i opened my eyes slowly, dreading the site of matt's corpse. but when i opened them a different site was in front of me, matt still kneeling, eyes closed. he opened them up and stared at me, confused and terrified. we looked at each other, trying to figure out what had just happened, and then we saw benji's body on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding his head. alex was standing up, gun smoking in his hand. i forgot he had taken wilson's gun. joel was on the ground, sobbing by his dead twin's body. it must be tough to lose a sibling let alone a twin. i almost felt sorry for him....almost. he stood up slowly, pain drawn on his face. he raised his gun, pointing it at alex. he pointed his right back at joel. it was like one of them old western movies, one of those grand stand offs they always have at the end. neither moved, neither blinked. and me and matt just sat there as an audience. finally alex spoke, breaking the silence.
"give it up joel, you know i'm a better marksman than you."
"no, you fucking killed my brother! now it's your turn ektor."
"he had it coming."
"and so do you."
my eyes went back and forth between the two. there had to be something to put the outcome in alex's favor, but what? then i saw it, my opportunity to help. benji's gun lay on the ground not too far from me. if i could just get it, i could pick it up and then joel would be outnumbered. i made my way, slowly creeping towards it so no one would notice. and just as i almost had it in my reach, i was tackled from behind. brandan. he must have followed the maddens out there. he pulled me back away, wrestling me down on the ground. but luckily this helped out alex. joel got distracted by us and took his eyes off of alex for one second and BANG! alex put a bullet hole right between his eyes, no exaggeration there. he was a good marksman.
alex walked over, gun in hand, pointing it to the back of brandan's head. i shook my head.
"no," i said, readjusting my hold on him, "i got him. go check on matt." he nodded in approval and walked away, out of my sight. we rolled around, taking turns reaching and pulling each other away from the gun. i needed to act quick, he was stronger than me. quickly i broke my leg free and kneed him, well, you can guess where. as he curled up in pain, i made my way towards my destination. and just as he grabbed hold of my foot, i swung around, gun aimed at his head, and pulled the trigger. bits of blood and skull sprayed all over me, but i wasn't disgusted. i was too worried about matt to be disgusted.
i got up quickly, wiping my face on my shirt, and headed towards matt. he was now laying on his side, breathing heavily. from the look on alex's face, i knew he wasn't in good condition.
"i dont know if he's gonna make it," alex whispered to me, making sure matt wouldn't hear. i looked down at the mass in front of me, once so strong but now so weak.
"i dont care, i'm not leaving him here." i went beside him, and tried to help him up, but he pushed me away. i was so confused, so hurt.
"come on matt, we gotta go," i said, tears whelling up.
"no, i cant go." he looked up at me, eyes glazed over. his lips began to quiver, and i couldn't hold back the tears anymore. they poured down my face, and i felt alex rubbing my shoulder. i cant leave him.
"matt, i'm not leaving you here. i promised i'd set you free," i said, now sobbing. matt looked up at me, smiling weakly through his tears.
"i am free now."
