𝙈𝙄𝙉𝘿 𝙂𝘼𝙈𝙀𝙎 || 𝙨. 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙮𝙖

𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙙𝙚 ¹

━━━━━♥♠♣♦━━━━━

  The red curtains raised to reveal the lead character of the performance—the only character of the performance that was about to take place.

  "Mr. Wolf" was completely covered with clothing, his face concealed by a wolf mask. It was impossible to identify anything about the masked person, so the two snakes didn't bother trying. All they were focused on was the IMI Timber Wolf that was being carried in his hands.

  It wasn't the first time Yumie or Tadami had seen a gun—far from it. The two were constantly involved with law enforcement, so occasionally they'd see an officer that was armed. It was still very rare, though. They tensed but remained unreadable.

  Nezumi was petrified, having never seen a gun at all. The mouse worked for her father's company and easily made a living—never had she been involved with any sort of firearm.

  "Is he holding a gun?!" the woman in a blue dress cried out shakily. 

  Out of fear, she moved to run but almost immediately she was shot by Mr. Wolf. Everyone flinched, except for the two snakes, and looked at the woman and her now crimson-stained dress. The knife she was holding was still in her hand.

  "You are not allowed to move until I tell you the time. Take any more steps than the time I give you, and you will die," Mr. Wolf said, his voice coming out distorted—he was using a voice box to hide any sort of personal identification.

  Yumie gulped, but not because she was frightened by the dead woman. She'd seen enough dead bodies and blood in her career that she was desensitized to it all. She was frightened that it was her in direct danger. That woman could be her.

  Nezumi retched unable to handle the sight.

  Tadami took a deep breath and recited under his breath:

  "Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce, 
And whether he's slow or spry,
It isn't the fact that you're dead that counts,
But only, how did you die?"

  The male snake only ever recited the first stanza of Cooke's poem before he dealt with a difficult case. It was to remind him that no matter the outcome, as long as he fought with everything he had, he should be satisfied.

  Now, he was saying it to remind himself he shouldn't fear death. Instead, he should fear the situation in which he died not trying. 

  "Mr. Wolf, what's the time?" Tadami asked, his voice not wavering at all. His job gave him plentiful experience when it came to speaking under pressure.

  Mr. Wolf paused before replying, "It's noon."

  Everyone took twelve steps forward. The man wearing orange swim trucks to large leaps towards Mr. Wolf and was now halfway down the aisle.

  Yumie was frazzled, but she wasn't stupid. The best positioning right now would be in the back, which was where she was. Tadami stood in front of her, blocking her away from Mr. Wolf. This way, if they needed to run back they would be first out. 

  Someone (Yumie couldn't tell who) asked, "Mr. Wolf, what's the time?" 

  The wolf paused, tightening his grip on the gun. Yumie's breath came to a stop, knowing exactly the words he would say. Tadami noticed the action too, ready to run.

  "Dinner time," he responded. Immediately after, the sound of the gun firing echoed in the building. 

  The two snakes' legs were pumping hard towards the entrance of the auditorium, where the lobby was. They could hear Nezumi's whimpering from behind them, accompanied by the cursing of the other players. The loudest thing, though, was the haunting noises of gunshots.