Cherry gasped for air. No matter how hard she tried, it felt like something in her throat obstructed all oxygen. She had ducked underneath the table, hiding herself behind two fallen chairs that both didn't do much to protect her against the bullets flying around. There was chaos everywhere; around her and inside her head. She had the feeling her lungs were riddled with bullets and were slowly filling with blood, which made breathing so damn hard.
She had to do something. She knew that, but she just couldn't move. Ellie and Kenny were lying on the ground only a meter away from her and she should bend over them to shield off their bodies, but fear had brought her under its power and refused to let her go. There was nothing she could do besides crying and quaking, nor was there a way to escape from the desperate cries, dying screams and the impact of the bullets.
Finally the noise faded. There were no footsteps, no orders. It looked like everybody was dead. Still Cherry didn't dare to crawl from under the table. She feared the horror she would have to face. What if Kip was dead? What if they were all dead? What if there was still an attacker alive who would shoot as soon as he saw something move?
Her lips were quivering, but the rest of her body was still frozen. Even the tears in her eyes didn't dare to move.
Only when someone whispered her name, she managed to turn her head to the side. Kip was on his knees on the ground, looking underneath the table. His hand was pressed to his thigh, that was bleeding. The sight of it shook her. Shaky, she crawled toward him, hugging him. His hand slithered through her hair as he held her close.
He was sobbing, the most terrible sound she had ever heard. When Opie was murdered she had seen some tears gliding down his cheek, but every mask was taken off now and he cried like a lost, little child who saw no way out anymore. Cherry squeezed her eyes and breathed in. Then she looked at his wounded leg. He needed an ambulance.
With a heart that was bouncing painfully in her chest, she turned around and watched the rest of the demolished room. Tears filled her eyes as she saw Chibs lying on the ground, a bullet hole in his head. He stared at the ceiling, with a macaber carved grin on his face. Close to his feet Jax was lying. Clay had crouched down beside him, crying he was pressing against a wound in his chest. Only a step away from him was Gemma's body, surrounded by a pool of blood.
Cherry felt her esophagus contract. Bile crept up and she fell on her knees and puked.
It all felt so surreal, it couldn't truly have happened. Why would someone do this to them? On Christmas eve? She started to cry again. Vaguely she was aware of Phil calling someone. Luckily there was at least somebody who could still keep his thoughts together.
She dropped down on her bottom and leaned forward, staring into the vomit. That was better than looking to something else. To all the blood, all the crying faces, all the dead faces. She tugged her hairs and scratched her neck while sobs kept rolling over her lips.
She kept sitting that way until cops and paramedics swarmed inside the house. Kozik, Jax and Kip were all transferred to the hospital immediately. The bodies of Gemma and Chibs stayed untouched while cops took pictures of the crime scene, sending the survivors away.
Outside, Cherry dropped down at the sidewalk. She should go to the hospital to see how Kip and the others were doing, but her legs seemed to be made of jelly and there was nobody to support her. Gemma was no longer around to give her a stern talk and Dana... Dana was celebrating Christmas with Juice hundreds of miles away from here, completely unaware of the tragedy that had just taken place.