I felt numb as I silently climbed into Adam's car for a third time. I guess, in part, I couldn't entirely process everything that was happening. It'd had a two-year buildup; the pain, rage, and misery stewing within all of us only until we had an excuse to get the revenge that was deserved. What that revenge was going to be...I was still trying to figure that out. And in the deepest parts of my conscience, I was fighting urges I knew were wrong.
The car hummed to a start and Adam drove out onto the street. I hoped he could figure out where we needed to go. I looked out my window at the street. Surprisingly, the sidewalks were nearly empty. It wasn't normal to see the streets this desolate, especially at this time of day. It didn't feel right.
I glanced at Jack in the rearview mirror. He was looking down at his feet, fidgeting with his hands nervously. I started to remember several of the moments over the course of the past few years. I hadn't even realized it before, but so much of it had revolved around him. He had always blamed himself for agreeing to go to the party, and on our end, we blamed ourselves for losing him on the train. I felt terrible for putting him through all of that. I hoped what we were about to do would put a stop to it. Permanently this time.
Next to me, I heard Adam's sigh. Something was up with him. We were all anxious and on edge, but something was particular about him.
"What if..." He blurted, watching the road blankly. "What if this ends up being nothing? I mean, how do we know that this van we're following is really the same one, and not just a lookalike?" He blinked slowly. "What if this...doesn't lead to anything at all?"
"There's only one way to know for sure," I replied. "But it just doesn't feel like coincidence..." I exhaled sharply. "We've been wrong before, but I hope for our own sake that we're right about this."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jack slowly look up from the floor, his brow furrowed with discomposure.
"Everything okay, man?" I queried.
"...I'm fine," He responded, turning his attention to the window emotionlessly. "It's...you. You just seem...eager...about all of this..."
I scoffed. "What are you talking about...?--"
"Hey, guys?" Adam intervened. "Hate to interrupt, but...I think we found our place..."
I turned my attention back out of the front windshield. Immediately, my eyes widened with curiosity. Standing grandiosely on the right side of the road was a luxurious casino hotel, shining a bright gold against the dark greys of the New York streets. Fancy limousines, cabs, and luxury cars lined the entryway, dropping off passengers by the group. I hadn't noticed the sign at the entryway until Jack began to read it aloud.
"Hotel Joseph welcomes medical conference members! The future is bright."
"The future is...bright?" I repeated to myself. "Bright...like 'luminant'..."
"Didn't The General close a few of his entries with that phrase?" Jack added. "We must be in the right place."
"A medical conference..." Adam muttered.
"I guess, technically, they are part of a medical company," I recalled. "That was what Dr. Atwood told us."
"How else would they learn the chemistry to make a drug?" Adam agreed. "Especially one...like that."
"I don't think that's anything that can be learned at a medical school."
Adam gradually slowed the car down to a stop and parked on a side street within view of the building. He glanced between the two of us intently.
"Let me guess," Jack said. "We have to park a long ways away and walk the whole distance, yet again, as well as find a special way into the hotel because we aren't guests at this medical conference."
"You're getting better and better at this every day!" Adam replied dryly.
Jack blinked at him emotionlessly. "...I look forward to it."
I got out of the car onto the street and shut the door, Adam and Jack following suit. Even from where we stood, jazz music and the sounds of enthusiastic guests could be heard.
"Must be some conference," Adam mumbled as we started walking. "The folks in there sound pretty lively."
"Well, it is a casino, too," I returned.
"How exactly do we plan on getting in there?" Jack interjected.
Adam's eyes narrowed as he scanned the front of the hotel. "...There has to be some kind of side entrance or something somewhere," He pointed to the guests at the front door. "See those people? They're all getting in with invitations, we don't have anything like that. We'd be outed immediately."
I looked in the direction of where he was pointing. An older couple stood at the front of the line, each one holding what seemed to be off-white slips of paper, although it was hard to see from a distance. They handed their slips to the doorman, who took a quick look at each slip, then let them pass without trouble.
"Not to mention, we're their enemies," Jack added. "It's not like they'd just give us invitations if we asked nicely."
"No," I shook my head. "It...wouldn't surprise me if we're already on a blacklist of some kind."
"Real encouraging," Adam hissed. "Thanks, Ryan."
