Children of the Dead

48| The End

Holloway stands above the body, his hands fisted tightly at his sides. I spot the other two guards slumped against the wall, but I can't take my gaze off of the dead body long enough to check if they're dead as well.

    Holloway just killed a person.

    My lungs tighten and I'm strapped in place from fear and the frustration of not knowing what to do. My eyes fix up to the guard's face. I don't recognize him, and I know he would've killed us, but I can't help but replace the image of this man's lifeless body with Barton's. What would I have done in that situation?

    I don't know.

    I think about my family, Trinity's sweet little laugh, Cash's fatherly smile, how much they all mean to me. I refuse to let another one of them slip away from me. Holloway wouldn't hurt any of them, would he? Did I make the wrong decision, siding with the son of our capturer?

    "Enver," Holloway's sharp voice cuts my thoughts in half. I'm still locked in on the guard, on his uniform, where blood starts to seep through the fabric of his shirt from the wound. "Come here, please."

    I don't, I can't move. My brain can't process what Holloway says when I still haven't processed what just happened. I don't know how long silence hangs in the air, but I know for once I'm not going to be the one to break it. Holloway sighs at my lack of response and makes the move instead. My view of the body is blocked by Holloway, and before I can move away his fingers grip my chin softly, lifting my head up so that for the first time since I've entered the room, I look at him. "Don't look at them," alarm is portrayed in his eyes, but the rest of his features are soft as he whispers. His thumb traces over my chin, up close to the corner of my lips. I flinch away. "I'm not going to hurt you, you know that." My lips still won't release the words that are screaming in my mind. I can tell Holloway isn't a fan of my silence but he doesn't comment on it. "Enver, if I didn't shoot him, he would've shot me, I didn't have a choice. You need to understand that." But you didn't have to kill him. Knowing that now is not the time to argue, I nod slowly, making Holloway let out a sigh of relief. Yet panic still holds in his eyes, I don't bring that up either. Holloway bends down more to my level, his hands still on my face. "I know you're in shock right now, but we need to move on. I promise we'll talk about this all later, but if we don't leave now, your friends might not make it."

    Those are the words that lead me out of my trance.

    "Okay," I step back, causing his arms to fall to his sides. "Let's go."

    Holloway's eyes dart around, obviously hoping for something more than three simple words. Instead of sitting around playing this game, I take the lead, heading for the door. When I turn to make sure Holloway is following, I find him walking the opposite way. Back towards the two guards. For some reason I don't stop him, instead watch carefully bends down in front of them. I grip the gun tightly at my side while he does the same, slamming it to one of the guards' temples. I don't even have time to panic, I just feel relieved that they're alive and I hope it stays that way.

    "Where are they?"

    "Like hell I'm telling you," he grins, I can't help but wince at the blood that stains his teeth. "Amon was a fool for ever trusting you, you're just as bad as them."

    Holloway doesn't seem fazed by the comment, his face holds no emotion. "Just tell me where they are and we won't have a problem."

    The man hesitates when Holloway flicks off the safety of his gun, but quickly hides his fear. "Over my dead body."

    "You know, maybe I'll go pay a visit to Willow after this. It's her birthday today isn't it?"

    "Wait, wait, wait," He doesn't try to hide his panic this time as he attempts to scramble away from Holloway. "D-don't bring her into this, she has no part in this. I swear Holloway if you hurt her-"