creaaaak.
The screen door slides, the sound jagged by how slowly it's being opened.
With it creaking open, Santiago and Archer can see the flashing lights and hear the deafening sirens outside. They look down the normally busy street, only to see it currently in the process of being barricaded and an unstable man with a pistol in his hand, shooting seemingly at random. The erratic and unpredictable behavior make the police wary to get out.
The multiple police cars stopped with a loud screech, leaving visible skid marks on the road.
The only other passerby, a young woman, runs to hide. The man stumbles around on the sidewalk, holding his pistol chin level, pointed at all these people opposing him.
What he sees is a crowd, taunting him to shoot.
It's a normally busy road, but of course it's gonna be emptier at dark. The only light source is one pole light; hanging on for dear life, the bulb about to burn out.
Santiago wants inside. "Hey, I can only see red and blue. Now, why don't we go-"
BANG
They both flinch, the man bringing all the attention back to him.
"Shut the fuck up. We gotta watch in case something happens." Archer knows they should, but he wants to know if everything turns out alright.
The view is not the best, but they're not moving any closer.
The atmosphere is stuffy and it's hard to breathe or talk in the moment. A birds eye view of this is definitely enough to make both their bpm go up by a decent amount.
"Hands up. Put the gun away, and we won't shoot!" The group of police officers in a flash have gotten out with their gun steadied, ready to aim and fire.
"GET AWAY, I'VE GOT A GUN" The man twitches, his face red and veiny, eyes practically popping out of his sockets. He aims at nothing, which is something? He can't tell.
"GUN DOWN, OR YOU WON'T HAVE A CHANCE IN COURT."
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" The man makes a loud, reverberating scream that echos through the night. He clutches at his head as if something is sucking his brains out.
He points his gun at the bypassing young woman, who was hidden behind a dropbox. He starts going towards her. His steps come louder and quicker, the rocks under his feet crackling under his shoes.
"ALL OF YOU! GUNS DOWN, WATCH IT- WATCH IT{!*(@#* " COUGH--./COUGH
Archer and Santiago observe the scene in horror. The only thing they can do is pray for the woman. During this, Archer suddenly makes a connection to this individual's frenzied behavior.
"T-This reminds me of something." He whispers.
Santiago bites his nail, leg bouncing. "Yeah?"
"..Max?"
=
The woman stands up quickly, and tries to speed off. However, with her night club attire, she quickly trips, scratching her knees.
BANG. A tease, the bullet grazing her heel.
The woman shrieks, horrified as the man approaches.
"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! Please don't kill me-"
...
He doesn't shoot again.
The man looks at the woman, an expression that could almost equate to regret.
He holds his gun down.
=
"Max? That guy..?"
"He's coughing, just like Max."
"Well.. It's kinda weird." Santiago doesn't deny this.
Archer chuckles nervously.
"I don't know.. I'm just saying stuff..."
=
The man's dry coughs rattle through the tense atmosphere, clenching his neck as if he'd swallowed a sharp nail.
He's confused, so confused, walking around the woman in a circle like she's an exhibit to study.
Thoughts that badger at him, who is this woman? Where do I know her from? What am I seeing?
It finally clicks.
It's.. his 'Mom.'
She looks like his mom.
But his mom is dead.
"Mom? Is that you? " He asks, his voice suddenly soft, inching closer.
"Have you come to see me ..where have you been.."
"Sir..? P-Please drop the gun-"
A step closer.
BANG
Another.
BANG
Centimeters away,
BANG.
He sneezes in her face.
The police aimed and fired.
The man sways to a far side. Left shoulder blade. Middle back. Upper thigh. He clutches his arm and falls to the ground, His elbow joint crackling like crushed paper when it meets concrete.
"mom...!"
The woman wipes the spit off her face, still on the ground. Her face distraught, Snot starts to invade her nose, and she starts to sniffle.
She looks over at the police, who're all expectantly looking at her. Her face then twists to a look of extreme discomfort as she scoots away from the nearby body.
"I... I have no clue who that man is.."
=
Archer looks nauseous, but his eyes are glued.
Santiago desperately wants to go back inside. He faces away from the scene.
"Archer, let's go back inside."
"Hold on, I can't see her now."
"Come on, please?"
=
The police run over to the woman.
"Are you okay, miss?" one offers a hand to the lady.
"I..I.." She shivers ferociously.
"Was that your son?"
"No.. A-Achoo!"
She sneezes on the officers given out arm.
The officer reacts by making a quiet sound of disgust pulling his hand away, but brushes it off on his uniform.
He sighs. "Got allergies? I understand, it's the season. We've got tissues in our police car."
"That guy isn't my son.."
"I understand, miss." The man and the woman, in all honesty, didn't look alike at all.
The officer starts to scratch at his arm as it's a bit itchy. He scratches a bit more before putting said hand out again, the woman reaches out and takes it. Her legs wobble as she needs help from multiple other officers to get to the car. The sirens of ambulances become louder, but the tension levels down.
"It's over," Santiago says. "It's over. Come on." He repeats.
Since the other is so insistent, Archer finally follows, albeit a bit hesitant.
The sound of anything outside abruptly stops when both the two shut the screen door behind them.
But shutting the sound out doesn't mean it goes away.
= Archer pov
Having taken a shower and resting in a now clean bedroom, Archer wakes up really early in the morning. So he sits in his bed for a while, just recalling everything.
He doesn't realize hours pass.
But when he does remember a guest is over, he goes to check up on them.
Settled on the ugly couch, Santiago is looking up at the textured ceiling, yawning. He wraps in the blanket on the couch to keep warm.
Archer yawns too, it's contagious. "Yo. What's breakfast?"
Santiago looks battered, his already visible red undereyes more evident. He shuffles in his blanket to face the other.
"Oh wow. You look so bad." Santiago notes. Apparently Archer himself looks horrible too.
"Have you even slept?" The boy on the couch asks.
Archer scratches his face. "Not much..."
"Guess we're twins then.. But it wasn't just what happened that kept me awake. Your snoring kept me up for what felt like hours."
"Well, I did sleep, I just woke up really early.."
Santiago frowns. "What about breakfast?"
"Shouldn't my mom have made breakfast?"
"No...? Your mom hasn't come yet."
"..."
"She hasn't?"
...That doesn't make sense. She's not even working overtime today.
His mom usually comes back at around 6:00. It's currently 9.
-- Next chapter on May 7th
--Whats ur favorite color? If that's too boring, would you rather remember your dreams everyday or lucid dream once a week?
-- Thoughts on this chapter?