Time seemed to crawl, and the chill in the wind made Jaiden shiver. His hands were aching along with most of his body, and he felt sluggish. He had a hand resting on an old car as he tried to catch his breath, but it was difficult. His injuries were taking a toll.
Keep moving forward.
He stepped between two cars and felt his feet trip on something, making him tumble to the ground. He bit down on his lip to keep from crying out, but the pain was terrible. He stayed lying on the ground, hoping that his fall wasn't too loud.
While on his back, he noticed that the sun was far to the west, ready to set on this day. The night was coming soon.
His mind was in a state of constant battle. The part of him that focused on the pain wanted to stay still, just let the pain consume him... Close his eyes, and just be done... He could fight with his fists. He could argue until his throat bled. He could be an unyielding and stubborn asshole. But now, he was feeling tired and worn. Giving up was an option, and it kept whispering in his ear like a seductress.
But the other part of him was resilient despite the pain. This was the side he listened to. It was the one that echoed that he needed to keep moving forward. He can still run and throw in a couple more hits.
He was ready to get back up, but he jolted when he turned to his side. He was face to face with Sierra. It was then that he realized that he had tripped over her legs.
Blood bubbled from her chest, and her breathing slowed and labored. She was looking at him with dull eyes. She was fading.
"He... killed...Mary..." She whispered.
Jaiden nodded slowly. He watched as tears slipped down her face.
"My... sister... brother..." She let out a small raspy sob. "...Sorry... So... sorry..." Her words were fading, and her chest paused in the middle of an inhale and then fell with a slow exhale until she no longer moved.
Her mouth remained slightly open, but no noise would escape her lips again. Jaiden sighed and gingerly moved into a kneeling position. He was uncoordinated because he only had one arm to work with, so he had to be careful with how he moved. Once he was stable, he reached out a hand to close her eyes. She seemed to have so much life working behind the bar, outspoken and flirty. It was a shame that she fell into this mess.
"She was beautiful." A cold voice cut through Jaiden, making his breath hitch. "And now her body will serve a purpose."
Hard metal pressed against the back of his head. The sirens were near, but they were not close enough.
"Fuck." The word slipped from Jaiden's mouth. "From my rotting body, flowers shall grow." He said quietly.
Christopher chuckled. "That's right. I thought you would like that line. It brought back memories of our night in the church."
Jaiden grit his teeth and ignored the last comment. He brushed away the stray hairs from Sierra's face and clumsily brought himself to a standing position with the aid of the vehicles around him. He leaned against a car and took in slow and long breaths. "I thought I could last a little longer."
Christopher chuckled. "You should have watched where you were going. Now let's get you back in the van."
Jaiden groaned and started to walk back to the open area. He moved slower than necessary, wanting to delay as much as possible. Unfortunately, the gun that mercilessly jabbed in his back pressed him to go faster. He stumbled a couple of times but at least kept his footing. Once he got to the clearing, he leaned up against a car's hood.
"Get in the van." Christopher ordered.
He looked down at the body of Billy, who was lying out by the van. It was a shame that he became a victim as well. "Were you planning on killing everyone in the end?"
Christopher slightly tilted his head. "Yes. Billy was expendable... Sierra and Terrance were supposed to have died in that fire with me years ago. I wanted to end it all for us, save us from the misery that we called life. I laid down in the pews while the others were locked in the confessional, and I waited while the fire raged... but Terrance was mulish and didn't understand my plan. I wanted us to be purified and laid to rest, but he wanted to fight and live... he pulled Sarah and me out, and I resented him ever since."
Jaiden ran his hand through his hair, but it was tangled with dirt and blood. He sighed and dug the cigarettes from his pocket. He opened the pack with one hand and placed a new cigarette on his lips. He tossed the pack on the hood behind him and struggled with his lighter for a moment. The wind kept blowing out the flame. He gave Christopher an annoyed look and held the lighter out towards him. "Be a doll, won't you?"
"I said get in the van, not smoke."
"You said I was a dead man, so give a dead man this one vice." Jaiden said, the cigarette hanging from his lips.
Christopher's lips pulled into a straight line, but he took the lighter from Jaiden. He blocked the wind to allow the cigarette to light. Jaiden took a deep breath and inhaled the smoke.
"You know, I used to hate smoking, but it was one thing that helped stop the nightmares. Now I can't get enough of it. I suppose that's the beauty of addiction." Jaiden said quietly.
