let out a small gasp, bringing her hands down slowly. "Is this...is this real?" she asked, staring into JJ's eyes since they seemed to have comfort her.

"Yeah, it is. Hey, hey, it is," JJ told her, bringing his other hand up to her shoulder to steady her shaking body.

Kyla let out a breath, nodding slowly as she realized that she was still in the back of the truck where she had fallen asleep. "I thought I — I thought I killed P-Peterkin," she said, her mouth dry. "And — and Sarah and John B. And — and y-you," she continued to stammer.

"Hey, it was a nightmare, okay? None of that is real. Rafe killed Peterkin and it wasn't your fault. John B and Sarah are alive and that's why we're here — to clear John B's name when they get back," he explained to her calmly. "And I'm still here. I'm right in front of you and I'm not goin' anywhere, all right?"

She nodded slowly, starting breathe normally again. It seemed like all of the trauma had caught up to her and it just curled up into one nightmare to set her off.

And to think that she had overcame all the panic...

JJ then brought his hand up slowly and started to wipe away her tears that had rolled down her face. He then moved over to a piece of hair that had fallen in front of her face, slowly placing it behind her ear.