ASSHOLES | scream au

21. It's over

Police vehicles and ambulances filled the scene, their flashing lights casting eerie shadows across the bloodstained ground. The air was thick with the sound of distant sirens and the hum of paramedics tending to the wounded. Kirby lay on a gurney, being carefully wheeled out of the theater, her face pale but still holding that defiant smirk. Sam and Tara walked beside her, their steps slow, as if each one was weighed down by the trauma of what had just unfolded. Amber stood a little behind them, her body heavily wrapped in bandages. Each breath she took felt like fire against her broken ribs, but she kept walking, refusing to let the pain stop her.

Kirby turned her head slightly, her eyes heavy with exhaustion but still sharp with concern. "What do you think you'll do now?" she asked, her voice quiet yet laced with the weight of their shared history.

Sam glanced at Tara before answering, her voice filled with determination that hadn't quite been there before. "Like Tara said, we make a plan... start living again. Start dealing with the future."

Tara chuckled softly, the sound almost foreign after everything they had been through. "And I'm gonna start dealing with the past," she said, the weight of her words settling between them like an unspoken promise.

Kirby nodded slowly, her gaze flicking between the sisters. "If you ever need me, call. We're all part of the same fucked-up family now. And legacy doesn't always have to be a bad thing. Okay?" Her eyes softened as they landed on Amber, and then back to Sam and Tara, as if she understood the bond they now shared, forged in blood and survival.

Sam managed a small, almost grateful smile, and Tara followed suit, their faces showing a mix of exhaustion and hope. Amber, though, remained quiet, her hand gripping the side of Kirby's gurney as if trying to ground herself in the moment. But her thoughts were elsewhere, swirling with the reality of everything she'd lost. She never thought she'd feel this kind of guilt, especially not over Chad. The same Chad she used to mock relentlessly, always teasing him for his optimism, for his goofy smile. He was her best friend, and now...

God, she was losing too many best friends. Too many people she cared about were slipping through her fingers, one by one.

Tara, always attentive, noticed the tears that had begun streaming down Amber's face before Amber even realized she was crying. Gently, Tara placed her hand on the back of Amber's head, her touch soft and reassuring. "Hey, what's wrong?" she whispered, her voice filled with concern.

Amber shrugged her shoulders, trying to play it off, but the sobs came anyway, raw and uncontrollable. "I just... we lost Chad," Amber choked out, her voice breaking as the grief overwhelmed her. She hadn't even fully processed it until now, but saying it out loud made it real.

Kirby's expression shifted, her smirk fading as the reality of their losses hit her too. They had won, but at what cost? Tara held Amber tightly as she sobbed, her tears mingling with the blood and grime still smeared across her skin. The two sisters stood there, comforting Amber, their own hearts heavy with grief.

"Hey! We got one more in here!" a paramedic suddenly called out from across the scene.

Sam, Tara, and Amber all snapped their heads toward the sound. Another gurney was being wheeled out, and as it came into view, their eyes widened in shock.

Chad. Somehow, against all odds, Chad was alive.

Amber's initial disbelief quickly turned into pure joy as she shrieked, sprinting toward him as fast as her injured body would allow. Sam and Tara weren't far behind, their hearts racing with relief.

"Are you kidding me?!" Amber laughed, tears of happiness now mixing with the ones of grief. She leaned over Chad, who was covered in cuts and bruises, an oxygen mask strapped to his face. "How the hell are you alive?"