"What I'm trying to say is, I agree with you. We need to find another way in."
Jack stopped in his tracks, looking closely at the building for a moment before pointing at something in the distance. "Over there, I think I see a side door," His eyes drifted to the line of people. "We'll have to get by everyone without getting caught."
"How do you suggest we do that?" I asked.
"Good news for you, I'm currently taking suggestions."
I glared at him before eyeing up the building once more. From my perspective, I could just barely see the side door Jack was talking about. It seemed to be some kind of employee entrance, with a sign hung on the front. If we dodged the attention of all the party guests, then snuck past the employees into the main hotel, we might just have a chance. Compared to the old Project facility, this seemed like a cakewalk.
We were across the street now. Adam led our convoy, with me in the middle and Jack following behind. There was a bit of hesitation as Adam knelt next to a bush, his eyes transfixed on the glowing golden lights of the hotel.
"Our last...'stealth mission', if you can call it that, almost failed," He recalled. "...How do we know that won't happen again?"
I looked at the sidewalk. "...It won't."
"What makes you so sure?"
I struggled for a moment, unsure of exactly what I wanted to say. "...I won't let us. You can count on that."
Adam glanced back at me, then exhaled sharply before getting to his feet and proceeding through the crosswalk. My mind was racing as I trailed behind. How could I guarantee something like that? For all I knew, we could--
...No. We were going to make it. We had to.
We stood within feet of the mob of partygoers, trying to come up with a last-minute course of action.
"...So, any final thoughts?" I muttered in a high voice.
"Act natural," Adam proposed. "Act like we work here. No tip-toeing or sneaking around right now. No one will suspect us as much."
Jack and I nodded and took a few deep breaths. This was what we had worked up to. Two years of pain, suffering, tears, numbness...all of it led to this. This exact moment.
A tiny smirk spread across my face. "...Let's fucking do this."
Before I knew it, we were crossing through the cacophony, shoving through mounds of people. I wondered to myself how many of them had contributed to our personal experience with the Project, but that wasn't the point right now. I weaved through a large group standing near the back of the line and jogged to catch up with Adam, Jack following my lead. Saying nothing and without hesitation, Adam opened the employee door.
Inside was a narrow hallway, scattered with busy workers all dressed in expensive-looking red uniforms. To our luck, they each seemed to be focused on their tasks, and didn't appear to notice us too much. But to our misfortune, if we wanted to fit in and seem like we worked here, we in no way looked the part. The three of us stood still as statues, watching the workers cluelessly. I quickly thought up something to say; I had no idea if it even made sense, but it was worth a shot.
"Um...excuse me," I mumbled, approaching one of the employees.
"What are you doing?!" Adam whispered behind me. I didn't turn around and simply waved him off.
The employee was a young woman, about early twenties in age, with blonde hair highlighted with dark brown. A tag on her lapel indicated that her name was Beverly. She turned to look at us, her expression quickly switching from neutrality to confusion.
"Oh, um...are you guys...lost?" She asked.
"Yeah..." I responded sheepishly. "It's our first day here, and the boss said we were supposed to find our uniforms somewhere over here...but we aren't sure where."
"Oh, you guys are looking for dry cleaning," She answered. "It's the next door down on the left."
"Appreciate it," I nodded, heading down the hall toward dry cleaning and thanking the universe that we were safe so far. Jack and Adam took to either side of me.
"Shit," Jack scoffed. "I didn't think that would go as well as it did."
"Once again," I returned. "You underestimate me."
Surely enough, only a couple of yards down the hall was a door effectively labeled 'DRY CLEANING'. I turned the gold-colored handle to reveal a room filled to the brim with red suit coats and white dress shirts hung on metal hangers. Washers and dryers hummed melodically in the back corner. I cautiously took a step inside.
"Alright, we have to be quick about this," I ordered. "Let's each just find a shirt and coat our size and get out of here. If someone else comes in and they can tell we don't actually work here, we're fucked."
Jack began looking through the racks, but Adam stayed still, his eyes fixed on me. I sighed and turned to look at him.
"What?"
"If they can see we don't have name tags, we're also fucked," Adam grumbled.
"So what?" I shrugged. "Not every worker at every job wears a name tag, even if it's a policy."
