5 minutes until someone dies.
Damien and my guardian stand rigid, preparing for the worst. There must be something we can do. We can’t just let someone die. They prepared for this. They must have a plan to stop Legion.
I watch the clock. Time keeps passing. Four minutes until people start dying.
Hidden at the edges of the room, everyone is quiet. The girl sitting beside me is sobbing. She’s trying not to make noise, but I can tell. I can’t see everyone, but I know she isn’t the only one crying.
Everyone is scared. Scared for themselves. Scared for their friends. Scared that something terrible is about to happen.
It’s all my fault. People are going to die because of me.
I’m not innocent. Ignoring all the terrible things I did in my past life, I killed someone in this life. I killed the boy. I don’t want another life to be lost because of me.
I want to surrender. If someone has to die, it should be me. I’m a murderer. I should be punished.
I stand up.
“What are you doing?” Day asks.
“I have to go,” I say.
“Sit down, Aaron,” Day says.
“Do you have a plan? Can you stop them from hurting anyone?” Day’s silence is an answer. Officer Paige and the demon look down, ashamed at their shortfall. They didn’t think Legion would be this bold, or this violent. They can’t stop it. But I can’t let this happen.
“I have to go,” I say. Damien has other ideas though. “Sit down,” he says again. This time, I’m forced to the ground. I can’t stand up or even move. I’m paralyzed, trapped in my own body while the unthinkable happens. I struggle, but I can’t break free. All I can do is I watch as the clock ticks down.
Three minutes. Two minutes. One minute.
I start to tear up. I want to cry out. This isn’t fair. This shouldn’t be happening. It’s all my fault.
Just as the five minutes pass, a gunshot rings out throughout the school. My head burns as a psychic scream runs through me, absolute agony followed by the chill of nothingness.