Payne & Joie

Chapter 16

I'm back into the chaos of the world as soon as I had left it. The lights, the sirens, and the screams all rush back in my head like a tidal wave. I'm lying on my back. Every fiber of my being feels like it's being lit on fire. The seat is cold. My skin is hot. I spot the glint of orange light off glass. It's Mina, but her eyes aren't looking at me. They've trained themselves on the real issue. Payne has situated himself between us, fidgeting desperately with his gun. I almost don't recognize him at first. His hair is wild and there are dark circles under his eyes. A vein bulges in his forehead. He mutters wildly,

"I'm not going back. I'm not going back. I'd rather die."

He repeats this until it becomes a static background noise, along with the shouting and sirens. He gives feverish glances over the window sparingly. I see the thin red lines that have etched themselves in his eyes. I remember distinctly Mina saying something about things being bulletproof. I hope that's it's the glass. He doesn't even give a single look to Joy's pale body on her seat. Her chest doesn't rise and blood drips from her index finger where her arms in tossed haphazardly over her chest. Tears blur my vision.

Mouth agape, her head is back with the red flower bloomed perfectly over the center of her chest. I notice that her nails are now a raw pink and white with only specks of the previous yellow. She doesn't move. Tears threaten to fall from my eyes. I thought I had exhausted all of my emotions. I'm so tired. And yet I cry for the sister that never was. My breath comes in short bursts as I remind myself I need to breath to survive this hell.

Still, my brain clings to what once was. And what will never be.

"Payne..." I gasp. It's too soft to be heard by anyone except myself. There's a dull throb in my knee as I try to turn myself over. "Payne..." I try again. He freezes, finger on the trigger. "What do you mean? Go back where? Payne, you don't have to go back anywhere. Please,"

"Shut up."

"You don't have to do this, you know. We could go to that movie that you wanted to see. The one about the zombies? Please!" I sob.

"SHUT UP!!!"

He raises up quickly and darkly from his cramped spot on the floor. He looms over me like a demon. Sweat drips from his brow. I curl up at the shock of his voice and hold my hands to my ears. Blood drips hotly as my pinky grazes my forehead.

But even at my best effort voices break through my rudimentary flesh barricade. They call out my name,

"Joie! Joie! Are you okay!? Give us a sign! Joie, this is the Los Angeles police department, we're going to get you out of there. Joie!"

They all meld together into one sentence. The loudest one is clear and bright. Her power is brighter than anyone here. Madeline. The second is a mystery, an unknown element, but she speaks kindly. The third is the quietest but the most desperate. I can't tell if the hoarseness from the yelling or the cigarettes. Mom. Mom?

"Joie!?" Mom asks. It's more apprehensive than the others, unsure.

"Mom?" I croak. She came? Why would she come? When I try to lift my head from the seat it's instantly thrown down my Payne.

"Stay down!" he yells fervently as lightning explodes through my skull.

"Joie, I don't know if you're okay in there," Mom says. She's closer now, and I can hear every word. It's amplified tenfold but it's not as steady as it usually is and each word shivers when said. "But know that I'm here right now. And Payne, I know you don't want to do this. Think of Joie, you don't want to hurt her. We can get you help if you come out."

I'm not sure if I'm hearing it correctly, but Payne lets out what I think is a scoff. I expect him to yell, scream, or I don't know, do something but he just sits there with his gun. Muttering and swearing. His head snaps upward, like he has been shaken from a dream. He looks at Mina, then me, then back to Mina. Each head movement is jerkier than the last.

He grabs Mina by the collar of her sweater. She gags as he yanks her up by it. There's a flurry of yells and orders. And there's nothing I can do. The copper air is overwhelming in that moment as he shoves the gun into the side of her head. No amount of screams for mercy could stop his ragged breath. The window is the frame for this messed up movie that he wants everyone to see.

"Where is that you don't want to go? I personally thought a hostage situation is to make demands, not just stand there. What's so bad that you just can't go back?" Mina says. She says this as easily as if reasoning with a murderer is her everyday business. It's a thinly veiled taunt, but she doesn't make out to be.

Payne's face goes an ugly red. From what I can see, a purple vein stands out from his skin.

"What? You aren't scared of me?" he questions. It's as rugged as my mothers voice, only with panic instead of apprehension. He doesn't dare even glance at her. Instead he evaluates the overwhelming black dots of officers and cars just a few yards away. If his heart was just a little more powerful, I would hear it beat. A strong voice shouts orders and helicopter propellers beat the air just outside. The sun has completely risen in the sky. Its orange glow taunts me.

"Why would I be scared of you?" Mina says with a laugh, unhinging herself. Her brown eyes are sharp, they stare daggers even though Payne doesn't look back. She has a wolfish grin. "Why would I be scared of someone so completely and utterly pathetic? You have no plan, do you? You're nothing but a coward!"

Straight away Payne's finger hugs the trigger which results in a white blast, but not before Mina's leg does an arching sweep into his right leg, collapsing him with what can only be described as a pathetic whimper. But she doesn't stop. Relentlessly, again and again her boot collides with head and when the officers finally pull her away his once beautiful golden hair bathes in a thick red. He doesn't move.

Someone yells. Someone cries. Someone wraps their arms around me, smelling of smoke. And I finally, finally sleep.