Athena

Chapter 15

"If I was dying on my knees you would be the one to rescue me"
-Kodaline

We were trapped. They were everywhere. Behind us, in front of us, on our sides. There was nothing we could do other than surrender.

They asked us to drop our weapons. We did. They told Matteo to let go of King. He did, reluctantly. They ordered us to drop on our knees and place our hands behind our heads. We did.

You know, how people say that before you go, you're supposed to see your life flash before of your eyes, like a movie. Or maybe a tunnel with light at the end of it. Or maybe your dead relatives calling to you.

I saw none. Maybe because I wasn't deathly wounded yet. I don't really know, I couldn't think straight at that moment. The only thing I could focus on while the guard was holding a gun to my head was the green wet grass beneath my knees. I couldn't dart my eyes away from it, I was frightened to move, in fear that I would anger the guard and my life would be stolen from me.

I could hear muffled shouts and screams from around me but I couldn't make out what they were saying. Everything was a blur. My adrenaline rush long gone. The darkness was fighting for control but I wouldn't give in. Not yet.

My back was on fire. My head was throbbing. I kept blinking my eyes in order to get some clear vision back but everything felt like I was underwater. Thoughts of a scared and lonely Noah invaded my mind and I couldn't help but let a traitorous tear escape. I couldn't give up. I had to stay awake, for him. He didn't have anyone else and I'd be damned if I succumbed to my wounds without a fight.

I was never a relegious person. How could I be when my life has been a living hell. If there really was a God, then where was He when I needed Him. I never experienced His generosity or His righteousness. He wasn't there when I prayed to Him for help, crying for hours, curled in a ball in the corner of my room. He never answered so I didn't believe in Him.

But, right now the only thing that I could do was hope that He actually exists. Because only a divine move would get us out of this situation. So I kept chanting and chanting every prayer that I knew under my breath. I pleaded for help to a God that has ignored me my entire life. I don't know why I was hoping that this would change today, but I didn't stop. I repeated the few words that I knew again and again until I was interrupted.

By a gunshot.

Then multiple followed.

Like an organized orchestra that played its song rhythmically they kept coming.

I closed my eyes shut and scrunched my face to prepare for the pain. I waited and waited but I didn't feel anything. Could it be the shock or wasn't it my turn yet?

I reluctantly opened my eyes, blinking to adjust to the bright sun. I looked around only to be met with chaos. The guards where running around frantically, like chickens who just had their heads cut off.

Other people had joined the fight and were targeting the guards. They are on our side.

I look down on the green grass but the sight has me gasping for air.

The once bright green grass was now drowning in a pool of red. Blood was everywhere around me and I searched to find the source.