"Yeah, but look around you," Adam said, gesturing to the racks of coats. "Every single one of these has a tag on it. We're gonna be the odd ones out."
I watched as Jack flipped through the clothes. Every coat he passed had a tag on it with someone else's name on it.
Bridget, Roxanne, Ian, George, Hugo, Tiffany...
My heart sank as I faced Adam again. "If we take one of those tags, someone's gonna notice it's not the same person..."
"What do we do?" Adam asked.
"Um...guys?" Jack called, holding one of the blood-red colored coats in front of him.
"What is it?" I asked.
Jack's eyes were fear-stricken as he slowly turned the hanger around, pointing to the coat's lapel. Pinned to the fold was a name tag, same as the others in the room.
...Wait...no.
Something wasn't right. This name tag said something different.
This tag said 'Jack'.
"Huh. That's convenient," Adam mused, smirking. "But...that's only one of three."
Jack shook his head before pulling two more coats off of the rack. I almost didn't want to look at the tags. He gently handed them to me and I hesitantly turned them over in my hands. As expected, the tags read 'Adam' and 'Ryan'.
"How is this possible...?" I muttered to myself.
"Coincidence, I'd imagine," Adam replied. "There's probably three workers named Adam, Jack, and Ryan."
I avoided eye contact with him as I grabbed a white dress shirt from the rack. "...Yeah...probably..."
We each made our way to the bathrooms to get changed into our uniforms. I had a bad feeling in my body. I didn't care what Adam thought or tried to convince me of.
Something was wrong here.
****
I adjusted my shirt collar in the mirror and ran a hand through my hair. I looked like a mess. I hadn't slept properly in days, and my nerves were getting to me. Dark rings were forming under my eyes; my face looked pale. But there was nothing I could do about it now. I glanced down at the light grey-colored tag that so coincidentally happened to have my own name on it. Adam wasn't bothered by any of it, but...it just didn't seem like happenstance. With the sort of people that were here, I didn't want to count on that.
I took one last look at myself and quickly tucked my hands into my suit pockets out of habit. My right hand touched something cold and I flinched. I hadn't put anything in my pockets between getting these clothes and now. Whatever this was, it had been there for...who knew how long. I slowly stuck my hand in my pocket one more time and reached for the object, pulling it out with caution.
...It was a handgun.
I gasped and dropped the gun into the sink, admittedly not the wisest choice on my part. But...a handgun? Who the fuck keeps a handgun stashed in their work uniform? I stood frozen, staring at the weapon in the sink, unsure of what to do with it. There was a knock on the bathroom door from outside.
"Hey, Ry," It was Adam's voice. "You almost ready?"
In a split-second decision, I stuffed the gun back into my pocket and turned toward the door. Adam and Jack were already outside, waiting for me. I couldn't let them sit there for much longer. I took a shaky breath as I looked at both of them, trying to hide the depths of my anxiety.
"...There's...only one way to go from here," I said.
Jack nodded, turning his head to the door in front of us. "Forward."
Through the tinted windows, I could vaguely make out what looked to be hotel guests and workers, conversing and going about the floor. I could only assume that the people we were looking for would be through these doors somewhere. I gingerly took a few steps forward and placed my hands on the metal bars. Something in me was telling me to turn back, go home, resist. Maybe it was right. Maybe I should've listened.
But I had to do this.
I put my weight against the bar and pushed the door open into what I thought was the hotel lobby, but in reality was something very different. In one corner, guests sat at a table playing cards and chatting excitedly. On another table, I saw what looked to be poker chips. In the distance, slot machines flashed and rang noisily, followed by the sound of coins. It was the casino, and people were everywhere, in every open space.
"This many people work for the Project?" Adam thought out loud. "I thought it was just a weird cult on the outskirts of Manhattan."
"It still is," I returned. "But it's bigger than we thought."
Jack took a quivery breath, massaging his temples. "I...I feel sick..."
I put my hand on his shoulder. "Deep breaths, bud. We're gonna get through this."
Jack was tense, but he nodded slowly and took a couple of deep breaths. I glanced around the gigantic hall for anything that might help us. My mind was in a million different places at once, it was overwhelming. I sighed and looked at Adam and Jack.