Christopher didn't say anything but just watched Jaiden like he was prey.
"Have you ever loved anyone?" Jaiden asked while enjoying his cigarette, seemingly unperturbed by the menacing gaze.
"Love is a meaningless emotion." He scoffed.
"You were sleeping with Cynthia for a while. She would have left her husband for you."
Christopher chuckled. "What was it that you told Billy? Ah... I was horny, and she was willing."
"You have a sex drive? Huh. That's surprising... What about Jacob, your second victim?"
Christopher glared. "He's a man."
Jaiden raised an eyebrow. "Nothing fucking wrong with that."
Christopher nodded towards the junkyard. "Sierra helped with that. That idiot couldn't say no to a pretty woman."
Jaiden clenched his jaw. "You manipulated Sierra, pimped her out, and then killed her. That was cruel." He narrowed his glare. "Love is not a meaningless emotion; you're just incapable of feeling any emotion."
"It is as meaningless as this conversation." He rolled his eyes. "Is this really the last thing you want to talk about before you die?"
Jaiden took a long drag from his cigarette, blowing the smoke in Christopher's face.
"If you asked me two years ago, I wholeheartedly believed that it should have been me who died in that church. Hell, you could have gone after me a year ago, and I probably would have given you my life willingly... be a part of your art or whatever sick excuse you're spouting. I had nothing to lose... You really fucked me over, Christopher. You waited until I had something worthwhile to pull this stunt, and I hate you for that. Now, I want to give death a hearty 'fuck you'."
He puffed out a small plume of smoke, listening to the sirens. But their distance was now mocking him. They were never close enough.
"In the hospital, you asked me what I regret. Do you remember what I told you?" He asked.
Christopher sighed. "You said, 'too many fucking things'."
Jaiden chuckled. "What about you? Do you have any regrets in this lifetime?"
Christopher raised an eyebrow. "Are you buying time?"
Jaiden smiled. "I just wanted to have an interesting conversation and a good smoke. Speaking of which, light me another one."
Christopher raised his gun towards Jaiden, but he was unfazed by the nonverbal threat. He tossed his dwindling cigarette to the ground, pulled out a fresh smoke, and placed it lightly between his lips. He stared at Christopher expectantly.
Christopher groaned and lit this one up too.
"Come on, what are your regrets?" Jaiden urged.
"Right now? Not killing you two years ago." His voice laced with frustration.
Jaiden chuckled, but his face soon turned somber. "I regret hesitating. I regret setting up my own dumbass rules because I was too scared. I eventually took the risk, and Dios mio, Toni has been amazing. However, I missed out on a lot because I forgot to ask for his number when we first met. So now I want every fucking moment possible with him. And above all, I want to experience a future with him."
His face held traces of a small smile. "I should have held him a little tighter last night... made love to him until the sun rose... broke out that bottle of Clase Azul I have been saving for a special occasion."
A light sigh escaped his lips with a trail of smoke. "Soulmates was supposed to be a fantastical notion that belonged in stories, but who knew I would find mine when running into an elevator barefoot and hungover? Although our time together has been brief, I have had the privilege of calling him mine. Not many have that blessing, but I still have so many regrets. So I will have to disappoint you; I don't plan on dying today."
Christopher was starting to look impatient.
Jaiden continued. "I know what you're planning on doing to Toni if you kill me. If I act like the typical lover, I would be pleading with you right now to spare him. Although I have a minuscule chance of escaping, I'm not going to beg you."
Christopher straightened a little, not expecting the conversation to turn in this direction.
Jaiden's hazel eyes were glimmering with emotion. "I could allow you to pierce a nail through my tongue, cut off my hands, gut me, and stuff me flowers. I could give you my eyes and let you stab me repeatedly... I could give up and sacrifice myself... but would you honestly spare him?"
Christopher's face broke out into a grin, and he leaned forward until he was inches away from Jaiden. "No."
"I figured as much, but it didn't hurt me to ask." Jaiden released a long breath, but his placid expression suddenly hardened. "But I'll make sure that it hurts you, motherfucker."
He took his lit cigarette and pressed the burning ember into Christopher's eye. Christopher stumbled back with a strangled yell and covered his burned eye with his hands, the gun falling to the ground.
Jaiden was in a surreal overdrive, his pain replaced by adrenaline. He wanted nothing more than to destroy the demented man in front of him. Hurt him. Break him. Make him feel pain for all the suffering he has inflicted and threatened.
