𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐘 → original

sixteen

Collectively, it seemed, all of their ears were ringing.

In the haze of the aftermath, Amory spotted the gun, sitting uselessly where he dropped it. It was easier to focus on the weapon rather than the body, but soon blood was pooling out on the ground, crawling slowly around like a reminder of what he had done. He was in shock, he thought, though he was not sure he had ever been in shock before. He knew blind rage, knew it well really, but he didn't know numb shock. This was foreign to him, and he feared that any moment his soul would escape his body and he would be unsure how to get it back.

Nadia was the one who had screamed the loudest, and now her hand was still raised to her mouth. Her eyes were wide, though no noise escaped her mouth any more. She felt like a ghost frozen in place, and she realized that she was probably in shock, too. She thought of her job, about how much she stood to lose. She couldn't continue to fight for world peace while behind bars, and it now seemed like that was where she was destined to go.

Lou fell to her knees, slipping through Caspar's fingers like water. The sound of the gun shot felt like it was still reverberating through her body, like she was unable to get out of a loop. Lou was always so put together, always so determined to show the world her best face, but now she was left thinking fuck the world. All she had ever done was make herself pretty and strong, and she had never been rewarded for it. So, she collapsed, and she sobbed, and she thought repeatedly, fuck the world.

Caspar looked from Lou to the body, his mouth open in silent shock. Caspar had seen a lot of messed up things in his lifetime; his aforementioned foster dad limping into the house after drunkenly shooting his foot, a kid in one of his foster homes being forced to write lines until his fingers bled for stealing food (which Caspar had actually stolen), and so on. Still, this seemed to take the cake. He had never seen a dead body before, nor had he ever seen so much blood. He wanted to crumble, like Lou, because maybe then he would know he was feeling something, anything. Instead, he remained frozen.

Marc hated himself, because he didn't get to Amory quick enough. Had he just been a little faster, or thought a little quicker, perhaps this could have been avoided. He wasn't surprised, though. This was who he was. His family had taught him as much; he would always try, and he would always fail. He would never do right by those around him. Marc was someone who tried with all his might, whether it be for himself or for those he loved, and still never ended up on top. It was exhausting; no, he was exhausting, he thought. And now someone was dead because of it.

Ophelia looked at all of the faces around her, taking in all of these people that she loved so dearly. This would not be the end of their story, she decided. They would not fall apart from this. Vallie was gone, it seemed, but Ophelia was far from done fighting. Perhaps she couldn't save her best friend, but she could still save the others, and that would have to be enough.

"Okay." Ophelia clapped her hands together. "Everybody, I'm going to need you all to pull yourselves together. This is what we're going to do."

No body moved, save for Marc turning slightly to eye her. He expected her to be an emotional wreck, but found instead that she looked determined. Ophelia moved from the living room to the kitchen and began digging under the sink. When she returned, she had a pair of rubber gloves, the kind people use to wash dishes, in one hand, and a container of bleach in the other.

"I'm serious, you guys, you need to listen to me." Ophelia shouted a little louder, then waited expectantly. This time, everyone turned to look at her except for Lou. Lou wasn't going to give in, she had resigned herself to being a mess now. She wasn't going to pull herself together for anyone. "Amory—No, Marc, I need you to go outside to the shed, see if they have a tank of gasoline out there. I imagine they should, they probably have to use a pretty big lawn mower to mow this property."