"There's too much here..." I shook my head. "We'll never find what we need in time..."
"What?" Jack's voice shook. "What are you trying to say?"
I panicked. My mind was racing, trying to come up with anything that was even close to a plan. "You guys have your phones on you, right?"
In sync, the two of them pulled their phones out of their pockets and looked at me expectantly.
"...Walk around the casino," I instructed. "Ask questions, get inside information, try to learn what you can about Project Luminance and the people involved."
"W...What are you going to do?" Adam asked, his voice quiet.
I paused, realizing the insanity of what I was suggesting. But I wasn't going to let them stop me. This was necessary for me.
"...I'm going to find him."
"What?!" Adam and Jack exclaimed in unison.
"It's decided," I declared. "I'm confronting him alone."
"Ryan, The General is extremely dangerous," Adam fought back in a hurried tone. "He'll..." He scoffed. "He'll kill you if you try anything by yourself."
I looked at him blankly. "If you both are safe, it will have been worth it."
Jack had tears in his eyes. "...Ryan-"
"I love you both...so much..."
As I turned away from them, I heard Jack's sob and Adam's exasperated sigh as he encouraged Jack to start on their mission. It took all of me not to break down myself; I had a task of my own, and only so much time to find what I was looking for.
I knew The General had to be camped out somewhere. The question was, where, in this labyrinth of a hotel, would he be hiding? Considering our success with getting uniforms, I decided to try and employ a similar strategy. In the distance, I could see a refreshments stand. Other employees approached it at various intervals and grabbed serving trays and glasses with various beverages before bringing them to guests.
It was worth a shot, I guess.
I tried to play it cool, and probably failed miserably, as I walked up and grabbed a tray. There were three glasses of what looked to be beer already prepared, sat next to a water cooler on the cart. I didn't want to waste time messing around; I grabbed the drinks and set them gently on the tray. It wobbled with the weight. I was still trying to regain my balance when I heard what I thought were footsteps behind me.
"Hey, you!"
I nearly dropped the tray. I obviously didn't work there, and I must have done something wrong. I turned slowly to see another worker, a young man with sleek brown hair, watching me irately.
"Those beers are for table forty-five," He informed in a matter-of-fact tone, pointing toward the table. "I set them down while I was checking on thirty-three."
"Oh, um...I'm sorry," I stuttered. "This is my first day, I'm still just trying to find the table I'm supposed to look after..."
"Well, let me tell you something, as this is your first day," He took the glasses off of my tray. "If you see drinks on the counter, they aren't yours to take." He shook his head as he walked away.
I hesitated. "Hey, wait-"
The man stopped and looked back with a sigh. "What?"
"Uh...you don't know where I'd find a Lionel Sikes, do you?" I felt stupid. "I'm supposed to head that way."
The man thought for a moment before responding. "Name sounds familiar. If he's not out on the main floor, he's probably in one of those conference suites behind you."
I gave him a nod in thanks. Just so I didn't look completely out of place, I poured a couple of glasses of water and brought them with me on the tray. Considering it was a smaller area compared to the main floor, checking the conference suites first seemed like a safe bet.
The conference suites were lined up along a long hallway, numbered starting with 101. Each one had a sign with either an event name or a person's last name. The hall itself was considerably quieter than the main floor. And what's worse, I was the only one in it. The silence only added to my nerves. As I walked, I read the signs outside of each room.
101, Thompson. 102, Alder. 103, Portland. Not a single room had anyone in it. I continued further down the hall, reading the names quietly to myself.
106, Dirk. 107, O'Connor. 108-
...108.
...I couldn't move.
The sign in front of me read, "Suite 108 - Sikes." I froze in my tracks, completely paralyzed with fear. I could feel my heart trying to beat its way out of my chest, my stomach filling with butterflies. My hands were shaking, it made the glasses on the tray clink together. I tried to take deep breaths but I couldn't find the air.
No one was around; I gave up on maintaining my façade. I set the tray down on a table just outside the door. I grabbed one of the glasses of water and took a sip from it. It wasn't for The General, anyway. Whether it was going to help or not, I just hoped it did something.
I stood facing the door. I didn't know where Jack and Adam were, but as long as they were safe, I was happy. My hands hadn't stopped shaking yet. I slipped them into my pockets.
