Disclosure [h.s]

68

Evelyn

The loud sound of the gunshots which then turned into a deafening ringing sound on my ears was almost unbearable.

 In the short seconds which followed the exchange of bullets, I waited for the pain to start growing on my body, afraid one of the bullets was directed at me, but that pain never came.

After Harry pushed me backwards, so I was out of the aim of the bullets, I fell backwards losing balance after they fired their guns. That must have been what saved me from getting shot, because I was not the one who received one of the bullets.

Then, who was it? Or was the bullet simply lost in the air?

The only thing I can hear right now is the annoying and constant buzzing on my ears which doesn't seem to go away any time soon. This makes me believe the warehouse is quiet, as I can't hear a single word or scream from anyone.

Soon I realized it was not the truth.

I support the weight of my body on my elbows to see what was ahead of me, feeling my heartbeat increase as the seconds' pass. When I lost my balance I must have hit with my head on the hard concrete floor because the back of my head is hurting. Not that it matters right now, what is in front of me is what I should be worried about right now.

Even if I can't ear anything, I can imagine the sounds around us as I watch the scene unfold right in front of my eyes.

Collin never managed to reach his mother, he never returned safe and sound to Claire's arms as she hoped he would. It was a risky move but Collin was so close to making it to our side, all he needed was a few extra seconds. But he didn't have that much time. The boy was now frozen in the middle of the warehouse unable to move, halfway from finally reaching his mom, and hopefully safety.

The assistant Howard brought with him to help him commit his atrocities was now dead. His lifeless body fell into the concrete floor without much difficulty, as a pool of blood was forming around him, staining the dark grey floor beneath him. The gun he was once holding was now a few centimetres away from him.

I blinked a couple of times rapidly to process what was truly happening in front of me. It all happened so quickly, but my eyes don't seem to be processing this information. Maybe I don't want to believe what is in front of me. Even if I should be moving, my body is glued to the hard concrete floor beneath me, unable to move a single finger. I want to scream, I want to talk but I can't.

Before I could understand what was happening right in front of my eyes, I look to my left seeing a trace of blood coming in my direction, zigzagging through the uneven flooring until it reaches my body in a thin line. The flow is not very abundant, still, I decide to follow the path with my eyes trying to figure out where that was coming from.

It didn't take me long to finally acknowledge the source. When my eyes finally found the body not very far from where I was, my ears started to regain some of the ability to hear. The body has been there on the floor the whole time, I just didn't want to believe it was truly happening.

There is just too much happening and after my fall it is being impossible for me to trace everything.

But one thing I am sure, Claire was shot.

As I start to hear with more clarity, when the constant ringing noise starts to fade away, I finally hear the cries and screams around me, mostly from Collin who is watching this whole scene terrified. He tried to reach his mom, but it was too late when the bullet hit her in the meantime. Howard was the one who shot her, because his assistant was aiming for Collin.