"Doors Led To Your Nightmares" (Original Short Story)

Chapter seven

The girl coughed.

"Ali, oh god!" Tiger hugged Alison tightly, hyperventilating as they held their friend in their arms, her head on their lap—comforting her.

"Tiger," Alison was still able to speak, but only lightly.

"Ali, are you okay?" Tiger panicked. "Fuck..."

Alison shook her head. "I... I... need to die,"

"What? Ali, no."

"I'm not gonna live, Tiger. I just... can't. Look at me, I'm weak,"

"They drugged you and hurt you, but you still keep fighting, Alison. Please, don't give up now!" Tiger hugged their friend, sobbing. Alison shook her head against Tiger's shirt. "I'm... weak... I can't make it, Tiger,"

"No, Alison. Please, please don't think that! We can escape this horrible place, please! Just hold on longer, please. Alison..."

"I'm just gonna die anyways! What's the p-point? I can't m-make it. They had their fun already, and they're getting away with it." Her voice was all shaky as her body in fear. "They told me I'm nothing to live f-for..." She coughed.

"Ali, please. Please don't give up... I know we can escape this, please, just..." Tiger sobbed, big fat tears ran down their pale face. "P-Please, Ali... d-don't die."

Alison felt a big headache coming in. "All I have is nothing. I have no friends, Tiger. It's all just... God, it hurts so bad." She could barely speak. Her stomach was cramping up. "I'm alone..."

"Ali, please! They drained you out of your power to live too... B-But you can make it, I know. You're special, Al." Alison sniffled and shook her head, doubting their words.

Tiger sobbed violently. "What did you do to her!" they screamed at Bullet, looking up at the ceiling as if God had all the answers.

Alison's left arm of her viewing was cut up in a line down the skin.

Bullet chuckled. "Oh, a little beat up-ings didn't do much to ya, huh?" He laughed.

Tiger glared at Bullet, saying, "You monster,"

Bullet raised his eyebrows, amused.

"T-Tiger, here, I wanna"—Alison swallowed, making a scrunched up face—"give you this," She gave her friend a necklace; their favorite color blue was in bolded all around it, just like Tiger's shirt was.

Tiger took it; putting it around their neck and sighed a sob down, fists clenched. They couldn't tell her thank you, but Alison already knew. She nodded.

Alison sniffed as more tears ran down her face.

"Ali..."

"Tiger, uh. I wanted to say—" She coughed. She coughed violently until her throat burned.

Tiger nodded. "I love you too, Al," They hugged her tightly. They didn't even wanna leave her.

This... this can't be happening. Please, God, please stay alive.

Alison collapsed into Tiger's lap, her weak to sit up anymore. "I-I'm so s-sorry for..." She hiccuped down the words, Alison sobbing. "I'm sorry for dragging you going here."

Tiger's eyes widened. "No, Al. Stop. You're not at fault." He is, They thought. Speaking of him...

Tiger whipped around, them standing up, Alison's head dropping to the floor, and then with a failed attempt at punching him, got knocked into the bars, their back against it; hurting. They struggled.

"Don't think about it, darling." Bullet put on his smile. "You're never getting out alive." He raised his head. "I loved seeing you care for your friend before she'll take her last breath." They pushed into Tiger, making their back hurt even more against the bars.

"You drugged her, abused her, made her think she's worthless! You're a criminal, Bullet, you have no heart! You're a monster and I hate you! How could you do this to her? How can you be so evil that you need to kill a person's friend just by greed and pleasure! I..." Tiger yelled. They couldn't finish they were sobbing so hard. They clutched their shirt, making it wrinkle. Tears flooded their blue eyes, making them blurry.

"Oh"—Bullet chuckled and rolled his eyes jokingly—"I'm not a criminal, darling, I can win any girl's heart if I wanted to just by being me."

Tiger scoffed. "Yeah, but not this kid!" They punched them in the stomach, making Bullet fall to the floor; the trigger setting off, and the bullet in the gun hit Alison in the stomach, making her spill out blood again and her screaming so loudly in pain it made everyone's ears ring. Tears flooded her face once again.

Tiger gasped. "Ali, no!"

The man grunted and stood up, walking over to Alison. He raised his gun.

"Get away from her!" Tiger screamed. They pushed Bullet to the floor. Tiger gritted their teeth as the non-binary trans kid looked at him, with a horror that was gonna be stuck in their minds forever because of him, and determination in their eyes.

Bullet kicked Tiger off.

Alison screamed, sobbing tears with her scrunched face, bowed her head to the floor. Her hands were chained together that were tight. She hated the pain she was experiencing, she hated it all about the situation they're in. She was having so much pain in her stomach from the bullets, blood leaking at the same time. It was gross.

Gabe came rushing in, let out by a guard on Bullet's orders. He was devastated.

Gabriel ran to Alison, crying, tears down his face similar to hers, knees on the floor beside her, sobbing down a choke. "Alison, what happened?"

"Gabe," Alison whispered. She lifted her head that she could look at him. She felt like puking.

Gabriel stroked her blonde hair out of her face; friendly-wise, not romantically gesturing. He saw her smile a little between her bloodshot eyes that held and spilled tears.

"Gabe, h-help, please..." She looked down, gagging. A pool full of blood—her own blood—had surrounded her. Alison collapsed onto the floor, one hand pressing into the metal, holding her steady.

"Alison, please don't die, please. You're my best friend." Gabe started choking on tears.

"Gabe, I just wanted to say that I love you and..." She couldn't finish as puke that burned her throat rose up. She swallowed it down.

"Bullet! Come here!" a voice said.

Alison was growing sleepy now while her legs were under her belly. She breathed in and out, in and out.

"Ali, I love you. Please don't die on me." Gabe said, seeing his friend crying to her death. He couldn't take it.

Bullet stood up and looked at the woman. Tiger sobbed still, having no clue about what to do. They were trapped.

Her eyes grew heavy, tired all of a sudden.

"Why, hello, Embers," he said.

Alison's heart was beating slowly. Any minute now...

Embers? Tiger thought.

"A-Ali?" Gabe whispered. The thought of his friend gone was making him sob more. Tiger couldn't breathe, their heart squeezed their ribcage so tightly that they thought it would break it.

"What were you thinking?!" The woman waved her phone around, it showing a video of something. Bullet stepped out of the cell to look at it with her. He gasped.

Alison's head thumped to the floor. She rolled on her side, her now... dead.

Tiger screamed in horror; as well as Gabe too.

*