...Oh.
I'd forgotten about the handgun until now. I only held onto it because I didn't have a way to get rid of it before. And now, I was at my worst enemy's doorstep. The stars felt like they were aligning, but not in the way I would have preferred. I told Adam and Jack I wasn't a murderer. I don't...kill people. I had planned to stick to that.
...But now it was weighing on me.
I could do it. I could use the gun to my advantage. I could end all of it right now, and my family and I would be safe for the rest of our lives. No matter how hard I tried, the thoughts wouldn't leave my mind.
I could kill Lionel Sikes.
Whatever this night ended in, I had to confront him. I wouldn't let myself leave until I had. But how was I supposed to go about it? Do I do it in a civil way, treat him like a gentleman, and risk him killing me first? Or do I give him what he deserves, use what's at my disposal, and live with the consequences for the rest of my life?
Oh god.
I could hear movement behind the door. My time was up.
This is it. Tell him what you mean. Make him know the pain you all went through.
Before I could stop myself, the gun was in my hand, and I was opening the door.
There, only a few feet in front of me, sat a man in a sleek black suit. He was rather built with muscle, his hair cut close to his scalp. He sat alone at a table, facing away from the door, holding a glass of whiskey.
It was him.
I held my breath. Did he know I was there? Did that even matter now? Fuck it. There was no going back now. I took the safety off of the gun and held it out in front of me. The General's shoulders tensed ever so slightly. My hand was steady now. I was determined; more than I've ever been in my life. I watched as The General's head turned gently to one side, his gaze to the floor.
"...If you've come to kill me," He began. "You could at least give me the benefit of telling me who my killer is."
I closed my eyes, my stance unwavering. "It's been a long time...General Sikes."
The General's eyes widened in intrigue. He knew my voice. He spun around in his chair to face me. A devilish smirk spread across his face as his eyes locked with mine.
"Ryan."
"No nicknames today?" I sassed.
"If I gave you one, you'd only kill me faster."
"You're not incorrect."
The General chuckled. "Why are you here, Ryan?"
"I could ask you the same thing," I returned. "How did you break out?"
The General cocked his head, not losing his smirk. "Oh, you've been misinformed, dear Ryan. 'Break out' is a strong term. One could simply say I have...friends in high places."
My brow furrowed. "You were bailed."
"That's it."
"...You son of a bitch..." I took a step closer. "You got what you deserved and you know it."
"Did I?" He queried, glancing down the barrel of the gun. "Are you sure?"
He was being smart. I didn't know how to respond. I didn't want to be impulsive. I changed the subject.
"How did you find us?" I asked. "That day at the old facility, your guys tracked us...in that van."
The General's eyes seemed to bore into me. "You mean you haven't figured it out?"
I sighed. "...Enlighten me."
"We know you've seen the classified documents," He informed, "but that's just the beginning. We know you broke into this hotel and stole uniforms, we know you saw your father before you came here, we know about your little brother's nightmare," He chuckled. "And best of all...I know...that you've been thinking about killing me long before this conversation started."
I was frozen. I couldn't let him see that I was terrified. I wanted to run away, but I couldn't. I hesitantly lowered the gun to my side.
"...How?" I asked. "How did you know about it all?"
"The proof is in those documents you took," He replied. "Those experiments we did, making canesadrol the ultimate weapon that it is?"
"It's a super-drug," I replied. "But...what are you trying to say?" My expression tensed and I raised the gun up once more, pointing it toward The General's chest. "You did something to us, didn't you?"
The General shook his head. "We did nothing. But, clearly, you didn't read all of the documents."
My shoulders slumped. "...What are you talking about?"
"Canesadrol is an ability-enhancing drug, to the greatest possible degree. You have that correct," He elaborated. "But you haven't considered what that allows us at Luminance to do." He scoffed. "When we test, we have to be able to see what's going on inside our guinea pigs' heads. So, with even the smallest dose of canesadrol, we can see into the minds of all of our users...including yours, Ryan. And both of your brothers. After all...how did you think those uniforms got there...and that gun?"
My hands started shaking again. I tried to hold them steady, but I knew The General had noticed. I took a breath.
"...If you knew where we were this whole time," I said, looking him in the eyes, "then why haven't you killed us yet?"
