Quote Of The Chapter: "It's Been A Long, Long Night, And We're Still Learning How To Survive." - Hands Like Houses, 'Introduced Species'
Calum
I groaned as I woke up, feeling pain throughout my entire body. I could barely move again. I quickly bit my lip as I got up, my entire body groaning in protest. I looked around, seeing everything they used to hit me with, and finally I saw the gun by my feet.
Mali...
I picked it up before walked up to the first level, looking around. Where's Mali? I walked into the kitchen, only to be met by my worst nightmare.
"Mali!" I shouted, seeing her tiny body lying in a pool of blood. I ran towards her, lifting her up in my arms.
"I'm so sorry, Mali, I'm so sorry!" I broke down crying. I let this happen. I killed her.
"What's all the noise abou- oh. Well, look who's up." my mother laughed. She did this. She told him to kill my baby sister.
"Clean that up, will you?" she yawned as she grabbed a coffee cup. She didn't notice as I cocked the gun I had in my hand. I aimed it at her, not caring where it hit. I just pulled the trigger.
She screamed out in pain, holding her stomach as she fell to the floor. Her stomach. It hit her stomach.
"Why you-" I shot the next bullet at her head before she finished, holding my baby sister in my arms.
"What the hell is going on?" My father's voice sounded as he walked down the stairs.
"Rosa?!" my father asked, running over to her lifeless body. He immediately noticed the gun in my hand, holding his hands up.
"B-Be careful with what you do with that, boy." he said, looking at the little girl whom was lying in my arms.
"You did this to her."
"It's not my fault, you were told-"
"Like I give a damn what I was told!" I interrupted. I put her down, standing up with the gun pointed at him. "You made me believe it was my fault for so long... It never was. I was just a child, for fucks sake!" I yelled at him.
"Calum, just put the gun down! We can talk this through, we can fix it okay? You're right, it's not your fault, just please put it down." he said, going on his knees. "Please, son." he said in a gentle manner. I'd never heard his voice remotely close to that.
I didn't care for him to be this kind anymore. It didn't matter anymore. My little sister was dead, and he was the one who'd done it.
Emma
"Luke." I shook him awake. He'd fallen asleep on my couch last night, so he was still in my house.
"Huh?" he asked, sitting up.
"You said first light. It's first light." I reminded him. I held his shoes out to him, and he quickly put them on. It didn't take long before I was dragging him out the front door.
"Did you even sleep?" he asked as we continued walking.
"Not really, no." I shook my head, smiling slightly. "I'm sorry, I'm just feeling very... anxious since yesterday. I can't help but feel something's wrong." I said.
"I-" Luke didn't get much in before my phone was ringing. Ashton?
"Hello?" I asked.
"Emma, I have both good news and bad news, but I'm currently walking so allow me to fill you in as much as I can without getting interrupted. Good news is that your uncle got enough for a warrant, so that's that, but the bad news is that one of Calum's neighbours called when your uncle was with Michael this morning, a gun was heard last night and this morning by the neighbours, and it was coming from Calum's house. I'm heading over there right now, Michael is going with your uncle, and I thought you could tell Luke and if you wanted, to head on over, like, right now. I have to hang up now, because I'm about to drive, so I'll call you later if you don't show." Ashton quickly shoved into the call before hanging up. I felt my heart drop. Yesterday? A gunshot?
"Emma?" Luke asked, worried at my expression.
"Gunshots were heard from Calum's house." I replied simply, taking of running. I heard Luke running behind me, and I took all the shortcuts I could to get there as fast as I could.
I got there right as Ashton did, parking quickly before we ran in.
"Ash, check downstairs, Luke, go upstairs, I'll check down here. Now!" I said, and they ran off as I headed towards the living room. To think I was here not too long ago.
I heard a gunshot from the kitchen, quickly running as I heard both Ashton and Luke running back.
"Calum?" I asked, seeing him surrounded by his family. They were all dead.
"He hurt her, and I wasn't here..." Calum said, leaning down beside Mali. He kissed her forehead, holding the gun to his own head.
"Cal, don't!" Ashton said as he got here. Luke looked at the mess, the dried blood spattered on the walls as well as fresh drops on the tiled floor. I could tell he was trying to not vomit.
The police sirens sounded in the distance, and I was trying to process the scene in front of me. I...
"It wasn't my fault." Calum muttered, closing his eyes.
"Calum!" Ashton ran forward, but the gun fired off. I winced, turning away from the scene as I heard a soft thud.
"This is the police, we're coming in!" I heard, before the front door was opened. A whole bunch of policemen swarmed in, but it was too late. They were all dead.
"Emma?" Michael asked, running in with my uncle. "Oh my god..."
"What the hell happened?" my uncle asked, but I couldn't answer. I just saw my friend kill himself.
I heard Luke heave, and it wasn't long before he puked.
"Ashton?" Michael tried, but he noticed the empty look in the older boy's eyes.
"They're going to need to give statements, sir." one of the men told my uncle. My uncle shook his head as if to say 'not now', wrapping an arm around me before pulling me away from the scene. Everyone else was escorted out, and I heard even more emergency cars begin to arrive. Ambulances, more police, and crime scene investigators.
People were stopping to stare, seeing Ashton leave behind bloody footsteps, and seeing a swarm of police gathered as the family was carried out in body bags. Yellow tape was being put up, and all I could think of was one thing.
My friend was in one of those.
I'd seen him not too long ago, and now he was dead. I'd never see him again.
This was how the story ended. It wasn't fair. He deserved to be happy. Both him and Mali did.
"Are you gonna be okay?" my uncle asked me. I shrugged, feeling void. What now?
Everyone has a limit, and I guess this was mine. I had no idea what to do anymore. After what I'd just seen... What we'd just seen... god, what the hell am I supposed to do now?
"It wasn't supposed to end like this..." Luke said, looking stumped.
And all of us sat there, feeling lost. We were inconsolable.
The End.