With his rage, he felt that everything was amplified. The smoke from the cigarette and the burning tires overwhelmed him. The raspy air in his lungs choked him. The roar of the fire deafened him... and somehow the roaring seemed to get louder.
He rammed his fist against the side of Christopher's head, but he was still weak, so Christopher only fell back a couple of steps. Jaiden followed up with a kick to the leg, making him fall to a knee. However, Christopher was near the gun that he had dropped. He picked it up and swung the pistol as he rose to his feet, clipping Jaiden's forehead.
Jaiden felt the blood start to drip down his face but he followed up with another punch. His fist cracked against Christopher's jaw and he tumbled back several more steps. He sneered at Jaiden, lifted the gun, and aimed at Jaiden's chest.
Jaiden knew he couldn't dodge the bullet and his body was too weak to run for cover.
But life was just an endless fight in the ring. He landed a few hits already, perhaps he could get a few more.
He dove towards the surprised Christopher, tackling to him to the ground. He punched his nose, feeling the blood splatter on his fist. However, Christopher swung the gun again and swiped the butt of the gun across Jaiden's jaw, throwing him to the side. Christopher scrambled up and pointed the gun towards Jaiden who was now lying on the ground.
"End of the line, Jaiden." He seethed.
Jaiden rolled over to his back and laughed a little as he stared up at the gun. He raised his middle finger in the air towards Christopher. "Fuck you, asshole."
Bang.
Jaiden closed his eyes, waiting for the pain from the new wound.
But it didn't come. What did come was a thud near him and some yelling in the distance. Jaiden opened his eyes and saw Christopher laying down on the ground next to him. One eye was burned and damaged by his cigarette, the other was glazed with confusion.
Jaide reached over and pressed his fingers against Christopher's wrist to check for traces of a pulse.
He waited. But there was nothing. No pulse.
A small laugh broke from Jaiden's lips and he rolled on his back again, looking at the darkening sky.
Christopher was dead.
Sierra was dead.
Terrance was dead.
Three foster children who suffered too much have left this world. Perhaps this was what Christopher wanted all along. Maybe this was his angle. He just wanted to die.
What a shitty way to go about it.
"Mi sol!" Jaiden heard the precious words, but he thought that they were just echoes of a not so distant memory.
"Mi sol! You better not fucking die on me." Toni's face came into view over him.
"Fuck. I hope I'm not dead." Jaiden said, his voice was raspy and strained now that his adrenaline was depleted.
The rim of Toni's eyes were red and tears were threatening to spill. He had a bandaged taped to the side of his head and a few scuffs along his jaw like he had been fighting.
"Not dead, you bastard."
"Thank god. Because if I was in this much pain after I died, I would be pissed."
Toni laughed a little and carefully kissed his forehead. "I'm going to help you stand up right now."
"That seems terrible. I'm ok with laying here. Come lay with me. Let's watch the sunset together... If you ignore the dead bodies, it will be quite romantic."
Toni shook his head with an exhausted smile. "I need to get you to a hospital and check your wounds. Either you walk to the ambulance or I carry you. I just figured your pride won't let me carry you in front of most of the guys on the force."
Jaiden groaned. "I'm going to need a lot of help. I'm spent."
"I got you, mi sol."
Toni carefully helped him back to his feet and wrapped his arm around his waist to keep him steady. Jaiden leaned against Toni and watched as numerous police cars, fire trucks and ambulances filled the dirt lot.
The fire trucks were busy with the dumpster, which made Jaiden curse. "You're not going to arrest me, right?"
Toni chuckled. "I fucking knew it was you. Mierda. I can't believe you actually started a fire. But then again, I'm grateful. Your phone at least gave us a general location so we were somewhat close. The fire is how we were able to pinpoint your location. "
He helped him sit in the back of the ambulance while they hooked up to the machines.
"I knew you'd come." Jaiden said quietly.
Toni pressed his forehead against Jaiden's. "Thank you for hanging on until I did...Te amo."
"I love you too."
*****
A/N
Holy cow... Thank you everyone for making it this far! For those who have been waiting on the updates, I am so sorry for leaving you hanging with the last few chapters.
We are now approaching the end of Death & Tequila. I have three more chapters waiting for you all, so we can close out this story soon.
(I am terrible at saying goodbye to my characters so there will be some tequila involved when I hit that 'completed' button)
From the bottom of my twisted little heart, thank you.