The General chuckled. "Oh, my friend..." He shook his head. "...That would have been too easy."
"Stop," I muttered. "Just...stop. Say what you fucking mean."
The General's smile faded slightly for a second, then came back as he started to speak. "...You were the ones who got away. We wanted to watch you. We couldn't just stop the show," He perched his head against his hand. "...End the game before it even began....stop the concert before the headliner..."
"Any more puns?" I asked angrily.
In the distance, I could hear the sound of running footsteps. My heart started beating faster and faster. The General noticed them, too.
"Ah, they're coming now," The General mused. "If you want to get out of here unscathed, I suggest you put that gun away and act like this never happened."
I put my finger on the trigger slowly. "Why should I do that?"
The General's eyes flipped between the gun and my gaze. "...Because your brothers are probably in our custody already," He informed. "Those footsteps are most certainly my boys, and no one...is coming to save you."
Suddenly, the door behind me burst open. "Ryan! We came to save--"
It was Jack's voice, interrupted by the sheer shock of seeing what I was doing.
"Stop him if you can, boys," The General commanded in an almost sing-song voice. "Your brother is about to become a murderer!"
"Shut up," I ordered in a hushed voice, forcing back tears. "...Shut the fuck up."
"Ryan...?" Adam mumbled. "What are you doing...?"
I didn't respond. I didn't look at him. I couldn't bring myself to do anything.
"Ry..." Jack whispered. I didn't need to look at him to see the tears on his face.
I sighed to myself. I closed my eyes slowly, my heart beating so fast that it might stop. I could hear Adam and Jack behind me, whispering anxiously amongst themselves. But in this moment, it was just me and the man who had hurt my family, and thousands of others, watching my every move. I placed my index finger on the trigger.
...I didn't care anymore.
Bang!
I opened my eyes to see The General, with a bloodied wound on the right side of his chest.
"...You damn fool..." He croaked.
"Adam!"
Jack's voice pierced through the air. Finally, I decided to turn and look at my brothers. Adam was kneeling on the ground, Jack at his side. Blood stained his white dress shirt a deep red color. I looked back at The General. I hadn't even noticed he had retrieved a gun of his own while my eyes were closed. He chuckled to himself madly.
"You monster..." I growled. "You fucking scum!"
"No more of a monster than you!" The General sang, laughing to himself and holding his wound.
I wanted to do more. I wanted to hurt him beyond a gunshot wound to the shoulder. But there were more urgent things to take care of. The damage had been done. I took one last look at The General, eyeing him up and down.
"One more thing," I prefaced. "The things you've done to my family...the damages, both mental...and physical. They can't be paid for by a jail sentence, or a fine," I got closer to him, within inches of his face. "...Nothing you do...can ever pay the debt."
"Hey, Ryan?!" Jack cried. "We need you back here!"
I had to make this quick. I looked directly into The General's eyes.
"Lionel Sikes...burn in hell."
I turned and rushed back to where Adam and Jack were sitting. Adam was pale, and he looked tired. This wasn't good at all.
"We've gotta get him out of here," I ordered. "We have to go, now!"
Jack quickly stood up and got one of Adam's arms over his shoulder, as I did the same on the other side. As quickly as was safe, we sauntered into the hallway. Thankfully, it was still empty.
"What do we do?!" Jack demanded. "How do we help him?"
There was a glass emergency exit door to the side of where we were standing. Far down the street, I thought I could see a pair of red and white lights. A shrill noise quietly sounded in the distance.
"...Are those...sirens?" Jack commented.
I sighed. "...That asshole called an ambulance. If we go now, we might be able to beat him to it."
I motioned everyone forward and we were able to get out onto the street. The ambulance was within view. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jack tear away from us as he waved it down. It came rolling to a stop, and multiple paramedics climbed out to meet him. Until he came back, I got Adam as comfortable as I could against the side of the building.
"...Ry...it's okay..." Adam comforted weakly.
"What?" I replied. "No, because of my ignorance, you got shot. That's not okay, Adam. We're getting you help now."
"No," He continued. "It's...okay. I think I'm...gonna be okay."
I shook my head. "You got hit with a bullet. No one's okay after that."
