Grinded

chapter XXXI.

Every second seemed to stretch into an eternity as August stood and waited to see who was still standing. The gun was kept raised and aimed, refusing to let his guard down so easily.

Especially since it wasn't over. Not yet.

The person turned slowly, and August could feel a cascade of relief wash over him.

It was Thomas.

There was an unsure look on his face, like he hadn't even processed exactly what had just happened. Instead, August watched as his friend then cranked his neck to the side, staring down at the ground.

August followed Thomas' stare with twisted anticipation.

There on the floor, was Freddie.

Still. Lifeless. Almost peaceful.

The color in his face had already started draining as a thick trickle of blood began seeping from corners of his mouth, adding to the ever-spreading pool of blood beneath him.

His grip on the gun loosened, and it dropped to the ground loudly, the metallic clanging startling both him and Thomas.

"Is he dead?" asked Thomas uncertainly, joining August's side, their hands brushing against one another.

A voice from behind them further startled them. "Not dead enough."

August didn't even have to turn around to recognise who it belonged to: Sarah.

The still-alive Sheriff marched into the house, albeit with a limp and a hand resting on her ribcage, cocking her gun as she took aim without a second thought, and unloaded the clip into Freddie's body.

August caught the glare of hatred that was painted across Sarah's face. The relentless, merciless way she kept her finger on the trigger, the way she closed in on the body until she was directly above him, the way a single tear rolled down her bruised cheek.

This was a woman driven by revenge. Not for just him and his friends, but for the deputy she lost to Freddie's murderous rampage.

The faint smell of sulphur and metal wafted against August's bloodied nose as Sarah eventually lowered the gun. She didn't return it to its holster, instead keeping it in her hand.

Sarah looked up, her eyes meeting August's, and the two of them shared a knowing, understanding look. A look that only they and Thomas would ever understand.

"This is Sheriff Abbott, we've got a 187 and a new suspect," Sarah said into her radio, wincing as she spoke. "Medical attention needed up in Blackwater Mountain, at the Mason's place. And hurry, these kids fuckin' need it."

And when she finished speaking, she leaned back against the wall and slid down with laboured breathing. August was about to join her when the almost inaudible sound of someone coughing pulled his focus.

He snapped his neck over and saw Thomas already rushing over to what looked to be Sophie. He held back a choked, relieving cry as he rushed over to their sides.

"Christ, Soph," laughed August through his cries, "takes a lot to keep you down."

"You weren't getting rid of me that easily," she managed to quip back, her hands sliding down to the stab wound on her leg.

Thankfully, it looked as though most of the bleeding had stopped, which meant Freddie had missed the femoral artery. It still looked to be a vicious gash, but August had to take the win this time. He wasn't going to lose anyone else tonight.

"You okay?" August asked, voice thick with solicitude, his hands applying pressure to Sophie's wound.

She nodded quickly. A lie as clear as day.

"Yeah, me too," he quietly agreed with a sniffle. "How about you, Tommy?"

August glanced over to Thomas, who was busy nursing his own injuries. He gave August a trembling thumbs-up, but his real answer was written all over his face. Just like Sophie.

Yeah, me fucking too, buddy. Me fucking too.

The familiar sound of a phone pinging echoed into the heavy silence. August's ears perked up, and he slowly glanced around the corridor when he saw a phone laying a few feet away from the lifeless body of Freddie.

August reached out his palm, his breath hitching as a sudden sharp pain shot up his side as he moved. Gliding the phone closer to him, August eagerly tapped his thumb against the screen to light it up, his eyebrows raising as he saw what caused the notification.

Grindr.

In some fucked up way, everything felt like it had come full circle for August and his surviving friends.

All of this started with a Grindr notification.

August lazily dragged his eyes over the message.

You're looking good these days.

After deleting the notification, August dropped the phone onto the floor carelessly, not even bothering to open the app.

He made sure that it would end with a Grindr notification.

A notification left unanswered.

THE END.