"Things...always work out for us," He smiled. "This will be fine."
To my right, there were multiple sets of footsteps. I turned to see a full crew of paramedics, led by Jack and a nurse.
"Ryan and Adam?" The nurse asked. "I'm August, I took care of your brother two years ago in the trauma wing. We...know all about Sikes, you don't have to explain. Another ambulance is coming for him."
I nodded in greeting. Finally, someone gets it.
"All the other guys are gonna get the ambulance set up," They continued, "But I'm gonna take a look at what we're dealing with here."
They kneeled down next to Adam and unbuttoned his shirt to look at the wound closer. Adam looked like he was about to fall asleep.
"How long ago did this happen?" August asked, their eyes not leaving Adam.
Jack and I glanced at each other inquisitively.
"Probably...five, ten minutes ago?" I replied. "Only a few minutes."
August nodded, then went back to their examinations. Over the course of several minutes, they were growing more frantic. I started to get a bad feeling.
"Jack...do you know if the bullet...went through?" They asked with a twinge of concern.
"Um...I don't...think so," Jack recalled. "Why?"
August froze, then sighed. Their disposition changed dramatically in a matter of seconds. I knew instantly that this wasn't going to be good.
"Can I..." They stuttered. "Can I talk to you two...just for a second?"
Jack and I exchanged petrified glances before standing up and following August down toward the ambulance. They were tense. They took a breath before they spoke.
"It's...impossible to know the full scope of the damage without an x-ray or a CAT scan," They began. "But he's been shot in the stomach. There's no sugarcoating that part. And based on what I know, and how he looks now..." Their voice trailed off and they ran a hand through their hair.
"Wh...what..." I could hardly talk. I didn't want to know what was going to come next. "What does that mean?"
August hesitated, avoiding eye contact with me or Jack. "...Gunshot wounds to the stomach are almost always lethal on impact. If it doesn't kill you immediately, you die slowly in the moments following. And it's...painful," Their eyes went to Adam slumped against the wall, before focusing in on myself and Jack. "I hate to be the one to say this...God, I hate it. But...he's probably got no more than a few minutes left," August's eyes were lined with tears as they turned toward the ambulance doors. "...I'm sorry, Jack and Ryan. There's nothing we can do for you..."
My heart stopped.
I had flashbacks to when we were kids; playing together at our old house, going on trips with Dad, learning our first instruments together. It was all so...vivid. I remembered playing our first live show, to our first sold-out tour, to now making full albums that people actually listen to. Everything came flooding back in intense, emotional waves.
And now...we were losing Adam. All because of my own selfishness.
Jack and I glanced at each other before sprinting back to Adam. If these were our last moments with him, then goddamn it, we were spending them together. We each sat down on either side of him, tears in our eyes. He was still just barely conscious.
"...Guys...?" He called out, with what little strength he had.
"Yeah? We're here, Adam." Jack replied with a sniffle.
Adam groaned lightly. "It...It hurts...so bad..."
I grabbed his hand. "I know, man," I remembered what August had said and tried not to let my emotions show. "...I know..."
"However this ends," Jack added, "we...love you. So much," He smiled, the tears trickling down his face. "You've been the best big brother we could've ever asked for..."
Adam smiled lightly as tears filled the corners of his eyes. "It's...fitting, honestly..."
"What is?"
"Dying by the hands of The General?" Adam chuckled softly. "I...don't know why I pictured myself going out any differently."
"Don't say that," I demanded. "You hear me? Don't tell yourself that. Everything's...everything's gonna be okay..." I forced down a sob.
Adam shook his head. "You guys..." He winced. "You guys carry on. Keep the band alive. Keep...doing what you love. But most of all, r--" He paused, trying not to show how much pain he was in, "...remember me...please..."
I lost control. Tears were streaming down my face. I gripped Adam's hand even tighter.
"We'll never forget you, Adam."
Adam chuckled weakly. His smile faded as his gaze seemed to drift into the distance. His grip on my hand slowly loosened, until his own hand was cold and stiff.
This wasn't happening. I couldn't believe that it was happening. I broke into full sobs. I grabbed Jack's shirt and pulled him closer to me, both of us unable to process what was going on. This was all my fault...it was all my fault...
Adam...I'm so fucking sorry...